Strategic planning Essay Example for Free

Strategic planning Essay 1. What is the difference between strategic planning and tactical planning? Strategic planning is the process of determining an organizations primary objectives and finding and implementing steps that will achieve the objectives. Tactical planning is setting short-term actions that are needed to compete larger strategies. 2. what is the difference between a business plan and a marketing plan? Business plan is a detailed plan setting out the objectives of a business, the strategy and tactics planned to achieve them, and the expected profits, usually over a period of three to ten years. Marketing plan is a strategic plan at the functional level that provides a firm’s marketing group with direction. The strategy for implementing the components of marketing; creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging value. 3. what is the purpose of a marketing plan? It is a road map that improves the firm’s understanding of its competitive situation. It helps the firm allocate resources and divvy up the tasks that employees need to do for the company to meet its objectives. 4. what are the two elements of every marketing strategy? 1)product strategy-product development strategy – creating new products or services for existing markets. 2)market strategy-market penetration strategy – selling more of existing products and services to existing customers. 5. how would you describe first-mover strategy? A market innovator, not a follower – Corporate level strategy theorizing that being the first organization to offer a product in the marketplace will be the long-term market leader. 6. what are the advantages and disadvantages of being a first mover? Three advantages of being first: technology leadership, control of resources, and buyer switching costs. The disadvantages: later entrants can overcome advantages, must heavily entice customers to try new type of product ( high education expense), some first movers may become complacent with changing customers needs. 7. how would describe second-mover strategy? Corporate level strategy theorizing that closely observing the innovations of the first movers, and then improving on them can help an organization gain advantage in marketplace. 8. what are the advantages and disadvantages of being a second mover? Advantages: ability to observe competitors’ successes and failures. Lower risk in product development and less controversy. Revising rather than creating and competitor surprise, and stealing market share rather than creating it. Disadvantages: persuading customers to â€Å"switch,† communicating your value add.

Royal Mails Human Resource Strategy

Royal Mails Human Resource Strategy 1.The Royal Mail do have three levels of strategies:- Corporate level -which deals with the overall organization. Ex: Geographical regions, Market selection. Business level strategy is mentioned for each type of business carried out by the Royal mail. Functional level- The Finance, Human Resource Management, Production, Marketing, Research and Development comes under this section. The Corporate strategy of Royal mail is designed in such a way that it shows their ability to cope with the market changes in a positive and negative manner. It is the hardships of the employees and their standard customer services makes the Royal mail to get a competitive advantage over its competitors like TNT, DHL etc. Royal Mail which was once said to be the Monopolist in the field of Postal services lost the title of Monopoly in the beginning of 2006. It had 99% of the market share in its hands. Royal mail do have a view to make their corporate Strategic responsibility to become a part of their strategic management process. They are:- 2. Corporate Strategic responsibility includes:- The support of the workers from the workplace which forms the backbone of the Royal mail. The management also deals with the workers in a more friendly manner without any kind of discrimination. Being workers said to be the assets of the firm, Royal Mail takes good care of their workers and regarding the working conditions too. To make its actions designed to have a strong positive effect on its workers, customers and to its suppliers. Achieve a net zero carbon footprint by 2015 and to support their clients to do their activities to have a positive advantage towards the environment and to attain a competitive advantage. With their Corporate responsibility in mind Royal Mail wishes to be different from its competitors Royal mail had created their corporate strategy by taking into consideration of their Organizational objectives and their achievement. It is in the Functional level the Human Resource Strategies arrives. The definition of the Human Resource strategy and the Human Resource Strategies of the Royal Mail from 2005-2010 are mentioned below. 3.Human Resource strategy (Definition):- Before moving to Human Resource Strategy we should know what is meant by the term strategy?.Strategy usually means selecting the best decision from a stream of decisions. According to Lundy and cowling (1998,p16), strategy is: The art of war, generalship, especially the art of directing military movements so as to secure the most advantageous positions and combination of forces. The Human Resource Management team in the Royal Mail directs the workers by motivating them and providing them proper training in order to achieve the Organizational goals and to get a competitive advantage over its rivals. The term Human Resource Strategy is well defined as Human Resource management (HRM) is a strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasises that leverage peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage, this being achieved through a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programmes and practices. [Bratton and Gold,4e,p3] 4.The Human Resource Strategies from 2005 2010:- Human Resource Management forms the most important function in an Organization as the workers are considered to be the valuable assets of the firm. The right kind of people in right position at the right time is the objective of the HR Manager. It is said that normally in a day HR Manager usually spends 20% of their working hours in dealing with the grievances of the employees without affecting the Organizations routine activities. HR Executives should have an ability to deal with their staffs in a fair and friendly manner rather than imposing more control on them. The Royal Mail take the efforts made by their workers into good consideration and rely on the fact about their career development rather than simply a job. The Royal Mails Human Resource strategies in the period from 2005 to 2010 is mentioned below which includes several threats they faced and the steps undertaken to face those threats. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2005:- One of the most important actions of the Royal Mail can be seen in the beginning of 2005 which employed candidates from the socially excluded groups. The candidates who were recruited performed very well in the selection process as well as in the Organization too. New recruits by this process were placed in position as post man, delivery van drivers, letter sorting who were ex-service men or those who are homeless. This Pilot program helped the Royal Mail in lowering the cost and labour turnovers and proved as the firm with best employee satisfaction. The employees thus had a long term commitment and had a self motivated approach to work hard for the firm to achieve its goals. The employer expectation of high commitment and the employee expectation of taking care of their social needs made the workers of the Royal Mail to be loyal to the firm and improved the ratio of trust towards the firm. The voluntary organizations like the Royal Association of Disabled and Rehabilitation, Busine ss action on Homelessness etc helped the Royal Mail to get candidates of socially excluded groups. The Human Resource team played a very important function in sorting out the list of disabled candidates and selecting the best candidates through a standard selection process. The Human Resource Manager who have the Management as an art aspect means having inborn talents will have those skills to recruit those people who can contribute to the maximum of their extend towards their Organization. The Royal mail team supervised by Mr. Adam Crozier made record annual profits in 2005 which helped to give 1074 pounds of bonuses to its workers. These were achieved by the employee performance,better customer service by properly trained staff and their performance related pay strategy of the Human Resource team. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2006:- The Human Resource team in the Royal Mail were able to provide instant solutions to the grievances of the employees. The starting of the year 2006 was not as good for the Royal Mail as it faced a postal strike in Belfast. Nearly 200 postal workers stopped their work for 2 weeks which made a very negative impact on the Royal Mails services to the customers. The customers were said to contact the office directly for any important matters and most of the letters and documents were blocked in some places remained undelivered. The Communication Workers Union says that the strike was due to the bad and unfair practices of the managers towards the workers in Belfast and the core issue is not accepted by the Royal Mail. Important delivery including specialized services were stopped temporarily and the management took immediate action to solve the problem. The Workers in strike were assured that they will not be treated badly when they return to their work and necessary actions will be taken against those who were found guilty. The Human Resource team in the Royal Mail took the issue seriously and they guaranteed that the workers will be treated fairly and without any discrimination. The psychological contract which says high motivation and high commitment should be taken into consideration which made the Human Resource Manger to deal with the situation in a friendly and wise manner. It was this year the Royal Mail lost its position as a Monopoly in the postal Industry and started facing wide spread competition. The management agreed that their will be no reduction in the work force, high job security will be provided with raise in pay scales to the staffs. The Christmas season of 2006 also made the customers of the Royal Mail to suffer due to the strike of 800 workers which caused huge volume of undelivered documents in the office. The managements decision to change some full time post to part time when an job opening arise was objected by the trade union by saying tha t it is against the National agreement. The matter was raised very seriously and the Royal Mail responded to it by saying that the decision will be with the consent of the worker agreement. The strike was stopped by reaching to the point that the new job openings in the Royal Mail will be carried out by the management with the combined hands of the trade union to make decision regarding whether to treat the vacancy full time or part time and the management assured that no staff will be forced to change his full time job status to part time. The closing of the sorting office in Paddington, London in the same year was explained by the Royal Mail as a step taken in order to improve their customer satisfaction and productivity against the wide spread rumours about some illegal actions of the postal workers. The 950 workers who worked their were temporarily kept away from their duties and some of them were given transfer offers. The workers commitment in a firm not only depend on their s alary but also on other factors like work atmosphere, employee- employer relationship, colleague character etc. The sacking of 5 workers who treated their women colleague very badly in one of the Royal Mail branch shows the immediate response taken by the Human Resource team in those matters which affects an employee to perform well in an Organization and to reduce those activities which affects the reputation of the firm. The Human Resource team has made recently certain improvements in the health and safety measures for the workers due to the huge fine the firm had to pay regarding the death of an employee, which was made as a health and safety issue by the court. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2007:- The Privatization of the Royal Mail was the main problem discussed by the Human Resource team in the Royal Mail and the workers point of trust towards the firm tends to decrease day by day affecting their performance in the work. The Communication Workers Union was opposing the issue but some managers say the Privatization will help the future of the Royal Mail. A deal was agreed between the management and the labour union in 2007 followed by stopping the workers strike. The new policies changed the working time and new technologies were introduced which was implemented in each and every branch of the Royal Mail improved the productivity and performance of the workers. The new modern way of thinking and acting was successful in the Royal Mail. Also Mr. Mark Higson the managing director of the Royal Mail added that the future of the Royal Mail Pension scheme will not form any part of the agreement. The Human Resource Strategy of making the employees feel they are a part of the firm made the management to come to a point of distributing around 20% of its shares to the employees was opposed by the Government and the plan was turned down. The Human Resource team and the other managing partners have plan to explore the unused markets and to identify new opportunities to make the Royal Mail to offer quick and friendly based customer services. The Human Resource Department also do have plans to provide Occupational pension schemes for their employees in future. The Human Resource Manager also responded to the worst situation of poor quality service by the Royal Mail in Scotland and he promised to provide better customer service the coming year. The contract lose with the online service provider Amazon hits very badly towards the Royal Mail and its bad position to face more rigorous competition. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2008:- In order to face the competition and the consideration of the future of the Royal Mail, the Human Resource Department made plans to reduce the number of workers and providing better benefits for those who remains. The Workers and the union feared about the reduction of the full time jobs and including more part time workers. The Privatization of the Royal Mail which the British public doesnt like was also considered as the main issue by the trade unions and the management. The Privatization will cause more job losses says the union members but the Royal Mail needs finance to support its future plans says the Management. The Management also planned to change the offices from old buildings to new ones in which the trade unions responded and they said that the change of offices will cause problems in sorting of letters, loosing some customers and they feared about loosing jobs too. Also plans were prepared by the Human Resource team to raise the salary scale of the executive Directors o f the Royal Mail who are the main key players in obtaining maximum profit. The Devanna model which shows performance appraisal, Human resource development and reward systems should be given due consideration. Many office branches of the Royal Mail were shut down and the remaining workers should be motivated by their performance and the management should create trust from the side of the workers which in turn gives high commitment. The Soft HRM feature of high commitment and high motivation as well as the Hard HRM feature of managing the workforce in a more rational way should be undertaken by the Royal Mail. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2009:- To Prevent the customers complaint about the closing of the post offices the Human Resources team implemented a plan to provide mobile post office services to the customers by Van. The Royal Mails plan to make 30% privatization was opposed by the public and the Government continuously, if privatized it will cause raise in prices, job losses and the customers as well as the workers trust in the Royal Mail will reduce. The Human Resources team introduced new uniforms to the workers which is suitable for the climate and having big pockets to place the hand held computers which the customers prefers to sign and trace items was considered as a part of the improvement in the delivery system of the Royal Mail. The year also faced a strike on the pay cuts, salary freeze of the workers. The Communication Workers Union said that even cutting the wages or freezing the salary will not help the Royal Mail instead it should implement new ideas in technology and new advanced machinery to support th e workers. All over the strike is making the customers to move away from receiving the services from the Royal Mail. In the matter of improving their services, the Royal Mail and the Microsoft had joined hands to hands by introducing the new e-mailing service without having computers. The HR strategy of how to compete with their rivals has made the above decision to implement in the Royal Mail. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2010:- The Privatization of the Royal Mail is the main consideration of the Royal Mail as the firm is running out of Finance, huge pension deficits and inefficiency in operations. The private fund is needed for the smooth function of the Organization, says the Managing director of the Royal Mail. The Human Resource Manager is taking keen steps in promoting the existing workers with good training but most of the workers had lost the trust with the Royal Mail. The privatization will cause more job losses, price for the products will be raised and the top level managers will get more benefits; a trade union leader says in a meeting. The workers says that if the new management can help them in providing benefits and good promotional appraisal packages to them, it is better to get privatized. The natural constraints like volcano ashes also affected he Royal Mails service in some part of the United Kingdom. The Psychological contract between the employee and the employer is broken. The employees social and other needs are not fully met and the huge sacking of employees made them to loose commitment towards the firm which leads to inefficiency, reduced services, low productivity and down turn of profits. The Royal Mail is still considered as the provider of the best service among the European nations with lowest service charges. The Human Resource team have plans to increase the state pension age for men. The Royal Mail is trying in many ways to improve its services by providing different varieties of stamps, weekend services, superior customer service but the competition and its bad financial position is weakening its movements to go forward. Even though it is known that the entry of new firms into the Postal Industry is very difficult due to entry restrictions, the Royal Mail is facing very tough competition. The firms like TNT, DHL and many of the online services are serious treats to the Royal Mail. The day when the Royal Mail lost its Monopoly in 2006 marked the beginning of competition as a headache to the Royal Mail. Another problem which the Royal Mail faces is the reduction in the volume of the letters but the postal workers tells that the number is increasing day by day. The Royal Mail like all other firms had undergone a SWOT ANALYSIS to understand its positives and Negatives internally and Externally. TheSWOT analysis is done to identify their threats and opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. 5.SWOT ANALYSIS:- The Swot Analysis is usually conducted by the management which gives the Royal Mail a good indication of its Strength and Weakness internally and its Opportunities and Treats in the outside market. The highly skilled hard working staffs having high commitment motivated by the efficient management and the firms large and other financial resources forms the Strength of the Royal Mail. Some complaints have been raised regarding the letters not reaching the destination and stealing of the letters/parcels by its staffs affects the Royal Mails prestige and the strikes which are made by the trade unions in Royal Mail forms its major weaknesses which hardly hits its reputation and directly states that employees are not satisfied with the management actions. The Royal Mail do have new opportunities to identify more customers and Business clients and providing support to them which will have a competitive advantage over its rivals. The Competitors like TNT, DHL, UKMAIL and the possibility of more rivals to enter the Industry forms the main threats for the Royal Mail. The wide usage of internet, online banking, online delivery and e-mailing has reduced its number of customers to a large extend has made huge reduction in the volume of mails in the Royal Mail is also considered as big threats. The Royal Mail still stands as the Standard postal service in the United Kingdom with its valuable staffs and its improved services like First class service, weekend service etc. Royal Mail also provides online supports and International postal services. The Administration of the Royal Mail includes series of committees like The Audit and Risk committee, The Management board, Pensions committee, Remuneration committee, Nomination committee and Social and Responsibility Committee. The new Human Resource Strategy and policies are being Introduced by the Royal Mail in order to face these threats and for the motivation of the workers. 6. The new Human Resource strategy to support the Royal Mail in the present bad condition:- Steps have been taken in the all the levels of the Organization to support the firm from the credit crunch and competition. To the workers:- Workers are provided with improved new range of training and guaranteed performance related pays. The employees who are considered as a valuable assets in the Royal Mail were provided with revised employee policies and procedures and long term job security and motivation. In order to improve its reputation and to obtain a good employee- employer relationship some additional steps were also taken. They are:- The new plan for temporary redundancy and early retirement are going to be enforced as soon as possible. Existing contracts will be renewed and new standardized contracts will be provided to the employees. The introduction of new machinery and techniques helps the workers to achieve world class standard in performance. The new revised Pension scheme plans are going to implement for those employees in the Royal Mail pension scheme. The working hours, the minimum wages are also revised. The safety of the staffs are taken in great consideration. Improved working conditions, first aid facilities, stress relief exercises, changing their job tasks over a period of time, self appraisal process, promotional and increments are also introduced to the new plan. To the firm:- The modernization of the firm with improved customer service support is the main objective of the firm. The co-operation of the Management with the workers and the trade union added with signing an agreement in new policies and procedures of the firm supported by the trade union is going to happen. The improved efficiency and productivity with unmatched competition by providing lower price and better quality services to its clients. To the Trade Union:- The firm will give suitable position for the trade union in its management activities. Support from the trade union in motivating the workers to cope with the Organizational rules and regulations and to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. To develop new communication levels between the trade union and the management. 7.The Royal Mails respond to the Competition and to the recent Credit Crunch:- The Royal mail which was once called as a Monopoly firm now faces serious competition and holds a bad reputation due to its continuous strikes , shutting down of the offices and complaints regarding its employees. Even though any firm can compete with its rivals in two ways, one way by reducing its prices and the other is by improving its quality of service/product. The Royal Mail provides high quality service to its customers and also the lower service/product price compared with its competitors helps the Royal Mail to attain a sustainable competitive advantage. The Human Resource team is making its level best efforts to prevent such issues but the employees relationship with the management is unclear. One of the main issues is the privatization of the Royal Mail which make the staffs to loose trust towards the firm making them de-motivated. The corporate strategy is well defined and the Human resource planning and its strategical process is some what following the corporate strateg y. Making a friendly relation with the CWU and a strong psychological contract between the workers and the Management is very much needed for the smooth functioning of the Royal Mail. The recent credit crunch has made the Royal Mail to close most of its offices and to sack many of its employees. The economic downturn in the UK is being faced by the Royal Mail in some extend due to its highly skilled, flexible core employees. The peripheral workers who were highly skilled were also taken into good consideration by the Royal Mail. The customers still rely on the Royal Mail due to its better quality services and lowest prices compared to its competitors the TNT, DHL, UKMail etc. The name of the above model is The Five Forces Framework which is developed by [Porter 1980] shows the fact from where does the competition come from?. We can combine this model with the Royal Mails competitive nature. It has elements like 1.Potential entrants mentioned as new competitors of the Royal Mail. 2.Rivalry from existing firms like TNT, DHL etc which are faced by the Royal Mail with its high quality products/services and of its highly skilled workforce who are trained and developed by their talented Human Resource team. The substitutes can be shown as the e-mail, online transfers and online mail ordering groups. Threat from the customers in the form of bargaining power, their change of demand, their potential for forward integration (which is implemented by the firm with the availability of suitable Human Resources). Threat from the Suppliers includes their bargaining power, switching costs, market dominance of the suppliers, the potential for backward integration (which is implemented by the firm with the availability of suitable Human Resources). The suppliers include the printing and stationery, technology, clothes, transport and travel agents. The Royal Mail uses the Generic Strategies frame work of Mr. Porter(1985) to define how they faced these competitions. The basic idea which is derived from the framework is:- Any firm can compete with other by lowering their prices Competing in the matter of quality makes each firm different Focusing on the main market and its customers can gain competitive advantage over its rivals. The Human Resource strategy of identifying the competitive areas and setting plans for how to compete helped the Royal Mail to face all types of competition and to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals. The Human Resource Management team of the Royal Mail have a good background from the Top Ranked Business Schools added with their inborn talents and experience helps the Royal Mail to compete with their rivals in a more technical way which is difficult for the competitors to identify and which makes the Royal Mail to have a strong base in the UK postal industry. The top quality products/services with the top quality employees makes the Royal Mail to move forward with confidence. The Human Resource strategy of implementing new techniques and training services with the performance related pay aspect for the workers can be seen in the Royal Mail. Last year the Royal Mail received three bronze awards from the World Class Manufacturing Association for its performance, health and saf ety care of its workers. The Royal Mail consider each and every worker in the matter of safety and performance and they say that if they can make one worker to perform well, it will make another to perform well and it goes on and the whole workers will perform well gives high productivity and profits to the firm. 8.Conclusion:- The essay can be concluded by stating that the Royal Mail have to face the credit crunch and the present difficulties in order to hold a strong position in the UK postal Industry. The Royal Mail do have a strong corporate responsibility strategy and Human Resource strategy which is properly planned and helpful to the employees as well as the to the firm for further development. The Human Resource Strategy from 2005 2010 shows the problems faced by the Royal Mail and the Strategies used by them to solve these problems. The privatization and the pension deficits are the main problems faced currently by the Royal Mail in which the management have certain plans to overcome the situation. The new entrants and the present rivals are competing very roughly with the Royal Mail and they are faced by the Royal Mail by its good quality services and its lowest service/product prices.

Mexican Lives by Judith Adler Hellman Essay -- Mexican Lives Judith Ad

Mexican Lives by Judith Adler Hellman   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author of Mexican Lives, Judith Adler Hellman, grapples with the United States’ economic relationship with their neighbors to the south, Mexico. It also considers, through many interviews, the affairs of one nation. It is a work held to high esteem by many critics, who view this work as an essential part in truly understanding and capturing Mexico’s history. In Mexican Lives, Hellman presents us with a cast from all walks of life. This enables a reader to get more than one perspective, which tends to be bias. It also gives a more inclusive view of the nation of Mexico as a whole. Dealing with rebel activity, free trade, assassinations and their transition into the modern age, it justly captures a Mexico in its true light. All walks of life are presented, from prevailing businessmen of white-collar status, to those of the working class and labor industry, as well as individuals who deal in the black market of smuggling illegal immigrants across the border into the U.S. Hellman’s work explores the subject of Mexico’s economic situation in the 1990s. NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) closely tied the United States and Mexico during this period, as well as similar policies such as GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) that were also created. These issues pertaining to economic policies between the two nations, Mexico and the United States are seen highlighted throughout her work. Hellman opens with three individuals at three different times. The reader is first introduced to Lupe Gonzalez at 3 A.M., whose story is a harsh reality for many. She lives in the vecindad of San Miguel Iztacalco where â€Å"eighteen families in eighteen single-room dwellings share a single water tap in the courtyard†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg.15) This is the daily life for many other Mexican families, as well as families from all over Latin America. She lives in a single room home with six children and her second husband. The reason for the set time is due to a schedule that each family must abide by, in order to obtain a simple necessity of life, water for their â€Å"drinking, bathing, cooking, and household cleaning.† (pg.15) With this the reader witnesses how there isn’t even enough water for all members of the community and city for constant usage. They share three beds for all eight family members and make considerably less then minimum... ...ople extort from others. It’s a way of life†¦ The NAFTA treaty isn’t meant to rescue people like us, it’s meant to help the rich" (pg. 157) Later, the reader learns that Maria was driven out of business by competators after NAFTA took effect. Mexican Lives is a rare piece of literature that accounts for the human struggle of an underdeveloped nation, which is kept impoverished in order to create wealth for that of another nation, the United States. The reader is shown that the act of globalization and inclusion in the world’s economies, more directly the United States, is not always beneficial to all parties involved. The data and interviews, which Hellman has put forth for her readers, contain some aspect of negativity that has impacted their lives by their nation’s choice to intertwine their economy with that of the United States. Therefore it can only be concluded that the entering into world markets, that of Mexico into the United States, does not always bring on positive outcomes. Thus, one sees that Mexico has become this wasteland of economic excrement; as a result it has become inherently reliant on the United States. Work Cited: Judith A. Hellman: Mexican Lives.

Classical Music Essay -- Music Musical Classical Essays

Classical Music n : traditional genre of music conforming to an established form and appealing to critical interest and developed musical taste [syn: serious music] Classical music, as the name suggests, is a well-established kind of music, at least in the West. Classical music concerts take place in every cultural center, and they take many forms, from a solo to large symphonic orchestras, from a sonata to an opera. This kind of music has many fans, especially among circles of intellectuals. But how did this great kind of music start? What made the great composers compose? And how was this all used before the time of recorded music and portable mp3 players? These are the questions we are going to examine today. Music historians place the beginnings of classical music in Europe during the 1730s, though there is not a clear cut-point, since it gradually evolved from the Baroque style that was dominant before. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Christoph Willibald Gluck are considered to be the founders of classical music. But what triggered this new kind of music? Ask a physicist, and the answer is quite clear: The new ideas of "natural philosophy", proposed in the late 17 th century by Sir Isaac Newton, suggested that the universe has a clear structure, well founded in axioms, articulated and orderly. These ideas were reflected in the music of the 18 th century, but also in architecture, literature, and the arts in general. This new style in the arts is referred to as "Classicism". Back in those days, music was not as common as it is now. One could not carry thousands of songs in one's pocket. Music was rather a privilege of the royalty and their court. For example, one of the most impor... ... it can be heard in parks, parking lots, train and underground stations. It can be found even in the pockets of people carrying mp3 players around. Young people listen to it, old people listen to it, babies listen to it. Classical music is not only a kind of music; it's a way to concentrate, to relax, to worship. Classical music is a way of life. Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music_era http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Newton.html http://www.classical.net/music/links/musiclnk.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/422644.stm http://www.freenewmexican.com/artsfeatures/10701.html http://www.healingproducts.com/sound_health_series.htm#concentration http://www.freenewmexican.com/artsfeatures/10701.html http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B000001GDR001001/0/104-1287315-5901551

Symbolism of White and Green in The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

The Great Gatsby is full of symbolism, colors, for example. Throughout the book the author uses them to represent different themes of the novel. Some of these colors are white, yellow, grey, green, pink, red and blue. However, I picked white and green for my commentary because I think these colors have a special meaning different from the others. White is mainly used to describe the character’s innocence, fakeness, and corruption. While green represents Gatsby’s hopes, ambitions, and dreams. In addition, sometimes green symbolizes the jealousy of certain characters. The color white appeared many times throughout the book. It is used in the first chapter by Nick when he sees Daisy and Jordan in East Egg. â€Å"They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house.† (Pg. 8) In this passage, white is used to describe Daisy’s and Jordan’s innocence and purity. However, in page 24 the real characteristics of Daisy are revealed, â€Å"Our white girlhood was passed together there our beautiful white†, this tells us that when Daisy was younger she was innocent, but now she has changed. In page 116, the author talks about Jordan: â€Å"Jordan’s fingers, powdered white over their tan, rested for a moment in mine.† This symbolizes fakeness, it tells us that Jordan is a superficial woman just like Daisy. They try to pretend to be something that they are not, just because they want to fit into the high society. Fitzgerald also refers to the steps to Gatsby’s house as being white. Even the windows at Daisy’s house are white. â€Å"The windows were ajar and gleaming white.† (Pg.13) this tells us that Daisy and Gatsby look innocent from the outside but not from the inside, instead they are corrupted people. This thought is also expressed when Gatsby takes Nick for a ride in his car. When he is stopped by a policeman, Gatsby shows the officer a white card, which symbolizes corruption. When the commissioner sees this, he lets Gatsby go. Nick thought it was a Christmas card sent to him by the officer, but later on we learn that Gatsby had bribed the police officer. White might also be related to Tom, who is a racist man. He is very concerned about a book he read called â€Å"The Rise of the Coloured Empire†.

Authority in King Lear

Kayla Jacklin Dr. Treschow English 153 25 March 2013 Power Corrupts a Happily Ever After The theme of authority is prominent in William Shakespeare’s play King Lear. The play has many situations that allow readers to observe the negative effects that ones authority can have, and the negative effects that the lust for power will bring. Having authority is an important responsibility that is often misused. Even in today’s society there are world leaders either taking the wrong irrational action or taking no action at all, which results in consequences for themselves and their people.In Shakespeare’s play we are presented with the idea that having a great deal of authority can make one seem â€Å"blind† by making poor thoughtless decisions. These characters, and the readers of the play, will learn something from those mistakes through observing the outcomes the characters are faced with. Also in our society, there is corruption from a strong desire for power. Throughout history many dictators and tyrants have caused disruption for the people from their personal greed.In Shakespeare’s play, the characters who have a strong want for power will causes corruption which can teach the readers the downfalls of authoritative behavior. When a person of high power ends up in a situation they are not pleased with, they often act irrationally. Most times they act too quickly without proper analysis of the situation, leading to poor decisions. An example of this occurs in the play when King Lear decides to split up his kingdom equally among his three daughters. He asks his daughters to express their love for him, which he will use to decide who gets which land.The most love and admiration will get the best land. When Lear finds out Cordelia, the daughter he loves most, has the least love to express he acts unreasonably. Lear is furious, and he banishes Cordelia from the kingdom, refusing to give her the power he initially intended too. He deg rades her in front of her possible suitors, making her undesirable to the Duke of Burgundy. This scene portrays how Lear is blind to his daughter’s intentions from his self centered personality. Authority often makes one self centered because they are constantly worshipped by other people and they do not hear things they disapprove of often.Cordelia does not love her father the least, she is attempting to use honesty to show how her two sisters were exaggerating and lying about their love for Lear. Lear sees this as pure betrayal because he is used to being bowed down to at any expense. Cordelia doesn’t express the great love he is expecting, so he is stunned. This causes him to act irrationally without thinking anything through or trying to understand the situation. Here I disclaim all my paternal care, Propinquity, and property of blood, And as a stranger to my heart and meHold thee from this for ever. The barbarous Scythian, Or he that makes his generation messes To gorge his appetite, shall to my bosom Be as well neighbored, pitied, and relieved As thou my sometime daughter. – (Shakespeare 1. 1. 110-117) Lear tells Cordelia how he has disowned her from the royal family and then tells her that he cares for her as much as he cares for savages that eat their own children. This extreme reaction from Lear illustrates how power has corrupted his thinking. Lear provides another example of acting irrationally, but with Kent this time.Kent argues with Lear about his decision to banish Cordelia. Kent believes Lear is making the wrong decision, and being the nobleman he is, he must attempt to change it. Since Kent is a noble man he will stand up for what is right, even if that means doubting his majesty’s decisions. â€Å"See better, Lear, and let me still remain/ The true blank of thine eye† (Shakespeare 1. 1. 156-157). Kent tells Lear to see better because Lear is misunderstanding Cordelia’s intentions. But because Lear is being so arrogant, he refuses to understand Kent and banishes him also.Lear’s arrogance will lead to an unhappy ending for all, just like Dan Brayton states in his journal article: â€Å"What Lear cannot see, and what is perhaps glimpsed by Cordelia and Kent in their reactions to Lear's living will, is that the process of division initiated with the display of the map will become uncontrol-lable, as the play proceeds to leave nearly all of its major characters propertyless, bereft, or dead† (402). Lear is blind to the good intentions of Kent and Cordelia, which brings punishments upon himself.These irrational decisions lead to negative consequences for Lear. After Cordelia is banished, all the power is split between his other two daughters Goneril and Regan. In their deep lust for power, Goneril and Regan turn on Lear. Now that the two daughters have all the power they feel no need to respect their father and his wishes. They find no benefit in keeping him around and t hey find him a nuisance. The two daughters won’t let their father keep all his noble knights; they refuse to house the only thing he has left in his waning life.Here do you keep a hundred knights and squires, Men so disordered, so debauched and bold That this our court, infected with their manners, Shows like a riotous inn. Epicurism and lust Make it more like a tavern or a brothel Than a graced palace. The shame itself doth speak For instant remedy. Be then desired By her that else will take the thing she begs, A little to disquantity your train, – (Shakespeare 1. 4. 223-231) Goneril tells Lear that there are too many ill-mannered knights crowding the palace, and if he does not reduce their number she will do it herself.Lear has given Goneril and Regan all his power so he has no choice but to obey his daughters. He went from a King to a lonely old man because he was fooled by his two selfish daughters. The author of the journal article â€Å"Sex and Authority in â₠¬ËœHamlet, King Lear’ and ‘Pericles’†, Kay Stockholder, adds to this point: â€Å"Having lost Cordelia to another king, Lear embarks on an inner journey through desolate isolation and victimization† (26). Stockholder’s words can be interpreted such that Lear’s daughters Goneril and Regan isolate him by ignoring him and his wishes.Since Lear has given up his power he is slowly being forgotten. He then becomes Goneril’s and Regan’s victim in their thirst for power. Lear’s poor decisions have fueled his already coming insanity. Goneril and Regan betray their father in their personal desire for power, they are so concerned with their own well being they have lost all intent to care for and love their father. The double plot of this play, Lear and his daughters along with Gloucester and his sons, brings in another significant example with Gloucester and his two sons Edgar and Edmund.Edmund is Gloucester’s bastard son who seeks revenge and full inheritance from his father. Edmund knows that because he is the bastard son he will not be the son to take the place of his father; Edgar will. Edmund has been made to feel less than his brother his whole life and has a strong desire to be on top for once. In Edmund desire to get his father’s inheritance he will commit multiple acts of betrayal. He begins by telling his father of a fake letter which explains that Edgar is going to kill Gloucester.He then tells Edgar that Gloucester is angry with him and that he should avoid him till he can calm him down. Now that Edmund has created some tension, he expands on his plot. Edmund is with Edgar in Gloucester’s castle when they hear Gloucester coming. Edmund tells Edgar to flee for his safety while he draws his own sword and wounds himself. When Gloucester enters Edmund tells him Edgar wounded him. This angers Gloucester and he sends out servants to find Edgar for punishment. In addition to Gl oucester and Edgars plot, Gloucester is involved with King Lear.Cornwall and Regan have taken over Gloucester’s home and have forbidden him to help Lear. Gloucester knows he must help Lear, so he tells Edmund to distract Cornwall and Regan while he sneaks out to find Lear. Edmund immediately betrays his father by telling Cornwall and Regan what Gloucester has gone off to do. All this betrayal and cruelty come from Edmunds motivation to receive inheritance of his father; he wants the power from his father. These evil actions are a result of Edmunds greedy mentality, and with evil actions comes punishment like all of Shakespeare’s plays.At the end of the play, Edmund finally gets what he has coming for himself. Albany realizes Edmund committed treason and calls him to a duel. Just as the Herald calls up anyone who agrees so Albany’s assumption of Edmund, Edgar walks in and takes over the fight. Edmund falls and eventually dies. While Edmund is dying he comes to th e realization that his actions were wrong. I pant for life. Some good I mean to do Despite of mine own nature. Quickly send— Be brief in it—to th' castle, for my writ Is on the life of Lear and on Cordelia. Nay, send in time! – (Shakespeare 5. . 242-246) Edmund appears to regret his wicked actions as he explains how he wishes he could live longer to do a little good. He also tells Albany and Edgar to go quickly to the castle in hope to save King Lear and Cordelia from the death he had sentenced on them. This gesture shows that he has recognized wrong from right and is making any attempt he can to do good before his life’s end. Along with Edmund learning from his actions, the audience too learns from his actions. Tragic endings like such are not pleasant, but they are eye openers for readers and observers.The readers can learn how the misuse of authority has negative effects without having to experience it themselves in real life. After observing the negat ive effects in the text, they can understand and recognize the same situations in real life to avoid them. Throughout King Lear attention is drawn to the idea that authority can have consequences if misused. The two plots in the play signify its importance by being very tragic and upsetting. King Lear’s loss of Cordelia shows how egotistical actions and misused power lead to loss. He is blind to the signs Cordelia and Kent present him with which eventually lead to his demise.Goneril and Regan exemplify how a strong aspiration for power can lead to insensitive and wrong decisions. They betray their father, and anyone who stands in their way. Edmund also exemplifies how an immense want for power leads to his demise by betraying the two people dearest to him, his father and brother, just to inherit the power of his father. He commits acts of pure evil from inner greed. Although the play introduces so many sinful acts and wrong doings upon characters, in the end the readers learn valuable lessons. Authority corrupts when it is taken too far.Authority must not be taken for granted, and it should be used wisely. It should be used for the good of the people, not just for the good of one. Work Cited Brayton, Dan. â€Å"Angling in the Lake of Darkness: Possession, Dispossession, and the Politics of Discovery in ‘King Lear’† ELH 70. 2 (2003): 399-426. Summons. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. New York: Pearson, 2005. Print. Longman Cultural Edition. Stockholder, Kay. â€Å"Sex and Authority in ‘Hamlet, King Lear’ and ‘Pericles’† Mosaic 18. 3 (1985): 17-29. Summons. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

Reseach on Leukemia

â€Å"LEUKEMIA† CANCER OF THE BLOOD INTRODUCTION â€Å"You have to realize that every well person is a miracle, it takes billions of cells to make up a person, and it will only take one cell to be bad to destroy the whole person†, this quote is from Barbara Bush from one of her past interviews about a daughter she lost with leukemia (Cunningham, 1988). This quote reminded me five years ago, when my niece was diagnosed with leukemia. She does not only have one bad cell inside her body but she has extra 330,000 counts of white blood cells that are not normal.It was summer of year 2008 when my niece who is freshmen in high school was diagnosed with leukemia or cancer of the blood. Leukemia is a cancer that starts in the tissue that forms blood and affects the bone marrow (Anonymous A, 2012). Leukemia is found in white blood cells or leukocytes which characterized by an abnormal increase in white blood cells called â€Å"blast†, they do not fully form as they should and thereby blocking production of functioning blood cells. Unlike normal blood cells, leukemia cells don’t die when they should. They may crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.This makes it hard for normal blood cells to do their work (Anonymous A 2012). Experiencing this type of cancer in our family makes me realize how a healthy body is truly a blessing that everybody should appreciate and learn how to take care of. Leukemia may not be the worst cancer we have right now, but many people of all ages suffer from this disease. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (2012), an estimated 274,930 people in the United States are living with or are in remission from Leukemia and an estimated 44,600 new cases of leukemia are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2011.It is also said that leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children and adolescents and is the tenth most frequently occurring type cancer of all races or ethnici ties (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2012). Leukemia is a cancer that has a significant effect on our society, it is a non-sexist or ageist cancer that we should be aware of and be educated more on. BODY I. HISTORY OF LEUKEMIA Leukemia was first observed in 1845 by a pathologist named Rudolf Virchow.He observed an abnormal large number of white blood cells in a blood sample from a patient and called this condition â€Å"Leukamie† in German, which he formed from the two Greek words leukos, meaning â€Å"white† and aima, meaning â€Å"blood†. Ten years after this discovery, another pathologist, Franz Ernst Christian Neumann found that a deceased leukemia patient’s bone marrow was colored â€Å"dirty green-yellow† as opposed normal red colored. This finding helped Neumann to conclude that a bone marrow problem was responsible for the abnormal blood leukemia patients.In 1947 pathologist Sydney Farber believed from past experiments that administering, a folic acid mimic, could potentially cure leukemia for children. In 1962, researchers Emil J. Freireich Jr. and Emil Frei III used combination of chemotherapy to attempt to cure leukemia, the test were successful with some patients surviving long after the tests (Patlak, 1998). II. FOUR TYPES OF LEUKEMIA Leukemia is grouped by how quickly the disease develops (acute or chronic), as well as by the type of blood cells that is affected (lymphocytes or myelocytes) (Anonymous A. 012). Acute leukemia cells increases rapidly and usually worsens quickly than chronic leukemia. There are four main types of leukemia which includes acute lymphocytic leukemia â€Å"ALL†, chronic lymphocytic leukemia â€Å"CLL†, acute myelocytic leukemia â€Å"AML†, and chronic myelocytic leukemia â€Å"CML†. * Chronic lymphocytic leukemia â€Å"CLL† is the most common type of leukemia (Bazell, 2011). It affects the lymphoid cells and usually grows slowly or gets worst slowly. I t is also sometimes referred to as chronic lymphoblast leukemia (Anonymous B, 2012).Most often, people diagnosed with this type of leukemia are over the age of 55, it almost never affects children and more common in men than women. * Chronic myelogenous leukemia â€Å"CML† it is sometimes referred to as chronic myeloid leukemia or chronic granulocytic leukemia. This type of leukemia affects the myeloid cells and usually gets worse slowly. This type of leukemia occurs frequently in adults in their 50’s and is rarely seen in children. CML is also classified into three district phases, the chronic phase, accelerated phase and the blast crisis.Knowing the CML phase plays a large part in determining the type of treatment a patient will receive (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2012). Each phase describes the CML’s progression which determined by the number of blast cells. * Chronic Phase, this phase is made up of patients with fewer than five percent blast in their blo od and bone marrow samples (The Survivors Club Staff, 2012). During this phase, the white cells can still fight infection. Patients in this phase have a very mild symptoms or not noticeable. In most cases, long term drug therapy can control this phase. Accelerated Phase, in this phase, the patients have more than five percent but less than thirty percent blast in their blood and bone marrow samples. Most patients within the accelerated phase suffer from loss of appetite and weight loss and do not respond as well as to traditional treatments. * Blast Crisis Phase or Acute Blast Phase, in this phase the patients has more than thirty percent blast cells and the cancer has spread from the bone marrow to other organs (The Survivor’s Club Staff, 2012). Because of elevated blast in the blood, this means lower than normal number of red blood cells and platelets. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia â€Å"ALL†, this is most common type of childhood leukemia, which accounts for about 3 out of 4 cases of leukemia in children. It usually occurs in children ages 2 through 5 years. This disease also affects adults especially those ages 65 and older. ALL is the most successful treated type of childhood leukemia (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2012). This type of leukemia usually gets worse quickly and sometimes referred to as acute lymphocytic leukemia. * Acute Myelogenous Leukemia â€Å"AML† occurs more commonly in men than women and more with adults than children.The incidence of AML increases with age. This is a kind of leukemia that gets worse quickly and sometimes referred to as acyte myeloid leukemia, acute myelocytic leukemia and myeloblastic leukemia (Anonymous, 2012). III. SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF LEUKEMIA Like many other cancer, leukemia usually is diagnosed when it is in the accelerated stage because people usually go to the doctor only when they feel sick, and most often than not the symptoms for leukemia manifest when there is already a large amount of b last in the blood.People with chronic leukemia may not even have symptoms until it is in the accelerated phase. Because leukemia is characterized by rapid increase in the number of immature blood cells and by the excessive buildup of relative mature, but still abnormal white blood cells. The crowding of blast in the blood makes the bone marrow unable to produce healthy blood cells which results in lack of red blood cells that carries oxygen, lack of platelets which is important in blood clotting process and lack of healthy white blood cells which are important in fighting infections.When there is lack of platelets in the body this result in easy bruising or bleeding. Lack of red blood cells leads to paleness and fatigue due to anemia. With lack of healthy white blood cells the body is susceptible to infections and this could lead to patient experiencing frequent infection ranging from infected tonsils, sores in the mouth or diarrhea to life threatening infections (Morgan, 2010). Oth er symptoms of chronic and acute leukemia may include fevers or night sweats, weight loss for no known reason, pain in the bones or joints, swelling or discomfort in the abdomen from a swollen spleen or liver.Having the symptoms mentioned above does not necessary mean that a person has leukemia. If a person is experiencing more than one of the symptoms it is best to check with their doctor or a health care provider and do some blood test, only then can the doctor tell if a person has leukemia or not. Ignoring warning signs and symptoms can make a treatable condition terminal. The sooner a person checks with their doctor the better chances they have in fighting any disease. III. CAUSE OF LEUKEMIAThe exact cause of leukemia is not known and there is no known way to prevent this disease. Many doctors seldom know why one person gets leukemia and the other doesn’t (Anonymous A, 2012). However, according to the National Cancer Institute (2011), there are researches which show that certain risk factors increase the chance that a person will get leukemia. Some of the risk factors are radiation, smoking, benzene, chemotherapy, down syndrome and certain other inherited diseases, certain other blood disorders and family history of leukemia.Exposure to a very high level of radiation will make the person much more likely to get AML, CML and ALL. Exposure to radiation can come from atomic bomb explosions, radiation therapy and diagnostics x-rays. Smoking can also increase the risk of AMC. The average smoker is exposed to about 10 times the daily intake of benzene compared to nonsmokers (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2012). Benzene is widely used in the chemical industry and it is also found in cigarette smoke and gasoline, exposure to benzene can increase a person’s risk of getting AMC.Chemotherapy, down syndrome and other inherited disease, certain blood disorder such as myelodysplastic syndrome and family history of leukemia are all linked with increasing t he risk of leukemia. IV. TREATMENT The ability to listen to one’s body is an important first step in finding a problem, so it can be properly diagnosed and treated (Wedro, 2012). The diagnosis of leukemia starts by going to the doctor and having a blood test. If the person is tested positive for leukemia then bone marrow aspiration test might be needed to check for the blood cells that cause leukemia and what type of leukemia it is.People with leukemia have many treatment options these days. According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (2012), chances in surviving this disease is a lot better today than they were 40 years ago. The overall five-year survival rate for leukemia has nearly quadrupled in the past 50 years. From 1960 to 1963, the five-year relative survival rate among whites with leukemia was 14 percent, then it went up to 34. 4 percent from 1975 to 1977 and from 2001 to 2007, the overall relative survival rate was at 56. 6 percent.Treatment of this disease also depends on the type of leukemia, the age of the patient and if leukemia cells were found in the cerebrospinal fluid. Treatment for leukemia can be one or combination of chemotherapy, targeted therapy, biological therapy, radiation therapy and stem cell transplant. * Chemotherapy is probably the most common type of treatment for cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy leukemia cells. A patient may receive chemotherapy by mouth, which are pills that can be swallowed, by vein or tube inserted into the vein.Another way to receive the drug is through catheter where a tube is placed in a large vein in the upper chest and drugs will be injected into the catheter rather than directly into veins. The drugs can also be received into the cerebrospinal fluid by injecting drugs directly into the cerebrospinal fluid * Targeted therapy is another treatment for people with chronic myeloid leukemia and some with acute lymphoblast leukemia. This type of therapy use drugs such as Imatinib (Gleevec) tablets that block the growth of leukemia cells, it blocks the action of an abnormal protein that stimulates the rowth of leukemia cells (National Cancer Institute, 2011). * Biological therapy for leukemia is a treatment that improves the body’s natural defenses against the disease. This is a substance that can be injected directly into the muscle or can be given by IV infusion. * Radiation Therapy or radiotherapy is another treatment for leukemia; it uses high energy rays to kill leukemia cells. Some people receive radiation therapy from a large machine that is aimed at the spleen, the brain, or other parts of the body where leukemia cells have collected.Others may receive radiation that is directly to the whole body. Radiotherapy is a standard treatment for many types of cancer (Anonymous, 2012). * Stem Cell Transplant is the replacement of damaged bone marrow cell with healthy cells. Stem cells that are used for transplants can be taken from bone marrow, from the bloodstr eam, or from umbilical cord blood. This treatment is used to treat the disease that damage or destroy the bone marrow and to restore the bone marrow after it has been destroyed by high doses of radiation and chemotherapy.Stem cells may come from the patient, from identical twin, family member and from other donor. People with acute leukemia need treatment right away and the goal of the treatment is to destroy signs of leukemia in the body and make symptoms go away. Many people with acute leukemia can be cured. (National Cancer Institute, 2011). If a person has chronic leukemia without symptoms, they may not need a cancer treatment right away. When treatment for chronic leukemia is needed, it can often control the disease and its symptoms.Unfortunately, CLL is probably incurable by present treatments as chronic leukemia can seldom be cured with chemotherapy. However, stem cell transplants offer people with chronic leukemia the chance for cure (National Cancer Institute, 2011). With a ll the technology available to us right now and with all the research and studies being done to find a new and better ways to treat leukemia, I’m hopeful that a cure for all types of leukemia will be discovered soon. CONCLUSION Learning you have leukemia or one of your loved ones have this disease can definitely change your live and the lives of those people around you.When we learned about my niece’s condition 5 years ago, there was a dramatic change in our family on how we viewed life and the importance of having a healthy body. My niece Shayna has gone through a lot of test, procedures and treatments because of this disease, it is probably her positive outlook in life and prayer that helped her fight this disease. Although Shayna is still taking Gleevec every day to block the growth of leukemia cells, her doctors already considered her to be in remission.She had normal blood counts for over four years now. In any disease, may it be cancer, diabetes, pneumonia or any life threatening or non-life threatening disease, it is important to listen to your body and do the first step of getting checked by a health care professional. It is also important to take life’s obstacle with a positive outlook and to have faith and hope from your love ones, from your health care provider, from yourself and from God, for all these would help a person deal and survive any disease.