Reforms in China Essay

Many reforms have been introduced in China since it attained its independence but the most significant ones took place after 1978. These reforms are very popular in the history of China as the economic transformation is all attributed to them. The need to introduce the reforms was the urgent political as well as economic urgency to revive the Chinese economy which was headed for doom. Communism failed to see the country realize its goals of industrialization. Instead it had seen the country compromise its food security and it was clear that development would not be realized self sufficiently. There was need to introduce new and different policies to help change the country’s economy. The reforms were successful in the sense that they liberalized prices, diversified the banking systems and promoted the development of the private sector which was almost inexistent. The state sectors would gain increased autonomy and would operate in a free economy as a way of increasing their efficiency. Despite all these positive effects of the reforms, important issues that emerge calling for serious or vital considerations if they are to be addressed effectively. This paper aims at classifying the CPS reform strategy and establishing if it is a sinified socialist or an authoritarian developmentalist. CPS reform strategy is authoritarian developmentalistic in nature. The reforms have been successful in improving the people’s standards of living and as Randall explain in his book China Modernizes – Threat to the West or model to the rest? the life expectancy rate has risen. (Peerenboom, 2007). China has been registering economic growth year after year and this is expected to go on for quite a long time. It has promoted trade liberalization and embraced capitalism but the role of the state is also significant and cannot be undermined. The state is responsible for the regulation as well as the control of important sectors of the economy. It also ensures that the conditions are effective for the effective operations of business. Privatization was to be encouraged with the introduction of the reforms. It strengthened the private sector which was almost inexistent during the era of communism. The reforms have brought about mixed feelings to the Chinese people. Despite the economic benefits that came with the reforms it is argued that they brought about separation or segregation among the Chinese people. China introduced the reform as it wanted to revive the economy as well as to increase its independence where the aspect of foreign dominance would be eliminated. The political leaders at the time internalized the need for intensive economic development and there were focused to enhancing industrialization. A socialist nation is one where the state has much control over almost all aspects. Such systems are condemned in the sense that they create minimal incentives to encourage innovation. In general, the issue of efficiency is one that raises much concern in as far as such states are concerned. With the reforms the government control on prices would be minimized and consequently the market distortions that were caused would be eliminated. If power is decentralized the various levels of government would have the autonomy necessarily to enable them work effectively and efficiently. Allowing state corporations to operate within the limits of the market forces of demand and supply would see to it that prices reflected the actual prices. It is this ideology that would enhance the effectiveness of such bodies. As China moved away from the initially practiced socialism it continued to undermine nationalism and the economic aspect was placed above the other aspects. The resultant effect of this practice was the intensive distortions in the economy as well as in the political arena. The popular values that ensured that the people’s interests remained the government’s major role were replaced by the need to develop. As Randall explains in his book China Modernizes – Threat to the West or model to the rest? chapter four democracy in the Asian countries remains a highly debatable issue and it creates mixed reactions in people. The real sense of democracy does not seem to be felt as can be seen in the manner in which elections are carried out. In any democratic nations elections are carried out to let the people have a say in the matters concerning their nation. They act as a measure that checks on how a country is run. Good leaders are generally elected or re-elected to continue with the projects they have established. However, the manner in which most Asian countries conduct their elections is quite questionable and it raises concerns as to whether the main reason for the elections is to ensure that democracy prevails. They are characterized by chaos and people would go the extra mile of disrespecting the rule of law to secure their position in power. The response of the common man as regards to this issue is hostile in nature. If people are denied the right to freely and fairly participate in the running of their own nation then they end up opting for harsh measures. (Peerenboom, 2007). Tun-jen, Jacques and Deborah argue there is need to reform the political organization too. Power in China has not been reformed and the same powers that the first generation had are the same powers that the four generation has. (Huang, 2005). A good illustration to prove the reality of this statement is the fact that just as the earlier leaders had much power in as far as the military was concerned so are the current leaders. There is need to change the political system especially the party organizations. This would lead to their effectiveness in addressing issues as they emerge. The political leadership should move with the times as different times are characterized by different and unique issues. Tun-jen, Jacques and Deborah suggest that if the government is to regain its lost glory tarnished by the rampant corruption that jeopardizes its very legitimacy then the political leadership must be reformed. It must change in a manner that makes it relevant to the newly emerging situation. (Amin, 2005). The reforms can be explained as ‘authoritarian developmentalistic in nature. The political elite who form the government are committed to ensuring that development remains a highly valued national goal. To attain this goal they have set necessary institutions to design, implement the state led development projects. Although capitalism is embraced in such a state this is not without some restrictions. The institutions with the role of ensuring that policies set in place are geared towards the economic development of the nation makes it hard for other parties to make their contribution. This exclusivity of some institutions at that expense of the majority causes much conflicts or tension. The capitalism exercised in China is limited to the extent at which the state intervention is ensured. Policies that are allowed are those that pave way for rapid industrialization and more preference is given to the structures or institutions that would be of a positive impact in as far as economic development is concerned. The reforms failed to let the market operate effectively as with the mixed economy government control in market was inevitable. As Randall explains in his book China Modernizes – Threat to the West or model to the rest? chapter four, bureaucratic privileges were not effectively addressed and the country’s power structure was not effectively addressed thus undermining democracy. As a result of this the common man feels detached from the same system that is supposed to ensure that his interests are amicably dealt with. The government has failed in fulfilling its responsibilities effectively as can be seen in the way it exhibits laxity in the implementation of laws that ensure the protection of its citizens. Public participation is highly disregarded in as far as policy making is concerned. The reforms were to bring about significant changes which should be felt by the entire system. (Peerenboom, 2007). Consequently there is need to implement changes in the legal as well as the political institutions. Some aspects of socialism should be adopted to ensure that economic development is not at the expense of the common man. For there to be effective development it is important that countries must embrace democracy. Whenever democracy is undermined then the chances for intensive demonstrations are increased and this is not good for the economy. If people are not allowed to have a say in their affairs they may opt for the harsh ways of expressing their views. Again, if consultation is not done the policies to be implemented may not necessarily the best for the people. Democracy invokes varying or rather conflicting views as some argue that its efficiency is correlated to state of the country in question. To this regard they argue that its effectiveness would be felt in the developed countries. (Peerenboom, 2007). However, in some developing countries with many groups where there is minimal chance of one group dominating the others it can well exercised. In the current position, democracy only works to benefit a few people in the society. The elite who stand a better position in society whether in the aspects of power or money tend to benefit at the expense of the majority poor. Democracy does not address the same issues it was introduced to deal with. In any cases it only works to perpetuate conflicts as the commoners will strive to use whichever means at their disposal to have their voice heard. The inefficiencies that ‘democracy’ is characterized with include the lack of transparency by the elite n society. This paves way for irregularities in the system as the political elites are not answerable to anyone. They are reluctant to meet the needs or interests of the people even though that is their major role. Another important characteristic of this democracy as explained by Randall in China Modernizes – Threat to the West or model to the rest? is the poor dissemination of information. The reason behind such practice is the need to keep the people in the dark in the running of the state. As the saying goes, ‘what you do not know does not bother you’, if people are not aware of the actual evils of their systems then they would not air their views on the same. Again, if only the positive information is disseminated then the people are less likely to condemn the system or even make contributions in the running of the system. (Peerenboom, 2007). In chapter four of his book, China Modernizes – Threat to the West or model to the rest? , Randall explains how China prides in the way it has successfully alleviated millions from poverty. However their efforts can be countered by the fact that it has not dealt with the issue of inequalities effectively as the gap between the haves and the have-nots is very wide. (Peerenboom, 2007). The government is however committed to ensuring that education and healthcare are given much priority and this can be seen in the introduction of free schooling and subsidized medical care in the rural areas. There exist significant disparities in as gender is concerned and women tend to for instance register higher illiteracy rates compared to men. The minorities also seems to have been neglected by the current system and thus there is need to address their interests. Although the Chinese people need to address the main issues affecting them especially the inequality and corruption such efforts are hindered by the lack of sufficient resources. The social groups that would have come in handy in enhancing this lack the financial power to operate effectively and efficiently. Randall in China Modernizes – Threat to the West or model to the rest? describes the civil societies as too weak to meet their challenge. Jianfu Shen in his article, Population Growth, Ecological Degradation and Construction in the Western Region of China, the population growth is also an issue that the Chinese government should address. (Shen, 2004). It is critical for it to promote equality among its citizen so that it has a unified growth. The issue of inequality is also cited as one that calls for urgent redress by Tun-jen Cheng and others in China Under Hu Jintao: Opportunities, Dangers and Dilemmas, (Friedman, 2005). The issue of environmental degradation is also highlighted and it has intensified as industrialization continues to be embraced. In China the elections do not address the people’s problems. (Peerenboom, 2007). This is evident in the sense that the problems of inequality, corruption, poverty and human suffering are not resolved after elections. The elected government seems to forfeit its role in addressing the problems at hand. Politics is dominated by the political elite who are in close links with the business elite or are themselves in business. Money also plays an important role in influencing the elections as the affluent give money to attract more votes. The authoritarian developmentalistic reform strategy gives room for social evils like political violence as well as rampant corruption. Corruption is a major setback in China as Randall explains in chapter five of his book, China Modernizes – Threat to the West or model to the rest? There is need to ensure that the existing institution especially the legal system reform so that they can effectively deal with it. The role of the legal system cannot be underestimated in as far as economic development is concerned. Law and order must be maintained to create conducive environments for the people. If the rule of law is well adhered to then the chances for corrupt dealings will be minimized to a large extent. The legal systems would ensure that property rights are respected and this will be effective in ensuring that businesses flourish. (Peerenboom, 2007). This paper has by and large explained the aftermath of the reforms as a way of defining the strategy’s position. The reforms produced varying effects as some benefited at the expense of others. Whether the reforms brought about economic growth is undisputable given the fact that they saw the country emerge from just another developing country to register an increment in the country’s GDP year after the other. Many people were relieved from poverty as their incomes rose and so did their standards of living. However there is another aspect of the reforms that is not only worrying but needs to be addressed. The reasons that make the reform strategy take the form of an authoritarian developmentalist by limiting the people’s voice or say is irrelevant need to be well addressed. Lack of effective democracy where important human rights are not respected makes the reform strategy a failure in the sense that it undermines important issues that it ought to be addressing. References Randall Peerenboom. 2007. China Modernizes – Threat to the West or model to the rest? ` Oxford University Press Yanghong Huang, 2005. `Is the Chinese State Apparatus Being Revamped? ` in Tun-jen Cheng, et. al. ,eds. , China Under Hu Jintao: Opportunities, Dangers and Dilemmas, River Edge, N. J. : World Scientific Publishing Company, Samir Amin, 2005. `Theory and Practice of the Chinese Market Socialism Project: Is Market Socialism an Alternative to Liberal Globalization? ` in Tian Yu Cao, ed. , The Chinese Model of Development, London and New York: Routledge,. Edward Friedman. 2005. `Jiang Zemins Successors and Chinas Growing Rich-Poor Gap,` in Tun-jen Cheng, et. al. ,eds. , China Under Hu Jintao: Opportunities, Dangers and Dilemmas, River Edge, N. J. : World Scientific Publishing Company Jianfu Shen, 2004. `Population Growth, Ecological Degradation and Construction in the Western Region of China,` Journal of Contemporary China, 13, 41 (November 2004): 637-661

KRISPY KREME Essay

1. What can the historical income statements (case Exhibit 1) and balance sheets (case Exhibit 2) tell you about the financial health and current condition of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.? The historical financial statements can tell us a lot about the financial health and condition about Krispy Kreme or any other company. By utilizing some key financial ratios we can determine how the company compares year over year as well as against competitors in many ?different dimensions. These dimensions include short term solvency, or its ability to meet its immediate obligations, long term solvency, or its ability to manage debt leverage, asset management, or its ability to utilize company assets to make profit, profitability, or its ability to generate a favorable bottom line, and market valuation measurement, or its overall company value in the market compared to book value or earnings. 2. How can financial ratios extend your understanding of financial statements? What questions do the time series of ratios in case Exhibit 7 raise? What questions do the ratios on peer firms in case Exhibits 8 and 9 raise? As mentioned above financial ratios can really give an analyst a look into how effective, efficient, and profitable a company is and has been in the past. In exhibit 7, different ratios bring up different questions. The trend of the current ratio is a bit puzzling to me and begs the question, why does it continue to grow? Krispy Kreme has by far the highest current ratio in the industry, and it appears as though some of the biggest competitors have current ratios at or below 1. Although it is good to have short term solvency, too high of a ratio could be a sign of missed opportunities for investment. What else could Krispy Kreme be doing with its liquid assets that might garner increase profitability that seemingly others in the industry are acting on? The next ratio that interests us is the asset to equity ratio, or the equity multiplier. This ratio is an indicator of how the company manages leverage. The higher the ratio, the more of a percentage of operations is funded by equity. Krispy Kreme’s equity multiplier has been relatively consistent since 2001, but is just below par with most of its competitors. What this means to us is that Krispy Kreme is not as effective in utilizing leverage to benefit the company as some of its competitors which doubles up on the previous question asked. What else should Krispy Kreme be doing, or investing in to improve efficiency and performance. Total asset turnover is an important ratio to look at because it is an indicator of how well a company utilizes its assets to generate sales. The first thing that we noticed is that Krispy Kreme’s total asset turnover ratio decreased every year from 2000-2004. This speaks to an increase in inefficiency in the use of asset to generate sales. It should however be noted that it is typical that as companies grow, it is difficult to maintain a higher total asset turnover ratio. That notation is exemplified when you look at the competitor ratios. The biggest competitors like McDonalds and Wendy’s have similar if not lower ratios. Our overall concern is that none of the other competitors had ratios that low and we did not feel that Krispy Kreme was or is anywhere near the size of McDonalds or Wendy’s. This raises the concern that even though the company is expanding and acquiring new assets, it is not effective in translating the growth into sales. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we took a look at ROE, or return on equity. This ratio gives an idea of the profitability of the company as well as a return that an investor would expect on his or her investment. Although Krispy Kreme has benefited from stable ROE over the period of 2000-2004, it is sub-par compared to its competitors. What would make Krispy Kreme more attractive to investors, if its ROE is below average in its own industry? To look a little further into some of the statements and ratios, we did a DuPont analysis for Krispy Kreme and several of its competitors. Each of  the individual components have been previously discussed, but it is interesting to compare them together to see how three of the most important aspects of the business have changed over time. Specifically it is worth noting that Profit Margin has increased significantly every year since 2000. What this means is that Krispy Kreme has gotten better every year at turning each sale dollar into net income. 3. Is Krispy Kreme financially healthy at year-end 2004 When looking at the 2004 DuPont analysis, you see that not only has profit margin increased every year, but it is more than 2% better than the industry average. That being said, Krispy Kreme does not utilize its assets as efficiently as its competitors. This potentially troubling because of the fact that they have gone through aggressive growth in stores recently. Is this an indication that these stores are not generating the sales necessary to justify the investment, or at least as well as its competitors might be able to? Finally the equity multiplier comes in below the industry average. To us this means that Krispy Kreme does not utilize its leverage as effectively as the competition. Perhaps it would be to Krispy Kreme’s benefit to increase leverage and invest in order to increase growth and earnings in a similar manner to its competition. Overall, we believe that Krispy Kreme is moderately financially healthy as of the year end 2004. The profitability of the company is we ll above industry average, and the asset turnover and equity multiplier ratios are not drastically different from industry averages. 4. In light of your answer to question 3, what accounts for the firm’s recent share price decline? There was a decline in the share price because, firstly, the company said to expect fewer earnings because of the low-carbohydrate diet trend and also they had close down few underperforming shops, which was a result of their aggressive store expansion. The main cause of the recent share price decline is when the financial scandals became public. As a result, investors lost confidence in the company. 5. What is the source of intrinsic investment value in this company? Does this source appear on the financial statements?

Angelinas Interest in the Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Angelinas Interest in the Property - Essay Example Where the parties hold joint title to property and there is no declaration of beneficial ownership the law will presume that the parties are joint tenants. It can therefore be presumed the Angelina holds both the legal and equitable interest in the house jointly with Brad. As a result of the joint tenancy, the whole of the property is treated as if it is owned entirely by the parties and not in specific shares. In other words, in the eyes of the law, Brad and Angelina own 100% of the shares in the property together. When parties hold property together as joint tenants, the property passes from one to another upon the death of one of the parties under the doctrine of jus accrescendi. Therefore, when one party passes away, the whole of the property will automatically vest in the surviving joint tenant. As a result, it will be presumed by law that upon Brad’s death, Angelina automatically becomes entitled to the fee simple absolute in the property. However, the presumption can be rebutted by evidence of a common intention to sever the joint tenancy or to create a tenancy in common which will affect the shares that Angelina is entitled to. For instance, if Charles, Jennifer and Erica assert claims to an interest in the property, the court will deter mine whether or not sufficient evidence of a common intention to divide the property as tenants in common exists and if so the extent to which the property should be divided. 4 For present purposes, it can be stated that based on the documents of title, Angelina and Brad held the property jointly as joint tenants, unless Charles, Erica and/or Jennifer can successfully rebut the presumption. If Angelina’s name did not appear on the documents of title, the court would necessarily examine the common intentions of the party in order to ascertain what Angelina’s interest in the property should be. It will not automatically be inferred that just because Brad and Angelina were involved in a relationship at the time the house was purchased that they shared a common intention to own the property jointly. The courts will examine the evidence of common intention to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence for justifying Angelina’s claim to joint ownership despite the legal title.5 The court will determine how the property should be divided by reference to â€Å"what the parties must, in light of their conduct, be taken to have inte nded.†6 In assessing the common intentions of the parties, the court will take account of the number of factors including the contributions that the parties made toward the property’s purchase price. The court will also take account of, conversations/communications around the time the purchase was conducted; the reason for purchasing the property in one parties’ name alone; the reason the property was purchased; the parties’ relationship; children involved; financing of the home; how the parties dealt with the financial affairs either separately or jointly; and how the property and household expenses were dealt with.7 Based on these factors it can be assumed that while Brad and Angelina were both responsible for the mortgage, Brad eventually discharged most of the mortgage although the initial deposit was furnished by Brad and his father Charles. The couple shared a child and obviously purchased the home together as a family home. Charles’ contribut ion will be viewed as a gift to the couple and will not be looked upon as a contribution by Brad.8 Based on the evidence it appears that the couple shared a family and divided the responsibilities for the family home between them. Brad took care of most of the family expenses, discharged the bulk of the mortgage while Angelina took care of the children. Although, Angelina’

Motivation, Stress, and Communication Research Paper

Motivation, Stress, and Communication - Research Paper Example Additionally, the position has the responsibility of staffing and directing a sales team, providing headship towards the accomplishment of utmost profitability and growth in tandem with the vision and values of the company. Furthermore, the individual will have the task of instituting procedures and stratagem to enlarge the client base in the marketing area and contribute to the advancement of training and instructive programs for consumers and account executives. Responsibilities and Accountabilities The individual will have the task of devising a business plan and sales strategy for the assigned areas that guarantee the attainment of the firm’s sales goals and profitability. The individual will be in charge of the performances and development of the account executives. Furthermore, the individual is expected to conduct and coordinate, at individual as well as team level, effectual searches of sales leads and prospects. In line with the company’s development plans, the individual has to prepare strategies aimed at penetrating new markets and maintaining already existing markets. Apart from the harmonization of sales activities, the individual has to perform personalized reviews with all account executives to institute effective communication. This will be in order to gain a clear understanding of training and development requirements, and to provide information in the improvement of Account executives sales and activity performance. He has the task of providing timely feedback of the performance of new products in his market region to the VP of sales. The marketing and sales manager, at the beginning of each month, will hold counsel with all sales persons in his region to establish realistic sales objectives. Consequently, by following the drafted course of action, or making alterations, the individual has to achieve the projected sales. He/she has to monitor the performance of the sales persons in his charge. Additionally, the person has to have a keen understanding of the company’s fiscal data to gain insight on what is happening in the assigned region. The marketing and sales manager will, apart from maintaining a high level of personal motivation, coach, counsel, prop, and motivate sales personnel in the region. Concerning the sales personnel, the manager will monitor their performance comparing it with the previous period’s performance and make suitable resolutions. Concerning products, the individual will bear the task of developing appropriate displays for the products where necessary. He/she also has the duty of handling all complains from customers regarding the products sold. Significantly, the individual must be capable of maintaining continual professional growth, improving sales skills, managerial skills, business skills and product comprehension. Relationships and Roles The Job requires an individual with familiarity of 5 years in sales supervision. The individual should be familiar with technolo gical trends, especially in the gadget field. Broad practice in all facets of SRM is a prerequisite. The individual should bear a confirmed record in managing and heading highly-trained, motivated, successful, and achievement oriented sales force. He/she should further demonstrate strong leadership aptitudes. A strong comprehension of consumer and market dynamics is a requirement, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced and vibrant market setting. The interested individual should

Aspect Hypothesis in Relation to Languages Essay

Aspect Hypothesis in Relation to Languages - Essay Example In addition to this, the types and sub types of aspect hypothesis will be established and for each, several examples of inherent, as well as, grammatical aspects in English and Arabic will be provided. A further explanation will be offered to clarify on why the chosen examples, in addition to, how these examples relate to each other.Considering the literal Arabic (Ø §Ã™â€žÃ™ Ã˜ µÃ˜ ­Ã™â€°, al-Fusha), the research of the findings of the research conducted by Barber indicates that the verb is constituted by two aspect tenses (532). These constituents include both the perfective as well as the imperfective. However, there are quite a number of controversial disagreements among the grammarians and, as such, they do not agree as to whether a distinction should be viewed as distinction in aspect or tense or even both. In English, what is considered as the past verb ((Ù Ã˜ ¹Ã™â€ž Ù…Ø §Ã˜ ¶Ã™Å , fi'l maadiy) is used to denote a particular verb (Ø ­Ã˜ ¯Ã˜ «, hadath), which was comple ted a long time ago or even in the near past (Barber 536). However, it indicates nothing regarding the relation of this event that took place in the past to the present status. One of the best examples to illustrate this is the phrase† he arrived† (ÙˆØ µÃ™â€ž", wasala). The phrase was a clear indication of the arrival occurring in the past (Ayres 29). However, it does not provide any sort of information regarding the present status of the person who has arrived (Altman 589). It may be that the person stayed around or he turned and left. In addition to this, the phrase does not indicate.

Paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paraphrase - Essay Example The probe frequency for the routine measurements is 226 Hz and the tracking in the normal should be done at + 200 daPa which must be stopped once the peak is recorded. It is also suggested that a repetition of the test should be conducted in its entirety, if an unexpected result is obtained and the probe tip be cleaned after the completion of tympanometry. Though there is no consensus on standard normal values for middle ear pressure and admittance, a mean value of zero may be fixed for middle ear pressure and the range between 0.3 to 1.6 with a mean of 0.7 for middle ear admittance or compliance. Tympanometric measurements require the acoustic properties of the ear canal and the application of air pressure in tympanometry distinguish the carnal and middle ear components. The technical note also gives details about acoustic reflex measurements and, accordingly, there are facilities in impedance/admittance instruments to provide acoustic stimulus to the ear and to detect the associate d reflex. The reflex measurements are usually made at a pressure corresponding to the tympanometric peak. Tympanometers and other instruments are then applied to the evaluation of Eustachian tube function.

Blacks Leisure Group Plc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Blacks Leisure Group Plc - Case Study Example Black’s leisure Group Plc is one of the leading retail outdoor and board wear group in United Kingdom. The company carries all its operations under two categories: The Outdoor Group and the Boardwear Division. The Outdoor Group comprises Millets and Blacks, the largest outdoor retailers in the UK, and Freespirit and Mambo, the leading retail chains in the newly emerging UK boardwear market. The Boardwear Division comprises the wholesale and retail arms of the O'Neill brand, one of the world's leading names in boardwear. The Group has the exclusive distribution rights to the brand for the UK. In brief, the company operates more than 450 stores under seven companies- owned and managed retail chains. 1. A macro-environmental and competitive audit The UK Boardwear market has been growing strongly in recent years and is estimated to be worth around  £400m at retail prices. Blacks Leisure is market leader in this fast growing market segment through its O’Neill and Free Spir it businesses. The main competitors for Blacks Leisure Group is Debenhams, JJB Sports, Snow & Rock and Halfords. With an increase in the number of consumers of the broad wear market, the competition has been growing tremendously. A large number of new entrants are seen entering this market in the past few years. However, Blacks Leisure still continues to dominate the market with its large range of products and a large number of outlets. PEST Analysis: PEST analysis is concerned with the environmental influences on a business. The acronym stands for the Political, Economic, Social and Technological issues that could affect the strategic development of a business. Identifying PEST influences is a useful way of summarizing the external environment in which a business operates. Although the PEST analyses rely on past events and experience, it can be used as a forecast of the future (Wilson and Gilligan, 1998). Political factors The political environment is good. The government is stable and reliable, even if Britain fails to achieve total agreement with some EU policies from time to time. At present no EU directives are known which will have a direct effect on the UK sports or outdoor wear retail industry in the near future. Due to the EU membership a trend can be seen towards stricter environmental protection legislation. This may have a direct or indirect effect on Blacks Leisure Plc or its suppliers. Economic factors Looking at the economic environment, it is somewhat tricky since on one hand there is the strong sterling compared to the Euro. Euroland encourages imports and endeavors to hold domestic prices at an attractive level. But on the other hand it is difficult for UK to be competitive outside its boundaries because of the high pound sterling exchange rate against the Euro. As Blacks Leisure Group sells about 92% in the UK marketplace, this may currently only have a limited effect, but could be more important in the future when thinking globally. Social factors In the present world scenario it is being observed that the people retire earlier these days, and are working for shorter hours as well. Average working hours per week have decreased over the last 20 years. As a result people have more spare time. This means they have time to compare prices in the High Street and the quality of goods and services from retailers. As a result they are spending more time comparing different sellers. Another issue these days is the "Green environmental issues". A large number of people are getting concern over the environment and thus are getting in the depth of the production cycle of products. Blacks Leisure is taking different steps to assure people that they operate as an eco-friendly environment. Technological factors Another issue is the speed of technological transfers which also has an impact on the industry - it is not comparable with the fast growing internet business - but nevertheless it

Being educated is not about certificates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Being educated is not about certificates - Essay Example He is against the traditional way of imparting education because it falls miserably short of what the "actual" aim of education should be. Kohn is of the firm view that being educated has no co-relation with having and/or acquiring certificates/degrees. He contends that the present cirriculum and the standardized system of testing in vogue today in the United States, should be abolished and a "progressive" system be put in its place. This is so because he wants the students to be no only well trained and literate in their chosen fields but also be well rounded personalities who on the one hand are intellectually sound and on the other hand are loving, caring and lovable individuals. The author has experience of people who have many certificates, but according to him they can in no way be considered educated because they lack the essential hands on experience to deal with many expected and unexpected situations/experiences that the real world affords them. They lack the qualities to face such situations because they (the students) have been brought up in a cloistered environment of the class room/school. To give an example, consider what would happen to a plant that has been grown in a controlled environment inside a laboratory, once the said plant/sapling, is exposed to the natural (uncontrolled) environment, it will wilt and die. 3. Both Kohn and the writer are in agreement that a great barrier in improving the standard of education in the United States is the out dated stance of the conservative politicians, the policy makers/ bureaucrats and the heads of big corporations who are in league that favors the traditional system because it serves their purposes. This traditional system provides an inexhaustible line of clone like individuals to the big corporations, who act according to their commands/orders without question and help run their mills and factories smoothly without

The power of the American president is to persuade. Discuss in Essay

The power of the American president is to persuade. Discuss in relation to recent presidents - Essay Example This is mainly because if the public is convinced that the president is right, it will give him its full support and the members of Congress will have to follow suit because to do otherwise would mean that quite a number of them might lose their seats during elections. The American president has to be eloquent in his speeches so that he can be able not only to persuade his audience but also to pass his point through to those individuals who are against him that his is the right course and they have to support him. Over the past fifteen years, this has been the case among the men who have had the privilege of being the leaders of the most powerful nation in the world. These presidents, namely Clinton, Bush, and currently Obama, have all had to work hard to persuade the American public as well as the American allies that their intentions and actions have been in the latter’s interest. One of the most fascinating episodes where an American president was forced to be persuasive in order to save his presidency was that of President Clinton during his threatened impeachment over the Lewinsky Scandal. Bill Clinton can be considered to have been one of the most popular presidents in modern American history and it is not just because of his charisma, but also because he was also able to connect with many of the baby boomer generation, to which he belonged. This was a period where the American presidency was mired in a scandal which almost brought down the president and it is mainly because of the ability of Clinton to persuade his audience that his actions did not in any way jeopardize his presidency that he managed to remain in office for the remainder of his term (Storey 2010, p.305). When the Lewinski scandal first came to the attention of the media, it generated a lot of shock in the public and the most conservative members of the Republican Party saw it as an oppor tunity to remove a president from a rival party. However,

Jews Self Essay Example for Free

Jews Self Essay Chuck Palahniuk once aptly quoted â€Å"Nothing of me is original. I am a combined effort of everyone I’ve ever known†, but to what extent is this true? Indeed, an individual’s uniqueness may comprise of the exposure to certain people, and expectations, but how much of this shapes our identity? As human beings, our species is engaged in a continuous quest to locate our true sense of self, however our individuality is greatly moulded by our surroundings, which may often hinder the ability to identify who are truly are. Whether it be through the language we speak, the gender specific clothing we are instructed to wear, or the social standards and morals we are expected to maintain, it is undeniable that our surroundings are a significant determinant, acting as barrier in regards to flourishing into the person we desire to be. A commonly asked philosophical question is â€Å"what is the purpose of life†, the answer consists of the significance of life, or existence in general and can be easily answered by having a life permeated with purpose; but how may we persevere in this if we cannot truly identify who we are? Throughout our lives, we are often confronted by dilemmas, which impede our ability to locate our true individuality; as a result, our surroundings act as an influential element in regards to the sentiments and identity we attain. Often, Identity is a product of our standing in society, rather than an innate defining factor; set in the apartheid era, Anthony Fabian’s â€Å"Skin† showcases how societies upheld beliefs coerces one to be uncomfortable in their own skin. Sandra Laing, A white girl burdened by having an â€Å"Afrikaans† exterior, is taught to hate the colour of her skin by a young age, as she is brought into the world at the time of racial segregation between black and white. Sandra is incapable of finding her true self; she is never given a chance to blossom and assimilate into society adequately, as she is alienated as a repercussion of her dark skin colour. Her confidence is dismantled as she is constantly confronted by the discrimination by her surroundings; her opportunity to flourish in the community is immensely diminished as she enters school with students and teachers attaining pre conceived judgement towards her, disallowing her to conquer in her homeland, â€Å"why are they all staring†. Through the exposure of the prejudice of her surroundings, Sandra further accentuates the hatred of her skin colour as she attempts to bleach her skin in order to be perceived as white. â€Å"Skin† articulates that through the demining attitudes of others, an individual can be in risk of the incapability of identifying their true identity, as the sentiments of others may alter their self-esteem and opinion of who they are. Sometimes our sense of self is paved for us; sometimes we have no ability to alter our identity as it is concreted by the rules and expectations of society. Our individuality may not be comprised of our own opinions of ourselves, but may be wholly accumulated by our surroundings. Like the Apartheid era Sandra had suffered from, The World War 2 also acted as a barrier in regards to Jewish people truly identifying their true sense of self. Adolf Hitler, the dictator at the time, desired to conquer his overriding objective to exterminate all those who did not fit into his perfect model of the Arian super race (light featured); this resulted in innocent Jewish people being stripped of their freedom, and executed as a result of their religion and physical appearance. Through the burden of Nazism on the Jews’ behalf, they were not granted an opportunity to blossom in society, due to Hitler’s ambition of whipping out the Jewish race. Unfortunately, some individuals play no significant role in creating their own identity as their sense of self is set by the judgments of society. Occasionally, it is immensely difficult to negate the expectations placed upon us by others, primarily family members, hence being unable to conquer our destiny. This may be caused by the fear of disappointing those who we love. Unfortunately, I am a victim of not being able to abide by my own expectations, prioritising the rules made by my mother. Throughout my adolescence, my mother has always motivated me to carry on the female legacy of becoming a successful beautician. In order to make my mother content, I have always put on a facade, and obeyed the demands she confronted me with. Being a beautician did not strike me as being successful, as I am consciously aware of my academic abilities, although I fail to expose this. I have learned to put my own satisfaction to the side, and live with an identity in which makes my mother happy, as she acts as an extremely influential element in regards to the decisions I make for myself. Until I am awakened to the disadvantageous attributes accompanying the inability to conquer my own self made expectations, my true sense of self will never be identified, and will be constantly moulded by my families opinions. Although it is hard to avoid considering the sentiments of others, sometimes it is the most effective decision. In order to identify or true sense of self, we must learn to negate the opinions of others, hence enabling us to focus on our own ambitions. This is evident in my uncle’s story he once exposed to me. As he belonged to a gang in his hometown Iraq, his decisions were pre determined by his acquaintances, hence, disabling him to set an identity of his own, as it was concreted by his gang. He had conformed to all the opinions of his crew, until the day he decided to stand up to his own sentiments in which went against his crew’s expectations. As a repercussion of his disobeying, he had suffered a loss of a limb; his crew had no shame of manifesting their inconsistencies with him, as they pulled the trigger, leading to a disabled ex-crew member. Throughout the turmoil and hardship with the crew, my uncle is now a better man, wiser and strong-minded, as he had underwent an identity crisis; he played a minimal part in the formation of his own identity. His true identity was overshadowed by a false persona, dictating his sentiments which were embedded in his mind by fear of standing up to the power of his gang. Sometimes following our own expectations and decisions may be a difficult task, but if we succeed in this, the consequences should not matter as contentment will be found along the journey.

Opportunities Within The Vietnamese Market Marketing Essay

Opportunities Within The Vietnamese Market Marketing Essay This report conducts researches and analyzes the opportunities and risks of developing chocolate business in Vietnam in the respect of economic, political, legal, social, cultural, geographical and climatic environment. Moreover, the report evaluates the conditions by rating them as low, medium and high level. After analyzing the detailed factors in Vietnam, the opportunities outweigh risks to a large extent, especially the open trade policy including supporting foreign investment, which leads to further recommendations that Vietnam should be reflected as the potential market to expand chocolate business for Swiss manufacturer and it is feasible to set up factory. Vietnam has experienced market-oriented economic reforms since 1986, which gave rise to speedy economic development. Over the period of 1991 to 2005, GDP growth rate in Vietnam achieved around 7.9% (Consumer Lifestyles in Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2008). In the mean time, Vietnamese economy has become one of Asian largest economies with nominal GDP of $ 436 billion and $92.439 billion in 2009. According to the Vietnam Living Standard Survey (VLSS) conducted by the GSO every two years, the average income per person in Vietnam in 2006 was VND636,000 per month or VND7.63 million per year, an increase of 31.3% from 2004 (Consumer Lifestyles in Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2008), which was on account of the countrys excellent economic performance. On this condition, the Vietnamese are able to buy more consumer goods even high-priced products like fair trade chocolate because increasing disposable incomes mean advancing purchasing capability to a certain degree. Over the past ten years, there were a serious of new trade policies issued to intensify trade liberalization atmosphere and the key aspects are as follows: Firstly, restrictions on quantitative import products have been dismantled to a large extent (on all products except sugar and petroleum products); secondly, due to meaningful cutback in tariffs, the level of regional protectionism has been reduced; thirdly, the obstructions on foreign direct investment (FDI) has been released; finally, government inspired private-sector to take part in foreign trade and set up business ventures (Athukorala, P-C, 2006). Moreover, on November 7, 2006, Vietnam joined the WTO being the 150th Member of the WTO with primary trading partners such as China, Japan, Australia, ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations) countries, the U.S. and Western European countries. There are improvements in two main areas: In service, Vietnam is committed to removing the limits on foreign ownership in most sectors but this can be phased out in different stages; in trading rights, the WTO commitments declare that all domestic and foreign firms have full rights to import and export under the same registration procedures. Trading rights also include the right to distribute imported products in Vietnams territory and the right to choose local distributors (Tien Quang Tran, T. Q., 2008). Consequently, there are less obstructions for Swiss chocolate manufacturer to build manufactory and extend services in Vietnam. More significantly, Swiss producer is able to cooperate with local private-sectors like material suppliers, which endows it with more bargain power due to the favourable trade policies. 2.1.3 Encouragement of foreign investment (high level) Since the early stage of renovation reforms, the Vietnamese government has realized the significant role of FDI for economic transition and development. In recent years, the government is collecting helpful information to bring down the barriers weakened the attraction of FDI and make further step to improve Vietnams investment climate by leading regular semi-annual meetings,. On 1 July 2006, a new law called Investment Law issued by the National Assembly came into effect. The law was put forward with the view of treating the investment activities of both foreign and domestic investors uniformly and inducing a new wave of foreign investment (Tran, T. Q., 2008). Furthermore, the Investment Law is essential to establish more open investment climate and integrate into the international market to meeting WTO principles such as the most-favoured nation, and publicity and transparency principles. Over the past three years, foreign investment in Vietnam grew approximate threefold than the past (Tran, T. Q., 2008). For example, Microsoft and Intel invested 10 million in Vietnam respectively, the Swiss Banks developed shipping industry by financing one billion U.S. dollars, and Taiwans Hon Hai Group contributed 5 billion U.S. dollars in Vietnam to create Hong Haidi country. According to statistics from Vietnams foreign investment administration department, the scale of FDI has reached 160 billion in 2007, with growth rate of 57% compared with 102 billion dollars in 2006. Under these circumstances, there could be more space and opportunities for Swiss fair trade chocolate manufacturer to open up new market in Vietnam on account of less legal restrictions and more encouragement from local government. In addition, when Swiss manufacturer comes up against difficulties, it is necessary for local government to spare no effort to stretch support hand. 2.1.4 Expanding distribution channels (medium level) Since Vietnam entered into the WTO, supermarkets/hypermarkets turn to be principal distribution channels with wide variety of products and a pleasant shopping experience instead of small grocery retailers. For instance, a company called Saigon Nguyen Kim (Sai Gon-Nguyen Kim) opened one shopping center CMC Square in Ho Chi Minh City. CMC Square covers an area of 4,000 square meters, which is able to receive tens of thousands of customers per day. It will be the flagship store among the existing 9 branches which located in the capital Hanoi, Can Tho, Da Nang and Binh Duong Province and other cities. At the moment, the investigation shows that the sales of chocolate confectionery were increasingly sold via supermarkets/hypermarkets (Chocolate Confectionery Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2009, p.2). More importantly, chocolate is one kind of food which has high requirement for temperature, therefore, the advanced storage condition such as operating air-conditions will contribute t o prolong its storage period and ensure its delicious taste. 2.1.5 Labour cost (medium level) The labour cost in Vietnam is in low level compared with other Asian countries like China. On the one hand, this is an advantage for Swiss chocolate producer to set up manufactory, which is an important factor in saving cost and enables Swiss manufacturer to invest more in promote technical equipments and personnel training. 2.2 Liberalisation in Political Environment (medium level) Until December 2007, Vietnam had established diplomatic relations with 172 countries. In recent years, the government of Vietnam has taken initiatives to locking in domestic (unilateral) liberalisation reforms by committing itself to play an active role in regional, bilateral and multilateral trade liberalisation initiatives (Athukorala, P-C, 2006). This kind of political environment with freedom and open-mind creates democratic business atmosphere for Swiss chocolate producer. Besides, as shown in a enterprise survey conducted by World Bank, it seems that Vietnam has a better ranking compared to all other Asian countries like China and Thailand (Tran, T. Q., 2008, p. 1193). In a word, the stable political situation and high level of security help to bring about low risk for Swiss manufacturer. 2.3 Social and Cultural Aspect 2.3.1 Open attitude to foreign cultures and brands (high level) Beginning from the 1990s, Vietnam has been exposed to foreign cultures like Southeast Asian, European and American culture. Under this influence, local customers are prefer to purchase foreign brands and they consider that international goods own higher quality than local brands with their established names (Chocolate Confectionery Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2009, p.2). In recent years, many famous foreign brands have entered the market, including Giordano, Levi, Valentino, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, LOreal and Shiseido. Clothes, handbags, perfumes and cosmetics have enjoyed an annual growth rate of 30% in the Vietnamese market. At the same time, the number and value of imported cars and motorbikes in Vietnam has increased significantly as a result of a decrease in the import tariff on cars from 90% to 60%. Vietnam imported 28,000 cars in 2007, of which 5,000 cars were imported in December at a value of USD73 million (Consumer Lifestyles in Vietnam, Euromonitor In ternational, 2008, p.2). In view of the current tendency, Swiss fair trade chocolate is able to seize market share due to its high reputation with long history and fantastic taste. 2.3.2 Promotion by public media (medium level) Public media especially TV play important role in transmitting foreign culture and increasing awareness of international brands. Almost 95% of Vietnamese households now have electricity connections compared to only 50% in the early 1990s. Vietnamese people like to watch television in their spare time. In rural areas, people usually visit each other after work to have dinner, talk and enjoy television programs (Consumer Lifestyles in Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2008, p.17). Vietnamese can acquire sufficient information regarding the advantages of chocolate. As the promotion by public media, Vietnamese consumers normally purchased chocolate as a gift for a special occasion such as Tet Holidays, birthdays and especially Valentines Day (Chocolate Confectionery Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2009, p.2). Moreover, it is more popular that they even consume chocolate as daily consumption goods. 2.3.3 Customers preference of luxury goods (medium level) Some of Vietnamese consumers often shop expensive products even unnecessary to their daily life to define their role and social class in the community to distinguish from other people (Consumer Lifestyles in Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2008, p. 2-2). Especially, the newly emerging affluent classes in Vietnam want to establish themselves as connoisseurs of fashion and use the ownership of foreign brands to show off their wealth and status (Consumer Lifestyles in Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2008, p. 2-1). This phenomenon is beneficial to Swiss chocolate to become popular consumer items. 2.3.4 Majority of teens (medium-high level) As shown in Table 2, people aged 10-24 years are in the majority for many years with approximate 30-31% of the total population due to the uncontrolled birth rate of the 1970s and 1980s (Consumer Lifestyles in Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2008, p. 3-1). In 2007, there were 12.7 million teens in Vietnam. Table 2 Population by Age and Gender (% analysis and % growth): 1995/2007/2015/1995-2007/2007-2015 Source: National statistics, UN, Euromonitor International This teens group are more sensitive to external factors such as fashion trends from other countries which will exert great effect on their choice of clothes, hairstyle and snacks. One the one hand, some of them are still students whose parents give pocket money to, hence, they can make some of their own decisions on what to buy or what to eat. On the other hand, some of them may have started to work to earn their own income and already have adequate purchasing power to decide what to buy. Therefore, this target customer group will be the limitless resources for Swiss chocolate producer to explore. 2.4 Proximity to China and Thailand (medium level) It is bordered by China to the north and close to Thailand as well. The geographical position could attract large numbers of tourists especially those are from China and Thailand. On the situation, there are huge potential customers who may purchase Swiss fair trade chocolate when they are appealed to the exquisite design combined with local specialty. 3 RISKS IN VIETNAM 3.1 Incomplete Tariff Structure Reform (medium level) Over the past years, although Vietnamese government has made significant development in market economy such as rationalizing the tariff structure, the tariffs are still at high level and non-uniform (Athukorala, P-C, 2006), which means that if Swiss manufacturer produces chocolates offshore and transports them to Vietnam, it may take higher cost than producing in Vietnam. 3.2 Legal Aspect 3.2.1 Insufficient protection of intellectual property rights (medium-high level) Vietnam has devoted to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) in these years including integrating itself with APEC cooperation activities in the intellectual property area implemented through the APEC Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group (IPEG) (Nha Trang, 2007, p.5). Nevertheless, as shown in Table 3, there is still inadequate emphasis on the protection of IPR and the number of companies which have registered industrial property only account for 25% over all of operating companies. In addition, the activities of IP infringement are turning more frequent and increasingly complex. Under this kind of circumstance, there are almost no Vietnamese companies to set up IP departments or appoint commissioners to take charge of managing companies IP assets. As a result, when Swiss producer enters into Vietnam market, it is inevitable to be in the face of the risk of tort and possible that there is no enough legal support. Table 3 Software Piracy Rates by Countries Source from: Business Software Alliance (BSA) and IDC Global Software Piracy Study, 2005 3.2.2 Less corruption than other Asian countries (medium level) In Vietnam there are about 50% of companies are likely to bribe such as giving gifts to tax inspectors. However, corruption is less and the amount and value of bribe is lower than other Asian countries including China and Thailand. In particular, senior managers in Vietnam have to spend about six percent of their weekly time in dealing with the requirements of government regulations (Tran, T. Q., 2008). Whats more, there is high confidence for enterprises paying lower costs for security and crime owning to the advanced legal system in Vietnam. Consequently, this corruption may not impose too much negative influence on the businesses and investments of Swiss chocolate manufacturer. 3.3 Social and Cultural Aspect 3.3.1 Customer with price-conscious (medium level) Some of Vietnamese consumers were very price-conscious and they may cut back expenditure when they are against recession period. More important, fair trade chocolate is more expensive than normal one, which may be labeled as an unessential luxury goods. Accordingly, they may ignore the high-price goods to save their money (Chocolate Confectionery Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2009, p.1). 3.3.2 Intensive competition (high level) Internal competition Currently, there are two dominant chocolate companies in Vietnam Nestlà © Vietnam Ltd and Mars Vietnam Inc, which has set up stable prestige with well-known chocolate brands such as MMs, Mars, Goplana and KitKat. In 2008, Nestlà © Vietnam Ltd took up 10% share of value sales in chocolate confectionery, and Mars Vietnam Inc took second position with only 0.1% behind Nestlà ©. They enjoyed the advantages of first mover, and are more experienced than local manufacturers in this category (Chocolate Confectionery Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2009, p.2). Moreover, Belcholat JSC experienced the largest increase in actual value sales at VND8.1 billion in 2008. On the fact of this, it is difficult for Swiss manufacturer to occupy adequate large market share compared with its competitors, especially Nestlà © is from Switzerland as well. External competition There are various local sweet and savoury snacks and sugar confectionery such as chips/crisps, snack bars and fruit snacks in Vietnam, which means that Swiss producer faces high threat of substitutes. Local manufacturers have more experience in making appetizing snacks with diversified taste, sizes and prices satisfying different customers (Chocolate Confectionery Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2009, p.2). On this condition, it is possible for fair trade chocolate to lose large market share to these snacks in the niche segment due to its high price and the demands for alternatives options will increase more than chocolate (Chocolate Confectionery Vietnam, Euromonitor International, 2009, p.3). 3.4 Unstable Weather (medium level) Vietnams climate is Subtropical monsoon with large rainfall and high humidity, and the weather is unsteady especially in the mountains and plateaus which may be 5  Ã‚ °C in December and January and 37  Ã‚ °C in July and August, and the average annual temperature is higher in the plains and in the south. In particular, in recent period, the temperature in winter is higher than before. The changing weather exerts negative impact on producing and storing up chocolate for manufacturers. 4 RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION After the first step of analysis of Vietnam, firstly, at the aspect of economic environment, on the one hand, it is visible that the open economic environment with increasing disposable incomes and expanding distribution channels will give positive influence on building chocolate market for Swiss enterprise. In particular, the increasing relaxed and open-minded trade policies including encouraging foreign investment illustrate that there is less unfair treatment for foreign companies and when they face such one they could ask help for government and law with more opportunities to solve problems. On the other hand, the tariff structure reform is still on the way and there are a lot of disadvantages and irrationality. By measuring the pros and cons, it is considered that the opportunities in economic aspect have great weigh than risks. Secondly, in terms of social and cultural surroundings, Vietnam culture is affected by foreign culture largely in recent years, especially the teenagers accounting for the majority of Vietnam population are willing to accept international fashion and brands, with the aid of public medias propaganda. Although there are some Vietnam are still traditional price-conscious, more and more people could afford and be glad to purchase luxury goods to orientate their social position. However, the fierce competition in Vietnam chocolate business is a huge risk for Swiss manufacturer who is later mover because it should take long period to set up its social prestige and be difficult to compete with these first movers. As a result, it is necessary to weigh the opportunities and risks further. Thirdly, the dramatic weather exert negative impact on setting up manufactory because chocolate is one kind of the temperature-sensitive snakes. It will take more costs to produce chocolate and keep them in storage. Nevertheless, combined with other factors such as tariff and labour cost, it may be cost-saving in Vietnam than in other Asian countries. Hence, after doing research on Vietnam climate and geography, it is advocated that Swiss chocolate company could establish factory in north of Vietnam and in plain and it should take more effort to consider the exact position of manufactory in the next step. In a word, by weighing the opportunities and risks mentioned above, Vietnam is still a potential market for Swiss chocolate enterprise to expand service and set up plant. Certainly, it should make further effort to explore the feasibility by conducting more marketing investigation.

Essay --

Child Abuse and its Prevalence in Modern Society In our day and age when people are busy living their everyday lives, a child is being abused behind a closed door. According to Bryan Calo, supervisor of child protective services, â€Å"Child abuse is if a child’s physical, mental, or emotional condition is impaired. The child’s basic needs are not being met, and they are not being provided a safe environment to live in† (Telephone Interview). Most often children that are abused, whether it is physical, sexual, emotional, or neglect abuse, will keep their home lives to themselves. This is not because the child is embarrassed but usually because he or she is frightened of how the abuser will react toward him or her. Although it is not often shared with friends and even other family members, so it is still not being taken into consideration that it does exist. Unfortunately, child abuse is a real occurrence that happens every day. Children are being beaten, being sexually abused, being spoken poorly too, not being given daily needs, and being rejected by a parent or guardian all the time. Today’s society should be more aware of child abuse because when a situation is reported it helps benefit the child that is suffering by placing him or her in a safer environment (Telephone Interview). (PP) Being able to recognize physical, behavioral, and mental indicators are ways in which today’s society can help prevent child abuse from happening to children all throughout the world. Physical abuse must be prevented in today’s society because children deserve to be in a safe environment. A significant factor when it comes to child abuse is being able to notice indicators that would fall under the category of abuse (What is Child Abuse and Neglect? 5)... ... familiar with. However, child abuse does not only happen to certain children but can occur with both sexes throughout all regions of the world. (The Children’s Center para. 15) (SUM) Therefore, physical, behavioral, and mental indicators need to be accounted for wherever an individual might encounter them. These indicators include bruises, burns, fractures, aggressiveness, and doubtful thinking. Child abuse must be prevented because children are defenseless; therefore, they need someone to take care of them (Telephone Interview). (PP) Although today’s society cannot eliminate child abuse from the world, it can be prevented. About half a million children are abused across the United States ever year (Telephone Interview). (PP) These children do not deserve to be treated poorly, and people should help by being more aware of what is happening all around them. Essay -- Child Abuse and its Prevalence in Modern Society In our day and age when people are busy living their everyday lives, a child is being abused behind a closed door. According to Bryan Calo, supervisor of child protective services, â€Å"Child abuse is if a child’s physical, mental, or emotional condition is impaired. The child’s basic needs are not being met, and they are not being provided a safe environment to live in† (Telephone Interview). Most often children that are abused, whether it is physical, sexual, emotional, or neglect abuse, will keep their home lives to themselves. This is not because the child is embarrassed but usually because he or she is frightened of how the abuser will react toward him or her. Although it is not often shared with friends and even other family members, so it is still not being taken into consideration that it does exist. Unfortunately, child abuse is a real occurrence that happens every day. Children are being beaten, being sexually abused, being spoken poorly too, not being given daily needs, and being rejected by a parent or guardian all the time. Today’s society should be more aware of child abuse because when a situation is reported it helps benefit the child that is suffering by placing him or her in a safer environment (Telephone Interview). (PP) Being able to recognize physical, behavioral, and mental indicators are ways in which today’s society can help prevent child abuse from happening to children all throughout the world. Physical abuse must be prevented in today’s society because children deserve to be in a safe environment. A significant factor when it comes to child abuse is being able to notice indicators that would fall under the category of abuse (What is Child Abuse and Neglect? 5)... ... familiar with. However, child abuse does not only happen to certain children but can occur with both sexes throughout all regions of the world. (The Children’s Center para. 15) (SUM) Therefore, physical, behavioral, and mental indicators need to be accounted for wherever an individual might encounter them. These indicators include bruises, burns, fractures, aggressiveness, and doubtful thinking. Child abuse must be prevented because children are defenseless; therefore, they need someone to take care of them (Telephone Interview). (PP) Although today’s society cannot eliminate child abuse from the world, it can be prevented. About half a million children are abused across the United States ever year (Telephone Interview). (PP) These children do not deserve to be treated poorly, and people should help by being more aware of what is happening all around them.

Man Against God in Nathaniel Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter Essay

Man Against God in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter In the introduction of the story, Nathaniel Hawthorne describes himself as a writer trapped between two worlds.   His alias, Aubepine, presents abstract concepts that would challenge the simple mind, but compensates for this by designing a dual meaning.   His works contain the literal meaning, and the implicated meaning.   Often, he would have to sacrifice his initial concept by injecting humor or other banal dimensions to the story in order to satisfy the lesser audience.   In this story, a young man from Southern Italy becomes implicated in a scientist's bizarre practice.   Rappaccini sacrifices his daughter's life in the name of science.   His means would resemble black magic in a different timeframe, which trespass the boundaries that man is ideally confined to.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beatrice is the unfortunate and unwilling subject of her father's experiment.   The daughter's name is an allusion to Dante's guide in Heaven, and his wife in real life.   In the prelapsarian part of this story, the woman grows to know Giovanni ...

Simple wedding story :: essays research papers

I had just gotten hired by the New York City Fire Department, I was working the morning shift when a call when out for a fire in a taxpayer with possible people trapped. Since I was on the ladder company our primary job was to find the possible trapped victims. We got on the road and immediately could smell the smoke, then dispatch came over radio and said police are on location reporting a 10-75,which is a working fire, and could see visible people trapped. Captain Merk yelled to the back â€Å"prepare to go in.† We arrived on scene and we could here people yelling about someone trapped on the 2nd floor. My partner and I entered structure thru the back and proceeded up the stairs. We made our way thru the hallway checking every door we came upon. We got to the end of the hallway and could hear someone screaming and coughing from the last door on the left hand side. We made our way into the room and my partner and I started searching for the victim. Over the radio we could hea r the battalion chief calling for the 2nd alarm; the fire was getting worse. We kept searching our area but couldn’t hear the screaming or coughing anymore as we sped up our search we made our way into the bathroom and there she was laying on the floor by the window. My partner and I picked her up and started making our way out of the building. We made it to the bottom of the stairs when the floor started to give way. We fell to the ground and I could feel something pop in my knee. As we regained our composer we stood up with the victim and made our way to the front of the buildings where EMS was waiting. The Emt’s took her, put her on oxygen, put her on the stretcher, and loaded her in the ambulance. I told the Ems supervisor that when I fell I felt something pop in my knee. He told me to get in the ambulance that was about to leave. I got into the back with the girl I had just rescue†¦how ironic. On our way to the hospital the girl had started to regain consciou sness and started to come back around. Of course she was scared and didn’t know what was going on.

Outline of persuasive speech Essay

Specific purpose: To persuade my audience that IQ testing is not a valid measure to be used on modern populations. Central Idea: At the end of my speech the audience will know all about the disadvantages of IQ testing in addition to the bad impact it has on today’s society. Introduction: After taking 3 different IQ tests and averaging the results I can tell you that my IQ is either of 82 which is considered as low average or of 123 which is considered as superior! Ask yourself one question; would you look at me differently if you knew which one it really is? At the end of the speech you’ll know all about the disadvantages of IQ testing and why it is not a fit measure to be used on modern populations.  I’m going to first tell you about the consequences that a low IQ test result can have on a person’s life, then I’m going to tell you about how the IQ test is in fact not as reliable as anyone would think and finally even though it might not be 100% reliable it is still the best existing way of measuring logic. Body: I- A low IQ test score can result in having a psychological as well as a social impact on the test taker. A. Social impact: 1. The most dangerous assumption on IQ testing is that it measures someone’s biological or inborn intelligence that is set in stone and therefore can never change. The family and the teachers of someone with a low IQ will expect much less of that person which will then fail because of the lack of encouragements he is receiving. 2. Moreover, according to Bruce Uditsky in his article:† One of the original purposes of IQ tests was to determine or predict which students would require additional help to be successful in school. It then is an interesting question as to how these IQ scores evolved into stigmatizing, categorizing, racially prejudiced and negatively life-defining outcomes for students with developmental disabilities and others†. B. A child with a low IQ score will start feeling inferior to his  friends specially that at a young age competition between friends is at its peek. The negative labels applied as a consequence of an IQ test are lifelong and in the current context of our society limiting and hurtful. Transition: Therefore it is important to ask ourselves if this test that can determine if someone is mentally less capable than someone else is in fact reliable enough. II- The reasons why intelligence quotient tests are not reliable enough: A. A score can differ significantly from one IQ test to another taken by the same person, in the same conditions: 1- â€Å"During 2002–2003, as part of validation for their new IQ test, the KABC-II, Alan and Nadeen Kaufman looked at IQ test scores from a dozen children aged 12-13 who were tested on three different contemporary IQ tests. The first thing to note is that those exposed to greater opportunities for learning tended to score higher on IQ tests than those from lower-SES backgrounds. But even collapsing across SES, every single preadolescent had a different IQ score based on which test they took. The differences for the dozen children ranged from 1 to 22 points, with an average difference of 12 points†. 2- Therefore if a chi ld scored 75 on a test he would be labeled as â€Å"slow learner†, but it is very possible that the same child could have scored 95 on another approved IQ test, and a score of 95 is an average score. B. Moreover, IQ tests are culturally unfair, most of the approved ones are designed for use among white middle class children. And as we can see in this slide, an average Ethiopian person would be considered retarded in Hong Kong. Transition: On the other hand IQ tests are still the best way to measure logical thinking and can benefit children who get a good score on it. III- Benefits of IQ testing: A. If a student who has a high score is having difficulties learning, directly an assumption is made that his learning processes needs to be understood and educational strategies need to be applied in order to help the student become successful. B. In addition, if we don’t generalize it to be a test that measures intelligence IQ testing is the best way to measure logical abilities, which is the closest thing to intelligence. Conclusion: In conclusion, because IQ tests are administered by human beings on human beings, they are not 100% reliable and the same person can get very  different results on two different tests and because they are culturally unfair; IQ tests shouldn’t be considered as a valid measure of human intelligence and therefore a person with a low score should not be categorized and stigmatized for life. References: Udistky, B. (n.d.). IQ testing: A critique for parents of children with developmental disabilities. www.acl.org. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.aacl.org/clientuploads/documents/IQarticle.pdf Kaufman, S. B. (2013, July 7). IQ tests hurt kids, schools — and don’t measure intelligence. www.salon.com Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.salon.com/2013/07/07/iq_tests_hurt_kids_schools_and_dont_measure_intelligence/ Countries with the Highest / Lowest Average IQ. (n.d.). Statistic Brain RSS. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.statisticbrain.com/countries-with-the-highest-lowest-average-iq/

American Nightmare Essay

Let’s face it, the economy is in a horrible condition and it can be seen all across the nation. Education, employment, and balancing life is an everyday struggle for most Americans during these hard time. Citizens are stuck in their social class and can not move up, instead they might even fall below their current standard of living. Immigrants are still migrating to this once marvelous country, but their chances of success are quite slim. Job availability is steadily decreasing, and people are not making enough income to live a decent life. The truth is, the American dream is dead. The dream everyone of this nation hoped to achieved has ultimately become a nightmare. The main reasons why the dream is dead is because of; the deteriorating economy, no governmental support, and lack of individualism. A dollar today is no longer what it used to be in the early years of America. Everyone needs money, there is no doubt about that. A person without money is a typically seen as worthless and can not afford to live a decent life. The problem is, all the necessities we need in life are becoming expensive. It has become very difficult for many to citizens to earn enough to live their life. On a personal basis, my family was forced to put our house on foreclosure. The cost of maintaining a house has become quite expensive. Thousands of people are losing their homes and forced to move into less costly homes. This is seen on the internet, T. V, and even in our neighborhoods. Another example of the economy breaking down is our nation’s gas prices. Gas prices are steadily rising, and it has become difficult for many Americans to receive that full tank of gas. So it begs the question, where does society get the money to pay these things off? In other words, a majority of the nation can not pay off their dues. There are less jobs available to the public which equals less money around. Most citizens are forced to live their lives on a depressing minimal wage budget. America should not be in a situation in this, the government should help stabilize the economy. The government; which is composed of officials, law makers, and congress who created this once prosperous nation. However, where are they now? The government seems to be worried about their own campaigns are affairs outside of the US. They do not seem to have any interest in fixing this nation’s problems and help citizens achieve their dreams and goals. Most especially in broken down ghetto neighborhoods , where governmental help is needed the most. The nation must be equally supported in all cities, to result in a stable government system. An excerpt from â€Å"When Work Disappears† by William Julius Wilson describes the changed environment of a once great and prosperous city. When I walked down 63rd street when I was younger, everything you wanted was there. But know, coming back as an adult with my child, those resources are just gone, completely†¦ And housing, everybody has moved, there are vacant lots everywhere† (199). If the government took time to reconstruct the foundations of cities like these, the motivation to follow the dream would live on. The government needs to focus on current affairs and problems in the nation, then focus on other tribulations in different countries. Environments like the one describe, demoralizes the citizens making them ultimately give up hope. However, within these depressing times the American dream applies to one person, yourself. The American dream is created by what a person’s belief, goals, and dreams are. But, can a person achieve their dream if they have no sense of freedom or individualism in this nation? There are numerous restrictions on the common man, for us to truly express or goals and aspirations. The people of this nation can not pursue anything, if they are â€Å"chained† down by society. This statement is clearly evident is a quote in an article by an anonymous writer, Corpus Chrsti Caller Times. The first part of the American Dream is a country where any of us is free to think, believe, say and do anything we want (within some limits) without worrying about being arrested and jailed by government agents†(Corpus). The government needs to be more lenient if a person’s free speech and ideals. If the government always stops us from reaching our goals, we will never be able to. There must be a sense of balance between the control and freedom on each individual in this nation. The American dream once thought to be attainable during the early years of American’s foundation, is no longer or very difficult to attain in these day and age. These problems are Due to the fact of the poor economy, unsupported government, and lack of individuality. All these problems, and much more within the system of the United States destroy the very ideals of the American Dream. The reality of attaining the so called â€Å"American Dream† has become difficult. To most Americans the will to live life anymore has turned into a nightmare. The constant struggles and tribulations thousands of Americans face in this current era. America can relive the dream, only if the heart of American changes.

Alexander the Great: The Invisible Enemy Essay

Alexander the Great Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fighting has been an unavoidable part of human history since humans evolved. Regardless of the aim, no battle can be successful without a good leader. In history, among the best military leaders was Alexander the Great. He was born in Pella, 20th July 356BC. As a young person, Alexander was a strong and fearless boy and brought up as a warrior (Farmer, 216).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alexander fought for twelve years in the Pearsian Gulf, Egypt and in the Middle East whereby his conquests left a legacy that had a positive and lasting impacts in the way of life of the peoples. Besides his conquests, Alexander inherited his father’skingdom of Macedonia at the age of twenty years, becoming one of the youngest king ever to be in the world. He worn many wars because of his ability to inspire, lead and motivate his armies. His intention was on constructing a united kingdom, which was not easy during his time, but he succeeded in building a united kingdom. It is for this reason that the development of ancient Macedonia is associated with Alexander the Great because he built cities along the trade routes through the wealth he obtained from the Persian treasury, whereby the economic system remained unchanged till the industrial revolution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Being a great leader, his legacy is still remembered for his ability to conquer many empires. He started his fighting campaign with 37000 men, of which 5000 were calvary. He used this army to fight his first war against the Persian Empire, which almost cost his life. After winning this war, he was able to control half of western Asia. Afterward, he also attacked Syria, Palestine and Egypt and conquered them and acquired the title of Pharaoh of Egypt. He was such a strong leader in the world history who never turned back against his enemies. His conquests still remain in the world history as the most successful leader in fighting and winning wars.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, regardless of his motives, ideas or views, Alexander enabled the extension of the Greek ideas and language to the non-Greek world of Asia. His destruction of the Persian created chances for Greek authorities, intellectuals, soldiers, engineers, merchants and his successors participate in the new political unity grounded on the principle of the monarch. His successors utilized force to introduce military monarchies, which dominated the Hellenistic monarchies world after his death. Furthermore, Autocratic authority became a regular characteristic of the Hellenistic monarchies, which was a section of Alexander’s political legacy (Heckel, 89). Nevertheless, it is clear that the Romans were inspired by Alexander’s vision because they were the real inheritors of his legacy. Not only did Alexander left a political legacy, but a cultural legacy that ended up in the Greek Language, architecture, literature and art that sprea ds into other regions of Asia. Moreover, the new cities that were created by Alexander becamethe spring board for the spread of the Greek culture. His legacy built the clash and fusion of distinct cultures that formed the basic features of the Hellenistic world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a king, Alexander proved his leadership qualities through obtaining massive empires and leaving behind a legacy that had a lasting impact in future evolutions. Though his empires disintegrated after his death, he had already built a multi-cultural empire, which would ultimately have a significant effect on the Roman civilization. Besides, from the period of antiquity till to the present, he is demonstrated as a military genius. His achievements in the art of war are still shocking. Peoples such as Napoleon, Caesar, and Hannibal studied about Alexander military approaches and acknowledged that without the knowledge they acquired from Alexander, they would have not been capable of achieving what they did (Shecter, 410). It is clear that his achievement was a base for others to follow his footsteps. His armies usually counted on him to lead them in times of battle and he never failed them. As a matter of fact, he had a unique character whe reby when he usually arrived before his enemies anticipated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, Alexander the Great was a great leader and still one of the most bewildering great figures in history. Most of the historical figures do not stand out in similar level as Alexander. He was a warrior at the age of sixteen, a commander in chief at the age of eighteen and a king at the age of twenty. He solely handily altered the ancient world in just over a decade and looking at his childhood in the acquiring of the throne, conquests, marriage and death, it is clear that as the name great suggest, Alexander the Great was and is still one of the greatest historical and political figures of the world. Moreover, as a leader, he showed uncommon resourcefulness both in the combination of using distinct arms and acclimating a tactic to meet the problems of his powerful and strong adversaries. Besides, though he had a short time in authority, he marks an important period in world history. References Farmer, Henry George. â€Å"â€Å" The Horn of Alexander the Great †.† Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland: 500-03. Print. Heckel, Waldemar. â€Å"Alexander the Great: The Invisible Enemy.† Canadian Journal of History 1 Aug. 1993. Print. Shecter, Vicky Alvear. Alexander the Great Rocks the World. Plain City, OH: Darby Creek Pub., 2006. Print. Source document

Creative writing Essay

‘Now this is a story all about me, when my life got twist turn upside down, if you like to take a minute just reading right here, I’ll write you how I became a prince of a town called New Jersey’ could you find a word that rhymes with New Jersey? ‘In East London I’m born and raised on a playground is where I’ve spent the most of my days chilling out, relaxing all cool and all kicking some football outside of school when a couple of guys, they were up to no good started making trouble in my neighbourhood I got in one little fight and my mum got scared and said â€Å"you’re moving with your aunt and uncle in New Jersey here, have this Hershey’ that kind of rhymes. If you didn’t know Hershey is a chocolate bar that is sold in America. Although I would like to think that I was the fresh prince, my story didn’t exactly start out like that. Instead of my parents sending me to my relatives because of academic problems, I went because I have been nagging them for a really long time. I’m not saying that my academic level was reaching its fullest potential before I went, but the main reason I went was to have a taste of things to come. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to live in one of those semi-detached American houses with the large front garden, golden retriever, two kids and a large garage. When most people watch American films they are focused on the storyline, but when I watch them not only am I watching the story, but also at the back of my mind I am constantly absorbing the American background. Finally in the summer of 2000 July 3rd, I got the chance to have a taste of my dream. Even though it was just a small taste, it was enough to last me however long it will take to finally move there. When my parents did decide that it was o. k. to send me there, it was there idea of making me have a taste of the ‘real world’. There idea of a taste of the ‘real world’ was my idea of a taste of a dream. At the time I had just finished my GCSE’s, and my grades were not that great. My parents had planned that America would change my course; I guess it did in the end but my biggest change was with my personality. When I did return I felt more confident, independent, funny and larger (thanks to those large American portions of food). Everything leading up to the day I left flew by and before I knew it I was in the airport sitting at the waiting room with my dad. I remember my dad being really calm and cool about everything, he never really got sad in front of me especially with good-by’s. He told me stories about when he went to New York for the first time: ‘Now this is a story all about your dad, back in the day I also was bad, Your old man also had the American dream, thinking that it would be so cool and supreme, I stayed there for a while to learn the truth, that America was best lived in the movies, ‘what a poof! ‘ I never knew my dad could rap, looks as though he has a problem with finishing it as well. To sum up my dads rap; he also had the American dream being brought up on James Dean movies. Throughout his teenage years he had dreamt up an image of what America would be like, unfortunately when he stayed there, it did not match his dream. That is how my dad tells the story, but I think there’s something he is not telling me. I also believe that my parents don’t want me to live far away from them because they regret moving far away from their parents when they were younger. On the plane, I sat next to an empty seat, which wasn’t bad as I wasn’t really good with the airplane conversations. I travelled on Virgin Atlantic and the in-flight entertainment was great, they had a video screen in front of each seat with which I could play games, watch films and programmes. Anyway back onto America, I remember as we approached the New York coast I heard a passenger in the seat in front of me, â€Å"look there’s the statue of liberty† I looked to my right out of the window and saw her. She was a bit smaller then I had imagined (in Ghostbusters 2 she was huge! ), and she was green. I never actually realised that she was green before; I always thought she was grey. I wasn’t disappointed though; looking at the New York skyline for the first time was great. However I still felt as though I was in England, maybe it would change when we land. After I collected my luggage, I went through the inspection terminal where policemen checked your passports. I found this strange but the strangest was to come, when I reached the gate where my aunt would be waiting for me. Oh yeah if I didn’t mention it before, I would be staying with my auntie there, like my parents were really going to let me stay there by myself. Anyway along with the story, the last time I saw my aunt was when she visited England when I was 2 so†¦ I was the first out into the arrival room and there was a crowd so large I felt like I was in one of those ‘where’s Wally’ books. I looked at the crowd and then a man taped my shoulder and pointed out my aunt to me. They were waving out to me trying to get my attention with a big sign with my name on it. I said thanks to the first American I made contact with and walked over to them. We did the usually Portuguese custom and did the kiss on the cheeks thing. I originally thought that communication between us would be easy, but boy did I wish I brought my translator. They could barely understand me, and the fact that my ears were still popped from the plane journey didn’t help either. I felt like a deaf, posh Wally (as in Where’s Wally). The next day when I woke up, I had that weird feeling when I wake up in a different room and don’t know where I am (it was like that film Memento). Then I got up and looked at the picture of ‘the statue of liberty’ on the desk and remembered when I was on the plane. I woke up to Independence Day and before I knew it I was on my way to a barbecue. It was a beautiful sunny day and boy was it hot! I wore light cloths but it was way hotter then I thought it would be. When I arrived there I met ‘The Martins’, they suited the typical average American household family everything apart from the golden retriever. Not that my aunt and uncle didn’t suit the typical American household image, but they lived in an apartment which was more like an episode of ‘Friends’. At the barbecue I ‘piged’ out big time, I don’t think I have ever eaten so much in such a small time. I even got to drink my first bottle of Budweiser, I never really liked beer but after that I had chosen my favourite drink. I had also bonded really well with Bruno Martin and his friend Chris. Bruno showed me his loft that he lived in under his house; he had his own shower, living room. After the barbecue we went for a drive in the city, on my second day I was already in New York. We drove around for a while, but there was too much traffic so we had to stop and park near the Brooklyn Bridge (it was in the end of ‘Godzilla’). From there we watched the fireworks, there were lots of people that were watching with us. After that we finally drove into the city and walked around in ‘Time Square’ (too many films too mention). I have never seen so many people from different countries in one place. That night I slept well knowing that when I wake up tomorrow I will definitely know where I am. A couple of weeks later I went out with Bruno and Chris again for a whole day out. First up was a visit to his high school, where we would play baseball on the field. I was looking forward to seeing what his school looked like, after all those years of seeing a typical American high school in TV programmes. It was huge and the sports facilities were expensive. They had a huge football field (as in American football), and three outdoor tennis courts! It made the sports facilities back at my school look basic. We played baseball on the field, which is when I began to really feel American. Bruno and Chris were impressed with my skills, especially as I had hit more home runs then both of them. After that we went to the beach, which is when I began to feel as though I was David Hassolhof in an episode of Bay watch. The weeks generally flew by, however there were some bad weeks when things were just going all wrong. When my aunt leaves for work each morning she would leave something that I could pop in the microwave. I however was not to sure on the rules of using a microwave and used a non-microwave plastic container to re-heat some chicken from the night before. I was just watching TV eagerly anticipating my meal, when I smelt smoke. I rushed into the kitchen; smoke was everywhere, opened the microwave and saw that the container had melted with the chicken inside it! I threw it into the bin opened all the windows and turned the A/C to full power. I went for the air conditioner, hoping that I could diminish the smell of burnt plastic. When my aunt returned from work she could smell the burnt plastic straight away but thought that maybe the dogs litter tray needed to be cleaned out. I actually thought that I might get away with it until my mum realised the burn stain in the microwave, DUM DUM DUMM (that was meant to be when in movies when something bad happens). She caught and shouted at me for having both the windows open and the A/C on. If you think that was bad, that is nothing compared to when I was taking Pepper (our dog) for a walk and a huge dog attacked him. That was really scary, the owner of the big scary dog, couldn’t even release his own dog. The dogs jaws were looked tightly on Pepper’s neck all I could was watch. Luckily Pepper survived and was treated for minor bite wounds. Towards the end of my visit my vacation began to look up greatly. I visited New York more often and went on the Statue of Liberty and on the World Trade Centres. I remember when I went to the twin towers the tour guide on the lift told us that the lift was travelling at 30 mph (or something like that) and I could feel my feet feel light as we got closer to the top. The top three floors were accessible to tourists including the roof. To get to the roof you would take a escalator, all you could see when you were going up was bright blue sky and I felt as though when the escalator reached the top I would go over the edge. When I finally plucked up the courage to get on the roof the view was beautiful. You could see for miles, all the wonders of New York were in view from one place. When I returned showing my photos from the roof, my friends thought that I was on a helicopter. On my visit to the big green woman, I actually realised clearly how large she was up-close. I thought about how long she has been there for, everything she would have seen. Throughout seeing all the sites a common image would occur to me of re-visiting these sites when I move to America. For me New York was a place to visit not to live in. I have always wanted to live in the house from Home Alone, which is set in Chicago. I have always like the Christmassy look. Returning back to England was weird as when I went to America. Once again no-body could understand me (by now I have an American accent), I had to get use to the money as well. The weird thing about America is that when you get use to it you don’t even realise that you are living in America. Although you are use to it, you still notice differences here and there. My American dream is still there, its just a matter of until I make it into reality.