Swot Analysis of Tata Steel Essay Example for Free

Swot Analysis of Tata Steel Essay The company has also been acquiring stake overseas in Canada, Mozambique, Australia etc. to boast its reserves for clean coking coal which is rarely available in India. 2. Management Team Tata Steel has a highly credible management team which has displayed their skills in expanding the company through inorganic route. The company has successfully acquired Nat Steel of Singapore, Millennium Steel of Thailand and more importantly Corus. The company’s virtuosos of finance have been able to find innovative ways to tackle the company’s burgeoning debt and keep the bottom line in the green zone despite lowering demand and huge debts accumulated. . Information Technology The entire mining operation of the Company is safeguarded against accident occurrence. Proactive measures are undertaken to ensure the employees health and productivity through ergonomically designed work stations and by protecting them from occupational hazards. All its mines are ISO-14001 -Environmental Management System Certified. Tata Steels collieries use Surpac, a state-of-the-art mine planning software that estimates the volume of coal in every seam. This software is coupled with qualitative detailing that focuses on output consistency. To maximize productivity and utilization, a voice and data equipped Global Positioning System is used, which helps to supervise mining activity form a chine movement and engine status. 4. Innovativeness of TATA Steel with respect to its competitors Tata Steel has the lowest operating cost for steel manufacture in the world. Further it has displayed effective means in adopting an eco-friendly and sustainable approach towards the manufacture of steel thus proactive measures are undertaken to ensure the employees health and productivity through ergonomically designed work stations and by protecting them from occupational hazards. . Adaptability of the company in the fast change of the environment Tata Steel has displayed immense agility in the recent past during the global financial tsunami. Its virtuosos of various fields have adopted various methods like lowering of production and even shutting down of steel plants owing to the lack of demand, managing the balance sheet efficiently et c. The company has 70% of its procurement of raw materials for its operations in Asia through long term contracts and so its margins can be shielded from the nuances of the volatility of the financial markets. Brand value The TATA brand owing to its highly ethical and a socialistic approach to business have made its name synonymous to trust. After the acquisition of Corus another powerful brand, the brand value of the company has enhanced further. 7. Corporate governance Tata Steel has had an impeccable record for corporate governance. It has set the benchmark in global corporate governance principles of transparency, accountability and equity for others to follow. Tata Steel has been consistently receiving prestigious awards at both the national and the international arena. Recently it bagged the Best Governed Company Award for corporate practices presented by Asian Centre for Corporate Governance. 8. Excellent integration with Corus Corus has a great reserve of around 2000 metallurgists and technology which could be exploited by Tata Steel on several fronts. 10. Excellent procurement philosophy Tata Steel has around 70% of its supplies through long term contracts. Thus it can be shielded from the volatility of the financial markets. 10. Spawning upon opportunities Tata Steel has been amongst the earliest to spot the escalation in the demand for steel in the forthcoming years. It has hence invested heavily in the expansion of its existing facility at Jamshedpur and is setting up other green field projects at Orissa, Jharkhand etc. Weaknesses of Tata Steel 1. Huge debt burden Tata Steel is having a total debt of 10. 2 billion USD in its books. It has a debt equity ratio of 1. 6 which means that the assets of the company are largely financed through debt. With the inflation on a rise the central banks of most all the countries are intending to tighten in the liquidity in the money markets. As a result of which the interest rates are on a rise.

Compare and contrast the theories

Compare and contrast the theories Part I 1. Compare and contrast the theories and basic treatment models of Albert Ellis and Aaron T. Beck. Include a discussion of the structure, theoretical/philosophical positions, therapist activity, demands on the client, and empirical support. Albert Elliss basic treatment model is rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). The theoretical basis of Elliss model is that individuals routinely cope with life issues by reconstructing their beliefs, affect, and behaviors in adaptation to the problem (Ellis, 2000). While this psychological process seems like a positive way to adapt in regards to an issue, many individuals inevitably construct poor beliefs and behave in a repetitive and maladaptive manner. Meaning, that not only does the problem still exist in one way or another, but that the behavior, or more specifically the schematic agenda, created by this poor cognitive process only adds to a schema that is poorly built. In this regard, the future result of the next problem will be dealt with poorly all over again due to a lack of introspection of the past consequences or possibly simply due to a lack of individual skills. Additionally, REBT considers that most individuals bring about problems for themselves by creating personal imperatives (Ellis, 2000). These personal imperatives involve internal statements that include: I will perform well to gain others approval, my life should be trouble-free and enjoyable, and everyone should treat me well (Ellis, 2005). In this manner, when these expectations (demands) are not met, individuals create their own affective misery. In response to this, therapists using REBT are expected to use a more directive manner than when using a psychodynamic approach, for example. Clients are shown how to acknowledge and then dispute within themselves their irrational beliefs. In addition, therapists not only give the clients unconditional acceptance, but the therapist must gives themself Unconditional Self-Acceptance (aka USA) (Ellis, 2005). Becks Cognitive therapy rests on the principle of collaborative empiricism (Hollon Beck, 2000). Cognitive therapy theorizes that clients have automatic thoughts and that these thoughts are incorrect beliefs, therefore, they create maladaptive behaviors (Wenzel, Brown, Beck, 2009). A cognitive therapist would teach their clients how to think more like a scientist by showing them that their beliefs are not necessarily facts. Meaning, client would collect data from their issues, their behaviors, and their consequences, and pseudo-empirically test their possibly irrational beliefs. Within this process, the hope is that the automatic thoughts will be addressed and corrected. Though, Becks Cog ­nitive therapy is somewhat different than Elliss Rational Emotive-Behavior Ther ­apy (REBT). While they both have their basis in the processes of cognition and how those thoughts motivate behavior, one could argue that REBT uses the influence of logic reasoning to change the clients schema (Hollon Beck, 2000). Also, Becks Cog ­nitive therapy differs from REBT because there is an emphasis in the testing of beliefs in-vivo from an empirical point of view. In either type of cognitive-based therapy, there are a large degree of empirical data that supports how effective CBT is. In fact, there are studies that suggest CBT is more effective than medication for depression (McGinn, 2000). 2. The First Wave was behavior therapy. The Second Wave was Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapy. The Third Wave includes the works of Hayes and Linehan. Is the Third Wave a wave, a tsunami, or just a gentle lapping at the shore? How are these waves different? The first wave, Behavior therapy, is based upon the theories of classical conditioning and operant conditioning developed by B.F. Skinner and Ivan Pavlov. Behavior-based therapy considers the behaviors antecedent and reaction, then viewing how the consequence is processed to influence the occurrence and the repetition of the same behavior (Skinner, 1969). The second wave involves the addition of the cognitive model. This model is based on how interpretations or misinterpretations are created and how they eventually relate to the individuals affective experiences and the behavior that is manifested. (Wenzel, Brown, Beck, 2009). The combination of behavioral and cognitive aspects in this wave is the use of reinforcers that are directly related to personal experiences. Meaning, that the exposure of thoughts, reinforcers, and behaviors to the client will help in the realization of negative thought patterns in relation to their situation. Thus, in the true essence of CBT, they will be ab le to scrutinize themselves, the world, and the future. The hope is that the client will work, with the therapist, towards beneficial life changes. The third wave is its own wave. This wave of Cognitive therapy was developed as a consequence of the restructuring process of the second wave of Cognitive Therapy. As described by Linehan Dimeff (2001), Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT) was created due to the failures of standard Cognitive and/or Behavioral therapy. It is suggested that too much emphasis was put on change the of individual which resulted in an invalidation of the client; an invalidation of the ability of the client to succeed when they have, in their perception, failed so much already. Therefore, a large conceptual part of DBT is skills training of emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, mindfulness, and distress tolerance (Linehan Dimeff, 2001, p. 1). DBT purposefully takes into account not only the change that needs to occur cognitively, but also the in the moment affect of the client. Concurrently with DBT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) was created by Steven Hayes as a psychological intervention that also uses mindfulness but has a spotlight on personal acceptance (Hayes, 2009). Hayes coins a term called psychological flexibility, in where an individual is able to fully connect to themselves in spite of the changing situations and personal mood. With this flexibility in mind, the third wave CBT and the mindfulness concept differs from traditional second wave CBT due to highly dynamic approach that is expected from the therapist towards the client. Maybe too simply put, 2nd wave CBT focuses highly on »Ã‚ ¿ cognition while DBT focuses more on behavior and skills (or lack of). Therefore, the central aspect of the new third wave CBT is helping clients review and accept their thoughts in order to alter the maladaptive automatic reactions they have been using to cope. CBT is not just how your cognitions effect your behavior, but an attempt to understand the complex interconnection of schemas that produce reactions in all areas of functioning including: affect, physiology, and behavior (Claessens, 2010). 3. From your reading and research what would be the main points of agreement and difference between: 1) CBT, 2) psychodynamic therapy, and 3) family systems therapy. While psychodynamic therapy and family systems therapy agree that human development is largely determined by significant interpersonal relationships, and that this understanding is crucial to treatment, CBT places greater emphasis on the individual. The main focus of CBT is placed only on the person in therapy, their schemas, automatic thoughts, and cognitive distortions (Freeman Eig, n.d.). Conversely, psychodynamic theory revolves around feelings and behavior being determined by interactions with others. Transference plays a key role in understanding present patterns of behavior which originated in previous attachment-based relationships (Leichsenring, Hiller, Weissberg, Leibing, 2006). Psychodynamic psychotherapy aims to identify problematic relationships from the past and to provide the client with a safe, therapeutic relationship, as well as helping them build additional positive relationships. While family systems therapy also works within the context of attachment-based rela tionships, the focus is on the relational dynamics taking place in the moment. Family and couples therapists work with all affected people, together and separately, in order to address intrapersonal and interpersonal dysfunction (Liddle, 2010). CBT and psychodynamic therapy both address the clients core beliefs, though how these beliefs were formed is not necessarily crucial to CBT based treatment. Family systems puts the focus on developing positive interactions between family members. Meanwhile, relationships in family systems therapy are already established and occurring in the present (Liddle, 2010). Psychodynamic therapy focuses on harmful relationships of the past and understanding them, but not always focusing on building positive relationships in the future. While both the CBT and Psychodynamic approach attempt to diminish psychopathological symptoms and grief, a very central difference between CBT and psychodynamic therapy is that psychodynamic therapy attempts to determine at why you feel or behave the way you do. Specifically, psychodynamic therapy concentrates on trying to uncover the deep and often unconscious motivations for feelings and behavior whereas CBT does not necessarily consider this a priority you cant see whats ahead of you when youre looking over your shoulder (Freeman, 1993, 2011). In practice, CBT attempts to lessen the clients suffering as quickly as possible training their mind to replace maladaptive thought patterns, perceptions, and conduct with helpful ones in order to modify behavior and affect. Part II 1. How is structure used in CBT? What is the purpose of structuring the sessions? What techniques would be used to achieve the structure for the therapy and for the sessions? Structure in therapy can have several meanings. Structure could mean the format of the therapy as a whole, whether it would be very brief, short-term, or long-term. Structure could mean the environment of where therapy takes place, such as in a hospital or in a private office. However, the most relevant and crucial meaning of structure within CBT is the structure of the session. 45-50 minutes a week is not a great length of time, so the structure of CBT in practice should be designed to be as efficient as possible. Each session should be a meaningful exchange between therapist and client. The therapists and clients collaborative goals should always be center stage, but the set agenda needs to take precedence. As Freeman, Pretzer, Fleming, Simon (1990) notes, spending a few minutes each session is an asset to the therapeutic milieu and is possibly the most valuable technique in creating a environment of progression instead of digression. A typical structure of a session as described by Freeman, Pretzer, Fleming, Simon (1990) involves: agenda setting, a review of clients current status, consideration of events of the past week, requesting feedback regarding previous session, review any homework from the previous session, a focus on main agenda issues, develop any new homework, and once again looking for feedback regarding current session (p.17). Taking into consideration how the client and therapist envision the sessions while creating a agenda allows redirection of the client when the discussion goes off the expect path, but also reduces the likelihood that the client will feel pushed around or invalidated (Freeman, Pretzer, Fleming, Simon, 1990). Additionally, a client who is defensive, aggressive, or always in crisis may make the progression of the weekly session unstable when a joint program is not set (Persons, Davidson, Tompkins 2001). Therefore, the collaboration between client and therapist when setting the main agenda is essential. If this teamwork does not occur, in where the therapist decides completely the topic of the session, the client may not effectively grasp the meaningfulness of the session due to a lack of motivation because they do not feel involved. Additionally, a lack of review of the agenda with the client may also put the inexperienced therapist unsure of where to go next in the session (Persons, Davidson, Tompkins 2001). The termination of a session should not be an unexpected and sudden event for the client. A therapist must bring some sort of closure in relation to goals of the session while allowing sufficient time to address the ending of therapy and any issues the client still has. (Joyce, Piper, Ogrodniczuk, Klein (2007). Therefore, even with an opportunity for feedback about the previous session toward the beginning of a session, there should be a set time for feedback about the curren t session at the end of the therapy. In both instances, this time allows for a discussion of problems that may have occurred, such as errors in communication, misunderstandings, or general feedback from the client (Freeman, Pretzer, Fleming, Simon, 1990). 4. How is Narcissistic Personality Disorder defined, assessed, conceptualized, and treated? How does a therapist deal with this resistant patient? Narcissistic Personality Disorder is defined by cognitive processes that involve selective attention of the meaning of events and dichotomous thinking (Freeman, n.d.). This dysfunctional internal thought arrangement is due to the postulation that the individual considers themselves as special, or just better than others. However, from a psychodynamic perspective, the definition of the disorder changes a bit. Ledermann (1982), describes the disorder as something of an opposite of an individual who considers themselves as special or has a proclivity to engage in self-worship, it is the inability to love oneself and hence the inability to love another personThey are fixated on an early defense structure which springs into being in infancy-when, for whatever reasons, there is a catastrophically bad fit between the baby and the mother, frequently compounded by the lack of an adequate father and by other inimical experiences in childhood. Babies, thus deprived, grow into persons who lack t rust in other peopleThey experience their lives as futile and empty, and their feelings as being frozen or split off (p.303). This psychodynamic perspective is a bit extremist and obviously over-analyzed. To say that the narcissistic individual is unable to love is akin to calling an individual with low self esteem a sociopath. On second thought, it has been noted that a narcissistic individuals is very similar to a sociopath due to a lack of empathy for others and no desire to do what is right (Freeman, Pretzer, Fleming, Simon, 1990). Regardless, one could argue that the narcissistic individual really does suffer from low esteem. That maybe they are grasping at the straws of the world looking for someone to approve of them. The more likely reality is that on a day by day, second to second process, the narcissistic individual is looking for aspects of their lives and environment that feed or fit into their own schema of how great they are. This could also entail an ignoring of any evidence that goes contrary to their belief structure. Therefore, the treatment and the goal of therapy for the narcissistic individual is not to necessarily expose the cognitive flaws and the interpersonal manipulations that have occurred. Doing so would go against the foundation of the narcissistic individuals schematic structure and probably prematurely end therapy (Freeman, Pretzer, Fleming, Simon, 1990). First, a realization of the difficulty that lies ahead must occur for the client and the therapist. There must be a observed equalization of power between the therapeutic alliance because preventing a power struggle is generally the first step that must be taken. Freeman, Pretzer, Fleming, Simon, (1990) allude to the idea that homework assignments may not be the best approach with these individuals due to the likelihood of noncompliance because of the patients belief that they are special. Instead the therapist must present the therapy to the client as something of great value to them instead of a type of humiliation (Freeman, n.d .). A resistant patient such as this is not only opposing to feedback or questioning, they see it as a fundamental aggressive criticism that attacks their very existence. Due to their innate response to invalidate a therapists statement or view, a therapist must be dynamic and hold an absolute positive regard towards the individual and appear to appreciate deeply what is stated by the client.

Explain The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Church Religion Essay

Explain The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Church Religion Essay INTRODUCTION In explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the early church and how they compare to the church today, I am going to look at a number of areas showing the strengths of the early church and the strengths of the church today. I will also look at the weaknesses of the early church and the church of today. While looking at these strengths and weaknesses of the church I will also make comparisons between the strengths and the weaknesses of the early church and the church in the 21st century. STRENGTHS OF THE EARLY CHURCH AND THE CHURCH TODAY Prayer is very important aspect of our day to day living as a church and as individuals. Prayer helps us understand that a critical decision made without asking God will not succeed. The early church understood this principle and never made a step or decision unless God said yes and because the disciples had been with Jesus and seeing the many times He isolated Himself to pray and also seeing the strength and power He gained after made believe and know that without prayer it was impossible to do anything. In Acts 12:1-18 Peter had been taken to prison by Herods soldiers and at this time the church knew what to do and who to consult concerning this issue meaning that the church earnestly prayed for Peters The early church prayed before preaching, travelling and appointing different people for ministry. The church today practices the same principle of prayer before making any decisions. The church today understands that if they dont pray and commit their plans in to the hands of God th ey will not succeed.  [1]   FOCUSED ON THE TRUTH The early church stood on the truth, they even told those who questioned them and persecuted them that they only obeyed God and not man. They church founded by the apostles understood what the truth was not only because they had an on pouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost but because they also had been with the Lord Jesus Christ throughout His ministry to the time He was crucified to the time He ascended to heaven. While the church today seems very reluctant concerning the truth, the church today tends to combine the truth of the word of God and science. FEARLESS The early church where not afraid to share the gospel at any time to anyone as the Holy Spirit led them. The early church where very bold, that they could even preach and minister before the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and leaders of different regions who opposed the Good News. The church of today has a lot of fear especially when it comes to soul winning, we have the so called submarine Christians who afraid of what people will say about them, such that they cannot minister to a President or any person who leads a region. The church today allows the fears of being mocked and undermined to keep them from sharing the Good News. In the era of todays church there are few individuals who are fearless to minister to the lost. MARTYERDOM The early church where not afraid to die for Christ and most of where either stoned, or had their heads chopped of and others where crucified. The early church did not run away from those who wanted to kill them but they looked for an opportunity to minister salvation to their persecutors. The church today has a different situation all together. The church today has the right to share the gospel to anyone because the laws of the nations today allow people the right to practise their own faiths and religions. The church of today has more, freedom to live as Christians and even preach the Good News and they will not be killed, but there are some nations who still kill Christians today and everyday one more of these precious people of God are being martyred.  [2]   THE POWER OF GOD The power of God was always dominate in the lives the early church body. They depended on it for everything they did and because most of them where eyewitnesses of the life of Christ and seeing how Jesus was always full of the power of God in all that He said and did. There are interesting scenes in the Bible that tell us of how these powerful men and women of God were mightily used by the power of God. The power of God is dominate even in the church today but not in all the churches. There is less manifestation of the power of God and more of the flesh and man doing what he she thinks is right, God often taken out of the big picture which is causing a lot struggle between the power of God and enemy. WEAKNESSES OF THE EARLY CHURCH AND THE CHURCH TODAY DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCH The early church at first where very united but as time passed there was a lot of division in the church. The apostle Paul rebuked some of the brothers in the church telling that they should not divide themselves and say that I am for Paul and I am for Apollos but that they should remember that they belong to Christ. There is a lot of division in the church today because the only thing people talk about is I belong to pastor and another to pastor, even the very leaders of the churches today are divided. Most of the believers today despise and hate certain brothers and love certain brothers, but the Bible mentions that believers should practise favouritism. SEXUAL IMMORALITY Some the believers in the early church where committing having sex outside marriage and the apostle Paul sent a message or word of correction to them concerning this issue. Sexual immorality is very common in the church today and because our society encourages people to live together when they are not married,  [3]   this makes it very difficult to abstain from sex before marriage and because even the leaders of the church today also commit this type of sin it is hard for them to tell people not do it. FALSE APOSTLES Some people joined the early church and began to mislead many of the believers to go astray and return to their old practises. This issue caused a lot of tension even between the apostle Paul and Peter. Paul confuted Peter on the issue of being circumcised in order to be part of the body of Christ. Paul was against the spirit of gaining salvation through works he said because Jesus died on the cross and rose again and he took away all our sins not because of what we did, but because through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus we were saved. There are more false teachers and prophets who exist in the church today than in the early church. The body of believers today mostly want to hear what they want to hear even if its not true as long as its pleasing to the hear they believe it, this makes it hard to make distinction between a true prophet and a false unless one is mature and has the spirit of discernment. LOVE OF MONEY The believers in the early church shared their possessions and gave to all who were in need and because of this Godly practise no one was in need. Although everybody sold their properties in order to give their money to the needy, there were some people who were greedy and did not stick to their commitment and lied to the Holy Spirit, such people dropped dead in the presence of God before the whole church, thus the believers were committed in whatever they said they would for God and their fellow brethren. The church has a lot of selfish leaders and selfish members everyone has his or her own worries and they always want more very hesitant in giving in the church and giving to the poor.  [4]   CONCLUSION The strengths of the early church are more than their weaknesses. The early church practised some important morals that should be practised by the church of today. There was more commitment to Gods work than there is today, because the church today is often moved by physical surrounding than the spirit surrounding, forgetting that our fight is not against man but against the enemy. There is also a lot of greed in the church to than there was in the early church. The church today needs revival, they need to be winning souls for Christ.  [5]  

Advertisement Comparison Essay -- essays research papers

Advertising is the chief profitable industry in the United States today. Billboards, signs, magazines, newspapers, radios, televisions, and computers are just some of the places where advertisements are found. At the heart of any one company’s advertising campaign is the consumer. The consumer has complete control of their own money and can choose to buy any product or service they desire. Advertising does not control the consumers on what they buy. It only informs them on what they can buy. This is known as consumer sovereignty. It is the responsibility of the company to develop an advertising campaign that generates a demand for their product or service. A company usually promotes a product or service by means of appealing to a particular group in society. For example, an advertisement’s target audience could be men between the ages of 25 and 40 or children between the ages of 5 and 10. There are basic needs that all of us, as humans, share and the advertisement agen cies incorporate them into their ads. The most dominant needs include sex, affiliation, nurture, guidance, aggression, achievement, dominance, prominence, and attention. An advertisement can appeal to one or more of these needs through the use of colors, words, expressions, and statures illustrated in the ad. A comparison of two advertisements for the same product, but different brand names, will allow one to better understand how a company uses different human needs to sell their product. Two coffee ads, one for Cafà © Vienna and one for Millstone, will be compared to determine the dominant strategy that each uses to create a desire to buy. The ad for Cafà © Vienna coffee uses the need for guidance to appeal to middle age coffee drinkers. In contrast, the need for achievement is what attracts middle age coffee drinkers to Millstone brand coffee.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The colors observed in the coffee ads are supportive of the individual needs they appeal to. The Cafà © Vienna ad has a color fade effect to it. It starts with dark black and deep orange and fades to a light yellow almost white in the center. This supports the need for guidance because the use of color gives the person reading it a sense that they are being lead towards the light at the end of a tunnel. On the other hand, the bright reds, blues, whites, and yellows found in the Millstone ad support the need for achievement. The... ...nd coffees. Although these ads were for the same product, the companies involved used very different strategies to lure consumers to their product. The Cafà © Vienna advertisement appealed to our need for guidance, while the Millstone ad appealed to our need for achievement. Each advertisement appealed to a human need through the use of colors, words, expressions, and illustrations. All advertisements are planned out and target a specific group in society. The target audience for the coffee ads were middle age men or women who drink coffee. Advertisements effect every person everywhere and reflect the attitude of our society. That is why we must understand the concepts behind advertising. No one can predict what new forms advertising may take in the future. But the rapidly increasing cost of acquiring new customers makes one thing certain. Advertisers will seek to hold onto current customers by forming closer relationships with them and by tailoring products, services, and adver tising messages to meet their individual needs. So while advertising will continue to encourage people to consume, it will also help provide them with products and services more likely to satisfy their needs.

Oedipus and Othello Essay -- Theatre

The role of the gods/fate in human affairs is a central theme in most works of literature. In Greek literature, particularly, the will of the gods is commonly attributed to human experiences. In Oedipus the King, for instance, the oracle’s message that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his own mother suggests that he was a puppet in the hands of the gods, who manipulated the events that led to his fall. However, the character’s fate is not entirely attributable to the work of the gods. In the play, Oedipus meets his fate due to his determination to unravel the mysteries surrounding the king’s death, despite warnings by the prophet Tiresias and his wife/mother, and his quest to prove the oracles wrong in their declaration that he is the king’s murderer. In contrast, the character of Othello in William Shakespeare’s Othello meets his downfall as a result of the schemes of other characters, chief among them lago, who wanted to avenge Othelloâ€⠄¢s decision to bypass him for the liutenant’s position and instead promote Cassio, a junior officer. With reference to the play Oedipus by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare, this essay disputes the statement that Oedipus’s downfall is the work of the gods while that of Othello is self-inflicted. On the contrary, this essay argues that the downfall of Oedipus is self-inflicted while Othello is a victim of the lies and evil schemes conjured up by lago, who wants to settles scores with Othello for not promoting him to the lieutenant’s position. Oedipus’ fall is largely attributed to his blind preoccupation to avoid the prophecy proclaimed by the oracle (DeRoo and Manoussakis 113). Despite the declaration by the oracle on his birth, Oedipus fulfills the prophecy in his attempt to a... ...who acted as a puppet under the control of Lago. Works Cited Adamson, Jane. Othello as Tragedy: Some Problems of Judgment and Feeling. London: Cambridge University Press, 1980. Ahl, Frederick, Seneca, Lucius, A., and Sophocles. Two faces of Oedipus: Sophocles' Oedipus tyrannus and Seneca's Oedipus. London: Cornell University Press, 2008. Collick, John. Shakespeare, Cinema, and Society. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989. DeRoo, Neal, and Manoussakis, John, P. Phenomenology and eschatology: not yet in the now. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009. Knneddy, J., Gioia, Dan. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Shakespeare, William. Othello. London: Cricket House Books LLC, 2010. Will, Frederick. The Generic Demands of Greek Literature. New York: Rodopi, 1976.

Houses: Shelter to the Physical and Emotional Well-Being

Sandra Cisneros’   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The House on Mango Street† is not just another coming-of-age story; it is also a story that has been written to conquer the personal difficulties of a Latina writer.  Ã‚   Being Latina, she does not have many â€Å"Chicano role models† (Klein 21), but she has strived to express herself in writing, nonetheless.   In the 1988 collection of fifty four vignettes, Cisneros makes the narrator, Esperanza, come alive through experiences ultimately caused by being poor, female, and a minority, while giving the house the title role as it encompasses the dreams of families from any race: having a home to call their own. It is Cisneros’ way of dealing with the issues she herself has faced as a Latina is through her perseverance that they do not remain mere issues (O'Malley 35), but full-blooded experiences of a girl named Esperanza.   In the short story with the same name, Cisneros focuses on the dream of acquiring a home.   Therefore, this coming-of-age short story emphasizes on the importance of the physical house to the emotional growth and identity of its residents. Esperanza relates the many times her family has to move from rented house or apartment to another:   â€Å"We didn’t always live on Mango Street.   Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor and before that we lived on Keeler.   Before Keeler it was Paulina, and before that I can’t remember. But I remember most was moving a lot† (Cisneros 290). Mango Street is a change from all the moving because the family finally does â€Å"not have to pay rent†; the house is supposed to be theirs   (Cisneros 291). However, the house still has some disappointments in store for Esperanza and her family.   The house is not what Esperanza imagines a real house that they can proudly call their own to be. â€Å"In the United States in particular, the house is more than just shelter; it is a national institution almost as sacred as the American flag.   In home ownership, the American dream and the American way are manifest: the civic values of individualism, economic success and self-sufficiency are asserted† (Kaup 361). Esperanza and her family are striving to reach that American dream, to stop being substandard citizens who get to be asked disbelievingly by people â€Å"You live there?† (Cisneros 291).   According to Esperanza the way it was asked made her â€Å"feel like nothing†.     Ã‚  This is how sometimes people are judged by the house they live in.   The house also affects the psyche of its residents.   A clean, well-kept house may contribute to a clearer outlook while a house which reflects poverty can be a cause for shame, such as in the case of Esperanza and her family’s house on Mango Street (Klein 23). The short story â€Å"The House on Mango Street† may be very brief, but according to Thomas O’ Malley, an English teacher, he considers â€Å"Cisneros’ writing† as â€Å"poetry† and thinks that â€Å"her characters speak poetic dialogue† that has not been heard â€Å"since Shakespeare moved out of the hood (O'Malley 35). It is probably Cisneros’ identification with Esperanza’s experiences that make her write them vividly and with the right tone. She understands what Esperanza is going through, and she makes sure that she uses simple language as appropriate to that of a little girl’s. It is also important to note that like other Latin American writers, Sandra Cisneros emphasizes on the â€Å"reinvention† of the English language when put side by side with other languages (Wolf 61).   Esperanza is not just a little girl, she is also a bilingual girl therefore there are two reasons behind the use of simple language. The story being added to a curriculum may be questioned by some English Literature students (Romero and Zancanella 26), but studying the story is not a waste of time at all even for non-Latinos.   In fact, other students are curious about â€Å"the line between fiction and reality† in the short story, having known Sandra Cisneros’ somewhat similar background (O'Malley 37). It not only opens the eyes to the world of Latinos but also expresses the universal need to feel secure with both shelter and identity.   The house on Mango Street is not a useless location for the story; it develops a character of its own.  Ã‚   It is used as a symbol for a person’s status in life, and possibly the person’s emotional state. The House on Mango Street relates a story of poverty and of a family’s search for a home to call their own.   However, what makes this story worth reading is that although there are many trials for Esperanza’s family, their story ends with Esperanza thinking hopefully:   â€Å"I knew then that I had to have a house.   A real house. One I could point to.   But this isn’t it.   The house on Mango Street isn’t it. For the time being.   Mama says. Temporary, says Papa.   But I know how things go† (Cisneros 291).   The last sentence diminishes that hope but the desire to have a real house is already in Esperanza’s heart.   She has the desire to improve her family’s situation and she does not want to remain trapped in rented houses, or even houses like the house on Mango Street.   However, this does not mean that Esperanza does not recognize the irony in what her parents have promised. Rudolfo Anaya is another Chicano writer who, like Cisneros, creates â€Å"protagonists who, like themselves, have no models, but were possessed by destiny, by inclination and by courage (Klein 22)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to reach their goals.   He differs from Cisneros in his more active childhood and his stories which focus more on the development of a male protagonist. Related article: Arguments Made in Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry As a conclusion, â€Å"The House on Mango Street† is a story that does not only explore the development of a young girl called Esperanza, it also tells how the different houses she has lived in, including the house on Mango Street, contribute to her emotional growth and recognition of self-worth.   The house on Mango Street is not only present to provide a literal roof over the head of Esperanza’s family, it affects their very identity. Works Cited Cisneros, Sandra. â€Å"The House on Mango Street.† n.d. 290-291. Kaup, Monika. â€Å"The Architecture of Ethnicity in Chicano Literature.† American Literature,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Vol. 69, no. 2 (June 1997): 361-397. Klein, Dianne. â€Å"Coming of Age in the Novels of Rudolfo Anaya and Sandra Cisneros.† The   Ã‚  Ã‚   English Journal Vol. 81, No. 5 (September 1992): 21-26. O’Malley, Thomas F. â€Å"A Ride Down Mango Street.† The English Journal Vol. 86, No. 8 (December 1997): 35-37. Romero, Patricia Ann and Don Zancanella. â€Å"Expanding the Circle: Hispanic Voices in American Literature.† The English Journal, Vol. 79, No. 1 (January 1990): 24-29. Wolf, Dennie Palmer. â€Å"Of Courses: The Pacesetter Initiative and the Need for Curriculum-Based School.† The English Journal, Vol. 84, No. 1 (January 1995): 60-68.      

Coffee and Starbucks Corporation Essay

Acknowledgements: First and foremost, we would like to express our gratitude to our faculty Ms. Nusrat Huq for her constant support and motivation, and we would also like to thank her for assigning a topic to our group that has been quite interesting to work with. We are immensely grateful to our friends and AIUB alumni who have been kind enough to share their knowledge with us. Last but not the least, our sincere gratitude goes to our respected families for their guidance and contribution in all aspects of our lives. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Among many other global coffee shops, Starbucks is the most popular. This article discusses the company’s internal and external environments, its corporate strategies, organization structures, how they can improve their quality, and where there is room for success.In 1971, three young entrepreneurs began the Starbucks Corporation in Seattle Washington. Their key goal was to sell whole coffee beans. Soon after, Starbucks began experiencing huge growth, opening five stores all of which had roasting facilities, sold coffee beans and room for local restaurants. In 1987, Howard Schultz bought Starbucks from its original owners for $4 million after expanding Starbucks by opening three coffee bars. These coffee bars were based on an idea that was originally proposed to the owner who recruited him into the corporation as manager of retail and marketing. Overall, Schultz strategy for Starbucks was to grow slow. Starbucks went on to suffer financial losses and overhead operating expenses rose as Starbucks continued its slow expansion process. Despite the initial financial troubles, Starbucks went on to expand to 870 stores by 1996. Sales increased 84%, which brought the corporation out of debt. With the growing success, Starbucks planned to open 2000 stores by year 2000.