Final Paper Employee Retension Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Final Paper Employee Retension - Assignment Example Dundon, et al (2004) assert that employees leaving organization(s) can be very detrimental since the firm loses investment in training as well as the experience of the employees who has left. Moreover, losing an employee is a loss in terms of productivity and cost injected in training, facilitating the employee, and his or her replacement. Firms are therefore obliged to be vigilant on the potential factors that are likely to lead to employees quitting their institutions. According to Sarah (2009), the retention of employees is even more difficult in the nonprofit based organizations. They need to attract as well as retain these talents and skills since without these they are unable to achieve their mission and ultimately vision. Nonprofit organizations are perceived to lack the retention strategy of the staff. The retention process is a continuous process. Firms should emphasis on retaining their staff from the onset in that the retention strategy begins from when the employees are on board; during the recruitment process; and throughout the cycle of the employment. However, Zajkowska (2012) explain that employees leave firms for several reasons and this requires employers to pay close attention to the employees need and device appropriate and effectively retentions mechanisms. Some of the perceived reasons for this problem are: the employees viewing their jobs as not to their perceived expectation; lack of coaching or feedback of their performance; lack of prospects for growth and opportunities for advancement; the feeling of their input to the organization being undervalued and not appreciated; the need to balance life and work due to stress that emanate from daily work experience; remuneration of their services; and lack of trust in the individual in the position of leadership or management of the organization. Ruth (2010) elaborates that organizations are in the dilemma on whether to inject more

Company Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 3

Company Law - Essay Example 1 Alistair Darling, Secretary of State of the Department of Trade and Industry said that while most of the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 will be in force by October next year the entire Act will be in force by October of 2007.2 While the Companies Bill 2006 introduces some new aspects to company law, it might have left the regulations of directors’ duty up to judicial interpretation and company law. The general impression is that the 2006 Bill does nothing much to improve on the director’s duties as enunciated under the provisions of the Companies Act 1985. 3- The Companies Bill 2006 tightens the Directors’ duties in respect of due diligence by broadening the rights of shareholders to ‘sue directors for negligence and other defaults and rights to bring derivative claims on behalf of the company in certain circumstances.’3 Under the provisions of the Companies Act 1985, together with principles of Common Law and Equity, directors have a fiduciary relationship with the company they serve. In their capacity as fiduciaries, directors have three primary duties in respect of the management of the company’s affairs. They are: In Re City Fire Equitable Insurance Co., Romer J added that in the course of exercising his duties as a director, the director was subject to a certain standard in law. That standard he went on to explain was the reasonable skill and care that was generally expected of a business man possessing the relevant skills and training.5 Moreover the common trend in the application of Common Law and Equitable principles was to impose the duty on the directors’ in respect of the company itself rather than in respect individual shareholders. In fact Section 309 of the Companies Act 1985 codified this proviso by requiring that directors owe a duty of care to act in the best interests of both the members and the employees of the company.6 Although this duty necessarily

The Blue Ocean Strategy

The Blue Ocean Strategy Indian bus service industry was extremely unorganized till recently before redBus emerged and took the industry by its neck and brought a sort of revolution never imagined for such an unorganized industry. This was primarily because the information flow and availability in this industry was very difficult and there was a lot of mismatch. The bus ticket industry was highly fragmented with small players active regionally. All these were small small agents competing against each other. Due to lack of any major player there was not much competition for redBus and hence it was able to create a marketspace for itself through entering the bus ticket industry online. By the time redBus entered the horizon there were settled names both in airline and railway ticket booking industry who were operating online. But even for them it was a huge task to enter bus ticketing industry due to the sheer complexity present in the industry and emulating the online model for bus ticketing industry was perc eived to be almost impossible even by these major players in e-commerce. This study deals with how a disruptive model can change the scenario of the complete industry. redBus which at the time of its inception was confined in a small flat of 2 rooms is now a 400 million company with over 400 employees and offices across India. Currently it is the only major player concentrating completely on bus ticketing industry with a market share of over 70%. In this research, I have tried to analyze the bus ticketing industry and how redBus identified the opportunities present in this segment and created a value chain which not only gave them a distinct product but also at competitive cost. It is a perfect example of Blue Ocean strategy where entry of redBus changed the entire landscape of the industry. It revolutionized the way the people buy bus tickets in India. One of the unique bus ticketing system of its kind in the entire world, competitors have leaped in this market but none has receive d success like redBus. This study further covers how redBus has sustained its competitive advantages and what are the challenges and growth opportunities going forward. CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION: Blue Ocean Strategy As the authors of the book Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Kim Chan and Renee Mauborgne say: Although the term blue ocean is new, their existence is not. They have been a part of business transformation in past as well as in present. If we look back in the past say a century ago, How many of todays industries were then known? The answer will be majority of todays industries were unknown in their current form. Many industries such as automobiles, aviation, health care, and management consulting were unknown or were just beginning to emerge. Now lets look at the industries 3 decades back. Again, multibillion-dollar industries like mutual funds, computers, mobile phones, smart phones, gas based power plants, discount retail, biotechnology, nanotechnology, express parcel delivery, coffee bars, video games, home videos, and CD player and many other such industries were all non-existent in a practical or popular way. Similarly, lets turn the clock forward a bit and try to look into the future. Lets say after 30 years or say 50 years how many of the now unknown industries will emerge and will exist. If history is any indicator of things to come in future, the answer is there will be many such industries that we cant even think of right now which will emerge. This is the reality; industries are dynamic. They never remain the same over a long period of time. They change continuously and evolve. The participants, the process, the market and the operations everything changes. Operations improve, markets evolve and grow, and non-customers become customers. History tells us that we have huge potential to change the existing industries and recreate them and not only that it teaches us that we underestimate our capability to create new ones. To have an idea of how dynamic things can get, the 50-year old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system, which was published by the U.S. Census, was substituted by the North America Industry Classification Standard (NAICS) system in 1997. The reason being the number of industry sectors that SIC covered were half the number of sectors that actually existed in 1997. The old SIC system covered only 10 industry sectors. The new NAICS system doubled it to twenty sectors to reflect the emergence of new-age industries. For example earlier the service sector included all that is now fragmented into different specialized industries like IT, healthcare, social assistance, etc. Given that these systems are made to ensure stability, continuity and for keeping standards, such a substitution shows the significance of growth of Blue Ocean industries. Yet the dominant emphasis of strategists has been on competitive strategies also known as red ocean strategies. Part of the explanation for this is that its roots in military strategy heavily influence corporate strategy. Strategy is about fighting different competitors over the same area of land that is constant and not unlimited. Unlike battles though, the history of industry tells us that the universe of market is unlimited and there is a place for everyone; rather, blue oceans have been always in existence. They have continuously been created. To believe and restrict oneself to red ocean is therefore to accept the constraints that are associated with war-limited piece of land and the need to fight and defeat an opponent to succeed-and to reject the unique strength of the business world: the capacity to create new market universe that is uncontested. Blue Ocean v/s Competitive Strategy (Red Ocean) Blue Ocean emphasises the importance of value innovation that can completely negate the competition replacing competitive advantage with value innovation as the firms primary goal thus highlighting the importance of creating demand and exploiting untapped maket rather than risking competition. There is a debate in the academia and research groups as to which strategy is better suited but all evidences are as case studies on different companies which is not enough to define any one of the two strategies as a clear winner. Rather the two strategies co-exist and should co-exist because a firm on the foundation of Blue Ocean strategy may ultimately have to face competition depending on the imitability of the business model and then before they have more value innovation to differentiate themselves and still remain cost competitive, they must also have a competitive strategy to ensure they do not fall behind of competition. Research results of researchers like Andrew Burke Andres van Stel and Roy Thurik suggest that the notion that blue ocean makes competition irrelevant may not be true. When combined, the two provide a more holistic and realistic depiction of economic performance. Thus, in real life the any strategy must be adopted after evaluating the business and market circumstances appropriately as these define the degree of scope for effectiveness of either Blue Ocean or competitive strategy. Furthermore, what emphasis and mix should be given to either form of strategy across short and long-term time horizons is apparent in most innovative companies competing in short term red oceans while significant time and resources are devoted to the long-term goal of developing innovation that creates consumer demand and new markets. Figure 1: Red Ocean v/s Blue Ocean Strategy Source: www.blueoceanstrategy.corporatestrategy.com Blue Ocean and White Space The term white space has been used in business parlance to mean uncharted territory or an underserved market. But as Mark W. Johnson perfectly writes in Seizing the White Space the term is the range of potential activities not defined or addressed by the companys current business model, that is, the opportunities outside its core and beyond its adjacencies that require a different business model to exploit. White space is a subjective valuation: one companys white space may be another companys core. What matters is that it describes activities that lie far outside a firms usual way of working and presents a series of unique and perplexing challenges to that organization. Its an area where, relatively speaking, assumptions are high and knowledge is low, the opposite of conditions in the companys core space. The chance to seize a piece of white space presents a tantalizing opportunity. Success here can bring the transformational growth that so many business leaders seek. Yet understandably, a play for the white space feels risky, and often the numbers dont appear to add up. The market seems too foreign, or core capabilities wont apply. Some executives, having made one unsuccessful foray, just wont risk failing again. Figure 2: White Space Source: Seizing the White Space, Mark W. Johnson Blue Ocean Strategy and Applied Concepts The Strategy Canvas The strategy canvas is the central diagnostic and action framework for building a compelling blue ocean strategy. The horizontal axis captures the range of factors that the industry competes on and invests in, while the vertical axis captures the offering level that buyers receive across these entire key competing factors. There are two purposes that are served here: It captures the current state of play in known market space, which allows users to clearly see the factors that the industry competes on and where the competition currently invests. Then, it propels users to action by reorienting focus from competitors to alternatives and from customers to non-customers of the industry. The value curve is the basic component of the strategy canvas. It is a graphic depiction of a companys relative performance across its industrys factors of competition. A strong value curve has focus, divergence as well as a compelling tagline. Figure 3: The Strategy Canvas Four Action Framework This framework can also be referred to as the Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create Grid. To reconstruct buyer value elements in crafting a new value curve, we use the Four Actions Framework. As shown in the diagram, to break the trade-off between differentiation and low cost and to create a new value curve, the framework poses four key questions to challenge an industrys strategic logic and business model. Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated? Which factors should be reduced well below the industrys standard? Which factors should be raised well above the industrys standard? Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered? Figure 4: Four Actions Framework By pursuing the first two questions managers gain insight into how to drop their cost structure vis-à  -vis competitors. Rarely do they systematically set out to eliminate and reduce their investments in factors that an industry competes on. The result is mounting cost structures and complex business models. The other questions provide insights into how to lift buyer value and create new demand. Collectively, they allow exploring how to reconstruct buyer value elements across alternative industries to offer buyers an entirely new experience, while simultaneously keeping your cost structure low. Eliminating and creating are vital as they push companies to go beyond value maximization exercises with existing factors of competition. They prompt companies to change the factors themselves, hence making the existing rules of competition irrelevant. Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) The PDCA Cycle is a checklist of the four stages, which one must go through to get from `problem-faced to `problem solved. This concept was developed by Walter Shewhart, the pioneering statistician who developed statistical process control in the Bell Laboratories in the US during the 1930s. It was taken up and promoted very effectively from the 1950s on by the famous Quality Management authority, W. Edwards Deming. Consequently, PDCA cycle is also commonly known as `the Shewhart Cycle and the Deming wheel. This cycle diagram can be applied in team meetings to take stock of what stage improvement initiatives are at, and to choose the appropriate tools to see each stage through to successful completion. Here is what we do in each stage: Plan to improve operations first by finding out what things are going wrong (that is identify the problems faced), and come up with ideas for solving these problems. Do changes designed to solve the problems on a small scale first. This minimizes disruption to routine activity while testing whether the changes will work or not. Check whether the small scale changes are achieving the desired result or not. Also, continuously Check nominated key activities (regardless of any experimentation going on) to know what the quality of the output is at all times to identify any new problems. Act to implement changes on a larger scale if its successful on small scale. Also Act to involve other persons (other departments, suppliers, or customers) affected by the changes and whose cooperation is needed to implement them on a larger scale. If the experiment was not successful, skip the Act stage and go back to the Plan stage to come up with some new ideas for solving the problem and go through the cycle again. Plan-Do-Check-Act describes the overall stages of improvement activity, but how is each stage carried out? This is where other specific quality management, or continuous improvement, tools and techniques come into play. The diagram below lists the tools and techniques that can be used to complete each stage of the PDCA Cycle. Figure 5: PDCA Cycle VRIO Framework VRIO is an acronym for Value, Rarity, Imitability and Organization. This is also a 4 questions framework where one asks about a resource or capability to ascertain its competitive potential: the question of Value, the question of Rarity, the question of Imitability (Ease/Difficulty to Imitate), and the question of Organization (ability to exploit the resource or capability). The Question of Value: Is the firm able to exploit an opportunity or neutralize an external threat with the resource/capability? The Question of Rarity: Is control of the resource/capability in the hands of a relative few? The Question of Imitability: Is it difficult to imitate, and will there be significant cost disadvantage to a firm trying to obtain, develop, or duplicate the resource/capability? The Question of Organization: Is the firm organized, ready, and able to exploit the resource/capability? The VRIO framework, in a wider scope, is part of a much larger strategic scheme of a firm. The basic strategic process that any firm goes through begins with a vision statement, and continues on through objectives, internal external analysis, strategic choices (both business-level and corporate-level), and strategic implementation. The firm will hope that this process results in a competitive advantage in the marketplace they operate in. VRIO falls into the internal analysis step of these procedures, but is used as a framework in evaluating just about all resources and capabilities of a firm, regardless of what phase of the strategic model it falls under. CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW Paper 1: Blue Ocean Strategy versus Competitive Strategy: Theory and Evidence. Burke, Andrew, Andrà © van Stel, and Roy Thurik. ERIM Report Series Research in Management (May 2009) Theme: Empirical analysis of blue ocean strategy versus competitive strategies based on data assembled from 655 retail shops through 41 shop types in the retail industry in Holland. Summary: This paper addresses the debate surrounding Red Ocean (competitive strategy) v/s Blue Ocean (New Market) strategy. The authors note that Blue Ocean seeks to emphasise the importance of value innovation that can completely negate the competition replacing competitive advantage with value innovation as the firms primary goal thus highlighting the importance of creating demand and exploiting untapped maket rather than risking competition. This results in increased profitability in the industry. There is a debate in the academia and research groups as to which strategy is better suited but all evidences are as case studies on different companies which is not enough to define any one of the two strategies as a clear winner. Rather the two strategies co-exist and should co-exist because a firm on the foundation of Blue Ocean strategy may ultimately have to face competition depending on the imitability of the business model and then before they have more value innovation to differentiate themselves and still remain cost competitive, they must also have a competitive strategy to ensure they do not fall behind of competition. Research results in this paper suggest that the notion that blue ocean makes competition irrelevant may not be true. To test the superiority of either tools the authors looks at the two strategies from both long term and short term perspectives and outline a theoretical model which suggests that every market will experience new vendors arriving to share the profits that are there on the offering in the industry. Thus the composition of the pie chart of market share will continuously exhibit different set of players with some fading off while others entering the market but only until the saturation point is reached where everyone will break even. Looking at the industry an its players over a period of time in this manner will give us an understanding about whether the new market strategy or the competitive strategy is more viable for the industry. If companies succeed over a long period of time by creating value innovation (new market strategy) as the new companies entered, both the i ndustry profits as well as the firms profit will grow steadily and so will the number of vendors in the strategy. On the other hand, if the profitability of the blue ocean firm went down with increasing number of vendors in the industry, it would be an indication of the dominance of the firms that followed competitive strategy over the firms that followed new market (blue ocean) strategy. After studying the complete data from 1982-2000 of 655 retail shops over 41 shop types in the Dutch retail industry and after testing and analyzing the premise the authors concluded for half the shop types, the firm profits were directly proportional to the number of firms while the blue ocean strategy was dominant over a long term with number of vendors and firm profitability rising/falling together over all shop types in the whole period under consideration. The authors also concluded that in short term Red Ocean strategies were at work. The study highlights that the two strategies co-exist and cross each other throughout the industry life and there is no particular choice that any manager prefers. Paper 2: Synthesizing a Blue Ocean. Master Thesis. Vester, Daniel. Aalto University, 2012. Theme: Applicability of New Market strategy frameworks and techniques in the electronic musical instruments industry for innovating new products. Summary: In this paper, the author targets to show how value innovation could be used in case of an electronic musical instrument company to add value to their product and create new market space. To explain this, he choses to compare the traditional strategies like competitive strategy, Porters 5 forces strategy to the blue ocean strategy. Blue ocean strategy is eventually selected for the process of product development of ArturiaMiniBrute, an analogue synthesizer reason being 1) Its attention on constructing new uncontested market space and at the same time targeting lower cost and product differentiation as well; and 2) The ease with which the analytical tools and frameworks in a Blue Ocean strategy could be blended into the product development process and usability of the instrument thus developed. Blue ocean strategy tools such as the Strategy Canvas, Four Action Framework, Buyer Utility Map and Three Tiers of Noncustomers are applied after quantitative analysis of sales figures in the electronic musical instrument industry for identifying Arturias closest competitors in various synthesizer markets and to design the strategy for ArturiaMiniBrute. The authors observations and interpretations show that the Blue Ocean Strategy techniques and frameworks can aid electronic musical instrument firms add value to their instruments/products/offerings and create new market space. Subsequently, the author advocates that companies should shift focus from technical features of the musical instrument to the emotional appeal of the musical instrument, and urges that companies should get out of the traditional mindset, challenge established rules of the industry by eliminating factors that have been ignored and not given due importance but which may be of great value to the customer. Paper 3: The Impact of Blue Ocean Strategy in Low-cost Transport. Ã…Â  tverkovà ¡, Hana, Michal ÄŒervinka, and Vlasta Humlovà ¡. In 2012 International Conference on Traffic and Transportation Engineering. Belgrade, November 29-30, 2012. Theme: Applicability of blue ocean strategy theory to Ryanair (air transport industry) Summary: This paper illustrates how blue ocean strategy can be vital and have an important influence in the low cost aviation sector. The authors chose to analyze the low-cost air transport industry in the European Union. They report that the market is highly competitive and the regional players fight amongst themselves on the base of cost competitiveness. The authors show that a cordial relationship between regional airports and any carrier firm can enable budget airlines to provide distinguished value for airline passengers at a low cost to the companies. The authors also suggests using the case of Ryanair that infrastructure improvement for non-core activities at the smaller airports might be essential to facilitate such relationships between budget airlines and small regional airports. CHAPTER-3 EXAMPLES OF BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY Air Asia One of the major developments that the airline has experienced has been the evolution of the budget airlines. For instance, emergence of Air Asia in Malaysia is a classic example. Air Asia have avoided the competitive strategy or the red Ocean (competition against Malaysia Airline and other airlines like Tiger Air, Jet Air and other regional airlines) by considering factors that are important to customers but easily taken for granted by most of the other airlines. With the Four Actions Framework proposed by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, Air Asia have ensured they make Malaysia Airline, Tiger Air, Jet air and regional players irrelevant by implementing many important strategic moves explained below. STRATEGY Eliminate: 1) OTC booking 2) Seating Class booking arrangement 3) Free breakfast/lunch/dinner on the plane Reduce: 1) Number of attendants serving on the plane 2) Luxury facilities delivered 3) Quality of the seats Raise: 1) Increased flight hours for their aircrafts: frequency of flight 2) Selected key endpoints/destinations catered frequently Create: 1) Booking system became online 2) Travel system: point-to-point Through these strategic moves, Air Asia has been able to concentrate on factors that really matter for the customers like better booking channel, point-to-point travel system, etc. that makes customers lives simpler and adds value to them. This is a perfect example of Value Innovation, as not only does this help Air Asia increase the value to the customers but at the same time reduces cost for Air Asia significantly Value Innovation. This also allows Air Asia towards customers who were not traditionally target thus creating a new market space and targeting non-customers in the traditional airline industry. Current Airline Customers: 1) Corporates and business fraternity in Malaysia or ASEAN region. 2) Those individuals who can afford to buy expensive airline tickets from airlines like Malaysia Airline and other regional players. Non-Customers: 1) Officers from the government and other government staff 2) Those individuals who cannot afford to buy expensive tickets such as students or recent graduates or lower middle class and rural people. With effective execution of Blue Ocean strategy, Air Asia has furthered expanded their gamut and has ventured into other businesses like they started Tune Hotel and Tune Money. The model is again towards creating Blue Ocean market space. Crocs Inc. Company Snapshot Crocs Inc. is one of the major players in shoe industry who have been very successful. It designs, fabricates and markets bright-colored, comfy-branded footwear and accessories for all segments men, women and children. Blue Ocean Strategic Move Crocs Inc. with its distinctive lightweight clogs created a blue ocean market space in the shoe industry. These types of shoes gave customers a perfect combination of comfort and fashion at an affordable price point. Crocs shoes have mass appeal because not only are they branded but also in a way they are refreshing, they are different from traditional sandals and casual shoes and add a fun element as well as they come in a wide array of bright colors which provide a funky look. Combined with their new crocodile logo on their shoes it also gives them a bold look. Crocs have been a run-away success also because they provide customer what they never even thought of, they satisfy their customers by adding value to their customers usage by giving features like lightweight, waterproof, ergonomic comfort and anti-microbial and anti-skid. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Success Founded in 2002 as a new type of boat shoemaker initially, the company has grown into a global sensation in casual footwear industry with sales across the globe in over 90 countries and reaching 1 billion US dollars in 2011. Figure 6: Crocs Four Actions to create Value Innovation Source: Frontier Strategy, LLC Nintendos Wii The video game business has a huge market and is a multi-billion dollar industry. Video consoles, which form a big portion of this market, were very recently in the past controlled by two major players: PlayStations (PS12 and soon PS3) from Sony and Xbox (Xbox and Xbox360) from Microsoft. Nintendo, however, a distant third player created ripples in the market space with its launch of the Wii. This is an especially interesting case study from a strategy perspective since its a brilliant example of the so-called blue ocean strategy. The graphic below demonstrates Nintendos Wii strategy with the help of the strategy canvas and is quite clear. Figure 7: The Strategy Canvas of Nintendo Wii On giving a closer glance to the above graphic, one will notice that Nintendo is competing on a completely different strategic landscape as the attributes are completely differently focused for Nintendo in comparison with Sony and Microsoft. The Wii is not only affordable for general public, it has no Hard Disk, no DVD, no Dolby 5.1, weak connectivity and comparatively low processor speed, but enthralls the user by its innovative motion control stick. The stick is designed such that it integrates the movements of a player directly into the console of the video game, The user gets an interface where he gets a live feel of himself playing in the screen. With this feature Nintendo not only won the existing customers in the video game world but also brought in a completely new set of customers to the business. We can again think of the Four Actions Framework in all of the above descriptions of features. I will explain here with a couple of those features: Reduction in cost through elimination of some features like Hard Drive, DVD, Dolby 5.1 and low processor speed A raise in demand by creation of motion stick: strong value innovation for new gamers/customers. These 2 features disregard the traditional belief in competitive strategy of either going for cost leadership or product differentiation and not simultaneously for both. In other words, through this example we see that while Sony and Microsoft are fighting in the same old bloody Red Ocean of existent market, Nintendo created a new market space for itself in the form of Wii and is now sailing calmly in this Blue Ocean that it created for itself. CHAPTER-4 BOS: A Case Study on redBus Story of redBus One fine evening an electrical engineer in Bangalore planned to travel to Hyderabad to celebrate Diwali with his family but the answer he got from the agents when he reached at bus stands was that all tickets were sold out and he could inquire about the availability from some other agents. Although the person got frustrated but an appalling question was making rounds in his minds; why werent there other methods to get bus tickets booked rather than moving from one agent to another? He questioned why cant bus tickets be booked online like airlines and railway tickets? The person was Phanindra Sama and his frustration lead way to a revolution in Indian bus industry and redBus was born. Phani discussed the idea with his friends (Sudhakar Pasupunuri and Charan Padmaraju) and they started working on the idea. Initially they decided to develop an IT based inventory system for bus operators but the idea was dismissed by the operators and agents as the task seemed huge to them. Meanwhile they came in contact with the Bangalore chapter of TIE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) which accepted their venture and mentored the team and guided them with various assignments pertaining to market surveys and market research. The TIE mentorship enabled redBus to get venture capitalist interested in them and a VC named Seedfund funded them with $500000. This is how redBus was born on 18th August 2006, Indias first online bus ticketing website, a concept which was in use for airline and railway booking but no one had realized that it could be feasible enough for the bus travel also. Exhibit 1 gives company details. Exhibit 1 The Team Major Milestones Exhibit 2 Company Details Bus Ticket Industry- Overview in India The Indian bus travel industry was highly fragmented with a large number of small operators and agents having very little orientation towards technology. Most of the operators were regional players having small fleets of ten buses where few were long route players having 100 or more fleets of buses. Exhibit 2 gives the details of the industry structure. Long route buses were known as contract carriages and their tickets were to be bought in advance whereas short haul buses known as stage carriers and their tickets were sold in the coach itself. The booking system was agent driven in which each agent had contract with three of four operators and tickets were allocated to them on the basis of quota system by the operators. Each agent used to sell its quota of tickets and all the unsold tickets were informed to the operator before some fixed time of bus departure. No centralized inventory was maintained by either the agents or by operators

A Storm of Emotion in Kate Chopins The Storm Essay -- Chopin Storm Es

The Storm of Emotion Usually a storm creeps upon us, hits a luminous climax, and then fades away into nothingness.   In The Storm, Kate Chopin develops a parallel between a rainstorm and an emotional storm in a woman’s life.   Chopin uses symbolism to depict the feelings of relationships that are as unpredictable as that of a raging storm.   Ã‚  Ã‚   In the time frame that this story is set, many major life decisions things are made taking into account one’s duty to family - including the selection of a husband or wife.   It is possible that each of these couples may not have been in love,   when their vows were stated.   They have a duty to society; they must not marry outside of their social class.   They have a duty to their family; they must not disgrace the family by not marrying.  Ã‚   They have a duty to him or herself, they must not allow themselves to be alone.   If they marry because there is no other choice, or because of a sense of duty, it is unlikely that they will have a fulfilling relationship.   It appears as though Calixta and Bobinot are content, and if they did not love each other when they were first married, then they have learned to love each other as the time passed.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Mr. and Mrs. Laballiere seem to be content, but their relationship seems to belacking something.   There doesn t seem to be any closeness of any kind.   Clarisse is quite content to   forgo   their   intimate conjugal life   at least for a little while.   The delay in Clarisse s arrival home is encouraged by Alcee, which seems odd for a husband who is lovingly, devoted to his life long companion.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Chopin uses the details to create symbolism that represents the bonds of therelationship between Alcee and Calixta. There is an awkwardness to... ...ife is felt anew as the two lovers say good-bye in a   glistening green world   (668).   Alcee and Calixta can return to their families as hopeful, vibrant people and continue their lives with a little more love and vitality.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Ms. Chopin magnificently gathers the descriptive details and uses them in such away that her meaning is comprehensible to the reader.   The reader sees the complete storm, from the first raindrops to the last.   She uses unique, creative symbolism to portray the thoughts and emotions that so often fade with the storm. The storm washes the depressing, dingy dust away, and allows new hope and vigor to spring up in its place.  Ã‚     So the storm passed and everyone was happy   (669). Work Cited Chopin, Kate. "The Storm." Literature Across Cultures. Eds. Sheena Gillepie, Terzinha Fonseca, Carol A. Sanger 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. A Storm of Emotion in Kate Chopin's The Storm Essay -- Chopin Storm Es The Storm of Emotion Usually a storm creeps upon us, hits a luminous climax, and then fades away into nothingness.   In The Storm, Kate Chopin develops a parallel between a rainstorm and an emotional storm in a woman’s life.   Chopin uses symbolism to depict the feelings of relationships that are as unpredictable as that of a raging storm.   Ã‚  Ã‚   In the time frame that this story is set, many major life decisions things are made taking into account one’s duty to family - including the selection of a husband or wife.   It is possible that each of these couples may not have been in love,   when their vows were stated.   They have a duty to society; they must not marry outside of their social class.   They have a duty to their family; they must not disgrace the family by not marrying.  Ã‚   They have a duty to him or herself, they must not allow themselves to be alone.   If they marry because there is no other choice, or because of a sense of duty, it is unlikely that they will have a fulfilling relationship.   It appears as though Calixta and Bobinot are content, and if they did not love each other when they were first married, then they have learned to love each other as the time passed.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Mr. and Mrs. Laballiere seem to be content, but their relationship seems to belacking something.   There doesn t seem to be any closeness of any kind.   Clarisse is quite content to   forgo   their   intimate conjugal life   at least for a little while.   The delay in Clarisse s arrival home is encouraged by Alcee, which seems odd for a husband who is lovingly, devoted to his life long companion.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Chopin uses the details to create symbolism that represents the bonds of therelationship between Alcee and Calixta. There is an awkwardness to... ...ife is felt anew as the two lovers say good-bye in a   glistening green world   (668).   Alcee and Calixta can return to their families as hopeful, vibrant people and continue their lives with a little more love and vitality.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Ms. Chopin magnificently gathers the descriptive details and uses them in such away that her meaning is comprehensible to the reader.   The reader sees the complete storm, from the first raindrops to the last.   She uses unique, creative symbolism to portray the thoughts and emotions that so often fade with the storm. The storm washes the depressing, dingy dust away, and allows new hope and vigor to spring up in its place.  Ã‚     So the storm passed and everyone was happy   (669). Work Cited Chopin, Kate. "The Storm." Literature Across Cultures. Eds. Sheena Gillepie, Terzinha Fonseca, Carol A. Sanger 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001.

Should Higher Education Be Made Available to All

Education is a channel to understand the real world better and whether this education should be provided to the students by the universities should be free or not, is one of the most debated topics over last many decades. In the today's fast growing civilization this education has become everyone's necessity to survive. Everyone understands the value of education in their lives; hence they compete hard to get the best of the education. So to give this education free to some students would be an injustice on the part of the others. Therefore, from my perspective education should not be given by the universities free of cost. In my opinion, if the students will not pay for their education then who would pay for that, is a big question that requires an immediate solution. Thus it can create further confusions in the society. For example, if the government would pay for students' education then they will extract the money from public only by increasing the taxes and this can further complicate the situation. Another reason is that to get education from good universities students usually take some kinds of loans, which I feel, make them more serious towards their studies and responsible so that they can clear the debts in future. Therefore, education received by giving money stands more value to them as they have sacrificed something to get that education. The third reason is that the money universities take from the students is used by the universities for the upliftment of the university's standard only. The university utilize this money to pay the teachers, to introduce most recent advances in all the aspects of education like getting new equipments in laboratories, building new classes with more advanced technologies, new books for the libraries, new hostels etc. Nevertheless, the proc ess of financial support through Bank Loans, Philanthropic Trusts, Corporate Social Responsibility funds and a National kitty should be augmented and structured and worthy candidates screened well through a competency based selection process should be supported. Making higher education free for all will only dilute the standard of education. The impact of this on society at large is not difficult to visualize. We just need to think about Doctors, Engineers, Pilots, Architects and Pharmacists, to just name a few, who may come out from our colleges with free education, where they have not put anything on stake, participated wholly in all kinds of college level politics and hooliganism, and then sit down to treat serious patients or build bridges, buildings and industries, or fly an aircraft with hundreds of lives at stake or even make medicines with complex chemicals only to damage the lives of so many innocent citizens, who have trusted their University degrees. Therefore , in my opinion universities should not provide education for free because the amount they get from the students is used for the welfare of the students only because it has been seen before also that universities that provide education for free are lower in standards compared to universities taking an appropriate amount of money from the students. I believe, that there is no good thing that we can get for free in the world.

Resume Revision Essay

MANAGEMENT PROFILE Accomplished Professional Wine Industry Executive with 20+ years of sales experience in the wine industry leveraging efficient and effective business solutions while increasing revenue and profits.   A Dynamic Sales Team Leader with a proven track record for significantly enhancing company operations utilizing strong analytical skills and demonstrating expertise in management, sales, and marketing.   In-depth knowledge of budget creation and new sales development, utilizing critical thinking skills while consistently achieving sales goals.   Solid ability to adapt to a highly competitive market. Key Strengths & Expertise Marketing – Brand Management Public Relations General Management Business Planning Client Relations Sales Force Leadership Strategic Planning P&L Responsibility Operations Management Sales Territory Development SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS Successfully increased annual revenues grossing over $4 million as a result of cultivating and maintaining sales relationships for key customer accounts. Doubled sales and customers in the first year through implementation of effective sales strategies. Significantly increased revenues in the first year by more than 114% from 2006 to 2007. After the first year as Sales Director, significantly increased clients from 30 to over 200. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Mistral Barrels Inc., Sonoma, California  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2006-Present General Manager / Sales Director Managed and directed all sales of wine barrels and oak alternatives for North America. Developed market strategies and directed Regional and National Sales Teams. Created marketing strategies for the development of two barrel brands and oak alternatives. Developed sales & projection goals for the sales team and managed key customer accounts. Developed public relations and marketing with Wine Business Monthly, Wines & Vines, and Practical Winery magazines. As a result of effective sales strategies, significantly increased revenues in the first year by more than 114% and clients from 30 to over 200 from 2006 to 2007.    KEN SEYMOUR  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Page Two   PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE   (Continued) Kelvin Cooperage, Louisville, Kentucky  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2003-2005 Sales Manager Developed sales for the West Coast and Pacific Northwest wine barrel market. Successfully achieved sales through direct visits to winemakers and purchasing managers as a result of implementing effective sales strategies. As a result, doubled sales and customers in the first year. Managed Sales Agent in Canada to include sales training of all products, and developing sales strategies and goals. Canton Wood Products, Santa Rosa, California  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1994-1993 North America Sales Director Originally worked as the sole Sales Representative for the entire US wine market for the sale of oak wine barrels and oak alternatives. Successfully achieved sales goals and was promoted in 1997 to the position of North America Sales Director. Managed and led sales team in the development of sales throughout North America. Cultivated and maintained sales relationships with key customer accounts and consistently grossed over 4 million dollars in annual revenues. Developed and maintained the operating budget for North America Sales Office. Reported quarterly sales reports to the company Board of Directors in France. Demptos Glass (Agent for Canton Wood Products & Tonnellerie Boutes), Napa California   Ã‚   1991-1994 Cork Associates (Agent for Canton Wood Products & Tonnellerie Boutes), Napa California   1990-1991 Barrel Builder (Agent for Canton Wood Products & Tonnellerie Boutes), Calistoga, California  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1988-1989 Sales Representative Sold oak wine barrels throughout the United States as a Sales Representative of Canton Wood Products and Tonnellerie Boutes. EDUCATION University of California Davis, Davis, California Home Winemaking Course, 2005 Certificate in Winemaking, 1999 Santa Rosa, Marin, San Mateo, De Anza, & Hawthorne Junior Colleges Approximately 60 units in General Education & Viticulture, 1989-1996 COMPUTER SKILLS Word ¨Excel  ¨PowerPoint  ¨QuickBooks  ¨ ACT

Apa Written Essay

Apa Written Essay Apa Written Essay The Legalization of Illegal Drugs and Its Impact on American Society February 6, 2013 Abstract The Legalization of Illegal Drugs and Its Impact on American Society America’s war on drugs may have just become a little confusing to its citizens, because on November 6th of 2012, voters in Washington State approved a law allowing the recreational use and possession of an illegal drug, Marijuana. It is known as Initiative 502 and went into effect on December 6th of 2012. How will this law ultimately affect American society as a whole? To truly grasp the impact, whether positive or negative, a better understanding of the drug and its effects must be known. Why has Marijuana been classified, alongside heroin, as a schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency? How have society’s and healthcare professional’s views changed in the time during which Marijuana was made legal for medicinal use? Cannabis Sativa, the plant from which marijuana is derived, has had many uses throughout history. Use can be traced back to ancient cultures, when the plant was first grown for the benefit of its strong fibers used to make string, rope, and paper. The seeds were utilized by some of the Chinese population to make oil used for medical purposes. (Zuardi) Historically in Europe, cannabis seeds were burned ritualistically at funerals and the vapors were inhaled for euphoric purposes. (Zuardi) The active ingredient, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, accounts for both the physical and psychotropic effects of cannabis. Physical symptoms of use include increased heart rate and fluctuations in blood pressure. Cannabis use has been associated with decreased pulmonary function, chronic obstructive airway diseases, and pulmonary infections in those who smoke it regularly. (Leung, 2011) Marijuana is also known to cause effects that include: euphoria, anxiety, psychomotor retardation, and impairment of cognition and memory. The Controlled Substances Act administered by the Drug Enforcement Administration classifies all drugs according to a certain criteria. These criteria include: its actual or relative potential for abuse; scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect; the state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug or other substance; its history and current pattern of abuse; the scope, duration, and significance of abuse; what, if any, risk there is to the public health; its psychic or physiological dependence liability; and whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled (Title 21, 2007.) Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule 1 drug as it has met these three criteria for placement: it has a high potential for abuse, it currently has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and if has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision (FDA News, 2006.) Cannabis has not yet been assessed by the US Food and Dru g Administration and controlled trials are needed to determine side effects of the drug before deeming it safe to any individual (Marciano). People must know what the outcome will be when they put any substance into their body, whether negative or positive and all drugs have side effects. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law and those that grow or sell it under state law, can be arrested by the federal government. Medical marijuana was legalized in Washington State in 2007. For many of those with a terminal illness or chronic pain, this was seen as a godsend. Healthcare practitioners were given the right to authorize the use and write a prescription for those afflicted with conditions such as: nausea, vomiting, and cachexia associated with cancer, HIV-positive status, AIDS, hepatitis C, anorexia, and their treatments; severe muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and other seizure and spasticity disorders; acute or chronic glaucoma; Crohn's disease; and other forms of intractable pain (Chapter 69.51A RCW.)

Free Essays on Treasure Mountain

Throughout the classic western, Treasure Mountain, written by Louis L’Amour, the main character goes through many internal and external conflicts. The author portrays his themes in more of a straightforward manner as opposed to using any type of symbolism or metaphor. The novel revolves around Orrin Sackett, a lawyer in the late 1800’s. He lived in the northern portion of the country. He learns his father has died while on a gold mining trip in New Orleans. Instead of using indirect characterization to show a character’s state of mind, L’Amour uses an omniscient point of view to assure the reader that the character’s suspicisions are genuine. Orrin has his own theories regarding his father’s mysterious death and plans to investigate them further. Orrin theorizes his father and those who have accompanied him to New Orleans found gold. Being a fair person, he knows his father would have taken his share and handed the remainder over the rightful owners. When the other members of the mining party return North empty handed, Orrin thinks they killed his father for his share of the gold and buried all of the gold with the intent of returning to the mountain to retrieve it. L’Amour avoids complex flashbacks, but the events are narrated in chronological order in an attempt to keep the reader involved in the action at the present moment. Sackett travels to New Orleans where he stays with his brother, all the while searching for clues about his father. On his search, he finds his theory is correct. The men he suspected of killing his father were guilty. Orrin went to New Orleans with the intent of seeking revenge on those involved in his father’s murder. However as circumstances would have it, each of these individuals met with an untimely death leaving the unclaimed gold to be found by Orrin and his brother. Here the absence of symbolism and flashback assure the reader that the tone is positively and presently dangerous. As ... Free Essays on Treasure Mountain Free Essays on Treasure Mountain Throughout the classic western, Treasure Mountain, written by Louis L’Amour, the main character goes through many internal and external conflicts. The author portrays his themes in more of a straightforward manner as opposed to using any type of symbolism or metaphor. The novel revolves around Orrin Sackett, a lawyer in the late 1800’s. He lived in the northern portion of the country. He learns his father has died while on a gold mining trip in New Orleans. Instead of using indirect characterization to show a character’s state of mind, L’Amour uses an omniscient point of view to assure the reader that the character’s suspicisions are genuine. Orrin has his own theories regarding his father’s mysterious death and plans to investigate them further. Orrin theorizes his father and those who have accompanied him to New Orleans found gold. Being a fair person, he knows his father would have taken his share and handed the remainder over the rightful owners. When the other members of the mining party return North empty handed, Orrin thinks they killed his father for his share of the gold and buried all of the gold with the intent of returning to the mountain to retrieve it. L’Amour avoids complex flashbacks, but the events are narrated in chronological order in an attempt to keep the reader involved in the action at the present moment. Sackett travels to New Orleans where he stays with his brother, all the while searching for clues about his father. On his search, he finds his theory is correct. The men he suspected of killing his father were guilty. Orrin went to New Orleans with the intent of seeking revenge on those involved in his father’s murder. However as circumstances would have it, each of these individuals met with an untimely death leaving the unclaimed gold to be found by Orrin and his brother. Here the absence of symbolism and flashback assure the reader that the tone is positively and presently dangerous. As ...

History of the Yellow Star Inscribed With Jude

History of the Yellow Star Inscribed With Jude The yellow star, inscribed with the word Jude (Jew in German), has become a symbol of Nazi persecution. Its likeness abounds upon Holocaust literature and materials. But the Jewish badge was not instituted in 1933 when Hitler came to power. It was not instituted in 1935 when the Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their citizenship. It was still not implemented by Kristallnacht in 1938. The oppression and labeling of the Jews by use of the Jewish badge did not begin until after the start of the Second World War. And even then, it began as local laws rather than as a unified Nazi policy. Whether Nazis Where First to Implement a Jewish Badge The Nazis rarely had an original idea. Almost always what made the Nazi policies different was that they intensified, magnified, and institutionalized age-old methods of persecution. The oldest reference to using mandatory articles of clothing to identify and distinguish Jews from the rest of society was in 807 CE. In this year, Abbassid caliph Haroun al-Raschid ordered all Jews to wear a yellow belt and a tall, cone-like hat.1 But it was in 1215 that the Fourth Lateran Council, presided over by Pope Innocent III, made its infamous decree. Canon 68 declared: Jews and Saracens [Muslims] of both sexes in every Christian province and at all times shall be marked off in the eyes of the public from other peoples through the character of their dress.2 This Council represented all of Christendom and thus this decree was to be enforced throughout all of the Christian countries. The use of a badge was not instantaneous throughout Europe nor were the dimensions or shape of the badge uniform. As early as 1217, King Henry III of England ordered Jews to wear on the front of their upper garment the two tablets of the Ten Commandments made of white linen or parchment.3 In France, local variations of the badge continued until Louis IX decreed in 1269 that both men and women were to wear badges on the outer garment, both front and back, round pieces of yellow felt or linen, a palm long and four fingers wide.4 In Germany and Austria, Jews were distinguishable in the latter half of the 1200s when the wearing of a horned hat otherwise known as a Jewish hat - an article of clothing that Jews had worn freely before the crusades - became mandatory. It wasnt until the fifteenth century when a badge became the distinguishing article in Germany and Austria. The use of badges became relatively widespread throughout Europe within a couple of centuries and continued to be used as distinctive markings until the age of Enlightenment. In 1781, Joseph II of Austria made major torrents into the use of a badge with his Edict of Tolerance and many other countries discontinued their use of badges very late in the eighteenth century. When the Nazis Decided to Re-Use the Jewish Badge The first reference to a Jewish badge during the Nazi era was made by the German Zionist leader, Robert Weltsch. During the Nazi declared boycott upon Jewish stores on April 1, 1933, yellow Stars of David were painted on windows. In reaction to this, Weltsch wrote an article entitled Tragt ihn mit Stolz, den gelben Fleck (Wear the Yellow Badge with Pride) which was published on April 4, 1933. At this time, Jewish badges had yet even to be discussed among the top Nazis. It is believed that the first time that the implementation of a Jewish badge was discussed among the Nazi leaders was right after Kristallnacht in 1938. At a meeting on November 12, 1938, Reinhard Heydrich made the first suggestion about a badge. But it wasnt until after the Second World War began in September 1939 that individual authorities implemented a Jewish badge in the Nazi German-occupied territories of Poland. For instance, on November 16, 1939, the order for a Jewish badge was announced in Lodz. We are returning to the Middle Ages. The yellow patch once again becomes a part of Jewish dress. Today an order was announced that all Jews, no matter what age or sex, have to wear a band of Jewish-yellow, 10 centimeters wide, on their right arm, just below the armpit.5 Various locales within occupied Poland had their own regulations about size, color, and shape of the badge to be worn until Hans Frank made a decree that affected all of the Government General in Poland. On November 23, 1939, Hans Frank, the chief officer of the Government General, declared that all Jews above ten years of age were to wear a white badge with a Star of David on their right arm. It wasnt until nearly two years later that a decree, issued on September 1, 1941, issued badges to Jews within Germany as well as occupied and incorporated Poland. This badge was the yellow Star of David with the word Jude (Jew) and worn on the left side of ones chest. How Implementing the Jewish Badge Helped the Nazis Of  course, the obvious benefit of the badge to the Nazis was the visual labeling of the Jews. No longer would the rabble only be able to attack and persecute those Jews with stereotypical Jewish features or forms of dress, now all Jews and  part-Jews  were open to the various Nazi actions. The badge made a distinction. One day there were just people on the street, and the next day, there were Jews and non-Jews. A common reaction was as Gertrud Scholtz-Klinks stated in her answer to the question, What did you think when one day in 1941 you saw so many of your fellow Berliners appear with yellow stars on their coats? Her answer, I dont know how to say it. There were so many. I felt that my aesthetic sensibility was wounded. 6   All of a sudden, stars were everywhere, just like Hitler had said there were. How the Badge Affected Jews At first, many Jews felt humiliated about having to wear the badge. As in Warsaw: For many weeks the Jewish intelligentsia retired to voluntary house arrest. Nobody dared to go out into the street with the stigma on his arm, and if compelled to do so, tried to sneak through without being noticed, in shame and in pain, with his eyes fixed to the ground.7 The badge was an obvious, visual, step back to the Middle Ages, a time before Emancipation. But soon after its implementation, the badge represented more than humiliation and shame, it represented fear. If a Jew forgot to wear their badge they could be fined or imprisoned, but often, it meant beatings or death. Jews came up with ways to remind themselves not to go out without their badge. Posters often could be found at the exit doors of apartments that warned Jews by stating: Remember the Badge! Have you already put on the Badge? The Badge! Attention, the Badge! Before leaving the  building,  put on the Badge! But remembering to wear the badge was not their only fear. Wearing the badge meant that they were targets for attacks and that they could be grabbed for forced labor. Many Jews attempted to hide the badge. When the badge was a white armband with a Star of David, men and women would wear white shirts or blouses. When the badge was yellow and worn on the chest, Jews would carry objects and hold them in such a way as to cover their badge. To make sure that Jews could be easily noticed, some local authorities added additional stars to be worn on the back and even on one knee. But those werent the only rules. And, actually, what made the fear of the badge even greater were the other innumerable infractions for which Jews could be punished. Jews could be punished for wearing a creased or  folded  badge. They could be punished for wearing their badge a centimeter out of place. They could be punished for attaching the badge using a safety pin rather than sewing it onto their clothing.9 The use of safety pins was an effort to conserve badges and yet give themselves flexibility in outfits. Jews were required to wear a badge on their outer clothing - thus, at least on their dress or shirt and on their overcoat. But often, the material for badges or the badges themselves were scarce, so the number of dresses or shirts that one owned far exceeded the availability of badges. In order to wear more than one dress or shirt all the time, Jews would safety pin a badge onto their clothing for easy transfer of the badge to the next days clothing. The Nazis did not like the practice of safety pinning for they believed it was so the Jews could easily take off their star if danger seemed near. And it very often was. Under the Nazi regime, Jews were constantly in danger. Up to the time when Jewish badges were implemented, uniform persecution against the Jews could not be accomplished. With the visual labeling of Jews, the years of haphazard persecution quickly changed to organized destruction. References 1. Joseph Telushkin,  Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History  (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1991) 163.2. The Fourth Lateran Council of 1215: Decree Concerning the Garb Distinguishing Jews from Christians, Canon 68 as quoted in Guido Kisch, The Yellow Badge in History,  Historia Judaica  4.2 (1942): 103.3. Kisch, Yellow Badge 105.4. Kisch, Yellow Badge 106.5. Dawid Sierakowiak,  The Diary of Dawid Sierakowiak: Five Notebooks from the Lodz Ghetto  (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) 63.6. Claudia Koonz,  Mothers in the Fatherland: Women, the Family, and Nazi Politics  (New York: St. Martins Press, 1987) xxi.7. Lieb Spizman as quoted in Philip Friedman,  Roads to Extinction: Essays on the Holocaust  (New York: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1980) 24.8. Friedman,  Roads to Extinction  18.9. Friedman,  Roads to Extinction  18. Sources Friedman, Philip. Roads to Extinction: Essays on the Holocaust. New York: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1980.Kisch, Guido. The Yellow Badge in History. Historia Judaica 4.2 (1942): 95-127.Koonz, Claudia. Mothers in the Fatherland: Women, the Family, and Nazi Politics. New York: St. Martins Press, 1987.Sierakowiak, Dawid. The Diary of Dawid Sierakowiak: Five Notebooks from the  Lodz Ghetto. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.Straus, Raphael. The Jewish Hat as an Aspect of Social History. Jewish Social Studies 4.1 (1942): 59-72.Telushkin, Joseph. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1991.

Piano Sonata in D Major Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Piano Sonata in D Major - Essay Example I have chosen to evaluate the different musical elements embedded in this composition because I have always been an admirer of Mozart. Since this composition is considered one of his best works, I find it very interesting and analyzing it is something that I will enjoy. The sonata was divided into 3 distinct movements. Each movement possessed different elements of music such as rhythm and melody, color and texture, and form and harmony. However, it should be noted that these differences only highlights the musical and aesthetic value of the piece. The first movement allegro, meaning fast, is written in a strict sonata form. The sonata form is founded around 1770 and eventually became popular and widely utilized in musical composition during the turn of the 19th century. The beginning movement is divided into 3 sections: the exposition; the development; and the recap. In the exposition, Mozart introduces the first and secondary theme which is also known as the main melody. Next, the development section in which the material presented in the exposition is expanded. In this section, remote chords are introduced. Finally, the movement ends with the recapitulation. The material used in the exposition was re-stated in the home key of the piece following an ABA form. The fir The first movement also portrays a thick orchestral texture. Mozart used double thirds, remarkable scales and tremolos to create beautiful melodic line which is sometimes located in the left hand. The left hand octaves resemble the effect of woodwinds, violins, and the vigorous bowing of the celli and double-basses resulting to create an orchestral effect. Though having a thick orchestral texture, Mozart was still able to control and maintain the serenity and elegance of the music which best characterized his musical style. The Second Movement The following movement, a Rondeau en Polonaise in Andante (meaning slow in tempo), is an elegant structure whose lively thematic melody is embellished every time it returns. In this movement, Mozart used a Polonaise as another material for his composition in which during his time resembles a stately procession. The Third Movement The concluding movement, Tema con variazioni(Theme and Variations) is regarded as one of the finest compositions of Mozart in this genre. The theme was modified in to twelve remarkable variations. Although Mozart altered the theme, he maintained that the thematic idea would still be present and aurally recognizable. The underlying accompaniment of the left hand followed the traces of harmonic progressions stated in the original theme. The emergence of dissonances in each variation which somehow created a new harmony made it quite different. Each of the twelve variations that he wrote based on the original theme can be considered as a best reference for composers and arrangers. The variations exploit a lot of musical and technical devises such as virtuosic runs, crossing of hands, octave doubling and the use of parallel minor key in variation 7, remarkable alberti base and many more. The aria like penultimate variation is the most interesting among the twelve variat

Becton Dickinson Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Becton Dickinson Company - Assignment Example If the company were to have a global policy, it should state that company policy prohibits BD employees from soliciting or accepting gifts or gratuities from suppliers or any interest that the company works with. Connected to that, gifts and gratuities should not be sent to BD employees. Gifts and gratuities are either cash or non-cash awards that do not appear on supplier contracts. BD and its employees can only accept payments that are spelled out in such contracts; any other gifts, gratuities, or payments will be rejected. What is not clear from this policy, though, are business meals – which are a necessary part of doing business, but they should not be lavish or frequent. On the subject of â€Å"facilitating payments†, BD should not prohibit them unless the laws of the specific country do. If BD does need to make a facilitating payment, it must state that it will do so in its contract with the recipient of that payment. The process of dealing with distributors, con sultants, and other third parties should be transparent to leadership in each country such that individuals in charge of those relationships are held accountable for their dealings with these other parties. If wrongdoing is discovered, BD should act consistently with its policy to not tolerate corruption. Consistent with the approach of outlining a general, compliant global policy at a corporate level and then leaving much latitude to local entities in carrying it out, responsibility for communicating, monitoring, and enforcing the policy is shared between the corporate and local groups.

Morality and Ethics Essay Topic Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Morality and Ethics Topic - Essay Example A person can be classified as a good or bad on the basis of his ethical and moral values. Generally ethics and morality can be interchanged as they are almost identical on the basis of the concept that they hold. Ethics and morality is that important of life without which the life would be all messed up and confused; as it boldly demarcates between the good and evil conducts. A person cannot spend his entire life without being able to differentiate between what is right and wrong. For a person to spend a life that is balanced and complete and such that others can be benefitted from it and he himself can feel satisfied and contended with his doings and ultimately his entire life it is necessary that he must be able to differentiate and recognize the right and wrong or evil in his life and he must be able to distinguish between the practices and conducts that must be followed and adopted and which must be avoided or abstained from (Pojman, 56). In this world there are many goods and ev ils present and we are surrounded by them at all times and it all depends on us that which practices attract and appeal us and how we would prefer to spend our life. Usually the goods are difficult to adopt and follow but once we adopt them it does not remain difficult on the contrary the evils that are present in the society and all around us are no doubt very attractive and appealing, in fact they are like magnetic forces which attract the people towards them and the people who get attracted are doomed for their entire life (Hauser, 102-105). In the beginning it all seems good and composed but slowly and gradually the person realizes that he has destroyed the peace, calm, serenity in his life by opting for the wrong deeds. A person who chooses to adopt the bad will not be able to come out of the world of bad deeds and his entire life gets destroyed; however a person who has a very strong will to get rid of all bad deeds and doings can manage to get out of this mess after a very lo ng and tiring struggle. This means it is not impossible to get out of the darkness (Pojman, 89). An important fact is that people get confused in understanding and distinguishing between the good and bad. The evil has so gained so much strength that the most obvious things around us that have become a routine for us are bad but owing to our routine observation we do not consider it bad or evil and feel no harm in adopting them. The goods and evils of the society have been defined by the people themselves. The acts and conducts that bring about peace and calm in one’s life and also the acts that are beneficial in some way or the other for the people or the society are considered as good deeds or good conducts and those acts which snatch away all the happiness in the life of a person, resulting in darkness in one’s life and the acts that bring harm or damage to the society or the people are considered as evils. There is no rule book or book of code of conducts for the pe ople to follow. The people learn and get to know about these conducts as they move on in their lives. The elderly and experienced people can serve as a guide for all the people and guide the people to what is good and what is evil. As a person grows and enters the age of maturity he himself becomes capable of sorting out matters and classifying them as good and evil. The ability of

GMO the Necessary Evil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GMO the Necessary Evil - Essay Example The discussion of whether Genetically Modified Organisms are good or bad for consumption can go on without a conclusion. My goal in this paper is to bring out both the negative and positive effects genetically modified organisms have and to show how essential they are. To achieve this goal, we shall start by looking at the negative or the health risks associated with genetically modified organisms citing evidence from different authors, and then I will discuss the reason why genetically modified foods were introduced and why I think they are a necessary evil. Now that we have introduced GMOs, let us look at the health risks associated with this kind of food. Although Genetically Modified Organisms were introduced in 1996, their side effects on human health have already been noticed; there have been increased reports of allergic reaction, toxic hazards (Wald and Michael 46). These side effects may be seen as minimal, the most worrying are the long term effects which may be more drastic. Children with life threatening allergies are associated with GMOs increased intake. There have been 37 reported deaths of people associated with the side effects of GMOs (Smith 258). Moreover GMOs have been associated with birth defects, stillbirth, infertility, cancers and miscarriages (Bodiguel 45). Researchers claim that glyphosphate found in GMO are the cause of malformation chicken embryos and these effects were evident to human birth defects in areas associated with genetically modified soy production. To be precise the researchers found malformation of the head were the new borne had a single eye (Wald and Michael 44). With long term exposure to genetically modified organisms the data  relating to the diverse effects will only increase as we continue to feed on GMOs without giving thought the negative effects they can have on our health and reproduction of future

Explanatory essay assignment sheet marijuana and tobaco

Explanatory assignment sheet marijuana and tobaco - Essay Example Most governments in the world set big budgets to fight smoking habits instead of using the funds in other sectors that can improve the general lifestyles of their citizens. This paper analyses the relationship between marijuana and tobacco as well as their respective effects on human health. Smoking marijuana and tobacco have almost similar effects and characteristics in terms of their usage and consequences. The majority of smokers begin smoking at teenage and the addiction intensifies when they become adults and at this stage, it becomes very difficult to quit the habit (Williams and Williams 327). People smoke for different reasons such as the need for adolescent to look mature, peer influence and finally to try out. The fact that most old people such as parents and relatives smoke lures the children also to smoke so that they can also look mature. Children may at times be involved in smoking if they see their friends and their peers smoke perhaps to be accepted. People have the tendency of experimenting prohibited things so that they can actually find out the reason for it being outlawed. Parents and the government normally prohibit smoking among children hence making the children sneak away and smoke (Malmberg et al. 1512-1520). It is however interesting to note that grown-ups smoke for some reasons different from the children such as relieving them from stress and pressures due to economic or personal problems. Adults feel that smoking make them feel relaxed or boost their energy as they undergo difficulties such as family burdens or relationship challenges. Adolescent stage is the right age of ascertaining whether a child will be a heavy smoker or not by paying much attention on their behaviors (Williams and Williams 327). Marital status according to the HSCIC plays a significant role in smoking where most smokers are reported to be divorced, separated, or unmarried. However,

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 2

Management - Essay Example These students need an appropriate place for completing their assignments and homework projects. In addition, need for friendly studying environment increases during examination period. Therefore, students remain in dire need of an appropriate environmental context to conduct their learning activities. University of Colorado at Denver usually has study rooms and library facilities. However, these rooms open their doors for a limited number of hours. Studies indicates that junior students would use approximately 15 hours, while senior students use 20 hours every week in class work preparations (Seung 89). In this context, it would be appropriate to consider development of a facility that provides a 24/7 study room services around the campus. The main objectives of this project include provision of a user-friendly learning environment for the student population. The first aim is to facilitate availability of a 350-student capacity study room within the facility. This space will accommo date a significant number of students all around the clock. Apart from individual study sections, the facility will have lounges meant for constructive discussions relating to learning processes. The project also takes into consideration the fact that modern learning processes requires utilization of electronic knowledge sources from the internet (Seung 46). Therefore, involved stakeholders will ensure that the UCD facility has fully equipped and operational computer laboratories. Apart from objectives of promoting academic learning, the project will enhance provision of a suitable social atmosphere for the students. This aspect of socialization will be addressed by installation of TV room with entertainment features. In addition, students will acquire employment opportunities through various management related vacancies within the facility. Addition of a snack vendor kiosk will facilitate generation of funds that can be used to improve service delivery within the facility. In gener al, integration of all these aspects within the project will serve the purpose of providing a satisfactory and cost effective environment for studying. Students who would prefer to conduct their learning activities at unconventional hours will benefit from this project. In this regard, facility management will ensure development of a sustainable secure atmosphere that will substantially increase studying time for the university students. In order to ensure objective development of a feasible project proposal, the concerned team will apply inherent efforts in involving relevant authorities in their respective roles. Relevant authorities within the project’s work structure would include the university’s administration. Relevant information needs to reach the campus management in a timely manner. In this case, timely provision of relevant data increases chances of project approval from the administration. Apart from the campus directorate, numerous logistical permits will be necessary during construction exercise. In this case, city authorities will play a significant role in enabling commencement of construction plans implementations. Timely provision of rational information should reach city officials in order to appraise the quality and validity of the project in meeting its objectives. This means that suitable communication techniques and channels will facilitate acquisition of relevant permits from city

Explanatory essay assignment sheet marijuana and tobaco

Explanatory assignment sheet marijuana and tobaco - Essay Example Most governments in the world set big budgets to fight smoking habits instead of using the funds in other sectors that can improve the general lifestyles of their citizens. This paper analyses the relationship between marijuana and tobacco as well as their respective effects on human health. Smoking marijuana and tobacco have almost similar effects and characteristics in terms of their usage and consequences. The majority of smokers begin smoking at teenage and the addiction intensifies when they become adults and at this stage, it becomes very difficult to quit the habit (Williams and Williams 327). People smoke for different reasons such as the need for adolescent to look mature, peer influence and finally to try out. The fact that most old people such as parents and relatives smoke lures the children also to smoke so that they can also look mature. Children may at times be involved in smoking if they see their friends and their peers smoke perhaps to be accepted. People have the tendency of experimenting prohibited things so that they can actually find out the reason for it being outlawed. Parents and the government normally prohibit smoking among children hence making the children sneak away and smoke (Malmberg et al. 1512-1520). It is however interesting to note that grown-ups smoke for some reasons different from the children such as relieving them from stress and pressures due to economic or personal problems. Adults feel that smoking make them feel relaxed or boost their energy as they undergo difficulties such as family burdens or relationship challenges. Adolescent stage is the right age of ascertaining whether a child will be a heavy smoker or not by paying much attention on their behaviors (Williams and Williams 327). Marital status according to the HSCIC plays a significant role in smoking where most smokers are reported to be divorced, separated, or unmarried. However,

Martha Stewart Lost Reputation Essay Example for Free

Martha Stewart Lost Reputation Essay Martha Stewart places her name on her products. She becomes the face of her company and the voice of her brand. When her personal misconduct occurred, she made her company vulnerable and risky as well. This case study examines how Martha Stewart managed her corporate communication when her public image and reputation were tarnished on trial for alleged insider trading scandal. The trial not only led her to prison but also hurt her brand equity. The study shows that Stewart’s early response to her crisis demonstrated lack of situation awareness. In the beginning of her investigation, she kept her public persona intact, ignoring or downplaying her role in it. As a result, what Stewart called â€Å"a small personal matter† later became a full -blown crisis. If she had managed her communication in a more timely manner, the magnitude of her crisis might have been minimized. This article also provides detailed insights for organizations to learn from her crisis response strategies. Keywords: Organizational crisis, Crisis communication, Image restoration 1. Introduction The personalities of strong business leaders can help shape and enhance their corporate image. In some cases, the leaders become the virtual icon of the corporate brand, lendi ng their personal prestige to the brand and personifying the company. They can also threaten the company when they are involved in a scandal. In this situation, the consequences for the company can be critical as in the Martha Stewart’s insider trading crisis in the United States. The crisis management scholar, Roux-Dufort (2000) points out that corporate crises as â€Å"a privileged moment during which to understand things differently† (p. 26). As such, there is a growing body of literature on organizational learning in the wake of corporate crisis (Mitroff, 2002; Shrivastava, 1998). The Stewart case, in particular, drew the attention of media for years. The crisis of Martha Stewart’s insider trading raised the issue about the Martha Stewart’s multiplatform franchise; that is, the media world and homemaking business are intricately interwoven with her persona. Stewart’s empire has an impressive business synergy as shown by her TV programs that promote her magazines, her website which sells her products, and her p roducts which are a link to her TV programs. She is the face, voice and personality behind the brand and, thus, the two – Stewart and the brand – are inseparable. After Stewart’s personal misconduct, the interlocking nature of her business proved to be vulnerable and risky. Moreover, Stewart’s crisis had both legal and public relations components (Jerome, Moffitt, Knudsen, 2007). Allegations of insider trading against Martha Stewart led to her imprisonment. Her strategic plan in response to the insider trading accusations and the media attention su rrounding this crisis left Stewart trying to take action to restore her image. In a sense, it is important to understand how Stewart herself and her company managed their corporate communication when her public image and reputation were tarnished under the investigation of the insider trading scandal. This article explores how the high profile iconic Martha Stewart responded when confronted with an organizational crisis that threatened existence. It also provides detailed insights for organizations to learn from her crisis response strategies. 2. Background of Martha Stewart’s Insider Trading Beginning with the 1982 publication of her book Entertaining, Martha Stewart made a name for herself as a homemaking diva. In September 1997, Stewart became chairperson, president, and CEO of her new company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSO since 1999. As the chief of MSO, Stewart used her name and face to make connections with various businesses including a line of housewares, television shows, radio channels, magazines and a series of books on entertaining. On December 27, 2001, Stewart sold 3,928 shares of her ImClone stock worth US$228,000 the day before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected approval of Erbitux, ImClone’s anti -cancer drug. By selling ahead of the FDA rejection, Stewart received about US$45,000 more than if she had sold the stocks later. Compared to her wealth, it was certainly an insignificant sum and in fact, during her Larry King Live interview, she said it was â€Å"miniscule, really, about 0.006 percent of my net worth† (Four nier, 2004). Stewart had denied any wrongdoing, insisting she did not receive any advance knowledge from Sam Waksal, the founder and CEO of ImClone about the decision on Erbitux (Pollack, 2002). Instead, her sale of ImClone stock was part of a predetermined plan to sell if shares fell below US$60. Later, Stewart was officially indicted on charges of securities fraud and obstructing justice related to her sale of ImClone stock on March 5, 2004. Judge Cedarbaum dismissed the securities fraud charge against S tewart, saying prosecutors had failed to present enough evidence on the issue (Masters White, 2004). However, obstruction of justice, charges of conspiracy, and making false statements remained. Stewart served a five-month prison sentence between October 8, 2004 and March 4, 2005 for these charges. On August 7, 2006, Martha Stewart reached an agreement with the securities’ regulators over the insider-trading civil charges and agreed to pay US$195,000 to settle a five-year legal battle. 3. Literature Review Crisis events can and do strike organizations of all types. Every kind of organization, from larger organizations to small family owned businesses, have the potential of being a victim of crisis (Seeger, Sellnow, Ulmer, 2003). In many circumstances, crisis immediately raises questions from an organization’s many different publics (Marra, 1998). In this view, for an organization to manage the effects of a crisis it must communicate to both internal and external stakeholders. Ulmer, Sellnow, and Seeger (2007) suggest all crises involve the general communication strategies of reducing uncertainty, responding to the crisis, resolving it, and learning from it. The ability to communicate quickly and effectively is clearly an important component of successfu l crisis management. Effective crisis communication can not only defuse or eliminate crisis, but it can sometimes bring an organization a more positive reputation than before the crisis occurred (Kauffman, 2005). On the other hand, Marra (1998) argues if an organization fails to respond to a crisis in the correct manner, a bad situation can be made worse. Hence, crisis communication strategies can substantially diminish the harm caused by a crisis or magnify the harm if mismanaged. In this study, the stream of crisis response models from communication scholars and public relations professionals (Benoit, 1995; Coombs, 1999, 2007) are utilized as the theoretical framework to interpret the crisis response strategies that Martha Stewart employed in her insider trading crisis. According to Benoit (1995), firms or individuals may take preventative and restorative approaches to image problems. Five strategies (i.e., denial, evasion of responsibility, reduction of the offensiveness of the act , corrective action, and mortification) make up the rhetoric or image repair discourse. Each of these strategies has a set of tactics within them. Denial is the strategy employed when the rhetor simply chooses to deny the actions he is being accused of or shift the blame from the organization to outside individuals or agencies. The second strategy is evasion of responsibility is the strategy that the rhetor can blame circumstances beyond his control. It consists of four possible tactics: provocation, defeasibility, accident and good intentions. Benoit’s third major image restoration strategy, occurs when the rhetor attempts to reduce the degree of offensiveness experienced by the accuser. To this end, Benoit includes six tactics: bolstering, minimization, differentiation, transcendence, attacking the accuser, and compensation. The fourth category of the typology is corrective action, which attempts to correct the situation rather than counterbalance it. The final image restoration strategy, mortification, requires the rhetor to take responsibility for the action and to issue an apology. Benoit and colleagues have applied the model to a variety of different crisis situations. For instance, Benoit and Brinson (1994) analyzed ATT’s defense following an interruption of its long-distance service in New York in September of 1991. Initially, ATT tried to shift blame to low-level workers. As the complete story emerged, however, ATT apologized for the interruption (mortification) and began to bolster its image by stressing its commitment to excellence, the billions of dollars invested in service, and the quality of its employees. Finally, ATT promised corrective action and introduced a comprehensive review of its operations to anticipate and prevent further problems. It also stressed its commitment to providing excellent service and its willingness to spend billions of dollars to do so. Given these corrective action strategies, ATT’s finally restored its image. Benoit (1995) also examined Union Carbide’s response to the Bhopal, India, gas leak that kille d thousands and injured hundreds of thousands. Union Carbide’s primary strategies, bolstering and corrective action, were focused on four specific actions: a relief fund, an orphanage, medical supplies, and medical personnel. Although these strategies were appropriate and timely, Benoit claimed that Union Carbide failed to address the most important question: What were they doing to prevent another tragedy? Coombs (1999, 2007) develops situational crisis communication theory, creating 10 categories of basic organizational crisis communication strategies. These strategies are further grouped into four posture: 1) â€Å"denial posture† including attack the accuser (confronting person claiming a crisis occurred), denial ( asserting no crisis), and scapegoat (shifting the blame to others outside the organization), with an attempt to eliminate the crisis by denying its existence or the organization’s responsibility for the crisis; 2) â€Å"diminishment posture† which takes the forms of excuse (denying intend to do harm or claiming inability to control) and justification (minimizing severity of damage) with the purpose of weakening the link between the crisis and the organization by claiming the crisis is not the organization’s fault; 3) â€Å"rebuilding posture† of compensation (providing money or other gifts to the victims) and apology (taking full responsibility), which strives to restore legitimacy by seeking public approval and forgiveness; and 4) â€Å"bolstering posture† which includes reminder (telling stakeholders about its past good works), ingratiation (praising stakeholders and/or reminds them of past good works) and victimage (reminding stakeholders that the organization is a victim of the crisis, too). Using Coombs’s typology of crisis response strategies, Wilcox and Cameron (2006) examined the case of Intel. In 1993, Intel initially denied there was a problem with its Pentium 586 chip. As the crisis was covered in the mainstream press, Intel used the justification strategy by assuring that the problem was not serious enough to warrant replacing the chips. It minimized the concerns of consumers. In fact, Intel mismanaged the handling of its crisis communication. First, it did not disclose to the public the information about the Pentium flaw when they initially realized there was a problem. Then when the problem finally did come out into the open, they downplayed it instead of helping the users who had purchased the flawed chips. After considerable damage had been done to Intel’s reputation and IBM had suspended orders for the chip, Intel took corrective action to replace the chips. Subsequently, Andy Grove, Intel’s president, issued a full apology. Based on Benoit’s image repair theory and Coombs’s typology of crisis response st rategies, the following research questions are posited: RQ 1. What strategies did Martha Stewart use to manage her insider trading crisis? RQ 2. Were these strategies effective or ineffective? RQ 3. What can we learn from Martha Stewart case? 4. Methodology The case study is employed in this study, as it is effective in illustrating public relations management in real situations (Hendrix, 2004). According to Yin (1994), the six sources of evidence that are typically associated with the case study include documents, archival records, interviews, direct observation, participant -observation, and physical artifacts. In this study, texts documenting Stewart’s discourse in response to incidents that threatened her image were collected from multiple sources. Specifically, this study used predominantly two types of data: documents and archival records. It began with gathering data and finding facts related to cases and defining the specific tasks. The actions and communication strategies used by Martha Stewart wer e reviewed with information from her corporate websites, press releases and media coverage. MSO is a publicly traded company. A look at the organizational archival records (e.g., stock prices, sales and annual reports) and official government records (e.g. , court records and commission reports) contributed to understand the impact of corporate scandals have had on the companies’ financial performance and their stakeholders. The media coverage on the Martha Stewart case was found through Lexis Nexis Academi c keyword search of â€Å"Martha Stewart insider trading† in The New York Times and The Washington Post. These newspapers were selected because of their large circulation, prominence and influence on public opinion. For the purpose of the valance of news narration in this study, the period of analysis covered two time frames (during the crisis and post crisis). The first time frame started from the trading day to the verdict, beginning in December, 2001 and running through March, 2004. The second time frame started from the day of sentencing to her release from prison, beginning on July 16, 2004 and running t hrough March 2005. Since the research questions of this study were related to crisis communication strategies, the unit of analysis of this case study was Martha Stewart’s response to stakeholders during and post crisis. Thus, the strategies were apparent through the types of evide nce. 14 By examining corporate communication employed by Martha Stewart during the crisis and post -crisis period, the procedures for analysis involved three steps. First, after the data were collected from multiple sources, a detailed timeline of relevant events leading up to the crisis itself, and the post-crisis process was created. For example, the chronological order of the Martha Stewart case was constructed in the following manner: 1) the investigation (January, 2002 June, 2003); 2) indictment (June – December, 2003); 3) verdict (January May, 2004); 4) sentencing (June – July, 2004); 5) in prison (October, 2004); and 6) release from prison (March, 2005). Second, after the chronological order of actual events was refined, a narrative description and process analysis of each event was thus constructed. A worksheet served as an organizing tool for evaluating each event. All data collected were analyzed using the typology of crisis response strategy. Finally, a thick descript ion and analysis of the findings of each research question was conducted. 5. Analysis of Martha Stewart’s Crisis Response Strategies 5. 1 Investigation The story about Martha Stewart’s ImClone stock sale was broken to the public in the Wall Street Journal on June 7, 2002 (Adams Anand, 2002). In the article, her lawyer, John Savarese, indicated that Stewart had set the price at US$60 for selling the stock but in fact, as of June 7, 2002, the stock price of ImClone sank to a low US$8.45 a share. Using the strategy of differentiation, Savarese further was trying to put distance between Stewart and Sam Waksal. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that she spoke to Sam, or had any information from anybody from ImClone during that week †¦ I am absolutely sure that there was no communication of any kind between her and Sam, no passing of any information from him to her. (Adams Anand, 2002, p. B2) On June 12, 2002, Waksal was arrested for insider trading and soon after, the stock price of MSO plunged 12 percent, closing at US$15. From June 6, 2002, when congressional investigators started looking into Stewart’s sale of ImClone shares, the stock price of MSO had dropped 22 percent. Stewart immediately denied any insider trading or wrongdoing and, in a public statement, she said she knew nothing about the pending FDA announcement. She claimed that when the share price dropped below US$60 – the level at which she had agreed with her broker – she returned a call from her broker and sold the s hares on December 27, 2001. She acknowledged that after the trade, she immediately called Waksal but could not reach him, and he did not call her back. The message she left read: â€Å"Martha Stewart called. Something is going on with ImClone and she wants to know what† (Hays, 2002a, p. C1). She proclaimed her innocence in her statement: â€Å"In placing my trade, I had no improper information. My transaction was entirely lawful† (White, 2002, p. E1). However, the congressional investigator questioned Stewart’s sale, noting that ImClone dropped below $60 at least once before while Stewart owned it (White, 2002). On June 18, 2002, Stewart tried to resolve concerns about her sale of ImClone shares and hired a new lawyer, James F. Fitzpatrick, who submitted several documents to congressional investigators. This was the first time Stewart used a strategy of corrective action as a response to the inquiries. On June 19, 2002, MSO stock rebounded sharply, climbing from US$2.05, to US$14.4 and then to US$16.45, suggesting that her corrective action was working. However, Ken Johnson, a spokesman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the documents would help answer some questions but â€Å"we still don’t have an answer to the most nagging one: was Ms. Stewart’s pre-existing agreement to sell reached in late November, as she says, or in mid-December as some reports have indicated?† (Hays, 2002b, p. C7). On June 25, 2002, she appeared on CBS’s The Early Show, and when asked by the host, Jane Clayson, about the ImClone shares during a cooking segment, she replied while slicing a cabbage with a big knife. I’m involved in an investigation that has very serious implications. I have nothing to say on the matter. I’m really not at liberty to say. And as I said, I think this will be resolved in the very near future and I will be exonerated of any ridiculousness. And I just want to focus on my salad because that is why we’re here. (Clayson, 2002) Apparently, Stewart had no idea how to handle the situation and was unwilling to respond to the questions. She continued to dodge public inquiries and ignored the increasing outcry for answers about her role in the insider trading scandal.