Bauxite/Aluminum and the Environment :: Essays Papers

Bauxite/Aluminum and the Environment Aluminum is the third most common element in the earth's crust, with reserves guaranteed to last hundreds of years, and, in its ore, bauxite, one of the most economically significant minerals in the world. It is, perhaps, more easily recycled than any other mineral substance used by man, but mining operations still continue and are enormously valuable. Aluminum companies have been at the forefront of environmental progress and effort in the minerals industry. Aluminum is not the cleanest metal to produce, and it is often found in ecologically significant regions. However, the undaunted aluminum industry has managed to do its part for the environment, and continually improve its own efficiency. Azom.com notes that, since bauxite is chiefly found in tropical or subtropical areas, mines are often associated with the rain forest. In truth, only about 6% of the world's current bauxite production takes place in rain forest regions, "affecting a total area of around 1.5 km2 per year" (azom.com). Bauxite mines are almost always of the open-cast type, so they have a wide impact on the land area above them. Even so, 80% of bauxite mines on forestland are eventually returned to forest, the rest "replaced by agriculture, commercial forest, or recreational area, thereby making the area more productive for the local community"; what's more, the "rain forests in particular" are "almost totally reverted back to rain forest" (azom.com). Most companies min ing bauxite remove the fertile top soil separately from the rest of the overburden, so that it can reapplied to assure maximum usefulness of the reclaimed land. In addition, "over 60 per cent [of companies] have their own nursery plant facilities" and many put special care into water drainage to avoid soil erosion due to rainfall or other runoff (azom.com). In short, the reclamation procedures undertaken by aluminum companies are typical of the modern American mining industry. The workers in aluminum run into more difficulty during the processing stage. Aluminum refining produces large amounts of PFCs, CFCs, and other poisonous or environmentally damaging gases. The process of refining itself involved diatomic chlorine gas as a reagent. Reducing the amount of chlorine gas used is a constant preoccupation in the industry, although attention is also given to reducing gaseous, liquid, and solid waste by operating "air pollution equipment that captures pollutants and recycles raw materials" (Aluminum Association). In recent years, great progress has been made by the Voluntary Aluminum Industry Partnership (VAIP) organized by the EPA.

Grapes of Wrath Essay: Theme of Strength Through Unity -- Grapes Wrath

Theme of Strength Through Unity in The Grapes of Wrath The traditional human family represents a necessary transition between self and community. In the difficult era of the 1930's, the family's role shifted to guard against a hostile outside world rather than to provide a link with it. With the drought in the Dust Bowl and other tragedies of the Great Depression, many were forced to look beyond the traditional family unit and embrace their kinship with others of similar necessity. In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses the theme of strength through unity to comment on the relationship between the dissolution of individual families and the unification of the migrant people. The journey of the Joad family west illustrates this as they depart a parched Oklahoma, arrive in a hostile California, and eventually settle in amongst others as unwelcome there as they are. With the return of Tom to the family in the beginning of the story, the Joad family is once again united, though at the same time we see them to be utterly isolated from other migrants. It is not until the loss of a proverbial "right-arm" of the family (Grandpa) that the family is first unified with others, the Wilsons. As their journey progresses, they lose more members and struggle through increasing hardships, but in each situation the two families act as one and persevere. Grandma follows her husband to the grave, Ivy Wilson's health degrades, Noah leaves the family he knows doesn’t truly love him, their cars continually break down, and their money is fast disappearing. Vehicles, food, and money are all shared, but with one family's loss the entire group benefits. The Joad family's experiences when they first arrive in California ar... ...n's baby is stillborn, signifying a terrible loss to the Joad family. Soon after, they come upon another family, and Rose of Sharon is able to use the milk meant for her dead child to help a sick, starving old man. What's more, Rose of Sharon used her own milk, something normally only for the family, signifying the absence of a traditional family, and instead a universal family of a common plight. Throughout the course of the story, roughly half of the Joad family dies or disappears, but by the end of the novel the Joads are in a desperate yet relatively comfortable position. This was because as they gave up their kin, they were welcomed into society as a whole. In this manner John Steinbeck uses the theme Unity leads to Survival to comment on the relationship between the dissolution of individual families and the unification of the migrant people.

Operation and Strategy management for Ryanair Essay

Introduction The company chosen in this report is Ryanair in the airline industry. Ryanair is a low cost budget airline travelling across 1600 routes from 57 bases connecting 180 destinations in 29 different countries (Ryanair.com). Ryanair first started its operations in 1985 between Ireland and London. The first year it commuted around 5000 customers but the company really took off in 1990 when Michael O’ Leary was appointed the CEO of the company. The company was envisaged by its CEO Michael O’ Leary and adapted the Southwest airline model from America and brought it to Europe and since then the company has also embraced a no frills, low cost model where it plans to get their customers from A to B at the cheapest rate possible. This has revolutionised the travel industry and made travel cheaper and reliable within Europe. Ryanair has a strong hold on market in most of the countries Europe with 44% in Ireland where its headquarters are, followed by 23% to 21% in Poland, Italy and Spain (centreofavaiation.com). In the UK the company holds a modest 16% of the market with its overall customers estimated at 81.5 million for the year 2014. The company gets a stiff competition from Easyjet, Lufthansa, Aerlingus and Alitalia. These airlines try to follow the same model as well but Ryanair has been the leader by far  generating revenues of â‚ ¬3.789 billion for the fiscal year 2013 with profits of â‚ ¬374.6 million. Figure 1: Market share of different airlines ( Source: Centreofaviation.com) PEST Analysis Political Factors: The political factors tend to affect the airline industry the most if they are flying from one country to another. In case of Ryanair, it only flies within the EU, thus there is no question of arising uncertainties. One factor which has helped the airline sector grow is deregulation. In 1978 the United States removed government control over many aspects of air travel, including fares and routes, in the Airline Deregulation Act (Liberty of Economics and Liberty). This shifted the power to the market sphere. Following the success of this, Europe completed their own faze of deregulation by April 1997. This allowed passenger planes to fly between member states freely. Ryanair added several new routes to their repertoire after deregulation, taking the opportunity to add routes to new parts of Europe and Scandinavia. A further form of deregulation came in March of 2008 when the EU and United States agreed to let any city within each other’s territory fly between each other. This was called the Open Skies Agreement. Although Ryanair have still to take full advantage of this, they have announced their desire to start transatlantic flights at a very low cost to the consumer (RTE, 2007). This unprecedented step could shake the air flight market, increasing the volume of passengers able to fly more freely across the Atlantic and could have a knock on effect with Ryanair’s transatlantic competitors, forcing a change in the market. In 2012 a new law was introduced where all flights coming to and from the EU had to buy their CO2 emission allowances, whereas before they were exempt from the Emissions Trading Scheme. Many airlines have expressed their anger at their inclusion in the scheme, pointing to the fact that only 2% of global CO2 emissions are caused directly by air traffic. Many airlines have increased ticket prices to cope with the extra costs incurred. Ryanair have passed on the cost to customers in the form of a 25c charge (Irishtimes.com) Economical: During a deep recession Ryanair has flourished, recording a +18.71% 1 year return in 2012 ( Bloomberg, 2014) and announcing that it is Europe’s leading scheduled airline. In comparison to other airlines that are cutting jobs and have planes grounded, Ryanair are experiencing high demand and adding extra flights, creating new jobs for many sectors in their business, from pilots to sales and marketing people (RTE, 2007) One of the upmost problems facing the airline industry is the fluctuating oil prices. To compensate the rising oil prices most airlines have to put ticket prices up, which directly affects their customers. However, under the exceptional leadership of Michael O’Leary, Ryanair has addressed the problem through hedging. Hedging could be termed as an agreement between the oil companies and the airlines where oil prices are agreed in advance. In Ryanair’s case they have increased its fuel hedging capacity to 90% of its requirements (Centre of Aviation). This exceptional thinking by Ryanair gives them a cost cutting advantage over its competitors and thus still being able to offer its customers the same low fares which have been Ryanair’s forte. Social: The airline industry as per any other industry has to comply with the customer’s requirement to sustain in the market. A very god example that could be stated in this case is that of Ryanair, whereby, during the recession times when the unemployment grew to almost 15% and thus people did not have much money to spend, Ryanair gave its customers cheap flights to commute from one place to another taking away all the inflight luxuries. This has helped the airline grow even in the toughest times the economy has faced and thus also creating new jobs. But also to with stand the competition by other luxury airliners, Ryanair would offer its customers to book their cars and train tickets while booking their flights as it mostly flies to secondary airports. This, therefore not only attracted middle class customers but also people on business. The airline industry especially in Europe has had a last few troublesome years due to natural disasters that have cost the company extensive amoun ts. To point out a few, the ash cloud in 2010 cost the company 29.7 million Euros (Irish times, 2011) and these are huge costs for the airline to bear and thus, to compensate these compensation chargers Ryanair now chargers a â‚ ¬2 levy to compensate these claims in the future (Irish times, 2011). Technological: In the current climate technology plays an important part in the airline industry. Firstly, with the increasing fuels costs, fuel efficient aircrafts can save the companies a substantial amount of money. Another way is the internet; with the growth of internet all the companies’ use online advertising to push the sales and television advertising is also second to none. The internet is also a medium where people look for cheap airline tickets. In the case of Ryanair, the company makes the utmost use of technology to cut the human involvement out and thus keeping the costs down. It has a very good online ticket booking system where 85% of its tickets are booked (Ryanair.com). In 2009, Ryanair introduces the self-service kiosks whereby the passengers can check in using the machine and thus taking the human element out of the equation. This service was already available for passengers travelling without luggage but it was now developed for the customers travelling with check-in lu ggage. This was a chip and pin service developed in collaboration with Ingenico and thus gave the company a competitive advantage over its competitors and thus delivering low price flights for its customers (BBC News, 2009). Value Chain Analysis: A firm’s competitive advantage could be determined by the value chain analysis. The value chain consists of primary and support activities. Understanding the company’s linkage between the primary and secondary activities gives the company’s business model and helps one understand the secret of withstanding the competitive advantage. Figure 2: Value Chain Analysis model In the case of Ryanair, a clear linkage could be made between the inbound and outbound logistics in the primary activities to the Technology development in the support activity. Now, to obtain a clear understanding of this model, inbound logistics are the deals that the company is able to acquire from its suppliers on the promise of higher volumes. These include food, drinks, duty free goods, fuel which have to be delivered, stored and controlled on time as to avoid any delays for the aircraft. Ryanair, also puts a great deal of  effort in its operations as it promises its customers a 25 minute turnaround period which could be one of its core competencies and for the company to do so all the inbound logistics should be delivered on time. This 25 minute turnaround period also, gives the company the advantage of flying two extra flights on the same route compared to its competitors and enables high aircraft utilisation. The company also offers nonstop direct services to its destinati ons and does not link with any other airline, thus giving them a timely departure from the airport and also avoiding the costs for through services for its passengers and does not have to rely on other flights coming on time to schedule their departures. This has helped them gain a competitive advantage over its competitors as 95% of Ryanair’s flights are on time compared to 88% that of EasyJet. Ryanair also uses the standard Boeing 737 model of aircraft and thus, the company manages to get maintenance services and spares at a very minimum cost. This also reduces the cost of staff training and offers flexibility in scheduling aircrafts and crew assignments. On the outbound logistics, Ryanair operates to the secondary airports and thus have to arrange onward journey for their customers. They have teamed up with certain vehicle companies to give its business customers the advantage of that service however some of the routes are so obscure that these services cannot be provided constantly, a prime example are some of the Scandinavian routes. Thus, Ryanair has certain limits when acquiring the market share. On the contrary, Ryanair’s competitor EasyJet does the opposite and flies to major airports and cities and thus paying higher landing charges which are then reflected in the fares for their customers. The advantage of flying to secondary airports is that Ryanair pay fewer chargers and they are also in a position to bargain with the airport authority and get a deal that favours them and the secondary airports are less congested and thus turnaround times are much faster (Centre of Aviation), 2014). The inbound and the outbound logistics are coupled nicely with the technology to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. Ryanair has tried to eliminate the human element as much as they can. They have introduced kiosks at the check-in desks for customers to check-in themselves at their own leisure. Thus, reducing staffing costs which is then reflected in the prices they charge their customers. The company doe s not invest much in advertising as well, the main advertising is  done through its very own website and 90% of the tickets are booked through the website as well( Ryanair.com). It only uses ticketing agents when they’re opening new routes and trying to venture into unknown markets; otherwise it is the website that people book their tickets through. The company constantly monitors its planes minute by minute through its own website and thus, keeping the human element out and using its website for mainly everything saves them on an average â‚ ¬6 million a year (BBC news, 2014). Amongst all the competitive advantage the company have, the one that has not been mentioned is the good leadership of Michael O’ Leary and his ability to create a vision for the company. He has successfully managed to adapt to the change as and when required and adopt different model to envisage the change for the betterment of the company which has helped the business to grow. Conclusion: To conclude this report, Ryanair has emerged as a successful company since it was established in 1985. It had a few hiccups on the way for the first 5 years but since Michael O’ Leary took the reigns over in 1990 as the CEO the company has gone from strength to strength. Its success has been helped by the conducive nature of the industry and the external elements within the airline industry. This industry has its threats but since the de regulation act and the expansion of EU, there have been a lot of commuters within these countries for business and leisure, thus this higher demand and low costs have helped Ryanair emerge as a low cost budget airline. Just because the company operates all its routes within the EU, it does not really have to deal with changing political factors and that it has always used them to their advantage. Ex. De regulation act and the open skies act even though the company has not started its flights to the US as of yet. The changing oil prices are a c oncern for every airliner but Ryanair counteracts through a process call hedging and uses the most advanced technology to remove the human element to curb the costs down for its customers and another reason for its success even during recession is because it gave the customers cheap flights to commute taking the luxuries out which were the demands at that time. Ryanair has a competitive advantage by the virtue of its inbound activities and the outbound activities combined with the technological  aspect of it. It uses the same standard Boeing so the costs are less and also, flying at secondary airports mean less landing charges and they’re also in a position to get a favourable deal for themselves from the airport authorities. The turnaround time is only 25 minutes as well and thus giving their customers more daily flights from the same destinations compared to its competitors. Refrences: Belobaba, P., Odoni, A., & Barnhart, C. (2009). The global airline industry. Hoboken: AIAA, Inc Helm, C., & Jones, R. (2010). Extending the value chain: A conceptual framework for managing the governance of co-created brand equity. The Journal of Brand Management, 17(8), 579-589. McCormick, T. (2010). Understanding costs using the value chain a ryanair example. Dublin: Institute of Chartered Accountants In Ireland. Research and markets: European low cost airline industry continues to prosper.(2004, Business Wire, pp. 1. Research and markets: European low cost airline industry continues to prosper.(2004, Business Wire, pp. 1. Research and markets: PEST analysis.(2003, M2 Presswire, pp. 1. RTE 2007. http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/2012/q1_2012_doc.pdf[Accessed 20 March 2014]. http://www.ryanair.com/en/about/ryanair-and-the-environment[Accessed 20 March 2014]. Aviation, C. C. (2011, May 25). CAPA Centre for Aviation. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from Ryanairearnings up 26% but change in tack for 2012: http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/ryanair-earnings-up-26-but-change-in-tack-for-2012- http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0112/breaking26.htmlEdwards, N. (2012). http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=27620789 accessed on 2/04/14. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22659822 accessed on 1/04/2014 http://www.air-passenger-rights.co.uk/tag/the-irish-times/ accessed on 5/04/14 http://wwwnews.live.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23487106 accessed on 10/04/14

Harold Hieth’s Rifles for Watie: A Review Essay

1 Jeff enlists in the union army. â€Å"If by a miracle, a general war could be avoided, soldiers were still needed to halt guerrilla warfare in Kansas, brought by the Missourian proslavery faction across the border, Jeff’s dearest wish was to become a soldier.† (Jeff) 2 Jeff chooses this side because he heard Abraham Lincoln give a speech that convinced him that the south was wrong. 3 The incident that occurs is Jeff’s family is attacked by bushwhackers. â€Å"And I’m tired of fighting them with just a sickle, Pa. I want to go to fort Leavenworth tomorrow and join the Kansas volunteers.† (Jeff) 4 Nouns- soldier, hero, Kansas, brother, unioner. Adjectives- loyal, strong, eager, fearless, good. Verbs- fights, works, enjoys. 5 The reasons are, John wants to see the world and David, like Jeff, simply wants to be a soldier. 6 David receives anger from his mother and she will not let him stay. â€Å"That’s what you’ve always wanted, so go on now back to the army.† (David’s mother) 7 One hard lesson is how quickly you can get hurt in the army, like Ford Ivey. â€Å"I don’t wanta live if I hafta be a hopeless cripple for life!† (Ford p.71). Another hard lesson is what secrets can lead to. Such as Clardy killing sparrow because of a secret. â€Å"If I hadn’t gotten mad and deviled the captain about the widows murder poor sparrow might still be alive today.† (Jeff, p.76) 8 Jeff is upset because Clardy has just set Jeff up to be arrested, then gave him a harsh punishment 9 The Missouri woods reminded him of his mother’s brilliantly colored rag rug that lay on the split log floor beside her bed, back in Linn County. The blackjack seedlings seemed a flame in the genial sunshine. The young oaks glowed in livid. The oaks couldn’t seem to agree on an appropriate color; some wore a subdued foliage of and pale, others were gay in and bright. A cardinal flew leisurely out of a tall, sweet gum, and Jeff thought at first it was a falling leaf. Dixie trotted along contentedly at his side. 10 When the union officers reach the Washbourne home, Clardy treats them rudely. However Jeff’s kind and helpful treatment earns him a meal. â€Å"Supper for us or must I burn down your house and set an example to the rest of this yappy Indian town?† (Clardy p.114) 11 The purpose of the propaganda was to inspire the troops to dislike the rebels. â€Å"If each man of you what I have here urged upon you, we will entirely destroy them.† (Noah p.126) 12 The ‘treatment’ is, the boys line up and walk past Clardy, each saluting. The line goes on for so long that eventually Clardy can barley lift his arm. 13 Lucy| Jeff | â€Å"Slavery and preservation of the union, have very little to do with the Cherokee nation.† (Lucy,p.171) | Jeff says the war is fought to reunite the north and south together.| Lucy thinks there should be slavery in the west if the territories agree to it.| The declaration of independence states that all men are created equal. | 14 The grandmother hates to see spring come because she knows that bushwhackers come with it. 15 Jeff arranges for Lee Washbourne’s body to be sent to his family. He pays for someone to take it back he also is angry with captain Clardy and refuses to replace a fallen gunman. â€Å"A hot bitter rage at Clardy flared in Jeff. (Jeff) 16 Jim fills his canteen with union coffee which is easily recognized and could get them caught. 17 It is unusual because the conditions in the army were harsh, many people deserted. 18 â€Å"They had to learn to sing, dance, play the piano, ride horseback, read the classics, and flirt with boys without seeming immodest.† (Jeff) 19 Jeff knows spring is coming because everything is starting to turn green. â€Å"Already the burr oaks were wearing light green tassels and the red buds purplish blooms brightened the hillside and valleys.† (Jeff) Jeff can also smell the spring flowers. 20 Heifer tells Jeff to treat everyone nicely, but to always keep his gun insight. 21 I agree with this advice because in war you never know who might turn out to be your enemy. 22 The hound has outrun its owners and it takes a liking to Jeff. â€Å"Apparently, the hound had outrun its handlers.† (Jeff) 23 â€Å"And during his service with the south he had been both cavallary man and a teamster.† (Jeff) 24 The author is trying to show that Jeff will miss the army but is ready to start a new chapter in his life.

Katherine Mansfield’s Presentation of Happiness

‘Bliss' and ‘The Little Governess' are two short stories written by Katherine Mansfield at the time of World War 1 (1914-18). They were taken from the book ‘Bliss And Other Stories' and both depict young woman, one single and one married, who are victims of deception. Both characters in these two stories believe themselves to be safe. In Bliss Bertha accounts her happiness to the fact that she ‘doesn't have to worry about money'; she believes that being financially stable is happiness. She has ‘modern, thrilling friends' but she treats them as material possessions. In this way Katherine Mansfield presents happiness as superficial. Bertha believes that having a cosy family life, and being respected in social circles promotes a sense of security. She has the protection of a good husband, and a ‘satisfactory house and garden'. However, this is all self-deception, as it does not make her safe. On the contrary, her happiness blinds her, and makes her naive. She has no inkling of the fact that her husband is having an affair. In ‘The Little Governess' she feels safe with the old man, and with this security she feels ‘frightfully happy'. But her perception of happiness is different to what the reader sees. A flush licked the old man's cheeks; the old man's perception of her is very different to hers of him. Her happiness makes her vulnerable, and completely innocent of the old man's sexual agenda. This state of happiness that Bertha and The Little Governess enjoy is still real, even if it turns out to have blinded them both from reality. Katherine Mansfield suggests in both stories that innocence is bliss. Because they are ignorant of the truth does not make it necessarily unreal bliss. The fact that Bertha and the Little Governess discover that they have been horribly misled does not cancel out the happiness that they felt earlier. Bertha feels sexual excitement, which is stimulated by Miss Fulton's ‘touch of that cool arm'. Sexual feelings are uncorked and she describes it as a ‘fire of bliss'. This bliss that Bertha feels is strong, as she is innocent of what lies ahead of her. Therefore the deception does not take away the experience of the happiness, but destroy her innocence. But deception can ruin future happiness as with ‘The Little Governess'; she can never again feel happiness towards an old person, therefore with the benefit of experience she realizes her past happiness was false. So happiness for her does exist, but it is transient, it cannot last forever. At the time in which ‘Bliss and Other Stories' was published, there was no substantial schooling available to women, and they often lead sheltered lives. This meant that women were dangerously ignorant of the ways of the world. In the Little Governess, the lady at the Governess Bureau understands this and advises her to be a ‘woman of the world', and that it's ‘better to mistrust people'. This shows that young women were not educated about the ways in which a woman should act, and were thoroughly naive about people's thoughts and deeper intentions. In ‘Bliss' Bertha does not know what to do when she discovers that her husband is having an affair. ‘Oh what is going to happen now? ‘ she cries at the end of this powerful story. She feels paralysed. Although she describes her husband's smile as a ‘hideous grin', which implies something ugly and unchaste, she does feels reproach towards Harry for his infidelity. However she cannot express any feelings of anger, but only complete confusion and shock. She is ignorant of what to do in this situation, and she is fearful of causing a scandal. Bertha is not the one in control. Whilst she is perplexed and vulnerable, her husband is ‘extravagantly cool and collected'. Though in ‘Bliss' Bertha describes some things in her life as ‘material' or ‘superficial' happiness, (perfect house, friends husband etc. ) she also feels a deep seated, unexplained impulse of happiness at the core of her being. However, there are also constricting views in society that cause her to feel anger that she cannot express fully. She cannot stand still and ‘laugh at nothing- at nothing simply' for fear of being thought ‘drunk and disorderly' which dents her happiness slightly. She says: ‘how idiotic civilization is! ‘ and feels that it is like a straight jacket constricting her and preventing her from experiencing her happiness more fully. Bertha cannot really let go, and tries to conceal her bliss by resorting to a more conventional prose when talking to a servant. Later she ‘throws off her coat' revelling in her euphoria. Bertha's happiness seems to be completely uncontrollable, she describes it ‘like a fire' and has ‘fear for fanning it higher' which implies that it could lead to some kind of chaos. Bertha looks in the mirror and sees herself with ‘big dark eyes', which implies her sexual excitement, as her pupils expand. Katherine Mansfield promotes this sense of oppressed sexual feelings by describing fruit with ‘smooth' skin and ‘stained pink'; which gives a sense of erotic colours and enriched senses. Later she thinks she is ‘getting hysterical' which hints at Freudian ideas of ‘sexual oppression', which were popular at the time. Bertha has not recently enjoyed sex with her husband, and has probably never had pre-marital sex, which is another way in which Katherine Mansfield explores happiness, with ‘sex as bliss'. Bertha also obtains sensual pleasure from hugging her child. She describes physical happiness in her ‘exquisite toes' and her ‘neck as she bent forward'. Which illustrates Bertha's want of sensual pleasure. It is telling that when Bertha is hugging a simply mundane object like a cushion ‘passionately, passionately' it seems to enlarge the sexual and sensual happiness that she is feeling and ‘fans the fire in her bosom'. It is ironic that the first time Bertha Young desires her husband she cannot have him because of his affair with Pearl Fulton. This powerful force, which whispers ‘blind and smiling' in her ear, makes her more vulnerable as she desires him. She wonders if this feeling of bliss ‘had been leading up to' desiring her husband for the first time. Here Katherine Mansfield attributes some of the bliss Bertha is feeling to sex. Another story by Katherine Mansfield called ‘Pictures' depicts a single woman struggling to find a job to support her, and using happiness as a kind of professional tool for keeping reality at bay. Miss Ada Moss is constantly fantasising in order to keep hopelessness and desperation from taking over. Even though her life is falling apart she still answers people in her ‘cheerful way' in order not to draw attention to herself and to keep up appearances. Her greatest fear perhaps, is to be found out to be desperate, and the only way to prevent this is to pretend to everyone and to herself that nothing is wrong. Katherine Mansfield uses different styles of writing in her stories in order to convey a sense of happiness to the reader. She vividly describes ordinary things extra ordinarily like the recurring image of the pear tree so that they become metaphors. She also uses a simile to describe the pear tree's ‘flowering beauty' ‘like the flame of a candle'. She goes on to imply that the pear tree is becoming Bertha, by ‘dropping in silver flowers' from her ‘hair and hands'; which makes this happiness seem like ‘blissful treasure' dropping heavily from Bertha. The last line of ‘Bliss' again returns to this image of the pear tree, and describes it as ‘just as lovely as ever'; which seems a revelation, that with Pearl Fulton, Harry and Bertha's lives being entangled and confused, the tree still remains. Bertha's life is shattered but the tree is still there, the same as ever. Katherine Mansfield also uses slightly unexpected verbs like ‘the blush licked the old man's cheek' (from ‘The Little Governess'), in order to let the reader have a small insight into what the characters true agendas' really are. She also uses the Pathetic Fallacy to reflect the character's inner happiness, as in ‘The Little Governess' the ‘pink clouds in the sky'. Overall Katherine Mansfield represents happiness in a number of different ways. Through material happiness in ‘Bliss', to innocent and naive happiness in ‘the Little Governess'. Through fantasising happiness in ‘Pictures' to sexual or sensual oppression, and sex as happiness in ‘Bliss'. Katherine Mansfield portrays happiness as not false, but as transient. In all three of her stories the character's happiness is slowly or suddenly crushed by outside interference. Bertha and the Little Governess believe that their happiness will last forever. They are both naive, sadly mistaken, and have to learn that perfect happiness does not exist and cannot last forever.

Banig Organizer Bag

Our future plans Include developing our line of travel necessities which are the Travel Bags, Passport Holders and other Travel Accessories all will still made with the main product Banging in a span of 5 years within the industry. We define our market as Travel Accessories. We currently hold 83. 33% of this market only a certain area of our target market which is UN Eave. And believe we can capture 95 %of it by year 2018. Some of our most notable customers Include Travel Managers International Inc. , Broadway travel Inc. And Allures Travel Inc. As of now we still onto have a direct competitor who makes the same kind of product that we do but there are alternatives to our product including Travel Kits made of leathers and Organizers made of plastics. Our product is unique/superior because of its main material which is the Banging. We have a competitive advantage because of our easy accessibility of our services and durability of our product. We anticipate new companies to enter this market because of the growing awareness for nature friendly products.The greatest risks associated with our business today are shift of people seeking the elf of travel agencies because they would rather use the internet to book their own. We feel we can overcome these risks because of there are still a huge number of people who trust to seek professional assistance in doing tours and there would always be clients who we can offer services. Our biggest recognized opportunities Include the growing number of tourist and the awareness of nature friendly products The management team is led by General Manager Ms.Ma. Patricia I Del Rosaries who founded the company in 2016. She graduated at Far Eastern university with a degree of BBS Tourism Management. She previously worked as a Sales Associate and Front Desk agent in Arizona, USA. The Product Design Officer is Ms. Cezanne Anne Manual together with Ms. Tanganyika Guttering both graduated with a degree of BBS Tourism Management The Sales a nd Marketing Officers Is Ms. Glacial Lazar with a degree of BBS Hotel and Restaurant Management and Ms.Czarina Abode graduate of BBS Tourism Management And The Finance Officer Ms. Journalize Joe Santos also from Far Eastern university with a degree of BBS Tourism Management. We have office located in 1120 Medial Extension, Otis, Pace, Manila. We currently perform outsourcing at Clamping Marking City. Our total full time staff is composed of 6 people and our products are distributed by direct selling. The expenses for a year by allocating budgets for each. We expect to provide an exit within 5 years by rationalization.Financial Snapshot In the fourth quarter, our company had sales of PH 162,500 and net income of PH 40,625, compared to sales of PH 83,500 and net income of PH 20,875 in first Quarter. MANAGEMENT ASPECT Key Business Operation Contemplation will be following the chain of command principle when any new reduce designs arise. Our purchasing and quality assuring officers and our finance officer will be responsible in all of the details regarding the contract between the business entity and the outsource manufacturer.If everything looks good and we want to move forward with the proposal we will take it to our general manager to get his/her approval. When the general manager approves the proposal, our sales and marketing manager will begin advertising the new product. Contemplation will focus mainly on word of mouth, social networks, and also sales calls to help make the product seen to the public. After advertising the product, we expect the travel agencies will want to pick up the new product line and begin selling them in their agency.With an established chain of command, we are taking the steps to make sure that there is full company approval on all new product designs. The following are the most important concept in key operation: Quality Control – We always check our end product we examine the final product and looks for defects and how it ca n be improved. This improves product flow and solves minor problems that could become major issues later on. Customer Satisfaction – It is important for us to measure customer satisfaction for their every transaction with us this helps us to identify the functions that need the most attention.Marketing – Identifying the needs of the market for us to develop more strategies to satisfy market demand while exceeding market expectations. Finance – Ensuring the business financial stability by maintaining financial records of the business transactions and sourcing appropriate types of finance to fund its operations. Reliability and Adaptability – It provides an interesting tension in our banging business operations. Our operations need to be reliable. We all need to know hat we can produce in a certain amount of units to meet potential demand no matter what.We also need enough adaptability to change with market and technology shifts and embrace new practices to keep our operations efficient. We chose to make Contemplation a general partnership business entity. All parties involved are responsible for the business, and they share all assets, liabilities, and profits within the partnership as a separate entity. Also, all partners have a financial duty to one another, and are expected to act in the best interests of the partnership as a whole rather than Just for their personal behalf.That is why we feel that Contemplation will thrive as a business and chose a general partnership entity because each partner will bring a specific strength to the company. Organizational Structure The organizational structure of the business shows the arrangement of the employee's position within the organization. The chart shows the key function of every employee within the company. It should be implemented for the primary purpose of facilitating the achievement of organizational goals in an efficient manner.Job Description Position: General Manager Job descri ption: Obtains profit contribution by managing staff; establishing and accomplishing easiness objectives. Job Task: Increases management's effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising Job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.Develops strategic plan by studying technological and financial opportunities; presenting assumptions; recommending results measurements; allocating resources; reviewing progress; making mid-course corrections. Coordinates efforts by establishing procurement, production, marketing, field, and technical services policies and practices; coordinating actions with corporate staff. Builds company image by collaborating with customers, government, community organizations, and employees; enforcing ethic al business practices. Maintains quality service by establishing and enforcing organization standards.Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state-of-the-art practices; participating in professional societies. Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed. Finance Officer Provides management with financial information by researching and analyzing accounts; preparing financial statements. Job Task: Prepares consolidated internal and external financial statements by gathering and analyzing information from the general ledger system and from departments.Maintains and balances an automated consolidation system by inputting data; scheduling required Jobs; verifying data. Analyzes information and options by developing spreadsheet reports; verifying information. Prepares general ledger entries by maintaining records and files; reconciling acc ounts. Prepares payments by accruing expenses; assigning account numbers; requesting disbursements; reconciling accounts. Develops and implements accounting procedures by analyzing current procedures; recommending changes. Answers accounting and financial questions by researching and interpreting data.Provides accounting support for mergers and acquisitions by reviewing financial information; converting data to general ledger system; obtaining supplementary information for preparing financial statements. Protects organization's value by keeping information confidential. Updates Job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations. Accomplishes accounting and organization mission by completing related results as needed.Product Design Manager Provide the needed operational requirements of manufacturing and off site operations. Job Task: Tracks and receives all incoming and outgoing packages. Maintains and organizes all development samples. Oversee quality control for all domestic samples Work with the design of the product and to revise and update technical flats Manage ND report prototype level costing information throughout the costing process; deadlines and approvals for: costing, quality evaluation, color, fabric and trims are met.Coordinate all factory communication for the development of proto-types. Such responsibilities will include: establishing the timeline, raw material management, and approval requirements with the factory during the centralization process. Sales and Marketing Manager Sales and Marketing manager has the knowledge of customer's needs and wants, ability of balancing customer satisfaction. Job Task: Knows how to do pricing strategyIdentify and evaluate the establishment objectives Formulate the marketing strategy/ marketing mix Compile the list of product/ service offerings Conduct commercial surveys/comments to identify another potential markets and to know the customer satisfaction Ensure increase revenue of the company Handling sales phone calls and e-mails Communicating with clients prior to their course and recording all correspondence Compiling client Information Packs Assisting with the copy writing of marketing materials Developing and implementing ideas for the marketing and sales Utilizing social outworking opportunities to facilitate sales and increase brand awareness Assisting with promotional events Attending and presenting at trade shows and school fairs Salaries: Position Number of Persons Salary Total Salaries P 15,000. 00 P 9,500. 00 Product Design Officers 2 Sales and Marketing Officers P 19,500. 00 TOTAL: P 62500. 00 Mandatory Benefits: These are mandatory requirements for employees are as follows: ASS All employees who are not 60 years of age have to be covered by the Social Security System (ASS).Both the employees and the business entity pay for the membership nutrition of the employee. The amount of the contribution is based on the employee's monthly salary and the schedule of contribution set by ASS. Coverage takes effect on the date of employment. Page-lbs. All employees who are not 60 years of age are also covered by Page-lbs. (Home Development Mutual Fund). In the same manner as that of ASS, both employees and the business entity pay for the membership contributions. The amount of the contribution is based on the employee's monthly salary and the schedule of contribution set by ASS. Coverage takes effect on the date of employment.Public Holidays The monthly salary of each member would include national public holidays. 13th month pay The 13th month pay is an extra pay given to all employees who have been employed for at least a month. If the employee has been employed for less than a year, the computation will be pro-rated depending on the length of service of the employee. Retirement Pay To ensure that the employee is financially secure upon retireme nt from the business entity, an equivalent of a half-month of salary will be contributed to the employee's retirement fund. This will start on the fifth year of service of the employee with the company. Pre-Employment Requirements:The applicant is required to undergo pre-employment medical examination and submit the following: Transcript of Records (original & 1 photocopy). The original copy will be returned to the candidate after verification ASS Number (submit E-1 /E-4, if available) Tax Identification Number NIB Clearance (dated not later than 6 months) Municipality Permit from Manila / Mayor's Permit from Manila Police Clearance Health Certificate from Manila Six PC's. XIX colored ID picture (white background) Orientation: Every employee will be required to participate in the General Orientation Program on his/her first day of employment. The objectives of the program are as follows: Integrate the employee with the Company's Mission, Vision and Values.Familiarize the employee on information relating to company policies and procedures and house rules Instill the importance of customer satisfaction by providing best service, quality and products Familiarize employees with our products and services Develop a sense of ownership and pride towards the attainment of company's goals and objectives The Orientation Program will be conducted by the General Manager. Performance Appraisal: The performance management system is an open and honest 3600 appraisal. This means that your immediate Manager will not only appraise you but you will also appraise yourself and be appraised by your own peers within the Team.All appraisals will cover: Your performance over the previous period which will be based on the performance standards set for each competency profile Your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and the specific ways to develop and enhance your skills and competencies Identification of your training, education and development needs Your career development plan for t he year ahead Out of this discussion, your career development plan will be set for the year to come, ND an action plan will be drawn up to guide you towards the attainment of your career goal. You will be advised in advance of your appraisal, when it will take place and what you need to do to prepare for it. You will have an appraisal within three months of starting work and another one, before your probationary period ends. Upon reorganization, an appraisal will be conducted regularly depending on the need of the employee and also of the Team. Ideally, an appraisal must be conducted every six months.Each subsequent appraisal must be scheduled six months after or no later than 12 months from the date of the previous appraisal. TECHNICAL ASPECT Product Concept: Contemplation has envisioned a line of products to introduce to the market but as all visions, it will have to begin with steps to get to the goal. Contemplation will launch its pioneer product which will be a Travel Organizer , It will be made with its main material which will be â€Å"banging†, Andover mat usually used in the Philippines for sleeping and sitting. The mat is made of burl, panda or sea grass leaves then the leaves are dried, usually dyed, and then cut into strips and woven into mats, which may be plain or intricate.It will be produced with this material mainly because one of Banging† for their livelihood and also to promote the Philippines being its traditional product which symbolizes their way of living, which is simplicity. The organizer will consist of pockets that will be able to hold items such as Passports, flight tickets, credit cards as well as other personal belongings. In addition to the pockets, we will also incorporate special dividers and holders that will help organize all small items such as chargers, earphones, pens/pencils, and basically anything else that may be needed during travel. This is going to be a unique and a one of a kind item that will cake trave ling easier for any type of traveler. Being made of banging it will show the true culture of the Philippines while still having those popular trend young adults are looking for.Benefit: Contemplatively organizer, a banging with zipper closures, has a variety of benefits that could be interesting for potential customers. Travel Organizers are terrific for avoiding what could otherwise be a cluttered mess in your bag, and make life easier for security inspections as well; this approach also makes smaller items less likely to be lost or forgotten. Company Profile and Logo Contemplation is a trading business entity that will produce products made of â€Å"bang. Contemplation will provide a product that has a unique Filipino touch yet it will be sold in an affordable price. It will also help promote the Philippines by using the raw materials that are traditionally produced in the Philippines.The name behind â€Å"Contemplation† is a mixture of the words; Contemporary and Pinto. C ontemporary meaning happening on the same period, the team chose this word to exactly people specially Filipinos are losing track of what their culture really is and their way of living are focused on following the trends internationally. The team wants to bring back the â€Å"banging† to the public, to be better appreciated in the current time and to be once again representing the Philippines as a product know to the world. Contemn – comes from the word contemporary it mean â€Å"modern† Pinto – is referring to the Filipino people in the Philippines Contemn (letters with banging design) – because our product is made of Banging.

Starbuck's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Starbuck's - Essay Example The tables below show the ratio analysis for the fiscal years 2006 and 2007. The current ratio shows a company’s abilities to pay for its current obligations. The formula used to calculate the current ratio is current assets divided by current liabilities. The current ratio of Starbucks for both 2006 and 2007 was 0.79. In theory the desirable current ratio is to have a 1.0 current ratio or above. The metric result shows the company is able to pay for its current liabilities. The fact that the current ratio stayed at the same level is good sign, bad would be if the current ratio of the company decreased. Starbuck’s debt to equity ratio in 2006 was 0.99 implying that the company had as much debt as equity. In 2007 the company’s ratio rose 35% meaning Starbucks long term debt increased. At first glance it is never a good sign to look at year to year financial statement and to see more debt in the books. More debt sometimes means trouble, but necessarily. A higher amount of debt could mean a company borrowed money in order to finance some investments that will increase its profitability. To learn more about what Starbucks has done with its new money we have to analyze the firm’s profitability’s ratios. Return on equity is a profitability ratio. In 2006 Starbucks return on equity was 25.32%, by 2007 the firm had risen this ratio to 29.44%. The total increase in return on equity at Starbucks was 4.12% which represents a percentage increase of 16.27% in comparison with the previous year. The increase in return on equity at Starbucks is a good indicator. It prov es so far that the company has invested its added debt total smartly and that the company is more profitable. The financial ratio analyzes performed on Starbucks shows the company heading in a good direction. The firm added a lot of long term debt but the money apparently spend wisely in capital projects that raised the level of income of the company. The company’s ability to pay its