Frontline: Camera and Current Affairs Programs

How do the creators of â€Å"Frontline† convey the main issues in the text? The truth in the media is a subjective commodity which is often sensationalized, fabricated and manipulated for a number of reasons. Therefore, realistically the media only represents certain facets of the truth to suit their purpose and context. Rob Sitch’s Frontline is a satirical examination of current affairs programs and explores the media’s selective dissemination of information to construct the desired truth. Though being disturbingly accurate in their sarcastic attack on the deceit and hypocrisy of the media, the producers of Frontline use wit and parody to challenge the reliability of the media and such concepts are explored through a number of film techniques in episodes such as ‘The Siege’ and ‘Add sex and stir’ The commercial nature of the media dictates that the content of the broadcast must rate well and be profitable. The episode ‘The Siege’ exemplifies the commercial nature of current affairs programs and re-emphasizes the media’s potential to regard the truth as a subjective commodity to further gain higher ratings. Frontline seeks little more than authenticity to convince their audience that they are a credible resource. In ‘The Siege’ Rob Sitch blurs the boundary between fiction and reality, through illustrating a story based on a real incident which occurred in 1994 making it harder to discern the truth. Frontline pursues a story about a father who has held his children hostage during a custody battle. This episode exposes the true nature of journalism and the unethical practices that the media undertakes to win the ratings war. Marty ironically says ‘you’ve crossed the line mate’, this pretense of ethics is juxtaposed with ‘you beauty’ when he realizes that it was the Frontline team itself that got through to interviewing the gunman. Marty further sensationalizes and exaggerates the truth by wearing a flak jacket and crouching down to make it appear that he is in a dangerous situation, when in reality he is five kilometers away from the danger zone. Through the use of dialogue ‘How about if I crouch down like this? To make it look like I’m in danger’ Marty illustrates his blatant disregard for the truth thus emphasizing the importance of appearance and ratings over the depiction of the truth within the media. Brooke further epitomizes the media’s motives through the use of incongruity in the dialogue ‘Mrs. Forbes do you have any nine volt batteries? ’ Such dialogue accentuates Brooke’s superficiality as she is not at all concern ed about Mrs. Forbes feelings. The camera close up of Brooke’s exceedingly concerned facial expression when she interviews Mrs. Forbes is juxtaposed with Mrs. Forbes misery and Brooke’s deception when she asks – ‘would you be able to cry again Mrs. Forbes? ’ The on and off camera persona evidently shows that the truth is subverted by the media to construct a desired representation, portraying the truth to be a subjective commodity. The media’s relentless pursuit of higher ratings to ensure commercial success plays a significant role in determining the representation of the truth they present to their audience. The episode ‘Add sex and Stir’ epitomizes the media’s selective dissemination of information to construct a desired truth, thus exemplifying truth to be a subjective commodity. Frontline pursues a story about the unfair dismissal of a sportswoman who is supposedly dropped from the team because she is not gay. Although Brooke acknowledges that the sportswoman was dropped from the team because of poor form, she decides to portray the misleading sex angle of the story in the pursuit for higher ratings to ensure Frontline’s commercial success. Frontline’s clean crisp picture quality, still camera and immaculate sets gives a sense of professional respectability and authority to create a sense of credibility. Rob Sitch employs caricature to emphasize the potential for the media to regard the truth as a subjective commodity to gain more ratings. Sitch satirizes the limited value that the media places on the truth through Brooke’s satirical comment ‘Well there’s a lead story, Stu, lead player dropped due to bad form, out breaking. ’ The truth is further manipulated through filming Brooke’s nods separately and out of context which further amplifies their falsity, emphasizing her lack of integrity. Brooke completely distorts the truth through creating a re-enactment, in which the story is further exaggerated through the steamy atmosphere in the girls change rooms, demonstrating that it is sleaze that sells rather than the truth. The dramatic background music in the re-enactment further satirizes the media’s pursuit for higher ratings, portraying that the media’s ‘essential objective is profit, rather than saving the world’ Chris Masters (ABC correspondent). Through this it is clearly evident that the truth to the media is a subjective commodity that can often be manipulated, fabricated and sensationalized for a number of reasons.

The Process Of Modelling Erosion Environmental Sciences Essay

This papers is intended as a literature reappraisal of research on how to pattern the eroding. Erosion is a natural procedure that has become a serious environmental job due to the action of several natural and human factors. For case, deforestation, fires, unequal agricultural patterns or inordinate building of edifices and roads have skyrocketed this phenomenon. Erosion causes transit of deposits to rivers, swamps and lakes, increasing the hazard of deluging when raining. Besides, eroding reduces the capacity of dirts to hive away H2O, and do the loss of foods and organic affair worsening the biodiversity of the part. The engagement of the governments is needed to set up programs to command this phenomenon. 2 Definition of Erosion The word eroding, from Latin, means gnaw off ( Ghanshyam, 2009 ) . Erosion means the remotion of stuff from one topographic point of the Earth ‘s crust to the other by the impact of geological agents ( Krebs, 2003 ) . Erosion is a phenomenon that occurs at really slow rates. For illustration, Patric ( 1976 ) references some illustrations of a general rate of 0.18 to 0.30 dozenss / acre / twelvemonth. Obviously this rate will change depending on many variables on the surface of the Earth. Areas on the Earth surface that is more immune to erosion, such as forest land can supply rates of 0.05 to 0.10 ton / acre / twelvemonth. In contrast, countries with high rates of eroding such as agricultural land may stop up giving rates of 1 to 5 dozenss / acre / twelvemonth. Erosion is a natural procedure linked to the kineticss development of the planet and is a measure within the geological rhythm of the Earth ‘s crust. The geological rhythm which includes eroding is intended to accomplish a mass balance between the highest countries of the planet and the lower countries ( Khan, 2006 ) .3 Erosion within the Geological rhythmThe Earth ‘s crust is subjected to a uninterrupted transmutation ensuing from the action of geological agents, both internal and external, which are the elements that model the Earth surface ( Ramberg, 2008 ) . The Internal geological procedures have their chief beginning in the internal heat of the planet, and they are constructive, they are responsible for the formation of the Earth surface. These geological procedures appear in signifier of slow motions ( orogenic ) or sudden events ( temblors and vents ) , which give manner to the formation of new minerals and stones. External geological procedures are caused by the action of external agents ( air, H2O, air current, snow ) .3.1 Weathering, conveyance and depositWeathering is the procedure of break and decomposition of stones by the action of external agents. Weathering occurs in the topographic point where the stones are, without being transported. When the decomposition takes topographic point in combination with conveyance so is called eroding ( Gifford, 2005 ) . Weathering may be chiefly mechanical ( physical ) or chemical, but in most occasions operate combined. The conditions will be a cardinal factor in the laterality of mechanical or chemical weathering. Mechanical weathering is the physical decomposition of stones due to events such as dilation and alterations in H2O temperature ( Gifford, 2005 ) . This instance is common in hot dry climes where the uninterrupted alterations of temperature contribute to do snap and break in the stones. In cold climes, the H2O freezes in clefts perforating moving as a cuneus, doing the break and atomization of stones. Chemical weathering is the change of the mineral components of stones by the action of atmospheric gases ( O, C dioxide ) and H2O ( Gifford, 2005 ) , which performs procedures such as hydrolysis and hydration. Transport occurs on weather-beaten stuffs, fragmented or dissolved which can be eroded and moved from their topographic point of beginning, by the action of gravitation, which will take them from high to low countries. The chief conveyance agents are H2O overflow ( watercourses, rivers ) , ice ( glaciers ) , air current and sea ( coastal countries ) ( Ghanshyam, 2009 ) . The deposition of the eroded and transported stuff ( fragments of stones, dead beings and chemicals ) consequences in their deposit when it stops the consequence of gravitation and make more stable topographic points. The zones of accretion of deposits are sedimentary basins, which may be inland ( a lake or a river vale ) and ocean, deep sea, which are the most of import. In the instance of comeuppances, deposit occurs when the consequence of air current Michigans.3.2 Wind erodingWind eroding occurs in desert parts ( dry conditions ) , where rainfall and flora are scarce, with a preponderantly mechanical weathering. Wind eroding depends on many factors: conditions forms, dirt conditions, and flora screen ( Shao, and Leslie, 1997 ) . The deposition of stuffs occurs when the air current velocity lessening, ensuing the dunes, which are accretions of sand, which besides appear in coastal countries, as seen in some beaches.3.3 Water erodingSurface H2O ( overflow ) is the chief conveyance agent of alleviation modeling in the Earth ‘s surface. The behavior of surface H2O depends on their speed, which is relative to the incline. The greater is the speed larger the eroding consequence. Therefore, a graduation of the features of surface H2O can be seen from the topographic point of beginning until deposition occurs of the stuffs transported.3.4 Ice erodingGlaciers are accretions of ice, being located in the polar caps and in cragged countries. They originate in topographic points where rainfall is in the signifier of snow, which does non run and accumulates, until it becomes compacted and hardened into ice. The erosive glaciers can be of great importance in some countries of the Earth. In some countries of the planet can go the chief agent eroded go forthing a characteristic landscape. Glacial eroding occurs when immense multitudes of ice traveling easy through gravitation. This phenomenon carries the stuff in its way that act as an scratchy, crunching and smoothing the rock bed on which it travels.3.5 Coastal erodingGeological action of sea H2O plays an of import function in coastal modeling. The eroding occurs when moving ridges impact the stone. The accrued energy of the moving ridges crashing against the drops causes its gradual dislocation. Erosion rate depends on the petrology of the seashore and the moving ridge energy. Materials are so transported by moving ridges and currents and deposited in the signifier of pebbles, crushed rock and sand at the pes of the drop. Lighter atoms are deposited on the ocean floor.3.6 Human erodingHuman activities contribute in a meaningful manner t o the eroding of the dirt, including large-scale agribusiness patterns.Factors that determine the erodingAmong the most of import factors that have a major influence on the control of the eroding is without uncertainty the clime. There are several variables which can be derived from climate, including the most of import, the rain. The kinetic energy of raindrops when they hit the land cause the decomposition of the stuffs and therefore the eroding occurs.

An Essay About Orbits Communications Essay

An Essay About Orbits Communications Essay The word orbit we hear it very often, whenever the space shuttle launched or it meets up ISS (International Space Station) or when a rocket launches a payload, we always come across the word ‘orbit’. But what actually the orbit is? An orbit is a specific path on which an artificial satellite revolves/travels around another body or planet .This path is regular and repeating .Satellite can be natural and artificial, like Moon .Moon itself acts like a satellite which travels around the Earth in a particular path. In the solar system , nine planets including Earth ,revolves around the sun in an orbit .Satellite that travels around the Earth are not in a constant distance from Earth, it varies .Sometimes its closer and sometimes far away. The closest orbit of satellite around the Earth is called â€Å"perigee† and farthest orbit called â€Å"apogee†. The time required for a satellite to complete full orbit is called a â€Å"period†. According to Isaac Newton’s first law of motion, a moving object will remain in motion unless something pulls it or push it, and that is gravity. Without Earth’s gravity, satellite would go off in the space along a straight path .With Earth’s gravity it keep on pulled satellite back to Earth. To maintain the orbit, the gravitational force and the momentum of moving object have to be balanced. Another factor is Escape velocity. It is the speed of an object (satellite) to break free from the gravity of the planet and enters into a certain orbit. It depends on the mass of the planet and varies from planets to planets and the distance from the centre of the planet to the object (satellite) is also important. The escape velocity of Earth is approx. 11.3 km (7 miles)/hr. Orbital Velocity: Orbital velocity is the required speed needed for an object (satellite) to stay in an orbit. It is about and altitude of 242 km, approx 17,000 miles /hr. [4] SATELLITE ORBITS There are three differ ent types of orbits High Earth orbit (Geostationary orbit), Medium Earth orbit (MEO), and Low Earth orbit (LEO).The orbit selected for satellite is depend on its usage and application. Direct Broadcast Programmes and weather communication satellites use Geostationary Orbit, as they are far away from the Earth and they travel in the Earth’s direction therefore looks stationary .Satellite navigation systems (NAVSTAR or GPS [global positioning system] ),designed to navigate a particular region or area and satellite phones are in MEO(Medium Earth Orbit). NASA’s Earth Observing System and other scientific satellites uses LEO (Lower Earth Orbit). [5] [6] Earth orbits. [7] ORBITAL DISTANCES [8] , [9] Orbits Orbit Initials Miles Km 1-way Delay Orbit altitude (KM above earth’s surface) Low Earth Orbit (LEO) 100-500 160 – 1,400 50ms 200 – 1200 Medium Earth Orbi t (MEO) 6,000 – 12,000 10-15,000 100ms 1200 – 35790 Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) ~22,300 36,000 250 ms 35790 Circular and Elliptical Paths There are two types of orbit paths, in which satellite travels around the Earth, circular and elliptical. In circular orbits, the distance between the earth and satellite remains same all the time. When a satellite orbit around the Earth, it creates a plane, which goes across the geo -centre or centre of gravity of Earth. If the satellite orbit with Earth’s rotation, it is called â€Å"posigrade† and if it is in opposite direction, it is â€Å"retrograde†.

How and when the orginal 13 colonies was founded Essay

How and when the orginal 13 colonies was founded - Essay Example Massachusetts was next, founded in 1620, followed by New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and, finally, Georgia, which were founded in 1623, 1634, 1635, 1636, 1638, 1653, 1663, 1664, 1664, 1682 and 1732 respectively. Thus, Virginia was first of the colonies to be founded, and Georgia the last. Of course, during this time other colonies were also founded, which now are part of Canada and West Indies, however, this paper shall only talk about the original thirteen colonies established in what is now the United States. Originally, there were many different European countries from where all these immigrants came to establish these colonies, and there were many a war fought as a result of disputes of land and property, however, soon only England and France had the most presence here. The people who originally came here in the newly founded colonies wanted to be free to practice their own religion, and wanted to be independent from their respective governments (mostly European), to form their own form of government and be free to trade as they wanted to. Originally, most of the people who came over were basically running away from religious persecution, however, later on a lot of people came to work here and to make money. Those who came here to work normally came alone, without their families and worked in shipyards and ironworks. Those who came here to make money also bought plantations, and such people brought their families with them so that they could settle here and start their lives here. There were many laws made that reflect on the mindset of the people who came to settle here in the new colonies. The Pilgrims and the Quakers, for instance, had come from England to flee from religious persecution that they faced back in England, that is why, when they came

I.T and society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

I.T and society - Essay Example I hope to explore these themes in a way that transcends the terms of the well-known debates over the normative and historical ramifications of the late Weber's theorizing of charisma and Fuhrerdemokratie. (Feldman, 2005, 60) However, what must be addressed in the course of this analysis is the fact that Lukacs and Schmitt themselves -- each in their own way, to be sure -- endorsed twentienth-century political mythologies that most vigorously championed political will: left- and right-wing authoritarianism in the forms of, respectively, Soviet Communism and National Socialism. In Weber the neutrality and technological innovation does not however prevent the emergence of a prejudiced disposition over historical specificity: that is, the melancholy of the conclusion of The Protestant Ethic and the "Science" lecture which fuels the call for responsible personal stands in the "Politics" and "Parliament and Government" lectures. Lukacs's early writings betray a similar lament over, and desire to actively transcend, the alienation brought on by a rationalized modernity. In this regard he frequently' exhibits an existential pathos derived often explicitly from Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Dostoyevsky. (Portis, 1990, 759) In both works the phenomenon of rationalization is... As Schmitt observes its influence is nearly all-pervasive: "In almost every discussion one can recognize the extent to which the methodology of the natural-technical sciences dominates contemporary thinking". But again he now attributes the genesis of this rationality to a Marxian category and no longer a Weberian one: "The modern modes of thought already eroded by the reifying effects of the dominant commodity form" encourages purely "quantitative" analyses of society and not "qualitative" ones ((Feldman, 2005, 60)). Its common ground is a concept of nature that has found its realization in a world transformed by technology and industry. Nature appears today as the polar antithesis of the mechanistic world of big cities whose stone, iron and glass structures lie on the face of the earth like colossal Cubist creations. The antithesis of this empire of technology is nature untouched by civilization, wild and barbarian -- a reservation into which "man with his affliction does not set foot." (Feldman, 2005, 60) The old gods rise from their graves and fight their old battles once again, but now disenchanted and now, as should be added, with new means of struggle which are no longer mere weapons but terrifying means of annihilation and extermination -- dreadful products of value-free science and the industrialism and technology that it serves. What is for one the devil is for the other the god. That the old gods have become disenchanted and become merely accepted values makes the conflict specter-like and the antagonists hopelessly polemical. References Chekki, Dan A. Western Sociologists on Indian Society: Marx, Spencer, Weber, Durkheim, Pareto. Social Forces, Mar81, Vol. 59 Issue 3, p848-849 Feldman, Leonard. Max Weber's

Macroeconomic Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Macroeconomic Coursework - Essay Example In other words what macroeconomic theoretical models seek to accomplish by way of controlling or stimulating variables such as inflation or/and growth are sought to be accomplished in a more articulate manner by these representative agent models. Representative agent models are in fact some efforts of economists to model and represent the macro economy as if it were a single unit. These representative agent models are based on the basic tenets of the original models. On the other hand stimulative fiscal policy measures are adopted by governments in response to recessions or economic downturns. A recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in a year, can be partially or wholly reversed by using a combination of macroeconomic measures or solutions such as fiscal or/and monetary policy measures. At least this is the belief among economists though there can be a lot of arguments to prove that it cannot be done as easily as it’s proposed. Representative agent models would necessarily require that some very stringent assumptions are satisfied before the model is adopted so that outcomes could be predicted with a degree of certainty. Thus all representative agent models based on classical/neoclassical, Keneysian/neo-Keneysian and monetary theories assume that fiscal stimulus programs could effectively boost economic growth during a recession or an economic downturn. However, those assumptions that they require as essential pre-conditions might be very difficult to fulfill though. Fiscal policy involves budgetary measures in which the government carries through a deficit budget in order to stimulate the economy by charging lower corporate taxes. In other words fiscal revenue in the given fiscal year will be less than government expenditure on projects. These projects are naturalluy intended to stimulate spending and subsequent economic growth (Ertl, 2008). When the government spends more than what it

Explain what you have learned from your experience as member of a team Essay

Explain what you have learned from your experience as member of a team whose project was not completeted sucessfully - Essay Example The task was supposed to be finished overnight otherwise additional payments were to be incurred by the organization due to additional day of auditor’s visit. Our team failed to complete the assigned task within deadline, however somehow we were able to avoid the additional payment costs to the company. The reasons to this failure were later on studied in depth to extract results, inferences and lessons for future reference and better response. Next few paragraphs will discuss the lessons learned by the team. The first and far most important is the assignment of the task to a professional with appropriate skills and zeal to accomplish the assigned task. The initial assignment of the task seems to be a wrong assignment and lake of professionalism caused unnecessary delay in the completion of the investment report. An unfinished report was the ultimate result of this wrong assignment. Therefore purposeful evaluation of professional competence for a specific task is of core impor tance for the successful completion of the project. It is also evident from the findings that the project was not properly supervised for in time preparation of the investment report therefore the initial assignment was not completed.

Financial Management case study 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial Management case study 1 - Essay Example The inflation component preserves the purchasing power of money (Ross, Westerfield, & Jaffe, 2005). Based on economic reports, a 2.5% inflation rate over the next 5 years would sufficiently account for inflation. The second component of the interest rate is the credit risk. The interest rate offered to customers with poor credit worthiness is higher to compensate for the higher risk of lending to them (Weston, Besley, & Brigham, 1996). Based on the credit rate range established by the credit department, the best customer would be assigned a 1% credit rate. The last component of the interest rate is the profit component. This component is the profit from financing activities of XYZ. Since Shanghai Winters is one of the best customers, this component is not applicable to it. Notice that this interest rate is higher than the 8.0% going rate on a $70,000 five-year note receivable. The higher rate is to compensate for the credit risk of extending credit to such a customer. Also built inside the 8.0% is the profit component, which has not been charged to the best customers.

Dietary Guidelines Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dietary Guidelines - Assignment Example A fit body and a healthy diet are the building blocks of a healthy life. If the body is healthy, its direct impact is positive on your mind .Also our body deserves the best timely nourishment in order to get optimum output. Keeping a track of your fitness level helps you to understand your physical requirements and lead a healthy life. I am a 24 years old male living in an apartment all by myself. I have to cook my own food but don't cook on a regular basis due to my lifestyle and mostly eat out. I play Tennis (State Player) and train with ATP professionals .I exercise in a Gym all by myself as I don't have any personal fitness trainer. My more focus while exercising is on the upper body and therefore my lower body is weaker than the upper body. Whenever I do weights the lactic acid produced in the muscles decreases the flexibility of body muscles. I spend 3 days a week for Tennis and Gym and occasionally enjoy swimming. I mostly drive and walking habit is almost negligible in my lifestyle. The above results show my sporting endeavor. I am of standard height and my BMI is normal. My Waist to Hip Ratio indicates that my body shape is in proportion to the body weight. My skin folds (percentage of Body fat) are slightly high as compared to normal (higher than 14% in men). My body has a high capacity to transport oxygen to muscles for utilization and generation of energy as proven by VO2 Max test. My Sit and Reach Flexibility test gives a good score (Paul Roetert, Todd S. Ellen Becker, Page 19); my muscular endurance is good as proven by Push Up and Sit Up tests. The strength of my forearms is good and I am right handed person as the test results for right hand were higher than the left. My shoulder flexibility has a high variance when compared between right and left. Right arm shoulder flexibility is excellent wherein the flexibility for Left Shoulder is below average. My Shoulder Press indicates low shoulder muscle endurance unlike Bicep curl which is indeed a good weigh t. In my speed test, timing was good in 10m sprint (burnt 1174.5 calories) while I didn't score well in 20m sprint (2350 calories burnt). 505 Agility test indicates that my ability to change directions when required while running was not good at all. The result for Bench Press Test calculated in Per Body Weight (1.3414) was good. The evaluation of my lower body strength i.e. Leg Press was Poor. 24 hours Diet Recall Dietary Assessment Nutrient My

Starbucks - Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Starbucks - - Case Study Example Additionally, the paper will describe the role of sustainable development in Starbuck’s approach to social responsibility. The Starbuck 2003 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, Titled â€Å"Living Our Values,† defines the coffee retailer’s approach to social responsibility. The approach focuses on partners, diversity, coffee product, customers, community and environment, and profitability. The three concepts of social responsibility are profit responsibility, stakeholder responsibility, and societal responsibility (Kerin et al, 2010). In relation to profit responsibility, a company should maximize profits for the stakeholders without taking advantage of supply shortages to charge very high prices on products. Starbuck’s observes profit responsibility by selling its product via supermarkets, the company’s retail shops, and by extension taking the Starbuck’s coffee experience to the employer’s offices. It uses low profit grocery market segments, retail business cafes, coffee kiosks, high profit margin kiosks, and corporate cafeterias to reinforce and serve its products using high-class experience. It embraces supplier diversity, pays its coffee suppliers well, and conserves their environment. These measures guarantees high and well deserved profits. Where, profits are significant for the growth of Starbuck’s, profitability is placed last as it depends on adherence to partners, diversity, coffee/product, customers, community and environment principles. In relation to stakeholder’s responsibility, a company focuses on stakeholders that can contribute to the achievement of its objectives. Indeed, the coffee retail shop encourages its partners, to stick to the mission statement, comment on deviations from Starbuck 2003 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, participate, and analyze management decisions. In addition, Starbuck’s accords

The Power of Words Essay Example for Free

The Power of Words Essay For those of you who like to create, you know that you are never fully satisfied with what you produce. Sure it may get the grade or suffice for what you planned to accomplish, but the thoughts circling what you could have done differently or ways you could improve can grow in the back of your mind. Maybe after investing great measures of effort and time, you are Done  by the time you’re done; don’t want to think about it, just want to move on. But maybe you go back, and go back, and go back, and can’t stop dwelling on things you could do or change to make whatever you made/produced/created manifest the ideas in your mind in a more accurate way. Well, that is how I feel about what I write. Since coming home for the summer, I’ve revisited old papers and essays for further refinement and fine tweaking just because I think it’s fun (and because I’m a perfectionist, whoops). So some of the essays I post are more loved and tended to than others, but today I am posting the first essay I wrote for the Nonfiction Writing class I took this past spring at KU. It’s come a long way since then, and I’m certain I will pay it a visit again in a few weeks or months and mix things around yet again. One day I love it and am happy with the progress I’ve made, and another day I am frustrated by my inability to express exactly what I want how I want. But that’s just the way it is, I suppose! so all that to say, here are some thoughts on the power of words, which just so happens to be the clever title of my essay. Boom. Feedback welcome! The Power of Words The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. -Proverbs 18:21 Long before I began, words existed. Even in my infancy, I babbled indistinct jargon to empty air. As a toddler, my parents spoke to me and urged me onward as I struggled to coerce meaning into form. With great exertion, I studied the shape of their mouths and attempted to recreate the sounds myself. Through practice, frustration, and failure, I learned words. But after nearly two decades of befriending new words, there are still words left unlearnt. Each new introduction excites, confounds, and embarrasses me all in one breath. When I shy away, they beckon me to understand. Thankfully, the words are gracious to those who delight in their discovery. I live to encounter them; to be empowered by them. However, I have failed to remember this until just now, and this fresh remembrance peels the scab of a wound I’ve left untreated for far too long. No amount of stitches could seal up this wound. My hands wrung together, willing the searing fire to subside, willing to forget the sting of the blade. But the penetration of a double-edged sword permits no man to walk away unscathed. I am no exception. The memory of my injury echoed and swelled in my mind, piercing me deeper and fiercer with each remembrance. Any compliment offered to me was like putting a cold compress on the head of a patient in need of heart surgery: a kind gesture, but naive at best. No earthly remedy can heal the wound caused by a rash remark, a reckless word, a biting tongue. The words reverberated, transcending both time and space, tossing a pinch of salt into the festering puss with each visit. In one blazing breath, the levee was breached. Insecurities gushed forth from moments past to moments present. The words washed over me again and again and again, throbbing to the rhythm of a familiar pulse. Worthless. Ugly. Insufficient. Outcast. The faces of the ones who introduced me to these words flooded my mind. The playground bully, the jealous friend, the past love interest, the inconsiderate classmate – one by one, their faces appeared and circled around me, each breathing their own kind of fire. They etched their scorching words onto my memory and my heart. Each recollection brought a new wave of hurt. Their flames engulfed me and I stood defenseless. Perhaps these dragons were right about me. Perhaps I was what they said. My knees began to buckle beneath the weight of some sort of self-hatred or bitterness. But just before I collapsed to the cold kitchen tile, my mother’s arms encircled me from behind and secured me in an embrace. Her hushed whispers traveled through my ear into my aching sides, tenderly dressing my wounds with honey. Gentle reassurances momentarily cooled the scorching fire which ravaged my thoughts. My mother’s sweet lips massaged my burns as nourishing balm. Maybe I wasn’t as worthless as they said. Though words have destroyed me, they have also restored me. But sometimes my scars whisper to me in the middle of the night, reminding me, ushering me into the dragons’ lair where I am taunted by each rash remark, reckless word, or biting tongue that has ever wounded me. Even as a child, I understood the weight of words and the value in speaking responsibly. I remember shutting the door of my fourth-grade classroom, double-taking to ensure no one was watching, and skipping along the empty hallway in search of the nearest drinking fountain. My eyes danced until they rested upon the rusted spigot. Suddenly, my innocent skip-to-my-lou developed into a nutcracker’s march. I swung my arms and stomped my feet to the beat of a distant war drum, stifling giggles at my own theatrical display. I was hilarious, giddy, free. At last I lowered my lips, gently twisted the nozzle, and felt the cool water trickle down the back of my throat. After several gulps, I straightened my back and my eyes zeroed in on a laminated poster taped to the wall. It portrayed a crying girl with her back turned from a group of laughing schoolchildren. My heart sunk as I read, â€Å"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.† What a lie, I thought. Why else would the girl be crying if she was not hurt? Who wrote this? Though I stomped back to my classroom, it was not a giddy stomp as before. I felt indignant at the injustice done to the crying girl in the poster. Even as a fourth grader, I knew words were far more powerful weapons than measly sticks and pebbles. I suddenly wished I was Mary Poppins and could leap inside the poster and watch the clip-art scene come to life. I would parade right towards the menacing pack of bullying children, stand on my tippiest-toes, and wag my finger in their mocking face. How could they not see the hurt they caused, the damage they’d done? The artist of this poster flippantly dismissed the girl’s hurt – dismissed my hurt. Obviously, he has never entered the dragon’s lair; or perhaps, he has but is simply trying to forget. Perhaps he hopes that denying his injuries will ease the pain they bring. The very thought caused my own scars to burn. Rage pulsed through my body as I thought of the daggers digging deeper into the crying girl’s subconscious – into my subconscious. Feeble. Pathetic. Weak. I could see the fire on the bullying children’s breath as their words melted into her ears. Though pressed down upon on all sides, her dragons bid her to stand strong as they prodded her with white-hot prongs and secured their perpetual mark. I’ll bet her scars whisper to her at night, too. To dismiss a reckless remark is to remove responsibility. This flippancy severs the cord of accountability between speaker and speech. As the mediums of our messages transitioned from slabs of stone to paper to screen, the weight of a word lost its wonder. Consider the scribe. He pauses – an ancient practice – before dipping his pen into his jar of thick, black ink. Fully aware of the repercussions of an error, he painstakingly paints each stroke with precision. He lives in an age unacquainted with a backspace key and where few can afford the price of an error. But today, a text message mindlessly tapped out is just as soon deleted. Even this sentence was reconsidered, revisited, and revised. Our ability to communicate no longer springs from our dexterity of thought but the agility of our thumbs. Our words are no longer preserved in a weighty stone tablet. Instead, they are typed, deleted, and retyped – in a two pound, portable tablet – then launched into cyberspace to be received and deleted from an already cluttered inbox. But why not? We are entitled. We have rights. Does not every tweeted and retweeted thought deserve merit merely in its right to be said? Is it politically correct to correct a politically incorrect statement? I never can tell. Our cry for the freedom of speech made passage for the freedom from speech and the careful tending that should accompany it. Our tongues run rampant – never checked nor balanced. We demand our right to speak, but our flapping mouths pay no heed to how we speak. Because an error or offensive slip of the tongue incurs only minimal – if any – cost, our words are many and close between. I fear I also am the rambling type. The filter between my head and my mouth is shorter than I’d like to admit. Sometimes I wonder if I even have a filter or if it got lost somewhere long ago in some prattling speech. Maybe I forgot I have one and, thus, never use it. In any case, I discover amusement in meandering the trail of my own thoughts and relaying my journey to others. I have never suffered from a scarcity of words. On the contrary, I am their abuser. I am apt to respond when spoken to and likely to speak until stopped. But the scribe towers over me, soliciting silence. â€Å"If you love the words, you will treasure them,† he cries. When words are many, error is not absent. Even a fool who holds his tongue seems wise for he at least holds the appearance of revering the sanctity of a word well said. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words wield the power of life and death. One flippant remark on how one should eat cake turned nation against queen and then off came her head. By the power invested in one man’s announcement, two lives are joined and beget more life still. On the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a bearded, honest man issued a proclamation declaring that all persons held as slaves would be then, thenceforward, and forever free. A deceitful dictator once told a big enough lie so frequently that his followers ran camps where with the aim of teaching the world to decipher beauty in piles of misshapen bodies. When Sophie Scholl spoke out against that lie and called German youth to cast off their cloaks of indifference, the dictator silenced her once and for all. By the word of a King, a dream stretched over the expanse of history and cried for the equality of the emancipated. By the word of the King, dry bones rose from the grave and walked out of their tombs. The Word from the very beginning sighed that it was finished and up from the deep the dragon prince relinquished his keys. With reverence comes escape. At some point or another, I began to regard the words as my slaves. I made them toil on my behalf. Beneath my whip, they labored without rest. Though they were exhausted, I trafficked them through the night and forgot to feed them breakfast in the morning. I believed their usefulness to me fulfilled their purpose. I considered them as nothing more than a spoken sound, a written conglomeration of lines and curves and dots, existing only to serve me – the â€Å"autonomous† man, the benefactor – and my appetites. But today I realized I will soon be dead – be it in sixty years or in the morning – and the words will live on without me just as they did before me for the word and the Word cannot die.

Tescos Marketing and Expansion Strategy Analysis

Tescos Marketing and Expansion Strategy Analysis With contemporary society of fluctuating customer preferences, dynamic market, shifting competition, reforming government, advanced technologies, change in economies, and transforming demography, it is not questionable why companies need to establish new policies, workforce environment, and particularly business strategies. However, it is questionable on how, where, and in what way they are able to improve their strategy paradoxes in order to create a unique selling point or competitive advantages to be outstanding in today and future national and international business markets. Thus for any firm, setting up new strategies is a must and given. Thats why companies need to persistently be aligned with their surrounding environments, either by responding to outside situations, or by proactively forming the commerce that they are operating. Hence, the right and outstanding strategies will be made for the right time and situations. This essay will then discuss about strategies used by Tesco in participating more actively in the national and international market. However before going to Tescos strategies, lets take a look at what is strategy? and strategy characteristics. What is strategy? A strategy is the systematic plan of action and scopes of a business which is designed to achieve benefits for the business through its available configuration of resources within a competitive atmosphere, to meet the needs of consumers preferences and markets and as well as to satisfy shareholder expectations. Strategy Characteristics Strategy has three characteristics according to Wit, B, D Meyer, R (2005) process, content, and context. They are the most important distinction that can be recognised in daily-life strategic obstacle situation. Strategy Process: The process is to get involved with the strategy of who, how, and when how should or is, strategy be created, analyzed, invented, formulated, applied, shifted, and managed; who get involved; and when do the essential actions take place? Strategy Content: The result of the above process is the strategy content. In terms of a query, the strategy content is related to the strategy of what what should be or is the strategy for the corporation and its every single constituent unit? Strategy Context: The result of strategy content and strategy context is referred to strategy context. Talked in terms of a question, the context evolves with the strategy of where where are the strategies process and content embedded in a firm? II/. Tesco Summary Tesco is a public limited company and is the largest retailer in the U.K, while it is the third largest in the world. Tesco has roughly 4,000 stores in 14 countries. It was found by Jack Cohen in 1919. The company headquarter is in Delamere Road, Cheshunt, and Hertford shire, Britain. David Reid is Tesco chairman along with Sir Terry Leahy as a chief executive. The key goods of Tesco are customer products, Groceries, telecom, and financial services. The firm revenue is  £56.910bn in 2010 and its operating profit is  £3.457bn. History: The Coming to Life of Britains Largest Supermarket Tesco came to life in 1919 when Jack Cohen started selling surplus groceries from a stand and made his profit of  £1 from sales of  £4 on his first day. Five years later, 1924, Cohen established first brand of Tesco when he purchased a shipment of tea from a Mr T. E Stockwell and in 1929 Cohen opened Tesco stores flagship. In 1930 a headquarter and warehouse were built as the brand went on its rise, and two years later Tesco turned into a private limited firm. Tescos stock exchange with a share price of 25p was floated in 1947. The expansion of Tesco became stronger as it bought 70 Williams stores in the 1950s along with 200 Harrow stores and in the 1960s, 97 Charles Philips stores and Victor Value chain were purchased by Tesco. The Guinness Book of Records recorded a Tesco store in Leicester as the biggest store in Europe in 1961. The next 13 years, the first petrol stations of Tesco were launched and became the biggest independent petrol retailer in the U.K. By 1979 the Tescos sales reached  £1 billion and twice the amount to  £2 billion in three years. A Tescos slogan was launched in 1992 as every little helps, and followed Tesco Clubcard in 1995, which provided a competitive edge to overcome the UKs biggest food retailer, Sainsbury. And still in the 1990s, 24-hour service was introduced and long with the overseas expansion. A Tesco website, www.tesco.com, was launched in 2000 while it expanded its products rang like clothes, electrical and personal finance goods. In the next 4years, Tesco stepped into broadband market. And two years later, the company announced to run its business in the U.S under the name of Fresh and Easy. Moreover, on 23 February, 2008 the sales rose to  £51.8bn and pre-tax income increased to  £2.8bn. In the same year, Tesco became the only supermarket that was every single postcode area in the U.K when it purchased rival Somerfield stores on remote islands in Scotland. In 2009, www.tesco.com/clothes was introduced and Clubcard was re-launched to double up customers vouchers. Finally in 2010, the firm ran the worlds first zero-carbon supermarket in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, and also the first Lifespace mall in China. Strategy According to Data Monitor, food retailing analysts stated that: The strategy of Sainsbury is far behind Tesco. Tesco has become a strong core and rapidly grew international stores in the U.K. Meanwhile, it developed good non-food sales, increased retailing services and took advantages of e-commerce effectively. The achievements of Tesco in the recent years have mainly come from the change to higher margin non-food merchandise, expanding overseas branches, and forming a strong UK key business. Low prices, cultivating consumer loyalty, providing a wide range of distinct store concepts and improving retailing services, like insurance and banking, were the companys main successes in competing with the rivals locally and internationally. Furthermore, the firm concentrates on non-food products, which has led to wondering whether it is fair to compare between other grocery shops and Tesco at all as it appears to have grown to be a consumer goods firm. On 22 October, 2002 Tesco chairman David Reid made the declaration in a conference held at the annual institute of Grocery Distribution that: You cannot save your way to prosperity. Growth is vital to shareholder, employees and suppliers. Growing investment is the heart of Tescos strategy. This asset does not simply come from investing back profit. In January 2004, Tescos new shares of 315m were placed to raise funds of  £773m. By doing do, the company was able to pay off the debenture. At the same year on March the company declared to make a joint venture with Topland, a property group, to release the money of  £650m from its UK property portfolio. However, Tescos credit was rated very low due to its borrowing money for expanding the company. Core UK Business From a Tescos preliminary statement of account in 2004, Tesco considers the below points: For a further investment is to improve price position. The total of  £140m in January 2006 is the most recent cost campaigns to improve the company position as Britains best value retailer. For instance, during a general price deflation in 2000, the deflation was between 2-3%, while Tesco was able to deflate the price nearly between 4-7%. During 2003 and 2004, 21 extra stores were opened, of which 13 were the expansions and the rest were new which gives a total of 83. Evidences show that customers love the Express stores, and the firm has increased share of convenience market to 5.9%. Tesco Express stores are the key to further and continued success as executives look to employ the street corner strategy by building more Express stores. The sparkling growth of the business has stemmed from the expense of competitors, particularly Safeway and Sainsbury. Their battle is to detain customers. And the other UK retailers just have no ability to challenge on both store structures and price. Suppliers, researchers, and farmers have mentioned a Tesco strategy that the company does not widely broadcast exploiting the companys monopoly (or to use a more precise terminology, oligopsony) position to decrease the price paid to suppliers. Thus, Tesco does not obtain profit from costumers, but also from suppliers. The Tesco Approach This is the final plank in the firms strategy To create value for our customers, to earn their lifetime loyalty. The two values of the company are: We treat people the way we like to be treated, and No one tries harder than we do for customers. Nevertheless, these two values are selectively applied to shareholder and consumers rather than smaller rivals and farmers. Major changes in lifestyle patterns are fundamental achievement of Tescos ongoing success. Tesco has taken advantage and responded to changes in lifestyle since the inception of the company over the 80 years. Those changes are: more women go into workplace, bigger disposable profit, the arrival of the weekly shop, fewer meal of family cook, and cheap food policy adopted after the Second World War by Britain. Tescos Strategy vs Porter Diamond Model Porter diamond model is an approach designed to get insightful of competitive position of a business in global markets. a/. Demand Conditions The demand factor with respect to production scale is one major issue in this theory. Generally, the productions scale relies on the needs and wants of consumers for the products or brands. In London, 70% of Tescos own brand is highly proffered and ordered by people due to the cheap price strategy of Tesco besides having finest quality in food items such as cake, bread and so on, and non-food products such as 14.95 euro of Tesco Ireland CD compared with over 20 euro of competitors HMV Ireland or Golden Discs selling the same goods. b/. Related and Supporting Industries The second competitive advantage of Tesco is that the firm has related industries that are competitive globally like Wal Mart, throughout advanced aspects like communication infrastructure, modern and skilled labour, and research facilities, and technological know-how. c/. Factor Endowments Tesco has fundamentally gained competitive edge through sophisticated labour and etc as mentioned in Related and Supporting Industries. Finance, insurance, digital services, entertainment services, broadband, phone, clothes, health and beauty, and media products are example of those competitive advantages. Moreover, a wide range of Tesco brand non-food products including Finest ranges and non-food Value are sold perfectly. Meanwhile the selling of these non-food goods is quite high in Ireland. CDs are the best instances which are the results of Tescos technological know-how, communication infrastructure, and research facilities. d/. Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry Tesco has gained this fourth attribute to create unique selling point. Initially, Tescos superior technology of checkouts and stock control system has led the company to the success and expansion over the rivalries. Strategy: The growth of the company over the last two decades has been related to the strategic and image transformation. Its prior achievement is because of an approach, Pile it high, sell it cheap from Jack Cohen. The method was overtaken by the company during 1995. There are main reasons for the success like an inclusive offer and customer focus. In addition the company has another four-pronged method: non-food business, international, core UK business, and retailing services. Structure: The stores in the U.K have been separated into 6 formats based on their structure, which is differentiated by the stores size and range of goods sold. Tesco Extra: is chain of mostly out-of-town hypermarkets. Tesco Hypermarket: is a superstore with a combination of a department store and a supermarket, which gives a very big retail facility with a broad range of goods in one roof. Tesco Metro: is a store that has size between Tesco Express and Tesco stores. The store generally is located on high streets of small town and city centre with typical size of 12,000 square feet. Tesco Express: is a store that is neighbourhood convenience store. It has chiefly food with higher-margin goods owing to the lack of economic scale. Tesco One Shop: is a Tesco only format in Britain which has no the name of Tesco in its name and consists of some of the smallest stores. Tesco Homeplus: is a non-food store. Rivalry: Tesco has Asda, Safeway, and Sainsbury as its domestic competitor. However, these rivals allow Tesco to be a better international challenger since the firm runs the business internationally. Case Study: Tesco in Pakistan Before entering its market in Pakistan, Tesco has used an environmental scanning technique to examine Pakistan information for strategic purposes. First of all, a Tesco study has shown that Pakistan has a high per-capita income which they are able to afford products from Tesco, and so it assists to rise in the employment rate. Meanwhile, the national GDP rate is 5.8%. Thus, people would prefer to purchase various products under one roof in affordable price when they get monthly salaries. Plus, Pakistan is an Islamic country which permits the retailer to sell excluding only alcoholic products that are banned legally. The country political environment is favourable since the rise of Tesco will help the government to raise tax revenue and the intervention of the government will assist the company to process effectively. For Pakistani culture, it offers Tesco a good demand condition as Pakistani people are influenced to get work done as soon as possible, so the Tesco takes the advantage to offer a wide range of products such as grocery, clothing and etc under one roof. The most benefit thing for Tesco is that there is only competitor in Pakistan, Metro which has small market share. Therefore, Tesco has an opportunity to obtain more shares because Tesco will aim all income levels of consumers. Finally, Tesco has chosen a strategy called Greenfield strategy (a strategy that is to enter new market without the help from local business) since the company doesnt need help from local firms as it has only one competitor with small share in the hand. More importantly, the adoption of Greenfield is because the Tesco needs to begin from scratch in Pakistan. For marketing, Tesco would adapt pull strategy, a strategy that spends highly on advertising and customer promotion to build demand and loyalty of customers on a product. Lastly, Tesco chooses two type of financing: 70% from equity financing and 30% from debt financing. Tescos strategy vs Global Strategy The growth and strength of Tesco do not depend only on real within the United Kingdom, but also internationally. When local opportunities have turned less, the company started its expansion over global like the other giant retailers. The rapid gains over Central Europe and Asia and a considerable market share have come from its effective strategy. The main solution to success of Tesco is to lie in its global strategy, in which the company mixes global management in many areas and domestic responsiveness. Tescos tactic generally is to purchase an existing retail chain, or an important share of one, and transform it to subsidiary of Tesco. After that, the company can start the usual strategies by aggressively competing price, undercutting local businesses, selling petrol, creating Clubcard to build customer loyalty, opening 24 hours service and so forth. For its international stores, Tesco prefers large hypermarkets since it is easier to obtain planning permission for these stores in most countries than in the UK. These hypermarkets concentrate on non-food products. According to David Hughes, professor of agribusiness and food marketing, claims that: Retailers from rich countries look for five characteristics in countries high population growth, big population, consumers levels of GDP edging per capita, high growth of income, and poor supermarket presence. With these five characteristics, giant retailers would step their businesses into those countries. Thats why Tesco focuses its expansion to Ex-Soviet nations and South East Asia rather than going to West Europe countires. Case Study: Tesco in Thailand In 1998 Tesco stepped into Thailand by purchasing a great amount of stoke in the Thai-owned Lotus chain of convenience locations. And Thailand was the first south-east Asian country that Tesco ran its business in a large scale, and 31% of Thai market had been captured by Tesco by the end of 2002. Moreover, Tesco Express stores are attached to Exxon Mobil petrol stations. During 2004, the retailer plans to capture the remaining stake in Tesco Lotus. Tesco wanted to point out that it would be sourcing produce domestically, generally gaining the domestic economy, and providing local people jobs. The company also plans to help Thailand local suppliers to access local and global markets, and sell to multinational companies by offering them to develop and improve their service and quality standard. As usual technique, Tesco is very proud of its price cutting technique in South East Asia. There is slogan from Tesco: Like in the UK and Europe, we perform price campaigns to distribute to invincible value for our customers. This seems like declaring a war of opening hour and prices and the local retailers cannot possibly challenge with Tesco strategies. However, Tescos main competitors are not local retailers, but international retailers such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart, and domestic ones that suffer as a result of simply collateral damage. III/. Recommendations The strategies implemented by Tesco both local and international strategies work effectively in competing the local and global markets. For local business, Tesco seems to have a very higher strategy compared to Asda, Safeway, Sainsbury, and other biggest retailers in the UK. Its main four strategies are: non-food approach, retailing services, international strategy, and a strong UK core business. However, its international markets still seem to have troubles as a Tescos bitter experience in France (business collapse). Moreover, the company have too many corporate crime and global activities on the countries it is operating. For example, in Thailand, Tesco was taken to court as it exploited suppliers. It was found guilty on charging slotting fees to carry producers goods, charging suppliers fee of entry, advertising costs and goods show costs, and displaying own-brand items close to similar branded items. If we go to Ireland, we will see that Tesco has been fined by the country govern ment over below cost price selling products which the company tried to undercut other traders. In addition, it has been fined for selling certain goods at a lower in the UK than in Ireland. Plus, Tesco workers in Ireland, in 2001, went on strike due to under payment. Tescos workers received $4.85 per hour, while the union stated 20p to 25p lower than salaries paid by Tesco rivals. Hence, in order to compete with the world largest retailer, Wal-Mart, and to participate more actively in international markets, Tesco needs to improve the poor areas such as the dependence on the UK grocery market, high fossil fuel cost needed to use in transportation network and etc. Suggestion: To improve those poor areas, Tesco should improve market development strategy and product development. Strategic Alliances and Join Developments (Market Development Strategy): By expanding its international markets, Tesco should choose options of global alliances with local markets. This can be considered as a strategy of improvement and can be formed to take advantage current competence and resources. When forming partnerships or joint ventures, Tesco is able to gain and extend its local knowledge and operating expertise of the partner, meanwhile it can include its own supply chain, goods improvement and stores performing skills to distribute a better shopping experience to consumers. By doing so, it can obtain a bigger economic scale and bigger presence of market. Diversification (Product Development): According to schools and Johnson (2003), business environmental changes may create demand for new products and services, while the matrix of Ansoff recommends that a product development strategy needs to be carefully thought by management of a firm, if they want to develop new products for the existing markets. Thus, Tescos expansion and diversification of products mix, the company has to implement internal improvement when new products are built. Moreover, Tesco needs to consider the relation between portfolio diversity and the rationale of the corporate strategy. Thus, Tesco is able to introduce new product lines followed by changes of needs and wants of customers. But this may need more concentration on RD, guiding to additional expense. Supermarket industry understands overcapacity and innovative goods and services that are being the main competitive edge. Thus, a Tescos key driver for product development is innovation. Tesco, for instance, has many formats of stores in the UK and each format is to provide different convenience to shoppers. Therefore, Tesco can create portfolio of different formats for international markets like Far Eastern and Eastern Europe whose stores are hypermarket. By doing so, Tesco can develop the uniqueness of value added which lead to command a premium price. Plus, Technological management of innovations is related to decision-making, so Tesco must exploit the internal powers and reduce internal weaknesses to accomplish sustained unique selling point. IV/. Conclusion Strategies implemented by Tesco are very successful in terms of both national and international strategies. With its effective business strategies such as the Tesco approach, pile it high, sell it cheap, global strategy and etc, they have turned Tesco into the biggest retailer in the UK by overtaking Asda, Sainsbury and other giant retailers, and also made Tesco to become the worlds third largest retailer after Wal-Mart and Carrefour. For the local challenge, Tesco has competitive advantage over all retailers in the UK. Its four outstanding strategies are: non-food approach, retailing services, international strategy, and a strong UK core business. However, to challenge the world number one and number two retailers, Wal-Mart and Carrefour, and to attend more actively in international markets are troubles to challenge. Thus, Tesco needs to reform and improve its poor business strategies and areas. In order to improve those weaknesses, two solutions are suggested: Strategic Alliances and Join Developments (Market Development Strategy) and Diversification (Production Development). Book References: Mintzberg, H, Lampel, J, Quinn, J, B Ghoshal, S (2003) The Strategy Process. 4th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Sadler, P (2003) Strategic Management. 2nd ed. Great Britain The United States: Kogan Page Limited. Wit, B, D Meyer ,R (2005) Strategy Synthesis. 2nd ed. London: Thomson Learning. Web References: Recruitment and Selection. [Internet] Available from [Accessed 04 February, 20100] A History of Tesco: The Rise of Britains Biggest Supermarket. [Internet] Available from [Accessed 04 February, 2011] Shoaib, R Final Project of Business Policy. [Internet] Available from [Accessed 04 February, 2011] Our History. [Internet] Available from [Accessed 05 February, 2011] (2005) Tesco Case. [Internet] Available from [Accessed 05 February, 2011] (2004) Tesco. [Internet] Available from [Accessed 05 February, 2011] Strategic Planning: Tesco. [Internet] Available from [Accessed 05 February, 2011]

How Logistics Improvements Affect The Economy

How Logistics Improvements Affect The Economy Define Logistics Management and explain how logistics productivity improvement affects the economy as a whole as well as the position of individual consumer. The definition of logistics management (LM) varies from company to company but the most comprehensive definition is given by Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) as logistics management is the part of supply chain management that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point-of-origin to the point-of-consumption in order to meet customers requirements (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, n.d.) Logistics Productivity Improvement and the Economy Logistics has become an enormously important component of the gross domestic product (GDP) of industrialized nations and thus affects the rate of inflation, interest rates, productivity, energy costs and its availability and other aspects of the economy as well. Ever changing business environment due to globalization, lead time reductions, customer orientation, and outsourcing has contributed to the interest in logistics (Hertz Alfredsson, 2003). The increase in global production sharing, the shortening of product life cycles, and the increase of global competition all underline logistics as a strategic source of competitive advantage (Arvis, Mustra, Panzer, Ojala, Naula, 2007). Moreover, in order to remain in competitive marketplace and earn reasonable profits, organizations interest in logistics has been increased. Logistics operations have become more efficient due to technological advancements which make it possible to deliver goods on time while reducing the cost involved. Global market access has been improved over the time with the advancement in technology and trade liberalization resulting in the economic growth and development of the countries. Patterns in the market competition situation are continuously dictating the supply chain flows (i.e. product, price and information flows) in a predictable, timely and cost-effective way. Global firms corporate decisions regarding which country to locate in, which suppliers to buy from and which consumer markets to enter are largely based on logistics costs, quality and service level. Therefore, the countries with higher overall logistics costs are more likely to miss the opportunity of globalization. Nearly every sphere of human activity is affected, directly or indirectly, by the logistics process. Certainly, the improved logistics is expected to have important economic effects. Lower logistics costs and services affect positively in production, distribution and trade and/or retail activities of the firms. Reduced/minimum logistics costs enable a production or distribution facility to serve a wider market area, with potential gains from economies of scale. It also means that a firm can draw supplies from a wider area with potential gains in terms of the cost and/or quality of parts and materials. Logistics costs include transportation costs, costs of owning and operating warehouses, ordering costs, and carrying costs of inventory (Consulting Decision-Economics, 2002). To understand, how logistics productivity improvement helps in boosting economic growth, the following Figure 1 represents how investments in transportation infrastructure (a sub-sector of logistics) can lead to g enerative effects and growth in the national economy. It can also be drawn that reduction in shipping costs and transit time and increase in schedule reliability can be expected to have significant impacts on inventory management at supply chain level. Figure 1: Transportation and the Economy Efficient Transportation Infrastructure Investment Increased Transportation Capacity, Efficiency, Reliability, and Level of Service Transportation Cost Savings Business Expansion (Relocation and Restructuring) Transit Time Savings (Reliability Improvement) Increased Competitiveness Increased Productivity Increased Economic Growth Source: (Consulting Decision-Economics, 2002) Consequently, the efficiency and reliability of the logistics system affects economic productivity which is the most important determinant of economic performance. Therefore, logistics industry is the artery and the basic industry of the national economic development in the world. Its development level is one of the important marks to evaluate the level of state modernization and comprehensive national strength. Logistics is the accelerator of the economic development and growth. The World Bank, with its professional and academic partners, has produced the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) to help countries develop logistics reform programs to enable trade and enhance their competitiveness. The LPI is a comprehensive index created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in trade logistics performance (Arvis, et al., 2007). Logistics Productivity Improvement and the Individual Customer In todays uncertain and changing business environment, firms must respond to changing customer need in order to remain successful. Customers expect many kinds of goods to be available with them whenever they need. When a person comes into a store with the expectation of having the desired item/article from the store and eventually walks away with or without it. If the item is either not available or in stock, there is a problem for both the retailer and the customer. The retailer loses business and the customer has to go another store/retailer for the item/article. The same situation applies to businesses buying supplies; it is costly to a business if it cannot obtain supplies when needed. To cope with this problem (i.e. stock outs) and to improve responsiveness to the customers businesses should carry inventory. But carrying inventory requires huge capital investments in constructing warehouses and insurance expenses to cover the risk of loss or damage. All of these costs are reduce d if inventory can be reduced. Inventory held in retail stores or at warehouses can be reduced if replenishment is fast and reliable. Firms that analyze their costs carefully, find that inventory and the number of warehouses can be reduced without loss of customer service by using more flexible and efficient transportation system. Such changes in a firms logistics set-up are sometimes referred to as a reorganization effect (Consulting Decision-Economics, 2002). Businesses are constantly under immense pressure to have enough stock to satisfy customers and to reduce the cost of carrying inventory as well. To accommodate these conflicting pressures, firms are left with no option but an efficient and effective logistics system enabling them reduced inventory costs while maintaining or improving the level of customer service (that is an increase in productivity). These productivity gains will not occur unless a firms management perceives that the logistics system is robust and reliable enough to support its plans. Zhang, Vonderembse Lim (2005) are of the view logistics flexibility and its components: physical supply, purchasing, physical distribution, and demand management flexibilities are related to each other and to customer satisfaction. Figure 2 portrays the relationship, how flexible logistics affects the customer satisfaction. Figure 2: Impact of Flexible Logistics Competence on Capability and Customer Satisfaction Flexible Logistics Flexible Logistics Competence Capability Physical Supply Flexibility Physical Distribution Purchasing Flexibility Demand Management Customer Satisfaction Source: (Zhang, et al., 2005) Logistics, as a business competence, deals with the attainment of customer satisfaction at the minimum level of (logistic) costs. Customer satisfaction or improved customer service, is reached as the suppliers of goods and services succeed in achieving the growing needs of consumers to deliver their products according to the ever emerging demands of the customers, not only with regards to the physical nature of these products, but also with regards to their demands of reliability and flexibility of the logistics organization. According to Lim Palvia (2001) a responsive and efficient logistics network helps the organization to satisfy their customers in a number of ways: Increase in product availability i.e. high order fill rate and promised delivery date Reduced order cycle time Reduced distribution system malfunction i.e. accuracy of billing and product delivery Distribution system flexibility Distribution system information i.e. notice of price change, new product information, shipping delay and order status information Improved post-sale product support Why has logistics been receiving more attention as a strategic function of the organisation? Discuss the key challenges faced by logistics today and identify what you see as the greatest area of opportunity for logistics, and explain why you chose this area. (Your answer should not exceed 2000 words). Logistics as a Strategic Function of the Organisation The strategic importance of logistics is well understood especially in organizations that identify customer service and not the physical product as the single output of any organization (Korpela Tuominen, 1996). For companies successful with logistics partners, a common factor overriding all others is the recognition that this business activity is an important part of marketing strategy (Bowersox, 1990). Braithwaite Christopher (1991) gave following reasons, why logistics is a strategic function for most of the organizations: Extended lead-times of supply Extended and unreliable transit times Multiple freight mode and cost options Intermediate component shipping with local added value Initially, logistics was considered to have a supportive role to primary functions of organizations such as marketing and manufacturing. But now they have stretched out to cover purchasing, warehousing and transportation activities, distribution, inventory management, packaging, manufacturing, and even customer service. More importantly, logistics management has evolved from a passive, cost-absorbing function to that of a strategic factor which provides a unique competitive advantage (Bowersox Closs, 1996). Companies committed to strategic use of logistics usually outperform the competition in speed and consistency of order cycle (Bowersox, 1990). Organizations do have some standards, they intend the customers to rely on and expect employees to adhere to. A product marketer for example, having 95 percent order fill rate, if want to increase it to 98 percent, will require a just-in-time or quick response inventory replenishment type of business strategy. Marketers will strive not only to consistently deliver complete orders to the customers at the time and location requested but also to expand the level of service to keep customers loyalty. By developing a high level of standards performance, the companies reduce the number of less-than-standard situations that have to be resolved. Moreover, high quality logistics service compliance is almost invariably less expensive than a procedure based on an expected percentage of failure that demands frequent correction (Bowersox, 1990). Advances in telecommunications and information technology have given companies the way to manage the physical movement of product over long, often circuitous, routes. Many carriers (for example DHL , FedEx and TCS Express Logistics in Pakistan) have invested heavily in track and trace systems to be able to establish the location of any consignment at any time, improving the visibility of the global supply chain to shippers and their customers. Also there is a growing competition among international companies to produce and deliver customized products and services fast and efficiently all over the world. Eventually, this will go hand in hand with an improvement of lead times to the extent that customized products have the same responsiveness as standardized products have now. Logistics has become a strategic function of the business organizations by providing competitive advantage through competence in delivery speed, reliability, responsiveness, and low cost distribution. Integrating logistics into corporate strategy has a greater effect on customer value than any other process, whereas, integrating logistics into overall organizational strategy is critical to reducing costs, entering new markets, creating customer service, and gaining competitive advantage. Logistics excellence has a significant impact on corporate profitability and firms can use logistics to create a competitive advantage. Key Challenges to the Logistics Today As businesses become more outsourced, virtual and as global customer markets expand along with the emergence of new regional supply capabilities, the need for improved skills of procurement and logistics as well as operational transformation becomes more acute. Organizations today face great challenges because the successful provision of many goods and services requires the effective integration of logistics activities across a complicating and lengthening supply chain. In recent years, most industries have recognized that substantial savings are available to companies that are able to coordinate and innovate within their logistics operations. Chiu (1995) identified following challenges, logistics systems are facing: Diversified products Short order cycle times Shipping in small quantities High frequency and reliability of deliveries Customer service orientation Low stock level and rapid inventory turnover Timely and accurate information requirements Cheong (2004) on the other hand, differentiated the challenges to logistics providers by their level of tangibility i.e. Logistics Network Configuration layer (most tangible), to Material Flow layer, to Information Flow layer, and finally to Relationship Management layer (least tangible) as shown in the figure. 3. Logistics network configuration is concerned with designing the optimal network to satisfy service requirements at the minimum cost and the challenges at this level consist of decisions regarding: number, size and location of warehouses; location; their links to the distribution centers; warehouse sizing allocation; and customer points. Second layer is material flow which refers to the movement of products from the upstream entities, via the logistics provider, to the downstream entities. Figure.3: Layers of Challenges Faced by Logistics Providers Source: (Cheong, 2004) At material flow level, the decisions on: inventory management; scheduling the transport; lot sizing; warehousing; and consolidating the products are the challenging areas of logistics management. Third layer is information flow, which refers to the flow of information throughout the supply chain and includes: order processing; information sharing; IT systems integration; Internet; and visibility. The final layer, the relationship management is concerned with performance measures and contract design. The biggest challenge in inter-company coordination is information sharing and the issue of trust (Cheong, 2004). Area of Opportunity The status of power in logistics industry is very much important in determining the future trends. In the USA, for example, the resellers and retailers have typically occupied a weaker power position in the logistics channel than the manufacturers whereas this has not been the case in Australia where the retail chains, particularly in the grocery industry, have always held the dominant position (Gilmour, 1993; Gilmour, Driva, Hunt, 1995). The opportunities for retail logistics are hence different from that of distributors. The most potential area of opportunity for overall logistics industry is information and computer technology in my personal view. Information and computer technology have had a significant impact on global logistics operations over recent years. Chiu (1995) identified five major information technologies which have become increasingly common in logistics: Point-of-Sale (POS) systems Bar Coding Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Value-Added Networks (VANs) Electronic Ordering Systems (EOSs) In addition, there are some other terminologies i.e. Enterprise Requirements Planning (ERP), Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Transportation Management Systems (TMS), productivity tracking software and Activity-Based Costing (ABC) software etc. which represent the status of IT in logistics. There are many examples of the use of WMS and other technology in warehousing, such as those systems installed at Hewlett-Packard, Malaysia Airlines, Texas Instruments, and Unilever Italia. Furthermore, there are some latest equipments as well, which are being used in warehouses and distribution centres including voice synthesizer and video text, to facilitate the receipt of an order; paperless picking warehouses using radio frequency (RF), and new transport equipments such as B-doubles scheduled and monitored by on-board computers facilitate the delivery of the order. Time-based competition has put the businesses under continuous pressure and to be successful in todays competitive environment the use of information technology has become obvious. Mentzer (1999) identified four specific strategies that organizations use in time-based competition: just-in-time (JIT), quick response (QR), vendor managed inventory (VMI) and continuous replenishment programs (CRP). Efficient consumer response (ECR) is another time-based competition strategy found primarily in the grocery industry that focuses on inventory replenishment, store assortment, promotion and product introduction. Collaborative, Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) transfers end-customer information as far up the supply chain as possible to plan upstream supply chain activities such as distribution and production scheduling. The future of logistics development is subject to collaborative logistics and virtual or fourth-party logistics. Collaborative logistics is described as a model relying on real-time information which flows seamlessly amongst all parts of the supply chain. It is generally believed that collaborative logistics between companies participating in supply chain setups reduce the cost and increase the efficiency. Virtual or fourth-party logistics is described as third-party logistics providers who act as a general contractor of all logistics activities for an organization. In either of the situation, information technology has pivotal role in effective and efficient logistics. Identify the objectives of warehousing and explain different key performance indicators for all the Warehouse activities. (Your answer should not exceed 2000 words) Warehousing Objectives A warehouse is simply a commercial building used for the storage of goods. Warehouses are normally used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport agencies etc. Warehousing processes include receiving, put-away, order preparation/picking, dispatching and inventory management. In a warehouse, storing goods in an adequate space with the proper equipments by well trained personnel in a properly planned layout results in maximum protection of items (Tomkins, et al., 1996). So the objectives of a warehouse should be: Space utilization; Equipment utilization; Maximize human resources utilization; Reduce SKU handling and maintain required SKU; Minimize companys operating expenses; Accessibility of all materials; Protection of all materials (including companys assets); In order to achieve objectives of a warehouse business, the first step is to ensure right product, in right quantity, in right condition and on right time is received. Secondly, to allocate proper storage space to that inventory that maximizes the space utilization. Finally, while shipping an order, ensure right SKU, in right quantity, in right condition and at right time is dispatched. Moreover, the efficient and effective use of equipment and human resources is of prime importance. The size, architectural design, configuration and location of the warehouse, are also the major determinants of the success or failure of the company in chasing its objectives. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of Warehousing Warehouse management is an area where logisticians can focus to gain maximum efficiency for minimum cost. Usually organizations measure their performance by analyzing if the things are going in the right way or not, and if not, what were the causes of poor performance? The main instruments for assessing performance are key performance indicators (KPIs), the specific characteristics of the process which are measured in order to describe if the process is realized according to pre-established standards. Moreover, KPIs measure the business health of an enterprise and ensure that all individuals at all levels are marching in step to the same goals and strategies. Neely et al. (1995) defined performance measurement as the process of quantifying the efficiency and effectiveness of an action or activity. There are some other reasons too for measuring performance: for improving performance, for avoiding inconveniences before its too late, for monitoring customer relations, for process and cost control and for maintaining quality. Selecting and defining KPIs is not as easy as it sounds. In the current marketplace, while purchasing business intelligence (BI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM) or business performance management (BPM) systems, there is the dilemma of choosing only few KPIs from the several hundred (or thousand) metrics that are included in the package. Key performance indicators (KPIs) reflect strategic value drivers rather than just measuring business activities and processes. Key performance indicators help aligning all levels of an organization (business units, departments and individuals) with clear targets and benchmarks to create accountability and track progress. Furthermore, they accelerate collaborative planning across the organization to ensure that everyone is operating from the same playbook. The success of any performance management program is thus dependent on selecting the correct KPIs. Selection of the wrong KPIs can result in sub-optimized results. While selecting KPs, it should be bore in mind that although all KPIs are metrics, not all metrics are KPIs. The trick is discerning between the two. In a study on performance measurement of a manufacturing warehouse, Birkholz (2004) used warehousing KPIs based on business processes: receiving, put-away, storage, order picking and shipping/dispatching. Warehousing KPIs were classified into five categories: financial, productivity, utilization, quality and cycle time. A summary of all the warehousing KPIs is given in Table 1. Table 1: Warehouse Key Performance Indicators Financial Productivity Utilization Quality Cycle Time Receiving Receiving cost per receiving line Receipts per man-hour % Dock door utilization % Receipts processed accurately Receipt processing time per receipt Put-away Put-away cost per put-away line Put-aways per man-hour % Utilization of put-away labor and equipment % Perfect put-aways Put-away cycle time (per put-away) Storage Storage space cost per item Inventory per square foot % Locations and cube occupied % Locations without inventory discrepancies Inventory days on hand Order Picking Picking cost per order line Order lines picked per man-hour % Utilization of picking labor and equipment % Perfect picking lines Order picking cycle time (per order) Shipping Shipping cost per customer order Orders prepared for shipment per man-hour % Utilization of shipping docks % Perfect shipments Warehouse order cycle time Total Total cost per order, line, and Item Total lines shipped per total man-hour %Utilization of total throughput and storage capacity % Perfect warehouse orders Total warehouse cycle time = Dock-to-stock time + Warehouse order cycle time Source: (Birkholz, 2004; Frazelle, 2002) Krauth et al. (2005) classified around 130 indicators used for assessing warehouse performance, such as storage surface, storage volume, storage racks, number and characteristics of docks, pallets per hour, pallets per square meter, opening hours, and assistance with customs etc. Liviu et al. (2009) grouped key performance indicators for warehousing into three categories: Inventory Management, Warehouse Performance and Order Fulfilment. The summary of these warehousing KPIs is given in Table 2. Table 2: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of Warehousing Inventory Management Measure Calculation Damaged Inventory (min.) Total Damage (lei) / Inventory Value Days on Hand (min.) Avg. Month Inventory (lei) / Avg. Daily Sales/Month Storage Utilisation (max.) Avg. Occupied Sq. m. / Total Storage Capacity Dock to Stock Time (min.) Total Dock to Stock Hrs. / Total Receipts Warehouse Performance Indicators Orders per Hour (max.) Orders Picked or Packed / Total Warehouse Labour Hrs Items per Hour (max.) Items Picked/Packed / Total Warehouse Labour Hrs Cost per Order (min.) Total Warehouse Cost / Total Orders Shipped Cost as % of Sales (min.) Total Warehouse Cost / Overall Sales Order Fulfilment Indicators On-Time Delivery (max.) Orders On-Time / Total Orders Shipped Order Fill Rate (max.) Orders Filled Complete / Total Orders Shipped Order Accuracy (max.) Error-Free Orders / Total Orders Shipped Order Cycle Time (min.) Actual Ship Date Customer Order Date Perfect Order Completion (max.) Perfect Deliveries / Total Orders Shipped Source: (Liviu, et al., 2009) Inventory Management measures are generally concerned with decisions regarding optimum level of inventory to be maintained. A higher value of Damaged Inventory indicator shows less effective inventory management. Days on Hand indicator shows the level of inventory in hand into number of days it will serve. It will have a lower value if contracts with suppliers are renegotiated and if are kept only the ones who are able to deliver products fast. Storage Utilization indicator shows the level of space utilization, for example, number of layers of pallets per rack. It also describes how efficiently space has been allocated to storage, dock and office. Dock to Stock Time indicates the efficiency of warehouse operations and its value can be reduced by introducing portable barcode readers and a barcode software. By solving the space related problems, both the issues related to product entry time and preparing them for delivery will be shortened. Warehouse performance indicators simply represent the operational efficiency and contribution to the overall profitability of the organization. A maximum value of Orders per Hour and Items per Hour is desirable while a minimum value for Cost per Order and Cost as % of Sales is likely to lever the profits of the organization. Order fulfilment indicators represent the firms operational performance as well as its responsiveness to the customers. A maximum value of On-Time Delivery, Order Fill Rate, Order Accuracy and Perfect Order Completion and a minimum value of Order Cycle Time shows a higher level of customer satisfaction, efficiency and contribution to the company profitability. Warehousing key performance indicators (WKPIs) can be used with benchmarking to indicate the overall state of warehouse operations. These are the meaningful measurements which can be referenced periodically to analyze the current financial, productivity, quality, and cycle time status for a warehouse facility. However, in addition to all the key performance indicators (KPIs) mentioned in Table 1 and 2, a tool is still required to automate processes in order to maximize the use of warehouse resources. This is where the integration of information technology becomes a key component in warehousing. Information technology is a key to improvement when considering world-class warehousing practices. In nutshell, performance indicators are useful for identifying the problems related to warehouse management and abnormal values of the indicators can be used to develop an efficient control system for a warehouse. The basic use of the concept is, it helps in identifying the causes of the problems and hence to diminish their impact or eliminate the causes, before is too late. It is true what is measured is managed, and, conversely, what is not measured merits little or no attention. Answer the below given questions (Each answer should not exceed 200 words): How is logistics related to the marketing effort? The marketing effort is based on the achieving organizational goals while focusing the target customers more efficiently and effectively than competitors. McCarthy (1981) popularized the idea of the marketing mix of price, promotion, product and place, the later (i.e. place) is directly related to logistics management. In providing the product to its right place, logistics plays an important role. The place component of the marketing deals a lot with customer service provided by a business, undertaking such tasks as on-time delivery, high order fill rates and consistent transit times. A product or service provides satisfaction to its customer only when it is available to the customer when and where it is needed. Furthermore, how logistics operations affect the major elements of marketing mix can be easily understood from the following figure. Product Price Promotion Place Customer Service level M A R K E T I N G Inventory Carrying Costs Transportation Costs Lot Quantity Costs Warehousing Costs Order Processing and Information Costs L O G I S T I C S Product is the set of benefits or utilities or characteristics which a customer receives as a result of its purchase. In order to increase sales or due to some other strategic decisions management may decide to lower

Essay on Music :: Music Musician

From the rock and roll music of today, to the jazz and big band music of the thirties, all the way to tribal drums and the chanting of monks, music is ever present in society. What is it about music that allows it to transcend time? Music is not something that can be easily explained. How would one define the way simple rhythms and melodies can create an entire world? Music is free and undefined. It is not hindered by language barriers, and its only boundaries are within the imagination of the musician or composer. Music is the essence of passion and contains endless possibilities. To write a piece of music, a composer cannot simply throw together random notes. They have to think about what sounds will capture the feelings and sensations they are attempting to convey. Writing music is a form of expression. The end product shows a piece of the maker. Just as a poet searches for the perfect combination of words, so a composer carefully selects notes and instruments to create a melody. But, as much effort goes into writing music, a musician does not simply read the notes on a page and mindlessly reproduce them. A musician must determine what the music is about, and then portray that message. What makes a musician great is the ability to put a part of themselves into what they are playing. They must make the music come alive. In some cases a musician isn’t even reading music. In many jazz pieces there are improvisation solos. This means the soloist is playing by ear, they have no music to look at. The soloist listens to the chords and harmonies happening within the band and then creates a melody. Improving is about feeling the music and intuitively grasping where it is going. Music is not a science. A musician can play the notes and rhythms written on a page perfectly, but unless they throw themselves into the music and become a part of it, the music will be bland and emotionless. Music is never apathetic. Musicians only connect to their audience by entwining their fervor and passion into each strand of the music.

E-Books :: essays research papers

Business Systems and Technology The thought of books being on computers shows mankind’s need to use technology. Just imagine all the paper used in books around the world. Think of all the trees e-books would save. E-books are definitely the way of the future, but it won’t be a simple or rapid change. In a perfect world 20 years from now, students will no longer carry around bulky backpacks. Libraries will be in smaller, extremely technologically advanced buildings. Magazine shops may very well cease to exist. But what had to be done before all this could occur?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chances are, just about every person in the world would have some sort of e-book reader. These don’t come cheap at all. Prices could vary from $200 to $600. Computer programs that could read e-books have a certain level of system requirements. These requirements are fairly high now, let alone 20 years from now. Before e-books can become widely popular, people would have to make the choice between migrating to portable computers and purchasing a stand-alone e-book reader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What do you think the storage capacity on these e-book readers would be? Judging by today’s technology, the capacity would be quite enormous. But will that be enough for everyone? People will want to have every book they own at their fingertips so that at a moments notice they can reference Shakespeare or the latest articles in Times Magazine. People will want to be linked to their storage mediums at home all the time. This is where powerful wireless networks come into play. Network designers will have to come up with ways to make it possible for e-books to become internet ready, which would give people the ability to access their entire home library.