Movie: The Power of One Essay

The director John G. Avildsen has made the concert scene memorable from the film â€Å"The Power of One† which was set in apartheid time in Africa by using many visual and verbal techniques such as lighting, music and dialog that support all the suggestions that the scene makes. These techniques make this scene and film memorable. During the concert scene Peekay conducted a group of non-white African prisoners to sing for the commandant. Peekay was proven to be smart and determined in this scene because he translated the guards speech to the prisoners incorrectly to encourage the tribes to unite. The Guard told Peekay to translate â€Å"†¦sorriest prisoners in all of Africa!† but Peekay translate it to â€Å"Let us be one under the African Sky†. The prisoners sang a song about the guards â€Å"they run this way, they run that way, they are afraid, they are cowards..† in Zulu. Sergent Boreman cornered Peet and made him tell what the words to the song meant and then beat him to death because he was aggravated about what the prisoners were singing. Peekay got to Peet in time for him to say his last words: â€Å"All the tribes as one, thanks to you rainmaker†. A visual technique which made the concert scene memorable was lighting. The dark dim lighting suggested that the conditions of the prison were harsh. An example of this is when Geil Peet is beaten to death by Sergeant Boreman, the lighting was harsh, artificial and spot lighten which made Boreman look evil. The lighting gives the audience clues about the dark emotions experienced by Geil Peet in this scene. Another technique used in this film is the music during this scene. There were only two types of music, the piano and the background singing of the African prisoners which suggest a lot of things, for example the prisoners singing from different tribes could suggest co-operation and equality between tribes and the singing in Zulu meant that the commandant and Sergeant and guards could not understand what the tribes were singing about the guards being cowards and afraid. â€Å"Alyea Olyeah mon!† is what one of the prisoners was shouting out. Peekay in this scene translated the commandants speech incorrectly which gave the prisoners encouragement to bring honor to  their tribe. The dialog also made this scene memorable in this film. The dialog was very moving and powerful. The speeches were moving because the verbal and visuals at each part of the scene were supporting each other to create something beautiful even though Geil Peet was dieing in Peekay’s arms saying â€Å"†¦ rainmaker† the over narration when Geil dies is also moving â€Å"†¦for a brief moment he was a freeman†. This suggest that Peet had a hard life before if he was a freeman just before he died. The actual English speech of the commandant suggest that he hated all black people and thought that whites are superior which also suggest racism. I believe that this film â€Å"The Power of One† is a bold, strong and moving film and many memorable and important scenes like the concert scene. The Director John G. Avildsen has attempted to recreate what apartheid was like in Africa and I strongly believe that this film has captured that image.

Vikings, Civilized?

In the year AD 789, the Viking Era began. They came across the sea from the region now called Scandinavia. Hundreds of years later, there were many Vikings living in all corners of Europe because their homelands couldn’t support their growing population. The Vikings for a long time had a bad reputation. People feared the Vikings, describing them as vicious vandals and barbaric raiders. That is what the Vikings are mostly remembered for today. Aside from all the raiding and looting of towns the Vikings did, in their homelands, they had a certain level of civilisation in their culture.The name ‘Viking’ translates to ‘pirate’ in Norse; a language spoken by the Vikings. The Vikings were very fierce and brutal fighters. 4 years after the Vikings settled in England/Europe, they violently raided the monks of Lindisfarne. The war party struck quickly and unexpectedly. The monks at first thought they would be safe, living in a monastery and sacred place, but t hey were wrong. The people of Lindisfarne were defenseless, making it easier for the Vikings to steal treasures, burn down buildings and murder monks.The Vikings were violent and heartless towards others. They would torture their victims and did not hesitate to kill anyone†¦ including innocent babies. After raiding the monastery, the Vikings longships would sail home loaded with goods and captives. The Vikings would raid and loot through towns as they travelled. Their swords and axes caused terror and fear wherever they went. They had many cruel and disturbing ways to kill people. One of the most popular ways they used is called a butterfly cut, which ended up with the victim’s lungs hanging out.They would also drown people in the sea until they died. Some Vikings called ‘The berserkers’ were worked up with drugs before and in battles which made them wild and somehow, pain free. Despite the Vikings status as raiders, not all Vikings voyages were violent. Alt hough they might loot and destroy one town, they would go to another in peace and trade goods. While some of the popular belief of Vikings being nothing but ruthless fights are correct, contrary to belief, the Vikings culture and way of life is less barbaric than most may think.In addition, Vikings were very skilled craftspeople. They were expert sailors and shipbuilders. Their longship sailed all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Vikings built many types of boats like small rowing boats, trading and transport ships and of course the mighty longship used for raids. The Vikings were excellent navigators, and with their longship, could travel far distances. Furthermore, the Vikings had a very structured and stable society. They had equal rights, their own religion and language which are all signs of a civilised culture.The Vikings honored the dead and evidence from a number of primary sources reveal that the Vikings would bury the dead in mass graves, in deep pits, in wagons and b oats. Cremation was another common burial practice for Pagan Vikings. The Viking’s society was divided into 3 groups. The Jarls who were the privileged, rich and powerful ones, the Karls who were the middle class made up the majority of the Viking society. They were the craftspeople, farmers and merchants. On the bottom of the Viking society were the Thralls.Most of them were slaves and did the heavy work. The Vikings would have festivals with music, storytelling and games In conclusion, saying the Vikings were nothing but ruthless, bloodthirsty savage beasts would be unfair. Yes, they did attack and kill many innocent people but that does not mean their society was uncivilised. The Vikings were the master of the seas and were skilled at many things. They had a structured society and had their own beliefs. In saying that, the Vikings were far less barbaric than most think.

Shadow Kiss Chapter 11

Eleven WE STEPPED OFF THE plane and were immediately hit with wet, blustery weather. Sleet cracked into us, far worse than the flaky white stuff falling back in Montana. We were on the East Coast now, or well, close to it. The queen's court was in Pennsylvania, near the Pocono Mountains, a range I had only a vague idea about. I knew we weren't too close to any major cities, like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, which were the only ones I knew in the state. The runway we'd landed on was part of the Court's property, so we were already behind wards. It was just like the Academy's small landing strip. In fact, in many ways, the Royal Court was laid out exactly like the school. It was what they told humans the compound was, actually. The Court was a collection of buildings, beautiful and ornate, spreading across well-tended grounds adorned with trees and flowers. At least, the land would be adorned with them when spring came. Just like in Montana, the vegetation was bleak and leafless. We were met by a group of five guardians, all dressed in black pants and matching coats, with white shirts underneath. They weren't uniforms exactly, but custom usually dictated that for formal occasions, guardians wear some sort of nice ensemble. By comparison, in our jeans and T-shirts, our group looked like somebody's poor relations. Yet I couldn't help but think we'd be a lot more comfortable if it came to a fight with Strigoi. The guardians knew Alberta and Dimitri – honestly, those two knew everybody – and after some formalities, everyone relaxed and became friendly. We were all eager to get in out of the cold, and our escorts led us toward the buildings. I knew enough about the Court to know that the largest and most elaborate of the buildings was where all official Moroi business was conducted. It resembled some sort of gothic palace on the outside, but inside, I suspected it probably looked like any set of modern government offices you'd find among humans. We weren't taken there, however. We were led to an adjacent building, just as exquisite on the outside, but half the size. One of the guardians explained that this was where all guests and dignitaries traveling in and out of the Court stayed. To my surprise, we each got our own room. Eddie started to protest this, adamantly saying he needed to stay with Lissa. Dimitri smiled and told him it wasn't necessary. In a place like this, guardians didn't need to stay as close to their Moroi. In fact, they often separated to do their own things. The Court was as heavily warded as the Academy. And really, Moroi visitors at the Academy were rarely trailed so closely by their guardians either. It was only for the sake of the field experience that it was being done with us. Eddie agreed with some reluctance, and again, I was amazed at his dedication. Alberta spoke briefly and then turned to the rest of us. â€Å"Decompress for a bit and be ready for dinner in four hours. Lissa, the queen wants to see you in an hour.† A jolt of surprise ran through Lissa, and she and I exchanged brief, puzzled looks. The last time Lissa had seen the queen, Tatiana had snubbed her and embarrassed her in front of the school for having running away with me. Both of us wondered what she'd want to see Lissa about now. â€Å"Sure,† said Lissa. â€Å"Rose and I'll be ready.† Alberta shook her head. â€Å"Rose isn't going. The queen specifically asked for you alone.† Of course she had. What interest would the queen have in Vasilisa Dragomir's shadow? A nasty voice whispered in my head, Expendable, expendable†¦. The dark sentiment startled me, and I shoved it aside. I went to my room, relieved to see it had a TV. The thought of vegging for the next four hours sounded fantastic. The rest of the room was pretty fancy, very modern looking, with sleek black tables and white leather furniture. I was kind of afraid to sit on it. Ironically, despite how nice it all was, the place wasn't as decked out as the ski resort that we'd stay in over the holidays. I guessed when you came to the Royal Court, you came for business, not a vacation. I had just sprawled on the leather couch and turned on the TV when I felt Lissa in my mind. Come talk, she said. I sat up, surprised by the message itself and the content. Usually our bond was all about feelings and impressions. Specific requests like this were rare. I got up and left the room, going to the one next door. Lissa opened the door. â€Å"What, you couldn't have come to me?† I asked. â€Å"Sorry,† she said, looking like she genuinely meant it. It was hard to be grouchy around someone so nice. â€Å"I just didn't have the time. I'm trying to decide what to wear.† Her suitcase was already open on the bed, with things hung up in the closet. Unlike me, she'd come prepared for every occasion, formal and casual alike. I lay down on the couch. Hers was plush velvet, not leather. â€Å"Wear the print blouse with the black slacks,† I told her. â€Å"Not a dress.† â€Å"Why not a dress?† â€Å"Because you don't want to look like you're groveling.† â€Å"This is the queen, Rose. Dressing up is showing respect, not groveling.† â€Å"If you say so.† But Lissa wore the outfit I suggested anyway. She talked to me as she finished getting ready, and I watched with envy as she applied makeup. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed cosmetics myself. When she and I had lived with humans, I'd been pretty diligent about primping every day. Now, there never seemed to be enough time – or any reason. I was always in some kind of scuffle that made makeup pointless and ruined it anyway. The most I could do was to slather my face with moisturizer. It seemed excessive in the mornings – like I was putting on a mask – yet by the time I faced the cold weather and other harsh conditions, I was always surprised to see my skin had sucked all the moisture up. The smallest pang of regret shot through me that I'd rarely have any opportunities to do this for the rest of my life. Lissa would spend most of her days dressed up, out at royal functions. No one would notice me. It was weird, considering that until this last year, I'd always been the one who was always noticed. â€Å"Why do you think she wants to see me?† Lissa asked. â€Å"Maybe to explain why we're here.† â€Å"Maybe.† Unease filled Lissa, despite her calm exterior. She still hadn't entirely recovered from the queen's brutal humiliation last fall. My own petty jealousy and moping suddenly seemed stupid when compared with what she had to go through. I mentally slapped myself, reminding myself that I wasn't just her unseen guardian. I was also her best friend, and we hadn't talked very much lately. â€Å"You have nothing to be afraid of, Liss. You haven't done anything wrong. And really, you've been doing everything right. Your grades are perfect. Your behavior's perfect. Remember all those people you impressed on the ski trip? That bitch has nothing to get on you about.† â€Å"You shouldn't say that,† said Lissa automatically. She applied mascara to her eyelashes, studied them, and then added another coat. â€Å"Just call 'em like I see 'em. If she gives you any grief, then it's just going to be because she's afraid of you.† Lissa laughed. â€Å"Why would she be afraid of me?† â€Å"Because people are drawn to you, and people like her don't like it when others steal all the attention.† I was a bit astonished at how wise I sounded. â€Å"Plus, you're the last Dragomir. You're always going to be in the spotlight. Who's she? Just another Ivashkov. There are a ton of them. Probably because all the guys are like Adrian and have all sorts of illegitimate children.† â€Å"Adrian doesn't have any children.† â€Å"That we know of,† I said mysteriously. She snickered and stepped back from the mirror, pleased with her face. â€Å"Why are you always so mean to Adrian?† I gave her a look of mock astonishment. â€Å"You're standing up for Adrian now? Whatever happened to you warning me to stay away from him? You practically bit my head off the first time I hung out with him – and that wasn't even by my choice.† She took a thin golden chain out of her suitcase and tried to fasten it around her neck. â€Å"Well, yeah †¦ I didn't really know him then. He's not so bad. And it's true I mean, he's not a great role model or anything, but I also think some of those stories about him and other girls are exaggerated.† â€Å"I don't,† I said, jumping up. She still hadn't managed to fasten the chain, so I took it and put the clasp together for her. â€Å"Thanks,† she said, running her hands over the necklace. â€Å"I think Adrian really likes you. Like, in a wanting-to-be-serious way.† I shook my head and stepped back. â€Å"Nope. He likes me in a wanting-to-get-the-clothes-off-the-cute-dhampir way.† â€Å"I don't believe that.† â€Å"That's because you believe the best about everyone.† She looked skeptical as she began brushing her hair smooth over her shoulders. â€Å"I don't know about that either. But I do think he's not as bad as you think. I know it hasn't been that long since Mason, but you should think about going out with someone else†¦.† â€Å"Wear your hair up.† I handed her a barrette from her suitcase. â€Å"Mason and I were never really going out. You know that.† â€Å"Yeah. Well, I guess that's more reason to start thinking about dating someone. High school's not over yet. Seems like you should be doing something fun.† Fun. It was ironic. Months ago, I'd argued with Dimitri about how it wasn't fair that, as a guardian-in-training, I had to watch my reputation and not act too crazy. He'd agreed it wasn't fair that I couldn't do the kinds of things other girls my age could, but that that was the price I paid for my future. I'd been upset, but after Victor's meddling, I started to see Dimitri's point – to such an extent that he'd actually hinted I shouldn't try to limit myself that much. Now, after Spokane, I felt like a completely different girl from the one who'd talked to Dimitri last fall about having fun. I was only a couple months from graduation. High school things†¦dances†¦boyfriends†¦what did they matter in the grand scheme of things? Everything at the Academy seemed so trivial – unless it was making me a better guardian. â€Å"I don't really think I need a boyfriend to complete my high school experience,† I told her. â€Å"I don't think you do either,† she agreed, tugging her ponytail straight. â€Å"But you used to flirt and go out sometimes. I feel like it'd just be nice for you to do a little of that. It's not like you'd have to have anything serious with Adrian.† â€Å"Well, you won't get any arguments from him on that. I think the last thing he wants is anything serious, that's the problem.† â€Å"Well, according to some of the stories, he's very serious. I heard the other day that you were engaged. Someone else said that he'd been disowned because he told his dad he'd never love anyone else.† â€Å"Ahhhh.† There was really no other adequate response to all these silly rumors. â€Å"The creepy thing is that the same stories are all over the place at the elementary campus too.† I stared at the ceiling. â€Å"Why does this stuff keep happening to me?† She walked over to the couch and looked down at me. â€Å"Because you're awesome, and everyone loves you.† â€Å"Nah. You're the one everyone loves.† â€Å"Well, then, I guess we're both awesome and loveable. And one of these days† – a mischievous sparkle danced in her eyes – â€Å"we'll find a guy you love back.† â€Å"Don't hold your breath. None of that matters. Not right now. You're the one I've got to worry about. We're going to graduate, and you'll go off to college, and it'll be great. No more rules, just us on our own.† â€Å"It's a little scary,† she mused. â€Å"Thinking about being on my own. But you'll be with me. And Dimitri too.† She sighed. â€Å"I can't imagine not having you around. I can't even really remember when you weren't around.† I sat up and gave her a light punch in her arm. â€Å"Hey, be careful. You're going to make Christian jealous. Oh crap. I suppose he's going to be around too, huh? No matter where we end up going?† â€Å"Probably. You, me, him, Dimitri, and any guardians Christian gets. One big happy family.† I scoffed, but inside of me, there was a warm fuzzy feeling building. Things were crazy in our world right now, but I had all these great people in my life. As long as we were all together, everything would be okay. She looked at the clock, and her fear returned. â€Å"I've gotta go. Will you †¦ will you go with me?† â€Å"You know I can't.† â€Å"I know†¦ not in body†¦ but like, will you do that thing? Where you're watching in my head? It'll make me feel like I'm not alone.† It was the first time Lissa had ever asked me to purposely do that. Normally, she hated the thought of me seeing through her eyes. It was a sign of how nervous she really was. â€Å"Sure,† I said. â€Å"It's probably better than anything on TV anyway.† I returned to my own room, taking up an identical position on the couch. Clearing my thoughts, I opened myself up to Lissa's mind, going beyond simply knowing her feelings. It was something the shadow-kissed bond allowed me to do and was the most intense part of our connection. It wasn't just feeling her thoughts – it was actually being inside of her, looking through her eyes and sharing her experiences. I'd learned to control it only recently. I used to slip in without wanting to, much as I sometimes couldn't keep her feelings out. I could control my out-of-body experiences now and even summon up the phenomenon at will – just like I was about to do. Lissa had just reached the parlor the queen was waiting in. Moroi might use terms like â€Å"royal† and even kneel sometimes, but there were no thrones or anything like that here. Tatiana sat in an ordinary armchair, dressed in a navy blue skirt and blazer, looking more like a corporate businesswoman than any sort of monarch. She wasn't alone, either. A tall, stately Moroi whose blond hair was laced with silver sat near her. I recognized her: Priscilla Voda, the queen's friend and adviser. We'd met her on the ski trip, and she'd been impressed with Lissa. I took her presence as a good sign. Silent guardians, dressed in black and white, stood along the wall. To my astonishment, Adrian was there too. He reclined on a small love seat, seeming completely oblivious to the fact that he was hanging out with the Moroi's ultimate leader. The guardian with Lissa announced her. â€Å"Princess Vasilisa Dragomir.† Tatiana nodded in acknowledgment. â€Å"Welcome, Vasilisa. Please sit down.† Lissa sat down near Adrian, her apprehension growing by leaps and bounds. A Moroi servant came by and offered tea or coffee, but Lissa declined. Tatiana meanwhile sipped from a teacup and scrutinized Lissa from head to toe. Priscilla Voda broke the awkward silence. â€Å"Remember what I said about her?† Priscilla asked cheerfully. â€Å"She was very impressive at our state dinner in Idaho. Settled a huge spat over Moroi fighting with guardians. She even managed to calm Adrian's father down.† A frosty smile crossed Tatiana's cold features. â€Å"That is impressive. Half the time, I still feel like Nathan is twelve years old.† â€Å"Me too,† said Adrian, drinking from a wine glass. Tatiana ignored him and again focused on Lissa. â€Å"Everyone seems impressed with you, really. I hear nothing but good things about you, in spite of your past transgressions †¦ which I'm given to understand weren't entirely without their reasons.† Lissa's look of surprise actually made the queen laugh. There wasn't much warmth or humor in the laugh, though. â€Å"Yes, yes †¦ I know all about your powers, and of course I know what happened with Victor. Adrian's been filling me in about spirit as well. It's so strange. Tell me †¦ can you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She glanced to a nearby table. A flowerpot sat on it, dark green shoots sticking through the soil. It was some kind of bulb-based plant that someone was growing indoors. Like its outside counterparts, it was waiting for spring. Lissa hesitated. Using her powers in front of others was a strange thing for her. But, Tatiana was watching expectantly. After only a few moments more, Lissa leaned over and touched the shoots. The stems shot up through the dirt, growing taller – almost a foot high. Huge pods formed along the sides as it grew, bursting open to reveal fragrant white flowers. Easter lilies. Lissa withdrew her hand. Wonder showed on Tatiana's face, and she muttered something in a language I didn't understand. She hadn't been born in the United States but had chosen to hold her Court here. She spoke with no accent, but, as they did for Dimitri, moments of surprise apparently brought out her native tongue. Within seconds, she put her stately mask back on. â€Å"Hmm. Interesting,† she said. Talk about an understatement. â€Å"It could be very useful,† said Priscilla. â€Å"Vasilisa and Adrian can't be the only two out there with it. If we could find others, so much could be learned. The healing itself is a gift, let alone anything else they can conjure. Just think what we could do with it.† Lissa turned optimistic. For a while, she'd been going out of her way to find others like her. Adrian had been the only one she'd discovered, and that had been through sheer luck. If the queen and Moroi council put their resources into it, there was no telling what they might find. Yet something about Priscilla's words troubled Lissa. â€Å"Begging your pardon, Princess Voda†¦I'm not sure we should be so eager to use my – or others' – healing powers as much as you might want to.† â€Å"Why not?† asked Tatiana. â€Å"From what I understand, you can heal almost anything.† â€Å"I can†¦Ã¢â‚¬  said Lissa slowly. â€Å"And I want to. I wish I could help everybody, but I can't. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll definitely help some people. But I know we'd run into other people like Victor, who want to abuse it. And after a while †¦ I mean, how do you choose? Who gets to live? Part of life is that†¦well, some people have to die. My powers aren't a prescription you can get filled as needed, and honestly, I'm afraid they would only be used for, uh, certain kinds of people. Just like the guardians are.† A slight tension built in the room. What Lissa had insinuated was rarely ever mentioned in public. â€Å"What are you talking about?† asked Tatiana with narrowed eyes. I could tell she already knew. Lissa was scared to say her next words, but she did it anyway. â€Å"Everyone knows that there's a certain, um, method to how guardians are distributed. Only the elite get them. Royals. Rich people. People in power.† A chill fell over the room. Tatiana's mouth settled into a straight line. She didn't speak for several moments, and I had a feeling everyone else was holding their breath. I certainly was. â€Å"You don't think our royals deserve special protection?† she asked finally. â€Å"You don't think you do – the last of the Dragomirs?† â€Å"I think keeping our leaders safe is important, yeah. But I also think we need to stop sometimes and look at what we're doing. It could be time to reconsider the way we've always done things.† Lissa sounded so wise and so self-assured. I was proud of her. Watching Priscilla Voda, I could see that she was proud too. She'd liked Lissa from the beginning. But I could also tell that Priscilla was nervous. She answered to the queen and knew that Lissa was swimming in dangerous waters. Tatiana sipped her tea. I think it was an excuse to gather her thoughts. â€Å"I understand,† she said, â€Å"that you're also in favor of Moroi fighting with the guardians and attacking Strigoi?† Another dangerous topic, one Lissa pushed forward into. â€Å"I think if there are Moroi who want to, they shouldn't be denied the chance.† Jill suddenly popped into my head. â€Å"Moroi lives are precious,† said the queen. â€Å"They shouldn't be risked.† â€Å"Dhampir lives are precious too,† Lissa countered. â€Å"If they fight with Moroi, it could save everybody. And again, if Moroi are willing, why deny them? They deserve to know how to defend themselves. And people like Tasha Ozera have developed ways of fighting with magic.† The mention of Christian's aunt brought a frown to the queen's face. Tasha had been attacked by Strigoi when younger and had spent the rest of her life learning to fight back. â€Å"Tasha Ozera †¦ she's a troublemaker. She's starting to gather a lot of other troublemakers.† â€Å"She's trying to introduce new ideas.† I noticed then that Lissa wasn't afraid any longer. She was confident in her beliefs and wanted them expressed. â€Å"Throughout history, people with new ideas – who think differently and try to change things – have always been called troublemakers. But seriously? Do you want the truth?† A wry look crossed Tatiana's face, almost a smile. â€Å"Always.† â€Å"We need change. I mean, our traditions are important. We shouldn't give up on those. But sometimes, I think we're misguided.† â€Å"Misguided?† â€Å"As time's gone on, we've gone along with other changes. We've evolved. Computers. Electricity. Technology in general. We all agree those make our lives better. Why can't we be the same in the way we act? Why are we still clinging to the past when there are better ways to do things?† Lissa was breathless, worked up and excited. Her cheeks felt warm, and her heart raced. All of us were watching Tatiana, searching for any clue in that stony face. â€Å"You're very interesting to talk to,† she finally said. She made interesting sound like a dirty word. â€Å"But I have things I must do now.† She stood up, and everyone hastily followed suit, even Adrian. â€Å"I won't be joining you for dinner, but you and your companions will have everything you need. I'll see you tomorrow at the trial. No matter how radical and naively idealistic your ideas are, I'm glad you'll be there to complete his sentencing. His imprisonment, at least, is something we can all agree on.† Tatiana swept out, two guardians immediately following. Priscilla followed too, leaving Lissa and Adrian alone. â€Å"Well done, cousin. Aren't many people who can throw the old lady off-balance like that.† â€Å"She didn't seem very off-balance.† â€Å"Oh, she was. Believe me. Most of the people she deals with every day wouldn't talk to her like that, let alone someone your age.† He stood up and extended a hand to Lissa. â€Å"Come on. I'll show you around this place. Take your mind off things.† â€Å"I've been here before,† she said. â€Å"When I was younger.† â€Å"Yeah, well, the things we get to see when we're young are different than the things we get to see when we're older. Did you know there's a twenty-four-hour bar in here? We'll get you a drink.† â€Å"I don't want a drink.† â€Å"You will before this trip's over.† I left Lissa's head and returned to my room. The meeting with the queen was over, and Lissa didn't need my unseen support. Besides, I really didn't want to hang out with Adrian right now. Sitting up, I discovered I felt surprisingly alert. Being in her head had kind of been like taking a nap. I decided to do a little exploring of my own. I'd never been to the Royal Court. It really was supposed to be like a mini-town, and I wondered what other things there were to see, aside from the bar that Adrian probably lived in while visiting. I headed downstairs, figuring I'd have to go outside. As far as I knew, this building only held guestrooms. It was kind of like the palace's hotel. When I got to the entryway, however, I saw Christian and Eddie standing and talking with someone I couldn't see. Eddie, ever vigilant, saw me and grinned. â€Å"Hey, Rose. Look who we found.† As I approached, Christian stepped aside, revealing the mystery person. I came to a halt, and she grinned at me. â€Å"Hi, Rose.† A moment later, I felt a smile slowly creep over my face. â€Å"Hello, Mia.†

How the art in london effects london economy Essay

How the art in london effects london economy - Essay Example Needless to say, London art drives the economy of London in its own way. Not only are millions of funds generated in art sales every year, the art market also creates scope for new jobs, media spend and regeneration. Approximately 10,000 people are employed in the over 120 art galleries of London alone. Finally various other industries also benefit in the process. Underlined are more details on the London art market and how it drives the economy of the nation. UK is the world market leader when it comes to auction sales by volume, and demonstrates an approximate 30% in the world market share. With London holding an important position in the UK art market, it is needless to add that its various auctions form the art market of UK. The London art market is strongly driven by its Frieze art fair, collector Charles Saatchi and finally the approximately fifty new galleries that have opened up at East End. Three main auction houses mainly operate the art markets of London. Statistics reveal that put together, $353 million worth of art changes hands in these markets, that too in the off season. Christie's conducted their biggest ever sales in the year 2006 and reported sales of approximately 78%. Sotheby profits heavily too. It indicates that the art market of London functions through many micro markets, which revolve around specific artists or genres. Among these micro markets, those of old Masters, Impressionist and Modern Art have seen the gre atest rise. The post war and contemporary market have also shown a rise of over 45% over 2006. As the financial markets represent the economy of the nation, the art market reflects the willingness of the rich to spend disposable amounts of money on works of art. However along with this market, there are also some pieces of art that have not sold at all. One glaring example is the sale of Basquiats which were reported to sell at the $5 million range in the 1988 time period. As people expected the prices to go up several notches to touch the $10 million mark, many were surprised when the pieces did not sell over the last few years. While some say that this indicates a fall of economy in the London art market, many others state that this issue is just a matter of quality, which was presented through signature elements in the earlier Basquiats, but absent now. So discerning customers are not overspending but are choosing to spend their money on certain micro markets, which are present a nd growing and taking the economy to a new high. Tourism booster Tourism is an important economy generator in London accounting for one tenth of the city's economy. The various art galleries of London serve as a major attraction to tourists and international visitors who come from diverse parts of the world for the various art fairs. These tourists not only enhance the economy by spending on pieces of art in London, they do much more. They provide the much needed boost to local economies through their spending during their stay, which is approximately 2.3 million locally. A study conducted in 2005 by MEW Research at the National Gallery, on their 2004-2005 exhibition on Raphael: From Ubrino to Rome, indicated similar results. The exhibition attracted 47% people from UK and 17% tourists from abroad. Studies also revealed that 47% tourists came specifically for the exhibition.

Attitudes toward Genetic Screening Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Attitudes toward Genetic Screening - Essay Example Advances in molecular genetics have brought about a situation whereby genetic testing has become a choice for deaf people along with their families. However, little research has been done on how genetic testing is viewed. A survey done by Brunger, et al., (2000) on the attitude of parents who had normal hearing but had children with hearing deficiencies indicated that 96% of them had a positive attitude towards genetic testing for deafness. It is however important to note that the parents surveyed expressed little understanding of genetics. 98 % were not able to rightly state the chance of the condition redeveloping in the life of the child. They also did not understand the basics of genetic inheritance. Basing the discussion on this survey, if the parents of the child agree to the use of in vitro genetic screening, then, for the procedure to be deemed ethical, it must be known if they do understand what it is and what it encompasses. If they do, then it can be deemed ethical. But if they do not understand, then that would be considered as unethical as it is like taking advantage of their lack of knowledge on the issue to perform a technique that will determine the life of their child. The World Federation of the Deaf (n.d.) states that the rights of any human being can only be appreciated through one’s own language and culture, a statement that is described as true to all persons including the deaf. In terms of the deaf, they have their own culture that is shown through their language, the sign language to be precise.

Discusion question Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discusion question - Case Study Example Many e-commerce businesses are detached from the customers and they find no new ways to entice more customers. With Zappos however, their free shipping and free returns policy is what makes it not only stand out but likeable as well. Even though they act in good faith, every business needs to be strict and have boundaries between them and their customers or potential customers. The 365 days return policy is not the best of choice considering the items they sell. People can take advantage of the products use them and later return them with fraudulent claims but having served their purposes. The next customer will therefore get a used product and even with the free shipping costs, the quality of the products remains questionable. 3. Which of the management challenges-globalization, leading a diverse workforce and ethics character and personal integrity-have had an important impact on the evolution of Zappos? Explain your answer Globalization has presented the major challenge in the management of the organization Zappos. This is so because with globalization, many e-commerce companies are facing hard competition from the multinational companies which are physically present in most locations where they provide the same products Zappos provides and without any time delay or risk of return. Globalization has also meant that customers come from all over the world and since the company is shouldering the shipping costs, they end up incurring a lot of cost for shoppers who are in different continents. This has restricted its growth as they still are unable to make huge profits and it even took long for it to breakeven. This slow trend is hindering its evolution. 4. How has Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh addressed the management challenges of globalization, leading a diverse workforce, ethics, character and personal integrity and

Over-Population Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Over-Population - Term Paper Example Majority of this population is in Asian countries. The concept of overpopulation is broader than merely population densities. It includes the ability of the environment to sustain a growing population. The increasing human population exerts lot of pressure on the available resources to extent that the carrying capacity may be surpassed. The effects on the environment may be coupled with other effects such global warming and overall climate change. Overpopulation would occur when the human population will exceed the earth’s resources. With the current reductions in child mortality rates, better medical care and good life present in some parts of the world chances of the earth becoming overpopulated are high. However, the problems of overpopulation are more common in the developing world compared to developed nations due to fertility rates. It is the responsibility and role of everyone in the world to help reduce population growth. There are different opinions explaining the trends and effects of global human population growth. Malthus population growth theory was based on the concept of carrying capacity. The prediction was that the human population was growing at a high rate in relation to the available resources to sustain the population. The result of such population growth was that there will times when the resources will not be able to sustain the human population which, will eventually crash. Such school of thought and other opinions by new-Malthusian believe that there are still chances of a population crash triggered by various environmental factors such as climate change. The â€Å"Malthusian† theory is one of the well known and most criticized theories explaining the relationship between human population growth and the environment. The theory emphasizes on the fact that as the population grows people will utilize all the resources to the extent that there will be hunger, famine and environmental degradation. However, many

Comp. Exam Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Comp. Exam - Assignment Example This essay examines the evolving role of community college in the American higher education system. The two-year community college idea originated in the US and can be traced back to the latter part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Since its beginning, the community college program has been regarded as a significant part of the higher education system in the U.S. A formal definition of community colleges is expressed as follows: The term community college has also been used interchangeably with terms such as â€Å"junior college†, technical colleges and alternative colleges (Santos & Santos, 2006, p. 38). All indications are that community colleges are perceived as separate, but yet connected to the conventional four-year college system. As Santos and Santos (2006) explain, community colleges make provision for â€Å"comprehensive curricular offerings† inclusive of â€Å"academic transfer preparation, vocational-technical education, continuing education, developmental education and community services† (pp. 38-39). By the 1990s, community colleges became increasingly linked to vocational and workforce training and development (Santos & Santos, 2006). According to Baum, Little and Payea (2011), community colleges are perceived as â€Å"the access point to higher education for many students† (p. 1). In particular, access to higher education in the U.S. continues to be a problem as the socio-economically disadvantaged can rarely afford the high cost of tuition at accredited four-year colleges. Lower tuition and lower admission requirements have always made community colleges an alternative to this underserved population of Americans aspiring to achieve a post-secondary education. For the most part, students entering community colleges do so with a view to transferring over to a four-year college eventually (Beach, 2010). Conventional wisdom dictates, that once a student completes a two-year college degree and can

Ron Artest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ron Artest - Essay Example In spite of these tremendous victories and the immense talent that Ron possesses, he has been destiny's favourite child, in terms of getting into controversies. It all started off when he was playing for the Chicago Bulls. He had applied for a job with Circuit City, in order to avail employee discounts! Next, when he was with the Indiana Pacers, he once attended practise in a bathing towel and he also asked his coach for permission for exemption from practise, in order to promote a music album under his production company! This is not all, the star player has also come under criticism and suspension for destroying a television camera, for getting into verbal duels with coaches and for using fouls. He has even changed the number on his shirt a number of times, which again was a topic of discussion. All these instances portray Ron's bad boy image and has earned him the wrath fo the media and other professionals in his sphere. However, this has not deterred the 27-year-old player from being one of the best defensive players and neither has it dwindled the love of his fans.

Analyzes pages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analyzes pages - Essay Example When one considers the role transportation plays in the global dissemination of goods and services, it is but natural to conclude that those nations that constitute the hub of international shipping and road routes are poised to benefit much owing to their geographical location. According to Warf, globalization signifies a â€Å"†¦ unprecedented growth in interconnectedness, of flows of capital, goods, people and information across those borders†¦ (Warf 271).† Being geographically located at important points on the international trade routes makes a nation have access to the global goods and services and the commensurate influences they bring in their wake (Warf 284). Thereby, being exposed to the global trading activities, such nations but naturally tend to accrue economic efficiency that is the hallmark of globalization owing to having a ready access to a wide range of goods and services at a low cost, the economies of scale and the competitive advantage that goes with them. Such nations are also more exposed to diverse ideas, philosophies and cultures (Warf 284). Geographically speaking, being the primary producer of a specific resource also makes a nations accrue the fruits of globalization. For instance, considering the concentration of the petroleum industry in the Middle East, the nations in this region are bound to be influenced by global trends and ideas and are relatively more susceptible to globalization. However, the thing that needs to be kept in mind is that many a time geography may also impede globalization. For instance the regions where the transportation routes and communications technologies are not well developed like say the sub-Saharan nations, owing to economic, political, cultural or climatic reasons, may not cull out the benefits of globalization. This is because such regions are not conducive to the free flow of goods and services, people and ideas for globalization is about,

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Coursework

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - Coursework Example Accordingly, H&M spends resources both financial and human to facilitate programs and ideals which are not principally profit making but touch the lives of people and leave a lasting impact on them. They include engaging in activities and outreach programs which would meet the society in their various points of need as would be identified in various points in time. This is a phenomenon where the business seeks to cover the negative effects occasioned to the environment and the society at large upfront to avoid an even larger effect in subsequent times. It could come in the form of environmental protection and conservancy such as H&M providing seedlings to be planted for future benefits while being alive and cognizant about current costs and risks or threats. (OConnor & Shumate, 2010). For instance most multinational are guilty of environmental degradation and pollution which is a negative externality and a direct cost to the immediate environment. Therefore, the immediate community would form a negative perception and bad will towards such a company. However, the case is different in H&M because protection and conservancy is their core mandate in endearing their product to the local community. Therefore, it is part of H&M to appeal to the local community by taking care of the environment Is the instance where companies such as H&M choose to share their abundance with the less fortunate people in the society by articulating and covering their needs and shortcomings (Dean, 2014). Intuitively, the business also markets themselves in the course of the corporate social responsibility. Apart from creating employment for the disabled H&M provide discount offers to disabled community. The aim basically is to show appreciation and concern to people with special needs. H&M has also invested in programs that create awareness of people with special needs. For instance, H&M buys wheel chairs and white sticks to the less

It Is Not Natural for Young People to Feel Stressed Essay Example for Free

It Is Not Natural for Young People to Feel Stressed Essay 1) Stress It is not natural for young people to feel stressed and hopeless about the situations they face. All young people want is to be happy, to make a real difference they need our help to develop a more positive mental attitude and to understand that the real source of their happiness or their stress and to develop the inner strength and confidence to deal with any situation, however challenging, is an important goal. Many young people today put too much emphasis on materialism as a source of their happiness and need our help in understanding the importance of ones inner values example sharing and caring, moving away from us and them and using their resources to help others respecting the rights of others interdependence and our reliance on others compassion and forgiveness gratitude. It is unrealistic to expect young people to be able to avoid conflict and that is why we need to teach them how to seek a win/win resolution to conflict. This involves helping them to look at situations from different perspectives, not just their own. Young people also need our help in making full use of the opportunities that come their way. Many young people do not have self belief and need our help in identifying their strengths and past successes. This requires different thought processes that involve the young person distancing themselves from strong emotions in order to analyse situations using clarity and objectivity to see what is actually happening, to assess what needs to be done and to develop a strong sense of purpose. This was the young person is able to act out of a clear awareness of their situation not out of anger or fear. They have a better chance of remaining calm in adversity and will have developed their inner strengths. Young people are no different to us, they want to overcome stress. There is no simple technique that will guarantee a calm and peaceful mind because each young person is different and lots of factors are involved e.g. the young persons background, the support they can draw upon, health, education. What you can do is help young people to challenge the way that they think and in doing s o improve their attitude, outlook and approach. You can help young people to develop the inner discipline they need to identify those factors which lead to stress and those that help develop a calm and peaceful mind. Then it is a matter of simply helping the young person to experience firsthand the benefits of eliminating the negative factors and of cultivating the positive. Benefits are likely to include increased flexibility and creativity, being more open and willing to reach out to others. This approach does not only benefit the young person but their family, school or workplace and society as a whole. Each young person will have their own baseline of happiness and no matter what good or bad things happen to them they will return to this level of happiness. This baseline can be influence by how the young person sees a situation e.g. by comparing themselves with others they see as more fortunate their baseline happiness goes down. But if they compare themselves with those who are less fortunate it goes up. Research has also shown that when young people use their resources to help others their baseline happiness goes up. It can be helpful to explore with young people which thoughts they find he lpful and which are harmful. Similarly they can explore which emotions and behaviours are helpful and which are harmful in terms in terms of the levels of stress experienced both short and longer term e.g. which behaviours provide temporary relief and which bring lasting happiness. There are a variety of approaches and methods that can be used but it takes time and the repeated application of these techniques so that the young person becomes familiar with what is happening, is able to identify the lessons learned and apply them when making decisions. It takes time for a young person to reflect on what brings lasting happiness and to reset their priorities and align their resources and efforts to what is truly of value and what gives their life meaning. Relationships are important to young people but it is often difficult for them to connect with others without fear and apprehension, they can be a major source of stress. Young people need help to understand how interconnected and interdependent we all are and how being open and flexible, sharing problems can bring down barriers and reduce feelings of isolation. Intimacy is important to our physical and psychological well-being. Young people need our help to understand the true meaning of intimacy i.e. the sharing of ones inner self with another. They also need help in finding opportunities to broaden their definition of intimacy by including friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances and even strangers, opening themselves up to opportunities to bond. One way is to explore with young people how they feel when they meet somebody who is friendly and what are the practical benefits of this e.g. can turn to this person if I need help. You can then develop it further by exploring what it means to be the person who needs help by encouraging the young person to put themselves in the other persons place and explore how they would react using their imagination. Then taking it one step further by encouraging the young person to let go of their own viewpoint and to develop an awareness and respect for the other person feeling. Another approach might be to encourage the young person to look for similarities in their own lives and those of others. It is a relationship in which we recognise that the young person is a fellow human being with the same need to live a less stressful life and one where we are willing to reach out and offer human affection, warmth, friendship and sensitivity to young peoples feelings. One of the major sources of relationship stress is the nature of power within the relationship. It can be helpful for young people to explore the sources of power, role and relationships before moving on to look at the feelings, what is shared and where there are connections. This approach is especially helpful in relating to each other as individuals, appreciating and valuing each others contribution. It is important to invest time in getting to know the young persons basic characteristics as an individual before trying to relate at a deeper level i.e. beyond the superficial, willing to share the ups and downs of their lives, to demonstrate a responsibility and commitment. Building relationships with young people underpinned by feelings of compassion not only benefits young people it will also improve your own physical, emotional and mental health. You will feel calmer and will be less likely to suffer from depression. You will also have higher feelings of self-worth Organ Transplant An organ transplant replaces a failing organ with a healthy organ. A doctor will remove an organ from another person and place it in your body. This may be done when your organ has stopped working or stopped working well because of disease or injury. Not all organs can be transplanted. More than one organ can be transplanted at one time. For example, a heart and lung transplant is possible.Not everyone is a good candidate for an organ transplant. Your doctor or a transplant center will do tests to see if you are. You probably are not a good candidate if you have an infection, heart disease that is not under control, a drug or alcohol problem, or another serious health problem. People who need an organ transplant often have to wait a long time for one. Doctors must match donors to recipients to reduce the risk of transplant rejection. This is when the recipients body turns against the new organ, causing it to fail. People who have transplants must take drugs the rest of their lives to help keep their bodies from rejecting the new organ. Ironically, the increasing success rate of organ transplant procedures is one reason that organ transplant waiting lists have risen so dramatically since the late 1980s. The first organ transplants, performed in the late 1950s and 1960s, were characterized by high mortality rates; a major problem was that patients’ immune systems often rejected the foreign organ. The introduction of the drug cyclosporine in the 1980s helped mitigate this problem, and organ transplants subsequently became less experimental and more routine. Statistics indicate that in 1998 organ transplant procedures were successful 70 to 95 percent of the time, depending on the organ being transplanted. With these increasing success rates, more doctors have recommended the procedures. However, raising awareness about organ donation is a slow process, and the need for more organs is immediate. Thus the biggest dilemma facing the transplant community is, â€Å"How can the number of organs available for transpla nt be increased?†One proposal is to reverse the current system in which doctors must obtain a patient’s (or his or her family’s) consent in order to remove organs after death. Under a policy of â€Å"presumed consent† all patients would be presumed to want to become organ donors unless they explicitly state otherwise. Presumed consent proposals have consistently been met with strong opposition, however, on the grounds that they violate an individual’s right to make medical decisions for themselves. â€Å"Mandated choice† or â€Å"required response† policies are less extreme alternatives to presumed consent. Advocates of mandated choice policies argue that rather than waiting for people to volunteer for organ donation, hospitals or government organizations should require individuals to state their preference about organ donation, perhaps when they obtain their driver’s licenses or file tax returns. Texas, Colorado, and several other states have implemented required response policies, but, on average, rates of organ donation have not risen dramatically as a result. Researchers are also working on developing artificial organ s. As of February 2002, five people have received fully self-contained artificial hearts. The artificial heart has rarely been used because it is still highly experimental and because recipients must be willing to have their own heart removed to make room for the artificial replacement. Although there are many technical hurdles to overcome in the field of artificial organs, researchers are hopeful: Various laboratories in the United States and around the world are developing artificial hearts, lungs, livers, pancreases, bladders, and blood.In addition to developing artificial organs, scientists are working on techniques to grow human organs from a patient’s own cells. Instead of waiting for a donor, for example, a patient in need of a heart transplant might one day only have to wait until researchers can grow one in the laboratory. Some of the research involved in tissue engineering is tied up with cloning and stem cell research, and thus raises ethical questions. Such research is also at the cutting edge of biotechnology, and therefore it may be decades before it bears fruit. Nevertheless, the medical community is eager to explore this potential solution to the organ shortage. Although tissue engineering, artificial organs, and xenotransplantation provide hope for the future, the thousands of people currently on organ transplant waiting lists are counting on altruistic organ donation. The field of organ transplantation is one of the miracles of modern medicine, but its power to save lives depends directly on the availability of organs. CAUSES AND EFFECT ESSAY Obesity refers to excess amount of body fat, more than what is considered healthy for a given height. Generally, obesity is more in females than males because men have more muscles than women; muscles burn more calories than other type of tissues that have tendency to accumulate fat. Obesity has many predisposing factors like genetic, lifestyles and emotional factors, which may result on serious health problems. Obesity has been a serious issues that happening among us. According to the reports, Malaysia was being ranked 6th in the Asia with high obesity issues in 2010. Obesity is always being misunderstood by the people whereby they think overweight is considered as obesity. However, obesity is about having too much fat in the body. It is related with the eating patterns and habits which play an important part in order to live a healthy life. Therefore, obesity occurs with different causes and lead to several impacts on an individual. Do you know what the causes of obesity are? We never think about the causes of obesity, but they are very simple and common because it depends on the good habits that we have. If we count all the causes that provoke obesity maybe there are a lot, but we only need to focus on some of them. Because of emotional problems, bad eating, and the lack of exercise many people are overweight. The first cause is concentrated on emotional problems because sometimes they eat a lot to forget the problems or to relieve a feeling of emptiness. Many overweight people eat all the things that they see on the refrigerator because they feel alone, they try to full their body with food because their soul feels so bad and they need attention. Overweight people do that action to attract people’s attention because they need that other people to help them. Bad eating is the next cause that provokes obesity. Overweight people always eat junk food and it is the main cause why they increase their weight. They never eat fruits or vegetables, but always eat hamburgers, hotdogs, coca-cola, and others. This kind of food gives them more weight, in addition, gives them more problems. Overweight people eat because they need to eat, but its gluttony. The final cause is the lack of exercise which is important to reduce weight. People most of the times spend hours watching TV and don’t do anything that help their health. The lack of exercise is common in overweight people due to they can’t play, run, and they get tired very fast. Even when they can’t do exercise, they need to try doing a little bit because it’s so important to lose weight. We know that emotional problems, bad eating, and the lack of exercise are some of the causes of obesity. If we don’t pay attention to them, we will be exposed to many problems. This problem can be eradicated if we avoid all the things that cause obesity because we need to take care of our lives. Obesity affects the individual and the country. The biggest effect is on the individual. First of all, being overweight has health risks. Obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions. The quality of life suffers, as it is difficult to enjoy exercise or move. Another result is lack of self-esteem. This can lead to depression, eating disorders and crash diets. The country is also affected. It becomes very expensive for the government to provide advanced medical care such as heart transplants. Unhealthy citizens are also less productive. and their children learn poor eating habits. Obesity or even being overweight has serious effects on the individual and the society. Both need to take action to examine the causes of this problem and find solutions. Obesity, because it alters the relationship between the lungs, chest wall, and diaphragm, has been expected to alter respiratory function. Non-smoking, young adults with spirometry, lung volume measurement by nitrogen washout, and single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide . Changes in respiratory function were of two types, those that changed in proportion to degree of obesityexpiratory reserve volume and those that changed only with extreme obesityvital capacity, total lung capacity, and maximal voluntary ventilation. When compared with commonly used predicting equations, we found that mean values of subjects grouped by degree of obesity were very close to predicted values, except in those with extreme obesity in whom weight (kg)/height (cm) exceeded 1.0. In 29 subjects who lost a mean of 56 kg, significant increases in vital capacity, and maximal voluntary ventilation were found, along with a significant decrease in single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide. Because most subjects fell within the generally accepted 95% confidence limits for the predicted values, we concluded that obesity does not usually preclude use of usual predictors. An abnormal pulmonary function test value should be considered as caused by intrinsic lung disease and not by obesity, except in those with extreme obesity. In conclusion, obesity is a major problem which founded in every economic class and has a lot of complications .Obesity can be reduced by eating a healthy diet, including a variety of foods, especially grain products, vegetables and fruits. The diet should be moderate in salt and low in fat and cholesterol. Reinforce the need for regularly physical activity for at least 30 minutes each day. Obesity has brought a lot of disadvantages or negative impacts internally and externally in our life. Everyone should have start to concern with their health condition and daily lifestyle from now on to avoid obesity. A balance diet and regular exercise would be th e key of a healthy lifestyle. CAUSES AND EFFECT OUTLINE Introduction Obesity refers to excess amount of body fat, more than what is considered healthy for a given height. Generally, obesity is more in females than males because men have more muscles than women; muscles burn more calories than other type of tissues that have tendency to accumulate fat. Obesity has many predisposing factors like genetic, lifestyles and emotional factors, which may result on serious health problems. Obesity has been a serious issues that happening among us. According to the reports, Malaysia was being ranked 6th in the Asia with high obesity issues in 2010. Obesity is always being misunderstood by the people whereby they think overweight is considered as obesity. However, obesity is about having too much fat in the body. It is related with the eating patterns and habits which play an important part in order to live a healthy life. Therefore, obesity occurs with different causes and lead to several impacts on an individual. Conclusion Obesity has brought a lot of disadvantages or negative impacts internally and externally in our life. To sum up, everyone should have start to concern with their health condition and daily lifestyle from now on to avoid obesity. A balance diet and regular exercise would be the key of a healthy lifestyle.

Risk management and hedging

Risk management and hedging Risk Management And Hedging In Derivatives Market Risk management can be undertaken in several different manners, which often depends on the structure and initiatives for the specific firm. One commonly used approach is to hedge in the derivatives market, which consists of futures, forwards, swaps, CFDs, warrants, convertibles and options. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value and performance depends on the value of underlying assets, for example equities, stock market indices, exchange rates, commodities etc. The main argument for hedging is for companies to minimize risks that may arise from interest rates, exchange rates, and other market variables and volatilities. By engaging in derivatives companies manage their various risks by hedging a position, to be more certain what the outcome will be. For example, one can hedge a certain amount of currency at a future point in time, in order to know exactly how much that will be received/paid at the specific time thereby avoiding the risk of losing value because of the exchange rate risk. There are however also arguments against hedging in the derivatives market. Establishing hedging programs may be very costly, and if there are alternative and more cost efficient ways to reduce risks, such as operational and financial strategies, that could be preferable. Furthermore, sometimes hedging may lead to losses even though there is a gain on the underlying asset, which is a scenario that is difficult to explain to stakeholders. If losses appear too often, this could cause mistrust from the shareholders, and should then be avoided. One has to consider the overall trade-off between costs and savings when engaging in hedging to manage and reduce risks. It is therefore also necessary for management to undergo thorough risk assessments and to construct firm specific schedules, in order to identify the most significant risks and subsequently to establish risk preventing actions. Hedging is in addition mostly used by institutions that are extensively exposed to the various busines s and market risks, and who most of the time would benefit from undertaking such actions. However, derivatives may also be used by the private sector if necessary. The article Who Manages Risk? An Empirical Examination of Risk Management Practices in the Gold Mining Industry by Peter Tufanoexamines a new database that details corporate risk management activity in the North American gold mining industry. The article claims that academics know remarkably little about corporate risk management practice, even though almost three fourths of corporations have adopted at least some financial engineering techniques to control their exposures to intresest rates, foregin exchange rates, and commodity prices. There is little empirical support for the predictive power of theories that view risk management as a means to maximize shareholder value. The article furthermore describes risk management practices and tests their conformance with existing theory by analyzing an industry that seems almost tailor-made for academic investigation: the North American gold mining industry. These firms share a common and clear exposure in that their output is a globally traded, volatile commodity. Firms can manage this exposure using a rich set of instruments, including forward and futures contracts, gold swaps, gold or bullion loans, rolling forward commitments called spot deferred contracts, and options. Perhaps most importantly, firms in the gold mining industry disclose their risk management activities in great detail. The gold industry has embraced risk management: over 85 percent of the firms in the industry used at least some sort of gold price risk management in 1990-1993. Using industry-specific measures for firms exposures, cost structures, and investment programs, Tufano tests whether cross-sectional differences in risk management activity can be explained by academic theory. For example, theory predicts more extensive risk management by firms more likely to face financial distress, which in this industry can be measured by operating costs and leverage. Other theories posit that corporate risk management activities might be linked to risk aversion of corporate managers, and the form in which they hold a stake in the firm. These theories would predict that firms whose managers hold greater equity stakes as a fraction of their private wealth would be more inclined to manage gold price risk, but those whose managers hold options might be less inclined to manage gold price risk. This article tes ts the predictive (as compared with the prescriptive) power of the various theories, i.e., whether they help describe the choices made by firms. He finds that gold mining firms risk management decisions are consistent with some of the extant theory. Managerial risk aversion seems particularly relevant; the data bear out Smith and Stulzs (1985) prediction that firms whose managers own more stock options manage less gold price risk, and those whose managers have more wealth invested in common stock manage more gold price risk. These results seem robust under a variety of econometric specifications, and using a number of alternative proxy variables. In contrast, theories that explain risk management as a means to reduce the costs of financial distress, to break the firms dependence on external financing, or to reduce expected taxes are not supported strongly. He also finds that firm risk management levels appear to be higher for firms with smaller outside block holdings and lower cash balances, and whose senior financial managers have shorter job tenures. â€Å"Managing Foreign Exchange Risk with Derivatives†by Gregory W. Brown is a field study of HDG, a multinational manufacturing company of durable equipment with sales in more than 50 countries that actively encounters 24 different currency exchanges. Although multinational companies like HDG are always exposed to foreign exchange risk, this is one of very few studies that investigate the risk management operations for a non-financial corporation. Since multinational companies tend to be very complex, while using multiple strategies, a field study of this nature provides a deeper understanding of how the risk management process works. Dr. Brown attempts to answer to three main questions. First he wants to understandhowthe Forex risk management program is structured; second,whythe firm focuses on management of exchange risk; finallywhatHDG uses within their hedging derivative portfolio in order to minimize their foreign exchange risk. In order to get a comprehensive understanding Dr. Brown investigated HDG over 14 quarters starting from 1995 and ending in 1998. The structure of HDGs foreign exchange group consisted of 11 employees who were not considered â€Å"traders†, with an average experience of 4 years, whose focus was not only hedging foreign exchange risk. The program cost which included salaries and overhead was approximately $1.5M annually, and the overall transactional costs averaged around $2.3M annually. HDG had an actual foreign exchange risk policy which focused to reduce transactional, translational, and overall economic exposures. In order to meet this policy the group actively engaged in spot and forward contracts, currency put option, and currency call options. Traditional economic theories usually illustrate hedging Forex risk for benefits such as reducing taxable income, protecting against potential costs of financial distress, and reducing overall volatility of wealth. HDG however, focu sed its risk management program on smoothing out earnings impacts, providing the company with competitive pricing, and enabling improved internal control management. In some ways it seemed that HDG was attempting to use Forex risk hedging in a speculative attempt to increase potential income and thereby increase overall firm value. The procedure used in Forex risk hedging was quite simplistic. The department would not use live market feeds but rather sources such as Bloomberg to signify a â€Å"hedge rate† from current market rates and overall cost of derivatives. This information would then be passed onto the tax department and after review would be developed into a hedging strategy to forecast future hedging activity. Browns statistical studies of HDGs hedging activities concluded that the models R-squared value increased as the time horizon decreased. This indicated that the companies hedging activity was dramatically affected by its most recent hedging transactions. This may seem rather obvious but the strongest tests only indicated 55% in accuracy. In all Brown explains there is much more in the way of testing that needs to beconducted in order to better evaluate which additional factors significantly influence the Forex risk management of multinational non-financial companies. This study should be the start of a new investigation in understanding currency risk perspectives. In Risk Measurement and Hedging: With and Without Derivatives, Petersen and Thiagarajan (2000) explore the reasons for two gold mining companies to use opposite approaches in managing their risk, namely American Barrick, which aggressively hedges its gold price risk with derivatives, and Homestake Mining, which uses no derivatives. By studying two firms from the same industry, which hardly has any variation in product quality, the fundamental differences that lead to the different approaches in risk management can be examined. Homestake Mining is focused on developing its own properties and hence, spends more on exploration costs (capital and labour costs), which makes high gold prices profitable if they are not correlated with exploration costs. The greater need of investment capital Homestakes Mining has when gold prices are high makes reductions in the volatility of operating cash flow less valuable to it as a complete hedging would take cash flow away when gold prices are high, i.e. when Homestake Mining is in need of it. The different opportunities companies possess of also explain some reasons for different risk management strategies. Homestake Mining has for example lower costs of adjusting the mining output than American Barrick as the former can (over a short period) alter the quality of the ore that is mined. This mining strategy creates costs that vary positively with the price of gold and thus provides the firm with a natural hedge, which American Barrick does not possess of. As managers will act differently according to the risk they are personally bearing, compensation strategies is of upmost importance when it comes to risk management. Both the American Barrick and Homestake Mining use options to link the managerial wealth to the shareholder wealth, however, American Barrick does so more intensively. Also, its compensation is equity-focused where the bonuses are linked to the stock values, whereas Homestake Miningss bonuses are linked to the profitability, which explains why the latter adjusts its costs as gold prices change. The earnings are quite volatile, however through this can be reduced by different choices of accounting techniques, which is the reason for Homestake Mining to changes them in opposite direction to gold prices, where American Barrick rarely alters its accounting choices at all. From the above findings one may conclude that the choice of managing risks depends on various firms specific characteristics; their firm structure, management contracts and incentives. Specifically, it is a matter of the trade-off between costs and savings/benefits. Establishing and maintaining derivatives program is often quite costly, and therefore the alternative of using other methods to hedge risks may be preferable. In the article Hedging and Coordinated Risk Management: Evidence from Thrift Conversions, the writers argue that the firms risk management can be used to reallocate the firms total risk between different sources, rather than reduce it. So in this case hedging doesnt necessarily equal total risk reduction as often stated, but rather a technique of risk-reallocation or as an essential part of a firms profit-maximizing strategy. This becomes clearer if we separate risk in to two types, based on the activities where the firms have their comparative information advantages, namely: -Core business risk: Firms earn rents or economic profit for taking on activities bearing this risk. -Homogenous risk: Financial risk as interest rate changes, foreign currency exchange rates, or commodity prices. By contrast there is no compensation for bearing this kind of risk. (This doesnt necessarily apply if the firm has a comparative information advantage in the financial risk sector, then financial risk can then become core business risk. If we now consider a risky asset, it may be viewed as a portfolio of multiple claims from the owners. These claims are bundled together which basically means that the firm must take on all the projects if it wants any of them. A subset of these projects may be â€Å"core business projects† which have a positive NPV for the firm, and the remaining subset may be projects bearing homogenous risk with NPV = 0 (the firm hasnt any disadvantage/advantage compared to others in assessing the unsystematic risk). The total variability of a portfolios cash flow of course includes both risk types. An example of this could be a farmer expecting payment for breeding pigs. Then his superior equipment or animal feed preparation would be categorized as activities bearing core business risk, while the price of pork would be homogenous risk. When increase in total risk is costly, risk composition becomes more important as the firm value becomes a concave function of the expected cash flows. Therefore if the risky asset was separable (which it is not), we would only seek to invest in positive NPV projects with core business risk. However this is not the case and therefore we can instead make a trade off by decreasing homogenous risk while gaining additional exposure to core business risk and still maintain the target level of total risk. This substitution is called â€Å"coordinated risk management† and can be attained by the use of derivatives. They test for coordinated risk management in a sample of thrifts that convert from the mutual to stock form of ownership. These conversions have been used to recapitalize the thrift industry since 1982 where legal barriers were cleared. From 83 to 88, 571 conversions issuing stock totaling over $10 billion were completed, compared to only 130 mutual-to-stock conversions between 75 and 82. At the end of 82, stock saving and loans managed only 30% of the industrys assets, but by the end of 88, stock saving and loans controlled 74% of the industrys total assets, going from $686 billion to $1,4 trillion. These converting thrifts provided an interesting sample to test whether the use of hedging can be part of an overall strategy to increase total risk. They argued that converting thrifts will attempt to increase their overall level of firm risk following conversion due to changes that occur at the time of conversion. In other words, these institutions are a unique case relative to empirical studies of risk management that focuses on firms with incentives to decrease total risk. The reasons for converting institutions to increase total firm risk are likely because of these two major reasons: 1. A converting institutions ability to take risk increases at the time of conversion, even though the investment opportunities do not change. This is because conversion provides financial slack and access to capital markets. A conversion typically proceeds at least the book value of equity of the mutual thrift. Assuming that pre-conversion mutual equity meets regulatory capital requirements, doubling the capital ratio creates a larger borrowing capacity that can be used to double the asset size of the thrift. Increasing thrift size does not necessarily imply an increase of thrift risk. However, thrifts usually have incentives to grow by investing in riskier assets because of flat deposit insurance premiums that allow thrifts to shift risk to the government. 2. Converting institutions are predicted to increase the total firm risk following because of the change in their managers incentives for risk taking. Before the conversion, managers receive a fixed salary. But upon conversion, shareholders are able to include stock and stock options in a managers compensation contract, aligning the managers interest with the shareholders. In this situation, the manager will typically be more willing to take risks in order to maximize firm value. The Test Schrand and Unal has used sample data from conversions completed between January 1, 1984 and December 31, 1988. They have also made some selecting in the sample excluding the supervisory mergers and merger-conversions. Also they further exclude smaller companies by having a minimum limit of $100 million among the sample companys. As of the methodology Schrand and Unal have used a quantitative time-series study, where they have analyzed the changes in total risk, interest-rate risk and credit risk using an ordinary least squares method. The model is a form of a least squares method where they have added the term Time(t+k). The extra term is an indicator variable which is equal to one if quarter t is k quarters from the conversion quarters, and if not the term equals zero. As of the independent variables in the model, they can be seen as tests, indicating the differences between the risks of the average converting institution and the risks of the average institution in the control group. However the model doesnt indicate whether the interest risk and credit risk are coordinated. Therefore Schrand and Unal have used another model to analyze if there is an association between the interest risk and the credit risk. The model which is a pooled time-series cross-sectional regression is computed as follows: Here Schrand and Unal predict a positive slope between the interest risk (XSNET) and the credit risk (XSHIGH). The Empirical Results The study show that the converting institutions capital position increases with roughly 70 percent after the conversion. Also the study shows that the converting institutions significantly decrease their exposure to interest risk. However the Credit risk increases when converting, because of taking more risk in their loan portfolios. Further the study indicates that the investment patterns are related to the actual conversion rather than the time-trend within the industry. Also they conclude that the increased use of derivatives is a strategic decision and not a mechanical phenomenon. References Brown, G. W. (2001), â€Å"Managing foreign exchange risk with derivatives†, Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 60, pp. 401-448. Naik, N. Y., and P. K. Yadav (2003), â€Å"Risk Management with Derivatives by Dealers and Market Quality in Government Bond Market†, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 58 (5), pp. 1873-1904. Schrand, C., and H. Unal (1998), â€Å"Hedging and Coordinated Risk Management: Evidence from Thrift Conversions†, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 53 (3), pp. 979-1013. Tufano, P. (1996), â€Å"Who Manages Risk? An Empirical Examination of Risk Management Practices in Gold Mining Industry†, The Journal of Finance, Vol. 51(4), pp. 1097-1137. Petersen, M. A., and S. R. Thiagarajan, (2000), Risk Management and Hedging: With and Without Derivatives, Financial Management, Vol. 29(4), pp. 5-30.

The application of Strategic Change Management in Toyota

The application of Strategic Change Management in Toyota This report deeply discusses the application of the Strategic Change Management in worlds fifth biggest company, Toyota Motor Corporation which is founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937. As an organization which has significant changes through last years, The Toyota Motor Corporation will be a good example. As the worlds largest automobile manufacture, The Toyota aims continue the 21st century with stable long-term growth whereas determine for harmony with society, People and the environment. According to the Vision of the Toyota, Good corporate citizen, they focus on constantly winning the trust and respect of the international community. The Toyota Motor Corporation always adopt with business environment for the purpose of long term growth. The Toyota Motor Corporation implemented The Toyota Way 2001 in April 2001 by expressing values and guidelines that should be embraced by all employees in the Toyota. There are four components in The Toyota Way 2001 As a root for Management Decisions, think long-term. Problem-solving process Develop employees for Adding value to Toyota Recognize the solving root problems constantly initiatives organizational learning The Toyota Motor Corporation Makes decisions gently by consensus, Consider entire options thoroughly and implement its decisions rapidly with the changing environment. The Toyota Motor Corporation is now expanded in different countries and worldwide market and it has grown-up as a large multinational corporation from wherever it started. In 2008 it displaced General Motor and became the largest automobile manufacturer. The Toyota Motor Corporation acquired 51% ownership of Daihatsu, 16.7% ownership of Fuji Heavy Industries and acquired 5.9% of Isuzu Motors Ltd in 2006. The Toyota Motor Corporation is planning to introduce Isuzu diesel technology for the products of Toyota. The Toyota introduced new technologies comprising hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles which are one of the first mass-production and it is sold 2 million in global by 2010. The Toyota accepted The Global Vision 2020, that is established the Guiding Principles at Toyota in 2007. It has drafted management plan from medium to long term and how work Toyota in order to achieve its goal. Likewise, The Toyota always is making decisions and implements changes in terms of achieving goals with changing environment. In this report, first discuss the background to the change affecting Toyota Motor Corporation. In here, try to identify a range of models in Change Management, Factors to change and value of intervention techniques. At the next step, recognise the issues in strategic changes. Then identify the key stakeholders in Toyota, develop systems for understating them and analyse the benefits and drawbacks of these systems. After that explain how the organization can develop strategy for a change with its key stakeholders and for managing resistance to change. Finally, plan to implement a model in order to achieve its goals and discuss how to measure the improvements. TASK 01: BACK GROUND TO THE STRATEGIC CHANGE IN THE ORGANIZATION In terms of achievement of the Global Vision 2020 the Toyota has to change their system according to the plan that they have drafted. Models In Change Management First of all, The Toyota should be explored that the models in change Management which they can follow. Here, we can discuss, Freeze Phases (Developed by Kurt Lewin 1975) Concept of Force Field (By Kurt Lewin) Transition Modal ( by Beckhard 1969) Change through the learning of organization ( By Peter Senge 1992) Change by entrepreneurship ( By Rosabeth Moss Kanter) Freeze Phases (Developed by Kurtt Lewin 1975) This is one of the most useful models we can use for successful change. This is proposed by Kurt Lewin (1975). He discussed the model of change in three steps or three stages as given below. Unfreezing Finding alterations or reductions for change that most employees can understand and accept those factors easily. Changing developing patterns of their behaviours in new attitudes, feedback on new information and new change. Refreezing Supporting devices to make sure the patterns of the new behaviour is maintained. At the stage of Unfreezing, the managers use the threat of competitors from external environment to make sure that employees are jolted out of satisfaction with current situation. At the stage of changing, develop or change the new attitude, behaviour and feedback on new information and implementation of change. At the refreezing, the managers have danger in generating a new system. Concept of Force Field (By Kurt Lewin) This concept also created by Kurt Lewin (1975). When there is a change required by driving forces or restrictive forces motivate to maintain the current situation, this concept of Force Field can apply. Change is possible by identifying driving forces and utilising them while minimising restrictive forces. Organizational Goals and objectives, problems and need Driving Forces Restrictive Forces (Forces Favoured on change) (Forces restricted on change) Current Situation Change through the learning of organization (By Peter Senge 1992) He explained this model by five core competencies involve in creating learning organization. Create a shared vision to make sure that employees are focused on Personal mastery learning by persons who are frequently finding out how creates more of what matter to them. Working with people to overcome their challenge such as unconscious assumptions and to appreciate. Learning about team. The learning organization is required individuals to gather together and work as a team. The systems focus on importance of consideration on interrelationships and networks rather than distribute the problems in to parts and performing with alone. Intensification of factors that driving to change External Triggers to Change Because of the external development the change is necessary. The Toyota should be come to terms with number of external factors including global market share, environmental issues, and changes in demographically and awareness of health. Eventually, these factors will cause to triggers to change. It is very clear that the external triggers are occurred by the direct action (Task Environment) and indirect action (General Environment) of the organization. These changes in both two environments have to be monitored and reacted according to them. When considering the general environment of the Toyota Motor Corporation, those triggers can be discussed under PESTLE. Political effects of new government. As an example, in 2010 the US government required from The Toyota Motor Corporation a penalty of US$16.375 million for its delayed response to the notifying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Changes in economy such as global competition, fluctuation of exchange rates, activity level of macro economy. As an example, in 2008 The Toyota Motor Corporation had to face the global financial crisis of 2008 and it was in a loss after 70 years. Changes of social or demographic such as education level and changes of expectation or values. Because of the succession of Toyota Team Europe in 1997, The Toyota Motor Corporation decided to implement the TMME, Toyota Motor Europe Marketing Engineering. After two years, The Toyota could create the customer base in the United Kingdom, since the Toyotas cars were very popular among the British people. Changes in Technology such as innovations and developments in product and production process. The Toyota Sienna, popular minivan is programmed to join the hybrid line-up by 2010, and it plans to suggest its entire line-up of cars, SUVs, and trucks with a Hybrid Synergy Drive option by 2030. By 2012 also Toyota hopes to issue an electric version of the RAV4. Implications of the legal environment like government policies. Tariff on Imports introduced by government As an example, in 2010 the US government required from The Toyota Motor Corporation a penalty of US$16.375 million for its delayed response to the notifying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Environmental implications by legislation The Toyota Motor Corporation is a leader in manufacturing vehicle environment friendly technologies. In 2005, Toyota implemented Fourth Environmental Action Plan. The Task Environment discuses about all stakeholders, those who can effect to the Toyota and who can effected by the Toyota as well. The economist Michael Porter introduced this context and it has five dimensions. Power of Buyer: Develop the new market and search for a new customer base for the products of Toyota. Because of the succession of Toyota Team Europe in 1997, The Toyota Motor Corporation decided to implement the TMME, Toyota Motor Europe Marketing Engineering. After two years, The Toyota could create the customer base in the United Kingdom Power of Suppliers: Seek the new bases of raw materials to make sure that they can supply continuously and stability of the prices of materials. Threatens from its substitute: Develop the awareness of the customers about benefits from the products not reached through substitutions. Entry barriers to the Market: It is good to make the advantages from economies of scale in production which cost savings can be delivered to the customer The degree in rivalry of inter-firm: Put effort on making agreement with the competitors to level of advertising. Internal Triggers to Change The internal triggers will occur as the result of: A new head in the organization When performing external organization by benchmarking exercises Dissatisfaction of the management with the current situation Conflict of the management and employees The system approach highlighting the necessities of interrelationship within subsystem in the Toyota Motor Corporation, such as, Responsibilities that everybody has Technology that they using Employees of the organization Structure of the organization Management of the organization After summarising all the factors which driving to change the organization I can suggest the Concept of Force Field (By Kurt Lewin) is the best model for managing the change in The Toyota Motor Corporation. The Force Field Analysis is really important to identify all the forces which favourable on change and on the other hand it identify forces which are against to the change. In addition to that it helps us to consider the importance of these factors and to make the decision whether the implementation of the plan for change is worth. When we made the decision to carry out the plan, the Force Field Analysis is supported to recognise the changes that we have to make to improve it. TASK 02: UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ISSUES IN STRATECIG CHANGE According to the explanation of Richard Daft (1998) there are some key parameters that would be observed for the purpose of succession of change in the organization. Needs and Ideas for the change If there is not a perceived need for the change, ideas not considered seriously. When managers identified the gap between predicted performance and the actuals performance, the perceived need arise. Success of change would be difficult whereas the organisational culture is very strong or interest is obliged by internal stability. Ability to adopt When the decision makers of the organization decided to go ahead with the suggested Idea, Adoption will occur. The top managers and employees of the organisation should be agreed to support for the change. Sometimes the decision might be required by signing a legal document by the directors in occasions such as acquisition of ownership in another company. For any small changes, the formal approval of the middle management is enough. Available resources Resources requires at the time of scheming, planning, and implementing of the change and reinforcing change as well. Most of the innovations are going over the budgeted funds and requires special funds. Implementation When the organisation decided to make a plan to utilise new ideas, techniques or a system, the implementation will occur. This would be happened to a system that already exists such as, approval system for capital spending, budgeting process for departments or divisions. The organization should be acquired the equipment and materials and the employees should be trained to use their ideas. Managerial Barriers to the Change The Managers can generate barriers for the benefits of change. The management can generate mistakes by ignoring their objectives, availability of materials or resources and the alternatives they able to undertake. There are several factors to describe by Daft and they are discussing as a framework for this issue. Extreme focus on costs The management always possess by mind-set that the most importance thing is cost and they forget to appreciate that the cost is not the most important thing for the change, as an example when we suppose to change employee motivation or customer satisfaction at higher level. Unless the forthcoming yields are considerable, when performance of an idea that cost more than existing applies, is unlikely to be accepted. Failures in highlighting benefits Both negative and positive responses will be produced by any kind of changes. The managers should be perceived more positive aspects than the negative aspects of the change and education would be helpful for the manager to achieve this. Lack of corporation and coordination ability Because of the lack of coordination to the implementation of the change, organizational conflict and fragmentation will be resulted. In addition to that, the old and new systems might not be compatible. Sometimes, the progress at the operational level may be seriously slow and the performance of the new system is not known. This type of problem will arise in projects that re-engineering the business process since, failure to assume properly that how thing are going on currently. Uncertainty avoidance The managers fear uncertainty related to the change at the single level. To avoid this situation communication should be strong horizontally. Then the team may know how process is going on and they can understand the how the change will impact on their duties. Fears on Loss- Fear of loss are related to uncertainty of avoidance. Managers may feel fear not only about their status and authority but also about their jobs. TASK 03: IDENTIFY THE RESPONSES TO CHANGE BY THE STAKEHOLDERS AND OVERCOMING THE RESISTANCE FOR CHANGE The all activities of The Toyota Motor Corporation are directly associated with its key holders such as shareholders, customers, employees, competitors and etc. So, it is really important to concentrate about stakeholders responses on change. The organizational goals and The Global Vision 2020 of Toyota is affected by performance and work return and the responses by its stake holders. Therefore it is very essential to create a positive image of the strategic change for both Toyota and its stakeholders. The stakeholders of the Toyota highly concentrate on benefits that they could have through the strategic change. The shareholders of Toyota Motor Corporation are seeking higher return for their investments, the employees are expecting salary increment and as well as good working environment in their working places and customers are expecting batter value for their investments on Toyota Vehicles due to the strategic change in Toyota Motor Corporation. Consequently if there is any failure on strategic Change in Toyota it will badly effect on response of stakeholders. Therefore the responses of the stakeholders to change are really important to make decision on Strategic Change. Because the strategic change, can be accepted or rejected by the stakeholders. How Attitudes of stakeholders will effect on Strategic Change Resistance on change can be forecast if the change is inevitable. As the responsible persons in the organization, top management of Toyota Motor Corporation should be focus on how and why resistance to change grows within the organization. Torrington and Weightman (1994) distinguish the different types of change experience. Imposition, Commenced by The Toyota from on High Adaptation, make changes in behaviors or attitudes of stakeholders Growth, favorable responses for opportunities Creativity, when stakeholders are initiator and they in control The imposition complies with resistance, adaptation complies with uncertainty, growth complies with delight and creativity complies with excitement. Therefore the management of the Toyota need be strong with skills to, Overcome the resistance or find other alternatives for change methods. Win the uncertainty Encourage the stakeholders and subordinates to get favorable response. There are some spectrum conceivable reactions to the objective of the change programme. Enthusiastic Corporation, acceptance or corporation under pressure from the management. Inactive Resignation Loss of interest, Least Contribution, Indifference Inactive Resistance non-learning behavior, regressive behavior Active Resistance working to rule, least work, protest, sabotages, obligating errors, Organizational change always encounter certain resistance may be simple. The change can be threatened by resistance but it is not amazement. Reasons for the resistance can be summarized as follows, Poor understanding about nature of the strategic change and what are the reason for that strategic change Believes of stakeholders: they think that their personal goals and interest would be threatened due to strategic change. Contradictory assessment on costs and advantages of the strategic change for the Toyota Motor Corporation. Lack of confidence about initializing the change and their intentions These clarifications for the resistance can be explained by concentrating on strategic change at individual level and then small group in the organization. Resistance by employees of working groups or informal group is possible to pose more troubles for the Management of the organization. Overcome the resistance to change Because of the poor understanding and the poor communication, resistance may be occurred. Though, if there are any serious matters for the resistance, a complex approach would be required. The management of the organization should be able to adopt with flexible approach to manage the strategic change and identify the main contingent issues in every situation. The managers should be able to identify the different types of resistance. Ignoring : I dont have enough information to make decision Delay for the judgment : I can wait and see how it going on for the decision Self-justifying Stances: Ooh Other solutions are better than me. this will not work Scarcity: I cant allow this to proceed. It is very costly Worry: I am sure. I cant work on this new system Disaffection: this is separate from my duty and from my division Experienced refusal: We tried on this before and it was failed Loss of Authority: It has to give up control Avoidance: I am not interest to computers Resistance may be meeting with face to face conflict. Normally it will indicate that the objectives of the organization had not been explained properly. It is better to listen the complaints, let the annoyance surface and finally makes calm behavior in all circumstances of conflict. Six Methods to overcome the resistance Develop the Education and Communication Improve the involvement and participating Providing supports and Facilitation Make better negotiation and agreement Improve cooperation and Manipulation Explicit and implicit coercion (Kotter and Schlesinger -1979) When we try to implement last two methods will raise legal and ethical problems. And also cause to make the situation worse. These methods are not mutually exclusive but managers make the decision in effective way by combining them. TASK 04 IDENTIFYING APPROPRIATE MODELS FOR THE STRATEGIC CHANGE AND MEASURING THE EXPECTATION OF STRATEGIC CHANGE The implementation of strategic can be valued, to make sure the ongoing change. For the implementation of strategic change we can establish monitoring and review techniques. The strategic change would be able to implement within the Toyotas stakeholders for the purpose of achieving Global Vision 2020. When we implement the strategic plan to the organization we have to implement it step by step. We can suggest a change process as follow: Recognize the problems in the Toyota Motor Corporation Observe the reasons for those problems and analyze the solutions to overcome them Select and plan alternative solution Implement the planned solutions Communicate the learning process and allow organization to deal with ongoing change (Senior and Fleming 2006) The managers can state the strategic change plan by allocating employees into separate teams and instructing them. Therefore each team automatically will used to implement the strategic plan easily. Making teams within the organization is very essential to evaluate strategic changes. The outcomes should be able to monitor and evaluate the performance of team workers for the successful implementation. The management can introduce incentive scheme for the best team for the purpose of motivation through success in strategic management by monitoring and evaluating the each team. According to my point of view, I can suggest the Concept of Force Field (By Kurt Lewin) is the best model for managing the change in The Toyota Motor Corporation. The Force Field Analysis is really important to identify all the forces which favourable on change and on the other hand it identify forces which are against to the change. In addition to that it helps us to consider the importance of these factors and to make the decision whether the implementation of the plan for change is worth. As an example, when The Toyota Motor Corporation target to issue an electric version of the RAV4 by 2012. Target to issue an electric version of the RAV4 by 2012 Driving Forces Restrictive Forces Customer wants new product Loss of staff overtime Improve speed of production Cost Raise volume output Staff afraid to new technology Control rising maintenance Cost Environmental impact (Forces Favoured on change) (Forces restricted on change) Current Situation We can use action plan to review the process of implementation. In addition realize the present position in the organization after the strategic change. By using action plan we can recognize the time frame and difference between expected level and actual level of the strategic change in the organization. By recording, keeping, monitoring and evaluating the changes we can make sure the on-going change in organization. We can check whether expected performance have achieved by stakeholders through the strategic management by measuring actual performance. CONCLUSION This report deeply discussed the application of the Strategic Change Management in worlds fifth biggest company, Toyota Motor Corporation. According to the Vision of the Toyota, Good corporate citizen, they focus on constantly winning the trust and respect of the international community. The Toyota Motor Corporation always adopt with business environment for the purpose of long term growth. In terms of achievement of the Global Vision 2020 the Toyota has to change their system according to the plan that they have drafted. Because of the external development the change is necessary. The Toyota should be come to terms with number of external factors including global market share, environmental issues, and changes in demographically and awareness of health. Eventually, these factors will cause to triggers to change. The all activities of The Toyota Motor Corporation are directly associated with its key holders such as shareholders, customers, employees, competitors and etc. So, it is really important to concentrate about stakeholders responses on change. The organizational goals and The Global Vision 2020 of Toyota is affected by performance and work return and the responses by its stake holders. Therefore it is very essential to create a positive image of the strategic change for both Toyota and its stakeholders.