Roald Dahl’s Villains An analysis Essay Example

Roald Dahl’s Villains: An analysis Essay Roald Dahl is one of the most widely read children’s book authors of the twentieth century. Although he wrote several forms of literature, including adult novels and essays, he is most renowned for his children’s books, including popular books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG. Beyond proving to be accessible and engaging to children, his works reinvigorated this genre by making it more accessible and realistic for children to identify with. His penchant for understanding child psychology and composing a complex, intriguing plot contributed to his renown. More specifically, one of the defining features of Dahl’s fiction caused by Dahl’s personal childhood is its macabre characterization of several adult characters juxtaposed with good natured characterization of other adult characters. In Roald Dahl’s literary style, the story is mostly constructed from the point of view of the child protagonist, who is pitted against a few imposing adult personalities. For example, in the book Matilda, the villain is a woman teacher. She is shown to be quite dangerous – someone who will induce a young reader to be terrified of every female teacher he or she meets. Indeed the depiction of the teacher was so excessive that the book was attacked by critics as being unsuitable for young readers. (Cockburn 41) Further, in Matilda, Dahl provides â€Å"a dramatic shift in tone as he moved from character to character—innocent, intelligent Matilda, the caring Miss Honey, and the towering inferno of the headmistress Miss Trunchbull.† (Wolf 73) Generally, Dahl’s characterization of villains is more dramatic and vivid than that of his benign characters. We will write a custom essay sample on Roald Dahl’s Villains: An analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Roald Dahl’s Villains: An analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Roald Dahl’s Villains: An analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The sinister-minded owner of the chocolate factory in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka, is another strange character who swings between either too sentimental or too cold. Wonka is â€Å"a Michael Jackson type: a lonely, childish despot, complete with high-pitched voice, inability to mix and strained desire to make everything seem just perfect.† (Sawyer 34) Therefore, when he demands Charlie to get away from his family and run the factory, he conveys this demand in a sinister tone. Charlie, on the other hand, maintains his composure throughout the antics of his master. He manages to be good without being prissy, which is quite an achievement in the circumstances. Characters like Wonka are typical of Dahl’s villains – their power and cunning seemingly offers little hope the hero to overcome. And it is in succeeding against such strong adversity that the heroism shines through. Another feature of Dahl’s portrayal of villains is the recurrent theme of ‘abuse of power’. T his exercise of power with malicious intent is evident in different sorts of relationships, it is most evident in the adult-child relationships in his stories. In other words, in Dahl’s writings we see power in various forms – â€Å"whether adults exercising it over children, bigger children over smaller ones, or humans over animals.† (Sharp 521) We witness in Matilda how little girls were persecuted by Mrs. Trunchbull. Likewise, in Dahl’s short stories William and Mary and The Way Up to Heaven, we see even adult characters suffering due to arbitrary use of power by those at a higher station. Dahl succeeds in making this abuse very visceral for the readers as he draws heavily from his own personal childhood experiences of feeling fear and intimidation in his school. The villains in a Dahl story are usually juxtaposed to benevolent characters. The nastiness and malevolence projected onto the villains in the plot is offered a relief in the form of benign and decent adult individuals. There are some notable loving and warm relationships between children and adults in many stories. Examples that easily come to mind include that of Charlie and Grandfather Joe, Danny and his beloved father, etc. There is also the case of The Witches in which the unnamed narrator is nurtured and cared for by his Norwegian grandmother. If we are to attempt to understand Dahl’s inclination for including threatening adult characters in his stories, we have to grasp the facts of his own childhood. Dahl had a close and loving relationship with his mother Sofie, but his other encounters with adults were arduous and strained. The chief source of torment for him came from the authorities in the boarding school whom he felt were unduly retributive for minor offences. However Dahl is not conveying a message of hopelessness to his young readers. Even amidst adversity his stories show that there is hope and love. This is best illustrated in The Witches, where the close bond between the boy and his mother survives â€Å"the boy being turned into a mouse, for as the narrator says, ‘It doesn’t matter †¦ so long as somebody loves you.’† (Mitchell 27) There is a type of transcendent quality in the benign relations of the child protagonist to his guardian. This is witnessed in Dahl’s early story such as They Shall Not Grow Old as well as his later work The Minpins (1991) which is full of invocations of magic. Likewise, In The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, for example, Sugar loses his self-centeredness and becomes more spiritual, despite being a surefire winner at cards. This theme recurs throughout Dahl’s writing life. (Sharp 524)

Those Pesky Pastimes

Those Pesky Pastimes Those Pesky Pastimes Those Pesky Pastimes By Maeve Maddox What is a pastime? It is an occupation that passes the time. Hobbies are pastimes. Attending sports events is a pastime. Cooking, woodworking, reading, and watching television are all pastimes. Most Americans have probably read thousands of times that baseball is â€Å"the national pastime.† Yet, when I browse the web, I discover that thousands of web users do not know how to spell pastime: Trolling used to be a past time for people who frequent these message boards. What is your favorite past time-hobby? (Header for a Hub page) I have three favorite past times. Sleeping Is My Favorite Past Time Marie now feels it time to put her favorite passed time to use and hopes she can give others as much joy with her books as some of her favorite authors have to her with their books. (Marie is publishing a book.) The National Passed Time My favorite pass time is watching tv shows as Family Guy and NCIS. Its my favorite passed time and hobby!! Music is my favorite Pass-Time! Cooking is my favorite pass time. The word pastime combines the verb pass and the noun time. Its earliest documentation in the OED is dated 1490 and is spelled as two words: passe tyme. Through the centuries, it has been spelled in different ways. I suppose it might have come to be spelled â€Å"pass time† or â€Å"pass-time† or â€Å"passtime,† but it didn’t. Its modern spelling is pastime. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect modern speakers to learn to spell it that way. While they’re at it, they might make an effort to learn the difference between passed and past. Passed is the past tense of the verb pass: The truck passed the Miata. Time passed quickly. Past can be either a preposition, an adjective, or a noun: Preposition: The antelope ran past the watering hole. Adjective: He recalled the past years with pleasure. Noun: Don’t dwell in the past. Related posts: Confusing Passed with Past Taking Another Pass at Passed Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 101Latin Plural EndingsPhrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns

Christmas Truce of 1914 in World War I

Christmas Truce of 1914 in World War I The 1914 Christmas Truce occurred December 24 to 25 (in some places December 24 through January 1), 1914, during the first year of World War I (1914 to 1918). After five months of bloody fighting on the Western Front, peace descended over the trenches during the Christmas season of 1914. Though not endorsed by the high command, a series of informal truces occurred that saw troops on both sides celebrate together and enjoy singing and sporting events.   Background With the beginning of World War I in August 1914, Germany commenced the Schlieffen Plan. Updated in 1906, this plan called for German forces to move through Belgium with the intention of encircling French troops along the Franco-German border and winning a fast and decisive victory. With France knocked out of the war, men could be shifted east for a campaign against Russia. Put into motion, the first stages of the plan achieved success during the Battle of the Frontiers and the German cause was further enhanced by a stunning triumph over the Russians at Tannenberg in late-August. In Belgium, the Germans drove back the small Belgian Army and beat the French at the Battle of Charleroi as well as the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at Mons. A Bloody Autumn Falling back to the south, the BEF and French finally were able to halt the German advance at the First Battle of the Marne in early September. Stymied, the Germans retreated behind the Aisne River. Counterattacking at the First Battle of the Aisne, the Allies failed to dislodge the Germans and took heavy losses. Stalemated on this front, both sides began the Race to the Sea as they sought to outflank each other. Marching north and west, they stretched the front to the English Channel. As both sides fought for the upper hand, they clashed in Picardy, Albert, and Artois. Ultimately reaching the coast, the Western Front became a continuous line reaching to the Swiss frontier. For the British, the year concluded with the bloody First Battle of Ypres in Flanders where they sustained over 50,000 casualties. Peace on the Front After the heavy fighting of the late summer and fall of 1914, one of the mythic events of World War I occurred. The 1914 Christmas Truce began on Christmas Eve along the British and German lines around Ypres, Belgium. While it took hold in some areas manned by the French and Belgians, it was not as widespread as these nations viewed the Germans as invaders. Along the 27 miles of front manned by the British Expeditionary Force, Christmas Eve 1914 began as a normal day with firing on both sides. While in some areas firing began to slacken through the afternoon, in others it continued at its regular pace. This impulse to celebrate the holiday season amid the landscape of war has been traced to several theories. Among these was the fact that the war was only four months old and the level of animosity between the ranks was not as high as it would be later in the war. This was complemented by a sense of shared discomfort as the early trenches lacked amenities and were prone to flooding. Also, the landscape, aside from the newly dug trenches, still appeared relatively normal, with fields and intact villages all of which contributed to introducing a degree of civilization to the proceedings. Private Mullard of the London Rifle Brigade wrote home, we heard a band in the German trenches, but our artillery spoilt the effect by dropping a couple of shells right in the centre of them. Despite this, Mullard was surprised at sunset to see, trees stuck on top of the [German] trenches, lit up with candles, and all of the men sitting on top of the trenches. So, of course, we got out of ours and passed a few remarks, inviting each other to come over and have a drink and a smoke, but we did not like to trust each other at first. The Sides Meet The initial force behind the Christmas Truce came from the Germans. In most cases, this began with the singing of carols and the appearance of Christmas trees along the trenches. Curious, Allied troops, who had been inundated with propaganda depicting the Germans as barbarians, began to join in the singing which led to both sides reaching out to communicate. From these first hesitant contacts informal ceasefires were arranged between units. As the lines in many places were only 30 to 70 yards apart, some fraternization between individuals had taken place prior to Christmas, but never on a large scale. For the most part, both sides returned to their trenches later on Christmas Eve. The following morning, Christmas was celebrated in full, with men visiting across the lines and gifts of food and tobacco being exchanged. In several places, games of soccer were organized, though these tended to be mass kick abouts rather than formal matches. Private Ernie Williams of the 6th Cheshires reported, I should think there were about a couple of hundred taking part...There was no sort of ill-will between us. Amid the music and sports, both sides frequently joined together for large Christmas dinners. Unhappy Generals While the lower ranks were celebrating in the trenches, the high commands were both livid and concerned. General Sir John French, commanding the BEF, issued stern orders against fraternizing with the enemy. For the Germans, whose army possessed a long history of intense discipline, the outbreak of popular will among their soldiery was cause for worry and most stories of the truce were suppressed back in Germany. Though a hard line was taken officially, many generals took a relaxed approach seeing the truce as an opportunity to improve and re-supply their trenches, as well as scout out the enemys position. Back to Fighting For the most part, the Christmas Truce only lasted for Christmas Eve and Day, though in some areas it was extended through Boxing Day and New Years. As it ended, both sides decided on signals for the recommencement of hostilities. Reluctantly returning to war, the bonds forged at Christmas slowly eroded as units rotated out and the fighting became more ferocious. The truce had largely worked due to a mutual feeling that the war would be decided at another place and time, most likely by someone else. As the war went on, the events of Christmas 1914 became increasing surreal to those who had not been there.

Information Systems Management & Quality Coursework

Information Systems Management & Quality - Coursework Example A good example would be the purchase of a computer system for Bexley Hospital worth  £12 billion. Did they not prepare a Needs Analysis based on survey and statistics so that the knowledge of â€Å"usefulness† or â€Å"functionality† of the computer system could be a solid basis for disapproving the budget for such a computer system? The government must have haphazardly allocated and implemented a  £ 12 billion budget only to realize that out of 9,000 organizations, only 160 would use the system. According to Michael Savage, that functionality was discovered only after the implementation process. What might be the reason why it seems that government does not have quality control over IT governance? This case study concerning Bexley Hospital was chosen because it clearly represents a situation wherein no pre-planning or poor planning was done using a comprehensive model that can screen a decision whether or not to approve and fund a project. According to David Camero n, the IT system ideas were sold to NHS Professionals and swallowed as a whole and â€Å"As Is† after IT Consultants gave recommendations to government. That Computer Weekly article, News Clipping. 2, revealed no checking and control functions. Cameron cited inefficiency as a result of a preference for centralized and large computer systems that tend to be more costly and riskier. 3. Clarifications about the problem showed that centralized data that should have been accessible in local areas turned out to be 3 to 4 years delayed. See News Clipping.... This can be read in the Kable’s Government Computing article. See News Clipping # 3. In another article, clarifications about the problem showed that centralized data that should have been accessible in local areas turned out to be 3 to 4 years delayed. See News Clipping # 4. And the more detailed explanations for such a scenario are found in News Clipping # 5. It says, â€Å"†¦the centralized system has often been seen as a failure owing to continued installation setbacks, rising costs and data management problems.† In determining the needs of government for IT resources, for example, the ISMQ should have utilized a model that can filter the basis of decisions based on real needs instead of artificial or imaginary needs. A sample self-made model would be as follows: + + + It should be recalled that Information System projects are not the only projects in need of allocation of resources. Whatever will be the evaluation of alternative IS projects would have to compe te for funding prioritization in the government’s portfolio of many projects in various aspects of governance. Such a model would have identified the limited beneficiaries who would not represent the common good of 9,000 organizations. There should have been a survey if most of them need the computer system under certain conditions, e.g. on the condition that the system provides updated information. It turned out that only 160 out of 9,000 found a need for the expensive computer system which had to be replaced. Potential delays and more accurate timetables can be communicated to administrators of the system in order to set the right expectations insofar as performance and efficiency are concerned. The timely

Interior design - university case study Assignment

Interior design - university case study - Assignment Example ful forces for the effectiveness of school and universities; however this belief must be justified by empirical evidence for its better implementation at practical level. The University of Minnesota is also trying hard to adopt technologies and techniques that will help them improve student learning in the classroom environment. The management and the professors at the University of Minnesota thinks that it is not the laptops, projects or tablets which are considered important for the classroom environment. But it is the swivel chair that contributes towards the effective learning of the students. Research support the fact that the instructors should have students switch and change in a fluid moment rather than make them clunking around and trying to get them into different situations. The researchers at the global education environment think that the role of the teacher should be more of a coach rather than just focusing on the delivery of information which may not even be effectively interpreted by the students. The classrooms at the University of Minnesota are more intentionally designed that positively correlates to the student engagement which helps in improving the rate of student success. When students at the University of Minnesota were questioned about the swiveling chairs and connectable tables, almost 72 percent of the students said that the changes in the interior of the classroom increased the level of concentration and their engagement in classrooms. They also agreed to the fact that changing the interior of the classroom and including more swiveling chairs and connectable tables will help the students to achieve higher grades. After observing the effectiveness of swiveling chairs and connectable tables the University of Minnesota is planning to renovate more classrooms and also the lecture halls for the fall semester. Beside the interior of the class, leadership is also considered to be a powerful force for the effectiveness of student learning.

Business Communication Essay Example for Free

Business Communication Essay His vision to give young, fashion forward men and women a unique way to express their individuality through style resulted in millions of customers worldwide and propelled his designs to the forefront of the fashion industry. It all started in 1990, with a mere $1,100 in his bank account, Madden started crafting shoe designs from his Queens-based factory and the  Steve Madden  brand was born. With a lot of courage, years of experience in the footwear industry, and unique creative designs,  Steve Madden  formed his own successful enterprise. A year later, Madden introduced a redefined version of platform shoes, resulting in one of the most spectacular success stories in the early 1990s. Inspired by his favorite rock and roll stars of the 1970s, the thick, chunky heel became  Steve Maddens  signature and a phenomenon in womens shoes. Maddens footwear vision is continuously evolving. Steve once said, What inspires me is what I see people wearing on the streets of the world from New York to London and beyond. I get my ideas and inspiration from pounding the pavement all over the world. Today, fashion is dictated by individual style. To me, the fashion of the future is anything that a young guy or girl feels good wearing as long as  its put together in the right way. (www. stevemadden . com) Today, the  Steve Madden  brand represents a lifestyle. It is about embracing fashion while still maintaining that funky independence that first defined the brand 20 years ago. Expanding now into apparel and other accessories such as dresses, handbags, belts, sunwear, cold weather, outerwear and hosiery,  Steve Madden  is always looking toward to the future. As 2013 begins, more exciting opportunities are on the horizon including re-packaging, new store design rollout and expansion in global markets. The days when the future did not seem so bright In April 2002, Mr. Madden found that neither his investors nor federal judges take too kindly to stock manipulation and securities fraud. Steve Maddens talents as a shoe designer helped him build a 240 million dollar empire in his own name. But by his own admission, that wasnt enough he was greedy for more. His greed cost him about eight million dollars and control of the very company that brought him such riches. Madden was sentenced in 2002 to 41 months in prison for his role in a stock swindle scheme coordinated by the now-closed brokerage, Stratton Oakmont. His wrongdoings include conspiring to manipulate the stock prices of more than 20 companies, including his own. And, he did it at the expense not only of the public but his own investors who lost more than 100 million. Besides paying restitution, Madden had to resign as CEO of Steve Madden Ltd and leave the board of directors. He is also barred from holding a position as officer for seven years. However, he did retain a creative position until his prison sentence began that fall and will likely fill that capacity upon release later this spring. Meanwhile, those left to keep the company going in his absence quickly started their damage control efforts. A new board of directors was quickly assembled. Among those elected were Maddens brother and a corporate accounting guru. Once their former leader began repaying his debt to society, company heads began cleaning Steve Madden Limiteds financial house; making sure stock prices accurately reflected the health of the business. The company fully cooperated with the SECs investigation and hired an independent auditing company to keep watch over the process. Those days and even today, the companys financial practices are an open and well-kept book. Anyone could get the latest financial news from the same site by loging on to for the latest shoe designs. After heading off anymore potential legal woes, management began to focus on keeping the business itself walking tall. If the companys sales reports were any indication, not having Steve hasnt really hurt Steve Madden Limited. While the founder has been in a Florida prison, the companys management built on his vision by expanding into other areas. Steve by Steve Madden moved the company from the trendy 16 to 24 year old demographic into upscale footwear for a more mature crowd. The company licensed Candies and Unionbay footwear for men. Rather than try and replace or substitute Maddens design eye, they took what they had and introduced it to new markets. It worked. According to company reports, nearly all of the brands have increased profit margins and inventory levels. In a press release, management expressed hope that their profits would have increased in 2005 as compared 2004 (which actually happened). 2. Corporate Communication after the Bad Publicity But prison didnt break Steve Madden—or his company. Like so many of todays celebrity convicts, from Martha Stewart to Paris Hilton, Madden says he emerged a changed person. He served out his sentence, doing yardwork, teaching business classes to other inmates, reading four books a week (from The Devil Wears Prada to David McCulloughs Truman) and pumping iron obsessively. I used to wear this tank top in prison, he says. And Id stare at myself and flex. I never did that before. He even got married, to a Madden employee who came for regular visits. And when he was released in April 2005, Madden says, he was stronger physically, mentally, spiritually than hed ever been. After the return of Steve Madden from prison, he decided not to shy away from the imminent release of its namesake founder fro m prison. The company was promoting the return of its creative leader in a series of eye-catching posters and print advertisements, and is having some fun with it in the process. While the ads do not say where Madden has been, one suggests, in a wink-wink kind of way, that Mr. Madden has not been on a sabbatical, a secret mission or up the  Amazon  collecting snakes: A new meaning for the word spring time. Steve returns. Spring 2005. The company had launched a rather interesting press campaign celebrating Steve Maddens upcoming release from prison. One features a girl wearing an ankle bracelet and another features an empty pair of shoes with the words, Theres one pair of shoes thats been impossible to fill. Steve returns Spring 2005. Others allude to Madden getting sprung in Spring 2005. Financial Dynamics, the shoe retailers investor relations agency, says the campaign is a positive way of dealing with the prison sentence. It makes light of the companys troubles, sending a message that the board is over it and customers should feel the same way. Its also a sure fire way to get people talking about the brand. When it comes to sales, the only bad publicit y is no publicity. Once upon a time, a company, particularly one that sold products to the public, would shun publicity if it possibly could when a senior executive encountered legal woes. The idea that a company especially one like Steve Madden, which sells shoes mostly to teenage girls and women in their 20s would actually run ads calling attention to its leaders prison past would have flabbergasted experts in fields like brand identity, advertising and public relations. I love controversy; I love pushing the envelope, but when you have a younger customer you have a responsibility to take the law and authority seriously, said James LaForce, partner at LaForce Stevens in New York, a marketing communications agency specializing in fashion and entertainment clients. That was of course before Martha Stewart, whose public image has, by initial measures, seemingly gained in stature after her release from federal prison. A colorful paper flap decorated with a photograph of her cradling a chicken, declaring Welcome home, Martha, was attached to the cover of Aprils Martha Stewart Living magazine, published by  Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Companies like Mr. Maddens and Ms. Stewarts may also be more likely to embrace their convicted executives, since those executives have plenty of influence in the boardroom. Reticence about an executives past also predates a world in which rappers can find the sales of their music increasing in seeming lock step with the severity of their scrapes with the law. Its in now to be out, out of prison, that is, said Paul Cappelli, chief executive at the Ad Store in New York, an advertising agency that creates campaigns for brands like  JetBlue. I could see myself suggesting something like this to a client, Cappelli said, that instead of ignoring the 5,000-pound elephant in the corner, you might as well bring it out into the open and make hay of it. Robert Passikoff, who has been tracking consumer response to the Martha Stewart brand as president of Brand Keys in New York, a brand and customer-loyalty consultant, said that his index of its value had recently risen. The index has climbed to 96, Mr. Passikoff said, compared with a bottom of 62 lower than  Enron, he said before she entered prison. (The peak was 122 in May 2002. ) Is the new badge of honor, I served my time? We are not sure it doesnt ultimately hurt, even if the American public is largely forgiving when people serve their time. The campaign is trying to make him the face of the brand but who wants the face with numbers under it? Steve Madden is different from Martha Stewart, because unlike her, he was never the brand. He was the label, so a lot of people dont know who the guy was and didnt know he went to jail. That has worked to Steve Maddens advantage so far,, citing the history of the Madden brand index: It was 110 before Madden went to prison and fell only slightly, to 106. However, it is worth mentioning that consumers seem to be more forgiving about men than women. Brian Russak, a senior editor at Footwear News in New York who covers Madden, said: It seems like an obvious play to Martha Stewart, but I have to wonder whether that resonates with Maddens consumers. We often say here the target consumer doesnt know there is a Steve Madden. Trey Laird, president and executive creative director at Laird Partners in New York, an advertising agency that creates campaigns for fashion and apparel brands like DKNY and Gap, also drew distinctions between Madden and Stewart. The Madden ads are kind of cute and clever, but this is not a Martha Stewart situation, when the whole country is watching because shes a cultural icon. I dont feel most consumers know about Steve Maddens sentence, he added, or if they knew, they forgot about it. The Madden campaign can be perceived as a parody of Ms. Stewarts story meant to get people talking about the brand, Laird said, particularly because the Madden brand has never been a brand that has taken itself seriously. For instance, a recent Madden campaign featured caricatures of its customers with comically oversized heads. A statement by Financial Dynamics read: Steven Madden Ltd. looks forward to the much anticipated return of the unique talent and creative design expertise of Steve Madden in the spring of 2005. Further, the company believes the current advertising campaign embodies and enhances the Steve Madden brand. If the rise in Martha Stewart stock is any indication, getting out of prison seems to be in. The publicity generated by Maddens return could translate into increased exposure and, in turn, increase sales in the future. Plus, having him back at the head of the creative team will bring his company something it hasnt had in a while his ability to give the millions of women who buy his shoes what they want. So, If theres one thing Americans enjoy more than watching the mighty fall, its granting them forgiveness. You have to go through a process. You made your mistake, you did your time, Madden says. You have to be a little contrite to get redemption. To judge from the recent performance of his company, Maddens been forgiven—at least by that segment of the population that favors shoes with animal prints, polka dots and four-inch heels. Sales were $475. 2 million in 2006, up from $375. 8 million the year he was released, while net income more than doubled to $46. 3 million. Madden is quick to admit that hes made mistakes. But he says he wouldnt change a thing about his life. Everything Ive done has gotten me to where I am today, he says. His prison experience has clearly had an impact on his designs. The next offering from the prison groom: wedding shoes, called I Do. Its a huge market, he says. Marriage is sort of back on track. And so is Steve Madden. . The Crisis 3. 1. Chain of events In summer 2004, Maddens luck turned when he was indicted for stock fraud and money laundering in both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. According to the charges, Madden secretly purchased stock on behalf of the principals of two corrupt penny-stock brokerage firms Stratton Oakmont Securities of Lake Success, Long Island, and Monroe Parker, of Purchase, Westchester helping them manipulate 29 initial public offerings, including that of his own company. That same day, the Securities and Exchange Commission came after him with a civil suit alleging Madden had employed devices, schemes, and artifices to defraud. If convicted in either of the criminal cases, Madden would face up to more than twenty years in prison and several million dollars in fines. If he were to lose the SEC case, which was put on hold until the criminal cases were completed, he could be forced to pay millions more. Even worse, he ran the risk of being barred from serving as an officer or director of any public company, including his own. On the day of his arrest, while Madden was busy pleading not guilty to all charges and pledging his East Hampton country house and the Long Island homes of two friends in order to make bail, shares of Steve Madden Limited fell almost 15 percent to $11. 85 before nasdaq halted trading. Two days later, when the stock (which trades under the ticker SHOO) reopened, it fell to $6. 88. Though the stock has traded up as high as $13. 88 due to a recent rally in the footwear sector, it has yet to regain its pre-indictment momentum. The storys sad. Its a great story. Its a real American story. My old friends took me public, they turned out to be crooks, and Im innocent†, Madden has been quoted to say. While the indictment has severely damaged Steve Madden Limiteds standing on Wall Street – there was a consolidated class-action shareholder lawsuit pending against the company, and it has hired Bear Stearns to explore all possible strategic options, including an outright sale it hasnt tarnished Steve Maddens reputation as a design and marketing genius. He has some special knack at figuring out what teen girls want to wear, says Sanford Bernstein analyst Faye Landes. According to teen-market consultant Irma Zandl, who ranks Madden with Nike and Adidas in the top five brands that girls favor, his shoes are popular because they are fabulously over-the-top. Steve Maddens are not for the conservative girl, she says. If hes going to add leopard skin, hell do it ten times more outrageously than anybody else. Its for people who think less is less. Every week following his indictment, Madden used to get more than a thousand e-mails from his customers, only a handful of which referred to his legal predicament. In fact, the company not only refused to retrench, instead it was aggressively expanding. At that year’s Grammy Awards, the company made a bid for high-profile customers by giving out fluffy leopard-print slippers to special guests. Three days later, at the Western Shoe Association show in Las Vegas, Madden introduced his newest product line at the time: Steve Madden Mens. 3. 2. The players While Madden was working his way up in the shoe industry, his best friend, Danny Porush, was stuck in a rut. After five years at Boston University, he left without getting a degree and bounced from job to job, working for, and starting up, a variety of small businesses, including an ambulance company called SureRide Ambulette. In 1988, while watching his son in the playground of his Bayside, Queens, apartment complex, he met an unlikely mentor: a dental-school dropout and former door-to-door meat and seafood salesman named Jordan Belfort. A short, brash, young Jewish guy, Belfort boasted he was making $50,000 a month selling penny stocks out of a boiler room in Great Neck. As Porush would later testify, Belfort confided the business was half a scam, but the chance to increase his income tenfold was a siren call Porush couldnt resist. Two days after they met, he closed down SureRide and joined the firm. Using fanciful scripts, the brokers Belforts childhood friends from Queens, Porushs golf buddies, money-crazed kids recruited from Long Island college campuses sold and manipulated tiny, high-risk IPOs, according to testimony, by grossly exaggerating their prospects, boasting that they had inside information, and generally saying whatever was necessary to make a sale. Their underwritings encompassed a vast array of low-rent businesses and all had the same trading pattern the stocks would soar when they touted them but then come crashing down when the brokers unloaded their stakes. In 1992, Steve Madden made a decision that at the time seemed natural enough: He hired his best friends firm to be his banker. While Madden knew that the SEC had already accused Stratton of engaging in price manipulation and employing high-pressure sales tactics, he considered it a legitimate company. They cleared through Bear Stearns, Madden recalls, pointing out that Strattons link to the giant firm gave it an aura of respectability. Besides, Stratton was not only willing to raise capital for Steve Madden Limited in the private markets, it wanted to take the tiny, unproven company public. Like his friend Porush, Madden was going to enter the big leagues. On December 13, 1993, only seven months after the first (and, at that time, only) Steve Madden shoe store had opened on Broadway in SoHo, Stratton Oakmont took the company public at $4 a share. The most active stock on the nasdaq on the day of its offering, SHOO closed at $8 a share, a huge gain in the pre-Internet era. Just a few months later, it sunk to $3. With only $5. 3 million in sales, a net loss of $900,000, and a boom-bust trading history, the company simply seemed to be nother one of Strattons overhyped IPOs. But it wasnt. In 1994, Madden surprised his critics. With hardly any advertising, Madden increased sales by almost 40 percent. The next year, sales tripled to $39 million, prompting Madden to hire Rhonda Brown, the former merchandise president of Macys East, to become his chief of operations. Soon, Madden had celebrity customers Carmen Electra, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Neve Campbell, Alyssa Milano, Mary J. Blige. By 1997, the company was generating $59 million in total sales, operating seventeen stores, and introducing a clothing line designed for a customer who doesnt break the law but does break the rules. That spring, in a lengthy profile in  Footwear News,  Madden compared his company to an underground rock-and-roll band that gets its first hit single. Meanwhile, over in lake success, Porush and Belfort were struggling to stave off failure. While they were still raking in tens of millions a year from stock manipulations, regulators were working to put Stratton out of business. In March 1994, they nearly did: As part of a settlement with the SEC, Belfort was barred from the securities industry for life. But Porush managed to garner a lighter sanction, barred for just one year from supervising other brokers. In the wake of the ruling, Belfort continued to control the firm through Porush. Inevitably, though, the relationship between the partners soured. In January 1997, the company eventually filed for bankruptcy. By that time, Gregory Coleman, an agent in the FBIs securities-fraud squad at 26 Federal Plaza, had been investigating Stratton for several years. In 1995, under instructions from federal prosecutors, Coleman sent out a flurry of subpoenas to some of Strattons clients, including Madden, in an effort to create a panic that would culminate in a race to the governments door. One year later, U. S. Customs officers in Miami arrested a young French private banker who worked for Union Banquaire Privee in Switzerland. The arrest was made as part of an unrelated money-laundering sting operation, but hoping to win a lighter sentence, the banker began to talk. By sheer coincidence, he had two clients who were of particular interest to the government: Jordan Belfort and Danny Porush. On September 2, 1998, just a few minutes after pulling out of the driveway of his Old Brookville mansion to take his 5-year-old daughter to the video store, 36-year-old Jordan Ross Belfort was arrested for conspiracy to commit money laundering and securities fraud. The next day, 41-year-old Daniel Mark Porush was nabbed down in Boca Raton. Faced with maximum sentences of twenty years in prison, both men came to the same conclusion: After only a week in jail, they decided to flip. It was like taking down the heads of a major crime family, says former assistant U. S. ttorney Joel Cohen, the prosecutor in the indictment. But in this case, the organized crime was the brokerage business. Porush and Belfort secretly wore wires to record their friends and dragged down dozens in their wake: lawyers and accountants, bankers and brokers. 3. 3. Effects For the government, Steve Madden was one of the biggest catches in the dragnet. The shoe mogul had been a focus of the investigation for some t ime; the SEC had cited his companys IPO as one of those that had been manipulated, and believed that Madden was routinely getting, and flipping, stock in other Stratton deals. Although some of Strattons IPOs had grown into profitable businesses, only Maddens company had become a significant success. But according to Belfort, the celebrity CEO was also a rat hole, a place to hide stock. Porush, his P. S. 1 buddy, didnt hesitate to give him up either. Madden, as he recently testified at the trial of Strattons former auditor, was deep into the fraud with us. According to the Madden indictments, the designers personal connection to Stratton began in 1991, when Madden agreed to secretly buy and sell stock in Stratton deals on Porushs behalf with the understanding that he would incur no risk. (Porush, as a principal of the firm, was restricted in his ability to trade stock in these companies. ) The deal was that Madden would earn a predetermined profit on each transaction, then kick back to Porush a significant portion of the proceeds, either in cash or by purchasing stock from Stratton that was deliberately overpriced. Once Belfort was barred from the securiti es industry in 1994, Madden allegedly entered a similar agreement with him regarding the Stratton spinoff Monroe Parker. But according to the SEC, Madden wasnt only ripping off the general investing public, he was ripping off his own shareholders as well. In early 1993, the SEC alleges, Madden agreed that the IPO of his company would be a manipulation similar to previous Stratton IPO manipulations . . . such as Master Glaziers Karate International. In exchange for his agreement to follow Porush and Belforts instructions, they allegedly promised that even if SHOO . . . went bankrupt, Madden would make money on the SHOO IPO. In addition, as Belfort recently testified at the Stratton auditors trial, Belfort had a secret deal with Steve Madden to maintain control of his company after it went public. Because Belfort and his partners had financed Steve Madden Limiteds early development, they owned a majority stake in the company before it went public. But the National Association of Securities Dealers refused to list SHOO unless Belfort then under investigation for securities fraud dramatically reduced his stake. As Belfort testified, he agreed to sell his shares to a corporation controlled by Madden to placate the NASD, but it was a bo gus transaction. Under the secret deal which we had written down and legally signed, says Belfort, he was the true owner. Belfort exerted an extraordinary influence over the company. Strattons auditor, who was a friend of Belforts, also became Maddens auditor. In 1994, after Belfort was kicked out of the securities industry, he even joined SHOO as a consultant. In addition, according to Porushs testimony, key Madden employees were given stock in Stratton IPOs as part of their compensation. (A Madden spokesperson denies such an arrangement existed. ) As Porush explained, Part of the package when we recruited people for Steve Madden was . . . because youre in with us, youll make money on every new issue. In 1997, the Belfort-Madden friendship ended abruptly around the time Belfort asked Madden to sell some of the SHOO stock he secretly owned. Madden refused, and the dispute quickly turned into a bitter lawsuit, during which Belfort produced the deal they had signed. Madden admitted the signature was his but insisted he had been manipulated and tricked into signing by someone he had trusted as my friend, business associate, underwriter, and confidant. According to Madden, the demise of the friendship actually preceded the lawsuit, when Belfort started showing up stoned for work. I have no intention of allowing Jordan Belfort to ruin SMLs bright future by threatening me or by tarnishing the companys reputation, Madden vowed at the time. Ultimately, he settled the suit for $4. 3 million in cash, an outcome that favored his adversary. In the fall of 1999, around the time the government went public with the news that Porush and Belfort had been secretly cooperating, the U. S. Attorneys Office approached Maddens personal attorney, Joel Winograd, to discuss its case against his client. Soon, rumors that Madden might be indicted began wending their way around Wall Street. . Assessment As many people saw it, the fact that Madden had an account at Stratt on doesnt mean he knew what Porush and Belfort were doing, let alone that he was in any way involved. Madden was buying stock and making money, buying stock and losing money. He made more than he lost, but he didnt know what improprieties they were involved in. As Madden himself put it in the course of his lawsuit with Jordan Belfort: My strengths as a businessman lie in the design and sale of womens shoes, and I have never been comfortable with complicated or technical legal or business documents . . . I have always relied on the people around me. When asked why Madden employed Belfort as a consultant at Steve Madden Limited in 1994, after he was barred from the securities industry, his lawyer replies, Steve Madden is a loyal friend and a devoted human being. He didnt turn his back on Jordan Belfort in his time of need. And what about the $80,000 cash kickback Madden allegedly gave to a Stratton golf buddy in the locker room of the Engineers Country Club in Roslyn, Long Island? Its totally ridiculous, says Winograd. Cash? The government can explain from here to kingdom come. There is no way Steve would have had that amount of cash, and he wouldnt have had that in a bag walking around a country club. I think these fellows have watched too many spy thrillers. Lets say Steve was fooled, Mr. Madden’s lawyer summarizes. You can be savvy in business, but you may not be savvy in love and friendship. In any case, Steve will overcome, he vows. His company will continue to have record quarters of sales and earnings, and this will have a fairy-tale ending. Perhaps. But even if Madden was acquitted in both of his criminal trials, he still lost the civil case and, control of his company. For Steve Madden Limited, such an outcome might be manageable. Mr. Madden is extremely talented and a tremendous business partner, and hes wonderful, says the companys president, Rhonda Brown. But we could continue to grow our business profitably . . . whether hes on the golf course, or whatever. For Steve Madden the man, it could be devastating. My life, he says, is my company. 5. Conclusions Throughout the paper, we have researched and debated both sides of the issue and conversely presented both approaches by those involved or ever taking interest in the matter. Some say that the fashion mogul got what he deserved, bashing him for being a fraud under a publicly endearing persona, while others, close friends and devoted customers alike, stood behind him and helped if not the man, the company itself from disaster. Should a great visionary not content himself with being the image upfront and the genius behind the empire he built and instead take charge of other key areas that make a business successful rather than trusting others, trusted friends or proven experts with managing them? That may be true and perhaps this was where Mr. Madden made the biggest mistake of all. While the case was and still is controversial, the company succeeded in overcoming the crisis and continues to be among the most profitable and booming shoe fashion business in the States.

Stress Essay -- essays research papers

In years past, careers were milestones, which demonstrated successful accomplishments within our lives. Men utilized their careers to stake claim in society; a way to categorize their family’s worth. â€Å"Honey, I’ll be working late tonight† sometimes signified that the â€Å"gang† would have a long evening of crunching numbers, entertaining clients, or even smoking cigars with the boss while talking shop. If life went according to plan, and you chose the perfect career, the worst part of your workday would be choosing the best tie to match your navy pinstripe suit. Well, things have certainly changed. Careers are no longer guaranteed based on who-ya-know concepts. Today, young men and women both prepare frantically in high school to have the best grades and make the right contacts to ensure that once they graduate, they are accepted in a top-notch colleges, in hopes to transition into the perfect career. Little do they know, that because of the changing times, high demands, advancement in technology, liberal concepts, unethical business practices, etc., careers are no longer work filled bliss and may cause a great deal of work-related stress. When you accept a position for employment, one of your last thoughts is â€Å"gee, I wonder if the work environment here causes a great amount of stress.† Of course, if you are a day trader or a high risk emergency room doctor, you have some idea that your position within the organization will in fact be demanding and have a level of stress that is greater than other careers. But, if you are a bank teller, college professor, or a bus driver, work-related stress may not be a deciding factor when one accepts a new job. There are various definitions defining the word stress. Stress is â€Å"a state of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain,† as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Author Unknown, 2002). Stress can also be comically defined as, â€Å"the confusion created when one’s mind overrides the body’s basic desire to choke the hell out of someone who desperately deserves it† (Author Unknown). Though both definitions accurately describe stress, Robert N. Lussier, author of Human Relations in Organizations, defines stress as â€Å"an emotion and/or physical reaction to environmental activities and events† (Lussier, 2005). When defining work-related stress however, emotional or physical relations that occur are ... ...y and exercise. Exercise produces endorphins, which help make you more upbeat and cheerful. â€Å"Think positive† (Lussier, 2005). It is ok to admit when you are at fault. But, once you do, learn from it, get over it, and move on. There are many ways to detect and treat stress. These are only a few that may be used as a preventative measure. Of all the suggestions listed, the most important is to relax. The old saying goes â€Å"take one day at a time.† Once you have made the accomplishment to get that great job, see it as an opportunity and not a stress filled threat. References Armour, S. (2002, May 16). Employees seek worker’ comp for on-the-job stress. USA Today, News, 01a. Author Unknown (2005, January 27). Management standards for work-related stress.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  January 31, 2005, from http://www.hse.gov.uk.stress/standards/index.htm Author Unknown (2002). Dictionary.com The american heritage ® dictionary of the english language, fourth edition. January 31, 2005, from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=stress Lussier, R.N. (2005). Human relations in organizations: applications and skill-building 6th edition. (pp. 45 – 50). New York, NY: McGraw Hill

Job Interview Role play

Interviewer2: So first of all, please tell me about yourself. Applicant1: Certainly. I completed my degree in Business Studies at the University of Plymouth and spent the summer months travelling Europe with some friends. In the morning, I try to spend some time going to the gym, as I like to keep myself fit and healthy, and also participate with a local football team in the evening. Interviewer1: That sounds wonderful. We have a gym here and we also organise company football tournaments between different branches. We are always looking for team members to join the football squad. So, why are you leaving your current job? Applicant1: Well, it has been great experience working as a Marketing Assistant for the past three years and feel like I am ready for a change. I learnt a great deal with my current employers but am keen to learn more within the industry. Interviewer2: I see. I notice that you are commuting from Brighton and it is an hour journey to our office. If you don’t mind me asking, are you willing to travel between the branches? Applicant1: Absolutely, I enjoy travelling and was keen to experience more, especially when I travelled around Europe. In fact, I am planning to visit a conference at the weekend in Birmingham. Interviewer1: Ohh, that sounds interesting. What conference is that? Applicant1: The conference is about B2B marketing. Interviewer2: Well have fun. What mistakes have you learned from? Applicant1: Actually, when I first started my previous job, I didn’t know anything about business marketing. I had to basically teach myself and continuously ask questions to my boss for guidance. Essentially, I was learning the ropes. One mistake was related to the procedures for keeping information secure. I was given training and implemented this. Interviewer1: Why do you want to work here? Applicant1: Having learned the basics of marketing with my current company, I would like to develop my interest and career with a company which is reputable not just in the UK but abroad. I believe your company would be able to support my aspirations. Interviewer2: Okay. Thank you. I have a few more questions. How do you handle stress and pressure? Applicant1: I believe that the degree course has provided me with the opportunity to multitask and stick to a deadline. I also am used to dealing with prioritising my workload and working as part of a team. Obviously, I am aware that on occasions I am expected to contribute and I hope that the skills that I have gained will enable me to assist with any future projects. Interview1: Thank you for this. Finally, what are your salary expectations? Applicant1: Well, I started my marketing career three years ago and still open to develop professionally. Therefore, I expect to earn a salary commensurate to my qualifications and experience. Interview2: Do you have any questions for us? Applicant1: Not at the moment. Interviewer1: Well thank you for taking the time to answer the questions and we shall be in touch in the next few days. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. Applicant1: Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Applicant2 Interviewer1: Good afternoon, please have a seat. Applicant2: Thank you. Interviewer2: How are you doing today? Did you have any trouble finding the office? Applicant2: I'm fine thank you, and I had no trouble at all getting here. Interviewer1: Great. Well let's get started. Could you tell me about yourself? Applicant2: I graduated from Khon-Kaen University with a major in communications. I’ve been working for the past year in public relations at a small company, but I’m looking to expand my horizons now and work for a larger corporate company like this one. Interviewer2: Why are you interested in this position? Applicant2: I saw on your website that your company does a lot of work for improving literacy levels in public schools. In college, I participated in a number of programs like XBMC, Flip Publisher, and Microsoft Office that aimed to encourage students in their education. I think that it would be a rewarding learning experience for me, and I believe that I could use my past experiences to excel in the position. Interviewer1: What’s one of your weaknesses? Applicant2: I would say that I’m not very experienced in making presentations. In my last job, I did not have a lot of opportunities to practice my public speaking because the company was so small. I would really like to work in a place that could allow me to develop that skill further. Interviewer1: Tell me about your worst boss. Applicant2: I’ve been very fortunate to not have any awful supervisors. With all of my bosses, I’ve learned a lot and discovered what type of management style I work the best under. I definitely respond better to set guidelines and organization, so my worst experience was with a supervisor who was a little disorganized. I learned how to work well in that kind of environment though because of my time with him. It’s important to use every challenging experience as a way to learn and improve, so I couldn’t call one boss worse than another. Interviewer2: How do others describe you? Applicant2: Erm†¦my colleagues describe me as a hard worker. I’m the first one to lend a hand in a project when it is needed. I’ve always been very self-motivated, and my colleagues know that they can count on me. When I first started at my last job, it was a new field for me. I had to ask for a lot of help at first, but I worked hard. My colleagues saw how quickly I improved in the first couple of months, and they respect me for that now. Interviewer1: Why are you the best candidate for this position? Applicant2: I’m really impressed by the work that your company does. I have had a lot of experience in the past working in similar fields, so I think I would fit in well. I am sure there are a lot of other qualified candidates for the job, but I am passionate about this work. I would dedicate myself to doing the best possible work. Interviewer2: Great! So, how do you thing you fit in our organization? Applicant2: I wish to make a career in IT industry and keeping in mind my long term goals, I believe that associating with this organization will be the most prudent step. In here, I would surely be able to further utilize my skills in the most effective manner and also, obtain a chance of acquiring newer skills and honing the same. Interviewer1: Do you have any questions for us? Or, is there anything about the company that I haven’t told you? Applicant2: Well. What is the salary for this position? Interviewer2: You can identify it by yourself, so we separately spend on your healthcare, flextime and vocation time. Applicant2:Oh! I see. Interviewer1: You have to joy us first, and you will know all of the questions which you were wondering. I think. Well, thank you for your time. We'll be making a selection in a couple of days and will call you one way or the other. Applicant2: Thank you for seeing me. Have a pleasant day.

Moral issues in like water for chocolate

Esquivel’s creates loose morals in several ways. First, she begins with the title â€Å"Like water for chocolate.† A locution which translates as â€Å"Water to the boiling point,† and is used as a simile in Mexico to describe any event or relationship that is so intense, hot, and extraordinary that it can only be compared to scalding water on the verge of boiling point. The second is the relationship between Pedro and Josephina, known as Tita. Born the youngest, of the three sisters, she is destined by Mexican culture to take care of her tyrannical righteous mother, Mama Elena, until she dies. The mother-daughter relationship is fraught with difficulty from its inception, when Tita is brought into the world prematurely after her father’s sudden death. Mama Elena is the opposite of a nurturer, never forging any bond with Tita. Tita, as a result develops a relationship with food that gives her power later. Tita’s oldest sister Rosaura marries Pedro after Mama Elena orders her too. Pedro agrees, and a heartbroken, angry Tita, begins to find her strength in her cooking, using it to express her sadness, love, joy, and anger. Her emotions and passions are impetus for expression and action, not through the normal means of communication, however through the food she prepares which begin to affect the people she feeds. It especially affects her sister’s husband’s Pedro, leading them to an affair. Only then she is able to consummate her love with Pedro through the food she serves. This is clearly much more than communication through food or mere aphrodisiac; this is a form of sexual release whereby the rose petal sauce the quail recipe represents Tita’s body. The revelation that Mama Elena had an adulterous affair with an African American, and her second daughter, Gertrudis is the offspring of that relationship is an important thematic compliment to Tita’s deprivation. This transgression of the norms of proper behavior remains hidden from public view, although there is gossip, however it is only when Mama Elena dies when Tita learns Gertrudis, is her half-sister. The life long tyranny of the mother toward Tita is a result of Mama Elena’s shame and lost love. The reaction of these women to Mama Elena’s predicament helps delineate their differing characters. Mama Elena is angry and punishes everybody else for her loss of love turning her into a sinister and domineering mother to her daughters meanwhile Tita, takes her sadness of her lost love, making it work for her through her cooking. The oldest daughter, Rosaura never questions her mother’s authority and tries to follow her dictation submissively. After she is married she becomes a pale comparison of Mama Elena, lacking the strength, skill, and determination of her mother. She therefore tries to live the model, invoking her mother’s authority because she has none of her own. Gertrudis does not challenge her mother but instead responds to her emotions and passions in a direct manner unbecoming a lady. This physical directness leads her to adopt an androgynous life-style and leaves home and her mother’s authority escapes from the brothel and becomes a general of the Revolutionary army, taking a subordinate as a lover. She returns home as a dominant sexual, being dressing like a man, and giving orders like a man. Tita, the youngest of the three sisters, speaks out against her mother’s authority arbitrary rule but cannot escape until she temporarily loses her mind. She induces sadness, and physical discomfort through her cooking by keeping Rosaura, fat, having bad breath, and frequently breaking nauseating wind, therefore keeping Pedro from having sexual  relations with her and becomes pregnant with Pedro’s child. Thus we get to know these woman as persons however, above all, becomes involved with the embodied speaking subject from the past, Tita, represents by her grand-niece (who tells the story) and her cooking. The reader receives verbal food as an imaginative refiguration of one’s woman response to the model that was imposed on her on her by accident of birth. The body of these women is in the place of the living. It is the dwelling place of the human subject. The essential questions of health, illness, pregnancy, childbirth, sexual, and morals are tied together very directly in the novel to the emotional and physical needs of the body. The preparation and eating of food is thus a symbolic representation of living. Mama Elena lingers on in partial madness until long after an attack on the hacienda by outlaws; convinced that Tita is trying to poison her. She cuts her death short to one sudden violent episode and having her visage returns to taunt Tita by cursing the child she is carrying and to renounce her heritage. Tita defeats the ghost by telling her that she knows Gertrudis is illegitimate and hates Mama Elena for everything she never been to her. The rigidity and harshness of Mama Elena is overwhelmingly sociocultural and not peculiar to Tita as a victim. The cook Nacha, who is the only one who gives Tita the love she always wanted from her mother, represents a symbol of integrity. She is the one who teaches Tita how to express her feelings through cooking. Tita herself is a symbol of integrity in the beginning of the book. The writer shows her as a victim of archaic cultural rules keeping her from her one true love. It is only until she realizes her power through her cooking when she loosens her moral integrity to take revenge at the people who have hurt her.   So, this makes Tita a hero fighting against the tyranny of Mama Elena. Tita’s magic are all related to food, with the exception of the kilometer long bedspread she knits during lengthy nights of insomnia. Tita’s cooking controls the pattern of those living in the household because the food she prepares is an extension of her. The vomiting and moroseness at Rosaura’s wedding, is the result of the guests eating the cake of Tita’s tears. Likewise, the sexual frenzy that compels Gertrudis to leave the ranch is occasioned by the transmission of Tita’s passion for Pedro into the dish she prepares for dinner. These incidents suggest a simultaneous and uncontrollability of emotion; food is a potent force in the world of the novel, and lets Tita assert her identity through immorality like her sisters and mother. Esquivel extends the religious–mythical morals of magical realism to the everyday world of the domestic realm of a female-dominated household. This strategy leads the reader to also explore the feminist properties of â€Å"Like water for chocolate†, which are also evident in the depictions of Tita’s struggle for independence and develop her identity through her immorality. In creating this female-centered cast of characters, Esquivel imagines a world in which men are physically present occasionally, though the legacy of sexism and the confinement of woman to freely express their emotions to the domestic sphere persist. Esquivel does not offer readers the vision of a Utopian sisterhood, Esquivel instead brings insight into the way women are restricted by standards of societal propriety perpetuated by other woman. Reference site: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel                                                                                                                                                

Free Essays on Powerful Women

Power, Do Women Really Want It? & The 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business The two articles listed above share a common topic, the role of women in business. The thought behind the first article is that even though many women are capable of holding high level positions, a large number of them don’t want to. However, the same women feel that one day there will be a balance of men and women at the top of the corporate ladder. In light of these two conflicting ideas, the question arises: who are the women that will be at the top? One reason why women don’t want to be powerful is because they have a different idea of â€Å"power† than men do. Some women, like Jenny Ming and Meg Whitman, see power as â€Å"in your face and aggressive† or having â€Å"a negative connotation.† Others, like Gail Berman, feel that power is a turnoff and don’t want it. The fact is that women, or at least the one’s in this article, see power as an influence rather than a rank. Influence through power is something that a majority of women aren’t interested in. They, like Anne Mulcahy of Xerox, would rather lead by other means. Having a demeanor that frightens, or worries people is simply not the type of leadership style that the majority of women want to possess. In fact, when the word leadership is substituted for power, practically every woman expressed wholeheartedly that they wanted to have leadership. Therefore, it seems to be that women do want to be leaders, executives, a nd CEOs, they just have a different interpretation of the word power than the majority of men do. However, there is another theory that women simply don’t want power, or leadership, or any other form of the word. A study at General Electric found that voluntary annual turnover for women was 1.5% higher than that of men. Other studies find that 26% of professional women have no desire to hold positions at higher levels, despite the fact that they are ... Free Essays on Powerful Women Free Essays on Powerful Women Power, Do Women Really Want It? & The 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business The two articles listed above share a common topic, the role of women in business. The thought behind the first article is that even though many women are capable of holding high level positions, a large number of them don’t want to. However, the same women feel that one day there will be a balance of men and women at the top of the corporate ladder. In light of these two conflicting ideas, the question arises: who are the women that will be at the top? One reason why women don’t want to be powerful is because they have a different idea of â€Å"power† than men do. Some women, like Jenny Ming and Meg Whitman, see power as â€Å"in your face and aggressive† or having â€Å"a negative connotation.† Others, like Gail Berman, feel that power is a turnoff and don’t want it. The fact is that women, or at least the one’s in this article, see power as an influence rather than a rank. Influence through power is something that a majority of women aren’t interested in. They, like Anne Mulcahy of Xerox, would rather lead by other means. Having a demeanor that frightens, or worries people is simply not the type of leadership style that the majority of women want to possess. In fact, when the word leadership is substituted for power, practically every woman expressed wholeheartedly that they wanted to have leadership. Therefore, it seems to be that women do want to be leaders, executives, a nd CEOs, they just have a different interpretation of the word power than the majority of men do. However, there is another theory that women simply don’t want power, or leadership, or any other form of the word. A study at General Electric found that voluntary annual turnover for women was 1.5% higher than that of men. Other studies find that 26% of professional women have no desire to hold positions at higher levels, despite the fact that they are ...

Australian Business Sustainabilit Report

G4 GRI Guidelines offers guidance in a user friendly manner and helps in improving the technical quality of the guidelines, so as to eliminate the chances of ambiguity and diverse interpretations, so that it benefits the users and reports of such information, in a uniform manner. These guidelines help in focusing upon what matters and where it matters. These guidelines also enable the identification of the critical matters which have to be managed and changed, and if the entity is ready to manage such matters or not. Further, these guidelines are focused on the material sustainability related issues. Corporate Governance refers to the practices, standards, and rules, which a company has to follow, to ensure that the company works in a justified manner. Corporate Governance involves social responsibility and relates to balance of the interests of the various stakeholders, including the customers, financiers, shareholders, management, community, as well as, the government. Corporate governance includes the decisions made by the management of the company and often involves a lot of issues with it. The Board of the company has been committed in providing satisfactory returns to its stakeholders, as well as, fulfilling the obligations, along with the responsibilities associated with corporate governance, in the best interest of the company. The company is working towards ensuring that the composition of the Board has the appropriate mix of skills, as well as, is as per the corporate governance standards. The company has to face issues regarding the independent status of one of its directors and had to review the position as well as relationship of all of its directors (Wesfarmers, 2015). The company also complies with the Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations issued by the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s third edition (Wesfarmers, 2015). Wesfarmers is affected by various material sustainability issues. To help the social issues, the company supports the local communities, especially in cases of natural disasters. Further, to monitor the quality issues related to the products of the company, the company offers ‘Greener Work Place’, as well as measures the delivered in-full on time. Other issues relating to the matter of corporate governance and social responsibility relates to the inherent risk associated with the operations of Wesfarmers, for instance, the safety incidents, the supply chain issues, and the products-services liability risks. The company is constantly engaged with its stakeholders to understand the issues which affect them (Wesfarmers, 2015). These issues are addressed and the progress is reported in the sustainability report of the company. The sustainability issues are managed by the Board of the company at divisional level and are regularly reported. In the following parts, these issues affecting the various stakeholders of the company, in line of the G4 GRE Guidelines have been highlighted. The company has been following a range of G4 GRI Guidelines (Wesfarmers, 2015). The level of self-adherence of these guidelines has been summarized below: G4-DMA, G4-EN15, G4-EN16, and G4-EN17 Social: Labor Practices And Decent Work Equal Remuneration For Women And Men Supplier Assessment For Labor Practices Freedom Of Association And Collective Bargaining The level of adherence of these guidelines for the year 2014 and 2015 has been summarized below. A comparison has also been made, along with the comments on the noncompliance of the particular guidelines. The company is responsible for providing employment to one out of 55 Australians. The company earns 98% of its revenues from the country, as well as, 75% of the shares of the company on issue, are held in the country (Wesfarmers, 2014). The company had employed 207282 people till June 2014. The statistics reveal that for the year 2014, the company had made direct contributions amounting to 44.6 million dollars and the indirect contributions amounting to 50.8 million dollars (Wesfarmers, 2014). This makes the community contributions, by the Wesfarmers group as 95.4 million dollars (Wesfarmers, 2014). The company meets the very basic needs of the community by providing food, tools, as well as, clothing to the community. The company is responsible for providing employment to one out of 59 Australians (Wesfarmers, 2015). The company has been paying taxes regularly and also provides the necessary support to the nonprofit organizations. The company earns 98% of its revenues from the country, as well as, 80% of the shares of the company on issue, are held in the country (Wesfarmers, 2015). This creates a major positive impact on the economy of Australia, along with contributing to the other economies. The company paid $43,045 million to the suppliers, in addition to the wages and salaries, where the company paid more than $7,830 million to its 205000 employees. Further, the company paid $1,578 million in royalties, taxes, and levies, and $2,246 million in dividends to our 500,000 shareholders (Wesfarmers, 2015). The company has contributed $50 million to community organizations which equals to 1.5 per cent of profit before income tax. Further, the company has assisted in donations from employees and customers, which totals to $52.7 million (Wesfarmers, 2015). The statistics reveal that for the year 2015, the company had made direct contributions amounting to 50 million dollars and the indirect contributions amounting to 52.9 million dollars. This makes the community contributions, by the Wesfarmers group as 102.9 million dollars (Wesfarmers, 2015). A special attention is paid in the matters like gender diversity, as well as, the inclusion of the Indigenous people. The company has increased the share of providing employment to the people. Further, the company has also increased the share on issue within the country. The company is regularly paying special attention to the matters like gender diversity, as well as, the inclusion of the Indigenous people. So, in comparison to 2014, in the year 2015, the company has maintained and excelled at it’s the G4 GRI Guidelines. The company noticed a decrease in the emissions intensity, along with increasing the activities of recycling. The Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity showed a decrease by eight per cent as compared to 2013. The green house emissions by Coles decreased this year, but the emissions at Target increased by 6.8 per cent. The company is also trying to reduce the usage of water, along with finding more sustainable sources of water (Wesfarmers, 2014). The company monitors and manages its greenhouse gas emissions, along with the possibility of reducing them. The company has realized the importance of reducing waste creates not only environmental benefits, but benefits for the business as well. And so, the company has taken steps to divert its waste to recycling throughout the entire life cycle of the product. The company is also trying to reduce the usage of water, along with finding more sustainable sources of water. The company has taken steps to protect the biodiversity. In order to manage this, the company has established an offset area at Mt Flora, so as to compensate the loss of 220 hectares to the ecological community. The Scope 1 and 2 emissions (CO2e) totaled to 4,011,584. The Scope 33 emissions (CO2e) contained the transport emissions at 13000, the air travel at 27337, the waste at 154701, the transmission and distribution of electricity at 474,622, and the LPG, natural gas and diesel at 103,110. The Equity proportion of joint venture businesses (CO2e) were reported at 275140. And the Emissions intensity (CO2e/$1 million revenue) was at 64.2 (Wesfarmers, 2015). There was a one percent decrease in the Scope 1 and 2 emissions (CO2e). The Scope 33 emissions (CO2e) are not comparable directly as the transport emissions were not included last year. If the transport emissions are excluded, there is a seven percent decrease in these emissions. There has been a four percent increase in t the Equity proportion of joint venture businesses (CO2e). And the Emissions intensity (CO2e/$1 million revenue) reported a one percent decrease. So, it can be seen that the emission intensity of the company has decreased overall. The Company is continuously trying to reduce the usage of water, along with finding more sustainable sources of water. The Total Recordable injury frequency rate was 42.7 this year. The Lost time injury frequency rate for this year was 7.7 percent. The workers’ compensation claims for 2014 were 6940 (Wesfarmers, 2014). As covered above, the company provides employment to one out of every 59 people in Australia. 59 percent of the wealth of the company is distributed in terms of wages, benefits and salaries to the employees. The safety of the workplace is the highest priority for the company. The Total Recordable injury frequency rate was 39.5 this year. The Lost time injury frequency rate for this year was 7.3 percent. The workers’ compensation claims for 2015 were 7462 (Wesfarmers, 2015). There has been a 7.5 percent improvement in the Total Recordable injury frequency rate.   The Lost time injury frequency rate was reduced by 5.2 percent. The workers’ compensation claims decreased by 7 percent. The company failed to provide the breakdown of its employee turnover as per age group; the breakdown of Total Recordable injury frequency rate and the Lost time injury frequency rate; and the aggregate ratio. The company focused towards improving the ethical sourcing of its products. This was done by strengthening the supply chain, as well as, increasing the transparency. The company sources its products from a wide range of location. Some of these nations follow lower levels of regulations and hence, the company is vigilant regarding the associated risks. The company also follows an ethical sourcing policy by setting minimum standards. The company failed to provide the percentage of the employees it trained. The company complies with all the laws, as well as, regulations of all the countries, in which it conducts its business and acts in an ethical way. The anti-bribery policy of the company prohibits the political donations at both business unit, as well as, divisional level. If any such contributions are made, they are thoroughly published on the website of the company. And for the year 2014, no such contributions were made. The company also considers the needs and the interests of its stakeholders. The Company incurred significant fine to the amount of $10 million in penalty by the ACCC for Supplier Unconscionable Conduct, along with a $2.5 million penalty for ACCC/bread litigation case (Wesfarmers, 2015). The compliance levels have been same in both the years. Though, the significant fines were incurred in certain cases in the year 2015, which was not the case in 2014. This implies that the level of compliance has been breached in 2015. The company has continued the innovation of the range of its products, as well as, its categories across all businesses. The company is also committed towards delivering safe and sustainable products, as well as, services to its customers. Even though there are minimal particular legal requirements for the restrictive use of chemicals in production, the company has decided to adopt a range of such aspects of the European Community Regulation. Coles had a significant fine to the amount of $38,250 for incorrect importation classification of cat litter (Wesfarmers, 2015). The company failed to provide the percentage of the categories of the products. In comparison to 2014, the company incurred significant fine in 2015, so, in this aspect also, the company has declined. The company submitted this report for the GRI Content Index Service. The accuracy of the GRI G4 Content Index was then, confirmed by the GRI. Since, the reported was directly confirmed by GRI, the need for assurance, does not arise. The sustainability report for both 2014 and 2015 did not cover clear and defined targets. Further, this report was not user friendly, as a person had to toggle between lots of windows to find the relevant information, pertaining to a particular guideline. And even after that, some of the information was not available easily and had to be searched from the Annual Report. Though, the company has covered all the relevant applicable guidelines which are applicable on it. The Guidelines followed by the company, in 2014 (Australia) and 2015 (Japan), have been compared below: G4-DMA, G4-EN15, G4-EN16, G4-EN17, G4-EN18, G4-EN19, G4-EN20, and G4-EN21 G4-DMA, G4-EN22, G4-EN23, G4-EN24, and G4-EN26 Supplier assessment for labor practices Equal remuneration for women and men Labor Practices Grievance Mechanisms Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Supplier Assessment for Impacts on Society Grievance Mechanisms for Impacts on Society The G4 GRI Guidelines are company specific, industry specific, and country specific. The business of each company varies from the other, in some aspect or the other. These aspects result in a difference in the adherence to the guidelines. Further, the decisions of the senior management, as well as, the strategies of the companies, influence which guidelines would be adopted by it (Salter Baxter, 2012). The strategic priorities, along with the targets of the firm, also have an impact on the selection of these guidelines (GRI, 2016). The nature of the work of a company, also changes the adherence to these guidelines. For instance, a vehicle manufacturing company would have to follow different guidelines, as compared to a food manufacturing company. Organizations have a range of topics, which they could report. The relevant topics would be such that reflect the entity’s economic, environmental, as well as, the social impacts on the stakeholders. Materiality is the starting point, according to which the Aspects become adequately significant, in a way that the need of reporting them, arises. A blend of the external, as well as, internal factors determines whether the Aspect is material (GRI, 2016). This includes the factors like the mission, vision, competitive strategy, concerns of stakeholders, social expectations, and the influence of the entity on the suppliers, as well as the customers. The second factor that influences the applicability of these guidelines is the industry. The type of the industry also has an impact over the applicability of these guidelines (GRI, 2016). For example, the polluting industry would have different guidelines applicable on it as compared to a non polluting industry. The last factor, the one applicable in this case, is the country specific guidelines. Even though the G4 GRI Guidelines are uniform across the globe, but each country has a different set of applicable legislations (GRI, 2016). And so, depending upon such applicability, these guidelines apply on the company. The sustainability report of Fuji Xerox comparison for 2014, was made in Australia and the sustainability report of Fuji Xerox comparison for 2015, was made in Japan. So, to summarize, the legislations, along with the internal and external factors of the company, are responsible for the difference in the reports produced in Australia (2014) and Japan (2015). The company has grown in the Australian market, from AU$400 million in 1999 to about AU$1 billion in 2014 (Fuji Xerox, 2014). Despite the changes in the industry, the company has improved upon its profitability, as well as, has been successful in creating suitable growth, along with financial stability for the longer run. But the company achieved the consolidated revenues to the amount of AUS$1 billion which was a 3% decline in comparison to previous year (Fuji Xerox, 2014). The community investment amounted to $506412 with 3412 hours of volunteering in order to nurture the future generation. For the year 2014, 57.3 percent of the company’s procurement expenditure was on equipment, which equated to AU$580 million, towards the supplies, as well as, consumables. This was the most significant aspect of the company’s supply chain (Fuji Xerox, 2014). The consolidated revenue and the consolidated net income before income taxes for this year amounted to 1188.9 billion yen and 91.9 billion yen respectively (Fuji Xerox, 2015). There was a remarkable improvement from the last year in the revenues, as well as, ordinary profits. The goals were set for social contribution spending as this segment noticed a decline as compared to previous year. Though there was an increase in the number of participants compared to the previous year. For the year 2014, the air freight to the sea freight split was reported at 4.1% to 95.9%, which was a 1.5% improvement as compared to the previous year. Objectives were set for 2015 regarding the â€Å"procuring responsibly outlook†. All of the mills fulfill an annual based environmental questionnaire to meet the ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. Further, these are monitored for compliance as per the labor standards, specially pertaining to the child labor aspects. The paper sold to the customers of Australia, were a 100% FSC carbon neutral, PEFC certified, FSC certified or made out of recycled material (Fuji Xerox, 2014).   The company is focused towards recycling as well as reducing the CO 2 emissions throughout the life cycle of the products. Out of the 83% of the employees who commenced the annual performance review cycle for this year, only 49% of them could complete the formal review process. 45% of the female and 50% of the male workforce completed these reviews. Further, extensive sales training was undertaken during this year (Fuji Xerox, 2014).   The company has identified its risks and opportunities in this segment, as well as, has set standards to be achieved during the coming fiscal years. During this year, no judgments were made, regarding discrimination, against the company or any of its employees. The few complaints which were received from the employees, including the complaints regarding discrimination, were handled strictly, and appropriate process was taken up to take the necessary actions after determining the facts. The company has identified and outlined a high priority management theme which takes into account the social circumstances, the nature of the business, and the management goals. High priority is placed on the communication as well as monitoring in order to help the management in incorporating the stakeholder evaluations along with the feedback into the management process. Due to stringent ethics and compliance norms, the company is able to fulfill its commitments towards anti-corruption and anti-competitive behavior. The company understands the needs of its customers and delivers on its promises. Through these, the company is able to deliver value to its customers and benefiting the environment through the Green Print technologies, as well as, services, sustainable paper supplies together with the new NCOS carbon neutral certified products, as well as, optimized print environments. The company has recognized the importance of product safety and has made it an overriding priority. This year also, the company held a product safety forum to eliminate product safety accidents. From the above data, it can be deduced that the 2014 sustainability report prepared in Australia, follows lesser norms as compared to the 2015 sustainability report prepared in Japan. Due to the stringent policies in Japan, the same company has to follow a lot more guidelines. Further, the targets have been more clearly set in the 2015 report, which was clearly missing in the 2014 report. Corporate governance, sustainability and social responsibility are interlinked terms and none of it can be used exclusively. Each of these terms intertwines their paths, in one aspect or the other, as was seen in the case of Wesfarmers. The various issues faced by the company, Wesfarmers, included the concepts of not only corporate responsibility, but also interlinked with the G4 GRE Guidelines. From the above analysis, it can be concluded that Wesfarmers has taken a lot of steps, to ensure that it follows, both the principles of corporate governance, as well as the sustainability guidelines. The comparison of the G4 GRE Guidelines by Wesfarmers highlighted the variances in the adoption of the appropriate guidelines. But due to the number of non-compliances, as well as penalties, in the year 2015, by Wesfarmers, it is recommended to the company that it ensures that the guidelines are properly followed. Further, such instances also portray that the principles of corporate governance are not adequately followed, and hence, the company needs to follow these principles in a proper manner, and ensure that the incidents of penalties, are not repeated. From the above analysis of the two companies, it can be concluded that a lot of factors impact the G4 GRI guidelines reporting by a company. A same company, in two different companies can face disparities in the reporting guidelines. Further, the type of the company decides the applicability of the particular guideline on a company. And from the above analysis, it is recommended to the Wesfarmers Limited, to set out particular targets to be achieved regarding the adopted guidelines. Further, the company has to ensure that it follows the guidelines, instead of getting cases established against it, which are detrimental to these guidelines. Fuji Xerox had presented two different reports, due to the change in the nations. Being in different nations, different guidelines are to be followed by the company. To conclude, the reason for variance in the sustainability reporting of Fuji Xerox is the result of the applicability different standards. So, it is it is recommended to Fuji Xerox, to follow the same set of guidelines, throughout all its branches, whether in this country or in Japan. This can be done as the guidelines are uniform across the globe, and so, common guidelines can, in fact, be adopted. Furthermore, Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Limited should set out specific targets as is done by its Japanese counterpart. This assignment was formulated in a way, so as to test my skills regarding the location, as well as, interpretation of the information. Before starting this assignment, I was under the view that the G4 GRI Guidelines just cover the aspects in a broad and general manner. Further, I was under the impression, that a small report could cover every aspect of this guideline. However, my views were changed when I undertook this assignment. The first thing I learned was the number of disclosures undertaken by a company and the extent of disclosures. Even though the headings state economic, environment and social, but it is more than it. Each aspect had a number of standards to be followed. This assignment helped me in clarifying how the corporate governance issues affect the working of any company. Before starting of this assignment task, I had read many principles of corporate governance, but the practicality of such principles was highlighted only after reading about the issues associated with it, in the case of Wesfarmers. The detail and extent of such issues, and the care taken by the companies to ensure the proper compliance, made me realize the importance of such principles. By analyzing the data of two companies, over two years, especially when one of it had reported the two reports in different countries, has given me an idea about the factors that have an impact on the applicability of these standards. The integration of these guidelines in the functioning of these companies was also worth noting. Though, a huge issue that I encountered while making this assignment was the difficulty in locating the information, especially for the part A of this assignment. The information was not properly presented in case of Wesfarmers, but for Fuji Xerox, the information was easily accessible, as well as, interpretable. By gaining the insights on these guidelines in the working of the companies, I was able to clear my concepts related to the integration of reporting in the Aspects covered under these guidelines. Further, this knowledge would help me in my future jobs, as now I have attained a practical understanding regarding the aspects associated with the sustainability reporting. In the future, when I become a manager, or a part of the higher management, this understanding would help me in applicability of the various regulations and standards followed by the companies. Further, by carrying out real time case study of two companies, I have gained insight on how to resolve the issues associated with sustainability and corporate governance. Fuji Xerox. (2014) Fuji Xerox Australia Sustainability Report 2014. [Online] Fuji Xerox. Available from: https://www.fxasustainability.com.au/2014/report.php [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Fuji Xerox. (2014) GRI G4 content index in accordance - Core. [Online] Fuji Xerox. Available from: https://www.fxasustainability.com.au/2014/gri_g4_content_index_in_accordance-core.pdf [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Fuji Xerox. (2014) Report Centre 2014. [Online] Fuji Xerox. Available from: https://www.fxasustainability.com.au/2014/ [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Fuji Xerox. (2015) GRI Guidelines. [Online] Fuji Xerox. Available from: https://www.fujixerox.com/eng/company/sr/2015/guidelines.html#sec10 [Accessed on: 07/10/16] GRI. (2016) G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. [Online] GRI. Available from: https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/g4/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed on: 07/10/16] GRI. (2016) Materiality. [Online] GRI. Available from: https://g4.globalreporting.org/how-you-should-report/reporting-principles/principles-for-defining-report-content/materiality/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Salter Baxter. (2012) The five things you really need to know about GRI G4. [Online] Salter Baxter. Available from: https://www.salterbaxter.com/the-five-things-you-really-need-to-know-about-gri-g4/ [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Wesfarmers. (2014) 2014 Sustainability Report. [Online] Wesfarmers. Available from: https://www.wesresources.com.au/sustainability_report_2014/ [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Wesfarmers. (2014) Sustainability Report 2014. [Online] Wesfarmers. Available from: https://2014.sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au/ [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Wesfarmers. (2015) 2015 Annual Report. [Online] Wesfarmers. Available from: https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20150917/pdf/431d8fyj0rz8zy.pdf [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Wesfarmers. (2015) 2015 Sustainability Report. [Online] Wesfarmers. Available from: https://www.wesresources.com.au/sustainability_report_2015/ [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Wesfarmers. (2015) GRI G4 Content Index. [Online] Wesfarmers. Available from: https://www.sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au/our-data/gri-g4-content-index/ [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Wesfarmers. (2015) Sustainability at Wesfarmers. [Online] Wesfarmers. Available from: https://sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au/our-approach/sustainability-at-wesfarmers/ [Accessed on: 07/10/16] Wesfarmers. (2015) Sustainability Report 2015. [Online] Wesfarmers. Available from: https://2015.sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au/ [Accessed on: 07/10/16]

Scandinavian Settlement in Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Scandinavian Settlement in Britain - Essay Example The Danish settlement of the territory of Five Boroughs was mainly considered simply and solely for their military character and the settlements were considered as results of the settling of the members of the army. Stenton and many others considered the hybrid names arose when the Danish army divided the land when they chose it for settlement. There was little consideration for the immigration angle. The historical significance of the Grimson-Hybrid, a term which has been given to those place names in which the first element is a Scandinavian personal name and the second element is Old English tus, is interpreted by Sir Frank Stenton and Dr. F. T. Wainright. Stenton pointed out their distribution in Nottignhamshire, their geographical positions, their historical background and suggested that it is unlikely that the villages with such names denoted new settlements of the Danes, but it is possible that they denoted acquirement of English villages by the Danish owner when the Danish Army divided out the land which it has chosen for settlement. But he argued that it does not mean that the English peasantry had been desettled by the Danish lords. He further argued that name of those villages were influenced by the local circumstances like the relative number of Englishmen and Danes lived thereby. Dr. Wainright, while accepting this theory pointed out that they are representative of an early phase of Scandinavian settlement. ... Wainright agreed to an argument put forward by Ekwall that there may have been many Danes where the hybrids occur, but there was also a powerful English element in the local population. Wainright felt that the Crimson-hybrids represented the movement of Danes from their initial settlements into English populated areas and where they met and mingled with them. Wainright argued that linguistically the Danes were strong enough to influence but not strong enough to dominate the English. He cites example of the linguistic balance illustrated by names, which appear with -bi in Domesday Book, but later changed to -ton to substantiate his argument. However Professor Hugh smith suggested that the names of the new Danish owners of those villages replaced those of the disposed English owners. Mr. Kenneth Cameron added one more dimension while agreeing to Stenton's argument that is of choice of site. He gave examples of Dove and Trent, which were on excellent agricultural land. Mr. P. H. Sawyer, challenging the theory of importance of the Grimston-hybrids as evidence for Scandinavian settlement, argued that Men of English descent also borne Scandinavian personal names in England and it can not be construed from the hybrid names that they are evidence of Scandinavian settlement. He was true in this context. In the history of English it is seen that Scandinavian personal names were adopted into general use and their use does not necessarily prove the racial origin of the men and women who bore them. To negate Sawyer's argument, it can be demonstrated that Grimston-hybrids fall into well defined topographical patterns and that they do show correlations to other names in the same areas. It also can be demonstrated that they are not