Ed Rendell’s Philadelphia

It is very rare for a public official to be regarded as a hero let alone a saint.   With the height of the recession and the scrupulous events that paved its way to politicians fighting over the hunger of power, fame and wealth; Ed Rendell of Philadelphia proved that he is a force to be reckoned with.   Sure, there have been several autobiographies written over the advantage of the famous.But in this case, Buzz Bissinger, showcased not the glitz and the glamour of the politician but rather focusing on the urban world and how their leader, in the name of Mayor Rendell fought to save the sinking social and economic state of his jurisdiction (Bissinger, 1998).Philadelphia, as divided and as financially crippled in the face of the Western geographical affirm, reached a point where their means of living and the rising number of violence is headlined on the national paper.   Urban policies have long been issues in the government, to what extent shall the feds need to lend their hand on a certain area? Pulitzer Prize winner Bissinger researched and found interesting contexts on the trials and tribulations that the city underwent.Far more different than what those that hid in the buildings of the streets of New York or the tanning skins of those sitting pretty and well-financed in the beaches California.   Mayor Rendell was a leader in his own right and a philanthropist by heart.   He quotes David Cohen in the first chapter (Bissinger, 1998), â€Å"[h]ave I done the right thing here?†Ã¢â‚¬â€precisely the question most of those who served before Rendell served his tenure in office.First Term: The Meaningful ReformsMayor Rendell’s first term in office (1992-1996) can be coined in one term: challenge.   Given the fact that he was to inherit an already failed economy, it was quite expected that he would either save the city or worsen the situation.As any other cynical human being would produce, they already anticipated for the latter. Philadelphi a had an annual budget of $200,000 which in the light is expected to help its constituents that equals to 1.6 million. In a place clothed with bankruptcy and corruption, it was a near-death situation. It was like the urban poor society of the West and the chances of rising from the behemoth of doom were 10:90.So Ed Rendell looked for means to endow grant monies, reductions in federal layoffs and all other cost-cutting measures possible for his jurisdiction to survive.He lamented over the loss of jobs and the drastic increase of violence in every major event that transcribed.   He was to seek every help lent by those who are willing to shoulder their burden.   But he also had a humanistic side of him; he despised those who wrote provoking articles about his administration. He knew too well he only wanted what was best for his fellowmen—so he fought for his dignity alongside.The Characters’ AccountsA recovery plan was at hand.   Fifi Mazzcuza, famous for parenting the parentless, emphasized the dreadful reality of the place—drug dealings, theft, and all the other gang-related dilemmas that wrapped the city in its darkest. Linda Morrison for one has seen the painful reality of living in the suburbs—she witnessed in her naked eyes the bloodshed of those who are spiritually lost and in need of guidance. She has been assaulted by those whom she considered countrymen.And lastly, Jim Mangan, a typical Philly who suffered the torture of financial constraint. He wasn’t alone, there were many who had the same story as he does.   Finding a job in his time was like looking for a peck in a pile of sand, whilst the need to survive in the heavy rain that poured while they were painstakingly seeking. It was hard for them. And just when everything seemed to be hopeless, there was a spark of light. And their story continues.ReferenceBissinger, B. (1998). A Prayer for the City. New York, NY: Vintage.  

The Role of Perception in Corporate Decision Making

Here is an office scenario wherein two senior executives are observing an employee who is a potential candidate for promotion:   At certain times, they both see the said employee just sitting on his chair, lounging, even minutes before the end of office hours.   Often chancing upon the employee during his idle time, Senior Executive A may see this as laziness on the employee’s part.   Senior Executive B views the situation, having kept track of prompt and quality reports done by the employee, as the employee being a fast worker who gets the job easily done and right, not as somebody who is just loafing around. This is the fundamental nature of perception.   Senior Executive B saw the employee’s circumstances in another approach from that of Senior Executive A’s.   Even though they both examined the same situation, each one had a different view on it.   The outcome of this observation shall depend upon how the executives had perceived the candidate’s performance.   This is an illustration of how perception plays a part in making decisions on a work setting.   The employee’s likelihood of getting promoted relies on others’ diverse insights. Perception Perception has a role when it comes to decision making on many business situations.   It can impact an organization’s behavior.   Also depending on every person’s background, traits, knowledge, and many other factors, perception can also shape ethical or moral decisions. Definition What is perception?   â€Å"Perception is the process we use to make sense out of our environment by selecting, organizing, and interpreting information from the environment† (Daft, 1997, p. 786). People have varied outlooks on a particular situation in his/her own way.   â€Å"Perception depends not only on the physical stimuli but also on the stimuli’s relation to the surrounding field and on conditions within the individual.   The key word in the definition of perception is individual† (Kotler, 2000, p.173). Impact on Organizational Behavior Because of the different perceptions each individual has on a working atmosphere, it is a necessity for managers to have a profound knowledge of anticipating diversity between the different levels within their organization.   For example:   If a manager only sees his/her staff as a means to an end, just a functioning machine in getting the job done, like without incentives or further trainings, etc., with this kind of perception that the employees may get, how would the employees react to it? There might be a number of them who would not think of it as an issue because they themselves may also only see their work as a means itself to meeting their own needs, financially speaking of earning a salary.   For some, they would like to be recognized and given value as employees, being humanely treated and could perceive their employers as insensitive to both their professional growth and personal welfare. In this case, when this type of perception prevails, it could possibly lead to a chain reaction amongst the employees.   A possible impact could be that the organizational behavior (employees’ performance) is not being concerned about their company’s productivity since the management itself does not look after their issues. How a person perceives others can greatly or minimally impact an organization either in a negative or positive way because people would act in response to it. Another citable circumstance in an office setting with regards to perception and its impact on behavior is rumors.   For instance, there is a new employee who was highly  recommended by an officer of the company.   Some may right away see this as special treatment being given on the said employee.   While others actually get facts and can see  exceptional work being done on the new employee’s part.   Yet, with a number of gossip mongers existing on a work environment, they are going to talk about misleading details.   Now with those who may be unaware of what is actually going on, just basing the events on hearsay, they might perhaps bear some resentment on management or even give it a shot themselves on apple polishing. â€Å"Individual perceptual awareness varies widely.   Recognizing the difference between what is perceived and what is real is a key element in diagnosing a situation† (Daft, 1997,p. 787). Using Perceptive ‘Shortcuts’ Every now and then, several business matters call for immediate decisions.   Some may resort to using perceptive ‘shortcuts’ when judging others.   Positive effects may include a decision being done without delay and can move on to attend to other business matters at hand.   This could result to increase in productivity.   Negative effects consist of hastiness in judgment.   Without studying all the facts and details, one fails to take into account everything that needs to be considered which may be leaving out a factor that could have brought out a different turn of events. The Real World Before a decision is made in real world organizations, an issue is addressed by gathering necessary data or a proposal is prepared for a project they will undertake.   There is an open discussion in order to reach a consensus of opinion (i.e. meeting).   Advantages and disadvantages are weighed out (e.g. project to be considered, acquisition of office equipment).   Strengths and weaknesses are pointed out (e.g. hiring of an applicant, promotion  among ranks).   A good management first makes a thorough study then arrives at a more solid decision this way than in making hasty assessments. Ethical/Moral Decisions How we see things are based on several factors.   People’s views are different because each one has his/her own distinctive background.   What values and beliefs a person has can influence an ethical or moral decision he or she makes.   For example:   A sales agent who proposes to a Human Resources Head the availment of a pension plan for the company’s employees, is also suggesting a share in the commission that he would give to the HR Head when he approves the proposal. If the HR Head perception of the agent’s offer is lucrative to his own pocket and does not see it as harmful to their corporation, viewing the agent’s approach as a normal sales tactic, then this shapes the moral decision he is about to make.   Clearly, this is against business ethics, undisclosed behind-the-scenes negotiations.   The employees, who are not aware of what had transpired between the sales agent and their HR Head, would naturally perceive the outlay in pension plan as a benefit for them.   Now if it was a different matter all together, with an honest HR Head who believes in hard work to earn a living, may see the sales agent as a dubious character and perhaps would choose not to deal with that agent anymore. â€Å"Perception in itself does not always lead to an accurate picture of the environment† (Daft, 1997, p. 562). References Daft, R. L. (1997).   Management.   Pennsylvania:   The Dryden Press. Kotler, P. (2000).   Marketing Management.   New Jersey:   Prentice-Hall, Inc.            

ISMG Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

ISMG - Essay Example Soon after, in order to fulfill this motive, the couple borrowed US$50,000 and started the first shop in California with the name of ‘Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery’. However, on the basis of the facts regarding ‘resumes’, it can be presumed that reasonable future for Randy Fields’ could have been in the field of economics as a professor of any university or in any organization as a professional dealing with economic concepts. Hence, it can be stated based on the above discussion that the career of cookies business was the most reasonable future option primarily for Debbi Sivyer Fields. The high demand of deliciously baked cookies of Debbi among the clients of Randy acted as an inspiration for the couple. This provoked the couple to start their career with the business of cookies. Moreover, in order to fulfill the dream, Debbi convinced Randy and the couple took a loan and opened the first shop in the Palo Alto of California in the year 1977. Hence, it is apparent from the above factors that the goal of Debbi was to provide delicious chocolate chip cookies so as to make the customers pleased. This would enhance the satisfaction level thereby enhancing the business (The Mrs. Fields’ Brand Inc, â€Å"History†). Although Randy was an economics graduate from the Stanford University, he wished to support Debbi to enhance the business of cookies which might be beneficial for both. Therefore, it can be clearly depicted from the case study that the goal of Randy was to assist Debbi in augmenting the business. As the idea of starting the career with the business of cookies became quite successful, Debbi Fields planned to expand the business. She decided to open the second store in the high-traffic and tourist region of San Francisco, but it was rather quite difficult. This created a great problem, because it called for huge amount of revenue. Thus, the idea was initially crooked down. Along with this,

Analyzing the Relationships between Service Quality and Special Events Essay - 1

Analyzing the Relationships between Service Quality and Special Events in the Entertainment Industry - Essay Example While examining this issue the other questions which this research seeks to answer are: Is the current SERVQUAL instrument an effective overall measure of perceived service quality for special events organizations; if the answer to the first question is â€Å"No†, can new dimensions be added to make SERVQUAL more effective for measuring customers’ perceived service quality of special events and can such an adapted and modified SERVQUAL instrument be generalized for measuring perceived service quality of special events’ offerings? Modification of the 1991 version of the SERVQUAL method would aim at the reduction of ambiguity in expectations definition and unstable dimensionality (Babakus and Boller 1992; Carman 1990; Cronin and Taylor 1992). Babakus and Waller in fact suggest (p. 265) that â€Å"it may not be fruitful to pursue the development of a standard measurement scale applicable to a wide variety of services†. In order to achieve this modification an attempt would be made to add one or two dimensions to the standard instrument so that the scale would become more contextual for situations concerning special events. To identify these additional dimensions factor analysis would be conducted on variables (factors) to identify relevant and critical factors. Respondents would be chosen from the customer base of the targeted special events company(ies). External validity would be addressed by also surveying non-customers. The sampling scheme deployed would be stratified random sampling. The company’s entire customer base would be organized according to the demographic variable of customer income. The underlying assumption would be that the ability to purchase entertainment offered by the special events company is a direct function of the income of the consumer. However, income/ability should not be deemed to be synonymous with â€Å"willingness† to pay. Customer willingness assessment, on the other hand would be the

International Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

International Finance - Essay Example This keeps the revenues of the company intact and also caps the amount of its currency outflows. In the event of any adverse movement in the foreign currency receivables, the company can exercise the forwards or the options. If a company having dollar receivables is afraid of strengthening the domestic currency against dollar then by taking the desired position in dollar futures the company can keep the value of its receivables intact. All these financial instruments have their own set of merits and limitations. In the following paragraphs, these instruments have been discussed with various examples that will give an idea about their usefulness. A forward contract on a foreign currency eliminates the risks related to exchange rate fluctuations. In this case the parties entering the contract agree to exchange a specified amount of currency at a future date at a pre-determined exchange rate (Redhead, 2008, pp.730; Von Pfeil, 1988, pp.127). Suppose A Ltd, a British company got $1 million receivable after 3 months. The company is afraid of British pounds appreciating against dollar as this will lower the value of its receivables. To hedge its position the company can enter into a forward contract that will entitle it to sell the receivables after three months at an agreed upon rate irrespective of the rate prevailing in the market. Suppose the spot rate is GBP 0.60/$. In three months time the company expects that the value of pounds will strengthen against dollar due to which the rate will fall to GBP 0.55/$. A Ltd can enter into a 3 month forward contract of GBP 0.62/$ which will freeze the exchange rate of the company. Now suppose after three months the spot rate is GBP 0.56/$, the company will then be able to sell the dollar receivable at GBP 0.62/$. As evident from the above calculations, the amount realized if the position is hedged through forward contract is GBP 620000, whereas the amount realized if the position is

Article Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article Summary - Essay Example The bank not just possesses the financial might but also has a brilliant team of experts who have defined bank’s policies from time to time. Nobel laureate like Joseph Stiglit and prominent economists like Lawrence Summers have added to the intellectual capital of the bank. In spite of the major role played by the bank in global development, it’s financial might and the intellectual assets; the bank has been criticized by the Right wing as well as the Left wing for it’s functioning and this criticism is aimed at not just restricting the activities of the bank but has practically challenged the very existence of the bank. Revenue model of the bank involves selling bonds to investors in rich countries and receiving grants for raising the capital. While lending and soft lending to developing and underdeveloped countries complete the revenue model. In 1996, the bank acknowledged that some of the parts of soft lending were unrecoverable. Left wing wanted these debts to be written off by converting them to grants. Twice, in 1996 and 1999 the bank has ceded to these demands and partly written off the loans. However, there is another demand for completely writing off loans of 33 Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCS). It is notable that some countries like Philippines and China have achieved growth from these soft loans and are yet to repay those loans. Writing-off such loans would mean big loss to the bank and reduced resources for future lending. In the past, bad debts of the World Bank had been compensated by the aid from rich countries. Britain still favors the same model. However, the US wants all the debts to be converted into grants. Under the US pressure, the soft loan fund is being converted into grant fund since 2003 and it is forecasted that by 2035, this fund will be reduced to just 10% of its present size. With no new support coming from the rich countries, this

FMC Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

FMC Corporation - Essay Example In any situation where one unit handsomely starts scoring over another, a desire does emerge to replicate its success. Faced with an uphill task ahead, Kenneth Dailey has to negotiate a "change management" consensus with a disinterested, and possibly hostile Green River senior management. After all, it strikes them at their core; it's not easy to convince experience-laden people used to an authoritative style of functioning, to give up on their way of thinking and make a radical departure to an organic system where experience and position count less than skills and performance. nity to exercise his managerial acumen and insight, and see if he can inject the same degree of motivation and passion in the management and in the employees, that Jack Welch was able to when he took over the helm of General Electric in 1981, and brilliantly transformed it from a manufacturing company to the world's biggest service giant. ving change, possible sources of disagreement, and possible range of expectations employees may have in view of a change. No organization must be a one-man show; it is incumbent upon Dailey to brainstorm for the above pointers with everyone concerned, especially the influential senior management lobby without whose support it's difficult to undertake this ambitious makeover. Communications is the key to understanding what exactly ails the organization; all problems and detrimental factors must come to the fore before any tangible decisions are taken. It could be that finance and R&D department heads do not see eye-to-eye due to ideological misgivings, it could be that the purchase division has a tiff with suppliers hampering consistent growth, it could be that low wages has led to a low employee morale and hence, declined productivity. Whatever be the state-of-affairs, Dailey must seek everyone's involvement in seeking answers to tough questions. Like an able surgeon, he must be abl e to diagnose all areas where the company has failed its people, and vice versa. Only then can a remedial plan-of-action follow suit. The next step would be to integrate all the forward and backward functions of Green River in evolving a broad Aberdeen-like framework for corporate excellence. Und- erstandably, Aberdeen's open framework was not built in a day. In order to start from scratch, Dailey may

Project Management and How it Relates to Purchasing and Supply Research Paper - 2

Project Management and How it Relates to Purchasing and Supply Management - Research Paper Example In fact, project management is a profession that most businesses embrace and there is a high possibility that the field will develop over the years. Typically, the general idea behind project management is not different from that of purchasing and supply because the methods, processes and approach applied aim at minimizing the chances of failure or forfeiture. However, there is more to the relationship of the two aspects apart from the common similarities such i.e. they both need professional managers. In purchasing and supply management, the experts engage in the management of the procurement procedures, all those that involve the goods and services (Zigiaris 2000). Definitely, ample management skills apply but the most critical responsibility involves managing the supply chain. This requires negotiations involving the contracts required for the upkeep of an organization’s production sequence. Decisively, a great relationship exists between project management, and purchasing and supply management, not necessarily in terms of the results and goals, but in the essence of knowledge and skills required. Consequently, this research paper focuses on analyzing both factors as a way of establishing the core relationship between the two. Evaluation revolves around aspects such as the concepts of procurement and contract management, RFP selection tools, procurement planning and its legal characteristics. Generally, the discussion entails a comprehensive assessment of these foci as the basis for the argument on the relationship. Obviously, almost all companies use procurement professionals for the purchasing and supply management requiring them to have resources, tips and tools for all modules in the chosen strategies. The common expectations for the procurement professionals entail being able to produce savings, managing contracts effectively, maintaining productive supplier relationships, negotiating and

Case INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM - Essay Example This is an investigative report on the effectiveness of community’s emergency management plan in reducing property loss. This paper is organized as follows. The first part will comprise a short investigative plan. The second part will look at the reasons why there was no implementation of a flood mitigation program. It will be concluded by an overview of the general principles governing the formulation and implementation of mitigation measures. â€Å"A more general definition that incorporates dynamic considerations is the To investigate and verify the emergency response to flooding incident and the consequential damage; To investigate the effectiveness of the emergency response and the sequence of events and actions taken during the flooding incident. During Superstorm Sandy, 70 % of the property in the flood prone area of Moonachie city was damaged. The aim of this section is to highlight the failures that led to the failure of the implementation of a flood mitigation program five years after the last flood. The residents of the city failed to hold the office of the mayor to account which contributed to laxity in the implementation of an effective policy of the flood mitigation program (Healy & Malhorta, 2009). Implementation of the flood mitigation program was hampered because there was no federal, state or city office or official that was willing to take responsibility of implementation (O’Sullivan et al, 2012). The voters of Moonachie city have never taken the political elite to task on disaster preparedness. Even when electing their leaders other issues take pre-eminence at the expense of disaster preparedness, this has led to little or no spending on disaster preparedness (Healey & Malhorta, 2009). The responsibility for disaster management cannot be the responsibility of the Federal government alone. As a result local leadership failed to take up its responsibility to steer the disaster preparation which affected their

Bullying at Work Place Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Bullying at Work Place - Essay Example promotion) for the bully." (Field, 1999) The employees and the managers undertake bullying in order to hide their inefficiency in managing the inadequacy of the tasks performed by the subordinates and team members. The higher the person bullies the higher the level of inadequacy he shows at his workplace. In today's a management era when the business missions are comprise of short term goals with a short time span to be achieved in, the work pressure, time constraints and the surge to show high level performance leads to more frustration in case of failure to achieve any of the above mentioned factors. The purpose of bullying is to hide inadequacy. Bullying has nothing to do with managing etc; good managers manage, bad managers bully. Management is managing; bullying is not managing. Therefore, anyone who chooses to bully is admitting their inadequacy, and the extent to which a person bullies is a measure of their inadequacy. Bullies project their inadequacy on to others. The global political changes have transformed the simple role of those who are leading. Instead of one workforce, one way of working one culture, one set of best practices, one leader there are now issues of alignment, of accommodation of differences, of management of diversity, and of synchronisation, in order to present a global view to both internal and external circumstances. In addition, there are different sets of expectations to be managed. Leadership is Leadership is an important aspect of managing. (Kotler, 1990) As the part of this paper will show what qualities a leader (man/ woman) should posses in order to lead effectively. Managers must exercise all the function of their role in order to combine human and material resources to achieve objectives. The key to doing this is the existence of a clear role and a degree of discretion or authority to support manager's actions. The essence of leadership is follower ship. (Haller & Til, 1982) In other words, it is the willingness of people to follow that makes a person a leader. Moreover, people tend to follow those whom they see as providing a means of achieving their own desires, wants, and needs. Leadership and motivation are closely interconnected. By understanding motivation, one can appreciate better what people want and why they act as they do. Women leaders may not only respond to subordinates, motivations but also arouse or dampen them by means of the organisational climate they develop. Both these factors are as important to leadership as they are to manager ship. The motivation given by the leadership makes the followers to depict certain behavioural attitudes. These values transformed by the leader in his/ her followers are different in men and women. Valian has presented them as gender schemas. According to Valian (1999) the gender schemas are the stereotypes and bases learned in childhood. The gender schema for men includes "being capable of independent, autonomous actionassertive, instrumental, and task-oriented" (Valian, 1999). For women, the schema is different and includes "being nurturant, expressive, communal, and concerned about others" (Valian, 1999). Both men and women express their personality trials according to the above schema. The organisational trials and values are designed in accordance with the male schema. That's why the

The Power of a Complaint Letter Essay Example for Free

The Power of a Complaint Letter Essay Every business hungers to be successful. Businesses want to put their best foot forward, and their best product to the consumer. However, on occasion, people become upset or disappointed when the product or service does not reach expectation. In this case, businesses often receive the dreaded complaint letter from customers. The purpose of a complaint letter is to bring a grievance to the attention of an owner or manager of the business, so action can be taken as soon as possible. When writing a complaint letter it is important to include appeals to the audience, structure of the letter, tone, and context. Also keep in mind, that playing into the emotions by usage of ethos, pathos, and logos can positively sway the result. Three complaint letters written by Ken Thomas, Chad Bradley, and Kyle Westergren are about having recently bought a pair of shoes from Reebok, PUMA, and Cool Sports Inc. Complaint letters are the reason that businesses strive to please their customers, and take into consideration the constructive criticism of another person. Before crafting an effective complaint letter, one must first realize who their audience is, and what the purpose is. Consider who will be reading the letter and how likely or unlikely it is that the recipient will be sympathetic toward the complaint presented. Be clear on solutions given, and what can be done in return to fix the problem. The writers of a complaint letter want to address their issue by appealing to a specific audience. This audience could be board members, general managers, or even CEOs. In this case, the three complaint letters written by Thomas, Bradley, and Westergren, have expressed their problem to the general managers of the stores in which they purchased the shoes, and are seeking some sort of credit towards a new pair of shoes. By asking for a credit, one also wants to provide the reader with reason as to why restitution is being asked of, which is why one must first recognize the organization and structure of a persuasive complaint letter. The basic context and structure of a complaint letter is pretty simple. Usually, the letters will first contain a heading in the upper left hand corner. It will include all the credentials of the writer and business, including the address of both the addresser and addressee. Then, there is a greeting, such as â€Å"Dear Sir or Madam†. I have written a complaint letter before and usually put â€Å"To Whom It May Concern†, because it may be forwarded to different departments of the company. The opening paragraph should also include context of the situation. The context is basically a form of background information. In the letter written by Chad Bradley, he explains how he had left his shoes in his front porch overnight, and now they had shrunk at least three sizes (Bradley). This type of information should help picture the situation and should provide the writer’s problem to the reader. An account or tracking number can also be beneficial to the reader so that he or she may reference the order, see exactly what was purchased, and how much of a credit should be given if need be. The next section of the letter should include relevant dates or times of when the merchandise was purchased. In the letter to Cool Sports Inc. by Ken Thomas, he explains the chain of dates throughout his order. â€Å"I had been looking at your website since the beginning of June, placed my order on June 21st, and received my package on June 26th† (Thomas). This clarification of time can help the reader produce a timeframe of the events. The last section of a well-written complaint letter explains what type of restitution the writer wishes to receive; it shows the reader of the assertiveness the writer is trying to prove, without being rude or offensive. â€Å"To resolve the problem, I would like you to credit my account for the amount charged on my credit card† (Thomas) explains what Thomas would like done in order to please him, and resolve the issue. When writing a complaint letter, one does not want to be rude to the reader, because a temperamental, rude letter will not go far. By being assertive, yet respectful, one can achieve proper settlement. Now that a basic structure is known when writing a complaint letter, one must appeal to the reader by use of logic. Appealing to logic, or logos, includes both an overall argument and the evidence used to support the argument. To build an effective argument, one must first provide some sort of background information to provide the reader with context as to why the letter is being written in the first place. This was done in the previous paragraph to also show the chain of events in order for the reader to know the timeframe of the situation. In Westergren’s letter, he clearly states why he is upset: â€Å"The problem came when these sneakers turned out no different than the last two pairs, and fell apart. I expect quality when making a purchase, especially when spending almost $100 on shoes. † Westergren clearly states his problem, and I feel he plays a little bit into pathos as well by accusing the company of selling low quality materials. Once one has identified their primary arguments, provide supporting evidence such as details as to what happened to the product, how long ago the product was purchased, and were there other products of the same brand that this has also happened to. By explaining this information to them, it can provide the company with the knowledge that it may not have happened to just you, the writer, but other valued customers as well. Logical appeals are most effective in complaint letters when they are based on both reasoning and credible, supporting evidence. Some people feel it is beneficial to play the â€Å"poor me† card when writing a letter, by directly channeling to the readers moral emotion; pathos. When appealing to readers’ emotions, or pathos, one can also strengthen a complaint letter, especially when wanting to convince the audience. Emotional appeals can be engaging to the audience, but the use of pathos should be appropriate to the situation and the audience. If one is writing a letter of complaint to a shoe manufacturer, in this case, with the intention of receiving a replacement product or account credit, one should appeal to the readers emotions in such a way that she or he can identify with the same concerns so that it does not happen again. Bradley explains in his letter beforehand that this is his only pair of running shoes, works at a gym, and does an incredible job in his last paragraph of expressing pathos. I blame Reebok as much as myself for the shrunken shoes, but now I am worried that I may lose my job, and I do not know where else to turn† (Bradley). By this statement, he is invoking the reader to feel sorry for him, and assuring he is unable to do his job without a pair of running shoes. On the other hand, avoid expressing emotion in such a way that your audience will feel angered or aliena ted. This type of slander will only anger the manager or owner, and nothing will be done of the issue. In complaint letters, one can make strong emotional ties through the use of compelling supporting evidence and persuasive language. One must also make sure to not forget the powerful evidence of credibility when trying to prove the worthiness of a settlement. Appealing to authority, or ethos, begins with one’s own credibility or trustworthiness. In a complaint letter, one can appeal to authority through overall tone as the writer. One must convince the audience of respectfulness towards them and truthfulness about the subject. One can do this by using language that is fair and unbiased. One can also use examples and illustrations that show how well-known the subject is. Such evidence could be how long one has known the business or been a customer since. Westergren provides a perfect example of establishing his credibility in his opening paragraph. â€Å"I really enjoy the style and type of sneaker your company makes (PUMA) because it is a unique style, and that is my reasoning for being a repeat customer for more than 5 years. By stating this, Westergren shows that he has been a satisfied customer for over five years, and now is shocked that he found a flaw in this company, which is the reason he is now writing this letter. Another example comes from Ken Thomas’s letter: â€Å"I have been a satisfied customer for many years, and this is the first time I have encountered a problem with your company. † This quote also shows that Thomas has been a customer for many years, and is also shocked to have had an issue. By stating that you, as a customer, have bought many years’ worth of merchandise from a company or business shows that you, as the customer, know what quality is expected. Taking the time to use ethos in a complaint letter helps to build greater trust and establishes credibility in a positive way for the writer. Lastly, the tone of the writer can cause all of the other appeals to be thrown out, because if the writer has a tone where it is insulting, slandering, or rude, the reader will toss it aside. In order to have the letter read, one must appeal to an assertive, yet polite form of writing. Tone by definition is the writers’ attitude toward the reader, and subject of the message. â€Å"Me, I prefer to stay with the classics: a nice suit, a warm cardigan, socks from Marks Spencer, that kind of thing† (Bradley) shows that Bradley is almost joking with the reader when he writes this statement. He is trying to form a personal connection with the reader, because the reader might agree with his form of style. I feel that by opening yourself up to the reader will show that anger, haste, and revenge are not in the idea behind the letter, but simply the need for a credit, or new pair of hoes. The purpose of a complaint letter is not to slander or be disrespectful to the company or business, but to state your opinion, the problem, and a reasonable solution so that you, as the customer, can tell others of the experience, and provide positive feedback to others as well. By using logic to explain the problem, pathos to explain the problems that are now happening, and ethos to establish why a credit should be received, a writer of a complaint letter can easily earn the respect from a business. By also appealing to the context, which provides background information of the situation, and audience to provide a stance as to who you are trying to reach out to, and voice to still be respectful to the reader, one can ultimately put together a fierce argument, with solid evidence, and an all-around worthy letter. Businesses are always striving to have the highest ratings of their customers, and by taking in the criticism of a few letters, can provide the highest quality service possible.

Renewable Energy in India

Renewable Energy in India As a developing country with the worlds second highest population, India is facing nationwide shortage in power supply. It is very essential to make optimum use of all available resources of power inside the nation and thus found that the New and Renewable Sources of Energy (NRSE) can contribute significantly towards power generation in forthcoming years. Development of new technology and advancement in this sector has lead to commercialization of numerous NRSE technologies. This sector has also got an advantage of reducing pollution and creating awareness of the necessity to reduce carbon emissions to protect the environment. Recognizing the importance of renewable energy sources, the Government of India set up a fully fledged independent department named Department of Non-conventional Energy Sources in 1982 and later on the name converted into the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in the year 1992. MNRE acts as the nodal agency of the Government of India for all matters r elating renewable energy. It undertakes policy making, planning, promotion and co-ordination functions relating to all aspects of renewable energy. New reports states that India is the fourth largest nation in installed power generation capacity in the field of renewable energy sources with a total capacity of 17,594 MW. Wind, Solar, Hydro, Biomass and Geothermal are main renewable energy sources and India has high potential of these resources to exploit. Power generation from wind and solar energy resources has posted enormous growth in recent years. India became favorite destination for renewable energy technology developers, equipment manufacturers and service providers. Certain measures are adopted by the Government of India for the eradication of power poverty, commercial exploitation of renewable energy resources by ensuring affordability and availability as well. The estimated potential of renewable energy in the country is around 85,000 MW from commercially exploitable sources. Whereas wind resources accounts to 45,000 MW, small hydro projects dominates 15,000 MW and 25,000 MW from biomass/bio energy sources. It is calculated that India has the potential to generate 35 MW/Km2 with the use of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy. The main resources of renewable energy in India are as follows: Wind Energy Solar Energy Hydro Power Bio-mass Geothermal Energy Tidal energy Wind Energy. With reference to the world wind energy report-2009, India has the 5th largest installed wind power capacity in the world following USA, China, Germany and Spain. India is the second largest wind energy market in Asia, with a growth rate of 14% reaching a capacity of 11 GW. India became a global player in wind energy sector in the past few years and expected to expand modest growth in the future with the strong domestic market. The idea of wind power in India developed in 1990s, and has achieved significant and tremendous growth within the last two decades. The performance and reliability of wind related power increased the installation of more wind turbines across the country and now it became a capacity addition of energy in Indian subcontinent. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Andaman Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are the Indian states/union territories with high potential of wind energy utilization. At the end of March 2010, Tamil Nadu is having the most wind generating capacity of 4889.765 MW and Muppandal wind farm of Tamil Nadu is the largest in India. Suzlon holds 52% of domestic market share, is the largest wind power company in India. In addition to this Suzlon has risen to worlds 5th largest with 12.3% of the global market share. The Indian wind market achieved quality growth with the government incentives and new policy of GBI (Generation Based Incentive) scheme that helped foreign and domestic private power producers and investors to establish large-scale, commercial wind plants across the country. Turbine technology is improving, that may contribute to higher capacity utilization of wind in future. The modern wind turbines produced in India with foreign collaboration have capacities more than 1 MW and they are highly efficient for a tropical country like India. The country has an advantage in the installation of offshore wind plants with 7,600 km of coast. The concept of wind farm became popular with the higher efficiencies and availability due to the development of wind turbine technology over the last decade. Recent studies shows that wind energy can be combined with solar for the generation of self- sustainable renewable energy projects. The relative immaturity of this sector may not be sustainable with the strong economics of wind energy. India is renowned as wind superpower with an installed potential of 4500MW from thirteen states. Solar Energy India is blessed with rich solar energy resource due to its geographical location. It is calculated that the average intensity of solar radiation obtained on Indian subcontinent is 200 MW/km2 and this amounts to 657.4 Million Mega Watts of energy for the whole 3,287 million square kilometer. By considering these characteristics India can generate enormous amount of energy from this resource and it would be likely thousand times greater than the electricity demand in 2015 even with the theoretical assumption of 10% efficiency for photo voltaic modules. Considering these potentials the country is emerging as a strong hub for solar energy production. The amount of solar energy produced in India is very less when compared to other resources of energy and this accounts to merely 0.4%. As of October 2010 the grid-interactive solar power was about 114.74 MW. Report says that India is currently ranked number one along with the United States in terms of installed solar power generation capacity. The applications of solar energy is active in the fields of telecommunications, lighting, water heating, battery charging, cooking and other small power requirements. Today there is some14-15 lakhs of solar photo voltaic systems in operation and around 6 lakhs solar cookers in use and an area of around 200,000M2 has been developed for solar water heating applications. The present scenario of installed capacity is around 33-35 grid interactive solar photovoltaic power plants with an aggregate capacity of around 2-2.5 MW, that generate around 2.5 million units of electricity per annum, in sharp contrast to the estimated potential of 50,000 MW Solar energy is a perfect alternative for conventional energy in the case of domestic and industrial applications, with an advantage of minimum maintenance and maximum viability. Government of India promoting the installation of new solar and other renewable energy projects by giving tax incentives and rebates. The government of India proposed some large projects in solar energy sector, in cooperation with some private investors. Thar Desert in the state of Rajasthan has been set aside for solar power projects, sufficient to generate 700 to 2,100 Giga watts and it would be the next generation powerhouse of India. The ministry for new and renewable energy aims to bolster the annual photovoltaic production to at least 1,000 megawatts a year by 2017, as part of the National Solar Mission. It is estimated that the power generation capacity in India would have to increase to 306 GW in the next ten years in order to sustain an average growth rate around 10%. India unveiled a $19 billion plan, to produce 20 GW of solar power by 2020.Under the plan, solar-powered equipment and applications would be mandatory in all government buildings including hospitals and hotels. On November 18, 2009, it was reported that India was ready to launch its National Solar Mission under the national action plan on climate change, with plans to generate 1,000 MW of power by 2013. Recent developments in technology made solar power as a clean renewable; zero emission resource harvested using a variety of modern devices. Developed countries like USA Australia are switching over to solar energy as their main source of energ y production. 3.3. Hydropower India was one of the pioneers in the establishment of hydro based electric power plants. Presently India ranks 5th worldwide in terms of exploitable hydro-potential and is also enriched with a large potential of hydro power, of which only around 20% has been utilized so far. It is the most abundant and widely used form of renewable energy in the Indian subcontinent. Electricity is generated in hydro power plants through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. The hydro electricity is considered as a clean and renewable source of energy but it also have some bad effects in environment clearance due to the large pondage area. About 21% of the electric power consumed in India is generated by hydro electric plants. As of November 2010, the installed hydro power capacity was around 37,400 MW. The public sector has a major share of 97% in this sector. It is clear from the information given by NHPC (National Hydro electric Power Cooperation) that Economically exploitable and viable hydro potential assessed to be about 84,000 MW at 60% load factor (1, 48,701 MW installed capacity). In addition, 6780 MW in terms of installed capacity from Small, Mini, and Micro Hydel schemes have been assessed. Also, 56 sites for pumped storage schemes with an aggregate installed capacity of 94,000 MW have been identified. Thus, in totality India is enriched with hydro-potential of about 2 50 000 MW. The hydro power project t in Darjeeling and Shivanasamudra was established in 1898 and 1902 respectively and was one of the first of that kind in Asia. The Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station (NJHPS) of Himachal Pradesh is the largest hydro power plant in India, with an installed capacity of 1,530MW. It has been estimated that the potential for small hydropower schemes up to 25 MW are under Ministry of Non-Conventional Sources of energy capable of generating 15000 MW per annum. 3.4. Biomass Biomass is defined as A renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities. This can be derived from a number of sources like; agricultural/crops, raw material from the forest, household waste and even with the by-products from the timber industry. There is a sort of high potential of biomass energy available in the country at about 540 million tonnes/year covering resources such as agro residues, firewood, and other organic wastes. These kinds of resources are mainly utilized by the people of villages and rural areas of the country. The potential to install 19500 MW capacities through biomass conservation technologies like combustion, gasification, incineration and also bagasse has been rectified. This sector is in lack of technological advancement and proper utilization so that India could only tap around 380 MW capacities so far. There is a wide scope for the utilization of these resources for the benefit of rural population in the remote areas of India. India ranks 2nd in the utilization of biomass based power generation with an ideal environment of water based vegetation as well as organic wastes. Today bio energy has became an essential add up to Indias energy mix with the favorable climatic conditions. As on October 2010, the cumulative installed capacity of grid-interactive biomass and bagasse cogeneration power was 2313.33 MW. Bio mass sector attracted an investment worth USD 120 million providing vast employment opportunities to village men and also generating an amount of 5,000 million units of electricity in every year. As per the notification in 11th plan period the Government of India plans to add as much as 1700 MW through biomass and bagasse cogeneration in various states. Various promotional policies in the form of incentives, financial assistance, concessions and duty exemption are available for biomass power projects. In addition to these, SERC (State Electricity Regulatory Commission) IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency) provides capital subsidies and loans for the setting up of biomass based units. In present day scenario, biomass utilization for generation of energy has gained momentum due to the scarcity of the conventional energy resources as well as to prevent environment from GHG emissions. The development of efficient biomass handling technology, improvement and establishment of small and large-scale biomass-based power plants can play a major role in rural development. The orientation on green power marketing will leads to tremendous growth of the bio energy industry in the future. 3.5. Geothermal energy According to the geological, geochemical, shallow geophysical and shallow drilling data, it is predicted that India has a great potential of geothermal power about 10600 MW. This can be economically harnessed for various purposes including industrial and domestic applications. India holds 15th rank in the utilization and applications of geothermal power when comparing to other leading countries. India will need to depend more on renewable and eco-friendly energy sources in coming days due to the increasing environmental problems and cost with fossil fuel as well as nuclear based projects. Geothermal energy is the natural heat available inside the core of earth. This energy is accessed by drilling water or steam wells in a process similar to drilling for oil. Geothermal energy is an enormous, underused heat and power resource that is clean and reliable. Rocks covered on the surface of India ranging in age from more than 4500 million years to the present day and distributed in different geographical units. Geological survey of India has been identified more than 300 hot spring locations suited for geothermal utilization. Geothermal power projects in India have not been exploited at all due to the abundant supply of coal at comparatively cheap rates. Some of the potential sites for geo thermal in India are listed below Puga Valley-Jammu Kashmir Tatapani-Chhattisgarh Godavari Basin Manikaran-Himachal Pradesh Bakreshwar-West Bengal Tuwa-Gujarat Jalgaon-Maharashtra Unai-Maharashtra India will further strengthen its clean energy portfolio with geothermal energy and open the gates for more investments in the future. The MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) of India is moving forward with geothermal and other renewable energy sources by the implementation of research, development and demonstration program. Tidal energy The geographical location of India is most favorable for harnessing tidal energy as the country is surrounded by sea on three sides. Government of India took some initiative for the tidal power development and certain places with potentials have also been located. The most favorable locations are the Gulf of Cambay and the Gulf of Kachchh on the coastal area of Gujarat state. The maximum tidal range in these proposed sites are 11 m and 8 m with average tidal range of 6.77 m and 5.23 m respectively. The Ganges Delta in the Sunderbans in West Bengal also has a very good potential for small scale power projects. As per the surveys and data available, the economic tidal power potential in India is of the order of 8000-9000 MW with about 7000 MW in the Gulf of Cambay about 1200 MW in the Gulf of Kachchh and less than 100 MW in Sundarbans. The proposed project of Kachchh with an installed capacity of about 900 MW is able to generate electricity at about Rs. 0.9/unit. With reference to the recent data available, the first tidal project of India is coming up in Durgaduani Creek of the Sundarbans. The project is aimed on technology demonstration with a capacity of 3.75MW, span over an area of 4.5 KM. Structure of Indian Power Industry Indian power industry comprises of various governmental bodies in charge of installation, generation and supply of electricity. Public owned State Electricity Boards (SEB) is the controlling agency for planning and implementing the power development programmes in their respective states, with major input from resources inside the state. These state level electricity boards are controlled and co-ordinate by the central ministry of power. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) along with its subsidiaries is in charge of managing all renewable energy projects in India. Ministry of Power: The whole public and private power producers of conventional energy in the country is monitored and managed by this central ministry, previously known as Ministry of Energy. This central agency comprised of separate departments for power, coal and nuclear sources of energy. Ministry of Power is an independent government body with the functions of planning and strategizing the Indian power policies projects. Monitoring power companies, power production plants, power generation and solving the issues of shortfall etc are the responsibilities of this department. The funds are generated by the ministry of government for the public enterprises with the aid of public issues, global funds and international agencies like World Bank, Asian Development Bank etc. The Power Finance Corporation of India provides funds to major projects in power production, transmission and supply of electricity. The Ministry of Power, India is coordinated by the subsidiary organizations in all economic and technical aspects. The subsidiary organizations are as follows: Central Electricity Authority (CEA) National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) National Hydro Electric Corporation (NHEC) Power Finance Corporation of India (PFCI) Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPC) Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (Power Grid India) Power Trading Corporation (PTC) Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) The generation of electricity in India is based on various sources include thermal power, hydropower, solar power, biogas energy, wind power etc. The distribution of the generated power is committed by Rural Electrification Corporation for electricity power supply to the rural areas, North Eastern Electric Power Corporation for electricity supply to the North East India regions and the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited for an all India supply of electrical power in India. Thermal Power: Generated through the burning of fossil fuels, coal forms a majority share of the source of electricity generation in Indian subcontinent. The generated power from various thermal power stations situated across the country linked through power grids for the distribution. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is responsible for the countrywide operations of thermal power. Hydroelectricity: National Hydro Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) operates hydro electric power plants and power generation companies. Generation of electricity through the kinetic energy of flowing water has been utilizing in Indian land for many years till date. Wind Power: The high potential of wind energy in India encouraged the government to utilize this natural source of energy. Huge wind farms for the tapping of wind energy have been set up by the government to meet the future energy requirement Solar Power: Installation of massive solar panels is being very common in the country, for the utilization of large scale solar energy. Small industrial and domestic applications can be meet with this form of energy. This sector is achieving a high growth with the new government initiatives. Nuclear Power: The energy generated from huge nuclear plants and power stations are making the path for industrial development in India. Nuclear fuels are the source of energy production in these plants. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCL) manages all nuclear power plants and distributing generated power under the nuclear project scheme.

Tsingtao Marketing Strategy

Tsingtao Marketing Strategy This report base on Tsingtao Brewery Companys marketing strategy. Tsingtao beer is one of the most famous products in China. It has over 100 years history. The following market assessment has five sections. In the first section, there are some basic details of Tsingtao Brewery Company. And then the report will explain environment of Tsingtao beer in China; in the next section, there is the market mix strategies analysis which will be made to identify how Tsingtao beer use its strategies to adapt changing environment. In the fourth section, the report shows how the company operates STP strategies and percent examples. In the last part, connecting with brief SWOT analysis, writer rise up some recommendations. 1. Company Background Tsingtao Beer is the main product of Tsingtao Brewery Limited Company which is the oldest brewery in China. Its root can be traced back to 1903 when its predecessor Germanic beer Qingdao stock company, was established by the German businessmen and British businessman and joint venture in Qingdao (Tsingtao Brewery Limited Company, 2011). The Company was registered on 16 June 1993, and then issued H-shares in Hong Kong (Tsingtao Beer Stock (0168)), which were listed on the Stock of Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 15 July 1993. It is the first domestic enterprise listed on an overseas stock exchange.(Hong Kong Stock Exchange, 2012) In the same year, the company issued A-shares in China (Qingdao beer (600600)), which were listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange on 27 August . This firm is the first company which listed in two places at the same time (Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited Official Web, 2012). After 100 years of development, Tsingtao Beer was listed among the top 500 brands all around the world successfully and became one of the official sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The business scope of the Company is the production and sales of beer, and other related business. It occupies leading position in the domestic beer industry in terms of size and market share with 56 breweries in 18 provinces, cities and regions all over China (Tsingtao Beer, 2011). The value of its brand is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¥50.258 billion as at 2012 (ChinaNews, 2011). 2. Business Environment It is very important that an organization considers its environment before beginning the marketing process. Once a marketer makes the initial decision to enter a new business, the company must have a good understanding of the local conditions in that region (Solomon, 2013). Usually, a market can be divided into two kinds of environment: macro and micro. 2.1  PEST Analysis of Tsingtao In macro environment analysis, PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) is the most frequent decision to be used. This way focuses on the external, macro-environment in which your business operates. It provides the big picture framework, which helps business owners to build a vision of the future and to decide on appropriate actions that take into account (Dynamiq, 2012). (P)olitical Factors During the period of adopting the Reforming-and-Opening Policies, China has maintained social stability as it achieved rapid economic growth and raised peoples living standards. Productivity improves continuously. In such a policy environment, people do no longer just notice solving the problem of food and clothing, but the condition to achieve a higher quality of life. In this century, Chinese government started to encourage consuming and issue new economic strategies to stimulate that. Beer industry had a rapid development. In 2011, the beer industry achieved sales revenue, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¥158.94 billion more than last year the corresponding period grows 22.9%, higher than the growth of beer production, liters of beer sales increase of 11.1% over the previous year(National Bureau of Statistics of China,2012). At the same time, China government increased the import tariffs on drinks, in a recent policy issued on the 15th Notice of Chinese General Administration of Customs by General Administration of Customs of the Peoples Republic of China in March 2012: From 15th April, a new duty tariff table entry articles will enforce. It said that the wines (including beer, wine, etc.) tariff rate increase to 50%. So it offers a good protection to the national beer enterprises, which has played a positive role in promoting sales (General Administration of Customs of the Peoples Republic of China, 2012). In addition, the Chinese government made a number of policies to regulate the food processing industries vigorously, in order to improve the admittance threshold, to improve the recall and delisting system and to strengthen the punishment on the illegal processing food industries. And they use product packaging policy to prevent vicious competition between beer enterprises (China International Beer Web, 2010). (E)conomic Factors The current economic situation in China now is keeping a stable growth. In 2008, the government decided to stimulate consumption, so there was a high rate of Economic growth. But in 2010, China cancel stimulate consumption policy gradually. Economic growth rate has dropped, but still keep in a normal range. Such growth not only shows Chinas growing potential of the Chinese market, but also led to the improvement to the Chinese peoples standard of livings. Since the economic crisis, the export volume of the international barley decline sharply. At the same time, the barley demand of Chinese beer industry is increasing. In this supply behind demand situation, the rising price of raw materials is another economic factor. Chinese beer industry has to maintain high speed development for many years, and become the largest beer barley importer all over the world. At present Chinese beer industry development speed is still as high as about 15% (China International Beer Web, 2011). However, although there is a huge demand of barley in China, China is not the traditional planting countries of barley. Rice in barley prices lead to the increasing of production cost greatly. (S)ocial-Cultural Factors Along with the beer market increasingly expanded in China, beer consumption gets bigger. Drinking beer has been transformed into a form of beer culture. The enthusiasm of Chinese seems to be gradually warming; they love to use beer to exchange emotions on the table. Comparing with drinking spirit, the feeling of drinking beer is cooler and more relax. It is suitable for all kinds of social occasions. The Olympics add passion, fashion, happy young elements into the products. It promotes the market share. An investigation shows that, in last few years, the amount of consumers who are 18-29 become the largest consumer groups of Tsingtao beer, risen by 14%(NBD, 2009). This will enhance the competitiveness of Tsingtao in the future. (T)echnical Factors In todays society, people pay more attention to health. So they improve the quality requirements of alcoholic drinks. Development of technology can improve the production efficiency, reduce production cost. Beer is a kind of popular drink, domestic and foreign constantly develops new technology beer production. Scientists found that, with the wavelength 410 mm, the intensity is 0.2 w / à £Ã… ½Ã‚ ¡of fluorescent lamp to yeast suspension uniform illumination hours later, fermentation activity can improve the 25-30%, and fermentation time shorten one day(Forhecz ,2009). 2.2 Micro Environment Marketing managements job is to attract and build relationships with customers by creating customer value and satisfaction (Kotler, 2005). It is related to the micro environment. In this section, the report mentions two aspects. 2.2.1 Competitors Analysis As alcoholic drinks, alternative products of Tsingtao beer exist. The first kind is called product competitor. This competitor can be divided into two kinds: soft drinks (nonalcoholic drinks) and alcohol. Soft drinks include carbonated drinks, fruit juices, dairy products and mineral water, etc. In some family parties, hotel get-together party banquets, they often become the beers alternative products. In terms of alternative products, the competitiveness yellow wine and spirit is not strong. But wine and beer for high-end customers are certain competitors. Of course, beer has its unique market positioning. In celebrating or party occasions, if people dont want to get drunk, beer will be the best choice. The second kind of competitors is Brand competitors. Main competitors are Snow beer and Yanjing beer. From the regional distribution, Tsingtao beer bases on Shandong province, and has made the good record in the south China, east China; Snow started from northeast China, then set up base areas in Sichuan, Anhui and Tianjin; Yanjing beer occupied more than 95% of the market in Beijing firmly(Liu, 2008). However, we need notice that in China, there is not any manufacturer having the absolute control of market share. In 2011, Tsingtao beer only has 19% of the share, the sum share of former three manufacturers market (Tsingtao, Yanjing, Snow) is less than 45%. So the company faced this extremely competitive market environment (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2012). 2.2.2 Customer Behavior Analysis In China, with the improvement of living standards and the deregulation of government, buying beer has become routine problem solving (Solomon, 2013). As a kind of fast moving consumer goods, beer appears in the Chinese daily life frequently. When people need to drink beer, everyone will have some brands for choosing. Some of them are come from internal experience, such as middle-aged people, they have many drinking experience. On the other hand, for the younger, it is likely come from the external experience, such as advertisings or recommendations (Mooij, 2011). In addition, when consumers are making purchase decision, they may have preferences of beers taste, price or the enterprise culture. The taste of Tsingtao is light type. It is conform to the Asian habit. Most products strategy of Tsingtao is high quality and high price. When feting friend or business mates, Chinese are more willing to choose this to show their sincerity. 3. Marketing Mix A planned mix of the controllable elements of a products marketing plan commonly termed as 4Ps: product, price, place and promotion (BusinessDictionary, 2012). 3.1 Production The product is the code of the marketing operation. The enterprises all behavior is focus on the product. When the products purchased in different situation, they meet the diverse needs from different consumers. This is what the companys managers should consider. Tsingtao beer introduced different types of beer to satisfy the requirements of different social activities. Such as in the south of China, the people prefer sweet and refreshing beer, so Tsingtao introduced Draft beer; And successful middle-aged business people normally need higher life quality and have certain economic ability, so in business negotiation occasion, they will choose Gold beer; Besides, the economic ability of university graduates who just enter the society is limited, in the leisure occasions, they would choose Shanshui beer which the price is a bit lower(Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited Official Web, 2012). Tsingtao beer also develops new products actively and gives them heterogeneity packages. Such as in the packing of Gold beer, Pure Draft beer, there are clearly epidemic elements. It establishes a solid foundation for entering the market of the Tsingtao beer. For the high-end product, as Gold beer, managers mainly adopt unified luxury packaging strategy, but the cost of product packaging is higher. Luxury packaging reflected their high grade brand strategy in order to maintain consumer idea of high quality low. 3.2 Price More and more consumers buy the product rationally. As long as the product of each attribute can meet consumers psychological recognition, the price is no longer the key influence factors. In the modern marketing, the high grade product is still accepted by consumers even sold in high price. Tsingtao beer adopts differentiated pricing strategy. Its product positioning is very clear, so different product has different price. Company distributes products from the low to high level. For example, Shanshui beer, low-end products, has a low price which basically close to the cost. The result of this strategy is the increasing of their market share. Such as Tsingtao canned beer market price is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¥3.50 each can. Comparing with the similar product of other brands, there is more than à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¥0.5 to 0.7 higher. Meanwhile, High-end products, such as Tsingtao Pure Draft, Tsingtao Gold, can increase sales of Tsingtao beer, and make positive effects on the own brand shaping, so the price is over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¥8 generally(Alibaba, 2012). 3.3 Place The sale channel is divided according to the product classes in Tsingtao beer. In beer industry, many products are divided into three levels. The channels are divided into three categories: food straight channel, super market retail channels, circulation wholesale channel, different grades of products is corresponding to the different terminal; terminal is corresponding to the different channels. In China, Tsingtao beer keep setting up relationship with various levels terminals what including the national distributor, high-grade restaurant, super market retail store, places of entertainment and community retail terminal. At the same time actively strengthen the same they maintain the good cooperation relations with operators. 3.4 Promotion 1) Advertisement Tsingtao beer advertising is Centaury as one, passion achievement dream (Tsingtao beer, 2011). It not only mentions the companys history, but also gives their products with a sense of the Times image and full of vitality. In the Tsingtao beers official website, home page design unique creativity. In the left, a bottle of beer gives a person the feeling of sweet and refresh. The light yellow foam shows the high quality and high grade of Tsingtao beer. This design sets up the heart guide to the potential customers who have never tried Tsingtao beer. At the same time, in view of the different brands of products for different types of star endorsement also play a guiding role. Such as Pure Draft series looking for China is a very famous band, advertising effect is good. 2) Public Relation In the public relations Tsingtao beer mainly uses the government marketing, Olympic marketing to attract consumers eyes. After Beijings bid for the Olympic Games the success, they became Olympic sponsors, and actively use the Olympic platform to promote the brand in the international influence. Tsingtao beer has been insisting on the concept of the Olympic Games, the Olympic spirit of communicators. In order for the greatest degree of spread the Olympic spirit and enhance the brand image, Tsingtao beer made in stages of Olympic marketing plan, respectively for 2006 years light the passion, 2007 transfer passion, 2008 release passion, 2009 deductive passion'(China International Beer Web, 2010). Furthermore, they connected beer to music, sports through a variety of activities. Now Tsingtao international beer festival is Chinas most influential one of the beer festival, to the world propaganda Tsingtao beer long beer culture. At the same time, Tsingtao Beer Company did public charity in 2008. It shows the companys social responsibility, in this way a wide range of publicity, consumers won the favor deeply. 3) Sales Promotion In the daily sales activity, Tsingtao beer in order to be able to improve sales, the company puts forward for all kinds of promotional activities. Such as, for the people who purchase with a certain amount of Tsingtao beer in one time will present a new research and development of products to customers. It is not only the way to increase sales, but also can promote new products to customers. Personnel promotion is commonly used. The enterprise sent promotions specialist on the site promotion, such as promotion to consumers, evening show supermarket shopping guide, etc. 4. Segmentation, Targeting and Position Strategy 4.1 Segment Strategy Market segmentation is the inevitable trend of the development of market maturity. Segments of the market stand from the point of view of consumers in the division. The overall market of a certain product divided into several consumer groups, each consumer group is a market segment. Due to the beer belong to fast moving consumer goods, the average price is low in price by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¥2-15, and Chinas average annual income per capita is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¥24,000 (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2012). So in the national scope, consumers purchase ability are basic same. Tsingtao beer uses the many kinds of segmentation methods. The first is the regional segmentation. Although the national regional consumer purchasing power is similar, but different areas formed different tastes, because of the influence of their eating habits. Through the investigation, the northern people like to powerful, roundly type of beer; Jiangsu, Shanghai and people from the south like gentle type of taste. Guangdong, Fujian coastal areas is fond like tasting strong alcohol and acid with bitter taste. According to this difference, the company will form different taste characteristics of beer to meet the needs of the consumers. Secondly, the company does the vertical segmentation in population. With age as segmentation criteria, different age paragraph has different demand. Such as young people like light beer. In the party, they can have a good time, and do not need to worry drunk. Middle-aged group people be fond of liking taste a little strong beer. It is to be in commonly business negotiation or with friends and family to get together to drink. In addition, the age always related the income level. Usually, age and consumption is proportional to the ability. So the market can be divided into high-end market and mid-low market. 4.2 Targeting Strategy and Positioning Strategy This two operations have close relationship. Market targeting is when the market segmentation later, in a number of subsidiaries in the process of optimization. Meanwhile, the market positioning is the enterprise according to the target market similar products competitive situation, in view of the customer for this kind of products are some characteristics or attribute value degree, for the enterprise products shape strong, distinctive bright individual character, and the vivid image transfer to the customer, get customer recognition(MBAlib, 2012). After one hundred years of development process, market targeting has gradually determined for high-end market. Market positioning of products is the noble, elegant, have grade and fashionable. From the product strategy, the Tsingtao beer products completely have into the target market conditions. In Germany the traditional brewing process and the improvement of science and technology, Tsingtao beers quality is undoubted fantastic. Additionally, the companys pricing is also slightly higher than other brand. No matter in hotel or the places of entertainment or the large supermarket, as long as consumers spend some money to buy high quality, high grade of beer. But as the market competition has been more intense, Tsingtao beer began to consider to enter the lower level market. So they develop Tsingtao beer family series wine. Its brand positioning is popular, cheap and fine, amiable. The situation is the consumer to Tsingtao beer high-end product of high popularity. Due to the expansion of the company mid-low products in 2000 was launched, so they need time to further improve the business. 5. Recommendation Integrated above four parts analysis, we can know that Tsingtao beer now has some advantages and disadvantages, as well as they need to face the opportunities and threats. As the leader of industry, brand awareness of Tsingtao is high, has obvious brand advantages. And they owned breweries distributed in all parts of the country. This is favorable conditions for Tsingtao beer into except outside Shandong. But at the same time, the regional differences also can become one disadvantage of Tsingtao beer. Although the beer brands of local place are not as famous as Tsingtao beer, but they have deep knowledge by locals. When Tsingtao beer gets merger and acquisition of these enterprises, if they do not pay attention the replacement of excessive of the brand, it will deeply touch native inner to local cultural beliefs. Then it will make local consumers ricing up a big rejection mood, and lead to the agent cannot easily agent, and the sales cannot reach expected. Furthermore, Tsingtao beer is beer brand from the north, though in the north of the city has many reputation, to the south of the consumers, it is still a relatively new brand. In addition, Tsingtao beer through way of merger in process with the original formula keeps consistent, but due to the reason of soil and water, it maybe cannot keep its original quality. At the soma time, the situations of acquisition enterprise are intermingled. So the completed integration is difficult. The government policy and the support of the huge beer consumption space is a good opportunity Tsingtao beer. Because of listing in both of Hong Kong and Shanghai, new issues bring new opportunities to the development of Tsingtao beer. It is an important opportunity that cooperates with important events. Each year, the international Tsingtao beer festival brings a large number of consumers and partners. It Expand the Tsingtao beers popularity. But there is growing number of new brands into the beer market. The promotion strategies which they use will drive the whole market declining profits. And raw material prices also bring pressure to the firm. At present, Tsingtao beer has entered into the mature period. Tsingtao beer market prospect is very broad. Along with the social development progress continuously, and social activities become more and more frequently, people put forward higher the quality of life of the new requirements. This requires the Tsingtao beer with the continuous development of society to improve product quality to increase the added value of products. Tsingtao beer sales area is narrow; the high-end product market share is low. In the sales channels, they should expand sales channels, and make full use of the dealers financial products into the domestic big cities. The strategic alliance and domestic and foreign well-known hotel for strategic alliance is right choice, like Pepsi and KFC as alliance. Tsingtao beer enterprise must be good at catch opponents weak and then open marketing offensive. Such as Beijing Yanjing, Nanjing dealer for instant noodles, beverage and other non now drink terminal product distributors. They are lack of operation drink terminal market corresponding network and the actual status of the experience. Tsingtao beer should increase in Beijing drink terminal market in terms of has formed a fixed consumer groups.

Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde :: essays research papers

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE A character analysis is usually based on one character, however in this case there are two. I say this because they are both one. Sound confusing? It should, I had to read lines over and over just to understand it. You see its quite simple, there is one Dr. Jekyll and he is a typical nice doctor. However he is not satisfied with him self thus he creates another side of him, a bad side who pushes over little kids without a hesitation or feel of guilt. This side is come to known as Dr Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is a man who is “caring“ and was “very well educated';, he like was the good side, and he had morals, and he was able to determine the difference between right and wrong when he was Dr. Jekyll. Once the potion started to backfire in Jekyll’s face because Hyde turned to evil and wants to kill him, Jekyll is upset and says only, “ Oh what a lesson I have learned! “. This shows that at least Dr. Jekyll realizes he made a mistake in the first place, he says to “ let him (me) alone to suffer for a great evil deed that I have committed';. He realizes that morally what he did was wrong. And that one shall just be as they are, and not try to change that. He tried, and he failed. Dr. Hyde on the other hand is the evil side of Dr. Jekyll. Enfield points out that “ he (I) saw a strange, deformed man round the corner and bump into a young girl. The strange man did not stop but simply walked right over the young girl.'; This man was later figured to be Dr. Hyde, This obviously shows that he was an evil man who had no worries about anything in his life (pushing over a little kid as one of them), and he would peruse doing what he did, not letting anyone stop him. Dr. Hyde and Jekyll have one common trait even though they have two different personalities. This trait is that they are the same people! This is uncertain until the end, there are hints by the notes and the handwritings how they are similar but with a slant but until the end it was unsure. They share a characteristic; they both are real sneaky, sneaky enough to even fool the reader.

The Handmaids Tale Essay -- Margaret Atwood Handmaids Tale Essays

The Handmaid's Tale The Handmaids Tale, written by Margaret Attwood, goes on to explore the consequences that come to be from the reversal of womens rights in a society called Gilead. It is what one can consider a cautionary tale. In the new world of Gilead, a group of conservative religious extremists have taken power, and have turned the sexual revolution upside down. The society of Gilead is founded on what is to be considered a return to traditional values, gender roles and the subjugation of women by men, and the Bible is used as the guiding principle. It differs completely from the society, which was once the place in which Feminists argued for liberation from the traditional gender roles. What women had worked hard for in the area of gaining rights to birth control, legalization of abortion and an increasing number of active female voters, had been completely reversed in a short period of time. Not only were women now forbidden to vote in Gilead, they were also denied the right to read or write, according to the new laws of the establishment. The Handmaids Tale portrays that of a totalitarian society, and reflects a dystopia, which goes on to explore the interaction between sexuality and politics. The main character within the novel is Offred, who also happens to be a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. Offred is not the Narrators real name; it is her handmaid name, which is derived from the word of followed by her Commanders name. Because of low birth rates, Handmaids are assigned to bear the children for the elite couples within Gilead, who have trouble conceiving. Offred serves the Commander and his wife Serena Joy. Serena was once an advocate for the concept of traditional values, before the establishment of Gi... ...ppression and the dangers of a patriarchal society. The Handmaid's Tale has many elements of social decline written into its plot. From the way women are mistreated to the way corruption and evil have infiltrated the government and army, to the way the black market plays a key role in many people's lives causing a majority of society to become criminals makes it clear how social decline plays a key role in the book. There is also a strong sense of moral decline in the book. If a person, regardless of sex, doesn't fit into the role expectation, he or she is eliminated, exiled from Gilead, and left for dead. Dystopia, the final determinant in the success of The Handmaid's Tale is an imaginary world gone sour through idealism that fails to correspond to the expectations, principles, and behaviors of real people. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaids Tale

Maryland Science Assessments :: Essays Papers

Maryland Science Assessments Within the discipline of science there are facts, principles, skills, and processes of five classified standards: earth/space, biology, chemistry, physics, and environmental science. In the State of Maryland, the main assessment tool is the MSPAP (Maryland State Performance Assessment Program). Also, an individual teacher has to do assessment of his/her students throughout the school year. A teacher needs to know what to assess and how. Through an interview, a teacher of Bodkin Elementary has given her opinion about the state assessment test MSPAP. Maryland State has one major test that brings up many opinions of professionals in the education field. With state and classroom assessments Maryland’s intention is to measure their school improvement within the discipline of science as well as mathematics, reading, writing, language usage, and social studies. The Maryland State Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) is "an assessment or testing program whose primary purpose is to provide information that can be used to improve instruction in schools"(MSDE, 1999). Students in third, fifth, and eighth grades take the MSPAP assessment each May. The assessment was created to be able to test the how well the students could solve problems both individually and with others, to see if they can use background knowledge to solve real world problems and to see if students can use knowledge from one subject into another. Students normally work in groups to complete the task they are given for each subject. Students are required to write extensively unlike other forms of assessment or testing where students fill out bubble forms such as scantron. The MSPAP assessment takes five days with 105 minutes spent each day on the assessment. Sample problems are given to teachers to help their students prepare for they type of activities and writing assignments they will be given on the task. One example task for eighth grade science students is to look at scientific data on the solar system and to write at least three questions that they can ask after looking at the data(Carr, 2000). After students have asked the questions they then need to "describe three repeating patterns of astronomical change that occur in the sky above us"(Carr, 2000) The MSPAP was created in May, 1990 by many teachers and administrators after the State Board of Education came up with learning goals that they wanted to reach by the year 2000. The MSPAP has six sections: reading, writing, language use, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Factors for Going Public Through an Ipo Essay

When an organization is private they have decisions to make. Going public through an initial public offering, or IPO is one decision they can choose. When going through an IPO there is going to be increased capital. A public offering will allow a company to raise capital to use for various corporate purposes such as working capital, acquisitions, research and development, marketing, and expanding plant and equipment (FindLaw, 2013). Other advantages of choosing an IPO would be liquidity, increased prestige, valuation, and increased wealth. Weaknesses Even though going public has some advantages, it can also have some disadvantages too. The time and expense is probably one of the biggest disadvantages with this choice. It can take over a year and much money for fees to even start the process of an IPO. Other disadvantages to going public through an IPO would be disclosure, decisions based on stock price, regulatory review, falling stock price, and vulnerability. Disclosure is another part that can be costly when starting an IPO. That means that the organization has to make all financial records available to the public. Opportunities Going public is a way to increase public awareness of the company. The company will have more exposure of its product line. This awareness will increase sales because the product will be introduced to a new group of potential clients. An opportunity to increase clients will have an increase in market share. Investors will have a positive reaction to the company as it increases its market share. Threats As a public company, there will be accounting practices that will need to be met. The SEC requires public companies to comply with the regulations. The cost to comply with SEC regulations can be expensive in addition to the regulations the SOX Act will require an external accounting firm to audit the company adding additional cost. Since Lafleur will now be operating as a public company, they will have the pressure to perform for the market. â€Å"The actions of the company’s management also become increasingly scrutinized as investors constantly look for rising profits. This may lead management to perform somewhat questionable practices in order to boost earnings† (K. Balasubramaniam, 2009). Factors for acquiring another organization in the same industry Strengths An organization can also acquire another organization in the same industry. A major strength with acquiring another organization is that Lafleur Trading Company would be the owner of both organizations and would hold the power of both at the same time. The new organization loses its power and sometimes even loses the name. Acquiring another organization might be done to save the original smaller company while boosting sales for the larger company. If Lafleur would choose to keep the client list of the new organization it would be strength for them and those clients. The clients would still be able to receive the same products, but under new owners. With the new organization being in the same industry Lafleur would not have to buy any additional equipment for the new product. They could just bring the product over to their buildings. Weaknesses Acquiring another organization has its weaknesses too. Customers can become upset over this because they want to be loyal to the previous owners over the newer ones. Lafleur would have to pay a premium to the affiliate of the organization to keep the customers happy (if they can) and without upsetting cash flow. Opportunities There is opportunity in a company’s strengths. Lafleur can take advantage of the successes the acquired company has accomplished in the areas of product, marketing, research and development, and staffing. They can also avoid mistakes that have been made in the past. Using a synergy strategy in this process of acquisition will require Lafleur to be knowledgeable in the operations of the new company. Threats The threat of acquiring another company in the same industry is in its customer base and product line. Lafleur may not be gaining new clients or offering new or improved products. The sales team may be making the same sales calls to the same customers the other company. In this scenario, Lafleur will be gaining the company’s debt without the benefit of expanding resources for future growth. Merging with another organization Strengths Mergers are different than acquiring a new organization because when two companies merge they work together instead of taking full control of the weaker company. Mergers can help both organizations while also benefiting the public. The new firm will have increased market share, which reduces competition (Economics Help, n.d.). The merger will help financially because the company will get a better interest rate for the size. Efficiency is strength for mergers because the companies can bring the more experienced employees from both organizations together. An important strength of a merger is having diversity between the two original organizations. Other strengths would be research and development, avoiding duplication, and regulation of monopoly. Weaknesses Mergers have weaknesses just like any other choice to expand the organization. Mergers mean higher prices for products because competition is cut when two organizations become one. A merger also means fewer choices of products for customers. One of the biggest weaknesses for a merger would be fewer jobs in each organization. This means that Lafleur would have to let go of some of their employees while the organization it mergers with would have to also let go of some. The employees that are left might experience diseconomies of scale. This means that the employees will feel like they are part of a big corporation and their motivation will start to go away. Opportunities Opportunity lies in a merger with a larger well known company. Lafleur will gain the experience of growth from a larger company. There is also the opportunity of better benefits, salaries, increased revenue, and the expansion of offices in other markets. There must be research to be done to choose a company that will aid in future growth. This company will need to be a worthy partner and not a company that needs a lifeline to survive. Threats If a company does not have a growth opportunity on its own, it will not have growth opportunity when it merges with another company. The threat of Lafleur not benefitting from shared resources can result in failure for both companies. Another threat to a merger is mis-management. If the other company is poorly managed, Lafleur will suffer with unrealistic strategic goals, poor communication, and uncertain future success. It is because of these reasons that most companies do not experience more than one merger in their lifetime, they usually fail. Balasubramaniam, K. (2009). Advantages and Disadvantages for a Company Going Public. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/ipoadvantagedisadvantage.asp

The Da Vinci Code Chapter 7-9

CHAPTER 7 The modest dwelling within the Church of Saint-Sulpice was located on the second floor of the church itself, to the left of the choir balcony. A two-room suite with a stone floor and minimal furnishings, it had been home to Sister Sandrine Bieil for over a decade. The nearby convent washer formal residence, if anyone asked, but she preferred the quiet of the church and had made herself quite comfortable upstairs with a bed, phone, and hot plate. As the church's conservatrice d'affaires, Sister Sandrine was responsible for overseeing all nonreligious aspects of church operations – general maintenance, hiring support staff and guides, securing the building after hours, and ordering supplies like communion wine and wafers. Tonight, asleep in her small bed, she awoke to the shrill of her telephone. Tiredly, she lifted the receiver. â€Å"Soeur Sandrine. Eglise Saint-Sulpice.† â€Å"Hello, Sister,† the man said in French. Sister Sandrine sat up. What time is it? Although she recognized her boss's voice, in fifteen years she had never been awoken by him. The abbe was a deeply pious man who went home to bed immediately after mass. â€Å"I apologize if I have awoken you, Sister,† the abbe said, his own voice sounding groggy and on edge. â€Å"I have a favor to ask of you. I just received a call from an influential American bishop. Perhaps you know him? Manuel Aringarosa?† â€Å"The head of Opus Dei?† Of course I know of him.Who in the Church doesn't? Aringarosa's conservative prelature had grown powerful in recent years. Their ascension to grace was jump-started in 1982 when Pope John Paul II unexpectedly elevated them to a† personal prelature of the Pope,† officially sanctioning all of their practices. Suspiciously, Opus Dei's elevation occurred the same year the wealthy sect allegedly had transferred almost one billion dollars into the Vatican's Institute for Religious Works – commonly known as the Vatican Bank – bailing it out of an embarrassing bankruptcy. In a second maneuver that raised eyebrows, the Pope placed the founder of Opus Dei on the† fast track† for sainthood, accelerating an often century-long waiting period for canonization to a mere twenty years. Sister Sandrine could not help but feel that Opus Dei's good standing in Rome was suspect, but one did not argue with the Holy See. â€Å"Bishop Aringarosa called to ask me a favor,† the abbe told her, his voice nervous. â€Å"One of his numeraries is in Paris tonight†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As Sister Sandrine listened to the odd request, she felt a deepening confusion. â€Å"I'm sorry, you say this visiting Opus Dei numerary cannot wait until morning?† â€Å"I'm afraid not. His plane leaves very early. He has always dreamed of seeing Saint-Sulpice.† â€Å"But the church is far more interesting by day. The sun's rays through the oculus, the graduated shadows on the gnomon, this is what makes Saint-Sulpice unique.† â€Å"Sister, I agree, and yet I would consider it a personal favor if you could let him in tonight. He can be there at†¦ say one o'clock? That's in twenty minutes.† Sister Sandrine frowned. â€Å"Of course. It would be my pleasure.† The abbe thanked her and hung up. Puzzled, Sister Sandrine remained a moment in the warmth of her bed, trying to shake off the cobwebs of sleep. Her sixty-year-old body did not awake as fast as it used to, although tonight's phone call had certainly roused her senses. Opus Dei had always made her uneasy. Beyond the prelature's adherence to the arcane ritual of corporal mortification, their views on women were medieval at best. She had been shocked to learn that female numeraries were forced to clean the men's residence halls for no pay while the men were at mass; women slept on hardwood floors, while the men had straw mats; and women were forced to endure additional requirements of corporal mortification†¦ all as added penance for original sin. It seemed Eve's bite from the apple of knowledge was a debt women were doomed to pay for eternity. Sadly, while most of the Catholic Church was gradually moving in the right direction with respect to women's rights, Opus Dei threatened to reverse the progress. Even so, Sister Sandrine had her orders. Swinging her legs off the bed, she stood slowly, chilled by the cold stone on the soles of her bare feet. As the chill rose through her flesh, she felt an unexpected apprehension. Women's intuition? A follower of God, Sister Sandrine had learned to find peace in the calming voices of her own soul. Tonight, however, those voices were as silent as the empty church around her. CHAPTER 8 Langdon couldn't tear his eyes from the glowing purple text scrawled across the parquet floor. Jacques Sauniere's final communication seemed as unlikely a departing message as any Langdon could imagine. The message read: 13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5 O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! Although Langdon had not the slightest idea what it meant, he did understand Fache's instinct that the pentacle had something to do with devil worship. O, Draconian devil! Sauniere had left a literal reference to the devil. Equally as bizarre was the series of numbers. â€Å"Part of it looks like a numeric cipher.† â€Å"Yes,† Fache said. â€Å"Our cryptographers are already working on it. We believe these numbers maybe the key to who killed him. Maybe a telephone exchange or some kind of social identification. Do the numbers have any symbolic meaning to you?† Langdon looked again at the digits, sensing it would take him hours to extract any symbolic meaning. If Sauniere had even intended any.To Langdon, the numbers looked totally random. He was accustomed to symbolic progressions that made some semblance of sense, but everything here – the pentacle, the text, the numbers – seemed disparate at the most fundamental level. â€Å"You alleged earlier,† Fache said,† that Sauniere's actions here were all in an effort to send some sort of message†¦ goddess worship or something in that vein? How does this message fit in?† Langdon knew the question was rhetorical. This bizarre communique obviously did not fit Langdon's scenario of goddess worship at all. O, Draconian devil? Oh, lame saint? Fache said, â€Å"This text appears to be an accusation of some sort. Wouldn't you agree?† Langdon tried to imagine the curator's final minutes trapped alone in the Grand Gallery, knowing he was about to die. It seemed logical. â€Å"An accusation against his murderer makes sense, I suppose.† â€Å"My job, of course, is to put a name to that person. Let me ask you this, Mr. Langdon. To your eye, beyond the numbers, what about this message is most strange?† Most strange? A dying man had barricaded himself in the gallery, drawn a pentacle on himself, and scrawled a mysterious accusation on the floor. What about the scenario wasn't strange? â€Å"The word ‘Draconian'?† he ventured, offering the first thing that came to mind. Langdon was fairly certain that a reference to Draco – the ruthless seventh-century B. C. politician – was an unlikely dying thought. † ‘Draconian devil' seems an odd choice of vocabulary.† â€Å"Draconian?† Fache's tone came with a tinge of impatience now. â€Å"Sauniere's choice of vocabulary hardly seems the primary issue here.† Langdon wasn't sure what issue Fache had in mind, but he was starting to suspect that Draco and Fache would have gotten along well. â€Å"Sauniere was a Frenchman,† Fache said flatly. â€Å"He lived in Paris. And yet he chose to write this message†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"In English,† Langdon said, now realizing the captain's meaning. Fache nodded. â€Å"Precisement.Any idea why?† Langdon knew Sauniere spoke impeccable English, and yet the reason he had chosen English as the language in which to write his final words escaped Langdon. He shrugged. Fache motioned back to the pentacle on Sauniere's abdomen. â€Å"Nothing to do with devil worship? Are you still certain?† Langdon was certain of nothing anymore. â€Å"The symbology and text don't seem to coincide. I'm sorry I can't be of more help.† â€Å"Perhaps this will clarify.† Fache backed away from the body and raised the black light again, letting the beam spread out in a wider angle. â€Å"And now?† To Langdon's amazement, a rudimentary circle glowed around the curator's body. Sauniere had apparently lay down and swung the pen around himself in several long arcs, essentially inscribing himself inside a circle. In a flash, the meaning became clear. â€Å"The Vitruvian Man,†Langdon gasped. Sauniere had created a life-sized replica of Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous sketch. Considered the most anatomically correct drawing of its day, Da Vinci's The Vitruvian Man had become a modern-day icon of culture, appearing on posters, mouse pads, and T-shirts around the world. The celebrated sketch consisted of a perfect circle in which was inscribed a nude male†¦ his arms and legs outstretched in a naked spread eagle. Da Vinci.Langdon felt a shiver of amazement. The clarity of Sauniere's intentions could not be denied. In his final moments of life, the curator had stripped off his clothing and arranged his body in a clear image of Leonardo Da Vinci's VitruvianMan. The circle had been the missing critical element. A feminine symbol of protection, the circle around the naked man's body completed Da Vinci's intended message – male and female harmony. The question now, though, was why Sauniere would imitate a famous drawing. â€Å"Mr. Langdon,† Fache said,† certainly a man like yourself is aware that Leonardo Da Vinci had a tendency toward the darker arts.† Langdon was surprised by Fache's knowledge of Da Vinci, and it certainly went a long way toward explaining the captain's suspicions about devil worship. Da Vinci had always been an awkward subject for historians, especially in the Christian tradition. Despite the visionary's genius, he was a flamboyant homosexual and worshipper of Nature's divine order, both of which placed him in a perpetual state of sin against God. Moreover, the artist's eerie eccentricities projected an admittedly demonic aura: Da Vinci exhumed corpses to study human anatomy; he kept mysterious journals in illegible reverse handwriting; he believed he possessed the alchemic power to turn lead into gold and even cheat God by creating an elixir to postpone death; and his inventions included horrific, never-before-imagined weapons of war and torture. Misunderstanding breeds distrust, Langdon thought. Even Da Vinci's enormous output of breathtaking Christian art only furthered the artist's reputation for spiritual hypocrisy. Accepting hundreds of lucrative Vatican commissions, Da Vinci painted Christian themes not as an expression of his own beliefs but rather as a commercial venture – a means of funding a lavish lifestyle. Unfortunately, Da Vinci was a prankster who often amused himself by quietly gnawing at the hand that fed him. He incorporated in many of his Christian paintings hidden symbolism that was anything but Christian – tributes to his own beliefs and a subtle thumbing of his nose at the Church. Langdon had even given a lecture once at the National Gallery in London entitled:† The Secret Life of Leonardo: Pagan Symbolism in Christian Art.† â€Å"I understand your concerns,† Langdon now said, â€Å"but Da Vinci never really practiced any dark arts. He was an exceptionally spiritual man, albeit one in constant conflict with the Church.† As Langdon said this, an odd thought popped into his mind. He glanced down at the message on the floor again. O, Draconian devil! Oh, lame saint! â€Å"Yes?† Fache said. Langdon weighed his words carefully. â€Å"I was just thinking that Sauniere shared a lot of spiritual ideologies with Da Vinci, including a concern over the Church's elimination of the sacred feminine from modern religion. Maybe, by imitating a famous Da Vinci drawing, Sauniere was simply echoing some of their shared frustrations with the modern Church's demonization of the goddess.† Fache's eyes hardened. â€Å"You think Sauniere is calling the Church a lame saint and a Draconian devil?† Langdon had to admit it seemed far-fetched, and yet the pentacle seemed to endorse the idea on some level. â€Å"All I am saying is that Mr. Sauniere dedicated his life to studying the history of the goddess, and nothing has done more to erase that history than the Catholic Church. It seems reasonable that Sauniere might have chosen to express his disappointment in his final good-bye.† â€Å"Disappointment?† Fache demanded, sounding hostile now. â€Å"This message sounds more enragedthan disappointed, wouldn't you say?† Langdon was reaching the end of his patience. â€Å"Captain, you asked for my instincts as to what Sauniere is trying to say here, and that's what I'm giving you.† â€Å"That this is an indictment of the Church?† Fache's jaw tightened as he spoke through clenched teeth. â€Å"Mr. Langdon, I have seen a lot of death in my work, and let me tell you something. When a man is murdered by another man, I do not believe his final thoughts are to write an obscure spiritual statement that no one will understand. I believe he is thinking of one thing only.† Fache's whispery voice sliced the air. â€Å"La vengeance.I believe Sauniere wrote this note to tell us who killed him.† Langdon stared. â€Å"But that makes no sense whatsoever.† â€Å"No?† â€Å"No,† he fired back, tired and frustrated. â€Å"You told me Sauniere was attacked in his office by someone he had apparently invited in.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"So it seems reasonable to conclude that the curator knew his attacker.† Fache nodded. â€Å"Go on.† â€Å"So if Sauniere knew the person who killed him, what kind of indictment is this?† He pointed at the floor. â€Å"Numeric codes? Lame saints? Draconian devils? Pentacles on his stomach? It's all too cryptic.† Fache frowned as if the idea had never occurred to him. â€Å"You have a point.† â€Å"Considering the circumstances,† Langdon said,† I would assume that if Sauniere wanted to tell you who killed him, he would have written down somebody's name.† As Langdon spoke those words, a smug smile crossed Fache's lips for the first time all night. â€Å"Precisement,†Fache said. â€Å"Precisement.† I am witnessing the work of a master, mused Lieutenant Collet as he tweaked his audio gear and listened to Fache's voice coming through the headphones. The agent superieur knew it was moments like these that had lifted the captain to the pinnacle of French law enforcement. Fache will do what no one else dares. The delicate art of cajoler was a lost skill in modern law enforcement, one that required exceptional poise under pressure. Few men possessed the necessary sangfroid for this kind of operation, but Fache seemed born for it. His restraint and patience bordered on the robotic. Fache's sole emotion this evening seemed to be one of intense resolve, as if this arrest were somehow personal to him. Fache's briefing of his agents an hour ago had been unusually succinct and assured. I know who murdered Jacques Sauniere, Fache had said. You know what to do.No mistakes tonight. And so far, no mistakes had been made. Collet was not yet privy to the evidence that had cemented Fache's certainty of their suspect's guilt, but he knew better than to question the instincts of the Bull. Fache's intuition seemed almost supernatural at times. God whispers in his ear, one agent had insisted after a particularly impressive display of Fache's sixth sense. Collet had to admit, if there was a God, Bezu Fache would be on His A-list. The captain attended mass and confession with zealous regularity – far more than the requisite holiday attendance fulfilled by other officials in the name of good public relations. When the Pope visited Paris a few years back, Fache had used all his muscle to obtain the honor of an audience. A photo of Fache with the Pope now hung in his office. The Papal Bull, the agents secretly called it. Collet found it ironic that one of Fache's rare popular public stances in recent years had been his outspoken reaction to the Catholic pedophilia scandal. These priests should be hanged twice! Fache had declared. Once for their crimes against children.And once for shaming the good name of theCatholic Church.Collet had the odd sense it was the latter that angered Fache more. Turning now to his laptop computer, Collet attended to the other half of his responsibilities here tonight – the GPS tracking system. The image onscreen revealed a detailed floor plan of the Denon Wing, a structural schematic uploaded from the Louvre Security Office. Letting his eyes trace the maze of galleries and hallways, Collet found what he was looking for. Deep in the heart of the Grand Gallery blinked a tiny red dot. La marque. Fache was keeping his prey on a very tight leash tonight. Wisely so. Robert Langdon had proven himself one cool customer. CHAPTER 9 To ensure his conversation with Mr. Langdon would not be interrupted, Bezu Fache had turned off his cellular phone. Unfortunately, it was an expensive model equipped with a two-way radio feature, which, contrary to his orders, was now being used by one of his agents to page him. â€Å"Capitaine?† The phone crackled like a walkie-talkie. Fache felt his teeth clench in rage. He could imagine nothing important enough that Collet would interrupt this surveillance cachee – especially at this critical juncture. He gave Langdon a calm look of apology. â€Å"One moment please.† He pulled the phone from his belt and pressed the radio transmission button. â€Å"Oui?† â€Å"Capitaine, un agent du Departement de Cryptographie est arrive.† Fache's anger stalled momentarily. A cryptographer? Despite the lousy timing, this was probably good news. Fache, after finding Sauniere's cryptic text on the floor, had uploaded photographs of the entire crime scene to the Cryptography Department in hopes someone there could tell him what the hell Sauniere was trying to say. If a code breaker had now arrived, it most likely meant someone had decrypted Sauniere's message. â€Å"I'm busy at the moment,† Fache radioed back, leaving no doubt in his tone that a line had been crossed. â€Å"Ask the cryptographer to wait at the command post. I'll speak to him when I'm done.† â€Å"Her,†the voice corrected. â€Å"It's Agent Neveu.† Fache was becoming less amused with this call every passing moment. Sophie Neveu was one of DCPJ's biggest mistakes. A young Parisian dechiffreuse who had studied cryptography in England at the Royal Holloway, Sophie Neveu had been foisted on Fache two years ago as part of the ministry's attempt to incorporate more women into the police force. The ministry's ongoing foray into political correctness, Fache argued, was weakening the department. Women not only lacked the physicality necessary for police work, but their mere presence posed a dangerous distraction to the men in the field. As Fache had feared, Sophie Neveu was proving far more distracting than most. At thirty-two years old, she had a dogged determination that bordered on obstinate. Her eager espousal of Britain's new cryptologic methodology continually exasperated the veteran French cryptographers above her. And by far the most troubling to Fache was the inescapable universal truth that in an office of middle-aged men, an attractive young woman always drew eyes away from the work at hand. The man on the radio said,† Agent Neveu insisted on speaking to you immediately, Captain. I tried to stop her, but she's on her way into the gallery.† Fache recoiled in disbelief. â€Å"Unacceptable! I made it very clear – â€Å" For a moment, Robert Langdon thought Bezu Fache was suffering a stroke. The captain was mid- sentence when his jaw stopped moving and his eyes bulged. His blistering gaze seemed fixated on something over Langdon's shoulder. Before Langdon could turn to see what it was, he heard a woman's voice chime out behind him. â€Å"Excusez-moi, messieurs.† Langdon turned to see a young woman approaching. She was moving down the corridor toward them with long, fluid strides†¦ a haunting certainty to her gait. Dressed casually in a knee-length, cream-colored Irish sweater over black leggings, she was attractive and looked to be about thirty. Her thick burgundy hair fell unstyled to her shoulders, framing the warmth of her face. Unlike the waifish, cookie-cutter blondes that adorned Harvard dorm room walls, this woman was healthy with an unembellished beauty and genuineness that radiated a striking personal confidence. To Langdon's surprise, the woman walked directly up to him and extended a polite hand.† Monsieur Langdon, I am Agent Neveu from DCPJ's Cryptology Department.† Her words curved richly around her muted Anglo-Franco accent. â€Å"It is a pleasure to meet you.† Langdon took her soft palm in his and felt himself momentarily fixed in her strong gaze. Her eyes were olive-green – incisive and clear. Fache drew a seething inhalation, clearly preparing to launch into a reprimand. â€Å"Captain,† she said, turning quickly and beating him to the punch, â€Å"please excuse the interruption, but – â€Å" â€Å"Ce n'est pas le moment!† Fache sputtered. â€Å"I tried to phone you.† Sophie continued in English, as if out of courtesy to Langdon. â€Å"But your cell phone was turned off.† â€Å"I turned it off for a reason,† Fache hissed. â€Å"I am speaking to Mr. Langdon.† â€Å"I've deciphered the numeric code,† she said flatly. Langdon felt a pulse of excitement. She broke the code? Fache looked uncertain how to respond. â€Å"Before I explain,† Sophie said,† I have an urgent message for Mr. Langdon.† Fache's expression turned to one of deepening concern. â€Å"For Mr. Langdon?† She nodded, turning back to Langdon. â€Å"You need to contact the U. S. Embassy, Mr. Langdon. They have a message for you from the States.† Langdon reacted with surprise, his excitement over the code giving way to a sudden ripple of concern. A message from the States? He tried to imagine who could be trying to reach him. Only a few of his colleagues knew he was in Paris. Fache's broad jaw had tightened with the news. â€Å"The U. S. Embassy?† he demanded, sounding suspicious. â€Å"How would they know to find Mr. Langdon here?† Sophie shrugged. â€Å"Apparently they called Mr. Langdon's hotel, and the concierge told them Mr. Langdon had been collected by a DCPJ agent.† Fache looked troubled. â€Å"And the embassy contacted DCPJ Cryptography?† â€Å"No, sir,† Sophie said, her voice firm. â€Å"When I called the DCPJ switchboard in an attempt to contact you, they had a message waiting for Mr. Langdon and asked me to pass it along if I got through to you.† Fache's brow furrowed in apparent confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sophie had already turned back to Langdon. â€Å"Mr. Langdon,† she declared, pulling a small slip of paper from her pocket,† this is the number for your embassy's messaging service. They asked that you phone in as soon as possible.† She handed him the paper with an intent gaze. â€Å"While I explain the code to Captain Fache, you need to make this call.† Langdon studied the slip. It had a Paris phone number and extension on it. â€Å"Thank you,† he said, feeling worried now. â€Å"Where do I find a phone?† Sophie began to pull a cell phone from her sweater pocket, but Fache waved her off. He now looked like Mount Vesuvius about to erupt. Without taking his eyes off Sophie, he produced his own cell phone and held it out. â€Å"This line is secure, Mr. Langdon. You may use it.† Langdon felt mystified by Fache's anger with the young woman. Feeling uneasy, he accepted the captain's phone. Fache immediately marched Sophie several steps away and began chastising her in hushed tones. Disliking the captain more and more, Langdon turned away from the odd confrontation and switched on the cell phone. Checking the slip of paper Sophie had given him, Langdon dialed the number. The line began to ring. One ring†¦ two rings†¦ three rings†¦ Finally the call connected. Langdon expected to hear an embassy operator, but he found himself instead listening to an answering machine. Oddly, the voice on the tape was familiar. It was that of Sophie Neveu. â€Å"Bonjour, vous etes bien chez Sophie Neveu,† the woman's voice said. â€Å"Je suis absenle pour le moment, mais†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Confused, Langdon turned back toward Sophie. â€Å"I'm sorry, Ms. Neveu? I think you may have given me – â€Å" â€Å"No, that's the right number,† Sophie interjected quickly, as if anticipating Langdon's confusion.† The embassy has an automated message system. You have to dial an access code to pick up your messages.† Langdon stared. â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"It's the three-digit code on the paper I gave you.† Langdon opened his mouth to explain the bizarre error, but Sophie flashed him a silencing glare that lasted only an instant. Her green eyes sent a crystal-clear message. Don't ask questions. Just do it. Bewildered, Langdon punched in the extension on the slip of paper: 454. Sophie's outgoing message immediately cut off, and Langdon heard an electronic voice announce in French: â€Å"You have one new message.† Apparently, 454 was Sophie's remote access code for picking up her messages while away from home. I'm picking up this woman's messages? Langdon could hear the tape rewinding now. Finally, it stopped, and the machine engaged. Langdon listened as the message began to play. Again, the voice on the line was Sophie's. â€Å"Mr. Langdon,† the message began in a fearful whisper. â€Å"Do not react to this message. Just listen calmly. You are in danger right now. Follow my directions very closely.†