Coca Cola Market Plan and Market Research Essay

In the role of marketing consultant, I am presenting a marketing plan and a marketing research brief for Coca-Cola, a leader in the soft-drinks industry. Introduction Marketing is definitely one of the major factors that contribute towards the success of any business. Especially in today’s growing competitive economy it is essential that correct marketing is executed so as to survive and grow in the globalized world. This academic report is intended to provide a detailed analysis of the marketing plan of Coca-Cola Company. The external environment is analyzed to demonstrate the threats that it imposes. It will also help to understand the monitoring system to be able to deter these threats. The analysis is made on the internal capabilities of the company as well. Within these analyses, the objectives of the company have been discussed. A reflection has been done on the marketing strategies undertaken by the company. Amidst all these, possible implementation, control and monitoring system have been highlighted. The marketing plan is followed by a marketing research to identify the area of opportunities. Several resources have been studied to put together the plan and the research. These resources are mentioned at the end of the report. Coca-Cola Coca-Cola was invented way back in the year 1886 by Dr. John Pemberton. He was a pharmacist in Atlanta in Georgia. The formula of Coca-Cola was fabricated by him in the backyard of his house in a three legged pot made up of brass (History of Coca-Cola). The intention at this point was to make a tonic for headache which turned out to be so tasty and refreshing that it gained orders due to this reason. The name Coca-Cola was pronounced by Frank Robinson, who was partner of Pemberton as well as a bookkeeper. He penned the words â€Å"Coca-Cola† in a script which is represented as a flow. This is how the name appears today on the brand and is famous overall. At that time, the average sale in a day was nine drinks. In the entire year, the sale was 25 gallons of the syrup. With the passage of time, when Pemberton started to lose health, he decided and sold off the company to Asa Candler for a consolidated price of $2,300 in 1891. The first time that Coca-Cola was bottled was in 1894, by the owner of the Biedenharn Candy Company, Joseph Biedenharn. With the increased fame of the brand, there were fake imitators that entered in the market. To avoid confusion, the currently famous contour bottle was designed by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana. By the year 1919, the product of the company was spread to all the states and the territories. In the same year, the company was bought by a group including Ernest Woodruff for $25 million. Robert Woodruff’s (eldest son of Ernest Woodruff) leadership for more than six decades made Coca-Cola a big success all over the world. On May 15, 1950, Coca-Cola was the foremost consumer product to appear on the issue of Time magazine. Robert Goizueta became President of the company in 1981. Soon, he was recognized as one of the most successful leaders worldwide.   The Company introduced â€Å"New Coke† in 1985 and later brought up Coke II. This was unable to get the public’s favor and the people demanded their own previous coke back.   Visualizing and passing through all ups and downs, today, Coca-Cola is available in 200 countries over the world and the trademark â€Å"Coca-Cola† is represented in about eighty languages (The History of Coca-Cola). Objectives of the Company The objective of the company is to utilize its assets— its brand, the financial strength of the company, excellent distribution system, worldwide reach, and last but not the least a strong sense of commitment by the team that manages and executes work all across the world—to attain long-term growth that persists and is maintained (Coca-Cola Company, 2010). The vision that the company has for sustainable growth are explained as under: Profit – It works towards being able to provide maximum return to the shareholders of the company. The strategies are framed keeping this objective in mind. People – The workplace should be where people are motivated to work better. Coca-Cola provides a good work environment for the workers to be happy while working. Portfolio – The Company aims to provide the beverage portfolio to the people that are able to satisfy the desires of the people. The marketing research done by the company before the final product, this factor is kept to be checked in the initial phase. Partners – Coca-Cola aims at maintaining a loyal relation with the partners and till date there is demonstrated a good relationship with all. Planet – The Company has an objective to do something different. This is represented by the fact that new types of beverages are introduced by the company to be different from the competitors and provide variety to the people. Productivity – It aims at maintaining to be effective and fast paced company (Coca Cola’s mission, vision and values, 2010). This has been at the core of every action by Coca-Cola as it has an effective space today in the global market. Marketing Plan While a marketing plan is drafted or studied, it required thorough examination and in depth research. Market Segmentation Coca Cola is one of the successful companies in the context of market segmentation as well. Demographic Segmentation – This segmentation is on the basis of age, gender, income and family size of the consumers. It has introduced various flavors for small children group. After a research when the company discovered that the Light Cola was considered as feminine drink by many, it introduced Coke Zero that aims at male consumer group who are health conscious. Different packing has different cost and targets to meet all the income groups. There is economy packs introduced which targets consumers as per the family size. Geographical Segmentation – Due to different climatic conditions and regional differences, Coca Cola varies the taste of the product as per the people of that particular country.   Psychographic Segmentation – The advertisements done by Coca Cola are the best examples to express how the company segments the market as per the interests, attitudes and values of the consumers. Whenever a famous event takes place, the company introduces an ad in context of the event so that it touches the heart of the people. Still, the primary market segmentation that is measurable, accessible and whose response can be noticed and worked upon is the segmentation on the basis of Demographic Segmentation. Coca Cola focuses most on youngsters between the ages of 13 to 25 Marketing Strategies Current Market Strategy Coca – Cola undertakes the segmented marketing strategy by marketing its products to different segments by separate offerings to them. This is called the differentiated marketing strategy.   Coca-Cola is quite popular in the younger group and hence most of its advertisements and campaigns are undertaken keeping in view the younger generation. An appropriate example for this will be that it has put vending machines in the schools and they have announced officially that they will be continuing to target the market. Another example is the â€Å"diet coke† that caters to the need of specific people. The basic product, Coca Cola Soda is targeted to the entire market as a whole. The market strategy thus put to effect by the company is targeting all the possible domains and providing them with soda that meets their demand. This differentiated marketing strategy has provided Coca-Cola with a stand in all the possible markets. Life Cycle of the Product It has been a number of years that Coca Cola has introduced the drink in the market. As we can understand from the history, Coke has attained a stupendous response from the people and their likeness, which has contributed towards the growth of the product. Once the product has been introduces and placed well in the market, comes the maturity stage. And as per the in-depth analysis, Coca-Cola stands at this stage in the product life cycle. At this stage there is a rapid growth in the sales of the product and later starts settling down. To be able to survive at such a phase, it is important to differentiate the product from the competitor’s product. This has been persistently followed by Coca-Cola and as can be seen, has been done very well. Since the sales begin to settle at a particular point, it is essential to give a differentiation to your product. Branding Strategy Coca-Cola is a famous international brand. The company has been working effectively and actively on maintaining its brand equity for quite some time now and has been able to achieve a well know brand equity and attained brand loyalty. Coca-Cola provides a lot of varieties to the people in the range of soda. These varieties cater to the needs of all the market segments. The brand is excellently symbolized in the packaging. This makes it easy for the people to recognize the product. The red color that is implemented is quite eye-catchy and attracts the entire market domain including the primary market of youngsters in the age group of 13 to 25. The contour bottles as well as cans are designed in such a way that the product from Coca-Cola can be easily ascertained. The brand equity by Coca – Cola has been created through rigorous campaigns undertaken and extraordinary advertisements designed for promotional purposes. It is after a lot of effort that Coca-Cola soda has attained this brand equity. The branding strategy implemented by Coca-Cola Company has been quite effective in being able to gain a major market share. There are several kinds of brand strategy that can be implemented for the creation of brand equity. Some of these are – Private brand strategy, Family brand strategy, Manufacturer’s brand strategy and Hybrid brand strategy. Coca Cola has made the use of the Individual brand strategy. This can be explained as major products of Coca Cola are provided with their own brand names. For example, Sprite, Fanta, etc. may be represented and publicized as separate lines; the domain remains the same – Coca Cola. Coca-Cola has introduced new products from time to time. Here is a marketing research brief to demonstrate how Coca-Cola expanded with large range of products. Marketing Research Brief Marketing research is as important as the marketing itself. It is essential that we are aware of the current market and the actions and plans of our competitors so that the framing and implementation of the marketing strategies move in the correct direction. The development of the marketing strategy depends a lot on the marketing research. The plan can only be drafted after there is sufficient information regarding the market.   The implementation of the strategy is dependent on the market research again as before the implementation it is important to know how the draft has to be implemented well to achieve the desired results. Evaluation is a comparison of the achieved result and the expected result. Since, it has to be done on the marketing strategy this has its dependence on market research. There are many opportunities identified for Coca-Cola in the marketing research. These are all derived from the major one is the partnership of Coca-Cola with International Olympic Committee (IOC). Coca-Cola has been a known name so far. Analyzing the responses and current situation, the major challenge faced by the company’s soda pertains to the health issues and concerns. I believe that it is required to revisit the entire make of the soda and check it for any harmful products that can be taken off from the making. Also, there can be some additional nutritional or healthy attributes added to the drink. But all this will be required to be done with the taste of the soda not changing or changing negligibly. A subsidiary of Coca Cola in Britain took a decision of expanding without acquisition of new companies but by itself. This time, the company chose on implementing an internal strategy of marketing to develop new product (A., 2012). Five stages of marketing research will be required to be implemented to develop the new product and float it successfully in the market. Identification of the Opportunity – Understand the concept behind the need of the change and pen down the ideal product Exploring the Solution – Surveys, focus groups and interviews can be conducted to understand the expectations from the upcoming product by the public. Measuring the Effectiveness – It needs to be gauged that if the new product will be effective enough so as to gain the targeted share in the market. Testing the Market – It is quits a costly affair to launch a new product. The internal and external capabilities of the company assist in being able to do so effectively. Track Market performance – After the launch of the new product, the performance needs to be checked and evaluated against the target. External Environment of Coca-Cola We shall conduct PESTLE analysis to understand the external environment of Coca-Cola. This is important because all of the factors are inter-related. If there is a political decision that is taken, it would impact the economic situation of the country and thus the environment (Monitoring system of coca-cola) The first factor is the Political analysis. It inspects the present and prospective political influences. These include the influence of the tax laws, reforms by the government, tariffs and restrictions in trade. Guardian report of August 7, 2006, advises that there was a ban laid on the sale of coke, in some states of India, in the government offices and the institutes pertaining to education. This led to the company being destitute of prospective market of around 30 million. The next is the economic analysis. This analyzes the impact by local, countywide and worldwide. If we look at this side, outside the United States, there is increased sale of beverage without alcohol. This means that all these countries will ensure stability and growth for the company. In the sociological analysis, the analysis catered to the affects to the company with the changes in the attitude and lifestyle of people. This will mean that the target market of the young crowd will keep influencing the strategies of the company. Technology is another significant analysis where it is evaluated that how the company is affected and influenced by the changing technology. Cherry coke was introduced in 1985; this was a result of the technological advancement. The impact that the legislation has on the company is examined through the legal analysis. All the inventions and the developments of the product have to go through proper patent procedure. This is done by the company and like any other sector; it is required to meet the legal requirements. Lastly, the environmental analysis is conducted which ascertains the issues. All the facilities of the company are consistently monitored and checked so as to meet the guidelines set by the government (tabishnehal) It is discovered that the company takes due care in keeping a check and monitoring the external environment so as to keep up with the standards and avoid any prospective threats. Internal Capabilities The analysis of internal capabilities assists in formulating better strategies. Once the internal analysis is done, the company is aware of the resources that are available and are under its control (PremiumWritingService.com) The increase in the revenue of the company as compared with that in 2009 was $6.48 billion in 2010. The total of the capital of Coca-Cola at that time was announced to be $72.929 billion. The company possesses various resources for it to sustain and grow as a leader in the production of soft drinks. We shall review these capabilities in terms of tangible and intangible resources (PremiumWritingService.com). While analyzing the tangible resources, we shall cover the financial, human and physical resources of the company that contributes towards its success. The physical resources comprise of the equipments, infrastructure and the land and buildings. It has the set up units in all the states and regions. Because these are self-owned, it keeps the cost of production low. The financial position of Coca-Cola is not hidden from anyone. It is amongst the largest companies and has a strong financial set up. It is thus easy for it to execute new ventures and innovations because the cost, if productive, is not a restriction. There is highly motivational work environment and thus the staff of the company. The company has worked towards the improvement of its workers through lot of trainings. The workers are therefore able to deliver quality and timely work. The other aspect to look at the internal capabilities is the intangible resources of the company. These comprise of the goodwill, intellectual property and the technology advancement. The company has always had an edge over others through the technological expertise that it holds. It has helped the company to be able to introduce new products in the market which today are quite successful such as flavored drinks. Once these products are discovered, they are patented by Coca-Cola and hence the company enjoys full right over the production of these drinks. The goodwill of the company is stupendous and gives an upper edge to it over any other company. Differentiation There have been lots of changes demonstrated by marketing mix of Coca – Cola.   Product – The Company has almost 3300 products with a range of variety.   Price – The price of the products vary as per the geographical location and the market. Due to variety of products, most of the products have different pricing strategy. Place – It is supplied in most of the parts of the world and is liked by all. It has a planned and effective network of distribution. Promotion – There are many strategies pertaining to promotion and advertisement by Coca-Cola. The marketing mix is floated keeping in view the differentiation as per the product, service, channel, people and image. For the primary target market, the product differentiation is done by keeping in mind the kind of soda that will be liked by this sector. The Service differentiation is as per the needs and requirements of the young crowd which has to be prompt. The images used in the products that are most used by the youngsters are meant to be attractive and eye-catching Positioning By positioning it is meant the process of forming and embedding the image that the product has made in the mind of the customers as compared to the products of the competitors. Many companies make soft drinks these days. Although other companies may try to compete at the level of Coca-Cola, they will be unable to match the level of Coca Cola. Positioning assists in making the customers understand the unique value and image of the product, as compared with the products of the competitors. Coca Cola has plans in place to form such positions that will provide it with a lot of advantage pertaining to its different target markets. The positioning of Coca Cola has been based on the procedure of positioning through direct comparison and it has been able to position its products to be able to place towards benefit of its target market. Most of the people in general, form an image of a product through putting a comparison with some another product. This is quite evident in the well known professional was between Coca-Cola and Pepsi in all the product domains. Supply Chain The supply chain of Coca-Cola Company includes the company itself and nearly 300 bottling partners over the world. These bottling partners are not under direct control and supervision of the company. The entire supply system of Coca-Cola runs through mode of various local and national channels. The company is responsible for manufacturing and selling the concentrates of Coca-Cola, the beverage base of the drink and also the syrup to the bottling operators. It still is the owner of the brand and has the responsibility and accountability for brand marketing initiatives for the consumers. These bottling partners then are involved in manufacturing, packaging, merchandising and distributing the ultimate beverages to the wholesale and retail customers and also to the other vending partners. All of these further sell the products to final consumers. All of the bottling partners of Coca-Cola work in direct contact with the customers. These customers here refer to the amusement parks, convenience stores, grocery stores, street vendors, restaurants and movie theaters. These also help the Company to be able to execute many of the localized strategies which are planned and prepared in partnership with the bottling partners. Market Share In the year 2011, Coca Cola possessed a market share of around 42% as against the 30% of Pepsi’s market share. With the launch of Diet Coke, Coca Cola was able to expand more and augment its earning and profit levels. Monitoring and Controls Monitoring and controlling mechanism permits the companies to be able to check if there exists a variance when the actual budget is compared with the projected budget. This is essential to be executed because it helps in advising and suggesting important and necessary actions to meet the set marketing objectives. There are three tools that have been implemented to assess the performance of the market plan put in place: * Sales Analysis In this sales analysis, the total sales affected is broken down to precisely explain the sales in each segment. This will help in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the plan in the small sections. The sellers of products of Coca Cola range from chief retail supermarkets to quite small stores at the corner of the street. * Market Share Analysis In this Market share analysis, the business sales of Coca Cola will be compared with the sales affected by its major competitors. Currently, Coca Cola is going through lot of changes and hence aims to regain the similar control and old of the market as it used to have previously. * Marketing Profitability Analysis The Marketing Profitability Analysis checks the cost involved and expended in marketing. Majorly, three ratios are put to use to be able to monitor and control the marketing profitability; they include market research to sales ratio, the advertising to sales ratio and the last one being sales representatives to sales ratio. From the result of these ratios, Coca Cola can determine and gauge any of the emerging trends which may not be welcomed. These can be any variation such as the requirement of a different product altogether. When we compare these ratio results with the actual results it provides the company with an idea on when change should be brought. Recommendation After the research, there are a few recommendations proposed. These include: Coca-Cola has been a known name so far. Analyzing the responses and current situation, the major challenge faced by the company’s soda pertains to the health issues and concerns. I believe that it is required to revisit the entire make of the soda and check it for any harmful products that can be taken off from the making. Also, there can be some additional nutritional or healthy attributes added to the drink. But all this will be required to be done with the taste of the soda not changing or changing negligibly.   Coca Cola needs to consider a number of issues relating to the physical distribution of its soft drink products. A distinctive promotion and communication strategy can be incorporated. Since the value proposition of the company is â€Å"uniqueness† of soda, there should be communication done to demonstrate the distinct features. I believe this will give a sense of confidence to the consumers that they are able to attain what has been promised to them. Conclusion After conducting research and framing the academic report, we have been able to understand the various strategies implemented and the areas of improvement for Coca-Cola. There are some opportunities as well identified which can be worked upon to gain a wider market. The entire research assisted in gaining knowledge and understanding the concept of marketing better. Also, it helped to understand the overall soft-drinks industry – its strengths and weaknesses as well. References A., E. (2012, 09 04). 5 Tips for Developing Product Ranges Through Smart Market Research. Retrieved 01 31, 2013, from www.instant.ly: http://www.instant.ly/blog/2012/09/5-tips-for-developing-product-ranges-through-smart-market-research/ Coca Cola’s mission, vision and values. (2010). Retrieved 01 31, 2013, from ww.coca-cola.co.uk: http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/about-us/coca-cola-mission-vision-statement.html Coca-Cola Company. (2010, 02 26). Retrieved 01 31, 2013, from www.wikinvest.com: http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Coca-Cola_Company_(KO)/Objective History of Coca-Cola. (n.d.). Retrieved 01 31, 2013, from www.coca-cola.co.uk: http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/about-us/history-of-coca-cola-company.html Monitoring system of coca-cola. (n.d.). Retrieved 01 31, 2013, from

Sales and Markup

Student Name: __________________________________________ID ___________ Worksheet: Metric 5 Mark-up & Margin 1) A computer software retailer uses a markup rate of 40%. If the retailer pays $25 each for computer games sold in its stores, how much do the games sell for? Answer: The markup is 40% of the $25 cost, so the markup is: (0. 40) * ($25) = $10 Then the selling price, being the cost plus markup, is: $25 + $10 = $35 Therefore the games sell for $35. 2) A golf pro shop pays its wholesaler $40 for a certain club, and then sells that club to golfers for $75.What is the retail markup rate? Answer: The gross profit in dollars is calculated as sales price less cost: $75 – $40 = $35 The markup rate is then calculated: Markup (%) = Gross Profit / Cost *100 = $35 / $40 *100 = 87. 5% 3) A shoe store uses a 40% markup on cost. Find the cost of a pair of shoes that sells for $63. Answer: The cost of the shoes is calculated as follows: Selling Price = Cost + Markup ($) = Cost + (Markup (%) * Cost) $63 = Cost + (40% * Cost) $63 = Cost + (0. 4 * Cost) $63 = (1 + 0. 4) * Cost $63 = 1. 4 * Cost Cost = $63 / 1. 4 = $45 ) In 2009, Donna Manufacturing sold 100,000 widgets for $5 each, with a cost of goods sold of $2. What is the company’s margin %? Identify a way that Donna Manufacturing can increase its profit margin? Answer: First we have to calculate the gross profit: Gross Profit = Selling Price – Cost of Goods Sold = $5 – $2 = $3 Now we can calculate the margin: Margin (%) = Gross Profit / Sales * 100 = $3 / $5 * 100 = 60% Ways to increase the profit margin: – Decrease cost of material – Decrease cost of manufacturing – Increase sales price per unit – Decrease COGS ) If a product costs $100 and is sold with a 25% markup at a retail store, what would be the retailer’s margin on the product? What should be the markup and selling price if the retailer desires a 25% margin? Why might the retailer be seeking to incr ease their margin? Answer: a) To calculate the margin, we first have to determine the sales price: Markup ($) = Markup (%) * Cost = 25% * $100 = $25 Selling Price = Cost + Markup ($) = $100 + $25 = $125 Margin (%) = Markup / Price * 100 = $25 / $125 * 100 = 20% Therefore the retailer’s margin would be 20% when the product is sold at a 25% markup. ) To calculate the markup and selling price at a 25% margin: Selling Price = Cost / (1 – Margin (%)) = $100 / (1 – 25%) = $100 / (1 – 0. 25) = $133. 33 Markup ($) = Selling Price – Cost = $133. 33 – $100 = $33. 33 Markup (%) = Markup ($) / Cost * 100 = $33. 33 / $100 * 100 = 33. 33% Therefore to obtain 25% margins, the product would have to be sold at $133. 33 with a markup of 33. 33%. c) Reasons for increase include: – Increase in fixed costs (rent, tax, commission, wages, etc. ) – Increase in demand and/or decrease in supply Other competitors/retailers charge more for the product and the higher margin is a result of increasing sales price to match 6) The following is a Distribution Chain for a Pair of designer Jeans: The manufacturer in China produces the Jeans for $5. 00 a pair and sell them to the importer for $7. 00. The importer sell them to the brand distributor for $10. 00 a pair The Retail store buys them for $50. 00 from the brand distributor. The Retail Store markups them up 150%. What is the Retail Price? What is the Margin % and Markup % for each of the Channel partners in the Distribution Chain? |Retail Price = $125. 0 | | | | | | | | | |Manufacturer | |Importer | |Distributor | |Retail | | | |Mark-up % | | | |40. 00% | |42. 86% | |400. 00% | |150. 0% | | | |Margin % | | | |28. 57% | |30. 00% | |80. 00% | |60. 00% | | | |Selling Price | |$ 5. 00 | |$ 7. 0 | |$ 10. 00 | |$ 50. 00 | |$ 125. 00 | | | |Channel Margin | | | |$ 2. 00 | |$ 3. 0 | |$ 40. 00 | |$ 75. 00 | | | |Channel Markup | | | |$ 2. 00 | |$ 3. 0 | |$ 40. 00 | |$ 75. 00 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Last Sacrifice Chapter Twenty

â€Å"YOU SHOULD SLEEP.' Sydney's soft voice nearly made me leap out of my skin, proving that even while in Lissa's mind, I could still stay alert. I tuned back to Sonya's dark living room. Aside from Sydney, everything was quiet and at peace. â€Å"You look like the walking dead,' she continued. â€Å"And I don't say that lightly.' â€Å"I've got to stay on watch,' I said. â€Å"I'll watch. You sleep.' â€Å"You're not trained like me,' I pointed out. â€Å"You might miss something.' â€Å"Even I wouldn't miss Strigoi beating down the door,' she replied. â€Å"Look, I know you guys are tough. You don't have to convince me. But I have a feeling things are going to get harder, and I don't want you passing out at some crucial moment. If you sleep now, you can relieve Dimitri later.' Only the mention of Dimitri made me give in. We would need to relieve each other eventually. So, reluctantly, I crawled into Sydney's bed on the floor, giving her all sorts of instructions that I think she rolled her eyes at. I fell asleep almost instantly and then woke up just as quickly when I heard the sound of a door closing. I immediately sat upright, expecting to see Strigoi busting down the door. Instead, I found sunlight creeping in through the windows and Sydney watching me with amusement. In the living room, Robert was sitting up on the couch, rubbing his eyes. Victor was gone. I turned to Sydney in alarm. â€Å"He's in the bathroom,' she said, anticipating my question. That was the sound I'd heard. I exhaled in relief and stood up, surprised at how even a few hours of sleep had energized me. If I only had food, I'd be ready for anything. Sonya didn't have any, of course, but I settled for a glass of water in the kitchen. As I stood there drinking, I noticed that the Dashkov brothers had made themselves at home: coats hanging on hooks, car keys on the counter. I quietly grabbed hold of the keys and called for Sydney. She came in, and I slipped her the keys, trying not to let them rattle. â€Å"Do you still know about cars?' I murmured. In one exquisite look, she told me that was a ridiculous and insulting question. â€Å"Okay. Can you go do a grocery run? We're going to need food. And maybe on your way out, you can, um, make sure their car has engine trouble or something? Anything that keeps it here. But not something obvious, like slashed tires.' She put the keys in her pocket. â€Å"Easy. Got any food requests?' I thought about it. â€Å"Something with sugar. And coffee for Dimitri.' â€Å"Coffee's a given,' she said. Victor stepped into the kitchen, his typically unconcerned expression making me think he hadn't heard me instructing Sydney to sabotage his car. â€Å"Sydney's getting groceries,' I said, hoping to distract him before he might notice the missing keys. â€Å"Need anything?' â€Å"A feeder would be nice, but barring that, Robert has an especial liking for Cheerios. The apple cinnamon kind.' He smiled at Sydney. â€Å"I never thought I'd see the day an Alchemist would be an errand girl. It's charming.' Sydney opened her mouth, no doubt to make some biting comment, and I quickly shook my head. â€Å"Just go,' I said. She went, and Victor soon returned to Robert's side. Convinced the brothers wouldn't be going anywhere in full daylight without a car, I decided it was time to check on Dimitri. To my surprise, Sonya was awake. She sat cross-legged on the bed with him, and the two spoke in hushed tones. Her hair was disheveled from both sleep and fighting, but otherwise, she showed no cuts or bruises from the battle. Dimitri had been the same after his transformation, escaping terrible burns. The power of a Strigoi restoration healed all injuries. Between my skinned legs and pseudo-concussion, I kind of wished someone had transformed me from a Strigoi. Sonya turned from Dimitri as I entered. A sequence of emotions passed across her face. Fear. Astonishment. Recognition. â€Å"Rose?' There was hesitancy in the word, like she wondered if I was a hallucination. I forced a smile. â€Å"It's good to see you again.' I chose not to add, â€Å"Now that you're not trying to suck the life out of me.' She averted her eyes down to her hands, studying her fingers like they were magical and wonderful. Of course, after being a monster, maybe having her â€Å"old hands' back really was wondrous. The day after his change, Dimitri hadn't seemed quite so fragile, but he'd certainly been in shock. That was also when he'd grown depressed. Was she? Or did she want to turn again, as Victor had suggested? I didn't know what to say. It was all so strange and awkward. â€Å"Sydney went for groceries,' I told Dimitri lamely. â€Å"She also stayed up so that I could sleep last night.' â€Å"I know,' he said with a small smile. â€Å"I got up once to check on you.' I felt myself flushing, somehow embarrassed that I'd been caught in weakness. â€Å"You can rest too,' I told him. â€Å"Get some breakfast, and then I'll keep an eye on everything. I have it on good authority that Victor's going to have car trouble. Also that Robert really likes Cheerios, so if you want some, you're out of luck. He doesn't seem like the sharing type.' Dimitri's smile grew. Sonya suddenly lifted her head. â€Å"There's another spirit user here,' she said, voice frantic. â€Å"I can feel it. I remember him.' She looked between Dimitri and me. â€Å"It's not safe. We're not safe. You shouldn't have us around.' â€Å"Everything's fine,' said Dimitri, voice so, so gentle. That tone was rare for him, but I'd heard it before. He'd used it on me in some of my most desperate moments. â€Å"Don't worry.' Sonya shook her head. â€Å"No. You don't understand. We †¦ we're capable of terrible things. To ourselves, to others. It's why I changed, to stop the madness. And it did, except †¦ it was worse. In its way. The things I did †¦' There it was, the same remorse Dimitri had felt. Half-afraid he'd start telling her there was no redemption for her either, I said, â€Å"It wasn't you. You were controlled by something else.' She buried her face in her hands. â€Å"But I chose it. Me. I made it happen.' â€Å"That was spirit,' I said. â€Å"It's hard to fight. Like you said, it can make you do terrible things. You weren't thinking clearly. Lissa battles with the same thing all the time.' â€Å"Vasilisa?' Sonya lifted her eyes and stared off into space. I think she was digging through memories. In fact, despite her ramblings now, I didn't believe she was quite as unstable as she'd been just before becoming Strigoi. We'd heard healings could lessen spirit's madness, and I think Robert's transformation had lightened some of the darkness within her for now. â€Å"Yes, of course. Vasilisa has it too.' She turned to me in a panic. â€Å"Did you help her? Did you get her out of there?' â€Å"I did,' I said, trying to emulate Dimitri's gentleness. Lissa and I fled St. Vladimir's for a while, partly because of warnings from Sonya. â€Å"We left and then came back and, uh, were able to stop what was hunting her.' I didn't think it was a good idea for Sonya to know that the thing–or rather, person–hunting Lissa was now sitting out in the living room. I took a step forward. â€Å"And you can help Lissa too. We need to know if–‘ â€Å"No,' said Dimitri. No gentleness now in the warning look he gave me. â€Å"Not yet.' â€Å"But–‘ â€Å"Not yet.' I shot him a glare in return but said no more. I was all for giving Sonya her recuperation time, but we didn't have forever. The clock was ticking, and we had to find out what Sonya knew. I felt like Dimitri would have been able to give us this information immediately after he'd been changed back. Of course, he hadn't been unstable beforehand, so he'd kind of had an edge. Still. We couldn't play house in Kentucky forever. â€Å"Can I see my flowers?' asked Sonya. â€Å"Can I go outside and see my flowers?' Dimitri and I exchanged glances. â€Å"Of course,' he said. We all moved toward the door, and that's when I had to ask. â€Å"Why did you grow flowers when you were †¦ like you were?' She paused. â€Å"I've always grown flowers.' â€Å"I know. I remember. They were gorgeous. The ones here are gorgeous too. Is that why †¦ I mean, did you just want a pretty garden, even as a Strigoi?' The question was unexpected and seemed to throw her off. I was about to give up on an answer when she finally said, â€Å"No. I never thought about pretty. They were †¦ I don't know. Something to do. I'd always grown flowers. I had to see if I still could. It was like †¦ a test of my skills, I guess.' I met Dimitri's eyes again. So. Beauty hadn't been part of her world. It was just like I'd told him. Strigoi were notoriously arrogant, and it seemed the flowers had simply been a show of prowess. Growing them had also been a familiar habit for her, and I recalled how Dimitri had read Western novels while Strigoi. Being Strigoi might cost someone their sense of goodness and morality, but old behaviors and hobbies remained. We took her out to the living room, interrupting a conversation between Victor and Robert. Sonya and Robert both froze, sizing each other up. Victor gave us one of his knowing smiles. â€Å"Up and around. Have we found out what we need yet?' Dimitri shot him a look similar to what I'd received when asking about interrogation. â€Å"Not yet.' Sonya dragged her gaze from Robert and moved quickly toward the patio door, pausing when she saw our shoddy patch job. â€Å"You broke my door,' she said. â€Å"Collateral damage,' I said. In my periphery, I think Dimitri rolled his eyes. Needing no guidance from us, Sonya opened the door and stepped outside. With a gasp, she came to a halt and stared upward. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue, and the sun had crossed the horizon now, illuminating everything in gold. I went outside too, feeling the warmth of that light on my skin. Some of the night's coldness lingered, but we were in store for a hot day. Everyone else came out too, but Sonya was oblivious. She lifted her hands upward, as though maybe she could grab hold of the sun and wrap it in her arms. â€Å"It's so beautiful.' She finally looked away and met my eyes. â€Å"Isn't it? Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?' â€Å"Beautiful,' I reiterated. For some reason, I felt both happy and sad. She walked around her yard, examining every plant and flower. She touched the petals and inhaled their fragrance. â€Å"So different †¦' she kept saying to herself. â€Å"So different in the sun †¦' Several especially caught her attention. â€Å"These don't open at night! Do you see it? Do you see the colors? Can you smell that?' The questions didn't seem to be for anyone in particular. We watched, all of us kind of hypnotized. At last, she settled into the patio chair, happily gazing around, lost in sensory overload–in that beauty that had been denied to her as a Strigoi. When it became obvious she wasn't leaving for a while, I turned to Dimitri and repeated Sydney's advice about him taking a turn at sleeping while we waited for Sonya to recover. To my surprise, he actually agreed. â€Å"That's smart. Once Sonya's able to talk, we'll need to move.' He smiled. â€Å"Sydney's turning into a battle mastermind.' â€Å"Hey, she's not in charge here,' I teased. â€Å"She's just a soldier.' â€Å"Right.' He lightly brushed his fingers against my cheek. â€Å"Sorry, Captain.' â€Å"General,' I corrected, catching my breath at that brief touch. He gave Sonya a kind goodbye before disappearing into the house. She nodded, but I don't know if she really heard. Victor and Robert brought out two wooden kitchen chairs and set them in the shade. I chose a spot on the ground. Nobody spoke. It wasn't the weirdest thing I'd ever experienced, but it was certainly strange. Sydney returned later with the groceries, and I briefly abandoned the group to check in with her. Victor's keys were lying back on the counter, which I took as a good sign. Sydney unloaded an assortment of food and handed me a box of a dozen donuts. â€Å"Hope that's enough for you,' she remarked. I made a face at her presumption but took the donuts anyway. â€Å"Come on outside when you're done,' I told her. â€Å"It's like the barbecue of the damned. Except †¦ there's no grill.' She looked puzzled, but when she joined us later, she seemed to get what I'd been saying. Robert brought out a bowl of Cheerios, but neither Sydney nor Victor ate. I gave Sonya a donut, the first thing that took her attention from her yard. She held it in her hands, turning it over and over. â€Å"I don't know if I can. I don't know if I can eat it.' â€Å"Of course you can.' I recalled how Dimitri had regarded food uncertainly too. â€Å"It's chocolate-glazed. Good stuff.' She took a tentative, rabbit-sized bite. She chewed it a billion times and finally swallowed. She closed her eyes briefly and sighed. â€Å"Such sweetness.' Slowly, she continued taking more tiny bites. It took forever for her to get halfway through the donut, and at that point, she finally stopped. I'd polished off three donuts by then, and my impatience to accomplish something was growing. Part of it was still the irritability from spirit, and part of it was just my continual restlessness to help Lissa. â€Å"Sonya,' I said pleasantly, fully aware of how pissed off Dimitri was going to be at me defying his instructions. â€Å"We wanted to talk to you about something.' â€Å"Mm-hmm,' she said, gazing at bees hovering around some honeysuckle. â€Å"Is there a relative of yours †¦ someone who, uh, had a baby a while ago †¦ ?' â€Å"Sure,' she said. One of the bees flew from the honeysuckle to a rose, and she never looked away. â€Å"Lots.' â€Å"Articulate, Rosemarie,' remarked Victor. â€Å"Very articulate.' I bit my lip, knowing an outburst would upset Sonya. And probably Robert too. â€Å"This would be a secret baby,' I told her. â€Å"And you were the beneficiary on a bank account that took care of the baby †¦ an account paid for by Eric Dragomir.' Sonya's head whipped toward me, and there was no dreamy absentmindedness in her blue eyes now. A few seconds passed before she spoke. Her voice was cold and hard–not a Strigoi voice, but definitely a back off voice. â€Å"No. I don't know anything about that.' â€Å"She's lying,' said Robert. â€Å"I didn't need any powers to figure that out,' scoffed Sydney. I ignored both of them. â€Å"Sonya, we know you know, and it's really important we find this baby †¦ er, child. Person.' We'd made guesses on the age but weren't 100 percent sure. â€Å"You said you were worried about Lissa earlier. This will help her. She needs to know. She needs to know she has another family member.' Sonya turned her attention back to the bees, but I knew she was no longer watching them. â€Å"I don't know anything.' There was a trembling in her voice, and something told me that maybe I shouldn't push this after all. I couldn't tell if she was afraid or on the verge of rage. â€Å"Then why were you on the account?' This came from Victor. â€Å"I don't know anything,' she repeated. Her voice could have made icicles form on the ornamental trees. â€Å"Nothing.' â€Å"Stop lying,' snapped Victor. â€Å"You know something, and you're going to tell us.' â€Å"Hey!' I exclaimed. â€Å"Be quiet. You don't have interrogation rights here.' â€Å"You didn't seem to be doing a very good job.' â€Å"Just shut up, okay?' I looked back at Sonya, replacing my glare with a smile. â€Å"Please,' I begged. â€Å"Lissa's in trouble. This will help her. I thought you said before that you wanted to help her?' â€Å"I promised †¦' said Sonya. Her voice was so low, I could barely hear it. â€Å"Promised what?' I asked. Patience, patience. I had to remain calm. I couldn't risk a breakdown. She squeezed her eyes shut and raked her hands through her hair violently, almost like a child about to have a tantrum. â€Å"Promised not to tell. Promised not to tell anyone †¦' I had the urge to run over and shake her. Patience, patience, I repeated to myself. Don't upset her. â€Å"We wouldn't ask you to break your promise if it wasn't important. Maybe †¦ maybe you can get in touch with this person †¦' Who had she promised? Eric's mistress? â€Å"And see if it's okay to tell us?' â€Å"Oh for God's sake,' said Victor irritably. â€Å"This is ridiculous and getting us nowhere.' He glanced at his brother. â€Å"Robert?' Robert hadn't done much so far today, but at Victor's command, Robert leaned forward. â€Å"Sonya?' Still obviously distraught, she turned to look at him †¦ and her face went still. â€Å"Tell us what we need to know,' said Robert. His voice wasn't kind so much as smooth and lulling, with a faintly sinister touch. â€Å"Tell us who and where this child is. Tell us who the mother is.' This time, I did jump to my feet. Robert was using compulsion on her to get the answers. Sonya's eyes stayed locked on him, but her body began to shake. Her lips parted, though no sound came out. A tangle of thoughts swirled in my mind. Compulsion would get us what we needed to know, but something told me, it wasn't right– Sonya stopped me from any more pondering. She shot up almost as quickly as I had. She was still staring at Robert, but no longer in that transfixed, hypnotized way. She'd broken the compulsion, and now †¦ now she was pissed. The features that had been scared and fragile earlier were filled with fury. I had no magical senses, but after being with Lissa, I knew raging spirit when I saw it. Sonya was a bomb, about to explode. â€Å"How dare you †¦' she hissed. â€Å"How dare you try to compel me?' Plants and vines near Robert suddenly sprang to life, growing to impossible heights. They reached out, tangled themselves around his chair's legs, and pulled. The chair toppled over, Robert along with it. Victor moved to help his brother, but Robert was already taking matters into his own hands. Recovering remarkably fast, he narrowed his eyes at Sonya, and she went flying backward, slamming against the wooden fence. Air users could do that trick sometimes, but this wasn't air blowing her back. This was spirit's telekinetic abilities. He apparently possessed them outside of dreams too. Lovely. I'd seen spirit users battle it out before, when Avery Lazar and Lissa had gone one on one. That hadn't been pretty, particularly since more than this exterior psychic phenomena had occurred. Avery had actually dug into Lissa's mind–and mine. I didn't know Robert or Sonya's full skill set, but this couldn't end well. â€Å"Dimitri!' I yelled, springing toward Sonya. I didn't exactly know what I was going to do, but tackling her seemed like a sound plan. From what I'd observed, a lot of spirit involved eye contact with the target. And sure enough, when I managed to wrestle her to the ground, she struggled half- heartedly but mostly fought to keep her gaze on Robert. He screamed in sudden alarm, looking down at his own body in terror. Sonya was planting visions into his head. His expression hardened. He had to know it was an illusion, and a few moments later, he looked up, having broken her spell like she'd broken his earlier compulsion. Dimitri came tearing out the door at that point, just as Robert used his mind to fling one of the chairs toward Sonya. Of course, I was on top of her, so the chair hit me in the back. Dimitri picked up pretty quickly what was going on and ran toward Robert, attempting the same tactic as me. Victor, possibly thinking his brother was in physical danger, tried to pry Dimitri away, which was futile. More vines began to reach toward Robert, and I realized constraining Sonya wasn't all that useful. â€Å"Get him inside!' I yelled to Dimitri. â€Å"Get him away from her!' Dimitri had already guessed that and began dragging Robert toward the door. Even with Victor interfering, Dimitri's strength was enough to get Robert out of there and back into the house. As soon as her target was gone, all the energy seemed to fade out of Sonya. She made no more efforts to fight me and collapsed to the ground. I was relieved, having feared she'd turn on me once Robert was gone. Tentatively, still on guard, I helped Sonya sit up. She leaned against me, weak as a rag doll, and cried into my shoulder. Another breakdown. After that, it was a matter of damage control. In order to keep the spirit users apart, Dimitri had taken Robert to the bedroom and left Victor with him. Robert seemed as worn out as Sonya, and Dimitri deemed the brothers safe enough to leave alone. Sonya collapsed on the couch, and after both Dimitri and I had tried to calm her down, we stepped away while Sydney held the Moroi woman's hand. I briefly recapped what had happened. Dimitri's face grew more and more incredulous as I did. â€Å"I told you it wasn't time!' he exclaimed. â€Å"What were you thinking? She's too weak!' â€Å"You call that weak? And hey, I was doing fine! It wasn't until Victor and Robert got involved that things went to hell.' Dimitri took a step toward me, anger radiating off him. â€Å"They should never have gotten involved. This is you, acting irrational again, jumping in foolishly with no thought of the consequences.' Outrage shot through me in return. â€Å"Hey, I was trying to make progress here. If being rational is sitting around and doing therapy, then I'm happy to jump over the edge. I'm not afraid to get in the game.' â€Å"You have no idea what you're saying,' he growled. We were standing closer now, hardly any space left between us as we engaged in our battle of wills. â€Å"This may have set us back.' â€Å"This set us forward. We found out she knows about Eric Dragomir. The problem is she promised not to tell anyone about this baby.' â€Å"Yes, I promised,' piped up Sonya. Dimitri and I turned as one, realizing our argument was fully visible and audible to Sonya and Sydney. â€Å"I promised.' Her voice was very small and weak, pleading with us. Sydney squeezed her hand. â€Å"We know. It's okay. It's okay to keep promises. I understand.' Sonya looked at her gratefully. â€Å"Thank you. Thank you.' â€Å"But,' said Sydney carefully, â€Å"I heard that you care about Lissa Dragomir.' â€Å"I can't,' interrupted Sonya, turning fearful again. â€Å"I know, I know. But what if there was a way to help her without breaking your promise?' Sonya stared at Sydney. Dimitri glanced at me questioningly. I shrugged and then stared at Sydney too. If someone had asked who could stage the best intervention with a crazy woman who'd formerly been an undead monster, Sydney Sage would have been my last guess. Sonya frowned, all attention on Sydney. â€Å"W-what do you mean?' â€Å"Well †¦ what did you promise exactly? Not to tell anyone that Eric Dragomir had a mistress and baby?' Sonya nodded. â€Å"And not to tell who they were?' Sonya nodded again. Sydney gave Sonya the warmest, friendliest smile I'd ever seen on the Alchemist. â€Å"Did you promise not to tell anyone where they are?' Sonya nodded, and Sydney's smile faltered a little. Then, her eyes lit up. â€Å"Did you promise not to lead anyone to where they are?' Sonya hesitated, no doubt turning every word over in her mind. Slowly, she shook her head. â€Å"No.' â€Å"So †¦ you could lead us to them. But not tell us where they actually are. You wouldn't be breaking the promise that way.' It was the most convoluted, ridiculous piece of logic I'd heard in a while. It was something I would have come up with. â€Å"Maybe †¦' said Sonya, still uncertain. â€Å"You wouldn't break the promise,' Sydney repeated. â€Å"And it would really, really help Lissa.' I stepped forward. â€Å"It would help Mikhail too.' Sonya's mouth dropped open at the mention of her former lover. â€Å"Mikhail? You know him?' â€Å"He's my friend. He's Lissa's friend too.' I almost said that if we found the missing Dragomir, we could then take Sonya to Mikhail. Recalling Dimitri's feelings of unworthiness, I decided to avoid that tactic just now. I didn't know how Sonya would react to a reunion with her beloved. â€Å"And he wants to help Lissa. But he can't. None of us can. We don't have enough information.' â€Å"Mikhail †¦' Sonya looked down at her hands again, small tears running down her cheeks. â€Å"You won't break your promise.' Sydney was so compelling she could have been a spirit user. â€Å"Just lead us. It's what Mikhail and Lissa would want. It's the right thing to do.' I don't know which argument convinced Sonya the most. It could have been the part about Mikhail. Or it could have been the idea of doing â€Å"the right thing.' Maybe, like Dimitri, Sonya wanted redemption for her Strigoi crimes and saw this as a chance. Looking up, she swallowed and met my eyes. â€Å"I'll lead you there,' she whispered. â€Å"We're going on another road trip,' Sydney declared. â€Å"Get ready.' Dimitri and I were still standing right next to each other, the anger between us beginning to diffuse. Sydney looked proud and continued trying her best to soothe Sonya. Dimitri looked down at me with a small smile that shifted slightly when he seemed to become aware of just how close we were. I couldn't say for sure, though. His face gave little away. As for me, I was very aware of our proximity and felt intoxicated by his body and scent. Damn. Why did fighting with him always increase my attraction to him? His smile returned as he tilted his head toward Sydney. â€Å"You were wrong. She really is the new general in town.' I smiled back, hoping he wasn't aware of my body's reaction to us standing so close. â€Å"Maybe. But, it's okay. You can still be colonel.' He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Oh? Did you demote yourself? Colonel's right below general. What's that make you?' I reached into my pocket and triumphantly flashed the CR-V keys I'd swiped when we'd come back inside. â€Å"The driver,' I said.

Brave New World Critical Lens Essay

â€Å"I have freedom,† you say? Do you really? Perhaps, in some ways, you do. But in the end, you’re just another puppet being controlled by invisible strings whether you know it or not. â€Å"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains,† Jean-Jacques Rousseau once said. In society, man is â€Å"chained† and controlled by the government, by pressure of conforming to the social norms, by wealth and social class, and by one’s desires and emotions. Prior to birth, man is not restricted by such factors but that is merely a fleeting moment as he is slowly exposed to more and more of the world. I agree that â€Å"everywhere [man] is in chains,† but on the contrary, I believe man is already chained from the start—that man is never free. In the novel, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, babies are â€Å"decanted† and conditioned to play out their predestined roles in the World State. As early as the embryonic stage, babies-to-be alr eady have their fates determined for them. In addition to conditioning, a drug called soma that induces a false sense of happiness dominates these people’s lives. As long as there is society, there will be shackles. Subjects of the World State were pre-separated into specific caste levels through processes such as the Bokanovsky Process, hypnopaedia, and Pavlovian conditioning. As mere embryos, they were already being trained for their predestined fates. By the time they reached the end of the â€Å"assembly line,† freedom did not exist anymore. They were enslaved to society. They were conditioned to strictly love and enjoy the aspects of their own castes and dislike the aspects of other castes. â€Å"We also predestine and condition. We decant our babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers†¦ (13)† stated the Director of Hatcheries matter-of-factly. How can man be born—or in this case, decanted ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€free if he can’t even make his own major life decisions or think for himself? Aside from conditioning, World State citizens so easily obeyed the government because they lived in such a â€Å"perfect† world that there just wasn’t anything to complain about. Generally, they didn’t have any problems in regards to sickness, death, desires, old age, passion, relationships and other issues that were often associated with an â€Å"unstable† society. â€Å"People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can’t get.  (220)† If anything â€Å"bad† happened, all they had to do was take a tablet. â€Å"And do remember that a gramme is better than a damn. (55)† The World State government kept their people in â€Å"bottles.† â€Å"’Each one of us, of course†¦goes through life inside a bottle,’ stated Mustapha Mond. (222-223)† The government expected everyone to act according to the standard of infantile behavior—of simple satisfaction, ignorance, and lack of self-restraint and they condemned anyone who acted otherwise. Citizens of the society were encouraged to take soma when distressed and attend social events and activities and so on. It was through such ways that the people were kept distracted and obliviously controlled. These â€Å"socialized human beings† were so ignorant of the shackles around their limbs that they didn’t even try or think to take them off. When a man is born with chains—metaphorically speaking, of course—he is unaware of them. And if he is unaware of them, then there is no way for him to escape them. Such is the case with the people of the World State. They are conditioned to accept and even enjoy whatever path that is laid out in front of them. In this illusion of a perfect world, everyone is happy and without a care as the government does all the thinking for them. Ultimately, people of the World State are permanently trapped in a stage of â€Å"infancy†Ã¢â‚¬â€even upon their deathbeds.

IS RACISM A FACTOR IN THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Essay

IS RACISM A FACTOR IN THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - Essay Example Before we become passionate about the debate regarding racism in the election, let us first look into the real meaning of racism and then decide whether racism is truly making its indelible stamp on the 2008 presidential election. Racism comes with many definitions and some of these definitions are coined by people to suit their interest. To stay on more neutral grounds in this discussion, let us stick into the common legal and sociological definition of racism. According to the Untied Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the term racism "shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin" †¦ which results into the nullification or impairment of the rights or enjoyment of equal rights in the exercise of fundamental freedoms. In other words, racism works by diving people according to their perceived group and boundaries are set so as to prevent these groups of people from intermingling and working side by side on equal footing. Where groups of people are deprived of their basic rights simply because of the color of their skin, their ethnic origin and their race; such deprivation amounts to ra cism (See Allen, Theodore (1994). On the other hand, sociologist define racism as a highly organized system that is characterized by race based privileges that operations on level levels of society (See Cazenave N and Maddern Darlene A 1999). According to Joe Feagin, the former president of the American Sociological Society, the culture of the United States is rooted on the idea of racism because it social organizations are based on racial selection and segregation (see Feagin 2000). Although the United States government worked hard to eliminate racism within its territories, we cannot deny that incidents of racism in the country are still

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Human Resource Management - Essay Example Once a top executive realises that no matter how hard he struggles for his organisation, all he will receive is his fixed salary, the performance levels of the executive will begin to recede. The removal of incentive is effectively the removal of motivation on the job for such positions. It must also be realised that when such executives join office their primary motivation is the challenge posed by the new position. Once an executive figures out how to manage the new position, the real motivation begins to disappear from the job. In order to keep motivation on the job to a high level, it would be desirable to use a fixed and variable pay structure to serve as the executive’s motivation. On another note, this pay structure aids in ensuring that the executive treats his job more seriously than before because his financial stakes are involved with the performance of the organisation. While it may be considered as cumbersome by some top executives but this model ensures that the organisation pays the executive back in proportion to their

Entrepreneurship in the Global Environment Essay

Entrepreneurship in the Global Environment - Essay Example This essay is based on the brief overview of the profile of John Mackey and his business activities. John Mackey is the co-founder of Whole Foods Markets, which is an organic grocery retail chain based in Austin, Texas. The company holds a valuation of $14 billion and holds its position among the Fortune 500 companies. In 1978, John Mackey founded a health food store called SaferWay. After two years, it merged with Clarksville Natural Grocery to form the parent company Whole Foods market. Mackey started his business with only 19 employees and it has grown significantly since then. Currently, the company operates with 410 stores in the UK, US, and Canada, with 88,000 employees. John Mackey and his business bring the attention to his entrepreneurial qualities because he has been able to increase his business operations from a single store to a large retail chain of stores that operates in overseas location as well. One can certainly learn for his strategies and know what it needs to be an entrepreneur. Apart from focusing on business activities, Mackey also engages in socially responsible activities. He is also the co-founder of the Conscious Capitalism Movement, which discusses ethical consciousness and how a business operation should be grounded on this concept. These characteristics have made John Mackey the person of interest for the entrepreneurial studies. This section will justify that John Mackey can be categorized as an entrepreneur, by discussing his activities based on theoretical background. The theoretical background of entrepreneurship stated that an entrepreneur must have certain characteristics which allow him to thrive towards his objectives of making his business grow. It has been mentioned that an entrepreneur must be creative and should be able to take risks.