The Geranium

Date: 15/02/10 Title: The Geranium Text type: Short story Author: Patricia Grace This short story, ‘The Geranium', by Patricia Grace and published 1993, is a perfect example of Battered woman syndrome and the mental effects it has on a person in this case Marney. In the geranium, the main character, Marney is a stay at home mother. She cleans intensely all day and seems rather dull. She does not leave the house even when one of the girls tells her to â€Å"come for a stretch. † You know she is hesitant and you can feel that there is something stopping her from leaving. There seems to be a routine of non-stop cleaning, because when her friends, Sandra and Joe, come over this doesn't stop her from making sure things are clean, she even sets down paper to stop the floor getting dirty again. Her life is so boring that the highlight of her week is the arrival of the â€Å"paper that came on a Wednesday. † The paper is a widow to the outside world that she is no longer able to access. Although the paper shows her all kinds of things she could do and clubs she could enter, she can’t because of a mental block built up by the continuous abuse from Bob. The conflict becomes more clear with the return of Bob her husband. When Bob comes home he immediately starts demands what she has been doing all day. He asks questions about whether she’s been digging and cleaning and who’s been over. He is so controlling that he has to know ever little detail to make sure he does not â€Å"find out different. † When he finds out about â€Å"The Geranium† he tells her to â€Å"chuck that thing out. † This is a clear demonstration of his control, because Marney throws it away without question even though earlier we see that she really wanted it. These demonstrations of Bob’s dominance show us the reason for Marney’s resistance to leave for the shops earlier and why she finds the housework so important. The conflict is resolved when Marney throws out the Geranium at Bob’s command. This part of the story is significant because it is Marney’s chance to stand up for something she wants. We see earlier in the story that the Geranium is something that she has wanted; it is something to bring some colour into her dull, boring, grey life. A bit of change to brighten her days. But she is damaged from her abuse, and shows she has no freewill. Immediately faltering under Bob’s orders she â€Å"put it into [a] scrap bucket† as if it was of little matter to her. The â€Å"sink emptying† is her life being drained away. She watches as her life is taken away from here, because she was unable to speak up. She has let her chance slip away and has been doomed to the same dull days. I think the ideas that Patricia Grace is trying to get across is that; domestic violence isn’t all physical, that it can happen very much behind the scenes and the ways in which it can affect people. Although we get hints that Marney is physically abused such as; when Grace mentions that Marney â€Å"would put on her cardigan to hide her arm,† and when Bob grips her arm until it hurts, we never actually get any evidence of serious physical abuse. When the Sandra and Joe come over they dress Bob up as an amazing guy compared to their drunkard partners. Bob always has the groceries, and doesn’t come home drunk all the time. But behind the scenes he is very different from the picture the girls have made. He is threatening towards Marney and extremely controlling. He has scared into such an intense routine that she is no longer able to change that routine and is stuck to doing whatever he wants her to. This shows us that domestic violence can occur without the knowledge of the people that surrounding. Grace has showed us the way abuse can affect someone through the way Marney is. She has been so controlled by Bob that she can no longer even think for herself. She has ‘Battered Woman Syndrome’ and is completely under his control that she can not even reach out for help. These effects of her abuse show us how badly the aftermath of abuse affect someone just as bad as the abuse itself. The thing that I didn’t enjoy about this story is the style of writing. It is written in a boring way to emphasis the way Marney’s life is, and although it serves the purpose it left me feeling uninterested. What I did like the storyline. The way in which the conflict developed. I liked the way it starts off with what seems like Marney going about a normal day and then it turns into a day that that brings forth all her abuse and problems. Mainly starting with the arrival of her friends. These developments give us a great insight into a day in the life of Marney. And it is not a pretty picture.

Homefield Advantage

Laurence Daniel Jan. 17, 2010 EN 102 D Creative 1 Home Field Advantage It is time to separate fact from myth. The weather is perfect. The stadium is at capacity. The fans are screaming at the top of their lungs, but is this all for nothing? Every sport has fans that love and support their teams. Some people even adjust their schedules to make sure that they can attend every single game. When they arrive the atmosphere is intense. So intense, in fact, that it becomes hard for people to hear others sitting nearby. Some people strongly believe that this â€Å"intensity† affects the way that the players play their game. Most believe that the home-team has some sort of advantage over the opposition. People love a competitive football game, but more than anything, they love to see their teams win. However, given the so-called home field advantage, is it becoming unfair for fans to attend their favorite teams’ games? Research shows that home field advantage gives the home-team an edge, but not much of one. Football players report that some stadiums are tougher to play in than others because of the acoustics. Some stadiums can reach noise levels up to 127 decibels. With all that noise and distraction, teams have now started to train for these extremely nosy crowds. To go into a stadium and defeat a team who has the crowd on their side is always a great feeling, which disproves the idea that it might somewhat unfair to have home field advantage. It turns out home field advantage is one of those unknown factors that can help or not help any team at any time. There is a certain advantage to playing on home field, but whether it is enough depends on the team. It would be impossible to eliminate this â€Å"advantage† without taking away the fans in the seats. Sports are supposed to be fun, and without the fans, what is left? It is time we stop stressing over something that is simply part of the game.

Borderlands Gloria Anzaldua

Imagine present day Mexico, there are many popular Mexican staples that can come to mind i. e tacos, warm weather, and pesos. However, when you take a closer look at their culture it is clear that the Mexican people are very religious. More specifically they are very connected to the Virgen de Guadelupe. The Virgen is depicted all over Mexico and is one of their most celebrated and loved saints. The Virgen de Guadelupe originates from Coatlicue The Aztecs, a 12th century CE civilization, were very religious and worshiped many gods and goddesses. The ritual sacrifices that took place in the Aztec society influenced their everyday lives. The Aztec’s were highly spiritual, always inspired and taught by the gods and goddesses, for which they were the creators of the earth and life. â€Å"The earliest is Coatlicue, or â€Å"Serpent Skirt. † She had a human skull or serpent for a head, a necklace of human hearts, a skirt of twisted serpents and taloned feet,† (Anzaldua 49). She was a woman, an Earth Goddess, the beholder of all. â€Å"Coatlicue, Lady of the Serpent Skirt, contained and balanced the dualities of male and female, light and dark, life and death,† (Anzaldua 54). Since Coatlicue possesses these dualities she consisted of everything and in turn accepts all. â€Å"She is the central deity connecting us to our Indian ancestory† (Anzaldua 49). Of the many rituals performed by the Aztecs, only sacrifices would please her. The Spaniards embarked into the Aztec civilization during the 15th century CE. They were disgusted by the Aztec 2sacrifices, considering them barbaric. The Spaniards decided to disregard this ancient religion. â€Å"Coatlicue, the serpent goddess, and her more sinister aspects, Tlazolteotl and Cihuacoatl, were â€Å"darkened† and disempowered much in the same manner as he Indian Kali† (Anzaldua 49). Coatilicue became the good mother, split from her dark guises. The Spaniards along with the Church continued to split her. What they were doing was desexing Coatlicue; her dualities were never discussed again. The manifestation of this change is now called la Virgen de Guadalupe. Coatlicue is embodied in all of us . I feel that she is in everything around us as well. This is because she is good and evil; light and dark. What the Spaniards did was hide half of her. Letting only the good shine through and thus being unfaithful to the true Earth Goddess. Then there is the Antigua, somebody who is a greater figure, more of a divine presence. I think this is my connection with Coatlicue, the serpent woman, with la Virgen de Guadalupe, with what people call goddesses† (Anzaldua 241). The divine presence is what Gloria Anzaldua feels within her soul. She has unleashed a deep yearning that she has known her whole life. â€Å"The loss of a sense of dignity and respect in the macho breeds a false machismo which leads him to put down women and even to brutalize them. Coexisting with his sexist behavior is a love for the mother which takes precedence over that of all others. Devoted son, macho pig. To wash down the shame of his acts, of his very being, and to handle the brute in the mirror, he takes to the bottle, the snort, the needle, and the fist,† (Anzaldua 105). The western culture has morphed men into the almighty power. When Coatlicue ruled, women were highly regarded and men didn’t have superior attitudes. Since Coatlicue has been desexed and buried amongst the â€Å"voodoo† worshipers that we all laugh at today, there has been a major shift of power that was not for the greater good. I feel that if the 21st century can accept their inner Coatlicue this wouldn’t be common among men. This is because Coatlicue doesn’t allow this and men would be ashamed to put down a woman. Present day, many men think that its their duty to â€Å"wear the pants† in the family. Our dominant male society has caused women to become suppressed. Women still don’t receive equal pay and are pressured into a caretaker role in the household. The most upsetting aspect is that 50 years ago it was even worse and the progress women have strived for has only recently been accredited. Breaking the glass ceiling† is a common term amongst working women philosophy. However, I feel that there wouldn’t be a glass ceiling to break if Coatlicue was present in our lives. Anzaldua struggles with her many identities; her homosexuality is one which caused major conflict within herself and family. â€Å"We are ashamed that we need your good opinion, that we need your acceptance. We can no longer camouflage our needs, can no longer let defenses and fences sprout around us. We can no longer withdraw† (Anzaldua 110). Feeling this resentment towards your culture and your family is a huge struggle. Like many other homosexuals, Anzaldua wants to be accepted. It would be comforting to know that no matter what you were accepted. Sadly, this is not how our culture is and many of us, like Anzaldua, feel rejected. Coatlicue was the one who gave her strength when she was down and when Anzaldua needed her Coatlicue was there. Coatlicue accepts all; this is because she embodies everything and is not the good mother virgin that we are all accustomed too. Coatlicue is true to life and accepts the good and the bad. I am cultureless because, as a feminist, I challenge the collective cultural/ religious male-derived beliefs of Indo-Hispanics and Anglos; yet I am cultured because I am participating in the creation of yet another culture, a new story to explain the world and our participation in it, a new value system with images and symbols that connect us to each other and to the planet,† ( Anzaldua 102,10 3). Coatlicue is all cultures and this is why Anzaldua gravitates toward her in so many ways. Coatlicue doesn’t shun homosexuals or mixed races. This is because she accepts all life, Coatlicue looks beyond these superficial traits and looks inside of you to see who you really are. This freedom to be whoever allows everyone to express themselves freely. Anzaldua is drawn to this especially because she has a lot of distinct qualities that the western culture looks down on. Coatlicue allows Anzaldua to be herself free of guilt or shame. Anzaldua has a place with Coatlicue and everyone who believes in her spirit. â€Å"The mestizo and the queer exist at this time and point on the evolutionary continuum for a purpose. We are a blending that proves that all blood is ntricately woven together, and that we are spawned out of similar souls,† (Anzaldua 107). This is inspired from the meaning of Coatlicue. Anzaldua has a chance to overcome the obstacles she feels within herself. Globally we need to accept this because as time passes we will all blend into a melting pot†¦ to not accept one of us, is the same as all of us, bec ause we are all one of the same. Coatlicue is the heart of expressing yourself and the Aztecs understood the power of this message. No matter who you are there is a point in your life that you feel alone, left out, or different. During this time of stuggle is when you can reach for Coatlicue. She will accept you and not be disgusted with you like western culture. At times like these I wish I had Coatlicue. I feel as if knowing about Coatlicue I am a stonger person. As a Roman Catholic I have always felt that having the Virgin Mary’s grace and love was unobtainable. It’s not realistic to say you will never sin, never hate, never have any evil. Coatlicue is the true model of who and what we are. This is because we all have good and evil within us and Coatlicue is that. Gloria Anzaldua didn’t intend on inspiring or captivating the public. This naive way of writing, at some points almost talking to herself, is what I liked the most. This style of writing is very true to her and all that she discussed. With this, the outcome of Borderlands had a greater effect than Gloria ever thought. Especially when published within a western culture that doesn’t accept much. This acceptance shows the need people want to change, grow, and overcome these man-made obstacles built hundreds of years ago. Gloria’s book will continue to inspire countless generations and I truly feel that time will allow Coatlicue to rise again.

A letter to a young artist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A letter to a young artist - Essay Example you have all these skills within you, then you are in a perfect position to start writing and you will seek piece of advice from none and actually no one else can help you write better. A good artist must be confident of what he speaks about; it defines any successful creative writer who is self-motivated to express his feelings without fear. It is advisable to take charge of what you are talking about as if no one else has the background information except you. Pretend that you are the first one to have knowledge of that topic you are talking about as that would give you more confidence and boost your self-esteem to be able to explore more. It is self-esteem that will provide you with a feeling that everything you are doing will eventually succeed and that you will reach your audience and catch their attention. Just like I mentioned earlier, no one can help you be the best writer, even building self-esteem is something that cannot be built from external forces. It has to be yourself and your own self that shape you as a writer. A good piece of art is born within and not made; it is from the heart and can never be faked. It comes within, and after you have realized that you can actually affect the things that surround you. Feelings are always different from one person to another. They should never be compared, and that is why originality is paramount to anyone writing any piece of art. Originality comes from one’s unique experiences and expressions. These experiences ultimately integrate themselves within you; remember that your self-esteem also stems from within. Self-esteem does not come from reading voluminous books that were written by great authors, or surrounding yourself with things and people that seem to increase your value. It comes from your realization of the value of you r originality and innate skills. The success of a poet also rests with on whwhat you write about and how you write. But, there are no material resources to guide you on these

Acquisition strategies in the plastic pipes industry - the case of Dissertation

Acquisition strategies in the plastic pipes industry - the case of Wavin Group - Dissertation Example One of the most important challenges for modern organizations has been the identification of the strategies that can help towards the stabilization of the organizational performance – either in the short or the long firm. Acquisitions have been proved an effective strategic tool for the support of a firm’s position in its market. However, the success of acquisitions is not always guaranteed; there is always the risk of failures especially if the relevant plans are not well designed or in case they are not effectively executed. For this reason, it would be wise for strategic managers to use acquisitions along with other strategic options in order to secure the stabilization (at a first level) and the growth of a particular organization. An indicative example of such methodology is the strategic framework used by AXA (Consultancy Firm) when handling the re-structuring of PWPipe – a leading firm in the plastic pipes industry of USA; in the case of PWPipe the consult ants of AXA decided to implement primarily a series of strategies for supporting the firm’s existing operations – this was mainly achieved through the update of the firm’s IT systems; at the next level, acquisitions were used in order to stabilize the firm’s growth (AMX International, 2011). The proposed study focuses on the use of acquisitions as strategic option by firms in the plastic pipes industry; reference is particularly made to Wavin Group, a key player in the global plastic pipes industry.... h firm, aiming to increase its influence within the global market (Builders Merchant Journal, 2007, Wavin Labko, 2008); in 2010, the expansion of the firm was continued through the acquisition of the Swedish firm KWH Pipe (European Plastic News, 2010). It is made clear that acquisitions has been extensively used by Wavin Group in order to improve its position in the global market; in accordance with ‘Michael Del Pero - vice president in FocalPoint Partners LLC - a lot of plastics M&A announcements were expected in the second half of 2010 because of the tax changes in USA’ (Esposito, 2010). However, in the case of Wavin, the tax rules cannot be considered as the only criterion for choosing acquisitions as a key strategic option – taking into consideration the firm’s relevant activities in the last decade, as explained above. In any case, the plastic pipes industry is a prominent market sector; in fact, in accordance with a relevant report, the specific indus try is expected ‘to advance at the fastest pace up to 2014’ (Bombourg, 2010). The identification of the potentials of acquisitions to support the further growth of the particular industry would be particularly important indicating the potential value of the specific strategic option for firms operating in other industries – which face severe pressures due to the expansion of the globalization and the recession. C. Literature Review The use of acquisitions as a strategy for achieving a continuous growth or for facing the strong market pressures has become a common phenomenon the last three decades (Hitt et al. 2009, 183). In practice, acquisitions can be described as ‘the use of cash outflows for purchasing the net assets or property plant, and equipment of the acquired business’ (Tortiorello 2008,

Statistical techniques for investment, finance or economic problems Essay

Statistical techniques for investment, finance or economic problems - Essay Example Five years later, defaults began kicking in as more homeowners were unable to refinance their loans or sell their depreciating homes, gradually snowballing into hedge fund suspensions and massive write-downs. The following year the snowball accelerated into an avalanche, effecting the closure or sell-out of financial stalwarts Bear Stearns, IndyMac Bancorp, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. The two largest mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, needed a bail-out by the Bush administration; not long after insurance giant American International Group (AIG) followed suit. With the advent of the new administration, one of President Obama’s first official acts was to sign into law a $700 billion bailout in what is called the Troubled Assets Recovery Program (TARP) (Amadeo, 2009). The crisis spawned a credit crunch, prompting a substantial infusion of capital into the global financial markets by the United States Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, and the European Central Bank (Elliott, 2008). Financial institutions and intermediaries throughout the United States and Europe were thus severely affected in the contagion. On the other hand, the Asian financial markets have exhibited remarkable resilience to the crisis that has engulfed the US and Europe. China can count on its over US$ 100 billion inflows from 2003 to 2007 (Rodman, 2009). India may be somewhat more affected, with some expected possible impact on credit availability. (Rediff India Abroad, 2008) However, there is still a chance that China and India may succumb, albeit belatedly and less severely, to the effects of the financial debacle. These countries were the largest contributors to reductions in global poverty in the last two decades, as confirmed by several academic studies. However, they are now in danger of reduced economic growth, with a slowdown or even reversal in the poverty alleviation efforts. (Bajoria, 2008) With this

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 149

Discussion - Essay Example It also noted failure by the colonial authority to respect the fundamental rights, a factor that led to the Spirit of ’76 and declared liberty of the states. The writing therefore uses the Spirit of ’76 as a basis for its independence declaration objective (The National Archives, N.d.). The Common Sense that Thomas Pain authored in the year 1776 called upon Americans to abandon dialogue and fight for independence. Even though Americans already laid some of its arguments down, the arguments reinforced the urge for a revolution as did the new arguments. Pain’s description of proponents of reconciliation such as men with self-interest who cannot be trusted, weak men, and men with prejudice are examples of argument that motivated revolution (Pain, 1776). Authored earlier in the year of the Spirit of ’76 and supporting existing ideas and proposing new ideas for revolution, the document is understood as a factor to the

Theory Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Theory Assignment - Essay Example There will almost always be some common ground from which to work. By working from known shared meanings, it is possible to attach new meanings and new workds by comparing either similarity or difference. Using the more visual metaphor or simile can work well in these circumstances, as long as there is also a clear shared understanding of meanings carries by such imagery. For example one might explain â€Å"timidity† as being afraid of small things, such as l0ooking someone else in the eye. However, in some Eastern and Asian cultures, it is the height of rudeness and a very aggressive act to look someone else directly in the eye. The opportunities for miscommunication are many and truly competent communicators are few. II: Discussing Plans for Saturday Night with my Friend’s Mother It was early one Saturday evening, and my friends and I were going out to hang in the downtown area near places where there were always lots of girs. My two friends left for a few minutes to get something, and I waited. Carl’s mother came into the livingroom where I was waiting, and asked me about where we were going, but she started right off by asking if we were going bird watching. She had overheard a conversation earlier between Murray, who is from the UK and Carl, her son. I did not realize that she had misunderstood, so I simply chatted with her. FM: So I heard you Murray and Carl planning to go bird watching with you tonight. Where will you do that? Me: Oh right on the boardwalk. There’s flocks of them there. FM: Really? At night? Me: Oh you know they love the bright lights and the music. FM: That music? I would think it would drive them away. Me: Well I admit it is a tad loud, and keeps the same beat all night, but one little drink solves that whole problem. They start dancing and get more thirsty, drink a little more and pretty some they love everything. FM: That sounds more like you are planning to catch them. Me: Oh no, nothing quite so crude. A fter all, they can’t fly. FM: What kinds of birds are they, Penguins or Dodos? Me: Oh no, they’re just girls. I’m sorry. Murray’s a Brit. To him all birds are girls, doncha know? FM: No, I don’t. The prettiest ones are the boys. Me: I stood silent for many seconds and then started to laugh. III: Analysis of the Miscommunication in the Conversation and the Causes In the previous conversation, the two speakers did not share the same definition for several of the key words. Notably the two most important were â€Å"bird† and â€Å"fly†, which are colloquial expressions in Great Britain meaning â€Å"girl† and â€Å"run away†. Several other parts of the conversation were ambiguous when paired with the meanings of these two words. â€Å"Drink† was meant as an alcoholic beverage, but was interpreted as meaning water by the listener, because she was convinced the conversation was about the animals that have wings and fly mostly in the day time. Neither participant in this conversation were actually competent communicators, since neither one tried to establish a base of meaning before carrying on with the conversation. The use of slang

Bilingual Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Bilingual Education - Essay Example In his autobiography Hunger of Memory, Rodriquez unintentionally portrays himself as an exception to his own beliefs. (Rodriquez 12) This book tracks this Mexican American from the time that he was a "schoolchild until he became a literary scholar and nationally acclaimed memoirist. His memoir also describes his gradual alienation from his cultural roots as his assimilation into mainstream culture deprives him of his native tongue and his connection to his past. The book achieves popularity at a time when multiculturalism is becoming a force in American education." (Burt 2004) In order to make sense of the factors that make up Rodriquez's life, he chooses his love for languages to explain how his persona is formed. Rodriquez surmises that it is better to have used English in school rather than to have had a bilingual education. As he struggles to prove this, he represents himself with a paradox of emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. It is his opinion that it was the different uses of languages and his reaction to them that sets him apart. According to Rodriquez, "It is not possible for any child ever to use his family's language in school. " He thinks that "not to understand this, is to misunderstand the public uses of schooling and to trivialize the nature of intimate life and a family's language." (Aria 13) In his writings Rodriquez appears to... In his failure to study these anomalies, Rodriquez does a disservice to himself. When he started school, Rodriquez could only speak "fifty stray English words." (Rodriquez 1) Unlike his brother and sister who attended a Roman Catholic school, Rodriquez went to an all white school with children whose parents were professionals. In his mind, this must have presented a sharp contrast to his own parents who were poor and spoke little English. During this time, he also observed that his brother and sister enjoyed a relationship of togetherness, one that left him feeling alone. His sense of alienation continued to grow as he listened to them " communicating among themselves in Spanish." (Rodriquez 1) Rodriquez has been criticized for cutting himself off from his roots. A better argument would be that the languages barriers that were forced upon him caused this gap. Had he been given a bilingual education this would have been different. Instead of living in language compartments at his home and school, his new English language would have blended into that of his native tongue. As his brother and sister did, Rodriquez would have used both languages interchangeably.If one reads Rodriquez's work closely, they sense his great affection for his family. The feelings of shame that he talks about are more general than personal. Nevertheless, it is easier to attack the character of Rodriquez than to discover the bonds that exists between him and his people in spite of their physical and psychological differences. While addressing the relationship between his brother and sister, it is evident that he has the feeling that he is an only child. Rather than to see how a bilingual education might have made a difference, he chooses to feel

Portfolio Assessment and Revision Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Portfolio Assessment and Revision Plan - Essay Example One of the most immediate changes I see to my writing is an improvement in the organization. In my first essay, there was not necessarily a logical flow from one point to another. I essentially used two disconnected paragraphs that both spoke about the article in question, without actually combining together to form a cohesive argument. This can be seen very clearly by the topic sentence of my second paragraph, where I stated that â€Å"Also tackled in this article is the use of â€Å"Framing theory† as a guide in differentiating the media practices in China.† While this did describe a thing the article did, it did not actually connect that well with what I had done in my previous paragraphs. In my later essays, however, I paid much more attention to organization. I believe that one of the things that were most helpful to me was segmenting my essay into various sections, such as a â€Å"literature review†, â€Å"comparison between languages and so forth†. I did this in each of my two later essays. This forced me to structure my essay in a more cohesive way, with each particular subject having a clear relationship to the thesis or main point I was trying to make and kept each part of the paragraph clearly related to a specific aspect of that argument. I believe I will not have to use these types of headings as much in the future, but they were still certainly useful in keeping me on track in terms of organization. I believe the second major change that I made in my writing is the development of a simpler, clearer style. My first essay had some relatively vague language in it, especially in the introduction. The opening of my first essay, which stated that â€Å"with great power, comes great responsibility† worked well as a hook, but did not tell the reader anything about what I would be writing about. In my subsequent essays I became much more direct, launching immediately into my topic of discussion, and keeping my sentences short, precise, and to  the point.   

Why America Bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki Essay Example for Free

Why America Bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki Essay It was during the Second World War that the USA dropped two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities of Japan. This caused a lot of destruction with its negative effects being felt up to date. Monuments have been erected on the places where the bombs hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hundreds of thousands of people died in these two cities following the dropping of weapons of mass destruction by the US following a directive from her president – Harry S. Truman. This was after Japan failed to agree to surrender during the war as was agreed in Potsdam where issuance of declaration was done to push Japan to give in to the war (Kennedy, Bailey, 99). Together with the then president of the China Republic and the United Kingdom Prime Minister, Truman came up with a document enumerating ‘terms of surrender’ to Japan upon which if it failed to adhere to would face the consequences. Japan on its part thought it was just a mere threat and therefore failed to surrender. This prompted the USA president to mobilize the bombing of the two cities. According to reports, the dropping of the first atomic bomb- ‘the little boy’ on Hiroshima was a ‘test’ of the capability of destruction. This though did not move Japan, a situation that led to the dropping of the second atomic bomb- ‘the fat man’ on Nagasaki killing and maiming an estimate of 35,000- 80,000 people, some instantly and others afterwards because of after- effects. War had been raging on across the pacific from 1939. Some Japanese cities had been bombed before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U. S.  A, which were spared but for just a while. This is because there was a stalemate between the two countries- Japan and the U. S. A. The US government was also prompted by the acts of Japanese military of attacking the Pearl Harbor. U. S. A decided therefore to force Japan to admit defeat in the war, an event that did not go well with Japan, thus resisting it. Japan’s worry was the inclusion of the words â€Å"Unconditional Surrender† in the pact issued by the U. S. A regarding ceasefire (Walker, 28). Without warning so as not to be prevented on its mission, U. S.  A decided to drop the bombs on Japan. This was on anticipation that because they were fighting for disarmament and dropping of use of nuclear weapons the process of forcing Japan to surrender would not succeed because of interjections by other parties to the war. Japan had waged war against the U. S. A following the Pacific war, a situation that led to many U. S. A citizens to lose their lives and property destroyed. These bombings were not an easy task to accomplish. On humanitarian grounds, using atomic bombs would cause much unwanted suffering and aggression. On moral grounds, it would be really wrong to do it as taking away human life is wrong considering that life is sacred. Though Japan was determined to make peace with the U. S. A, the only thing that hindered this decision was the words â€Å"Unconditional Surrender†. With calls for demonstration of the operation of the bombs to the Japanese civilians unheeded, the bombings were inevitable. Petitions for the withdrawal of the use of atomic bombs by the U. S on Japan were uncalled for and already too late as tests of the effective destruction by the bombs had already been conducted. At this point, nothing seemed to stop the inevitable bombing as the then president of the US (Truman) issued an order to use atomic bombs (Newman, 21). Hiroshima was a communication hub as well as a military center. Nagasaki was an industrial town and a port with plants to make military weapons giving the more reason they should be attacked, the purpose being to derail the Japanese militants. The scientist behind the making of the atomic bombs used on Japan regretted the use of these bombs. Driven by personal conviction and conscience, this scientist never wanted the use of the bombs at all on Japan. This implies that he foresaw the destruction the bombs would cause with regard to human life and humanity. The explanation given by President Truman on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was that they were military bases and that he wished to avoid the bombing of women and children, reports indicate that over 95 % of those killed and maimed were civilians and not militants. US wanted to end and win the war, but Japan would not accept prompting dire measures to be taken upon it. Another reason given was to save Americans from the war and not only them but also Japanese as well. Resources also were being protected from further destruction. It is for certain that he USA took advantage of her technological advancement to attack Japan with the atomic bombs (Kennedy, Bailey, 101). This is because; it was the first time atomic bombs were being used, just shortly after their discovery. Following the demise of the American soldiers killed by Japanese military forces during the war, revenge seemed another driving factor to the bombing of the two cities. The decision by the USA militants to block entry of oil tankers and food entering the country of Japan could have propelled the Japanese to surrender. This is because it means that people could no live because of lack of food and no traveling as all running engines would be deprived of what is the most important-oil causing everything to go into disarray. More diplomatic tactics would be used as use of excessive force was unnecessary. Chances of arbitration or mediation were there, but US decided on the use of force. It might have been a revenge mission but which cost so many lives with claims of saving even more lives. It might be true the allegations, but where is the rationale behind the bombings considering that Japan had every indication of surrendering in the war? The US troops had largely won the war though a considerable number lost their lives, very little force therefore would be required to claim Japan’s adamancy to surrender. This would include just the normal warfare between militants. The fact that US was fighting back the attack of the pearl harbor did not give her reason to interfere with the internal organization of Japan as a country, it should have just left Japan to continue with its cultural practice of having an emperor and convincing the country’s citizens on the importance of having peace and maintaining it (Wainstock, 12). Forcing the country to abandon its practice which was known and practiced for many years meant resistance with an eminent danger of sparking unrelenting war. Instead of using force, it should have used reasoning and logic to convince the people of the country to refuse tyrannical kind of a rule. Therefore, even though the bombings act was widely acceptable by most of the Americans in solving the stalemate, it brought about gnawing memories to the people of Japan. The resultant situation can best be described as that of devastation and hopelessness to the victims.

Imagine you are Directing Essay Example for Free

Imagine you are Directing Essay Introduction I intend to study the Crucible by Arthur Miller. I will be looking at act 3, through the eyes of a director. The character I will mainly be focusing on is Abigail Williams, a late teen who had committed adultery with the well thought of, John Proctor. The play was written in 1952 and was an allegory of the political state of America under the supervision of Senator Joseph McCarthy. The play was set in 1692 in a god-fearing, puritan village that was isolated in the east of Massachusetts. This play is based upon the Salem witchcraft trials, two centuries before the book was written and therefore the location of the play was thought of to be masking the anti-communist message it was portraying. The basis of the play is of a group of young female teens that had danced in the woods within the hours of darkness. Yet because of the beliefs that these acts were closely related to witchcraft, the readings of the bible would instruct them to hang all those who participated. Yet to avoid their own prosecution the blame was passed to many innocent people, including a West Indian slave, who because of her colour and belief in spells was an easy target and another was the wife of John Proctor. John himself then becomes the main suspicion of practicing witchcraft after the tables are turned once again. He was asked to give names of those he knows of having connections with the devil to save his own life, he refused to answer their questions as did Miller when he was summoned before McCarthys House Un-American Activities Committee. This was very similar to the condition of America around the early 1950s when the country was in a situation of corruption. Many innocent people had come to a gritty end, after scapegoats that were part of McCarthys House Un-American Activities Committee, could prove them guilty on the flimsiest of evidence. Stage Design I have chosen the below layout because I believe it gives the best possible chance for all of the characters to be seen and heard clearly throughout this act. Dramatic Techniques As a director the dramatic techniques of Miller Display complete essay The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Carlsberg

Carlsberg Company Overview Carlsberg A/S (Carlsberg) is one of the leadingbrewing companies in the world. The company is engaged in the production, retail and marketing of beers and non-alcoholic beverages. It is also engaged in the development and sale of real estate and operation of the Carlsberg Research Center. The company offers wide range of beer, mineral water, cider and malt based drinks through more than 500 brands including Carlsberg and regional brands such as Tuborg, Baltika and Kronenbourg. Carlsberg sells its products in more than 150 countries and operates approximately 100 subsidiaries in Western Northern European, Eastern European and Asian markets. Business description: Carlsberg A/S (Carlsberg) is the fourth largest brewery group in the world. The company along with its subsidiaries engaged in the production, retail and marketing of beers and non-alcoholic beverages. It offers beer, mineral water, cider and malt-based drinks under more than 270 brands. The company is also engaged in the development and sale of real estate and operation of the Carlsberg Research Center. Carlsberg operates through its several subsidiaries in Denmark and globally with over 45,505 employees. The companys beer portfolio includes more than 500 brands which vary significantly in volume, price, target audience and geographic penetration. The companys brand portfolio includes international brands such as Carlsberg, Tuborg, Baltika and 1664, and local brands such as Ringnes (Norway), Feldschlà ¶sschen (Switzerland), Lav (Serbia) and Wusu (Western China). During the fiscal year 2008, beer sales accounted for 75.9% of nets sales of the company. Along with core beer business, the company also offers Malt-based beverages and other beverages such as soft drinks, water and cider. These non alcoholic beverages are available in different flavors namely Coffee, Lemon, Chocolate, Angelica, Cloves, Raspberry, Prunes, Lime, Chili. Carlsberg operates in three geographical regions namely, Northern Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia. The Northern Western Europe segment includes the operations in countries Denmark, Italy, Poland, France, Greece, Norway, Sweden, the UK, Germany, the UK, and Ballistic states. This segment plays an important role in the companys business portfolio. During the fiscal year 2008, the company generated DKK 37,128 million of the total net revenues from this segment. The Eastern Europe segment includes the operation in countries such as Russia, Ukrian, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Azerbaijan. In this segment, Russia is the largest and market and accounts for 85% of segment s net revenue. The partial acquisition of Scottish Newcastle increased the importance of this region in the companys business portfolio. During the fiscal year 2008, the company generated DKK 19,137 million of the total net revenues from this segment. The Asia segment operates in Malaysia, Singapore, China, India, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Carlsberg is one of the leading international brewery groups in Asia and has significant positions in a number of Asian markets and the Carlsberg brand is one of the major international beer brands in the region. During the fiscal year 2008, the company generated DKK 3,555 million of the total net revenues from this segment. During the year 2009 the company launched one of the worlds most expensive beers, Vintage No. 2. Further, it acquired 41% interest of Xinjiang Lanjian Jianiang Investment Co., Ltd and increased its stake to 89.3%. Robust Financial Performance The company has exhibited robust financial performance from the past few years. The company reported revenues of (Danish Krone) DKK 59,944.00 million during the fiscal year ended December 2008, an increase of 33.95% over 2007. The operating profit of the company was DKK 6,338.00 million during the fiscal year 2008, an increase of 31.09% over 2007. The net profit of the company was DKK 2,631.00 million during the fiscal year 2008, an increase of 14.54% over 2007. The higher level of earnings was due to the volume increase in growth markets. The strong financial growth of the company signifies its efficient cost structure and market share gains. Also, it would help in the future investments of the company such as strategic acquisitions. Market Leading Position Carlsberg is one of the fastest growing breweries in the world. It operates in Europe and Asia and sells its products in more than 150 countries. With the acquisition of Scottish Newcastle together with Heineken, it became the fourth largest brewery group in the world. It is the market leader in most of the countries in which it operates. The Group is the leader in the Western Europe countries with market share of 63% in Denmark, 54.2% in Norway, 37.7% in Sweden, and 46.9% in Finland. The Group also has a 45% market share in the Baltic countries and acquired number one position in Russia, Kazakhstan and Western China. This dominant market position and wide international presence helps in maintaining its market position and gives it the power to attract new customers and easily venture into new businesses. Consolidation of Beer Industry The beer industry in which Carlsberg operates is very competitive. With entrance of more new players and industry consolidation, the current level of competition is expected to further intensify in the near future, which may result in price reductions. In 1998, the top ten brewers accounted for 34% of the global beer market, but as the global consolidation process accelerated this figure grown to 59% in 2008. In 2008, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. acquired InBev and the company along with Heineken acquired Scottish Newcastle. This industry consolidation increases the company and if the company is not able to maintain the product quality and consumer loyalty, this intense competition could reduce the sales volume of the company, thereby affects its market position. Decrease in Global Beer Sales The decreasing global beer sales has been a major area of concern for the company as its core business activity is the sales of beer across the world. In the first three months of 2009, global beer sales volumes dropped by 6.3%, due to global economic downturn, bad weather and smoking bans in some countries. Beer sales volume in Western Europe declined 1.6% organically in 2008, due to the combined impact of the financial crisis, smoking bans in France, the UK, Finland and the Netherlands, and extraordinary increases in excise duties in the UK. According to the British Beer Pub Association (BBPA), beer sales in the UK, in the first quarter of 2009, dropped by 8.2% as compared to the same period in 2008. As the company operates principally in European beer markets, the decrease in beer sales may affect the sales and profits of the company.

Cocaine :: Illegal Drugs Narcotics Papers

Cocaine Cocaine is a drug derived from the leaf of the Erytroxylon cocoa bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia. Cocaine also known as coke, C, snow, flake, nose candy, blow, or crack is generally sold on the street as a hydrochloride salt( a water-soluble salt). Cocaine is a fine, white crystalline powder often diluted with similar-looking substances such as talcum powder, sugar, or amphetamines. The powder can be snorted into the nostrils, also may be rubbed onto the mucous linings of the mouth, rectum, or vagina. To experience cocaine's effects quickly, and to heighten their intensity, users sometimes dissolve it in water and injects into a vein. The drug may be smoked in a purified form through a water pipe (freebassing) or in a concentrated form (crack) shaped into pellets or rocks and placed in special smoking gear. Despite today's abuse of the highly addictive drug, cocaine was intended for medical purposes. Pure cocaine was first extracted and identified by the German chemis t Albert Niemann in the mid-19thcentury, and was introduced as a tonic/elixir in patent medicines to treat a variety of real or imagined illnesses. Later, it was used as a local anesthetic for eye, ear, and throat surgery and continues today to have limited use in surgery. Cocaine is a powerful central nervous system stimulant that heightens alertness and provides intense feelings of pleasure. Because of it's potent euphoric and energizing effects, many people in the late 19th century took cocaine, even though some physicians recognized that users quickly became dependent. In the 1880s, the psychiatrist Sigmund Freud created a sensation with a series of papers praising cocaine=s potential to cure depression, alcoholism, and morphine addiction. Skepticism soon replaced this excitement, however, when documented reports of fatal cocaine poisoning, alarming mental disturbances, and cocaine addiction began to circulate. In 1902, ninety two percent of all cocaine sold in major cities in the United States was in the form of an ingredient in tonics and potions available from local pharmacies. In 1911, the Canadian government legally restricted cocaine use, and its popularity decreased. The 1920s and 1930s saw a decline in its use, especially after amphetamines became easily available. Cocaine=s popular return beginning in the late 1960s, coincided with the decreased use of amphetamines. Along with the feelings of pleasure comes negative effects. The effects of any drug depend on the amounts taken at one time, the user=s past drug experience, the manner in which the drug is taken, and the circumstances under which the drug is taken.

Biological Warfare: Testing and Researching Toxins Essay -- Biological

Biological Warfare: Testing and Researching Toxins Biological Warfare is the use and employment of biological agents to harm or kill humans, animals, or plant life. Bio warfare can cause a significant amount of casualties with less preparation and work then other types of attacks. The weapons are relatively cheap and, unlike explosive attacks, biological attacks can be used to kill a select group. This meaning a biological agent can be created that would, for example only target animals or only target humans. There are various agents used in biological warfare. The U.S. Military defines these agents as "those biological pathogens and toxins that are intended for use during military operations to cause death and disease among personnel, animals, or plants, or to deteriorate material" [1]. Examples of such agents would be bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, and toxins which are derived from biological organisms. Each have great potential to harm mass amounts of people, animals, or plants depending on the target. The United States government has vowed to never use biological warfare agents and does not test for offensive purposes. This meaning that all testing goes towards developing immunizations, detection methods for detecting an attack, decontamination, rapid diagnostic tests and treatments. However, other countries have not taken the same action and many still test agents for their use in biological warfare. History of Biological Warfare Biological warfare is not a new technology. Infect the use of biological warfare goes back as far as the 1300's when swarms of rats and fleas were set loose to attack Tatar soldiers in the Black Sea port in Kaffa, currently known as Feodossia, Ukraine. The vermin carried disease wh... ...k it is really a huge threat that some toxin will fall into the hands of some evil person. The goods of testing far out way the negatives thus the U.S. should continue testing because ignorance is not bliss. Bibliography 1.Mauroni, Al. "Chemical and Biological Warfare". Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO Inc, 2003 2.Microbiology 101 Internet Text, 2000; http://www.slic2.wsu.edu:82/hurlbert/micro101/pages/GMBW 3.Mycoherbicide.net; http://mycoherbicide.net/HEALTH/Toxicity/toxicity.htm 4.McGovern, Thomas and Christopher, George; Biological Warfare and it's Cutaneous Manifestations; http://www.telemedicine.org/biowar/biologic.htm 5.Federation of Medical Scientists; Biological Weapons; http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/bw/index.html 6.USAMRIIDS Medical Management of Bio Casualties handbook; http://www.usamriid.army.mil/education/bluebook/Mmbch4Adobepdfver4-02.pdf

A Career in Graphic Arts Essay -- Careers Jobs Artistic Essays

A Career in Graphic Arts A career in graphic design is perfect for a creative individual who has a sense of design. "A graphic designer is one who creates ideas that are expressed in words and/or pictures, and generally solves problems of visual communication," says Paul Rand, a professional designer (23). Employment in this profession is projected to increase 29% by the year 2006, which is the highest of any career according to a study done by the American Institute of the Graphic Arts (3). A graphic designer may work in a variety of places including a large firm or corporation, a specific design agency, a magazine or newspaper, or even in his own home as a freelance designer. There are few specific requirements needed to be involved in graphic design. However, there are similar traits and qualities that most designers generally possess, including training, knowledge of specific elements, using criticism positively, and a keen eye for color and balance. The cost of being a graphic designer must also be factored in. Graphic design is a career that offers a creative outlet but can be quite stressful, which is why designers must be cooperative and work well with others. A dexterous designer knows how to use criticism positively. Oftentimes criticism is what makes a piece of art better. Depending on the project, job duties may include designing and preparing layouts, sketching out ideas, arranging the materials needed, or putting together the final image. Since there may be different requirements for each client, a graphic designer (on average) should have the ability to be spontaneous and creative and work well under pressure and stressful in situations. "DO NOT be a designer if you stress out easily!" says Steve Jones (interview). In many cases a designer has deadlines which may not be negotiated with his clients, and therefore he must work productively. There is also the downside of creating an image that is not accepted by the client; the designer must then discuss what is wrong with it and perhaps start over. "Any job becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or doing it better." (Borenstein) Certain clients leave the project completely open-ended and up to the designer, while others have a specific idea in mind. It is important for the designer to remember that he is creating a piece of work for someone else’s liking, and it... ...e final product will be worth it. As any artist knows, the cost of supplies adds up fast. The image(s) can either be taken from a photograph, a sketch, a painting, or any other type of art. There is also the need for access to a computer, scanner, and printer. Computer programs that are specifically designed for the graphic arts can be quite costly, such as Photoshop (about $600). In order to produce a nice piece of work, these materials are necessary. Other computer programs include Quark, Adobe Illustrator, and Corel Draw. In order to be a leading designer in the future, individuals in the profession must have the ability to come up with original and unique ideas. One who enjoys preparing layouts for school projects or arranging art into a final composition would excel in the graphic design field. Not anyone can be a graphic designer; only those who accept responsibility and have a natural ability in design will enjoy this career. Modern-day designers will be the leaders of the next millennium and will produce the designs that will be seen for years to come. The opportunities as a graphic artist are endless. Bibliography: Paul Rand American Institute of the Graphic Arts

Sustainable Environment

Environmental sustainability involves making decisions and taking action that are in the interests of protecting the natural world, with particular emphasis on preserving the capability of the environment to support human life. It is an important topic at the present time, as people are realising the full impact that businesses and individuals can have on the environment. What is Environmental Sustainability? Environmental sustainability is about making responsible decisions that will reduce your business' negative impact on the environment.It is not simply about reducing the amount of waste you produce or using less energy, but is concerned with developing processes that will lead to businesses becoming completely sustainable in the future. Currently, environmental sustainability is a topical issue that receives plenty of attention from the media and from different governmental departments. This is a result of the amount of research going into assessing the impact that human activit y can have on the environment.Although the long term implications of this erious issue are not yet fully understood, it is generally agreed that the risk is high enough to merit an immediate response. Businesses are expected to lead in the area of environmental sustainability as they are considered to be the biggest contributors and are also in a position where they can make a significant difference. Businesses can potentially cause damage to all areas of the environment.Some of the common environmental concerns include: damaging rainforests and woodlands through logging and agricultural clearing polluting and over-fishing of oceans, rivers and akes polluting the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels damaging prime agricultural and cultivated land through the use of unsustainable farming practices For much of the past, most businesses have acted with little regard or concern for the negative impact they have on the environment.Many large and small organisations are guilty o f significantly polluting the environment and engaging in practices that are simply not sustainable. However, there are now an increasing number of businesses that are committed to reducing their damaging impact and even working owards having a positive influence on environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability forces businesses to look beyond making short term gains and look at the long term impact they are having on the natural world.You need to consider not only the immediate impact your actions have on the environment, but the long term implications as well. For example, when manufacturing a product, you need to look at the environmental impact of the products entire lifecycle, from development to disposal before finalising your designs.

The AXE Man

Advertisement, itself, is a creative genre in these post-modern days of ideas. If people in the future were to search for artifacts of our culture, in hopes of finding something that gives them insight into our culture and our life, they will be able to see what we leave behind in this consumer-driven world. Our ancestors left behind arrow heads and pottery, and we will leave behind a lot more that can easily communicate about who we are and what is important to us. Commercials and the products they advertise are some of the most important cultural artifacts in our society. They communicate what is important to or influences our culture, the good and the bad, because within any culture it is natural for the many different aspects of that culture to be portrayed on the screen or the page, from our stereotypes and biases, to what makes us proud and what makes us ashamed. One commercial that seems to represent an artifact of American culture is the recent AXE commercial, where a young man on a beach begins to spray AXE cologne, attracting literally hundreds of buxom beauties in bikinis, with the slogan being â€Å"Spray more, Get more†. The implications here about the way our culture stereotypes gender and what types of images we find to be suitable becomes part of the artifact and what it stands for in our culture. The first part of the advert shows a woman running in a wilderness. The first question that comes to mind is if this is a spoof of the new Mel Gibson movie â€Å"Apocalypto†? The theme of said movie is the hunter-hunted type of thriller where the protagonist is always on the run (from an AXE man perhaps? ). This is further implied by the choice of music – â€Å"Deus Irae† by Karl Jenkins which appears on his album â€Å"Requiem†. But then the video shows something else. There are many more than women running and therefore this is something else. The women are all focused with the task of reaching the goal first. They are single-minded indeed, to the point of being obsessed with whatever it is that made them run in the first place. All are jockeying for position and intense shoving and pushing is seen in the first few seconds. The second thing that hits the viewer is the fact that the women are not properly clad. If they are indeed going for a late afternoon jog then where is the sports wear needed to do the job? It is not usually normal to run with skimpy clothing! Then the next thing that hits the viewer is the fact that these are not only a group of young women running but it is actually a swarm. The multitude running together indicates mass hysteria. At this point the audience is becoming interested to know what this anarchy is all about; are they hunting for something? Again similarities can be drawn with â€Å"Apocalypto†. The next scene makes the video a bit confusing as a shot is taken from the other side of the terrain – a shot of the ocean where a similar number of horde of women are swimming frantically towards the shore. For a minute there one thinks that this may be something about the â€Å"Iron Woman† competition. But then it becomes clear as the video gives a top shot that shows where all the women are heading. The swarm is converging on the shore where a solitary male figure was spraying AXE cologne, specifically AXE Lynx. And the text flashed in the end saying, â€Å"Spray more. Get more. † If the AXE commercials are to be marked as anything of immediate interest, the popular tags that come to mind immediately are â€Å"pornographic advert† or â€Å"advert with sexual overtones. † Such terms are quite befitting as we find the women who are running from different topographical extremes have svelte, well-maintained physiques with sexual appeal, and the man on the beach stands armed with AXE cologne to attract more such women by spraying more of the heart-smashing fragrance. Commercials stand as an important artifact that can be used to understand a culture, and this commercial in particular says a lot about certain gender-related issues. Commercials such as this are not only for entertainment value, they are subconsciously sending messages to a population of people that view what they see on television as truth and fact. Someday, people will study such commercials in search of something historically or culturally important to our generation and will quickly realize that for all of our advances in our way of thinking and our technology, we were still submitting ourselves to the humiliation of gender-related stereotypes and sexually explicit material. If sexual excesses are not used deliberately, then why has such a slogan been floated in the air: Spray more, Get more? Is it not somewhat pornographic, tickling the fancy of men with the promise of winning an armful of femme fatales at one sprinkle of AXE? Why again a horde of belles are needed with immense sexual charms if no sexual implications are intended? When a condom, a bra or lingerie is advertised, the same types of images are blatantly paraded across the television screen, the sexual overtones not even subtle anymore. Even in odd places do we see such use of sexuality to sell a product, like the commercials that are for car insurance but are cartoons, using the cartoon character of a cute, busty girl to try and sell insurance for someone’s automobile. Even Pizza Hut commercials use Jessica Simpson’s sexuality to sell pizza, and Pepsi has been notorious for using stars such as Madonna to sell their product. The fact is that sex sells. Thus, if categorically the artifact is to be judged, then it is a piece of advertisement in the first place and then it is pornographic i. e. an advert with sexual overtones. In my view, whatever nomenclature may be piled on the term â€Å"advertisement†, it is a creative way of presenting an object or a commodity. So I would like to call it innovative advertisement. If we move a step further we will be able to see that innovative and sexually-exploitive adverts apply to all sorts of business tricks to catch the consumer youth. There is yet another genre that this advert falls into, and that is humorous. Despite its sexual overtones, the commercial is filmed in such a way that, at first glance, it appears to be harmless, comedic tone and all. The public seems to be very forgiving of any images or messages that are not politically correct when there is humor involved, as in this case. There is no complaining from the public even if a salacious picture or video clipping is used in order to make a commodity attractive to the target audience. It may appear denigrating in the eye of a few thoughtful, conservative people, but to hit the bull’s eye of consumerism, it is a weapon, a necessity, the need of the hour. In fact, this advert was shown only once on British television prior to a World Cup football game where it has reached near cult status. I never considered myself to be a conservative person, not even a little bit. I really thought the AXE commercial to be a great one with a sense of humor, but after I observed it many times closely, there were several things really bothering me. While it is common knowledge that marketers are using sex to sell their products, the issue that arises with this commercial is that it tried to hide the sexual content behind the product itself. The text did not imply anything sexual and therefore no one can accuse AXE of intentionally telling men of the benefits of using their cologne in terms of their becoming attractive sexually, but the imagery is enough to convince the viewer that it is selling the product through sex. In other words, AXE is using the fantasies of young men to bring them in as consumers of their product by promising them, visually, that there is something about their product that attracts women. If there is a law regulating sexual themes in advertising then it seems that the AXE advert is trying to beat the system. Those who do not agree with the blatant use of sex in advertising, be it implied or explicit, must heed the words of Tom Reichert when he wrote, â€Å"†¦other forms of sexual information is woven into ads [†¦] sexual content can vary in form and meaning, it is important to provide an overview of recurring representations of sex in advertising† (Reichert, 2003). The bone of contention here is how to draw the line between what is acceptable and what is not. J. Sivulka had warned that â€Å"when scholars have explained the changing nature of sex in advertising, they have often viewed this shift as an evolution from a relatively innocent representation of a sexually alluring woman to a new type of image, in which sex is explicit† (Sivulka, 2003). The world it seems is divided over what kind of judgment to give this sort of TV commercial, but fo r those who are looking for substance there is only one verdict. For those who are tired of being given information that is not based on truth but rather on assumptions and pop culture, the verdict is not positive. In the AXE commercial the first thing that does not escape the viewer is the stereotyping of the female. Geral Tellis observed that, â€Å"One of the most common criticisms of advertising is the gender stereotyping [†¦] endorsers are typically presented as young, beautiful, and sexually attractive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Tellis, 2004). As a female watching this commercial I felt it not only was the dreaded stereotyping being used but also the fact that women were depicted as not having the intellect to comprehend what was going on and furthermore, that women were not valued for their intellect at all, but for their appearance. The women were portrayed like buffoons, parading themselves with no regard for their self-worth, with no obvious intelligence (in direct contrast with the ‘Iron Woman’ comparison). Instead of showing a commercial where the images show an intelligent, well-mannered male using AXE cologne and attracting an intellectual and strong woman, we are bombarded with yet more images of the stereotypical buxom bimbo and in my opinion, that is an insult to the feminists out there who are championing woman’s equal rights, access to power and control. The AXE commercial made them look like they have no ability whatsoever to control their destiny, much alone their lives and they are purely driven by instincts. Lorraine Code asserts that this kind of reaction is not new and she wrote that in fact, â€Å"In the 1970s feminists criticized advertisements for portraying stereotypical images of women†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Code, 2000). Forget about the feminist stereotype, what is disturbing about the way women were depicted in the AXE ad is the fact that there is no truth to what was being communicated. Granting that commercials are not supposed to be whole truths, still the fact that something can be created wholly out of imagination is a bit of a stretch. Adding another aspect of then forcing people to accept it or maybe worse, manipulating people to behave in a certain way are actions not acceptable for a highly influential medium. A casual survey of the real world will immediately inform the observer that women do not behave like those in the said commercial. If the producer of the AXE commercial would come back and say that this is the whole point; that making fantastic claims and using pure creative imagination to sell something is the reality of advertising, then it is going to be hard to argue that line of reasoning. Even if this were the case, not everybody will agree with the producer. Many believe that advertising is no longer a neutral medium but that it is an artifact that has the capacity to transform society, especially how people think, and therefore it is a medium to be regulated. If one allows the producer of the AXE commercial the benefit of the doubt, that there was no intention to demean women and to insult their intelligence, then the problem keeps on compounding because the next group that would be insulted by this commercial is the male population, because while it is common to hear women being exploited, more and more men are being devalued by the media as well. There is a movement out there that forces the world to recognize the place of women in society. It is almost a normal experience to constantly hear of women being abused and misrepresented, but it may be taken for granted that men can also be stereotyped. That there is a whole assumption out there that men are savages and no smarter than wild beasts who are being controlled by their carnal instincts would be insulting to me if I was male, and I cannot believe that the media can stereotype both genders in such simple terms. To be honest, however, no man would stand up and say that his reputation is on the line because of such media exploitation. For them, it is somewhat absurd, but if truth can be told and truth be the standard of knowing what must be done in this society then someone has to point out the problem with the AXE commercial. What exactly is wrong about it in terms of the male image is that this time men are not depicted as buffoons in the same way that the ladies were depicted running around half-naked and half-crazed when a potent brew aroused their senses and they could not control themselves. This time men were assumed to be buffoons, period. This assumption is basically a belief that when men will see the commercial then they will not stop to think and evaluate what is being projected on screen. They will simply instinctively pick up their wallets, head for the store and buy a crate full of AXE cologne – and â€Å"spray more†. It is interesting to note that marketers are well aware of what they are doing to the male stereotype and the projection of an image that will make men want to buy the cologne. As suggested by Stephen Fox in his study of the history of American advertising, marketers in the past made the generalization that, â€Å"†¦all men are fools† (Fox, 1997). They have expanded this theory into something more useful, â€Å"†¦that while men may be fools and sinners, they are everlastingly on the search for that which is good† (Fox, 1997). Advertising is the guide that leads them to the path of bliss and truth; yet, there is one more weakness of the male psyche that is being exploited here, but it must first be understood that this commercial was not created with the general public in mind. It is quite probable that the target-segment are young men between puberty and their twenties. It is possible that the target-market are adolescent males who lack the confidence to take their place in the world and establish relationships with the opposite sex and therefore need a touch of courage, in this case in the form of AXE cologne. There is evidence pointing to the fact that the target market is indeed the teenager segment of the population. Buddenberg pointed out that, â€Å"†¦despite being more knowledgeable about advertising, teens are still very susceptible to it† (Buddenberg, 2004). Fox enumerated the common behaviors considered normal for teens: a) struggle with sense of identity; b) feeling awkward or strange about one’s self and one’s body; c) concerns regarding physical and sexual attractiveness to others; and, d) worries about being normal (Fox, 1997). If Fox’s theory proves right then what a powerful effect the AXE commercial must be having on the minds of the teenage males that watch it. The video suggests achieving power and control where there is none – by simply spraying more AXE. To be fair, however, I must say that the humorous nature of the commercial was, even to me, funny at the beginning and I did not take it serious on first glance. The women, making funny faces and rushing this geeky-looking young man whose eyes are huge as he watches the scene unfold before him was more of a comedic event than anything. In this way, the producer of this commercial was not, perhaps, trying to use stereotypes about men and women to influence our culture, but perhaps just trying to make an impression, something that is hard to do in a society filled with a flood of advertisements at every turn. Despite my misgivings about the commercial, I do not remember any other cologne commercials vividly, only AXE, and perhaps that was the point all along. The advertisement used in this study can make people react in many different ways. The more important issue to address is the potential offensive effect of the commercial to both men and women, at least to those who are sensitive enough to really analyze the content of the video. The problem with the video is that it depicts women as stupid and at the same time assumes that young men are stupid enough to believe what they are seeing and will not take the time to verify it. Moreover, the commercial is trying to hide its sexual content and that is not acceptable for those who are shielding children and the rest of the public from too much exposure to indecency. Still, at the core of the problem is the unceasing evolution of advertising. This time what is perceived to be improper will soon change in a few years time. This will continue until one day, parents and concerned citizens will one day wake up to see sex in advertising being shown explicitly without shame. At some point, American advertising will turn the corner and, just as now, we will simply sit back, watch, hence evolving as viewers too, and let the images convince us of something just as ridiculous as the assumptions made in the AXE cologne commercial. Having said that, however, the public is not as taken in by adverts as we once were and so advertisers may be responding accordingly by making adverts more humorous, shocking and ridiculous in order to capture our attention and remember the product in question which is being advertised. Then just as the advert may be mocking women and/or men it may just as easily be merely ‘tongue in cheek’ and using the satirical content to try and get the consumer to simply buy a product which makes you smell nice! So, whether it be gender stereotyped, intellectually backward or in direct contrast, intellectually superior in order to be able to appreciate the humor in the AXE advert and not take it too seriously, the artifacts our commercial culture is leaving behind are, sadly, not a representation of who we really are, but who were are told to be.

Coopers Creek Wine Management Essay

1.0 Introduction Coopers Creek, established in 1982, became one of New Zealand’s more successful medium-sized wineries by following a strategy of resource leveraging via networks of co-operative relationships with other New Zealand winemakers in the domestic and export markets. This strategy allowed Andrew Hendry, the managing director, to consciously manage the growth of the company to retain the benefits of small size. However, with increasing globalisation of the wine industry, the changing nature of export markets, the early maturity of the New Zealand industry and the constrained supply facing New Zealand wine makers, Andrew Hendry was faced with the decision of how to position a smaller company for the future. He had to decide whether the network-based strategies that served the company so well continued to be appropriate under conditions of industry concentration, increasing competition and emerging globalisation. (Robbins S, 2006) 1.1 The NZ wine industry When Andrew Hendry established Coopers Creek, the New Zealand environment was highly regulated. By 1984, the New Zealand government had initiated a programme of deregulation, which included devaluation of the New Zealand currency, exchange rate flotation and general anti-inflationary measures. (Porter M, 2001) The opening of New Zealand’s domestic market meant that businesses had to improve their efficiency substantially over a short period. The agricultural sector sought out new markets, to replace the loss of their traditional dependence on the UK market with its increasing commitment to its European trading partners, and new products, reflecting a growing awareness that much of New Zealand’s exports were of a commodity nature. This period saw growing exports to Australia, the United States, Japan and the rest of Asia and exports of predominantly sheep meat and dairy produce being accompanied by more fresh fruit, venison and wine. A further response to fiercer competi tion at home and in overseas markets was an increasingly strong focus on quality, a case in point being the New Zealand wine industry. The New Zealand wine industry accepted the consequences of the liberalisation  of the domestic economy and recognised the need to understand how on-going changes in the international economic environment affected its prosperity and how to plan accordingly. Building from a low international base in the 1980s ($4.5 million in exports in 1987), New Zealand wine exports achieved phenomenal growth and accounted for $168 million in 2007, comfortably exceeding the $100 million by 2007 target set in 1999. The UK market was the most important export market for the industry in 2007, and at $84 million it accounted for around 50.22 per cent of total exports by value and 54.28 per cent by volume. Europe accounted for 66 per cent of exports with 85 per cent of that going to the UK. Four large firms, namely Corbans, Montana, Nobilo and Villa Maria, dominated the wine industry in New Zealand in 1999. The following year, Montana purchased Corbans and Nobilo was bought by BRL/Hardy of Australia. Between them, these large firms accounted for around 80 per cent of all exports in 2007, with another 17 medium-sized companies, of which Coopers Creek was one, handling 16 per cent in combination. For the most part, industry participants exported between 30 and 35 per cent of their production, but a few producers had much higher export intensity. (Wheelen, 2006) 2.0 Key Issues The key issues are: (Study Guide, 2008) (1)Despite entering early maturity, coopers creek remained constrained by issues of supply. (2)The cost of new land for grape planting was rising and more previously marginal land became economic to grow on, the problem was still one of access to capital for these resources. (3)A possible over supply of grapes in New Zealand, which could lead to heavy discounting. (4) A contraction in ownership within distribution companies in New Zealand and in USA, which could lead to certain markets being effectively closed to coopers creek. (5)Protection of strategically important grape supplies so the can insure they still get a proportion of the very highest quality grapes. 3.0 Planning 3.1 Life Cycle From a demand perspective, the worldwide wine consumption has stagnated. According to the Wine Institute, there is only a 2.04% growth in wine consumption from 1997 to 2001. In fact, worldwide consumption dropped from 227,875 hectoliters to 226,646 between 1999 and 2000. Generally there is a drop in consumption from the traditional wine drinking countries like France and East European countries, whilst demand has growth significantly from China. (Grant R, 2005) The production of wine has shifted from the traditional vineyards in France to the rest of the world. There are New-World Wines from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. These wines are generally thought to be of moderate to high quality and are essentially challenging the traditional wine producers on the quality front. Furthermore, there are wines coming out from China and India. Because of the lower wages in these countries, wines can now be produced at a fraction of the costs of the French vineyards. Price has now become a big challenge that the traditional wineries have to face. Some author’s even suggest that the Old-World producing countries like France has followed growth & decline and now has entered a second life phase. While the New-world countries are in an emerging or growth phase As the industry moves towards maturity phase of its life cycle, the pace of consolidation will increase. (Times of India,2007) 3.2 PESTEL Analysis The following is a review of the major environmental factors, which will impact the industry to a large extent. A closer examination of the more important factors amongst them will allow for a tighter integration between the external environmental factors and the corporate strategy chosen for Coopers. Political factors Government regulation has always played a major role in the WI. There are increasing concerns that there will be new barriers and trade impediments to trade in the WI. One such example is the trade disagreement between US and European Union in the level of farm subsidies that the US alleged that the EU farmers receive. The same allegations may also be similarly levied on the European vineyards. In the Wine Institute report on International Trade Barriers to U.S. Wine 2006, European wine producers were noted to have received certain subsidies . Tariffs also have been the most important barrier to the international wine trade. Some governments impose unusually high tariffs on wine imports. Recent announcement in the media like India opening its market and slashing duties on imported wine and spirits bring good news to the industry, as this will allow them to enter this lucrative untapped market. Though due to WTO pressure the tariff has been reducing, which has lead to major wine producing countries imposing various non-tariff trade barriers. One such non-tariff trade barriers are research fundings made available by local governments to improve the overall harvest yields and quality of the country’s grapes . Economical factors The rising number of middle class worldwide has led to an increasing appreciation of wine and demand for wine. In developing economies of China and India, this class of consumer is expected to increase significantly over the next decade. With the continued increase of economic growth rates for both countries, these consumers can now afford to consume wine is expected to grow significantly as well . The effect of currency fluctuations on the WI will continue to play an integral part in influencing the WI. The proportion of wine being exported outside the wine producing country has increased. Even in a traditionally large wine consuming market, the proportion of wine, which ends up in foreign land, has been increasing. The continuing trend of exporting to new markets such as India and China is going to increase as wine producers cope with the declining wine demand in traditional home markets As a result, the wine producers’ exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates wil l increase further. Socio-cultural factors The increased spending power, sophistication of the middle class in many countries with increased tendency of copying the west has helped to increase the demand for wine consumption. This growing group of earners from various countries is often well traveled & highly educated consumers with needs and wants for the better things in life. The number of middle class across Asia is expected to grow by 1 billion in the next 8 years . With the shift in demographics in the developing countries, there will be more wine drinkers in the future. Increasingly, there are also more scientific evidences that there are health benefits to be derived from moderate drinking of wine especially red wine. As a result, there is an increasing acceptance of the beverage as â€Å"health-product† leading to a healthy heart. Technological factors Innovation and technological factors continue to drive improvement in production yields and better storage of wine. The Australian WI today has transformed itself from a small cottage industry to one of the largest exporter of wines internationally, even to the extent of eclipsing some of the older Old-World countries. The great leap forward for Australia can be attributed to the Australian wine producers clustering to innovate and improve existing processes. (Read C, 2006) The growth of e-commerce infrastructure and the increasing acceptance of buying things online have led to new opportunities for wine connoisseurs and wine producers alike. With this new technology, niche wine growers are able to reach out to the individual wine consumers without being drowned out by the marketing noise generated by the large wine producers. The ability to ship small quantities directly to individual wine drinkers without passing through layers of middlemen may mean that small niche growers may be able to find their position in a market dominated by large brand names . Environmental factors Within the Food and Beverage (F&B) industry, the WI is markedly different from the other products due to the fact that F&B products are limited by market, while the WI is limited by resource (land and grapes). Reason being wine is grown in moderate climates and on certain types of soil. Sudden climatic changes may adversely affect production yields or may even destroy crops all together. The significant changes expected in the environment from global warming, rising sea levels, rising carbon emissions and increasing acidity in the waters will all add to contribute to the adverse conditions for which growers will find themselves in. These conditions together with a scarcity of good arable land may act to constrain or even reduce the industry’s supply. On the positive side, in one of the rare articles published in Newsweek on the positive effects of global warming, the author highlights that fast melting of Artic glaciers and increase in global temperatures may lead to opening o f new vineyards in many parts of the world with weather conditions similar to the France’s Champagne region. Legal factors External environmental legal factors have acted in line with other environmental factors changes. For example, the advent of the Internet e-commerce has resulted in changes in legislation for wine sales, which crosses state lines in the United States . In addition, the origin of the grapes used to make wines also became a contentious issue for many wine-producing countries. The origin of these grapes and the proportion of local grapes used became an issue for branding and labeling of wines; as governed by new local legislation controlling wine labeling. 4.0 Organising 4.1 Porter’s 5 forces analysis We have analyzed Coopers internal environmental factors using Porter’s Five Forces analysis. Being in a specialized industry, it is not easy for another player to just come in wanting a portion of the pie. The WI requires specialized skill sets, special knowledge and extensive experience to stay competitive. It also needs very high investment especially for equipments used for processing of wine. This indirectly induces high entry cost which  is work as a barrier of for new entrants. There is also the expected retaliation faced by new entrants from existing players. Coopers together with other existing players may collaborate to deter competitors from coming in. For example, Coopers may start dropping its price and the other existing players may follow suit leading to a price war. On the whole, the force of threat of entry is low here. 4.2 Threat of Substitutes This industry faces stiff competition from not only other wineries but also from other alcoholic drinks such as beer, spirit and pre-blended mixed drinks and carbonated drinks. Product-for-product substitution is also possible should customers of Coopers decide to try out other brands/types of wine. For the health conscious, bottled water, energy drinks and natural fruit juices also provide competition. Possibility of generic substitution is also there where as customers may prefer to spend on purchasing cigarettes rather than drinking wine. Thus, there is a high force of threat of substitutes in this industry. 4.3 Threat of entry Competitive rivalry among existing firms is evident in this industry. Larger companies are acquiring smaller wine producers to monopolize the market resulting in dynamic competition amongst these companies. As the WI is at its mature stage, companies start to take market share from competitors to survive. As there are too many wine producers, adding on to the high power of buyers, companies may decide to go for price wars due to high fixed costs to gain market share. This industry has high entry and exit barriers due to the extensive capital investment and knowledge & skill set needed. In addition one must have sustainable resource, as it takes several years for wine to mature. This means that industry players do not have many choices. Again this induces competition amongst them and price wars and low margins situations are likely to happen. Based on the information above, the groups came to the conclusion that the industry is â€Å"Medium Attractive†. 5.0 Directing 5.1 Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies Using Porter generic competitive strategies, we find that Coopers has the ability to outperform its competitors by adopting a strategy of â€Å"Focus Differentiation†. Porter proposed that a firm’s competitive advantage in an industry is determined by its competitive scope – i.e., the breadth of company’s target market coupled with company’s unique resource (product range, distribution channels, target market etc.), For Coopers the scope of the target market is narrow. It is mainly targeting niche markets for premium wines in the wine drinking markets of Europe, US, Australia, Japan and a few emerging Far Eastern Asian markets. When targeting niche markets, the company either can go for â€Å"Cost Focus† or â€Å"Differentiation Focus†. Coopers should not be following the Cost focus strategy as NZWI compete in the high quality premium category wines. Reduction of overall cost is achievable only to a certain extent, as this industry is highly capital intensive with many inherent costs along the supply chain. Instead Coopers should concentrate either on particular market segment, or product line segment or geographic market with high growth potential or all three. By following a differentiation strategy Coopers would be able to better focus its resources & capabilities to the serve the special needs of a narrow strategic target more effectively than its competitors. 5.2 Bowman’s strategic clock Using â€Å"Bowman’s competitive strategy clock† too, Coopers falls under category 5, â€Å"Focused Differentiation†. This strategy is similar to the Porter’s generic model, which tries to provide high-perceived product benefits justifying a substantial price premium usually to a selected niche market segment. Coopers can use this strategy in new markets, by targeting sales into the same niches in more countries. While in established markets Coopers could even adopt Category 4 â€Å"Differentiation –with price premium † by offering better wine at the same price or by pricing it slightly higher than competitive brands in the same price bracket, to take advantage of the fact that â€Å"fine quality wine will always demand a premium† and at the same  promote it as premium category. (Meredith R, 2007) Cost Leadership may not be sustained for Coopers because of some of the following reason: – Competitors can imitate – differentiation may not be sustainable it can easily replicated by competitors like South African or South American wine producers – Bases of differentiation become less important to buyers – Competing on just quality to demand high price may not be enough. For example in price conscious markets like UK, Holland and Germany, wines from South American and South were seen as better value than NZ wine – Target segment can become structurally unattractive: – Structure erodes – This could happen for Coopers’ target market in US, restaurants and boutique retailers. They may form a group for centrally sourcing activities to drive down costs, somewhat similar to what happened with Tesco Supermarket Chain (UK). (Aylward, 2006) – Demand disappears – there may be new research findings in future that may lead to lower consumption of wine. Or even they may be new legislation banning consumption of alcohol products in public places similar to that of smoking, which may lead to total disappearance of a target segment. From the evaluation of Coopers core competencies, the followings were recognized. – Coopers is a typical entrepreneurial venture in that the founding entrepreneur, Andrew, had driven its development and growth. A critical factor of success of Coopers is Andrew’s ability to build relationships, within the context of an innovative and flexible approach, in order to leverage critical resources to pursue growth. – Coopers strategy was based on having a carefully controlled but finite quantity of wine to sell every year. With Andrew’s commitment to quality, it has earned itself a relatively good reputation in the industry. From the evaluation of the KSF of the WI, the followings were recognized. – Historically, the NZWI had focused on the production of premium wines, given its constrained supply, small scale, high cost structures and distinctive ‘clean and green’ growing conditions. Availability of consistent high quality products that has strong brand value and recognition are highly sought after and considered KSFs. 6.0 Monitoring 6.1 Wineries Both management & employees of wineries play a key role and yield great power in terms of the quantity & type of wine to be produced. Great deal of collaboration exists between the local wineries to share knowledge & costs. 6.2 Grape growers Being key players, they control the quality and quantity of grapes grown. Many of the wineries are backward integrated by owning lands or having long-term contracts with individual producers. Power of suppliers is low. 6.3 Industry Associations Wine Organizations in NZ like Wine Institute, former Wine Guild with backing of the NZ government are very powerful. All Wineries have to take up compulsory memberships and contribute towards funding & running of the organizations. These key roles of these organizations are promoting NZ wine in international markets, lobbying with foreign governments to open new markets, lowering of trade restrictions and tariffs etc. They also initiate research programmes and training for the entire industry, funded by the wineries. (Zalan T, 2005) 6.4 Consumers The final end user, this group needs to be well informed & kept satisfied by providing high quality premium products with consistent quality and availability at affordable prices. Power high. 6.5 NZ Government NZ government is a key player with considerable power who has played a  pivotal role in the development of the NZWI. The government has been implementing new legislations in consultation with NZWI to meet the current market requirements. Some examples would include changes in government policy in the 1980s making it favorable for local manufacturers to export to foreign markets . (Harvard University, 2007) 6.6 Distributors, Retailers, Buyers Buyers like Supermarkets are powerful players who dictate the price & type of wine stocked on shelves. WI is a buyer driven industry, where buyers hold a lot of power. 6.7 Domestic and Foreign investors This group needs the minimal amount of effort. They are satisfied as long as they get a good return on their investments. 7.0 Critical Analysis 7.1 Competitor Analysis The world WI is currently experiencing a situation of over-production. In the EU alone, it was reported by Food & Drink.com that there is a surplus o f 1.5bn litres of wine, enough for every European Union citizen to take roughly four free bottles each. Millions of Euros have been spent to turn these excess wines into industrial alcohol. (All Things, 2006) The WI is a highly fragmented, with over â€Å"a million wine companies† around the globe. None of the firms control more than 1% of the retail sales, with top 10 players controlling 11% of the global market share (based on volume) . These industry competitors come from different wine growing countries and continents. This is especially true for Old-World Countries in Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany) accounts for 60% of the world wine production and 80% of world trade . In contrast, the New-World Producers (Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, USA, New Zealand) wines are more consolidated. On average these countries appear to be more structurally attractive compared to Old-World Countries. Moreover, in the last decade the industry structure has been undergoing dramatic change. There is a growing trend of consolidation. Cash flow rich alcoholic beverage  companies are investing in the WI as their own markets of beer and spirits are maturing. 7.2 Stakeholder analysis The WI being a competitive industry has a varied, vibrant and balanced group of stakeholders, with frequent and varied channels of communication. All the forces involved try to build consensus within which the primary decisions in the industry are made. 7.3 Life-Cycle Analysis We have identified Coopers to be in the phase of â€Å"Mature† stage in the life-cycle model. In view of its competitive conditions, we also identify there may be many competitors which are likely to resort to price-cutting strategy for volume. Therefore one of Coopers directive is to differentiate its product portfolio through leveraging on its enhance brand equity to promote customer’s retention and loyalty within its existing customer-based and new customer groups whilst consistently driving cost efficiency through economies of scales and innovative & efficient ways of bringing cost down. (Pape E, 2007) 7.4 Positioning analysis Coopers currently enjoy relatively good brand equity amongst its market segment. To infuse the same branding principle across distinctive first label allows them to capitalize on its already successful branding strategy, further maximizing the returns of their marketing investment especially for the second label. 7.5 Value chain analysis Through new ways of doing things such as possible bottling in import markets to reduce shipping costs, backward integration either through ownership or long term leasing with good quality of vineyards across NZ and beyond, could potentially reduce their overall cost per unit yet enabling them to utilize cost advantage strategy to expand the perceived value for the brand. 7.6 Business profile analysis This growth strategy do not require a complete reinvention of wheels, it  capitalizes on the existing goals and values of the group, its resources and capabilities, its structure and management systems and its industry environment to further produce enhanced features and products thus major increase in expenditures is not expected, instead an increase in financial perform is forecasted due to the additional opportunities from new market penetration. (Heijbroeck, 2003) 8.0 Recommendations: 1.The expansion of the cooper’s creek network of export markets and the development of second labels. These second label wines could generally be sold at lower prices thus protecting the price status of the Coopers Creek labels but gaining extra sales volume for the company. In most cases the second labels will sell through different distributors. 2.The above strategy will also help with over reliance on a few key distributors. In the case of the rapidly growing US market, coopers creeks have not appointed one exclusive national importer. Instead they will sell to some 20 independent importer/distributors in different states either by direct shipment from the winery or out of a warehouse in California. This will ensure the company doesn’t become a victim of the rationalisation of a large importers or distributors catalogue of wines carried. (Kogut B, 2006) 3.The steady acquisition of control of the vineyards producing their best grapes. That has taken the form of either complete acquisition by purchase, long term leases or the establishment of joint ventures with the vineyards under cooper creek’s management and tied up under long term supply contracts. In the last two years they have purchased three vineyards, leased one and entered one joint venture with an existing contract grape grower. They are currently looking at two further existing vineyards with a view to purchase or lease. 4.Continue to produce consistently high-quality products. 5. Maintain and increase its brand equity and recognition as a premium wine producer. 6.Establish international supply management to facilitate its global market operations. 7.Maintain or improve its already good relationships with stakeholders. 8. Ensure there is cost efficiency in its operations so as to maximise profit with minimum cost. 9.Last but not least, continue innovating in terms of its product and marketing. †¢Current  turnover is NZ$5.5M †¢Current production is at 1100tonnes per year (approx 85,000 cases) and aiming to be 1800tonnes by 2008 †¢They should purchase more of their own vineyards in the Hawkes Bay region in the last few years which would prove beneficial to them. †¢They should increase production of Pinot Noir which is one of their best vineyards by 400% and this will become a feature varietals alongside Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay for the future †¢All wine is made on site at their Auckland vineyard. On site facilities include Cellar door tasting room and retail shop, Plant buildings (tanks) and bottling line, warehouse and barrel store, landscaped gardens with picnic areas and children’s playground. (Johnson, 2005) A cellar/courtyard wine bar will open for lunches and private group bookings late 2003. Plans have been drawn up for a cafà ©/function centre but as yet no time frame as to when maybe initiated, which should be implemented soon. (Nielson A, 2006) 9.0 Conclusion It can be concluded, the NZWI is still considered to be at an early maturity phase of its lifecycle, as evidenced by a small number of takeovers and increasing concentration. As the industry matures, there is a need for NZ wine producers to retain focus on quality, differentiated products, while holding their premium price position. In addition, they need to play to their strengths in white wines and introduce more red wines into their portfolio. (Ghoshal S, 2007) As a company, Coopers needs to realize the trend toward deteriorating industry profitability is a constant threat in mature industries. As rivalry encourages overinvestment in capacity, international competition increases, and as differentiation is undermined by commoditization, attaining a competitive advantage becomes essential to achieving positive economic profits. Cost is the overwhelmingly important key success factor in most mature industries and three cost drivers tend to be especially important: Economies of scale, low-cost inputs and low overheads. Cost efficiency in mature industries is rarely a basis for sustainable  competitive advantage; it is typically a requirement for survival. Deteriorating performance among mature companies typically triggers the adoption of turnaround strategies, of which the company must choose the most suitable one for its profile. Coopers have so far maneuvered its way past the many problems that plague other producers. However, more emphasis might be needed in terms of differentiating itself from the other NZ brands. It would have to build on its brand equity, and continue to leverage on Andrew’s contact network. Most importantly, the establishment of a succession-planning project would also has to be included in future strategic plans so that the company will continue to prosper should Andrew decide to depart or retire. (Robbins S, 2006) ———————————————————————————————————— 10.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. (Johnson, 2005) Johnson, Scholes & Whittington , † Exploring Corporate Strategy†, Prentice Hall, 2005 2. (Porter M, 2001) Porter Michael E., â€Å"The Competitive Advantages of Nations†, The Macmillan Press Ltd., 2001 3. (Wheelen, 2006) Wheelen, Thomas L. and Hunger, David J., â€Å"Strategic Management and Business Policy†, Prentice Hall, 2006 4. (Grant R, 2005) Grant, Robert M., â€Å"Contemporary Strategy Analysis†, Blackwell Publishing, 2005 5. (Read C, 2006) Read, Charlotte, â€Å"Stakeholder Consensus Marketing. 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