Analyze the football motif in The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick Essay

Analyze the football motif in The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick - Essay Example The novel, The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick written by Peter Handke is about a former goalkeeper of a football team and his life, after he is ejected from a game for foul play. As discussed above, author Handke has used football as an important motif to reveal intricate aspects of the central character, Josef Bloch as well as the whole story. The author shows how Bloch’s life mirrors the game of football, and also how his life exhibits moments similar to the ones, which will be undergone by a goalkeeper during the match, especially when the ball is about to be shot into the goal post. The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick was originally written in German and is the first of Handke’s novels to be translated and published in English. As Josef Bloch indulges in foul play and gets sent off from the game, he starts facing various repercussions, which shows how the game of football plays a crucial role in changing his life. These repercussions does no t happen due to some external forces, it was carried out by Bloch himself as a form of self-destruction without any valid motive, including the murder of a female cashier. â€Å"The self-destruction of a soccer goalie turned construction worker who wanders aimlessly around a stifling Austrian border town after pursuing and then murdering, almost unthinkingly, a female movie cashier.†1 Apart from how the game of football diverts the life of Bloch in a different and at the same time problematic direction, the motif of football is aptly used to denote the isolated existence of Bloch. That is, throughout the novel, Bloch seems to live in a secluded manner, without maximally living with his family and friends. This existence of Bloch can be correlated through a goalkeeper, who will be far away from the main action, standing and operating in an isolated manner. In any football game, the role of goalkeeper will be mainly under the bars of the goalpost, without directly involving the mselves in the match play. On the same lines, Bloch led an isolated existence away from the actions, only coming into the picture due to his own actions. Even his firing from the job did not evoke any reactions from his colleagues and also he lived in the city where he had no friends. As he read the newspaper and saw the classified sections featuring advertisements for materialistic things, he further felt his isolated survival. Quite strikingly, he was the first one to come out of the football stadium even before the final whistle goes off, as he did not want to be in the midst of a large crowd. Being a goalkeeper of a better known club, he might have played in front of large crowds and could have even enjoyed performing in front of those huge crowds. In addition, a football fan (even if he/she is not a football player) will be in the stadium till the final whistle is blown and could even extend their stay watching all the post-match celebrations and other activities. However, in B loch’s case, he does not felt comfortable with the huge crowds and had no interest and enthusiasm to watch a full game. His eviction from a game and the resultant depression made him prefer isolation, and prevented him from merging with the crowd and enjoying game. Handke portrayed him as a goalie, who is isolated from the frantic activities that were taking place around him. Thus, the motif of football and a how goalkeeper will operate in an isolated manner in a football match can be clearly seen in the actions and the characteristics of Bloch. There are

Retails industries in UK Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Retails industries in UK - Dissertation Example Research shows that when the economic aspects of the country were steady and reliable, the consumer confidence was at its highest. This is evident from the fact that before 2007, when employment levels and positive externalities prevailed in the economy, UK consumers spent lavishly. However, growing inflation forced British people to change their money management philosophy from earn more and spend lavishly to spend less and save more. Everything is expensive in UK at present except the people. Many of the British families are currently struggling to find enough funds for managing their monthly family expenses because of higher inflation. From September 2007 onwards, a strong decline in consumer spending has been observed. Moreover, consumers started to stay away from borrowing options available to them from 2007 onwards. Earlier, the general trend among British people was to spend lavishly and approach the banks or other financial institutions when they are in need of money. Banks a nd other financial institutions in the past, dispersed mortgages to all people who approached them irrespective of their financial abilities or the credit histories of the borrowers. As a result of such inappropriate lending policies, many British banks faced problems in the recent past. At present banks in Britain are granting loans or mortgages only after thoroughly investigating about the credit histories of the borrowers. Thus, people are struggling to find enough money for lavish spending at present. ... This literature review focuses on the retail industries in the UK, specially the segmentation in this sector, as well as how the financial crisis affected it. Basic Trends in Retail Sector of the UK Lower Consumer Confidence: Research shows that when the economic aspects of the country were steady and reliable, the consumer confidence was at its highest. This is evident from the fact that before 2007, when employment levels and positive externalities prevailed in the economy, UK consumers spent lavishly. However, growing inflation forced British people to change their money management philosophy from earn more and spend lavishly to spend less and save more. Everything is expensive in UK at present except the people. Many of the British families are currently struggling to find enough funds for managing their monthly family expenses because of higher inflation. From September 2007 onwards, a strong decline in consumer spending has been observed. Moreover, consumers started to stay awa y from borrowing options available to them from 2007 onwards. Earlier, the general trend among British people was to spend lavishly and approach the banks or other financial institutions when they are in need of money. Banks and other financial institutions in the past, dispersed mortgages to all people who approached them irrespective of their financial abilities or the credit histories of the borrowers. As a result of such inappropriate lending policies, many British banks faced problems in the recent past. At present banks in Britain are granting loans or mortgages only after thoroughly investigating about the credit histories of the borrowers. Thus, people are struggling to find enough money for lavish spending at present. Apart from the

Carnival Cruises Analysis

Carnival Cruises Analysis Carnival Corporation is the largest and most successful cruise lines in the world. Their corporate offices are located in Miami, Florida with over 91,000 employees with offices all over the world. It all started in 1972 by Ted Arison who had a vision to create the greatest cruise line in the world. Carnival slowly started to grow and over time was awarded The Worlds Most Popular Cruise Line.(Carnival, 2006) On 1987 the management team decided to take advantage to its well-known reputation and went public entering in the New York Stock Exchange as CCL. Today Carnival has added over 100 ships and acquired premium cruise lines in almost every sector of the industry. In 1989 Holland America Line was acquired by Carnival adding niche operators including Windstar Cruises and Alaskan/Canadian cruise lines. In 1992 several luxury liner, where acquired such as Seabourn and Europes largest operator Costa Cruises. Carnival was not done expanding and in 1998 they acquired the prestiges luxury operator Cunard who built the world largest ocean liner Queen Mary 2. (Carnival, 2006) Carnival Corporation was beginning to take shape, but on 2003 they successfully merged with Princess Cruises creating a global power house. Carnival also purchased P O cruises, Ibero cruises and AIDA Cruises lines. Carnival had become the largest cruise operator in the world from US to Europe. Although Carnival managed several cruise line operator each line had its own distinction and separate operations. In 1972 Ted Arison owner and operator of all Carnival had a vision. Ted story begins when he took a small ship called the Mardi Gras and converted it into a small ocean liner. The Mardi Gras was an innovative cruise liner like no other for its time that only made a one-way trip from Miami to San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Carnival, 2006) Although it wasnt easy surviving, Ted Arison was focused to be successful and on 1974 he became full owner of Carnival cruise line. Organization as large as Carnival has management team that is broken up to different divisions. It starts from CEO Chairman Micky Arison, the next tier down is Howard S Frank as the COO who over sees all businesses of company, within that same tier is David Bernstein who is CFO of all Businesses. The Next tier down is Richard Ames SVP of Shared Services, within same tier Arnaldo Perez SVP General Counsel and Secretary. Next tier down is Larry Freedman who is Chief Accounting Officer and Controller. The last tier down are all the divisional Presidents who manage AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Crociere S.p.A, Cunard Line, Holland America Line , Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line. (David, 2013) Carnivals overall goal is to collaborate all its brands to reach every area of the cruising industry. Carnivals main focus is to attract all types of customers who are in different demographic, budgets, geographic and all cultures. The main concepts that Carnival tries to achieve is to be known as Fun Ship, along with all the amenities that go with it such as Luxury, elegance and exotic destination. (David, 2013) Carnival has invested in their own marketing division, were they offer a 10% commission to their travel agents and offer other bonus programs. The marketing division has focused on marketing material, advertisement, website interaction, seminars and videos. These efforts are too assist agent in the field to generate more sales. Their website division has created promotional campaigns that offer discounts, VIP savings, resident discounts, special meals, and holiday deals. (David, 2013) Carnival domestic and international destinations are growing. New routes are being developed and new ships are being built. Travelers most appealing destinations are the Caribbean, Alaska, Bahamas, Hawaii, Mediterranean/Greek Island/Turkey, Bermuda, Europe, Panama Canal and least appealing West coast of Mexico.(David, 2013). Competition is growing among the other cruise lines and more theme based environment is beginning to evolve. For example, onboard amenities are being created such as cell phone access, entertainment, villas, multiple themed restaurant, fitness center and spas are making this industry competitive. (David, 2013)More and more people are cruising and more bigger and better luxury liners are being built around the clock. Carnival is the leader in the industry but it must not lose their edge because competition can knock them down to second place. Executive Summary Carnivals Mission statement is to be the worlds largest cruise operator that offers exceptional customer service to all its clientele. Carnivals number one goal is for its passengers to have an memorable experience and to continue to travel on Carnival. Carnival would like to offer its clients a One-stop shop for traveling. Carnival has eleven different Cruise lines around the world that can make that happen. Despite of economic down turns of the tourism industry; Carnival has continuously grown and expanded their portfolio of cruise line brands. Carnival Corporation has ten cruise lines with one hundred active vessels. In its portfolio of cruise line, Carnival has been able to generate nine percent revenue and delivering new ships each year. Carnival growth strategy has allowed the company to achieve a four percent increase in revenue growth and maintain the largest and most profitable travel company globally. Since its public offering and forty years in business, Carnival has managed to acquire multiple cruise lines that cater to the global travelers. Carnivals global expansion is now reaching out to travelers in North America, Europe and Australia. Carnival cruises continue to offer itineraries products around the world and offer all types of entertainment including excursions. Carnival continues to venture into regions that are untapped markets, such as Asia to increase market share. Cruise industry has many competitors trying to take each others market share. The few players who compete with each are Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Celebration Cruise line, Star Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Radisson Seven Seas Cruises. Each company has its own niche and advertises in a certain clientele. With an all-inclusive themes cruise liners are beginning to distinguish themselves by the type of services they offer. The industry trend is to create massive ships that allow cruise line to offer more activities that can generate additional revenues to the cruise company. Today the Cruise industry is growing and more ships are currently in production. Cruising is now a major player in the traveling industry and more and more people are cruising today. Market conditions for the cruise industry is growing and for the last five years the cruise industry has been growing at 8% each year. (Cruise tourism, 2010). Internal Assessment (A) After reviewing three years of Carnival 10k data from Financial Statement and Balance sheet, we can see that Carnival is the biggest cruise line operator in the world. The analysis of ratios is broken up into five segments including, liquidity, activity, profitability, asset management and leverage. Within these segments you can see the companys current ratio to total debt to assets. This data indicates the company is strong and sound. Under the current ratios you take the current assets divide by current liabilities which include cash, accounts receivable and short term investments. Carnival shows a down trend of liquidity from 2009 to 2011. When you look at the current ratios, you see that in 2009 the current ratios were 0.31. In 2010 there was a 0.09 drop which left them with a current ratio of .22, and in 2011 you only see a .01 drop which left them with a current ratio of .21. Carnivals receivables turnover shows an increase in the ability to extend credit sales and collect receivables as the years progressed from 2009 to 2011. Carnival has a successful rate on collecting receivable. In 2009, Carnival had an Accounts Receivable Turnover of 37, had increased by 27% for a total of 47 in 2010. During 2011 you see a 30% increase in accounts receivable turnover which left them with a ratio of .61 in 2011. Carnival shows they are able to extend credit and collect in a 30 day timeframe. Looking at Carnivals Return on Asset percentage, you can see in 2009 ROA came in at 4.86 has an increase of 0.46% in 2010 for a total of 5.32% and incurred a slight decrease. In 2011 the total ROA came in at 5.02%. Under the Total Assets Turnover (TAT) you see Carnival shows an increase during 2009 -2011. In 2009, Carnival had a TAT of .37, an increase of .02% in 2010 for a TAT of .39, and in 2011 reflected another .02% increase for a TAT of .41. Based on the ROA and TAT comparisons, Carnival maximizes their assets and the number shows an upward trend. When you look at the Operating Profit Margin (OPM) on Carnival you see margins have been declining through the period of 2009-2011. Carnival had an OPM of 16% in 2009, 16.22% in 2010 and a decrease in 2011 to 14.28%.Net income by percentage of sales declined for Carnival from 2010 to 2011 by 1.56%, while they only saw a gain in sales of .37% from 2009 to 2010. Now, when you look at earning per Share (EPS), as a shareholder these numbers would indicate how profitable the company can be which Carnival had EPS of 2.24 in 2009, and increase in EPS of 0.23to total 2.47 in 2010, and a slight decrease of .05 in 2011 to total 2.42. Stock holder for Carnival would probably want to hold onto their stock as it shows a consistent trend. Overall, Carnival has lower liquidity ratios and has much better management of its assets, relies less on debt to finance its assets. Carnival has higher price per earning percentage for 2011. When you look at stock price history, Carnival has a consistent price in the $30s price range. After looking at all ratios from Liquidity Ratios, Leverage ratios, Activity ratios, Profitability ratios and growth ratios. Carnival has great management of its assets and it is stable for investors. Internal Assessment (B) Organization as large as Carnival has management team that is broken up to different divisions. It starts from CEO Chairman Micky Arison, the next tier down is Howard S Frank as the COO who over sees all businesses of company, within that same tiers is David Bernstein who is CFO of all Businesses. The Next tier down is Richard Ames SVP of Shared Services, within same tier Arnaldo Perez SVP General Counsel and Secretary. Next tier down is Larry Freedman who is Chief Accounting Officer and Controller. The last tier down are all the divisional Presidents who manage AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Crociere S.p.A, Cunard Line, Holland America Line , Princess Cruises and Seabourn Cruise Line. (David, 2013) If you look at the organization chart Carnival Management team, you see the hierarchical of the line relationship of the chain of command. Carnival runs an effective organization but I would recommend a different approach. The Chain of command will start with the CEO which looks at the overall executive team. The tier below would be Chief operation officer which will manage all internal departments such as Marketing, Sales, Customer Service and Operations. On this same line of command you have Chief financial officer which will manage the accounting department along with the controllers. Next to the CFO you have president of Cruise lines this position will oversee all the regional directors. The next tier down would be American cruise director which will manages all Domestic cruise lines and a European cruise director which will handle all international cruise lines. The next tier down would be the Presidents of Carnival US, Holland America and Princess Cruises. On the same tier you will find Presidents for Aida, Carnival Australia, Carnival UK, Costa Cruises, Cunard and Seabourn. These Presidents will manage all the lower level management such as the Vice Presidents and Managers. This organizational chart has a chain of command that manages all levels of the company. The power of executive has more upper management to the managers and this way there is a clear communication channel to the top. The current organization chart doesnt have a chain of command that manages the entire company and all its divisions. When comparing Carnival from its competitors such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Disney you can see where these cruise lines compete with one other. The Profile is broken up by four categories, High Customer Service, Low Customer Service, and Expensive to In-Expensive. Customer Service is large role when it comes to cruising. Prices also play a major role when it comes on choosing a cruise line. I compared all four companies on a 4-7 day cruise to the Caribbean departing from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral. After comparing the reviews and prices of all four cruises, the most expensive trip was Royal Caribbean. Oasis of the Sea is one of the largest ships cruise ship in the world with a rating of 88% in customer satisfaction and pricing ranging from $749 to $1599(not including taxes, port fees, off season). Travelers rated Disney Dream cruise of 84% with pricing ranging $480 to $1900(not including taxes, port fees, off season, 4 night cruise). Critics gave Carnival Dream a 75% rating with pricing ranging from $299 to $749(not including taxes, port fees, off season).The last company evaluated was Norwegian Epic receiving a 72% rating with prices from $429 to $899(not including taxes, port fees, off season). Carnival Strategies is to compete by offering the most affordable all inclusive entertainment travel experience anyone can have. Carnival Cruise Lines has 24 ships in its fleet. Carnival purchase used ships and refurbishes them with new enhancements. By doing this Carnival is saving millions of dollars and is able to keep costs low. Another strategy carnival does is that it purchases large amounts of fuel when price of oil is low. Carnival marketing strategy is to brand their name as the fun ship; people are drawn to affordable traveling that has tons of fun. The advantage that Carnival has is that its the largest cruise operator in the world. This allows Carnival to have negotiating power politically, along with negotiating new ports or to expand smaller ports. This allows Carnival to increase their ship line and increase demographic reach. The disadvantage is that Carnival is known as the cheapest cruise line with refurbished ships that cater to the masses. Royal Caribbean strategy is to focus on purchases newer ships. By doing this they are building on their name brand recognition and promoting value to all of their luxury lines. Royal Caribbean disadvantages are that they have expensive ships that need to generate a high return on investment. Another disadvantage are fuel cost this can really affect the profitability of the company. Royal Caribbean main goal is to dominate the cruise industry with one name brand at a time. Norwegian Cruises line strategy has around 8% market share in industry and growing. The advantage Norwegian has is that they have 13 ships in there fleet. There demographics is growing from North America, Hawaii, Alaska and Europe. Norwegian disadvantages is that there fleet of 13 consist of older to new ships which requires frequent renovations. Having older ships can affect the name brand recognition of Norwegian for having an image of having old ships. Overall Norwegian Cruise Lines has many good attributes that they have introduced, such as casual dining variety of restaurants and Las Vegas shows. These are popular themes that the industry is following. Internal Assessment (D) Carnivals value is to offer world class service at a fraction of the price. The Fun Ship is there motto and that is what they would like to be known for. They spend countless hours trying to create activities that all of the passengers would love and enjoy. Carnivals number one goal is for all its passengers to have a memorable experience and to return back to its lines. SWOT Analysis Strengths The largest cruise operator in the world with eleven cruise brands0 Carnival most profitable company in the industry. Has established name brand recognition as the Fun Ship. Carnival has negotiating powers with vendors, ports and political figures. Able to purchase fuel when prices are low. Weaknesses Revenues are dropping. Carnival generates majority revenues in North America which means economy can affect the company. Currencies devaluation. Long term debt on new ship construction. Opportunity There is still market share in the vacationing market. Bigger ships are being made that carry more people. Asia is an untapped market. Threats US Tax loopholes may be expiring Cap and Trade Accidents on the ships Security of the ships from pirates. Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix Internal Factor PESTLE Analysis Political / Government Ongoing relations with Politicians and cruise line operators are essentials. Politicians are directly involved on expanding and creating ports, taxes, environmental fees, trade restrictions and tariffs. These projects need the backing from the Politicians. Without agreements with governments, cruise operators would not be able to conduct business in their countries. Governments and Political factors work hand and hand in the cruise industry. Each countries government is in communication with the cruise ship operators from port facilitation to emergencies safety rescue occurrences. Depending on the region, Pirates are a continuing problem. Cruise ship companies rely on local governments for protection from these threats. Government plays an important role when it comes to safety protection. There are mutual benefits when working together with cruise ship companies. The cruise industry offers an increase of local employment within the city and its ports. For example restaurants, hotels, taxis, theme parks, museums, shops, taxi drivers and travel guides are all positively affected. In some countries tourism brings large sums of revenues to the local city and governments. This enhances the relationship with cruise companies and Politicians. Economic The cruise line industry is growing at a growth rate of 8% and more people are traveling today than ever before. Many Economic factors are involved, such as clienteles economic positions, growth in markets, currencies rates when working international and inflation plays a role. Cruise operators will be affected under management and operational levels. If the price of fuel starts to increase, then this will affect operating cost of the company. If interest rates increase then this will affect the revenues of the company. Economic factor plays a major role of the survival of the company. Social / Cultural / Demographic Social factors are measured by the Demographics, Population Growth and Age of their clientele. Popularity destinations and customer experiences will identify cruise industry demands. For example if a certain demographic and age, has a positive experience on their vacation. Then a positive trend will occur for that demographic and age segment. Social studies are important to the cruise industry to determine marketing opportunities on certain segments of the cruise industry. Today cultural factors play a role when traveling on a cruise ship. There are several cultural destinations from The Caribbean, Alaska, Western Mexico, Mediterranean, Europe, South America and Asia pacific. The Caribbean is most popular cultural destination in the world and Mediterranean is next in popularity. As the cruise industry grows more cultural destinations will be available. Demographics factors are important when conducting research and development. When conducting research they look at certain segments from Age, Income, Sex, Civil status, Occupancy, Education and Employment status. Conducting market study requires statistical data on each demographics. There are four different segments that are broken down by Luxury, Premium, Contemporary and Special. With all this information gathered, research and development can create a market strategy that will provide valuable information when creating an itineraries or new destinations. Technological Technological factors are important externally and internally within the company. Having good communications from management to operations is a critical factor when operating a company. Cruise companies are also looking for new technological advancement that can help improve safety occurrences. New technologies are being developed to assist the multibillion dollar industry. Due to the increase production of new ships, technologies are advancing each year. Cruise ships are looking for the most advanced Maritime technology, GPS systems and Satellite Weathering systems that the industry offers. Now that cruising has become a large part of the travel industry new and safer systems are in demand. Legal The Legal factors are important to the cruise industry. The cruise industry has been monitored for many types of law violations, such as employment, consumer, health and safety violations. If any cruise company is caught, violating any of these laws, large fines or criminal penalties can result from it. The legal occurrences can damage political and governmental relations. This is why Legal factors play an important role to the cruise industry. Environment The Environment factors have a large impact to the cruise industry. For example climate change and weather can impact the cruise industry as a whole. The cruise ships have advance weathering systems that can detect storm movement. Environmental factors must be addressed when creating newer cruise ship. Cruise operators goals are to decrease the environmental effects to the environment, thus decreasing climate change. For example reverse osmosis systems, shore power systems and wastewater systems all help decrease their environmental footprint. With pressures from Politians, cruise companies are forced to implement new environmental friendly technologies that can have a positive effect to the environment.

Essay on Stephen’s Heroic Quest in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ma

Stephen’s Heroic Quest in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ...His mother said: -O, Stephen will apologise. Dante said: -O, if not, the eagles will come and pull out his eyes.    This utterance, which comes at the climax of the short first passage that Joyce presents to us, defines the heroic quest that Stephen (and/or his latent identity as mythic Daedalus) must undertake. He is, in this instance, bound by a strict commandment from "above" (from the towering grown-ups above him, from the air-borne, attacking eagles), from the poets of the past , and - most superficially   from his elders, to perform an act of "apology". Stephen seals this cosmic agreement with his little song:    Pull out his eyes, Apologise, Apologise, Pull out his eyes.    Apologise, Pull out his eyes, Pull out his eyes, Apologise.    Stephen internalizes his predicament   or legacy - by chanting the words that descend to him from layers of higher authority. He shapes the received words with his own voice (whether it be "out loud" or only inside his head), compresses /extractions phrases from the longer syntax, and utilizes rhyme in a patterned repetition. (In short, he has applied a "craft".)    If his mother, a temporal and merely parental figure, initiates young Stephen's artistic covenant in a mundane way, "Dante" (whose "real" identity in Stephen's world is sparsely revealed in this passage) is the accidental and incidental avatar of an old poet, or the "poetic tradition", or the artist-creator that Stephen (or Joyce, if we treat this work as autobiographical) must become. The implied historic Dante serves as a representative, for Stephen and Joyce, of the poetic c... ...e University of Windsor Review.   vol.1,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   no. 1.   Spring, 1965.   1-15. Rpt. in Twentieth Century Literary Criticism.   ed. Dennis    Poupard.   Detroit:   Gale Research Company, 1985.   16:229-234.    Litz, A. Walton.   James Joyce.   New York:   Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1966.    Peake, C.H.   James Joyce:   The Citizen and The Artist.   Stanford:   Stanford University Press, 1977.     Ã‚  Ã‚   56-109.    Pope, Deborah.   "The Misprision of Vision: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man".   James Joyce.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   vol.1. ed. Harold Bloom. New York:   Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 113-19.    The World Book Encyclopedia.   New York: World Book Inc., 1987.   3.    Wells, H.G.   "James Joyce".   The New Republic.   March 10, 1917.   34-46. Rpt. in Twentieth    Century Literary Criticism.   ed. Sharon K. Hall.   Detroit:   Gale Research Company, 1980.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3:252.   

How Does Steinbeck Present the Character of Curley’s Wife? Essay

Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife as dangerous as she has the power as she is married to the owner’s son and she is not afraid to exercise that power. But also she is a victim of loneliness as Curley is not that interested in her and she has to stay on the ranch doing nothing but wondering around looking for company. This makes Curley’s wife both guilty and innocent. Steinbeck uses candy to forewarn the reader about Curley’s wife in their first meeting, this is significant as it shows that Curley’s wife is interpreted as ‘jail bait’ as George says. The fact that George is pre-warned about this potential danger is ironic as despite the warning she is the problem that ends up getting Lennie killed. Steinbeck describes her physical appearance first, she is described as very sexually attractive and uses this to bait guys in. she uses her physical appearance as her main weapon, and in the end of the book Lennie gets in trouble because she tem pts him to stroke her soft hair. Steinbeck shows moments of her being overly cruel. She gets lonely and looks around for people to talk to but when she realises that the guys don’t want to talk to her she turns on crooks telling him that she can get him hanged because she would accuse him of rape. Steinbeck uses her talk with Lennie to make you sympathise with her. She talks about how she could have been in the pictures but she thought her mum threw away the letters about it and that how she is now stuck on a ranch were everyone ignores her and she is lonely. Steinbeck finishes by saying that she is a nice, good person but the only way she could get noticed was if she expressed her sexuality to the guys on the ranch, that’s the only way they would pay attention to her.

Analysis of Managerial Decisions: Medford University

In an attempt to find a solution for reducing these costs, the management could have approached the Human Resources department to analyze the issue on hand and provide a revised plan for the employees' fringe benefits. Instead the management has taken a decision to create a task force to analyze the financial crises in hand and come up with a solution to help reduce the fringe benefits costs to the university. Medford University, a prestigious research university, with over 10,000 students and over 12,000 employees, is faced with a significant financial crisis Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).University management has cornered the huge costs burdened by the university on the fringe benefits to the employees. This contributes to over $1 00 million annually (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009). Not to mention the retirement benefits promised to the retiring employees. The university, however, off late have been faced with serious financial crises. The fringe benefits costs have been contributing to the major expense faced by the university. The management is hence faced with an immediate action plan to tackle these financial crises to salvage the true of the university and its employees.Now the solution depends widely in changing the current fringe benefits plan and for this the management could approach the human resources department to find a new plan to reduce costs and also keep the employees satisfied. Instead the president employs a special task force headed by the hospital chief administrator to find a solution to these crises. 1) President Shipyard's decision to approach the problem over the fringe benefits by assigning a task force to analyze the issue is a very different approach rather than just going to the human sources department to draft a plan to tackle the same (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).The main focus of this task force was to reduce expenditure and develop a new fringe benefit package for the employees of the university. He also ob served caution as the values of the faculty and staff of the university should not be affecting in any way by the introduction of this task force and their analysis. His seriousness in the success Of this task force was evident when a top administrator was employed to lead the task force. The vice provost and many other experienced members were also pointed to the task force to guarantee a very effective team.On the other hand, if the president had simply directed the issue to the human resources department to come up with a plan, it would have resulted in yet another revised benefits package, with cause or concern about it being directed towards the well off, wealthy, and might have even had questions raised against favoritism towards certain faculty and staff members. 2) The president must give access to all the university financial to the task force. The focus of the task force is not just to find a solution to reduce expenses UT also to seek the best possible solution for the em ployees as well.The ideas and perceptions of each of the task force members should be directed to this purpose. It is the responsibility of the president to make sure the individual concerns of each of the member is considered in discussion and every decision made. The primary focus however would be the financial of the university. 3) The chief administrators appointment to lead the task force by the President was a decision made in considering the experience and knowledge he would bring on the federal laws, state laws and the insurance hat contribute to the cost of education (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).Every member of the task force is bound to bring in various personal opinions and perceptions to the issue at hand and hence as the lead administrator, he would have to take into consideration and lead the team in the right direction. Hence the chief administrator is the most able person to help guide the committee and keep them on track in attaining the desired result. This will ensure there is a broader perspective on the problem, diverse opinion and a solution is amicably found. This allows the committee to focus on rater detail the data presented so there is an even evaluation by each individual and, as a group. ) The purpose of the committee is to find the best possible solution to tackle the financial crises faced by the university. However, it is not something that is guaranteed to be accepted by the President. The president will consider the report of the committee as the solution to the financial crises but the president does have the power to override, make suggestions or modify the solution as he see fits. It was wise to appoint her assistants as the vice provosts, to the task force to ensure that he president had easy access to information and minutes of the meetings.While the Intent is to lower the cost of fringe benefits, the president does not want to change the quality of the faculty and staff. However, the university's financial status shows that it cannot continue a costly fringe benefits plan and therefore she would be willing to offer concession to the staff of Medford University. One way to do this is to continue to be open any ideas after the study. Even after any recommendations, there may be need to modify or change any suggestions after careful study. In the end the President wants to be sure that staff and faculty are fairly and legally compensated. ) An assistant of the President was appointed as the secretary of the task force. This gives the president an inside access into the committee and its progress. It also keeps the president informed and also keep track on the individual contributions to the committee and also the to see how unified the team is in their decision making. This also would help the president in developing counter proposals and also suggestions to what the task force recommends. Conclusion As per my opinion, in regards to the Medford University study , the purpose of the task force is to provide recommendations from the faculty, staff, and student body.The chair and its members represent a sampling of the faculty, staff and students which can act as voice for their well-being. The diverse task force members will also be better able to gage support in the cost cutting measures where necessary in order for the school to maintain the level of education it is currently providing and that it keeps its top notch educators. References Brinkley, J. A. , Smith, C. W. , & Zimmerman, J. L. (2009). Managerial economics and organizational architecture. Chicago: Irwin.