12 Angry Men Movie Analysis Essay

After the jurors go to the meeting room to discuss and arrive at consensus whether the young boy is guilty or not, we get to see different personalities combined to form a group to resolve the issue. Initially 11 out of 12 jurors voted in favour of boy being guilty. Therefore, first prominent thing I noticed was that there was lack of conviction about the criticality of the issue. People had already formed their judgement before they stepped into the meeting room. They believed the testimonies of several eyewitnesses and the arguments of the prosecutor leading to the conclusion that the boy was guilty. In the beginning, 11 out of 12 jurors were not sensitive about the seriousness of the decision they were going to make and the impact it was going to have on the young boy’s life. They were not ready to waste any time over discussing that issue because they had already perceived the young boy guilty based on his background and crimes he committed before as well as the jurorsâ₠¬â„¢ previous experiences in life. See more:  Manifest Destiny essay When the protagonist in the movie showed opposition to agree the boy’s guilt, then the rest of the people became frustrated since they had to come to consensus to give a judgement. This showed the conviction and thoughtfulness of the protagonist to the criticality of their objective as jurors. It was also evident that being a minority does not mean you have to go majority’s way under the influence or pressure of majority against your wish. After listening to the protagonist, juror started changing their original guilty decision one by one. This showed their willingness to change their stance having been convinced by the protagonist’s logic. Protagonist stuck to the practicality of the situation and logic in order to bring the possible flaws in the testimonies of the eye witnesses by reproducing the situations and verifying the possibility of authenticity of the testimony. In doing so, he influenced the members of the group that there are lacunae in the testimonies, and the benefit of doubt needs to be given to the boy when it is a matter of his life and death. The various people in the group started applying their mind and making sense of the possible flaws in the testimonies. Many started to pitch in their ideas and the protagonist was listening to them all and using them to strengthen his hypothesis of uncertainty about boy being guilty. Now they started utilizing the resources in the group to make the most informed decision. The group dynamics was at work the best. They were supplementing each other’s logic by their own logic in order to make a conclusion of the veracity of the evidence and its testimony. There were a couple of aggressive people in the group. When one of them lashed out at the old man in the group, another person intervened and warned him not to repeat insulting behaviour. Thus, along the way the group stated forming norms about the behaviour in the group. Also, when one man changed his judgement just for the sake of it in order to come to consensus sooner than later, then another person made it a point to him by saying that he needed to present his logic for changing his decision and he did not want to accept his ‘yes’ or ‘no’ just for the sake of it. Some people engaged themselves in social loafing without regard to the seriousness of the objective; they were reminded of the objective by others. Last person — son left so he was seeing his son in the young boy. 12 Angry Men Movie Analysis Essay Introduction: This movie analysis will focus on the movie 12 Angry Men. There will be comparisons between the movie and the different negotiation tactics used in the movie and even in class. There were lessons learned from this movie and it gave new ways of thinking. This movie does a great job of using negotiation to win over a case when you are the odd man out. Summary: This movie focuses on a jury deliberating a first-degree murder charge on an eighteen year old boy. The boy is accused of stabbing his father to death. If found guilty of the charges, the eighteen year old boy will face the death sentence. There are many reasons as to why the boy looks guilty. He has a weak alibi, he claims to have lost the knife he bought, which was the same knife found at the murder scene, and there are witness’s saying they either saw the killing or saw the boy leaving the apartment. Out of the twelve jurors, eleven of them think the boy is guilty, except one. This is juror number eight. He claims he just does not know if the boy is guilty or not guilty, and wants to talk. The entire juror’s quickly begin naming all the reasons why the boy is guilty. For each reason, juror number eight questions each reasoning the other jurors bring up. He states a lot in the movie â€Å"is it possible?† This question starts to put doubt in the other juror’s minds about the boys’ guilt. Also with the ongoing deliberation, the jurors are starting to learn more about themselves and their personalities and this is causing them to vote â€Å"not guiltyâ€Å". Some realize they are prejudice or are holding grudges, or they are simply voting guilty because of their backgrounds. With each reason and deliberation, juror number eight continues to attempt to convince the other jurors that voting â€Å"not guilty† may not actually be correct. Juror eight is hesitant about sending a boy to die without talking about it first. He does think that from the trial the boy is guilty, but he’s just not too sure about it. He remains calm throughout the whole deliberation. The only time he shows signs of anger is when two other jury members start playing tic-tac-toe. This bothers him because everyone should be paying attention to what is going on and not playing games. He questions every incident with â€Å"Is it possible?† The best negotiators spend time asking questions, staying curious, and uncovering the other side’s views of the situation, facts, interests, and priorities. Throughout the deliberation, he uncovers information never presented at the trial, and helps the other jurors to think that it just may not be possible the boy could be guilty. Characters & Personalities: Each character in the movie has a different personality about them which influences their decision on the verdict and they each express their own opinions based on their characteristics. Each juror plays a part in the movie where their personalities reflect back on a certain argument in the case. Juror one (Martin Balsam) is also known as the foreman of the group. He is put in charge to run the deliberation between all of the jurors. He likes that he has authority to run the group, but isn’t very assertive in doing so. Juror two (John Fiedler) is quiet and goes along with what everyone else says. He changes his vote early, though, to not guilty. He mentions about the height difference between the father and the boy, and how the boy would go about stabbing him. Juror three (Lee J. Cobb) is the angry member of the group. He is convinced the boy is guilty no matter what anyone says. He sees no point in discussing the boy’s innocence. There comes a time in the movie where he discusses that when his son was fifteen, he got in a fight with him and his son hit him. He hasn’t seen his son ever since. Juror three is angry with his son for his actions and for leaving, that he is taking out this anger on the boy in trial. Juror four (E.G. Marshall) is very convinced that the boy is guilty. He shows no sign of emotion and is able to recall much of what happened throughout the trial. He gets nervous though, as he cannot recall a certain movie he saw the other night, just as the boy could not do the same. Juror five (Jack Klugman) is a shy man. He lived in a slum all his life and can almost relate to the boy on trial, for he lives in a slum as well. He is an expert at using a switch knife, which comes in handy during the deliberation. Juror six (Edward Binns) is quite during the deliberation. He questions the boys’ motive for wanting to kill his father. Juror seven (Jack Warden) wants the deliberation to be over as quick as possible because he has tickets to a baseball game later that evening. He votes not guilty and does not wish to discuss why or why not. Juror eight (Henry Fonda) votes not guilty from the start of their meeting. He doesn’t know for sure if the boy is not guilty; he just wants to talk about it. He manages to cast reasonable doubt with the jurors on the boy’s innocence based on many aspects of the trial. He remains clam and patient throughout the deliberation. Juror nine (Joseph Sweeney) is an old man. He is the second person to vote not guilty, for he wants to hear more about the case. He is very observant, as he notices something about one of the witness’s during the trial. Juror ten (Ed Begley) is also an angry man. He is racist, and also very prejudice against people who come from a slum, which is why he believes the boy is guilty. Juror eleven (George Voskovec) takes the trial seriously. He stands up for what he believes in. He questions the boy’s actions a lot; such as if he really would have returned the his house three hours after the murder happened. Juror 12 (Robert Webber) is a smart man. He works for an advertising agency and has a hard time explaining his choice for changing his vote to not guilty. During the deliberation, certain parts of the character’s personalities play a part for different concepts. One example is with Juror five. During the trial, the boy was convicted of murdering is father using a switch knife as the weapon and stabbing his father down in the chest. Juror two makes a point on the height difference between the boy and his father, and how the boy would proceed to kill his father, meaning how he would have stabbed him. Juror five explains that he used to play with switch knives when he was around the boy’s age, and knows how to use one. During the trial, it was stated that the boy was an expert at using a switch knife. Juror five goes to demonstrate exactly how the boy would have pulled out the knife and stabbed his father: from underneath. He said it would take too much time to switch hands and stab down in his chest. Without Juror five having the knowledge and his personal characteristic of using a switch knife, the jury would have never learned how an experienced knife handler would have used the weapon. Tactics: In this section we will talk about a few of the tactics that we got the actors/characters using during the film. A few of this tactics were talked about during our class and case studies but some of the tactics were commonly used in everyday negotiations by everyone. We talked about power and how you could use power to get your way; you could use facts against the other party because facts are something you cannot ignore and emotions. Emotions are a hard tactic to master because you need to set aside your emotions so you can make a fair and honest judgment or answer. Power: Juror eight shows power over the other jurors. He has information the other jurors do not know about, and he is able to negotiate with them more. Information power is derived from the negotiator’s ability to assemble and organize facts and data to support his or her position, arguments, or desired outcomes. The other jurors only listened to what was presented in the trial. But Juror eight actually thought about the facts presented, and went out to look for more information. One way he did this was with the knife. The boy had bought the same knife used to kill his father the same night the murder happened. The boy claimed he had lost the knife, as it had fell through his pocket on his way to the movies. The owner of the shop where he had bought the knife claimed it was very unique, and he had never seen any other kind like it in his store. Juror eight asks to see the knife found at the crime scene. Everyone else is convinced this is the same knife the boy had bought, until Juror eight surprises them and pulls out the exact same knife. He says that he went out walking the previous night in the boy’s neighborhood and came across a shop just two blocks away from the boy’s house. He saw the same knife and bought it at a cheap cost. He proved to the other jurors that it is possible the boy could have dropped his knife, because that knife isn’t as unique as the thought. Another part where Juror eight has power is when they are debating about whether or not the old man heard the boy scream â€Å"I’m going to kill you!† According to the testimony, the boy had yelled those words right as the L-Train was passing by the window. Is it possible the old man heard the boy scream that? Juror eight stated that he had lived in an apartment next to the L tracks before and the sound of a train passing by is unbearable. Another juror said he had just finished painting one of the apartments and agreed that the sound is very loud. Juror eight had power over the others for he himself knew that the sound was very loud and it may not be possible the old man heard the boy say these things. Presentation of Facts: The way the facts were presented during the movie were all facts the jurors figured out themselves while deliberating, and not during the trial. There were many unanswered questions during the trial which caused Juror eight to question whether the boy was guilty or not. The defense attorney left out a lot of important information that was uncovered during the jury’s deliberation. One of these facts dealt with the old man who claimed he saw the boy running down the stairs from his apartment. The more the jury talked about the old man and what he said, the more Juror eight questioned if he had really seen the boy or not. One of the jurors pointed out that the man was dragging his left foot behind him, but trying to cover it up because he was ashamed. During the trial, the old man stated he heard a body hit the floor, and someone starting to run. He then said it took him no more than 15 seconds after he heard the body hit the floor to run out of his apartment and to the stairs to witness the boy running down them. Juror 8 thought then if it really could have taken him 15 seconds if he was dragging his left leg. This is when the jurors played out the scene to figure it out themselves. They were able to get a diagram of the apartment and measure out the dimensions of the room they were in. Juror eight walked the length of the room and back, while Juror two timed him. As he approached the end, Juror 2 said it took 41 seconds to walk the length they had measured out. By playing out the scene of the old man, this proved the fact it could not have taken the man 15 seconds, and he could not have seen the boy running down the stairs. Another important fact happened during the very end of the deliberation. At this point, everyone but two people believed the boy was innocent. Juror four says his reasoning for believing the boy is guilty is because of the woman across the street who claims she saw the murder herself. As he is talking, he takes his glasses off and begins rubbing the outside part of his nose where his glasses lay. Juror nine notices this, and asks him why he rubs his nose like that. Juror four says it is from his glasses, that they bother his nose, so he rubs him. Juror nine notices the markings on his nose from his glasses, and recalls the woman had the exact same markings on her face. He then asks Juror four if there is any other possible way to get those same markings on his nose, and he replies no. Juror eight then starts to say that the woman was lying, for she did not see the boy kill his father, for she was trying to fall asleep, and she wouldn’t be wearing her glasses to bed. These two examples show how hidden facts slowly come out. This is information left out from the trial that everyone missed, until now. After proving these statements, the jurors started to have doubt in their minds about the boy. It’s important to look at every aspect in as much detail as possible or you could miss out on something. Sure, the old man can say it took him 15 seconds, but as it turns out, it took him longer than that. And sure, the woman can say she saw the boy kill her father, but really all she saw was a blur, for she did not have her glasses on. You can’t always go by what you hear. You have to dig deeper to discover any hidden information that could help against your situation. This is what Juror eight did and it helped support his case. Also from these two examples, it goes to show that you can’t always believe what you hear. The witness’s both were under oath as they spoke in trial, but they could just be doing that for attention. Juror nine points this out for the old man, as he can relate. He is old and unnoticed. He just wants attention, so he could have made himself believe he saw the old man when he really didn’t. As for the woman and the glasses, she didn’t wear her glasses to the trial because she wanted to upgrade her appearance. So she said she saw the boy, seeing as if she didn’t wear glasses at all, but really she did for she had the markings on her nose. Emotions: Negotiations often evoke a variety of emotions, especially fear and anger. Emotions can cause intense and even irrational behavior, and can cause conflicts to escalate and negotiations to break down. Juror three from the start showed angry signs of emotion throughout the whole deliberation. He stated how he hadn’t seen his son in two years, and all his anger from his son is taken out on the boy on trial. Juror three wants everyone to agree with him. No matter what information is presented, he sticks with his vote of guilty. He gets mad whenever evidence is brought up or someone proves something wrong. His emotions reach a peak whenever Juror eight calls him a sadist. At this point, Juror three lunges toward Juror eight saying â€Å"I’ll kill him!† Then Juror eight replies, â€Å"You don’t really mean you’ll kill me, do you?† This proves his point about how sometimes people say things they really don’t mean. His emotions got the best of him, and he realized that he really wouldn’t kill the juror. Having your emotions from your personal life come into play during a negotiation is not always a good thing. Juror three should not have taken his anger out on the boy or even on Juror eight because of his son. He was angry at his son for leaving, but he should have put that aside for the deliberation. Having your emotions lay out like that on the table can cause you not to think about the important facts that need to be focused on. Juror eight shows emotion in a positive way. He stays very calm throughout the whole deliberation. By showing no sign of angry emotion, this allows him to keep his composure and control of what he is trying to get across. If negotiators feel positively attracted, they are more likely to feel confident and, as a result, to persist in trying to get their concerns and issues addressed in the negotiation and to achieve better outcomes Bias: I’d like to spend some time discussing an issue that I feel is very important to recognize when it comes to negotiations. This is the issue of bias. We had several discussions in class about bias. The thing that most fascinates me about the concept of bias, is that everyone tends to have a different opinion about it. It can be a very grey area, and many people have varying feelings on its presence and its effect on people’s behavior. Personally, I feel that it’s impossible to completely eliminate all bias from a situation. Even when looking at something objectively, bias still exists. It comes from personal characteristics, experiences, and opinions. This movie does a great job of showing how bias can have an effect on negotiations. I’d like to cite an example from the film regarding juror number ten. This juror is an old man who is very set in his ways. He is among the eleven jurors who found the boy guilty of murder. However, his reason for voting guilty comes from a very different place than the others. The evidence seems to favor a guilty vote, but the film shows us that this gentleman’s vote was sealed the minute he learned the boy was from a slum. During the deliberations, this juror seconds an argument made by a fellow juror. He says, â€Å"Brother, you can say that again. The kids who crawl out of these places are real trash.† Regardless of this evidence, this shows a bias against the boy from the start. This man is allowing his prejudice against â€Å"slum dwellers† to influence his decision about the verdict. The juror across the table then takes offense to this comment. â€Å"I’ve lived in a slum all my life,† says the juror. This should quell the old man’s argument, but it doesn’t. He still feels strongly about his position, even though a man from a similar background clearly hasn’t followed a path that â€Å"trash† might follow. This demonstrates the power of bias. The greatest example of overcoming bias in this film occurs in the very last minutes. By this point, the jury has reached a vote of 11 to 1 for â€Å"not guilty.† The lone juror who still maintains the boy’s guilt is juror number three. This is the man who hasn’t seen his own son in over two years. Earlier in the deliberations, he explained how he and his son got into a fight when the boy was still a teenager. His son hit him, and things were never the same between them. As the talks between the jurors continues, it becomes more and more evident that this man has a bias against the boy on trial because of what transpired with his own boy. He wants to see this boy killed because he resents his own son for what occurred between them. The initial juror who voted â€Å"not guilty† went as far as calling him a â€Å"sadist† and a â€Å"public avenger.† In the final scene, that juror asks the man to defend his arguments one last time. There is a re asonable doubt in the minds of eleven jurors, and he wants to know why there isn’t one in his. Juror number three begins explaining, yelling the entire time. You can see him getting more and more upset as he continues to pour over evidence that the other men have already proven shaky. Finally, he rips up the picture of him and his son that has slid out of his wallet on the table. He then bursts into tears and cries, â€Å"Not guilty, not guilty.† It was clearly painful for him to confront what happened with his son head on like that. This was creating his bias the entire time. When the evidence appeared to support the boy’s guilt, his bias was less prevalent. But when the evidence that started out convincing ended up being questionable, his bias began to show. He still wanted the boy to be found guilty because of it. This really makes you wonder how often this occurs in the real world. How many innocent men and women have been sent to jail because of biased members of a perceived â€Å"impartial† jury? It’s an imperfect system, dealing with a very i nexact science. Recognizing this is very important. From this course, and from analyzing this film, I have strengthened my belief that bias can’t be eliminated. All a negotiator can do is recognize that bias is constant, and do their best to minimize its effect on their decision making process. If a negotiator recognizes this, they can do more negotiating based on facts and figures rather than personal biases and opinions. Power and Persuasion: An interesting aspect of this movie, as it continues to relate to this course, is the use of power and persuasion. What I find most interesting about power, is the myriad of ways through which it may be obtained. In class, we discussed several ways that power is obtained, and also how it can be used. In this movie, there are many circumstances where the jurors attempt to use power to persuade one another. Perhaps the most prevalent example at an attempt to use power to persuade the others is shown by juror number three. This juror often exudes power when talking down the case with the man who hasn’t turned in a â€Å"guilty† verdict. He begins by explaining all of the evidence again. He discusses the old man who claims he heard the boy, the old lady who says she saw the boy, and the knife discovered by the police who arrived at the murder scene. He is very confident in this evidence, and feels as though he has the power because of it. After taking this course, I find that this is the best way to gain power in a negotiation. The more information you have to support your argument, the more power you have. In turn, this often results in achieving your goals in the negotiation. However, as the process continues, the juror voting â€Å"not guilty† starts to sway the room. The oldest man on the jury is the first to change his vote. The juror from the slums changes his vote not long after that. As this is happening, it appears that juror number three feels as though he is losing power in this negotiation. To counter this, he begins raising his voice when talks. Before long, he is all but yelling at the other jurors who have changed their votes. He attempts to retain his power through intimidation once he sees that the evidence, which he thought was solid, is shown to be shaky and imprecise. Another example of how power is used to persuade others in this film is demonstrated by the stock broker, otherwise known as juror number four. It appears that this juror feels an immediate sense of power in this scenario because he is one of the most, if not the most, accomplished gentleman of the group. He feels that he is probably the most intelligent man on this jury, and demonstrates that when talks. He recalls much of the information from the trial very accurately, and with no notes. He also explains very clearly why he feels the way he feels. Power through intellectual superiority can be very persuasive, and influential. The man he is attempting to persuade does a very good job of keeping his composure. He doesn’t challenge the broker’s power. In fact, he affirms it. He appears to respect that the juror is making valid points and supporting his argument. He goes a different route. He simply takes an issue and asks, â€Å"Is it possible?† While the other jurors refute this claim, the broker remains quiet. As the man slowly begins to disprove some of the testimony from the case, you can see the broker questioning his verdict more intently. Finally, he changes his vote to not guilty. This is where everything turns. The other jurors picked up on the quiet power exuded by the broker, and respected it all along. Once he turned in a â€Å"not guilty† vote, it was only a matter of time before the others joined him. This is convincing tell that this man had a great deal of power in this negotiation. In a less successful attempt to gain power, the angry old man attempts to convince the man of the boy’s guilt through a â€Å"power in numbers† technique. He feels very comfortable with his verdict of â€Å"guilty† because the others feel the same way. During the initial discussions in the deliberation room, he continuously says, â€Å"You know what I mean?† This is an attempt to keep others on his side while he tries to persuade the rogue juror to vote â€Å"guilty.† He feels he has power in this negotiation because he has the majority on his side. This is a common tactic in negotiations. As the film progresses and more and more jurors change their verdict, you can easily see the power leaving the angry old man. He is forced to confront his prejudice and accept that he was wrong. When he is no longer in the majority, his sense of power quickly fades. He becomes defensive and weak as more and more people leave his side. This is most prevalent in the scene where he attempts to defend his â€Å"guilty† vote one last time. He stands up, and continues yelling and shouting his narrow minded opinions, much as he’d done the entire time. His arguments, now more than ever, are being entirely disregarded, and for good reason. Each point he is making is based solely on prejudice. He thinks he is powerful, but nothing he is saying is based on fact, or really has anything to do with the case. One by one, the other jurors begin getting up from the table and ignoring him. Even the juror who was consistently making wise cracks during the deliberations is looking away from him. Soon, no one in the room is backing him. He then retires to the corner, alone. He not only lost the majority, he lost the support of the other men who were still turning in a â€Å"guilty† vote. This is a great example of power shifting, which we discussed in class. You asked us if it’s possible for power to shift during a negotiation, and this is a good demonstration of how it can. Works Cited: Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., & Koh, C.K.S. (2006). Personality correlates of the four factor model of cultural intelligence. Group and Organization Management, 31, 100-123. Diamond, S. (2010). Getting More: How to Negotiate to Achieve Your Goals in the Real World. New York City, NY: Crown Publishing Group. Earley, P.C., & Ang, S. (2003). Cultural intelligence: Individual interactions across cultures. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. Gates, S. (2011). The Negotiation Book: Your Definitive Guide To Successful Negotiating (1st ed.). United Kingdom, UK: John Wiley and Sons LTD. Shell , R. G. (2006). Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People 2nd Edition (2nd ed.). New York City, NY: The Penguin Group. Thompson, L. L. (2008). The Truth About Negotiations . Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT Press.

Japan CCOT Essay

In 1853, Western imperialism was at its height. It was spreading to several countries. British colonized India, the dutch colonized Indonesia, the United States colonized the philippines, and the french colonized vietnam. In 1929, the crash of the stock market brought a worldwide depression, known as the Great Depression. The depression caused instability in many countries. International commerce declined and tax revenues, profits, and personal income decreased. The great depression especially impacted countries that were in need of raw materials. Between the time of 1853 to 1941, Japan’s culture and political structure changed in the hopes of becoming more westernized because they wanted to be seen as equals to the Western countries. Japan also became more militaristic in hopes of not being a victim of imperialism. Although Japan experienced some changes, Japan continued the ideology of kokutai as a method for imperial advancement. Japan’s cultural and political structure changed from being a weak isolated nation to a modern imperialist country. Before Japan westernized, it was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate. This was an agricultural economy with a population of 13 billion. Japan did not associate with any other country because they believed foreign influence was a destabilizing factor. This resulted in overcrowded farms and scarce minerals. In 1853, Commodore Perry came to japan with his big black ships. The technological advancements of the ships shocked the japanese. They ended isolationism and opened trade ports in order to avoid destruction. Failure of success, in 1868 the Tokugawa shogun was overthrown and emperor Meiji had complete power. During this time, Japan was very decentralized. There were several semi-independent feudal lords. The emperor saw how Japan was at a great disadvantage from being in isolation for so many years. He knew that in order to strengthen Japan, change was need ed. This resulted in the Meiji Restoration. By 1912 Japan had a highly centralized government. There was a constitution establishing under an elected parliament. Japan had a well developed transport and communication system. Japan also increased their knowledge. There were no more feudal class restrictions in Japan. Japan was no longer weak, instead they were powerful. Japan changed from being a militarily weak country to having a powerful army  and navy. During the Tokugawa Shogunate, samurai were the soldiers of Japan. However, due to the long period of isolationism, samurais were losing their military function. Sumaris were used more for symbolism rather than support. In 1853, Commodore Perry came to Japan and threatened to destroy them if Japan did not open ports for trade. Japan’s army was to weak at that time to ignore this threat. Due to this, the Meiji reformers eliminated the outdated samurais and built a fresh new imperial army. The Meiji reforms did not want to be the target of the West, and to do that they needed to have a strong and superior army. The japanese believed a strong army was the key to imperialist success. A strong army can allow expansion. During the Great Depression, it was difficult for countries to trade. Japan was reliant on imports of resources from other countries such as the United States. The lack of impor ts resulted in Japanese expansion to China. The Japanese thought if they colonized China, they could be a non reliant country. They could support themselves with supplies. Japan were able to use military strategies in order to expand. In 1931, the Japanese blamed the Chinese for putting an unknown bomb in a railway near Shenyang. They used this as an excuse to completely occupy Manchuria. Manchuria had all the necessities that were needed by the Japanese such as coal, iron, and other minerals. This resulted in the colonization of Manchuria. Japan invaded Manchuria so that they no longer had to depend on foreign trade for resources. In 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. This act of aggression showed that Japan believed they were strong enough to fight the militant strong United States. In 1853 the United States had sent a threat to weak Japan, however throughout the years Japan trained its army and back fired at the United States. THis showed how Japan had changed it’s military drastically since 1853. Despite all these changes, Japan continued the belief of Kokutai. Kokutai was strong Japanese identification. Kokutai gave the Japanese one common identity. This related every Japanese to another. Despite the weak military, economy, and culture during the Tokugawa Shogunate Period, it was still a period of advocation for kokutai. According to the Japanese, they believed that the emperor was a descendant of god and so were the Japanese people. This belief made the Japanese think that their race was superior. This nationalism was a uniting factor. The tokugawa Shogunate period used kokutai as means of maintaining the Japanese culture. After the Meiji Restoration, the emperor wanted to maintain this uniting factor so he established a Shinto-oriented state. Shinto teachers would advocate kokutai ideology to children. This resulted in a rise of nationalism. IN 1853, when Japan opened their ports, they ended isolationism. The end of isolationism imported several Western ideas, however the Japanese did not use this as a weakness. Instead they integrated their Japanese beliefs of kokutai with western ideas. They adopted the western culture and used it with national polity. In the 1930’s, Japan saw that imperialism was necessary in order to get the resources they needed. The idea of racial superiority made the Japanese they are better than any other country and they can invade any country they want. In 1937, the Japanese captured Nanking and harmed thousands of civilians because the Japanese believed they were better than the Chinese. This was known as the Nanking Massacre. There was mass murder and mass rape done by the Japanese troops. Since the Japanese were â€Å"superior,† they believed it was okay to treat the Chinese this way. They were inferior because they were not descendants of God. Between the time of 1853 to 1941, Japan’s culture and political structure became more Westernized so that they can be an equal power to the Western imperialistic nations. Japan also became a strong militaristic country, so that they could defend themselves from any hindering imperialistic power. In spite of all these changes, kokutai advocated extreme nationalism and racial superiority throughout Japan. The end of isolationism made Japan rise as an imperialist power. The Great Depression was the main driving factor for imperialistic views in Japan. Japan was able to accomplish their goal of westernizing while still maintaining Japanese distinct ideologies such as kokutai. Through Japan’s progression from 1853 to 1941, it can be seen how significantly the Western nations impacted Pacific nations.

Questions in Antitrust law. Case examples Essay

Questions in Antitrust law. Case examples - Essay Example Antitrust laws aim at removing aspects of monopoly within business environments and unfair business practices (Hylton 45). According to Hylton (47), actions that are deemed to be capable of hurting business operations and/or consumers are regarded those that contravenes antitrust laws. Such actions are therefore punishable by law since they go against provisions of business operations guiding principles as defined by antitrust laws such as Sherman Act 1890 and Clayton Act of 1914 amongst others. In order to enhance fair business competition and practices, antitrust laws regulate commerce and its auxiliary services through prevention of any unlawful restraints, monopolies, and price fixings with an aim of not only promoting competition but also encouraging production and provision of high quality goods and services (Hylton 51). Any antitrust law developed within a state of a nation must always focus on safeguarding public welfare. Safeguarding public welfare is attainable through maki ng sure that consumer demands, specifications, needs, and expectations are adequately and timely met through manufacture, production, and sale of goods at reasonable prices. This is true in the case of NCAA v. Board of Regents, 468 U.S. 85 (1984). Nonetheless, despite the fact that antitrust laws aim at reducing levels of monopoly in a bid to enhancing competition, monopoly in itself is not considered unlawful. However, Hylton (61) confirms that if a firm having monopoly powers uses its status to engage in anti-competitive actions thereby infringing on the welfare of the public then such actions amount to violation of antitrust laws. For a claimant to prove that a monopoly organization misused its powers to violate provisions of antitrust laws there is need to identified that the firm in question is a monopoly, that the firm acquired or preserved its monopolistic power through exclusionary of anti-competitive actions, and that claimant’s welfare has been adversely affected du e to suffering proximate losses that are a direct consequences of such exclusionary or anti-competitive actions by the monopolistic firm (Hylton 67). In this scenario, there is no doubt that Consumers Power Company (CPC) is a monopolistic firm that produces and distributes power to retail customers in Ohio, Kentucky. By the virtue of being a monopolistic firm, CPC has not violated the provisions of antitrust laws. Unfortunately, CPC is using its status as a monopoly to charge higher rates to the consumers. The idea of using the monopolistic position or power to charge higher rates is a violation of antitrust laws. One of the aspects of antitrust laws is that an individual or firm should not employ anti-competitive actions or exclusionary actions to interfere with the welfare of the public. Power is such an important resource or need for consumers. Therefore, by charging higher rates, consumers may end up not meeting their needs and demands. In this regards, CPC has violated the anti trust laws by using its monopolistic powers to charge higher rates. As identified earlier on, antitrust laws provide that there should be reasonable pricing in distributing or selling a good or a service. Such higher rates are considered to be unreasonable hence CPC has violated antitrust laws through charging higher rates based on its monopolistic status. Moreover, CPC’s refusal to sell power on wholesale to the Tri-State Electric Cooperative (TSEC) and the municipalities is an action that prevents fair competition (Hylton 53). Every organization must not act in a way that it prevents free and fair competition within the business environment. Formation of TSEC and the municipal

PepsiCo in 2007 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

PepsiCo in 2007 - Case Study Example Natural resources essentially drop out of the competitive equation. Being born rich becomes much less an advantage than it used to be. Technology gets turned upside down. New product technologies become secondary; new process technologies become primary. PepsoCo obtains better terms from distributors and suppliers and promotes their products and services to consumers better than foreign firms because of common cultural heritage, ties, and language should be used for their greatest advantage. The main strength is new product development and product reformulation. Customers accept, reject, or alter propositions, perhaps through on-the-spot negotiations. Also, PepsiCo establishes close relations with distributors and follows aggressive acquisition strategy. The company relies on innovations and Product One strategy and strong leadership (Thompson et al 2008). For PepsiCo, Power One strategy is both a component and a determinant of the marketing mix. The company considers the life-style factors influencing product development. Urbanization, leisure, competition, discretionary income, travel, styles, tastes, automobiles, informality, and convenience have led to the emphasis on product form, readiness, packaging, combination, and selectio n convenience. For PepsiCo, product development refers to the conversion of ideas into successfully marketed products. It combines technical and marketing competence, and is concerned with strategies of programmed introduction of new products to markets as replacements for decaying ones. Since it carries out an important mission directed at corporate growth and advancement, product development should report to top management (Thompson et al 2008). Strong leadership and positive corporate culture support development and strategic growth of the company. Opportunities In implementing the product mix concept, companies are shifting away from being producing units, with set production capacities that merely broaden their line by adding similar items. They are becoming units that assess market opportunities against such criteria as rate of return on investment, and that change their facilities when the opportunities warrant it. This orientation demands a change from product rigidity to product flexibility. International expansion proposes great opportunities for PepsiCo (Thompson et al 2008). The idea is to establish effective management in multi-brand companies by developing a series of profit centers in which product executives assume responsibility for the total marketing effort for a line. This approach grows out of the inability of one executive to master the intricacies and details of marketing several dozens or hundreds of products. Product managers develop product ideas, nurture their brands, compete effectively within and outside the company , prepare budgets, work with marketing-research and advertising agencies, influence salesmen, wholesalers, and retailers, and generate sales, profits, and larger market shares. They understand and represent markets, customers, and consumers. "PepsiCo management believed international markets offered the company's greatest opportunity for growth since per capita consumption of snacks in the United States averaged 13.9 servings per month" (Gambler 2008). Weaknesses Both PepsiCo and distribution-channel members are faced with the problem of deciding the best combination

Earned Value Management (EVM) Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Earned Value Management (EVM) - Term Paper Example The business organisations engaged in competition strives to take an upper hand position in the market by achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. In this regard, they aim to utilize effective management tools and techniques to strengthen their position in terms of finance, market share, operational efficiency etc (Huggins and Izushi, 2011, p.227). To achieve a sustainable growth and development, managements must strive to manage their assigned projects in a systematic way for optimum outcomes. Efficient and effective Project management is a challenging task which includes multiple activities, and management generally uses certain specific techniques, tools and systems for handling a project. Earned Value Management (EVM), an approach for project management is the most popular and widely used technique for project management (Dinsmore and Cabanis-Brewin, 2010, p.107). This report will attempt to present importance and use of EVM for analysing and assessing planning, scheduling, costing, budgeting, evaluating and performance monitoring of a project. 2. Management of a Project An organisation including profit making or non-profit making performs a number of tasks. Each group of tasks have a certain specific goal and this group of tasks can be termed as ‘project’. Organisations get themselves engaged in the multiple projects to achieve the common and overall goals and objectives. Therefore, successful completion of project is very vital for the organisational success and project management has evolved as key process in business related activities. With increasing pressure of the workloads, project management is gaining recognition in all types of organisation including SMEs and multinational enterprises. In simple terms, project management can be defined as â€Å"the task of managing work† (Cooke and Tate, 2005, p.1). In case of business management, a project can involves any types of tasks e.g. product development; implementing new machi nes or system in operation for increasing efficiency; or marketing promotions and advertisement. Generally, the project management can be completed through a set five sequential processes. These five processes are initiation, planning, execution, controlling and closure (Choudhuri, n.d. p.3). However, in each process there are various tasks that strive to support each of the aspects and criterions in the course of project management. Cost management, risk and quality management, budgeting, operational management, scheduling etc are the example of these tasks. The above sated tasks can also be termed as project management knowledge that includes nine areas and each of them are crucial of the effective project management. These nine areas also include certain tasks and these areas are explained in the following chart. Figure 1: Project Management Knowledge Areas (Source: Choudhuri, n.d. p.4) 3. Background of Earned Value Management (EVM) In the previous section, the tasks involved in a project management have been discussed, and each of these tasks is critical having direct influence on the profitability and organisational growth. If the project management team is able to complete these tasks efficiently, they are able to meet the goal of a project. In the course of these tasks, maintenance of efficient, accuracy, and reliability are key factors for the success.

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Research Paper Example However, as the industry grew the early manufacturers could not keep pace with the technology that advanced in so many directions all at the same time. Vertical integration in the industry became difficult as there were too many technologies and manufacturing intricacies. As a result specialist companies emerged that mass-produced specialized components and supply it to several computer manufacturers. This form of outsourcing worked cheaper for computer manufacturers and many such as IBM, Sony, HP and Compaq abandoned the vertical integration model. They preferred to concentrate on efficient assembly and marketing their own brand computers instead of developing and R&D base and investing in it. Dell, however, preferred to continue with the shorter-value chain model by selling directly to customers, avoiding the intermediary commissions and costs associated with distribution through independent retailers. Gradually, companies such as HP even started outsourcing the assembly to contrac tors, while focusing on product design and marketing. All the vendors tried to minimize the amount of finished goods in dealer inventories and shorten the time it took to replenish dealer stocks. Dell stuck to its own business model of Built-to-Order (BOT). Dell’s supply chain efficiency had eroded between 2003 and 2006 when it peaked at five days on inventory supply. They found it difficult to get cooperation from other organizations and bureaucracy started prevailing within the organization. There was misalignment between its procurement and supply chain activities, and with its assembly line. Dell wanted to partner only with reputed suppliers rather than have 20 suppliers all supplying to all computers manufactures. They stuck to one or two suppliers and maintained long-term partnership with them. They however, brought down their inventory turn cycle from 32 days in 1995 to 7 days in 1998, and to four

Beyond the Multi-Ethnic Metropolis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Beyond the Multi-Ethnic Metropolis - Assignment Example Minority ethnic people in the district are more likely to be living in overcrowded accommodation than white British residents. Overcrowding was a particularly common problem among the Bangladeshi, Chinese and Pakistani population. Commonly reported problems included damp and condensation, ineffective heating systems, poor insulation around doors and windows, hazardous environments such as broken doors and windows, inadequate or malfunctioning amenities and poor quality repairs and maintenance (p556.) Identifying the purpose of the research: In the United States, substantial consideration has been given to the association of place of residence with economic disadvantage. This fact has added to understand polarization there. More recently, de Souza Briggs (2007) has pointed out that changes in settlements reflect the changing geography of race and opportunity (550). With this view, the study is conducted basically to explore the neglected housing experiences of minority ethnic people in small-town England. To discuss this aspect two key points are asserted. First, that minority ethnic people living in small towns bump into many of the same housing inequalities as their counterparts in metropolitan England. Second, that small town England presents a series of unique challenges demanding distinct responses not answered by the existing evidence base. This paper emphasizes that place plays an important role in deciding minority settlement patterns but very few studies have made effort to these to the place (549). Research and policy look for multiethnic metropolis for the specific social, cultural, political, economic and material situation while the rural and small-town England is overlooked.T hough such a need arises as Countryside Agency reported that by 2001 nearly 600 000 minority ethnic people were recorded as living in the 184 rural districts of England accounting for 4.3 percent of the total population in these areas (551).

Company profile and initial analysis of a given case study Research Paper

Company profile and initial analysis of a given case study - Research Paper Example The basic motto of the organization is to expose the struggles and war damages or impacts, occurring down the ages. The company primarily tries to integrate the consequences created by modern wars and ‘wartime experience’ within the displays of its museums. However, the company focuses primarily on the cars of Britain. The five museums of the company are IWM London, Greater Manchester, IWM North in Trafford, the Churchill War Rooms in Whitehall, IWM Duxford near Cambridge and the ship of Belfast that is fastened in the Pool of London in the Thames River. The company’s mission claims that â€Å"Our vision is to be a leader in developing and communicating a deeper understanding of the causes, course and consequences of war† (IWM, 2013a) It is found that though, presently, there are no living survivors of First World War in U.K., yet the war has managed to leave a strong impression on the culture and heritage of the country. It is found that in most of the U.K . communities, building monuments or memorials are practiced widely in order to pay respect and remember the great lives which have been sacrificed during the World Wars. An artistic view on wars surfaced right after personalities like, Rupert Brooke and Wilfred Owen, had started to write poems on wars. At this juncture, IWM had analyzed that the centenary of the First World War can turn out to be a promising opportunity for its business growth and help the business by augmenting reputation, profile and brand value in the market as well as its market position. The company has undertaken the decision of opening new First World War galleries in its IWM London museum. However, this project, which is expected to be accomplished by 2014, requires a lot of funding. Approximately ?35 million has already been accumulated by the company from donations and Heritage Lottery Grant. In addition, about ?5 million has been granted by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in 2012 to the company for fi nancing this project (IWM, 2013b). However, the company requires more funds for backing the project. It has introduced the First World War Centenary Partnership Programme in order to acquire pre-digital asset collections and historical information. Through this partnership programme, the company desires to attract millions of users and donators across the world towards its project. It is believed by them that such a project would surely augment its brand value in the market compared to its competitors. Competitor Analysis The organization of Stoke-on-Trent Museums serves a strong competition to other museum owners in the market. The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is an organization that owns the leading museum in Britain. The combination of place and products are expressed in the museum of the company through its exquisite displays. The quests of the museum, unlike the museums of IWM, are not charged. The museum has achieved several awards and accolades from millions of pottery and art lovers in the country. Individuals in U.K. and across the world visit this museum to explore the brilliantly displayed history of potteries in this museum. The exhibitions of the museum change almost regularly and thus, the visitors have a new experience, every time that they visit. There is cafe in the museum premises where visitors can buy refreshments and the managers

Integrating Values - The Legality, Morality, and Social Responsibility Essay

Integrating Values - The Legality, Morality, and Social Responsibility of Nike - Essay Example For many businessmen, ethical values are not very pertinent to the business. However over the period of time, legal and ethical responsibilities are started to be regarded as one of the prime decisive factor of a business’s success (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2009). The reason why it is necessary to regulate business practices by legal and ethical evaluation is because business is an essential constituent of the human society (Roa, 2007). Business organizations today are coming to realize that the famous dictum by Milton Freidman, the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits, may not hold much wisdom. This is well-exemplified in the example of Nike. Nike is a world-renowned producer of sportswear and other sports items. However, the company has had to face some major issues in the past related to its unethical conduct. Despite the fact that Nike is not the sole organization to be found guilty of unethical practices, it became the hub of censure and denig ration because of its international presence and significant market share. In response, Nike took myriad of steps to improve its image and to make the process of manufacturing transparent. However, these measures have failed to be of much consequence. This paper will analyze the business practices of Nike in the context of three main values i.e. law, ethics and social responsibility. ... The legal responsibilities of a business are in effect manifestations of the society’s perception of â€Å"codified ethics† and reflect the primary perceptions of just conduct as defined by the law (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2008). The business is accountable to the society for the fulfilment of this role; failing to do so, the business is subjected to a political process where the dissidents are dealt with. Thus, public companies are liable to certain legal responsibilities and are required to comply with them as part of their role in producing goods and services for the society. Nike, however, has been the subject of criticism due to the fact that its policies and practices have not been observant of the laws and legal responsibilities set forth for businesses. It was in the early 1990s that criticism against Nike’s practices began to come to light. Nike has been a famous name in the clothing and sports items industry. Seeing the large market share that it had abroa d and the appeal of lesser manufacturing costs, Nike outsourced to a number of countries more than a couple of decades ago. There was nothing wrong in subcontracting work to other factories in the Southeast region. Nike did not violate any laws and argued that it provided jobs to many people in the poor countries (Hill & Jain, 2009). However its prime motive was to increment the profits it made and to bring down the costs of manufacturing. For many years before the criticism being levelled against the organization gathered substantial support, ethical and legal aspects of business conduct did not enter the cost-profit equation of Nike. Nike’s factories overseas had poor working conditions despite the

Skungpoomery - Textual analysis Essay Example for Free

Skungpoomery Textual analysis Essay Skungpoomery features two characters, a mother and her son. The mother is very much a dominant woman who still enjoys fussing over and bossing about her rather useless, weak son. We did an exercise where we visualised what the characters would look like in our heads. Both the mother and the son reminded me of a famous duo, Laurel and Hardy. Mrs Wibble being Oliver Hardy, the domineering one and PC Nicholas Wibble being Stan Laurel, the simple one. Like Hardy treats Laurel, Mrs Wibble treats her son in a condescending way, much to the chagrin of PC Nicholas who would much rather be treated like an adult, and not have his mother still nagging at him. I can picture Mrs Wibble being quite a large character who would be wearing some sort of floral dress with bright red lipstick. I can imagine her voice being loud and perhaps quite high pitched and can see her walking around the stage with a good posture and large strides. PC Nicholas Wibble, I can picture being tall and lanky with a short bowl haircut, which of course his mother would have made him get, and can see him slouching across the stage, with a decidedly nervous disposition. I would imagine his voice would be rather quiet and perhaps slightly squeaky, as if it had not quite broken yet. I found that doing this exercise, helped improve my performance on stage as it meant I was able to act out the characters easier now that I had a clear image of what they looked like and how they acted in my head. PC Nicholas Wibble is still very child like, probably because he still lives at home and Mrs Wibble still treats him like a child rather than the adult that he is. Although PC Wibble may try to stand up to his mother, she will tell him otherwise and he backs down easily, here is an example of this: MRS WIBBLE- Take them off and let me give them a quick press. WIBBLE- O no, Mum-look Im going to be ever so late now. MRS WIBBLE-Take them off, Nicholas, it wont take a moment. WIBBLE- No. MRS WIBBLE- Nicholas!!! WIBBLE- Ooooooooooooh! Doing this exercise made it easier for me to do the butter and trouser scene in the play. This is where the phone is ringing and Mrs Wibble accidentally picks up the iron and puts it to her ear, rather than the phone, and then gets Nicholas to get her some butter to soothe it, and burns his trousers. To make this part of the performance more comical, we had to look at how the characters would move in a panicked way. For example, we thought that we could have Nicholas running about the stage in circles in a confused way, hands on his head, looking about, and thinking what to do while mumbling to himself. We could then have Mrs Wibble shouting at him to get the butter, while sobbing and moaning about her ear loudly, as it would make it more comical for the audience. To make sure that we had enough space on stage for all that was going on, we had to plan out the set and make sure we knew where everything was going to be so that we could determine exactly what the characters had to do and where. Learning and using all of these different techniques was useful when developing our final piece as it meant that we could piece together things that wed used from this practice piece, as well as our own new ideas, to get a good performance. We were now able to visualise exactly what our character would look and act like as well as the way they would move on stage, so that we could get a better understanding of our character and act them out in a suitable way.

Case Study: Developmental Reading

Case Study: Developmental Reading The article attempted to explain how creative activities for third year high school students affect their critical thinking skills. Comparing two groups, the Instruction with Creative Activities (ICA) and the Instruction with No Creative Activities (INCA), the study expected the ICA group to have higher mean scores and mean gains in their Chemistry Test for Higher Order Thinking Skills (ChemTHOTS) and in their pretest to posttest respectively. Although, findings suggest that there are no significant differences between both groups mean test scores, it made a distinguishing suggestion that activities given to each group should have been more varied. Creative Thinking Critical Thinking There have been studies that tried to link creativity with critical thinking, however most findings do not show direct evidence to support this theory. Recommendations range from conducting more investigations on the subject as well as lengthening study period for which the research will be conducted. On the other hand, studies also show that use of varied creative techniques do help students train their imagination. Imagination being a clear use of mental processes way beyond the usual stretching of the brain. Imagination here can then be linked to perspective taking and reflective thinking which are considered high order thinking skills. As children put themselves in different scenarios, find ways to solve problems and visualize certain concepts, they do tap on this very rich brain activity that actually provides basis for better understanding and critical thinking. We can say that as creative thinking explores various evaluative actions, critical thinking, in turn, plays with taking different scenarios. The blending of these processes (as shown from the image I shared on the earlier page) are manifested when we try to see a problem and come up with several ways to solve it or when we try to understand a person, a story or a situation, and put ourselves in different perspectives. This is most evident during play when children try to explore limitless boundaries and when children come up with a creation that they are proud to call their own. In a classroom setting, an important goal is to achieve literacy, a solid understanding of concepts, as well as to sustain learning, its different forms and levels. However, this is a very delicate and complicated feat that entails an interactive approach from the teacher and a response from the learner. Thus making the learning process, a responsibility of all the key players. And aside from the traditional rigid methods, there are various ways to achieve these goals. For the purpose of this study, methods that promote creative thinking like art, play and games are proposed. Concretely, a lesson on Shakespearean plays can be made more colorful if instead of asking students to memorize and discuss lines, they would come up with their own rendition of a particular scene. A lesson on the Solar System can be made more meaningful if instead of just asking students to memorize the different planets and come up with a model, they could pretend to be traveling from one planet to another and from each planet they are to send a postcard describing about their location and their stay there. And a lesson on the different countries of Africa can be made more indelible if instead of just being able to locate them on the map, they would learn a particular dance move and associate that with a country, and then probably come up with their own Countries of Africa dance. The study is most relevant as it is the era when learners want to be more involved with the learning process. They want hands-on, application and practice. It is also the time when it is highly encouraged for the educators to tailor-fit their lessons to varied learners with equally diverse learning styles. It is now a call to educators to sustain their learning and to respond with methods that are perfect match to their learning needs. And in the search for these methods, we find ways to tap on higher levels of thinking skills, providing our students with immeasurable education. As educators, we ourselves are front liners in pursuing this path for our learners. We must engage them in the learning process by providing them with instructional strategies and methods that let them actually grasp what they are trying to understand. We should not limit their minds but rather let them explore the world. And as they go about this exploration, we ourselves should be with them and continuously open our minds and make our world even richer, paving the way for our students. We can never be the architects of the workings of our students minds. I learned this the hard way while insisting to my then two-year old boy that he should learn about and articulate back the life cycle of a butterfly. The only things I got out of that episode were painful tears and disappointment with myself. I should have waited for him to be ready and it would have been best had I tried to look for ways to pique his interest and imaginative skills first. All we can do really is not to design their minds but design lessons they can gradually assimilate with much enthusiasm and through various experiences. As a parent and a future pre-school educator, I should also keep in mind that my children will be growing up pretty fast. Each day is a learning day and there really is no turning back. I should make the most out of the time I am given with them. I should always be able to come up with a great lesson, always enticing their interest and always making sure that they leave the class feeling proud of themselves for creating something. I should help them use their minds in many different ways, always with the goal for them to learn something new. And that, they arrive at such learning not only through reason, but more importantly, with a great deal of sentiment and imagination. Roger Chillingworth | Character Analysis Roger Chillingworth | Character Analysis The Scarlet Letter is a story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is based on the Puritans lifestyle during the 17th century in Boston and Massachusetts. It is written in twenty four chapters starting with The Prison Door and ends with the conclusion. Main characters in the story are Hester Prynne, Pearl, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, Mistress Hibbins, Governor Bellingham, and Rev John Wilson. These characters played different interesting parts, some good and some bad. Nevertheless the story is about a woman named Hester Prynne whom the puritans at that time, believed she was a symbolism of adultery, because she was made pregnant by an unknown man, whom hes identity remains a secret until the end of the story. Her long lost forgotten old husband Roger Chillingworth who was assume death, appears in one of the scenes where Hester is been disgraced in public for carrying an unknown mans baby. As a consequence of her adulterous act, she has to carry a letter A on her bosom for t he rest of her life. The A means adultery, and wherever she goes to, she is recognized as the sinful, impure woman. Hester proves shes tough and decides to take all the blames and guilt to protect her lover in a time when women were subordinate to their male partners. Arthur Dimmesdale was a minister, man of God, preacher who the puritans look up to him for spiritual advices. He appears to play a huge role in Hesters shameful atrocities. Moreover, Authors identity as Hesters lover and babys father is kept only by him and Hester, but still she takes all the blames. He valued his appearance more than being a father to the baby and this makes him a hypocrate in the story. His hypocrisy leads him to be sick and finally to his grave after confessing he was the Hesters babys father. A lesson is learning in this for people should not value the nurture appearances than who they really are as a person. This essay will explain the evil role played by Roger Chillingworth in the story. Just by calling his name, a sense of evil can be felt, and a dangerous old man with a scary face can be painted in the mind of the readers. Roger who appeared in one of the scenes when Hester was being punished and disgraced in public, asked an Indian native who appeared to be watching Hester what was going, as he was told what happen, He changed his identity to a physician.( the American literature, pg 1384). No one could recognize him except Hester who spotted him in the crowd. Roger not wanting to expose his identity places a finger on his lip as a gestation for Hester who knew who he was to keep it as a secret. Rogers intention was to go deep in search for the man responsible for Hesters public humiliation; second Roger feels he would be laugh at by the people of Boston if he had been with Hester as a husband after she carried the scarlet letter A. She was young and beautiful carrying someones baby, while he thinks he was too old. He blames himself for marrying her in the first place, because he loved her with all his heart and knew she was always going to make him happy. Things changed unexpected when he takes the responsibility to change his identity so he could be a free man in the city. Roger Chillingworth becomes jealous, and brings out the evil in him. He becomes the main character to play the most interesting and scariest role. Roger Chillingworths character is dynamic, from a regular lost husband, to an unrecognized person in the crowd, to a physician. Roger Chillingworth decision to disguise himself is only known by Hester, but hes main mission was to uncover Hesters secret lover who is suppose to be part of the humiliations. He quickly grabs an opportunity to be close to the minister after he fell sick and forced to receive medical attention from Roger Chillingworth. The minister and Roger Chillingworth quickly became friends as they get to spend most of their free time together. While being a good help to the minister, Roger also goes deep in the ministers mind to bring out the truth about Hester and her hidden lover. Roger Chillingworth suddenly discovers Dimmesdales role in the secret relationship with Hester. Moreover, Arthur also senses something wrong about Roger Chillingworth not knowing he was Hesters husband whom they assume death. David Herbert litrary analysis of the scarlet letter describes Hester instead of Roger Chillingworth as the symbol of evil in the story. Oh, Hester, you are a demon. A man must be pure, just so that you can seduce him to a fall (DHL chapter 7). David Herbert blames Hester for being the cause of destruction in the life of Roger Chillingworth and the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. Roger Chillingworths character could be described as someone, whose act could make the audience think he believed in satanic worships, never the less he simple believe in the Puritans principles and doctrines. As a dynamic character, Roger Chillingworth also brings out a good side from his dark self when he visits Hester in jail, gives her medication for her baby and herself. Being cunning as he has been he confesses to Hester Prynne for putting her in that situation. I, a man of thought, the bookworm of great libraries, a man already in decay, having given my best years to feed the hungry dream of knowledge-what had I to do with youth and beauty like yours? Misshapen from the time I was born, how could I delude myself with the idea that intellectual gifts might veil physical deformity in a young girls fantasy! From the moment when we came down the old church steps together as a married pair I should have foreseen the bale-fire of that scarlet letter blazing at the end of our path.(1391) This act is great and touching, but very disappointing to know he was simply carrying out his evil research to expose the truth. Never the less the both acknowledge the fact that the hurt each other. Hester and the minister feel guilty and to seek redemption, walking away from their sin and disgrace. Hester finds a community service while the ministers consequences for his sin put him into great distress and physical and mentally breakdown. Roger Chillingworth becomes the middle person to understand what Hester and Dimmesdale are going through. He transforms into more evil than he had been. He finds means to destroy Hesters reputation which was already in bondage. As years goes by, Roger Chillingworths transformation makes him the real symbolism of evil in the story. Hester describes Roger Chillingworths past as someone who was a misshapen scholar who was slightly deformed, with his left shoulder a trifle higher than the right (hawthorn 2003, p.50). So hes evil and scary description is not a new thing, but something the author had describes in the beginning, differentiating him from other characters in the story. Over the course of the story, sin becomes part of the main characters life. Arthur is guilty for sinning with a married woman, Hester commits adultery, never the less Roger Chillingworths sin is the biggest of all because all he does is sick revenge to hurt and destroy others. Secondly hes been blame for hes lost that put Dimmesdal and Hester in the mess in which they are in. The puritans believed that every sinner should be punishing, and Hester was just a victim in this case. Hester finds herself in an internal conflict with Roger Chillingworth. She fears the minister being around the fake physician, and fears not tell him that Roger was her husband. She knows how dangerous Roger was. The audience does not understand why she hides the truth from the minister. Hester gets into an external conflict with the environment in which she lived in. she became uncomfortable with every person around her including Roger Chillingworth. The only person she could look up to was the minister, and they only place for them to meet was in the forest. Never the less its not secured because evil Chillingworth would watch from every corner. Men, women, young and old, made fun of her, She had no support and no food for her and the baby Pearl. Living in real life with no family or friend to look up is frustrating. She is frustrated even in her own home because of Roger Chillingworths presence. Conflicts were not only Hesters, but Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth did face conflicts. Dimmesdale cause for his illness and breakdown was as a result of conflicting with his inner self. Hester was the only character to conflict a group of people. This is seen when her child was taken from her, she fights. Hester makes the scarlet letter more fun and wear it in a more fashion way that an ordinary person thought the A stands for an angel from heaven. She decides to keep the letter even when she had the chances of taking it out. The scarlet letter became a symbolism of love to Hesters daughter. She admires it and could identify her mom quick when she had the letter on her bosom. The author presents revenge as an unnatural act that twists a persons soul into something evil. In the puritan world, revenge belongs to God alone, nonetheless, roger takes upon himself to play Gods role and becomes the real Satan that Christian churches preach against. His ability to manipulate over people helps brings out some of the hidden truth thats been kept between Hester and Dimmesdale for a very long time. Rogers cunning conversations, finally puts him in a position to expose and destroy the hidden lovers reputation. Nevertheless Pearl is the symbol of sin committed between the minister and Hester Prynne. Roger Chillingworth is also described as an intellingent man, who intelligence turn to evil and he was so smart to do whatever he did. Arthur Dimmesdale believed he also carried a Scarlet letter deep in his heart even though it wasnt visible. Because of this, he carried most of the pain and sufferings. Roger Chillingworths intention was real evil when he confessed not to kill Hester Prynne or the baby Pearl, but to make Hester suffer for the rest of her life. He wants the truth to be known only by him so he will have the power to carry more evil actions. This thought also tells the audience what an evil person he was. Roger Chilling now not only became a physician but someone to determine evil and good babies. This is seen when he examines Pearl and said she was clean and ok. His intention was not to make Pearl been taken away, instead to keep her with her mother so he would have the opportunity to torment her the more until he became satisfied which he never did. He says complains of Pearl belonging to Hester only and not him, and she would never recognize his voice Live, therefore and hear about thy doom with thee, in the eyes of men and women, in the eyes of him whom thou did call your husband.(Nathaniel Hawthorne, chapter 4) Roger Chillingworth might have been doing the right thing since he himself was the puritan, and anyone in his position would have done the same thing. He tries to make himself a good man throughout the story, none the less, Hester confirms him by saying thy act are like mercy, but they words interpret thee as a terror (pg .1426). Roger Chillingworth and Minister Dimmesdalel never get to be friends after they knew who was who. Dimmesdales revelation puts Roger chillingworth in a difficult position. He became frustrated and doesnt know who to blame and toment anymore.

My Goal - A Career in the Computer Industry :: Personal Narrative Writing

My Goal - A Career in the Computer Industry To have a goal, you must first find one to pursue. Then, you must decide on the steps necessary to reach that goal and proceed to complete those steps. Ultimately, after all your steps are finish, you will achieve your goal. The goal I pursue is that of becoming a self-employed web designer, and I have decided on, and implemented, many steps needed to reach that goal. Having started college, I have begun an important step towards my goal. However, I decided on many of the steps years before I started college. Growing up, I strongly desired a career in the computer industry. I enjoyed working with almost anything related to the computer field, but I was not sure specifically which area of this broad field I would enjoy most. Though my interests were so extensive, I found myself strongly leaning towards computer graphics. I decided to pursue a career in web design, an area with a great demand for imaging skills, as well as a diversity and abundance of job opportunities. After deciding on my goal, I started to research what my next steps should be. The first step was to choose a degree pertaining to web design and to find a college that offered this degree. I decided to obtain a Computer Science (CS) degree, as it covered a broad area of computer study. I researched colleges within the state of Montana, in order to avoid the costs of out-of-state tuition, and found two colleges that looked promising: Montana Tech in Butte, and Montana State University (MSU) in Bozeman. Before deciding which to attend, I took nine credits at Carroll College in Helena and three credits at the Helena College of Technology to get a head start in my CS program. I tried to take classes that would transfer into both Montana Tech and MSU, but in the end, MSU would not accept all of my classes. This fact, combined with scholarship incentives, aided my decision to attend Montana Tech in pursuit of a CS degree. Having started college, I have begun the next step towards achieving my goal, but not without complications. Although I remained in the CS program for much of the first semester, I switched degrees about two-thirds of the way through. I found that I would be learning mostly computer programming in the CS degree and would not learn many useful skills pertaining to my goal.

Comparing Female Characters in Euripides Medea and Sophocles Oedipus

Comparing Female Characters in Euripides' Medea and Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Antigone      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the times of the ancient Greeks, women had an unpretentious role. They were expected to do take on the accepted role of a woman.   In most cases, a woman's role is restricted to bearing young, raising children, and housework. In Sophocles' Oedipus   the King, Antigone, and Medea, the dominant female characters impacted upon men with authority and political power.   It is an inescapable fate that one of these characters will fall, and that the Gods have control over everyone's fate.   Each dominant female character portrays her willpower and commitment to their beliefs.   This is what leads to the inevitable tragedy.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Oedipus the King, Jocasta, is Oedipus' wife and the sister of Creon. She became a part of doomed Theban dynasty when she married Laius, the King of Thebes.   As a result, the marriage had brought together two branches of the family of Cadmus and seemed to guarantee political strength.   She became disappointed because she was unable to produce an heir to the throne.   Seeking a solution, Lauis went to the oracle at Delphi and asked how the proble might be overcome.   Instead, the oracle proclaimed that the son born to Jocasta would be his murderer.   Upon hearing the prophecy, Lauis rejected all women.   This infuriated Jocasta and she had gotten Lauis drunk, and slept with him.   This proves that Jocasta refuses to be outdone, even by her husband.   When Jocasta had given birth to a baby boy (Oedipus), Lauis had it sent away by a messenger to die of exposure high in the mountains.   A shepherd discovered the boy ... ...crowd of subservient women. Works Cited and Consulted Euripides.   "Medea."   The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces.   Ed. Sarah Lawall.   New York and London:   W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.   McDermott, E A (1989) Euripides' Medea: The Incarnation of Disorder. Pennsylvania State University:USA Woodard,   Thomas.   Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Sophocles. Antigone. Exploring Literature: Writing and thinking About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2001. Sophocles.   "Oedipus Rex."   An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed.Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al.   New York: Longman, 1997. Watling, E. F.. Introduction. In Sophocles: The Theban Plays, translated by E. F. Watling. New York: Penguin Books, 1974.

The Branding of IKEA Essay -- Business Management Studies Essays Paper

The Branding of IKEA Company background The first catalogue was introduced in 1951 and with this the founder saw his chance to expand his business on a larger scale, and this was the year he decided to completely focus on low-price furniture, as from the beginning IKEA sold mainly matches, watches, Christmas decorations, picture frames and jewellery. In 1956 the company came up with the concept of 'flat-pack' self-assembly furniture. The first international IKEA store was introduced in Norway in 1963, and was soon followed by the opening of stores in Denmark, Germany, Australia, Canada, and Austria. In 1987 the first IKEA opened in the UK, and in 2001 the company had 143 stores in 22 countries. Today we are the leading furniture retailer in the UK with a 12.1% before MFI and DFS. Our Brand - an introduction The brand name is associated with feelings, attitudes or different meanings, and in our minds it is connected with a certain image. All inspired by the logo, design or colour. Branding is a way to differentiate one company, its service or product, from competitors. But also to provide it with a personality which is both appealing and unique to their potential customers. It is a multifaceted, disciplined and multilayered process. IKEA is seen as friendly, quirky, trendy, social, young, independent, witty and relaxed. Usually the personality of a brand is described as a person, with its different characteristics. The importance of branding In the past decade companies are starting to see their brand assets, and with this branding has taken on a greater significance. So today brands are more than just marketing slogans and logos. All businesses are building their brands through certain actions and in their actual presence they find a 'position' in the mind of consumer and prospects. This is based on experience and exposure of the brand in the competitive marketplace. There are certain advantages to take into account in a Brand Strategy; Financial Advantages, Strategic Advantages and Management Advantages. The financial advantages may be higher sales, and for the companies with more market shares; higher margins. IKEA is one of the leaders in its market place, and therefore many other brands in that particular sector may be 'hitchhiker' brands following us and other leaders (such as MFI and DFS). Strategic Advantages... ...ours, and the name written across in bold letters. It is very much a trademark and this same logo has been used from a very early stage. Conclusion I hope this will help you understand the importance of branding within IKEA. Our company has been a worldwide success for so many years, and this has already created an image in most peoples minds, they associate the name IKEA and the logo with purchase or from one of the award winning advertising campaigns which have been run throughout the world. It is incredibly important to build brand awareness when introducing a new product onto the market, and our company has already achieved this, but there is still the need to maintain customer and market. Bibliography * Mintel (2002) * Internet * San Juan de la Pena website * Rieboviz, Rik * De Chernatony, Leslie (2001) From Brand Vision to Brand Evaluation, Butterworth-Heinemann * Brassington, Frances, Pettitt, Stephen (2000) Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall * Butterfield, Leslie (1999) Excellence in Advertising, 2nd edition, Butterworth-Heinemann * Nilson, Torsten H (1998) Competitive Branding, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Compare and contrast between persepolis war and vietnam war Essay

Graphic Novels showing conflict of war can be described in different ways. These ways are determined by the target audience and the authors decision of mood.The imagery in Persepolis and the vietnam story are affected by these choices made by the author. There are differences in the style of this book in which the reader uses to show emotion such as the target age group, the emotional aspect as well as the realism of the story. The imagery which detail is displayed in a complex or simple way can both give the reader insight while portraying a different perspective at the same time. Persepolis and the vietnam imagery both use a black and white graphic weight creating a dark feeling shown by the subjective style. They use detailing in the background like the shadowed soldiers in the Vietnam images or bright flashes of gunshot in Persepolis, thus giving the reader a different perspective. The vietnam images provides a more in depth style that provides in order to show the author’ s message. However, the simple imagery used in persepolis is to get a point across using symbolic images and a straightforward style rather than in the vietnam images the sketched lines and detailing brings out a specific emotion. The target audience in which the author and/or illustrator wants to reach out to affects the type of imagery and message they want to send out,such as a story about the conflict of war to children can be subtle rather than show a harsh reality yet can both depict a mood of conflict and struggle. These two graphic styles can both get across the subjective opinion of war being undesirable by the emanata of struggle seen with the characters to the reader. They both compare the harsh reality without being too gruesome. Persepolis uses a more cartooned illustration to portray a childlike perspective thus having a target audience of young readers. In contrast, the Vietnam imagery’s perspective differs in the point of view. This shows the difference in fighting in the war rather than suffering the consequences, demonstrating an adult understanding. War can convey many emotions depending on the authors/illustrators mood they want to convey to the readers by using simple and/or complex emanata and graphic weight in similar and different ways. Persepolis and the vietnam both inflict a sympathetic emotions by showing  the struggles shown by their stressed emotions and facial styles. As well as their similar use of contrast between light and darkshows a emotional aspect of the conflict of war. To contrast the Vietnam images uses shading and shadows to add more tension and grit displaying a impactful emotion. The Persepolis imagery uses thick heavy blacks and whites without any shading making the images simple and the emotions it portrays to the reader shallow and not as complex. In conclusion these two works of graphic reading can be contrasted and compared by only three categories of realism, target age groups, and emotions. These both shared the struggles of the conflict of war as well as portraying different views and perspectives. As well as displaying an obvious age target. Even though they are similar they are both different in showing the conflict of what goes on in a war.

Midsummer Nights Dream Act5 Scene1

Midsummer Night’s Dream: To what extent does ACT5 Scene1 present a harmonious â€Å"New World†? Act 5 Scene 1 is considered to be a harmonious â€Å"New World†, not forgetting that we have just left the â€Å"Green world† with all the mischief and fairies all around. This would make us question is the green world really gone? And is the new world really all that â€Å"Harmonious†? Act 5 Scene1 is the resolution of the entire play. At the start of It is obvious that the harmonious â€Å"New world† is present, with all the arguments and lovers falling out with one another and falling in love with someone else, all that has been left behind.Usually, characters who return from the Green world back into the new world discover that all their problems have been resolved and any past mistakes they have made, they will learn from. Lysander and Hermia and Demetrius and Helena all marry, this would be interesting because in a â€Å"New World† mul tiple marriages suggest that there is social harmony. On the other hand none of these marriages are shown on stage in front of the audience and just reading the play we only hear about the marriage taking place and are taken straight to the celebrations of the evening.This would allow us to think that if all the marriages taking place are legitimate and doesn’t really portray a harmonious feel,its just leaves us confused on the reason â€Å"why†. All shown above supports Frays theory on the â€Å"New World†, but how true is this love between the Athenians in the â€Å"New World†? Demetrius is still under the Love Juices influence that was placed on his eyes during Act3 Scene1, and is under the impression that he is in love with Helena, so much so, that he has married her. Now we are left with the nagging thought of: if the â€Å"green world† i. the fairies didn’t interfere with Demetrius’ inner feelings and mind, would he still be â⠂¬Å"in love† with Hermia? And would Act5 Scene1 be really that â€Å"Harmonious† taking into consideration that it was the help of the â€Å"Green World† that allowed this â€Å"new world† to happen but its interference is still present. So how far has the problems from the â€Å"Green World† been resolved? Because surely if everything had been resolved Demetrius would’ve naturally fallen in love with her without the interference of Puck and Oberon.At the start of Act5 Scene1 Hippolyta notes to Theseus that the young Athenian lovers story is strange but Theseus seems to dismiss this idea with â€Å"More Strange Than True†. Theseus makes the connection between the wild imaginations of the lovers, lunatics and poets, all of which fit in nicely with the idea of fantasies. With the lunatics imagination in play turning heaven into hell, thinking they can see devils everywhere. Lovers’ being just as crazy seem to think that shaping He lena’s face in the â€Å"brow of Egypt† makes her beautiful. The poet on the other hand creates entire worlds from â€Å"airy nothing† of imagination.This could be considered god like, meaning we have no real control over what happens. The formality of Theseus’ words changes. From being a man with the voice of reason, logic and law throughout the play. He uses words/phrases such as â€Å"lunatic lovers and the poet† and â€Å"imagination† all this short phrases and words you’d expect to find in the â€Å"green world† which plays around with the idea of lunatic behaviour and a great deal of imagination. Along with the change of formality in the way he speaks, he also begins to talk about animals and how the human eye can be misleading, â€Å"how easy a bush supposed a bear†.Theses opinion of the lovers, makes us really think are things in the â€Å"new world† always as they seem? And is the love they feel for their dear ones really true or in fact just an illusion which has been made that â€Å"form things unknown†. Is this really how a â€Å"new world† is supposed to be? With the easy misleading of the human eye, which could taint the ideas of true love and marriage. The mechanics play brings dancing and festive behaviour towards the end of the scene; this would support the ideas of a â€Å"New world†. The mechanics produce a â€Å"play within a play† this would highlight the illusion and reality shown throughout out the play.The character Bottom who plays Pyramus talks in rhythm and rhyme. Between lines 260-275 in the play this flowing and overwhelming of the rhythm and rhyme, would be supported in act4 scene 1 where bottom refers to himself in large amounts as â€Å"me thinks† this would demonstrate repetition and rhyme and lack of organisation within the mechanicals play. This would contradict the ideas of the â€Å"New World†, as the â€Å"new w orld† is supposed to be considered where all things are to be organised and shouldn’t consist of repetition of things because those would’ve been left behind in the green world.Bottom playing Pyramus is a lover who kills himself at the end of the play, this play is performed in the â€Å"new world†. Now we know that the play ends with the lovers getting married, but in this celebration death is being presented alongside it with the mechanics play. Would this play fit into the â€Å"new world† idea? Or could it be considered a sort of sign or representation that the new world isn’t always going to be filled with harmonious happiness and in fact that there will always be a harsh reality out there? Act5 Scene1 begins with the high social class of the Athenians and then it ends with the Fairies: Puck, Oberon and Titania.It is evident that the â€Å"New world† is in place because the problems that were once occurring between Titania and Obe ron have now been resolved and they have now learnt from their mistakes. At the end of this act Oberon blesses the Athenians and his blessing suggests that new ideas and solutions are going to take place. The importance of children is also important because it signifies a â€Å"new world†. However there is a darker side to Oberon’s blessings. In a part of Oberon’s blessing it says â€Å"Never mole, hare-lip, nor mark prodigious, such as are, despised in nativity†.The fact that this play is supposed to end with a â€Å"happy† and â€Å"harmonious† marriage is contradicted by the short sentence in Oberon’s blessing. It shows that there is that darker side of marriage which involves children and how they should be perfect and that they should be cast aside if they have any de-formation. It could possibly be Shake spears way of telling the audience that there is no such thing as a harmonious new world and that there will always be that da rk side that cannot be controlled. Marriage is supposed to be a binding before god, would the gods approve of this blessing?

Comparison Between Two Major Textile Companies

Executive Summary In this report, I have discussed about the two major textile organizations that are AL-karam and Gul Ahmed textile mills. I have conducted a ratio analysis from the information gathered from their financial statements. In my study, I found out that AL-Karam is doing comparatively well from Gul Ahmed textiles as various ratios proved to be positive in terms of AL-Karam textiles. Accounting Policies Through accounting strategies and the methods of computation used in the preparation of this financial information are the same as those applied in the preparation of financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2011.These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with approved accounting standards as applicable in Pakistan. Approved accounting standards comprise such International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board as are notified under the Companies Ordinance, 1984, provisions of and directives issu ed under the Companies Ordinance, 1984. In case requirements differ, the provisions or directives of the Companies Ordinance, 1984 shall overcome operating assets.Operating assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any identified impairment loss except leasehold land which is stated at cost. No amortization is provided on leasehold land since the lease is renewable at the option of the lessee. Depreciation is charged on reducing balance method at rates specified in the note 13. 1. Full year’s depreciation is charged on additions except major additions or extensions to production facilities which are depreciated on pro-rata basis for the period of use during the year and no depreciation is charged on assets in the year of their disposal.Structures on leased retail outlets are depreciated over the respective lease term. Gains and losses on disposal of operating assets are included in profit and loss account. Capital work-in-progress Capital work-in-progress is stated at cost accumulated up to the balance sheet date and represents expenditure incurred on property, plant and equipment in the course of construction. These expenditures are transferred to relevant category of property, plant and equipment as and when the asset starts operation. Intangible assets Intangible assets are stated at cost less accumulated amortization.Amortization is charged over the useful life of the assets on a systematic basis to income applying the straight line method at the rate specified in note 14. Investments Investments in subsidiary company are stated at cost. The Company reconsiders the carrying amount of the investments to assess whether there is any indication of impairment loss. If such indication exists, the carrying amount is reduced to recoverable amount and the difference is recognized as an expense. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the investment is increased to the revised recoverable amount.The reversal of such impairment loss is recognized as an income. GUL AHMED Financial Ratios | 2010| 2009| liquidity| Current ratios| 0. 97| 0. 95| Quick  Ratio| 0. 39| 0. 44| Leverage| Total  debt  to  Total  assets  ratio| 75. 37%| 77. 04%| Times  interest  earned| -| 1. 00 times| Funded  debt  to  net  working  capital| 61. 80%| 63. 49%| Efficiency| Average  collection  period  | 4. 3 days| 44. 56 days| Inventory  turnover  | 3. 98| 4. 43| Total  assets  turnover| 1. 34| 1. 11| Net worth turn over| 5. 47| 2. 99| Net  working  capital  turnover| -87. 86| 50. 92| Profitability| Net  profit  margin| 2. 42%| -0. 56%| Gross  profit  margin| 16. 11%| 7. 30%|Return  on  total  assets| 3. 27%| -0. 71%| Return  on  Net  working  capital| 13. 28%| -48. 01%| Return  on  net  worth| -213. 10%| -3. 26%| Ratios Analysis LIQUIDITY RATIOS: A liquidity ratio measures the company's ability to pay its bills. The denominator of a liquidity ra tio is the company's current liabilities, i. e. , obligations that the company must meet soon, usually with in one year. The numerator of a liquidity ratio is part or all of current assets. The current ratio of Gul Ahmed for year 2010 is 0. 97 and for year 2009 it is 0. 94. When we look at quick ratio, the quick ratio for Gul Ahmed is 0. 39 in 2010 and 0. 44 in 2009.It shows that Gul Ahmed had enough liquidity to meet its short term liquidity need during the better economic situation as well as in worst economic situation. The factor behind being well in its liquidity ratio is that company is well managed in financing its assets. LEVERAGE RATIOS: The leverage ratios accomplish two things: First, they are a measure of the extent to which firms finance their assets through debt; second, they are indicators of the financial risk of the firm. .We has considered three leverage ratios for Gul Ahmed: total debt to total assets, times interest earned, and funded debt to net working capital. Company’s datedness increased over the 2009-2010 periods. The times’ interest earned ratio for Gul Ahmed during 2009 show that it is slightly lesser than the industry average. Whereas in 2010, Gul Ahmed’s time’s interest earned ratio increased to, which was higher than the industry average of that year From this, it is concluded that the company has been able to meet its interest obligations from funds available from operations during 2010. The comparatively lower funded debt to net working capital ratio for Gul Ahmed indicates that it follows the industry practice of heavily utilizing credit lines at banks.It appears that the company did not have reasonable funds to meet its funded debt payments although it is performing better than the industry. Taking, the preceding leverage ratios in considerations, it may be concluded that Gul Ahmed is highly leveraged and most of its assets are financed by current debt. EFFICIENCY RATIOS: Ratios are typically used t o analyze how well a company uses its assets and liabilities internally. Efficiency Ratios can calculate the turnover of receivables, the repayment of liabilities, the quantity and usage of equity and the general use of inventory and machinery.The average collection period is far from the median and that shows a loose credit term policies in receiving the payments late but somehow the average collection period reduces close to median in2010 explaining the improvement in receiving payments. The inventory is kept at good level by ensuring timely supplies to its customers. The Asset turnover seemed to be in a good shape standing  just above the median in both years, telling that Gul Ahmed is utilizing its assets properly introducing the sales.The net working capital turnover is far higher than the median telling that the firm’s current assets are sufficiently utilized in producing high sales. However, the net worth  Turnover being below the median tells that the Gul Ahmed is bit high on using debt financing and less efficient in using equity financing. PROFITABILITY RATIOS: Profit margin is 2. 42% (2010) and 0. 57% (2009). This reflects the firm's managerial efforts at controlling the markets acceptance of the firms product, the effectiveness of its marketing and sales efforts and the firms overall reputation.The profit margin is improving hence the firms profitability is improving. Return on total assets= 3. 27% (2010) and 0. 59% (2009) this reflects the earnings productivity of the total assets. Here there is an increase. This is because the firm is very profitable as far as its assets are concerned. Return on net working capital=13. 28% (2010) and 2. 50% (2009) reflects the profitability of  managerial decisions regarding investments in net current assets. This is improving in a way that the company is generating profits on its net working capital as compared to 2003. AL-Karam TextilesFinancial Ratios Ratios| 2009| 2010| Liquidity Ratios| | | Curr ent Ratio| 1. 04| 0. 97| Quick Ratio| 0. 4757| 0. 2787| Leverage Ratios| | | Debt to asset ratio| 0. 7381| 0. 80179| Funded to net working capital| 0. 3692| 1. 365| Efficiency Ratios| | | Average collection period| 30days| 35days| Inventory Turnover| 0. 7089| 0. 008109| Total Asset turnover| 0. 000933| 0. 000693| Net Worth Turnover| 2. 15| 2. 56| Net working capital turnover| -0. 0017583| -0. 010899| Profitability Ratio| | | Profit Margin| 0. 0078| 0. 0075| Return on Total Assets| 0. 6885| 0. 53351| Return on Net Worth| 0. 1792| 0. 853| Return on net working capital| -0. 1643| 0. 08387| Equity Ratio| | | Price to earning Ratio| 2. 11| 2. 01| Dividend payout| 0. 41| 0. 83| Book value per share| $15. 12| $19. 48| Ratios Analysis Liquidity ratios A) Current ratio: Total current assets/Total current liabilities is 0. 97(2010) and 1. 04(2009). This explains that in 2010 the liabilities were outweighing the assets however the previous year the asset became more than the liabilities and he nce the ratio exceeds 1. b) Quick ratio: (Total current assets-inventories)/total current liabilities is 0. 2787(2010) and 0. 4757(2009).This ratio is taken out in order to check the liquidity of the firm. When the inventory was subtracted from the total current assets, it gave us a figure of all the current assets other than the stock. This figure was divided by the total current liabilities which gave us a significant decrease in the overall figure value as compared to the current ratio. However, the ratio is decreasing later on in 2010. This means that the stocks have increased. Leverage ratios A) Total debt to total assets ratio: Total debt/total assets = 0. 80179(2010) and  0. 7381(2009). This tells us about the amount of assets which are debt financed.This means that in the last one year there has been a rise in the amount of assets which are being financed by debt and hence reduction in the ones which have been financed by equity. b) Funded debt to net working capital: Fund ed debt/net working capital=1. 365(2010) and0. 3692 (2009). This basically explains the ratio of debt which has a maturity of more than one year divided by the difference between the current assets and current liabilities. Hence the ability of the firm to retire its funded debt using available relatively liquid assets has increased. Efficiency ratios A) Inventory turnover ratioThe inventory turn over ratio is 0. 008109 (2010) and 0. 7089(2009). It is a ratio which tells the effective inventory management policies. Recently, the ratio has reduced in value than the previous one. Either the firm has a lot of inventory or its sales are reducing. b) Total assets turnover The total asset turn over ratio of the two year is 0. 000693(2010) and 0. 000933(2009). It is a measure of the firm’s overall effectiveness in generating sales. The decrease in this ratio is not significant enough. However, it shows that the firm’s effectiveness in generating sales from assets is decreasing to some extent. ) Net working capital turnover = 0. 010899(2010) and -0. 0017583(2009). It is a measure of the firm’s productivity in generating sales. Again here the firm's performance is decreasing in a way that the ratio of conversion of the net working capital to sales is decreasing. However, even this difference is not very significant between these two years. Profitability ratios A) Profit margin =0. 0078(2010) and 0. 0075(2009). This reflects the firm's managerial efforts at controlling the market's acceptance of the firms product, the effectiveness of its marketing and sales efforts and the firms overall reputation.The profit margin is improving hence the firms profitability is improving. b) Return on total assets =0. 53351(2010) and 0. 6885(2009). This reflects the earnings productivity of the total assets. Here there is a decrease. This is because the firm is not very profitable as far as its assets are concerned. c) Return on net working capital=-0. 08387(2010) an d -0. 1643(2009). This reflects the profitability of managerial decisions regarding investments in net current assets. This is improving in a way that the company is generating profits on its net working capital as compared to2009.Equity ratios A) Price to earnings ratio=2. 01(2010) and 2. 11(2009). This is basically a measure of the desirability of a firm. The more desirable a firm is to the investor the higher the P. E ratio it has. The P. E ratio is slightly decreasing. This is because the ratio of earning per share to price per share is greater in 2009. The higher this ratio the more attractive it is to the investors. B) Debt to  equity ratio=0. 3481(2010) and 0. 4937 (2009) shows a decrease in  the  preceding year2010. Conclusion Ratios| Gul Ahmed| Al karam| | Liquidity| Current Ratios| 0. 97| 1. 04|Quick Ratio| 0. 39| 0. 4757| Leverage | Total debt to total Assets ratio| 73. 37%| 73. 81%| Funded debt to networking capital| 61. 80%| 36. 92| Efficiency| | | Average collect ion period| 43 days| 30 days| Inventory turnover| 3. 98| 0. 7089| Total assets turnover| 1. 34| 0. 000933| Net worth turnover| 5. 47| 2. 15| Net working capital turnover| -87. 86| -0. 0017583| Profitability| | | Net profit Margin| 2. 42%| 0. 78| Return on net worth| -213. 10%| 17. 92| Return on Total Assets| 3. 27%| 6. 88%| Return on Net Working capital| 13. 28%| -0. 1643| Equity| | | Price to earning ratio| 7. 5| 10. 85| Book value per share| 19. 48| 21. 45| The ratio analysis of the two companies shows the result that Al-karam has been increasing its equity and its profitability and showing signs of an efficient company. On the other hand, Gul Ahmed is decreasing its business and going towards loss Liquidity Ratios: Al-karam has a higher Current ratio as well as Acid Test ratio as compare to Gul Ahmed which means that it is in a better shape to meet its current obligations and has more inventories. Gul Ahmed therefore has lower margin safety to meet its current obligation.Efficien cy Ratios: Al-karam seems to be in a better financial standing as compare to its efficiency. The company has a lower turnover ratio for both, the assets and the inventory showing high amount of sales and effectiveness as compare to Gul Ahmed. Profitability Ratios: Al-Karam has been rising in its profitability continuously, showing improvements in return on net worth and return on total assets. Equity: Equity ratios are primary interest to the firm’s stockholders and include the price to earnings ratio, dividend payout, and book value per share.The price to earnings ratio, popularly referred to as the P/E ratio, is an overall measure of the desirability of the firm. The more attractive the firm is to the investors, the higher the P/E ratio. The P/E ratio is highest of Al Karam that is 10. 65 which is higher than the other textile ratio, then comes Gul Ahmed. Al-karam has been showing improvements in the dividend yield and the book value per share. This shows that the company h as been increasing its equity by involving more investors in its base. The company thus shows signs of expansion and higher sense of determination towards acquiring more of the business.The book value per share is highest of Al Karam. . 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