Sunday, December 29, 2019

Language in Shakespeares The Tempest - 1295 Words

This essay will attempt to find out the type of language that Shakespeare has used to portray the hatred and utter spite Prospero evidently has over Caliban. The great number of offensive dialogue during the argumentative conversation between Caliban and Prospero will be commented on. During the conversation, many ill-disguised remarks of contempt are made by all three characters. This will be analysed further and the reasons and consequences of the exchange will be described. There are a great number of reasons for why Prospero and Caliban are not by any means on respectful terms, and the factors that have lead to this occurrence will be expressed in order to explain the spiteful nature of Prospero in particular. In the play ‘The†¦show more content†¦This depicts the fact that Prospero’s main reason for despising Caliban is that he betrayed his trust and according to Prospero, Caliban was treated with ‘human care’. This language suggests that Prosp ero’s sense of betrayal by Caliban is the reason for his spite and also the reason he and Miranda continuously demean and criticise Caliban. Therefore, here Shakespeare is attempting again to portray a difference in attitudes between Prospero (and Miranda) and Caliban, where Prospero acts on the guidance of his emotions and intellect alone, while Caliban relys on his senses and needs pleasure. For example he wanted to fill ‘this isle with Calibans’ with the failed rape of Miranda. The opposing values held between Prospero and Caliban has lead to no consideration for each others beliefs, which is what has caused the criticism of Caliban and rather inevitably the rift between them. As mentioned earlier, the passage where Prospero argues with Caliban is the first time Caliban appears. Shakespeare quickly uses language to suggest he is something of a ‘abhorred slave’ and that he is despised and imprisoned into a rock by Prospero. The fact that a person o f Prospero’s godly nature and apparent righteousness, due the language Shakespeare uses to create an image of him, would treat someone in this manner suggests to the audience that his hatred of CalibanShow MoreRelated Importance of Language in Shakespeares The Tempest Essay1866 Words   |  8 Pagesand differences of opinion regarding the genre of The Tempest, a play by William Shakespeare. In the essays The Backward Voice: Puns and the Comic Subplot of The Tempest, by Maurice Hunt, and The Tempest as Romance and Anti-Romance, by Richard Hillman, the genre of the play is discussed in depth. Using elements such as setting, lines of the characters, and the action that occurs in the play, the authors evaluate Shakespeares play The Tempest to be a romance with a comic subplot, and thereby showRead More tempcolon Comparing Language in Shakespeares Tempest and Aime Cesaires A Tempest892 Words   |  4 PagesColonial Language in Shakespeares The Tempest and Aime Cesaires A Tempes t      Ã‚  Ã‚   Language and literature are the most subtle and seductive tools of domination. They gradually shape thoughts and attitudes on an almost subconscious level. Perhaps Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak states this condition most succinctly in her essay The Burden of English when she writes, Literature buys your assent in an almost clandestine way...for good or ill, as medicine or poison, perhaps always a bit of both(137)Read More The Role of Language in Shakespeares Play The Tempest Essay1134 Words   |  5 PagesThe Role of Language in Shakespeares Play The Tempest 1 The role of language in Shakespeare’s play â€Å"The Tempest† is quite significant. To Miranda and Prospero the use of language is a means to knowing oneself. Caliban does not view language in the same light. Prospero taught Caliban to speak, but instead of creating the feeling of empowerment from language, Caliban reacts in insurrectionary manner. Language reminds him how different he is from Miranda and Prospero, and also how they have changedRead More Aime Cesaires A Tempest Clarifies Shakespeares The Tempest1683 Words   |  7 PagesCesaires A Tempest Clarifies Shakespeares The Tempest      Ã‚  Ã‚   Negritude, originally a literary and ideological movement of French-speaking black intellectuals, reflects an important and comprehensive reaction to the colonial situation of European colonization (Carlberg).   This movement, which influenced Africans as well as blacks around the world, specifically rejects the political, social, and moral domination of the West.  Ã‚   Leopold Senghor, Leon Damas, and Aime Cesaire are the three pioneersRead More tempcolon Confronting Colonialism and Imperialism in Aime Cesaires A Tempest1403 Words   |  6 PagesColonialism in A Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚   A Tempest by Aime Cesaire is an attempt to confront and rewrite the idea of colonialism as presented in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.   He is successful at this attempt by changing the point of view of the story.   Cesaire transforms the characters and transposes the scenes to reveal Shakespeare’s Prospero as the exploitative European power and Caliban and Ariel as the exploited natives.   Cesaire’s A Tempest is an effective response to Shakespeare’s The Tempest because heRead MorePost Colonial Translations Of The Tempest : Colonial Society s Universal Mirror1672 Words   |  7 PagesTranslations of The Tempest: Colonial Society’s Universal Mirror Shakespeare’s The Tempest has been viewed through many different lenses, and each translation brings with it a new and differing understanding of Shakespeare’s complex original work. Two specific translations, Coetzee’s novel Disgrace and Cesaire’s play A Tempest, do an exemplary job at translating The Tempest, because both translations looked at a different aspect of the colonizer-colonized relationship. Cesaire s A Tempest translates theRead MoreAn Analysis of Power and Violence in Literature Essay1322 Words   |  6 Pagesgovernment) exerts its control and power over the ruling class using violence, but the power held by the ruling class doesn’t necessarily have to use violence. This passage is clearly portrayed in Aristophanes’ ‘Assembly Women,’ Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest,’ and Cà ©saire’s ‘A Tempest.’ These works of literature focus primarily on the acquisition of power, and how it is used to change, manipulate, and control the people/circumstances/laws in question. Aristophanes’ play, â€Å"Ecclesiazusae† or â€Å"The AssemblyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Tempest1267 Words   |  6 Pagesaudience. During the Enlightenment Era, William Shakespeare’s writing were a form of social commentary on the English Government. Endorsed by the king, Shakespeare’s works told tales of tragedy and whimsy, incorporating both fiction and nonfiction elements. One trademark of Shakespeare s plays were the subtle allusions to the concurrent events in the English government. This is evident in his well known and final play, The Tempest. The story of The Tempest tells the tale of Prospero, a fallen duke forcedRead MoreWorld Events Influencing Shakespeare ¨s The Tempest Essay example1277 Words   |  6 Pagesthe â€Å"golden age† of poetry, music and literature. It was in the midst of European exploration that Shakespeare wrote, The Tempest. It would be safe to suggest that many of the worldly events during this time, such as the shipwreck of Sea Venture, global colonization, and the works of Michel de Montaigne, had prodigious influences on Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest. The Tempest starts aboard a ship in the middle of the sea caught in a violent hurricane. Members of the audience can hear Gonzola shoutRead MoreThe Character Of Caliban1100 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s The Tempest, was first performed in London, in 1611. The time it was performed in is important, because it was in the same period as the English colonization of the America’s. The Tempest presents a complex metaphor that reflects actual events in the New World during Shakespeare’s era, as portrayed in Prospero’s actions, as well as the European attitude of the New World natives, conveyed in the character of Caliban. Shakespeare provides the play with a clever clue that leads

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Fair and Equitable Compensation Essay - 969 Words

Fair and Equitable Compensation MGMT 365 04/01/2012 MGMT 365 04/01/2012 Fair and Equitable Compensation Compensation is an important factor in the business world; both for employees and employers. Employees are trying to get what they feel they are worth. On the other side employers are trying to get quality workers at the best price they can; this is so they can increase their bottom line. Depending on which side you are on, the views of what is fair and equitable varies. The key is to come to an agreement that both can be happy with. The book Strategic Compensation by Martocchio, states â€Å"compensation represents both the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards employees receive for performing their jobs† (P3). Intrinsic represents†¦show more content†¦If a person goes to college or has a skilled trade they should be paid according to their skill level, since they bring that knowledge into the workplace. Employees should do their research before accepting a job offer. They should know what the average pay is for the work they will be doing. This will help them when they come to the bargaining table. On the other side of this argument is the employer. From their perspective they are trying to cut cost and get their money’s worth from their employees. An article by June Lane in Associations Now states that there is five important tips a company should consider when determining a fair compensation. They are equity, purpose, accurate data, job descriptions and more than money (intrinsic). A company that wants quality workers and the ability to retain them will offer their employees a fair and equitable compensation packet. An employer can’t always pay top dollar especially in today’s economy. An employer is in a struggle to keep their employees happy and not bankrupt the company in the process. Employees need to know that compensation is going to be based on the current economic status. Sometimes it can be hard for a company who wants to pay higher wages but don’t have the income to do so. Unions can be a hindrance for a business to deal with. Sometimes t hey are not willing to budge and the company has no choice but to layoff or close down. This is what happed in my hometown of Detroit, Michigan. MyShow MoreRelatedEssay about Fair and Equitable Compensation1766 Words   |  8 Pagesemployees. Adequate rewards and compensations potentially attract a quality work force, maintain the satisfaction of existing employees, keep quality employees from leaving, and motivate them in the workplace. According to research conducted by the Corporate Executive Board, the most important workplace attribute is compensation, (The Increasing Call for Work-Life Balance, 2009). Not only must wages be set high enough to motivate and attract good talent, they must also be equitable—that is, the wage mustRead MoreHuman Resource Practices With Business Goals1363 Words   |  6 Pagesbusiness goals with employee motives, a well-rounded compensation plan precedes attainment of these business goals(Martocchio 3). As can be seen by this statement, comp ensation is a major concern for all players in the business world today. As a matter of fact, if a company fails to properly manage their compensation package they will find themselves being left behind by the competition. In particular, what exactly does being left behind in compensation and benefits mean? It stands that other companiesRead MoreThe Determinants Of Employee Performance Essay877 Words   |  4 Pages(Hawaini, Gabriel and Viallet 2007). Employee Compensation is the same thing as employee reward. While employee reward is about how people are rewarded in accordance with their value to the organization, employee compensation according to Rynes, S. L., Gerhart, B., Minette, K. A., (2004). consist of pay and other economic and intangible benefits provided to the employees of an organization in return for the services rendered by them. Thus, compensation is the reward given to employees for utilizingRead MoreThe Business Of Amateur Sports1158 Words   |  5 Pagesmakes is that students are stakeholders in the college revenue success and should benefit. Marx claims if students were paid to play sports, The injustices of fake amateurism would be gone† (Rottenberg). Marx seems to believe that students deserve compensation beyond receiving an education and other stipends. Marx’s article is directed at college football and is narrow in stating his views. By exploring beyond a few sports, or select sports programs, his notion of paying students to play for collegeRead MoreLiterature Review : Employee Retention1187 Words   |  5 Pagesstrategies implemented to create more positive organizational climates for the purpose of retaining valuable employees include equitable remuneration that reflects performance, sufficiently challenging and interesting work, as well as opportunities for training and career dev elopment. There are seven main factors that can enhance employee retention. These factors are compensation and appreciation of the performed work, provision of challenging work, chances to be promoted a pleasant atmosphere withinRead MoreBenefits And Benefits Of Employee Benefits Essay1422 Words   |  6 PagesDoyle offers this, â€Å"Employee benefits are non-salary compensation that can vary from company to company. Benefits are indirect and non-cash payments within a compensation package. They are provided by organizations in addition to salary to create a competitive package for the potential employee.† (Doyle, 2016, para. 3). Essentially, this can be taken to mean that employee benefits may be in the form of monetary compensation or still compensation, but without monetary payment to the employee. ExamplesRead MoreJob Satisfaction in Criminal Justice1251 Words   |  5 Pageslong work hours, and lack of public and managerial support. Purpose of the Study: Research shows that the issues surrounding job satisfaction amongst law enforcement personnel establish a causal connection between resources, management style, compensation, and support. This is a complex issue for several reasons: limited funding from governmental agencies, unwillingness for some law enforcement personnel to answer questions that they perceive may prejudice management against them, and the inabilityRead MoreEquity Theory1421 Words   |  6 Pagesperceptions of fair/unfair distributions of resources within interpersonal relationships. Equity theory is considered as one of the justice theories; it was first developed in 1962 by John Stacey Adams, a workplace and behavioral psychologist, who asserted that employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others (Adams, 1965). The belief is that people value fair treatment whichRead MoreThe New York Hotel And Motel Trades Council Essay1003 Words   |  5 Pagesand other related businesses represented under contract to this union. Employees who have a membership with this union enjoys new and fair representation under a very diverse organizational culture. The association provides incredible union contract for hotel workers in the environment guaranteeing excellent wages, benefits, working conditions, and standard of fair treatment. The pay policy gives employees entitlement to substantial paid time off, full-time employees receiving holidays, personal daysRead MoreThe Ethical Approach Of Bob Bowlsby1484 Words   |  6 Pages The ethical approach that Bob Bowlsby is utilizing in his argument is the justice approach. Bowlsby’s comment deals with fairness. His opinion is that it is not fair for football and male basketball student athletes to receive a salary while female and male student Olympic sport athletes who partake in swimming, wrestling, and lac rosse, for example, do not receive the same benefit (Strickland Moody, 2014, p. C-422). The justice approach is based on fairness, equity, and impartiality as it derives

Friday, December 13, 2019

What is Ethnobotany Free Essays

Introduction Plants have long been used in traditional medicine. They have been known as rich sources of modern medicines, drugs and drug products because they produce a host of bioactive molecules, which serve as chemical defenses against predation or infection. By the mid-1980s, most pharmaceutical manufacturers had abandoned exploring folk practices including plant derivatives in their search for new drugs because of the discovery of microorganisms and fungi including the advances of synthetic chemistry in the production of medicines and antibiotics. We will write a custom essay sample on What is Ethnobotany or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, to date, the pendulum is beginning to swing back towards the appreciation of plants used in traditional medicine that has potential novel therapeutic agents. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 65-80% of the world’s population mostly in developing countries; widely depend on plants for primary healthcare due to poverty and lack of access to modern medicine [1]. Several ethnobotany studies support this report. [2, 3, 4, 5]. Ethnobotany is the study of the interaction between plants and people in their local environment [5, 6] The ethnobotanical approach is actually one of the several methods in choosing plants for pharmacological studies. There are about less than 0.5% of the estimated 265,000 flowering species on earth which have been studied exhaustively for their chemical composition and medicinal value. Ethnobotany studies of medicinal plants have been used in various ways such as to test hypothesis of use and knowledge, describing the use of plants in a given community or listing plants for food, therapeutic and other ethnobotanical purposes[7]. Herbal medicines that have been based on traditional knowledge are estimated at about 60 billion US dollars in the world market today. Traditional medicine has always been recognized as an important tool for the development of novelties in drug discovery [8]. Traditional medicinal practices through indigenous knowledge are common among tribes and local folks as their primary health care system [9, 10, 11, and 12]. Hence, traditional knowledge of medicinal plants as known by indigenous healers and local folks are not only useful for conservation of cultural tradition and biodiversity but also for community health care and drug development. In this study, medicinal plants refer to traditional medicinal plants used to maintain health and treat illnesses, which are used for more than a generation by the informants or may have the knowledge passed to them through time by their ancestors. There were initiatives to explore the biodiversity of Mt. Arayat. Bagunu et al. [13] documented in their unpublished terminal report 77 species of vascular plants in the northwestern slope of Mt. Arayat; 7 species of the Grass Family, 16 families of forest trees, 9 Orchid families, 18 fern species and 75 mushroom species. Follow up researches were undertaken for more detailed identification of plants available in Mt. Arayat covering important aspects of their potentials for health, medicines and food sources. Abille [14] in her inventory of BS Biology researches of natural products-related from 2001 to 2015 found that phytochemical studies had the highest percentage, followed by antimicrobial (anti-bacterial and anti-fungi) studies and cytotoxicity studies the least. Anent to these studies are the revelations of folk healers that they use some of these plants for treating illnesses and diseases as mentioned in an unpublished report of Espiritu[15] where 55 medicinal plants were identified specifically of their medicinal contributions based on local names. However, the quantitative analysis of the data was a bit explored. Ong and Kim[16] mentioned only one conducted quantitative ethnobotany study by Abe and Ohtani in 2012 in the Philippines in his review of related literature and none so far in Central Luzon. Hence, this study serves as springboard for the understanding of the relative cultural importance of these medicinal plant studied in Mt. Arayat, Pampanga, Philippines and thus support communities to manage their resources more effeftively or finding plants that maybe useful to the community for medical or other purposes. Consistent with R ; D priorities of the agenda thrust of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for 2011-2016 to address the identified pressing health problems of the Filipino people by the Department of Health (DOH), the study is aligned with the National Unified Health Research Agenda (NUHRA) towards drug discovery from natural and indigenous sources through ethnobotany. Thus, the documentation of the traditional uses of plants particularly for medicinal value is an urgent matter for preserving the knowledge and providing baseline data for future pharmacological and phytochemical studies and natural product development, which are valuable in healthcare. How to cite What is Ethnobotany, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Influence of Organizational Structure Types †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Influence of Organizational Structure Types. Answer: Introduction Strategy can be defined as a combined and synchronized set of activities and commitments conducted by the managers which is intended to exploit the core competencies of the organization and to gain competitive advantage over its competitors (Gibbons, Scott and Fhionnlaoich, 2015). The organizational structure can be defined as the formal reporting associations, processes, regulations, authorities and decision making processes of the organization. The structure of the organization comprises of three elements viz. control structures, administrative structures and accountability structures. Control structures include the mechanism for assessing the performance of the human resources employed in the organizational structure. Administrative structure defines the classification of labor on the basis of tasks in the organization whereas accountability structures explain the allocation of responsibilities and authority to people in the organization (Bielawska, 2016). So, in this literature review, the various aspects of the relationship between the strategy and organizational structure will be stated along with the analysis of the findings present in the review. According to Maduenyi et al. (2015) the organization cannot exist without a proper structure. The goal of organizational structure is the allocation of the duties and responsibilities among the human resources and the synchronization of their activities to accomplish the objectives of the organization. The organizational structure comprises of the level of horizontal integration, layers of hierarchy, centralization of power and methods of communication. As per Ajagbe et al. (2016) organizational strategy can be explained as the direction and the scope of the company over a long period of time thereby assisting the organization to benefit with the help of alignment of resources. There are various components of the organizational strategy which aligns the organizational structure to accomplish the goals of the organization. It comprises of the mission statement which defines the purpose of the existence of the organization. The vision refers to the projected state of the organization in the future. The objectives intrude the discipline in the strategy. They determine the specific goals of the organization over a period of time (Waribugo and Etim, 2016). Therefore, the strategy and the structure should be aligned to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. The transformations in the operating environment of the company and its structure must be aligned to harmonize with the organizational strategy so that the company can confront the dynamic and volatile forces operating in the industry in which it operates. The coordination of the strategy, structure, environment and the core competencies of the organization is known as Strategic Fit (Kalay and Lynn, 2014). It is a universally accepted position of many scholars that Structure follows Strategy. It suggests that every commercial activity in which the firm is involved is based on its strategies. Thus it is the main factor for the development of the organizational structure. The structure of the organization is one of the important means through which the strategy is implemented to create equilibrium between the firms competence and efficacy. The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Concepts of the Relationship between the Organizational Strategy and Structure and their Contribution to Knowledge The relationship between the organizational structure and the strategy play an important role in the success of the company. For the accomplishment of the objectives of the company, the mission, vision and objectives are interlinked to its divisional, departmental and individual goals .Thus the new strategies require a modified structure if the organization has to be operated successfully. An appropriate match between the strategy and the structure results in high performance in the company (Daniel, 2015). According to the opinion of Neis, Pereira and Maccari (2016) the success of the transformations in the strategy of the organization is also dependent on the changes in its structure. The relationship of the cause and effect between the strategy and structure can be seen in the organizations which implement the strategies of vertical integration. As and when the management of the company decides to assimilate the new production processes in its production strategies, a need for the new and modified organizational structure emerges. But this aspect also has some weaknesses. Sometimes the strategy and structural relationships may result in certain complications which may be difficult to cope up within the dynamic environment of the industry in which the company operates. The complexity of the strategic changes needs to be managed properly rather than imposing an organizational structure as it may be inappropriate for the evolution of the innovative strategies (Nickols, 2016). Also, the organizational structure can be created or modified for the wrong reasons. It may result in the failure of the planning and re-planning efforts. The interrelation and coordination of the various structural units can be incomplete. The connection of the organizational strategy with the modified structure may be ambiguous or non-existing in some cases (Jani?ijevi?, 2013). The top management cannot implement a new strategy and direction and expect the organizational structure to be molded immediately. To apply the strategic shift, a complete transformation is required within the organization itself. The change in the strategies must be based on the cause and effect analysis on the goals of the organization. If it is not well executed then it will result in the failure in executing the strategies of the organization. Thus, the strategic transformation should support the strategy (Hunter, 2015). Analysis of the findings presented in the literature review Structure and strategy are linked to each other. The company whole making the transformations in the strategy must also consider the fact that every aspect of the structure must support the strategy. It will lead to implementing the transformations which will be everlasting. Thus the success of the strategic transformations depends upon their appropriateness (Rastislav and Silvia, 2015). Transforming the strategy pertains to transforming everything in the organization. The strategy should be changed in a desirable way which is acceptable by the management at all the levels of the organization. The organizational structure and strategy decide the objectives of the company together. With clear and defined strategies about what the company aspires to achieve, it will progress to align its structure to the best possible way to achieve the objectives. For the company to accomplish its objectives, the strategy and structures must be combined thoroughly. Structure is supported by strategy (Aleksi? and Jelavi?, 2017). If the company transforms its strategy, it must change its structures accordingly. A mismatch between the two may result in failure to accomplish the objectives if the company. If there is a failure in transformation of the structure according to the strategy, it will pull back the organization to its old strategy. If strategy is about implementing a plan, then an appropriate means of structuring the activities and resources should be found and maintained. Without the proper alignment of strategy, structure and environment, the organization may face problems in achieving long term success (Anwar, Shah and Hasnu, 2016). Thus the organization should adopt the approaches of flexibility, adaptability, creativity, empowerment and support of the team to maintain a balance between the strategy and structure (Steiger, Hammou and Galib, 2014). Conclusion Hence, to conclude, it can be said that the strategy of the organization explain the methods to accomplish the goals of the organization with the available resources and capabilities, to cope up with its threats and opportunities. For coordinating the structure with the strategies, there must be a close coordination amongst all the functions of the organization. The companies adjust their structures according to their strategies. The companies with low capital adopt the simplest structures to regulate their cost of product development costs. To accomplish their goals, there must be few layers in decision making and authority structures and a centralized focus on the process improvements. References Ajagbe , M.A., Bih , J., Olujobi , J.O. and Udo , E.E.U.(2016) Which Precedes the other? Organizational Strategy or Organizational Structure. IIARD International Journal of Economics and Business Management. 2(6), pp. 50-66. Aleksi? , A. and Jelavi?, S.R.(2017) Testing for Strategy-Structure Fit and Its Importance For Performance. Management. 22(1),pp. 85-102. Anwar, J., Shah , S. and Hasnu, S.(2016) Business Strategy and Organizational Performance: Measures and Relationships. Pakistan Economic and Social Review. 54(1),pp. 97-122. Bielawska, A.Z. (2016) Perceived mutual impact of strategy and organizational structure: Findings from the high-technology enterprises. Journal of Management Organization. 22(5), pp. 599-622. Daniel , R.M.(2015) Revisiting the strategic management process through the levels of strategy analysis. Asian Journal of Management Research. 6(1),pp. 29-34. Gibbons, P., Scott, P.S. and Fhionnlaoich, C.M.(2015) Strategic management: A perspective on the development of the field of strategic management and the contribution of the Irish Journal of Management. Irish Journal of Management. 34(1), pp. 22-41. Hunter, S.D. (2015) Combining Theoretical Perspectives on the Organizational Structure -Performance Relationship. Journal of Organization Design. 4(2),pp. 24-37. Jani?ijevi?, N. (2013) The Mutual Impact of Organizational Culture And Structure. Economic Annals. LVIII(198),pp. 35-60. Kalay, F. and Lynn, G.S. (2014)The Impact of Strategic Innovation Management Practices on Firm Innovation Performance. Research Journal of Business Management.2(3),pp. 412-429. Maduenyi, S. , Oke, A.O., Fadeyi, O. and Ajagbe, M.A.(2015) Impact of Organizational Structure on Organizational Performance [online] Available from: https://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/5296/1/Paper%20140.pdf [Accessed 31st March, 2018]. Neis, D.F., Pereira, M.F. and Maccari, E.A. (2016) Strategic Planning Process and Organizational Structure: impacts, confluence and similarities [online] Available from: https://www.bbronline.com.br/public/edicoes/ahead/3112-en.pdf Nickols , F.(2016) Strategy, Strategic Planning, Strategic Thinking, Strategic Management [online] Available from: https://www.nickols.us/strategy_etc.pdf Rastislav, R. and Silvia, L. (2015) Strategic Management of Business Performance Based on Innovations and Information Support in Specific Conditions of Slovakia. Journal of Competitiveness. 7(1),pp. 3-21. Steiger, J.S., Hammou, K.A. and Galib, M.H. (2014) An Examination of the Influence of Organizational Structure Types and Management Levels on Knowledge Management Practices in Organizations. International Journal of Business and Management.9(6),pp. 43-57. Waribugo, S. and Etim, A.E. (2016) The Impact of Structure on Strategy Implementation among Telecommunication Firms in Nigeria. European Journal of Business and Management.8(14),pp. 59-68.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Computer

Computer-Mediated communication (CMC) is critical in human communication due to its affordability, reliability, and connectivity. As the world steadily becomes a global village, communication experts have embraced computer-Mediated communication in providing communication solutions and enhancing interaction between socializing agents.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Computer-Mediated Communication specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, what factors directly affect the success of different CMC modes in relational maintenance and behavioral patterns in human communication environment? Thus, this reflective treatise attempts to explicitly applaud on the modes and behavioral patterns observed across the gender divide and how the same can be related to success of CMC in provision of communication solutions to socializing agents drawn from a cross different cultural divides, gender, age, and exposure. In orde r to comprehensively understand and interpreter the research question, the treatise review three previous literature on the topic by examining the articles. The Cyber Factor: An Analysis of Relational Maintenance Through the Use of Computer-Mediated Communication by Houser, Fleuriet, and Estrada, IMing, Text Messaging, and Adolescent Social Networks by Bryant, Sanders-Jackson, and Smallwood, College Students’ Use of Relational Management Strategies in Email in Long-Distance and Geographically Close Relationships by Johnson, Haigh, Becker, Craig, and Wigley, and Assessing the Measurement Invariance of Relational Maintenance Behavior When Face-to-Face and Online by Andrew Ledbetter. The article, Cyber Factor: an Analysis of Relational Maintenance Through the use of Computer-Mediated Communication by Houser, Fleuriet, and Estrada dwells on the link between interpersonal communication and CMC. Adopting both qualitative and quantitative analysis, the article identifies significant relationship between gender variance and use of CMC modes. Intrinsically, the authors conclude that success of different CMC strategies are largely influenced by mode adopted in the process of relational management.Advertising Looking for term paper on communication strategies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, as opined by the authors of this article, there is a quantifiable relationship that actively operates in the interaction between relationship type; as determined by gender of the client, and CMC mode for that specific gender divide. Women are noted to be more reliable and consistent that men (Houser, Fleuriet, Estrada, 2012). On the other hand, the article, IMing, Text Messaging, and Adolescent Social Networks by Bryant, Sanders-Jackson, and Smallwood is a continuation of research on the link between CMC networks and adolescent age group in development of technologies that are socially interactive. Concentrating o n quantitative research, the article is specific in identifying the aspect of inconsistent or quantifiable between teenage participation in socially interactive technologies (SIT) and traditional mode of communication (Jackson, Bryant, Smallwood, 2006). However, the authors identified socially isolated teenagers as major users of SIT due to passiveness and other minor reasons. Here, use of SIT which is part of CMC among teenagers is largely determined by the behavioral patterns of the subjects. Specifically, those who are weak socially in this group are likely to use this mode of communication that those that are socially active. The third article, College Students’ Use of Relational Management Strategies in Email in Long-Distance and Geographically Close Relationships by Johnson, Haigh, Becker, Craig, and Wigley examines the significant of emails in enacting maintenance behaviors exhibited in the daily interpersonal interactions and relate this to the aspect of geographical distance between subjects interacting. Through embracing maintenance strategy topology, the study identifies the aspects of self disclosure, positivity, and social networking as the assuring factors that promoted effectiveness of CMC modes used across the generational divide (Johnson, Haigh, Becker, Craig, Wigley, 2008). However, the geographical distance had negligible influence on assurances and social networking through CMC. Though not as comprehensive as the other articles, the article, Assessing the Measurement Invariance of Relational Maintenance Behavior When Face-to-Face and Online by Andrew Ledbetter examines existing differences in the five identified relational maintenance behavior (RMB) types in different instant messaging and â€Å"face-to-face communication† (Ledbetter, 2010, p. 4).Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Computer-Mediated Communication specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Specif ically, the article borrows heavily from the Relational Maintenance Strategy Measure (RMSM) in statistical analysis of the existing variance in answering the research question. Interestingly, the findings are in line with the RMSM in extrapolating the intrinsic relationship that exist in the interaction of instant messaging, CMC, and relational maintenance. From the literature review as indicated by the articles, the main factors that affect the success of CMC modes of communication are the aspects of social activeness, age, gender, purpose and relationship between the subjects communicating. Notably, it is apparent that cordial relationships would prefer assurance in use of CMC modes that casual acquaintances. Besides, gender determines reliability of the users noting that those females are generally more consistent than their male counterparts. Among the younger generation, that is adolescent and teenagers, use of CMC is highly influenced by confidence and social activeness. As no ted in the research by Bryant, Sanders-Jackson, and Smallwood, it is factual that CMC models are likely to be explored more by those teenagers that are not socially interactive. Due to their ‘loneliness’, they would rather prefer this mode of communication to the traditional face-to-face communication that requires a lot of confidence in expression. Therefore, in designing an appropriate CMC model for human communication, it is critical to factor in behavioral patterns noted in the above studies to create practical and reliable communication designs for reaching different gender, age, culture, and exposure. References Houser, M., Fleuriet, C., Estrada, D. (2012). The Cyber Factor: An Analysis of Relational Maintenance Through the Use of Computer-Mediated Communication, Communication Research Reports, 29(1), 34–43. Jackson, A., Bryant, A., Smallwood, A. (2006). IMing, Text Messaging, and Adolescent Social Networks, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 11, 577–592.Advertising Looking for term paper on communication strategies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Johnson, J., Haigh, M., Becker, J., Craig, E., Wigley, S. (2008). College Students’ Use of Relational Management Strategies in Email in Long-Distance and Geographically Close Relationships, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 381–404. Ledbetter, A. (2010). Assessing the Measurement Invariance of Relational Maintenance Behavior When Face-to-Face and Online, Communication Research Reports, 27(1), 30–37. This term paper on Computer-Mediated Communication was written and submitted by user Anya Kirby to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Computer E learning is a wide range of processes that include computer-based learning and virtual classrooms that is received and sent through the Internet, audio and videotape, satellite broadcast, CD-ROM, and intranets. We can generally term it as electronic means of communication, education, and training.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Computer-based Learning and Virtual Classrooms specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More E-learning adds technology to instructions and also utilizes technologies to advance potential new approaches to the teaching and learning process. However, e-learners need to be prepared in the case of a technology failure which is the most common challenge faced in e-learning. There is need to plan strategies to enable learners become successfull online learners. The learners should come up with time management strategies to enable them to cope up with assignment deadlines. Developing skills on effective u se of technology is an essential strategy to having a successful online learning; such strategies include technology plan and e-mail skills, which are very useful when using the computer to research, type using Microsoft word software, save in storage devices and even send the work via e-mail. It is important that learners develop a personal technology contingency plan to help during technology failure. The contingency plan includes having an alternative computer in case the primary computer being used fails and power back up systems that supply the computer with battery energy incase of frequent electricity failures. E-learners need to install antivirus and anti-spyware software to protect their computers against virus, malware, Trojan horses, and spyware that are approved to harm and break down computers (Watkins Corry, 2011, pg 75). Online learners should also have contact information of their faculty, two classmates, and those of technology support services to get assistance du ring technology failure. Above all these measures, there is need to include a back up schedule to be able to access important information when a learner cannot access a computer. The back up will include data storage devices such as external drive, rewritable CD, and floppy disks (Watkins Corry, 2011, pg 75). Exceptional skills on the use of e-mails also need to be developed by online learners to enable them succeed in e-learning. It is important to improve on written communication skills in the use of e-mail to compose and reply to mails via the internet. These skills enable e-learners to professionally draft concise and grammatically correct messages and documents.Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Online learning seeks to close the gap in education system between how students live and how they learn, e-learning therefore pushes education environment to be more relevant to the curren t living environment. Students and teachers continually engage themselves in learning and doing new things but hardly access new ways of learning and doing them (Holmes and Gardner, 2006, pg17). Global education and E-learning primarily use computers that provide tutorial materials for learners to gain knowledge from, the learner is then tested with the use of multiple questions regarding the knowledge they are expected to have learnt. E-learning pays little attention to the learners compared to teachers who interact with students during the learning process. This mode of learning demands that course management, design procedures, and guidelines are developed to enable and ensure there is active student participation (Holmes and Gardner, 2006, pg 32). In the current and ever developing world technology has become a huge part in education and economic development for students and employees in the dynamic and innovative business world. This is a major breakthrough in technology and ed ucation industry. E-learning is dynamic and is increasingly becoming more complicated with time. This has necessitated the need to develop new types of learning systems and web-based learning infrastructure that needs to be managed efficiently to cope up with e-learning dynamics. Different presentations are used to help in the learning process due varied learning characteristics of individuals. Web based learning object selection may also be adapted to optimize e-learning in relation to the learners background and performance with specific learning objects (Ma, 2006, pg 57). Time management strategies and effective use of technology have become the pillars of successful online learning. These strategies form the core issues of challenges facing online learners whose success mainly depends on the implementation of the above measures to help them in online learning.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Computer-based Learning and Virtual Classrooms specifically for y ou for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More References Holmes, B. and Gardner, J. (2006). E-learning concepts and practice. NY: Pine Forge Press. Ma, Z. (2006). Web based intelligent e-Learning systems: Technologies and applications. PA: Idea group inc. Watkins, R., and Corry, M. (2011). E-learning companion: A student’s guide to online success. OH: Cengage Learning. This essay on Computer-based Learning and Virtual Classrooms was written and submitted by user Cesar O. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Computer Table of Contents Introduction Enhanced business communication Impending business communication Possible risks and solution of problems Conclusion Reference List Introduction The development of computer-based communication technologies and the methods of how people prefer to use social networking have raised dramatically (Perkins 2008, p. 44). People are eager to improve their communication in business in order to make fast and effective decisions, develop proper relations, and engage more responsible partners within a short period and be sure of their correctness and success.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Computer-Based Communication Technology in Business Communication: Instant Messages and Wikis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The technologies like instant messages (IM) or wikis are the best successful examples of communication technologies in business; however, as any other achievements in the compute r world, they are characterized by many positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, IM and wikis make communication between different people possible; on the other hand, much work and implementations are required. To solve the problems within the chosen filed, it is necessary to make people ready to challenges and provide them with the necessary amount of knowledge about IN and wikis’ peculiarities and properly explain the necessity to study these technologies on the high level. Enhanced business communication Instant messaging (IM) is considered to be one of the frequently used communication technologies in the world of business. Many corporations have an access to IM and prefer to use this method in order to discuss current problems, share different files, and save their time. â€Å"Corporate and government entities are increasingly using social networking to facilitate communication and collaboration among individuals and groups, both internally and externally† (Perkins 2008, p.44). IM is one of the simplest ways to share information; however, it is not the only advantage of this technology: these technologies also promote the reduction of e-mail traffic (Wilkins 2007, p. 31). Wikis, in their turn, provide their users with a magnificent chance â€Å"to contribute to the content by editing the pages† (Fernando 2007, para.2). Many users are deprived of a chance to create an appropriate plan of their actions being far from each other. This is why the development of such communication technology is considered to be beneficial indeed: people are free to create an event by means of wiki services and add necessary changes, improvements, and suggestions at the same time. The result of this communication is a clear and properly discussed plan that is suitable for each member of a team. One of the most successful examples of how wiki services influence the business world is the cooperation by Penguin Publishing and the creation of the wiki no vel A Million Penguins (Fernando 2007, para. 7). This experiment in corporate writing proves that people have all chances to succeed in the chosen activity and help other people.Advertising Looking for report on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Impending business communication Considering the pros of the above-mentioned compute-based communication technologies, it is necessary to admit the negative aspects of IM and wikis. Though IM provides people with a possibility to generate new business (Pannunzio Nelson 2008, pp. 6), the use of this technology requires much time and efforts. IM is regarded as an informal style of conversations; this is why messages are usually brief and not always serious. They provide people with an opportunity to deflect their attention away from work and decrease the number of achievements possible to the chosen business sphere. People have to focus their attention on work and m ake use of IM on to achieve particular professional goals. Wikis are the technologies which have to be thoroughly studies by the users. This is why it is necessary to find enough time and grasp the basics of this type of communication. If a person fails to understand how it is necessary to use wiki services, it may negatively influence the success of the communication through wikis. Possible risks and solution of problems To overcome difficulties and challenges in business communication through wikis or IM, people have to organize their activities in the way they can gain the necessary level of knowledge and find practical application to their theoretical knowledge. To provide proper implementation of the computer-based technologies, government should take care of the education process. If it is hard to add the necessary subject into the college/university program, companies and organizations which support IM or wikis should think about how their colleagues can use the offered servi ces. It is enough to present several introductory courses, explain the frameworks of communication in order not to be distracted from work, and underline the benefits of such communication. Conclusion In general, people get a wonderful chance to enjoy the achievements made in the computing field and business communication. The development of IM and wiki services help to save people’s time, provide them with good chances to share information, and solve problems within short periods. Technologies aim at making human lives easier and more comfortable, and the world of business is one of the first spheres where the use of communication technologies is characterized by benefits. Thought, there are still some challenges people have to face while using the technologies, solution of these problems makes people stronger and more sufficient in the chosen sphere. This is why people should use another chance, grasp the essentials of computer-based communication, and achieve good results in business.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Computer-Based Communication Technology in Business Communication: Instant Messages and Wikis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Reference List Fernando, A 2007, ‘Working off the Same Page: Based on the Idea That More Minds Are Better Than One, Wikis Let You Collaborate with Colleagues and Strangers Alike’, Entrepreneur, https://www.entrepreneur.com/. Pannunzio, CO Nelson, C 2008 ‘Leverage the Power of Social Media’, ProQuest Central, pp.6 – 10. Perkins, B 2008, ‘The Pitfalls of Social Networking’, Computerworld, vol. 42. no. 7, p. 44. Wilkins, J 2007, ‘RU Ready for IM?’, Information Management Journal, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 27 – 31. This report on Computer-Based Communication Technology in Business Communication: Instant Messages and Wikis was written and submitted by user America E. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Computer Computer

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Written Business Communication (Assignment #4A) Assignment

Written Business Communication (Assignment #4A) Assignment Written Business Communication (Assignment #4A) – Assignment Example College INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM March 3, All Employees S. Smith, Human Resource Manager Blood test participation voluntary for all employees.Based on the current statistics, early detection of disease has continued to save lives of many hence keeping families together. Doctors have widened their campaigns on the need for annual or bi-annual screening of blood to all Americans to ensure everyone’s well-being is managed. Doctors say that some disease tend to be genetic and not associated by our lifestyle hence when detected in one member of the family, it becomes even better as the whole family is also screened to check for any other member with the disease. Basically, a blood test is one of the most important task any individual must undergo, as well as their family members.With American Health ways, tests are carried out not only for cost reduction purposes, but for the awareness of your overall health benefit. It as well acts as a precaution in the early phases of illnesses th at might develop into something chronic at a later stage. Your test results are private, so no personal data reaches the hands of the company. The company simply gets an overall report on diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, liver function, body fat, and nicotine.You have all been covered by the company with regard to the participation thus you will not need to pay any fee. The American Health ways will also be ready to be consulted by you during the exercise. The exercise starts on Monday 17th March and ends on Friday 21st March. Appointments will be available between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. You can sign up for the appointment by emailing the Human Resource office before March 10th. A confirmation email will be sent to you stating the date and time of your test. Yours faithfully,S. SmithHuman Resource Manager.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Liberal Art Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Liberal Art Studies - Essay Example Perhaps in more authoritarian societies using cunning and deceit are necessary to rise out of poverty, but one would hope that in a free society that although using the end to justify immoral means may give a person wealth, it will damage their souls and lead to negative consequences in the end. In this sense, the liberal arts are important because they serve as a guide for moral and ethical behavior and show that one’s duty to the state and their fellow man is rewarding in many ways, even economically. This essay will focus on the importance of the liberal arts in modern as well as ancient times through the writings of Kimball, Shorris, Sullivan, Cicero, and Machiavelli. Additionally, the essay will focus on the problems that arise when what is viewed as modern realism is pitted against traditional moral idealism. The liberal arts can certainly have a positive effect on professional life. The liberal arts teach of things like ethics and integrity. Shorris believes that humani ties does function on its own, but does not have its full effect unless it is integrated into professional life (2000). The ancient Greeks also believed it was essential to the welfare of the state that humanities and public life function together. Morals are generally inherent in any professional career. Being a professional carries with it a responsibility to clients, communities, and society in general. This social contract is the basis of professionalism. Therefore it is important that professionals exercise moral judgment in their professional careers. Because a professional is confronted with moral dilemmas, a liberal education is something that is very useful to society in general. A liberal education teaches us about morals and can be seen as something that makes a person’s professional career more rewarding when it is fully guided by ethical principles. Many people feel that a job is just a job and is a means to an end, but the study of liberal arts tell us that a pe rson and their job can’t be completely separated. In other words, a person influences the job and the job influences the person. Because of this, it is important to realize that a job, or making money, can often impose moral decisions upon the professional. Also, a person who is very immoral and unethical can use their job as a means to lie, cheat, and steal from others. Sullivan believes that, at its best, a profession can provide an important benefit to the individual as well as to society as a whole. However, at its worst, a profession can strip a person of their ethics and their humanity (2004). Using this definition he illustrates that professionalism is headed down a dangerous road as more and more people feel that economic ambition is the only thing that matters and things like loyalty and social responsibility are being thrown by the wayside. Sullivan also believes that society is in danger of simply training people instead of educating them and explains that this cou ld lead to people only using one small part of their brain. Often certain professionals are only focused on the technical aspect of their career and do not regard anything else as important. This type of person may be doing their job but they are not engaged in examining their lives and therefore it is difficult for them to achieve a truly fulfilled working life. The study of liberal arts is something that is capable of making a person’s everyday life better because it can take a person out of their

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Science Fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Science Fiction - Essay Example The man-machine characters and events must blend so that even if either the character or event or both are grotesque they appear credible to the audience. The levels of consciousness and intelligence of the man-machines must also blend with those of the audience. The highlights of this consciousness and intelligence, or the lack of these, must be intelligible to the audience. The action of the man-machines and their characteristics often lead to their ultimate survival or extermination. The man-machine is guided by his extra-ordinary senses, or sometimes lack of sense in certain areas such as inability to hear. In this scheme, the man-machine makes up for the weakness in one area with extra strength in another. This additional strength comes from the machine part of the man comprising chips and boards elevating the man's physical resources manifold and even to timelessness. The man-machine thing has awareness about his environment and when this awareness is interrupted it creates an element of surprise. This leads to examination and analysis. The man-machine does all this. He has tremendous physical strength. He has the capacity to bounce back from destructive encounters. He has the capacity for self-cure and self-rectification. With the advancement of technology, his powers have increased (Neme: Prosthetic Head). The perfection of the human spirit is not in the man-machine. Technology will have to advance much more for this status. The loose ends of the man-machine will be covered up as technology advances. As of now, the process is very long. It consists of perfecting the behavior of man-machine to those of man himself. Knowledge and self-realization will have to be perfected. Frankenstein's monster The... This essay discusses the science fiction, that has led to many inventions and discoveries. Before the advent of rockets, fiction abounded with stories of man firing projectiles. Subsequently, there were stories of man himself flying, either with the help of machines or by his own efforts with prosthetic wings or wings growing out of his body. The mingling of man and machine or the creation of a being, most of the time a malevolent being that was only partly man began with Frankenstein’s monster. The creation of the monster is by far the most intriguing and fascinating expression of the man-machine theme that has seen the character of Frankenstein’s monster adapt and evolve with the advancement of technology. The character of the monster is successfully used before large audiences to project the tendencies and capabilities of science. Firstly, will science accept the theory of the soul and the spirit? There is plenty of debate on this issue. The man-machine has to deal w ith this question to capably solve the riddle of creating a being that is equivalent to a machine with living emotions. Or will it be possible to create a man-machine with intelligence and information that can be equivalent to the dogma of emotions? Once man has created a machine with enough intelligent and information inputs to correspond to human emotions, he will have crossed the bridge to accept and discuss machines as living beings. Then he will have created a machine that is as alive and tangible as human beings.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Ford Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ford - Case Study Example Some of the subsidiaries include Mazda, jaguar, land rover, Aston martin, Volvo that were later sold off to other companies. The company has an employee capacity of about 213, 0000 employees globally that are distributed in its more than 90 plants and centers globally. The company is ranked among the top five globally leading manufacturers of automobile. In America it is the second largest vehicles manufacturer, in Europe it is the fifth and is ranked eighth among all companies in America. During its initial stages the company produced a few vehicle models but has increased the models over the years to be more than fifty models. The company financial statements have been good withstanding the great depression, recession, bailouts and other difficulty periods. However the company encountered challenges in the 2000s which led to a decline in its finances and encountered huge loses and declined market share. The company’s mission states â€Å"one ford, one team, one plan, one goal† which emphasizes the need for employees to work together as a team with a common goal of achieving success, profitability, fulfilling customers wants and needs under the changing global competition and technology. The company is committed to offer support to the community on various platforms for example education, agriculture sector and food banks. It invests highly in education which the company believes is important for future growth. The company has remained under family cont rol from one generation to the next for more than 100 years. However the family has a minority share holding. The ford motor company experienced serious financial problems between 2000 and 2008 which resulted to a lot of changes within the organization. The problems were as a result of both environmental and organizational issues. The problems brought by environmental issues included, one, intense competition from other automobile manufacturers in the world which saw the company’s market share decline

Friday, November 15, 2019

Hospitality And Tourism Marketing Strategies Marketing Essay

Hospitality And Tourism Marketing Strategies Marketing Essay 1.0 Introduction: Tourism and hospitality industry has become one of the largest industries in modern and competitive business world. It is a common remedy for development and the world travel and tourism industry supported 234 million jobs (8.7% of total world employment) and contributed 10.3% of world gross domestic product in 2006 (Opening up Trade in Services :Key for Tourism Growth, 2008) . The tourism and hospitality industry has been as a helpful force for world peace; the benefits of mixing together different types of people and different cultures. The travel industry has contributed to the accomplishment of millennium development goals especially in the third world countries. Despite a huge expansion in the travel industry fuelled by opportunities created by the internet and emerging markets consistent profitability for many airlines and travel-related firms remains elusive due to terrorism, recession, the SARS virus, strikes, and the Icelandic ash cloud: the list piles up. Before people tr avel for survival or to better themselves but, now people travel for entertainment, business purpose and amusement. Airship or air-ways business have become easier, faster and cheaper to travel around the globe and the airline industry such as Ryan air plays an important role in the tourism sector. 1.1 Over view of Ryanair airline: Ryanair is an Irish low-cost, first and largest low fares airlines in Europe. From Ryanair case study analysis (february19, 2008) it is shown that Ryanair head office situated at Dublin Airport, Ireland, and has based in London Stansted Airport (the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom). The late Dr. Tony Ryan and his family have established Ryanair in 1985 with just 25 staff. In July 1985 they had launched their first route from Waterford and London Gatwick which is operated by a 15-seat Bandeirante twin-turboprop according to About Us (1985) www.ryanair.com. To defy the oligopoly market between British Airways (BA) and Aer lingus in Dublin-London route, the newly stabilised Ryanair obtains permission from the regulatory authorities. According to Ryanair website,( About Us ,1986 www.ryanair.com), Comparing the price of the BA and Aer Lingus lowest return fare of  £209,Ryanair launched the first Dublin-London Luton flight in May 1986 for only  £99.So in response to stay in the market those rivals cut down their high fares. Inspite of having three conjugative years growth in aircraft, routes and competitive price, they face a massive loss of  £20m which made the company to follow the model of Southeast Airlines leads a change of its management and structure according to Ryanair website(About Us, History of Ryanair, 1990, www.ryanair.com) .For getting a competitive position in Airline industry, The Ryan family put in an additional  £20m in the company and change their management which is a copy of Southwest Airlines low fares model(A bout Us,1990 www.ryanair.com). Thus they are going to begin their innovative management which generally based on low cost with low fare and starting first low fare business in European airlines sector. Now Ryanair offers lowest fares but high frequency flights, moving in to a single aircraft fleet type. It reduces its Dublin-London Luton flight fares from  £99 to just  £59 return by cutting down free drinks and meals on board. The Easter weekend seat sale fares of  £59 return that launched in 1990 was overcoming customers or passengers demand. A vast of people wanted to get this demanding Easter weekend seat and It was such demanding that in Dawson street there was more than halfway traveller s line for three days to get that bargain (About Us, www.ryanair.com). After taking the Southwest airlines low fare model and establishing cost reduction in their strategy Ryanair is rapidly growing in airline market. Their revenue is increasing rapidly which is shown in their annual report. According to annual report of Ryanair (2003), Revenues have risen increasingly and in 2002 revenue was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 624.1million.After one year it was increasingly from à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 624 (2002) to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬842.5 million (2003) and over the same time, net profits had increased from à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 150.4 million (35%) to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬239.4 million (59%). Thus Ryanair increasing their business rapidly and get the huge amount of profit. Now Rianair is distinctive from their competitor .Currently introducing a fantastic team which consist more than 8000 people and it operates a massive number of 51,100 flights per year which is more than 1400 flights per day (About Us, History of Ryanair, www.ryanair.com). By operating a fleet of 250 new aircraft which includes short to medium range, single aisle, narrow body jet airliner 737-800, Ryanair becomes the worlds best budget airline (www.ryanair.com). Providing more than 1100 low fare routes from 44 bases across 27 countries, Ryanair connects 160 destinations. According to Ryanair website (www.ryanair.com), Within next 02 years before taking account of planned disposals, Rainair want to introduce 64 new aircraft in their fleet and currently it carries 73.5 million passengers (approx) which is almost 15% {(73.5/63.5100}higher than the last year (63.5m). Safety is a most important priority for the management of Ryanair. Their commitment to deliver great safeties for their pa ssenger and this obligation begins with instructing or training of Ryanairs pilot, cabin crews and maintenance human resources and includes a policy of maintaining its aircraft in accordance with the highest European Airline Industry Standards. 2.0 Marketing Concept: Marketing is a process which helps to find out what consumers want, and then provide it for them. It is a system of business activities which is designed to plan, price, promote and distribute services to target markets, in order to achieve organization objectives. Baker (1992,p.20) pointed that marketing is concerned with the establishment of mutually satisfying exchange relationships in which the judgements as to what is satisfying depend upon the perception of the parties to the exchange. Basically, it involves creating the right product with right price and then putting it in the right place with the right promotion; everything is done for making customers or target market happy. Marketing is identifying the target market and satisfying customers now and in the future. In most organizations, an analytical function, strategic direction and facilitates are tactically set to attract customers. Marketing strategy is important for every business. An effective marketing strategy can help a business to get more profit and also getting high position in competitive business market. Marketing strategy can be the life or death of a business. Having a wrong strategy, business will go down. Beginning an effective strategy is the key of success for business. Marketing strategy is the way and compass of an organisation over the long turn. Effective marketing strategy can bring advantages for the organisation. For creating effective strategy company always organized and proper utilized companies resources within a tough and challenging environment, to assemble whatever market needs, to fulfil what customer wants and also fulfil whatever stake holder expect. Successful strategy always examine the present situation and then set up plan which help to deal with all operational aspects needed to realize the achievement of organisational goal as argued by Jain (2000). Its a plan of action that summarizes what will be done to reach the stated objective. Jain (2000) identified the significant characteristic of strategic marketing as putting emphasis on long-term implications and monitoring the business environment, taking into consideration the corporate culture, business resources and the corporate stakeholders and varying roles for different pro ducts or markets. Marketing Strategy deals with the proper selection of marketing opportunities to pursue, examining and analysing target market and creating a right marketing mix that will satisfy customers in the target market. It basically deals with four essential elements which include sale or promotion, product, place and pricing. 2.1 Marketing strategy of Ryanair: Marketing Strategy is the most important business element for an organisation. It helps an organisation to identify organisations target goal and explain how organisation will achieve the target goal within a stated time frame. Generally all organisations have strategies that would maintain or enhance their competitive benefit in the market, and Ryan Air is never an exemption. There are different types of marketing strategy which is followed by organization or company to create an effective strategy, such as guerrilla marketing and viral marketing. Guerrilla marketing and viral marketing both are followed by Ryanair. 2.2.1 Guerrilla marketing: Guerrilla marketing is a marketing process hit hard, hit fast, get in, and get out and also a tactic which help to focuses on low cost, and fast-to-market, promotions. Guerrilla marketing is a marketing process of alternative ways of pursuing straight goals and an established technique of achieving profits with least amount money. The main aim of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, appealing and stimulating idea to create buzz (buzz is used in word of marketing), and subsequently go round viral. Tom Richard (2005) pointed that with guerrilla marketing business can be able to increase the amount of traffic which comes from their business without spending a huge amount of money. 2.2.1.1Guerrilla marketing of Ryanair: In Ryanair marketing strategy, they follow guerrilla marketing technique which is unquestionably winning in realistic applications, are still new, fresh and not as clearly explored academically as other marketing technique. Strategy of Ryanair based on cost reduction strategy, minimum standard of service, short haul flight, very low prices and no frills, point to point frequency, all these are designed to achieve their goal and having a competitive position within the airline market. Here I discuss some guerrilla marketing techniques of Ryanair. Cost reduction strategy of Ryanair: Low fares and no frills are the key elements of Ryanairs marketing strategy. Low fares are offered by Ryanair to get large amount of passenger traffic while maintaining a continuous focus on cost-containment and operating efficiencies. Strategy of Ryanair is based on cost leadership strategy, in this strategy management manage and do all value adding activities with the lowest manufacturer of product in business and attract customer with their lowest price. Cost reduction strategy helps them to gain competitive position in airline market. Lowest price help them to get many customers. Their assured aim is to divide into constituent parts of air travel and cut costs in every possible area which help them to offer lowest fare to their passenger than other competitor airlines. A particular part of passengers are targeted by Ryanair and they are just absorbed all their energy on that. Their target customers are the ones who are not capable to travel on a main or highest fare airline. Ryan air has established a relationship with consumers by using low cost product which helps them to sell additional higher-margin products and services that develop the consumers interface with the low-cost product or service. Ryanairs strategy, achieve competitive advantage through cost leadership and differentiation across broad and narrow target market so that superior profits could be generated by charging the market average price while holding costs down and this is consistent with Porters (1985) generic strategies. Being reliable: To deliver the best customer service performance is the strategy of Ryanair. According to the reports of Association of European Airlines (2004) Ryanair has achieved better punctuality than their competitor, less lost bags and smaller amount of cancellations than all of the rest of its peer grouping in Europe. Ryanair achieved all these good will because they are purposeful to carry out their services on powerfully or strongly and operating their services from secondary airports which are not congested. Monthly customer service statistics for September, 2010 was published by Ryanair, substantiate that they deliver Europes No 1 airline customer service to their passengers. For the duration of the month of September 2010, it shows that on time arriving flight of Ryanair is 85% of over 42000, fewer complaint which is 1 complaint per 2,000 passengers and less than 1 missing bag per 3,000 passengers was received. Ryanair are more concern about the safeties for passenger. According to Ryan airs annual report (2009), in their twenty years working history they have not had a single occurrence involving major injury to their passengers or flight crew. Point to point Flight frequency: Ryanair also provides frequent point to point flights on short haul routes and this route allow Ryanair to give frequent service. Ryan air use secondary or regional airports because this Secondary and regional airports are usually not as much of crowded than major airports which helps Ryanair to provide superior rates of on time departures, quicker turnaround times (the time an aircraft expend at a gate loading and Unloading passengers), less terminal delays, more competitive airport entrance and handling expenses according to Association of European Airlines report (2004). Point to point flying allow Ryan air to provide non-stop routes and keep away from the expenses of service for connecting passengers, baggage transfer and transit passenger assistance costs. Faster turnaround time is an important factor for Ryanair to exploit aircraft utilisation. Association of European Airlines published on time performance record of some airlines in their statistics reports and the airlines sta tistics (2004). According to their statistics, for the first six months of 2004 Ryanair arrived within 15 minutes of schedule time which was 92%, on the other hand its main competitors like Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa) 84%, Air France 84%, easy Jet Plc (easy Jet) 82%, British Airways 81% and Alitalia S.P.A. (Alitalia) 80%. Building achievement in the Ireland-U.K. market and increasing service to continental Europe, Ryanair intends to pursue a manageable growth preparation targeting precise markets. Targeting specific market will have opportunities for sustained growth by initiating supplementary routes from the U.K. or Ireland to other locations in continental Europe that are currently served by higher-cost, higher-fare carriers; increasing the frequency of service on its existing routes and this are believed by Ryanair. 2.2.2 Viral marketing of Ryanair: According to Allen.K (2008) viral marketing is a marketing technique that employed the concept of using the social networks of other people so that they can spread and expose their business product and services. Viral marketing strategy is a strategy that encourages individual to pass on a marketing message to others, creating an ever-expanding nexus of internet users spreading the world pointed by Hutchison. T, Macy. A et al (2009). This marketing strategy help organization or company to pass their information by using website, video clips, e-books, brand able software, images or text messages. It also can be word of mouth. Some viral marketing strategy is included here which is followed by Ryanair. Straight marketing technique: Ryanair has been using straight marketing techniques for recruitment and maintenance of customers to widen products and services. Travel agents are not used by Ryan air so that they do not pay agency commissions. Customers book online over the internet which helps the company to save agency fees. According to About Us, History of Ryanair (2000) www.ryanair.com, on January 2000 Ryanair started biggest booking website of Europe which is www.ryanair.com. This largest website helps them to reduce their cost and getting huge amount of booking. After launching the website weekly it was taking over 50,000 booking and this huge number of booking was established within three mounts. This website also allows passengers to get the lowest possible cost hotel rooms, car hire, lowest cost travel insurance as well as cheapest rail services (www.ryanair.com, About Us, History of Ryanair (2000). According to Ryanair website (About Us,2000, www.ryanair.com) the weather report in Skynews gets sponsored by Ryanair, The first airline sponsoring weather news by doing this they reach to millions and thousands of people watching television in their homes and people in hotels all over the European countries. The flexibility of getting Online tickets within the wide time span from 15 days up to 4 hours which is prior to the departure of their scheduled flight. Boarding pass too can be reprinted up to 4 hours before the scheduled flight according to online booking, ryanair.com 2009. Ryanair Magazine: For focusing customer and creating good relation with customer Ryanair publish their monthly magazine. In their monthly magazine, it is generally described directly to the interests and purchasing behaviour of Ryanairs exceptional audience and essentials include charming destination guides, travel tour ideas, property and real estate guides, select hotel reviews, seasonal recreation guides, technology updates and individuality profiles according to www.ryanair.com (advertise with us). Their magazine provide their passenger do not need to pay too much and provide them too get cheapest travel tour, cheapest hotel etc.Ryanair also involve to do some social activities. They are donated all money whatever they raise by selling their charity magazines. Their first charity calendar was published in 2008 which features their cabin crew and it raised à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬75,000 for childrens charity Angels Quest in Ireland (www.ryanair.com). 3.0 Public relation tactics: In every organisation public relation strategy is very important to the success of a business. It helps to communicate with customers all over the world. Public relation (PR) is a relation between company or organization and public which provide a service for the company by serving to provide the public and the media a better thoughtful of how the company works. It helps the company to attain its full potential and provide feedback to the company from the public. This usually takes the form of research regarding what areas the public is most happy and unhappy with. Within the tourism industry, public relation is not solely the work of PR department but also the entire employees. Public relations help an organization to develop its mission and vision and also meet customer or public needs and desires. Most times companies take some tactics to make relation with consumer which help to keep the customer coming back for more time. Ryanair also follow some tactics to create a better relationship with customers. Statistics from Association of European Airline (2004) shows Ryanair topped the list of customer satisfaction. In customer satisfaction figures Ryanair has got the pole position by providing best punctuality, the smallest number of lost bags and the least cancellations .Ryanairs head of communications, Peter (Holiday extras, Ryanair best for customer service,2007) said that the high fare airlines basically cannot contend with Ryanair either on price or on customer service satisfaction. Recently, Ryanair revealed that they have entered into agreements with a number of companies to present advertising space on the seatbacks and overhead baggage storage areas on their planes. 3.1 Relationship marketing of Ryanair: There have been many attempts to define relationship marketing. Berry (1983) pointed that Relationship marketing is attracting, maintaining and in multi service organisation-enhancing customer relationships which help to strengthen the relationship with customer and also transforming indifferent customers into loyal ones. Todays competitive market relationship marketing is important to get more customers. Successful relationship marketing helps business to get loyal customer which is important for business. Ryanair has created relationship marketing with public by providing better service quality such as best punctuality, the least lost bags and least cancelation, creating their own website which provide all information and resent news of Ryanair, publishing their monthly magazine, donating charity and sometime offering special offer. For giving special offer 1st November 2010 Ryanair announce that passengers can book their à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬6 seats for travel and booking their à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬6 seats, passenger can travel on more than 500 European destinations in December and January. If passengers want to get this offer they have to booked these seats until midnight (24:00hrs) Thursday (4th Nov) according to Ryanair news (1st November 2010).This offer announcing by Ryanair to make relationship with thei r customer. For making relationship with public Ryanair donated for charity by selling their calendar. From this calendar they got 100,000 euro and donated this money to Dublins Simon Community which is a charity works with homeless people in Dublin city(About Us,www.ryanair.com). 3.2 Customer loyalty tactics of Ryanair No business exits profitability without customers, which means customers are main element for a business and business would be more profitable when they are loyal. Loyal customer is king buy more, buy longer and tells more people. That customer who doesnt return or doesnt make partnership to the organisation or doesnt spread positive word of mouth has no value to an organisation. If any company or organisation wants to win the market place they must be customer-centered. Creating customer loyalty is important for every company and according to Reichheld (1996) greater customer loyalty brings about superior employee satisfaction and improves returns for shareholders. Richheld (1996) identified that customer loyalty, employee loyalty and investor loyalty are the key for the success of an organisation. That means loyalty is the key element to create relationship with public. Like every company Ryanair wants to encourage its repeat visit. Ryanair needs to drive repeat customer business which will give an extra little help to its loyal customer and at the same time boost its revenue. To maximise the number of repeat customer, Ryanair appointed the well recognised incremental revenue provider for online business-Webloyalty which is revealed from webloyalty news on march 2010 (www.webloyalty.com). Webloyalty has a vast experience in online businesses which work on driving repeat customer business by providing an option, named discount scheme to its online shopper. Customers who are booking online with Ryanair, they will have the option to join shopper discount and rewards. This offer provides passengers the option to join a 30-day free trial of Shoppen und Sparen. It also provide year-round discounts of up to 20 percent at over 400 top online retailers and EUR15 cash back check from Webloyalty for their next Ryanair purchase after joining the program. Martin Child, managing director of Europes Webloyalty (2010) said this model will help Ryanair to reward its repeat customers whilst providing a revenue stream and repeat business to their web pages with minimal effort required by them to implement the programme. Sinead Finn(2009), director of commercial revenue (Ryanair), insisted the passengers of Europes largest low fares airline Ryanair has already save billions each year with the lowest guaranteed fares, now in partnership with Webloyalty across three European markets, even more of our passengers can choose to join membership programs of Webloyalty and save more with ongoing discounts. For keeping to its customer, on Thursday 20 August Ryanair, low fares airlines, has announced details of an amazing flight good deal in Bangor as well as Belfast to commemorate A-level results day (Stakeholder media news August 2009). Europes largest low fares airline Ryanair announced that Ryanair Company will benevolent to give away free of charge flights to A-level students. They give these free amazing flight offers for those students who have gained admission test of those colleges and universities which are situated in their five destinations from George Best Belfast City Airport to East Midlands, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow Prestwick and London Stansted,. This amazing offer can get those first students who can come in Major Street Bangor and Belfast at 11.00 am to 14.00 pm next Thursday with their A-level results slip as well as letter of offer to the Ryanair Company. Only these students can win these free flight tickets towards university according to Stakeholder media news ( 2009). From Stakeholder media news (2009) ,Laura McCormack, management member of Ryanair said that University can be costly time for students and their parents, but the special offer of low fare airline, Ryanairs guaranteed means that guardian or parents of students as well as students can fly their house and vacation at the lowest fares. All things are done by them for keeping customer. 4.0 Effectiveness Marketing strategies and Public Relation Tactics of Ryanair: Developing and managing effective marketing strategies are important for company to achieve the broad goal and with effective marketing strategy company can beat with other competitor which helps them to get high position in business market. Effective marketing strategy helps company to satisfy their customer and get the target market. A successful marketing strategy must be tractable. Marketing tactics are essential to create an effective strategy. Marketing tactics are the day-to-day actions that marketers undertake and involve the main marketing decision areas. This tactics help to make relationship with customer. Public relation tactics is the first step for an effective strategy. This marketing strategy helps the company to stand in competitive market and to gain competitive position in the airline market. Effective marketing strategy and public relation tactics is a way which helps company to growing revenue, increasing profits and reducing costs. With providing cost reduction strategy, point to point frequency, punctuality and minimum customer service now Ryanair is getting the largest low fares airlines in Europe. Revenue of Ryanair and increasing number of passenger provide that the strategy and public relation tactics of ryanair is so effective. According to About us, full year result 2010 (www.ryanaor.com), on 1st June 2010 Europes largest low fare airline Ryanair announced their full year Profits, it shows that after tax they get à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬319m profit and last year it was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬105m profit that means it is increasing 204% when most of the competitors of Ryanair such as Bluewings (Ger), Globespan (UK) have announced sufferers or losses because of global recession .It provide that how effective there low cost marketing strategy is! Today customers are so concern about price and Ryanair use these things to attract their customer. Ryanair knows how to make relationship with their customer, what is their customer wanted, what is their expectation. Todays customers are kings for business so that they are always trying to make relationship with their customer by providing on time service .For making relationship with their customer Ryanair launches largest booking website which is www.ryanair.com. According to Ryanair website (About us, 1995, www.ryanair.com)by their effective strategy Ryanair achieve vast quantity of passengers in their Dublin-London route and go beyond some major airlines like British Airways as well as Aer Lingus. In Europe, Dublin-London is the major intercontinental scheduled route than other routes and Irish Airline Ryanair has turn into largest passenger airlines on their all route that is operated by Ryanair to or from Dublin. That means lowest fares, on time and high frequency of Ryanair co ntinues to win success in every market which is operated between Ireland and the UK. Though Ryanair provide minimum services to their customer, their passenger number is increasing day by day because of their cost reduction strategy. According to Ryanair news (4th September 2010),September 2010 their passenger number is 6.84 million and last year it was 6.12 million, it means it is increasing more than 12%. Their biggest growing number of passengers provide that they are doing successful Airlines business in Europe. 5.0 Recommendation and conclusion: Every organization should try to satisfy their customer by providing product and services to achieve their goal. Customer satisfaction is the main intend of the marketing concept. Beyond any doubt, by their effective marketing strategies now Ryanair is the largest low cost airlines in Europe and achieve recognisable brand name. It can be said that their Low cost or no frills marketing strategies helps Ryanair to be able to gain huge amount of passengers. If the company cannot fulfil customer expectations then this company will go down. It can be recommended that their low cost marketing strategy is so effective. It can be said that their low cost strategy is a fundamental reason for them to get high profit. Making relationship with customer is most important to get long term business and customer loyalty is the most powerful for increasing companies advert, rising companys good will and getting more profit. But Ryanair provide minimum service, getting a position in competitive market they should think about that customer is valuable and it is recommended that they should think to increase customer loyalty.It can be said If Ryanair increase their public relatio n, they will get superior success and also can increase their business in competitive business world. Ryanair marketing strategy is based on cost leadership strategy that mean their main marketing concept is to cut their cost in every possible way and attract customer with their lowest fare. As their business is airlines business which depends with oil price, this oil price is increasing day by day. So, if they want to do their business, it is recommended that they should think about their price strategy and increase the price of their fare to stay in business. 6.0 References and Bibliography: 1. Opening up Trade in Services :Key for Tourism Growth(2008)[Online] Available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/38/11/40191324.pdf 2. Laura Lake,(2010)Content Marketing[online] Available:http://marketing.about.com/od/strategytutorials/a/contentmarketing.htm 3. Baker, M. J. (1992),strategic marketing management, New York; Wiley 4. Jain, S. (2000),Marketing Planining and Strategy,6th edition, Cincinnati: South-Western College Publishing 5. Dibb, S.; Simkin, L.; et al (2006)Marketing Concept and Strategies fifth edtion, New York: Houghton Mifflin 6. Brennan, R., Baines, P.et al a(2003)Contemporary Strategic Marketing New York; Palgrave Macmillan. 7. Marketing teacher.com Ryan Air case study[Online] Available: http://marketingteacher.com/case-study/ryanair-case-study.html 8.Strategy-Ryanair-Strategy Available: http://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/Strategy.pdf 9.Thinking made easy(2008)Ryanair case study analysis [Online] Available http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2008/02/ryanair-case-st.htmle: 10. Casestudyinc.com (2010)case study on ryanair, the biggest low-cost European airline [Online]Available: http://www.casestudyinc.com/ryanair-low-fares-airline-case-study 11. Ryanair.com (2010) [Online] Available at http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/ryanair-no-1customer-service-stats-august-2010 12. Smith+co (2009) Ryanair-a branded customer experience?[Online] Available at http://www.smithco

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Embracing Depression Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -- Oscar Wilde Perhaps I feel compelled to write on the subject of depression because it is a selfish disease. It seeps into every crevice of one's life; it refuses to be ignored, to be relegated to some obscure corner of the mind. Perhaps I'm writing about it because of what I have learned about my relationship with the disease. Perhaps the time has come when I'm ready to stop cursing the depression and start embracing it. What I'm about to say is terribly unfashionable, and I hope that you will forgive any offense that it may cause. In all truthfulness, I'm glad that I have lived with depression as a companion. This statement does not imply that I have relished the grief and guilt the disease has borne. It does not mean that I have enjoyed the fits of despair, the self-imposed isolation, or the shared sorrow of my frie... ...effe, Ray Charles, Francis Ford Coppola, John Kenneth Galbraith, Soren Kierkegaard - I can't help but wonder if their accomplishments were not just in spite of, but partially because of, their illness. Oscar Wilde once wrote, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." I have reached a point in my life where I can concur with that sentiment. At last, I have realized that lying in the mud enhances the times when I've set my heart with the stars.