Scott Essays - F. Scott Fitzgerald, Modernist Literature

Scott Fitzgerald F. Scott Fitzgerald is in many ways one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century. In his first novel, This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald epitomized the mindset of an era with the statement that his generation had, "grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, and all faiths in man shaken..."(Fitzgerald 307). Aside from being a major literary voice of the twenties and thirties, Fitzgerald was also among "The Lost Generation's" harshest and most insightful social critics. In his classic novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald blatantly criticized the immorality, materialism, and hedonism which characterized the lifestyles of America's bourgeois during the nineteen-twenties. Collectively, Fitzgerald's novels and short stories provide some of the best insight into the lifestyles of the rich during America's most prosperous era, while simultaneously examining major literary themes such as disillusionment, coming of age, and the corruption of the American Dream. The life of F. Scott Fitzgerald is marked by as much, if not more, romanticism and tragedy than his novels. Throughout Fitzgerald's life, he unsuccessfully battled alcoholism, depression, and himself, in a quest for both personal and literary identity. At the age of twenty-three, Fitzgerald published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, to critical raves and unimaginable economic success. Shortly after the publishing of this novel, Fitzgerald was able to coerce Zelda Sayre into marriage. This marriage is manifestly the most significant event of his life?eventually, Zelda would not only expedite, but essentially, cause the personal and literary downfall of Fitzgerald. Upon marriage, and also coinciding with the pinnacle of Fitzgerald's fame, Scott and Zelda began living a life of wasteful extravagance that was often characterized by recklessly drunken behavior. In order to maintain this lifestyle, Fitzgerald was forced to put aside working on novels, and focus his creative efforts on penning lucrative, but by no means extraordinary, short stories. Throughout their marriage, Zelda put constant economic, as well as, emotional strains on Fitzgerald. She encouraged his short story writing, as well as his drinking, and was continually swaying his focus from writing to socializing. Also, Zelda's eventual mental breakdown triggered Scott's own series of nervous breakdowns. Because of these factors, Zelda is often considered the prime instigator of Fitzgerald's literary and personal declines. Yet in spite of Zelda's overtly negative influence on Fitzgerald, he continued to love his wife to the day he died. Later in life, after Zelda became mentally ill, Fitzgerald clearly illustrated his unconditional love for his wife by compromising his artistic integrity in order to write short stories to support her medical expenses. Aside from Zelda, two major American literary figures played a substantial role in Fitzgerald's life, and his personal decline as well. On an extended trip to Europe, and at the pinnacle of his fame, Fitzgerald met and became acquainted with a then obscure fellow expatriate named Ernest Hemmingway. Throughout the course of their friendship, Hemmingway would become Fitzgerald's harshest critic, and in the eyes of Fitzgerald, his, "artistic conscience"(Meyers 263). The second major American literary figure who influenced Fitzgerald's life was Edgar Allen Poe. Fitzgerald's intrigue with both the tragic and romantic elements of Poe's life, as well as the many similarities these two men shared, may have very well facilitated his plunge into the unforgiving abysses of alcoholism and depression. Jeffrey Meyers' biography Scott Fitzgerald provides a complete and seemingly unbiased account of the life of one of the most complex men in American literary history. Whereas previous biographies tended to over-exaggerate either the romantic or tragic elements of Fitzgerald's life, Scott Fitzgerald does not in any way attempt to emphasize these aspects. Rather, this biography offers a strait-forward interpretation of both the life and works of Fitzgerald. It illustrates the importance of his relationships with Zelda Sayre and Ernest Hemmingway; the mentally and physically destructive influence of his alcoholism; and the parallels between his life and his writings. Through these facets, and many others, Meyers provides insight into Fitzgerald's life, without forcing his own opinion of the subject upon the reader. Personally, I found Scott Fitzgerald to be both insightful and interesting. Compared to other Fitzgerald biographies that I have read, Meyers' biography was clearly the least biased and the most strait-forward. In terms of literary style, I found this biography very pleasing to read. Meyers' deftly wove primary quotes, his own prose, and excerpts of Fitzgerald's writing into a coherent and thought provoking portrayal of a very complex man. To all fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald, I recommend this biography strongly, but to those who don't know the difference between Scott and Ella Fitzgerald, I recommend

Free Essays on Transformation Of Prince Hal

Prince Hal’s representation of â€Å"self† in Part I Henry IV is deceiving to the reader. Hal is portrayed as being a cowardly drunkard and a disgrace to his father, King Henry. But, as the play progresses, the reader will soon see Hal’s transformation from a low life to a noble warrior. Hall will reveal to the audience his method for madness, and when the time is right, Hal will accept his rightful possession of the throne. Shakespeare represents Hal’s transforming â€Å"self† to increase the drama of the play. Shakespeare introduces Prince Hal in Act I by having him compared to Hotspur, his rival. King Henry is very disappointed in his son’s actions and wished he and Hotspur were switched at birth: â€Å"Then would I have his Harry, and he mine† (1.1.89). Prince Hal spends most of his time with Falstaff drinking and being a menace to society, which disappoints King Henry greatly, and makes him envious of Hotspur’s father, lord Northumberland: Yea, there that mak’st me sad, and mak’st me sin In envy that my lord Northumberland Should be the father to be so blest a son- A son who is the theme of honour’s tongue, Whilst I by looking on the praise of him See riot and dishonour stain the brow Of my young Harry. (1.1.77-85) King Henry feels Hotspur possesses great honor while his son is a disgrace to the family throne. King Henry’s disappointment will soon change as Hal reveals his true self. Hal unmasks his character to the reader in Act I Scene 2, when he performs a very important soliloquy: I know you all, and will a while uphold The unyoked humour of your idleness. Yet herein will I imitate the sun, Who doth permit the base contagious clouds To smother up his beauty from the world, That when he may be more wondered at By breaking through the foil and ugly mists Of vapors that did seem to strangle him. (1.2.173-181) Hal’s deception is now revealed to the reader. His idling with the lower cl... Free Essays on Transformation Of Prince Hal Free Essays on Transformation Of Prince Hal Prince Hal’s representation of â€Å"self† in Part I Henry IV is deceiving to the reader. Hal is portrayed as being a cowardly drunkard and a disgrace to his father, King Henry. But, as the play progresses, the reader will soon see Hal’s transformation from a low life to a noble warrior. Hall will reveal to the audience his method for madness, and when the time is right, Hal will accept his rightful possession of the throne. Shakespeare represents Hal’s transforming â€Å"self† to increase the drama of the play. Shakespeare introduces Prince Hal in Act I by having him compared to Hotspur, his rival. King Henry is very disappointed in his son’s actions and wished he and Hotspur were switched at birth: â€Å"Then would I have his Harry, and he mine† (1.1.89). Prince Hal spends most of his time with Falstaff drinking and being a menace to society, which disappoints King Henry greatly, and makes him envious of Hotspur’s father, lord Northumberland: Yea, there that mak’st me sad, and mak’st me sin In envy that my lord Northumberland Should be the father to be so blest a son- A son who is the theme of honour’s tongue, Whilst I by looking on the praise of him See riot and dishonour stain the brow Of my young Harry. (1.1.77-85) King Henry feels Hotspur possesses great honor while his son is a disgrace to the family throne. King Henry’s disappointment will soon change as Hal reveals his true self. Hal unmasks his character to the reader in Act I Scene 2, when he performs a very important soliloquy: I know you all, and will a while uphold The unyoked humour of your idleness. Yet herein will I imitate the sun, Who doth permit the base contagious clouds To smother up his beauty from the world, That when he may be more wondered at By breaking through the foil and ugly mists Of vapors that did seem to strangle him. (1.2.173-181) Hal’s deception is now revealed to the reader. His idling with the lower cl...

Rouler - to Roll; to Drive - French Verb Conjugations

Rouler - to Roll; to Drive - French Verb Conjugations The  French verb  rouler means to roll or drive. Find simple conjugations for this regular -er verb in the tables below. Conjugations of Rouler Present Future Imperfect Present participle je roule roulerai roulais roulant tu roules rouleras roulais il roule roulera roulait nous roulons roulerons roulions vous roulez roulerez rouliez ils roulent rouleront roulaient Pass compos Auxiliary verb avoir Past participle roul Subjunctive Conditional Pass simple Imperfect subjunctive je roule roulerais roulai roulasse tu roules roulerais roulas roulasses il roule roulerait roula roult nous roulions roulerions roulmes roulassions vous rouliez rouleriez roultes roulassiez ils roulent rouleraient roulrent roulassent Imperative tu roule nous roulons vous roulez Verb conjugation patternRouler  is a  regular -ER verb

The impact of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles on our society Essay

The impact of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles on our society - Essay Example The possibilities of building systems that openly endanger societies all over the world are at least as huge as the possibility of applying this technology for constructive intentions or for the greater good. This essay presents an analysis of the positive and negative impacts of UAVs on societies and warfare. The Costs and Benefits of Unmanned Systems The design, construction, and use of UAVs will transform national security policy and society significantly. As more and more societies begin to use more automated processes, movement into areas affecting national security policy will certainly take place. The likelihood of building remotely operated, armed UAVs no longer sounds unbelievable. As expected, the development of UAVs would radically transform air battle. UAVs offer numerous advantages over manned structures, such as preventing human casualties, enabling flight control, and being more affordable or cost-effective (Bone & Bolkcom 2004, 10). UAVs enable a range of military and civilian operations not possible beforehand with manned systems and enable these operations to be carried out without risking the lives of the pilots, who operate at distant control centers. In counterinsurgency combat, the primary advantage of UAVs is an enhanced capacity to locate, deal with, and terminate enemies, while reducing civilian fatalities. Usually, UAVs would monitor a suspect and send the coordinates to a control station, where staffs would discuss with senior officials and look at maps in order to track civilian networks or buildings. After the discussion, the control station would dispatch directives to an airborne vehicle (Owen & Mueller 2007, 49). Moreover, as P.W. Singer observes, using UAVs give pilots the opportunity to engage in further risks with their vehicles, like hanging around longer and flying closer to the ground, hence resulting in a more precise attack. UAVs hence help commanding officers prevent civilian casualties during their attacks—an imp ortant factor in counterinsurgency combat (Callam 2010, 3). Unmanned aerial vehicles have further strengthened and sped up the evolving characteristic of warfare, and have been promoted for civilian uses such as search and rescue, wider security, and in observation of disaster-prone territories. Advancements in technology currently allow combatants to employ UAVs to deal with opponents from distant locations such as the Middle East. It also enables search and rescue attempts to be carried out in isolated locations or inaccessible ruins via the application of search and rescue automatons (Valavanis et al. 2009, 452). These automated machines have kept humans from entering dangerous situations. In a nutshell, the benefits of employing UAVs in comparison to using a manned system, are UAVs do not include, or require, a trained pilot aboard; lessen the exposure hazard to the pilot; can go into places that are hostile to humans; can remain airborne for more than 24 hours, conducting an ac curate, constant monitoring of a territory (e.g. conducting thermal or visual scan of an area, conducting a geological scan, etc.); and can be designed to accomplish operations independently even without communication with its operator (Callam 2010, 2). But UAVs are not completely blemish-free. The use of UAVs has also received several criticisms. Several learned observers argue that the application of

Discuss how Napoleon and his General Staff took centuries of Essay

Discuss how Napoleon and his General Staff took centuries of monolithic parade units and redefined the protective units both as bodyguard and elite maneuver units - Essay Example n and brilliant mind that resulted in the imposition of rigid admission criteria for Imperial guardsmen, and he also trained them to handle rotating functions. Napoleon is a marvelously bright hands-on leader, devoted to his general staff, who exercised his power with nobility and personally attended to the needs of his staff. â€Å"Napoleon’s personal supervision of even the most mundane matters - such as the quality of ration bread - served to deepen the reciprocal affection between Emperor and Guard† (Haythornthwaite and Hook 7). During the Napoleonic wars, protective units, such as bodyguard and elite maneuver, have duties to save the French empire of Napoleon; however, these units are redefined through the expansion of roles. The authentic definition is to guarantee Napoleon’s safety, but this is predefined from a personal guard to a major combat force that is always prepared for the invasion. Napoleon believed that war is not a preset engagement, but it is an affair where a quick decision to fight is the way to victory (Griess 33). Thus, his protective units are given the role to be employed and politically involved in establishing personal links with foreign allies. The units are not just reserved to fight, but these are the instruments used to tame the enemies by giving them positions in protective

Dbq on Olympic Essay Example for Free

Dbq on Olympic Essay The technology right now allows people from different countries to communicate with each other, by airplane, cellphone, email. However in 1892, such technology did not exist, but people unite in different way – Olympic. It is an athletic game originally held in Greece city states every four years in honor of Zeus, their god. Shaped by many factors; ever since the first modern Olympic start in Athens in 1896 this competition became international celebrated. Such as the countries ‘pride of associate with Olympic, the impact of conflict political view affects the team, the economic opportunities created by the events, and influence of society views on gender role of female. Document 6 and 10 forms a group, because both relate to the pride of countries for being part of Olympic. Document 6 was written by formal Soviet, state the effort of the country make Moscow chosen to stage 1980 Olympic game. It emphasizes the honor of hosting this competition and sees it as acknowledgement to the country ‘greatness. Document 10 was written to express the lack of pride of Pakistan’s Olympic team. It relates their performance to previous team which form at partition era, and state how the current team tarnished the country’s name by their poor achievement at competition. Another group is form by document 3 and 4, these include the effect of political views of countries affect the athletes. In document 3, Nazis would do everything in their power to won Olympic. Not to prove they are better in sport than others, but because they want to demonstrate the whole Nazism was superior that democracy. In document 4 it describe the pressure face by American team in 1952. The presence of Soviet team, the advocate for communism, stresses them. They need to prove democracy was better than communism by defeat the soviet athletes in Olympic. Documents 5 and 7 combined together for the reason that both deal with the financial prospects created by Olympic game. In document 5 the author thanks 1964 Olympic was help in Japan. After WWII the country was at hostile condition, but the power of hosting Olympic made Japan one of a world trade command. In document 7, the writer explain the loss of Korean’s opportunity in Olympic. Even though South Koran was select to stage the game, but none of the Korean company was top sponsor. No matter who earn the trophies at end, corporation sponsor still makes cash. Also document 2 and 8 form a group because it contents the gender role changes over time at Olympic. In document 2, there’s a picture of a woman archer, and it state only two percentage of athlete were female at 1908 competitions. In document 8, after almost hundred years the number of female participant increases to twenty-nine percent. One of the female competitors inspires other woman who has potential to ignore society gender custom and became stronger in mind. In document 1, it explains how Olympic a great beneficial to the world was. It would reduce the chance of war, and gaining allies for peace. The reason for this point of views is because of the author; he stands the founder of modern Olympic movement, so he obviously would write the statement that supports his actions. Document 9 content a graph showing fee pay to Olympic committee for right of broadcast the game. The point of view showing the improvement of Olympic overtime, more people interesting in it cause the fee to increase. It was publish by Olympic committee, so they want other to realize the enhancement of this competition. An additional document that would help me better understand the question is the data showing number of countries attending in each Olympic, accompany by timeline of important historical events. By compare the countries number with history I can find the relationship between it. Such as the low number of countries attend the Moscow Olympic in 1980 was caused by US led boycott to Soviet. Another document that would enhance my knowledge would be the process of chosen hosting country for the game. It would be benefit to know how the country earns the right to stage the game because all the other document did not provide guideline for select the country.

The Great Levittown Impact Essay -- Urban Sprawl Urbanization Essays

The Great Levittown Impact The third listing for the definition of sprawl in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is as follows: â€Å"to spread or develop irregularly†. Unfortunately, this is the pattern, or lack thereof, with which America’s development is following. Every single day the world population rises, and these new babies have to live somewhere. Due to the fact that the birth rate is larger than that of the death rate in America (http://www.bartleby.com/151/a24.html), new homes and communities must be developed to accommodate all of the incoming people. This fundamental concept is coupled by another very powerful driving force prompting people to live in the suburbs of America, and that is greed. The economy makes available to the country a degree of ownership never before matched in our history, and people are taking advantage of it. This idea drives people to move from the congested, smoky, and frantic cities to the serenity of the countryside, where they have t he opportunity to own much more land and live a more peaceful life. For a time this worked very nicely as portrayed in the incredible success of the communities created by William Levitt. Levittown was a dream of William Levitt, which encompassed the idea that all Americans can afford a home in the country. It was a success in the time of its creation, but we are beginning to see the dangers that this type of super growth brings along with it. Urban sprawl is an issue that will require much attention in the future, to prevent the negative effects that are already taking their toll. Expansion has been the trend of human civilization developments ever since agriculture allowed man to settle into permanent communities. The cast... ...gether to create economic and environmental prosperity. Bibliography: Business 2.0, â€Å"The sultans of Sprawl†, Ed Brown, http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,4887,FF.html, 1999 Levittown at Fifty, â€Å"Growing Pains†, Geoffrey Mohan, http://www.lihistory.com/specsec/hslevtwo.htm, 2002 Bartleby.com, World Fact Book 2001, â€Å"Birth Rate†, http://www.bartleby.com/151/a24.html, 2001 Florida Sustainable Community Center, â€Å"The Historical Roots of Sprawl†, Joseph Smyth, Excerpted from "The Economic Power of Sustainable Development: Building the New American Dream", a chapter in Sustainable Cities: Concepts and Strategies for Eco-City Development, Eco-Home Media, http://sustainable.state.fl.us/fdi/fscc/news/world/rtsprawl.htm, 1998 Environmental Protection Agency OMS Fact Sheet #3, â€Å"Automobiles and Carbon Monoxide†, http://www.epa.gov/otaq/03-co.htm, 1993

Kentucky Fried Chicken – Management Mission and Values of the Cupola Group

_ {draw:rect} __ {draw:frame} {draw:rect} {draw:g} _ _ {draw:frame} {draw:rect} {draw:g} _ Table of Contents {text:toc-mark-end} Acknowledgement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. 3 {text:toc-mark-end} Mission Statement {text:toc-mark-end} †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Vision†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} Company Overview {text:toc-mark-end } †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} KFC In Pakistan {text:toc-mark-end} †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} Cupola Pakistan {text:toc-mark-end} †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} KFC Facts {text:toc-mark-end} †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} Performance Overview {text:toc-mark-end} †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} Organization {text:toc-mark-end} Structure†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦11 {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} Advertisement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 Organizational Culture†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 Food, Fun & Festivity, this is what KFC is all about. Leading the market since its inception, KFC provides the ultimate chicken meals for the Chicken Loving Nation. Be it Colonel Sanders secret Original Recipe Chicken or the Hot & Spicy version, every bite brings a YUM on the face. At KFC we proudly say: _ KFC has more than 11,000 restau rants in more than 80 countries and territories around the World__. In 1971, Heublein, Inc. acquired KFC, soon after, conflicts erupted between the Colonel (which was working as a public relations and goodwill ambassador) and Heublein management over quality control issues and restaurant_ _ {draw:frame} _ _ {draw:frame} _ _ {draw:frame} _ _ {draw:frame} _ _ {draw:frame} _ _ {draw:frame} _ _ {draw:frame} _ _ {draw:frame} _ Mission statement: KFC is an internationally renowned fast food industry in the world. They have the main ambition to increase & maintain the quality in fast food industry. Their aim is to capture the fast food market. Basically they want to provide their products to anyone that is why they expending their branches in all over the world. They want to increase their profit through giving maximum satisfaction VISION â€Å"Our passion, as a restaurant company, is to put a YUM on people's faces around the world, satisfying customers every time they eat our food and doing it better than any other restaurant company†. still used today. â€Å"We Do Chicken Right† Perfecting its secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices in 1939, KFC has come a long way, with over 10,000 outlets in the world; KFC has maintained its title, for the last 60 years, of being â€Å"The Chicken Experts†. Kentucky Fried Chicken has become KFC. Does anybody know why? We thought the real reason was because of the â€Å"FRIED† food issue. It's not. The reason why they call it KFC is because they can not use the word chicken anymore. Why? KFC does not use real chickens. They actually use genetically manipulated organisms. These so called â€Å"chickens† are kept alive by tubes inserted into their bodies to pump blood and nutrients throughout their structure. They have no beaks, no feathers, and no feet. _ Their bone structure is dramatically shrunk to get more meat out of them. This is great for KFC because they do not have to pay so much for their production costs. There is no more plucking of the feathers or the removal of the beaks and feet. _ KFC In Pakistan Presently KFC is branched out in nine major cities of Pakistan (Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot, Hyderabad, and Islamabad) with 45 outlets nation-wide. Opening the first KFC outlet in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi in 1997, and KFC wore the title of being the market leader in its industry. Serving delicious and hygienic food in a relaxing environment made KFC everyone’s favorite. Since then, KFC has been constantly introducing new products and opening new restaurants for its customers. About Cupola Cupola is a Dubai based multinational company involved in several business including, oil gas exploration, plastic cards, retail markets and food franchising. Cupola Pakistan Cupola holds the master franchise rights to operate KFC in Pa_kistan since 1999. That was a major difference that when Cupola takes complete Operate in Pakistan that was only 05 Outlets in all over Pakistan, and then now the major difference that Cupola takes 45 Outlets in Pakistan. _ Apart from fulfilling the commitment of serving delicious, fresh and hygienic food and at the same time providing the customers with the ultimate entertainment; KFC also plays part in the economic development of our country. KFC Facts Presently KFC has provided employment to over 1200 Pakistanis, which adds up to 6000 individuals directly dependent on KFC Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan receives over Rs. 10 to 11 million per month from KFC Pakistan as direct taxes. 95% of all food and packaging material used in KFC Pakistan is procured locally, which sums up to a purchase of over Rs. 35 million per month. Each new outlet developed by KFC Pakistan costs approximately Rs. 40 million, which is a huge amount for our construction industry. Annual turn over in Pakistan_ 2. 5 billion. _ KFC doesn’t buy its supplies from Pakistan â€Å"KFC and Pakistan†¦Growing Together† Performance Overview: Organizational Structure: Competition: KFC does not consider Mc Donald’s are its direct competitors. As Mc Donald’s has a limited menu and cater to different segments of society e. g. Mc Donald is catering to lower middle society of Pakistan. Though KFC has faced a little competition from local restaurants but their breakeven in terms of revenue has been done and they are planning to expand further to other cities like Islamabad and Peshawar. Yum! Brands, Inc. International Presence & Competition: The International Portfolio of 5 leading U. S. Brands give Yum! a distinctive advantage over the single-brand competitors. {draw:frame} Customers KFC’s customer market consists solely of the consumer market (Kotler et al 2003). KFC’s products are bought by individuals (males, females, singles, and families). Therefore, the product range KFC offer should appeal to as many people within this consumer market as possible, to ensure that the maximum amount of products can be sold. The characteristics of these individuals and a segmentation of them are discussed later in this report. Company KFC is a multinational fast food chain company that has successfully established itself in the Pakistan market. It has a long history, going back to where Colonel Harland Sanders created its distinct recipes. The KFC brand is well known in Pakistan, which makes it a powerful marketing tool to use against competitors. _ {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} Advertising {text:toc-mark-end} {text: toc-mark-end} One of KFC's_ advertisements is a commercial advertising its â€Å"wicked crunch box meal†. The commercial features a fictional black metal band called â€Å"Hellvetica† performing live, the lead singer then swallows fire. The commercial then shows the lead singer at a KFC eating the â€Å"wicked crunch box meal† and saying â€Å"Oh man that is hot†. _ _In 2007, the original, non-acronymic Kentucky Fried Chicken name was resurrected and began to reappear on company marketing literature and food packaging, as well as some restaurant signage. _ Organizational Structure: The KFC adopted traditional structure for their outlets that other food chains are following. There is one General Manager for Pakistan. The outlet is leaded by the Manager, assisted by two assistant managers, and one shift in-charge for each shift, that supervises the performance of counter workers and kitchen workers. Organizational Chart {draw:frame} ORGANISATION CULTURE _ {draw:frame} _ Big on diversity in the workplace _- Promotes differences in background, ethnic cultures, and values_ – Team-oriented environment – Focuses on teaching everybody something new – Promotes unity in the workplace – Focuses on building relationships and creating diversity and commitment within the company and amongst employees and customers FOUNDING TRUTHS Satisfied customers and profitability follow. _ Respond To The Voice Of The Customer†¦Not just listen. _ _ The Restaurant General Manager Is Our #1 Leader†¦Not senior management. _ _ Run Each Restaurant As If It’s Our Only One†¦Avoid the trap of the averages. _ _ Recognition Shows You Care†¦People leave when you don’t. _ _ Quality In Everything We Do†¦Especially the food. _ Refocused international strategies _ Competitive marketing strategy_ _ Distribution strategy_ WEAKNESS: Management Shift text:list-item} {text:list-item} THREATS: Consumer health food trend {text:list-item} BRINGING ABOUT EFFICIENCY Lesser production costs Building healthy customer relationships Efficient hierarchical structure within the company starting from area_ manager till the food service team members_ _Every single chicken goes through Quality Assurance Lab. _ Porters Five Force Analysis {draw:frame} Entry _For the current Pakistanmarket for fast food, it is not diffi cult for a fast food restaurant to enter the market. However, it would be extremely difficult to take over already running major fast food chains' dominancy in Pakistanor even make a significant amount of profit. While there are enough people in urban Pakistanfor any restaurant to survive, KFC holds the first-mover advantage into the ‘non-veg food specialty food segment' that gives them free reputation. Customers, especially children who are used to going to KFC as a treat or reward from their parents or grandparents, are not going to want to go to other restaurants they’ve never heard of. The brand name is already established. Also, there is already a large variety in the numerous western-style dining places in Pakistan, such as _ McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Domino's and Subway, and any new fast-food entrants would just be presenting something very similar to what’s already there. While small _Neighborhood restaurants generally have low barriers to entry, these are the _barriers to entry for similar restaurant businesses to enter the fast-food chain market. The customers of KFC, especially as individual buyers, have almost no bargaining power because if only one customer threatens to no longer eat at KFC, the store is not going to lower its price because the cost of losing one customer is not very great. The suppliers, like the buyers, have very little bargaining power. _In terms of food, KFC, upon its move into Pakistan, urged many of its U. S. suppliers to also extend branches into Pakistan. KFC also began helping local suppliers by giving them technological support to improve their products. This is a brilliant strategy because the supplies that KFC would otherwise need to import from the _ U. S. can now be obtained domestically, and if the U. S. suppliers decide to raise their prices, KFC can easily switch to the local suppliers. This gives us a brilliant strategy. With this strategy, KFC created competition among its suppliers, lowering the supplier bargaining power. In terms of human resources, labor cost is extremely low because the supply of non-skilled workers great exceeds the demand for them. With so little buyer and supplier bargaining powers, KFC is able to have a very tight control over its prices and expenditures. As mentioned above, there are a few major competitors in the fast-food industry _in Pakistanfor KFC, namely McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Domino's and Subway. The substitute products, in this case, would be burgers, pizza, and sandwiches. Though they are competitors, their primary products differ greatly from each other, in that they sell, chicken, burgers and fries, pizzas, and sandwiches, respectively. Traditional _ Pakistandining, home-cooked meals, and grocery stores with ready-to-eat foods are also substitutes, as families could choose any one of these over fast food for a meal. These substitutes are definitely considered healthy as compared to the fast food chains. Even foods from street vendors count as substitute goods. Unlike what one would expect, KFC has little rivalry with similar fast-food chains in _Pakistan. The primary reason is that their core products are different, as in they sell different kinds of fast foods with very different tastes and styles. For example, if KFC raised its price for chicken by a small amount, Pakistan chicken lovers who may not be as accepting to pizzas (many Pakistanpeople strongly dislike the taste of cheese) are not going to switch to Pizza Hut just because the price for KFC increased. In addition to that, these restaurants have such different target customers that the fluctuation of price for one restaurant is not going to affect the others. For example, a full meal at KFC ranges about Rs. 100, whereas a full meal at Pizza Hut can cost over Rs. 300. The drastic difference in price assures no price competition between these restaurants. _ {draw:frame} _ {draw:frame} _ {draw:frame} _ {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:toc-mark-end} {text:toc-mark-end} Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) Matrix {text:toc-mark-end} {text:toc-mark-end} {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:bookmark} { text:toc-mark-start} Question Mark: {text:toc-mark-end} {text:toc-mark-end} _Currently KFC have launched a new product in the market. They have also tried to come into the beverages market by launching its new brand of shakes called KRUSHERS. As it is a fairly new product it comes in the category of the Question Mark in the BCG Matrix. It has a low market share thus brings low revenue. KFC is advertising a lot to popularize this product so there is a lot of expenditure on it. This product is individually not bringing any profits and is a cash drain for the company. Company may decide to completely remove this product from the market if it does not do well soon and start bringing in revenue. _ {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} DOG: {text:toc-mark-end} {text:toc-mark-end} KFC’s Veg Thali comes under this category. Although company had launched this product much earlier, it has still failed to become a success. As KFC is known more for its non-veg food, this also results in low demand for this item. It has a low market share and although low on expenditure (as company does not spend on its promotion), it does not bring in much revenue as demand is low. The product is mostly CASH NEUTRAL. {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} CASH COW: {text:toc-mark-end} {text:toc-mark-end} KFC’s Chicken Bucket is the most successful product of the company. It has the highest market share amongst all the other products. It has good demand in the market and brings in huge sales revenue. The development and other expenses are also low and thus this product is a CASH SIRPLUS for the company. {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} {text:bookmark} {text:toc-mark-start} STAR: {text:toc-mark-end} {text:toc-mark-end} KFC Business Strategy KFC fast-food chains are currently under the restaurant division of PepsiCo Incorporated. Some major threats include the changing attitudes of society toward healthier eating habits, KFC has more than 9,800 outlets located in 77 countries. In marketing, KFC restaurants are not restricted from locating within close proximity of other KFC restaurants. There are two alternative strategies for KFC. The first strategy involves keeping PepsiCo beverage division and snack foods division together, and a divestiture of PepsiCo restaurant division; selling Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC. Market Strategies: KFC Target Market: KFC targets the young generation, as here in this country the young generation is more towards eating out and is more energetic. It targets the early single segment that is the upper class. Aggregation Strategy: KFC does not need aggressive marketing or advertising because Brand is strong enough. Market Segmentation: Previously they were focusing on single segment that was through Niche Marketing by offering â€Å"Combo Deals†. Now they are focusing more on other classes as well. They are dealing in masses by introducing value deals; most recently introduced â€Å"Zinger Junior†. Benefits: Colonel’s value combo meals introduced previously were expensive and so there were less sales but through their recent offers, they have increased the sales by offering low prices. Purpose: Inflation highly affects the purchasing power of the customers. And here the purchasing power of many customers is low. To cover this major segment, they have introduced affordable meals, so that it is in reach of the masses. Want Specification: The people here need a friendly and family restaurant, which must be affordable for them. Consumer Market Segmentation: Region: Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot, Hyderabad and Islamabad Geographic: Gulberg: The main Gulberg branch is situated on M. M Alam Road, which covers a wide area and serves a large number of customers. This restaurant faces competition with many top Fast Food restaurants located on the same road. Defence: Their Defence Branch in H-Block focuses the potential customers of Defence. Barket Market: This branch covers the area of Model Town, Johar Town, Muslim Town, Garden Town and Faisal Town. It is situated among many offices and banks. Cavalry Ground: Shadman: The Shadman branch is located on Jail Road and serves potential customers. Thokar Niaz Baig: This restaurant branch serves latent customers. Mall Road: Fortress Stadium: Marketing Mix: Marketing mix consists of 4P’s. It contains everything a firm can do to influence the demand for its product. The 4P’s are: PRODUCT PRICE PLACE PROMOTION Their product is classified as consumer product as it has no intermediates. KFC offers specialty goods. The stock turn over of KFC is high. Price and quality of the product is always compared. Their product includes {text:list-item} _ written with it. _ comes in mind. KFC Brand: {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Brands Equity Branding Strategies KFC is marketing the entire output under products own brand. Complementary Branding Packaging Strategies They use paper material for packaging to avoid health hazards and environmental pollution. Labeling Pricing In introduction stage KFC entered the market using market-skimming strategy. Their products were high price and targeted only upper class. Gradually they trickle down focusing on the middle class to penetrate the market. Also KFC follows one price strategy. Price is determined according to the rates of the raw materials and policies of the Govt. The political and legal forces often affect the policies of KFC and eventually results in change of prices that is due to imposing of taxes. KFC has only one channel of distribution i. e. direct where the goods are transferred to the consumer directly. KFC has no middlemen. KFC does distribution of consumer goods directly to the consumer. KFC also does distribution of services to the consumer like parking, sitting, home delivery, etc. KFC gets Wheels! KFC launched its first mobile unit, which took the streets of Karachi by storm. The mobile unit has been designed to cater to the needs of those who are on the go, and have little time to stop by at a restaurant. It also provides a unique convenience of enjoying the delicious KFC offering anytime, anywhere, thus making fast food truly fast and convenient. KFC intends to further develop its mobile network nationwide through more such units KFC does intensive distribution on its outlets. (All and everything on every outlet). The logo features Colonel Harland Sanders that is one of the best logo in the world has created its name as a standard in the market. Today the Colonel’s Spirit and heritage are reflected in KFC’s brand identity. KFC by its advertisements derives the d esire in the customer to come and enjoy healthy food in their favorite restaurant. They spend 2% of its profits on advertisement. They use print media and most recently doing televised marketing to promote it products. Their advertising media involve: Newspapers, Pamphlets, Billboards and Television. KFC does both the primary demand advertising (â€Å"Become a Chicken Fanatic†) and the selective demand advertising (e. g. â€Å"Zinger Meal†). In its advertising it give informative messages like â€Å"Faryad: Keep the city Clean†. KFC does institutional advertising to stimulate demand. When KFC offers new products then it does product advertising. KFC’s ad’s act as counteracts which means to drive the customer to KFC i. e. it uses pull advertising strategy. _ {draw:frame} _ Unlike McDonald’s, KFC’s promotion is highly decentralized. It adopts cultural values for their advertisements PSO had made a scheme in which PSO had given the coupons of KFC having 10% off. (1 coupon was given after each purchase of 10 liters of petrol) KFC in its advertisements says; â€Å"Nobody does chicken like KFC† â€Å"We do chicken right† The message conveyed in the ads is recognition for the brand. KFC does competitive advertisement with its head on competition with McDonalds. Regarding this KFC uses Pricing below competition strategy. KFC sponsor’s many NGO’s and other social welfare organizations like Regular sponsorship to SOS village. Sponsorships to FARYAD_ a plant and life association. FARYAD: Keep The City Clean†. They also offer different deals according to the season and occasions. _ Quality Assurance: Food Safety: Chicken & its Products: Locally produced and processed chicken. Supplied in frozen form Marketing Research and methods to collect information: Marketing research was done before launching the product through different mediums. It was conducted after the survey that mostly students prefer to go to KFC than other people. The second in majority were people who are in services. That covers the majority of this country. {draw:frame} _ {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} Strategic management: Market Development Product Development Concentric Diversification Implementations: {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} {text:list-item} Recent Achievement of KFC The Stevie International Business Awards KFC Pakistan was honored to receive the awa rd among 100 countries and 800 participants. The award was presented to Mr. Rangoonwala by Mr. Graham Allan, President, YUM Restaurants International at a recent conference in Prague, Czech Republic. KFC is a very strong chain of fast food restaurants with more than 10,000 restaurants all over the world. Being in â€Å"Maturity Stage† it has high opportunities of introducing its new products and deals. In Future it will be expanding its chain by introducing more outlets in Pakistan as well as in other countries. Believe in value creation. Provide ultimate choice of quick service restaurants for consumers. Won the hearts of millions of Pakistanis _ {draw:frame} _ References: Yum! Brands, Inc. http://www. yum. com KFC http://www. kfc. com KFC Barkat Market Mr. Shabir (Marketing Manager)

Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Four

It tasted as bitter as always, but as I drank, Markelle lifted her eyes. There was nothing obvious in them, no wink, no expectation. Yet, somehow, I knew. I knew. It was the fake again. Satisfied that I'd swallowed it all, Abigail gave me a withering glance. â€Å"We need you cleaned up. That fool is coming for you again later tonight, and he did a number on that dress last time. He wants you looking good, though, so†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She gave a half-hearted shrug. Naturally, I couldn't tell her that my dress's rumpled and slightly torn state had nothing to do with Leith's sexual aggression, but, rather, an angry spirit bent on killing me. Markelle's eyes were downcast once more. â€Å"Should I get her a new dress?† â€Å"No. You've got to clean up too. Art's going to be here in a little while for you.† The girl flinched, but Abigail didn't seem to notice. But then, why would she? She didn't notice any of these girls, not really. And I knew what those words meant. Markelle's time had come. â€Å"I'll send in that freckled one, once she wakes up again.† I realized that she was me and that I should allegedly be going under. I sank back against the covers, blinking like I was trying to stay awake. The two of them left, Markelle giving me one last fleeting glance. There were a lot of things in her wide eyes as she looked at me. Fear. Hope. Anxiety. I exhaled once they were gone and sat up. Plan time. My muscles were still weak, but they reminded me more of what you'd feel after a hard run. What had Markelle said before? Twelve hours was the normal dose? I was at that point. The nightshade had to be significantly wearing off. Theoretically, my magic should be returning too and- â€Å"Why, hello,† I murmured. I'd sent my mind out into the room and had just barely-barely-felt the tingle of air and water. I wasn't going to be blowing anyone apart soon, but the magic was coming back. And when it did, these assholes were fucked. But I needed to wait this out. I wasn't going to jump the gun like I had with Volusian. Every minute brought the magic and my strength back. I had to use this downtime to assess the situation. Abigail was in the house still. Art and Leith were eventually coming back-together or apart, I didn't know. The one thing I felt confident of was that I did not want to face all of them at the same time. That meant Abigail had to be taken out first, but I was going to need help. In what must have been a little over an hour, Cariena slipped in with a pink silk dress. It reminded me of something Maiwenn would wear. Apparently, no one had gotten the memo that redheads don't wear pink. I stood up and took the dress from Cariena, promptly tossing it on the bed. She looked aghast that I'd gotten up without falling over. Considering all that had happened recently, I couldn't blame her. â€Å"Your m-majesty, what-â€Å" â€Å"Cariena, we're getting out of here.† â€Å"We can't!† â€Å"Oh, we can, and we are. Where's Markelle?† I had a feeling I was going to need an accomplice with a bit more boldness. â€Å"And Raina?† I rarely saw the third gentry girl around here and had no clue to her attitude, but she needed to be accounted for. â€Å"Raina's in her room. She was-disrespectful. And Markelle is preparing herself.† Preparing herself for a lifetime as a sex slave. I grimaced. â€Å"And Abigail?† â€Å"She's upstairs. Watching†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Cariena groped for the unfamiliar word. â€Å"†¦the television.† â€Å"Okay, okay.† My mind was spinning now. It seemed to be recovering faster than my body. â€Å"Here's the deal. I need a weapon. Is there anything you've seen that would work as one?† â€Å"We can't do this. We can't-â€Å" â€Å"We can,† I ordered, making my voice hard and fierce. This girl had been beaten into weakness, and if those shamans scared her, I would make sure that I-her queen-scared her more. â€Å"And you will obey me. You're my subject. You'll get out of this alive-I swear it. You'll see your family.† She was still scared out of her mind, but she gave a weak nod. â€Å"I see Abigail and the Red Snake Man carry weapons, but there are none around. I couldn't touch them anyway.† â€Å"Alright. We'll make do with†¦hey, is the garage attached to the house?† â€Å"Garage?† â€Å"Another building. One where they keep cars.† I recalled the garage but didn't know if it connected directly to the house. Surely she knew what a car was. She nodded. â€Å"Yes. They go in and out of it sometimes. It's attached to the kitchen.† â€Å"When you come down here, whose room do you pass first out there in the hall? Mine or Markelle's?† â€Å"Yours†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Cariena was clearly puzzled now. â€Å"Perfect. I know what we're going to do. Take me to Markelle.† There was a moment's hesitation, and I knew this was the turning point of whether she could help or not. The door was unlocked; I didn't need her. But if I didn't have her assistance, I'd have to knock her out to keep her out of the way. â€Å"This way,† she said at last. Markelle nearly threw herself into my arms when we walked into her room. â€Å"Your majesty! I knew you'd do it. I knew you could†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She wore a strappy little red sundress and had been applying makeup. Funny. I got dressed up like gentry royalty, and the girls here were dressed like human whores. â€Å"Shh,† I said. â€Å"We're not out of here yet.† I hastily whispered my plan to them. Markelle understood instantly, and although Cariena still seemed terrified, she also appeared determined. I returned to my room, body tensed for action as I waited for my plan to unfold. Pressing my ear to the closed door, I listened as Cariena's feet thudded up the stairs. Presumably she spoke to Abigail, but I couldn't hear anything. A few moments later, two sets of feet came downstairs, walked past my room, and went to Markelle's. I opened my door a crack to make sure the hall was empty. Next door, I could hear Markelle having the nervous breakdown we'd planned-saying she was afraid to leave, afraid to meet this man, didn't know what to wear†¦. Abigail, clearly irritated, began to scold her, much as she had responded to Leith's whining. I waited to hear no more and turned in the opposite direction, heading for the stairs. When I reached the main floor, I did a double-take. The house was beautiful, all new construction and designer decorating as befitted the neighborhood Art lived in. The gentry sex dungeon below us kind of detracted from the maple cupboards and crown molding, though. All the curtains were closed, the windows covered with iron grating, and outside I could just barely make out the Sleeping Beauty hedges blocking the windows too. Art's lawn maintenance had been about more than aesthetics. The patio drapes I'd so admired weren't laced with silver thread. It was iron. The garage was adjacent to the kitchen, just as Cariena had said. The top half of the door leading out to it had a window covered with more iron grating. I turned the doorknob. Locked. There were no signs of keys anywhere, which meant I'd have to do it the hard way. First, I double-checked the kitchen and living room, looking for any other weapon options. On a good day, I could have taken Abigail with my own fists. This was not a good day. Kitchen drawers revealed butter knives, nothing sharper. With a sigh, I returned to the garage door. This was it. The grating was loosely bolted, enough to keep it up and prevent the girls from touching it. Hoping I'd gained enough strength, I gripped the sides of it and tried to jerk it off. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, in one movement, it ripped from the wood. I froze, waiting to see if anyone downstairs had heard, but the deed appeared to have been performed fairly silently. The next part, I knew, would not be so quiet. I dragged a chair up to the door and then grabbed a smaller stool used to get into high cupboards. It was metal and had some heft to it. Would it be enough? I stood on the chair and swung the stool forward into the door's window. Yup. Enough heft. More than half of the glass broke. One more swing got the rest of it out, and I climbed through the hole into the garage. The whole maneuver was a bit awkward on my part; I wasn't in that good of shape yet. But, I made it through, incurring only a few cuts on my arms and legs. I knew, however, I was seconds away from Abigail's arrival. There was no way that breaking glass had gone unnoticed. Small patches of light streamed into the darkened garage from narrow windows as I peered around. Yes, it was a normal garage-albeit it one with a Jaguar in it. I guessed that was why Art had to keep the SUV in the driveway. Part of me wanted to go kick in the car's door, but there was no time. I had to assess the garage's other contents. Scattered tools. Bags of fertilizer. Art's gardening equipment. A heavy metal wrench held my attention for a moment, but then I decided I needed more leverage with my weakened state. I selected a shovel from Art's gardening stash, its scoop heavy metal and wooden handle sturdy. From inside the house, I could hear shouting. It wasn't going to take Abigail long to figure out where I'd gone when she saw the glass. Grateful for the darkness, I darted over to the side of the door that led into the house, pressing myself as flat as I could against the wall. There was a click as the door from the kitchen opened, but no one came out right away. I could picture Abigail standing there, looking around for any sign of me. After several heavy seconds, I saw a hand holding a blade-an athame-come out the door first, defensively positioned in case I came charging at her. That wasn't my intent, though. I wanted to get her from behind. She took one step out, still cautious and slow, looking around everywhere. I had to give her credit for that. She didn't just barrel forward; she knew I might be waiting by the door. And in fact, when she looked in my direction, that's exactly what I was doing. My shovel hit her in the side of the head before she could react. She crumpled to the ground, athame clattering against the concrete floor as it fell from her hands. I knelt down and immediately scooped it up and left the shovel. There was a bloody mark where I'd struck her, and her eyes were only half-open. My hand checked her pulse and found she wasn't dead yet. She was going to have a hell of a headache or concussion when she woke up-which wasn't something I could allow to happen any time soon. I left her lying there on the garage floor and stepped back into the kitchen. I opened a few cupboards and found what I'd hoped I would: the household's stash of medicine. Tylenol, multivitamins, et cetera. Behind them were a couple of prescription bottles. One I didn't recognize, but I thought it was some sort of heart medication. The other was Ambien, and I smiled. Just like me, a lot of shamans were insomniacs. I popped a pill out of the bottle, reconsidered, and grabbed a second. I then propped up Abigail and managed to shove the pills down her throat, with the help of a glass of water and some acrobatics with my fingers. â€Å"Payback's a bitch,† I said when her reflexes kicked in and she swallowed the pills the rest of the way. She wouldn't be waking up any time soon. I stepped back into the kitchen and saw all three gentry girls standing there and staring at me. Cariena and Raina looked afraid. Markelle, though she bore a red slap mark on her face from the confrontation earlier with Abigail, looked excited and defiant. I ordered them to carry Abigail downstairs and lock her in one of the rooms. I didn't know which way Art would enter the house and couldn't risk him finding her on the garage floor. Of course, if he did come in through the garage, the shattered glass was going to be a dead giveaway that something was up. Before they took Abigail away, I frisked her, hoping to find another weapon. Nope. Just the athame I'd already taken. I did, however, discover something nearly as useful: a set of keys. On the ring were several tiny keys, the ones that opened up the iron cuffs and bracelets the girls wore. Once they'd stashed Abigail away, I removed all the iron. Relief flooded the girls' faces, and I scowled when I saw the welts and bruises left from where iron reacted with gentry skin. â€Å"You should have your magic back,† I said, reaching for the phone. â€Å"We can use it when we get out of here. What can you guys do?† I was dialing Roland's cell phone, and the girls described their magic to me as the line rang. Cariena had a knack for helping plants grow, kind of like Shaya. Raina had some healing ability. Markelle could summon beams and balls of light. I disconnected when I got Roland's voice mail and promptly dialed Kiyo. â€Å"Son of a bitch,† I muttered. None of the girls' powers were going to help us. And honestly? It wasn't a surprise. If I were Leith and had wanted to catch girls who would make docile servants, I too would have picked ones with little or no offensive magic. Kiyo's phone rang only once before going to voice mail, meaning it was off or he was in the Otherworld. I hung up and prepared to dial my parents' home number. If Roland hadn't answered his cell, he likely wasn't home either, but I had to try. Before I could punch in the numbers, I heard the sound of keys at the front door on the far side of the house. I turned to the girls. â€Å"Downstairs!† I hissed. â€Å"Now!† Markelle looked like she would have stayed, but a stern glance from me sent her scurrying down with the others. Meanwhile, Art's voice rang through the house. â€Å"Abigail?† I'm not sure how he knew something was wrong. For all he knew, Abigail could have just been downstairs. Maybe it was just some sixth sense, but I heard him hurrying down the hall toward the kitchen, footsteps fast on the hardwood floor. I had a split second to react, no chance to find a hiding spot as I had with Abigail. Surprise was my greatest weapon now. As soon as he entered the room, I leapt on him with the athame. The thing that gave me a fighting chance was that he'd armed himself too well in his wariness, a gun in one hand and an athame of his own in the other. Full hands prevented him from fully deflecting my attack, though in many ways, the strength of his arms were more than good enough to block the worst of it. I got a swipe in on his face, however, gaining a fair amount of satisfaction in seeing the blood it produced. â€Å"You bitch,† he said, circling with me in the kitchen as we each sized each other up for an attack. â€Å"Where's Abigail?† â€Å"Taking a nap,† I said. I gave him a wicked smile, hoping I sounded stronger than I felt. With that one shove alone, I'd been painfully reminded that I was not in peak condition quite yet. I couldn't let him know how weak I was. â€Å"Don't worry. You can join her.† â€Å"I knew I shouldn't have let him keep you here,† Art growled. â€Å"I should have made him drag you back by your hair to your own fucking world like a caveman. But he was too afraid they'd find you.† â€Å"It's too late. They know I'm here already. See the phone? I got a call in just before you arrived.† A lie, but an effective one as it turned out. Art's eyes flicked to the portable phone lying on the kitchen floor. It had come open when I dropped it, and the battery lay nearby. With that slight distraction, I tried again, lunging toward him. I got a kick in-not as strong as one of my usual ones, particularly since I was still in that fucking gentry dress-but enough to throw him off-balance. He was still stronger and faster, though. He'd dropped the athame earlier and grabbed me with that free hand, wrenching my arm painfully to get me to drop my athame. In his other hand, he held the gun but seemed hesitant to use it. At last, his hand was too strong, and my fingers unclenched, releasing the blade and leaving me defenseless. Triumphant, Art slammed me back against the cupboard and tried to turn me around, probably to bind my hands. I'd noticed a glitter near his pocket earlier and suspected he had handcuffs on him. I fought him the whole time, refusing to turn around, and with only one hand free, he had a bit of difficulty in maneuvering me. â€Å"Stop struggling, or I'll blow your head off,† he yelled. â€Å"No one's coming, and you know it. Play nice, or there's nothing that Leith can offer me to keep you alive.† â€Å"I doubt that. Your whoring operation seems to bring in a lot of money. Are you going to give that up so easily?† â€Å"There are other ways to get gentry girls,† he grunted, still trying to shove me around and subdue me. The unfortunate thing was, he was getting closer. My strength was rapidly fading. â€Å"Other people will make deals. I don't need Leith or his half-breed whore to-ah!† I saw the chair before I saw Markelle. It was the one I'd used to climb through the garage door. Abigail had shoved it aside when she went outside, and now Markelle had snuck up and clobbered Art with it from behind. It was hardly a blow to render him unconscious, but it caused him to release me and stagger back. Markelle immediately scrambled away, but Art's attention wasn't on her. His eyes were back on me. Weak or not, I knew I had to use that opening to take him down. I surged forward again, fists ready and- He shot me. So help me, that bastard shot me. The bullet took me in the right shoulder, and I flew back against the cupboards, sinking down to the floor as my left hand instinctively flew to the wound to stop the blood. Art walked swiftly toward me, gun pointed down. â€Å"The next one goes through your heart,† he said. â€Å"Now turn around and put your hands behind your back.† â€Å"I'm kind of fucking bleeding here,† I snapped back. My shoulder was on fire, and I couldn't even really move my arm. â€Å"How much more incapacitated could I get?† His smile was bitter. â€Å"Eugenie, you won't be incapacitated enough until you're dead.† I saw Markelle come up behind him again. Her chair was gone, but her fists were out as she pounded him on the back, desperately trying to get him away from me. It was noble and tugged at my heart, but I wanted to yell at her to get the hell out of here. She was no more than a mosquito to him. With ease, he turned around and backhanded her, and I swear, she hit the floor harder than I had when I was shot. In those fleeting seconds, I snaked one of my feet out as hard as I could manage and hit Art in the shin. He stumbled, leg buckling, but didn't fall. The gun, however, did fall from his hands. It hit the floor with a clatter and slid far out of my reach-but not out of Cariena's. She'd apparently been standing on the far side of the kitchen this entire time. When the gun slid up to her, the timid girl didn't hesitate. She picked it up-screaming as her fingers made contact with the metal and polymers-and slid it back across the floor to me. I grabbed it. All the while, Art's eyes had been following the gun's journey, so when it came to my hand, he was facing me. I had the gun aimed in a flash, and while I wasn't a great shot with my left hand, I wasn't horrible either. No hesitation: I fired. The bullet bit into his chest, and he fell backward, blood immediately pouring from the wound. I'd hit the mark. Markelle and Cariena ran up to me, Raina following moments later. â€Å"Are you all right?† exclaimed Markelle. â€Å"Me?† I asked incredulously. â€Å"He smacked you across the room.† She shrugged. â€Å"They've done worse since I've been here.† Between the three of them, they managed to help me to my feet without putting too much pressure on the wounded shoulder. Raina attempted some of her healing magic-maybe I'd been too quick to dismiss their powers after all-and we found bandages to wrap the wound. Her power only lessened the pain; she could do nothing more extensive. â€Å"It's made of iron,† she said apologetically. Of course it was. Art would have had it loaded for wayward gentry. â€Å"It's okay. I'm fine.† We were back in the kitchen, and I was leaning against the counter, attempting to straighten the bandage. We were all kind of trying to ignore Art's body. â€Å"Okay. I can try to call for help again, but I think we need to get out of here on foot. I know where the gateway is, and it's kind of a long ways, but we should be able to-â€Å" â€Å"Eugenie? What's going on?† I'd set the gun on the counter while tugging my bandages straight, but in the blink of an eye, the revolver was back in my left hand, pointed toward the new addition in the kitchen. I knew the voice before I saw the face. How could I not? I'd been listening to that voice over and over this whole week, both sleeping and awake. A voice that was a contradiction because it promised love and devotion while only delivering pain and humiliation. I'd numbed out the worst of it with sheer will and the nightshade's effects. But now, pumped full of adrenaline, on the verge of escape and in control of my senses, the true magnitude of it all slammed into me. The horror. The terror. The helplessness. Emotion after emotion burned through me, but in the space of a breath, my mind immediately dispatched any feelings that wouldn't help me right now. That left only the dark ones. Rage. Fury. Malice. I tightened my hold on the gun and narrowed my eyes at the man I hated most in the world. â€Å"Hello, Leith.†

But, its in the Dictionary!

But, its in the Dictionary! But, it’s in the Dictionary! But, it’s in the Dictionary! By Maeve Maddox Sometimes readers respond to my rejection of a given word or spelling with the argument that its â€Å"in the dictionary.† My response is that dictionaries are not scripture. Just because a word is in the dictionary does not mean that it’s an acceptable choice for all speakers and writers in all contexts. The recent discussion on mankind vs humankind certainly bears that out. Then there’s the fact that more than one variety of â€Å"standard English† is spoken and written in the world. British speakers write honour where Americans write honor. Americans write the noun percent as one word; British speakers as two: per cent. Region and audience will determine which are the â€Å"correct† spellings. A good dictionary is the writer’s indispensable tool. I consult both the OED and Merriam-Webster Unabridged in the process of writing every post. I do not, however, take the view that because a particular spelling is included as an entry or given as an alternate spelling that it is â€Å"just as good as† a more conventional word or spelling. I’ll give just two words to illustrate: alright and irregardless. Both words have separate entries in both of my dictionaries. alright: a frequent spelling of all right OED alright: in reputable use although all right is more common Merriam-Webster irregardless:probably blend of irrespective and regardless; [nonstandard] Merriam-Webster irregardless: in nonstandard or humorous use: regardless OED The spelling alright is to be found in Middle English. The Online Etymology Dictionary points out that in modern use the spelling is â€Å"attested since 1893.† Nevertheless, the spelling alright screams â€Å"incorrect† at me. I would never use it in my own writing, and it distracts me in the writing of others. As for â€Å"irregardless,† I might use the word as a speech tag to characterize a fictional character, but I’d never use it in my own speech or writing. Other speakers and writers, on the other hand, have embraced the word. Dictionaries, like spell checkers, are useful up to a point. The â€Å"point† is the place at which the writer’s background, education, personality, and purpose are called into play. Without a single red underline, my spell checker permits me to write I seen there faces threw the window.† It’s up to me whether or not I want to leave it that way. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Punctuate References to Dates and TimesRunning Amok or Running Amuck?Oppose and Opposed To

Bis Case Study

com) was taking another crack at replacing its legacy business systems. The Oakland, New Jersey–based distributor of toys and gifts ? nalized plans to roll out J. D. Edwards Co. ’s OneWorld Xe suite of enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, and ? nancial applications. The multimillion-dollar project was scheduled to be done in phases over the next 18 months. Russ Berrie CIO Michael Saunders said that the company, which had sales of $225 million during the ? rst nine months of 2001, hoped the OneWorld System would help it reach $1 billion in annual revenue in the coming years. Within the next 12 months, he said, Russ Berrie planned to begin installing the applications one department at a time, starting with a stand-alone implementation in purchasing. â€Å"We’re not going big bang,† Saunders said. â€Å"We’re mitigating implementation risks by taking a phased-in approach. The company had reason to be cautious. Three years before, a Y2K-related migration from its homegrown distribution, ? nancial, and customer service systems to packaged ERP applications experienced major system failures. Saunders said the problems were severe enough for Russ Berrie to take many of the new applications off-line and return to their old systems. Saunders wouldn’t identify the software vendors that were involved in the failed impl ementation, but sources said that SAP AG’s applications were part of the 1999 project. A spokesman at SAP con? rmed that Russ Berrie was one of its customers, but he declined to offer further details because of pending litigation between the two companies. Joshua Greenbaum of Enterprise Applications Consulting said it appeared that Russ Berrie â€Å"bit off more than they could chew† on the 1999 project. Companywide rollouts are especially risky for midsize businesses like Russ Berrie, Greenbaum said. T he good news is that Agilent Technologies Inc. (www. agilent. com) says its enterprise resource planning applications are stable. The bad news is they got that way only after a rocky ERP migration project that cost the company $105 million in revenue and $70 million in pro? ts. In mid-August 2002, the multinational communications and life sciences company, formerly a part of HewlettPackard Co. , said problems with the ERP components in Oracle’s e-Business Suite 11e software froze production for the equivalent of a week, leading to the massive losses. The Oracle system handles about half of the company’s worldwide production of test, measurement, and monitoring products and almost all of its ? ancial operations, as well as functions such as order handling and shipping. Agilent was in the process of migrating as many as 2,200 legacy applications that it inherited from HP to Oracle. As part of the switchover, approximately 6,000 orders in the internally developed legacy systems had to be converted to an Oracle-friendly format, an Agilent spokeswoman said from company headquarters in Palo Alto, Califo rnia. She said the con? guration process had problems requiring correction. In a statement last week, Agilent President and CEO Ned Barnholt said the disruptions to the business after implementing the ERP system were â€Å"more extensive than we expected. † An Agilent spokeswoman said the issue wasn’t the quality of the Oracle application, but rather the â€Å"very complex nature of the enterprise resource planning implementation. † For its part, Oracle Corp. said it’s working closely with Agilent. â€Å"At Oracle, we are fully committed to all of our customers for the long haul and support them in any way necessary,† the company said in a statement. We have a strong relationship with Agilent, and both companies believe the implementation is stable. † Agilent also had a takeaway lesson: â€Å"Enterprise resource planning implementations are a lot more than software packages,† the company said in a statement. â€Å"They are a fundamental transformation of a company’s business processes. People, processes , policies, the company’s culture are all factors that should be taken into consideration when implementing a major enterprise system. † According to one analyst, ERP disasters are often caused by the user company itself. Joshua Greenbaum, an analyst at Enterprise Applications Consulting, said 99 percent of such rollout ? ascoes are caused by â€Å"management’s inability to spec out their own requirements and the implementer’s inability to implement those specs. † Russ Berrie and Co. After a three-year saga that included a $10. 3 million ? nancial hit from the failed installation of packaged applications, teddy bear maker Russ Berrie and Case Study Questions 1. What are the main reasons companies experience failures in implementing ERP systems? 2. What are several key things companies should do to avoid ERP systems failures? Explain the reasons for your proposals. 3. Why do you think ERP systems in particular are often cited as examples of failures in IT systems development, implementation, or management? Source: Adapted from Marc Songini, â€Å"ERP Effort Sinks Agilent Revenue,† Computerworld, August 26, 2002, pp. 1, 12; and Marc Songini, â€Å"Teddy Bear Maker Prepares for Second Attempt at ERP Rollout,† Computerworld, February 4, 2002, p. 16. Reprinted with permission from Computerworld. Bis Case Study com) was taking another crack at replacing its legacy business systems. The Oakland, New Jersey–based distributor of toys and gifts ? nalized plans to roll out J. D. Edwards Co. ’s OneWorld Xe suite of enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management, and ? nancial applications. The multimillion-dollar project was scheduled to be done in phases over the next 18 months. Russ Berrie CIO Michael Saunders said that the company, which had sales of $225 million during the ? rst nine months of 2001, hoped the OneWorld System would help it reach $1 billion in annual revenue in the coming years. Within the next 12 months, he said, Russ Berrie planned to begin installing the applications one department at a time, starting with a stand-alone implementation in purchasing. â€Å"We’re not going big bang,† Saunders said. â€Å"We’re mitigating implementation risks by taking a phased-in approach. The company had reason to be cautious. Three years before, a Y2K-related migration from its homegrown distribution, ? nancial, and customer service systems to packaged ERP applications experienced major system failures. Saunders said the problems were severe enough for Russ Berrie to take many of the new applications off-line and return to their old systems. Saunders wouldn’t identify the software vendors that were involved in the failed impl ementation, but sources said that SAP AG’s applications were part of the 1999 project. A spokesman at SAP con? rmed that Russ Berrie was one of its customers, but he declined to offer further details because of pending litigation between the two companies. Joshua Greenbaum of Enterprise Applications Consulting said it appeared that Russ Berrie â€Å"bit off more than they could chew† on the 1999 project. Companywide rollouts are especially risky for midsize businesses like Russ Berrie, Greenbaum said. T he good news is that Agilent Technologies Inc. (www. agilent. com) says its enterprise resource planning applications are stable. The bad news is they got that way only after a rocky ERP migration project that cost the company $105 million in revenue and $70 million in pro? ts. In mid-August 2002, the multinational communications and life sciences company, formerly a part of HewlettPackard Co. , said problems with the ERP components in Oracle’s e-Business Suite 11e software froze production for the equivalent of a week, leading to the massive losses. The Oracle system handles about half of the company’s worldwide production of test, measurement, and monitoring products and almost all of its ? ancial operations, as well as functions such as order handling and shipping. Agilent was in the process of migrating as many as 2,200 legacy applications that it inherited from HP to Oracle. As part of the switchover, approximately 6,000 orders in the internally developed legacy systems had to be converted to an Oracle-friendly format, an Agilent spokeswoman said from company headquarters in Palo Alto, Califo rnia. She said the con? guration process had problems requiring correction. In a statement last week, Agilent President and CEO Ned Barnholt said the disruptions to the business after implementing the ERP system were â€Å"more extensive than we expected. † An Agilent spokeswoman said the issue wasn’t the quality of the Oracle application, but rather the â€Å"very complex nature of the enterprise resource planning implementation. † For its part, Oracle Corp. said it’s working closely with Agilent. â€Å"At Oracle, we are fully committed to all of our customers for the long haul and support them in any way necessary,† the company said in a statement. We have a strong relationship with Agilent, and both companies believe the implementation is stable. † Agilent also had a takeaway lesson: â€Å"Enterprise resource planning implementations are a lot more than software packages,† the company said in a statement. â€Å"They are a fundamental transformation of a company’s business processes. People, processes , policies, the company’s culture are all factors that should be taken into consideration when implementing a major enterprise system. † According to one analyst, ERP disasters are often caused by the user company itself. Joshua Greenbaum, an analyst at Enterprise Applications Consulting, said 99 percent of such rollout ? ascoes are caused by â€Å"management’s inability to spec out their own requirements and the implementer’s inability to implement those specs. † Russ Berrie and Co. After a three-year saga that included a $10. 3 million ? nancial hit from the failed installation of packaged applications, teddy bear maker Russ Berrie and Case Study Questions 1. What are the main reasons companies experience failures in implementing ERP systems? 2. What are several key things companies should do to avoid ERP systems failures? Explain the reasons for your proposals. 3. Why do you think ERP systems in particular are often cited as examples of failures in IT systems development, implementation, or management? Source: Adapted from Marc Songini, â€Å"ERP Effort Sinks Agilent Revenue,† Computerworld, August 26, 2002, pp. 1, 12; and Marc Songini, â€Å"Teddy Bear Maker Prepares for Second Attempt at ERP Rollout,† Computerworld, February 4, 2002, p. 16. Reprinted with permission from Computerworld.

Jet Blue Key Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jet Blue Key - Case Study Example Jet Blue Was the best ever funded airline n the aviation history of U.S.The aim was to bring humanity back to air travel. Also the airline aimed at having a paperless airline .the company focus was efficiency and service. The company thinks of them as advocates of their customers. David Neelman was the founder of Jet Blue Airlines. Neelman with his experience and new ideas gave jet blue a new look and setup a target market where they could bring back humanity to air travel jet blues top management team was a virtual team in many respects . The geographical dispersion of the top management team reflected the diverse lifestyles and preferences of Jet Blue's top management. They intended to take the best from all airlines and apply it to Jet Blue. Rhoades emphasized on defining values and making them comprehendible to the team at jet Blue. Rhoades believed values were that drove the other activities around in an organization. All was going well with the airlines but now Rhoades was thinking how they would sustain this level of performance where they ere looking to serve airline travelers low fares, but high quality service. The case summary stated above gives us a brief outlook but yet entails all aspects of the case being discussed. Jet Blue Airline is new in the airline industry; it has already had one successful year of operations. The management consists of the most reputable, and experienced individuals of the aviation industry. We observe high capitalization has been done for the project. The aim of the top management is to offer low fares to people yet give them the best flying experience (i.e. the best quality of service ) we would making a few recommendations with reference to the key issues identified above . In order for jet Blue Airlines to be able to develop a value based high commitment culture along with rapid growth it is vital for organization's management's to understand the meaning and importance of an organization's culture, how it affects the performance and productivity. As we are aware that by definition culture is a set of norms, beliefs, and expectations. In order for organizations to be successful they need to consider what are the factors that influence an organizations culture. The management at Jet Blue Airlines needs to consider also that the external environment which most importantly consists of the competitors effect the culture. Here we are looking at a high performance culture. in order to achieve this the employees at jet blue airline have to plan and conceive