Joy Luck Club Essays (568 words) - Chinatown, San Francisco

Joy Luck Club In the novel "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan, the ignorance, the disregard of, and the necessity of love are all introduced as the characters tell their life stories and memories. The characters in "The Joy Luck Club" take love for granted. By ignoring love, concentrating more on material possessions, and hiding their true identities, the characters don't realize love's importance. One character that takes love for granted is Harold, Lena St. Clair's husband. This occurs when Lena leans over to him in their car and states "I love you." He responds by asking Lena a question about his car, which seems to be more important to him than his relationship with her. Harold does not realize the importance of love. He only thinks about material possessions. Since Harold does not revealing his true nature, he reveals that he has a lack of love for himself as an individual. The love you have for yourself is a necessity in life because it provides self-respect; if one respects oneself, one will respect and love others. The story of Lindo Jong provides insight into the concept of revealing your true nature. To "keep everything inside" as does Lindo Jong, provides for not being able to experience love to its fullest. Lindo Jong hides "under a red marriage scarf" in attempt to shield herself from the outside world. Her "hiding under the scarf" demonstrates that to be able to love, you must be able to first reveal your true nature. Ying-Ying St. Clair stands as an example of the desire to remain hidden as she says, "All these years I kept my true nature hidden, running along like a small shadow so nobody could catch me." The image of the shadow relates directly to the red marriage scarf. They both attempt to provide the concealment of their true natures, because the result of revealing your true self may be that of "pain". The importance of love goes unnoticed as the characters take love for granted and expect it to naturally come to them. The ceasing of taking love for granted does occur later and has its results and consequences. The characters realize that they are taking love for granted when they feel meaningless and uncomfortable, and stop doing so by either ending the relationship or confronting the problem. By not taking love for granted and realizing "there's absolutely nothing left to save" in her marriage, Rose Hsu Jordan recognizes that she must divorce her husband. Rose Hsu Jordan does not feel comfortable with her life and feels that she is living under false pretences. She comprehends that she is not what she continually pretends to be. Therefore, she stops taking love for granted and ignoring it, and instead moves on to a better, more comfortable life with a feeling of being needed. Lindo Jong compares love to a hill and as to heaven. This hill symbolizes the steps that she must take to truly attain love and enter heaven, her comparison to happiness and a comfortable lifestyle. Love proves hard to attain but Lindo Jong learns to embrace it and accept it as best she can. The "pained feeling" at the "beginning of love" provides insight into the revelation of the true nature of the character. This pained feeling, the lifting of the scarf or the shadow, opens the door to the true nature of the character. This love provides better understanding and a better love of your own character. It makes the people more comfortable with themselves and makes them feel important, needed, and loved. Bibliography Joy Luck Club . Amy Tan. 336 pages. IVY books NY.1989

Secure and Sure

Secure and Sure Secure and Sure Secure and Sure By Mark Nichol Secure and sure, along with a handful of other words originating from those terms, share an etymology. These words are listed and defined in this post. The parent word is the Latin adjective securus, meaning â€Å"free from care or danger.† (The first element, se, means â€Å"free from† and is seen in secret, and the second is a form of cura, which means â€Å"care† and is the source of cure.) Secure is both an adjective meaning â€Å"safe† or â€Å"fixed in position† and a verb meaning â€Å"to make safe or fixed.† The noun form is security, extending in meaning to refer to a financial asset or document. The antonymic forms are insecure and insecurity, which also pertain to self-doubt; secure and security are also used in psychological contexts. Sure, from securus by way of Old French, means â€Å"confident,† â€Å"firm,† or â€Å"reliable† or, informally, is a substitute for certainly or â€Å"don’t mention it† in response to a request or an expression of gratitude; the antonym, in the more formal senses, is unsure. Idioms with sure as a foundation include â€Å"for sure† (â€Å"certainly† or â€Å"without a doubt†) â€Å"sure enough† (â€Å"certainly†), â€Å"sure-footed† (â€Å"confident in movement†), â€Å"sure thing† (â€Å"certainly†), and â€Å"to be sure† (â€Å"admittedly†). â€Å"Sure thing† is also an idiomatic noun phrase pertaining to someone or something that is certain to succeed; the phrase â€Å"sure bet† is synonymous. A surety is a guarantee, and insurance refers to a guarantee of protection or safety. Assurance can also refer to a guarantee (including, in British English, what is referred to in American English as insurance in the sense of a contract guaranteeing protection against loss), but it also pertains to security or to confidence (as well as overconfidence). The noun ensurance is obsolete. Although there is some overlap in the meanings of these words’ verb forms, most writers observe the following distinctions: to assure is to convince, to ensure is to guarantee, and to insure is to make certain or safe. Meanwhile, reassure means â€Å"assure again† or â€Å"restore confidence,† while reinsure means â€Å"insure again†; there is no equivalent prefixed form of ensure. Similarly, one can be (better yet, remain) unassured and can be or remain uninsured, but unensured is rare. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:5 Uses of InfinitivesUse a Dash for Number RangesHonorary vs. Honourary

Comparing between google and yahoo companies Essay

Comparing between google and yahoo companies - Essay Example Furniture and fixtures 861,000 2,000 Leasehold improvements 290,000 3,000 2,671,000 244,000 Less: accumulated depreciation (448,000) (58,000) $2,223,000 $186,000 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities: Accrued vacation, wages, and other employee benefits $894,000 $110,000 Accrued professional service expenses 706,000 48,000 Accrued content costs 554,000 - Other 2,213,000 362,000 $4,367,000 $520,000 Analysis and Results Table 2:Yahoo! Inc: Financial Statement Financial data in U.S. Dollars Values in Millions (Except for per share items) 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Period End Date 12/31/2007 12/31/2006 12/31/2005 12/31/2004 12/31/2003 Period Length 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months 12 Months Stmt Source 10-K 10-K 10-K 10-K 10-K Stmt Source Date 02/27/2008 02/27/2008 02/27/2008 02/23/2007 03/03/2006 Stmt Update Type Updated Reclassified Reclassified Reclassified Reclassified Revenue 6,969.27 6,425.68 5,257.67 3,574.52 1,625.1 Total Revenue 6,969.27 6,425.68 5,257.67 3,574.52 1,625.1 Cost of Revenue, Total 2,838.76 2,675.72 2,096.2 1,342.34 370.09 Gross Profit 4,130.52 3,749.96 3,161.47 2,232.18 1,255.01 Selling/General/Administrative Expenses, Total 2,243.79 1,851.06 1,375.02 1,072.92 709.67 Research & Development 1,084.24 833.15 569.53 368.76 207.29 Depreciation/Amortization 107.08 124.79 109.2 101.92 42.39 Interest Expense (Income), Net Operating 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Unusual Expense (Income) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Other Operating Expenses, Total 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Operating Income 695.41 940.97 1,107.73 688.58 295.67 Interest Income (Expense), Net Non-Operating 131.27 139.78 1,092.45 475.96 45.98 Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets 14.24 15.16 337.97 0.0 0.0 Other,... Google generates income by delivering relevant, cost-effective online marketing. Businesses employ Google AdWords program to support their products and services by means of targeted advertising. On top, the thousands of third-party web sites that encompass Google Network use Google AdSense plan to deliver related ads that produce revenue and improve the user experience. (Lawrence, Joehnk, Krueger, 2008) Yahoo Company develops and upholds a branded Internet navigational service specifically along with the most widely used directs for information and finding on the World Wide Web. The corporation was integrated in California on March 5, 1995 and inaugurated operations on that date. The financial tables of google and yahoo are being given in this report. (Lawrence, Joehnk, Krueger, 2008) Yahoo's main purpose is to connect people to their enthusiasms, communities, and the world's knowledge and Google's main purpose is to organize the world's information and construct it across the world accessible and useful. (Bamber, Braun, Harrison, 2008)

CLA L3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CLA L3 - Essay Example It depicts a desperate means of maintaining the status quo and ensuring that the prophecy does not come to pass (Gervais & Henrich, 2010). Rhea, the wife of Cronus, is very appalled. Therefore, she conceals her sixth pregnancy from Cronus and give birth to Zeus in a secretive manner. She then gave up Zeus for safekeeping by Gae, who hides the baby Zeus in Dicte cave and other god attend to Zeus. Gervais and Henrich (2010) posit that the section shows a conspiracy of the gods, Gae and Rhea, which brings a sharp twist to Cronus plan to maintain power. In the power struggle, there must be a collusion by the trusted people around the ruler to orchestrate the ruler’s fall. Surprisingly, Zeus grew into adulthood with a motive to take revenge on his father for the misdeeds. The first plan Zeus does is to set his siblings at Tartarus as well as three Cyclopes together with other three Hekatoncheires. All the prisoners Cronus had imprisoned come out gun blazing to finish him. The Cyclopes then taught Zeus how to maximize his energy and use it in the battle. Eventually, Zeus and his allies lead a war against the Titans that ends with Zeus becoming the ruler of Olympus after imprisoning most of the male Titans. Clearly, Cronus overthrow happens just as predicted. LaMothe (2009) agrees that the other gods play a very important role in wedging war and effecting the eventual fall of Cronus. LaMothe, R. (2009). The Clash of Gods: Changes in a Patients Use of God Representations. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis And Dynamic Psychiatry, 37(1), 73-84.

Hurrican Katrina Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hurrican Katrina - Essay Example As the report declares Bush, Congress, the mayor - each of them are symptoms of a bigger problem, that we don't have accountability for disasters or challenges of this scale. That's all the public wants in trying times - accountability ... Lovin added that it's too convenient to blame one branch of government when they are all, at some level, failing people. This paper stresses that Lovin's sentiments seem liberal and noble on the surface. We do have a human need to assign blame in "trying times," real accountability does seem lacking at multiple levels of our government, and we shouldn't go on a witch hunt to appease public outrage by scapegoating one person or one department of government, when the culpability is much more diffuse. This is certainly a moral sentiment, and an appropriate stance to take in the absence of compelling facts to the contrary. However, facts to the contrary can be found. And the culpability in this matter is not equally shared. The United States government has known for decades that large scale natural disasters necessarily go beyond the response capabilities of state and local authorities. According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, it is likewise well-known, by our top disaster planning experts, that a quick mobilization of the United States active military is the only adequate response in such disasters.

Nestle Food Processing Company Marketing Essay

Nestle Food Processing Company Marketing Essay Nestlà © Pakistan Limited, the Groups principal activities are to manufacture process and sell food products and ancillary equipment. The food products include diary, confectionery and culinary products, coffee and beverage and drinking water. The major brands include MILKPAK UHT, NESTLE EVERYDAY, LACTOGEN and NESCAFE. It operates in Sheikhupura, Kabariwala, Islamabad and Karachi. The Milkpak Sheikhupura factory had commenced operations in 1981 as a producer of UHT milk. By 1988, it had expanded its operation and was also producing butter, cream, ghee. To target the large potential offered by the tea-creaming segment, Nestlà © everyday tea-creamer was launched in 1992, supported by integrated marketing, focused distribution with sampling drives and excellent consumer acceptance, the brand has shown strong growth and holds great promise for the future. Nestlà © Pakistan is proud of its commitment to excellence in product and safety and quality and providing value and services to its consumers. On the social front it is very responsible when it comes to environmentally sound business practices and corporate social responsibility. Nestlà © Pakistan operates in many ways but people products and brands are the main flag bearers of the companys image. Nestlà © Milkpak Ltd. is the market leader in food and beverage industry. They are producing high quality well known brands. The core raw material of Nestlà © Milkpak is milk. Over the last thirteen years the company prime concern has been to improve the quality and volume of milk for UHT processing and for other milk base products. So the company has twenty-five milk collection centres in Pakistan. Nestlà © Pakistans supply chain makes sure that Nestlà © products are available, no matter wherever in Pakistan. Nestlà © integrate processes from the farm to markets, and ensure products are delivered to consumers at the right time, the right cost and in the right quantities. At the Village Milk Collection Centre the farmers milk is poured into aluminium churns. The agent checks the milks freshness and purity, and enters the quantity into the farmers logbook. He takes it to one of Nestlà ©s 1308 Secondary Reception and Cooling Stations, about 2-4 kilometres away. Along with correct cooling, pasteurization is one of the most important processes in the treatment of milk. Temperature and pasteurization time are very important factors which must be specified precisely in relation to the quality of the milk and its shelf life requirements. The pasteurization temperature for homogenized, HTST pasteurized, regular-grade milk is usually 72-75  °C for 15-20 seconds. Nestlà © is the worlds largest food and beverage company in terms of sales. Due to strong brand name product will gain a wide consumer acceptance from all over the Pakistan. The biggest strength would be the strong brand name, the risk in investing would be reasonable be very low. Nestlà © will set a complete transparent manufacturing system for customer satisfaction in terms of hygiene. Nestlà © strengthen their product by broad distribution network by increasing the capacity for innovation which will lead to an improvement in sale growth. Nestlà © will be organising a team which will inspect and observe the accumulation (stock) on daily bases to prevent any damages occurring and also in order to keep the inventory fresh. Nestlà © will make sure that they are not having surprise shortage, weather it is winter or summer no matter what circumstances are. Further strength would be skilled labour, educated staff, large number of offerings and pre-purchase virtual display; arrangement of events, good background of the company, easy to approach outlets and physical evidence. The main weakness of Nestlà © product is the lack of an established good standing. The competitors have been around for decades and therefore have a loyal base. The second biggest weakness would be the lack of capital, establishing such an enormous and gigantic plant there will be a need of acquiring financial support in terms of loans from the bank. Spending millions in a strong brand is no guarantee to wealth. It may the safest way to get into the business, but it is not necessarily the cheapest. Further weakness would be small target market, lack of awareness among the target market and dependency on others like governments and sponsors for the arrangement of events. The biggest opportunity would be considered geographically. Pakistan is situated in an area where have summers most of the time. People love as well as enjoy eating ice-cream in the season. Due to strong brand name in the market, Nestlà © product has a great potential of earning profits. To make the product successful, the company will be utilizing the highest degree of technology in calculating customers satisfaction as well as their feedback. Gaining initial success the next step would be opening a parlour where people can enjoy all the flavour under one roof. Further opportunities would be increasing interest of people ad few and weak competitors. Threats Nestlà © is facing the threats by worldwide community due to its violation of international marketing standards. Many conferences and campaigns have been held against Nestlà © in this regard which can damage the name and trust of its customers. Another threat is due to the increasing popularity of its competitor OLPERS in local and international markets. Further threat would be the major player may enter target market, the legal and ethical issues, market segment growth could attract new entrants and economic slowdown can reduce demand. Stage 3: Strategy Formulation Milkpak will position Nestlà © product as a high quality product consumer focused. Messages like They knows your taste better than us, Nestle Milkpak now at your door step; Add additional flavours to your life will help to portray Nestlà © picture clearly and distinctly. Milkpak will position Nestlà © product against the competitors and gain competitive advantage through the efficient promotional methods, using innovations, and by reaching closer to the target market through the arrangement of events like Basant, Valentine day and etc. In short consumers will view Nestlà © as a product providing highly quality, in terms of taste, customer focused and, at the same time reasonably priced as compared to others. 3.0 Core Competency of Nestlà © To pose Nestlà © product against the competitors, the company will be using differentiation strategy which will not only differentiate their own from others but also give an edge over others. Nestlà © core products will be very beneficial especially in terms of quality, health, and hygiene and most important consumer satisfaction. Nestlà © augmented products will include consumer satisfaction, warranty to retailers in terms of expire, delivery and after sales services. The companies all over the world get some competitive edge based on some features which other companies dont have. For example, as the Dell has the competitive edge over other computer manufacturer companies, because they use built-to-order Strategy while no other company in computer industry use this strategy. Similarly in Pakistan nestle has their competitive edge based on the strategies like product differentiation and customer oriented. Nestlà © is using the product differentiation strategy by providing the superior quality products. Their main focus is to keep the customers loyal. They bought shelve space in different departmental stores to attract the customers. They tried to reach each group of people in which they have succeeded. Besides, customer satisfaction is the focal point for the company. They provide hygienic products to their customers. Products are also verified by health and safety measures and international quality standards.

Peerless Laser Processors Questions Essay

Question 1: Describe the business performance of Peerless before the purchase of the state-of-the –art punch presses in 1991 and after that? (2.5 points). Answer: In 1981, the company faced a do or die decision that forced them to use new technology. If the lasers failed, the company would have had nothing to fall back upon. There was no good economic justification available at the time upon which to base the decision. By contrast in 1984 the company had a track record with the technology, had a good feel for the market and its potential growth, and was in a much stronger position financially. Ted can be much more comfortable making this decision because of the reduction in uncertainty. The decision is harder on one way though. When the company had it’s back to the wall, it was clear that something different had to happen and quickly. When the company is in a more comfortable position, the pressure to make a decision is greatly reduced, making it easier to procrastinate. Question 2: What factors made Ted decide to purchase three punch presses in 1991? Were these factors also what Ted considered for buying the 1,200-watt laser cutter? (2.5 pts). Answer: The decision Ted faces now is purchase the 1200-watt laser cutter, with the decision he faced in 1991 when he was considering the three punch presses. There are some potential factors with the new laser: Peerless will be creating products that are unfamiliar to them. Peerless has no way of knowing if the new market will respond as well as the saw blade market did to the anticipated improvements in quality and cycle time coming from the laser. The new product line will require different distribution channels, different marketing techniques, and will draw new and different competition. Peerless may not be able to attract enough business to keep the system productive. The potential benefit is, of course, a new large market to successfully apply Peerless’s laser cutting experience. A significant  strategic variable that Peerless should consider is the long-term viability of the saw blade market. The success of laser cutting (as Peerless has experienced) and other technologies has the potential to reduce the overall market for mechanical cutting devices over the long term. Question 3: Of the three major types of control systems – cybernetic, go/no-go, and postcontrol – which would have been the most useful with the first laser and why? With this new laser and why? (2.5 pts). Answer: The laser itself would use cybernetic systems to control the cutting process. The first implementation project would have benefited most from cybernetic processes as well because of Peerless’s unique position. Since they were in a do or die position, they would not have wanted to kill the project for the conventional reasons. In fact, based on the typical parameters used for go/no-go controls, Peerless would have been justified in killing the first laser project. Instead, because of their dire circumstances, they stuck to their guns and eventually achieved success. The second implementation project would benefit from go/no-go controls because it is being conducted in a much more stable business environment in which where the company could back away from the project if necessary. Question 4: Calculate the variable cost per blade of laser cutting with this new system. Assume that the variable cost of the laser is $4/hour, that the laser custs at the rate of 40 inches per minute, that a typical blade of 14 inches diameter sells for $25, and the same computer and software will be used as currently. Material load time for a 10-blade sheet of steel is one minute. Use a 3-inch arbor hole size and assume that a cut tooth doubles the cut distance. (2.5 pts). Answer: The potential problems might be in purchasing the 1200-watt laser following steps are needed to estimate the payback: 1. Estimate the amount of laser cutting needed using a 14 inches saw blade as a typical product. The blade would have approximately a 44 inches circumference. 2. Based on the cutting speed of 40 inches/minute, the cutting would take 2.4 minutes. Adding time to handle the blade, and maintain the workstation, estimate the total time  at 3 min/blade. 3. Estimates the operating cost of a 1200 watt laser at $ 10/min, making the laser’s portion of the blade cost $ 30/blade, it is not a particularly significant amount for a $25 blade. 4. Estimates the cost of the laser to be about $200,000. Assume an additional $100,000 for computers and training bringing the total to $300,000. 5. If the laser can produce a blade every 3 minutes, than it could produce 160 in eight hours at $25 a unit. Based on Exhibit 1, the current profit margin is 12%, so it’s safe to assume that the single shift daily profit would equate to 160 X $25 X 12% or $480. 6. Given the $300,000 cost of the laser, the single shift payback period would be 625 days or half that amount for a two-shift operation. In addition to the brisk payback, the laser improves quality, cycle time and flexibility in responding to customer demand. The new laser system adds to the high tech image of the company and reinforces the employee’s pride. The original laser system was probably viewed as a threat to jobs when it was first implemented. Now that the company has experience with the benefits of laser cutting, they are in a better position to justify the investment both on non-economic and economic grounds.