Ethical Challenges and Agency Issues

When an agent finds out that they are going overbudget or over the allotted time limit the most critical element is open communication. With open communication it gives management more advance warning earlier in the budget cycle to make changes that can get the project back on track. The most important element management needs is ample time to make corrections to keep the project on budget and within time constraints. The more time management has the better their chances are of getting the proper resources aligned to get the budget back under control. If the budget issues are due to the client not properly keeping records, the agency could word the contract in a way that allows provisions for adjustments which would enable the agency to form a financial or time resolution with the client. A contract that allows for those types of adjustments limits agency issues and will keep a better working relationship between the two parties. The main issue is deciding what party is responsible or accountable for an overbudget project. If the agency can demonstrate why the budget is off to the client and be able to charge extra for the additional work the agency could delegate more resources to get the project completed in time as well. It is critical for the agency to have open communication between its team members, but it is just as crucial for the agency to be honest with the client as well. The ethical issue that arises with being overbudget is that individual employees don’t want to be penalized or face repercussions for their performance so they delay reporting results to management. When employees are afraid to report shortfalls earlier in the process it can lead to higher costs and major agency issues. The sooner the agent can show the client that planning or reporting issues are occurring they can make vital decisions to get the project back in line. Employees need to objectively think about others involved in their future with the company and client. As long as individuals clarify expectations and apply ethics to a situation it is possible to get a project back on budget. The agency can delegate more resources to an area that needs more manpower or money to get the project completed as promised to the client. Executive Pay Analyzing the ethical challenges as well as any agency issues in the Level of Executive Pay Case Study brings forth hidden issues in the New York Stock Exchange. To better analyze these issues one first has to ask oneself the following question, what is the true definition of ethics. Wheelwright defined ethics as â€Å"that branch of philosophy which is the systematic study of reflective choice, of the standards of right and wrong by which it is to be guided, and of the goods toward which it may ultimately be directed. † Did Mr.  Richard (Dick) Grasso violate any ethical standards set forth by the organization he was representing; did he really violate the systematic study of reflective choice, of the standards of right and wrong? In order to get a straight answer to this question it will dependent in which side of the fence one might find oneself in; if you are on the side of the lucky ones that happens to earn this outrageous sums of money then the answer would be no. But if you find oneself in the other side of the fence with the individuals who earn an average salary that would never get the opportunity to reach the levels of aristocracy that Mr.  Grasso reached then the answer would be yes. The ethical roles on all companies play a big role on the decision making of each enterprise. Before and after Mr. Grasso was hired it was customary to compensate top officials with these large sums of money. Top officials in the NYSE never had to disclose their earning to the public or to the SEC before so it’s hard to say any ethical standards were bent or even broken. This type of compensation to top NYSE officials was customary and there were no real intentions to misguide or mislead the public or the SEC. Just because not everyone in the NYSE had access to potentially earn this outrageous sums of money will indicate to the public that these individuals were directly involved in unethical behavior. All companies in today’s business society have a code of conduct implemented but this does not means that it is being followed. What companies are doing is creating rewards methods in order to retain the services of these top business gurus that would help their business to maximize their profits and Mr. Grasso track record spoke for itself. These incentive programs can help businesses to minimize any unethical attempts to their code of conduct. The general public and the SEC are outrage because of the outlandish compensation top NYSE officials receives but at no point during the case study it mentions that these top officials have a salary cap. One believes that since there were no salary cap on how much NYSE officials might earn there are no ethical implications that could discourage NYSE official from making these large sums of money. What one does believe is that if there are established codes of conduct and employees or management violates them, there should be strict actions taken to prevent the problem from worsening. One believes that all employees including management needs to uphold the highest level of ethical conduct if a company wants to be successful. 1933, 1934, and SOX The financial information users usually rely on opinion of independent auditors to make important economic decisions. To protect users’ interest from fraudulent financial statement, security acts of 1933, 1934, and SOX joined in to ensure adequate information disclosure. The acts provide regulation that goes beyond and requires more extensive disclosure than GAAP to govern corporate financial activities. For example, companies must fill audited annual and unaudited interim financial statements in conformity with regulation S-k. In addition, the regulation S-K governs the footnote disclosure in the financial statements. Congress enacted the acts after the stock market crash in 1929 to regulate the trading of securities to the public. For this reasons, security trading companies must register with SEC prior to issuance of security to ensure that information presented to investor for making accounting decisions is correct. In the aftermath of the famous corporate accounting scandal (Enron) that rock the world market, congress enacted the Sarbanes- Oxley Act (sox) to strengthen corporate accountability and governance of public companies. The provision increases the CEO and auditors responsibilities. CEO and other top executive must certify that company financial statement and other disclosures are fairly presented in accordance with GAAP. In other words, CEO is responsible to ensure that material misstatement does not exist in the financial statement presented to the users. SOX also authorize the Public Company accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to oversee the activities of the registered accounting firm. This changes the way auditors plan, implement and report the audit. The provision increases penalties that could affect an accountant who is involve in the destruction, alternation, or falsification of records in federal investigations. Any violation of such may be subject to fines and imprisonment of up to 20 years, additional training, new quality control procedure, revocation of firm’s registration, and barring from participating in audit of public companies.

Gone with the wind Essay

1.Give a summary of the book. Include the plot, the rising conflict and its climax and so on. 2.Give the character that you identify most? Why? 3.What is the setting of the story and how does it affect the story? What would happen if the story was set in another time or setting? 4.What are the major conflicts in this story? How would have Jesus reacted to one of the conflicts in the story? Gone With the Wind Gone with the wind is one of best novel I have ever read. It is also the greatest love story ever written. It is set during the American civil war (1861) in which the Southern states (the Confederacy) tried to free themselves from the northern states. The main character of this story was the beautiful Scarlett O’Hara. Her father, Gerald O’Hara was an old Irishman who owned a big cotton plantation named Tara. He also owned tens of slaves who worked for him. Scarlett’s mother was Ellen O’Hara and she was one of the kindest and most respected ladies in the county. All her life, Scarlett O’Hara wanted to be like her mother Ellen. The main O’Haras neighbors included the Wilkeses, the Tarletons, and the Calverts. As she was the most beautiful girl in the whole county, she had many beaux compared to any girl in the county. Almost all the boys were in the county were in love with her. But the Tarleton twins, Brent and Stuart, whom Scarlett liked hanging out with were twice madly in love with her compared to any other boys. But the problem was that Scarlett didn’t love them. She  was madly in love with Ashley Wilkes, her neighbor. She believed that Ashley Wilkes and her were meant to be together and neither the coming civil war nor the Tarleton twins were going to change that. But then, Scarlett learnt from the twins that the love of her life Ashley was going to marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton. She could hardly believe this and depression suddenly took the better part of her. Luckily, the Wilkeses organized a barbecue in which they were going to announce Ashley Wilkes engagement to his cousin. Scarlett planned to tell Ashley that she loved him and he would propose to her and forget about his cousin Melanie. and then maybe they would elope. But at the Wilkes’ barbecue, her plan didn’t succeed. Ashley told her that he loved his cousin Melanie because they were alike blood wise and they were alike in many other ways. Now, since they didn’t want to be heard by others as they were having their secret talk they decided to do it in the library. Unfortunately after they had finished their talk and Ashley had left the library, Scarlett started crying. Then from the back of the library, a man appeared, with an evil smile on his face. Scarlett knew that he had been listening to their conversation. His name was Rhett Butler and Scarlett told him that he was no gentleman and she was surprised to hear that she was no lady. To make Ashley Wilkes feel jealous, Scarlett married the timid and shy Charles Hamilton who was Melanie brother. Every boy who was in love with Scarlett was furious and even the Tarletons twins swore to kill Charles. Then the war started, and before all the men went to the war, Scarlett married Charles and Melanie married Ashley on the same wedding and day. Within two weeks of her marriage, Scarlett was already a widow as Charles Hamilton died in the war due pneumonia. But this didn’t worry Scarlett as she didn’t love Charles. But she was sad as Ashley had married another chick and he had gone with her. So everybody confused this, and thought that she was mourning for her husband’s death Charles. Scarlett left her home Tara to Atlanta as her parents thought that a change  of scene would reduce her stress and depression. She was happy because she moving to the Hamilton house where Melanie used to live and also, the half of the house was hers. Through Melanie maybe she would learn how Ashley was doing through the mail he sent to her. For a second time, Scarlett met Rhett Butler who was by now a blockader, as the Yankees were not allowing the Confederates to trade with other countries with nations through the Eastern United States port search New York. Gone with the wind, is a rather big book and hence hard to summarize, but this is what happened next briefly. The Yankees took over Atlanta and Scarlett had to go back to Tara. Then after the Yankees had taken over the south, the former confederate had to pay high taxes for their homes. Scarlett didn’t want to lose Tara she didn’t have the money to pay the taxes. To get the money, she married Frank Kennedy, her sister beau and got the money. But then, Frank died in KKK and Scarlett was left a widow again. Scarlett was tired of waiting for Ashley’s love, so she married Rhett Butler who loved her so much although he didn’t tell her. But she didn’t love him. Then, Melanie Wilkes, died during childbirth and Scarlett thought that she had a shot her love Ashley. She was surprised to know that Ashley didn’t love her but only loved his wife Melanie who now dead. She was so sad and it didn’t take her long to figure out that the only person who ever loved her was Rhett Butler. But when she went to him, she was surprised to know that he was tired of waiting for her love and also he had just lost his beloved daughter Bonnie whom he had substituted with Scarlett as the most important thing in his heart. So there was Scarlett. All life she had loved a man whom didn’t love her. She had loved Ashley Wilkes, and thrice she destroyed her marriages for his sakes, all in the name of love. A love that didn’t exist, a love that she created herself and never got t enjoy her creation not even a bit, what a waste it was. Margaret Mitchel was a genius author and I was so sorry when I read gone with the wind for the second time, I will never be able to read it for as the second time, only a third, maybe. 2. Gone with the wind is rather a large and complex book with different character that is worth identifying and naming. But the main characters that I mostly identify are Scarlett O’Hara the beautiful, cunning, crafty and the farsighted, Rhett Butler the arrogant and the wealthy. Also Melanie and Ashley were wildly mentioned in the story but not as much as Scarlett and Rhett Butler . 2b. I identify most with Scarlett O’ Hara and Rhett Butler as they have something I believe I have. Both Scarlett are hard workers. They both make ends meet to achieve what they want. Also to, they both don’t cares, which I find fascinating, because sometimes, I feel like the biggest don’t care in the world. You might not understand what I am talking about, here is a look of both the characters from the book. vScarlett O’Hara: ‘you miss, are no lady) said Rhett Butler to Scarlett. (Pg. 122) ‘I am a monster of selfishness’ said Scarlett O’Hara. (Pg. 584). She is the main character overall. Almost every beau in the county is in love with her at the beginning and every girl hate her for that Although she is madly in love with Ashley Wilkes who doesn’t really lover her, she marries Charles Hamilton just to make Ashley Wilkes feel jealous. She then becomes a widow within two weeks after Charles is killed in the war (pg129). Being a widow doesn’t mean she a mourner because she didn’t really love Charles. All she cares about is the love of her life Ashley Wilkes. Scarlett faces major difficulties when the Yankees make their way to Atlanta and she has to escape back to her farm Tara. With only one horse, and a mechanically bogus carriage and three children, sick Melanie and herself, she travels ten of miles until she riches Tara. (pg. 383) at Tara she finds that her heroic mother figure is dead and her father has gone crazy. Other struggles of Scarlett include when the Yankees tries to kick her family out of Tara due to unpaid tax and she had to leave for Atlanta to look for money from the rich Rhett Butler only to find that he is in prison. She secretly schemes to cheat and marry her sister Suellen beaux, Frank Kennedy, so that she can get the tax money from him. She succeeds and becomes Mrs. Kennedy. She really bullies Frank Kennedy and make him look less than man especially when she buy and starts managing the sawmills. Fortunately for her, Frank is shot  during a KKK meeting. After being widow for a while, she marries Rhett Butler who loved her so much and gave anything that he wanted. But the only problem is, she couldn’t love him because she was still in love with Ashley Wilkes. By the time she realizes Ashley couldn’t love her, and that she was in love with Rhett Butler, it was too late because Rhett was tired of waiting for her love and he had just lost his most favorite daughter. Her favorite phrase was ‘God Nightgown’ vRhett Butler: ‘You are no gentleman† said Scarlett to Rhett. (pg.122). Nobody including his family could receive Rhett Butler to their homes before the civil war. He was an outcast in his hometown Charleston because he disgraced a girl and refused to marry. But the thing was, Rhett Butler didn’t care what other thought of him. Other people’s opinion didn’t move him. When he saw Scarlett at the Wilkes’ barbecue, he instantly fell in love with her and told himself the day he was going to marry her it would be his lucky day. During the civil war, the Yankees did not allow the Confederacy to trade with the Europeans or any other part of the world through the port of New York City. It was know as the famous Blockade. Then Rhett Butler a wise and corrupted man; made a pact with the Yankees, in that they would sell him goods of all kind. He then go to the confederate, tell them how hard it was to run the blockade, which he actually didn’t and sell his goods to them at double price. The somehow people found out it. 3. Gone with the wind would not have been such a big success if it weren’t set during the American civil war. Don’t get me wrong here. I am not trying to imply that the book is a historical record of the civil war. It is a love story. At the before the civil war, we meet Stuart and Brent Tarleton who are both madly in love with Scarlett and who believe that one of them is going to marry her (pg. 4). We also meet Ashley Wilkes who is planning to marry his cousin Melanie Wilkes. The O’Hara sisters, Suellen who is in love with Frank Kennedy, Careen who is in love with Brent Tarleton who by the way is in love with Scarlett. There many other young people that I will not mention who had sweet hearts and were planning to get married. Then came the news that the war was going to start with a few days and that all the young men available were to leave and join the army. This meant the young  sweethearts were either to get married before the men left for the war or there could wait until the war was over. Well some couple got married other decided to wait. The example I have in mind is when Scarlett O’Hara married Charles Hamilton but when Charles left for the war, he died within less than two weeks. (Pg. 129) If Charles happened to live, then we would have no story because Scarlett wouldn’t have the freedom to marry other men, which she did and made the story deserve to be read at a sitting. The setting made the story more real, entertaining and worth reading. It was a love story because young girls got to lose their sweethearts in the war and then the author would show us how they got to survive, get other lovers and so on. if the story was set on other setting such as the modern times, let say the year 2003 instead of 1861-5, it wouldn’t be such a successful love story because nothing of much significant has happened that affects young sweethearts apart from STDs which don’t mostly affect true and faithful lovers. If the story were set maybe in the middle ages or the renaissance, it would have been quite a boring book to read. Most people don’t want to read how the plague affected young lovers, and there wasn’t romantic love didn’t exists as wildly as it did in the 19th century. But on the other it would be a more interesting love story if it was set during the time of chivalry and brave knights and so on. Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe was a huge success as a romantic story and so was the Alexander Dumas’s The three Musketeer set during 1665 during the reign of Louis the just or the 8th. But none can, or is near the Margaret Mitchel Gone with the wind! What a pity. 4. This is a huge book with almost tens of conflicts and I shall try to get the major conflicts. vThey is an inner conflict between the Tarletons twins, as they are both deeply in love with Scarlett, but they are not sure among them whom she is going to choose among them, then they are surprised out of their wits when she chooses the timid and shy Charles Hamilton vThere is a general conflict between the union and the Confederacy as the Union refuses to recognize it as a free state. This leads to the civil war, which is the general setting of the great novel. vAshley has an inner conflict whether he loves Scarlett or not which leads to the biggest conflict in the book which is: vThere are other smaller conflicts, which I would take hours and tens of pages to name and analyze, so I will just, move to the major conflict. vScarlett is madly in love with Ashley Wilkes who finds it difficult to make it clear to her that he is only in love with his cousin Melanie and is only attracted to Scarlett because of her beauty (pg.118). This end up causing much problem to Scarlett because she end up marrying men she didn’t love. Married Frank Kennedy just to save Tara form being taken away by the Yankees because of the taxes, where by the way Ashley and his family were taking refuge. She also marries Rhett Butler whom she didn’t love because she was tired of waiting for Ashley’s love. And then, Ashley’s wife Melanie dies during childbirth and Scarlett know that she has her chance to marry love of her life, but she gets the surprise of her lifetime, v†Ã¢â‚¬ËœWhat you have gone through†¦Oh Ashley, you should have known, years ago, that you loved her and not me! Why didn’t you! Everything would have been so different, so-Oh you should have and not kept me dangling with all your talk about honor and sacrifice! If you told me long me, years ago, I’d have–It would have killed me but I would have it somehow. But you wait till now, till Melly dying, to find it out and now it is too late to do anything†¦You should have seen so clearly that you wanted me like–like Rhett that Watling woman!'† said Scarlett to Ashley (pg.1002) vJesus Reaction!–Throughout the book, we see that Scarlett is driven to do most of the thing she does because of the love she has for Ashley. She marries Charles to make Ashley feel jealous, she marries Frank Kennedy to save Tara where Ashley was residing. She even makes him a manager of one of her mills so that she can stay closer to him. Ashley on the other is attracted physically to Scarlett but he isn’t sure whether he she for her. Both of this people are married. What they did, according to Jesus, they Committed Adultery! Matthew 5:27-29 says (Jesus) ‘but now I tell you: anyone  who looks at a woman and wants to posses to her is guilty of committing adultery with her in his heart!’ So, both Scarlett and Ashley committed adultery and according to Jesus, Matthew 5:29-30 ‘so if you right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away!†¦It is better than you to lose apart of your body than to go to hell!’ How I get is, Jesus would have advised to stop what they, to tell to show them that they were committing sins in the eyes of our God the creator. He then would have given time to redeem himself and if it didn’t work, he would declare them sinners and St. Paul said that the reward of sins is death! And so did Jesus, but he wouldn’t be that harsh, he is and was Jesus Christ!

PSYCHOLOGY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PSYCHOLOGY - Essay Example who have used these drugs for a very long time may also develop ‘tardive dyskinesia’ which involves many unintentional movements of the lips and tongue and sometimes of the hands and neck. In rare cases there is a toxic reaction to medication that is called ‘neuroleptic malignant syndrome’ which is characterized by high fever and extreme muscle rigidity and which, if untreated may be fatal. The exact reasons why these side effects occur is not fully known. Yet, as it can be surmised the strength of the antipsychotics that is used to combat such a strong disease would not be suitable for the immunity of all the patients and therefore, these side effects occur as a reaction from the body. The Second-Generation antipsychotics which began appearing in 1980s improved the qualities of the treatment as they produced less side effects. They include risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine and ziprasidone and they cause far fewer extrapyramidal symptoms than the earlier antipsychotics. They are also very effective in removing both the positive and the negative symptoms of schizophrenia 1. Paranoid Personality Disorder: People who suffer from paranoid personality disorder have pervasive suspiciousness and distrust of others, which leads to many problems. They see themselves as blameless and blame others instead for their own mistakes and failures. They often look for signs to confirm their suspicion and they are always doubtful of everything. 2. Schizoid Personality Disorder: Individuals suffering from this personality disorder are unable to form social relationships and lack interests in such things. They typically do not have friends with rare exceptions. They remain distant and unable to express their feelings and are seen by others as cold and unfriendly. They are often lonely and lack social skills with solitary interests and occupations. 3. Schizotypal Personality Disorder: In this disorder, an individual are excessively introverted and have pervasive social

Creating a Compelling Vision Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Creating a Compelling Vision - Assignment Example otivation needed for growth, provides a feeling of significance among the parties involved and most importantly, it provides a basis for decision-making (Holbeche, 1998). A number of global leaders are taking the leading role in formulation of visions geared towards placing their organizations in favorable ranks with reference to corporate performance. For example, BBC staff became much more engaged when the British broadcaster switched its vision to â€Å"to be the world’s most creative organization† from the previous â€Å"to be the best managed organization in the public sector†. The employees at the broadcaster have been quoted as saying they are â€Å"lucky† to be there (Mackin, 2007). Such roadmaps have been very effective; both in terms of their communication and implementation, and their fruits can now be seen. Some visions may create more impetus than others may, but the most important thing is that it should capture the core values of the organization, should be attainable and be able to distinguish the organization from its peers in terms of defining the organizations expected

A formal business letter to the Chief Executive of Arsenal FC Essay

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Subprime Recent Events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Subprime Recent Events - Essay Example According to this theory, no government across the globe will allow any big financial institution or a bank to collapse so easily. This is because the after effect or the consequences of such collapses would definitely be great and at time will be out of control to handle despite how big the economy in which the collapse occurred. This exactly is the basic reason as to why AIG was bailed out by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The reasons substantiated by the U.S. Federal Reserve as to why it took this step of bailing out AIG was it felt that the collapse of such a big financial institution would definitely add to the woes of the financial markets and economy which is currently delicate. The Fed also stated that the collapse of AIG would also result in higher cost of borrowings, reduction in the household wealth and also weaken the current performance of the economy. It was also true that the collapse of AIG would not only effect the U.S. economy alone as felt by the Fed but would also have a drastic and negative impact on the global financial markets. Now, the important and popular question that is prevailing in the global markets is to why has Fed bailed out only AIG and not the other financial institution that collapsed during the same time i.e. ... If the scenario or the case of Lehman Brothers' is observed, the company was having problems with its financial situation for almost more than a year now i.e. since the year 2007, one year even before the company bankrupted. In the month of August 2007, the company closed one its subprime lenders. As a result of this the company recorded a onetime post-tax charge of approximately $25 millions. This scenario did not end there. The same kind of situation continued even in the year 2008 when the company wrote down a huge number of its subprime mortgage securities. These write downs of the company's subprime mortgage securities as accounted by the company were a $2.8 billion loss in the second quarter. If the company's financial position or the various situations of the company were looked for the period of January to June of the year 2008, the value of stock loss of the company can be equated to almost 75% (IPC'sIntelligent Investor, 2007). These happenings in the company and its stock position or value itself acted as a sign of caution to its investors. To be specific, as the scenario of financial troubles at Lehman Brothers' was happening for almost one year and as investors knew what was happening in the company and also the decrease in the stock value, it would have been a clever idea to pull out the fund from such a company or at least look at alternatives to save their investments which most of the in vestors of Lehman Brothers' did not do. This alone can be mentioned as a reason behind the U.S. Federal Reserve's move of bailing out AIG and letting off Lehman Brothers'. Similarly, if the scenario at AIG is observed, the financial trouble or crisis occurred all of a sudden in the company. The collapse of Lehman Brothers also would have

Ase brief Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Ase brief - Research Paper Example In order for the appointments to be effective, the commissions were required to be delivered to the appointees. Most of the commission had been duly delivered. Jefferson argued that the remaining commissions were void since they had not been delivered by the expiration of president Adams’ presidential term. Marbury, an intended appointee applied to the US Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to ensure that the commissions were duly delivered. II. The Law Pursuant to Article III Section 2 Clause 2 of the US Constitution, all cases relative to Ambassadors, public Consuls and ministers and cases in which the state is a party, the Supreme Court is possessed of original jurisdiction. Any other case falling under the authority of the judiciary, the Supreme Court will have the authority to determine appeals subject to any exceptions and/or regulations that Congress may apply. Under Section 13 of the Judiciary Act 1789, the Supreme Court has the authority to hear appeals from circuit courts and state courts and will also have the authority to issue prohibitive writs to district courts and writs of mandamus to any appointed courts or individuals in public office. III. Legal Questions/Issues The main legal questions/issues were: Is the claimant entitled to the commission?Does the claimant have a legal remedy? Does the Supreme Court have the jurisdiction to review Congressional decisions and to ascertain whether or not such decisions are constitutional and valid? Does Congress have the authority to broaden the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as contained in Article III of the US Constitution? Does the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction include the authority to issue a writ of mandamus? IV. Holding/Decision and Action The US Supreme Court denied the writ of Mandamus with the result that the claimant did not obtain the commission. V. Opinion John Marshall, delivered the opinion of the court. The Court thus concluded that the claimant was entitled to the commission since it took effect once the Executive exercised its constitutional power of appointment and that power was the final act required of the executive exercising the authority. Therefore, once the commission was signed by the president it became effective. The court also ruled that the claimant did indeed have a legal remedy as it is implicit in the protection of civil rights: any person claiming harm has a right to the protection of the law. The US Supreme Court also ruled that the US Supreme Court has the power to review congressional decisions and to ascertain the constitutionality and validity of those decisions. It is the judiciary’s duty to state the law. In the application of the law to specific cases, the judiciary also has a duty to interpret and explain the applicable rule. When laws contradict each other, the Court has a duty to decide between the two. In all cases, the Constitution, the supreme law of the land will prevail where it is inconsistent with any other law. Moreover, the US Supreme Court ruled that Congress does not have the authority to expand upon the original jurisdiction accorded the Supreme Court beyond that conferred by Article III of the US Constitution. If Congress had such an authority, the Constitutional basis of original jurisdiction would be entirely meaningless. Finally, the Court ruled that the US Supreme Court did not have authority to issue a writ of mandamus within the parameters of its original jurisdic

Marketing Strategy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Nurture Makes Euthanasia More Acceptable Essay Example for Free

Nurture Makes Euthanasia More Acceptable Essay Euthanasia is the practice of mercifully ending a persons life in order to free someone from a deadly disease. The Greek word â€Å"Euthanasia† simply means â€Å"good death†. This refers to the intentional ending of a person or animal’s life to relieve suffering and pain. It is also known as â€Å"Mercy Killing†. It is a serious ethical and political issue in today’s society because it goes against the norms of traditional medicine. It is so, because some people define euthanasia as a form of suicide. However, some people actually think that it is a choice that concerns the quality of life. In fact, people have different standards regarding the worth of life. Others believe that being clinically alive is enough to say that a person should live, but for others, it is simply inadequate. If a person’s life is lacking in self awareness or intrinsic presence as a human being, due to extreme physical or mental suffering, then that person should be able to choose a dignified death rather than an undignified existence. This is evident because of moral conscience, social bias or pressure, and financial situations. It is portrayed that nurture or environmental factors plays a role that make euthanasia more appealing. In short, some people tend to disregard the moral and ethical values of life when they see a person suffering. Indeed, despite of the moral and ethical issues that contradict the concept of euthanasia, there are certain factors it impacts society positively, which leads it to be more socially acceptable. One factor that makes euthanasia more acceptable is because of moral conscience. It is argued that euthanasia is not considered as a good practice because it weakens the society’s respect for life. It is believed that all human beings are to be valued despite of their age, gender, sex, religion, social status and their potential for achievement. However, some people who have a different perspective in regards to conscience oppose this idea. Moral conscience urges a person to do well and avoid evil. In this case, the evil that is being measured in this view is prolonging the suffering of a dying person. Also, the act of accepting to end the suffering of a person is a responsibility that is caused by conscience, which does not violate the purity of life. One of the writers from the book Euthanasia, John Shelby Spong, says that conscience really does play a role in making a decision between mercy killing and natural death. He explains that: â€Å"In the past, when medical care was rudimentary and death seemed to be entirely in the hands of God, the issue of euthanasia was simpler. Humans had little technology that could prolong life. In modern times, however, science endows doctors with previously unimagined powers to keep a body alive even when that person no longer has any quality of life. I believe that assisting in such a person’s suicide does not violate the sanctity of life. However, to prevent people from being victimized by family members who could profit from death of a relative, safeguards need to be established. These include requiring people to have living wills specifying the extent of treatment they want in the event of a serious accident or illness and requiring hospitals to have a bioethics committee to help decide on issues of euthanasia†. 1 In short, moral conscience helps out a dying person to finish his or her suffering. In contrast, they must take into consideration that they can only perform euthanasia if the person dying agrees to get it done. Through this, people are actually respecting the choice of the dying person since being human also means being respected. Being able to respect a person’s decision, it also builds a relationship between the person dying and the person who is witnessing the suffering. This now creates a social bias between the people around them since people tend to persuade what they think is right. This is another factor that makes euthanasia more acceptable. Social bias or pressure is defined to be a prejudicial attitude towards a certain race, culture, gender, color, age, group and religion. It also tends to change a person’s perspective, attitude, and values to conform norms. From the book, Euthanasia: The Debate Over the Right to Die, Seamus Cavan says that: â€Å"According to this argument, the very fact that a person is in the end stages of a terminal illness makes it unlikely, if not impossible, that his or he decision to die could meet any of the proposed criteria. They point out that being in the end stages of a terminal illness is by definition an extraordinary situation that makes it difficult or impossible to make rational decision†. It explains that, people in such a position, they argue, are already faced with all kinds of pressure that make it more likely that they will choose death. They may be extraordinary pain. They may feel humiliated or degraded by their inability to take care of themselves. They may feel as if they are a burden to their family or loved ones, in either an emotional or financial pressure to end their life so as not to incu r further medical costs. They are quite likely to be depressed, in the medical sense, by their situation and thereby unable to think clearly. Their judgment may be clouded by pain or medication. Also, social bias does really affect a person’s decision when it comes to euthanasia. It is appealing because there is an evident sense of personal responsibility and braveness made by the dying person to relieve their own pain. When they think this way, they tend to make it positive for the people around them, instead of prolonging their agony. Even though, it will be hard for the people around the dying person to accept his decision to die, it is still respected. Financial situations, like social bias, also play a role in making euthanasia more appealing. Financial situations are also considered as one of the factors why euthanasia should be more practiced by people. Financial situations are part of euthanasia because some people cannot afford to pay the medical bills of that person. This is much evident especially in 2nd and 3rd world countries because some people don’t earn enough money from their jobs to pay the prices of their hospital bills. In this case, it is considered to be in a form of a passive euthanasia. Passive euthanasia occurs when a patient dies because medical professionals either don’t do something necessary to keep a patient alive or stop doing something that can keep the patient alive. People who suffer from poverty, for example, might not be able to afford life-sustaining drugs or life-saving operation that would extend someone’s life. Passive euthanasia may also occur if doctors turn off a life-support machine or disconnect a feeding tube, which is the only means of keeping a person alive because unfortunate people can’t afford it. These actions may be carried out at the request of a dying person or their legal representative, who is often a family member. Dr. Mark from the article Alive and Kicking also says that: â€Å"As people in developing countries learns about euthanasia, they are requesting it as a way of out of the misery of poverty and hopelessness†. 3 These people believe that it is only through euthanasia that will help them save money and discontinue the suffering and pain of this person. In this concept, it is a win-win situation because both have compromised to be free from suffering physically and financially. All in all, it is important to note that the levels of these factors come into information whether it can be personal, environmental, or financial. It is shown that nurture does affect the views and perspectives of people when it comes to euthanasia. Considerations have to be made whether the position from one of these areas is even acceptable. It is so, especially with the separation of the views between the dying person and society. The three factors that were mentioned earlier must be considered thoroughly in order to see its impact to be positive. In the current world of rationed care and economic rationalism, it is not hard to imagine a situation where the availability of euthanasia becomes seen as a cheaper, easier, rational option to providing intensive support, community living and care for those who wanted and needed it. There is no doubt that euthanasia brings a positive factor that opens the options for people. Certainly, euthanasia has factors that deal with society that makes it more acceptable.

Worldview Assignment Essay Example for Free

Worldview Assignment Essay Every day is a gift and one we should never take for granted. The way we perceive the world around us takes critical thinking and a strong and faithful framework to help guide us through life. The world we live in gets harder and harder and moral responsibility is constantly being challenged. Having a worldview based on structure and faith is crucial to one’s everyday life. In their book, Consider, Dr. Lew Weider and Dr. Ben Gutierrez explain that a worldview is a person’s philosophy of life, a framework a person brings to decision-making, and a filter or lens which a person uses to interpret life and the world around them. Every one person has a worldview. This can be molded by people who surround us from the time we are born to adults. There are multiple groups of people from different cultural and religious backgrounds craving your attention in hopes to share their worldview with you and persuade you. You have to fully desire to understand the teachings of the Bible and be able to spread the gospel starting from the beginning to end. Everything has an origin from which it is created. Having a Christian Worldview I know there is only creator and that is God. I can remember my worldview being shaped as early as three years old. I remember the days of my youth going to church with my family like it was yesterday. From a biblical worldview you can find truth and meaning in the scriptures Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 139:13-26. We know God created the world because our faith and trust start within him. In the Bible, Psalm 8:5 and Genesis 2:15 give identity to mankind. We are strong-willed and viewed as caregivers. We are to nurture all other creatures and the earth around us. In John 17:3 and John 17:20-23 our purpose is the interconnection we have with God. He is the reason we have aligned our life with a Christian framework and one day will be with him in Heaven. In their book, Consider, Dr. Lew Weider and Dr. Ben Gutierrez reveal that Theists answer the questions of morality and ethics primarily through Special Revelation. We have read through scriptures that God loves us all and knows that not one human being is perfect. God knows that only he is righteous and we are given the path to become one with him. Such examples of human nature are found in Psalm 51:5 and Ephesians 2:8-10. The path one human chooses will determine their destiny. In Revelation 21:1-7 and 20:11-15 you will find there is only two ending places in which you will spend eternity. With our faith and our love and commitment we possess as Christians we know our eternity rest within the Heavens above. It is an obligation we have to God to follow his guidance and have comfort in knowing that he knows us better than anyone and one day we will join him. I try hard every day to view the world with an open heart and clean slate. It’s hard not to dwell on events that have happened that was tough, but you have to forgive and forget. I know that I am very blessed. God has given this life and we should open ourselves to love and faith. I see hundreds of people throughout my week and I try to greet them with a smile and a â€Å"Hello†. We need to see the good in people and think of how God would want us to treat each other. If you were having a rough day maybe that one positive experience will uplift you and put you in a better place. Some people live a hard life, some by choice and some by unfortunate circumstances. I’ve always wanted to help heal the people that are sick and need medical attention. It’s been my calling since I was a little girl. I just wanted to help people and I know that God led me down the right path. Currently, I work as a Respiratory Therapist and I come into contact with a lot of ill people. I try my hardest to serve them in a way that I can change their outcome and improve their health. I feel positive and rewarded with the career path I have chosen and I know I am here for a reason. We should take each day as a blessing and strive to be the best person we know how to be. I know these things because my Christian Worldview has put everything into perspective for me. I know what I need to do. I want to help and I want to make a difference in the world. It all starts with believing and God will lead you the rest of the way.

A strategy and marketing plan for Coca Cola

A strategy and marketing plan for Coca Cola The strategic objective plan must be closed align to achieve targeted goal of any organisation. Effective and achievable market plan can support to meet ultimate goal of business organisation that can be profit maximization or the market leader. The effective marketing plan talks about generic strategies and strategies about pricing, distribution, promotion, advertising and market segmentation. In other hand market penetration, market share, profit margins, budget/finance, technology and culture. These are the way to meet the main objective of business. Beside of these, this research highlight mainly how strategy of organisation impact or supports on the marketing plan. When a business organisation introduces a product the organisation should have concerned marketing action plan that takes construction of the marketing plan. Marketing plan must support and promote the strategic objective of the business organisation. This research going to talk about coca cola Company which is worlds largest beverage company providing beverages such as 100 percent fruit juices and fruit drinks, sports and energy drinks, teas and coffees and milk and soy-based beverage. The main objective of this assignment is enlightening the strategic objective of coca- cola Company by relating with impact, construction and promotion or support of marketing plan. Strategic objective of Coca-Cola Company or formation of marketing plan gives the solid shape or action program of marketing plan. Evaluating and relating marketing plan with strategic objective of Coca-Cola Company. The assignment is appeared extremely play role in our study to understand the phases of the marketing plan that is situation analysis marketing strategic mix, decision, implementation and control. In one hand this assignment talks about alignment of marketing plan or phases with strategic objectives and on the other hand this assignment gives strategic marketing crucial idea to global challenge on marketing field and solution. And other hand this study gives in-depth knowledge on making marketing decision, on marketing competition, on target market and how to maximize the profit and sales. This research highlights on five different sections. In first section identifying and justifying objective of assignment and in second sections accessing organisational research, third section evaluating the risk and opportunities fourth section marketing strategies and ultimately in five section is implementing and monitoring the marketing plans and conclude with analysis and recommendation. 1.1 Explaining the strategy of the Coca-Coal impacts on marketing plan. Every organisation should have business plan which is regularly reviewed in order to regulate the business smoothly. Most of the plans are planed by corporate leader. Normally Strategic plan guides by marketing in a business organisation. It makes three type of plan that is the annual plan the long range and strategic plan. So coca- cola Companys main strategic mission, vision and objectives are to refresh the world, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness, to create value and make difference similarly vision take place within people, known as quality beverage brand, anticipate and satisfy consumers needs. Create mutual enduring value to stake holders, profit maximization and achieve short term as well long term goal and be brand. To achieve the above strategic objective as well as vision and mission. Coca-cola Company launched powerade as a new product. (This product has been chosen by FIFA to Hydrate 2010 FIFA world cup) As per the changes business environment, business organisation must adapt market opportunities so, in order to maintain strategic fit of capabilities with marketplace. The decision implementation which comes from business analysis is called marketing planning. Strategic objective of coca-cola company gives the answer of question where we going? in long term and marketing plan talks about way, from generating business mission to implementing and controlling the result of plan. Jobbers six panning question helping to coca-cola Company, the first question help to sketch the present situation of company, second question gives the analyses of company, third question looking to future plan of company accordingly six question allow to know us the plan remains unchanged, if not then company modify its plan. Marketing is not evitable component part of the strategic objective. The marketing act as bridge to pass all information of market, which are the basic needs to make strategic planning. The coca-cola company made the every market decision on the basis of market information so marketing is no avoidable from strategic planning. B1) Coca Cola company is global company to achieve the mission coca-cola Company has been produced Powerade. Now it is in market as new product but as global company it has so many challenge in macro and micro level which is can affect to achieve goal. Mainly in macro factor coca-cola Company has consider following challenge. Political factors:- Political factors mainly refers to government policy such as financial policy, legislation priority sector of government and affect to business sector directly indirectly and coca cola company cannot escape from this. Economic factors: Being global company worlds economy can affect coca-cola company. In this category refers mainly interest rates, exchange rates national income, inflation, unemployment, stock market to these. Social factor: Change in social factor can affect the business organisation mainly in social impact arise from ageing population, attitudes to work, income distribution. Company should give attention desire of people which are differ to geographically, culturally, environmentally, coca-cola realise it because demand of Europe in different from Asia. Technological change: If refers the change in technology change in product. In coca-cola different variety of coca-cola is example of this. Environment: Environment include weather and climate change for coca-cola company. According, to Asian trends if weather is hot then the demand of coca-cola will increase. Legal factor: Legal factor includes mainly competitors law these all can increase extra burden for company. Rest of these, the market also play vital role success of mission vision as well as marketing plan. In market there are many components which affect directly indirectly to achieve the goal of company. Generally we consider market size, growth rates, trends, consumer income, interest, market segmentation and supplier of coca-cola company, competitive. Similarly in internal marketing audit or micro side of coca-cola there are many component which varies relation between strategies and marketing plan they are, market share, sales, profit margin, cost, strategic issues, effectiveness of marketing mix, marketing structure, marketing system. Above each and every internal as well as external component are considerable to make marketing plan. 1.2 Identifying the component part of marketing plan of Coca-Cola. B2) SWOT analysis it examine the companys strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. After SWOT analysis we get the better idea to set marketing plans. In current state, coca-cola strength in terms of human resource, finance, market. But in terms of competition this company is Strength Company because it is market leader of beverage market. FIGURE According to above figure (SWOT analysis) sows to coca-cola company how to turn weaknesses into strength and threats into opportunities. These types of change called conversion strategies in this way SWOT analysis helps to develop strategic marketing plan. The result of marketing audit and SWOT analysis leads to coca-cola company to define marketing objectives. Objectives set the new (powerade) product sell in which market to solve this question direct the company to strategic trust that is the generic option. FIGURE ANSOFF MARIX These marketing strategies talks about the alternative comprise: Market penetration/expiation:- existing product in existing markets, basically this strategies believes old customer will be continue and new customer also begin to buy the brand. Product development:- new/related products for existing markets, this strategy explain increasing sales by improvement of product. Market development:- existing product in new/ related markets, this strategies used to sell in same product in new market. Enter in new market:- new/related product for new/related markets, this strategies will prevail when new product are develop for new market. In the context product powerade is produced by coca-cola company on the basis of product development. BCG Market direction and strategic objective must be co-related and this open the way to decide the product BCG matrix is the tools to decide about product. BCG matrix approach can help to understand mistake which is frequently made by any business organisation in this matter the current situation of coca-cola and stand place of coca-cola. This analysis clearly gives product and service portfolio of coca-cola. The strength of company helps to exploit the most alternative opportunities which are available in market for this. The company must analysis its current business portfolio and decide where it should invest and develop the strategies. BCG matrix helps to develop the strategic plans. Market share Figure of BCG According to figure starts represents high market growth and high market share so it shows they should generate large amount of cash. Cash cows indicate low market growth and high market share it means investment needed should be low keep profit high. Similarly Dogs category business shows the market growth low and market share also low which means beware of expensive turn around plans. And question mark category business means high growth market and low market share it represent high demand due to low market share. According this BCG matrix analysis coca-cola company falling on cash cow where a low growth and high market share is. So, the profit and cash generation is high because of low growth, investment needed should be low. The amount received from cash cows are often used to help other business or to give dividends to stockholders. So coca-cola should hold on what going on. Core strategies indicate the appropriate market, competitors, competitive advantage, and effectiveness of core strategy, marketing mix decision implementation, and control. Target market gives information to coca-cola company about market segmentation. In other words we can say which market is suitable for the product powerade, furthermore market segmentation talks about the segment of market where costumers are enough for product because it is impossible that all population can be the costumer of that particular product. When the coca-cola company going in market it should give look towards its competitor. If the rival competitors positions are weak then it is easy to compete. The coca-cola has strong competitor Pepsi so it needs to do extra homework before interning in market. Another component of core strategy is competitive advantage the coca-cola company can exploit competitive advantage by giving look in quality, relatively low price, providing unique service. The strategies should be sustainable so coca-cola company test the effectiveness of core strategy by using these components which is stating in figure. FIGURE P- 50,2.6 According to figure all component should support to the core strategy. In decision making process coca-cola should do homework in term of price level, promotional techniques of employ distribution methods. The most importance part of marketing plan is implementation part, it evaluate the plan is strong or week. And it needs to be revised and changed if it needed it called controlling process. 1.3 Identifying issues of risk of marketing plan of Coca-Coal. Even though there are many example of failure marketing plan because of conflict in management team, reward system, information system, culture, personalities, politics, lack of knowledge and skills. These components are enough to create risk within the coca-cola company. However, there are many methods of conflict dissolve some of them are: Senior management support:- the management should be commitment in the plan and act as middle man to give the total support. Match the planning system with culture of business:-as the example of the business top-down/bottom-up these culture can bring conflict in business. The reward system:-this should reward the achievement of long-term objective rather then exclusively focus on short-term result. Communication:-plan should be communicate within the member who are directly or indirectly involve in plan. Training and development:-training should be provided if necessary. These activities help to minimise the risk of marketing plan in implementing process of coca-cola company. Construction of marketing plan 2.1 Identifying the level of importance of each component of the plan Construction of marketing plan is no thing but it gives a concrete way to meet the strategic objective of a business. Mainly it talks about marketing audit, SWOT analysis issue, marketing strategy, market mix, finance, control and implementation. Mainly component of plan co-ordinate and integrate to all tools of marketing. Component of the plan and its important briefly. Marketing has been defined as the task of finding and filling needs. Marketing plans comes in a business organisation as supporting plan of strategic objectives. Organisation should have to make different marketing plan to different product and brand. In a marketing plan includes executive summary, the current marketing situation, threats and opportunities, objective and issues, marketing strategies, action programmes, budgets and controls. Component Importance Executive summary To present a quick overview of the plan for quick management review Current marketing situation This represent the current position of company that means background, product, competition and distribution SWOT analysis It is important because it show the companys strength, weakness, opportunities and threats Objective and issues In this areas the main issues of companys are sales, market share, profit etc that will affect the objectives of the company Marketing strategy It is important to approach to achieve the strategic objective Action programmes It gives the way, time boundary, cost so it is very important Finance/Budget This gives the constraint of finance to achieve the goal Control Indicates how the progress of plan will be monitored. Marketing Mix: To match the consumer needs coca-cola company develops the marketing mix. Manly marketing mix gives the better knowledge about four major elements. Basically it called 4Ps framework marketing mix, now it extended to 7Ps. They are product, price, place, promotion, people, process, physical evidence. The Coca-Cola Company has using 7Ps framework to make decision. And some company has used 4Cs framework also. Effective marketing mix gives decision about targeted costumer groups and choice of costumer or needs of costumer at product or service level. The roles of marketing mix in decision making place of coca-cola company are as tools to give information about competitive advantage, well blended, corporate resources. FIGURE OF EFFECTIVE MARKETING MIX p.19, f1.7 The coca-cola company directed by marketing mix that is clear performance differ from competitor so the company is single leader in beverage market. The marketing mix of coca-cola is well blended; the marketing strategy is well joined with strategy. Even though the company has some weakness in term of product, if company give a look in product then it can perform better than present. This survey show powerade should develop more new flavours according to future market demand. Powerade should update its test and out look of the bottle. In addition powerade should consider dropping flavours that show weak sales in order to accommodate new flavours. In effective marketing mix should have some characteristics the marketing mix should give decision. Which decision can address customers needs, can exploit competitive advantage, and can match with companys strategy, and well blended with 4Ps or 7Ps or 4Cs framework. These things only cover by 7Ps framework so the 7Ps framework marketing mix is effective to coca-cola company. 2.2 Identifying mitigation strategies for high risk components of the plan of Coca-Cola The introduction stages starts when products lunched in this period sales will be very slow, must of the organisation faced negative profit and high cost. There are some stages where organisation has to face high risk in innovation of new product. When the coca-cola company launched powerade the stages are: where high risk product development stage Introduction stage Growth stage After passing these stages product will be in maturity stage where organisation make more profit and try to stay in this stage after this stage is decline stage which is also risk and here need to some force/change to stay in maturity stage. The action plan, basically developing a very detailed list of to do thing where we included task, time and budget or cost framework with relating marketing mix the coca-cola company in estimate the budget and talks in marketing about activities. The company have decided the typical marketing expense to promote of Powerade. The areas of expense are marketing communication, market research, promotion, advertisement and public relations. The budget should response the key question which are arise from business mission, market audit, SWOT analysis, marketing objectives, strategies, decision implementation and finally control. The action plan is control by financial capability of the organisation. Plan cannot go very far from their budget. Budget talks about resource allocation where includes the particular of income and expenditure mainly coca-cola company divides into tow parts that is income and expenditure. The coca-cola companys main income sources are investment, sales, share, interest, etc similarly in cost side there are two types of cost that is fixed and variable cost. Fixed cost remain always same in short-term and variable overhead are depends upon unit of production. Coca-cola Company forecast the range of income and expenditure on the basis of previous income and expenditure or coca-cola company make budget on the basis of past year. The main headings of variable cost are raw materials, labour, selling and distribution etc. Marketing mix gives the core knowledge on four major elements product, price, place, promotion. Further more this framework inform about consumers needs, how to exploit the competitive advantage it blend the core strategy with marketing mix, and it helps to match corporate resources. These all things help to make right decision to headed coca-cola company. 2.3 Producing marketing plan for Coca-Cola Coca-cola Company is using the marketing mix as a tool of decision making. Marketing mix control to company it gives the information to the company whether marketing implication is in right direction or not the marketing mix of the powerade giving information to company about the powerade as a product performing well or it needs to change to change or modify in which place if performing well and where it should perform. The price set in it is reachable for customer or needs to change. What tools are using to promote it or what promotion tools are using by company like advertisement, offers, modification in shape and size, addition satisfied? And skilful people or staff, they can influence the organisation, physical evidence process where research it, physical product design which put great important in marketing mix of the powerade. Budget can influence to the marketing plan of the company if company has enough budget then marketing plan can extend programme and if company is not strong economically then company should minimize the action. In other words marketing activities or plan, keep on tract by budget over the period. There is no hard and fast rule that your marketing budget should be limits. We can assume if you planning to lunch new product then you may increase budget figure in practice 10% of your expected gross sales in maximum. So every marketing plan will control by budget. The marketing plan of powerade structure are executive summary current market situation, SWOT analysis objective and issues marketing strategy, action programmes budgets and controls incorporating to developed marketing plan for coca-cola. 3.1 Discussing how the plan support strategic objectives of Coca-Cola The coca-cola company has strategic objective some of them are to refresh the world, to inspire moment of optimum, create value and make difference, achieve the sustainable quality growth, maintain weight action and decision within the customer, take place within customer. Bring the worlds portfolio of quality beverage, create mutual enduring value within partners, maximized the profit, learn and fast moving productivity, maintain the winning culture, focus on market, work smart, etc. To gain these strategic objective marketing plan be the support programmes. The innovation of power is one of the brick of the strategic objectives. Powerade is innovative product which helping to keep satisfy customer and support by giving sports players. Now a day Powerade will concentrate on solidifying its position in the current market and aggressively targeting more casual athletes. Powerade focussing test as well which are helps to extent the market and maximize the profit. Similarly satisfy the customers desire of water. The most important part of the market strategy is to vastly expand coverage take advantage economics of scale and use the channels of coca-cola. The coca-cola company cant go far because there are budget and some controlling components constrain. The budget word itself talks, use of limited resources for rational distribution. *Within coca-cola company strategic plans are guided marketing plans. In marketing plans it has typical structure with respective purpose which is incorporated while developing marketing plan for coca-cola company. The proposes are: present a quick overview of the plan for quick management review, The marketing audit that presents background data on the market, product, competition, and distribution. The SWOT analysis presents companys main strength, weakness, and opportunities and threats facing. Defines the coca-cola companys objectives in the area like sales, market share, and profit which affect the companys objective issue, marketing strategy that presents the board marketing approach that will be use to achieve the plans of objective, action programme which specify the action plan of product Powerade and responsibilities, budget forecast the profit and loss and expected financial out comes from the plan. Control indicates the progress of the marketing plans of the Powerade and monitoring. The marketing plans of coca-cola company guided by its strategic objective marketing plans focus on distribution side like sales, consumer, profit, market share/growth, these all things guides by strategic objectives. The strategic objective and marketing plan more like same but marketing plan act as support of strategic objective. According to Jobber, there are some marketing structures. They are practiced in different company. No marketing department:-In practice small company cant afford all department financially so owners of this type of organisation function as marketing department. Functional organisation:-The small companies grow or importance of marketing realised, then this type company up great the sales as marketing department. Product-based organisation:-In this type of organisation establish marketing department for focusing a specific single product/product, their key role is to promote the brand/product. Matrix organisation:-this type of organisation use to produce wide rang of product to focusing diverse market the structure resembles a grid. Market-centred organisation:-These types of organisation focus on market demand or they develop new product on the basis of costumer needs and requirement. For example coca-cola company is market centred company it producing product as costumers test, preference feedback. FIGURE 20.11 p 777 In initial stage of implementing new marketing plan of company there were many questions within the staff and they resist directly or indirectly. To solve the resistance the company use to use various tools, one of them is reward system. It can give positive impression in the success of marketing planning in short-term as well as long term. The coca-cola company using reward system as motivation tools to staff. When coca-cola lunched powerade it announced some incentives to promote the plan they are commission for the sales depart according to their performance, 7% bonus of profit to all staff, upgrading to best performer staff. These types of reward system helps to break resistance and run the plan smoothly with full support of all staff in short-term. And in long-term reward system help to coca-cola company to implement and meet the marketing goal as well as achieve strategic plan. To implement the marketing plan successfully Wilson and Giligan introduced five point frameworks are very important and implacable for coca-cola company. Coca-cola Company has strategic linked short-run and long-run programme. These programmes are synergy with various element of marketing mix. Every segment is assessing appropriate criteria for performance. Resources are allocated rationally and with provision of review. Every product and decisions are interlinked with strategic marketing. These five points framework are helping to coca-cola company to be sensitive in consumer side, market side and to be conscious with risk Kotler et al has prescribed process of measuring and evaluating of the marketing plans control is very useful to coca-cola company. Set goals talks about what coca-cola is heading. Measuring performance it means what is happing in performance in coca-cola. Evaluating is coca-cola doing well? Corrective action what coca-cola should need to do? These controlling tools help to focus the company to achieve the ultimate goals. Jobbers concept is more concentred towards costumers satisfaction it talks about day-to-day on going Marketing activities the coca-cola company is using following tools as controlling measure. Customer satisfaction measurement:-To measure customers satisfaction coca-cola company using interview method. Sales and market share analysis:-The Company using over sales revenue to measure the sales performance and for market share it using comparison with its rival company. Cost and profitability analysis:-the company using cost and revenue analysis as control measure. (D.1-last) Assess the role of informationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. To implement the marketing plan of Pawerade successfully it is necessary to flow information top to down. So, coca-cola company used various ways to convey the massage, such as IT, meetings, seminars, notice board, etc. There are vital role of information system à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Marketing control

Threats and opportunities from site :: essays research papers

Threats to sustainability Imitation or substitution Market entry Powerful buyers and suppliers Unpredictable changes in external environment Factors beyond a firm's control (bad luck) Limitations of the RBV Presented as static concept - however, many firms need to be able to cope with turbulent environments Suggests that managers may have limited ability to create sustained competitive advantages (empirical support by "perpetually failing firms" - firms that consistently earn normal or below-normal returns Difficult to test empirically - data problem (at the level of the unit of analysis, Le., resources and capabilities) What is the appropriate level of analysis? How deeply does one have to look? Principles of capabilities-based competition Goal : Build difficult-to-imitate organizational capabilities that distinguish a company from its competitors Principles : o The building blocks of strategy are business processes o The transformation of processes into valuable strategic capabilities is a key to success o Capabilities are created by making strategic investments in support infrastructure o CEO must be responsible, because competing on capabilities involves cross-functionality Some lessons learned from the capabilities perspective A capability begins and ends with the customer (or supplier) The longer and more complex the string of business processes, the harder it is to transform into a capability or to duplicate or imitate Outsourcing can be dangerous A strategy for growth : Transfer essential business processes to New geographic areas (e.g., Wal-Mart) or to New businesses (e.g., Honda) There is a difference between capabilities and core competencies Core competencies Coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technology Are communication, involvement, and a deep commitment to working across organizational boundaries Do not diminish with use, but are enhanced as they are applied and shared Are the glue that binds existing businesses Are difficult to imitate, especially if they are a complex harmonization of individual technologies and production skills Are corporate resources and may be reallocated by corporate management Tests to identify core competence : Does it provide access to a wide variety of markets ? Does it make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product? Is it difficult for competitors to imitate? Dynamic capabilities Definition : Ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external processes and competencies to address a rapidly changing environment; ability to maintain and adapt the capabilities that are the basis of competitive advantage Hypothesis : Competitive advantage of a firm lies with its processes Roles of organizational and managerial processes :

Persuasion Written by Jane Austen Essay examples -- motherhood, jamaica

The short story Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid is a mother’s compilation of advice, skills, and life experience to her daughter. The mother believes that her offer of practical and helpful guidance will assist her daughter in becoming a proper woman, and gaining a fulfilling life and respectable status in the community. Posed against the mother’s sincere concern for her daughter’s future is Sir Walter’s superficial affection to his daughters in the novel Persuasion written by Jane Austen. Due to his detailed attention for appearance and social rank, Sir Walter has been negligent to his daughters’ interests and fails to fulfill his responsibility as a father. Throughout both literary works, the use of language and tone towards persuasive endeavors reveals the difference in family dynamics and the success of persuasion on the character’s transformation. The mother’s genuine care for her daughter in girl is displayed through her imperative instructions. The mother decides to transfer her domestic knowledge and life experience to her daughter in order to shape her daughter’s behavior from a young age. She gives out detailed instruction on how to â€Å"sew a button, how to hem a dress when the hem coming down to how to iron a khaki shirt so that it does not have a crease† (Kincaid). Although heming a dress is not a difficult chore, the mother emphasizes the its importance since she understands that the appearance of clothing reflects a woman’s character. Because domestic skills serve as a measurement for women’s competence and self-worth, the daughter’s inability to take care of her clothes will indicate her lack of interest in household affair and organizational skills. Through these advice, the mother highlights the importance of house... ...an only find true happiness in marriage with someone who shares similar manners and treasure people’s qualities over their look and status. This is when Anne’s sensibility allows her to disregard her family’s persuasion and become determined to fulfill her love with Wentworth. The persuasive attempts in both literary works produce different results. The effectiveness of the mother’s guidance to her daughter is questioned since the girl cannot recognize the essence of her mother’s lesson. Despite that, the mother’s beneficial instruction serves as a standard for the daughter to reflect her future behaviors in order to live up to the community’s expectations. On the other hand, Anne’s value of candid expression and lasting relationship dissuades her from obliging to her family’s meaningless duty to place her love and interest above to experience fulfillment in life. Persuasion Written by Jane Austen Essay examples -- motherhood, jamaica The short story Girl written by Jamaica Kincaid is a mother’s compilation of advice, skills, and life experience to her daughter. The mother believes that her offer of practical and helpful guidance will assist her daughter in becoming a proper woman, and gaining a fulfilling life and respectable status in the community. Posed against the mother’s sincere concern for her daughter’s future is Sir Walter’s superficial affection to his daughters in the novel Persuasion written by Jane Austen. Due to his detailed attention for appearance and social rank, Sir Walter has been negligent to his daughters’ interests and fails to fulfill his responsibility as a father. Throughout both literary works, the use of language and tone towards persuasive endeavors reveals the difference in family dynamics and the success of persuasion on the character’s transformation. The mother’s genuine care for her daughter in girl is displayed through her imperative instructions. The mother decides to transfer her domestic knowledge and life experience to her daughter in order to shape her daughter’s behavior from a young age. She gives out detailed instruction on how to â€Å"sew a button, how to hem a dress when the hem coming down to how to iron a khaki shirt so that it does not have a crease† (Kincaid). Although heming a dress is not a difficult chore, the mother emphasizes the its importance since she understands that the appearance of clothing reflects a woman’s character. Because domestic skills serve as a measurement for women’s competence and self-worth, the daughter’s inability to take care of her clothes will indicate her lack of interest in household affair and organizational skills. Through these advice, the mother highlights the importance of house... ...an only find true happiness in marriage with someone who shares similar manners and treasure people’s qualities over their look and status. This is when Anne’s sensibility allows her to disregard her family’s persuasion and become determined to fulfill her love with Wentworth. The persuasive attempts in both literary works produce different results. The effectiveness of the mother’s guidance to her daughter is questioned since the girl cannot recognize the essence of her mother’s lesson. Despite that, the mother’s beneficial instruction serves as a standard for the daughter to reflect her future behaviors in order to live up to the community’s expectations. On the other hand, Anne’s value of candid expression and lasting relationship dissuades her from obliging to her family’s meaningless duty to place her love and interest above to experience fulfillment in life.

The Golden Lily Chapter 20

GETTING TO TREY was easier said than done. A girl getting into the guys' dorm at normal hours would've been difficult enough. But after curfew? In the middle of the night? Nearly impossible. I had to resort to creative options and called Eddie while I was driving Adrian home. One thing I never had to feel guilty about was calling Eddie at any hour. He kept his ringer on (much to Micah's delight, no doubt), and I suspected he slept with the phone next to his pillow. â€Å"Yes?† Eddie's voice was alert and ready, as though he hadn't been asleep at all. That was just how he was. â€Å"I need you to go see if you can wake up Trey,† I told him. â€Å"Sonya's been kidnapped and is being held at some weird compound with a logo like Trey's tattoo. We need to find out what he knows.† This was the first time Eddie was hearing about Sonya's kidnapping, but he didn't ask for further information – or how I'd known her location. He knew she'd been in danger recently, and this quick message was enough to get him going. I didn't exactly know what would happen when Eddie did find Trey, seeing as there was no way I'd be able to talk to Trey myself until morning. Still, we had to start somewhere. â€Å"Okay,† said Eddie. â€Å"I'm on it. I'll call you back.† We disconnected, and I stifled a yawn. â€Å"Well, here goes nothing. Let's hope Eddie can find out something.† â€Å"Preferably without beating up Trey in the process,† said Adrian. He snuggled against the passenger seat, the only sign that he too was feeling tired from our late night. He'd long since converted from a vampire's nocturnal schedule. â€Å"Since that might limit how much we can find out.† I made a face. â€Å"If Trey's somehow involved with this, I'm not sure I want to take it easy on him. And yet†¦ I just can't believe he is.† â€Å"People fool each other all the time. Look at you. You think Trey knows you're part of a secret society helping to keep vampires hidden from the world?† â€Å"Actually†¦ yes.† I stopped at a red light and thought back on some of Trey's weird behaviors. â€Å"He knows Jill's a Moroi, I'm almost certain of it. He didn't notice right away, but when he did, he kept telling me to keep her hidden. Then after Sonya was attacked, he told me to stay safe.† A horrible realization was dawning on me. â€Å"He knew. He knew I was friends with Sonya. He probably knew about the attack and never said anything!† â€Å"Not a surprise if his group's working counter to yours.† Adrian's tone softened. â€Å"If it makes you feel better, it sounds like he was kind of conflicted if he was trying to warn you.† â€Å"I don't know that it does. Oh, Adrian.† I pulled up in front of his building and saw the yellow Mustang illuminated in the streetlight. â€Å"You left the car out. You're lucky it didn't get towed.† â€Å"I'll move it,† he said. â€Å"And don't look at me like that. It's within a half-mile radius. I'm not breaking your rules.† â€Å"Just be careful,† I muttered. He opened Latte's door and glanced back at me. â€Å"You sure you want to go back to the school? You'll be locked in until morning.† â€Å"Not much I can do until then anyway. I want to be there the instant I can get access to Trey. I'll trust in Eddie for now.† Adrian looked reluctant to leave me but finally nodded. â€Å"Call if you need anything. I'm going to keep trying to see if I can find Sonya in her dreams. Didn't have much luck earlier.† One of spirit's more disconcerting powers was the user's ability to intrude on the dreams of other people. â€Å"Is she just not asleep?† â€Å"That, or drugged.† Neither option made me feel any better. He gave me one last, lingering look before leaving. I returned to Amberwood where a sleepy student aide waved me in without comment. Mrs. Weathers had long since gone home, and her overnight coverage didn't seem particularly concerned about my comings and goings. As I was walking up the stairs, my phone rang. Eddie. â€Å"Well, it took forever, but I finally woke his roommate up,† he told me. â€Å"And?† â€Å"He's not there. I guess he wasn't last night either. Some kind of family emergency.† â€Å"No word on when he'll be back?† I was beginning to think all of Trey's â€Å"family stuff† might be more insidious than I'd guessed. I was also willing to bet he wasn't the only one with a sun tattoo. â€Å"No.† I DRIFTED IN AND OUT of sleep that night. My body was exhausted from the magic, but I was too on edge about Sonya to fully give in to the fatigue. I keep waking up and checking my cell phone, afraid I'd missed some call – despite the fact that it was on its loudest setting. I finally gave up and got out of bed a couple of hours before the cafeteria's breakfast began. By the time I'd showered and dressed – and put my coffee maker into high gear – I was back into open hours on campus. Not that it did me much good. I made two more calls after that, first to Spencer's to see if Trey was working. I didn't expect him to be, but it was a good excuse to see if he'd been there in the last couple of days. He hadn't been. My next call was to Stanton, reporting Sonya's disappearance. I told her we had a lead that connected one of my classmates to the vampire hunters and that Sonya was likely being held at a compound outside of town. I didn't elaborate on how I knew, and Stanton was distracted enough by the kidnapping in general to ask much more. At breakfast, I found my â€Å"family† sitting with Micah over at West's cafeteria. Eddie, Angeline, and Jill's troubled faces told me they all knew about Sonya. Micah was cheerfully chatting about something, and I had a feeling his presence was preventing the others from discussing what they really wanted to. When Micah turned to ask Eddie something, I leaned over and murmured to Jill, â€Å"Get him out of here.† â€Å"Tell him to go?† she whispered back. â€Å"If you need to. Or go with him.† â€Å"But I want to – â€Å" She bit her lip as Micah's attention returned to her. She looked unhappy about what she had to do, but soon put on the resolved expression that recently I'd often seen her wear. She nodded toward Micah's plate. â€Å"Hey, are you about done? I need to check on something with Miss Yamani. Will you come with me?† Micah brightened. â€Å"Of course.† Once the two of them were gone, I turned to Eddie and Angeline. â€Å"Any sign of Trey?† I asked. â€Å"No,† said Eddie. â€Å"I checked in again this morning. His roommate's starting to hate me. Can't say I blame him.† â€Å"This is driving me crazy!† I said, feeling like I could beat my head against the wall. â€Å"We're so close and yet helpless. Every minute that goes by is another that Sonya doesn't have.† He grimaced. â€Å"Are we sure she's alive?† â€Å"She was last night,† I said. Both Eddie and Angeline looked at me in amazement. â€Å"How do you know?† she asked. â€Å"Um, well, I – no way!† My jaw dropped as I stared past Eddie. â€Å"It's Trey!† Sure enough, a bleary-eyed Trey had just entered the cafeteria. Damp hair indicated a recent shower, but there were bruises and scrapes all over him that I could no longer attribute to football. Eddie was in motion before I could say another word, and Angeline and I were quick to follow. I half-expected Eddie to tackle Trey then and there. Instead, Eddie walked right in front of Trey and blocked him from entering the food line. I was just in time to hear Eddie say, â€Å"No breakfast today. You're coming with us.† Trey started to protest and then saw Angeline and me. Jill suddenly appeared as well, having apparently lost Micah. A sad look crossed Trey's features – almost defeated – and he gave a weary nod. â€Å"Let's go outside.† As soon as we'd cleared the door, Eddie grabbed hold of Trey and shoved him against the building. â€Å"Where's Sonya Karp?† Eddie demanded. Trey looked understandably surprised. Eddie was lean and muscled, but most people underestimated just how strong he was. â€Å"Eddie, back off!† I hissed, glancing around uneasily. I had the same urge, true, but our interrogation wouldn't get very far if a teacher came by and thought we were roughing up another student. Eddie released Trey and stepped back, but there was still a dangerous glint in his eyes. â€Å"Where's the compound you're holding her at?† That seemed to wake Trey out of his sluggish state. â€Å"How do you know about that?† â€Å"We'll ask the questions,† said Eddie. He didn't touch Trey again, but his proximity and posture left no question he would go to extremes if needed. â€Å"Is Sonya still alive?† Trey hesitated, and I almost expected a denial of knowledge. â€Å"Y-yes. For now.† Eddie snapped again. He grabbed the front of Trey's shirt and jerked him close. â€Å"I swear, if you and your messed-up associates lay one hand on her – â€Å" â€Å"Eddie,† I warned. For a moment, Eddie didn't move. Then, reluctantly, he released Trey's shirt, but stayed where he'd been standing. â€Å"Trey,† I began, keeping the same reasonable tone I'd just used with Eddie – after all, Trey and I were friends, right? â€Å"You have to help us. Please help us find Sonya.† He shook his head. â€Å"I can't, Sydney. It's for your own good. She's evil. I don't know what trick she's played on you or how she's got this illusion going on that hides her true identity, but you can't trust her. She'll turn on you. Let us – let us do what we need to.† The words were all correct, right in line with the Warriors' propaganda. But, there was something in the way Trey spoke, something about his posture†¦ I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was that made me question him. People teased me about my inability to pick up on social cues, but I was almost certain he wasn't entirely on board with whatever this group wanted him to do. â€Å"This isn't you, Trey,† I said. â€Å"I know you well enough to know. You wouldn't kill an innocent woman.† â€Å"She's not innocent.† There it was again – that mix of emotions. Doubt. â€Å"She's a monster. You know about them. You know what they can do. Not ones like her.† He nodded toward Jill. â€Å"But the others. The undead ones.† â€Å"Does Sonya look undead?† asked Eddie. â€Å"You see any red eyes?† â€Å"No,† Trey admitted. â€Å"But we have other reports. Witnesses who saw her in Kentucky. Reports of her victims.† It was hard to keep a calm face through that. I'd actually seen Sonya when she was Strigoi. She'd been terrifying, and given half a chance, she would have killed my companions and me. It was hard to accept that when one turned into a Strigoi, they weren't in control of their senses or soul. They lost touch with their humanity – or whatever Moroi had – and weren't the same as they'd once been. Sonya had done terrible, terrible things, but she was no longer that creature. â€Å"Sonya changed,† I said. â€Å"She's not one of them anymore.† Trey's eyes narrowed. â€Å"That's impossible. You're being deceived. There's some kind of†¦ I don't know†¦ dark magic going on.† â€Å"This isn't getting us anywhere,† growled Eddie. â€Å"Call Dimitri. Between the two of us, we'll get him to tell us where this compound's at. I've broken into a prison. Getting into this place shouldn't be that much harder.† â€Å"Oh, you think so?† A humorless smile crossed Trey's features. â€Å"That place is surrounded with an electric fence and packed with armed men. Plus, she's heavily secured. You can't just walk in there.† â€Å"Why is she still alive?† asked Angeline. She seemed to realize how weird that sounded and was quick to elaborate. â€Å"That is†¦ I mean, I'm glad she is. But if you think she's so evil, why didn't you finish her off?† She glanced at my friends and me. â€Å"Sorry.† â€Å"It's a good question,† Eddie told her. Trey took a long time in answering. I had a feeling he was torn between keeping the group's secrets and wanting to justify his actions to us. â€Å"Because we're all being tested,† he said finally. â€Å"To see who's worthy of performing the kill.† â€Å"Oh my God,† said Jill. â€Å"Hence all your bruises recently,† I said. My fears of domestic abuse weren't far off, really. â€Å"You're competing to kill a woman who's done nothing to you.† â€Å"Stop saying that!† Trey cried, truly looking distraught. â€Å"She's not innocent.† â€Å"But you're not so sure,† I said. â€Å"Are you? Your eyes aren't telling you what your hunter friends are.† He evaded the accusation. â€Å"My family expects this of me. We all have to try – especially after we messed up the alley attack. We lost our authorization to kill her then, which is why the council ordered these trials to redeem ourselves and prove we were up to it.† Getting â€Å"authorization† to kill someone was sickening, but it was the rest of what he said that made me do a double take. â€Å"You were there,† I said in disbelief. â€Å"In the alley, and – and it was you! You're the one who grabbed me!† It came back to me now, my assailant's surprise and hesitation. Trey's face confirmed as much. â€Å"I knew you were friends with them. I can tell by looking at all of you, although I didn't figure you two out right away.† That was to Eddie and Angeline. Trey turned back to me. â€Å"I recognized your tattoo the first time we met. I just ignored it because I didn't think you were involved in anything that I was. I thought you only hung out with harmless vampires, so I didn't expect you to be there that night. I never wanted you to get hurt. I still don't, which is why you need to let this go.† â€Å"I'm tired of this,† said Eddie. It was a wonder he'd been patient this long. â€Å"We need to bust down the doors of that place and – â€Å" â€Å"Wait, wait.† An idea was forming in my head – and it was another crazy one. â€Å"Trey, you said Eddie couldn't just walk into that place. But could I?† â€Å"What are you talking about?† asked Trey, a mix of suspicion and confusion on his face â€Å"You know what I am. You know what I do.† Trey nodded. â€Å"Our two groups used to be united. Those guys who stopped me on the street even said they thought we should all be working together. The Warriors want Alchemist resources.† â€Å"So, what†¦ you want a trade?† asked Trey, frowning. â€Å"No. I just want to talk to this council of yours. I want to explain why Sonya isn't†¦ er, why she doesn't look the way she used to. There's a Moroi who uses a certain kind of magic who could even show you – â€Å" â€Å"No,† said Trey immediately. â€Å"None of them would be allowed inside. They're tolerated, but that's it. You hybrids wouldn't be allowed either.† Again, he spoke to Eddie and Angeline. I'd never heard the term hybrids used, but the meaning was clear. â€Å"Okay,† I said. â€Å"Only humans. I'm human. Your group wants to work with my group. Let me go with you. Unarmed. I'll talk to your leaders and – â€Å" â€Å"Sydney, no,† protested Eddie. â€Å"You can't go there alone! They tried to decapitate Sonya, for God's sake. And remember what Clarence said about radicals stalking him?† â€Å"We won't hurt humans,† said Trey adamantly. â€Å"She'd be safe.† â€Å"I believe you,† I told him. â€Å"And I know you wouldn't ever let anything happen to me either. Look, aren't you curious about why Sonya is the way she is? Can you take the chance your people are making a mistake? You said you tolerate Moroi. She's one of them. Let me explain. I'm not asking for anything else except a chance to speak.† â€Å"And a guarantee of safety,† added Angeline, who looked almost as outraged as Eddie. He nodded at her words. â€Å"You guys are big on the honor stuff, right? You'd have to promise she'd be safe.† â€Å"Honor's what makes us do what we do,† said Trey. â€Å"If we promise she'll be safe, she will be.† â€Å"Then ask them,† I urged. â€Å"Please? Won't you do this for me? As my friend?† A pained look crossed Trey's features at that. He'd hinted before that he owed me for helping end the illicit tattoo ring last month. That would obligate any friend, let alone one instilled with a rigid sense of honor. I knew then, too, that more than honor was on the line here. Trey and I were friends – with more in common than I'd ever realized. We both were part of groups that wanted to control our lives, often in ways we didn't like. We also had domineering fathers. If Trey and I didn't have such opposing goals, we might have laughed about all this. â€Å"I'll ask,† Trey said. Something told me he too was thinking of our similarities. â€Å"Because it's you. But I can't make any promises.† â€Å"Then ask now,† growled Eddie. â€Å"We don't have time to waste. And I'm guessing Sonya doesn't either.† Trey didn't deny it. I hesitated, suddenly wondering if this was a smart choice. What would happen if we let Trey out of our sight? Would it be better if we really did drag him to Dimitri? And Sonya†¦ how much time did she have left? â€Å"Now,† I reiterated to Trey. â€Å"You have to get in touch with them now. Don't go to class.† It was probably the first and only time I'd say those words. â€Å"I swear,† said Trey. â€Å"I'll call them now.† The bell rang, ending our meeting. Although, if we'd had the chance to save Sonya at that moment, I knew each of my friends would have walked off campus then and there. We let Trey go, and he headed back toward his dorm, not toward our classes. Angeline – newly free from suspension – departed with Jill while Eddie and I walked to history. â€Å"That was a mistake,† he said, face grim as he stared at where Trey had gone. â€Å"For all we know, he's going to disappear, and we'll have lost any chance we had at getting Sonya back.† â€Å"I don't think he will,† I said. â€Å"I know Trey. He's a good person, and I could tell that even if he thinks Strigoi need to be exterminated, he's not 100 percent sure of Sonya. He'll do what he can. I think he's feeling torn right now, caught between what they've told him his whole life and what he's starting to see with his own eyes.† Sound like anyone else you know? an inner voice asked. I'd sort of hoped that Trey would give me an answer right away – say, by chemistry. But he wasn't there either or anywhere else at school the day. I supposed these things took time, and my patience and faith were rewarded at the end of the day with a text from him: Still checking. Some are willing to talk. Others need convincing. Eddie didn't take Trey's message as concrete proof when I showed it to him, but I didn't think Trey would've said anything if he'd skipped town. Eddie wanted to get together with Dimitri and discuss strategy on this new development. So, we decided to take a group trip downtown. I sent the summons to our family to meet outside the East dorm in a half hour. Jill was the first one to arrive, and she came to a halt when she saw me. â€Å"Wow, Sydney†¦ your hair.† I glanced up from where I'd been answering a text from Brayden, telling him I couldn't hang out this weekend. â€Å"What about it?† â€Å"The way those layers are styled. They perfectly complement your face.† She was looking at me in that weird way again. â€Å"Well, yeah,† I said, hoping to change the subject. â€Å"It's a, um, good haircut. Sorry we had to get rid of Micah earlier.† It took her a few seconds, but my distraction snapped her out of the hair-induced trance. â€Å"Oh, no. It's okay. I mean, things are getting weirder between us anyway.† â€Å"Oh?† Micah had seemed as chipper as ever, the last time I saw him. â€Å"You guys are still having problems?† â€Å"Well†¦ I guess I am. I really like him. I love hanging out with him and his friends. But I just keep getting reminded of how nothing can happen with us. Like, this morning. There's a whole other world we have going that he can't be a part of. And I can't stand the thought of lying to him or keeping him out of my life. I might have to do it†¦ for real. End things. I know I've kind of said that before, but now I mean it.† â€Å"We're here for you if you do,† I said. I technically meant it, but if Jill came sobbing to me afterward, I wasn't entirely sure what I should say. Maybe I could find a book on appropriate breakup counseling techniques before she did the deed. A wry smile crossed her face. â€Å"You know what's silly? I mean, I don't want to go jumping from one guy to another – and I do still care about Micah – but I'm starting to notice what a really good guy Eddie is.† â€Å"He's a great guy,† I confirmed. â€Å"Moroi and dhampirs being together are discouraged when they're older, but now†¦ I mean, I knew some who got together at St. Vladimir's.† She gave an embarrassed laugh. â€Å"I know, I know†¦ I shouldn't even be thinking like that. One guy at a time. But still†¦ the more I see Eddie – he's just so brave and so confident. He'd do anything for us, you know? He's like some storybook hero in real life. But he's so dedicated, he'd probably never be interested in someone like me. No time for dating.† â€Å"Actually,† I said, â€Å"I think he'd be very interested in you.† Her eyes widened. â€Å"Really?† I wanted to tell her everything. Instead, I chose my words carefully, unwilling to give away his secrets after he'd spoken to me before about letting him handle his own personal affairs. â€Å"He talks all the time about how smart and competent you are. I think he'd definitely be open to something.† He also talked about how he wasn't worthy of her love, but that resolve might fade if Jill actively went after him. She grew lost in thought, and no more was said on the topic when Eddie and Angeline came walking up. We drove into town, and I dropped Jill and the two dhampirs off at Adrian's while I ran a few errands. Waiting for Trey was agonizing, and I needed distraction. Plus, I was low on some Alchemist supplies and wanted to make sure I was up to full strength before any venture into the Warriors' camp. My phone rang as we were wrapping up. It was Trey, and I stepped outside an herbal store to take the call. â€Å"Okay,† he said. â€Å"You're good to go. They'll meet with you tonight – just you.† Anxiety and excitement raced through me. Tonight. It seemed surprisingly soon, yet that was exactly what I wanted. We needed to get Sonya out of there. â€Å"I'll take you there at seven,† Trey continued. â€Å"And†¦ well, I'm sorry†¦ but you'll have to go blindfolded. And I'll be checking to make sure no one follows us. If they do, everything's off.† â€Å"I understand,† I said, though a blindfold certainly made the venture scarier. â€Å"I'll be ready. Thank you, Trey.† â€Å"Also,† he added, â€Å"we want the sword back.† I made arrangements for him to pick me up at Adrian's, since I had a feeling Dimitri and Eddie would have a lot to say to me beforehand. In fact, I called them as soon as I was off the phone with Trey, to give them a heads-up. I also called Stanton to give her an update. It occurred to me I should have checked with her sooner, but I'd wanted a definitive answer from Trey first. â€Å"I don't like the idea of you going alone,† she said. â€Å"But it does seem unlikely they'd hurt you. They really do seem to stay away from humans – us in particular. And if there's a chance to get Karp out of there†¦ well. That would save us a lot of fallout with the Moroi.† Stanton's tone told me, however, that even if she thought I'd be safe, she wasn't so optimistic about Sonya. â€Å"Be careful, Miss Sage.† Adrian's apartment was filled with tension when I arrived. Dimitri, Eddie, and Angeline were clearly agitated, probably because they were being left out of the action. Adrian, surprisingly, looked upset too, though I couldn't figure out why. Jill watched him with concern, and they kept staring at each other, unseen messages undoubtedly passing to her through the bond. At last, he averted his gaze, like he was ending a conversation. Jill sighed and walked toward the others in the kitchen. I started to speak to Adrian, but Eddie beckoned me forward. â€Å"We're debating on whether to give you a weapon or not,† he said. â€Å"Well, the answer is ‘not,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ I said immediately. â€Å"Come on, they're blindfolding me. Do you think they won't search me for weapons too?† â€Å"There must be a way,† said Dimitri. Since we were in air conditioning, he wore the duster. â€Å"I can't let you go in there defenseless.† â€Å"I'm not in danger,† I said, feeling like I'd been repeating the same thing all day. â€Å"They might be crazy, but Trey says if they give their word, they'll stick to it.† â€Å"Sonya doesn't have those guarantees,† Dimitri pointed out. â€Å"No weapon is going to help me save her,† I said. â€Å"Except for my reasoning. And I'm armed with that about as well as I can be.† The dhampirs still didn't seem happy. They went back to arguing amongst themselves, and I left them to find some water. Adrian called to me from the living room. â€Å"There's diet pop in there.† I opened the refrigerator. Sure enough, it was stocked with all kinds of pop. And, in fact, it had more food than I'd ever seen. Another benefit of Nathan Ivashkov's generosity. I grabbed a can of Diet Coke and joined Adrian on the couch. â€Å"Thanks,† I said, opening the can. â€Å"This is the next best thing you could have to gelato.† He raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Gelato? Sounds like dessert to me, Sage.† â€Å"It is,† I admitted. The mundane topic was comforting amidst all the tension. â€Å"It's kind of your fault for bringing it up yesterday. Now I can't stop thinking about it. I wanted some at dinner last night, and Brayden talked me out of it – which is probably why I'm even more obsessed with it. Ever had that happen? Once you can't have something, you want it that much more.† â€Å"Yes,† he said bitterly. â€Å"It happens all the time.† â€Å"Why are you so down? You think I should have a weapon, too?† With Adrian, it was really hard to guess where his moods would go. â€Å"No, I get your point, and I think you're right,† he said. â€Å"Not that I like the idea of you going there at all.† â€Å"I have to help Sonya,† I said. He studied me and smiled. â€Å"I know you do. I wish I could come with you.† â€Å"Oh yeah? You going to protect me and carry me out of there like you threatened to do last night?† I teased. â€Å"Hey, if that's what it takes. You and Sonya. I'll toss one of you ever each shoulder. Pretty manly, huh?† â€Å"Very,† I said, happy to see him joking again. His amusement faded, and he became serious again. â€Å"Let me ask you something. Which is scarier: walking into a den of crazy, murdering humans or being with safe – though kind of wacky – vampires and half vampires? I know the hang-up you Alchemists have with us, but is the loyalty to your own race so strong that†¦ I don't know†¦ that the people themselves don't matter?† It was a surprisingly deep question for Adrian. It also echoed my trip to the Alchemist bunker to see Keith. I was reminded of how Keith's father hadn't cared about his son's moral character so long as it meant Keith wasn't on good terms with vampires. I also thought back to the alley and how obstinate the Warriors were about hearing any truth but their own. And finally, I looked over at the dhampirs arguing in the kitchen, continuing to brainstorm covert ways of keeping Sonya and me safe, no matter the risk. I turned back to Adrian. â€Å"I'd take the vampires. Loyalty to one's kind can only go so far.† Something in Adrian's face transformed, but I hardly paid it any attention. I was too struck by the realization that the words I'd just uttered were akin to high treason in the Alchemists. Eddie and Angeline left later to get us dinner, and I let them take my car, so long as Eddie drove. While they were gone, Dimitri tried to drill in some more self-defense techniques, but it was hard to learn very much in so short a time. I kept thinking of Wolfe warning us to avoid dangerous places. What would he say about me walking into a den of armed vampire hunters? Eddie and Angeline were gone for a while and finally returned, angry at how long the restaurant had taken. â€Å"I didn't think we weren't going to be back in time,† said Eddie. â€Å"I was afraid you wouldn't get food before your mission.† â€Å"I don't even know if I can eat,† I admitted. Despite my earlier brave words, I was starting to grow nervous. â€Å"Oh, you can keep those in case you need the car.† He'd walked over to my purse with the keys and dropped them in anyway. â€Å"Are you sure?† â€Å"Positive.† He shrugged and then fished the keys out again. Adrian, to my surprise, watched him with narrowed eyes and seemed upset about something. I couldn't keep up with his moods today. He stood up and walked over to Eddie. After a few moments, they moved even farther away and seemed to be having a whispered argument, one that involved a few glances at me. Everyone else looked uncomfortable and suddenly jumped in with any conversation topics they could find. I could only stare back and forth, feeling like I had missed something important. Trey called me at seven on the dot, saying he was waiting out front. I rose from my chair and picked up the sword, taking a deep breath. â€Å"Wish me luck.† â€Å"I'll walk you out,† said Adrian. â€Å"Adrian,† warned Dimitri. Adrian rolled his eyes. â€Å"I know, I know. Don't worry. I promised.† Promised what? Nobody elaborated. There wasn't far to walk since he lived on the ground floor, but when we stepped outside, he caught hold of me, his hands resting on my arms. A jolt went through me, both at the touch and the unexpected gesture. His only displays of tenderness were usually with Jill. â€Å"Sage,† he said. â€Å"For real. Be careful. Don't be a hero – we've got plenty of them back there. And†¦ no matter what happens, I want you to know that I never doubted what you're going to do. It's smart, and it's brave.† â€Å"You sound like it's already happened and failed,† I said. â€Å"No, no. I just†¦ well, I want you to know that I trust you.† â€Å"Okay,† I said, feeling a little puzzled. I again had the feeling that I wasn't being told something. â€Å"Hopefully my plan will work.† I needed to walk away, out of Adrian's grasp, but couldn't quite do it. I was hesitant to go, for some reason. There was safety and comfort there. Once I left, I really was walking into the lion's den. I lingered a few moments more, safe in the circle we made, and then reluctantly slipped away. â€Å"Please be careful,† he repeated. â€Å"Come back safe.† â€Å"I will.† On impulse I took off my cross necklace and pressed it into his hand. â€Å"This time, keep it for real. Hold onto it until I return. If you get too worried, look at it and know that I'll have to come back for it. It goes really well with khakis and neutral colors.† I worried he would give it back, but he simply nodded and squeezed the cross tight. I walked away, feeling slightly vulnerable without it, but hoped it reassured him. My discomfort suddenly seemed like a small thing. I wanted Adrian to be okay. I got into the passenger seat of Trey's car and immediately gave him the sword. He looked about as miserable as he had earlier. â€Å"You sure you want to go through with this?† Why did everyone keep asking me that? â€Å"Yes. Absolutely.† â€Å"Let me see your cell phone.† I handed it over, and he turned it off. He gave it back, along with a blindfold. â€Å"I'll trust you to put this on yourself.† â€Å"Thanks.† I started to slip it on and then, on impulse, looked back toward the building one last time. Adrian was still standing there, hands in his pockets, face concerned. Seeing my gaze, he managed a small smile and raised one hand in†¦ what? Farewell? A benediction? I didn't know, but it made me feel better. The last thing I saw was the flash of the cross in the sunlight, just before I covered my eyes with the blindfold. I was plunged into darkness.