Free Essays on Sexuality In Advertisements

Sexuality in Advertisements Sexuality is all of the sexual attitudes, feelings, and behaviors associated with being human. What are â€Å"cultural† and â€Å"sexual† scripts? When I looked in the dictionary, I kind of figured the meaning wasn’t the literal definition of script that I found. I personally think that â€Å"cultural† scripts are how different cultures around the world are expected to act, and dress. â€Å"Sexual† scripts on the other hand are the way that men and women are expected to act in general. In many countries both â€Å"cultural† and â€Å"sexual† scripts are utilized. For instance, in Iraq women are expected to dress in clothing that does not show off their skin in any way, and it is considered a sign of respect. The men are considered the â€Å"leaders† of their household. That is how it has been for centuries, so therefore that would be considered their culture. â€Å"Sexual† scripts are also found in many civilizations. Men are portrayed as masculine, leaders, or lazy. Women are considered to be the weaker sex and are supposed to be submissive, the homemaker, and the mother. As I was looking through magazines, I noticed how girls/women are shown in advertisements. There are mostly two ways that women are shown in the commercials, and magazine ads. One way is the woman being very seductive, sexy, and sometimes-even skanky, meaning that they have a certain look on their face, or they are showing the several inches of skin. For example, there was one advertisement in Glamour magazine from Foley’s department store. The picture had a naked woman looking into a mirror with only a gold necklace on. The slogan stated, â€Å"You’re not fully dressed without beautiful gold jewelry† (Glamour Magazine). Now, personally, I think they could have done some other type of picture to get that particular point across. That statement also implies that women are vein and have to have material things to feel beautiful, or... Free Essays on Sexuality In Advertisements Free Essays on Sexuality In Advertisements Sexuality in Advertisements Sexuality is all of the sexual attitudes, feelings, and behaviors associated with being human. What are â€Å"cultural† and â€Å"sexual† scripts? When I looked in the dictionary, I kind of figured the meaning wasn’t the literal definition of script that I found. I personally think that â€Å"cultural† scripts are how different cultures around the world are expected to act, and dress. â€Å"Sexual† scripts on the other hand are the way that men and women are expected to act in general. In many countries both â€Å"cultural† and â€Å"sexual† scripts are utilized. For instance, in Iraq women are expected to dress in clothing that does not show off their skin in any way, and it is considered a sign of respect. The men are considered the â€Å"leaders† of their household. That is how it has been for centuries, so therefore that would be considered their culture. â€Å"Sexual† scripts are also found in many civilizations. Men are portrayed as masculine, leaders, or lazy. Women are considered to be the weaker sex and are supposed to be submissive, the homemaker, and the mother. As I was looking through magazines, I noticed how girls/women are shown in advertisements. There are mostly two ways that women are shown in the commercials, and magazine ads. One way is the woman being very seductive, sexy, and sometimes-even skanky, meaning that they have a certain look on their face, or they are showing the several inches of skin. For example, there was one advertisement in Glamour magazine from Foley’s department store. The picture had a naked woman looking into a mirror with only a gold necklace on. The slogan stated, â€Å"You’re not fully dressed without beautiful gold jewelry† (Glamour Magazine). Now, personally, I think they could have done some other type of picture to get that particular point across. That statement also implies that women are vein and have to have material things to feel beautiful, or...

Identify Opportunity Costs

Identify Opportunity Costs Unlike most costs discussed in economics, an opportunity cost doesnt necessarily involve money. The opportunity cost of any action is simply the next best alternative to that action: What you would have done if you didnt make the choice that you made? The notion of opportunity cost is critical to the idea that the true cost of anything is the sum of all the things that you have to give up. Opportunity cost  considers only the next best  alternative to an action, not the entire set of alternatives, and takes into account all of the differences between the two choices. We  actually deal  with the concept of opportunity cost every day. For example, options for a day off work might include going to the movies, staying home to watch a baseball game, or going out to coffee with friends. Choosing to go to the movies means the opportunity cost of that action is the second choice. Explicit Versus Implicit Opportunity Costs Generally, making choices includes two types of cost: explicit and implicit. Explicit costs are monetary expenses, while implicit costs are intangible and therefore hard to account for. In some cases, such as weekend plans, the notion of opportunity cost includes only these forgone alternatives or implicit costs. But in others, such as a businesss profit maximization, opportunity cost refers to the difference in the  total of this type of implicit cost and the more typical explicit monetary cost between the first choice and the next best alternative. Analyzing Opportunity Costs The concept of opportunity cost is particularly important because, in economics, almost all business costs include some quantification of opportunity cost. To make decisions, we must consider benefits and costs, and we often do this through marginal analysis. Firms maximize profits by weighing marginal revenue against marginal cost. What will make the most money when considering the operating costs?  The opportunity cost of an investment would involve the difference between the return on the chosen investment and the return on the other investment. Likewise, individuals weigh personal opportunity costs in everyday life, and these often include as many implicit costs as explicit. For example, weighing job offers  includes  analyzing more perks than just wages. A higher-paying job isnt always the chosen option because when you factor in benefits like health care, time off, location, work duties, and happiness, a lower-paying job might be a better fit. In this scenario, the difference in wages would be part of the opportunity cost, but not all of it. Likewise, working additional hours at a job offers more in wages earned but comes at the expense of more time to do things outside of work, which is an opportunity cost of employment.

Working capital management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Working capital management - Essay Example Implementation of an effective working capital management system will certainly assist a company to improve its earnings. Ratio analysis and management of separate elements of working capital are two major aspects of working capital management. Organisations normally give great emphasis on working capital management, because ineffective use of working capital may end up in net losses. Since the management of working capital is crucial for companies irrespective of their size and nature, well structured corporate governance strategies are inevitable for properly dealing with the working capital spending. This paper will discuss the significance of working capital management and various approaches to the management of inventory, receivables, cash, and payables. 1. Management of working capital As discussed above, nowadays firms give specific focus on working capital management because thoughtless short term financing has already caused several corporate failures. As Bokadiya (2011) poi nts out, there are two concepts associated with the management of working capital: gross concept and net concept. The gross concept indicates current assets and this model is known as quantitative aspect of working capital.... stimation is a difficult task for firms in accordance with its nature and size; hence, different firms follow different methods to estimate working capital. Generally, conventional method, operating cycle method, cash cost technique, and balance sheet method are the major approaches adopted for the estimation of working capital. Longenecker, Petty, Palich, and Moore (2009, p.576) describe that the working capital is primarily used to purchase raw materials for production purposes. Through the production process, the raw materials are converted into finished goods and which is then reconverted into cash by the sales process. This whole process is called working capital cycle (ibid). Effective management of working capital assists organisations to deploy current assets and current liabilities efficiently and thereby to maximise short term liquidity. A well structured system of working capital management entails short term decisions generally relating to the next financial period. The p rocess of working capital management mainly involves two steps; forecasting the amount of working capital and determining the sources of working capital. Through proper management of working capital, a firm aims to make optimum level of investment in various working capital assets. This process may also aid companies to assess the optimal mix of short term and long term capital. In addition, effective working capital management can be of great help to choose appropriate means of short term financing. Management of inventory, receivables, cash, and payables are different aspects of working capital management. Inventory management is of great importance in modern business transactions as this process plays a evident role in establishing balance between purchase and sales (Indian Institute of

United Methodist Church Doctrine on Homosexuality Research Paper

United Methodist Church Doctrine on Homosexuality - Research Paper Example Accordingly, the manner by which the church as been called to weigh in on moral and ethical issues that relate to the modern era has been profound as society has grown and evolved over the centuries. A single and intractable stance is not only not realistic, it presents a stoic entity that is unable and/or unwilling to deeply analyze the trends and needs of current society and seek to reconcile them in the light of Christian doctrine. For purposes of this brief analysis, the author will seek to consider whether or not the United Methodist Church should broaden and expand the manner by which doctrinal factors define the relationship between Christian beliefs and whether or not homosexuality should be permissible or not. Whereas it is true that a literalist approach to the issue from a scriptural standpoint lends on to only one conclusion concerning homosexuality, the same cannot be said with respect to a contextual understanding of the practice of homosexuality within scripture. Due t o the fact that either of these approaches necessarily yields a foregone conclusion, this particular response will seek to engage the reader by taking a mixed methods approach; thereby leveraging the strengths of a literalist approach as well as the strength and determinacy of a contextualist approach to scripture. As it stands, the current doctrine specifies that the church is accepting of homosexuals; however, a more nebulous interpretation of the â€Å"sinful† nature of homosexuality exists. Moreover, ministers are prohibited from marrying individuals of the same sex. Due to the fact that the United Methodist church places scripture at the core of its understanding and teaching with regards to the importance of developing and maintaining a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ and seeking to the individual for salvation, a scriptural approach to the issue is the only approach that would be both relevant and necessary to seek to answer the question at hand. From an interpretation of Scripture, there are approximately 5-8 verses (depending upon the means that are employed to count these) that deal specifically with homosexuality and deem it as â€Å"unift† or an â€Å"abomination† in the eyes of God. Not surprisingly, most of these texts, and/or references as noted above, are found within the Old Testament. Whereas it is not the view of the United Methodist Church that the Old Testament is merely a fanciful story book that has little if any current day application, the fact of the matter is that a great majority of the Levitical laws cannot and should not be meant to apply to the current time. One might just as easily consider the Levitcal injunction against a woman aiding her husband if he is in mortal combat with another.1 By the same token, one could point to the way that Levitical law promotes an understanding that the female gender is somehow during their period. Naturally, although some of these may seem as somewhat comical during the current time, if a particular church or group of believers sought to take these directives literally, then truly a miserable interpretation of the love of God as exhibited elsewhere throughout the Bible must necessarily be reflected. By very much the same token, one can and should integrate with an appreciation for the way in which slavery is represented throughout the Bible, in total, there are over 100 texts concerning the legality and rules overseeing slavery as an accepted and

7- eleven supply chian Essay Example for Free

7- eleven supply chian Essay Jim Keyes, the 4-year veteran CEO of 7-Eleven, is flying his Beechcraft A36 Bonanza. He is ascending to 10,000 feet, and despite the good weather he remains vigilantly focused on the instrument panel, and on the bright skies around him. â€Å"Flying is a great distraction,† he says. â€Å"You can’t think about anything else when you’re in the cockpit.† It is May 2004, and Keyes has a lot to think about. Since 2000, he has been leading a successful transformation of 7-Eleven, the global convenience store retailer with 5,784 stores operating across the United States and Canada and 19,501 international stores in 17 countries. (See Exhibit 1 for a biography of Keyes.) Focusing on what he calls â€Å"Retailer Initiative,† Keyes has overseen the transformation of the company’s distribution model, the steady redefinition of relationships with key suppliers, and the incorporation of technology and data-driven decisionmaking throughout the chain. Overall, he is pleased with the successes of his strategies. Earnings have been rising, up 15.6 percent during 2003.1 Same-store merchandise sales have increased for 29 consecutive quarters through the end of 2003. As a result, the company’s stock price grew from $9.14 in April 2002 to $16.91 two years later. (See Exhibits 2 to 5 for company financials and stock price history.) â€Å"We’ve had quite a rebirth of the company,† Keyes says, â€Å"but it’s been a slow, steady rebuilding of the company, basically reinventing ourselves.†3 Despite his many successes, Keyes continues to confront large challenges. He faces strong resistance from some of his largest suppliers to 7-Eleven’s evolving re-stocking and distribution systems. He also worries about people management issues: hiring and managing a workforce in the low-paid convenience store business; and working with franchisees to ensure implementation of key corporate initiatives. In addition, Keyes must manage the chain’s increasing international expansion and its efforts to reposition the 7-Eleven brand in the highly fragmented domestic convenience store industry. This case was prepared in May 2004 by Eleanor Broad (MBA ’05), Paul Kihn (MBA ’04) and Steven Schneider (MBA ’04) under the supervision of Professor Alan Kane as the basis for class discussion, rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a strategic situation. Copyright  © 2004 Columbia Business School. 1 Keyes levels off at his cruising altitude. Despite the clarity of the day, he feels some turbulence and wonders what corrective action he should take. Convenience Store Industry The convenience store industry represented approximately $290.6 billion in total sales in 2002, 62.4 percent of which were motor-fuels sales.4 The industry differentiates itself through convenience – of location and product offerings – and speed of service.5 Historically the industry has been highly fragmented and very competitive with low barriers to entry. Single store companies account for 60 percent of the 132,000 convenience stores across the U.S.6 There are also 100,000 combination convenience-store/gas stations owned by major oil companies which are run by a network of independent dealers and distributors. 7-Eleven, with 4 percent of the total U.S. market, remains the largest corporate entity in the convenience store industry.7 Most of 7-Eleven’s direct competitors are regional convenience store chains. Circle K has 2,000 stores in the South and Southwest, Casey’s General Stores operates 1,800 in the Midwest and The Pantry has 1,400 stores in the Southeast. Inefficient supply chains and â€Å"high-low pricing†8 also characterize the industry, according to Keyes. Stores need to stock very wide but shallow product assortments. For example, an individual store may keep only four bottles of ketchup on hand at any given time. Since 1999 the industry has been undergoing a structural transformation with consolidation occurring through acquisitions and a number of bankruptcies among the smaller regional chains. In December 2003, Circle K was sold to Canada’s largest convenience store chain, Couche Tard. In 2004 the Midwestern chain Hale Halsell, the parent company of Oklahoma based 115-store convenience retailer Git-n-Go, declared bankruptcy. In March 2004, Kansas-based Sav-A-Trip announced it was entering Chapter 11.9 Despite these changes, one-store companies continued to gain market share, up five percent from 2001 to 2002.10 Overall, the convenience store industry was facing increasing challenges. According to an industry report published in May 2003: The convenience store sector is poised for drastic change as players respond to depressed profit margins and intensified competition. Profitability and survival will depend on the ability of convenience store operators to offer value-added benefits to their convenience services, either by targeting the emotional needs of consumers or by adopting niche operating strategies.11 Company Background The 7-Eleven chain was born in 1927 as the Southland Ice Company in Dallas, Texas. From this single location it soon began operating convenience stores under the name Tote’m. In 1946, it changed its store names to 7-Eleven to reflect their new, extended hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.12 The chain continued to expand rapidly, adding gas stations to its stores, opening locations across America and franchising overseas. (See Exhibits 6 to 7 for current domestic and international store locations.) In 1983, Southland acquired Citgo, an oil company, in an effort to pursue a vertically integrated strategy with ownership of its own dairy operations and distribution centers. Keyes, who began his career with the company at that time, recalls that the move backfired miserably. â€Å"We were great retailers but terrible refiners and dairy farmers,† he says. In 1987, stymied by debt, the company sold most of its non-retail businesses and its remaining 50 percent stake in Citgo. In 1988 management borrowed heavily to buy 100 percent of Southland’s stock in a leveraged buyout. However, in 1990, Southland defaulted on $1.8 billion in publicly traded debt and filed for bankruptcy protection. The company persuaded bondholders to restructure its debt and take 25 percent of its stock, clearing the way for the purchase of 63 percent of Southland in 1991 by IYG Holding, formed by Ito-Yokado (51 percent owner) and Seven-Eleven Japan (49 percent owner). From 1991 to 1993 sales declined as Southland closed stores, renovated others, and upgraded its merchandise. In early 2000 IYG raised its stake in 7-Eleven to nearly 73 percent. (See Exhibit 8 for 7-Eleven’s Board of Directors.) IYG currently owns or guarantees 80 percent of 7-Eleven’s outstanding debt. The company’s debt to total capital ratio is just above 91%. Also in 1999, the corporation changed its name from the Southland Corporation to 7-Eleven, Inc., in order to better reflect its primary business.13 In 2002 the company closed 133 under-performing stores and opened at 127 new locations in North America. At fiscal year end, 2003, domestic sales at 5,784 stores (2,457 of which also sell gasoline) was $10.8 billion ($3.4 billion in gasoline sales). (See Exhibits 9 and 10 for sales trends.) Interestingly, 7-Eleven’s percentage-of-sales ratios for merchandise (70 percent of sales) and gas (30% of sales) are the inverse of the convenience store industry’s as a whole. Worldwide, the company owned, franchised and licensed 25,796 stores that generated $36.5 billion in sales.14 (See Exhibit 11 for global store count growth.) Company structure There are three types of 7-Eleven stores: corporate, franchised and licensed. The company began franchising in 1964, signed its first United States area licensing agreement in 1968, and entered into its first international licensing agreement (with Mexico) in 1971. Corporate stores are owned and operated by the corporation, and run by store managers who are employees of 7-Eleven, Inc. About 2,480 of the 5,784 stores in the U.S. and Canada fall into this category. Franchises are run by independent contractors who enter into an agreement with 7-Eleven in order to operate one or more stores. 7-Eleven leases or owns the facilities and the store equipment, which are in turn leased by the franchisee. A typical franchisee pays a franchise fee averaging about $66,000, while the corporation retains ownership of the property, plant and equipment. 7-Eleven then requires an initial cash payment, averaging about $83,000 depending on the area, for the starting inventory and supplies.15 In some cases, the company will loan this amount to new franchisees. It is a franchise model, Keyes says, that provides â€Å"the best of both worlds†: the capital and support of the corporation, and the initiative and sweat-equity of individual entrepreneurs. Approximately 3,300 stores in the U.S. and Canada are franchised. 7-Eleven also enters into license agreements with partners, almost exclusively in foreign countries.16 A licensee is typically a retailing organization that owns or leases several 7-Eleven stores in areas where the company does not do business. In these cases, 7-Eleven does not own the PPE, and imposes a set of contractual obligations on the licensee to ensure consistency of signage, store design elements and store offerings. The licensee has access to brand equity and proprietary products. Specifically, 7-Eleven, Inc., grants the license to use the 7-Eleven trademarks, trade dress, and business information system. The company additionally provides ongoing business consulting services for a fee based on a percent of monthly gross sales and a commitment from the licensee to grow the 7-Eleven convenience store business in a specific geographic area on an exclusive basis for a set period of time. At the end of 2003, the company had 19,501 licensed stores operating internationally, an increase of approximately 1,400 locations over the prior year. In August 2003, Seven Eleven Japan, the largest international license holder, opened its 10,000th store. The New 7-Eleven Redefining Retailing In the Spring of 2003, speaking to the Retailing Leadership class at Columbia Business School, Keyes described the transformation in retailing he foresaw at 7-Eleven. â€Å"In the U.S., you say 7Eleven and people think sticky floors, surly salespeople and old product,† says Keyes. â€Å"In Japan where convenience stores sell sushi and pantyhose, 7-Eleven is known for service and for fresh, high quality product.† This vision of the potential for 7-Eleven stores in part drives Keyes’ ideas for change across the company. He continued: Twenty years ago when I was an MBA student at Columbia Business School there was no Retail class nor was Retail considered a worthy profession to go into – that is all changing. Retail is undergoing a massive transformation in the US right now. Retailers are seizing control of their own destiny. Keyes went on to explain how about 15 years ago Wal-Mart was the size of 7-Eleven. Wal-Mart has since grown to be the largest retailer in the world. â€Å"At 7-Eleven we are carrying out our own transformation,† said Keyes. â€Å"We have only just started.† Working with the Japanese owners and borrowing heavily from ideas generated by Seven Eleven Japan, Keyes has been leading a major cultural shift within the company, which he is calling the â€Å"Retailer Initiative.† At the heart of the initiative is 7-Eleven’s use of technology to empower the store operator (the person closest to the customer) to make key decisions. Keyes explains: Wal-Mart is very proud of their replenishment model. Its directly intended to take the thinking out of the store. Ours is exactly the opposite. Its intended to provide easy, funto-use and informative tools in the hands of store personnel. Its a fascinating use of technology. We become incredibly nimble. We can put a new product on the shelf, and by tomorrow we know how the customer is responding. Within a week, we can say with pretty good confidence whether it will be successful. We can tweak it or make it bigger or change the price. Its the heart of how we differentiate ourselves.17 With this fresh customer data in hand, 7-Eleven is working with suppliers to develop new private label products it knows its customers want. Overall, â€Å"Retailer Initiative† works to leverage the company’s scale, infrastructure and the entrepreneurial energy of its store-level operators. As Keyes wrote in the 2003 Annual Report: â€Å"[The store operators’] focus on item-by-item management – deleting slow-selling merchandise and introducing new items at every store, every day – allows 7-Eleven stores to satisfy their customers in ways that few retailers can match. In the simplest terms, we enjoy the power of a global retailer, but maintain the store-level focus of a single-store operator.†18 Retailing Leadership The New 7-Eleven stores while minimizing inventory and transportation costs. The company utilizes combined distribution centers (CDCs) that are strategically located near concentrations of 7-Eleven stores. In all, the company uses 23 CDCs across the United States that each can serve up to 700 stores. Driving time from the CDCs to the stores is usually no more than 90 minutes. Prior to the CDC approach, most vendors delivered directly to 7-Eleven stores at sporadic times, often no more than once per week. The cost of making more frequent stops could not be justified by single store sales. Further, 7-Eleven parking lots were frequently crowded with huge delivery trucks and more stops per week would only worsen this issue. As a result, each store needed to carry at least a week’s worth of inventory at any point in time. This drastically increased both inventory costs and storage space requirements while decreasing the freshness of the products offered to customers. 7-Eleven has the majority of its fresh products now delivered directly to the CDCs. By combining the demand of 200 stores, more frequent deliveries to the CDCs can easily be justified by the improved economics of the transportation costs. These CDCs, in turn, consolidate product from different vendors and combine them all on to one truck headed for each local 7Eleven. The company also runs their back-end supply chain very efficiently. 7-Eleven partners with third party logistics providers to run the CDCs. Each of these centers is approximately 20,000 square feet and ships 60,000 units per day—a very high number of orders given the size of the warehouses. Franchisees and corporate store managers make local vendor selection decisions. On average, store operators purchase 80 percent of their products from corporate recommended vendors using 7-Eleven’s internal systems. The remaining product can be purchased from suppliers outside of this network. By centralizing their buying for all of its stores, 7-Eleven is able to wield its purchasing power and negotiate better pricing, further contributing to their margins. Use of data and technology 7-Eleven takes a different approach to purchasing than traditional supply chain behemoths such as Wal-Mart. Rather than having a system decide what to order and taking the human element out of the process, 7-Eleven seeks to provide a set of tools for its local stores to make informed decisions on product ordering and assortments. The company effectively treats its local owners and operators as retailers. The corporation has developed a technology suite for its stores that helps local stores manage their purchasing. This system allows store managers to customize their product offering by ordering online and creating a suite of reports. Each local manager can track their total progress versus other 7-Eleven stores—which helps them determine if they are not taking appropriate steps to drive traffic (e.g. assortments, price points, etc.). Specific product reports are available to help managers determine their appropriate product mix and predict demand. Weather forecasts are provided as another tool to assist in the ordering process. The New 7-Eleven In addition, the huge amount of sales data and immediate response time help 7-Eleven make improved corporate decisions. The company is able to track trends at stores to understand how customers’ preferences are changing. Sales data helps the company understand the impact of opening up new stores and assists in location decisions. In addition, it allows the corporation to predict customer demand and helps in central purchasing decisions. Finally, this technology provides an immediate feedback loop for 7-Eleven on new products—within a matter of one or two days the fate of a new item becomes very clear. This information helps 7-Eleven drive key space in the store, innovate new products, and stay a step ahead of the competition. As Keyes points out, â€Å"Retailers are closer to customers than manufacturers,† even though the large suppliers traditionally drove the decisions on shelf space and location. Not all store owners and operators take advantage of this data and technology. Currently, the percent of product ordered through the online system by franchisees ranges from 100 percent to 20 percent. This raises the question of whether the right people are in place in 7-Eleven to make such localized decisions, and whether the company would be better served just ordering product for them. 7-Eleven is also faced with issues of brand consistency as a result: with different product assortments in each store, customers may be confused about what 7-Eleven stands for. Products Product innovation is another avenue through which Keyes is transforming the convenience retail industry. 7-Eleven tracks customers’ changing product purchasing habits and Keyes’ goal is to leverage this to create better quality products in the future. â€Å"We have the benefit of convenience, not price, being our main selling point. This gives us a lot of leeway to create higher quality, better products,† he says. 7-Eleven stores offer a wide range of products, from beer to beef jerky and cigarettes to cereal. The average store carries 3,000 SKU’s. About 70 percent of these are recommended by the head office and the remaining 30 percent are picked by local store managers to cater to specific local needs.19 For example, the 30 percent discretion allows a manager to stock up on beer if he knows that a local football game is playing, or to stock specific ethnic products if appropriate to a neighborhood. Merchandise mix Overall, tobacco products represent the largest selling product category at 7-Eleven, accounting for 29.3 percent of merchandise sales in 2003. (See Exhibit 12 for a breakdown of sales by product category.) Beverages represent 23.1 percent of sales, followed by beer/wine at 11.4 percent. Fresh foods account for 7.2 percent. Gasoline sales account for 31% percent of sales. The stores’ highest selling product is coffee – it sells thirty million cups a month.20 This is followed closely by beer (with sales of $64.58 million per month), the unit sales of which are The New 7-Eleven more than half single beers.21 The next highest selling product is the Slurpee, with over eleven million sold per month.22 Private label products 7-Eleven creates private label products to differentiate itself from the competition and boost its margins. The company’s most famous product, the flavored, crushed-ice beverage called Slurpee, was created in 1965. The company now sells 11.6 million Slurpees a month and introduces new flavors every year. Overall, the company creates 1,500 to 2,000 private label products each year, or 10-15 percent of its merchandise mix. Approximately 22 percent of its sales are proprietary products.23 If a product is not available in a conveniently sized package or is unknown in another country, 7-Eleven’s category managers will work with suppliers to create a new product. For example, in early 2004, 7-Eleven launched a low-carb category, primarily comprised of nutritional bars and snacks. It has also recently introduced the first mentholated gum in the U.S. after spotting the success of the product in Japan. (See Exhibit 13 for sample proprietary products.) Not all propriety products have been successful. In 2003, the chain launched its own proprietary imported beer brand, Santiago, brewed in El Salvador by an independent subsidiary of SAB Miller. Priced at $5.99 for a six-pack, a price roughly equivalent to Budweiser, Santiago suffered from oxidization and â€Å"taste† problems and is quietly being withdrawn after 10 months on the shelves. A reformulated version with improved taste and quality will be reintroduced later in the year.24 7-Eleven is also launching its first premium wine brand, Regions, in 2004. Packaged in 375-ml half bottles and finished with a natural cork stopper, Regions will retail for $4.99 compared to other wine selling in 7-Eleven stores at an average price of $6.25. Another new product 7-Eleven is launching is the EZ-D. Utilizing a new technology, this vacuum-packed DVD begins to oxidize upon exposure to the air. After 48 hours, it is no longer functional. As Keyes explains: We know we can sell DVDs. We know well never have the assortment of a Blockbuster, but if we can come up with a more unique way to sell movies, then we think theres an opportunity for us to be relevant. Were shooting for this to be priced like a rental with no returns at $5.99. Its a great example of how instead of waiting for the industry to catch up, we go to the manufacturer and say we need this.25 Services Currently, store sales from the Services category comprise 3 percent of overall sales. With new VCom Inc. terminals installed at 1,000 stores, the company provides financial services and Eretailing to in-store customers. The VCom units combine ATM capabilities with nonstandard features such as dispensing coins, cashing checks, and providing money orders. 7-Eleven also added E-retailing features allowing customers to buy products from retailers such as 1-800Flowers, eBags.com, and TopWebBuys.com. The goal is to have two kiosks in every store, Keyes says. Other services include 7-Eleven convenience cards – chargeable cards that work like cash – and pre-paid phone cards. As an extension to these phone cards, 7-Eleven started selling pre-paid Nokia wireless phones in April 2004. Customers will only be able to purchase additional minutes for these phones at 7-Eleven stores.26 Gasoline Tobacco Product categories which may be cause for concern in the future are gasoline and tobacco sales. From Dec. 2003 to March 2004 retail gasoline prices surged more than 25 cents per gallon from $1.48 to $1.73. The winners from this hike were oil refiner retailers such as Shell, BP, Exxon Mobile whilst the losers were convenience retailers, such as 7-Eleven. Such convenience retailers are required to pay refiners the higher fuel prices yet can not pass all of these increased fuel costs onto customers and thus sacrifice their gasoline margins. According to the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) gross retail gasoline profit margins plunged by more than 37 percent in the December, 2003-to-March, 2004 period, falling from 16.8 cents per gallon to just 10.6 cents per gallon nationally27. With 31% of 7-Eleven’s sales coming from gasoline, the volatility in gasoline prices over the last year highlights the risks of such dependence. While quarterly volatility is a risk with most commodity based products, 7-Eleven’s annual earnings stream from gasoline has been quite stable with gross profit margins of at least 13 cents per gallon in each of the past 10 years. Along with other convenience store retailers, 7-Eleven faces an increasingly tough regulatory environment surrounding the sale of tobacco, its best-selling product category. This environment includes a potential rise in the minimum age to purchase tobacco, an increase in â€Å"sin taxes† and growing health concerns. Ultimately, these issues could put downward pressure on tobacco sales and 7-Eleven’s margins. Distribution and supplier relationships 7-Eleven has forged strong relationships with its suppliers, though many challenges still remain for the corporation. These relationships are critical elements of 7-Eleven’s operational efficiency and strategy. Technology allows 7-Eleven to seamlessly integrate ordering and delivery scheduling. Key suppliers to 7-Eleven, however, have remained resistant to participating in the company’s evolving distribution system. These consumer packaged goods manufacturers have extensive 26 The New 7-Eleven distribution networks of their own to deliver goods and control in-store shelf space. By controlling in-store product placement, they are able to drive sales and get a solid advantage over the competition. They are reluctant to give up such an advantage. 7-Eleven has been changing this model. The company believes that they can increase their own profitability by consolidating shipments from a variety of suppliers in their warehouses, and distributing to their own stores based on in-store sales data. While many of the smaller manufacturers have conceded and switched to this CDC model, many of the larger suppliers are still fighting. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Budweiser have such a vested interest in their distribution networks that they have not yet been willing to transition. They do not want to relinquish control over floor and shelf space. Keyes, however, feels that they will eventually come around as a result of pressure from key players such as Wal-Mart and 7-Eleven. Further, this centralized distribution model – which is effectively breaking down the barrier to entry of 100-year-old distribution networks – is providing opportunities for new suppliers to enter the market. Customers Traditionally 7-Eleven’s core customer was a male, blue-collar worker purchasing coffee before work or beer at the end of the day. More recently, the 7-Eleven customer demographic has shifted as the products and services it offers have changed. Describing the relationship between demographic and product mix, Keyes explains: â€Å"7-Eleven’s gasoline island today is over 50 percent female because we were one of the first with self-service, pay-at-the-pump gas pumps and it was easier for moms.† The customer base has shifted from largely blue-collar male to a broader demographic mix, including more female customers. Keyes says of this shift: Inside, the store isn’t 60 percent blue-collar male anymore, but we don’t want to run off our core customer. We still sell a lot of beer and beef jerky, and we plan to continue. Our new approach is subtle. When you know that you can get a good, healthy, fresh sandwich then well get you, not by advertising and telling you what a great place we are. As with most retailers, the key is having the right assortments. This strategy involves selling a wider range of products than the traditional beer and beef jerky alongside pork rinds. Broadening the product mix encourages a demographic broadening of the customer base. People Management People management remains an ongoing challenge at 7-Eleven. â€Å"There are huge labor issues,† says Keyes.28 Specifically he points out: â€Å"The people represent the company.† 7-Eleven has 70,000 employees worldwide, 6,000 of whom are staffing stores on overnight shifts. Keyes 28 Jim Keyes, Columbia Class Video, February 6, 2002. 10 Retailing Leadership The New 7-Eleven worries about the customer service provided by these front-line employees, and by franchisees who operate as independent contractors. â€Å"You cannot execute Retailer Initiative without retailers,† says Keyes. To help its store managers, both franchisees and corporate employees, 7-Eleven began a 12-week certification program in 2002. By the end of 2003, almost one-third of its store operators had been certified. In addition, more than 2,700 store sales associates had completed a two-day training module on the essential elements of the Retailer Initiative strategy.29 Franchisees 7-Eleven remains active in managing and supporting its franchisees. Each franchisee undergoes an initial 6-week training program in operating and managing a 7-Eleven store, and is subsequently assigned a field consultant who provides on-going support during weekly visits. In addition, the company hosts an annual â€Å"7-Eleven University† during which franchisees and corporate-store managers are introduced to new products and company initiatives. Historically, the franchises have been more successful than corporate stores. â€Å"We think this is because they’ve got skin in the game,† says Keyes. Now, however, the franchises have begun to fall behind corporate stores. While all corporate initiatives are immediately implemented in corporate-run stores, franchisees are not required to use the new inventory system. As Keyes has moved to change the way 7-Eleven operates, the existing group of 3,300 franchisees are proving to be a â€Å"challenge.† â€Å"They t hink that we’re trying to force them to be employees, and we’re not,† he says. Specifically, franchisees have been unhappy with the gross profit â€Å"split† between themselves and the company. Under the existing franchise agreement, franchisees retain 48 percent of their gross profit margin, and give 52 percent to the corporation. In turn, the corporation has become unhappy with the rate at which existing franchisees have been converting to the Retailer Initiative and the new, company-wide SKU-picking system in particular. In order to address these concerns, 7-Eleven has recently offered a new franchise agreement. Under this new agreement, the gross profit split is now 50-50. Under the new agreement, franchisees must now repay the corporation for advertising expenditures, equivalent to between 0.5 and 1.5 percent of the franchisee’s gross profit. To address the company’s concerns, the new agreement phases in a further requirement for franchisees to order 85 percent of their SKUs from recommended vendors. The new agreement will affect the 34 percent of all franchisees whose agreements were up for renewal on December 31, 2003, along with all new franchise holders. The remaining franchisees will be eligible to sign the agreement starting in 2004. 29 7-Eleven, 2003 Annual Report. 11 Retailing Leadership The New 7-Eleven Diversity As a further effort to address 7-Eleven’s human resource issues, the company has attempted to re-brand its diversity as an asset. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the company experienced antagonism directed at several of its front-line store employees who were thought to be of Middle-Eastern origin. The company responded to this crisis by attempting to define the diversity of its workforce as a strength. 7-Eleven produced and aired commercials that highlighted the immigrant origins of franchiseowners. In one commercial, a Thai franchisee is shown working hard to build her 7-Eleven franchise, followed by shots of her welcoming her two children to America in an airport waiting area after a long separation. Additionally, the company held its 75th birthday celebrations on Ellis Island in New York City, the former gateway to the U.S. for immigrants. â€Å"America was built by immigrants who came here to live the American Dream† says Keyes. â€Å"7-Eleven represents that opportunity to be your own boss.†30 Differentiation Continuing people management concerns also rest in part on the lack of training and on-going support for the hourly workers, particularly those that work in franchises where franchisees are responsible for the hiring and training of employees. According to the company, store-level employee turnover at over 100% is in line with industry norms, and 7-Eleven has seen two consecutive years of improvement.31 Keyes believes that 7-Eleven’s front-line employee issues can be resolved in part through differentiation. Just as 7-Eleven has to differentiate products, he says, it also has to differentiate the store for employees. Why work at 7-Eleven for $8-$9 an hour, rather than at McDonalds? Currently, says Keyes, â€Å"We have people looking for an hourly wage, not a challenge.†32 There are currently two drivers of employer differentiation at 7-Eleven. The first is staff development and ongoing training. At 7-Eleven University, franchisees and store managers are exposed to ideas for motivating and teaching employees. Keyes often visits stores and concludes that franchisees often do not work with their hourly employees to help them understand customer service. Hourly workers are told, for example, that the retail cost of an empty cup is 70 cents (a function of retail vs. cost accounting), so when customers come in and ask for a cup of water, they are told the cost is 70 cents. â€Å"They don’t know that the actual cup cost is only a nickel and that it would make more sense to build customer goodwill by giving them the cup and writing it off,† says Keyes. â€Å"We can turn an $8-9 dollar an hour employee into a retailer by giving them the tools, like performance-building skills.† Additionally, Keyes would like to see store franchisees and managers do more to create a positive work environment for hourly workers. You can â€Å"fire up† a group of hourly-wage employees, believes Keyes, thinking back to his own college job at McDonald’s. He was 30 Jim Keyes, Columbia Class Video, 2003. 7-Eleven. 32 Jim Keyes, Columbia Class Video, February 6, 2002. 31 12 Retailing Leadership The New 7-Eleven enthusiastic, he recalls, both as an entry-level worker and when he was promoted to run staff training at new stores. His managers and his peers, he believes, helped to create an atmosphere where people wanted to work. The second driver of employee differentiation is â€Å"social capitalism.† Keyes attempted to differentiate 7-Eleven stores as workplaces by building up the idea that the company can give back to the communities in which its employees work and live. In 2002, 7-Eleven set up the Education is Freedom Foundation, sustained through company gifts, website donations, and collection boxes at store cash registers. (See Exhibit 14 for the Foundation’s website.) The Foundation was expressly intended to provide money for the higher education of employees and their children. This idea intended to leverage 7-Eleven’s long identification with the American Dream – as a place where recent immigrants and others could run a business as a franchisee with little capital investment – into the idea that working for 7-Eleven is a good place to get an education. Overall, the Foundation distributed $2000 scholarships to 223 students, after receiving 30,000 applications.33 The impact on employee turnover, however, seemed negligible. â€Å"I was waiting,† says Keyes, â€Å"for my HR team to pick up the ball.† Despite wanting to differentiate itself in the eyes of employees, 7-Eleven, like other players in the convenience store industries, worries about an increase in the minimum wage. Labor expense accounted for 42.1 percent of gross profit in 2002 for the convenience store industry as a whole.34 For example, the New York Association of Convenience Stores noted that a proposed increase in the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.10 by 2006 would increase convenience store costs in the state by 38 percent.35 Finally, 7-Eleven faces the challenge of maintaining security in its stores, many of which operate 24 hours a day. A Learning Organization Keyes would like 7-Eleven to become a â€Å"learning organization† from top to bottom. As he works to reinvent the company, and to move away from traditional methods of retailing, Keyes would like to engender an environment of continual learning in franchises, corporate-run stores, and in HQ. Recognizing that 7-Eleven is not considered an attractive place to work for newlyminted MBA’s and others, Keyes wants to turn 7-Eleven into the â€Å"Procter Gamble training ground† for the convenience industry. Specifically, Keyes worries about creating a management team to succeed him. He talks about being in â€Å"leadership 101† as he looks back and realizes that he is so much of a hands-on person that he did not make enough effort to develop people as he was moving up through the ranks of the company. 33 7-Eleven news release, January 21, 2004. EDC Economics, An Overview of the US Convenience Store Industry, December 2003. 35 New York Association of Convenience Stores (www.nyacs.org). 34 13 Retailing Leadership The New 7-Eleven Search for new HR Director In order to develop employer differentiation ideas, manage the image of 7-Eleven’s front-line retailers and develop ways of making 7-Eleven’s corporate side a more attractive place to work and develop as retailers, Keyes instituted a search for a new Director of Human Resources. (See Exhibit 16 for a company organization chart.) After looking at many resumes, he remains unimpressed. â€Å"They don’t go above the baseline,† he says. So many of the candidates miss the point about differentiation and customer service, and do not understand that all employees must be able to fill in the blank: â€Å"I want to work for 7-Eleven because _______.† Growth 7-Eleven is expanding rapidly. In the U.S., store growth is balanced between new franchises and corporate-run stores. Internationally, the company enters into license agreements with partners in foreign countries. Domestic Expansion 7-Eleven is adopting an urban strategy learned from successful licensees in Japan and Taiwan, ceding high-traffic corners to others and looking for more unconventional locations. These types of selections decrease the cost of real estate and, as a result, increase the company’s return on investment. In addition, the company is upgrading both its technological and physical infrastructure to continue to redefine its brand image. 7-eleven spent over $500 million over the last five years to upgrade its technology platform (See Exhibit 16 for pictures of current stores.) In 2004, the company plans to open approximately 100 new retail outlets in the United States while continuing to close unprofitable stores. Keyes believes this is vastly undershooting their expansion potential. In Japan, the company netted over 1,000 new stores during 2003. He believes that 7-Eleven could easily add 500 to 1,000 stores per year in the U.S. market. Areas of focus include cities and airports, as well as further penetrating some of their existing markets. Questions remain, however: Can 7-Eleven justify the relatively high cost of real estate in these areas? What effect will cannibalization have on the economics of both their new and existing stores? Further, based on their highly leveraged balance sheet, can they even afford to do it? International Expansion Keyes also sees great opportunities in new markets. South America, Beijing and the rest of China are all examples of key markets that the company is looking to expand into.36 7-Eleven hopes to secure local partners that are familiar with the markets to increase the chances of success. While convenience transcends cultural differences, the definition of convenience will certainly vary by culture. 36 Associated Press, April 6, 2004. 7-Eleven, through a joint venture arrangement between licensee Seven-Eleven Japan and two Chinese partners opened its first store in Beijing on April 15, 2004. 14 Retailing Leadership The New 7-Eleven International expansion is facilitated through the use of license agreements. Such agreements give 7-Eleven, Inc., legal control over the use of trademarks, trade dress and business information, and attempts to establish mutually beneficial relationships in order to ensure additional control over licensees. Japan represents 7-Eleven’s greatest international success. The stores are consistently clean and well-organized, with a very wide and high-quality product line. Working closely with suppliers and providing first-class service to customers Seven-Eleven Japan has experienced phenomenal success. It now has over 10,000 stores. While the Japanese experience represents strong success, it remains to be seen whether 7-Eleven can replicate that model in other countries. Conclusion â€Å"It’s been a fascinating experience to take a company that was an icon in an industry and transform its economic model over the last 10 years,† says Keyes. He admits, however, that the transformation is on-going and not complete. He worries about the continued holding-out of his dominant suppliers like Coca Cola and Pepsi to the CDC model. Underlying these difficulties with his reinvention of 7-Eleven, the people management issues loom large. What should he be looking for in his new HR director? Why is the right person so hard to find? â€Å"The sky’s the limit in terms of what we can create,† says Keyes. â€Å"As I look around the landscape of retail all of my competition are playing the same game.† In his Beechcraft, as Keyes adjusts his altitude to compensate for the turbulence, he sees much blue sky in front of him. He also can’t help noticing the clouds off in the distance. 15 Retailing Leadership Exhibit 1 The New 7-Eleven Biography of Jim Keyes Jim Keyes is president and chief executive officer for 7-Eleven, Inc., the world’s largest convenience store retailer. Mr. Keyes served in a number of senior management positions before being elected to his current role in 2000. He joined 7-Eleven stores’ former subsidiary Citgo Petroleum in 1985 as general manager of marketing and business strategy. A year later, he became general manager of 7-Eleven’s national gasoline, with responsibility for the company’s retail gasoline business in the United States and Canada. He was named vice president of national gasoline in 1991. Mr. Keyes served as the company’s senior financial officer in 1992 and was named chief financial officer in 1996. He was elected to the company’s board of directors in 1997 and promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1998. Before joining 7-Eleven, he held various field and corporate positions at Gulf Oil Corporation. Mr. Keyes earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass., where he was named to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and graduated cum laude in 1977. He also attended the University of London and received a Master’s of Business Administration degree from Columbia University in New York City [in 1980]. Mr. Keyes is founding chairman of Education is Freedom, a public charity dedicated to helping hard-working young people reach their full potential through higher education. He serves on the national board of directors of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Latino Initiatives for the Next Century (LINC) and on the board of trustees for the Boys and Girls Club. Mr. Keyes also is on the board of directors for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). He was recognized by the Network of Executive Women for his efforts to promote diversity in the workplace. Mr. Keyes serves in a leadership role within the local Dallas community as well, as an executive board member of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Dallas Citizens Council and a member of Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business and chairman of the Dallas Symphony Association. Mr. Keyes was born on March 17, 1955 in Grafton, Mass. He and his wife Margo live in Dallas.

Internship Reflection Essay -- Reflection Paper

It has been a while since I started at the internship and I am really glad I decided to work here. I think the experience in this area is a good preview of my career and future. I am learning some important skills and finding out some things about myself and the tough skin I will need in order to stay in the area of juvenile support. One of my responsibilities involved checking the messages from the days before on the office phone. I found that some of the potential mentors sounded older. This got me wondering about the age limits of the mentors. I knew they had to be at least 18, but was there an age cap? Could a 30-year-old join the team and be the mentor to a 12-year-old? I though about the different ways that these relationships could manifest. If the mentor was older, could they potential become a parental figure to the child? I always thought of the mentors as young adults, around college age. They would be an older sibling to the child, understanding the generation specific of the child, especially once they were teens. I though that in this way, the child would possibly open up more because they would not look at the person as an authority figure. When I though about a possible 13-year-old being matched with a 35-year-old, I thought of my teen years and figured that at that age, I would not have been so willing to share. Nevertheless, we allow any willing person, over the age of 18, that passes the checks, to become a mentor! More calls throughout the week led me to turning down grandparents whose children were in county prisons. This was heart breaking. In the past, I spoke to people who worked with juvenile delinquents and they always warned me that the job was difficult. They feelings that could be evoked, even wit... ... needed to get some fingerprinting done for their job. They had to go to an actually fingerprinting center. Seeing that I do the mobile fingerprinting, I was interested in seeing how the center handled it. They did their electronically. They computer analyzed whether the print was legible then loaded it to their file. This way was much easier than our way. It was neater because their was no ink needed. Also, if a mistake was made, the cop could just redo the print. On the other hand, I have to put down a white out strip to cover the old one and re-ink the finger. After the cop was complete finished with both hands, he clicked a button and sent the prints down to Florida to get checked. The website actively keeps the applicant informed on the progress of the print. We, however, must mail it in hoping it is legible and wait for a letter to let us know how it went.

Deception Point Page 90

Face-to-face with him, Rachel felt like a teenager standing on the doorstep with a new boyfriend. â€Å"Thanks. No problem at all. Really.† Something inside her sensed Tolland wanted to kiss her. After a beat, he turned shyly away. â€Å"I know. You want to get to shore. We should get to work.† â€Å"For now.† Rachel smiled softly. â€Å"For now,† Tolland repeated, taking a seat at the computer. Rachel exhaled, standing close behind now, savoring the privacy of the small lab. She watched Tolland navigate a series of files. â€Å"What are we doing?† â€Å"Checking the database for big ocean lice. I want to see if we can find any prehistoric marine fossils that resemble what we saw in the NASA meteorite.† He pulled up a search page with bold letters across the top: PROJECT DIVERSITAS. Scrolling through the menus, Tolland explained, â€Å"Diversitas is essentially a continuously updated index of oceanic biodata. When a marine biologist discovers a new ocean species or fossil, he can toot his horn and share his find by uploading data and photos to a central databank. Because there's so much new data discovered on a weekly basis, this is really the only way to keep research up-to-date.† Rachel watched Tolland navigating the menus. â€Å"So you're accessing the Web now?† â€Å"No. Internet access is tricky at sea. We store all this data onboard on an enormous array of optical drives in the other room. Every time we're in port, we tie into Project Diversitas and update our databank with the newest finds. This way, we can access data at sea without a Web connection, and the data is never more than a month or two out of date.† Tolland chuckled as he began typing search keywords into the computer. â€Å"You've probably heard of the controversial music file-sharing program called Napster?† Rachel nodded. â€Å"Diversitas is considered the marine biologist's version of Napster. We call it LOBSTER – Lonely Oceanic Biologists Sharing Totally Eccentric Research.† Rachel laughed. Even in this tense situation, Michael Tolland exuded a wry humor that eased her fears. She was beginning to realize she'd had entirely too little laughter in her life lately. â€Å"Our database is enormous,† Tolland said, completing the entry of his descriptive keywords. â€Å"Over ten tera-bytes of descriptions and photos. There's information in here nobody has ever seen-and nobody ever will. Ocean species are simply too numerous.† He clicked the â€Å"search† button. â€Å"Okay, let's see if anyone has ever seen an oceanic fossil similar to our little space bug.† After a few seconds, the screen refreshed, revealing four listings of fossilized animals. Tolland clicked on each listing one by one and examined the photos. None looked remotely like the fossils in the Milne meteorite. Tolland frowned. â€Å"Let's try something else.† He removed the word â€Å"fossil† from his search string and hit â€Å"search.† â€Å"We'll search all living species. Maybe we can find a living descendant that has some of the physiological characteristics of the Milne fossil.† The screen refreshed. Again Tolland frowned. The computer had returned hundreds of entries. He sat a moment, stroking his now stubble-darkened chin. â€Å"Okay, this is too much. Let's refine the search.† Rachel watched as he accessed a drop-down menu marked â€Å"habitat.† The list of options looked endless: tide pool, marsh, lagoon, reef, mid-oceanic ridge, sulfur vents. Tolland scrolled down the list and chose an option that read: Destructive Margins/Oceanic Trenches. Smart, Rachel realized. Tolland was limiting his search only to species that lived near the environment where these chondrulelike features were hypothesized to form. The page refreshed. This time Tolland smiled. â€Å"Great. Only three entries.† Rachel squinted at the first name on the list. Limulus poly†¦ something. Tolland clicked the entry. A photo appeared; the creature looked like an oversized horseshoe crab without a tail. â€Å"Nope,† Tolland said, returning to the previous page. Rachel eyed the second item on the list. Shrimpus Uglius From Hellus. She was confused. â€Å"Is that name for real?† Tolland chuckled. â€Å"No. It's a new species not yet classified. The guy who discovered it has a sense of humor. He's suggesting Shrimpus Uglius as the official taxonomical classification.† Tolland clicked open the photo, revealing an exceptionally ugly shrimplike creature with whiskers and fluorescent pink antennae. â€Å"Aptly named,† Tolland said. â€Å"But not our space bug.† He returned to the index. â€Å"The final offering is†¦ † He clicked on the third entry, and the page came up. â€Å"Bathynomous giganteus†¦ † Tolland read aloud as the text appeared. The photograph loaded. A full-color close-up. Rachel jumped. â€Å"My God!† The creature staring back at her gave her chills. Tolland drew a low breath. â€Å"Oh boy. This guy looks kind of familiar.† Rachel nodded, speechless. Bathynomous giganteus. The creature resembled a giant swimming louse. It looked very similar to the fossil species in the NASA rock. â€Å"There are some subtle differences,† Tolland said, scrolling down to some anatomical diagrams and sketches. â€Å"But it's damn close. Especially considering it has had 190 million years to evolve.† Close is right, Rachel thought. Too close. Tolland read the description on the screen: â€Å"‘Thought to be one of the oldest species in the ocean, the rare and recently classified species Bathynomous giganteus is a deepwater scavenging isopod resembling a large pill bug. Up to two feet in length, this species exhibits a chitinous exoskeleton segmented into head, thorax, abdomen. It possesses paired appendages, antennae, and compound eyes like those of land-dwelling insects. This bottom-dwelling forager has no known predators and lives in barren pelagic environments previously thought to be uninhabitable.† Tolland glanced up. â€Å"Which could explain the lack of other fossils in the sample!† Rachel stared at the creature on-screen, excited and yet uncertain she completely understood what all of this meant. â€Å"Imagine,† Tolland said excitedly, â€Å"that 190 million years ago, a brood of these Bathynomous creatures got buried in a deep ocean mud slide. As the mud turns into rock, the bugs get fossilized in stone. Simultaneously, the ocean floor, which is continuously moving like a slow conveyer belt toward the oceanic trenches, carries the fossils into a high-pressure zone where the rock forms chondrules!† Tolland was talking faster now. â€Å"And if part of the fossilized, chondrulized crust broke off and ended up on the trench's accretionary wedge, which is not at all uncommon, it would be in a perfect position to be discovered!† â€Å"But if NASA†¦,† Rachel stammered. â€Å"I mean, if this is all a lie, NASA must have known that sooner or later someone would find out this fossil resembles a sea creature, right? I mean we just found out!† Tolland began printing the Bathynomous photos on a laser printer. â€Å"I don't know. Even if someone stepped forward and pointed out the similarities between the fossils and a living sea louse, their physiologies are not identical. It almost proves NASA's case more strongly.† Rachel suddenly understood. â€Å"Panspermia.† Life on earth was seeded from space. â€Å"Exactly. Similarities between space organisms and earth organisms make excellent scientific sense. This sea louse actually strengthens NASA's case.† â€Å"Except if the meteorite's authenticity is in question.† Tolland nodded. â€Å"Once the meteorite comes into question, then everything collapses. Our sea louse turns from NASA friend to NASA linchpin.†

Intensive Mothering

Other writers, like Sharon Hays, mount descriptions of American mothering that implicitly criticize some of the facets of attachment parenting. After reading these authors' pieces alongside the work of attachment parenting proponents Like Lauren Lindsey Porter, William and Martha Sears, and Katie Allison Grange, do you believe that the critics' condemnation of attachment parenting Is fair? Does AP place undue demands on women? Why or why not? Questions to Ponder: Is attachment parenting synonymous with â€Å"intensive mothering? † Why or why not?Do you think attachment parenting always entails the type of parenting the authors criticize, or might aspects of attachment parenting in fact work against â€Å"intensive mothering? Is the rise of attachment parenting to blame for the stressful nature of motherhood in contemporary American society, or are other social structures at fault (e. G. Lack of maternity/family leave, lack of subsidized public childcare options, etc. )? Are t he practices AP promotes (co-sleeping, breastfeeding, and barreling, for example) problematic? Are they Incompatible with paid work?How does social class Influence the practice of attachment parenting, and do the authors myopically focus on the middle/upper-middle classes? Why do you think attachment parenting has been targeted as an object of criticism? Note that I do not expect you to answer all of these questions; I'm including them merely to give you a sense of some of the directions you might take with your Format and Specifications: In an approximately 4-5 page (1200-1500 word) paper, make a claim about whether or not you believe the critique of AP levied by the critics Is a fair and reasonable one, and why.The why Is as Important If not more Important than the stance Itself, and should play a part in your actual claim, so that your claim is not merely â€Å"the critique Your claim should be clear yet robust, and contestable, and you should draw on at east 2-3 of our in-class readings (note that you may use the Accredited and Blades and Rowe-Finickier readings on paid work and mothering as well) to support it. You should also cite at least one source that we have not read together as a class (more on that later), for a minimum of 3-4 sources.All of the papers you write for this class should adhere to MEAL guidelines both for citations (which will be parenthetical) and for the works cited page. You need not include works Vive given you to read for this course in your works cited page, but you should always put any outside sources that you cite on your works cited page. Please refer to your syllabus for specifications on margins, font, font size, and word count! Outside Sources: The following links might prove to be useful in learning more about the theory and practice of attachment parenting, and may lead you to other sources as well.I will generally accept any of the information on these sites as credible sources on attachment parenting as it is perceiv ed by its adherents. Www. Disenfranchisements. Org (official website of Attachment Parenting International Group) www. Wisped. Org (note that I don't normally encourage the use of Wisped for academic research, but TTS entry on AP is actually quite accurate and helpful; also contains links to other sites) www. Saddlers. Com (more from William Sears) www. Gastrointestinal]u. Com (this is Grange's blob; you can also link too list of her essays and articles from here) www. Naturalistic. Mom (the site on which the Porter reading appears; explores AP from a â€Å"Natural Family Living† perspective) www. Mothering. Com (website for â€Å"Mothering† magazine, an AP/NFG publication; contains numerous articles and hosts the largest discussion board on the web regarding attachment parenting issues) If you have questions or concerns about a source you intend to use, and whether it is reliable, feel free to ask me my opinion. You will have more time and opportunity to refine your u se of outside sources during the revision stage, but you should make a reasonable attempt to flesh out your evidence in this draft.Rhea Shawnee English Paper I-Draft Parenthood can often be extremely overwhelming and demanding. Putting aside your entire life and giving up everything to satisfy the needs of your baby is not an easy or poses a huge responsibility on parents. In my opinion, the critiques condemnation of attachment parenting is not fair. I believe that the concept of attachment is reasonable and infant necessary for infants to develop into skilled, independent and mature individuals who share a strong emotional bond with their parents.First and foremost, it is essential to know what Attachment parenting is all about? It is ‘an approach of raising children who are well connected to their parents rather than a strict set of rules. ‘A common misconception that people have is considering intensive mothering to be a synonym for attachment parenting. Intensive mot hering is based on the idea of completely sacrificing your needs and desires and devoting our life to your child or in other words letting your child dictate your life.Most of the articles such as DRP. Laurel's neighborhood focuses on the extreme extent people go to in order to raise their child in the â€Å"perfect† way. The author in a rather sarcastic tone aims to make the readers realize that even in the sass's and ass's parents raised babies who turned out to be Just fine without the concern that they aren't spending enough time with their kids and needing to demonstrate in countless ways each and everyday that you really, really love your child'.It lays emphasis on the fact that if you re unable to provide technologically advanced gadgets like ‘Baby-Be-Safe Crib sheet or video surveillance cameras to keep a check on the nanny looking after your baby or electronic monitors to check the babies heart rate even before he is born' you are considered an incompetent pare nt.Attachment parenting on the other hand means ‘opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby and letting your knowledge of your child be your guide to making on the spot decisions about what works best for both the mother and child, that is learning read the cues of your baby and responding appropriately to those uses. ‘ It encourages parents to find out which parenting style fits their lifestyle in the best way and modify what does not work for them. As sears says, â€Å"Like any Journey, parenting requires adjustments along the way. Attachment parenting does not pose undue demands on women in the sense that it is not compelling you to do all the seven Baby Bi's and being practical and realistic, if not impossible it is extremely difficult to do everything that is recommended. It mainly advises you to incorporate whatever makes the connection between you and your child stronger in your day to ay routine. Attachment parenting does not expect parents to spend 24 hours of a day Just attending to your child, instead it's the quality of time during which you are able to develop a feeling of trust and make your baby feel that he/she can rely on you for his needs.A frequently asked question that people have is won't the constant nursing and attention giving to your child be problematic? People feel tied down with the seven Bi's of attachment parenting and might consider them to be challenging. However, many attachment parents after being interviewed stated, â€Å"l feel so connected with y baby. † â€Å"l feel right when with her, not right when we're apart. † â€Å"l feel fulfilled. † The seven Bi's of baby wearing include, ‘breastfeeding, balance, beware of baby wearing and birth bonding. Attachment parenting is a very typical way of parenting and all these practices have been practiced all over the world for hundreds of years only recently these practices have been termed together as attachment parentin g. Though some people may consider the seven Baby Bi's to be highly problematic if they are working mothers but as stated earlier, it is not mandatory to follow all seven of them. For instance, I feel breastfeeding is essential for the health of the baby, moreover, ‘Current studies show that babies who are breast fed tend to be healthier, more secure and even score higher on IQ tests!In addition the bond between breastfeeding mom and baby tends to help form a secure attachment for the baby as he or she grows. Breastfeeding also tends to be an economical choice for many families. ‘ ‘A British study of 36 middle-class mothers and their three-year-olds found that securely-attached children scored 12 points higher on the Stanford-Bines intelligence test than did insecurely attached children (Crandall and Hobnobs 1999). Since research has proven that breastfeeding is vital for healthier growth of babies I think it would be unfair for those babies who are not breast-fed. Another topic that is highly debated over is whether a baby should co-sleep or not? Research has come to a conclusion that co sleeping reduces stress and anxiety levels among babies as they sleep in a safe and sound environment close to their parents. Co-sleeping may be a stress-reducer as well. A British study reports that children (aged 3-8) who slept in their parents' rooms showed lower daily levels of the stress hormone cortical (Wentworth 2007).Its is argued upon by people who say that it may be dangerous for the baby to sleep on the same bed as the parent and co sleeping may be spoiling the baby as it would not make him independent and the baby needs to learn how to sleep alone at some point. However, co-sleeping does not mean that the baby has to sleep on the same bed as the parent. The baby can sleep anywhere in the same room as the parents or in a crib right next to the parents bed it would still be considered co sleeping.The main idea is for the baby to be close to the par ents so that the parents can easily tend to the baby if needed. If pondered upon, intensive mothering is much more problematic in comparison to attachment parenting. Intensive mothering is Judging your capability as a mother on the basis of your ability to afford expensive and luxurious products. In that sense it can be said that attachment parenting is reasonable, as at least it is not expecting parents to go over the top to raise their child.All Attachment parenting is asking parents to do is treating your child with love and affection and to getting to know your child better. Which part of that is unreasonable or unfair for mothers? A child is not a machine; it is not inbuilt with functions neither goes it come into this wide world prepared to react to all the situations it is faced with. Parents need to understand what is going on the babies mind and respond accordingly. This can only be possible if the parent spends enough time with their baby. If parents are unable to find som e time out they should not to have a baby.As critiques put it, attachment parenting may pose undue demands on women, as she is the sole person who can provide the kind of care, love and attention that the baby is unable to devote herself to her babies needs when he/she needs it the most she is not ready for the challenges of motherhood. In western cultures, it is not an obligation for a married couple to have children. If both parents are professionals and have chosen their career over their family, it would be a wiser option not to have babies, as there is no point raising a child who is going to be neglected.In several parts of the world such as India, it is almost mandatory for a married couple to have children or else the family members along with the society raise questions and the mother is expected to leave everything aside and raise the baby. This is very customary in India, as my own grandfather did not let my mother continue with her equines, as he wanted her sole attentio n to be on raising her children. Therefore, a majority of the Indian babies are attachment parented. However, in countries like America, no one is putting a gun to your head to have a baby.It is entirely the couple's choice. Therefore, in conclusion, the fact remains that every individual is unique and one parenting style cannot fit everyone. I feel that a majority of the critiques â€Å"who tend to criticize attachment parenting don't really understand what attachment parenting is all about,† â€Å"So many studies show that if you meet the needs of a child when she's nouns, she will grow into becoming more independent. † Attachment parenting is a broad parenting style that promotes seven ways to get connected with your baby.Moreover, attachment parenting is exactly what has been practiced all over the world for years only now its been given a name; the only change that has occurred is that there has been a significant increase in the number of working mothers. Attachm ent parenting is criticized because it is thought to pose strenuous demands on working mothers but it is always possible to try to mix and match parenting style and figure out what works for them. It is not setting out a strict set of rules to raise a baby and above all it is because of its flexibility why I feel attachment parenting is fair and reasonable.

Social groups Essay Example

Social groups Essay Example Social groups Essay Social groups Essay Belonging to a social group is one of the fulfilling things that can happen in a man’s life. Such membership creates an opportunity to create new and modify existing schemata about life and human interactions on a large scale. An effective contribution to and adherence to the shared values of a social group has a way of changing one’s attitude personally. In a situation where the social group has a link with a particular career, such affords increased awareness of information in this line, and forestalls greater career pursuit. The fact is that an active social group affects lives in several ways. THE GROUP: THE COMPASSIONATE FOUNDATION This is the non-profit no-governmental organization that I belong to; it has been created a s a way of pooling resources together to improve all aspects of rural dwelling. It also encourages the religious activities and missionary works of Christianity with a large emphasis of improved academic standard in sub-urban regions. Its activities and arms are organized in such a way that a life is touched positively on the long run, and somebody can point to the banners of the group and say, ‘Thanks a million’ with a large smile on the face. The ideas implemented are not esoteric; they are contemporary ideas that improve academic performance among students in primary and high schools across the country, and in the continent. It is an evolving social group with a view of reaching the whole world not just in s smile train but with the air of rest and comfort. The vision is to see a world of uniform education such that unnecessary unrests can be reduced, environmental degradation can be assuaged and other social vices stemming from the poverty and ignorance can be adequately dwelt with. This way, the society is better and the world becomes an easier to live. Community Reports Community reports are obtained through the following means: à ¼Ã‚   Visitation to Sites of Impact à ¼Ã‚   Obtaining information from stakeholders à ¼Ã‚   Information from similar bodies and other relevant organizations. This forms the basis of all the trips and activities done including major projects and proposals. Community services The community services embarked upon are targeted at the following groups: à ¼Ã‚   The young people directly at all levels of institutions, Hospital patients, Prisoners, Market women, Missionary houses, rural dwellers. These services include 1. Programs 2. Provision Small Scale à ¼Ã‚   Provision of educational aids for the young people à ¼Ã‚   Organizing Interschool interactions among students and rewarding excellence à ¼Ã‚   Organizing profitable programs aimed at increasing interest in Education à ¼Ã‚   Career talks à ¼Ã‚   Provision of fund for major Christian programs à ¼Ã‚   Rehabilitation and Restoration programs à ¼Ã‚   Provision of useful materials and information for hospitalized patients à ¼Ã‚   Health awareness programs à ¼Ã‚   Educating rural dwellers on the need for education, health and other relevant matters à ¼Ã‚   Provision of fund and other useful items for missionary work à ¼Ã‚   Mini-Job creation for young unemployed people à ¼Ã‚   Skill Acquisition and Training program Large Scale: this includes à ¼Ã‚   Peace Talks and Conflict negotiations à ¼Ã‚   Education on Emergency response and service provision SOCIAL IMPACT It is interesting to get feedbacks from lives that have been touched by these activities, detailing their ordeal before the Foundation’s intervention and the impact our programs and services have had on their environment and perspective on life issues. Really, in assisting people who you are not familiar with, there is the added responsibility of geographical, language, and even religious differences. This has made it a paramount agenda for me to inculcate skills of communication that can easily penetrate any culture and make the required impact with the limited time available. This, combined with the advantage of seeing real changes to lives, has made me reconsider my values for living; that life is best lived when it is dedicated to make someone else happy. I have come to learn that fulfillment in life is a product of fulfilling the needs of other people. What is then more important than diverting all efforts, knowledge, belief and even career to such cause: that someoneâ₠¬â„¢s needing be met within your very eyes, even when there would be no direct reward for such devotion. This is really a substantial impact on my life, and the meaning of life. This change can obviously be attributed to just one source: my commitment to the values of the Foundation. This has indeed contributed to my success in the family and at work. CONCLUSION The changes are enormous; they have created a major turn from frivolous extravagance to meaningful expenditure. They have set the pace for investing selflessly in others rather than concentrating a whole life on ‘me’, ‘myself’ and ‘mine’. Lives are changing positively, society is benefiting tremendously and the ecosystem is becoming easier to inhabit. Isn’t that a wonderful social change just because of belonging to a social group?

A Summary of A Christmas Carol

A Summary of 'A Christmas Carol' Charles  Dickens  is one of the greatest novelists of the Victorian era. His novella A Christmas Carol is considered by many to be one of the great Christmas stories ever written. Its been popular since its first publication in 1843. Dozens of movies have been made of the story along with countless stage reproductions. Even the Muppets took a turn acting out this story for the silver screen with Micheal Caine starring in the 1992 movie. While the story does include an element of the paranormal it is a family friendly  tale with a great moral. Setting and Storyline This short tale takes place on Christmas Eve when Ebenezer  Scrooge is visited by three spirits. Scrooges name has become synonymous  with not only greed but a hatred of Christmas cheer. Hes portrayed at the start of the show as a man who only cares for money. His business partner Jacob Marley died years earlier and the closest things to a friend he has is  his employee Bob Cratchit. Even though his nephew invites him to Christmas dinner, Scrooge refuses,  preferring to be alone.    That night Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Marley who warns him that he will be visited by three spirits. Marleys soul has been condemned to hell for his greed but he hopes the spirits will be able to save Scrooge. The first is the ghost of Christmas past who takes Scrooge on a journey through the Christmass of his childhood first with his younger sister then with his first employer Fezziwig. His first employer is the exact opposite of Scrooge. He loves Christmas and people, Scrooge is reminded of how much fun he had during those years.   The second spirit is the ghost of Christmas Present, who takes Scrooge on a tour of his nephew and Bob Cratchits holiday. We learn that Bob has a sickly son named Tiny Tim and that Scrooge pays him so little the Cratchit family lives in near poverty. Even though the family has many reasons to be unhappy, Scrooge sees that their love and kindness towards each other brightens even the hardest of situations. As he grows to care for Tiny Time he is warned that the future does not look bright for the little boy.   When the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come arrives things take a bleak  turn. Scrooge sees the world after his death. Not only does no one mourn his loss the world is a colder place seemingly because of him. Scrooge finally sees the errors of his ways and begs for the chance to set things right. He then wakes up and finds that only one night has passed. Full of Christmas cheer he buys Bob Cratchit a Christmas goose and becomes a more generous person. Tiny Tim is able to make a full recovery.       Like most of Dickens work, theres an element of social critique in this holiday tale that is still relevant today. He used the story of a miserly old man and his miraculous transformation as an  indictment of the Industrial Revolution and the money-grubbing tendencies that his main character Scrooge exemplifies. The stories strong condemnation of greed and the true meaning of Christmas is what has made it such a memorable tale.    Study Guide A Christmas Carol TextQuotesQuestions for Study and DiscussionVocabulary / TermsCharles Dickens Biography

Quantitative report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Quantitative report - Essay Example The research will also try to concentrate on where the motives of the tourists and non tourists are different. Also, the focus will be mapping the correlation that has been developed in connection to the satisfaction and the intentions of the attendees. Literature review While discussing the literature review, it needs to be highlighted that the factors of motivation as well as the central focus of the music festivals needs to be taken into consideration. While trying to identify the motivation factors, it is important to focus on the underlying reason for conducting a music festival. Generally, the main reason for conducting a music festival is to promote the entire tourism package for a region. The festivals that are conducted on the lines of music performances are highly unique since they have the ability to attract visitors from a highly diverse span of geographies (Mosley and et.al, 2011). While discussing the motivation factor for the tourists, it needs to be highlighted that t he extrinsic factors of motivation play a very important role. In elaborating about the most important extrinsic factor, the focus needs to be given on the conflict of the masses happening in the work and leisure life of the masses (Robinson and et.al, 2010, p. 138). Basically the long hours of work time is having a conflicting effect on the leisure life of the masses. ... that there are a group of workers who are stuck in a very routine and monotonous kind of a job and are trying to attach to the music events for having a high levels of excitement, thrill and challenge in their leisure times as well as in their life. Another extrinsic kind of a factor that needs to be associated with the issue of motivation is that some attendees attach leisure as an extension to work. A certain group of people who are attached to a highly demanding and exciting kind of a job looks forward to seeking the same levels of excitement and thrill during the leisure time. As a result, the musical concerts hold a high level of value and a source of excitement and thrill to them as well (Robinson and et.al, 2010, p. 138). In discussing about event motivation and tourists, it can be stated that the concept has a high linkage with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The event motivation and participation of tourists in various events are related to the social and psychological n eeds (Heinsohn, n.d.) It also has to be stated that the event motivation at times are largely dependent on the factors like fund raising, generating mass awareness. Also, in some cases, the main motivation of the event is largely associated with the factor of promoting a brand or a performer. Talking in regards to the non-tourists, it can be said that for them, the focus of attending a music event is mainly on relaxing as well as socializing. Research Questions In this case, it can be stated that there can be three research questions. The first research question is to find out what is the demographic profile of the attendees? The second research question is to find whether the motive of the tourists and non-tourist are same or different? The third research question is to concentrate on whether

Leadership and Organizational Behavior Case Study

Leadership and Organizational Behavior - Case Study Example The writer claims that women are not as good as networking and communicating, but that he grew up with his mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. They taught him to be independent and self-motivated with his ambition. One theory the article suggests is that sports teams are the cause of men networking better than women. The theory that women are more independent minded and men network and communicate better than women is a statement based on his entrepreneurial accomplishments. A mentor may be suggested. A self-mentor is a professional at independent goal setting ambition. A mentor would be a boss that keeps you motivated the entire day with your goals and what you want to accomplish told to you. The art of self-mentoring is based on self-reliability. That women need mentors more than men is suggested in the article; that they need to learn to network within their own the range of abilities and be more connective in the workforce. Women often separatist themselves being financially beneficial to a marriage and are just taken care of by a man. This then puts the financial dependency on one person. The woman then is separatist from financial obligation. Sometimes the woman relies on looks for a relationship and is dependent on the man for finances. This happens quite often. Where women need mentors more often than men is that women are inspired by the motivation, the strategies, and the way that other people handle their lives burdens. This then inspires them to be more hard working and more ambitious on their own account.