Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee Essay Example for Free

Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee Essay All this erotic behavior of mine is indirect: I prowl about her, touching her face, caressing her body, without entering her or finding the urge to do so. But with this woman it is as if there is no interior, only a surface across which I hunt back and forth seeking entry. Is this how her torturers felt hunting their secret, whatever they thought it was? pg.43. One of the central figures in J. M. Coetzees Waiting for the Barbarians is the barbarian girl. The Magistrate finds the girl maimed and nearly blind after being interrogated and tortured by the ruthless Colonel Joll, and takes her in. The Magistrates relationship with the girl revolves around his search for the girls significance; he questions her about her torture, he attempts to understand her through her physical surface, and tries to use her as the key to unlocking his own meaning. Ultimately, the Magistrates treatment of the barbarian girl mirrors her treatment by Colonel Joll; they both use her as a tool in their respective searches for knowledge. The parallels between Joll and the Magistrates behavior towards the barbarian girl can be seen in the selected passage. The Magistrate is going over his conduct towards the girl in his head, and expressing some puzzlement as to the motivation behind his actions as well as over their lack of fruition. He puts effort into making romantic gestures towards her, but does not sleep with her, nor does he really want to. He seems to want something from her, but is unsure about what that is or how to go about getting it. This makes the woman seem mysteriously full of meaning and yet impenetrable to him, in more ways than one. His last thought is to compare his search for meaning in his relationship with the girl to her torturers search for an elusive secret from her. By describing his own behavior as indirect, we get a sense of the Magistrates own lack of clarity towards the subject. He makes erotic overtures towards the girl, but he makes them indirect[ly], implying that his goal is not to seduce the girl but what his true intentions are remain unclear, even to him. The Magistrate does not understand his fascination with the barbarian girl. This can be illustrated on pg. 40 where  he asks her not only why she is with him, but also, why do I want you here? He tries to analyze his relationship to the girl and use it to somehow get a better understanding of who he is. However, his philosophical questions get few answers from her, and none that satisfy him. He focuses his interest on her scars and what transpired during her torture sessions, questioning her incessantly. He bathes her and massages her with almond oil, paying special attention to her injuries. Using his hands to feel all over her body, repeatedly he tries to recreate in his mind the whole of what she was like before the torture, the whole of the person she is and was. Yet it seems to him as if she has no interior, only a surface across which I hunt back and forth seeking entry. Because he cannot find her interior, or the meaning that she holds for him, he blindly searches the physical surface for meaning. The Magistrate tries to interpret his own meaning through the girls body. Like the wooden slips covered in barbarian characters that the Magistrate polished and pored over for so many hours, her oiled body becomes a text to decipher his own meaning. When she grudgingly reveals some of the torture methods used on her, it does not bring her and the Magistrate any closer together, neither does it bring the Magistrate any closer to understanding her; interestingly enough, it functions to give the Magistrate more insight into Jolls character and his relationship to him. Her scars are like the ugly truth of the Magistrates quiet complicity in the atrocities committed in the name of Empire that he must bring himself to reconcile with, by looking at them and feeling them over and over again. Once the Magistrate begins to realize the role he had in facilitating the acts of torture, and how horrendous they truly were, he also begins to see the similarities between Joll and himself. The verbs the Magistrate uses to describe his own actions towards the girl in the selected passage, such as prowl, hunt, and even seeking create an image of a furtive predator rather than a lover. This is a manifestation of the guilt he feels for his part in her injuries. But we do not get a real sense of threat or danger from the Magistrate because he states that this hunter is non-invasive: he does not enter her and has no urge to do so. Even the phrases touching  her face, and caressing her body, which normally would invoke intimacy, when put in the context of prowling give the impression of a hunter thoroughly examining the pelt of its prey. It is easy to make the connection between this image and the image of the Magistrate examining the barbarian girls broken ankles and scars. Joll and the accomplice torturers are also referred to as hunting the girl; while Joll was aggressively searching for a secret he never found, the Magistrate hunts for how to figure her out and enter her surface, which he also fails to find. However, they both hunt for some sort of meaning from this girl, suggesting Jolls use of her is similar to the Magistrates use for her. Joll tortures her to try to get secret information about an impending barbarian offensive attack (which turns out to be nonexistent information in the first place). However, he still hunts the truth from her until she is left blinded and crippled. The Magistrate presses for details of her torture, harasses her with philosophical questions, and engages in his cryptic washing and oiling rituals while searching for meaning through her body. In his various ways he also tries to hunt out meanings from the girl, and he comes to realize his relationship to the girl thus mirrors that of Jolls. They both use the girl as a means to some desired end of knowledge, whether it be a secret of war or a secret of why. Furthermore, the Magistrate comes to see his mirroring of Joll might not just end with the barbarian girl. The girl ultimately serves as the interface for the Magistrate to see the parallels between himself and Joll. It is significant that the Magistrate takes up with the girl only after Joll has discarded her- the fact that the Magistrate must have overseen her arrival with the soldiers was a recurring thought of his. However, he had no interest in her until after Joll had left her permanently handicapped. The Magistrate eventually comes to see that his attempt to connect with the woman was an attempt to retrace Jolls footsteps; to understand the man  and his actions by putting himself into an intimate relationship with the barbarian girl. But he also does this to distinguish himself as different from Joll; he regretted he could not engrave [himself] as deeply (p.135) on her as Joll had, but he wished to leave the mark of his pseudo-loving on her rather than the marks of pain and torture she had from Joll. The relationships the barbarian girl has with Colonel Joll and the Magistrate are similar in that both use her as a tool in their respective quests for knowledge. Joll tries to coerce her into saying something to justify an attack on the barbarians, while the Magistrate tries to use her to interpret himself and his role in the Empire, but they both believe that she is the key to unlocking some truth they seek. They both use the girl for their own purposes, without any regard for her as a person, and Joll treats her very cruelly. The Magistrate cares for her physical well-being, but he does not truly attempt to get to know beyond her surface, and only attempts to understand her through what function she serves in his life. Eventually he realizes through his relationship with her how many parallels exist between him and Joll. The girl stands between the two men as a one-way mirror that they both use, but gradually becomes two-way for the Magistrate, allowing him to see the Joll alter ego mingling with his own reflection. Coming to accept this also means collapsing some of the distance that he had mentally established between himself and Joll, and likewise accepting a certain share in the responsibility for all the atrocities committed by Joll in the name of the Empire.

Business Plan To Achieve Funding And Growth Goals Marketing Essay

Business Plan To Achieve Funding And Growth Goals Marketing Essay Business plans can help perform a number of tasks for those who write and read them. Theyre used by investment-seeking entrepreneurs to convey their vision to potential investors. They may also be used by firms that are trying to attract key employees, prospect for new business, deal with suppliers or simply to understand how to manage their companies better. Putting you goals and ideas down on paper helps you organize your thinking. Your employees and other stakeholders understand what you plan for the business and it helps keep the organization focused on the big picture. Simply stated, a business plan conveys your business goals, the strategies youll use to meet them, potential problems that may confront your business and ways to solve them, the organizational structure of your business (including titles and responsibilities), and finally, the amount of capital required to finance your venture. Preparing a business plan can be a time-consuming and daunting task. However, the impor tance of a business plan to achieve funding and growth goals cannot be ignored. So one should get down to it and start composing a business plan. Planning is important to managers within an organization due to following reasons: 1) It will provide the future direction and path to the managers 2) It will help in optimal utilization of the resources 3) It will help in controlling the action  Ã‚  and thereby helps to take the corrective action. 4) It helps in coordination between different departments 5) It acts as a training to the managers 6) It compels managers to think ahead There can be some limitations of planning: 1)  Ã‚  It may lead to rigidity in the organization 2) It may be too costly and time consuming Hence planning provides a blueprint to the organization telling about the actions to be taken in future. Business Plan and strategy Strategy provides long term direction to the organization. It helps the organization in achieving the competitive advantage to the organization. It also tells about the organization about its market, values and the way to handle the resources in order to meet the objectives of the organization. As per tutor2u.net Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations. In other words, strategy is about: * Where is the business trying to get to in the long-term (direction) * Which markets should a business compete in and what kind of activities are involved in such markets? (markets; scope) * How can the business perform better than the competition in those markets? (advantage)? * What resources (skills, assets, finance, relationships, technical competence, facilities) are required in order to be able to compete? (resources)? * What external, environmental factors affect the businesses ability to compete? (environment)? * What are the values and expectations of those who have power in and around the business? (stakeholders) Process of strategic management is as follows: 1) Screening of Ideas 2) Development of Mission and Setting of Objectives 3) SWOT analysis 4) Selection of Best alternative 5) Strategy Formulation 6) Implementation 7) Control Example of Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is one of the top most companies in this globe dealing in consumer electronics and computer software products. It has got popular products such as Macintosh computers, the iPod and the iPhone, Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes media browser, the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software, the iWork suite of productivity software, and Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products. Apple has about 35,000 employees worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of US$32.48 billion in its fiscal year ending September 29, 2008. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008 and in the world in 2009. (Wikipedia, 2009) Successful Business strategy- Good Business model iTunes Music Store is a good source of revenue, especially with the iPod, iPhone and its availability on Windows platform. Apples success is built on its product offerings such as: iTunes Music Store, iTunes, I Phone and the iPod. (Sampublishing) Apples strategy has been two fold skimming and discriminatory with respect to Ipod and Itunes. The skimming pricing strategy is presented at two levels. First, the price of the same model is diminishing with time, especially when Apple is issuing the newest version of theiPod. Second, the price of every next generation model launched on the market is less expensive than its predecessor. (christophe.benavent) Apple seems to reduce its prices in order to make it affordable and popular among other competitive products.  Ã‚  Apples iPhone and iPod prices change according to its customers as well as geographical locations.  Ã‚  Also Apple has been reducing price of iTunes, As its  decision to offer a new pricing strategy is welcome news by the record labels, who are trying everything to boost revenues.  Ã‚  CD sales were down dramatically again in 2007, and the sale of online music was much slower in 2008 than in 2007.  Ã‚  Three new price levels were announced, ranging from .69 to .99 to $1.29 in 2009 . (GlgGroup) Moreover Apple has continuously launched superior products to remain ahead in the market. Recently it introduced Apple iPad and yesterday it has launched Apple iPhone 4. Response to i-Pad has been excellent and has led to increase its sales and profits.  Ã‚  Its Pricing has been reasonable as the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi-only iPad costs $499. (Review,cnet.com) This is done to capture higher market share and to beat high priced competitors like Plastic Logic Que proReader, which starts at $649 and to take on the big competitors like Amazon and Sony. . Components of Planning Strategic plan is the blueprint for an organizations work: Mission: A mission statement answers the questions: Why does our organization exist? What business are we in? What values will guide us? A Mission statement tells you the fundamental purpose of the organization. It defines the customer and the critical processes. It informs you of the desired level of performance. (Answers Corporation, 2010).Hence Factors influencing Mission statement are: Stakeholders Internal resources and Power Values of top management Past development of firm Mission statement should clearly define the organizations products, markets and function (Technology and Processes. ) A Vision statement outlines what the organization wants to be, or how it wants the world in which it operates to be. It concentrates on the future. It is a source of inspiration. It provides clear decision-making criteria. (Answers Corporation, 2010). A vision is more encompassing. It answers the question, What will success look like? It is the pursuit of this image of success that really motivates people to work together. Values are hypothetical thought of what we think is good or important. They direct the way we feel and act about certain ideas, things, situations, and people. They are principles which lead us decisions and actions. Organizational values define the acceptable standards which govern the behavior of individuals within the organization. (Teal, 2010) Vision answers this question: What aspirations does the organization have for the world in which it operates and has some influence over. Mision answers this question What can (and /or does) the organization do or contribute to fulfill those aspirations?. Values help in aligning the behavior of individuals with organization. Without values, individuals will pursue behaviours that are in line with their own individual value systems, which may lead to behaviours that the organization doesnt wish to encourage. Example of Star Bucks: Starbucks Mission: To inspire and nurture the human spirit- one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. Starbucks Values: Here are the principles of how we live that every day: Our Coffee It has always been, and will always be, about quality. Were passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done. Our Partners Were called partners, because its not just a job, its our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect and dignity. And we hold each other to that standard. Our Customers When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers- even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. Its really about human connection. Our Stores When our customers feel this sense of belonging, our stores become a haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. Its about enjoyment at the speed of life-sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity. Our Neighborhood Every store is part of a community, and we take our responsibility to be good neighbors seriously. We want to be invited in wherever we do business. We can be a force for positive action- bringing together our partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day. Now we see that our responsibility-and our potential for good-is even larger. The world is looking to Starbucks to set the new standard, yet again. We will lead. Starbucks Vision According to the companys profile, (2006) its vision is to make Starbucks coffee the most recognized and respected brand in the world by using high quality roast beans to make coffee beverages along with other products. The company wants to develop enthusiastically satisfied customers at all times. They want to make positive contributions to their communities and their environment. Vision, Mission and Values has helped the Starbucks to formulate its Strategy and also give it a clear road map. Objectives: These refine the mission and address key issues like market standing, innovation, productivity, physical and financial resources, profitability, management and work force performance and efficiency. Goals: are defined as statements that are formulated and lack of specificity while objectives are likely to appear in exact form (Strategic Planning). Goals statements compose of five elements: task, what, who, timeframe and deadline (Lukaszewski, 1990)These are rational estimates of anticipated results. The goals are usually Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Rewarding, and Timed (SMART). Planning as a Process As per tutor2u.net, Planning is the process of * Setting objectives * Determining what should be done to accomplish them * Implementing the plan * Evaluating A plan is a statement of intended means to accomplish a goal. Hence planning provides a blueprint to the organization telling about the actions to be taken in future. Organizing helps in allocating the resources, power and responsibilities in the organization. It creates organization structure, span of control and organization culture. Leading is about motivating the employees to work for the organizational objectives. Leadership is the process by which one person provides direction, implements the plans or strategies and motivates people. Strategic control is concerned with the monitoring progress in accomplishing the strategic goals of the organization. It is very critical to any organization, because without it the results could be chaotic. Organization have to improve their operational performance by proper evaluation and control mechanisms. http://www.2gc.co.uk/pdf/2GC-FAQP02.pdf Organizing Organizing focuses on division, coordination, and control of tasks and the flow of information within the organization Organizational structure is the formal decision-making framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated. Organizational structure determines the role and responsibilities within the organization. Organizational structure depends on the product to be developed. Wheelwright and Clark define a continuum of organizational structures between two extremes, functional organizations and project organizations. Functional organizations are organized according to technological disciplines. Directing Leadership is defined as the ability to lead and inspire people towards a common goal.  This quality is very important because it can determine the success or failure of an organization.  If the objectives and goals of the people are not aligned with the companys mission and vision, this will have detrimental impact on the financial bottom-line and eventual survivability of the company.  Ã‚   There are various leadership styles, each stemming out from the leaders personality and the culture of the organization.  It is also dependent on the circumstances relating to the people and the organizations goals.  Here is a description of each leadership style: Authoritarian (autocratic) here, the leader uses his authority and power position to direct people in doing the right things, regardless of their opinions.  This style is useful when there is urgency and the people are not really motivated to participate.   Participative (democratic) when the leader asks for input from his subordinates, he recognizes the fact that each one has something special to contribute for the task on hand.  The traditional view of a leader is someone who can think and do better than others.  However, the specialization of skills allow for the possibility that some people may actually be better than him.  Thus, its important to allow each staff to participate in the decision-making process. Delegative (free reign) when the leaders subordinates have very specialized skills, he may allow them to assume full control and responsibility of certain tasks.  This doesnt mean that the leader is shunning his own responsibilities, but rather delegating specialized tasks to experts within his group.  This leadership style is used when the leader has a high level of trust of his staff, or if delegation is really needed in order for him to do other important things. This perhaps is the most important function of all management functions. It has been said that the nature of a man is to avoid work. A manager influences the behavior of an employee through motivation, communication, education, group dynamics, leadership and discipline. Thus we will have participative leadership and we will guide the employees accordingly. Good communication between leaders and workers to ensure that everyone interprets their intent the same and every one works together in harmony can be the basis for a very successful endeavor. The purpose of direction is to channel the behavior of all personnel to accomplish the mission while helping them accomplish personal goal as well prepare them to take your position. Controlling It is a process of comparing the standards with the actual results to find out variation and then to take corrective action. control programs are critical to any organization, because without it the results could be chaotic. It helps: In maximizing efficiency and minimize waste. To facilitate management and control. In Effectiveness and efficiency of operations include the use of the entitys resources. Help in strategy implementation Control activities occur at all levels and functions of the entity. We will include a wide range of diverse activities . Top level reviews of actual performance, Reviews by management at the functional or activity level, Management of human capital, Controls over information processing, Physical control over vulnerable assets, Establishment and review of performance measures and indicators, Segregation of duties, Proper execution of transactions and events, Accurate and timely recording of transactions and events, Access restrictions to and accountability for resources and records, and CONTENT OF BUSINESS PLAN 1. Executive summary 2. Business description 3. Environmental analysis 4. Marketing Plan 5. Design and Operational plan 6. Management plan 7. Financial factors Common Pitfalls of a Business Plan Only a summary of a project and its potential Wait for all analysis to be completed Become a prisoner of the plans and the contents therein Difficulty in deviating from the plan Push with the plan, hiding weaknesses under the carpet Make unrealistic assumptions Quality of a strategy is as good as its implementation Typical mental attitude of promoters I have a good product / service; others will buy Everybody is waiting to help me Their priorities are same as mine Others (all stakeholders) will stick to their promises Customer will pay and give me feedback for me to improve the product / service Environment / government policies will remain the same (blinkers of an entrepreneur) Lack of contingency plans for time and cost overrun Blind faith in consultants Not clearly understanding regulatory requirements Optimistic assessment of project cost and funding Lack of budgeting of trial production trial production expenses, incidental and invisible expenses Not taking fully into account the cost implications of the business activities and operating plans Not including cost implications of regulatory compliance Improper assessment of components of working capital The gap between sanction and disbursement Lack of efforts in confidence building with investors Lack of contingency plans for time and cost overruns Business Plan- Risk Evaluation Prepare best-case and worst-case scenarios with key parameters of the business to help assess Market risks Competition risks Technology risks Regulatory risks Financial risks Management risks What measures are proposed to counter these risks Sensitivity analysis of key factors to simulate the impact of changes Exercise 1 Business Planning Review the following business plan: Anywhere Remodeling Corporation http://www.bplans.com/residential_remodeling_business_plan/executive_s ummary_fc.cfm After carefully reviewing this business plan discuss following issues: 1. The industry that this venture is in 2. The riskiness of this venture 3. The potential for growths 4. Your long-term plan for this company Exercise 2 Shahnaz Husain Contributed by: Rajeev Roy, Professor of Entrepreneurship XIM B, India (Adapted from NEN) Shahnaz Husain is acknowledged as one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in India. Her company, Shahnaz Husain Herbals, is one of the leading manufacturers of herbal products in the world. The company sells over 350 herbal products and operates over 200 salons in more than 130 countries. The brand, Shahnaz Husain, was valued at over $100 million in 1996 and now it is likely to be worth much more. Shehnaz is from an aristocratic Muslim family and her father was a Chief Justice. Her upbringing was both traditional and modern. At the age of 15, she was married and she became a mother at the age of 16. When her husband was posted in Tehran, she became interested in beauty treatments and she decided to formally study cosmetology. After an introduction to the subject in Tehran, she wanted to know more and over the next ten years, she studied the subject extensively in London, Paris and other parts of Europe. On returning to India in 1977, she started her first salon in Delhi with a capital investment of Rs.35,000. She had also studied Ayurveda and her interest in that field has kept growing. She started formulating her own products and these were very successful. The company was able to grow systematically and currently operates three major complementary businesses Herbal products: Shehnaz Husain has an extensive range of over 350 herbal cosmetic products. These are divided into 15 distinct categories for skin, hair and body care. The distribution of these products is carried out in a fashion similar to that of other consumer goods. The products are available in all leading stores around the world like Harrods (London), Bloomingdale (New Yory) and Galleries Lafayette (Paris). Recently, the company has decided to launch four skin care products in partnership with Elder Pharma. Beauty Salons: Mostly operated on a franchise basis, there are over 200 Shehnaz Husain spas and salons worldwide. The company provides support in setting up and training and provides ongoing support too. The franchisee pays an initial fee but there are no ongoing royalty payments. The company is able to get a revenue stream from sale of their products through the salon. Training: Shahnaz Husain also operates training institutes where students can obtain professional qualifications in beauty therapy. The institutes also operate a number of short term vocational courses. The institutes provide a steady flow of people trained in the use of Shehnaz Husain products, in addition to contributing to profits of the group. Shehnaz Husain Herbals is still a privately held company even after 30 years of its formation but that has not hampered its growth. Shehnaz Husain continues to look ahead and her story is an inspiration for many others. For her contribution to business and in promoting Ayurveda, Shahnaz Husain was conferred the Padmashree. She has also won numerous other awards from all over the world. Q- What are the critical success factors of Shahnaz Husain. Give reasons. References: All year 2011 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-importance-of-strategic-planning-in-business.html. http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/what_is_strategy.htm. http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/strategic-planning/ http://www.answers.com/topic/strategic-planning James E. Lukaszewski, APR. Focus on Success: Choosing Corporate Goals You Can Actually Achieve. http://www.e911.com/exacts/EA021.htmls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc. http://www.glgroup.com/News/New-Pricing-Strategy-by-Apple-a-Hope-to-Boost-Sales-31248.html http://www.samspublishing.com/articles/article.asp?p=602978seqNum=1rl=1 christophe.benavent.free.fr//AINI_2008_Apple_s_Pricing_Strategy.pdf http://www.answers.com/topic/strategic-planning   http://www.teal.org.uk/mat/page6.htm. http://www.starbucks.com/mission/default.asp . Business Plan Template Important: Select file then Save As to first save this document to your desktop. If you make edits to this document without doing this you may not be able to save your changes. Business Plan Enter your business name Enter your name May 6, 2013 Section 1: The Business Profile Description of My Business (Session 1): Describe your product or service. Targeted Market and Customers (Session 1): Describe your customer profile and why customers want or need your product or service. Growth Trends In This Business (Session 1): Is the market for your product or service growing or shrinking? Pricing Power (Session 1): Explain the unique qualities or circumstances concerning your product or service that will enable you to maintain profitable pricing. Section 2: The Vision and the People (Session 2): Describe convincingly that you are passionately committed to your new business and have the realism to make inevitable hard choices. The People Work Experience Related to My Intended Business (Session 2): Describe your work experience in the business you plan to start including a list of your skills and knowledge, which will be required in your business. Personal Background and Education Credentials (Session 2): Describe yourself, including your education. Section 3: Communications Computer and Communications Tools (Session 3): Furnish a tabulation of each piece of equipment you intend to use including a description and the budget for each. You can use the following as a guide. Resource Requirements: Communications Enter a description and budget of all communications equipment. Telephones Enter a description and budget for all telephone equipment. Pagers Enter a description and budget for pagers. Facsimile Enter a description and budget for all fax equipment. Computers Enter a description and budget for all computer equipment. Internet Enter a description and budget for necessary Internet access and providers. Section 4: Organization Business Organization (Session 4): Explain the form of business organization you intend to use and why it is best for your business. Professional Consultants (Session 4): List the names of your lawyer, accountant, insurance agent and any other professionals. Licenses (Session 4): List what licenses you will require to go into business. Section 5: Licenses, Permits and Business Names Due Diligence Procedures for Licenses, Permits and Business Names (Session 14): List the following: DBA: List the name you intend to do business as. Zoning: Indicate if the zoning if appropriate for your intended office location. Licenses: List the appropriate licenses you will need at the local, state, and federal level. Local: State: Central: Trademark: Indicate your trademark intentions if any exist. Sellers Permit: List any sellers permits that you may need. EIN: Indicate if you will obtain an employers identification number. Section 6: Insurance Insurance (Session 6): List the forms of insurance coverage including costs are anticipated. Section 7: Premises Location Criteria (Session 7): Outline your location criteria. space requirements. future requirements. site analysis study if needed (attach). demographic study if needed (attach). lease check-off list (attach). estimated occupancy cost as a % of sales. zoning and use approvals. Section 8: Accounting and Cash Flow Accounting (Session 8): Furnish, as a separate exhibit of your starting balance sheet and projected income statements for the first six months to one year. Cash Flow Planning (Session 8): Provide a separate exhibit of your one year cash flow analysis including estimated sales, all costs and capital investments. Provide a checklist of all expense items for input into your cash flow projection. Analysis of Costs (Session 8): What are all of my costs: fixed, variable, product, delivery, etc. Internal Controls (Session 8): Explain your: Intended internal controls and cash controls, check signing policy, strategy for controlling shrinkage and dishonesty and control of incoming merchandise. Section 9: Financing Financing Strategy (Session 9): Provide a chart or spreadsheet showing all of the sources of your start-up capital. Explain any government assistance or loan guarantee programs you intend to apply for. If your business is for use with potential lenders, include a cash flow projection and projected income statements to show sources of repayment of loans. Be conservative in your forecasts. List your sources of referrals to lending institutions. (Your accountant, etc.) Section 10: E-Commerce E-Commerce Plans (Session 10): Describe in detail how you plan to use the Internet in marketing your product or service. E-Commerce Budgeting (Session 10): Provide a detailed breakdown of the costs involved in creating, operating and maintaining your e-commerce activities. E-Commerce Competition (Session 10): Describe how your best competitors utilize e-commerce and your strategy to improve on their practices. Section 11: Acquisitions Due Diligence Procedures for Acquisitions (Session 11): List the following: Your consulting team: Attorney, accountant, banker, broker, etc. Verification of sellers revenues: how you plan to authenticate. Sellers records to be inspected: Financial statements, income tax returns, sales backlog, cash deposit records, utility bills, accounts payable and receivable, backlog, financial comparisons of similar businesses, etc. Inspections and approval of leases and contracts. Appraisals, as appropriate. If a franchise, interview with randomly selected franchisees. Finance plan for acquisitions: include sources including seller financing. Market conditions. Value of goodwill. Method of purchase: stock, assets, etc. Section 12: Marketing Marketing Plan (Session 12): Describe your overall marketing and sales strategy including how you plan to get and retain customers. Advertising and Promotion Plans (Session 12): Describe your plans and budgets for advertising and promotions. Purchasing and Inventory Control (Session 12): See how to buy checklist. Training Policies (Session 12): Describe your plans for hiring and training your sales associates. The Competition (Session 12): Describe your strongest competitors and how you intend to compete. How I Plan to Take Advantage of Competitors Weak Points (Session 12): List your competitors shortcomings and how you can capitalize on them. Section 13: Growth Program Expansion (Session 13): Describe your growth: You might include

Impact of Censorship

Impact of Censorship   Sydney Lau   What would put our freedoms in danger? The First Amendment states Congress Shall make no Law Respecting an Establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the Free Exercise Thereof, or Assemble, and to Petition the Government for a Redress of Grievances. Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc, that are considered obscene, poetically unacceptable or a threat to security. I disagree with censorship because it will stop companies from innovating products and services that individuals would have to pay for. Also it will take our human rights away and passing the bill SOPA will take freedom of the internet away. Piracy helps companies innovate products and services that individuals would have to pay for. Software is too expensive for young, hardworking students. The next generation will have a huge impact on the economic contribution, so its important the young individuals learn the software, but how can the individual learn the software if one cannot afford it. A young graphic designer working for a local designer agency said, Software is just too expensive, Students and young professionals such as Sarah pirate software they need in order to build up their professional skills and knowledge. Having experience with certain types of software is key to landing jobs in Singapores increasingly competitive job atmosphere. (Online Piracy Is Not Harmful) A company behind some of the most pirated software programs in the world finally caught on to the piracy problem and did something ingenious. Adobe introduced monthly subscriptions at reasonable prices for students, individuals, and businesses. Now theres less of a need to pay $1,000+ on software that you subscribe to for less than $100 a month. (Online Piracy Is Not Harmful) if companies had prices for their products at a fair price then there would be no reason for customers to pirate products; Netflix is a good example of this.   Netflix: With 40 million global subscribers and growing, Netflix has succeeded despite piracy because it gives consumers what they want, TV shows movies anytime, anywhere. For one low monthly price. At least to consumers outside of Singapore anyway. (Online Piracy Is Not Harmful) Censorship will take our human rights away. There have been incidents where companies tried to make profits from Authoritarian governments by selling software and hardware. Weve seen cases where companies, products, and services were used as tools of oppression. A few years ago, the headlines were about companies turning over sensitive information about political dissidents. A company was shutting down the social networking accounts of activists in the midst of a political debate. Todays news stories are about companies selling the hardware and software of repression to authoritarian governments. When companies sell surveillance equipment to the security agency of Syria or Iran or, in past times, [Libyan dictator Muammar] Qadhafi, there can be no doubt it will be used to violate rights. (Clinton) There have been many cases where citizens in different countries that have censorship were put into detention center for expressing their opinion. In Syria, a blogger named Anas Maarawi was arrested on July 1st after demanding that President Asad to Leave. He still remains in detention. (Clinton). On top of that, censorship would leave doors open for governments to over power. Government could upend the current internet governance framework in a quest to increase their own control. Some governments use internet governance issues as a cover for publishing an agenda that would justify restating human rights apply online. (Clinton) Furthermore, passing the Bill SOPA would take our internet freedom away. SOPA will not contribute much success to stopping online fraud, but instead take away the core features of the internet. Bill is designed to address the problem of online content fraud and counterfeiting, is fundamentally flawed because it targets search engines, Internet service providers, ad and payment networks-all of which are crucial to Internet functioning (Scola).   Not only would the bill likely do little to address the problem of online content fraud and counterfeiting, but it takes aim at the core features of the Internet that have contributed a great deal to the American economy. (The Stop Online Piracy Act Threatens Internet Freedom and Does Not Protect Property Rights) Private companies would abuse power with the bill SOPA in place. that the bill gives the government and private companies unprecedented powers to remove websites on the flimsiest of grounds. The Electronic Frontier Foundation called the bill a dangerous wish list. The nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington said SOPA would cause broad collateral damage to freedom of expression and privacy. (Ingram) Hollywood and the big record labels would oppose this. These companies claim that theyre taking huge losses, and believes the Bill SOPA should be passed, but a recent study conducted by Bart Cammaerts showed that was false. Hollywood achieved record-breaking global box office revenues of $35 billion USD [US dollars] in 2012, a 6% increase over 2011. Music: Declining sales of recorded music were offset by increasing revenue from live performances and growing digital revenues, including streaming services. In 2012, some 34% of revenue globally. In addition, worldwide sales of recorded music increased in 2012 for the first time since 1999. Therefore, censorship will stop companies from innovating products and services that individuals would have to pay for, also will take our human rights away and passing the bill SOPA will take freedom of the internet away.   Piracy helps young, working, students develop new skills in the world to contribute to the economy. On top of that its also important to protect our human rights listed in the first Amendment, and lastly, placing the Bill SOPA would only take away our internet freedom by removing uniform resource locator removing (URL). By placing censorship law, those laws would take our rights away that are granted to us, lets fight to keep those!

Jack Kerouac’s On The Road - The Character of Dean Moriarty Essay

The Character of Dean Moriarty in On the Road  Ã‚   Part two of Jack Kerouac's novel, On the Road, gives the reader, for the first time, a close look at the character Dean Moriarty. This section of the novel begins when Dean, his ex-wife Marylou, and his friend Ed, meet up with his closer friend, Sal, at Sal's brother's house in Virginia. Sal had not seen Dean for over a year when they suddenly show up on the doorstep. Sal sums up their tale by saying, "So now Dean had come about four thousand miles from Frisco, via Arizona and up to Denver, inside four days, with innumerable adventures sandwiched in, and it was only the beginning" (117). Dean is an individual who has a very enthusiastic and optimistic outlook on life. But attached to his excitement for life is a kind of madness. He is constantly on the go; he is always mapping out his next adventure, so as to not miss out on any excitement. He seems to be obsessed with the idea of time: he fears wasting the little time he has in the world. The way in which the word "time" is emphasiz ed in this novel illustrates how Dean Moriarty is overwhelmed with the sense of living for the day. A thorough description of Dean is found in the first few pages. Sal describes Dean: He had become absolutely mad in his movements; he seemed to be doing everything at the same time. It was a shaking of the head, up and down, sideways; jerky, vigorous hands; quick walking, sitting, crossing the legs, uncrossing, getting up, rubbing the hands, rubbing his fly, hitching his pants, looking up and saying 'Am,' and sudden slitting of the eyes to see everywhere; and all the time he was grabbing me by the ribs and talking, talking. (114) Dean's actions seem to mirror one who is suffering from withd... ...t, time would be the last thing that that person would want to waste. Dean Moriarty is that person. He is thrilled about living through life's-endless adventures and experiences, and he works towards accomplishing various endeavors one after the next. If he is not on the move, he is planning his next one. If he is ever stagnant, trapped in one geographical area for too long, he becomes uncomfortable. It is almost as if a madness overtakes him. Dean was brought up in that particular environment, and he will never change.    Works Cited Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. 1957. New York: Penguin, 1991. Krupat, Arnold. â€Å"Dean Moriarty as Saintly Hero.† On the Road. Text and Criticism. Scott Donaldson, ed. New York: Viking, 1979. 397-410. Tytell, John. â€Å"The Joy of On the Road.† On the Road. Text and Criticism. Scott Donaldson, ed. New York: Viking, 1979. 419-430. Jack Kerouac’s On The Road - The Character of Dean Moriarty Essay The Character of Dean Moriarty in On the Road  Ã‚   Part two of Jack Kerouac's novel, On the Road, gives the reader, for the first time, a close look at the character Dean Moriarty. This section of the novel begins when Dean, his ex-wife Marylou, and his friend Ed, meet up with his closer friend, Sal, at Sal's brother's house in Virginia. Sal had not seen Dean for over a year when they suddenly show up on the doorstep. Sal sums up their tale by saying, "So now Dean had come about four thousand miles from Frisco, via Arizona and up to Denver, inside four days, with innumerable adventures sandwiched in, and it was only the beginning" (117). Dean is an individual who has a very enthusiastic and optimistic outlook on life. But attached to his excitement for life is a kind of madness. He is constantly on the go; he is always mapping out his next adventure, so as to not miss out on any excitement. He seems to be obsessed with the idea of time: he fears wasting the little time he has in the world. The way in which the word "time" is emphasiz ed in this novel illustrates how Dean Moriarty is overwhelmed with the sense of living for the day. A thorough description of Dean is found in the first few pages. Sal describes Dean: He had become absolutely mad in his movements; he seemed to be doing everything at the same time. It was a shaking of the head, up and down, sideways; jerky, vigorous hands; quick walking, sitting, crossing the legs, uncrossing, getting up, rubbing the hands, rubbing his fly, hitching his pants, looking up and saying 'Am,' and sudden slitting of the eyes to see everywhere; and all the time he was grabbing me by the ribs and talking, talking. (114) Dean's actions seem to mirror one who is suffering from withd... ...t, time would be the last thing that that person would want to waste. Dean Moriarty is that person. He is thrilled about living through life's-endless adventures and experiences, and he works towards accomplishing various endeavors one after the next. If he is not on the move, he is planning his next one. If he is ever stagnant, trapped in one geographical area for too long, he becomes uncomfortable. It is almost as if a madness overtakes him. Dean was brought up in that particular environment, and he will never change.    Works Cited Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. 1957. New York: Penguin, 1991. Krupat, Arnold. â€Å"Dean Moriarty as Saintly Hero.† On the Road. Text and Criticism. Scott Donaldson, ed. New York: Viking, 1979. 397-410. Tytell, John. â€Å"The Joy of On the Road.† On the Road. Text and Criticism. Scott Donaldson, ed. New York: Viking, 1979. 419-430.

Understanding the Great Commission by the Grace of God and the Help of

Understanding the Great Commission by the Grace of God and the Help of a Cloud of Witnesses â€Å"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.† Matthew 28:18 Clear as a bell, Jesus calls from the pages of scripture to share His love with one another, making disciples of all nations, teaching all peoples to obey his commandments. But how do we do this? What design would God have us follow in evangelizing in this world? What is the best method of sharing witness of Christ in human life, without alienating and condemning people who do not share our knowledge of salvation? In sharing stories of faith and life experience, an author shapes both personal and public perception of what it is to live with Christian faith. To write is to give voice to thoughts from the mind’s inner tissue and the spirit’s impulse, to interlock energy and life into communication of ideas and conceptions. As a transformative thinking process, autobiography transcends physical limits. In reading Breathing Space, I became familiar with Neumark’s personal world, familiar with her feeling on relationships, her church, her sense of mission and her desires for God’s presence in her life. Though I had never met her before she flew to campus to speak about her book, I felt as though I knew her on sight. This suspension of physical limitations on the transmission of thought and feeling holds an incredible potential for communication of faith, though it is not necessarily reciprocal; she hadn’t a clue ... ...ing to accept â€Å"the love of Jesus down in my soul,† and accepting myself as sinner, I trust that God’s will in my life is coming to fruition. For I have a piece of love that will never grow old! Bibliopgraphy Hettinga, Donald R. Presenting Madeleine L’Engle. New York: Twayne, 1993. L’Engle, Madeleine. Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage. Toronto: Collins, 1988. L’Engle, Madeleine. Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. Weaton, Illinois: Harold Shaw, 1980. Neumark, Heidi. Breathing Space. Boston: Beacon, 2003. Yohanannan, K.P. Revolution in World Missions. Carrollton, Texas: Gospel for Asia, 2003. Sources Consulted Bosch, David J. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shift in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2000. Thomas, Nicholas. Colonialism’s Culture: Anthropology Travel and Government. Princeton: Princeton, 1994.

The Bell Jar Essay -- Essays Papers

The Bell Jar People's lives are shaped through their success and failure in their personal relationships with each other. The author Sylvia Plath demonstrates this in the novel, The Bell Jar. This is the direct result of the loss of support from a loved one, the lack of support and encouragement, and lack of self confidence and insecurity in Esther's life in the The Bell Jar. It was shaped through her success and failures in her personal relationships between others and herself. Through life, we often lose someone we loved and cared deeply for and supported us through life. This is demonstrated by the loss of a loved one when Esther's father died when she was nine. "My German speaking father, dead since I was nine came from some manic-depressive hamlet in the Prussia." (Sylvia Plath page 27.) Esther's father's death had showed that she was in need of a father figure for love, support and to act as a model for her life. Esther grew up with only the one influence of a parent, her mother. Often times the loss of a friendship can be a great loss of support and confidence within our lives because we can lose them forever. This is demonstrated when Buddy Willard Esther's boyfriend break up. "He told me that his annual fall chest x-ray showed he had caught tuberculosis...in the Adirondacks" (Sylvia Plath pg. 58.) Buddy and Esther break up due to the fact that he was not very honest with her in many ways. He did not have the courage to admit to a certain side of his character and not only that Buddy was diagnosed with an illness but he had other relationships aside from Esther. Therefore Esther experienced another loss of a loved one. Within life, we gain the support from someone that helps us get through life but often times leaves us when we need them most. This is proven when Doreen; Esthers co-worker at the modeling magazine begins to lose contact with Esther through life "Doreen is dissolving... none of them mean anything anymore" (Sylvia Plath pg.17) Doreen begins to lose contact with Esther throughout life, just when Doreen had opened new doors to her. Esther was coming through a very difficult time in life, when Doreen started drifting away from Esther. Once again, Esther experienced the loss and support of a great friend and advocate. Ones' life is made up by framework. You gather friends and folks together and ... ...a Plath page 93) After finding out that she had not made the writing course, Esther thought to herself; that even before entering the essay, she knew she would not make the course. Proving that even before entering her essay for the college, she had no confidence in being accepted. After building confidence within herself, Esther decided to write an autobiography using herself as the heroine but she felt that she could not write a novel based on life because she felt she had not experienced it. "How could I write about life...baby or even seen anybody die." (Sylvia Plath pg. 99) Thus, this proves that Esther did not even have the self confidence within herself to follow through with her own ambition of becoming a writer. During a journey through life one starts with a foundation to build on and decide on framework of ones life. In order to sustain and maintain life one needs a basis of love, support, food for thought and life to breath, expression and experience. If an individuals life is shaped and directed by the successes or failures of human relationship, without substance, one might as well seal up their life with a vacuum lid and live in a glass jar.

Lets Put Pornography Back in the Closet by Susan Brownmiller

Chad Cummins English 122Y Mr. Fiorenza Analysis Paper The first essay I chose is â€Å"Let’s put pornography back in the closet,† by Susan Brownmiller. I chose this one because I figured analyzing it would not be too difficult after writing about â€Å"First Amendment Junkie,† in a previous assignment. Susan Brownmiller's essay voices her feminist view towards pornographic material. Her claim is that without restriction, the first amendment has allowed women to be publicly perceived as objects. The first amendment gives American citizens the right to free speech, and in Brownmiller's opinion the nation abuses that right.Obscenity laws have been in place since the early seventies, but according to Brownmiller, the Court has ruled sexually explicit content not obscene many times throughout history. By her bringing up the Hollywood ten makes readers think that the directors of pornography should also go to jail. Her feminist view is that graphic pornographic content is obscene when it degrades women. Sexual material with educational or objective purpose is fine, as long as there is no dehumanizing or demeaning of women.Brownmiller's opinion is that porn turns women into objects, and is advertised in such a way that the public perception of women is that they are just material objects. She thinks material that humiliates women in this way should be restricted, shut away from the public eye. Instead it gets flaunted as it's been in the past. One example she chooses to fight her case is that if the public perception of women is that they are objects, a rapist might safely think he's done nothing wrong. She says it makes a rapist feel like he is merely giving into normal urges.Brownmiller implicitly anticipates many angles for argument in her essay. She goes after the argument one might make that pornography is a form of art. Her opinion is that the porn industry is an unethical professional business using high standards of visual technology. They get away with it now because it is skillfully filmed and edited, to have a good design of artful grace. Another argument she predicts is the opposition made by the Court saying that no one is â€Å"compelled to look†. Her opinion is that with porn having the ability to flaunt tself openly to the general public without the filtering of degrading explicit content, it just throws itself in the face of the public. Brownmiller has said one possible solution at least to her would be to get the stuff out of sight. She wants to leave it up to the legislators. Let them be the judge if pornography should be kept out in the public eye. In conclusion, Brownmiller laid out the main points to a big problem in America. The issue of freedom of speech, and if there are any limitations. Using pornography as an example made a very good argument for this topic.The second essay I chose to analyze is â€Å"protecting Freedom of Expression on Campus,† by Derek Bok. I chose this as my second essay because; I assumed it would relate to m more closely due to the fact that I am a college student. In â€Å"Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus†, the author, Derek Bok shows how expressing yourself falls under the First Amendment, whether it is on a private college campus or public college campus. He further explains that just because it is protected by law does not mean that it is â€Å"right, proper, or civil.Bok goes on to show how censoring freedom of speech would cause people to â€Å"test the limits† to gain more attention than is needed and if dealt with in the proper manner. The author starts off with a strong example of Harvard students displaying a confederate flag and swastika. Freedom of expression is a right and should not be used inappropriately. The First Amendment rights have caused much controversy because it allows people to say, act, or feel how they see fit; for example, hanging of a Confederate flag or displaying a swastika in pub lic view.It is a very hard and intense act; although it is their right to do so. According to the Supreme Court’s ruling, the displaying of these symbols is protected under the First Amendment. Regretfully, people act and react because they are offended by things like this, but it is one of our many freedoms as Americans. Although it cannot be prohibited it should be responded to in such a way they do not feel put down or that they are wrong in expressing themselves, but rather suggest to them that it is hurtful and offensive to others.We have the right to be offended as others have the right to display or express their own interests. Diverse communities in the United States set certain laws to protect their properties from being vandalized with graffiti and protect them from loud noise; rules of this kind should be evenly upheld in order to not discriminate for or against anybody’s opinions or ideas. If the governing authorities see fit to change the laws to prohibit such expressions, they should be cautious.Bok says we are faced with the main example of, the conflict between our commitment to free speech and our desire to have a community founded on mutual respect. Bok shows that power of censorship is very dangerous because declaring certain things offensive will create a lot of attention. The stance Bok sticks with throughout the article is clear. He thinks appropriate officials and faculty members should take the lead on education students on what these actions do to others.He also thinks ignoring the displays would work because students would not have such an urge to put them on. It would be safer than prohibiting them, because all that does is give the violators more of a reason to act out. In conclusion, bringing up the example of the Harvard students displaying confederate flags was a good way to show his main point. The main idea is trying to bring out the difference between free speech and offensive material. This was a good way to bri ng up a huge problem that our nation is facing in the world today.