Principles of Starting a New Business Essay

The formation of a new business is a challenging endeavor when the fundamental areas of focus in managerial incompetence, neglect, weak control systems, and insufficient capital is not mastered. Therefore, a careful analysis of the areas is needed to sufficiently evaluate the operations specifics of the new business to determine what effective measures to implement (Armstrong and Kotler, 2007). The new business with an associate to partake in a cookie gift basket provides a wonderful partnership agreement that levels the responsibility field of handing the operations. The agreement will outline the borderline to which jurisdiction each partner will cover, in order, to present a well organized business. The new business will acquire three managers to actually supervise in the store that covers the different shifts for maximum coverage and leadership. In addition, the three management team will have a unique personality that loves the initiative of business of specializing in selling cookies. This will bridge a synergy with the actual partners/owners of the new business to achieve its quest for ultimate success. The employees selected will be chosen by all level management personnel that will present a commitment to weed out unacceptable individuals that does not have the type of personality traits needed. Those traits are relevant to present the enjoyment of serving customer’s through-out the day and render the best customer service, in order to generate positive word of mouth. In addition, to secure a successful start of the new business certain areas of focus will be reviewed and address to provided the preferred results. Direct Action Plans To Areas of Focus For Success Managerial Incompetence or Inexperience The partners of the new business have over several years of banking and financial experience to start the new cookie business. The partnership agreement will be stimulated to hire experienced managers that have related skills and knowledge of the industry. The directive in the partnership agreement will outline the fundamental requirements from potential managers to have a college degree, previous work experience, and professional references that will be vetted to ensure the personality is on track to the synergy of the new business. The directive will also outline measures to ensure no failures of an incompetent manager or bad decision making that costs the new business financial harm. The measures are to begin an assessment of the situation from the manager level to identify all details of the issues. The assessment period will provide a needed communication model that provides senior management and managers to discuss the issue in a leadership environment. The outcome of the assessment phase will provide which direction to proceed in applying the next step to remedy the situation. If the issue is with an employee, the manager will apply the correct application to address the issue with the employee. The manager will follow up with the partners to have the sufficient next step of documentation and any additional notation concerning the action taken with the employee. If the issues are with company policy that a consumer is debating to change, the partners will approve the updated policy and communicate to all staff to follow suit. The overall focus of the action plan is to streamline an orderly process that follows the channel of command aspect within the new business. In this approach of steps, the process to involve the communication model through the resolution of the issues will eliminate the potential costly errors to the business. Neglect The objective to assure that the new business does not neglect imperative areas of focus that entails; employee satisfaction, customer service, hiring practices, and the pursuit to keeping costs down. The directive is to addressing incidents proactively by following the steps that includes; project risk management reporting, communication model, and the strategic management protocol. The project risk management reporting will be a weekly reporting with all management personnel to identify and discuss for immediate implementation to reduce such neglect (Robbins and Coulter, 2005). The communication model will be illustrated in order to streamline the findings of the reporting for management to implement what decisions and conclusions for the best remedy. The communication model will also provide a written documentation mechanism that outlines what was covered, how the strategy plan will be implemented, and any additional criteria to roll out for employees. Next, the follow up session is performed with management to showcase the incorporation of all prior decisions on needed corrections to accomplish the desired results. Weak Control Systems The control systems that are apart of the commitment to assure the new business a success will cover two team leaders to monitor quality management (Evans, 2007). The measures will start with routinely check points on processes that assist in identifying weak control systems. The reporting by the team leads, in which one lead for every five employees, to then address the identified weak issues to then be presented to management. The next step for the team leads will take initiative to solve issues that can weaken the control units from quality, direct marketing to customers, to the under-performance of sales clerks in which the team lead will follow the directive to seek management for any additional assistance. Insufficient Capital The goal of the new business is to establish a winning coalition of a talented team working together to control costs that can jeopardize the capital (Scarborough and Zimmerer, 2006). The strategic plan of action is to develop and sustain an internal cash management system from the senior management level to the managers. The most known factors for business failure are due to insufficient cash flow and poor cash management creates insufficient capital (Wild, Wild, and Han, 2006). Therefore, the internal system to manage and identify the cash flows and balance sheets of the new business that will be one of the main objectives to cover in the weekly communication model. The next measure is for the management to use the weekly review and within 48hours access any improvements to keep amounts of capitol in balance – that guarantees a financial stable business. Distinguish the differences between the major forms of business organizations and be able to know and identify the characteristics of each. There are three main forms of business organizations that an individual or group can formulate, in which offers many different aspects. The sole proprietorship is an easy start up, profit incentive, and total decision-making authority. The partnership organization is also easy to establish with more than one individual, division of profits, and much larger pool of capital for the business. The corporation organization can be a limited liability of stock holders, ability to attract more capitol, and transferable ownership that offers a wide range of possibilties for expansion. The decision to go into business stems from the objective on how it will be proceed to run the operation in the desired form of a business organization.

Discovery Wheel & Multiple Intelligences Essay

While evaluating the data from the discovery wheel, it was noted that for the most part all of the team fell into the same range. Most of the team appeared to score above average in all of the categories on the discovery wheel. All six of us scored high in attitude and purpose and all six of us scored low in tests and time. Money was split. For three of the members it was in the top half of the list and was in the bottom half for the other three. Communication, diversity, and memory are in the top half for two team members and in the bottom half for four members. Reading, notes, and health were in the top half for four members and in the bottom half for two members. We all have a great attitude and know our purpose in life but we all have little time and hate taking tests. After seeing the results for all six of us combined, we all have some the same great qualities and each has their own unique qualities to share which makes the six of us one great team. The information on intelligence shows that the group learns through a variety of methods. Some of these methods are interpersonal, mathematical/logical, bodily/kinesthetic, visual/spatial, rhythmic, and intrapersonal. This data shows that the group is a diverse group of people, whereas the discovery wheel shows that the team is relatively in tune and has close to the same score in all areas. Advantages/Challenges of Diversity A successful diverse team can be achieved by bringing people of varying walks of life and geographic areas together so we can blend ideas and experiences to make an interesting and intriguing final product. Every person is different and brings inherent talents to a team. People are from different places and believe different things. People have different opinions and thoughts on numerous issues. These different ways of thinking can often create conflict in a situation. We believe that individual diversity can create different points of view, both culturally and environmentally, that can be utilized to make a much better and more creative final product for the team. The blending of different learning styles can lead to some amazing discoveries and help a group to think outside of the box. If everyone thought the same and had the same strengths, then nothing new or exciting would be accomplished. As long as the eveloping team can agree and establish good rules for communication and conflict management, determine a team leader, and be able to respect and accept constructive criticism from each other, the end result of the team should be an amazing collaboration of ideas. Cultural issues are another challenge of diversity that can affect team interactions through a different understanding of communication. Culture and life experiences have a great influence on how individuals react to feedback. Age creates the potential for communication problems based on different levels of experience and for prejudicial treatment based on age. Gender can also bring different opinions and perspectives that can often lead to problems. Affects of Diversity, Attitude, Learning, and Work Attitude is the key to any team building. Let’s say that a person on a team has a rotten attitude about an assignment, he or she will not be willing to be a team player and complete the task they are supposed to do. If they do their part with a bad attitude, it will not be done properly. However, if everyone in a group has a good attitude and is enthusiastic about an assignment, we will all pass with flying colors. Diversity is very important in a group effort. We all have different points of view. If we have a whole group from different backgrounds, then we can teach each other different ways to look at the world. Sometimes this can cause problems among the group. We don’t always see eye to eye. Having an open mind is very crucial in teamwork. A person with a different outlook on life will have opinions about someone else’s work that they may or may not like. Being open to criticism will help each of us along the way in the journey to our future. The discovery wheel was very beneficial. It helped us learn that we all have different learning and work styles. Some of us are better at researching while others are better and constructive and fluent papers. Working in a team brings out the best of these in all of us. It is constructive when an assignment requires each of us to do a part. When we all do the part that we are best at, we can’t possibly go wrong. Career Interest Profiler and Competencies The results from the Career Interest Profiler show that Team B is Conventional and Enterprising. Out of the three that were listed, Conventional and Enterprising were amongst the list for all team members. The results also showed that two were Investigative, two were Social, and two were Realistic. Team B likes to work with data and details more than ideas. We prefer having a chain of command in place. Enterprising means we like to lead people and are usually the decision makers. With that being said, we move along to the Competencies results and it was no surprise what answers took the top three. All members of Team B take initiative, can cope with pressure, and follow instructions. The team is comprised of people that can research, write, strategize, and deliver results. Half of the team is goal focused and the other half is innovating. Although the competencies are similar amongst the group, each person has their own unique competencies they bring to the table to help make the best team possible. No two team members has the exact same results but it was good to see out of six team members, all six of us had a lot in common. Using Knowledge for Improvement As we come together as a learning team and begin to develop strategies for completing assignments, having the knowledge gained from experiences like the Career Interest Profiler and Career Plan Building Competencies will be very valuable. For the individual, the results can give us confidence in our strengths as we accept assignments and responsibilities within the learning team, as well as knowing the areas where we may need assistance by other team members. This is the first step in becoming a productive team member. That knowledge is then extended to the learning team and we begin to see the value in each individual. The hope is that the combined competencies and varied interests of the group will overcome any weakness we have as individuals. Even more than just overcoming weaknesses as a team, we can also use the strengths of each member to teach, learn, and grow as individuals, which will impact the quality and performance of the team. Each project we take on as a team will require different skills, learning processes, thought processes, and levels of creativity and innovation, which is the basis for developing teams. The more we understand about ourselves and each other, the more cohesive the learning team will become which will lead to better overall performance. Obstacles from Ethical Perspectives While different ethical perspectives provide the team with diverse strengths, weaknesses also exist. Obstacles may arise from these weaknesses and diversity among the team members. Since team members may be driven by different ethics, the inability for members to understand each other’s motivation may become prevalent. While one team member may be motivated by long term results and successes, another may be driven by what is happening immediately, in the here and now. Along with motivation, differences in priorities between ethical perspectives may arise. There may be several members on the team whose priority primarily involves themselves as an individual while other team members may be driven by what is a priority for the team as a whole or the community in which they are a part. Different ethical perspectives also rely on different tools to solve complex problems. Since team members may rely on different tools, there could be conflict about the best way for the team as a whole to resolve an issue or solve a complex problem. Each ethical lens uses a different process to determine the right action. This different use of processes could be perceived as an obstacle. Ethical perspective also determines how team members interact with each other since each different ethical perspective operates under a different set of values. The differences in values can create huge conflicts between team members. These conflicts can inhibit a team’s ability to be effective in working together, agreeing on the right course of action, and ultimately, the team’s overall success. By understanding their own individual ethical perspectives and those of their team members, the team can mitigate or overcome obstacles that arise. Using Factors to Resolve Conflicts Just as diversity, attitude, learning and work styles, and ethical perspective of the learning team members are applied to collaborative assignments, they can be applied to conflict resolution. We all have different ideas of what conflict is. To some a misunderstanding or comment might appear very serious, when another team member doesn’t even notice it at all. These factors also allow us to draw on each other’s strengths when there is conflict present. One team member may be extremely goal and results driven and can help resolve a conflict by bringing other team members back to being focused on completing the task at hand. Another team member may be focused on enhancing relationships and be able to soothe the tension and pressure created by the conflict. Understanding our differences can be used to create a positive environment just as they are used to create negativity during a conflict. Ethical perspective can help each of us remember how the other team member views the world and will help â€Å"bring the person around† when there is conflict. By understanding and accentuating that all of these things make us individuals and having individuals on the team working together, makes the team successful and conflicts can be resolved.

Proposal for Resilience Building Event Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposal for Resilience Building Event - Essay Example This research is being carried out to present how to build an imaginary environmental disaster management centre called â€Å"Datus Community Relief Centre† (DCRC). The proposed environmental disaster management centre is to be situated at Datus, a community in the outskirts of Warwickshire. It would be noted that Warwickshire is a major disaster zone in the United Kingdom and that Datus is a disaster prone community that needs an urgent intervention of change. On Tuesday, 10 June 2008, it was broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation of the environmental disaster threat of Warwickshire and communities around it, which does not exclude Datus. This indeed reveals that for some years that, the people of Datus have had the urgent need for a disaster management relief centre. The following can be identified as the thematic characteristics of beneficiaries.By integrative, the implication is that the organisation works in close collaboration with other agencies who have soci al work as their prime focus. Whereas some of these agencies are private sector participants, others are non governmental institutions whiles the rest are governmental institutions or organisations. The efforts, ideas, and resources of all these bodies are brought together to achieve the common goal of the organisation.The beneficiary organisation is society oriented in the sense that it does not seek for the immediate welfare of its staff or personnel make up. Rather, the organisation has the collective welfare of society as its primary goal and objective.

Discuss the behavioral issues involved in Merit inc.'s standard cost Assignment

Discuss the behavioral issues involved in Merit inc.'s standard cost dilemma - Assignment Example of the employees the system does not offer a platform for the employees to work competitively in a bid to produce quality products, instead the system has offered an ideal situation which does not give allowance for errors in the processes and defects relative to the material usage. This has contributed to low productivity which is attributed to low morale level for work. On the other hand, the system has offered an ideal situation that has made it hard for the managers to achieve any set goal. This has led to a considerable decline of the manager’s motivation. In the case of the three responses from the plant manager, controller and human resources director, it is generally observable that the standard cost system provided an ideal situation which left the company not able to progress. In the case of the plant manager’s response the organization is suffering since all the operations are done in an ideal business milieu which does not reflect the efforts of the employees thus killing their morale. This aspect has seen the organization’s productivity decline considerably. The advantage of this response is that the management understands well that, there is need of the standard system change to one that will be based on the expected actual prices and previous efficiency averages. This approach is advantageous since it will enhance identification of the variance relative to the level of improvement. In essence, this approach will enhance the employees’ morale for better results. In the case of the controller’s resp onse the organizational milieu is reflected as one operating in an ideal milieu, which is not profitable and achievable when measuring performance against an absolute standard. The advantage of this response is that offers an insight that the organization need to change tactic on nature of the cost standard. In this case the cost standards should be measured to par relative to a golf course. This will enable the management to evaluate

Investment Risks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Investment Risks - Essay Example It is also important to note that the relative degree of risk against the return does not need to be in linear relation i.e. it is not necessary that the risk and return increase in same proportion however, if risk increases, it is necessary that the return must increase too in order to compensate the investors for taking increased risk. (Ante, 2009). The above graph therefore indicates that the investment four has the highest risk and highest return whereas investment 1 has the lowest risk and lowest return. This graph also indicate that the investors may be preferring different combinations of the investments i.e. the investment that is providing lowest returns may be made in the government treasury securities whereas investment providing highest returns may made in the stocks of a corporate as the stocks provide highest returns and also carry greatest risk among all instruments of investment. It is important to understand that the expected return is always calculated by multiplying the return with the probability and the resulting figure is called the expected return on any investment. Therefore the investment that provides highest expected return shall be chosen over other investment. The investor should choose an investment that pays a guaranteed return of 7% because given the overall probability of different returns, the investors will get the expected return of 5% with a probability of 0.5 whereas the investment providing 7% result has the probability of 1 that means the expected return will be 7% which is highest as compared to other investment. The higher the probability greater are the chances that the return will be guaranteed therefore an investment with a lower probability will yield lower expected returns whereas an investment with higher probability of getting the same return will yield higher expected returns. Therefore in this case, since the probability of getting 7% return is

Modify the last one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Modify the last one - Essay Example 2.2 Basis of the Research The present research will be focused on an individual company ( J T Inglis & Sons) although it is necessary to make an industry analysis prior to arriving at any conclusion. The analysis will be that for the garments industry which has a widespread presence in almost every nation around the world. It will be that in context of the Indian market although the market in other Asian transition economies, characterized by similar traits will be assessed as well. The idea will be to examine the extent to which the garments industry in India is open for Western entrants. After an assessment of the behavioral nature of the garments industry in India, the next step will be to evaluate the possibilities of J T Inglis & Sons successfully launching its stores in the country. 2.3 Recent Developments The present case will be that in the context of Indian garments industry and the peer industry in other transition economies of Asia such as China, Taiwan, etc., where J T In glis & Sons has found a robust spot. ... is also evident from the fact that it contributes almost 14% to the aggregate industrial production yielded by the country apart from the fact that it accounts for 30% of total exports of the economy. The export statistic of the economy is found to be growing quite highly as is prominent from the fact that it increased annually by almost 22% between 2004-05 and 2005-06. In the global context, textile exports from India out of aggregate exports in the segment are found to be lying between 3% and 4% according to 2005-06 statistics. Of all foreign markets which highly demand Indian textile garments are Europe and USA where Indian apparel accounts for respectively 43% and 33% of the total apparels being sold. In addition, a large part of South East Asia also accounts for huge export demand for Indian apparels (India Exports and Business Trade Zone, n.d.). Thus, there is high demand for Indian garments and apparels all across the world. But most of these apparels are highly oriental in fa shion and the high demand accounts mainly for the huge Indian population which resides in these regions, although this might not be considered the case for men’s wear. Women’s wears being exported are in line with Indian trends which are mostly what the nation produces. On the other hand, the nation poses high demand for Western wear as well, in an era of increased globalization where the young generation is highly influenced by the trends prevailing in the West. These trends might not be possible for the indigenous manufacturers to master, which is exactly what creates the room for the entry of Western textile houses. 2.4 Issue to be solved In order to figure out the issues and problems to be addressed in this paper in line with the aforementioned topic, the following points could be

SLP - 1 Routine and Goodwill Emails Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SLP - 1 Routine and Goodwill Emails - Essay Example It will allow the different campus departments to understand their responsibility as well as cut back on costs immensely. Employees would have to empty their own trash baskets unlike what used to happen in the past. The recycling efforts shall pave the way for the overall development of the departments at the campus, and reduce the budget constraints which are being faced at the present. Also this shall help the employees to do a bit of exercise which is always a good step for their health and well-being. We believe that this step will help reduce the departmental custodial costs and go a long way in helping the employees deal with the recycling efforts. This will be a good step that shall save the campus a considerable amount of money as well as help the environment with efficient modes of recycling on a regular basis. The campus is delighted to announce that yet again its priorities are set on bringing new and novel methods to save on costs that are incurred every year. We have thought of a unique way to settle the costs that have been mounting for a considerable time period now. Since we have always valued the services, we do not believe in cutting them down at any cost. However, the 25 percent budget reduction is a figure that we meet this year and in order to sustain such a pressing concern, we have decided to go ahead with our recycling efforts which will not only save time but also money. Now the employees would be asked to empty their trash baskets themselves by taking a walk to the trash bins. It will not only refresh the employees since there will be exercise for them but would also contribute to the environment in one or the other way. We are confident that this small step in building confidence within the employees even further. We have always valued your work and look forward to positive contributions on your part in the future as well. Both the emails are direct and go ahead with the

APT- Arbitrage Pricing Theory and CAPM-Capital Asset Pricing Model Research Paper - 1

APT- Arbitrage Pricing Theory and CAPM-Capital Asset Pricing Model - Research Paper Example Therefore, if beta equals 1 this stock is equally risky with the market if it is 2 the same stock is twice risky in comparison to the market. While on the other hand, APT utilizes individual factors in place of beta. Also APT does not apply the market return rate and thus considered to be more particular to a given stock in focus. CAPM’s data is objective while APT applies data from a single stock. Thus, CAPM is recommendable to an investor who is relatively dormant as compared to APT, which if correctly applied is better placed to assess projects. (Grover, 2010) Some authors have applied APT and compared the resultant estimates with those of CAPM. Patterson notes one of the cases where such has been done is the electric utility’s, written by Ross and Roll in their 1983 book. According to Patterson the end results of APT were credible in comparison to those of CAPM. But, this was without enough justification for the results. (Patterson, 1995 p151) Besides the first two, there are methods of assessment like the Dividend Growth Model and Modern Portfolio Theory. The Dividend Growth Model shows the value of ordinary shares in a present value of the prospected future flows of cash which has been invested by an investor. The receivable cash inflows are taken as dividends as well as the expected price in future while the stock will be disposed of. An ordinary share usually does not possess the maturity and thus, it is held for numerous years. Therefore, a general ordinary shares’ valuation introduced by Gordon would be as below; Just to mention, the other model investment assessment is known as MPT- Modern Portfolio Theory. This is a theory applied by investors who are risk averse and at the same time, they want to achieve maximum or optimum level of expected return which is based on the market risk level. It emphasizes that risk is inherent in the process of getting the rewards associated with it.  Ã‚  

How Psychological Research Has Helped in the Understanding of Criminal Behaviour Essay Example for Free

How Psychological Research Has Helped in the Understanding of Criminal Behaviour Essay Albert Bandura created the bobo doll experiment in 1961, the aim of this experiment was to show that if children where witnesses to aggressive displays by an adult of some sort they would imitate this behaviour when given an opportunity. The tested group contained 36 young girls and 36 young boys all aged between 4 and 5 years which was then divided into 3 groups of 24 – the aggressive condition, the non aggressive condition and the control group. The first group involved the children watching aggressive models, where the children where then subdivided by sex of the role model they were exposed to. The second group involved the children watched non aggressive models, where the children were also subdivided by the sex of the role model which they were exposed to. This left the two conditioned groups subdivided into eight experimental groups each containing 6 subjects. They were 6 boys with the same sex model, 6 boys with opposite model, 6 girls with the same sex model and 6 girls with the opposite model. With 3 different groups, Bandura had created a complicated design for the study which resulted in 3 independent variables; the conditions the children were exposed to, the sex of the child and the sex of the role model. Each child was then tested individually and the findings where then recorded. The experiment was done in an artificial environment and the researcher manipulated the independent variables into the conditions. In stage one of the experiment, the children were brought into the experimental room by the examiner. The room was set out as a nursery play room since that was the appropriate setting for the age of the children. One corner of the room had been arranged as a child’s play area consisting of a small table and chair and picture stickers. In the opposite corner of the room was where the adult models would be followed by a small table and chair, tinker toy set and a five foot bobo doll. In the aggressive condition the model began by playing with the tinker toy set but after a couple minutes the model turned its attention to the bobo doll and was aggressive towards the doll in a very distinctive way. Were as in the non aggressive condition the model ignored the bobo doll and played with the tinker toys in a gentle manner. After 10 minutes the children where then taken into new room. In stage two of the experiment the children were brought into a room with relativity attractive toys. In this room the children were to be subjected to mild aggression arousal. Once the children started to play with the toys, the experimenter took them off the children claiming they had been reserved for the other children. The children were then taken into the last and final room for stage three of the experiment. In this room the children were told they could play with any toys in there, the toys in stage three consisted of both non aggressive and aggressive toys. The children were kept in the room for 20 minutes where observations were made through a one way mirror by judges. With the observation and findings of this experiment, three measures of imitation were obtained. For this study the observers’ looked specifically for responses from the children that were very similar to the display by the adult model. They included; imitation of physical aggression, imitation of verbal aggression and imitation of non verbal aggression. With these observations, the researchers were able to consider which children imitate the models, which models the children imitated and whether the children showed a general increase of aggressive behaviour. The main findings of this study were that the children in aggressive model condition made more aggressive responses than the children in the non aggressive condition. They also found that the boys made more aggressive responses than girls, as well as the sex of the children being more aggressive if the model was of the same sex. These findings support Bandura’s social learning theory that children learn social behaviour through observation learning, which children learn through imitation. This study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as children learn through imitation and the environment which they grow up in have an effect on their behaviour. If a child has been brought up around abuse, criminal activity or consistent aggression then the child is most likely to offend by imitating their role model which could be a parent, sibling or even just a role model which they look up to. Philip Zimbardo (1971) Stanford prison experiment – Dr Philip Zimbardo created the Stanford prison experiment in 1971, the aim of this experiment was to find out the psychological effects of prison life, and to what extent can moral people be seduced to act immorally. The study consisted of 24 students selected out of 75, the roles of these 24 men were randomly assigned, 12 to play prison guards and 12 to play prisoners. The prison set up was built inside the Stanford’s psychological department, doors where taken of laboratory rooms and replaced with steel bars in order to create cells. At the end of the corridor was the small opening which became the solitary confinement for the ‘bad prisoners’. Throughout the prison there were no windows or clocks to judge the passage in time, which resulted in time distorting experiences. After only a few hours, the participants adapted to their roles well beyond expectations, the officers starting displaying authorisation and subject some of the prisoners to humiliation and torture whilst the prisoners developed passive attitudes towards the guards and accepted the physical abuse that was given to them. On the second day with surprise an unexpected rebellion broke out, reinforcement was called and more guards where to be on duty however the prisoners refused to leave their cells, barricading themselves in. This early in to the experiment the prisoners had already felt a loss of identity to the extent they started to refer to themselves as their inmate number rather than name. Even Dr Zimbardo himself started to lose sight of his role in the experiment believing he was in fact a ‘prison superintendent’ rather than a psychologist. Due to the extent of the rebellion the guards were forced to show more authority over them which led to the creation of the ‘privileged cell’. In order to break down the ‘superior’ inmates the guards placed the good prisoners in the privileged cell for a few hours, then placed the good prisoners back into the bad cells causing confusion within the inmates, breaking the trust and isolating them. Within a week the study was abandoned as the experiment was no longer a simple simulation, instead the guards saw the prisoners as troublemakers they were made out to be. In response to this they began stepping up control, surveillance and aggression whilst the prisoner started breaking down emotionally being unable to handle the situation anymore. From the observations and information given by Dr Zimbardo’s reports, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it relates to imitation and conformity. The guards imitated the behaviour of real guards adapting the role quiet quickly. The prisoners also adapted the role quickly falling into depression and conforming to each other. This also helps how a person mental state can change their behaviour, with the prisoners they soon became depressed and mentally unstable, and this shows that when put into a certain disciplinary situation the mind adapts causing them to act immorally. Solomon Ashce (1951) Conformity experiment- Solomon Ashce conducted the conformity experiment in 1951. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the extent of social pressure from a majority group can affect a person to conform. For this experiment Ashe used a lab experiment. Ashe used 8 participants for this experiment, 7 confederates and 1 naive participant. The 7 confederates had previously agreed to what their responses would be when presented with the line task. However the real participant had no knowledge of this and was led to believe that the other 7 participants were also real. With this experiment each person had to state aloud which line was most like the target line, (A, B or C). The answer was always an obvious one. The real participant always gave his or her answer last in order to see if they conformed or not. In some trials, the confederates gave the wrong answer whereas in some they gave the correct obvious answer. In the experiment there was 18 trials altogether and the confederates gave the wrong answer 12 out of the total 18. Ashce main observation was to find out if the real participant would end up conforming based on the majority views given by the other 7 participants. The results were then drawn up and out of the 18 trails, around 75% of the trials the real participant conformed even though he or she knew the answers were wrong. From the observations, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it explains that criminals may have previously been highly exposed to such aggressive behaviour causing them to conform. This shows that publicly any source of aggressive behaviour or criminal activity can lead to conformity causing more criminal behaviour. Anderson and Dill (2000) – Violence in video games study- Both Anderson and Dill conducted the relation between violence and video games study in 2000. The aim of this study was to find out how violent video games relate to aggressive behaviour. Their first study consisted of 227 students which were given a questionnaire in order to get data on their aggressive behaviour patterns. This study looked at the long-term exposure to video games and what effect it has on aggression towards people. The findings of the first study relating to the questionnaire came back with positive relations between the violence portrayed in video games and aggressive behaviour. The second study which Anderson and Dill conducted was to approach the impact that video games have on aggressive thoughts, social view and mood of a person. This study consisted of 210 students which were given a choice of 2 video games a non violent game ‘Myst’ or a violent interactive video game ‘Wolfstein 3D’. With the non violent game the objective was to travel the island of Myst, finding clues and making your own ending depending on the journey you took. With the violent game the objective was to eliminate the enemy ‘Adolf Hitler’ choosing your own hero and variety of weapons. With each game the students were allocated 3 slots for a period of 15minutes each. The findings of this study concluded Anderson and Dills knowledge and opinions that those exposed to the violent video game gained more aggressive behaviour than those who were not exposed to violence. From the observations, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it states that playing video games may increase aggressive behaviour because the violent acts are continually repeated throughout the game. Video games also encourage players to identify and interact through role play of their favourite characters causing them to imitate the character they are playing. Referring to first person in a game, it causes lead players to make their own decisions in the game affecting the actions of the character. Anderson and Dills studies show that after a limited amount of time playing violent video games, a player can start to automatically prime aggressive thoughts which can lead to aggressive behaviour. This shows that continually playing violent video games can affect a person’s thought patters leading to automatic aggressive behaviour through imitation of their favourite characters which could lead to criminal activity. Jahoda name study (1954)- Jahoda created the name study or as it is also called the self fulfilling prophecy. Jahoda studied the Ashanti tribe people who gave their boys ‘soul names’ depending on what day of the week they were born. For example, boys born a Monday were expected to be peaceful and full of good, whereas boys born on Wednesday which were called ‘Kwaku’ were expected to be aggressive and quick tempered. Jahoda found that when looking at prison and court records 13. 5% of boys that had been referred to court to court where from boys that were born on Wednesday, yet they were responsible for over 22% of violent crimes which was significantly higher than would be expected and shows that Wednesdays boys tended to live up to their reputation. However as for the boys born on Monday, they found that only 6. 9% of all juvenile cases where of minor offences. This implies that stereotypes of the boys behaviours depending on which day of the week they were born caused them to live up to expectations of their names. Jahoda concluded from all this that there was indeed nothing magical about the day of the week the boys were born on but of effect of expectations has on a person’s behaviour. From the observations and findings, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it links to the effect of rehabilitation and the study of the self fulfilling prophecy. If the offenders have the expectation that they should behave in such a way, rehabilitation may be more difficult. Overall the psychological theory of criminal behaviour suggests that negative expectations cause curtain’s to behave towards others in a specific way because their stereotypes – self fulfilling prophecy. Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) – Self fulfilling prophecy- Both Rosenthal and Jacobson also conducted a self fulfilling prophecy study and the way that people behave according to profiling or being stereotyped in 1968. Their study was conducted on students in a classroom which was also known as the ‘Pygmalion in the classroom’. The students were then put into groups of what the students think they will achieve, where they were then treated in a way that their ability group could achieve. All students completed an IQ test before the study. The findings of this study concluded Rosenthal and Jacobson’s theory that when people are put into groups or have been stereotyped into a group can cause people’s behaviour to change as they will live up to the expectations of the stereotype. The findings found were that after two years the students that were put into the group for higher levels achieved higher than the other students in any other group. These students were known to have been given additional feedback and extra attention so the finding expected had were correct. From the findings, this study has helped in the understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows that when categorised into a stereotype, people soon learn to live up to that expectation, behaving in a certain way. This also has an impact on a person’s self esteem, causing them to act undesirably and maybe even lead them to turn to crime. Eden (1990) – Self fulfilling prophecy- Eden also conducted the self fulfilling prophecy study in 1990, this study explains why some people turn to crime due to the way they have been stereotyped or labelled into a certain group. For this study, Eden looked at the training of 1000 Israeli soldiers and had them organised into 29 platoons. Some platoon trainers were told their groups were above the average potential but other trainers were told nothing. The findings of this study showed that after 10 weeks the performance of all soldiers were assessed and was found that on both the written exam and weapon test, the soldiers who had been told they were above the average potential did overall better than others, even though all soldiers were at an average level. These findings concluded Eden’s expectations that when labelled into a certain group, a person can adjust to behave according to expectations within the labelled group. This study has helped in understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows the stereotypes and labelled groups can influence a person’s self esteem leading them to behave in a certain way and if the stereotype is negative it can cause a person to turn to crime. Sheehan (1983) – TV violence and aggression Sheehan conducted the TV violence and aggression study in 1983. This study consisted of a group of middle class children aged between 5 and 10 to help find the link between children’s TV viewing and aggressive behaviour. Throughout the study data was gathered about the participants’ parents and the researchers also asked about the children’s aggressive fantasies to whether it would physically injure a person. Sheehan found that there were correlations between viewing violence and peer rated correlations for children that were aged between 8 and 10, with the correlations being stronger for the boys than the girls. The results were recorded by looking whether the child injured of irritated another person. These findings can relate to the social learning theory as he found that boys were more likely to imitate male models but overall looking at the data Sheehan collected, those who watched violent TV and films became more aggressive towards others than those who did not. This study has helped in understanding of criminal behaviour as it shows that continuously watching violent and aggressive TV programmes can affect a person’s thought patterns leading to automatic aggressive behaviour and imitation of their favourite characters which could lead to criminal activity.

Poetry from Other Cultures Essay Example for Free

Poetry from Other Cultures Essay Poets who were born in Britain dont usually write about slavery or how important water is to them. Many poets who are not originally into a traditional English culture use English in many different ways. Night of the scorpion, Limbo and Sacrifice all seem like they are poems that have been written to represent beliefs or a way of life. They have all got rhythms and beats and some even use nursery rhymes or chants as a basis for the poem. Language is extremely important to some people especially poets. Sometimes you can see by looking at a poem that it is not written in Standard English. At the beginning of Night of The Scorpion, a child is talking about how it remembers the night when its mother was stung by a scorpion. The child mentions Ten hours of steady rain has driven him to crawl beneath a sack of rice. Here, the child is describing the scorpion and the reason for its arrival. The child points out that the scorpion parted with its poison which literally means that the scorpion has stung someone. Throughout the poem, the scorpion is described as an evil being; The flask of diabolic tail in the dark room shows this. When the mother was stung, the villagers are described as swarming flies. This may mean they were running to help the mother or running away from the scorpion. The villagers chant the name of god to the mother, chanting the name of god in some cultures, is said to bring luck or hope to the person they are chanting for. In the poem it also states that the villagers used torches and lanterns to try and find the scorpion. As the villagers moved around with the torches and lanterns, the scorpion left shadows on the mud baked walls. The villagers could not find the scorpion so they started to make a clicking noise to try and draw the scorpion towards them. In one part of the poem, it mentions that the scorpion was controlling the poison that was inside the childs mother. With every movement the scorpion made, his poison moved around the mothers blood. The villagers seem to believe that the scorpion controls the poison that is inside the mother so they think that if they capture the scorpion, the poison inside the mother will also stop moving. They state that they want to stop the scorpion on line 18, May he sit still. After line 18, a series of sentences are started with the word may. In Standard English, this word usually introduces a polite request. The villagers all sat round whilst the mother laid there. It is described that there is a look of understanding on all of the peoples faces, which shows that they are supporting the mother, hoping she will be fine. In some cultures it is believed that if you catch the scorpion that has poisoned someone, the victim will recover. This may be why the villagers were so keen to capture the creature. The poet then describes how everyone is trying to help the childs mother recover. My father, sceptic, rationalist, trying every curse and blessing, powder, mixture, herb and hybrid. He even poured a little paraffin wax upon the bitten toe and put a match to it. I watched the flame feeding on my mother this is one of the most effective quotes in this poem as its dramatic and metaphorical. Again, the poet describes how people are trying to help the childs mother by writing; I watched a holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation. The p poet gives the effect that the poison has been inside the mother for a long time by saying; After twenty hours, it lost its sting The last three lines of the poem have had a large amount of thought go into them, as its unusual to normally end a poem like this. The poem Limbo, tells the story of slavery in a rhyming, rhythmic dance. It is ambiguous and complex. There are two main narratives running in parallel; the actions of the dance and the history of a people which is being enacted. Going down under the limbo stick is likened to the slaves going down into the hold of the ship, which carries them into slavery. In Roman Catholic tradition, Limbo is a place to which the souls of people go, if they are not good enough for heaven but not bad enough for hell, between this is Limbo. It has come to mean an unpleasant place or a state of mind or body from which it is difficult to escape. The story of slavery told in the poem is very easy to follow, yet full of detail and action. The poem has a very strong beat, suggesting the dance it describes. The rest of the poem tells a story enacted in a dance. These lines are greatly rhythmic and almost every syllable is stressed, until the very last line, where the rhythm is broken, suggesting the finish of the dance and the end of the narrative. This poem is suited to a dramatic performance there is the dancing under the limbo stick and the acting out the voyage into slavery. The poem can be chanted or sung with a rhythmic beat to give the best effect. The poem refers to a drummer which may be suitable. The poem is laid out on the page in a very peculiar fashion; this is related to the poem being chant like. Parts of the poem are echoed or at least rhyming in a repetitive way to suggest that this may not be any song or dance, but one of an African like culture. From the start of the poem, it seems pessimistic, but as you read on towards the end of the poem, it gradually stats to change into an optimistic look onto what will happen. The music is saving me could mean that the songs of their cultures were what gave them hope or the fact that the drummer was beating a rhythmic beat was what got them to carry on. The first line of sacrifice is an unusual line to start with because describing a goat having a knife dragged across its neck isnt the sort of image you would want to convey for the opening sentence. The persons point of view throughout the poem seemed to switch between two characters, a young boy and a goat being sacrificed. Two spadefuls of dirt will cover me up forever I can feel its point on my throat. Many cultures bless their house or have some kind of ceremony once the house is built. Also, there are still some cultures today that sacrifice animals to their gods. We stand in a tight circle around the animal to be sacrificed this short sentence is a great example of this. It seems that the child in question seems to dislike the idea of animals being sacrificed. The heat and the smell of the blood make me dizzy. Again, there is a whole paragraph describing just how the animal in question is sacrificed. The writer of the poem has made a strange choice by putting both children and the theme of sacrificing together, as usually a poet would not normally do this. The children are fascinated by the tableau. Here, a drama convention is used. A tableau is a still image that can be used at the beginning, during or at the end of a piece of drama. Again, the idea of ceremonies are used; A white bearded man chants something holy. The cameras click. This short sentence sounds wrong when put into context with the theme of the poem. The idea of people taking pictures of an animal that has just been sacrificed is disgusting. The ending of the poem is unusual because it seems that it is from the boys point of view because it describes the house as an unnecessary killing. We are not laying the foundations of a house but another dachau. A Dachau is a Nazi concentration camp where thousands of Jews were exterminated.

Competition in the sportswear industry

Competition in the sportswear industry This report is about a competitive analysis watch based on competition in the sportswear industry, dominated by Nike Inc., followed by Adidas and Puma. The article with the title, Competition comes to a Head for World Cup Sponsors was published on The New York Times on 6th June 2010. This report discuss about the competitive strategies adopted by Nike, as the market leader. Porters five forces of competition framework have been used to analyze the competitive advantage Nike has over its rivals. The objective is to understand the aggressive level of competition within the industry and also how firms try to dominate the market, through cost cutting and innovation. Company Background Nike Inc. was founded in 1962 by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as a partnership under the name, Blue Ribbon Sports. When Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman made this observation many years ago, he was defining how he viewed the endless possibilities for human potential in sports. He set the tone and direction for a young company created in 1972, called Nike, and today those same words inspire a new generation of Nike employees. Nikes goal is to carry on Bills legacy of innovative thinking, whether to develop products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential, or to create business opportunities that set Nike apart from the competition and provide value for our shareholders. Along the way, Nike has established a strong Brand Portfolio with several wholly-owned subsidiaries including Cole Haan, Converse Inc., Hurley International LLC, NIKE Golf, and Umbro Ltd. The mission of Nike is: to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. Nike maintains traditional and non-traditional distribution channels in more than 160 countries targeting its primary market regions: United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas (not including the United States). They utilize over 20,000 retailers, Nike factory stores, Nike stores, Nike Towns, Cole Haan stores, and internet-based Web sites to sell their sports and leisure products. Nike Inc. attains their position through quality production, innovative products, and aggressive marketing. Nike acquired Umbro in 2007. This acquisition indeed became the first decisive marketing goal of World Cup 2010. Nike has 10 World Cup contenders including Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Australia, Slovenia, New Zealand, U.S.A, Korea Republic, Serbia, and the deal with England and Umbro, which Nike maintains as a separate brand. The England and Umbro deal is the most Lucrative in international soccer, valued 34 million ($ 40.7 million) a year according to Sport+Markt, a research firm. This deal was a new determination for Nike to challenge Adidas, the German soccer apparel powerhouse, on its European home ground. Nikes continuing relationship with Brazil is worth 22 million a year. Competitor Analysis Adidas and Reebok breathing down the companys neck, the heart of the Adidas product line is athletic shoes, but the companys iconic three-stripe logo appears on apparel and other jock accessories. As the No.2 maker of sporting goods worldwide behind Nike, Adidas has inked deals with football and basketball athletes, as well as the New York Yankees, and it serves golfers through its Taylor Made-Adidas Golf. The company operates some 2,200 retail locations under the Adidas and Reebok banners. Adidas, which boasts the official match ball (named Jabulani) for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, expanded its business and breadth when it bought Reebok for some $3.8 billion. Nikes rival PUMA is another leading sport lifestyle company that designs and develops footwear, apparel and accessories. PUMA starts in Sport and ends in Fashion. In soccer, PUMA is the official supplier to 7 world cup teams including defending world champion Italy, Uruguay, Switzerland, Ghana, Algeria, Cote dIvoire and Cameroon. PUMA Vision states that, we are committed to working in ways that contribute to the world by supporting Creativity, Safe Sustainability and Peace, and by staying true to the values of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative in decisions made and actions taken. PORTERS FIVE FORCES 1. Barriers to Entry The threat of new entrants to the profit potential of sports accessory and athletic shoe manufacturers is minimized through high entry barriers. Due to large scale production, high cost on research and development and extremely large capital investment on innovation, factories and stores has made Nike able to control its cost and retain performance advantage over emerging competitors. 2. Bargaining Power of customers Relative to the number of firms in the industry there are a large number of buyers in the market with high bargaining power. Therefore in order to increase sales and market share, firms need to continuously market their product and differentiate their brands against competitors. The recent emergence of e-commerce and online shopping has helped enhanced the accessibility and intimacy among consumers. For example, NikeiD allows customers customize and design their own footwear by permitting customers to specify the desired colours and options to personalize the footwear with their name. Brand identity plays a critical role in the buying behaviours, as it offers customers loyalty and trust. 3. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Abundant numbers of input suppliers are available in the sportswear industry. There is little differentiation among the suppliers which makes the suppliers bargaining power low or non -existence. Input items such as Leather, rubber, cotton and plastic are available in large quantities. Nike has a definitive advantage and power over these suppliers when they become dependent on these firms as their means to survive. Nike have standardized their input procedures pertaining to the materials used, their labour force, supplies, services and logistics. Due to global networks of cheap labour on various continents, firms are able to switch between supplies quickly and easily. 4. Threats of substitutes Due to little alternatives to switch between, within the sportswear and athletics footwear industry, buyers propensity to substitute is low. For example: Nike shoes are designed to improve comfort and personal safety during periods of increased movements. The possible substitutes for footwear could be boots, sandals, bear feet or dress shoes, which however cannot be replaced for sporting purposes or for athletics. Hence, there are no real substitutes. 5. Competitive Rivalry within the industry There is countless number of competitors in the global arena for Nike. However not all companies have the power to compete with Nike. But few major competitors such as Adidas and Reebok, Puma, Joma, Legea and Brooks exist. These companies signed up in the World Cup arena are more evenly matched than ever. With 32 teams participating in the world cup, 12 teams including Argentina, France, Germany and the host nation South Africa wore Adidas on them, and Adidas was the official sponsor of the world cup. According to Hartmut Zastrow, executive director of Sport+Markt Adidas is still slightly ahead of Nike, on awareness and they have defended themselves well, but Nike is pushing aggressively. The fat checks from Nike and Adidas have not entirely priced rivals out of the market. With Nike and Adidas playing the equivalent of a possession game, the third-biggest soccer sponsor, Puma, has exploited unexpected openings in its rivals defenses an opportunistic strategy modeled on the playing style of Italy, Pumas biggest sponsorship. Puma is spending an estimated 30 million this year to sponsor teams in the 2010 World Cup, compared with 104 million for Nike and Umbro together and 85 million for Puma was also forward-looking in its recognition of the marketing potential of aligning itself with African national teams, long before South Africa was chosen, in 2004, as the first World Cup host on the continent. In 1997, Puma signed up Cameroon, and it has strengthened its ties to Africa since then. Equipment manufacturers logos are the only branding allowed on World Cup soccer jerseys, in contrast with professional club soccer shirts, which generally also include another prominent sponsor, like a gambling, electronics or car brand. That means even lesser known labels can stand out. Joma, a small Spanish provider of athletic gear, has high hopes for its sponsorship of Honduras. The company expects its sales to rise 40 percent in that country this year and 15 percent in the United States, which has a large Honduran community, a spokeswoman said. Brooks, a U.S. maker of running shoes is supporting Chile. Legea, an Italian provider of sports equipment had signed an agreement to supply uniforms to the North Korean team, which is in the World Cup for the first time since 1966. Self-Evaluation: Nike has planted itself firmly on the global business arena and appears to be a role model for other sportswear rivals. They have proved to be innovative, smart, environmentally friendly, and consistent with their product effectiveness and differentiation. For the company to continuously grow and sustain its competitive advantage, it is essential to invest on innovation and new products development that creates a need for the consumers. Nike appears to be a stylish, comfortable, and a reliable giant supplier with varieties of product line. The most informative part of this assignment was learning about capital investment firm make in order to dominate the market. There is also evidence of Hypercompetiton or rather cut throat competition within the industry amongst the major market challengers. Nikes attempt to snatch Germany away from Adidas, a German brand and the lucrative investments on acquisitions and sponsorship are evidence of desperate challenge for sustaining its dominance i n the market. Conclusion: From equipping athletes with the finest sports equipment in the world to continuously improving their financial performance, Nike dominates its competitors. Despite a changing marketplace for athletic footwear, Nike continues to expand its product lines and marketing reach to become a more powerful global brand. Due to the product differentiation, brand identity has an immediate competitive advantage. Aggressive promotions and advertisements also contribute to the success of Nikes well establishment in the industry. Nike has signed France to a seven-year deal and it will pay the countrys soccer federation more than 40 million a year to maintain hard grounds on its position for the next tournament, in 2014 in Brazil. The agreement will leapfrog France past England, making its shirts the most lavishly sponsored uniforms in international soccer.

Essay --

Are you interested in the people who inhabited America before the Europeans came? Well if you are then this is where you can learn about the Oneida Indian tribe. They are a group of Indians that lived in what is now central New York, Oneida and Madison counties. Now Oneida’s first appearing was sometime in the 1400’s, also Oneida means standing rock. They are also one of the 5 founding Iroquois Confederacy and played a huge American Revolution. Now as you can see the Oneida’s are a very interesting culture, now here is some more about them. Now a huge part of the Oneida’s history involves the Revolutionary War, sure they are still around but they have remained pretty neutral since the war. One of the major battle’s that they participated in was the Battle of Oriskany. The Battle of Oriskany was part of the Saratoga Campaign which was a plan for the British to take over the Hudson River. The leader of this campaign was Gen. John Burgoyne and he lead 8,000 men. But at the end, the campaign was a fail which lead to an American and Oneida win and a British loss. Now that is when the...

The Value and Necessity of Public Relations Essay -- Human Resources

Public Relations are the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc. Things we learned from Public Relations are provides a better understanding of the company, promotes brand image, and it is helps the company keep a good reputation. Public relations provides a better understanding of the company because it provides insight on what the company is up to and how things are running. Customers can always find out if the company is planning to launch a new product or thinking of innovations on already made products. Additionally, customers can find out about events revolving around a certain product. Therefore, the customer can attend the events that are supporting a charity or a product. Likewise, Public Relations promotes brand image by holding events and plastering the brand all over. There are certain events that are supported by one type of candy. Hershey partners with a ctivities and events that in return promote the product throughout the event. Lastly, Public Relations helps the company keep a good reputation. Hershey provides opportunities where customers can come and experience the product before purchasing it. For example, Public Relation has held events in different states to promote different brands. A big campaign that happened last summer was surrounded by S’mores. It was called Say S’mores and it was intended to encourage families to create S’more’ summertime memories. The campaigns consisted of contestants taking pictures of their favorite S’mores moments and posting them to Facebook. There would be three monthly winners and each would receive awards varying from roasting skewers set, picnic blanket and... ...re aware not only in the U.S. but in major countries. The confections industry can be taken to a whole new level because of spreading to different countries companies are than reaching other cultures. There is a whole new world outside of what we are used to. A product that nobody has thought of now could possibly become a top selling product in the future because of the influence given from another part of the world. Works Cited: http://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2011/hershey/smores/index.html http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reeses-sweetens-ncaa-march-madness-with-perfect-pick-promotion-and-annual-college-all-star-game-142095723.html http://www.alexgpr.com/2011/08/hersheys-pr/ (http://www.thehersheycompany.com/social-responsibility/csr-report.aspx (http://www.hersheystrackandfield.com/about.aspx) (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-public-relations.htm)

When Was Barbie Given Bendable Legs

Hatfield 1 Kristin Hatfield Professor Clark English 101 3037 Page 175 Assignment 4 Paper 5 October 31, 2012 Barbie – An American Icon Icons like Barbie recognized for their popularity and effects on society. Barbie is a subject of obsession all over the world. Collectors, consumers and even some designers become enthralled in the Barbie world. Designers create special designs to fit a specific trend of the high fashion runways. Collectors all over the world collect and spend amazing amounts of money to have the original Barbie in their collection.The consumers have made Barbie a true icon in American culture. The Barbie doll was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler (co-founder of Mattel), whose own daughter was called Barbara. The Barbie doll was introduced to the world at the American Toy Fair in New York City. Barbie's job was teenage fashion doll. In 1965, Barbie first had bendable legs, and eyes that open and shut. In 1967, a Twist ‘N Turn Barbie was released that had a moveable body that twisted at the waist. The best-selling Barbie doll ever was 1992 Totally Hair Barbie, with hair from the top of her head to her toes.The first Barbie was sold for $3. Additional clothing based on the latest runway trends from Paris were sold, costing from $1 to $5. In the first year (1959), 300,000 Barbie dolls were sold. Today, a mint condition â€Å"#1† (1959 Barbie doll) can fetch as much as $27,450. To date, over 70 fashion designers have made clothes for Mattel, using over 105 million yards of fabric. Barbie has had a huge impact on the fashion industry for over fifty years. . (Mary Bellis, About. com Guide) Hatfield 2 This is what the proportions of a life-size Barbie doll would look likeImage from (thefrisky. com) There has been some controversy over Barbie Doll's figure when it was realized that if Barbie was a real person her measurements would be an impossible 36-18-38. Barbie's â€Å"real† measurements are 5 inches (bust), 3 ? inches (wais t), 5 3/16 inches (hips). Her weight is 7 ? ounces, and her height is 11. 5 inches tall. These measurements seem unattainable to me as a woman living in a world of super-sized portions of food at every corner. Nevertheless, Mattel has also responded to concerns about Barbie’s body.In 1997 Barbie’s body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, which would make her â€Å"better suited to contemporary fashion designs. †(The Examiner. com) I can clearly remember my first Barbie. I was five years old. It was Christmas day and I was very excited to own my very own Barbie. Along with the doll I also received a dream house, a pink corvette, swimming pool, and even a Ken doll to make the â€Å"Barbie world† complete. I was instantly obsessed with the idea and the make believe life I imagined for my dolls. Not once did I ever think of these dolls as role models or as having a certain body image that I must follow n order to be accepted in society.Unfortunately, a lot of mothers and women believe that the doll has made young women obsessive about their size and looks. Hatfield 3 Overall, this American Icon has influenced our culture in a way Mattel probably never could have ever imagined. Barbie is a doll that creates and follows fashion trends just as the world does. This iconic doll has changed her clothing, hairstyles, automobiles, friends, houses and pets. Barbie is one doll that never goes out of style and has made fashion dolls a great pastime for collectors and children young and old.

Movie Critique Alexis Zorbas

Antonis Papantoniou 19 November 2009 Anthropology 263g Alexis Zorbas: the man who has enough fight in him to devour the world. Many film attempts have been made aiming to portray the abundance of life within a man on the cinema screen. One of the most successful ones would be â€Å"Zorba the Greek† (1964), directed by Michael Cacoyannis and with Anthony Quinn as the leading role. The plot of the movie originated form the novel â€Å"Zorbas The Greek† by Nikos Kazantzakis, that was first published in 1946. The film portrays the culture of the time in Greece, and more specifically the culture of Crete, the largest Greek island, where the plot unfolds. Zorbas t he Greek† successfully depicts situations of extreme anger, sadness, lust and joy that conquer humans during their course in life. Alexis Zorbas reactions to such feelings define the movie and give the viewers a diachronic sense of admiration and amazement towards the main character. â€Å"Zorbas the Greekâ⠂¬  is a social drama whose plot focuses in the friendship of Alexis Zorbas, a Greek middle aged man of mysterious past, and Basil, a half-English half-Greek writer who has been raised in Great Britain and has all the characteristics of an edgy, middle-class Englishman.The story begins at the port of Piraeus when Basil is trying to get on a ship to Crete, where he owns some land and an old mine, which he wishes to revive. While in the port, Basil meets Zorbas. Zorbas with a peculiar way attaches himself to Basil and asks him for a job, listing all his â€Å"qualifications† from past occupations such as miner, cook and santuri player (Cretan musical instrument). Basil is intrigued by the character of Zorbas and agrees to take him along as his right-hand. Together they arrive at Crete where they stay at an old French widow’s house and later on move in at Basil’s land and start operating the mine.Throughout the story Zorbas is the person in charge of the mine and has several ideas for improving the mining process with the purpose of making more money. Basil seems to trust Zorbas and supports his ideas. But Zorbas ideas and â€Å"practical approach† prove disastrous – at the end this â€Å"collaboration† leads to the demise of the mine and everything they have worked for. The story ends with the separation of Zorbas and Basil with no hard feelings left behind. Zorbas takes his own way and Basil returns back to London having his character greatly influenced through the experiences he shared with Zorbas in Crete. Zorbas the Greek† should be seen in the context of the Greek/Cretan history and culture at the time. Crete had just been gained its independence from the Ottoman rule and joined Greece (1913). The French, Russians, Italians and British were generally helping Greece gain its independence from the Ottomans. However Cretans viewed newcomer foreigners as â€Å"outsiders† and generally alienated them. Furth ermore the citizens of Crete had a notion of self-justice and a sense of self-instituted law.Throughout the film there are several violent events that take place but there is no involvement of police or any form of public officers. Basil, who is considered a â€Å"foreigner† despite being half-Cretan, at some point holds a love affair with a lonely young widow (played by Irene Papas). She is brave, beautiful and, most importantly, independent. The men of the village despise her because according to Zorbas â€Å"they all want her, but no one can have her†. Such a statement was unheard of in a strongly patriarchic society such as Crete.When this relation between the foreigner and the widow was revealed, a young local boy who loved the widow and was trying to marry her was so devastated that committed suicide. The male population of the village was full of anger and jealousy so it took action. The widow was marked as a traitor and was publically lynched despite the attemp ts of Zorba to protect her. This incident to the viewer may be seen as meanness and ignorance on the part of the people of the village, however it was quite common at the time to bestow such judgments to the women who didn’t follow communal rules. M.Cacoyannis, staged this event with realism and intensity that transfers to the viewer the agony of this woman and the gruesomeness of the actions against her. Fast paced music is played during the scene, and the men of the village chase the widow for several minutes in a manner that can be compared to the way many cats chase a mouse. The only voices that are heard are the agonizing small shouts of the widow and the fast paced footsteps of her pursuers. The faces of the villagers are almost without emotion and when they finally trap the woman there is no hesitation in their actions.The only man who tries to oppose the intended murder is Zorbas. Through his determination he manages to stop momentarily the flow of villagers violent a ctions. Nevertheless he ultimately failed as the widow was murdered in a cold-blooded manner right in front of her lover’s eyes. This event depicts an aspect of Zorbas character, the bravery to â€Å"swim against the flow†. Unlike his friend and employer, Basil, he didn’t cower behind the crowd in fear of the potential reactions to his actions. Instead he stepped up against the mob and defended the justice he believed in.Nonetheless he did not mourn the deceased, nor did he mention the event again. In the film M. Cacoyannis touches the subject of death with a rather unconventional manner for the time. The subject of death is brought up in two occasions within the film. The first is with the death of Basil’s lover, the widow, and the second is with the death of Zorbas lover. When Zorbas and Basil first arrived at Crete they stayed at Madame Hortense’s hotel. Madame Hortense was a French woman who arrived at Crete with the French military after the e nd of the Othman rule.Within the film she claimed to be the lover not only of the French Admiral but also of the Russian, Italian and English Admirals. The fact that she was French and had multiple lovers was unheard of at Crete, and as a result she was the mocked and alienated by the village. After the departure of the European forces Madame Hortense was left alone back in Crete. In order to survive she created her own version of the famous French hotel, â€Å"Hotel Rich†, which was nothing more than a run-down house. At that hotel Zorbas decided to stay after arriving to Crete and soon he established intimate relationships with his hostess.Madame Hortense as presented from M. Cacoyannis arouses negative feelings to the viewers sometimes almost reaching disgust. She is viewed as a relic of the past always reminiscing about her Admirals and considering herself charming and irresistible. Zorbas quickly recognizes that aspect of her character; yet he maintains their relationshi p claiming â€Å"It is a shame to every man if a woman sleeps alone at night†. Through a misunderstanding Madame Hortense misinterprets that Zorbas wants to marry her while he had no intention to.Zorbas was not very affectionate about Madame Hortense, since he was badmouthing her when she wasn’t around, and cheating on her with other women. However when he learned about the misunderstanding he decided to marry her for the sole purpose of making her happy. Shortly after the marriage Madame Hortense became ill and died. The village people â€Å"celebrated† this event by stripping her house from all her possessions. The older women of the village are presented almost as vultures waiting for the pending death of the victim.Just about she was to die they rushed in and started stealing all the valuable objects from the hotel. Zorbas disgusted by this behavior he tried to stop it as long Hortnese was still alive, and until the end he stayed by her side acting as a lovi ng husband and keeping her company at the last moments of her life. Through this event the viewer understands an unknown until then aspect of Zorbas character, his immense kindness. With no apparent self-profit he selflessly tried to preserve Madame Hortense happiness by agreeing to marry her and staying with her until the end.However after the death of Madame Hortense he refuses neither to mourn her nor to take any actions to protect her possessions or her reputation. He steps out of the room letting the villagers take her possessions and he does not bother with funeral arrangements or other religious rituals. His views on death were openly opposing the ones of Orthodox religion and church that believed in Hell, Paradise and Judgment day, he simply stated â€Å"All people have one thing in common, in the end they all become food for worms. Along with the views on death, in the film M. Cacoyannis somehow mocks the Greek Religion and church. Before discussing the matter of Religion within the film, one must understand the importance of the Church for Greece at the time. As mentioned before Greece was released by the Othman rule and greatly influence by the major European forces. Within this chaos of different cultures interfering with the Greek culture, the Greeks struggled to maintain their identity and preserve their culture on which they take great pride in.Many actions were made such as an attempt of purification of the Greek language through the extraction of all the foreign words and creating a new dialect named â€Å"Katharevousa† which is rarely used in the film. Along with other actions a great power and land was given to the Greek Orthodox church, supporting the Christian religion which was much different than the Muslim religion, the one that Othmans believed in and thus enhancing the ethnic identity of the Greek population. In the film the Church appears as the owner of a big mountain that Zorbas wanted to exploit in order to support the lum ber needs of the mine.When he suggests his idea to Basil he is shocked and refuses by saying that he will be subjected to the accusation of theft, when trying to convince him Zorbas states that â€Å"This land belongs to the church, the church belongs to God and God belongs to everyone thus everybody can take their share of the land†. While arguing with Basil, Zorbas maintains a mocking tone when referring to the church and God, however in the end he agrees to â€Å"cut a deal with them†. The first meeting of the Church’s monks and Zorbas happened by chance in the mountain forest.Knowing their gullibility Zorbas deceives them into initially believing that he is a devil, and then in secrecy he replaced some water with wine. The priests believed the apparent miracle, that was incredibly similar to the one Jesus performed, and so viewed Zorbas as a blessed person. They drank the wine with him until they were completely drunk and so Zorbas gained their friendship an d his desired access to the mountain trees. Further appearance of the priests in the movie was almost in a comical manner; either being a target of Zorbas mockery, or cowards running away from some falling trees while praying to God.This presentation of the Church by M. Cacoyannis is quite contrevential to society’s image of the church at the time. The priests who were considered wise and virtuous figures within the society were portrayed as gullible drunks who were easily manipulated, and thus within the film the powerful image of the church was completely crumbled. One of the most dominant themes in the film is the contrast between the Apollonian and Dionysian way of life. Basil representing the Apollonian way of life is the personification of order and rationality.On the other hand Zorbas represents the Dionysian way of life with an ecstatic spirit and spontaneity in his actions, which provide him an undying will to live. Zorbas philosophy of life is constantly depicted in the movie. When he first meets with Basil and convinces him to work together he sets only one condition; that while he dances and plays the santury(a traditional Greek music instrument) he is on his own, he is free. M. Cacoyannis portrays Zorbas character through the frantic traditional Greek dance that Zorbas starts when his emotions are overflowing.The fist dance happens when Basil approves the plan of Zorbas in order to improve the mine. Zorbas filled with happiness unties his tie, unbuttons his shirt gets on an empty table and starts dancing. When his feet start to move traditional Greek music starts playing, in the beginning slow passed and as times goes by it becomes incredibly fast as Zorbas reaches his dance climax. The camera shifts very vigorously from his face to his feet and again to his face and transfers the feeling of frenzy to the viewer. The dance goes on until Basil confused stops him and Zorbas collapses from exhaustion.Basil’s character as acted by Alan B ates is presented as a weak bookworm who has no great aspirations for his future. He rarely laughs and shows no desire to grab the opportunities life offers him. Throughout the film the contrast of their characters is constantly being depicted. When Zorbas describes to Basil his plans for life and his dreams of becoming rich along with him, Basil is greatly intimidated and cuts of Zorbas by saying, â€Å"aren’t you going a bit to fast? † Zorbas answer to this question is well in line with his Dionysian way of life.He states with great vigor that â€Å"I’m to old to be going slow, people say that as a person ages his will to live goes away, that he opens the door and welcomes death. That’s a big pack of lies, I have enough fight in me to devour the whole world†. As expected, Zorbas influence on Basil’s character is becoming rather obvious throughout the film. From a passive manner of life Basil starts desiring things from life and after sever al prompts from Zorbas he decides to take the first step in creating a relationship between him and the village widow.As the story unfolds Basil starts laughing more and more and attempts to dance in the same manner as Zorbas does. His timid way of dancing in the beginning is accompanied by slow Greek music that is constantly interrupted by the missteps in Basils dance. The complete transformation of Basil’s way of life is viewed at the final scene of the movie, where after the disaster of Zorbas plans, instead of being angry he decides the next course of his life, laughs, and dances magnificently along with Zorbas by the Aegean Sea. The final theme of the movie is about the ability of humans to cope with failure.The film is full of failures; failure of Basil to protect his lover, failure of Zorbas to revive the mine, and finally the greater failure, the disaster of the project to bring down lumber from the mountain. This project was financed by the last money of Basil and de signed by Zorbas. The trees were supposed to be transferred from the top of the mountain to the bottom with the help of a large construction. At the first demonstration of the project, the construction is destroyed to the point that nothing was standing anymore.The crowd that was observing quickly dispersed and all that was left in the scenery was Zorbas and Basil watching their failed investment. Nevertheless they both sit down by the already prepared celebration fire, eat their lunch without frustration or negative emotions. They both discuss their future plans as nothing has happened. They decide to separate and they have one of the most affectionate conversations that are present within the film. Finally they both get up and dance by the ruins of their failure hopping for the best and aiming for a better future.The film’s setting, Crete, is realistically depicted throughout the film and the Cretan culture is represented very accurately. The plot unfolds in a remote villag e of Crete close to the major city of Chania. M. Cacoyannis tries to express the Greek culture not through Zorbas but through the people in the village that have secondary role to the plot. The clothing of the male citizens was usually black representing their masculinity, and their forehead was covered with a traditional black cloth, which made them look even more aggressive.The majority of the male citizens carried daggers, a weapon that until today is considered, by the Cretans, to represent honor and bravery. The murder of the young widow is done with the use of a dagger, since it was considered an act that would reinstate the village’s honor. In the progress of the film no young woman except Irini Papas is presented, this may be the way of M. Cacoyannis to emphasize the power of the male population in the village of Crete. Nevertheless many elder women are seen through the course of the movie, all of them presented with ugly and selfish personalities.All the Greek women on the film wear black clothes that cover most of their body. This clothing in the Greek culture represents the grief of a widowed woman, and in the past widows in Greece where forced to dress like this for the rest of their life. On the other hand men did not have to change their lifestyle in any way after the death of their wife, this again signifies the difference of power between men and women in the Cretan society. The events that are described in the film as mentioned before are a few decades after the liberty of Crete from the Othman domination. Since then many events have transformed Crete’s culture.With Greece’s entry to the European Union at 1981, western influences started stirring Crete’s culture. The clothes, which are commonly worn in the film, have now become almost extinct and are only used occasionally in traditional events such as marriages. Tourism, which was considered a rare occasion among the villagers, has flourished in Greece since the 19 70’s. Ironically â€Å"Zorbas the Greek† and its success in the movie theaters was a great contributor to this radical increase in tourism. Today tourism is one of the most profiting industries in Greece, and no part of the country has remained unaffected, and Crete is no exception.The standing’s in society between women and men have become today almost equal, and the action of alienating foreigners has completely disappeared. However some things have not yet changed through the years. Cretan’s have still the same sense of honor and pride, and especially in the villages native Cretan’s continue to institute their self-instituted justice. Daggers continue to be a method of solving disputes, and feuds between families can continue for many generations, and occasionally have a morbid conclusion. The influence of the Orthodox Church on the community has also been decreased in the past decades.The Church is still extremely wealthy, however parts of the land have been returned to the Greek State, and Greek communities have become much less religious over the years. It can be said that the community and culture that Zorbas lived in has been almost completely transformed and become unrecognizable at the 21st century. It is crucial to mention however that throughout the film Zorbas shows no attachments to that specific culture or any culture. He is presented as a man with his own culture that has lots of experience from traveling the world and can adapt himself in any situation that occurs.That is one of the factors that make him a diachronic character. â€Å"Zorbas the Greek† is a film that depicts the Greek culture in its transition from being influence by the East to being influenced by the West. The film itself was a turning point for Greece since it was one of the big factors that attracted tourism to the country. Nevertheless the differences in cultures and the audience of the movie have not changed its diachronic message s that are represented through the friendship and characters of Zorbas and Basil.The need to combine the Apollonian and Dionysian state of mind, to laugh at the misfortunes and failures that emerge in life and fight through them with vigor and the ability to dream. These are just some of the philosophies that are promoted through the film, and perhaps the 21st century is when they are needed the most. Maybe along with some madness because as Zorbas mentioned at the final scene of the movie: â€Å" A man needs some madness, or else he dare not to cut the rope and be free†. ——————————————- [ 1 ]. â€Å"Crete History: A description of history of Crete, Greece . † 1. Web. 19 Nov 2009. . [ 2 ]. â€Å"The Greek Language Controversy . † Focus on Language (2000): 1. Web. 19 Nov 2009. [ 3 ]. Kreis, Steven. â€Å"Nietzsche, Dionysos and Apollo. † (2000): 1. Web. 19 Nov 2009. . [ 4 ]. Lanz, Barbara. â€Å"Mourning Dress . † Social Expression of Grief by Barbara Lanz. (1983): 1. Web. 19 Nov 2009. . [ 5 ]. † One dead, many hurt in Cretan family feud Dress . † Ekathimerini (2009): 1. Web. 19 Nov 2009. .

The book “Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom” Report

The book â€Å"Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom† by Lisa Delpit provides detailed overview of popular progressive pedagogies ad special attention is paid to finding ways to deliver the best learning for all students. The central argument is that modern education systems often fail to respond to learning needs of diverse students. We are living in diverse world and every classroom is represented by linguistically and culturally diverse students. In the book Lisa Delpit tends to relate progressive learning methods with dominant culture norms. Delpit claims that mismatch is pervasive and educational institutions should teach students considering their cultural roots as students from non-dominant communities find it difficult to comprehend new culture and to learn. Therefore, the central thesis of the book is that learning theory and learning process are profoundly rooted in the culture and, thus, they can’t be ignored when teaching diverse students. The title of the book is metaphoric as, in such a way, the author shows that our world is culturally diverse and other people’s children should be paid more attention during the studying process. Language and learning peculiarities of colour students is often being repressed and assailed. Statistics is really shocking – too many professionals tend to fully ignore cultural factors when they work with students from other courtiers. When students are ‘other people’s children’, the author means that those students are non-white population. Delpit combines theoretical framework with practice and, therefore, her recommendations and reflections are well grounded. As far as the author is educational and sociolinguist anthropologist, analytics and criticism are both present. The author describes practical implementation of her theories and shows that after two decades of practices progressive pedagogies do have benefits. For example, the author describes her experiments in the culturally diverse classroom in Native Alaskan schools and in Inner City. Despite educational settings are located in different places, the results are apparent: progressive pedagogies are of great importance as children feel more comfortable and more confident when teachers consider their cultural peculiarities. The first section â€Å"Controversies Revisited† defends Delpit’s evocative ideas. Her essay â€Å"The Silenced Dialogue† is a critical response for essay â€Å"Skills and Other Dilemmas of a Progressive Black Educator†. Delpit reproaches advocates of whole language because she believes that writing process instructions should be changed and should match learning needs of children from non-dominant cultures. The second section â€Å"Lessons from Home and Abroad: Other Cultures and Communities† offers two informative and factful articles fleshing vision of schools. The author shares her personal international experiences and illustrates two conflicts. In such a way, she is willing to maximize the educational potential culturally diverse students. The conflicts are defined as the following: firstly, context vs. the de-contextualizing rituals of mainstream schooling; secondly, human connectedness vs. the dehumanizing, heritage-destroying processes. These articles prove that Delpit’s advice is seasoned and synthesized from perspectives of educators of color. The third section â€Å"Teachers' Voices: Rethinking Teacher Education for Diversity† discusses American dilemma of cultural disparities in teacher-student interactions, and it is known that Delpit, for he reasoning and progressive ideas, has gained a reputation of being fearless as she tends to convey perspectives of educators of color, in particular, when disputing the popular wisdom of mainstream. The author shows that a power imbalance is still present in most American classrooms. In particular, power imbalance exists in increasingly diverse public schools. Delpit writes that â€Å"one would have to be completely off-target not to realize that Blacks and other people of color often get the short end of the stick when it comes to commanding and exercising power in educational settings†. (Delpit, 1995) Therefore, many argue that Delpit’s reading is thought-provoking and especially valuable. Delpit says that power imbalance may result in racial and gender conflicts in classrooms and the quality and quantity of learning will be negatively affected. Learning outcomes will be doubtful. The author uses thoughtful and measured terms when she tries to explain how parents, students and teachers from diverse groups should develop ingenious means of resisting dominant-group incursion. Ample evidence is offered to show that dominant-group school personnel often fail to interpret fully the knowledge base and, as a result, the potential of non-white students is stifled, and the mark in their assessment is ultimately missing. The work provides corrective responses: â€Å"This combination of power and otherness is what this book is all about. Black, white, Indian, Hispanic or Asian, we must all find some way to come to terms with these two issues. When we teach across the boundaries of race, class or gender — indeed when we teach at all — we must recognize and overcome the power differential, the stereotypes and the other barriers which prevent us from seeing each other. Those efforts must drive our teacher education, our curriculum development, our instructional strategies, and every aspect of the educational enterprise. Until we can see the world as others see it, all the educational reforms in the world will come to naught†. (Delpit, 1995) Personal Reflection I think that the book â€Å"Other People’s Children† should become a ground for teaching for many white teachers. The book is enlightening and empowering as it offers new approaches to teaching. Lisa Delpit is innovative in her filed as she recommends considering cultural roots when teaching students from non-dominant cultures. The book is reasoned and the author invites the audience to understanding the learning needs of diverse students, as well as provides overview of realities of multicultural schooling stressing that every student from non-dominant culture faces a number of challenges. In my opinion, the author is trying to make modern educators realize that education should be improved and such issues as ethnicity, gender and nationality should be paid more attention. One more positive moment is that educational needs of individuals are quite different and professional educators should find ways how to respond to needs of every student. The book is divided into three parts and each part conveys important message. For example, the first section stresses the importance of literacy and literature in modern schools, whereas the second section discusses the impact of culture on education system. Finally, the third section provides recommendations how to make changes in education system and how to teach multicultural classrooms. Mainstream education is associated with dominant education and it is a pity that dominant culture is related to the culture of urban professionals and business world. In other words, dominant culture is the culture represented by white population, middle-class individuals and college educated population. I like the way the author tries to assure the audience that the majority of students are African-American students from low-income families and their rights should not be neglected and ignored as they are personalities and they deserve better living, good education and position in society. Education and discrimination should not come along. I agree with the author that culture has significant impact on education as, for example, non-white students tend to have their own code of language and behavioural patterns and, thus, they often lack skills for establishing Standard English. Knowledge is limited for children from non-dominant cultures and the main reason is lack of basic knowledge and instructional skills. Delpit recommends setting the same standards for all students disregarding their gender and nationality. The problem is that not many professional educators are interested in building and enforcing necessary knowledge for students. Modern society teaches individuals to be well-educated and well-informed of surrounding. Nevertheless, a series of problems is presented in modern American schools. The most important problem is that many teachers don’t think of the student’s future – they simply fulfil their responsibilities and nothing more, but it is wrong as teachers should get their students through particular class and prepare the road for future. Educators and parents must encourage students to learn and to display their abilities and desires. Individuals, disregarding culture and gender, should be allowed to express their feelings, emotions and fears through experiences. Moreover, students should be allowed to use their words and teachers should guide them. Teachers should provide students with more freedom; they should not correct students, but rather to guide them. Fluency of language must be of top priority. Summing up, the book allows teachers to recognize the changes and patterns which remain unrecognized in educational sphere.