OCD displayed in the movie as good as it gets essays

OCD displayed in the movie as good as it gets essays This was a very interesting movie, which showed a man's struggle with the disorder of OCD. In the beginning of the movie Jack Nicholsons symptoms were shown in a manner that mirrored OCD symptoms exactly. There were many symptoms toward the disorder that were shown throughout the video such as his routines of washing his hands and the locking of his doors. Even the way he went about his daily routines, such as walking over sidewalk cracks and bringing his own eating utensils to the restaurant. He was a very unique character. If one did not know that he had OCD they would see him as a very strange type of person with very extraordinary habits. For example, the people in the restaurant never liked him because of his treatment of others, the way he mannered himself and his disregard for others. What they didnt see was his hidden character, which was a very caring person; he just didnt like sharing his inner beauty with others because of the disorder. When his daily routines were forced into change he started to become a different person. The changes in his life starting occurring when his neighbor Simon was mugged, and he was forced to accept the responsibility of taking care of his dog. He surprisingly became attached to the dog, and eventually overpasses his negative feelings toward Simon and became friends with him. His waitress at the restaurant, Carol, also played a very important role in his life. When she was forced to stay home and take care of her kid, it upset his daily routine. He even went to her house due to his OCD. With this though it brought about changes that would have a great impact on his life. At the expense of his publisher he hired a personal doctor to take care of her son so Carol could resume work. At first Carol did not understand this and become extremely frustrated. All of the main characters become intertwined when Melvin (Jack Nicholson) grudgingly a ...

A New Kind of Didactic Novel

A New Kind of Didactic Novel A New Kind of Didactic Novel A New Kind of Didactic Novel By Maeve Maddox Didactic fiction is nothing new. Aesops tales are didactic, as are Langlands The Vision of Piers Plowman, Bunyans The Pilgrims Progress, Hesses Siddhartha, and Orwells Animal Farm. The authors of all these works desired to teach readers a lesson about the moral significance of human behavior. The word didactic is from a Greek verb meaning both to teach and to learn. There was a time that authors could admit to wanting to create a didactic novel and critics were willing to praise such novels for their moral effectiveness. The success of Harriet Beecher Stowes didactic novel Uncle Toms Cabin (1852) illustrates the effectiveness of using fiction to promote an authors social ideals. Beginning in the 1700s, American abolitionists churned out thousands of tracts in their fight to abolish slavery in the United States. None of them produced the effect of the extended abolitionist tract that Mrs. Stowe framed as fiction. tract noun: a pamphlet, leaflet, or folder issued (as by a political or religious group) for propaganda. In the nineteenth century, Uncle Toms Cabin was the best-selling novel in the world. According to what may be an apocryphal anecdote, when Mrs. Stowe met Abraham Lincoln in 1862, he remarked, so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war. Modern readers expect a textbook or how-to book to be didactic, but modern critics usually perceive didacticism in a work of creative fiction as a flaw: George Orwell was better at essays than at novels. His most famous novels,  1984  and  Animal Farm,  are clunkily didactic, especially  Animal Farm.   George refers to Dickens on the first page of her earnest but perhaps overly didactic novel, What Happened Before He Shot Her. OConnor has been criticized for being overly  didactic. Odetss inability to escape this 1930s pigeonhole is reflected in the intensely ideological, even didactic, nature of his plays.   Unlike many other Soviet filmmakers, whose works are boldly and aggressively didactic, Alexander Dovzhenkos cinematic output is personal and fervently private.   Now, however, a fictional genre called the startup novel has emerged, written by experienced and wanna-be entrepreneurs. These novels encapsulate blueprints for successful entrepreneurship in plots that employ action and intrigue. Apparently, entrepreneurs are reading them to learn the techniques of starting a business. Entrepreneur Orr Ben-Zvy says that after reading almost every [nonfiction] book on Amazons 50 best sellers for business and the next 50 for entrepreneurship, he discovered something counterintuitive: fiction [is] much more useful than nonfiction. His search for a fictionalized account of how to achieve financial success with a startup company led him to Eliot Pepers novel Uncommon Stock (2014), a book credited with being the first of its kind. According to a blurb on Amazon, the Uncommon trilogy has attracted a cult following in Silicon Valley and is the #1 top-rated financial thriller on Amazon. The genre that romanticizes and describes the process of starting a business has blossomed since 2014. An Amazon search for financial thrillers brings up pages and pages of titles. I havent read one yet, but I intend to. Im curious to see what kind of moral message this new didactic genre has for its readers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†Ten Yiddish Expressions You Should KnowCareful with Words Used as Noun and Verb

Structure matters Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Structure matters - Lab Report Example It involved manual pulling of the paper strips to find out the amount of force needed to tear the paper. Some paper strips were soaked with water and the same tensile strength test conducted. It was noted that the dry paper strips require far much force to tear apart than those soaked in water. Among the dry paper strips, the strips with shorter width required much force unlike those with longer widths. The demand placed on pulp industry makes paper and paper board testing an important step in the in the production process of paper before release for use in the wide range of applications. The tensile strength and elongation of the produced paper must meet customer requirement especially those used in printing. The tensile breaking strength of board and paper is usually achieved by measuring the stretch and breaking load of paper strips. The provided sheet of paper was measured and five of 3/8† by 3† strips were made through the use of scissors both from the top left comer of the sheet and the bottom right corner. The strips made from the top corner were kept separate from those made from the bottom right corner. The amount of force required to pull the strips apart were rated form a scale of one to ten with one assigned to the strips that required the least amount of force while ten assigned to strips that required the maximum force. From the firs experiment it was evidenced that pulling the strips cut from the bottom left corner of the sheet required a lot of force to be exerted in order to tear the strip a part. The force needed to get the strips torn was rated 8 out of ten. On the other hand, the strips made from the top of the paper required much less force as compared to the other strips. The force required to get the strips torn was rated 5 out of ten. The strips made from the bottom right corner of the paper had a shorter width of 3/8† with a longer length of 3†.

Compensation and Benefit Systems n Dominos Pizza in the US Essay

Compensation and Benefit Systems n Dominos Pizza in the US - Essay Example The company chosen for this paper is Domino’s Pizza as this is one of the world biggest companies of pizza production and delivery. The company was founded in the USA in 1960 by Tom Monaghan. Since that time Domino’s Pizza Company became one of the leading fast food delivery companies in the world: â€Å"We have been delivering quality, affordable pizza to our customers since 1960 when brothers Thomas and James Monaghan borrowed $900 and purchased a small pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Since that time, our store count and geographic reach have grown substantially†. Domino’s Pizza combines some methods of international expansion and development, but there are some most effective ones which provide the best penetration to the international markets. Compensation and benefit systems of Domino’s Pizza in the United States are tightly connected with its methods of international expansion. The most important parts of the system are licensing and franc hising: â€Å"We have developed a large, global, diversified and committed franchise network that is a critical component of our system-wide success and our leading position in pizza delivery. As of March 21, 2004, our franchise store network consisted of 6,878 stores, 63% of which were located in the contiguous United States†. This system has doubtless advantages namely for such global international company as Domino’s Pizza. The franchise system allows minimizing such negative barriers of international expansion as a language barrier, local governmental measures and the registration of a trademark.trademark. The system also provides the adaptation of Domino’s Pizza rights and regulations to the cultural differentiations of various countries. Domino’s Pizza quick service restaurants in different countries are not a wholly subsidiary of Domino Pizza Company (like McDonald’s in the UK). They are based on Franchising Agreement with Domino’s Pi zza International, Inc. A franchisee must have appropriate local market, business strategies and experience knowledge. Through well developed franchising system Domino’s Pizza Company gains constant royalty payments which allow the company to develop and expand to international markets. The growth and benefit of Domino’s Pizza is mainly provided by its franchising system development and royalty payments from numerous stores throughout the world. This system provides competitive compensation and appropriate benefit for the company: â€Å"All the other HR processes and systems, like competitive compensation, appropriate benefits and providing a learning environment, add to that† (Whitney K., 2005). The company has chosen the most appropriate method of international expansion. Domino’s Pizza makes franchising agreements with appropriate firms working in relevant market segments and having local market features knowledge. This mode of international expansion protects Domino’s Pizza from superfluous financial costs connected with wholly owned subsidiaries. To increase franchisee compensation and benefit and support the brand image of Domino’s Pizza, the company provides different kinds of franchisee supporting programs. The training course gives appropriate knowledge of Domino’s Pizza functioning, its rules and policy, as well as other relevant elements of Domino’s Pizza business. One of the most important moments in Domino’s Pizza international expansion is franchisees attraction as franchising and licensing system is the key-point mode of Domino’s Pizza international market entry and development. For attracting new franchisees

Case Analysis on Satyam Essay Example for Free

Case Analysis on Satyam Essay This case illustrates the downfall of Satyam, one of the biggest IT giants in India, because of the fraudulent activities carried out by its founder Mr. Ramalinga Raju and his associates. Business world at that point had garnered immense respect for Satyam in terms of risk management and corporate governance practices and Satyam was ranked as the fourth largest IT Company in India. This was the case before December 16, 2008, when Satyam promoter Mr. Ramalinga Raju proposed his intent to acquire Matyas Infra and Matyas Properties. When this announcement of acquisition reached to the public, investors had a tremendously negative reaction towards Satyam’s decision. Satyam founder eventually admitted fraud in a financial statement revealing that he had been cooking the books of Satyam for quite some time. Raju and his team manipulated cash balance, bank balance, accrued interest figures, overstated debtors and understated liability in order to manipulate the share prices of the company in the market by misleading its investors and the public. After admission of fraud, share prices of Satyam sharply fell down and Satyam was eventually removed from the New York stock exchange and the Bombay stock exchange. The US investors initiated several class action suits against Satyam for its fraudulent activities and top executives of Satyam were charged with violation of federal securities laws by issuing false and misleading financial statements. The Satyam scandal has shaken the roots of the Indian financial market and has put a big question mark on corporate governance and how far corporations (people) can go to enhance their own personal benefits. Major Issues in the Case Corporate governance Satyam failed to follow the corporate governance practices that every firm was meant to follow, it looked for loop hopes that could be tweaked to enhance the company’s profit and hide liabilities from the investors as well as the general public. The Satyam Board was composed of ‘chairman-friendly’ directors who failed to question managements strategy. They were also extremely slow to act when it was known that the company was in financial distress. The Board ignored critical information related to financial wrongdoings before the company ultimately collapsed. Agency problems The Chairman (Ramalinga Raju) and the CFO (Srinivas Vadlamani) worked together to defraud the stakeholders for their personal gain, while the investors thought that the company was generating revenues, and investing in different areas. Clearly, the Chairman and CFO had personal gain in mind rather than company benefit. There also seems to be conflicting interest of the management and the shareholders i. e. the management wanted to take over two construction companies Maytas properties and Maytas Infra which was against the interest of the shareholders. Arguments It’s hard to imagine a leading company like Satyam manipulating its financial statements but in this highly competitive industry it is necessary to remain profitable in order to survive in the long-run. This is perhaps the reason why Satyam resorted to manipulating its financial statement. We can see that there were large amount of manipulation in the income statement as well as in the balance sheet of Satyam’s financial statements. Manipulation in the Income Statement The income statement consisted of some inconsistencies that were made intentionally to maintain the level of profitability of the company. The amount of sales revenue has been overstated by Rs. 588 crore i. e. was recorded as Rs. 2700 crore instead of Rs. 2112 crore. The operating profit margin was recorded as Rs. 649 crore (i. e. 24 % of the sale revenue) when the actual operating profit margin was Rs. 61 crore (i. e. 3 % of the sales revenue). The number of employee was also manipulated i. e. it was recorded as 52000 employees when the actual number of employees was only 43622 employees. Manipulation in the Balance Sheet  The balance sheet also seemed to have some level of inconsistencies from the actual value that were done intentionally to show a strong liquidity position of the company. The cash balance that was recorded as Rs. 5361 crore consisted of non-existence amount of Rs. 5040 crore i. e. the actual cash balance was Rs. 321 crore. The assets side also consisted of accrued interest of Rs. 376 crore which was non-existent and the debtors amount was overstated by Rs. 490 crore i. e. the actual value of debtor was Rs. 2161 crore whereas the recorded value was Rs. 2651 crore. The liability side of he balance sheet was understated by Rs. 1230 crore which was the amount borrowed from the known sources by Mr. Raju to ensure the operations are running. Even after such manipulations the regulatory authorities, the independent executive and the external auditors were not able to raise the red flag which shows that there is a huge hole in the corporate governance. The company also seems to be having conflicting interest between the management and the shareholders. The company was looking to diversify its business by taking over the construction companies Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra at a cost of 1. billion dollars. Satyam was looking to enter the real-estate business but this was a surprising strategic decision for the shareholders. The shareholders wanted Satyam to expand in related businesses. The negative reaction of the shareholders toward the decision caused the share prices to fall by 70% in a just a few days of the decision. Managerial Implication Agency problem The problem of motivating one party to act on behalf of another can be called the principal-agent problem or agency problem for short. (Wikipedia, 2013) Agency problems arise in a variety of different contexts. The agency problem usually refers to a conflict of interest between a companys management and the companys stockholders. The manager, acting as the agent for the shareholders, or principals, is supposed to make decisions that will maximize shareholder wealth. However, the decision must be in the favor of all parties but it was not the case with Satyam. Satyam decided to acquire Maytas Properties and Maytas Infra. The shareholders resisted the decision claiming it to be unrelated business and acquisition should not take place with Maytas which became a finishing blow to the company. Corporate governance and business ethics Corporate governance refers to the system by which corporations are directed and controlled. The governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants in the corporation (such as the board of directors, managers, shareholders, creditors, auditors, regulators, and other stakeholders) and specifies the rules and procedures for making decisions in corporate affairs. (Wikipedia, 2013) Governance is a mechanism for monitoring the actions, policies and decisions of corporations. On a quarterly basis, Satyam’s earnings grew. Mr. Raju admitted that the fraud which he committed amounted to nearly $276 million. In the process, Satyam violated all the rules of corporate governance. The Satyam scam has been an example for following poor governance practices. The issue of governance rose at Satyam because of non fulfillment of the obligation of the company towards its stakeholders like separating roles of board and management, and also the role of CEO and chairman. Business ethics reflects the philosophy of business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. Business ethics are implemented in order to ensure that a certain required level of trust exists between consumers and various forms of market participants with businesses (Investopedia, 2013). The culture in Satyam, especially dominated by the board, symbolized such an unethical culture. Satyam as the smallest of the four players was under pressure to show good results in order to survive. Apart from this there was greed causing them to indulge in unethical behavior. On the one hand, Raju’s rise to stardom in the corporate world joined with immense pressure to impress investors made him a compelled leader to deliver outstanding results. On the contrary, Mr. Raju had to suppress his own morals and values in favor of the greater good of the company. The lure of big compensation to members further encouraged such behavior. In the end the fraud came to an end and the implications were great. Alternatives The failure of company like Satyam which had been awarded for its corporate governance and risk management creates a dilemma for the investors as to which company to believe and invest. Hence, investors, board, government intervention, accounting standards and ethics and Code of conduct must all work hand in hand to resolve the issue. Investors play an important role in detecting fraudulent activities of a company. They must ensure that information about the company is latest and from trustable source. Hence, they should take more care and compare the trend of the company with the industry before investing. Board must monitor the ethical policies and the way they are being maintained in the company. Transparency and effectiveness in auditing and regulatory checks through internal and external auditors and monitoring agencies should be maintained as it helps to build and maintain trust and loyalty from stakeholders, increase goodwill and investor’s confidence and establish long lasting credibility for the company. Government should play an active role in company’s affair, frequently checks of the company’s performance and take necessary steps to discourage malpractice and falsification. There is a need to create strong measures to prevent fraudulent activities from happening in future and the auditing firms also need to be brought under the regulatory umbrella. Moreover, all companies need to practice ethical behavior. Every company should also have its own fraud detection mechanism. It is also important for companies to establish an organizational culture, which supports ethical conduct through a code of conduct and properly laid out corporate governance policies and procedures.

Citizen Journalism Essay -- Analysis, Joan Cornell

Joan Cornell notes that the Internet democratizes the journalism which was in the hand of the few people (2003). The Internet makes the public access to information; at the same time, it creates the public to be journalists, opening blogs to put something new around on the Internet. Many news websites like The Guardian, the Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC allows some personification. The journalism nowadays is facing challenges not only from media and technology convergence, but also from audience they serve (Bowman and Willis 2003). For example, in MSNBC’s my MSN part, one can post news by yourself. While the audience are participating in the process of journalism with the aid of the Internet, it cannot be neglected by mainstream media. The personification does not just mean service customised, but also more perspectives are evolved in the news event, as noted by Watts Wacker (2002). Many media sites online have been founded with different aims mentioned, but their appearance demonstrates that the age of we media comes. OhmyNews International (OMNI), originating from Korea, defines itself as international journalists (OhmyNews online site). OMNI is a bit different from OhmyNews, because it concentrates more on reporting citizen journalism, which is more like guidance for people to get a better understanding about citizen journalism. They treat themselves as a bridge between media and Internet, where the ordinary can participate in conversations about news and trust the source of news. Even though creating a platform for the ordinary to be provide news, they need to obey the rule of journalism: that is to state clear the source of news and make sure the credibility. Besides the ordinary, curators are recruited to post news about ... ...ernative to mainstream journalism, but can never replace it. With the emergence of citizen journalism, traditional journalism can develop in the environment of more competitors and watchdogs. It is undeniable that citizen journalism is rising as another forceful power in the media industry. With democratization of traditional media, interactivity and watchdog as its characteristics, citizen journalism treats itself as new journalists. Citizen journalism makes news making process transparency, namely available to all. Right now, no one can predict the position citizen journalism in the media industry in the future, but in this changing environment as online journalism is becoming essential, citizen journalism can play an alternative role for the public to access news. What is more important is that it drives the public to actively select news and judge the news.

Marketing and Paul Logan Essay

ACA is a marketing consultant firm specializing in creating strategies to assist businesses. Our mission is to aid your company by planning suitable approaches to support brand transition for Manchester Products. Business Overview In the case of the Manchester Products: A Brand Transition Challenge (Quelch, 2009), Manchester Product was a manufacturer, which offers premium office furniture. Also, the company is one of the leading office furniture brands in the United States because of their skills in engineering and ergonomics that make the company’s products become popular in term of style and comfort. However, the research by the company shows that 5% of their consumers purposely bought office furniture products for home. Therefore, Manchester has decided to enter household furniture market with the acquisition of Paul Logan’s Furniture Davison (PLFD). Also, Paul Logan is a well-known brand for home furniture due to its fashionable and colorful style, which makes its products unique. In addition, the acquisition only included a furniture division; however, Paul Logan still runs the apparel, fashion accessories, and home dà ©cor divisions. Also, Paul Logan allows Manchester to use its brand nam e for only a three-year period. SWOT Analysis Strengths- Manchester has a strong reputation and brand image in the office furniture market, while PLFD is the leading brand for household furniture. Therefore, the coexistence of these two popular brands will allow the company easily promotes its products. Also, the acquisition of PLFD will allow the company to expand its product line as well as gain market share from household furniture market. In addition, the company financial was stabled and expected to grow by 30% in 2005. Weakness- the company is struggling with their distribution network because office furnisher distribution did not interact with home furnisher distribution network. Thus, the consumer might have difficulty to access home furnishes products line. Opportunities- the economy started to recover after the recession period, and it seems that the household furniture industry has been growing since 2002. Therefore, there is a potential for Manchester to enter the home furniture market during this period. Threats- the increasing number of imported furnishers from China and Mexico has threaten the United States furnisher industry because these regions have lower labor cost, which make product less expensive. For instance, over the past five years, the percentage of importing furnisher from China increases by 154%. If the low-cost imports trend from overseas still continues increasing, the United States furnisher industry might collapse in the future. Synopsis of the current situation The case, Manchester Products: A Brand Transition Challenge, Quelch (2009), reports that Manchester is facing the challenge of brand transition as well as determining the marketing expenditure to support the transition of the brand. Paul Logan has strong brand images, which allows Manchester to easily promote household products. However, Manchester can use the Paul Logan brand only for three year, so after three years, the company has to change the name and by that time its might struggle to rebrand itself. Therefore, the company must make sure at first place that the consumer will not confuse or mislead with these two brands. On the other hand, the company should take advantage of Paul Logan brand image because consumer have confident to buy Paul Logan product because in the sense that they will receive a high-style and quality finisher. Moreover, since the company will use Paul Logan brand only for three year, thus company have to determine the marketing expenditure for Paul Logan by finding the right advertising strategy and promotion programs. Currently, Paul Logan mainly spends its marketing budget on push programs such as volume rebates because the company believes that rebate program will lead to successful distribution network. Whereas, Manchester focus on pull program such as national adverting because advertisement will help company promote the brand as well as provoking of sales. Identify Key Marketing concepts Customer brand roles- brands will give the knowledge about the product to the consumer. Once consumers has experienced the product and its satisfied their need. Also, when consumer already have knowledge about the brand this will make they feel more comfortable for the next purchase. Purchase decision also became less. Paul Logan is already a well-known brand for household furnisher, and consumers have their product experience and knowledge about the brand. Thus, for the next purchase, the consumer will have confidence to buy the product because they has their experience in the brand and feeling they will receive quality piece. However, if Manchester considers rebrand itself, it might take time for consumer to learn about the brand also purchase decision is more longer than buying the branded ones. Company brand roles- to protect the brand, the company should be able to keep the feature of the product, such as design, also the brand will help company-categorizing product. For instance, Manchester is known as an office furnisher and consumer might be confused if Manchester used the same brand name for household furnisher product line. Thus, the Paul Logan brand has a stronger identification for household furnishers, and it will also help consumers not be confused about the brand. Competitor brand roles- the competitor of the market-leading brand is aiming to compete by building product to target at the market leader. For example, National Furniture Company, which is Paul Logan’s competitor in terms of price point, realize that Manchester and Paul Logan will merge that brand. National takes advantage of the uncertainly association by announcing price reduction.