Gay male culture Essay Example for Free

Gay male culture Essay American culture has focused much more heavily on gay men than on other members of the LGBT community. This may be due to larger numbers of men than women and it may also be due to gay men having more resources available to them to justify, explore and perform their sexuality. The western culture as a whole still sees men and male experience as the central experience in culture, even if the men in question are transgressing established gender norms. Gay culture relies upon secret symbols and codes woven into an overall straight context. The association of gay men with opera, ballet, professional sports, , musical theater, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and interior design began with wealthy homosexual men using the straight themes of these media to send their own signals. In the Marilyn Monroe film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a musical [filmfreakcentral. net] number features a woman singing while muscled men in revealing costumes dance around her. The mens costumes were designed by a man, the dance was choreographed by a man, and the dancers seem more interested in each other than in the female star, but her reassuring presence gets the sequence past the censors and fits it into an overall heterocentric theme. Today gay male culture is publicly acknowledged. Celebrities such as Liza Minnelli spent [topix. net] a significant amount of their social time with urban gay men, who were now popularly viewed as sophisticated and stylish by the jet set. Celebrities themselves were open about their relationships. Gay men cant be identified by the way they look or what kind of music they like. There are gay men in every field and all sorts of fashions and music. Lesbian culture A lesbian is a woman who is romantically and sexually attracted only to other women. The history of lesbian culture over the last half-century has been linked to the evolution of feminism. Older stereotypes of lesbian women stressed a dichotomy between women who adhered to stereotypical male gender stereotypes (butch) and stereotypical female gender stereotypes (femme), and that typical lesbian couples consisted of butch/femme couples. Today, some lesbian women adhere to being either butch or femme, but these categories are much less rigid and there is no express expectation that a lesbian couple be butch/femme. There is a sub-culture within the lesbian community called Aristasia, where lesbians in the community adhere to exaggerated levels of femininity. In this culture, there are two genders, blonde and brunette, although they are unrelated to actual hair color. Brunettes are femme, yet blondes are even more so. Also notable are diesel dykes, extremely butch women who use male forms of dress and behavior, and who often work as truck drivers. Lipstick lesbian refers to feminine women who are attracted only to other feminine women. Bisexual culture In modern western culture Bisexual people are in the peculiar situation of receiving hatred or distrust [Lunde 1990] or even outright denial of their existence from some elements of both the straight and lesbian and gay populations. There is of course some element of general anti-LGBT feeling, but some people insist that bisexual people are unsure of their true feelings, that they are experimenting or going through a phase and that they eventually will or should decide or discover which (singular) sex they are sexually attracted to. One popular misconception is that [Lunde 1990] bisexuals find all humans sexually attractive. That is no truer than the idea that, say, all straight men would find all women sexually attractive. More people of all kinds are becoming aware that there are some people who find attractive sexual partners among both men and women sometimes equally, sometimes favoring one sex in particular . Distinctions exist between sexual orientation (attraction, inclination, preference, or desire), gender identity (self-identification or self-concept) and sexual behavior (the sex of ones actual sexual partners). For example, someone who may find people of either sex attractive might in practice have relationships only with people of one particular sex. Many bisexual people consider themselves to be part of the LGBT or Queer community [Barris, 2007]. In an effort to create both more visibility, and a symbol for the bisexual community to gather behind, Michael Page created the bisexual pride flag. The bisexual flag, which has a pink or red stripe at the top for homosexuality, a blue one on the bottom for heterosexuality and a purple one in the middle to represent bisexuality, as purple is from the combination of red and blue [Lunde 1990]. Transgender culture The study of transgender culture is complicated by the many and various ways in which cultures deal with gender [hrc. org]. For example, in many cultures, people who are attracted to people of the same sex — that is those who in contemporary Western culture would identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual — are classed as a third gender, together with people who would in the West be classified as transgender or transsexual. Also in the contemporary West, there are usually [hrc.org] several different groups of transgender and transsexual people, some of which are extremely exclusive, like groups only for transsexual women who explicitly want sex reassignment surgery or male, heterosexual only cross-dressers. Transmens groups are often, but not always, more inclusive. Groups aiming at all transgender people, both transmen and transwomen, have in most cases appeared only in the last few years. Some transgender or transsexual women and men however do not classify as being part of any specific trans culture. However there is a distinction between transgender and transsexual people who make their past known to others . Some wish to live according to their gender identity and not reveal this past, stating that they should be able to live in their true gender role in a normal way, and be in control of whom they choose to tell their past to. Epistemology of the closet. The expression being in the closet is used to describe keeping secret ones sexual behavior or orientation, most commonly homosexuality or bisexuality, but also including the gender identity of transgender and transsexual people [branconolilas.no. sapo. pt]. Being in the closet is more than being private, it is a life-shaping pattern of concealment where gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender individuals hide their sexuality/gender-identity in the most important areas of life, with family, friends, and at work. Individuals may marry or avoid certain jobs in order to avoid suspicion and exposure. Some will even claim to be heterosexual when asked directly. It is the power of the closet to shape the core of an individuals life that has made homosexuality into a significant personal, social, and political drama in twentieth-century America. (Seidman 2003, p. 25). Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, in her book Epistemology of the closet, majorly focuses on male homosexuality. She is also an intellectual who is interested in gay and lesbian studies, queer studies, gender studies, and feminism. Sedgwick (Seidman 2003, p. 25) â€Å"proposes that many of the major thoughts and knowledge in twentieth-century Western culture as a whole are structured—indeed fractured—by the now endemic crisis of homo/heterosexual definition, indicatively male, dating from the end of the nineteenth century†. Incoherent ideas about homosexuality inform the way men are acculturated in the modern West, and (Seidman 2003, p. 25) since this is so, this incoherence has come to mark society generally. Incoherence characterizes the attitude toward homosexuality in the West and is beyond debate. examples, are gay men ridiculous figures of fun or are they sexual monsters who prey on young children? ; is the homosexual a limp-wrested effeminate unsuited for the armed forces, or the lothario of the showers who will gaze upon and/or rape his fellow servicemen? ; Is sexuality an orientation or is it a choice?; are homosexuals born or are they made? ; essentialism or social constructionism? ; nature/nurture?. These are all part of the effect of this crisis in modern sexual definition. Sedgwick believes that it is impossible to adjudicate between these (Seidman 2003, p. 25). In describing in general terms the mass of contradictions that adhere to homosexuality, she proposes that one consider it in terms of an opposition between a minoritizing view and a universalizing one. A minoritizing view takes the position that homosexuality is of primary importance to a relatively small group of actual homosexuals. A universalizing view takes the position that homosexuality is of importance to persons across a wide range of sexualities. Under the universalizing view, one can put nurture, social-construction, choice and a warrant for social â€Å"engineering† to eradicate homosexuality(Seidman 2003, p. 25). Sedgwick says that the current debate in queer theory, between â€Å"constructivist† and â€Å"essentialist† understandings of homosexuality is the most recent link(Seidman 2003, p. 25). She goes on to conclude that the continuation of this debate is itself the most important feature of recent understandings of sex. The aim of the book is to explore the incoherent dispensation under which we now live. Through an examination of a number of mostly late nineteenth century literary and philosophical works, including (Seidman 2003, p. 25). Melvilles BILLY BUDD, Wildes THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, various works of Nietzsche, James THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE, Thackerays LOVEL THE WIDOWER, and Prousts REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST, Sedgwick discovers a number of pairs of opposing terms (binarisms) which she then shows to be inconsistent with and dependent upon each other. I found it fascinating to follow her explication of the ways in which these terms were related. Among the pairings that she assembles and dissects for our consideration are secrecy/disclosure, private/public, masculine/feminine, majority/minority, innocence/initiation, natural/artificial, new/old, growth/decadence, urbane/provincial, health/illness, same/different, cognition/paranoia, art/kitsch, sincerity/sentimentality, and voluntarity/addiction (Seidman 2003, p.25). She asserts that a true understanding of the force of the opposition of these terms must be grounded in the realization and acceptance that the content of all of these terms was determined around the turn of the century amid and through anxious questioning over who and what was homosexual. These opposing terms, all of which operate today, therefore have a residue of the homo/hetero definitional crisis(Seidman 2003, p. 25). In addition, Sedgwick perhaps delivers the coup de grace(Seidman 2003, p. 25), if such was needed, to sleek, masculine, modernist objective criticism. She demonstrates that modernist criticism finds its genesis in the homo/hetero definitional crisis and both its flight into and prizing of abstraction is a direct reflection of its homophobia.

Statement of Cash Flow Essay Example for Free

Statement of Cash Flow Essay The importance of cash the cash flow statement help businesses and creditors understand how liquid a company is. Team A discussed some important factors about the statement of cash flow. The purpose of the statement of cash flow and how it is used in accounting is explained. The direct and indirect method of preparing a statement is used. Steps in preparation and classification are explained. The team also examines things that they struggled with and also things that they were comfortable with. The purpose of the statement of cash flow Statement of cash flows purpose is to provide information of cash payment, cash receipt of a business during a period. It also provides answer to question for future investors wanting to make investment in the company. The investors will looks at the business cash flow statement â€Å"where did the cash come from during the period, what was the cash used for during the period, what was the change in the cash balance during the period† (Kieso, Weygandt, Warfield, 2010, p. 198). This shows the business economic and solvency which is more attracted to the investors. The statement of cash flow reports has four major categories, and they are 1) Cash effect of operating during a period. 2) Investing transactions transaction. 3) Financing transaction and 4) the net cash increase or decrease during the period. Between the four every aspect of a business transaction is covered. Statement of cash flow documents shows incoming and outgoing cash of the business. The document makes available a direction in which help guide decision of potential investor, reader, or lender understand the company financial report. Because this document is prepared last it will show a company income statement, balance sheet, owner equity statement, as the result, the report adds validity and accountability to the company financial statements. For example, investors, analysts, potential investors, stockholders, and lender use the statement cash flow report to evaluate the financial strength of the business. How the statement of cash flow used in accounting A company will use the statement of cash flows to illustrate cash payments and receipt payments for a specific period. This report shows how cash changes because of transactions that occur in daily operations such as investment transactions, financing transactions. This report will illustrate to investors and managers the level of liquid resources the company has available. Understanding a company’s cash flow will show the source of cash, the uses for the cash spent, and the balance of cash at the end of the period. This report will tie the information given on the income statement and on the balance sheet. The combination information provided in these statements provides a company’s inflows and outflows of cash. The statement of cash flows removes transactions not related to cash events and allows a person to look at the areas within the business that generate cash or the areas that cause a loss of cash (Luft, 2012). Analyzing the statement of cash flow gives investors and managers a history of how the cash earned and how the cash was used along with the amount of cash remaining at the end of the month. The usefulness of the Statement of Cash Flow The usefulness of the statement of cash flow is for businesses to understand how they are dong financially. Businesses use the statement of cash flow to know how quickly their assets can be converted into cash. Creditors are concern about how they will be paid. When a company can produce a high amount of cash, they can pay their bills. The statement of cash flow also provides information about a companys spending habits. Because a company has net income does not mean their business thriving. Knowing the companys net cash will provide the information needed to know whether or not to do business with them (Kieso, Weygandt, Warfield, 2010). The inflow and out flow The statement of Cash Flow outlines the inflow and outflow of cash from a company for a given period. Inflows include the transfer of funds to a company from another party as a result of core operations, investments or financing (Nordmeyer, 2012). The inflow of cash is generated when businesses either sell their products or perform a service for revenue. Theses inflows can range from collections on accounts, monies from investors, or interest on loans. Cash outflow, on the other hand, is money leaving a company. The outflow of cash from a company can include dividends paid to stockholders, bills, or the materials purchased to complete the products a company sells. Steps in preparation There are three major steps in preparing a Cash Flow Statement. The first step is to â€Å"determine the change in cash† (). This is calculated by comparing the current year’s cash balance to the previous year’s cash balance. For example, XYZ Inc. has a cash balance on its balance sheet of $100,000 and $90,000 for years ending December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012 respectively. Their change in cash would be a decrease of $10,000. The second step is to â€Å"determine the net cash flow from operating activities† (). This step is depends on the method chosen. The â€Å"direct method reports cash receipts and disbursements from operating activities† (). XYZ, Inc. reported the following: revenues of $80,000, accounts receivables $20,000, accounts payable $30,000 and operating expenses of $50,000. To calculate the net cash flow they would subtract accounts receivable from revenues ($80,000-$20,000 = $60,000) to determine cash collected from revenues. Then, subtract accounts payable from operating expenses ($50,000-$30,000 = $20,000) to determine cash payments for expenses. Cash collected from revenues minus cash payments for expenses equals net cash provided by operating expenses ($40,000). This does not take into consideration income taxes. In contrast, the â€Å"indirect method adjusts net income for items that affected reported net income but did not affect cash. † This is done by adding back noncash charges in the income statement to the net income and deducting noncash credits (). Finally, the third step â€Å"determines the net cash flow from investing and financing activities. † This step determines â€Å"whether any other changes in balance sheet accounts caused an increase or decrease in cash† (). This step could include changes in common stock, retained earnings, or bonds. The hardest part in grasping the cash flow steps was learning when to add or subtract an increase or decrease. However, through research I could learn an increase in accounts receivable, prepaid expenses, and how accounts payable is subtracted and a decrease is added (Investopedia, 2012). Increases are added and decrease are subtracted for prepaid expenses and inventory (Investopedia, 2012). This week reflect on the statement of cash flow. Team A spoke about the importance of the statement of cash flow. It is need to determine where a company is financially. It is also use to understand the liquidity of a business. Why companies use the direct method or indirect method of preparing a statement is explained. Steps in preparation and classification are explained. The team also examines things that they struggled with and also things that they were comfortable with.

Business And Information Technology Strategy Information Technology Essay

Business And Information Technology Strategy Information Technology Essay Business and information technology (IT) strategy has long been recognized as a key issue for managers and has grown in importance as IT has become strategically significant. For any kind of business to be succeeded in the market should follow some strategies. With the growing technological development competition has increase therefore managers or CEO should focus their attention on the information technology. Similarly, Frito Lay business strategy involved information technology. The IT function in every business is about capturing, processing, storing and distributing information or data. Introduction Information Technology (IT) is crucial to any business. IT Strategy focuses on strategic IT issues; on how to make IT work for businesses and improve company performance alongside examining ways of exploiting the full potential of information systems from existing and new IT products. High-performance businesses view IT as a strategic asset-a source of both operational excellence and competitive advantage. Frito Lays business strategy which also used the IT strategy for the improvement of their sales and to make the information available to its customers. Overlapping or Similarities between IT Strategy and Frito Lay business strategy Strategy is a comprehensive plan for accomplishing organizations goals. IT strategy is similar to Frito Lay business strategy business although the focus is specifically on technology. It is important to plan ahead for the development of your IT systems, which will need to be able to grow and adapt to any changes in business. However, business strategies and IT strategies overlap in some cases are as follows: Both strategies focus on management using same strategies. Both strategies act as a tool used for planning the future seems that they are unique. Both of the strategies are similar in a way that they are regulating a product and its structure simultaneously. Both of the strategies have a certain goal to reach its ultimate success in a same manner. Both strategies evaluate their internal and external environment in order to determine a position and market approach meaning that equally they are responsible for gaining success. Both strategies reflecting the relationship between business strategy and IT strategy making the inference that IT strategy is indeed primarily a business tool (Simons Davila, 1998; Kantrow, 1980; Haeckel Nolan, 1993; Amit Shoemaker, 1993). In the management perspective of Frito Lay business strategies it mainly at first focuses on management. Management process deals with the activities using resources and how this strategy can be used for achieving businesss goals. Frito Lay business strategy in which incorporated IT used as a critical contributor to the business, focused on improving business value and performance. Both of the strategies combine to make the business successful. Both of the strategies are designed to establish a business-driven approach to infrastructure toward the management of it business services. Basically IT helps to identify opportunities for reduced costs, reduced risk, improved quality and greater business value. IT Strategy is a highly prestigious like Frito Lay business strategy focusing on both strategic IT business issues and recent developments in information technology. Some Related Elements between IT Strategy and Corporate Strategies at Frito Lay Identifying business elements refers to proclaiming a vision and planning a means of getting there. Though the Frito Lay business related with some elements with the IT especially nature of the organizations leadership, complexity of the organizations environment, size of the organization, expertise of planners (Drew et al., 2006) etc. In Frito Lay business strategies earlier it didnt use the elements. Of the most strategic way how these elements worked as a sound management in every aspects of Frito Lay business should deal with different information technology. With the complexity of the technological change know how IT is now being used widely to take advantage of the competitive market (The daily Star, 2010). The organization environment both of the Frito Lay business and IT sector has faced challenges forward to improving its respective business. Both the size and nature of this two business strategy has greatly impact on the overall value delivery system resulting in the increa se or decrease of sales volume. Frito-Lay used management information system tools include Executive Support System (ESS), Decision Support System (DSS), and Packaging Application Expert (PAX).  ESS helps to locate potential problems in maintaining sales levels and market share those are also elements of IT strategy. Some of the Key Components of Frito Lays Plans There are some of the key components of Frito Lays plans that must be reviewed such as The length of the promotion or Time frame Promotional and distributional activities Cost, sales Decision making process and Operating polices Productivity and working process Management process Organization Structure or infrastructure of the business Corporate initiatives and their contribution Technological development, flexibility and their uses Control processes Selection of the best business tools Competition and Production efficiency Justification of the Key Components of Frito Lays plan Time is important components for the business to succeed in the market. Strategy and Planning services produce a roadmap of clearly defined projects designed to extract more value from existing assets. This roadmap can also be used to support the deployment of critical business-driven projects. If proper information is not readily available to the customers as well as to the manger the firms will suffer a lot. Promotional activities that communicate the merits of the products and persuade the target customers (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008). Distribution of the sales people among different areas help to achieve maximum productivity and effectiveness. Focusing on sales Frito Lays business can assess its position and its strength. A review of the sales, cost and profit projections for a new product may satisfy the Frito Lay businesss objectives. Productivity, management process, decision making process can greatly enhance the business in a wide distribution area. Together with the technological innovation businesses go forward with the competitions market. Business goals could be achieved easily with the understanding of business productivity and improving quality. Business information would be dynamic and integrated that should enable line employees and managers throughout the company to access timely and relevant information to support marketing strategy. Frito Lay business later identified these components and tried to implement that result in profit of their business. Some Strategies There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on various strategies that would be an effective way to communicate plans to executives, senior management, and team members if used at Frito Lay. Division of areas: one strategy that may be an effective way to communicate plans to executives, senior management, and team members if each area is subdivided to different small areas. One manager is assign to evaluate performance to the lower team members who will report to the manager. Organize a management team. Usually the signals that building familiarity among the companys advisors, employees, area managers, executives to make the communication easier. Short mission statement. Once the team has been organized, a brief mission statement which outlines the goals for the communications effort. This statement is critical in building consensus among the team members over the future course of action. Keep communication simple. Keep your internal and external communications simple, direct, and frequent so that everyone is kept informed of your progress. Tell your target publics what you are going to do, do it, and then tell them how youve done it. Forthright disclosure is essential Decentralization: It is actually one end of a continuum anchored. In this type of organization decision making power and authority are delegated as far down the authority. By delegating power and authority systematically from middle and lower level employees a relationship is established accelerating communication throughout a group team. Organization should not only focus their attention on decentralization they also focus their attention on centralization. Centralization: Sometimes the firm should only focus on the management activities among the higher level authorities. Identify actions or redress and communicate progress on a regular basis. Prior to communication on a regular basis. By meeting weekly rather than once a month shortened both thought cycle and action cycle to be more in paces changes in the business. Keep the lines of communication open. Non-management employees or staff may offer valuable insights into alternative courses of action. Encouraging suggestions from the bottom up also helps keep interest and involvement high among audiences that have a stake in the outcome of the crisis, but little into the decision-making process. Keeping the lines of communications open may result in a fresh perspective toward the solution of a problem. Build on a short-term plan with a long-term proactive communications strategy. Nothing builds interest and involvement like awareness and knowledge. The more your target publics know about you, the more likely they are to want to do business with you. Keeping your audiences informed builds interest and involvement. This translates into knowledge and awareness about a company, its products and services, and a businesss growth and development. A well-planned and skillfully implemented strategic communications program can be a powerful tool for turnaround success. Engaging in communications can help minimize disruption to a business and its bottom line and help the turnaround manager guide his clients back to business as usual. Controlling the operating process. Control is one of the main function of the management in h organization. Control helps the firms with a ways to adapt the environmental change, to limit the accumulation of errors, to cope with the environmental complexity and minimize the cost. A properly designed control systems can help anticipate, monitor and respond changing circumstances. Build up Effective team leadership. Develop leadership and management capability at all levels in the organization from the first-line supervisor to members of the executive team. Both with the Executive Team leader and members of the executive team on an individual basis to help them improve their effectiveness within the team. Evaluation of the Strategies After the strategies have been developed then comes the evaluation of the strategies. Evaluation is also very important. Although Flexibility is essential in any situation. Evaluation of the strategies is measured in terms of its feasibility, its satisfactoriness and its consequences. Is your message getting through? Is the media playing your story accurately? Are your target audiences responding appropriately? If your plan isnt working, dont be afraid to change or adjust it. Generally if the strategy meets the target it just kept. Maintaining the ultimate target is essentially preferable but it is more likely that some action will be needed to correct a deviation from the target setting. Finally changing is established if it sets too high or too low beyond the reaching goal. Among the strategies these strategies are evaluated to be the effective way to communicate from top line managers to worker level employees are Effective team leadership Keep the lines of communication open i.e.; integrated infrastructure information structure Short mission statement. Centralization Decentralization Controlling the operating process may be effective Depending on the situation both decentralization and centralization are effective way of communication. An effective way to use information technology opportunities is through a systematic analysis of a companys value chain the series of interdependent activities that bring a product or service to the customer. IT helping to make sure that technology is not just being pursued for the sake of more technology, but that its also moving the company forward. In Frito Lay corporate strategy both departments and work groups are interdependent. They depend each other for information and resources to perform their respective activities. The greater the degree of interdependence between the departments, the more the coordination among themselves (Griffin, 2003). Besides having these things there is some distinct criteria in which information about plan cannot be relayed quickly to the staffs as relayed to the executive staffs. As executives are the most important person in the company and they have to take decision instantly thy receive the information. With the information technology executives now take any market; and know more about what is going on in the snack category there than the regional competitor who only operates in that market.  That is indicating that their information accessibility is not same. The real benefit of information systems is the energy it brings across the entire company. Information system developments allow for the centralizing of data, in turn allowing managers of regional operations access to this vast database on the other case staffs can not.. Further, it provides the software to use these technologies in a way that is effective in a distributed processing marketing environment. Result is different However, management policy now focuses on directed decentralization.   Hundreds of middle managers have freedom and database knowledge to make tactical decisions on local market initiatives.   Framework That use IT Strategy to Support Frito Lays Business Technological changes have accelerated globalization and have intensified competition and the organizations need to be nimble and agile. Business organizations are aware that information strategy is highly crucial to the success of every business. It is difficult to sustain a business in todays very competitive and innovative world minus a framework for information strategy, which is the organizations integrated plan for processing, delivery, and presentation of information.   Hence regardless of the size and nature of businesses, companies invest on IT infrastructure for real-time communication, automation of systems, and other applications. However some organizations fail to optimize the availability and functionality of information technology in managing and delivering information relative to achieving business goals. Business framework for information strategy must always aim to provide consistency, transparency, and quality in business processes that will support success strat egy employed by an organization. With a defined framework and integration of business processes and information strategy helps company sustains competitive advantage. A frame work that will help support IT ultimately Frito Lay business should include Management Information System (MIS) under which improve customer service and communicate with customers and suppliers more effectively cut your costs and streamline business operations increase staff  productivity respond to change more quickly improve the way to manage, share and use knowledge in business and business analysis Now, this frame work will support IT and can be applied to Frito Lay business achieve business objectives. However, it is necessary to continue to develop new information technologies in order to maintain these advantages and develop new ones.   Not only are new ideas on technologies rising, new ideas on how to use these technologies are also apparent. It is important to understand how these changes are likely to impact upon the business and, in turn, how IT will support such changes. This will ensure that any IT investment you make now is capable of supporting your business and its operations in the longer term. Some Recommendations Organizations need to evaluate both their internal and external environment in order to determine a position and market approach. Ideally, an information technology system should be simple for the customer to adopt at the outset, and it will become tightly intertwined with the customers daily routine To accomplish both centralization and decentralization along with introducing new technology Frito-Lay has to change its business culture, organization, and infrastructure etc. Also, firms have to increase advertising and promotional expenditures, through using the information technology. It is now important to focus on attention on management information systems to grow business and to take monopoly in the market. Frito Lay business should continue to develop new information technologies in order to maintain these advantages and develop new ones.   Not only are new ideas on technologies rising, new ideas on how to use these technologies are also apparent. One area in particular where we feel an upgrade may be necessary is with the DEX system. As Frito-Lay used didnt any training programs or corporate modifications to help implement all their new information technology systems.   And also I found a lot of information (data) was created, but not analyzed well.   The organization and process controls were not structured adequately to handle all the new information.   Management processes and employee mind-sets were not altered either.  In this case, recommendation that Frito-Lay develop and implement-training programs, including shared purpose, shared incentive, and top-to-bottom implementation programs. Formulating strategies and plans to address IT should focus on the macro marketing in which Frito Lay business can use more update technology to attract customers. Using information technology for new products and services that help clients respond to rapid changes in the marketplace to gain a competitive advantage through ought the market and can be used as a medium of quick communication. It will help organizations improve the management and delivery of their business while reducing costs. Managers can play a central role in making sure that IT and Business is aligned. It Helps clients unlock the business value of information and use it for competitive advantage to address emerging, industry-specific business opportunities.

Racism in Amistad, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and Telephone Conversation E

The texts To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, Amistad directed by Steven Spielberg and Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka explore the issue of racism. These three texts focus on prejudice, discrimination, bias, behaviour and attitude revolving around the issue of discrimination because of the coulour of ones skin and the cultural and social attitudes past on from one generation to another. Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel set in the southern states of the USA in the 1930’s, a time that is â€Å"Post Abolitionist†, however a time where the culture and social structure is still entrenched with racist attitudes and laws. Lee explores these issues in this setting when Ton Robinson, an African American is accused of raping a young white girl in a small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Racial attitudes are exposed when a lawyer by the name of Atticus Finch is asked to defend to the alleged rapist. Telephone conversation by Wole Soyinka is a poem which uses dialogu e between two people, one in a public telephone box and the other in a public telephone box and the other in a home in London, England to reinforce racial tensions, attitudes and class values. An intelligent, articulate and well educated black man seeking rental accommodation responds to a woman’s advertisement and is challenged by her about the colour of his skin. The poet explores this racial tension with the use of satire and perceptive dialogue. Steven Spielberg directs the film Amistad, and chronicles an incredible journey of a group of enslaved Africans who mutiny an attempt of their capture in order to return to their homeland. Their ship is seized and the slaves are brought to the United States to be charged with murder. Spielberg ensures that the responder is confronte... ...rom the love of his life. This is captured through the music by changing the music from a sorrowful sound to loud powerful music. These techniques used by Spielberg represent how the Negroes are just as human as any other person even though they are black in skin colour. Racism can simply be a mans fear of anything different, a fear of something he doesn’t understand. This fear is embedded or can be embedded in the attitudes reaching from one generation to another. It can be reinforced by ones culture, community and personal experience. These texts have explored all of the above areas and the responder can also appreciate that behaviour is a response to attitudes and the suffering, humiliation and destructive treatment of other human beings can at times be lessened or illuminated by the courage of one man and his or her determination to do what they think is right.

The Intersection of External Time and Internal Time in Mrs Dalloway by

In Mrs Dalloway, the modernist writer Virginia Woolf undermines the usual conventions of prior prose fiction by adopting an innovative approach to time. She contrasts the objective external time and subjective internal time that structure the plot of the one-day novel. In fact, the story takes place on a single day in June and, by the use of two important techniques, namely the stream of consciousness mode of narration and the interior monologue, the reader is constantly flowing from the present to the past or the future. Moreover, Woolf blurs the distinctions between dream and reality but emphasizes the importance of the present moment. Finally, both representations of time have a great influence on characters' life and relations between each other. Firstly, time itself, which, in fact, measures and divides, becomes fluid, elastic and mobile the interaction of memories and thoughts. As Showalter points out in the introduction of Mrs Dalloway, "In Time and Free Will (1888) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Bergson" speaks about "'psychological time, which is internal, subjective, and measured by the relative intensity of the moment'" (qtd. in Woolf xx). Internal time is one of the new characteristics that Woolf introduces in her novel. In other words, she describes a subjective reality through the stream of consciousness. By this new mode of narration, Woolf gives to the reader the impression of entering the consciousness of the characters. It describes the unorganised flow of thoughts, sensations, and memories that is the time in the mind (or internal time). Characters' memories introduce the element of time. Furthermore, one of the techniques for represen... ...clusion, I would say that Woolf also found her own voice in Mrs Dalloway. Indeed, in this novel, she has radically broken with the traditional way of representing time. The intersection between external and internal time structures very well the novel despite his disordered and discontinued nature. In fact, Woolf has succeeded in keeping unity throughout the story despite the constant moves between the consciousnesses of every character. Moreover, by the use of the new modern techniques, i.e. the stream of consciousness and the interior monologues, she makes the novel seem more truthful. Therefore, through this subjective approach to reality, the reader is closer to the characters and s/he is easier absorbed in the new world of fiction. Bibliography Woolf, Virginia. Mrs Dalloway. London: Penguin Classics, 2000.

marketing Essay -- essays research papers

Online Marketing Definition Online marketing has many different definitions. However, the most straight forward is â€Å"Any positive communication between distributor and purchaser through the digital area (Internet, forums, chat, e-mail, the web, etc.) Which provides for the exchange of requested or necessary information directed to a potential customer’s purchase and a continuing and profitable customer/seller relationship.† (Forester, 1999, p.3) This definition gives the main idea of why many businesses have joined the online marketing segment and why businesses are still joining. On the other hand, the simple definition of marketing is â€Å"the process of planning the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfies individual and organizational objectives.† (Berkowitz, 1992, p.67) These two definitions explain how the marketing has a notion that means that an organization aims all its efforts at satisfying its customers. This idea is a simple and very important. The online sector of a business should have a complete overview of this idea and should use it to sell its products. Although some business people still have a production orientation. These people do not have much interest in the customers’ needs; they think of products and how to make money fast. People like this act as thought they are stuck at the beginning of the production era, where there were shortages of most products (Schwartz, 1999, p.5).Online Marketing Definition Online marketing has many different definitions. However, the most straight forward is â€Å"Any positive communication between distributor and purchaser through the digital area (Internet, forums, chat, e-mail, the web, etc.) Which provides for the exchange of requested or necessary information directed to a potential customer’s purchase and a continuing and profitable customer/seller relationship.† (Forester, 1999, p.3) This definition gives the main idea of why many businesses have joined the online marketing segment and why businesses are still joining. On the other hand, the simple definition of marketing is â€Å"the process of planning the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfies individual and organizational objectives.† (Berkowitz, 1992, p.67) These two definitions explain how the marketing has a ... ...y store. The Gap also insures the safety, security, and privacy towards your registered information. Renaissance Cruises   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With renaissance cruises, your credit card is safe. They guarantee it. They have a privacy statement, which guarantees that under no circumstances, will they reveal a customer’s confidential information to anybody. This cruise line has three different was to buy products. One way is to buy online. By buy online, renaissance offers varying discounts to the customers. Another way is to call their 1-800 number. The benefit of this is to talk to an actual representative. The last way is to e-mail them. They will respond within twenty-four hours.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By analyzing these two businesses, we found that both had security issues controlled. They also had easy ways to buy the products. The layouts of their web pages were organized and very informative. It was easy to understand how to order thing and how they established customer’s trust. They make the web pages full of click trough’s, which make the reader more interested in the site. Overall, these businesses have the customers in mind when making their web pages.

From Modernism to Post-Modernism

The Modernists wanted to free art from the constraints of classicism and to promote critical, free thought but whether or not they succeeded is still a matter of debate.   It began with Manet’s Impressionism on to the outrageousness of Dali’s Surrealist Manifesto. It was an intellectual attack on classical thought. Modernism and its successor, Post-Modernism indulged the artistic world in the subject of intellectual critical thinking and individualism and could be seen as the bravest contradiction to what art was previously believed to be. Modernism infiltrated every form of thought including philosophy, law, music, literature and architecture. It wanted the world to have their own thoughts and not believe what they were told to believe. Yet how different was Post-Modernism from Modernism? Did it succeed in changing the way people think and is it really ‘art for art’s sake? In this essay we examine these questions with reference to artist who were prominent Modernists. By definition ‘modernism’ is â€Å"period dating from roughly the 1860’s through the 1970’s and is used to describe the style and ideology of art produced during that era.†(Witcombe, 1997). Therefore this era of art included styles such as Impressionism, Surrealism and Realism. It is a broad spectrum from which to work. Arguably, Monet was the father of Impressionism, who saw the value of art no longer in reproducing the subject in detail and to perfection, but rather to capture the moment in time that could never be captured again. Professor Witcombe of Sweet Briar College says that it is generally agreed that Edouard Manet was the first of the ‘modernist’ painters (Witcombe, 1997). Classical artists had been preoccupied with classical subjects, particularly in the ‘Romantic’ period such as Delacroix and David (Witcombe, 1997). Modernism appeared to have failed in the early 20th Century, with the collapse of the Communist movement. It seems that at that stage looking at Surrealism for example, free thought and freedom of expression was about to be tested again with the onset of the World Wars. Yet where Modernism itself began and where it ended is still largely a mystery to most people. For instance, looking at the work of Cezanne in the early stages of the Modernist period, the essential ‘breaking down’ of subjects to their smallest most geometric states gave rise to a form of minimalism that contradicted the complexity of the Modernist age. Sigmund Freud ushered in the ‘new age’ of mental evaluation with world-shaking consequences and his ideas stretched from philosophical thought through to the film industry. Acceptably known to have influenced the work of painter Salvador Dali and film-maker Alfred Hitchcock, Freud’s ‘modern’ thought was seeking to ‘free’ the mind of the constraints of classically accepted reality. Essentially (as with the Cezanne’s art), this meant breaking humanity down to its smallest and simplest parts. As Witcombe describes it, â€Å"it should be clear that modernist culture is Western in its orientation, capitalist in its determining economic tendency, bourgeois in its class character, white in its racial complexion, and masculine in its dominant gender.†(Witcombe, 1997). As art became freed of the bonds of classical feudal law, so society attempted to pursue ‘liberalism’ with Karl Marx’s Utopia rising and falling abruptly with the failure of Communist Russia. There was at this stage too a profound interest in understanding the human interaction. The old idea of science as a purely empirical discipline gave rise to the human element in the work of sociologist Max Weber (Ludington, 2000). Artists no longer wished to conform to a particular style of art but preferred to create their own signature style. Even in the Impressionist school, a distinguishing factor could be found in each of the artists making them individual: Monet, Renoir, Manet, Degas and Van Gogh. Picasso’s solid external outline and geometric shape can be seen distinctly in the work of Paul Cezanne, meaning that his idea was not entirely original but influenced by previous artists. The idea of being unique and ‘inventing’ a new art was and always will be contested by the reality that and ‘influence’ ‘recreates’ the already created. Modernism was meant to free the artist of this exact emotion as well as being representative of the present social climate. This could be seen effectively in the work of Gustav Klimt and Antoni Gaudi in the early 1900’s. The Art Nouveau period specifically identified the new-found freedom of money and if there was none, to at least pretend there was. Casa Battlo (1906-1908), Antoni Gaudi architectural piece, resembled the carefree nature of the Art Nouveau period. Being completely fantasy and out of this world it appears it could have been made from an assortment of candy rather than brick and mortar. The dream-like realm for which Surrealism became known is subtly different to this in its pure indulgence and decadence. Previously the Church had been the patron of the arts, meaning that most of the art that was endorsed was done so with the understanding that it would be classical in nature, therefore ranking Gaudi as particularly rebellious in this aspect. The Renaissance architect Brunelleschi, who’s Dome of the Cathedral in Florence can be seen as poles apart from Gaudi’s offering, was controlled by the needs of the Church rather than pure self-indulgent imagination like Gaudi’s. Another aspect of Modernism that came into dramatic play was the advent of photography. With this reproduction of images it was no longer necessary to reproduce subjects as they were in reality or to record events. It did not take long for philosophical writers such as Roland Barthes to recognise that even with these remarkable prints of the past, they could never truly represent the subject they captured. With a photograph of his mother he was convinced that yes, this was his mother but, no it was also not his mother. It was in effect a picture of his mother. Rene Magritte in this era also painted his famous pipe entitled Ce n’est pas une pipe, which said that while it was a pipe, it also wasn’t. The reasoning behind this was that if you cannot actually smoke it, it cannot be a pipe. The question was to what extent does Modernist ‘unpacking’’ become ‘over unpacking’? The ‘unpacking’ process of Modernism in terms of art is perhaps best seen in the work of Salvador Dali. â€Å"[Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams was] one of the capital discoveries of my life†¦I was seized with a real vice of self-interpretation, not only of my dreams but of everything that happened to me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (The Great Artists. Vol 73: 2311). The Persistence Of Memory 1931, by Salvador Dali is oil on canvas and is 9  ½ inches by 13 inches in size. It shows a series of stopwatches melted over the motifs and there is ‘double imagery’. It includes a side profile of Dali himself. Completely Surrealist, Dali worked alongside Breton on the Surrealist Manifesto which attempted to free mankind of the constraints of the mind. â€Å"Surrealism will usher you into death, which is a secret society. It will glove your hand, burying therein the profound M with which the word Memory begins.†(Breton 1924). This was the core of Modernist thinking, that man should by all intents and purposes link beyond the real (or imagined reality) to what he really is (unpack himself). Like Freudian psychology the belief in Surrealism is that repressed memory locates itself in the subconscious constantly. This was called the superego, the responsibility of man to appease this memory leads to unexplained and unresolved dreams that often recur (Freud.1949:77). Compare this to the era we now live in, (the Post-modern era into which we have slipped) and the difference is that we are now trying to free ourselves from the constraints that Modernism has put on us. Post-Modern artists still toy with the idea that what is chiefly within us is expressed through creativity. But now the addition of technology to the equation makes us the ‘controller’ of the said creativity. Computer technology replaces the need for composed qualities in artwork (specifically graphic) meaning that there has to be a marriage of technological advancement and artistry in order for the artist to survive. Going back in time to the first expressions of rebellion in art such as Grunewald and Bosch, who represented dreams in their art and compare this to Dali who interprets the dreams. It becomes clear that what is believed to be an entirely new movement in art is really only a manifestation of experiments used in the past. With World War I & II the former quest for world domination attempted once again to put the world of art under the scrutiny of the powers that be but did not succeed. This means that the completed change was here to stay, that the movement from Impressionism to Surrealism and through to Pop Art and Op Art was free to mobilize itself into the future. â€Å"Earth to earth ashes to ashes dust to dust†, 1970, Lawrence Weiner, Guggenheim Museum, was what Post-modernism has offered us. In comparison to the fine art of the past few centuries, this piece does not seem to amount to much, but then it is an example of what humanity has become and therefore holds specific importance. A plain grey, white and black plaque with the words ‘earth to earth ashes to ashes dust to dust’ written across it reveals to us an human race that is really and honestly empty. It is not entirely correct to say Modernism has succeeded in its purpose, but to say that it has failed is also untrue and perhaps a little unfair. Times have changed and continue to do so. The greatest archives we have in memory of the evolution of man are in our art. Modernism as an ideal failed, communism failed and to a degree Freud failed, but the gift they gave us was a solid movement into a time that has been littered with the ‘new’. Modernism failed in that it became the cult-like movement of constraint that it tried so hard to break. It succeeded in producing an art that was truly indicative of the individual. Modernism is, regardless of its successes and failures, a distinct mark in history in the same way that the Renaissance was to the 1400’s-1500’s. We no longer paint young ladies on swings with farthingales and voluminous skirts, because they do not exist in our world. We hardly go to war in kilts and with battleaxes either because so much of our time has changed. The continuum of thought and critical thinking still plagues us with the knowledge that there are some things we will never explain or understand. However the world changes, our creativity is always there. Sources: Breton, Andre. 1924. The Surrealist Manifesto. (http://www.screensite.org/courses/Jbutler/T340/SurManifesto/ManifestoOfSurrealism.htm) Freud, S. 1949.The Ego and the Id. (The Hogarth Press Ltd: London) Ludington, Townsend. 2000. A Modern Mosaic: Art and Modernism in the United States. The University of North Carolina Press. http://uncpress.unc.edu/chapters/ludington_modern.html The Great Artists.1986. Vol 73: Dali.(Marshall Cavendish Ltd: London) Witcombe, Christopher Professor. 1997. â€Å" Art &Artists: The Roots of Modernism.† Part One: What is Art? Sweet Briar College. http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/modernism.html Witcombe, Christopher Professor. 1997. â€Å"Art & Artists: Modernism and Post Modernism.† Part 4: What is Art? Sweet Briar College. http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/modpostmod.html