Differentiate educated & uneducated person Essay

1. Relate: Education and man. Differentiate educated man from an uneducated one. The difference between educated and uneducated people is exactly that. It is the level of education that a person has. Education is very important. Actually it is one of the most important thing for our lives in my own point of view. It is clear to us that not everyone can have the opportunity to have the education they need and this lead to divide people into two groups: educated and uneducated people. Both of them have their advantages and disadvantages for themselves. Let us evaluate them in terms of economic power, social status and mentality. It is true that educated people have a lot more opportunities in business world than uneducated people. Because they primarily have a certificate verifying their state of being educated and this is what counts most of the time. They have more opportunities to have a good job, they have a better income. Uneducated one have to work in simple temporary jobs or have to do very heavy muscles work in a construction or field. More earned money over a life time means a higher quality of life, better food and a longer life than someone without a lot of education. The issue of income according to their jobs brings us to another aspect which is the social status of these people. When you have money, you seem to be respectable for other people. One other reason why educated people have a superior status is that they act in life according to their level of knowledge. The truth that if you earned a lot, the status of life is higher, but if you have those blue collar jobs the social status is somehow lower. The mentality case, we have the impression that educated people are open-minded whereas uneducated people are somewhat closed-minded. This is the reality, the educated people have an advantage of greater knowledge about the world, other people, possibilities and existence because they are educated not only technically or scientifically but also culturally. They have a chance to see the world from the eyes of other people through the education they receive. Yet uneducated people are mostly straight laced because they have what they see and learn from their parents and what they experienced in life and the sometimes its upset most is that they treat their children with the same mentality. However, educated people want their children to go far beyond them. They want them to make better than what they did, because they know that every day and every second of our  lives some things change and develop and some things are discovered and invented. As we see there are some aspects according to which educated and uneducated people can be compared and contrasted. I don’t know if I find myself biased but I guess I am, because I value education so much. I don’t want to put a blame on uneducated people, maybe there are reasons behind these, but I believe that poverty is not a hindrance to be educated. All of these remind us the importance of everything is EDUCATION. 2. Connect: Man and his learnings.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; feed him for a lifetime.† The founder of Taoism, Lao Tzu, spoke these words over 2000 years ago. Education is similar to this principle. For centuries students were â€Å"fed† information and taught to memorize facts, in the hope they would retain a portion of what was taught. Today it isn’t enough just to feed information to students. Our world is changing so fast that new information becomes available faster than it can be taught. If a nation wants to keep pace with this ever-changing world, then learning can’t stop at graduation. Students as well as teachers must learn â€Å"how to fish† for knowledge by becoming lifelong learners. Teachers can become life-long learners by realizing and acknowledging that life long-learning is a necessity; by learning to keep up with changes through personal and professional development; and by teaching with pa ssion, inspiring young minds to see learning as something wonderful. If a man followed his learnings, the life of each of us is in good direction, education is the key to learn and be aware of everything..

Qnt 561 Week 1 Problem 81

a) The Ludlow Wildcats baseball team, a minor league team in the Cleveland Indians organization, plays 70 percent of their games at night and 30 percent during the day. The team wins 50 percent of their night games and 90 percent of their day games. According to today's newspaper, they won yesterday. What is the probability the game was played at night? % of games played at night = 70% % of games played during day = 30% % of night games won =50% % of day games won= 90% Probability of winning = Probability of winning at night + Probability of winning during day = % of games played at night x % of night games won + % of games played during day x % of day games won = 70% x 50% + 30% x 90% = 0. 35 + 0. 27 = 0. 62 Probability that the game was played during night given that the game was won = Probability of winning at night / Probability of winning = 0. 35 / 0. 62 = 35/62 Answer: Probability = 35/62 This can be understood in a different way Let the number of games played be 100 Out of these 100 games, 70 games were played at night and 30 during day Out of 70 games played at night no of games won = 50% x 70 = 35 games and the number of games lost = 50% x 70 =35 Out of 30 games played during day, no of games won = 90% x 30 = 27 games and the number of games lost = 10% x 30 = 3 Thus total games won = 35 + 27 = 62 (Total games lost = 35 + 3 =38, but this is not required for calculation) Thus out of 62 games won , 35 were won at night Thus probability that the game was played at night, given that the game was won = 35/62 b) With each purchase of a large pizza at Tony's Pizza, the customer receives a coupon that can be scratched to see if a prize will be awarded. The odds of winning a free soft drink are 1 in 10, and the odds of winning a free large pizza are 1 in 50. You plan to eat lunch tomorrow at Tony's. What is the probability: 1. That you will win either a large pizza or a soft drink 2. That you will not win a prize? 3. That you will not win a prize on three consecutive visits to Tony's 4. That you will win at least one prize on one of your next three visits to Tony's We have to convert odds into probability Probability = odds / (1+ odds) Odds of winning a free soft drink are 1 in 10 Therefore, probability of winning a free soft drink = (1/10) / (1 + 1/10) = 1/11 Odds of winning a free large pizza are 1 in 50 Therefore, probability of winning a free large pizza = (1/50) / (1 + 1/50) = 1/51 What is the probability: 1. That you will win either a large pizza or a soft drink The events winning a pizza and winning a soft drink are mutually exclusive (since you can either win a pizza or you can win a soft drink but not both at the same time as you have only one coupon ) Probability of winning either a large pizza or a soft drink = Probability of winning a large pizza + Probability of winning a soft drink = 1/51 + 1/11 = 62 /561 = 0. 11 or 11% 2. That you will not win a prize? Probability of not winning a prize = 1- Probability of winning a prize = 1- 62/561 = 499/561 = 0. 9 or 89% 3. That you will not win a prize on three consecutive visits to Tony's Since the events of winning / not winning on consecutive visits are independent events we will multiply the probabilities Probability of not winning a prize on three consecutive visits = Probability of not winning on first visit x Probability of not winning on second visit x Probability of not winning on third visit = (499 /561) x (499 / 561) x (499 / 561) = (499/561) ^3 = 0. 70 or 70% 4. That you will win at least one prize on one of your next three visits to Tony's Probability of winning at least once = 1- probability of not winning even once = 1- (499/561) ^3 = 0. 30 or 30% c) There are four people being considered for the position of chief executive officer of Dalton Enterprises. Three of the applicants are over 60 years of age. Two are female, of which only one is over 60. 1) What is the probability that a candidate is over 60 and female 2. Given that the candidate is male, what is the probability he is less than 60 3) Given that the person is over 60, what is the probability the person is female Out of 4 applicants Male = 2 (both over 60) Female = 2 (1 over 60, 1 less than 60) 1) What is the probability that a candidate is over 60 and female Out of 4 candidates only 1 is both female and over 60 Therefore probability = ? = 0. 25 or 25% 2. Given that the candidate is male, what is the probability he is less than 60 Both male candidates are over 60 therefore probability = 0 3 Given that the person is over 60, what is the probability the person is female There are 3 persons over 60 out of which 1 is female Therefore, probability = 1/3

Car Industry Managers Ethical Concerns

Car Industry Managers Ethical Concerns In the 21st century, business managers have lot of challenges for the business progress, while the main challenges that business managers have are, good use of human resources, about the marketing of the products, long range planning for better results, and better use of analysis towards the foundation for decision making, (Drucker, P.F., Classic Drucker collection). In the early days, a vehicle was prepared by few men, under a shed for the purpose of carriage trade, besides this now car manufacturers are employing specialists in different fields (engineering, economist, marketing experts etc) to overcome different challenges (Christ, The motor industry). In the car industry managers are also facing challenges costs of cars, government policies for the industry, working conditions of the staff, about the oil consumption and pollution. In ethical concerns one of the main practical issues with respect to consumers is prices of cars. Aged people and people with low income prefer cars o f low prices. In the words of Arndt Ellinghorst (head of automotive research at credit Suisse), smaller and less expensive cars are preferred by older people because these cars are easy to handle, which results in stronger vehicle downsizing (Daniel Schafe, Financial Times). In consumer concerns another practical issue for the managers is safety and appearance of the cars. Most of the car makers avoid building safety features in the cars which they knew are necessary for the safety of consumers (Ralph Nader, The motor industry). Now people prefer safety and beautiful appearance of cars in different designs (Dannenberg, J. and Burgard, J., Oliver Wyman Journal). One of the most struggling challenges for the car industry managers is staff issues in ethical concerns of consumers. Health and safety is of main priority because employees are the assets of the business and if employees during the work become injured then the business may be suffered and a business can make good profits wit h efficient workers (Cuscio, W.). Another issue is employees benefits, employ benefits include different packages like pension, extra work reward and also include vacations, the other benefit is that the employees must be fairly compensated (Managing services quality journal). Also managers must take into account the working conditions of the employees, employees should be paid according to their work. In addition many companies are not paying their employees according to their work for example, in 2009 Toyota cut pay and working hours of the employees by 10%, there are 4500 employees working in Toyota with basic pay of ÂÂ £19000 per year and now losing ÂÂ £1900 in a year (Emily Garnham, express news). In respect of consumer concern advertising is also a big challenge for managers. People want true and fair advertising of cars so that they chose their desired cars. Wisconsin law shows that the advertising of cars must be truthful (Wisconsin department of transportation). A nother challenge for the managers with respect to consumers concerns is the government policies for the automobiles (restriction on the imports and exports and custom duties on cars). Consumers are also affected by these policies because in some countries government impose high custom duties on cars so people cannot afford such cars for example, In Ukraine, world trade organization has eliminated the restrictions on eight year old cars and reduced the import rates on automobile from 25% to 10% (China law and practice).

Essay for Art and Design Class Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

For Art and Design Class - Essay Example There is an understanding that is reached with the material Smith used to create this art work considering how she handled them in order facilitates viewer’s thought processes. Smith painted The Court House Steps in reaction to the conservation emergency created when a landlord bulldozed a boulder marked with petroglyphs from its escarpment site (Smith and Kastner 63). He delivered the culturally significant stone to the courthouse to object legal arbitrations barring him from constructing a building on his land. The jagged angles on Smith’s work might be kiva steps bulging into high-rise buildings that grow and fall. Transversely, a series of orbs converges in a solar eclipse across the center. Smith and Kastner assert that, The Court House Steps is the most traumatic of all her paintings (87)† because â€Å"it documents a world spinning out of control† (87). In this painting, Smith is seen to be lifting imagery from the natural world, and then changing it into modernism via abstraction. Her inhabited landscapes show the infinite human conflict over disputed lands. Her painting fuses modernist color and techniques with her unique visual vocabulary of crashing lines in a stirred expression of the human spirit. The work establishes Smith’s artistic voice, grounding it in modern abstraction, where she extends her native tradition through images of plants, animals and humans to bring the message home. The idea that smith was communicating was that the petroglyphs were subjected to individual coming in and shooting in that area – getting rid of the petroglyphs from the lava escarpment. The Court House Steps is about uniting the traditional values in a very modern and fast changing world. In this painting smith informs us that world is complex and things will be changing very rapidly so we must prepare for the change and sometimes predict it. And we must work in a mixed way with some new things or ideally add in

Case Study of a specific Advertising Campaign Essay

Case Study of a specific Advertising Campaign - Essay Example Following this, the company launched its ‘Happy to Help’ campaign, featuring the popular Hutch mascot (a Pug) and offering excellent customer service to its subscribers. This too was an effort in vain as people still connected the pug to the old brand, counteracting the company’s efforts to establish their presence in the country. This left Vodafone in a difficult situation where they needed to bring out their own mascot which would win over the hearts of the people while simultaneously communicating their USPs to their target audience. As explained by Harit Nagpal, the then Chief Marketing Officer of Vodafone India in an interview to afaqs (2009), Vodafone was acquiring customers at a very fast pace, but a large number of them were unaware of the value added services offered by their telecom service provider. Some of these services, like phone backup, had been available for over two years without being used much. Thus, the marketing team at the organisation felt a need to showcase their array of products and services, build an emotional bond with their customers and still be positioned as a market leader. It was this need that led to the creation of India’s most loved brand mascot in a decade. Conceptualizing the Campaign When in trouble, you turn to your best friend. If Vodafone India had a best friend, it was their multi award-winning ad agency Ogilvy and Mather, which was tasked with coming up with a new mascot and ad campaign to accomplish these goals. According to an interview with Rajiv Rao, Executive Creative Director, South Asia, Ogilvy India, the only brief given to the agency about the desired mascot was that the character had to be ‘simple to a stupefying level’ (afaqs 2009). After much experimentation, the agency came up with characters with humungous ellipsoid heads (with dots for eyes and the mouth) and disproportionately thin bodies clad in white. These ‘Zoozoos’ were simple living characters who spoke a language of their own (quite akin to the tongue of gibberish) and expressed emotions in a manner similar to the emoticons one came across on chat engines and forums. The idea behind using these characters was to portray slightly comical and endearing scenes featuring these Zoozoos where each scene or advertisement was used to portray one value added service to the customer. Each film was shot against a grey background, showing these characters interacting with each other with the product story weaved in. The Beginning of the Campaign Once they were done creating a mascot for an extremely ambitious purpose and shooting advertisements with extremely high expectations, the agency had the unenviable task of deciding when, where and how to launch this campaign. The company’s investment in the previous year’s ‘Indian Premier League’ cricket tournament had failed to make much of an impact on the target audience despite the series shattering the countr y’s television rating records for the past half decade. Therefore, it came as a surprise to most that the agency recommended investing an entire quarter’s advertising budget into the 47 day tournament and that the client complied (4Ps Business and Marketing, 2007). While the company took a huge risk choosing to invest in a venture that had already failed them in the recent past, they incorporated one significant change in their advertising strategy. The idea now was to

The advantages and disadvantages of using solar panels and where it Essay

The advantages and disadvantages of using solar panels and where it used - Essay Example According to Gevorkian (2007, p. 57), these hitches have led humans to seek alternative energy sources such as wind, wave, and solar energy. Solar energy is basically the energy derived from the sun. One way of harnessing this energy is through solar panels. Solar panels are simply devices that convert light energy into electric energy as noted by Mayer, Scully, Hardin, Rowell and McGehee (2007, p. 29). Another name for solar panels is photovoltaics which simply means light- electricity. Yet another name for the solar panel is solar module. More specifically, a solar module refers to a group of solar cells put together and packaged in a frame, and these can be grouped into larger arrays. Even the most primitive generation of man was aware of the power stored in warmth of the sun. Some early uses of solar energy included home heating, solar cookers, and water desalinations. In the last couple of centuries, humans have been able to make great advancements related to harnessing the immense energy from the Sun. Though just a small percentage of the sun’s energy reaches the earth, it is still possible to create massive power plants that receive energy from it. In 1839 Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered how to explain the means by which photovoltaic effect can be used to create energy. The next century saw the development of solar cells, in 1921 Albert Einstein received Nobel price for his work on photovoltaic effects and in 1941 the first solar cells were invented by Russell Ohl (Energy Matters 2012; PRLOG 2009). Solar cells are made of materials which are special in function known as semi-conductors. The most common material semiconductors are made of is silicon. When the semiconductor comes into contact with light, it absorbs a portion of it, meaning the light energy absorbed is transferred to the semiconductors (Nelson 2003, p 25). This energy causes a knock on the electron making them to move freely. There are one or more electric fields that force

Apply for Mount Saint Vincent University for master of education Essay

Apply for Mount Saint Vincent University for master of education - Essay Example Most of the studies have indicated that every individual that receives the opportunity to study, experiences a learning process of around 14 to 18 years, depending on the education system of every country. Subsequently, such an individual is considered good enough to perform rightly and efficiently in his/her professional life. However, recent researches and studies have initiated a new and innovative concept of lifelong learning, which motivates and encourages individuals to continue the process of learning throughout their lives. A limited process of learning of 14 to 18 years is not considered effective enough to facilitate individuals throughout their lives. In other words, the concept of learning has been broadened in terms of its duration, as well as, attitude, which will allow individuals, as well as, societies to enrich through new ideas, discussion, and dialogues in an intellectual and interactive manner. (Holmes, pp. 23-25) In terms of academic background, I have received my undergraduate degree from King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. My passion for learning and enthusiasm for enrichment of emotional maturity has resulted in application at one of the reputable educational institutions, Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada. In specific, I am interested to attain the Masters Degree in Lifelong Learning, as I have been able to attain tremendous respect for this concept of learning after its detailed analysis, as earlier mentioned in the paper. One of the significant characteristics of Lifelong learning is that it offers a combination of pedagogical and andragogical perspective of learning by the provision of teacher-focused education with amalgamation of a broader perception of learning through focusing learners from all age groups, sects, races, and academic background. (Harrison, pp. 42-43) In specific, Lifelong learning offers

Apply legal principles to solving practical problems Essay

Apply legal principles to solving practical problems - Essay Example The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations (RVLR) of 1989, which were modified subsequently in the year 1994, 1996, 2005, and in the year 2009, require all pedals of bicycles to have two reflectors on each pedal, provided that the bicycle is ridden between sunset and sunrise on a public road. The clipless pedals make it impossible to fit such reflectors, which is why this part of RVLR is not frequently enforced. However, if one rides a bicycle at night and is caught in any accident, any such illegality about the reflectors or lights is termed as contributory negligence. RLVR’s main points are: a pedal cycle must have lights and reflectors when ridden between sunset and sunrise; a cycle does not need lights and reflectors when it is stationary or is being pushed along the side of a road; the lights and reflectors, when required, should be clean as well as work properly; For a bicycle to be driven legally at night, the minimum requirements according to RLVR are the following items (J uden, 2013): Front lamp A bicycle must have one front lamp of white light that is positioned either centrally or offside at a vertical distance of maximum 1500 mm from the ground. The lamp should be visible from the front. If it can emit a steady light, the light must comply with BS6102/3 or an EC standard equivalent to that. If the lamp can only emit a flashing light, the light should be of 4 candela at least. Likewise, there are requirements for rear lights. The UK rules for cyclists oblige them to look all around before turning, manoeuvring, or riding away from the kerb so as to ensure a safe move (Gov.uk, 2013). Julie clearly did not look around before swerving into the path of the car driver. The cyclist must generate a clear signal to make other road users aware of his/her intentions. In case a cyclist cannot use direction indicator signals for any reason, or when he/she feels it compulsory to reinforce the stop lights and the direction indicator signals, the cyclist should ge nerate arm signals for turning left or right or to show that he/she wants to slow down or stop (Gov.uk, n.d.). Julie did not generate any signal either. Although Julie was riding on a country road at night, she might not be required to have two reflectors on each pedal because that condition is for driving on a public road at night, yet she needed to have steady or flashing front and rear lights anyway. By not having those lights on her bicycle, Julie did contributory negligence. â€Å"[I]f a cyclist in dark clothes goes out onto the road at night on a bike without proper lights, it’s not his fault if a driver fails to see him† (Thomas, 2012). Because of contributory negligence, it is very unlikely that Julie can get a satisfactory result if she intends to sue the car driver. Some recent court decisions in cases that were brought against the car drivers by the injured cyclists suggest that the courts are generally stricter toward the cyclists as compared to the pedestr ians in cases where the cyclists have shown contributory negligence (Blondwig, 2012). One such case is Malasi v Attmed, in which a bicycle rider jumped a red light and, without looking, rode across the junction (Blondwig, 2012). A taxi hit the bicycle and seriously injured the rider. Although the taxi driver applied the brakes after seeing the cyclist, the speed of taxi was too high for the collision to be avoided. When the cyclist sued the taxi driver to get compensation from him for the injuries that had been caused,

Poetry and Politics Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poetry and Politics Paper - Essay Example Bryant opens his poem with the recognition that slavery represents not only a â€Å"great wrong† but also a slow and painful journey in race relations (The Death of Slavery, Line 1). Bryant opens Death of Slavery with: O THOU great Wrong, that, through the slow-paced years, Didst hold they millions fettered, and didst wield The scourge that drove the labourer to the field, And turn a stony gaze on human tears, They cruel reign is o’er.... (The Death of Slavery, 1900, First Stanza). Thus for Bryant’s The Death of Slavery, represents not only a reminder of the pain and suffering associated with the oppression of one race over another, but its place in history also serves as a reminder that mankind can and has overcome the worst of evils punctuating race relations in history. Bryant’s last stanza of The Death of Slavery pulls this realization together as follows: I see the better years that hasten by Carry thee back into that shadowy past, Where, in the dusty spaces, void and vast, The graves of those whom thou hast murdered lie. The slave-pen, through whose door Thy victims pass no more...(The Death of Slavery, 1900, Last Stanza). ... Bryant (1900) likewise recalls that this â€Å"grim† past: At which the slave was sold; while at thy feet Scourges and engines of restraint and pain Moulder and rust by thine eternal seat. There, mid the symbols that proclaim they crimes, Dwell thou, a warning to the coming times (The Death of Slavery, 1900, Last Stanza). In other words, recalling the evils of the past, serves as a caution to resist evil of any kind relative to race relations among mankind. Obama likewise, sees the utility in remembering the cruel past. Obama stated that he felt it was a significant visit for his daughters as they would be encouraged to fight cruel oppression of any kind to prevent this kind of history repeating itself. Thomas Merton’s And the Children of Birmingham was written in the 1960s amidst the race movement in the US during that time. The poem reflects on the bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that killed Black children staging a protest in the 1960s against the oppression of Black in the US is also instructive. And the Children of Birmingham likewise calls attention to the cruel pass in terms of race relations and also speaks to man’s ability to overcome this kind of cruel legacy. Herron (2005) informs that from Merton’s perspective however, the death of the children in Birmingham is less about marking the history of race relations among Americans. Instead, And the Children of Birmingham is more about hope and this hope is expressed by calling upon Americans everywhere to look upon all Americans as equals, as brothers and sisters (2005). And The Children of Birmingham draws attention to the innocent victims and inheritors of the evils of cruel race relations

School and Communities Essay Example for Free

School and Communities Essay A school leader guides a student for such a brief moment, but is one of the connections that contribute to a student being successful and allowing for the student to transition easily in the learning environment? According to the recommended readings there is a correlation between the student’s home, community, and the school that facilitates the student’s transitions into and throughout the school system, leading to an environment that supports student success. There are several major transitions starting with kindergarten and progressing to the middle school level, and then onto high school. Each transitional time is critical and requires additional support to continue and to achieve academically. Based on my review of various articles, the following topics are promising directions that have emerged as areas that will make the connection powerful and successful. Family involvement during Kindergarten preparation is essential for young students to achieve to their potential. The importance of being prepared academically for school, and its implications for parents, has been the subject of extensive research and attention. One recent study suggests that fostering parent support and  parent learning about Kindergarten readiness can help ensure that children are adequately prepared to start school (Starkey Klein, 2000; Perroncel, 2000). In my readings it was suggested that a network of social connections that support children and families during the Kindergarten transition are needed, including interactions between teachers and children, children and peers, parents and teachers, and preschool teachers and Kindergarten teachers. While there is an increased amount of evidence about the elements that support Kindergarten readiness, there is also a need to better integrate the early childhood development literature to  fully understand the connections that make a difference and allow the student to be successful. For example, Fantuzzo et al. (2000) conducted a study to assess parent involvement for children in day care, Head Start, and Kindergarten. Studies such as this can begin to build understanding of how parent involvement changes from pre-school to Kindergarten. Future research can also build our understanding of the specific types of family and community connections that provide a strong support network for children, particularly those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, as they prepare to enter Kindergarten. STUDENT TRANSITION THROUGH EDUCATION LEVELS 3 Despite the continued occurrence of the myth that family and community connections are primarily important at the elementary school level, researchers have begun exploring the effects of school, family, and community connections during transitions to middle and high school as well. Gutman and Midgley (2000) found that during the transition from the elementary level to the middle school level, both school factors and family factors were important to support academic achievement in African American students. Another study found that, contrary to popular belief, middle and high school students do want their parents to be involved, especially in terms of homework help and other home-based types of support and involvement (Catsambis Garland, 1997). This study found that parent involvement does not decline, as expected, but rather shifts as students move into middle and high school. Although they continued to be involved, parents reported increasing dissatisfaction with their role in relationship to the school, especially involving school policy (Catsambis Garland). These results confirm the importance of continued exploration of needs that students have during the transition to middle school and to high school, and roles that families play in supporting these transitions. The impact of school outreach is an important finding. School outreach and invitations to families and community members have a significant impact on the level and quality of family and community connections. In at least three studies, it has been found to have a greater impact than family characteristics on previous student academic achievement (Van Voorhis, 2000; Simon, 2000; Chrispeels Rivero, 2000). Simon found that when schools reach out, and families and community members feel that the school is extending invitations at a personal level, they respond with higher attendance at school-based activities and better quality of family involvement at home. The unique role that schools play in initiating and setting the tone for connections with families and the community cannot be denied. Researchers have also suggested that more research is needed regards to what motivates individual school staff members to reach out to parents and community and how  school staff can be further motivated and supported in building these relationships. STUDENT TRANSITION THROUGH EDUCATION LEVELS 4 There is a growing understanding of the role that relationships between staff in schools and community organizations play in the development of successful collaborations between school and communities. Jehlet al. (2001) suggests that there are â€Å"sticking points,† in organizational cultures and values that can hinder school-community connections. They suggest that these sticking points must be understood and addressed in order to build effective partnerships. These disconnects can be exacerbated by the lack of personal relationships that build trust and understanding between school and community staff (Center for Mental Health in Schools, 1999a). It is clear that family, school, and community connections can benefit children from before the time they enter Kindergarten until after they graduate from high school. Our charge in the educational field of study is to come together to address the issues highlighted in this synthesis paper and to clarify the concept and outcomes of family and community connections with schools. In doing so we will better understand these connections and create the knowledge needed to realize the potential of family, school, and community connections for student learning and student’s success. STUDENT TRANSITION THROUGH EDUCATION LEVELS 5 References Catsambis, S. , Garland, J. E. (1997). Parental involvement in students education during middle school and high school (CRESPAR Report 18). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University. ED423328. http://www. csos. jhu. edu/crespar/Reports/report18entire. htm Center for Mental Health in Schools. (1999a). Expanding educational reform to address barriers to learning: Restructuring student support services and enhancing school community partnerships. Los Angeles, CA: Center for Mental Health in Schools. http://smhp. psych. ucla. edu/pdfdocs/Report/Expand. pdf Fantuzzo, J. , Tighe, E. , Childs, S. (2000). Family involvement questionnaire: A multivariate assessment of family participation in early childhood education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(2), 367-375. Gutman, L. M. , Midgley, C. (2000). The role of protective factors in supporting the academic achievement of poor African American students during the middle school transition. Journal of Youth and  Adolescence, 29(2), 223-249. Jehl, J. , Blank, M. J. , McCloud, B. (2001). Education and community building: Connecting two worlds. Washington, DC: Institute for Educational Leadership, Inc. http://www. communityschools. org/combuild. pdf Starkey, P. , Klein, A. (2000). Fostering parental support for children’s mathematical development: An intervention with Head Start families. Early Education and Development, 11(5), 659-680. Van Voorhis, F. L. (2000). The effects of interactive (TIPS) homework on family involvement and science achievement of middle grade students. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Florida.

Performance Management At General Motors (GM)

Performance Management At General Motors (GM) The following assignment explores General Motors Europe in four dimensions as set out by learning outcome spertaining to performance management module. The four learning outcomes (LO) would measure, LO1: Setting GME performance targets to meet strategic objectives. LO2: Agreement on team performance targets and subsequent contribution to meet those objectives. LO3: Monitoring and control process for the goals. LO4: Politics of personal interaction of Sir Leahy. A discussion on his leadership, persuasion and influencing skills. In order to achieve these learning objectives, the author has drawn upon from his practical work experience together with the primary and secondary research through various resources. This article would primarily be divided into two segments within the domain of learning objectives as defined above. The division would be between Performance Management and Performance Measurement. Performance is defined as potential for future successful implementation of actions in order to reach the objectives and targets. The article shows that performance is constructed by the management system and by managers from his own experience of working at GME and taking a more macro view of the organisation. Performance management explains performance measurement and gives it meaning. (Lebas, 1995) Setting performance target to meet strategic objectives General Motors, one of the worlds largest automakers. GME was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant. GM headquarters is in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 countries. GM has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931.GM and its strategic business partners produce cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall, and Wuling. GMs largest national market is China, followed by the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Russia. General Motors Europe acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. GME is running business with revenue of $135.6 billion (GME, 2010a). GME is using different performance management tools . In this assignment score card methodology is discussed that GME is using. Balance Score Card can be used as a short and long term fortheir financial and non financial performance measurement. There are four parts of balance score card; financial perspective, internal business perspective, customers perspective,learning and growth perspective. Balance Score Card is like your cars dash boardwhere there is indicator on as you drive, you can look at the dashboard to obtain real-time information such as how fuel, speed and the distance youve traveled or even anyfaulty system etc.Its known to help companies and implement the changes required to meet their business goals (Pangakar Kirkwood, 2007). The balance score cardenables the companies to develop a more comprehensive view of their operations andto better match all operating and investment activities to long- and short-term strategic objectives (Punniyamoorthy Murali, 2008). Link of each perspective in the Balance Score Card (BCS) High performance work system (HPWS) is also another method to explain the situation in General Motors. Independent work teams, open systems and performance-based pay are known collectively as high-performance work systems (Rouse, 2000). HPWS have also come to be known as high involvement work systems, flexible work systems and high commitment work systems (Aghazadeh Seyedian, 2004) In other words, they are simply work practice that can be deliberately introduced in order to improved organizational performance. The main focus of HPWS is rearranging work so that the employees participate in decisions that affect the everyday operations of an organization. There are three potential factors that can affect high performance work system in General Motors; retrenchment of workers, technology used and layout design. A worker is the key success to any organization. Retrenchment will cause General Motors to lose talented workers subsequently lose competitive edge. To survive in the changing environment, a company must rely on their workers creativity, ingenuity problem solving ability and strong team work. Workers are able to make their own decision on the best way to accomplish their work. The knowledge and skill shared will create a high performance work system. For example, an engineer in General Motors is developing a fuel efficient engine. Engineer A may need assistants from Engineer B, however when GM decided to retrench workers, Engineer A will face difficulty in developing the engine. Performance of employee can be boost through team works. A study by Thompson, Baughan and Motwani indicates that company such as General Motors, Proctor Gamble, Xerox Corporation had huge increase productivity as high as 250 percent and double their profit (1998). The use of technology is another feature in High Performance Work System. All managers in every department of General Motors are able to identify the technology they use in their organization. The application of Human Resource Information System that can store information on workers that can assist managers in deciding which employee is performing and which is not. The use of technology without human operating it is also meaningless. Managers in General Motor can identify whether the qualified workers are able to operate the tools or not. 1.1 The link between team performance and strategic objectives As it is clear from the figure that all the perspectives link eachother. So all the four parts directly effect the strategic objectives of the company. This principle is used at strategic level. 1.1.1 Organisations Strategic Objectives Goals of GME Lead in advanced technologies and quality in creating the worlds best vehicles Give employees more responsibility and authority and then hold them accountable Create positive, lasting relations with customers, dealers, communities, union partners and suppliers to drive our operating success Strategic Objectives of Organisations Financial Growth: Increase the revenues, gross profit and sales. Financial Efficiency: To improve overall productivity. Current Customer: To expand sales to existing customers, To increase customer retention, To increase customer loyalty, To create and use a customer database. New Customer: Introduce existing products into a new market, Anticipate future customer needs through customer feedback. Customer Service: Improve our service approach for new and existing customers. Product/Service/Program Managment: To have all product meet standard of  excellence guideline. Operations Managment: To continually improve internal process to realize  efficiencies, Capitalize on physical facilities (location, capacity, etc.) Improve organizational structure.Redirect or restructure  available resources. Technology Managment: Increase efficiencies through use of wireless or virtual  technology. Communication Management: Improve internal communications. Customer Management: Acquire enhanced CRM data mining capabilities. Marketing Management: To continuously broaden our customer database by  getting new information on customer characteristics  and needs. Develop and implement a promotional plan to drive  increased business. Channel Management: To aggressively strengthen our upstream channels. Improve the distributor and supplier relationships. People: To hire, develop and maintain the right people, in the right place Employ professionals who create success for customers. Training:Develop broad set of skills useful for customer support. To develop the leadership abilities and potential of our team. Strategic Objectives of GME Integrity: We will stand for honesty and trust in everything we do. We will say what we believe and do what we say. Continuous Improvement: We will set ambitious goals, stretch to meet them, and then raise the bar again and again. We believe that everything can be done better, faster and more effectively in a learning environment. Customer Enthusiasm: We will dedicate ourselves to products and services that create enthusiastic customers. No one will be second-guessed for doing the right things for the customer. Teamwork: We will win by thinking and acting together as one General Motors team, focused on global leadership. Our strengths are our highly skilled people and our diversity. Innovation: We will challenge conventional thinking, explore new technology and implement new ideas, regardless of their source, faster than the competition. Individual Respect and Responsibility: We will be respectful of the individuals we work with, and we will take personal responsibility for our actions and the results of our work. Sourse: gm.com 1.1.2 Workforce requirements that are capable of achieving the  organisations objectives General Motors Europe is using the hierarchical approach. In this method each and every employee is controlled by the respective supervisor. And each supervisor gives the performance report of the employee to the top management. In GME every employee is loyal. The company place the right employee to the right job to achieve the objectives of the organisation. There are 209,000 employs of the company. Each and every employee get the proper training for its job which helps the organisation to achieve the objectives with the help of compitent employs. 1.2 Tools and Techniques available to set team performance targets The following important purposes are derived from different resourses including General Motors website,articles,General Motors final reports. The operational performances of GME are reported and viewed on the quarterly at board level and than the summary report is send to the top management. The performance of employs are checked with the help of score card. I gives the daily performance measurement which could be also used for the long term strategic purposes. Daily , weekly and monthly targets are reviewed regularly. An important consideration is to make sure the objectives remain appropriate and robust measures of performance in the company. GME core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty. GME,s success depends on customers. The customers who shop with them and the people who work for them. If customers like what the company offer, they are more likely to come back and shop with them again. If the GME team find what the company does rewarding, they are more likely to go that extramile to help their customers. 1.2.1 Processes that deliver outcomes based on organisational goals and aims GME use balanced score card methodology throughout its organisational operations. Every department change the balance score card according to their needs. These performances are measured during team meetings at lower level and is discussed at strategic level. 1.2.2 Appropriate methods for evaluating performance Each and every employee has Personal Development Planning folder. This folder contains all the performance appraisals, the training already given and the future training needs and some departmental performance data. Again the score card helps the company to identify the improvement . 1.2.3 Review capacity and capability of current work force Using the current work force GME has become the largest company and employer in Europe private sector.GME is still expanding by leaps and bounds and earning higher profit than before.The market has enough labour to cater for the recruitment at Europe level. However, for international operations,the recruitment is carried out at local countries. With the current workforce of 209,000 people, the company is more than capable to sustain itself against any future expansion plans. 1.2.4 Plans to meet long term, medium and short term requirements Increase General Motors U.S. market share to 33% Improve customer satisfaction as evidence by points of market share, not fractions GMs Future Hydrogen Power Plans (Mike Floyd, 2010) GM Cuts Unnecessary Spending GM Sales Soar 11.4 Percent In March On Market Shift First Posted: 04/ 1/11 Medical plan and insurance for the employs All of these plans meet the objectives criteria and are in alignment with the growth. 1.2.5 communicate workforce plan GME communicates above mentioned plans through its staff briefings, pamphlets, staff benefits periodical, staffs own website, intranet, films and advertising. The use of flexi hours is very popular in organisation at GME due to the nature of people doing part timer jobs at operational end therefore each department maintains a rota and extra hours available folder through which employees can communicate and leave message for each other along with using staff message boards. The formal training program in GME consists of five components, of which the first three are available through GM University, which is one of the largest corporate educational programs in the world. General Motor has established a learning organization and culture for its employees across the entire enterprise.GM University is designed to align the companys training investment with its business needs, and disseminate best practices and core value. Foundation skill training (i.e. computer software, GM history and business orientation) Functional specific skills and techniques Leadership and professional development On-the-job training in each department In addition, GM supports advanced education and certification through tuition assistance, Cardean e-MBA program, and technical education programs. Tuition Assistance Program: This program regular active salaried employees are eligible for tuition assistance upon date of hire. Graduate Education: Variety of graduate programs are available throughout GM. Checked with the operating unit of interest to you for individual opportunities. On-Site Classwork: Number of educational courses are offered in conjunction with educational institutions throughout the United States. New Hire Mentoring: The GM New Hire (GMNH) is the unique support system for new GM team members. Simply put the GM new hires are paired with our experienced GM team members with the primary objective of professionally transitioning and developing new hires into the GM culture. Providing and enabling to experience professional growth, corporate culture, new ideas and perspectives, while driving for business results. Mentoring is critical as move into the future. The new hires of today, will be our leaders for tomorrow. 1.2.6 Improvements made are in line with the organisations vision and objectives Total worldwide vehicle sales $8.4 million in the year Offering a lease product in certain geographic areas In the year ended December 31, 2010 company worldwide market share was 11.4%. Total of 20,215 distribution outlets throughout the world. Currently offer 19 FlexFuel vehicles for the 2011 model year. Increase the volume of vehicles produced from common global architectures to more than 50% of company total volumes in 2015. Diesel vehicles have become important in the European marketplace, where company encompass 50% of the market share. 1.2.7 Improvements to reduce gap between what customers and  stakeholders want The success of the GME means that the stakeholders at all levels are very happy with the performanceof company. GMEs share is considered to be the most reliable on the market.The gap between customer and stakeholders is substantially reduced by keeping the community and different stakeholders at the heart of scorecard where the progress is checked on recurrent basis. Agreeing Team Performance Targets To Meet  Strategic Objectives This sections aims to look into the team performance targets which match with theultimate strategic gains. 2.1 Required Performance Targets Within Teams Against Current Performance It is the duty of the company to engage with the community and find out about their local shopping preferences. Teams are urged to be polite, helpful and cordial . every company have targets. These targets are compared with the year on year,season on seaon and like for like weekly targets. All the section managers and staff have the access to the relevant information and these targets are reiterated through an internal communication channel. Every single staff working at company has targets. 2.1.1 The type of skills, knowledge, understanding and experience required to undertake current and planned  organisational activities At operational level, there is not much need for high skills required but along with the increment in the hierarchy of the management, the relevant skills are also increased. For example, sectional managers have to be versed in time keeping and management, store managers are more project oriented and have to be more financially aware. GME identify the training needs of its staff. As the company is becoming more technologically oriented, company is investing a lot in the training of systems such as self help check outs monitoring and online reporting. Company employees can manage their own profile these days online and have their personnel related matters sorted through this channel. All this need to be communicated and people are trained through GME Academy. 2.1.2 Systems for collecting and assessing information on the overall performance of theorganisation to identify opportunities for improvement GME relies heavily on digital ways of collecting and assessing information. Although, it does engage with community through local leaflets and local surveys but on strategic level it engages through CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative. It has found out that it needs to invest ingreener and more fair trade products. Every transaction at GME front end is stored for 5 years,this huge amount of data helps to analyse and compare sales data on the overall performance. 2.2 Encourage individual commitment to team performance in achieving organisational objectives. Staff members are encouraged through motivational techniques such as staff value awards competition, employee of the month and encouragement for every staff to become team members. Such techniques help raise the staff morale ultimate resulting in getting individuals commitment. 2.3 Context of delegation, mentoring and coaching to achieve organisational objectives The concept of mentoring is used at graduate training schemes where graduate recruits get their mentor for a year or so period. Operational staff tend to get more coaching and any limitations in their skills are catered for locally in the staff training room. At grass root level there is not much of delegation involved, more or less the operational teams do the jobs that they are asked to do with avery little chance of job rotation. 3 Monitor activities to improve team performance A strategy implementation to improve team performance process has to be a top to bottom approach. Communication lies at the heart of strategy implementation. If the top management doesnt have the required motivation coupled with strong communication channels then it would behard to monitor any strategic systems and processes. (Mabey 2002). Therefore, GME has adopted various channels for the smooth flow of information and introduced various checks and balances so that the balance score card is measured according to the objectives set. This whole process encompasses the involvement of supervisors, team leaders and other managers during staff appraisals which are conducted twice a year. Employees are encouraged to take part in company development programme which is labelled as personal development planning(PDP). Every employee develops his own objectives. The progress is monitored through PDP folder and staff appraisals. Identification of the work objectives, key dates and support materials are provided by the management and also at their daily and weekly staff meetings so that staff can measure their contribution. The balanced score card is considered to be used for organisational fitness for the purpose and is classified as the in-out approach to controlling strategic performance. Balanced score card helps to strengthen the core competencies of an organisation and enables workforce to sustain the competitive advantage in the market. (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990; Teeceet al., 1997). 3.1 Monitoring team performance Following a resource based review of the adopted balance score card methodology at GME. It encapsulatesthe daily, monthly, quarterly and annual strategic control and the steps through which it iscontrolled and monitored. Balanced score card focuses on alignment and integration of the human activity factor with the operations. It conditions how people work instead of directly trying to influence people (employees and community) what they should achieve. The balanced score card helps to review the objectives and progress through all structures of management and at all levels. GMEs recurring operational issues are discussed at weekly or monthly basis whereas, the strategic issues come up more often at managers meetings on quarterly basis. This is in alignment with the classical view of the balance score card evolution. 3.2 Evaluation of team performance against agreed objectives Team performances are evaluated through 360 feedback, team briefings and by adopting Demings PDC approach. The areas of improvement are defined and are communicated at once throughTeam Exercise. 4 Contribution of influence and persuasion to team dynamics Since the evolution of different management theories, the modern business world uses a mix of all these. Employee motivation through monetary means is still a bigger factor behind better labour output. The contribution of these motivational techniques to influence the team dynamics is measured in this section. 4.1 Methodologies to gain commitment to action GME management uses a combination of Taylorism and Maslow theory of need such that it enriches the job satisfaction by really involving its staff into decision making allowing them to become a part of the organisation and by giving them monetary incentives through bonus and other performance related pay increments. This is a proven methodology to gain GME Staffs commitment in achieving the targets. GME employs over 209,000 and all of them take part in Staff Question Time Sessions which enables the company management to obtain a valuable feedback about the work conditions (Email GME, 2011). This is a 360 degree exercise such that it not only gives feedback to employees but also enables staff to share their experience and opinions to help serve customers better. Staff Training and development is another successful tool that company use to engage with its staff and to enrich their experience of working with them. A good programme such as HPWS (High Performance Work System) is highly eff ective in experienced staff retention. Staff retention and loyalty is a trademark of every successful organisation. 4.2 Impact of individual dynamic on securing commitment to action The impact of the chief executive on securing its staff s commitment to action is distilled at all levels of GMEs organizational structure. For any strategic action has to be channelled through effective top level management. GMEs current boss has earned industry as well as its employees respect by achieving various awards and taking GME,s success to an unprecedented level. Conclusion The above assignment has tried to explore GME within four learning outcomes as specified aboveand has found that due to visionary leadership and innovative performance management measures. The four learning outcomes inspected setting of performance targets through the purpose and balance score card methodology adopted by the company. GME further uses various controlling and monitoring mechanism together with its High Performance Work System to help implement its objectives. Different motivational techniques are used to build up the morale and generate higher labour output by the team members.These teams include enrichment of employees experience through training and development,sharing of success through shares and profits incentives. And eventually, the all important strategic leadership has been discussed. It is argued that without the visionary leadership of management GME would not enjoy the benefits that it is enjoying today. Despite being the leading supermarket, GME continues to expand into more diversified portfolio and the author of this article, having worked in one of the stores, feels confident that the trend would continue in the foreseeable future.

Comparison of East and West African food and the influence they had in

This paper will compare and contrast the different eating habits and examine the cultural dining of West Africa to East Africa. Africans like most of the world outside of American and London aren’t fanatical on fast food even though it is becoming more popular most people eat at home or at relatives or friends home. Even Africans living outside of Africa love to cook rather than dine out in most cases. This report was based on interviews from Africans who grew up in traditional African homes in Africa. All references have been crossed checked and stories verified on how most African dishes are prepared, and their history. More research was done by the books listed, as well as other references such as internet sites. Most of this data has been collected over years of experience of living with Africans from both West and East Africa. It is custom when one person is cooking they do not just cook for themselves, or even their family but for anybody who might drop by unexpected. Big pots are used to cook and food is rarely wasted because the people here are very close and always welcomed to each other’s homes. That is what is the best part of being Africa, communities are still one, when one eats everybody eats. Throughout this paper Africans dishes consisting of: chicken, fish, goat, beef, shrimp, and even crab. As well as fruits such as: oranges, bananas, guava, mangos are very popular and will be listed. African vegetables are just like anywhere else carrots, peas, and corns as well as exotic roots that are hard to find in the states like cassava, efo, and cola nut. African cuisine combines traditional fruits and vegetables, meats and fish from the oceans that surrounds the continent, and a marinade of cultures, colonies, trade routes, and history. Africa cuisine is as broad as the continent, from dry desert, to tropical wetlands, plains, and jungle. The media has given Westerners the wrong impression of Africa, from the movies showing colonization to savages misrepresenting the birthplace of all man. African cuisine is on the rise in the U.S., due to the growing popularity as Africans bring the dishes of their country to family restaurants to this country. To an outsider of this culture it is impossible to categorize African food. I have even seen cooking shows call plantains (a starchy banana) a Cuban or Spaniard dish but it originated on both coast of Afr... ...de and remixed other culture recipes and used it for their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most important lesson in this paper is to see how culture came from Africa, and that we are all the same. Learning about different cultures is vital for man kind to survive, many wars are fought because of ignorance. Even in Africa food is important and cherished. With this paper my appreciation of African food has increased, as well as my menu selection. I enjoy African food because there is not much diary in the typical African diet. References 1. A Slice of Africa: Exotic West African Cuisines by Chidi Asika-Enahoro 2. South African Gourmet Food and Wine: Traditional South African Food and More by Myrna Rosen, Lesley Loon 3.Berthina Fomenky native of Cameroon, and resident of Senegal 4.Beryl and Rhoda Gwan native of Cameroon 5.Limbikani Kamlognera native of Malawi 6. http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/. 7. http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Cookbook/Kenya.html 8. http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/food.html 9. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mi.html#Govt. 10.http://www.csis.org/press/ma_2003_0127.htm 11. Beza Semenew http://www.bezamodel.com/Homepage.htm

12 Angery Men :: essays research papers

Twelve Angry Men   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sometimes in life your professions reflect on your personalities. Twelve Angry Men is an example of where this occurs. Twelve men are brought together in a room to decide whether a boy is guilty of killing his father. Whether they brought good or bad qualities from their profession, they all affected the outcome. The leadership skills of Courtney Vance, the compassion of Dorian Harwood, and the opinionated Tony Danza affected the actions and decisions in the jury room.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Courtney Vance is a high school football coach; his position in the jury room is a foreman. On the football field, Vance acts as a mediator, a leader, and an organizer. As a foreman for this trial, Vance definitely carries all those traits into the jury room with him. If it were not for Vance, there would not have been any order in the jury room. He acts as a coach in the jury room as he formed fine lines of respect. He acts as a mediator for all of the arguments that went on in the jury room. Every time, Vance is there to calm everyone down and gain back order in the room. His leadership skills also shine in the jury room as well. He controls and leads every discussion, speaking order, voting, and demonstration. Vance takes on the leading role and handles it well. He also brings organization into the jury room by organizing the juries, the discussions, and the votes. With the excellent traits that Vance brings into the jury room, he allows the trial to run smooth ly and effectively.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dorian Harwood’s profession as nurse also shapes his actions in the jury room. In the jury room, he acts with compassion and respect. As a nurse he does the same. His compassion lies in caring for another. He relates that to the trial by thinking of the boy as one of his patients. He wants him to have a fair chance at life, and therefore wants him to have a fair trial. In the jury room, he acts with respect because he is very unsure about the case, and really does not know how he feels about things. So when it is his turn to talk he passes to hear the others before he makes the wrong assumption. With these actions he shows a lot of respect for not only the boy on trial, but also to the other juries.

A Scream in the Night :: essays research papers

natasha Smith. A Scream in the Night. Chapter 1 Ahhhhhhhh†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ I jumped out of my bed and turned on the night. I slowly creaped over to my bedroom window, what I saw was petrifying. A humongous light came bursting in at me I was sure that it wasn’t the sun. It came closer each second, closer, closer and closer, bigger, bigger and bigger. But before I got to faint, Mum got up and the light dissapeared. Weird. Chapter 2 I put on my warm and cosy dressingown, slipped my foot into my bright and yellow slippers, and crept down the creaky stairs for breakfast, trying to act normal. When I got there I said,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" Morning Mum, Morning Dad.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" Morning,† Replied Mum and Dad. I sat down and said nothing, Still wondering what weird thing could happened this morning. Chapter 3 I sat there thinking what could have happened?, what could it be?, how could it be? Mum noticed me being quiet, she asked, â€Å" Dear what is the matter? You look awfully pale.† At first I wasn’t listening, then she asked again,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" Oh, Oh nothing mother†, trying to keep it to myself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" Look what ever it is you can tell me you know I wont bite! She explained.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" Look mother, I’m ok, just abit tired that’s all.† I roared. I knew it wasn’t ok though. Just maybe I’ll tell her one day, but just maybe. Chapter 4 When I went to bed, I woke up again at midnight, I turned on my light, but when I turned around†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Ahhhhhhhh†¦. Cried a voice coming from outside. I went to the window and looked in the sky, there was a man he was very red and looked half alive and half dead. Then he said nothing else, and just layed there, then he dissapeared. I ran into mums room and said â€Å" Mum, Mum wake up,† Mum said â€Å" Yes dear,†she mumbled.

Case Analysis: Michael Eisner has More Problems than He Can Face

Eisner's Mousetrap Disney's CEO says the company has a lot of varied problems he can fix. But what if the real issue is something he can't face? By Marc Gunther Reporter Associate Carol Vinzant September 6, 1999 FORTUNE Magazine) – Michael Eisner, the famously hands-on CEO of Walt Disney, is up to his old tricks. Last night he screened a rough cut of Dinosaurs, Disney's big animated movie for next summer; he loved the story but complained that some jokes were stale. Today he's holding a four-hour brainstorming session about Mickey Mouse, looking for ways to keep the 71-year-old rodent relevant. One idea: a skateboarding Mickey. ) Later, he'll watch Peter Jennings' newscast on Disney-owned ABC and surf the Internet to see how the company's Websites stack up. Is this any way to run the world's most troubled entertainment giant? After all, as Eisner sweats the details, earnings are dropping, top executives are defecting, and Disney stock is plunging like a ride down Splash Mounta in. â€Å"Maybe I'm crazy,† Eisner says, â€Å"but I don't consider this a crisis. I don't think our problems are in the fabric of our company. And I don't have my head in the sand. Sitting down for a two-hour interview, he admits mistakes. He says, for instance, that he should have settled former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg's suit against the company earlier to avoid a â€Å"parade of horrors† (see box). And he concedes that the company has sustained real damage: â€Å"It's like a train wreck, only nobody got killed. † But Eisner denies that he has lost his touch. â€Å"The criticisms of me and Disney today,† says the 57-year-old chief executive, â€Å"are as shortsighted as were the praises of me and Disney in the high economic times. Sunday nights on ABC, Michael Eisner–celebrated CEO, business magazine cover boy, and author of his own life story–still hosts The Wonderful World of Disney. The rest of the week, life is not so sweet i n the Magic Kingdom. Certainly shareholders have reason to feel grumpy, with the stock trading at about 37% below last year's high. There's no quick fix in sight either. Tarzan, the $160 million summer blockbuster, won't have much impact on earnings; the movie cost too much to make and isn't selling enough T-shirts and toys because the market's glutted with Star Wars stuff. That's one of the scary things about today's Disney: The company has grown so big and its problems are so far-reaching–ranging from the phenomenon of â€Å"age compression† to the explosion of media choices–that they can't be fixed by a couple of hit movies or TV shows or more Disney stores. The other scary thing is this: Disney seems less able than ever to cope with adversity. That's because Eisner, for all his creativity and charisma and grand plans, presides over an insular–some say arrogant–corporate culture where decision-making is hierarchical, centralized, and slow. It's an utter mismatch for the Internet age. â€Å"This isn't Mickey's house anymore,† says a former Disney insider. â€Å"It's a multibillion-dollar company. † Eisner does have a plan. He is cutting costs and reengineering a company that got bloated with success. He's making overseas growth a top priority. He wants Disney to be an Internet giant, taking on Yahoo and America Online. And, yes, he'll keep on tweaking theme park rides and screening ABC pilots and driving subordinates up the wall with his meddling, because he fervently believes that if you demand high quality and develop synergy, financial results will follow. The interesting thing about our company,† Eisner says, â€Å"which I think is extremely flattering, is that everybody takes for granted that we make good products. They think, Oh, the Disney cruise ship, they take a wand and a little pixie dust and all of a sudden you revolutionize the cruise industry from floating Vegas hotels to romantic ocea n liners. There are zoos all over the world, and up comes the Animal Kingdom. Or Tarzan, or the Lion King on Broadway–people say, ‘They have no trouble with the creative thing. Well, it's the creative thing that turns the company around. † Besides, he declares, a bit impatiently: â€Å"We are the most profitable media company in the world. We're being buried a little prematurely here. † He's right about the bottom line. Last year Disney reported revenue of $23 billion, operating income of $4 billion, and net income of $1. 9 billion–its net was far more than that of Time Warner (owner of FORTUNE's parent), News Corp. , and Viacom combined. For the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 0, Disney's revenue is expected to reach $24 billion. But all other key indicators are down, some shockingly so. For the first nine months of fiscal 1999, excluding a one-time gain from an asset sale, Disney reported declines in operating income of 17%, net income of 26% , and earnings per share of 27%. Some Wall Street analysts have cut their fiscal 1999 earnings estimates as many as five times since last summer, and 13 of 25 analysts have a â€Å"hold† on the stock, according to Zacks Investment Research. The company has simply stopped growing, and it isn't a momentary dip either: Operating income fell slightly last year too, and Disney isn't expected to match its fiscal 1997 earnings until 2001 at the earliest–a startling comedown for a company that, for a decade after Eisner took over in 1984, delivered annual profit increases of 20% and a return on equity of 20%. Return on equity, a key benchmark that has been sliding ever since Disney's 1996 merger with Capital Cities/ABC, has slipped below 10%, estimates analyst Laura Martin of Credit Suisse First Boston. Some people have the impression that Disney still is what it was–an animation company that generated great returns on capital,† Martin says. â€Å"But that may be over. † Until recently Disney was propelled by a handful of big ideas that were executed almost flawlessly. First, Disney released its library of beloved animated films on video just as VCRs took off; nine of the ten bestselling titles of all time are Disney movies, and most, like Snow White and Cinderella, were paid for long ago. Second, Eisner and Katzenberg revived Disney animation with instant classics like Aladdin and The Lion King, which made big profits at the box office and on video and spawned even bigger ancillary revenues from licensing and merchandising. Third, Disney built more than 700 retail stores in the U. S. , Europe, and Asia. Finally, the company embarked on a vast expansion of Walt Disney World, creating and updating dozens of attractions and building an astonishing 15,000 hotel rooms since 1988. (They called the strategy â€Å"Put the heads in the beds. ) Disney's market capitalization soared from about $2 billion before the Eisner era to $85 billion at its peak in April 1998. Thanks to the rising stock price, Eisner got fabulously rich too, exercising accumulated stock options that gave him pretax gains of more than $500 million since 1992. He still holds 12. 7 million shares, according to Disney's latest SEC filings, worth about $330 million at today's prices. So what's gone wrong? Sta rt with the fact that all the businesses that powered Disney, with the exception of the theme parks, are slumping. Home-video earnings have tumbled, partly because consumers now have shelves filled with Disney animation. Revenues from licensing and merchandising are down, partly because of the economic downturn in Asia, and sales and profits from the Disney Stores have declined because product lines have grown stale. â€Å"How many Mickey Mouse T-shirts can you sell? † asks Christopher Dixon, entertainment industry analyst for Paine Webber. Altogether, Disney's all-important Creative Content segment, which includes movie and TV production, home video, licensing, merchandising, and the stores, saw its operating income fall from $1. billion in 1997 to $1. 4 billion in 1998; it decreased by another 42% during the first nine months of fiscal 1999. If that were a movie, they'd call it Honey, I Shrunk the Earnings. In Eisner's view, the problems are unrelated. â€Å"A lot of things happened together to make our earnings slide,† he says. Disney is attacking each concern, slashing costly pr oduction deals in the movie business, releasing fewer live-action movies, resting its classic video titles longer between releases to rekindle demand, and merging overseas distribution forces for film and video. To boost demand for consumer goods, the company will try to coordinate marketing in big retailers such as Wal-Mart. â€Å"We'd like to have a Disney boutique to sell the T-shirt, the lunchbox, the sheets and towels,† says Peter Murphy, Disney's self-assured 36-year-old head of strategic planning. Suppose, though, that the declining sales of videos and merchandise reflect a more fundamental issue–weakness in the Disney brand. This notion is such heresy inside Disney that everyone, including Eisner, dismisses it out of hand. We have research on our brand in 20 or 30 countries, and we are almost without exception the No. 1 or No. 2 brand,† Eisner says. Disney executives say that if the brand were in trouble, Disney's theme parks would be suffering along with the rest of the company; as it is, they're thriving–even the one in France. In the theme parks and resorts segment, revenues and operating income grew by 10% and 13%, respectively, in 1998, and they've gro wn by 14% and 13% so far this year. â€Å"We have as many kids lining up to see Mickey Mouse as ever,† says Paul Pressler, 43, the president of Walt Disney Attractions. And our merchandise has done great. † Disney World has reached beyond its core audience of young families to beckon convention-goers, older people, and â€Å"pre-families,† which is Disney-speak for single people. And it's capturing more money from visitors who stay in all those new hotels. Sure, Disney's theme parks rule–it's parents who decide on family vacations–but the brand isn't holding up as well in crowded arenas like videogames and cable TV, where kids are more autonomous. Disney's interactive unit is an also-ran in the booming videogame business. On cable, the Disney Channel ranks a poor third in viewing among kids ages 2 to 11, behind market leader Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network. Both Nick and Cartoon, relative newcomers to the kids' business, exploited Disney's vulnerabilities. â€Å"The Nickelodeon opportunity was to get inside the lives of today's kids,† says Nickelodeon President Herb Scannell. â€Å"We've been contemporary. They've been traditional. † While Disney characters are drawn from myths, history, and storybooks–just about every big Disney animated feature could begin with the phrase â€Å"long ago and far away†Ã¢â‚¬â€œNickelodeon's TV shows and movies tell stories about real kids. Today the Viacom unit captures more than 50% of the audience of all children's TV programming. When Disney tries to exude a hipper aura–think of the bestselling Phil Collins soundtrack from Tarzan–the company is more likely to speak to baby-boomer parents than to their offspring. Here's where that idea of â€Å"age compression† comes into play. Kids grow up faster these days, the experts say, and start emulating teenage behavior when they're 9 or 10. They rebel against their parents and shy away from a â€Å"good for you† brand like Disney. Ten-year-old boys who watch wrestling or South Park on cable and 9-year-old girls who love Ricky Martin think Disney is for little kids. â€Å"They've never gotten past the problem that their core audience is girls 2 to 8 and their moms,† says a former Disney executive. And even among young kids, the hot properties lately are Nickelodeon's Blues Clues, PBS's Tele-tubbies and Nintendo's Pokemon, now a hit TV show on the kids' WB, yet another new kid-vid network. The cluttered kids' marketplace points to another fundamental problem facing Disney–competition on a scale the company hasn't faced before, across all its businesses. Warner, Dreamworks, and Fox do feature animation. Universal just opened a second Florida theme park. Fox Sports is taking on ESPN. Can you begin to see why managing Disney today is harder than it was a decade ago? What changed everything, of course, was Eisner's boldest stroke as CEO: his $19 billion merger with Cap Cities. That deal, cheered at the time, still appears strategically sound–the idea was to marry Disney content with ABC's broadcast and cable distribution. The problem has been execution. While ESPN and other cable properties have grown, no unit of the company is as besieged as ABC. It will lose money this year for the first time in a decade, despite a fantastic advertising marketplace, because audiences are splintering and programming costs keep climbing. (Disney agreed under competitive pressure to spend $9. 2 billion–that's right, billion–for NFL rights for ABC and ESPN through 2008. ) Operating income for the company's broadcasting segment, which includes ABC, its TV stations, 80% of ESPN, the Disney Channel, ABC Radio, and stakes in Lifetime, A&E, the History Channel, and E! Entertainment, grew by just 3% last year; it's down 18% so far this year, mostly because of ABC. I'd be the first to say the results of the ABC television network, particularly in prime time, have been disappointing since the merger,† says Robert A. Iger, 48, the lifelong ABC executive who is chairman of ABC Inc. While Iger's bailiwick extends way beyond the network, he keeps a close watch on programming and told FORTUNE in 1997, â€Å"Prime time is my No. 1 priorit y. † Since then, ABC's ratings for its 18- to 49-year-old target demographic have fallen by another 13%, leaving the network No. 3, behind NBC and Fox. Oops. Wait, it gets worse. Remember how the merger was supposed to marry content and distribution? That's not working well either. Owning and broadcasting a hit, then selling the reruns, is the best way to make big money today in television. Just ask Rupert Murdoch, whose Twentieth Century Fox TV studio not only owns the biggest hits on Fox–The Simpsons, The X-Files, and Ally McBeal–but also produces The Practice and Dharma & Greg for ABC, as well as key shows for NBC, CBS, and the WB. By contrast, Disney's Touchstone Television production studio has failed to develop a prime-time hit for ABC or anyone else since creating Home Improvement in 1991. Out of sheer frustration, Eisner last month merged the Touchstone studio into ABC; the idea is to save money and force the two units to cooperate. â€Å"It's a fantastic opportunity to reengineer the way television is done,† says Lloyd Braun, the studio president who co-chairs the merged unit with ABC's Stu Bloomberg. Like a movie studio, ABC Entertainment now will develop, own, finance, and distribute more of its own content. The trouble is, the new model could seal ABC off from the rest of the television world. While ABC executives say they'll still buy shows from studios like Warner Bros. nd Fox, the studios worry about doing business with the new, vertically integrated ABC. â€Å"You're going to have to demonstrate to me in tangible ways that I'm going to get a fair shake,† says Sandy Grushow, president of Fox's Twentieth Century Television. The other networks, meanwhile, suspect that any show they get pitched by a Disney entity will be an ABC reject. Beyond that, t he merger adds another layer and the prospect of infighting at ABC Entertainment, now run by a posse that includes newcomer Braun, programmers Bloomberg and Jamie Tarses, network President Pat Fili-Krushel, ABC Inc. resident Steve Bornstein, and Bob Iger, who still reads scripts of key ABC shows on weekends. Nor is Eisner shy about weighing in; he helped shape the fall lineup and ordered ABC to negotiate tougher deals with its affiliates and program suppliers, which are not happy. This management by committee has never worked in television, and it's not working at Disney-ABC. There is much more at stake here than the unwieldy operation of the TV unit. The new ABC structure is emblematic of what may be Eisner's thorniest problem, if only because he doesn't seem to recognize it: It's Disney's corporate culture. Under Capital Cities, ABC was run in a determinedly decentralized way; executives were given authority and responsibility as long as they exercised fiscal discipline, and the company was generally well run. The Disney approach reflects different values: centralized control, an obsession with synergy at the expense of individual business units, a suspicion of outsiders, and a muddying of responsibility. The results speak for themselves. Writing about the Disney culture is tricky because knowledgeable critics are unwilling to speak on the record; the company's just too powerful. But talk to enough people and you hear similar complaints. One persistent theme: Eisner insists on making too many decisions himself, which clogs the decision-making process. So do the roomfuls of strategic planners who analyze everything. A second complaint: Eisner's too tough. Working with Disney is notoriously difficult, so much so that a group of partners, including Coca-Cola, AT;T, Delta, and Kodak, used to meet informally to trade tips on how to cope. A related point about Eisner: In spite of his affability, he doesn't really value other people. That's one reason the death of his longtime second-in-command, Frank Wells, in 1994, was a seminal event. Wells commanded Eisner's respect like no one else, told him when he was off-base, and deftly softened his edges. They were a great team. Eisner tried to replace him with Michael Ovitz, a crucial error at just the wrong moment. Ovitz's management got the ABC merger off to a dismal start, and his 16-month tenure scarred the company. Since then, strong executives have left, among them former CFOs Stephen Bollenbach and Richard Nanula, Internet guru Jake Winebaum, and former ABC executives Geraldine Laybourne and Steve Burke. Finally, the critics say, the company has simply grown too big to be run from the top down. Eisner's approach worked for the old Disney, where the focus was on a single brand; he could gather a cadre of executives at his Monday lunches and get things done. Now Disney must manage multiple brands in a world where speed counts and partnerships are vital. A respected ex-Disney executive told me, â€Å"The company has changed and the world has changed, but Michael hasn't changed. Now he's got to change. † Eisner and his lieutenants bristle at the criticism from unnamed sources, and you can't blame them. Yes, they say, Disney is tough, but so are GE and Microsoft–which, by the way, lose lots of executives, too, because they have an abundance of talent. To the charge that he meddles, Eisner pleads guilty with an explanation: He wants Disney to excel. (Even his detractors say he has great instincts. ) When he heard from a friend that the cast members at Disneyland Paris weren't as helpful as those at Walt Disney World, he recommended better training. â€Å"Is that meddling or is that insisting on a high standard of excellence? † Eisner asks. â€Å"If there's an area where I think I can add value, I dive in. Yes, at certain times I paralyze people. I'm never satisfied. It gets people crazy, I know that. † But Eisner also says he leaves his best executives, like theme park chief Pressler, alone. â€Å"There's no brain drain,† he says. â€Å"We have unbelievably strong management. † Eisner's turnaround strategy focuses not on Disney's culture but on operations, fiscal engineering, and growth. Consolidation and cost cutting are already under way across the board, with the movie division leading the way. Studio chief Joe Roth has already cut spending by about $550 million annually, by making fewer movies. It focuses everyone much more closely on the films at hand,† Roth says, â€Å"and ironically, I am quite sure that–for the fifth time in six years–we will be No. 1 in market share again this year. † Disney is also looking to sell Fairchild Publications, a magazine company. Sources say Disney also expects to write off a big chunk of the $9. 2 bi llion NFL deal. In a move that should please Wall Street, CFO Thomas O. Staggs is reworking Disney's compensation system so that executives will be evaluated on cash flow and return on equity as well as on reported earnings; that's designed to encourage business units to use capital more efficiently. The theme park segment, in particular, has been a huge consumer of capital, but it will use less after new parks open near Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland in 2001. Disney's best growth opportunity probably lies overseas. Right now, the company gets about 21% of its revenues from abroad, less than other global brands like Coca-Cola (63%) or McDonald's (61%). That's why Bob Iger's recent promotion to president of Walt Disney International puts him in a crucial role, spearheading what Eisner calls â€Å"a monumental change in the way the company is structured. Iger has begun to overhaul all of Disney's operations outside the U. S. , which grew up haphazardly as each business–film, TV, the stores, cable, or theme parks–built foreign outposts that reported back to the home office. Now those businesses will also report to regional executives in charge of continents or key countries; each territory will also get its own CFO and brand manager. That may sound like more Disney l ayering, but Iger says it offers major advantages. First, the company will save money through consolidation, whether in renting office space or buying advertising. Disney also expects to do a better job of tapping into local trends. Iger cites a revealing example: â€Å"It's having someone in Japan who would see the Pokemon phenomenon at an early stage and have the clout, really, through me, someone who has a seat at Michael's table, to be able to raise the consciousness level of the company about that potential quickly and effectively. † Interestingly, the idea is not to delegate authority but to shorten the distance between the rest of the world and Eisner. Eisner's other major focus is the Internet. Here, too, centralization is the watchword. Last month Disney agreed to combine its Internet assets with Infoseek, a search engine and portal company that it is buying outright; the properties, including the Go portal, ABCNews. com, ESPN. com, Disney. com, Family. com, and others scattered in five locations on both coasts, will operate as a single unit under a CEO to be named later. â€Å"This is to consolidate the Internet assets so that we can have them under common management with one agenda and one vision,† says CFO Staggs, the 38-year-old architect of Disney's Internet strategy. The company will then issue a tracking stock called go. com that can be used as acquisition currency and a way to compensate talent. Disney's assets should make it a force online. Its ESPN. com and Disney family sites are category leaders, and the company has unparalleled promotional platforms in ABC and ESPN. In a matter of months, they helped make Go the fifth-ranked portal, behind AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Lycos. And all the Disney Websites should sing when high-speed access makes it easier to watch video online. â€Å"As bandwidth expands,† Eisner says, â€Å"content becomes more important. You must have sports and news and entertainment, or you are going to be a Western Union messenger in a fax world. † He envisions a universe in which ABC News clips, ESPN game highlights, and movies like Aladdin are distributed online, cutting out middlemen like cable operators or Blockbuster Video. â€Å"I believe the entire company's product will mostly be distributed through the Internet,† Eisner says. He's a passionate Internet user too, peppering his web guys with suggestions. Says Staggs: â€Å"The only person I get more e-mail from than Michael is my mom. † The strategy sounds smart. Of course, buying ABC sounded smart too. Once again, it'll come down to execution. Patrick Keane, a Jupiter Communications analyst, likes Disney's web assets but worries that â€Å"diversified media companies move at glacial speed when it comes to the Internet. † Disney can't be as focused on new media as people at AOL and Yahoo are every day. And the straitlaced Mouseketeers will have to learn to live in an unbuttoned Internet culture, says new-media consultant Gary Arlen of Bethesda, Md. â€Å"Have you ever been to Disney World? † he asks. â€Å"You walk out of a ride and land in a place that sells souvenirs. They'd like to manage the Internet that way. Even with perfect execution, Disney's Internet investments need time to pay off; in the meantime, they'll dilute earnings. Time is what Eisner needs too. Time for the cable and phone companies to help make his broadband Internet vision a reality. Time to build overseas. Time for DVD to take hold and provide another chance to resell the library. Time to creat e the next Tarzan and a hit for ABC, time for new theme parks to open, time to reinvent Mickey once more. Time, perhaps, to appoint a strong second-in-command with clout, whether it's Bob Iger or Paul Pressler or a dark horse who has yet to emerge. Because he enjoys the support of the Disney board, Eisner can be patient. â€Å"We're in a transition period,† he says. â€Å"I would rather have every quarter be up. It was for 13 years. Everybody loves you. [But] you can't manage a company like ours quarter to quarter, maniacally, so that the media will write good things about you. † He likes to quote Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway, at last count, owned 51 million Disney shares: â€Å"I close my eyes and think about what a company's going to look like in ten years before I invest. Paine Webber's Chris Dixon says Disney's assets are top-notch: â€Å"It may take time, but we believe the values are there. † Other investors won't wait. They note that despite the earnings downturn, Disney is still priced as a growth stock; it trades at about 35 times this year's projected earnings, a 25% premium to the S;P 500. The Capital Research ; Management Group, whose entertainment industry investments are managed b y respected media analyst Gordon Crawford, used to be Disney's largest institutional shareholder, with 41 million shares as recently as last year. Crawford has sold them all. So be it, says Eisner. â€Å"You can always tell your friends through the rough times,† he says. He still gets to go to the movies, test-drive theme park rides, surf the Net, and call it work. And maybe it's just his turn to suffer in the media doghouse. After all, CEOs Gerald Levin of Time Warner and Sumner Redstone of Viacom fell out of favor when they struggled to get their arms around companies engorged by big acquisitions. Such mergers aren't easy. The challenge for Eisner is to learn from experience, show a little humility, seize the opportunity to shake up his company, and, perhaps, change his own stripes and let go a little. That's a lot to ask of anyone who's been as successful as he has for so long. But this isn't the old Disney. And the old Disney magic just isn't working anymore. REPORTER ASSOCIATE Carol Vinzant http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/09/06/265291/index. htm

Chimney Sweeper Essay

A great writer, or poet, will make their readers feel as if they are a part of their story. The reader will feel happy when the character is happy, or sad when the character is sad. This is achieved by various rhetorical strategies that writers use. Some of these strategies include imagery and word diction. Sometimes it is one sentence that really gets to the reader. Other times it is simply one word that can make the reader feel anything from warm to sad. In William Blake’s poem, â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper,† from Songs of Innocence, there is an important transition in which the reader’s sense of emotions change from negative feelings of darkness, death, and misery to positive emotions of happiness, hope, and salvation. This transition in emotions reflects the child’s innocence and oblivion to his victimization whereas in the same poem from Songs of Experience the child is aware that he is the victim and therefore only reveals feelings of bitterness and sarcasm. This contrast is important to my understanding of the Innocence poem because it reveals a softer and more innocent perspective than the poem of Experience does. In the first half of the poem Blake uses word diction that gives off negative connotations in order to illustrate the horrible conditions the young chimneysweepers live in. The chimneysweeper says, â€Å"And my father sold me while yet my tongue/Could scarcely cry † ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ’† (2-3). Not only does the word â€Å"weep† clearly give off a sense of sadness and depression, but the fact that it is repeated four times puts an emphasis on the sadness that the chimneysweeper feels. The quote implies that the father sold his child at a very young age. As a result, the child was still too young to weep and therefore could not refuse to be sold. Another quote says, â€Å"So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep† (4). When one hears the word â€Å"sweep†, they are imagining dirt and filth being lifted off the ground. Moreover, the phrase â€Å"in soot I sleep†, if one imagines it in a literal sense, shows that the child is literally sleeping in soot, which is the black debris that the smoke from the chimney creates. As a result, this quote illustrates a dirty and filthy setting that these chimneysweepers are forced to live in. A phrase that, without a doubt, gives off a sense of death and hell is â€Å"coffins of black† (12). The chimneysweeper uses this phrase to describe where the other chimneysweepers are locked in Tom’s dream, which is still filthy and almost suffocating. While these quotes and phrases observe and reveal the terrible conditions that these children are living in, the chimneysweeper in the Experience poem reasons why he is living in those conditions by blaming his parents. This comparison makes evident the different perspectives from each poem. Hints of hope are first revealed in the Innocence poem where Blake uses the child’s sarcasm to show that in moments of darkness and unhappiness there is still space for optimism so as not to suffer so much. This is revealed when the chimneysweeper reassures Tom to â€Å"never mind it, for when your head’s bare/You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair† (7-8). In a way this would make Tom feel hopeful because with a bare head, the soot cannot ruin his hair. But in a metaphorical sense, it implies that darkness (the soot) will not prevail over everything, which gives one hope. What follows this sense of hope is Tom’s description of his dream: And by came an Angel who had a bright key/And he open’d the coffins & set them all free/Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run/And wash in a river, and shine in the Sun/Then naked and white, all their bags left behind/They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind. (13-18) This stanza contains numerous amounts of words and phrases that all give a positive connotation of hope, freedom, warmth, and happiness. Words such as â€Å"Angel†, â€Å"bright key†, â€Å"laughing†, â€Å"Sun†, and â€Å"white† give off a feeling that is too good to be true, which explains why it is a dream in the first place. But that hope and happiness is so strong that when Tom awakes, he continues his work happily. This utopian perspective clearly shows the innocence of these children, while the child in the poem of Experience has no sense of hope because he is aware of the reality he is living in. While the children in the Innocence poem use religious words and phrases to give them something to look forward to, the child in the Experience poem condemns religion. Blake shows how religion is used to almost condone the treatment and conditions of these chimneysweepers when he writes, â€Å"And the Angel told Tom, if he’d be a good boy/He’d have God for his father and never want joy† (19-20). This quote implies that obedience and sticking to your duties will bring happiness in the afterlife. The same thing is implied when the chimneysweeper says, â€Å"So if all do their duty they need not fear harm† (24). In other words, as long as these chimneysweepers continue with their gruesome work while refraining from complaints, they will be happy and will be rewarded in the afterlife for their good behavior. This mentality seems to convince the children that it is acceptable live in these horrible conditions because they will be rewarded once they pass. In contrast, the child in the Experience poem does not see the afterlife or God as something or someone to look forward to because he blames God for the position he is in. He mocks God by saying, â€Å"And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King/Who make up a heaven of our misery† (11-12). The child’s parents are praying in the church and believe that they have not caused their child any injury. In this case, it is the parents that are condoning the brutal life of their child. This major difference between the two poems is important because it reveals how differently each child views the situation they are in as chimneysweepers. Blake’s use of word diction and imagery in the poem of Innocence and in the poem of Experience differentiates the two opposing perspectives of each poem. Because the Innocence poem transitions from darkness and hopelessness to freedom and hopefulness, my understanding of this poem is extremely different from the other. It is clear that the chimneysweeper in the Experience poem is aware that he is the victim; therefore, his feelings of sadness and despair block him from seeing any hope. Instead, he blames God and his parents for the life he lives. In contrast, I am given the sense that the chimneysweeper in the Innocence poem is completely oblivious to the fact that he is a victim, and therefore it is easier for him to see the light in the darkest moments; in this sense he is still innocent of any hard feelings towards his father or God.