Google Innovation and New Product Management Essay

In this report, researcher will be answering two different questions from the assignment. First, the researcher will discuss and suggest some feasible application considerations when developing a new product development strategy for Google Glass. The information which included will be elaborated and discuss with examples. Next question, researcher will illustrate how Google Glass better manage innovation within the organization to stay ahead of its competitor in the industry? The information in question related will be discussed and elaborated in paragraph form. For conclusion, the researcher will be made after the two questions completely done. Final conclusion will be conducted with ways to improve and ideas to put into Google glass. Question 1 Discuss and suggest some feasible application considerations when developing a new product development strategy for Google Glass. Market Analysis The new product development strategy is the strategies in spite of evidence of its success. In new product development, researcher found that many managers hesitate to establish a policy for new product development said by (C.M.Crawford, 1972). The new product development strategy is the first stage need to be done on a company before they launch a new product to the market. In the other hand, there are basic steps need to include in the new product development steps there are concept, ideation, design, test, and release. Due to the research, the benefit after implement those steps to a new product development lead the company to the profits increasing. For Google glass, first the concept need to be define clearly and considerations need to be concern for the new product development. Next market strategy will be market analysis because there are several points need to be analyzing in the market analysis such as target market, market opportunity, and market segmentation. Target market is the main group of user that been targeted who will be using the product which is the Google Glass. In this step, researcher need to understand how to target and what should him/her putting inside new product development strategy. Market segmentation is to differentiate the different type of market and identify which market is  having the most potential customer for the new developing product. The company then will target on that market and work on the new developing product. Other than that, market segmentation also ensure researcher know the market trends, size and growth. Researcher need to understand what the market needs first in the new product development. For example, Google glass provides questionnaire and interview questions to the public before them implements functions in the Google glass development. This is to ensure the product will be accepted by public after it launch. The market segmentation method is a must for every product development because it clearly identifies the target users for the new developing product and the correct marketing plan can be run on that particular target users group. Market size and growth needed to identify current sales that made and also the potential sales that will be made can be estimated based on the analysis. Besides, the surveys that done on the customer will be using as one of the methods to identify the size of the market. This strategy is considered important because it may help to estimate the number of potential users that will use the product. On the other hands, it also means that the greater the size of market, there will be more profit that able to make by the Google Glass Company by introducing the product to the public. Lastly, market trend strategy need to be implemented because it shows the response from the public in the new product development (Google glass). Targeted market will be done in this strategy and how it will be affected the market. For example, Google glass will provide new functions and it will beat its competitor similar product development. Customer Needs After market analysis done, customer needs will be follow up to developing product that based on customer needs. There are six basic needs of customers for a new product; there are friendliness, understanding and empathy, fairness, control, options and alternatives, lastly information. Said by Rosa. (2013). All these steps can be identifying by using several methods such as investigation and survey. The survey that done can determine what actually does the customers or potential customers needs and what they actually wish to have in future in terms of the technology or the functionality of the new developing product. This product development strategy is to ensure customer understand all the functionalities of the new  product (Google glass) before they purchasing it. It is helps in keeping the customers instead of other competitors. As a nutshell, it also will gain the profitable of the company because the customers are already well known from the product and it will help on boosti ng the sales of the new product. Ongoing Corporate Planning In ongoing corporate planning consideration, it will help to set up future direction for the product. The most important consideration for Google glass are the technology and innovation set up. In now a day’s technology, almost every individual own a smartphone or tablet in their lifestyle. Google Company needs to implement something better and interesting to attract more customers to purchase their new product. Technology and innovation need to be in the ongoing corporate planning to ensure the product will success in the future market. Due to the survey online, there are many company produce products that have many competitors such as smartphone and tablet. In the other hand, Google Company is the first company which produces Google glass which has the technology and innovation other does not have it. It will helps on produce profits and leading with the new product development. Besides that, there will be customers aiming the new product developed by Google indeed others do not produce any similar product yet. Ongoing Technology Management The other consideration will be the ongoing technology management. It will be competitors if the company keeps producing products like smartphone and tablet. Google company come with new idea which is introducing Google glass which other company still do not have any similar product development yet. It is a smart idea and creative idea which other companies do not have yet. So, it will be a hot product if it came with latest technology and innovation. They need to compete with other competitors by introducing their new technology and functionalities to launch in the market. Google glass is the product that does not have any competitor yet and it will be the first product that will be introduce to the public with such technologies. Multi-Dimensional Concept Multi-Dimensional concept product is the development of new product such as  brand name, quality specifications, pricing, packaging, featuring, technology, and level of services. For Google Company, there will be technology and innovation focusing in a product development. â€Å"Google† is a well-known branding in the world that most of people know, it using multi-dimensional product development concept before they introduce the product to the market. They are well-gained company and have good reputation in the information technology market that enables their products are trusted and safe to use. Google glass named by Google Company itself because it made up of fiber glass and it has multiple functions and specifications that proved itself is a unique with all its functions. Google glass describe as multi-dimensional concept product because of it special features and quality specifications. It have has a 640 x 360 display, 5 Mega Pixel camera and able to record video with 720p HD function. Besides that, it also built-in with a 16GB flash memory which enables the users to save data into it such as video and photo. Other than that, it also builds in WIFI and Bluetooth adapter so it able to communicate with everyone while there are web-services available. In addition, pricing is also one of the concept of multi-dimensional product because the product must be in reasonable and affordable price so most of the users able to purchase it and boost the sales and profit of the company. The price will be around $ 1500 and even lower a little bit so it will be more attractive for users to purchasing it. The features of Google glass are capturing video and photos and it can send it online. Other than that, GPS also build in so user can easily see the direction while travelling or driving. It also allows users to messaging and it have charger to recharge while there is low battery. It is a smart device that is user friendly. Conclusion, the technology that used in Google Glass is the virtual reality. The users able to view the animation that been released by the glass and also the reality world through the glass. It brings many features that enable user to interact with the devices. Besides that, user can off the functionality of Google glass in case they don’t need any services and they can use it as a normal glass. Google glass is a direct interact device, user just need to activate or select services that they wanted so it can perform the task directly and efficiency. Conclusion As the researcher of this report, I would like to implements few considerations so it can helps on increase the sales and profit for Google Company. In the other hand, Google Company need considerate more on new product development before it launch to the market so users can give good reflection and opinions on Google’s product in future. To increasing the rate of successful of new product, it need implement more considerations to make it successful. Google Innovation And New Product Management Google products do not fair well on the market or do not reach the market at all as they would have failed during the trial stages because they hardly follow the proper steps in new product development. Therefore the question Google needs to ask itself before embarking on a project is whether or not a product is what the customer needs because what the engineers want to develop is not necessarily what people need. Therefore structured and analytic approaches to innovation have been proven valuable in new product development. It is important to highlight the need for customer’s input as they function as a fresh set of eyes. Google should continue to encourage a steady stream of new product possibilities from their engineers while social networks could be used to dialogue with customers and get new ideas. Google needs to have Innovation management in which there is the discipline of managing processes in innovation which in turn can be used in the development of both product and organizational innovation. Innovation processes can either be pushed or pulled through development. Instead of just having some creative ideas and launching them, Google could also adopt some innovation styles as part of their innovation management. Discuss and suggest some feasible application considerations when developing  a new product development strategy for Google. In general, developing new products is usually expensive and risky. The majority of new product inventions are not successful. In Australia for instance, 95% of private inventions never reach the market (Walker, 2004). Google is evidently aware of this fact because most of its products do not fair well on the market or do not reach the market at all as they would have failed during the trial stages. It is needless to say that the high failure rate should not discourage companies from introducing new products because customers eventually lose interest in once popular products, particularly if competitors introduce more attractive products. Google is evidently aware of this fact due to the high rate of new products that they introduce onto the internet hence providing a vast diversity of products with the hope that one of them will succeed. This, however, says a lot about Google’s new product development strategy even though they have a lot of products. Looking at Google products and the way they do things it is apparent that Google hardly follows the proper steps in new product development this is why some of their products do not succeed. Companies often introduce new services on the basis of employees’ subjective opinions on whether the product will be successful (Zeithaml et al, 2009), which is the case with Google as mentioned by Marissa Mayer. This is not good as it only incorporates the views and needs of what the employees think the customers want and not exactly what the customer needs. (Image1 source: http://answers.google.com/answers/answers-logo-sm.gif) For example Google had a product called Google Answers in which a person would ask a question for a specified amount of money and experts in the field would answer the question. This service was of course terminated in 2006, but was it necessary in the first place to have such a product? No it was not especially when one had to pay for it. There are so many other services online where you can get expert help for free. Therefore the question Google needs to ask itself before embarking on a project is whether or not a product is what the customer needs because what the employees want to develop is not necessarily what people need. Structured and analytic approaches to innovation have been proven valuable in new product development (Zeithaml et al, 2009). According to Elliot and  colleagues, (2008), there are seven recognised phases of the new product development process, namely; idea generation, screening, concept testing, business analysis, product development, test marketing and commercialisation. These should be considered by Google for its product development strategy because this will ensure that their products do not end up being null and void or being removed or thrown out. (Image 2 source: http://lostgarden.com/uploaded_images/StageGate-GreenLight-Diagram-708507.jpg) Google likes to have a lot of products thrown into the market and hope for the best (Image 2). With this notion in mind Google can still do that because some of the phases in product development can be conducted simultaneously since products evolve very fast hence they can have many products that succeed as opposed to having one or two that make it (Image 3). (Image 3 source: http://lostgarden.com/uploaded_images/StageGate-Gate-Diagram-717771.jpg) Idea generation refers to the process of seeking product ideas. The ideas may emanate from internal or external sources. Internal sources include employees of the organisation while external sources are usually customers, competitors, advertising agencies, research organisations etc. The interview reveals that Google uses a lot of internal sources for their idea generation. These are important because they can identify organisational issues necessary for the development of the product. It is however, important to include customers in idea generation, ‘particularly in situations in which the customer personally carries out part of the service process.’ (Zeithaml et al, 2009). This is something that Google has turned a blind eye on. They fail to realise that in as much as they want to have cutting edge products, customers are the driving force to making the product cutting edge. Customers, hence, need to be part of the idea generation of a product not after the product has already been made public (as shown by the customer feedback system on the products in question). Therefore Google should continue to encourage a steady stream of new product possibilities from their engineers (internal source) while social networks could be used to dialogue with customers and get new ideas that way they do not neglect the external sources. In as much as Google’s product releases seems random, Haqlund et al (1995) would approve of the apparent confusion at Google as they believe that creativity involves improvisation, anarchy and internal  competition, which results in ‘both a planned process and a happening.’ Google does need a bit of organisation b y implementing the new product development process so as to keep their product development and releases in check. Idea screening refers to the analysis of product ideas in which the nature and wants of buyers are assessed. No idea screening is done by Google they just do it, the engineers just give suggestions around a particular idea and they take the suggestion and incorporate it into the given idea and start working on it without top management approval and without proper screening of the idea to see if it is indeed feasible and or appropriate and whether or not it will be accepted on the market after it has been lunched. This increases the probability of developing something that the customer does not need. They might want it and go for it as soon as it is launched but after a short period of time the user realises that they do not need the product and hence the life span of that product is shortened. (Image 4 source: http://www.accelerantresearch.com/images/product-dev/product-dev1.jpg) Some of the products need to go through the screening process so as to know whether or not the product will be maintainable or upgradable. Now if Google had to screen their ideas before hand (as shown in Image 4) then some of their products would have been successful or would not have been launched at all because there are some products that Google has that are just not necessary. Now judging from what the interviewee said about some engineers who get tired of working on the same task, it is of paramount importance to once again highlight the need for customer’s input as they function as a fresh set of eyes. Customers will look at the same product in a different way and be able to suggest something new that can be done. Concept testing involves presenting the idea to a sample of potential customers which enables the company to test potential customers’ reactions before the product can be launched on a large scale. Where Beta Testing and Market Testing is concerned Google does; however, use this strategy on some of its products. (Imagesource: http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/rockmelt_browser_facebook_logo.pngand http://cogadget.com/cogadget/photos/logo/google_chrome_logo.jpg ) For example in the case of RockMelt, it is a Google product that looks like  Google chrome but caters to facebook fans who are able to see what is going on with their friends in real time and all the time. Google has decided to test the product by sending it to a few people and allowing those people to invite their friends to use it by giving the user a certain number of invites and with each person that installs it the invites issued are increased. This is a good strategy because not only does Google get feedback on how to improve RockMelt but they also know by the number of people that install it and invite others whether or not it will be a success if launched officially. If Google were to implement this strategy on a substantial amount of products then it would be easier to know which products to keep and launch on a larger scale as well as which products to scrap off. According to the interview with Marissa Mayer, they did the same thing with Gmail by sending invites to people to use Gmail and because of that Gmail is now widely used by many and hence became and still is a success. It now competes with other email services such as Hotmail and Yahoo! RockMelt now has the chance to become better than Google Chrome as well as other internet browsers since it is still in its testing phase. At the test marketing stage, the product is released in limited quantities, to test customer reactions while reducing the risk of product failure. Product failure could lead to the company’s loss of credibility which is not the case with Google since it is well known that people still try out Google products regardless of their failure. At the commercialisation phase modifications are made based on the test marketing findings. Full scale marketing is then done. In the internet industry, gradual marketing may allow competitors to quickly enter the same target market with similar products. Google is apparently not too concerned about this prospect hence Google Labs. Therefore in as much as Google has employed the strategy of just dumping their products with the hope of at least one success, they can have a more organised strategy whereby there is guarantee of at least majority success rather than minority success. Question II In this highly competitive online environment, illustrate how Google better manage innovation within the organization to stay ahead of its competitor in the internet industry? Google needs to have Innovation management in which  there is the discipline of managing processes in innovation which in turn can be used in the development of both product and organizational innovation. Google will need to allow managers and engineers to cooperate together knowing the goals and the processes of the development of a new product. Google can make sure that the main focus of innovation management is to allow response to external as well as internal opportunities in which creative efforts to introduce new ideas are used (Kelly, and Kranzburg, 1978). (Image 6 source: http://www.ucd.ie/nitm/images/graph1.gif ) Google already understands that innovation management involves workers at every level in contributing creatively to a company’s development and hence do not stop the creativity of engineers who have input on a new product. What Google needs to do now is to trigger and deploy the creative juices of the engineers towards the continuous development of the products. The process that they can adopt can be that of an evolutionary integration of strategy, technology and operations (Tidd et al, 2009) because successful innovation management is naturally multi-functional and matches a deep understanding of user needs and wants to a unique technical ability hence the integration of customer ideas as well as engineer’s ideas (as seen in Image 6). Innovation processes can either be pushed or pulled through development. A pushed process is based on existing or newly invented technology, that the organization has access to, and tries to find profitable applications to use this technology (Trott and Paul, 2005). It is evident that Google does adopt the push concept but not for all products. If Google is to be ahead in the internet industry they are to make sure that the products that have made it are continuously developed one of the ways in which Google can do this is to go ahead with the idea of merging some products together to make one product. A pulled process tries to find areas where customers’ needs are not met, and then focus development efforts to find solutions to those needs (Trott and Paul, 2005). Instead of trying to compete with existing products in the industry by deploying a new product that is identical or has similar functions, Google must use their customer feedback system to get ideas on what the customers need so that they bridge the gap and hence their products become more successful. In order to achieve this Google also needs to have a team that has both engineers as well as  marketers who are in touch with the customer needs so that both the technically creative things can work hand in hand with the customer requirements hence producing a successful product which inturn places Google ahead of its competitors. In order to stay ahead of its competitors in the internet industry Google needs to make sure that the products that they are offering online are valuable and meet the need of the customer. If the customer has a better alternative to that being offered by Google they will leave the Google product and go the product offered by the competitor and hence the failure of a Google product. With the encouragement of new products at Google, they should make sure that the new products are indeed new and relevant, such as Google Docs where people can create spreadsheets as well as develop surveys, etc. This is a need for anyone who goes online and it is very convenient and hence in that area Google will probably remain the lead. Therefore the product characteristics meet the customer needs and are an advantage over competing products with technological sophistication (Zeithaml et al, 2009). Even though their engineers may feel tired of doing the same thing they should still maintain the existing products that have been successful so that they remain successful. This is because innovation is a continuous process. It does not end at the market acceptance but the product has to be continuously improved. Therefore Google should have strategy characteristics in which there are dedicated human resources to support the initiative as well as dedicated research and development focused on the new product initiative (Zeithaml et al, 2009). Just as they continue to improve the search engine, they should also seek to improve Gmail so that it does not just compete with Hotmail and Yahoo but should actually be better than them. (Image 7 source: http://emekaeme.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/innovartis001-001.png ) The more Google has products that are relevant the more they become less of a follower in the industry hence becoming leaders (as illustrated in image7). Instead of just having some creative ideas and launching them, Google could also adopt some innovation styles as part of their innovation management. Google must have people who like to imagine what a product must entail and should idealise (Visioning). They should also have people who test out the

Hamburger and Wendy Essay

Introduction Wendy’s International (Wendy’s) is a restaurant company, which operates globally under Wendy’s brand of restaurant chain stores. The company’s headquarter is in Ohio, United States. Wendy’s was founded by Dave Thomas who opened the first Wendy’s restaurant on November 15, 1969 in Columbus, Ohio, United States. In 1972, the first Wendy’s franchise was sold. Wendy’s also stressed Wendy’s superiority through the â€Å"Quality Is Our Recipe† slogan and featured a red-haired, pig-tailed â€Å"Wendy† with dancing hamburgers. In mid-1975 Wendy’s opened its first international restaurant which located in Canada. In 1976, Wendy’s offered public stock with one million common shares sold at $28 per share. In November 15, 2009, Wendy’s celebrated its 40th year anniversary with more than 6,600 Wendy’s restaurant worldwide. Mission Statement â€Å"What We Believe† guidelines, which serve as both an internal mission statement and an external customer service goal, which include quality is our recipe, treat everyone with respect, do the right thing, profit means growth, and give something back. Vision. To continuously grow stakeholder value by leveraging the strengths of vibrant, independent restaurant brands. Products and Stores Old Fashion Hamburger Chicken and Wraps Garden Sensations Salads Fries and Sides Frosty Beverages Kids’ meal Wendy’s Restaurant Wendy’s SWOT Analysis Wendy’s is a leading successful restaurant operating and franchising company in North America. The company was ranked 562nd in the list of America’s largest corporation, as evaluated by the Fortune magazine, in 2007. A strong market position provides better visibility and increases the company’s bargaining power. However, Wendy’s faces strong competition from international, national, regional, and local retailers of food products. Competitors could affect to Wendy’s market share and its margins. STRENGTHS – Leading player in the U. S. – Market research strength – Strong management team – Effective advertising – Brand recognition WEAKNESSES – Fried food – Distribution problem – Weak research and development OPPORTUNITIES – Global expansion – Franchising Argentina, Chile, China – Mass customization THREATS – Strong competition such as McDonald and Burger King – Political environment. – Exchange rate – Health conscious consumer – Recession in economy worldwide . Analysis of Wendy’s Globalization Strategy There are more than 6,500 Wendy’s restaurants currently in 26 countries worldwide (Appendix B). Since early 2009, the company is very alert for international expansion of Wendy’s with new restaurant development in Singapore, the Middle East and North Africa, the Russian Federation, the Eastern Caribbean, Argentina, the Philippines and Japan. The company’s target is to open more than 8,000 Wendy’s restaurants outside of North America. New market expansion and further development within existing markets will continue to be major drivers of Wendy’s worldwide strategy. By maintaining superior quality, freshness, and operational standards worldwide, the customers could taste the quality Wendy’s hamburgers whether they visit Wendy’s in Dubai, Moscow, or Puerto Rico. In 2010 and 2011, Wendy’s was recognized by Zagat Survey as the food quality leader in the United States quick service restaurant industry, and also received their Top Overall designation. Wendy’s is also been awarded by the international organization. For example, in New Zealand Wendy’s has been voted as having the best tasting hamburgers for over ten years in a row. Wendy’s, Quick Service Restaurant (QSR), has experienced both competitive and economic challenges over recent years. However, the global QSR business has continued to grow significantly especially in emerging markets. According to Euro monitor International, this trend of category growth is expected to continue as show in Appendix C. According to the graph in Appendix C, the sales from previous year to future are a positive trend. In 2005, the global QSR sales were $376 billion and in 2010, it lifted up to $549 billion. The QSR sales in 2013 are forecasted that it could rise to $611 billion and it could go up to $678 billion in 2015. Franchising as Global Expansion Wendy’s provide new franchisees with the training and tools to run a Wendy’s restaurant. The franchisees will benefit from an image of leading brand in the quick service restaurant industry. Wendy’s provides support to its international franchisees through international corporate headquarters in Atlanta, and regional support offices in Miami and Hong Kong. The franchisees will benefit from Wendy’s expertise and ongoing support which including operations, training, marketing, engineering and site development, supply chain, quality insurance, and technology. Operations A skilled management team will help in preparing and opening the first restaurant and monitoring its progress as well as the future locations afterward. The reason of doing this is to ensuring that every restaurant in the system meets Wendy’s quality and service standards. Training The training is focused on how to exceed customer expectations and operate according to Wendy’s standards. Training will be provided for the head of operations and store managers at a regional training location. Marketing The franchisor marketing team will help franchisee maximize potential of the brand in that country market. Before the franchisees open the first restaurant, franchisor team will help to outline locally competitive aspects, identify key market opportunities, generate sales forecasts, and create a marketing plan. Franchisor will also provide an on-going support through existing marketing programs. Engineering and Site Development. When a location is selected, the engineering team will provide franchisees with guidance in developing the layouts and equipment plans. Supply chain Franchisor supply chain team will help in identifying efficient and safe suppliers. Franchisees will benefit from negotiated purchasing contracts with regional suppliers and be given support in developing a distribution system. Quality insurance The Quality Assurance team will approve new suppliers, local product adaptations and provide on-going monitoring of selected suppliers. Technology. Franchisor will help franchisees select restaurant technology tools to efficiently run and manage growing business such as manage labor costs, track food inventory, and analyze sales information. Wendy’s Strategy Map Wendy’s strategy map includes financial, customer, internal (operations), and learning and growth which Wendy’s needs to focus on to achieve its vision of growing stakeholder value and profitability can be readily identified and more easily accomplished. The strategy map presents a visual diagram and representation of the linkages among the four perspectives. Financial Perspective. Lower cost The basic instruction to lower cost is by reducing waste, improving reliability of orders, and increasing operational efficiency. This will very important considering during economic times as consumers are looking for a low cost with quality provider of food. Controlling for reducing waste, saving supplies, and ensuring ordering accuracy will allow the reduction in operational expenses and thus lower cost. Increase revenue Increasing revenue is a combination of raising prices and lower expenses. The revenue can be increased by expanding market share and penetrating the global market. Wendy’s should focus for expanding into overseas developed and emerging markets. Another way to increase revenue is to raise prices. Increase overseas expansion The building and expansion of more stores overseas, Wendy’s will not only able to help create stronger brand identity but also will allow increasing revenue through overseas stores while increasing market share. Moreover, it would be advantage to expand stores in the developed markets such as the U. K. , Canada, and Australia. It would be wiser for Wendy’s to expand operations in fast growing an emerging market such China, India, Russia and Easter Europe. Customer Perspective Lowest total price Wendy’s could provide the lowest total cost for price and value of service, which they effectively have been doing by offering comparable prices for products with superior service. Availability locations Wendy’s is currently the third largest provider of Quick Service Restaurant falling behind McDonalds and Burger King in the total number of available locations. Wendy’s can increase the number of available locations by focusing on urban and global markets to increase their presence in areas with the highest concentration of consumers which will allow them to achieve other goals of increasing revenue as well as creating stronger brand identity. High quality Wendy’s has storied past for providing high quality products. It already stood out when compared to competition. However, Wendy’s needs to continue to set high standards and organize initiatives such as always fresh ingredients and never frozen beef campaigns to ensure to customers that providing quality products. Internal Perspective (Operations) Increase operational efficiency As new technology is adopted, it is important to always stay at front of introducing and taking advantage of new technologies to increase operational efficiencies. Wendy’s can benefit over other competitors if they can develop a sense of timeliness and reliability for delivery orders. Improve reliability Other than providing the inexpensive offerings in a timely manner, what remains important is the expect reliability. Wendy’s needs to ensure that it provide a reliable product. Reduced waste As an operational perspective, reduction of waste is a huge concern. Wendy’s will have to focus on reducing waste as it has visions of becoming the lowest total cost fast-food provider. Moreover, reducing waste will allow more revenue as cutting expenses. Learning and Growth Perspective Management training programs Wendy’s currently has management programs. However, Wendy’s needs to create greater incentives for managers to attract brighter and more qualified candidates for management positions and to keep managers and hard working employees employed after training programs. Develop new products Wendy’s will need to focus on bringing out and introducing creative new products that will help stimulate excitement for their food offerings as well as take advantage of current trends towards healthier foods. Moreover, Wendy’s is suffering from poor menu diversity, thus the development of new products will help this issue. Open new stores Regarding to that Wendy’s needs to increase its total availability of location, this will allow for greater strong identity, increased revenue options, and greater penetration into capturing market share. Moreover, the opportunities as indicated in the brief SWOT analysis to create stores as a means to expand and grow. Wendy’s Enter Fast Food Market in Thailand. Fast food in Thailand continued to perform healthily during 2010 regardless of economic and political instability due to the strong financial positioning of leading chained fast food operators like CP All, YUM Restaurant International Thailand, Minor International, Central Restaurants Group, S&P Syndicated and McThai (McDonald), which accounted for 83% of fast food value sales in 2010. Although these players had to close down a number of outlets as a result of political instability in 2010, they still had sufficient cash flow to expand further, renovate existing outlets, and invest in marketing. In Thailand, there are many kinds of fast food. These are the major types of fast food industry in Thailand. First, Thai style fast foods include all main dishes of local food. Second, American style fast foods such as hamburger (number one market share), fried chicken, sausage, and bacon. The American fast foods are usually sold as a set with beverage. Third, other style fast foods such pizza, Japanese ramen (noodle), and Chinese streamed dim sum. Consumer Analysis These are some of the consumer surveys toward fast food in Thailand. – Group of age less than 20-30 is the main fast food consumer. This is because their perception toward fast food is convenient and easy to purchase. – The level of education is unaffected to fast food purchasing behavior. – Group of income less than 5000 Baht or 160 USD per month tend to consume fast food often. American Fast food already turned into world food. It is the fast growing business worldwide including Thailand. The changing of taste and lifestyle create the new trend of eating. Food for Thai people is the main factor and center of life. Since the globalization and technology entered along side with the changing of eating trend plus the creativity, the variety and development of food covered the entire nation. Thai people have obtained the Western eating behavior, thus this modern fast food has huger role in Thai people daily life. In the center area of tutor schools, the interview from two sample students says toward fast foods that â€Å"fast food is available everywhere† and â€Å"it’s the last-ditch choice†. From the center city to country side, fast food became a part of everyone which influences the growing of this western food business continually. Product Positioning Healthy Fast Food KFC Burger KingWENDY’S McDonaldSubway Marketing Mix Product Wendy’s offers fast food with reasonable price with good quality. The products are hamburger, chicken, salad, and fries. Wendy’s should emphasis on the fresh and good quality raw materials including beef, chicken, vegetable, and bread. Moreover, company need to do a product research and development in order to come out with new product which could meet with customer’s need. The term† fast food† should represent not only fast service food, but need to provide the nutrition and good for health. Price The price should be rely on the standard price of Wendy’s international and related to the local market price. In Thailand, the raw materials and labor cost are quite inexpensive, thus company could compete the price with the exiting competitors. Along with the price, company should offer the good service in order to impress the customer as a new coming. Place Wendy’s restaurant provides the eat-in service and take out which customer can buy back home. The restaurant location should locate at the general department store or business and tutor area. The store interior should be attractive with color and product photo. The other important thing is always keep the restaurant clean. Another channel is home service. Home service is a convenient for customers who unable to come to store. They can make an order through phone service. Promotion In order to get attraction from customer, Wendy’s should come out with the heavy sale support marketing activities last for about one to two months such as buy one get one free, and the souvenir. In order to remain the customers, company could offer the membership card for discount, collected point, and special event on the customer’s birthday. Conclusion Wendy’s is a fast food restaurant a chain store operates worldwide with 6,500 Wendy’s restaurants currently in 26 countries. With the global expansion strategy, the company planned to open more than 8,000 Wendy’s restaurants outside of North America. Wendy’s has awarded from variety organization worldwide as a guarantee of efficient performance such as the Zagat Survey as the food quality leader in the United States and the Top Overall designation, and the best tasting hamburgers for over ten years in a row from New Zealand. With the good performance from the exiting restaurant, it could push up and help promoting for new coming and provide an easy chance for Wendy’s to go as a global brand. Appendices Appendix A. America’s largest corporation evaluated by the Fortune magazine in 2007 Appendix B Source: Wendy’s international franchise brochure There are more than 6,500 Wendy’s restaurants currently in operation in 26 countries and territories worldwide. Since January 2009, we have aggressively laid the groundwork for international expansion of Wendy’s with new restaurant development announcements in Singapore, the Middle East and North Africa, the Russian Federation, the Eastern Caribbean, Argentina, the Philippines and Japan. We are targeting expansion to over 8,000 Wendy’s restaurants outside of North America. Appendix C. Global Quick Service Restaurant Sale (Historical – Forecast) Source: Wendy’s international franchise brochure. Bibliography http://www. aboutwendys. com/Our-Company/Our-Story/Accessed on Nov 3, 2011 http://www. aboutwendys. com/International/Support/Accessed on Nov 3, 2011 http://nyjobsource. com/wendys. htmlAccessed on Nov 3, 2011 http://retailindustry. about. com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Company-Mission-Statements/Wendy-s-Mission-Statement. HtmAccessed on Nov 3, 2011 http://www. docshare. com/doc/189567/WendysAccessed on Nov 5, 2011 http://franchises. about. com/od/w/fr/wendys-international-franchise.htm Accessed on Nov 5, 2011 http://franchises. about. com/od/fastfoo1/fr/wendys. htmAccessed on Nov 6, 2011 http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2007/full_list/501_600. html. Accessed on Nov 6, 2011 http://www. nesdb. go. th/Portals/0/home/†¦ /scs/†¦ /scs-success-survey-bkk. pdf Accessed on Nov 6, 2011 http://www. fundinguniverse. com/company-histories/Wendys-International-Inc-company-History. htmlAccessed on Nov 6, 2011 http://www. gotomanager. com/news/details. aspx? id=2939Accessed on Nov 6, 2011 http://www. racing-club. net/board/index. php? topic=1177Accessed on Nov 6, 2011.

Reading responce Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reading responce - Assignment Example Tan further proves that her mother’s English is â€Å"imperfect† by citing several circumstances experienced by her mother (78). She also points out that her mother has noticed her own limitations as she was asked to pretend to be Mrs. Tan on a phone call one time, and talked to doctors when her mother needed to get more information about findings (78). This article shows the power of language, English specifically, in society. Similar to what is shown, people who are relatively â€Å"good† in English tend to ignore those comparatively â€Å"poor† in communicating their ideas. In communities today individuals likely equate the inability of â€Å"perfect† verbalization to lack of comprehension, which is unlikely in most cases. The complexity of language contributes to how one may find it difficult to speak flawlessly, but does not necessarily imply one’s being â€Å"limited.† This essay, showing the author’s vivid understanding of her mother’s imperfect English as a daughter rather than a writer, gives readers an eye-opener of how they should pattern their language depending on who they are talking to, without

Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Human Resources - Essay Example This paper is going to unveil various recommendations for how organization should staff its operations by focusing on decisions pertaining to staffing levels and quality. Taking into account the Tanglewood case study, which is a chain of retail stores featuring items such as clothing, appliances, electronics, and decor we realise that Tanglewood retail stores have taken into consideration the aspect of quality, durability and as well taking care of the customer’s preferences. For an organization such as Tangle to staff its operations by focusing on decisions pertaining to staffing levels and quality, a mission statement should be availed to act as guidance as far as effective service delivery is of concern. A mission is termed as an action statement that gives customers an overview on how the prevailing organization like in our case Tanglewood works towards realizing its vision. Tanglewood have executed its mandate through visionary actions and this is evidence through its statement that states that â€Å"We are committed as a company to providing maximum value to our customers, shareholders, and employees. We will accomplish this goal by adhering to the core values of responsible financial management, clear and honest communication, and always keeping performance and customer service in the forefront† Every emerging business globally is characterized by a dream and a vision. In order to progress and grow financial for the purpose of profit maximization, it is not the matter of summing up money but incurs taking into consideration customers preferences and serving them well (Rothwell, and Stavros, and Sullivan, and Sullivan, 23-27). For an organization such Tanglewood to succeed well, core values should be unveiled. The aspect of underpin works when the prevailed philosophy of business is taken into account and core principals executed as well. Going by the history of Tanglewood, its process of growth has been quick in the last 5 years. Various reason

1.There are different groups of temporary workers some of whom have Essay

1.There are different groups of temporary workers some of whom have been provided with better employment protection through European provisions than others - Essay Example ts like parental leave, maternity, paternity leave and most of the time, they are excluded from career development opportunities like trainings and other learning occasions. The proposal for the directive on temporary agency workers was adopted ion the year 2002 after talks between the European commission and social partner failed, the proposal suggest equal treatment of all workers as the main objective ensuring that under thee umbrella of agency, these workers also receive the same salary and the same working conditions as their permanent workers counterparts on the same job or similar assignment. The European Union has however failed to agree on some of the issues in the proposal and the progress is hardly beyond the first reading in the parliament since its introduction in 2002, nonetheless, the union has grown since then seeing ten new member states by the year 2004. Temporary agency work has been on the increase over the past few years in most parts of the European Union covering countries like Italy, Spain, Denmark and Sweden causing the use of temporary agency workers to increase by a five fold while doubling in the other nations1. European foundation to help fight for improved living standards and working conditions is estimated that about 2% of the workers in the old member states of the European union were temporary agency workers on contracts, and every year about 6 million people are reported to have been on the agency at some point or another. This model of working is also on the increase in the new members of the European Union with Slovenia passing a legislation that authorized the temporary work agencies in the year 19982. The enlargement of the European Union saw the increase of opportunities for temporary worker agency workers in all these countries to establish minimum standards to cut down chances of underpayment and also improve their working conditions. many employers can now find workers with the necessary skills specifically as they

Biography on Andrea del Verrocchio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Biography on Andrea del Verrocchio - Essay Example However he won a place among the most competent and well known and excellent artists that seemed to be accepted and known as to be masters on their fields of works. He was young when he studied science and geometry. Be a goldsmith on his early years, he mastered the field over other older goldsmiths. In San Maria del Fiore at Florence, he worked for a cup which was very well-known to all goldsmiths. The cup’s body was designed by abstract shapes, and images of leaves and animals. In 1477, Verrocchio was known to all through his merits and reputation. He was then employed to work for the altar of S. Giovanni. He was asked by the art of merchants to do silver works for the altar. Thereafter, he acquired much appreciation and reputation. Meanwhile, at Rome, the Pope’s chapel’s silverworks were destroyed and they do not have yet those large apostles on around the altar of the chapel until Verrocchio was sent for them by Pope Sixtus to work on the silverworks for the Pope’s chapel. Verrocchio was an excellent goldsmith and he has done several well-known silverworks that were used by influential people on his time. However, Verrocchio decided to leave his being a goldsmith to try sculpture when he saw ancient statues that were sculptured excellently at Rome. One of such was place by the Pope at Lateran, the famous bronze horse. Accordingly, he abandoned his being a goldsmith. He left his silverworks and then he took up sculpture and began by carving little bronze figures and began casting little bronze figures. His trial being a sculpture immerged to excellence when his bronze-works were admired by fellow sculptures and several people in Rome. Verrocchio was encouraged by this; he then decided to work figures out of marble. His very first work using marble was done for a sarcophagus of a rich man’s wife. The rich man found the tomb excellent and considerable; the rich man was then encouraged by influential people to place his wifeâ €™s tomb in the open space of Minerva. Upon his return to Florence, he brought with him his earned money, fame and honor. He was inspired by the admiration and much appreciation by the people for his works. Thereafter, he did some marble-works for Madonna in S. Croce. It was then placed above the tomb of M. Leonardo Bruni' of Arezzo. Verrocchio also did metal replicas of the heads of Alexander the Great and of King Darius. The heads were like a fancy head whose character was emphasized though crests and armor design. The metal heads, admired by Lorenzo de' Medici, was later sent to the king of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus.  Verrocchio, having earned a reputation and much admiration as an excellent master on different fields, made the tomb of Giovanni and Piero di Cosimo de' Medici in San Lorenzo. As years passed, Verrocchio realized that he could not be higher than what he has in his sculptures and his previous works; though he was admired, his thirst for much appreciation and r eputation prevails. He was thinking that he has not excelled because of some comparisons among the accepted masters and other rivalries among his fellow sculptures. By this, he turned his time and eager attention to painting. To start with his painting, Verrocchio did some sketches of a battle of nude figures which he later plans to do in a wall but with colors. He also made some cartoon characters, and made some pictures as model. At Venice, Verrocchio made

BANCO CALL CENTRE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

BANCO CALL CENTRE - Essay Example The issues included that of the procedures of recruitment and the pays offered. It also included the timing of the job and had learning and resourcing problems along with employee relations. The Banco Call Center struggled from the very first day. The bank actually had transferred many of the banking executives to the call center operation which at all did not suite the purpose of the call center. The centralised human resource policies were missing which ultimately led to high attrition rate at the center at approximately around 35%. The rate was quite normal in respect to the call centers but for a Banco unit it was exceedingly high. Also, the management did not have fair experience in handling the call center operations. The banking executives could not understand and meet the requirements of the call centre executives and operators. In organisations like that of the call center which involves high degree of human value as the executives have to answer the calls personally, centralised human resource policies would have worked well. The centralised policies would have treated all the employees at par and also could have taken the requisite measure to keep the work force motivated and charged up. Also, in order to yield better results the bank could have hired experts to handle the call center operations as the organisation suffered from the inadequate experience. The centralised human resource policies also should have developed an all round policy that would have taken care of all the important factors like recruitment, reward management and also the training and development (Scullion & Collins, 2006). Employee resourcing has been a major issue in the present day organisation. With the increasing competition in the industry, the companies try and attract the best of the talents that are available in the industry. It is observed that in case of the

Political Critiques of Articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Political Critiques of Articles - Essay Example It got me thinking that if I got this heart wrenching feeling about this piece of story that has attracted great publicity between the two countries, how do the mother, father, siblings, guardians, family and friends in general feel about this? This brings to question what would have gone wrong between the times of his conception till his puberty. Could it be bad parenting? Stress from home or school? Peer pressure? Or adventure? How and where did he get the drugs from? Not that I am naive but shouldn’t it bother us that children below the age of sixteen can easily access this drugs? The teenager is set to be released after being in custody from the 4th of October. The Australian government through its foreign minister said that securing his release was the number one priority, not that I disagree but shouldn’t the number one priority also be to find these people who sell these drugs to the minors? There is a record of people who have been caught with drugs in Bali, and not just ant people, but specifically Australians. Schapelle Corby an Australian was arrested in 2004 trying to smuggle marijuana into Bali using the case of her boogie board as the get through. She had 4.1 kilograms of marijuana. Her sentence wasn’t light as that of the fourteen year old boy, she is serving a 20year jail term. A year later, nine Australians were arrested with attempting to export eight kilograms of heroin through the same airport. They later came to be known as the â€Å"Bali nine†. Apparently, they are in jail. Doesn’t this bother the Australian government? It has happened three times which are on record. This clearly shows that it is a habit. What is the government doing about it? Article 2 Syria has become a bloody zone with the ongoing clashes in several cities resulting to many people being dead. The reason behind the terror that has gripped the region is simple, all Syria has to do is accept monitors, a demand being put across by the Ara b league and if they deny they will face sanctions. The deadline has passed without Syria agreeing to those terms. President Bashar Assad’s government had been given a simple task of accepting and signing a protocol for an observer that would oversee a peace plan but no, they had to keep quiet on this issue and let fierce clashes erupt taking away innocent lives. Peace is what most leaders advocate for thus winning with a landslide that it is a good thing. Why does Bashar’s government agree with the Arab foreign ministers and take this anguish away from the people of Syria? Syria has already been suspended from the 22-member block, which is quite humiliating. Accusations fly from either party with the Syrian government making allegations that the Arab league is acting like a tool for the United States and other western governments. The media has gone ahead and said that the threat of the Arab sanctions is an unprecedented procedure that affects the Syrian people. While all this politics is going on they don’t see that innocent souls are dying, they are paying for the sins of others who continue living in their comfortable and beautiful homes. Since the eruptions, 3500 people have since died making it one of the bloodiest uprisings in the Arab world. The restriction of journalists in Syria clearly shows that the Syrian government is on the wrong. If it has nothing to hide then why wouldn’t it allow media coverage? There are numerous reports of human rights violation.

Shiseido Presentation Essay Example for Free

Shiseido Presentation Essay Add more doors Enhance promotional packages with full product line Train beauticians to create a relationship Beauticians educate customers into the correct use of the products advertising Enable shop online Get global marketing benefits Japanese zen design influence Social Media Presence Men’s corner Men’s place Focusing on FB, twitter and beauty blogs Creating newsworthy, interesting, share-able brand content Using on line FB contests to enhance users participation (i. e. post your secret beauty tip, share it with friends, gather the most likes win the Shiseido products) Offering product related gifts/vouchers/samples Mapping of influential beauty/lifestyle blogs and using them as indirect WOM devices Sharing Shiseido news, photo shootings, campaigns from abroad Being the ultimate spot for â€Å"girl-talk†, regarding beauty, cosmetics, skin care issues †¢At current and new doors †¢Easy accessible †¢Familiarization †¢Awareness †¢Explore while girlfriend discussing with consultant †¢Feel more innocent Closer to Purity†¦ †¦Closer to Life †¢ †¢ †¢ Luxurious solutions to differentiate from from conservative, classic brands. Member’s club with exclusive activities such as Yoga, spa. Targeted use of media depending on segment

Glucose Tap Water Essay Example for Free

Glucose Tap Water Essay 1. Monosaccharides and polysaccharides are two classes of Carbohydrates 2. Long chains of amino acids make up Proteins_ and contain the atom _Nitrogen which is unique to this macromolecule. 3. Fats like triacylglycerols are the macromolecule ___lipids_____. 4. You just reviewed type of carbohydrates. Glucose is a simple sugar called a monosaccharide , whereas starch contains compound carbon chains and is a polysaccharide . 5. Polysaccharides are formed by a dehydration synthesis reaction between monosaccharides. What does this mean? Water molecules are removed from the bond. 6. For each of the following tests, please circle which substance would give a positive result: a. Benedicts test glucose tap water oil (lipid)) starch protein b. Starch test glucose tap water oil (lipid)) starch protein c. Sudan IV test glucose tap water oil (lipid)) starch protein d. Biuret test glucose tap water oil (lipid)) starch protein 7. All proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and what other element? Nitrogen 8. When one glycerol molecule covalently bonds via dehydration synthesis with three fatty acid molecules the resulting macromolecule is called a __lipid_________. 9. What are the two general categories of carbohydrates? Starch and cellulose ID the test: Sudan IV, Benedicts, Biuret, Starch 10. The cloudy, orange color that shows a positive result for the __Benedict’s____ test is due to simple sugars reducing cupric ions to cuprous ions which oxidize to form copper oxide. 11. If a solution contains macromolecules that test positive for the Biuret test, light refracts from copper-containing rings to produce a violet color. 12. The reagent used in the _Sudan IV__ test is soluble in lipid, but not in water. Adding ethanol to test solutions is necessary. Uses of Macromolecules 13. Explain the difference between lipids and carbohydrates with respect to energy use and storage. Lipids store energy as â€Å"backup energy† to be used when the carbohydrates are all burnt up. Carbohydrates are less complex and therefore easier to break down than lipids. The body stores lipids as fat cells were carbohydrates are stored as sugars. 14. Fully describe at least five uses of proteins in the body. -Motion of cells depends on proteins -They catalyze reactions in cells -Transportation of material in body fluids is dependent on protein. -They form receptors for sending signals throughout the body. -Proteins are stored in muscle tissues 15. Fully describe the differences between DNA and RNA. RNA is responsible for transporting genetic code from the nucleus to the ribosomes. DNA stores the genetic code so it does not travel and therefore can be safe in the nucleus. DNA contains the genetic instructions while RNA transports the proteins needed to create the genetic instructions. Without RNA there would not be any DNA.

Is Volunteer Tourism Defeating The Point Tourism Essay

Is Volunteer Tourism Defeating The Point Tourism Essay Volunteer tourism is described as the modern phenomenon of travelling overseas as a volunteer (Guttentag 2009: 538), which is exactly what I did in March of 2010. Eleven senior students from my secondary school were chosen to partake in a humanitarian mission trip to the Dominican Republic. We, along with our school chaplain and two teachers, worked with a local organization called Asociacià ³n para el Desarrollo de San Josà © de Ocoa, Inc. (ADESJO), and they sent us on a two hour trip up a bumpy and steep mountain to the village of El Cercado. For two weeks we worked on building ten latrines in the village while getting to know the villagers and making friendships and memories that we would carry with us for the rest of our lives. There is no doubt that as a volunteer tourist I took away a great deal from this trip, but I have begun to wonder what impact volunteer tourism has on host communities and the world at large. After researching the topic of volunteer tourism I have come t o discover that most of the benefits of volunteer tourism are felt by the volunteers themselves and not the host communities and their members. In the area of Global Development Studies this reflects the influence that the Global North has upon the Global South. Even though volunteer tourism is veiled by altruistic intentions, any positive effects could potentially lead to extremely negative effects in the global spectrum. Unsatisfactory work is being done by unskilled volunteers, cross-cultural misunderstanding and cultural stereotypes are being increased and reinforced, and neo-colonialism and capitalism are being supported. This paper will argue that volunteer tourism is more beneficial for the volunteers themselves, while in reality it has negative effects on the locals in host communities. While there are potentially macro scaled negative effects of volunteer tourism, it is important to analyse the initial micro negative effects that lead to these larger negative effects. The first and most important of these micro effects is that unsatisfactory work is being done by unskilled volunteers, while the needs of locals are put aside to focus on the experiences of the volunteers. In recent years volunteer tourism has become very popular, especially among post-secondary students (Bailey and Russel 2010 :353), automatically one is left to question the level of experience these students have in the areas such as infrastructure, education, or environmental conservation. Daniel A. Guttentag (2009) points out that there is a hindrance in work progress and the completion of unsatisfactory work, caused by volunteers lack of skills; (537) and there is even a decrease in employment opportunities (ibid.). It is evident that a great number of volunteer tourists lack certain skills which is undoubtedly due to the fact that they ..do not have enough knowledge, reflection capacity, appropriate skills or qualifications, volunteering and international experience, time to get involved with the locals or altruistic intentions (Palacios 2010: 2). Despite these facts the volunteers experiences are still focused upon. Organizations that plan volunteer tourist trips focus on making the experience of the volunteer tourists trip as enjoyable and safe as possible and work around the needs and desires of the volunteers (Guttentag 2009: 539). Even though some would argue that organization choose volunteers carefully and train them beforehand (Tomazos and Butler 2009:13), this cannot be generalized to all organizations. When the needs and desires of the locals are being ignored in order to service volunteers this negatively affects the lives of the locals in the host communities for they are the people that must endure the potentially poor work done by the volunteers. Volunteer tourists are described as experiential or experimental' (Bailey and Russell 2010: 3), and those two words automatically imply the word different. Volunteer tourists want to experience a different culture in order to grow and re-evaluate who they themselves are as a person (ibid.). Once again the volunteer is experiencing a benefit , but one is left to question what preconceived notion the volunteer has of the culture he or she is entering in to. Another issue that arises with volunteer tourism is that volunteer tourists that arrive in host communities in the Global South with stereotypical ideas increase and reinforce cultural stereotypes and cross-cultural misunderstanding (Raymond and Hall 2008:1). The preconceived notions of the volunteer tourists risk being stereotypical ideas of an impoverished and hungry family living in a shack, which creates a separation between themselves and the locals they come in contact with. If that separation is never bridged, or if the volunteer never gains a true knowledge of the culture because they are too focused on helping the stereotypical other, it creates and enforces cultural stereotype, especially because volunteer tourists may assume that host communities accept their poverty (Raymond and Hall 2008: 2). If there is a lack of communication between the volunteers and the members of the host community then the volunteer gains little to no true experience with the culture they are expe riencing, which can actually negatively impact the host culture (Guttentag 2009: 547). This problem is partly due to how the cultures are being portrayed by organizations. Reflecting true Eurocentric ideals (the notion that the correct way of living is the Western way and all other ways are exotic and irregular), organizations tend to portray volunteer tourist destinations in a way that will attract the volunteer tourists to participate in these excursions. A gap year is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a period of time (usually an academic year) taken by a student as a break from formal education, typically between leaving school and starting a university or college course, and often spent travelling or working (2010). There are organizations that specifically service these gap year students, but they are criticized for: [imposing] a simplistic view of the other so that difference can be sold and consumed. This occurs through the use of sweeping generalisations of destination communities in promotional materials and continues throughout the VTP [Volunteer Tourist Programs] due to lack of critical engagement with the experience. (Raymond and Hall 2008: 3) This simplistic view is meant to enhance the difference between the volunteer tourists and the locals of the host community in order to enhance the volunteers experience, but this is detrimental because it only reinforces Third World stereotypes and has the potential for romanticisation of the other stereotype (Matthews qtd. In Ooi and Lang 2010:3). Once again, the volunteers are benefiting from their experience as volunteer tourists, but it comes at the cost of the people of the Global South who must endure further victimization and stereotypes that create the idea that they must be saved by the Global North because the inequalities between the developed and developing worlds [are highlighted] (Simpson qtd. In Ooi and Land 2010:3). These inequalities reflect global capitalism and neo-colonialism. Poor work quality and issues of cross-cultural misunderstanding and the reinforcement of stereotypes all in the name of the volunteer tourist experience leads to macro-scaled problems of neo-colonialism and the support of capitalism. The Oxford English Dictionary defines neo-colonialism as the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence another country; especially the retention of such influence over a developing country by a former colonial power (2010), and, broadly defined, capitalism is a system having accumulation at its core (Lippit 2007:179). Volunteer tourism is a new way of exploiting the Global South for the gain of the Global North because, as previously mentioned, the needs of the volunteers are focused on despite the fact that poor quality work is being done and it reinforces the notion of the other in order for the volunteer tourists to gain personal experience. Volunteer tourist trips support the notion of the other and reinforce po wer inequalities and thus represent a form of neo-colonialism or imperialism with respect to developing nations (Raymond and Hall qtd. In Ooi and Laing 2010:3). These power inequalities reflect capitalism because it puts the Global South at the bottom of global hierarchy, where they are used in order for those in higher positions the Global North to accumulate money and in this case, to accumulate global experience. This global experience is being gained at the cost of creating a gap between the North and the South in terms of advancement in technology and power, further supporting capitalism. This is reflected in what Guttentag (2009) has termed as the demonstration effect, a term that signifies how a host culture is impacted when tourists draw attention to their lifestyles and items of wealth (11) which leads to the possibility of locals trying to imitate the tourists consumption patterns, and discontent can emerge when these items of wealth are beyond the reach of a host community (ibid.). When attention is drawn to what the volunteer tourists from the Global North have and what the locals of the Global South do not have, it also draws attention the amount of power and wealth that their home countries possess on a global scale. Even now, organizations are aiming to attract the privileged volunteer tourists (Lyons and Wearing 2008: 187), which only increases the gap between the developed and t he underdeveloped, the rich and the poor, capitalism and equality. This inequality between these two worlds has a long history of colonialism, and although that ended after centuries of suffering and exploitation volunteer tourism is arguably a new form of colonialism. Volunteer tourism could possibly degenerate into a voyeuristic exploitation of the cultural other that masquerades as academic sanctioned servant leadership' (Butin qtd. In Sin 2009: 484). The Global North displays altruistic intentions of helping the people of the Global South, while in reality they are exploiting them for their own personal gain which is to train youth to become more socially aware and active, but this only leads to further dependence of the South on the North to repair their problems and ease their hardships. The North remains at the top of the global hierarchy: The basis conclusions of many authors that have contributed to this critical theory of development is that the Western intention of helping underlying the development aid goal as humanitarian as much a colonialist. However , it tends to reproduce the same global patterns of inequality and poverty. Leaving intact if not reinforcing the dominant position of the North. (Escobar et al. qtd. In Palacios 2010: 4) Neo-colonialism, the new form of colonialism, defeats the purposes of all of the fighting that occurred in to end colonialism, while once again the Global South faces the negative consequences of being exploited by the Global North through volunteer tourism. Despite the macro- scaled negative effects that volunteer tourism has the potential of causing, many defend its benefits. Volunteer tourism can enhance civic-related knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours, improve interpersonal skills and emotional regulation, and contribute to better academic performance and meaning in life (Billig et al. qtd. In Bailey and Russell 2010: 3). Also argued is that: the volunteer tourism experience is a direct interactive experience that causes value change and changed consciousness in the individual which will subsequently influence their lifestyle, while providing forms of community development that are required by local communities. (Wearing 2001: 2) Unfortunately, it is evident here that the focus is primarily upon what the volunteer tourists gain from the experience, not the locals of the host communities. These benefits are indeed positive, but mostly for the volunteers and the country that they come from. It is arguable that when the volunteer tourists gain more awareness about these social issues and gain more of a feeling or a desire to make a difference then this will lead to them making a difference in the Global South. However, this is not completely positive because it aids in making the Global South dependent on the Global North. This also reinforces the stereotype of an impoverished and disease-stricken Global South that is doomed unless they are saved by the hero that the Global North has been portrayed as. There is still the argument that volunteer tourism appears able to offer [an] alternative direction where profit objects are secondary to more altruistic desire to travel in order to assist communities (Wearing 20 01: 12) , but this can be an example of the desire for profit being hidden under a veil of altruism there truly is no way knowing whether or not the intentions of volunteer tourists are purely altruistic or driven by egoistic ambitions. Despite the many negative issues that volunteer tourism brings into light, there are attempts to minimise them. Firstly, problems concerning poor work quality done by inexperienced volunteers are being addressed by organizations that offer training to their volunteers that must go through a difficult selection program to begin with (Tomazos and Butler 2009:13). Organizations are also attempting to involve locals in the host communities as much as possible in the work that volunteer tourists are doing, which creates more employment and helps the locals continue with the projects after the volunteers leave (ibid.). Secondly, in an attempt to reduce cross-cultural misunderstanding and the reinforcement of stereotypes, more and more organizations encourage their volunteers to be culturally sensitive and learn from their experience creating understanding and tolerance for other people and cultures (ibid.). Finally, there is a strong desire and attempts to make volunteer tourism beneficial in a way that it teaches others to travel responsibly, especially in regards to the environment, through what has been termed as justice tourism and solidarity tours (Lyons and Wearing 2008: 187) . These forms of tourism aim to move tourists to engage with the lived reality of the locals and to establish interactions based on equity and respect (ibid.). Evidently, there is an attempt to foster more positive effects of volunteer tourism in order to better serve both the volunteers and the locals. To conclude, volunteer tourism is portrayed as being driven by altruistic intentions, however it is evident that the volunteer tourists themselves experience more benefits than do the locals of the host communities. This issue must be addressed because it emphasizes the long standing notion that the North is the only hope of the South in order to be saved from poverty, disease, environmental crises, and even debt, which is actually the exact opposite of what so many theories in this course have implied. The negative consequences of volunteer tourism questions the intentions of volunteers and the organizations that send them, and also questions the intentions of transnational corporations and governments that have come to form global capitalism. Is the intention specifically to always keep the Global South at the bottom of the global hierarchy in order to reap the benefits of the cheap resources that continue to flow from those areas in order to service the lives of the wealthy North? This question can be argued to no end, but there is no answer as straight forward as the fact that even in volunteer tourism the needs of the Global North are put ahead of those in the Global South, while the Global South continues to suffer on too many levels.

Discuss Lennies Motives In Killing Lennie. :: essays research papers

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a story that shows how weak people can be in the sense of loyalty. This loyalty, defined as putting strong will and strength into a relationship in all cases is being put into a light of making choices. This means you have to make the decision between Loyalty and "Friends", which also can be described as people that are together but basically are lonely for themselves and that decision-making is important. If you watch the whole novel as a representative book of American Culture, you strongly can see that basically every person is afraid of going in depth. How did Curly react on Lennie's act of killing his wife? In my opinion he acted very raging and upset. He made the decision right away to look for Lennie and kill him ("Curly wanta get him lynched", p. 94). I would take this as an example of not reacting in-depth and looking at all aspects of an issue. But what does this have to do with George's Motives to kill Lennie? Be honest: How many choices did George really have? For stating the situation: A person called Lennie is committing an unwanted crime on a loved person that has the affect of making the husband raging. Lennie hides, and the husband comes after him with a rifle with the will to kill him for this act. George finds it out and is automatically involved with this situation although he hasn't done a thing. And now he has to make a decision for someone who is not able to understand that he can't make any. The first possibility for George would have been, as it also happened in the book, to kill Lennie before he is being killed by Curly, the husband of Curley's wife. But there the question of moral comes up where you ask yourself it that really makes sense to kill somebody you love. In this case it definitely does. George thinks all the other situations through and sees that this is the only valid one. He has to think of himself too: He doesn't want to live a life of persecution, and his friends are also important to him. This seems to be a very weak argument, but watch the other possibilities. One of the other possibilities would have been not to care of it at all and just let Lennie be shot by Curly, who is all about threatening him in that minute.

SEINFELD :: essays research papers

SEINFELD: THE UNTOLD STORY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout Seinfeld’s eight-season stint on network television the show and its creator’s have stereotyped everything from young Puerto Rican boys to Jewish Priests. The main stereotype of this sit-com is the very florid portrayal of the generational age groups of the characters. The main characters represent the beginning of the Generation X culture. The parents and relatives of Jerry Seinfeld and that of George Costanza present the presence of the members of the Silent or GI generation. Throughout the television series we have seen the elderly as stereotypically helpless individuals with little or no purpose. The character’s Jerry Seinfeld, George Costanza, Elaine Benes, and Cosmo Kramer, represent the Generation X culture. These half-witted characters are often unreliable and uncaring about the society they live in. These characters often care about nothing more about life outside their own. The stereotype of these characters and the succes s of this very popular television show have contributed to the media’s wide usage of stereotyping generations. The article, â€Å"My Inner Shrimp,† can be directly correlated to George’s eccentric ego trips with his problems with shortness, unemployment, and baldness. George’s character is often portrayed as a very loud, very rambunctious person who is often seeking to be on top. Elderly: Helpless or Not   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the series we have seen the elderly characters of Seinfeld often being absent minded, senile, and often helpless. Jerry’s parents upon retirement moved to the sunny state of Florida to bask in their retirement. This proves to be a very common nomenclature among senior citizens. Throughout the nation many retired citizens have been moving eagerly across the country spending their hard earned money and moving to much more appealing climates. Throughout the show Jerry’s parents often try to impose money upon him even though he never request any money from his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Seinfeld often believe that Jerry is living a life of poverty and that he lives a very inadequate life. Throughout our nation the elderly have often saved and saved countless dollars so that they may have a better life and provide their children with the sustenance they need to live a very adequate life. Mr. and Mrs. Costanza are often portrayed as very senile indiv iduals. George’s parents often tend to exaggerate things outside the spectrum they should really include. One certain episode can attribute to there senility. During the Seinfeld’s visit of New York to see their son Jerry, the Costanza’s graciously ask the Seinfeld’s to accompany them to dinner at their home.

MBA Capstone: Team Charter

Your instructor will review this information to approve your business idea. Our product is a neighborhood market dedicated to organic groceries, education of customers with regard to organic and CEO-friendly growing of food, and commitment to organic vendors. Our concept will solve the issue of companies claiming to be organic when they are truly not. Will educate the public with tips and tricks on how to get the best produce from within their own gardening as well. Our solution is unique because while we will also be selling local produce, we also want to strengthen the community to rely more heavily on their own supply as well.The intended target audience will include a small community of people who are parents, teachers, students and leaders wanting to help make better food choices for themselves and future generations. Coles (Community; Organic; Local; Environment) Market is a community market with a passion for providing organic produce and groceries in a modern environment. Uti lizing produce from only local earth-friendly farmers, our goal is to bring the freshest, healthiest food to our community with the highest regard for our ecological system.We strive to play a part in reducing the impact of our lifestyles on the world tit other species and future generations. We are fully devoted to continued education about organic farming, community health and education and environmental preservation. Ill. Team Management Plan This section defines how the team will allocate assignments and talents a) Team Leadership: One person will be named the team/project leader to provide overall leadership and continuity to the project.Your team leader will be: Karen Lothrop b) Deliverable Management: Each deliverable will be assigned a component Manager. In the case of larger teams, you may assign more than one person to a deliverable. In the case of smaller teams, the team lead may also have to take on the role of a component lead too. The level of effort required for compo nents will vary depending on your business idea. Review the business plan rubric to gain a sense of the amount of content required to help you balance your team's workload with your skills, interests, and your specific business idea.List your component managers in the table. Deliverable Due Date Manager Assigned Team Charter With Business Description Industry Analysis week 3 Deanna Miles Marketing Plan Wee k 4 Operations Plan week 5 Lakeside Williams/Karen Lothrop Financial Plan week 6 Presentation (Team) As scheduled Karen Lothrop/ Doddering Westbrook Final Plan (Team) week 8 c) Skills Inventory: Identify each team member's personal, professional, and academic strengths and weaknesses in the table.We will also keep in touch between calls by way of the Team B Discussion thread and through email. Agenda items will be sent through emails and posted in Doc Sharing. How will you keep track of different drafts (versions) of the same document? Documents will be shared via email and posted in Doc Sharing. Charlie Win will maintain master copies with revisions. Describe how your team will manage conflict. Potential Conflict Recommended Solution Member misses a meeting case by case. Member cannot be reached Multiple methods to be used include; email, text, phone. If no response, team to decide. Member does not complete work on time Member will be reported to professor and get unfavorable Peer Review.Member work is unsatisfactory Member drops the course Their work will be re-distributed among other members. Member has an unavoidable emergency that delays work Other team members will pick up the work to assist for valid emergencies. Otherwise, How will you resolve minor disagreements? Through vote of entire team. Who rules for major disagreements?team leader or majority rule? Majority rule. How will you use the Peer Review at the end of the course? What are the consequences of unsatisfactory performance? Peer Review to be favorable for all members that have participated and contributed. Unsatisfactory performance will et a vote of other members to include possible recommendation to Professor of reduction of individual's course grade. College is temporarily offline or class time is cancelled Communication will be maintained through alternate methods such as email, phone calls, etc. Other potential conflict Create a list of rules to help you collaborate as a team, including expectations about meetings, communication, course work, conflict resolution, and so on, based on other elements of this charter. All team members are expected to participate in meetings whenever possible (the Team understands scheduling conflicts will arise from time to time). All members are required to ‘carry their weight' and perform their allocated portions of the course work. Course work sections will be assigned based on each members' sign up for their areas of expertise/interest.Critical Success Factors Reason for Importance Steps Taken to Ensure Attainment Contracti ng with local organic growers and vendors To assure our store will be able to offer the type and variety of products that customers expect Contracting with numerous suppliers for each product line. Rotating purchasing among these vendors. Retail foot traffic generation To insure a consistent flow of customers Well planned and executed marketing and advertising campaigns. Community involvement to build our brand. VI'. Commitment Each team member is to write an individual commitment statement. If onsite, each team member will sign his or her commitment statement. Deanna Miles – My commitment to this group is to make sure we get the Job done and to get it right. I also commit to participate somehow in all group meetings. Lastly I will listen and be up for the ideas and concerns of my group members. Charles Win –

Boeing Corporation Essay

From Boeing Corporate Structure (Chart 1), it shows Chairman, Executive President and Chief Executive Officer, which is represented by one individual to be responsible for Executive Vice President who also acts as Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for finance department while the president is responsible for International matter. Executive Vice President is also responsible and in charge of six other Senior Vice- Principals who in turn in charge of different departments such as law, business development and strategy, human resources and administration, communication, and internal governance. From the production management side, Boeing’s Business Development and Strategy is operating under two units, which are Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. Supporting these two units are Boeing Capital Corporation, Boeing Shared Services Group, and Engineering, Operations & Technology, Aircraft Financial Services and Space & Defense Financial Services. From Boeing Corporate Organizational Structure, it describes that the Aircraft Financial Services â€Å"assists commercial aircraft customers by arranging and structuring asset-based financing, managing technical assets, and providing a broad range of efficient financing solutions for Boeing Commercial Airplanes products and services†¦ provides expertise and product offerings include backstop commitments, operating leases, financing leases, sale/leasebacks, freighter conversion financing, long- and short-term financing, and senior and subordinated secured loans. Under the charge of its vice president and general manager, again the structure describes â€Å"Aircraft Financial Services works closely with Boeing Commercial Airplanes customers to develop aircraft financing solutions. Working with commercial financial institutions, the group is proactively engaged with the U. S. Export-Import Bank and other export credit agencies to ensure availability of adequate and reasonably priced financing for developing customers and regions. Aircraft Financial Services is playing an integral role, along with the Aviation Working Group, in improving the global aircraft financing infrastructure and ratifying the Cape Town Treaty, which will improve the legal framework for international asset-based aircraft financing. The group also is actively engaged to enhance and expand the capital markets. † The Space & Defense Financial Services, on the contrary, arranges and structures financing solutions for government and commercial customers around the world. Vice President of the financial corporation â€Å"and his group work closely with Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems business unit to help arrange funding for satellites, military transports, tankers and rotorcraft. Specialized projects and programs include military-related products, international defense financing, private-public partnerships, project financing, launch vehicles, satellites and related space systems. † The value creation in the company’s capital business unit is based upon â€Å"discriminating financing solution† with a primary mission is to arrange, structure, and provide financial assistance for the sale and delivery of Boeing products and services to other business units. It also aggressively solicits and arranges third party financing for its customers as well as manages its finance and financial risk properly. Boeing recognizes the diverse and highly skilled workforces who have great contribution to its success and has led the company to lead the world as the â€Å"world’s second largest† commercial and defense aircrafts. The people culture represents a lifelong learning experience. The diversity of the people also determines the culture of the company, which is for some, it is refreshing. From human development perspective, Boeing provides an opportunity for its employees to improve their skills through company-paid tuition program, through Boeing Leadership Center, and a continuous learning through other programs outside the company so that employees can â€Å"pursue studies in unlimited fields and environments† According to Boeing, its success is driven by its â€Å"ability to provide our customers with the right solutions at the right time and the right cost,† more effective in addressing â€Å"future evolving requirements for capability-driven solutions,† and is able to further â€Å"improve execution, reduce organizational complexity, and improve competitiveness† for its customers. In its Philanthropy Report, Boeing claims its â€Å"commitment to being a good corporate citizen. In fact, good corporate citizenship is a core value of our company and is integral to the way we conduct business around the globe. In addition to this being a social imperative for us, we see improving the quality of life in communities where we live and work as a key element to remaining viable and vital in today’s global marketplace† (2). Executive members are engaging in the activity of several nonprofit organizations including in college and university while employees are engaging in volunteer activities and other community programs. The company continues expanding as it generates new innovations. With expansion, its capabilities and capacity also increase, from human resources development to â€Å"more efficient members of its commercial airplane family; integrating military platforms, defense systems and the war fighter through network-centric operations; creating advanced technology solutions; providing broadband connectivity on moving platforms including airplanes; and arranging innovative customer-financing solutions. † The company boasts of its management and leadership success in the field of commercial aircraft and integrated defense system. Its strategy is to provide â€Å"the right people for the right job, technologies, processes and performance at the right time and in the right place across the company worldwide. † And to take a leadership role by creating a primary supports to its business units through several organizational groups such as Phantom Works, Intellectual Property Management, and Information Technology, as well as in the Engineering, Operations, Quality, and Information Technology process councils. According to Boeing, â€Å"through all its activities, Engineering, Operations & Technology helps ensure the future success of Boeing by winning strategic new programs, providing innovative technology and process solutions, transforming Boeing into a global network-centric enterprise, enhancing and protecting the company’s intellectual capital, and fostering a culture of innovation. † Looking at its success, Boeing has had great strategies but the recent strategy of cost management has impacted the company, especially employees downsizing. This will eventually affected the company’s future performance as the second of the world’s leaders in aircraft industry. Expansion increases cost but one best thing is to keep its specialty. The only strategy I would suggest for Boeing to maintain its healthy organizational is to reduce its expansive activity, such as investor’s outreach program or realty activity, while maintaining its human resources. Corporate executives’ compensation should also be taken into consideration because no executives are successful without the employees.

Audience Analysis Paper

Week two Assignment: Audience Analysis Paper May 10, 2010 Audience Analysis Paper In any business people will work with others that have different lifestyles and backgrounds. Many have different attitudes, beliefs, and values that come with diversity in an organization. This essay will address a situation where a person has to present quarterly sales information at a meeting. The group of people includes: managers, customers, salespeople, and skateholders. The essay will focus on communications with this type of audience and how one must approach the situation. The essay will focus on the characteristics of the audience, and explain the communication channels appropriate for this situation. Because the diversity of the audience is so important, the essay will provide some considerations to keep in mind on how to communicate with different groups. Last, I will speak of the ways to ensure messages are effective when communication with an audience. Much of the characteristics that are considered are the correspondence to the audience. Since the quarterly sales information is presented to more than one person, the individual must conduct information persisting to the topics of the audience. One well known way to get information out is through a PowerPoint Presentation. In most cases this involves being face to face with the audience. Sometimes Individuals will show spreadsheets, graphs, or important bullet notes to help the audience understand what is being presented. Communication channels are important when dealing with different types of audiences. The presentation channel of communication is important to skateholders because it determines the level of production, profit, and production. This channel is important because one can adapt to the needs of the audience. Individuals can see the change in sales information through spreadsheets. The information for managers and customers would be different because they focus more on price, need, and value of a product. Â · o What communication channels are appropriate? Explain. o What are some considerations to keep in mind given the diversity of the audience? o How do you ensure your message is effective? Â ·

The Return: Midnight Chapter 20

Meredith usual y found her parents funny and sil y and dear. They were solemn about al the wrong things like, â€Å"Make sure, honey, that you real y get to know Alaric – before – before – â€Å"Meredith had no doubts about Alaric at al , but he was another of those sil y, dear, gal ant people, who talked al around things without getting to the point. Today, she was surprised to see that there was no cluster of cars around the ancestral home. Maybe people had to stay home to fight it out with their own children. She locked the Acura, conscious of the precious contents given by Isobel, and rang the doorbel . Her parents believed in chain locks. Janet, the housekeeper, looked happy to see her but nervous. Aha, Meredith thought, they have discovered that their dutiful only child has ransacked the attic. Maybe they want the stave back. Maybe I should have left it back at the boardinghouse. But she only realized that things were truly serious when she came into the family room and saw the big La-Z-Boy deluxe lounging chair, her father's throne: empty. Her father was sitting on the couch, holding her mother, who was sobbing. She had brought the stave with her, and when her mother saw it, she broke into a fresh burst of tears. â€Å"Look,†Meredith said, â€Å"this doesn't have to be so tragic. I've got a pretty good idea of what happened. If you want to tel me about how Grandma and I real y got hurt, that's your business. But if I was†¦contaminated in some way†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stopped. She could hardly believe it. Her father was holding out an arm to her, as if the somewhat rank condition of her clothes didn't matter. She went to him slowly, uncomfortably, and let him hug her regardless of his Armani suit. Her mother had a glass with a few sips left of what looked like Coke in front of her, but Meredith would bet it wasn't al Coke. â€Å"We'd hoped that this was a place of peace,†her father orated. Every sentence her father spoke was an oration. You got used to it. â€Å"We never dreamed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ And then he stopped. Meredith was stunned. Her father didn't stop in the middle of an oration. He didn't pause. And he certainly didn't cry. â€Å"Dad! Daddy! What is it? Have kids been around here, crazy kids? Did they hurt somebody?† â€Å"We have to tel you the whole story from that time long ago,†her father†¦said. He spoke with such despair that it wasn't anything like an oration. â€Å"When you were†¦al attacked.† â€Å"By the vampire. Or Grandfather. Or do you know?† Long pause. Then her mother drained the contents of her glass and cal ed, â€Å"Janet, another one, please.† â€Å"Now, Gabriel a – â€Å"her father said, chiding. â€Å"‘Nando – I can't bear this. The thought that mi hija inocente†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Meredith said, â€Å"Look, I think I can make this easier for you. I already know†¦Well, first, that I had a twin brother.† Her parents looked horrified. They clung together, gasping. â€Å"Who told you?†her father demanded. â€Å"At that boardinghouse, who could know – ?† Calming down time. â€Å"No, no. Dad, I found out – Well, Grandpa talked to me.†That was true enough. He had. Just not about her brother. â€Å"Anyway, that was how I got the stave. But the vampire that hurt us is dead. He was the serial kil er, the one who kil ed Vickie and Sue. His name was Klaus.† â€Å"You thought that there was only one vampire?†her mother got out. She pronounced the word the Hispanic way, which Meredith always found more scary. Vahm-peer. The universe seemed to start moving slowly around Meredith. â€Å"That's just a guess,†her father said. â€Å"We don't real y know that there was more than the very strong one.† â€Å"But you know about Klaus – how?† â€Å"We saw him. He was the strong one. He kil ed the security guards at the gate with one blow each. We moved to a new town. We hoped you would never have to know you had a brother.†Her father brushed his eyes. â€Å"Your grandfather spoke to us, right after the attack. But the next day†¦nothing. He couldn't talk at al .† Her mother put her face in her hands. She only lifted it to cal , â€Å"Janet! Another, por favor!† â€Å"Right away, ma'am.†Meredith looked to the housekeeper's blue eyes for the solution to this mystery and found nothing – sympathy, but no help. Janet walked away with the empty glass, blond French braid receding. Meredith turned back to her parents, so dark of eye and hair, so olive of skin color. They were huddling together again, eyes on her. â€Å"Mom, Dad, I know that this is real y hard. But I'm going after the kind of people who hurt Grandpa, and Grandma, and my brother. It's dangerous, but I have to do it.†She dropped into a Taekwondo stance. â€Å"I mean you did have me trained.† â€Å"But against your own family? You could do that?†her mother cried. Meredith sat down. She had reached the end of the memories that she and Stefan had found. â€Å"So Klaus didn't kil him like Grandmother. He took my brother with him.† â€Å"Cristian,†wailed her mother. â€Å"He was just un bebe. Three years old! That was when we found the two of you†¦and the blood†¦oh, the blood†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her father got up, not to orate, but to put his hand on Meredith's shoulder. â€Å"We thought it would be easier not to tel you – that you wouldn't have any memories of what was happening when we came in. And you don't, do you?† Meredith's eyes were fil ing with tears. She looked to her mother, trying to silently tel her she couldn't understand this. â€Å"He was drinking my blood?†she guessed. â€Å"Klaus?† â€Å"No!†cried her father as her mother whispered prayers. â€Å"He was drinking Cristian's, then.†Meredith was kneeling on the floor now, trying to look up into the face of her mother. â€Å"No!†cried her father again. He choked. â€Å"La sangre!† gasped her mother, covering her eyes. â€Å"The blood!† â€Å"Querida – † her father sobbed, and went to her. â€Å"Dad!†Meredith went after him and shook his arm. â€Å"You've ruled out al the possibilities! I don't understand! Who was drinking blood?† â€Å"You! You!† her mother almost screamed. â€Å"From your own brother! Oh, el aterrorizar!† â€Å"Gabriel a!†moaned her father. Meredith's mother subsided into weeping. Meredith's head was whirling. â€Å"I'm not a vampire! I hunt vampires and kil them!† â€Å"He said,†her father whispered hoarsely: â€Å"‘Just see she gets a tablespoon a week. If you want her to live, that is. Try a blood pudding.'He was laughing.† Meredith didn't need to ask if they had obeyed. At her house, they had blood sausage or pudding at least once a week. She had grown up with it. It was nothing special. â€Å"Why?†she whispered hoarsely now. â€Å"Why didn't he kil me?† â€Å"I don't know! We Stilldon't know! That man with his front al dripping with blood – your blood, your brother's blood, we didn't know! And then at the last minute he grabbed for the two of you but you bit his hand to the bone,†her father said. â€Å"He laughed – laughed! – with your teeth clamped in him and your little hands pushing him away, and said, ‘I'l just leave you this one, then, and you can worry about what she wil turn out to be. The boy I'm taking with me.'And then suddenly I seemed to come out of a spel , for I was reaching for you again, ready to fight him for both of you. But I couldn't! Once I had you, I couldn't move another inch. And he left the house Stilllaughing – and took your brother, Cristian, with him.† Meredith thought. No wonder they didn't want to hold any kind of celebration on the anniversaries of that day. Her grandmother dead, her grandfather going crazy, her brother lost, and herself – what? No wonder they celebrated her birthday a week early. Meredith tried to stay calm. The world was fal ing to pieces around her but she had to stay calm. Staying calm had kept her alive al her life. Without even having to count, she was breathing out deep, and in through her nostrils, and out through her mouth. Deep, deep, cleansing breaths. Soothing peace throughout her body. Only part of her was hearing her mother: â€Å"We came home early that night because I had a headache – â€Å" â€Å"Sh, querida – â€Å"her father was beginning. â€Å"We got home early,†her mother keened. â€Å"O Virgen Bendecida, what would we have found if we had been late? We would have lost you, too! My baby! My baby with blood on her mouth – â€Å" â€Å"But we got home early enough to save her,†Meredith's father said huskily, as if trying to wake her mother from a spel . â€Å"Ah, g racias, Princesa Divina, Vigen pura y impoluto†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Her mother couldn't seem to stop crying. â€Å"Daddy,†Meredith said urgently, aching for her mother but desperately needing information. â€Å"Have you ever seen him again? Or heard about him? My brother, Cristian?† â€Å"Yes,†her father said. â€Å"Oh, yes, we have seen something.† Her mother gasped. â€Å"‘Nando, no!† â€Å"She has to learn the truth sometime,†her father said. He rummaged among some cardboard file folders on the desk. â€Å"Look!†he said to Meredith. â€Å"Look at this.† Meredith stared in utter disbelief. In the Dark Dimension Bonnie shut her eyes. There was a lot of wind at the top of a tal building's window. That was al her mind had a thought for when she was out of the window and then back into it and the ogre was laughing and Shinichi's terrible voice saying, â€Å"You don't real y think we'd let you go without questioning you thoroughly?† Bonnie heard the words without them making sense, and then suddenly they did. Her captors were going to hurt her. They were going to torture her. They were going to take her bravery away. She thought she screamed something at him. Al she knew, though, was that there was a soft explosion of heat behind her, and then – unbelievably – al dressed up in a cloak with badges that made him look like some kind of military prince, there was Damon. Damon. He was so late she'd long ago given up on him. But now he was flashing a there-and-gone bril iant smile at Shinichi, who was staring as if he'd been stricken dumb. And now Damon was saying, â€Å"I'm afraid Ms. McCul ough has another engagement at that moment. But I wil be back to kick your ass – immediately. Move from this room and I'l kil you al , slowly. Thank you for your time and consideration.† And before anyone could even recover from their first shock at his arrival, he and Bonnie were blasting off through the windows. He went, not out of the building backward as if retreating, but straight ahead forward, one hand in front of him, wrapping them both in a black but ethereal bundle of Power. They shattered the two-way mirror in Bonnie's room and were almost al the way through to the next room before Bonnie's mind tagged the first â€Å"empty.†Then they were crashing through an elaborate videoset-window – made to let people think they had a view of the outdoors, and flying over someone lying on a bed. Then†¦it was just a series of crashes, as far as Bonnie was concerned. She barely got a glimpse of what was going on in each room. Final y†¦ The crashing stopped. This left Bonnie holding on to Damon koala-style – she wasn't stupid – and they were very, very high in the air. And mobilizing in front of them, and off to the sides, and as far as Bonnie could see, were women who were also flying, but in little machines that looked like a combination of a motorcycle and a Jet Ski. No wheels, of course. The machines were al gold, which was also the color of each driver's hair. So the first word Bonnie gasped to her rescuer, after he had blasted a tunnel through the large slave-owner's building to save her, was, â€Å"Guardians?† â€Å"Indispensable, considering the fact that I didn't have the first idea where the bad guys might have taken you and I suspected that there might be a time limit. This was actual y the very last of the slave-sel ers we were due to check. We final y†¦lucked out.†For someone who had lucked out, he sounded a little strange. Almost†¦choked up. Water was on Bonnie's cheeks but it was being flicked away too fast for her to wipe it. Damon was holding her so that she couldn't see his face, and he was holding her very, very tightly. It real y was Damon. He had cal ed out the cavalry and, despite the city-wide mind-gridlock, he had found her. â€Å"They hurt you, didn't they, little redbird? I saw†¦I saw your face,†Damon said in his new choked-up voice. Bonnie didn't know what to say. But suddenly she didn't mind how hard he squeezed her. She even found herself squeezing back. Suddenly, to her shock, Damon broke her koala-grip and pul ed her up and kissed her on the lips very gently. â€Å"Little redbird! I'm going to go now, and make them pay for what they did to you.† Bonnie heard herself say, â€Å"No, don't.† â€Å"No?†Damon repeated, bewildered. â€Å"No,†Bonnie said. She needed Damon with her. She didn't care what happened to Shinichi. There was a sweetness unfolding inside her, but there was also a rushing in her head. It real y was a pity, but in a few moments she would be unconscious. Meanwhile, she had three thoughts in mind and al of them were clear. What she was afraid of was that they would be less clear later, after she had fainted. â€Å"Do you have a star bal ?† â€Å"I have twenty-eight star bal s,†Damon said, and looked at her quizzical y. That wasn't what Bonnie meant at al ; she meant one to record onto. â€Å"Can you remember three things?†she said to Damon. â€Å"I'd gamble on it.†This time Damon kissed her softly on the forehead. â€Å"First, you ruined my very brave death.† â€Å"We can always go back and you can have another try.†Damon's voice was less choked now; more his own. â€Å"Second, you left me at that horrible inn for a week – â€Å" As if she could see inside his mind, she saw this slice into him like some kind of wooden sword. He was holding her so tightly that she real y couldn't breathe. â€Å"I†¦I didn't mean to. It was real y only four days, but I never should have done it,†he said. â€Å"Third.†Bonnie's voice dropped to a whisper. â€Å"I don't think any star bal was ever stolen at al . What never existed can't be stolen, can it?† She looked at him. Damon was looking back in a way that normal y would have thril ed her. He was obviously, blatantly distressed. But Bonnie was just barely hanging on to consciousness at this point. â€Å"And†¦fourth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ She puzzled out slowly. â€Å"Fourth? You said three things.†Damon smiled, just a little. â€Å"I have to say this – â€Å"She dropped her head down on Damon's shoulder, gathered al of her energy, and concentrated. Damon loosened his grip a little. He said, â€Å"I can hear a faint murmuring sound in my head. Just tel me normal y. We're well away from anyone.† Bonnie was insistent. She scrunched her whole tiny body together and then explosively sent out a thought. She could tel that Damon caught it. Fourth, I know the way to the seven legendary kitsune treasures, Bonnie sent to him. That includes the biggest star ball ever made. But if we want it, we have to get to it – fast. Then, feeling that she had contributed enough to the conversation, she fainted.