Strategy Implementation in Strategic Management Essay

Strategy Implementation in Strategic Management - Essay Example Moreover, the corporation is ISO 14001 certified, and this has acted to enhance its corporate image. A major weakness of Carnival Corporation is that it has amongst its fleets a lot of many old ships (Wheelen & Hunger, 2008). This has meant lost business at times, because their target market is the young travellers, and these prefer newer ships. Another weakness for the company could be the presence of too many members of the Arison family amongst the directors (six out of fourteen), and this could impact greatly on the corporate decisions of Carnival. An opportunity that Carnival Corporation may consider venturing more into is the cruise market in Europe, instead of concentrating more into the American market. This is because according to the cruise industry in Europe, this is one of the most lucrative routes. Furthermore, Carnival corporations could also wish to venture into the area of organising and facilitating visits to historical sites around the world, and include this addition into their package of services offered. The escalation in fuel prices poses a threat to Carnival, as this means that the corporation may have to raise its fares. Terrorist attacks, such as the one in September 2002, caused panic to the public, and this affected tourism. There is also occasion whereby virus attacks have infiltrated into the corporation’s server, thereby disrupting its programs, and affecting business immensely (Wheelen & Hunger, 2008). A number of legal tussles between, on the one hand, the corporation and on the other passengers have also been witnessed in recent years, and this could lead to a dented image of the corporation. In addition, some former employees have also sued the corporation, on the issue of unpaid overtime. In 2002, Carnival Corporation was charged $ 18 million as a result of counts of pollution by its ships (Levine, 2006) Carnival cruise line was founded in 1972, by  Ted Arison.  

Chinese philosophy Essay Example for Free

Chinese philosophy Essay The 6th century B. C. E. was an amazing time of philosophical growth for ancient China. It was during that time that the two most influential spiritual leaders native to China, Confucius and Lao-tzu, are thought to have lived and taught. The philosophies that they practiced, Taoism and Confucianism, existed simultaneously in dynastic China, attracting countless numbers of followers over the past 2,500 years. The fascination of both the Eastern and Western worlds with these two legendary figures and the philosophies that they created remains strong. The Old Master  Lao-tzu, translated as either Old Master or Old Boy, is believed to be the author of Taoism. Very little is known of his life; he may not even have existed. According to myth, at his birth around 604 B. C. E. , Lao-tzu came from the womb as an old man, white-haired and full of wisdom. He eventually took a position as head librarian of the Imperial Archives. Saddened by societys lack of goodness, Lao-tzu decided to leave his home in Luoyang to live out the rest of his life in quiet and solitude somewhere beyond the Great Wall of China, possibly near Tibet. As he passed through the city gates for the final time, the gatekeeper asked Lao-tzu to write down his parting thoughts. The Old Master agreed, and three days later returned with a small book. Lao-tzu then left civilization, never to return. His writings were titled the Tao Te Ching, and became the most important text of Taoism. The Vinegar Tasters Lao-tzu smiles while the Buddha and Confucius wince after they taste-test vinegar. The philosophies of ancient China are summarized in the faces of its three most colorful characters. According to Taoism, the entire universe and everything in it flows with a mysterious, unknowable force called the Tao. Translated literally as The Way, the Tao has many different meanings. It is the name that describes ultimate reality. The Tao also explains the powers that drive the universe and the wonder of human nature. Taoists believe that everything is one despite all appearances. Opinions of good and evil or true and false only happen when people forget that they are all one in the Tao. Therefore, it is the aim of Taoists not to forget, and if forgotten to remember that oneness. However, Lao-tzu reminds believers that the Tao is difficult to grasp: the Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao. Over time a Taoist religion evolved, becoming somewhat different from the philosophy of Taoism just described. While religious Taoism held some of the same beliefs, it also called for worship of many gods and ancestors, a practice that began during the Shang dynasty. Other religious practices included the cultivation of bodily energy called chi, the creation of a system of morals, and use of alchemy in attempts to attain immortality. The folk religion of Taoism became popular after its adoption by China as the state religion in 440 C. E. , and continues to be practiced even to the present-day. Confucius and the Analects The other driving philosophy of dynastic China was created by a politician, musician, and philosopher named Confucius. Born in 551 B. C. E. , Confucius wandered throughout China, first as a government employee, and later as a political advisor to the rulers of the Chou dynasty. In later life, Confucius left politics to teach a small group of students. After his death in 479 B. C. E. , the ethics and moral teachings of Confucius were written down by his students to become the Lun-yu, or Analects. Many of his clever sayings are still followed today. It is as hard to be poor without complaining as to be rich without becoming arrogant. Lao-tzu, the founder of Taoism Lao-tzu, known as the Old Master, wrote his parting thoughts on the Tao or The Way before he left civilization. The Tao Te Ching, as this writing came to be known, has influenced millions during the last 2,500 years. Learning to be human was the goal of Confucianism. According to Confucius, each person should act with virtue in all social matters; family, community, state, and kingdom, to ensure order and unity. Mans virtue in all its forms is called jen. Jen is all encompassing and unable to be defined, in some respects similar to the Tao. Confucian ceremonies contained many rituals based in the Five Classics, especially the I Ching, or Book of Changes. Procedures for birth, marriage, and death were rigid and specific. For example, according to Confucian funeral tradition, a willow branch is always carried behind the body of the deceased symbolizing the soul of that person. However, by far the most influential aspect of Confucianism remains the Analects: Not to teach a man who can be taught, is to waste a man; to teach a man who cannot be taught, is a waste of words. The wise will lose neither men nor words. It was sayings such as this one that made Confucianism the social philosophy of China from the Han dynasty in 202 B. C. E.until the end of dynastic rule in 1911. Rival Philosophies Taoism and Confucianism have lived together in China for well over 2,000 years. Confucianism deals with social matters, while Taoism concerns itself with the search for meaning. They share common beliefs about man, society, and the universe, although these notions were around long before either philosophy. Both began as philosophies, each later taking on religious overtones. Legend states that Confucius and Lao-tzu did in fact meet to discuss the Imperial Archives. Lao-tzu was unimpressed by the beautiful robes worn by Confucius, and did not agree with looking back on the past. Put away your polite airs and your vain display of fine robes. The wise man does not display his treasures to those he does not know. And he cannot learn justice from the Ancients. Regardless of the disagreements between Lao-tzu and Confucius, both Taoism and Confucianism have served as guides. They have led China through the peaks and valleys of its vast history, the longest continuing story on the planet.

Othello: How does it Measure Up? :: Othello essays

Othello: How does it Measure Up?  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   The inconsistent ranking by critics of the Bard of Avon’s tragic play Othello is the subject matter of this essay. Let’s study the possible causes of this problem.    The ranking of this famous play is not cut and dried, totally clarified and undebated. A. C. Bradley, in his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, describes the equivocal ranking which some critics give this play:    Or is there a justification for the fact – a fact it certainly is – that some readers, while acknowledging, of course, the immense power of Othello, and even admitting that it is dramatically perhaps Shakespeare’s greatest triumph, still regard it with a certain distaste, or, at any rate, hardly allow it a place in their minds beside Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth? (173-74)    To many of the audience, Othello would appear to have a beauty about it which is hard to match – thus ranking the play high. Helen Gardner in â€Å"Othello: A Tragedy of Beauty and Fortune† touches on this beauty which enables this play to stand above the other tragedies of the Bard:    Among the tragedies of Shakespeare Othello is supreme in one quality: beauty. Much of its poetry, in imagery, perfection of phrase, and steadiness of rhythm, soaring yet firm, enchants the sensuous imagination. This kind of beauty Othello shares with Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra; it is a corollary of the theme which it shares with them. But Othello is also remarkable for another kind of beauty. Except for the trivial scene with the clown, all is immediately relevant to the central issue; no scene requires critical justification. The play has a rare intellectual beauty, satisfying the desire of the imagination for order and harmony between the parts and the whole. Finally, the play has intense moral beauty. It makes an immediate appeal to the moral imagination, in its presentation in the figure of Desdemona of a love which does not alter ‘when it alteration finds’, but ‘bears it out even to the edge of doom’. (139)    The play is so quotable; consider Desdemona’s opening lines before the Council of Venice: â€Å"My noble father, / I do perceive here a divided duty,† or Othello’s last words: â€Å"Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.† Could the continuing reputation of Othello be attributed to the quotable â€Å"ultimate form† in which the Bard of Avon expressed his ideas?

Tma01

There are various ways in which we can organise our thinking. These can be helpful when we are trying to improve our memory or when trying to recall things from the past. The three ways I am about to explain are all similar in the way we organise our thinking, and can be a powerful aid to our memory. Each point is backed up with evidence to support this. One of the ways we organise our thinking is by using mental images. By forming a mental image, we are thinking about something by constructing a mental picture of it in our mind.There are various ways of constructing mental images which can lead to better recall when trying to remember things. The mental image will give us a cue when we come to recalling the information. We will have spent time and effort studying the information previously and formed an image which we will have fixed in our memory. This will then help us to recall the information more easily. One technique for improving memory would be by using Mnemonics, which are based on the construction of mental images.An example of a mnemonic would be ‘Never Eat Shredded Wheat’ which would help us to remember ‘North, East, South and West’ in the right order. Another technique for improving memory would be the key word technique. The key word technique is useful when trying to learn a foreign language. To form the key word, you would find an English word or words that sound like the foreign word. Then you would make a mental image of the key word, along with the English translation, and this would be the key word technique.To prove that this technique is successful, Michael Raugh and Richard Atkinson (1975) carried out an experiment on two groups of participants using the key word technique. The participants were asked to memorise sixty Spanish words, but only one group were taught to use the key word technique. The participants using the key word technique scored much higher than the participants that did not use it. Another way we can organise our thinking is by forming concepts. A concept formation is a way of organising our thoughts by putting them into categories.One example of this would be ‘food’ which is a concept that has sub-concepts, such as fruit, meat and vegetables. We could then divide these sub-concepts into further sub-concepts; for example, fruit would be divided into pears, grapes, bananas, apples, etc. The use of concepts can improve memory by helping us when recalling information by putting them into categories. Take a practical situation for example, such as finding an item in a messy drawer. Trying to extract the item from the drawer would prove difficult and would take quite some time to find.However if this drawer was organised into different sections, then it would be a lot easier to find what you are looking for. We develop the same system when using concepts to organise our thinking when recalling information, thus improving our memory. An experiment to prove how con cepts can improve our recall was developed by Weston Bousfield (1953). Participants were asked to learn sixty words that could be placed into four categories. The words were mixed up, but the participants seemed to remember the words more easily when knowing they could be grouped with other words in the same category.So taking the word cat, they would remember the words dog, mouse and rabbit. In similar experiments, by being given the category headings, most participants find that this gives them a cue to access more words. Finally, we can organise our thinking by using schemas. A schema is a mental framework of knowledge about certain situations, objects, people, places and even yourself. Schemas are developed as a result of your experiences of the world and how you think about certain things. For example, if you were to think of the word ‘hospital’, your schema would include a list of everything you associate with a hospital.For example, hospital beds, the smell of cl eaning fluids, ambulance sirens, doctors and nurses, etc. Schemas can help provide a cue to prompt our memory when coming to recalling information. We will have stored the information in a specific category so that it can be recalled more easily. One example of this is shown in an experiment carried out by John Bransford and Marcia Johnson (1972). Participants were read a passage which described in detail the process of washing clothes, however they were not told that the title was ‘washing clothes’.Many of the participants found that they had difficulty in understanding the passage and were unable to recall the details. However once the participants were given the title to the passage, this provided the schema which helped them to recall the information more easily. Although schemas are an efficient way of helping us to organise our thinking by providing a cue when recalling information, they can also distort our recall and lead us astray. Evidence to prove this was ca rried out in a study by William Brewer (1981) to prove the distorting effects of schemas on memory.The participants were taken into an office and asked to wait for 35 seconds. They were then taken into another room and asked to recall the contents that they had seen in the office. Participants recalled the items that are fitting with a typical office schema; however they had failed to notice other objects in the room such as a brick and a pair of pliers, even recalling items such as a telephone which were not in the office. This study shows that we often adjust our recalled information so that it is in fitting with our existing schemas.In some cases this could have a detrimental effect, especially if you have witnessed a crime and need to be called to give an eye witness testimony. When coming to recalling events that happened in the past, there is a chance that the gaps in your memory will be unconsciously filled by inferences. In conclusion, mental images can improve our memory by forming a mental image in our mind, concepts by organising our thoughts and putting them into categories and schemas by developing a mental framework of our knowledge of our experiences.Each of these ways can give us a cue when we come to recalling information, thus improving our memory. However, although these ideas of organising our thinking may help us to improve our memory, they can also distort our recall and lead us astray.Word count = 1,095 References Spoors, P. , Dyer, E. , Finlay, L. and Marsh, G. (2011) starting with psychology, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

Huckelberry Finn Essay

I have decided to analyze three different journal articles related to the novel ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’, written by Mark Twain in 1884. I chose this topic because the novel is widely considered a masterpiece. In fact, Ernest Hemingway described its importance with the following sentence: â€Å"All modern American literature comes from a book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn’. In addition, the topic has a great interest because the novel has always been a subject of controversy due to racial issues and the alleged praise of juvenile delinquency that it portrays. The three articles that and I am going to comment on are the following: 1) Huckleberry Finn and America (Chicago Tribune, January 17, 2002) 2) Huck Finn, Censorship and the N-word Controversy, by Delia Lloyd (www. politicsdaily. com, January 6, 2011) 3) Light out, Huck, They Still Want to ‘Sivilize’ You, by Michiko Kakutani (The New York Times, January 6, 2011). Look more:  satirical play essay In order to compare and analyse these three articles, I am going to focus on two main points: the overall opinion that the authors of the different articles have about the book (which is usually very good) and what they comment on the controversial matters that  novel deals with. First of all, I will concentrate on the overall opinion that the authors express regarding ‘Huckleberry Finn’. On article 1, the author (whose name is not revealed) defines the novel in the following terms: ‘Few books in the U. S history have been as influential—or as controversial—as â€Å"Huckleberry Finn†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Furthermore, he added: ‘ â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† not only has survived the efforts to bury it, it has thrived and it has grown as a teaching tool’. As we could see, the author praises the novel strongly. In addition, he rejects the most critical opinions and defends Twain’s intentions (†¦Twain was  skewering hatred and racism, intolerance and religious bigotry, royalty and imperialism’). In the case of article 2, the author, Delia Lloyd, does not express a clear opinion about the novel itself. However, she declares herself as â€Å"a devotee of Mark Twain’, so it is likely to think that he has quite a positive opinion about the novel. Regarding article 3, its author, Michiko Kakutani, quotes Hemingway’s famous sentence about Twain at the beginning of the article. Apart from that, there are not any more explicit opinions about the novel itself. However, a thorough reading of the article evidences a strong defence of it, and the author shows a very defiant attitude with those who criticize it. In terms of controversy, the articles express different opinions and ideas, and the authors make clear what they think about the nature and the novel and the convenience of altering it. For instance, it is important to point out the different dates in which the articles were written. Whereas article 1 was written in 2002, articles 2 & 3 were written the very same day (January 6, 2011) and were triggered by the same cause (a university  professor, Alan Gribben, had written a new version of ‘Huckleberry Finn’ replacing controversial words such as ‘nigger’ or ‘injun’ for more neutral, inoffensive terms). The author of article 1 is very critical with those who aim to disapprove the novel. In fact, he stated: ‘Twain wrote satire, and there are glorious lessons in his books even if they ruffle readers or appear, simply in the telling of the unvarnished truth, to somehow glorify injustice and racism’. In addition, he ends the article with a sentence that leaves no doubt about his opinion regarding racial and social controversy arisen by the novel. (‘Huckleberry Finn is a glorious celebration of friendship and tolerance triumphing over the racism and hypocrisy of the day. That is why it’s a hard book to read—and why it is one of the greatest works of American Literature’). Delia Lloyd express a somehow ambiguous opinion about whether is convenient or not to introduce changes in the novel. On the one hand, she says to be ‘sympathetic’ with several authors quoted in her article, who are in clear contrast with Gribben’s version of the novel (for instance, Matt Blum is quoted as saying ‘How can we expect children to learn real history if we sanitize it for them? ’, whereas Elon James White argues that ‘the only way to get Americans to deal openly and honestly with prejudice is to force students to be uncomfortable with terms that—unpleasant though they may be—are part and parcel of our country’s blatantly racist past’). On the other hand, Delia Lloyd also makes some positive remarks about Gribben’s ideas later on in the article, probably based upon her experience as a mother (‘As a parent, however, I’m less sympathetic to Gribben’s critics’, or ‘†¦there are more practical reasons to think that having a cleaned-up version of â€Å"Huckleberry Finn† isn’t, as Salon’s. Mary Elizabeth Williams’ puts it, â€Å"the worst thing in the world† ‘). Finally, article 3 is opposed to change the original version of the novel. This could already be implied from the title, which misspells the word ‘civilize’. This is a clear reference to the tendency of some characters of the book to pronounce words wrongly. Michiko Kakutani develops this idea throughout the article, refuting Grribben with subtleness and irony. As a result, he sometimes describes Grubbin labour with adjectives in inverted commas (‘improved’) or using aggressive ones to refer to him and his work. (‘Being an iconic classic, however, hasn’t protected the novel from being banned, bowdlerized and bleeped’). To conclude, I must say that, after reading the novel and several articles related to it, I think that the novel should be preserved in its original state. As far as I’m concerned, such a masterpiece deserves to be respected and remain unaltered. In addition, teachers should be very careful when explaining it to children, and try to transmit them the real (and benevolent) intentions of Mark Twain. Bibliography -Huckleberry Finn and America (Chicago Tribune, January 17, 2002). An article  written in the scope of the PBS series directed by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, which appeared shortly after the article. -Huck Finn, Censorship and the N-word Controversy, by Delia Lloyd (www. politicsdaily. com, January 6, 2011). It is an ambiguous article about the necessity of changing ‘Huckleberry Finn’’s most controversial parts. -Light out, Huck, They Still Want to ‘Sivilize’ You, by Michiko Kakutani (The New York Times, January 6, 2011). A strong defence of the novel and fierce critic of those who intend to change it. -Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (Toni Morrison, 1992).

Comments on The Echoing Green by William Blake essays

Comments on The Echoing Green by William Blake essays The Echoing Green which is written by William Blake is taken from SONGS OF INNOCENCE. It is a beautiful poem bringing forth the reality of life. Time goes on and youth grows old. All the events are repeated over and over again. It is the lifes circulation. .The knowledge coming from information In this poem, Blake has created an idealistic society. The children are free to play from dusk to dawn in the secure surroundings of the village green watched over by their mothers and the old folk. There are three stanzas here. It contains 30lines, every two of which rhymes. In the first stanza, the writer describes a beautiful and merry scenery about childrens play. When the sun dose arise, which means it is the start of a day, the sky is happy which uses personification to create a lively and easy atmosphere. Spring here means the start of a year and all the natural beings in this season are new and fresh. Welcome shows the happy mood of people. Then, the writer presents active skylark thrush to show readers a vivid picture of joyful nature. In the second stanza, from the description of the old people and their words, readers can realize that the memory of their youth is sweet and the youth is so pure and naive. White hair shows the old age of that man. Dose laugh away care tells readers how enviable the youngsters are. When we all girls and boys In our youth-time were seenthe time of youth is the golden time of ones whole life which is worthy memorizing. In the last stanza, the writer gives us a picture of the end of a day which creates a circul ation in the content. The sun does descend is the symbol of the end of that circulation, echoing with the the sun dose arise in the first stanza. Like birds in their nest presents a lively vision ...

DNA Fingerprinting essays

DNA Fingerprinting essays The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) composition of a human determines hair color, eye color, skin color, and any other physical or behavioral traits exhibited. DNA has a specific pattern that is called a DNA fingerprint. The chance that two people would have the same DNA fingerprint is one in thirty billion (except in cases of identical twins) (Mosby 1998). Since it is incredibly rare that two people do have an identical DNA pattern, there are many uses for the DNA Fingerprint. This paper will give a brief summary of what DNA fingerprinting is. It will tell its uses for today as well as how it will be used in the future. It will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using DNA fingerprints. An abstract look at characteristics passed down by the parent and how inherited characteristics are linked to DNA fingerprints. Finally, an experiment with Drosophilia Melonogaster will be discussed. Every human cell (except gametes) contains a set of 23 chromosomes. Inside the chromosome is a coiled mass of genetic material called DNA. The structure of DNA looks like a twisted ladder with rungs. The four nitrogen bases that make up DNA are adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine (A, T, G, C) which are the rungs of the ladder. The pattern in which these fragments align on the ladder (A-G and T-C) is called a DNA fingerprint. Alec Jefferys and colleagues at Lister Institute discovered this concept in 1985 (Levy 1996). There are only slight variations in the DNA pattern of each individual that is why we all essentially have arms, legs, heads and abdomens (Levy 1996). There are two different methods or techniques for testing DNA. One technique used is called Southern Blotting (named after Ed Southern). In order for scientists to use this method, they must first separate the DNA from the cells of the body. Then scientists use restriction enzymes to cut the DNA into different sizes. Gel electrophoresis is used to separate t...