The Blue Sword CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

When they reached the City a fortnight later, the City gates were open again, for what the people's kelar had told them was confirmed by messengers that Corlath sent; and on the laprun field there were thousands of the Hillfolk waiting to cheer their king and his bride, for the messengers had taken it upon themselves to tell more than Corlath had charged them with. All those who had come to the City for safety had stayed, and most of those who had elected to stay in their own land in spite of the Northerners now exultantly left those lands to hasten to the City and see their king's marriage; for somehow the news flew over the mountains and across the desert in all directions, and all of Damar knew of Harimad-sol, and that she would be queen; even into the fastnesses of the filanon, and a hundred of Kentarre's folk traveled to the City in the company of the people of Nandam's village – including Rilly, who was beside herself with excitement, and her mother, who was beside herse lf with Rilly – to attend the wedding. The City was decked with flowers, and long trailing cloaks of flowers had been woven which were thrown around Corlath's shoulders and Harry's, and over Tsornin's withers and Mabel's, and the ceremony was performed in the glassy white courtyard before Corlath's palace. People were hanging from windows and balconies, and clinging to the stark mountainside where there was not purchase for a bird's claws, and lining the walls, and crowded into the courtyard itself till there was barely space for the king and queen to walk from the palace door to the courtyard gate, where they waved and smiled and threw kaftpa, the traditional small cakes that were good luck for anyone who could catch one and eat it. And they threw armfuls and armfuls of them, that anyone who wanted one might have one, and everyone wanted one. Then they retreated again. Their wedding night they spent in the little room with the waterfall, in the blue mosaic palace. Before the y slept Corlath began the long task of telling Harry all the tales of Aerin, as he had once promised he would. The telling stretched over many of their evenings together, for Harry never wavered in her desire to hear them all – and when she had heard them all, her patient husband was required to teach them to her; and when she had learned all he had to teach, she made up a few of her own, and taught them to him. Gonturan was hung on the wall of the Great Hall, where Harry, like all Riders before her, had cut her hand on the king's sword and been made another of the company. The king's sword hung opposite, for only the king's and queen's own swords could hang on display in the Great Hall. Gonturan had spent many years wrapped in cloths in an old wooden chest, black with age, since the last time she hung in the Great Hall. And after the wedding feasts everyone went home, because there would be no traveling in the winter rains. The filanon stayed in the City till the rains were gone, partly to pay the respect due to the City and the king they had turned away from many years before; and partly for reasons that became obvious – although everyone already knew what was happening – when in the spring Richard Crewe married Kentarre, and returned with her and the filanon to the western end of Damar, although he carefully avoided the Outlander station. Thus the filanon became once again well known to the king and his City, for the Damarian queen often visited her brother, and he her. Richard was never entirely happy riding as the Hillfolk rode, but he had a talent for woodcraft and archery that might almost have been a Gift. He taught his sister to hold a bow properly and to put an arrow more or less where she wanted it to go, but Harry failed to rise above the merely competent. â€Å"Do you talk to your arrows, and tell them to find the stag that has to be in that brush up ahead somewhere and stick him?† â€Å"Did you tell Gonturan to knock down the mountains on Thurra's ugly head?† This conversation took place almost a year after Gonturan had been hung on the wall of the palace, and Harry could laugh. Kentarre's first child was a daughter with blond hair and grey eyes, and she was born before the rains came again. Harry's first child was born a fortnight later – â€Å"Ah, bah,† Harry said, with her hand on her belly, when the messenger came from the west with the word, and the winter's first rains fell over them, and dulled the stone of the City; â€Å"I did want to be first.† The child was a son, with black hair and brown eyes. Jack grew as skilled on horseback as any Hillman, for all that he had come to it so late; and Mathin took him to his home village, where he learned how the Hills trained their young horses. He was good at this too, and Mathin's family liked him, but always he found himself returning to the stone City, where Corlath seemed more content to stay since Harry now stayed with him. And the year that young Tor Mathin was two years old, Jack was called to a banquet in the Great Hall, where he had attended many banquets before, and to his own amazement he was made a queen's Rider, to sit with the fifteen king's Riders, for Corlath had made no more since the war with the North. Gonturan, which Jack had held once before on a mountaintop, lightly and kindly drank three drops of his blood, while he stared at the cut and for once had nothing to say. â€Å"We Outlanders must stick together,† said Harry, smiling. Jack looked up at once and shook his head. â€Å"No – we who love the Hills must stick together.† The year after Jack was made a Rider, Harry bore another child, and this one was a daughter, and she had red hair and blue eyes, and a wry whimsical smile even in her cradle. â€Å"You're calling her Aerin, of course,† said Jack, tickling her with the end of his sash while she giggled and clutched at it. â€Å"I'm calling her Aerin Amelia, and Forloy and Innath and Mathin and I are riding west as soon as she's six months old, to invite Sir Charles and Lady Amelia to the Naming, here in the City. Will you come with us?† Harry was holding her baby, and as Jack, startled, stopped looking at her and instead looked up at her mother, Aerin grabbed the sash and stuffed as much of it as would fit into her mouth. â€Å"Yes, of course I'll come. Don't I have to, anyway? As the only queen's Rider, I have a reputation to maintain.† Harry's anxious look relaxed into a smile. And so six months later five Riders set their faces west from the City; and as they were about to leave the City gates, Harry, who was lagging behind as if unhappy about something, heard hoof-beats behind her and turned around to see Fireheart bearing down on her. There were traveling-bundles hanging from his saddle, and Harry's face lit up and she said: â€Å"Oh, you are coming with us after all.† And Corlath sighed, and reached over Sungold's withers to take her hand and said, â€Å"Yes, I'm coming. I don't want to, you understand. Perhaps you should just think that I cannot bear to be parted from you for so many days; which is true enough.† â€Å"I don't care,† said Harry. Corlath looked at her and smiled in spite of himself. â€Å"Perhaps you are right, my heart. I am inclined to forget that there is still some Outlander blood in your veins; and perhaps this mad scheme of yours will work.† The six of them stopped and set up camp where a much bigger traveling camp had stopped several years before, to wait upon another visit to the Outlander town. Forloy and Innath rode in alone, early in the morning, with a written message for the District Commissioner and his wife; none of them knew what to expect, but least of all did the four who remained behind expect to see a cloud of dust hurrying back toward them a bare few hours later. â€Å"Hill horses never kick up so much dust,† Jack said thoughtfully. Harry stood up and took a few steps in the dustcloud's direction; she could see two figures on horseback within it, and behind them the grey and brown that were Innath's and Forloy's horses. Lady Amelia reached Harry first; Harry's hood was back, her hair shining in the sunlight, but in her Hill dress and with her skin burned to the color of malak, she was astonished when little Lady Amelia climbed or fell off her horse just in front of her, said, â€Å"Harry, my dear, why did you never send us any word?† burst into tears, and threw her arms around her former houseguest and foster child. â€Å"I – † she said. â€Å"Never mind,† said Lady Amelia; â€Å"I'm so glad to see you again. I'm glad you didn't quite forget us. You don't have to name the baby after me, you know – † her voice was muffled, because it was buried in Harry's shoulder – â€Å"but if you meant the invitation, I shall certainly come. And Charles too.† Harry looked up, and Sir Charles was ponderously dismounting. Lady Amelia let her go, and Sir Charles said nothing as he embraced her in his turn; and his silence she thought was a bad omen till she looked into his face and saw the tears in his eyes. He snuffled through his mustache once or twice, and then his eyes opened wider as they looked over Harry's shoulder, and she heard Jack's voice saying: â€Å"Good to see you again, old friend.† The meeting between Sir Charles and Corlath was a trifle constrained. Sir Charles, forgetting himself in an attempt to get off on the right foot this time around, put out his hand; and Corlath looked at it, and looked at Sir Charles, and Harry gritted her teeth; and then Corlath seemed to remember a description, from her perhaps, or from Jack, of this curious Outlander ritual; and he put out his hand, tentatively, and Sir Charles shook it heartily. After that things went more or less smoothly; and Sir Charles spoke the Hill tongue, not nearly so badly as Corlath had privately been expecting – he's been practicing, the Hill-king thought in surprise, and felt almost warm toward him – and Corlath spoke Homelander, and Sir Charles tactfully refrained from remarking on how fluently he knew it. Sir Charles wanted to insist that they all return to the Residency while he and Lady Amelia packed up for their journey, and Jack could see how he was trying to restrain himself, so he spoke to Harry and Harry spoke to Corlath. And Corlath eyed his wife and thought dark thoughts; but eight riders rode back toward Istan together. And so diplomatic relations between Outlander and Damarian began, for the first time since the Outlanders had come over the sea and seized as much as they could. Jack discovered that Sir Charles had taken his letter, written while Harry and Senay and Terim and Narknon lay asleep in his bedroom, very seriously indeed; and had, in fact, put his own career in jeopardy by insisting that the colonel of the General Mundy had not gone desert-mad at last, but had answered a real threat to Outlander security in the only way he could. It was because of Sir Charles' efforts that Jack himself and the men who had gone with him were honorably listed in the military rolls as missing in action at the Border and presumed deceased. Sir Charles had further had one of the unhuman corpses found near the fort – for two more were discovered after Jack disappeared – bundled up and sent off to be analyzed by Homelander physicians in the south of Daria, where the biggest Homelander cities were, and the best medical facilities. The physicians had nervously announced they didn't know what the thing was they were looking at, but, whatever it was, they didn't like it. Sir Charles also dug out all the reports of irregular and belligerent activity on the Northern border, gathered more, and sent them off to where they might do the most good; and such was his reputation as stolid, conservative, and unflappable – and such was his skill at treading a very narrow line – that he was listened to, if reluctantly. So when he returned from the Naming, leaving Lady Amelia behind for an extended visit with her name-child in the stone City, and began writing dispatches about the time being ripe for the opening of formal diplomacy between the Homeland and Damar – for so he called it – he was permitted to pursue the role he had chosen. It is true that only he and Lady Amelia were ever invited to the City in the Hills; but specially chosen Damarians did begin regularly to visit Istan, and eventually the cities in the south; and to exchange gifts, and speeches of good will, and to receive official administrative notice, even from the Queen and her Council, over the sea in the Homeland. And Harry and Corlath attended to their administrative duties as earnestly as they had to, but no more; and much of their time they spent wandering alone together through the City, or across the plains before the City; or they rode to Mathin's village, or Innath's; and as often as they could they slipped away north through the Hills to Luthe's valley. They took the children with them – Aerin was followed by Jack, and Jack by Hari, as the years passed – for Luthe was fond of children.

Beowulf: the Film vs. the Text

Throughout time, many stories have been altered to suit a particular time period. Often times a film’s adaptation is much different than text adaptations while the two can also be very similar. Over the span of hundreds of years there have been multiple interpretations of Beowulf detailing the similarities and differences between the 2007 film and the various text versions. The portrayal of both King Hrothgar’s and Grendel’s appearance and personalities are different in the film than in the text.In the motion picture version, he was portrayed as being an unstable alcoholic. This quote from the film demonstrates this, â€Å"I want mead! Give me some mead, my queen† (Beowulf: Top Ten Quotes)! In the film King Hrothgar is also portrayed as being a disgrace to his wife, in the written version on the other hand he was portrayed as a noble and mighty king who was adored by all his loyal subjects. ‘They said that of all the kings upon the earth he was the m an most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame† (Beowulf: Top Ten Quotes).In the movie, there was mention of an affair that King Hrothgar had. This quote from the film exposes the queen’s pain as she discovers the affair, â€Å"How could I ever lay with you, knowing you laid with her† (Beowulf: Top Ten Quotes)? In the text edition there is no evidence of any affair. In the picture Grendel had a very apathetic appearance. In the written material he was personified as an enormous monster thatis feared by ? Hamilton 2 all of Herot. This quote demonstrates his tormenting of the people by Grendel. There have been many great men who have come, but in the morning there was nothing left but blood on the floor, and the ventures, and the walls† (Memorable Quotes for Beowulf (2007)). In the film Grendel had the ability to speak and he was sensitive to light and sound. The way details and events were explained was different in one of th e two versions. In the film for example, King Hrothgar commits suicide, there is no evidence in the text supporting this.The film implies that Beowulf takes interest in the queen, while in the text there is no evidence of any romantic interest among them. This line from the film shows Beowulf’s interest, â€Å"Me It's not me he wants, my queen† (Memorable Quotes for Beowulf (2007))? The film states that Beowulf not only had an affair with Grendel’s Mother but also had a child with her. In the movie Beowulf marries the queen after Hrothgar’s death and eventually cheats on her similar to how Hrothgar did.The text details a tower that was dedicated to Beowulf after his demise; however the film eludes any mention of a tower. Wiglaf was crowned king before Beowulf’s demise in the movie but the text insinuates that the crowning occurred after his death. The battles were illustrated differently in both variations. For instance â€Å"The Battle with Grend el’s Mother† never transpired; instead she had a child with Beowulf. In â€Å"The Battle with Grendel†, the film insinuates that the men were awake when Grendel attacked and he also attacked numerous men.In the text on the hand, the men were asleep when he attacked and he only attacked Wiglaf. In â€Å"The Battle with The Dragon† viewers learned that he was actually Beowulf’s son. Throughout time there have been multiple analyses of Beowulf detailing the similarities and differences between the 2007 film and the various text translations. There are a wide range of differences in the film versus the text. These differences range from something as little as the appearances of main characters to the depiction of major events and details. Beowulf: the Film vs. the Text Throughout time, many stories have been altered to suit a particular time period. Often times a film’s adaptation is much different than text adaptations while the two can also be very similar. Over the span of hundreds of years there have been multiple interpretations of Beowulf detailing the similarities and differences between the 2007 film and the various text versions. The portrayal of both King Hrothgar’s and Grendel’s appearance and personalities are different in the film than in the text.In the motion picture version, he was portrayed as being an unstable alcoholic. This quote from the film demonstrates this, â€Å"I want mead! Give me some mead, my queen† (Beowulf: Top Ten Quotes)! In the film King Hrothgar is also portrayed as being a disgrace to his wife, in the written version on the other hand he was portrayed as a noble and mighty king who was adored by all his loyal subjects. ‘They said that of all the kings upon the earth he was the m an most gracious and fair-minded, kindest to his people and keenest to win fame† (Beowulf: Top Ten Quotes).In the movie, there was mention of an affair that King Hrothgar had. This quote from the film exposes the queen’s pain as she discovers the affair, â€Å"How could I ever lay with you, knowing you laid with her† (Beowulf: Top Ten Quotes)? In the text edition there is no evidence of any affair. In the picture Grendel had a very apathetic appearance. In the written material he was personified as an enormous monster thatis feared by ? Hamilton 2 all of Herot. This quote demonstrates his tormenting of the people by Grendel. There have been many great men who have come, but in the morning there was nothing left but blood on the floor, and the ventures, and the walls† (Memorable Quotes for Beowulf (2007)). In the film Grendel had the ability to speak and he was sensitive to light and sound. The way details and events were explained was different in one of th e two versions. In the film for example, King Hrothgar commits suicide, there is no evidence in the text supporting this.The film implies that Beowulf takes interest in the queen, while in the text there is no evidence of any romantic interest among them. This line from the film shows Beowulf’s interest, â€Å"Me It's not me he wants, my queen† (Memorable Quotes for Beowulf (2007))? The film states that Beowulf not only had an affair with Grendel’s Mother but also had a child with her. In the movie Beowulf marries the queen after Hrothgar’s death and eventually cheats on her similar to how Hrothgar did.The text details a tower that was dedicated to Beowulf after his demise; however the film eludes any mention of a tower. Wiglaf was crowned king before Beowulf’s demise in the movie but the text insinuates that the crowning occurred after his death. The battles were illustrated differently in both variations. For instance â€Å"The Battle with Grend el’s Mother† never transpired; instead she had a child with Beowulf. In â€Å"The Battle with Grendel†, the film insinuates that the men were awake when Grendel attacked and he also attacked numerous men.In the text on the hand, the men were asleep when he attacked and he only attacked Wiglaf. In â€Å"The Battle with The Dragon† viewers learned that he was actually Beowulf’s son. Throughout time there have been multiple analyses of Beowulf detailing the similarities and differences between the 2007 film and the various text translations. There are a wide range of differences in the film versus the text. These differences range from something as little as the appearances of main characters to the depiction of major events and details.

Burma’s Peaceful Transition to a Democratic Future Essay Example for Free

Burma’s Peaceful Transition to a Democratic Future Essay Burma is an Asian country that attained its independence on 4th January 1948 and is bordered by China on the North and Thailand on the East. it was referred to as the union of Burma in 1948. On January 4th 1974 it changed its name to the union of Burma and then on 23rd September, 1888 it reverted to the union of Burma. In 1989, then it changed the name again to the union of Myanmar and this was through the efforts by the state law and order restoration council (SLORC). It is a country whose population has had a lot of significance in Burma’s politics. The Burmese government is known as Myanmar and assumed an authoritarian feature that is dominated by a military leader. There have been substantial efforts to switch to a more democratic moves but these efforts have be hampered by the military which is against this move for example in 1990, a parliamentary government was elected but the Burma’s military could not let it to convene. Burma has a population of about 50 million people and has 500,000 troops who have been helping the government to create a regime of fear by denying the citizens most of their basic rights. Some democratic leaders have come up and visualized a viable idea of freeing the people from the torture they get from the government. In 1992 with his party the National League for Democracy, managed to scoop 82 % of all country’s parliamentary seats but the military regime which used dictatorship principles declined to transfer power to the leaders that were democratically elected. For more than ten years later, Aung San Suu kyi was put on house arrest and was released only in 2002. Her release was viewed by many as the only hope to the establishment of Burmese democratic government that would be sensitive to the people’s needs unfortunately in 2003 herself and many of her supporters were killed by a rowdy mob that was sponsored by the government. This conflict between the majority and the minority became evident after Burma achieved independence in 1948. It was at this time that Aung San Suu was given the mandate to control all those areas that traditionally were not controlled by only single community. After 1948 when the Burmese constitution was signed, constitution right have not been exercised on the minorities, they also do not have pieces of land and especially those that formerly belonged to their people. Since the war period, the Burman minorities have been sidelined by the majority who are the Burmese Burma was a British colony from the 1920s and this continued up to 1948. Though the Burma’s heartland was ruled directly by the colonial powers, the surrounding regions were allowed to rule themselves and this led the loyalty to split along the ethnic lines. The dominant ethnic group is the Burmese that comprise of 68 percent of the whole population and minority accounts for the remaining 32 percent. Religion in Burma has played a key role in causing further divisions. There are many religious in Burma for example there are Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus. These religious divisions have been aggravating the situations for example in 1991; more than a quarter million Muslims were evicted from their homes. This was exacerbated by the fact that there were many alliances formed. They were forced to cross the border to Bangladesh where they were accepted as refugees by the Bangladesh government but were helped by the international community with the basic needs. Today, the Burmese government is led a prime minister whose regime is greatly accused of displacing thousands of Burmese communities both internally and externally, some community such as Karen, Mon and Kareni were forced to seek refuge in Thailand. Those that are internationally displaced receive a better treatment than those that are internally displaced as the later are mistreated by the military. It is estimated that about 600,000 citizens have been internally displaced and are constantly looking for ways they could avoid slavery. They are used as slaves by this government as many of them are conscripted in the army by force or are left with no other choice except from joining the drug network that is sponsored by the state. There are various movements that have been trying to free the population of Burma from military. Some of these are; the Junta, the Karen National Union and the Moi Tai army though their efforts did not materialize because most of the current military officials are from the community with the majority that oppresses the minorities. So, it is really hard to make any advance but there is one very vibrant group that has mobilized the minorities to participate in a non-violent peaceful demonstration. Led by Buddhist monks, these people protested against the abuse of human rights and matched in groups of more than hundred thousand protestors in the streets. The Head of the State, General Shwe who is also the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is greatly criticized by the United States and the European governments which have imposed various sanctions that are enforced thorough consumer boycotts. The United States of America and the European governments using their influence led other Western nations to stop cooperating with Burma. Though these governments have been relentless in enforcing bans against Burma, some western companies are still cooperating due to some loopholes in sanction application. Most of these are the oil companies. Such as the American oil company and the French oil company. Also Cherron and the Yadana natural gas pipeline that runs from Burma all the way to Thailand is so much in use. There are still Asian businesses that operate in Burma for example the Daewoo Company that invests in extracting resources. The United States government in collaboration with the European governments also imposed sanctions on Burma’s clothing as well western nations to stop sourcing from Burma and more particularly those shops that were either partially or wholly supported by the government. After those peaceful protests, a good number of people stopped getting their products from Burma and these were led by an individual like Levi Strauss who was very vibrant in keeping up with the fight against the government products for example from 1992,many American cloth and shoes companies stopped acquiring their properties from Burma. In 2003, the united government banned Burma’s imports as in accordance with the Burmese freedom and democracy Act that was amended in the year 2003 however, some people have attacked this United States strategy of forcing this government to step down as has led many people to suffer greatly. Despite these critics, the move was supported by the Burmese democratic movement and has supposed by the Burmese democratic movement and has vowed to keep encouraging the western world to impose harder and stricter sanctions against the military government (Smith M. 1991) Burma insurgency and the politics of ethnicity London and New Jersey. Zed books. The human watches in Burma have highlighted all the crimes against humanity but there is no judiciary to address the problem any such move faces strong opposition from the military government. There is no free communication that is allowed by the Burmese military government in fact no one is allowed to access the internet and the search engines such as Google, G mail, hotmail and yahoo so the Burmese citizens are less informed. What the government has done is that it does not allow these companies to operate in its territory and as such they are blocked. If people have to access materials from the internet, they must first of all be filtered and censored by the military government. They use US filtering soft wares such as the Fortinet to censor emails, web pages and pro-democratic pages. In Burma, child soldiers are forcefully conscripted. They are also forced to punish their fellow military friends by being giving death threats incase they do not as they bare told. Children are conscripted in army by force. These children are promised to be jailed if they do not accept to join the army. Since the military regime usurped power in 1962, after overthrowing sthe democratically elected government, this regime has been one of the worst violators of human rights in the whole universe. The climax reached after the (SLORC) State Law and Order Restoration Council was changed To State Peace And Development Council sometimes back in 1997, November. This party in 1988 seized the states powers established itself and forcefully removed the little pretence that was there that they were upholding the dignity of the citizens and took part in massacring the demonstrates who were demonstrating against the creation of this undemocratic regime. They were marching in the streets of Rangoon and Burmese towns and cities when the military forces descended on them killing thousands. According to the comment that was made by the amnesty international human rights violation and torture were like a Burmese institution and they even listed various forms of abuses that were perpetrated by this corrupt regime. This report was further affirmed by the United Nations and other human rights watchdog. These abuses that they listed were for example torture, murder, litany abuses, forced displacements of citizens, holding or arresting individuals and keeping them in detention houses without trials and various litany abuses. These were the activities that were characteristic of this military regime and citizens have suffered enormously under it. Children were also abused by the military that forcefully conscript them in the army and also the villagers were forced to work for the military. Children are reportedly said to have been raped and defiled by the troops. The military operations that are from time to time conducted in various villages and these led to deterioration of living standards for example this was witnessed in Karen state and Shan state in 2001. This has forced many to be to run away to the neighboring states such as Thailand while those who are unable to move out of the country were internally displaced. The internally displaced and lived in the camps for internally displaced received very harsh treatment by the ruling military regime than those who manage to seek refuge in the neighboring states. The military regime do not in any way follow the internationally agreed freedoms for example the civil and political rights though Burma is a signatory to various international peace accords. Everything that happens in this country must be censored including the exhibitions. There is completely no freedom of expression. Even publications are not spared as they are censored by the government infact it is only sports and romance magazines are not censored. The broadcasting media houses are state owned and the government has the monopoly over them. They only air information that is favorable to them for example you it is common to see junta’s generals making speeches and from these stations and instead they go for less biased information. The SLOPCS has been very determined in curtailing the freedom of speech. Though they try to censor the information given by the public media, there are international ones that give more accurate information and these are what people rely on. These are stations such as the British broadcasting corporation (BBC), the democratic voice of Burma, radio Free Asia and the Voice of America (VOA). Apart from these international radio stations, any other person who goes against this decree risked twenty years imprisonment as per the 1996 decree. These are some of the laws that are enforced by this government without any regard to the international law standards. Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls and abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the â€Å"Burmese Socialism†, but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. Burma is a nation that is rich in various natural resources for example the country has precious such as pearls and rubies. The country is also rich in natural gases. In 1962 its economy was performing well when compared to other economies of the developing nations but the socialist party which assumed power later changed the economic status of Burma for example it replaced the capitalism mode of economy with socialism that advocated for central planning as opposed to central planning. Due to this economic change it became one of the poorest developed nations of world. In addition, most overseas development assistance was cut after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. A crisis in the private banking sector in early 2003 followed by economic moves against Burma by the United States, the European Union, and Japan – including a US ban on imports from Burma and a Japanese freeze on new bilateral economic aid further weakened the Burmese economy. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma’s foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade – often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. Better relations with foreign countries and relaxed controls at home are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism. In February 2003, a major banking crisis hit the country’s 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. In July and August 2003, the United States imposed a ban on all Burmese imports and a ban on provision of financial services, hampering Burma’s ability to obtain foreign exchange. As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit outside of government contracts. In Burma the rate of unemployment is very high and the prices of commodities are very high and life standards are very high. According to one businessman said that the situation in Burma was moving from bad to worse and that there was looming danger of social unrest, lectures, professors and pipeline construction workers are poorly paid. Due the constant mass uprising by the democratic movement against this regime, it was rendered bankrupt in 1988 in the onset of the 21st century, it was on the lowest income generating countries in the world but it has greatly reversed this situation because it dropped its economic isolationism. It has also welcomed the foreign investors in its economy so that it would strengthen its military bases. In response to its call, UNOCAL and TOTAL oil companies came to its rescue. In Burma, there are military controlled economic sectors such as Myanmar economic holdings limited and the Myanmar economic corporation that is, UMEH and MEC respectively. These two industries which are controlled by the Burmese military are the ones that dominate the economic sector of Burma. UMEH is geared towards military strengthening while MEC is geared towards shifting the defense cost from the public sector to the private ones but both corporations have a part to play in strengthening the military base of Burma. Though European Union has been imposing economic sanctions to Burma its sanctions are not as stricter as those of the United States. It has invested a lot in Burma and it doesn’t want to lose the much that it has invested. United States has been very keen in reinforcing the bans or sanctions that have been imposed on Burma. The US government particularly has imposed a ban on its investments in this country and has also placed a ban against Burmese exports. Since the bans were proposed, US is the only nation that has implemented them. In the past, the European Union has not been imposing strict sanctions but starting from last year it has increased economic sanctions on precious metals and on imports such as gemstone and timber but they still demand for fresh elections to be held and human rights to be respected. It is only thorough these ways that the country can witness a transition from military rule to a democratic one. It had eased its sanctions basing its reasoning on its above conditions. Japan has been very friendly to Burma. It has never failed to support this military regime though on a small scale. Infact it is one of the major donor in Burma but it is reconsidering its foreign policy on Burma especially after a Japanese journalist was killed. It said that it would cut the aid that Burma gets from it. The other reason for it to withhold its financial aid was in 2003 when San Suu Kyi was kept in detention by the Junta. They believed that was the only best move that would pressurize the military regime to address the democratic principles that have never been allowed to take root in this regime. In 2002,Japan supported Burma’s government with 17 million US dollars on top of that it gave Burma the technical support it needed Japan which was all this time shying away from enforcing sanctions on Burma as the US and UK were doing, it changed its policy after this saga. The British government pressurized the European Union to increase sanctions until san Suu Kyi was realized but it was assured that these sanctions would be eased if Suu Kyi was released. That nation that seems to support Burma or appears or appears or appears to be annually to Burma face violation by the US and UK government and this has occurred to china and North Korea. This is based on misconception that these close friends would be providing economic support to this government that has little regards for its citizens. The United States for example was very bitter because Burmese government suppressed democracy and imposed its will on people and that is why it has imposed sanctions. The heroic stature of Aung San Suu Kyi has greatly helped in making Myanmar to be recognized world wide. China has been blamed for helping this region for its support. The western world cannot sway the Juntas government for this to be effective, then the regional ASEAN countries such as India, Thailand and especially china must first be willing to transform this government. China has been asking Myanmar to quell violence and control protesters but it seems this is falling on deaf ears. China has been helping Burma in international affairs management for example it has been very vibrant in keeping the issue of Burma out of the United Nation’s agenda but the United States and the British governments have been on the other side. Due to many economic sanctions that have been imposed on this regime, it finds it even hard to provide aid to its people who living in poverty. The aid that Burmese gets is below par and is the lowest in the region especially when it compared with that of the local countries for example, an individual’s aid is counted as 2. 5 dollars per head while that of Laos’s stands at 63 US dollars. China has been accused of providing Junta with military aid thus limiting the chances of democracy being realized. It has continued to conduct business relations with. Burma but it is because of some factors that are understandable and some of these are that Burma is rich in useful natural gases that china is interested in again Burma provides China with an overland route to the Indian ocean so Chinese government would not do anything to destroy its relations with Burma. Though there have been calls for better treatment of protestors, they fall on deaf ears. The amnesty international has been pressurizing the United Nations to impose embargos and sanctions on China so that peace in Burma would be realized. This is based on understanding that the Burmese military government relies on china for most of its assistance so, if china was to cut its military aid then, the Burmese government would be unable to control the nation there by creating a platform of peace transition. If the new government would come in place, it would not find it hard to sustain itself even without getting any financial aid from other countries. There are a lot of minerals that aid from other countries. There are a lot of minerals that would help the government to finance its entire government projects. The new government should create confidence among its citizens so that they would participate in the economy thereby making the economy of this nation even stronger. This government should also extend its business relations with other nations as many of them do not have those minerals and definitely they would be so much interested in them. Work cited. Altsean-Burma: Alternative Asean Network on Burma campaigns, advocacy and capacity-building for human rights. 2008. Accessed on Wednesday, March, 2008 at http://www. altsean. org/ Andrew S. Burma’s Armed Forces: Power without Glory. Norwalk: East Bridge. 2002; 45-56 Burma net News. Accessed on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at www. burmanet. org BBC News. Analysis: Burma’s economic Crisis. 15th March, 2002, 13:47 GMT Accessed at http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/1871326. stm Brookings. Quality, independence and impact. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 at www. brookings. edu Donald M. S. Burma-China Relations: Playing with Fire. Asian Survey, Vol. 37, No. 6, 1997; 533 International Crisis Group. Working To Reduce Crisis World Wide. Retrieved on April 30, 2008 at http://www. crisisgroup. org/home/index. cfm Myanmar. com. New Light of Myanmar. April 30, 2008 Accessed on April 30, 2008. At http://www. myanmar. com Philip S. Robertson: Sanctions Are Working in Burma. 2003. Online commentary at www. irrawaddy. org/com/2003/com31. html Accessed on August 2003. Smith M. Burma insurgency and the politics of ethnicity. London and New Jersey. 1991; 78 Burma’s Peaceful Transition to a Democratic Future. (2016, Jul 31).

Fast Food and Healthy Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fast Food and Healthy Life - Essay Example There is a big gap in the sensible amounts of food that can be consumed to the amounts of food actually consumed on a daily basis (Young, Lisa R and Nestle, Marion; 2003, p1). Food manufacturers are the biggest culprits of health mismanagement in the United States. Individual intake of food is surreptitiously promoted by packages that invariably provide more than double the quantity of food necessary for one meal. "Foodservice establishments use larger dinner plates, larger pans to bake muffins and pizzas, and larger containers for sodas and fries" (Young, Lisa R and Nestle, Marion; 2003, p2). Customers are not inclined to measure the exact quantity of food they are supposed to consume over one meal course. Normally, food is consumed on the basis of individual likes and no statutory rules are broken if the customer consumes more of a particular food he likes. Adequate portion sizes relevant for a meal marked on the labels are not seriously noted. This state of affairs happens on a very wide scale involving a huge segment of the population anywhere in the world. However, science provides information on the portions of each food that could be safely consumed. Excess food invariably adds to the calories and sooner than later leverage disease-prone organs such as kidneys and the heart with impure blood and once set it becomes difficult to root them out. "There are short-term studies showing that controlling portion sizes helps limit calorie intake, particularly when eating high-calorie foods. What is missing from the research is whether people monitor portion sizes and consistently chooses to eat recommended serving sizes, thus consuming the appropriate amount of calories for maintaining or losing weight" (Do Increased Portion Sizes Affect How Much We Eat, 2006) Obese children and fast food We live in an information age where the television is the best form of entertainment and everyone, including the children, finds endless solace glued to it with fast food packets in their hands. Little wonder then that one in every three children is obese in the United States (Leading by Example, 2010). "Many kids are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the television, computer, or video-game console. And today's busy families have fewer free moments to prepare nutritious, home-cooked meals. From fast food to electronics, quick and easy is the reality formany people in the new millennium" (Leading by Example, 2010). The eat-more-work-less syndrome has become a way of life that does not appear to be a threat until it strikes when it becomes a too late to take corrective action. Granted, lots of teenagers are now taking action and working out to reduce the extra calories. However, the erratic lifestyle they have been leading up to that point when they start

Affirmative Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Affirmative Action - Essay Example an publicity, the government has ensured that racial discrimination against African-Americans and people of color are eliminated in employment industry. In the employment norm, the government has laid down strategies that ensure no barrier is created so that any qualified person is employed. Affirmative action in the U.S is fighting to ensure that there is no discrimination based on either gender or race. The affirmative action calls for equality in that every person should be given equal opportunity based on his or her qualification. In the U.S, an aspect of public policy has triggered employment industries to look in depth on the facet of discrimination, which has led to abuse of civil liberties of Americans. Various laws and policies have been laid down to ensure that there is equal employment opportunity and affirmative actions are dealt with. Public policies with inherent contradictions can be seen as a negative impact towards employment facet leading to disparate impact, color-blind and narrowly tailored actions (McCrudden 45-53). Approaches to affirmative action in terms of Catholic and Protestant applicants for the police service of Northern Ireland, the legal ability has laid down strategies that could see the government of European Union engage in positive action towards the issue of employment. Racial discrimination in regards to employment has been evident European countries for a long time. This has forced the members of the entire States to introduce effective measures that overlooked races context, disability and religion as far as the issue of employment is

The impact of terrorism on tourism Dissertation

The impact of terrorism on tourism - Dissertation Example However, of late the terrorism activities have gained further dominance owing to its growing linkage to the tourism industry. Wilks, Pendergast and Leggat (2006) states in this regard that it is hard to uncover the reasons which have led to the growth of terrorism and its growing linkage to tourism activities. The tourism industry has become the target point for terrorism activities in the international scale owing to the slag of security and alertness. Tourists on tour tend to be remain undeterred about the surrounding environment being lost in the fun of holidaying which becomes the target point of terrorist to easily lay their grounds upon. Wilks, Pendergast and Leggat (2006) further observe that the rate of infiltration of terrorist in tourism centers has also another potential reason other than the lack of alertness of the tourists. The functions of tourism mainly occur along the principal trade routes of any region. Thus the terrorists feel that attack on such trade and economi c routes would help in disrupting the economic activities of the region. Thus terrorist attacks on tourism helps in jeopardizing the trade and economic operations of a region making it poor. ... The linkage of terrorism operations with tourism industries can also be observed to be a potential factor that enables the terrorist outfits to gain considerable publicity. Tourist centers being largely linked with market places helps the terrorist gain wide amount of publicity having conducted a large massacre of human lives and property. It helps them reach their demands to the eyes and ears of the higher authorities. Finally, Wilks, Pendergast and Leggat (2006) state that the nature of the functions of tourism industry being so diversified and spread across international borders that it becomes difficult to trace the movement of terrorists inside hotels and tourist areas. People from various nationalities clad in different type of outfits tend to regularly visit international tourist hotspots which being not closely monitored encourages militancy actions. (Wilks, Pendergast and Leggat, 2006, pp.82, 85-86). Types of Terrorist Activities across Tourism Centers The event of terrorism linked with tourism activities in order to succeed in their goals of spreading terror and panic in the regions takes to different forms of terrorist operations. In this regard, Henderson (2007) observes that terrorist outfits generally carry out a host of terrorist activities, which aims to take many lives in order to succeed in their mission of spreading terror. Different terrorist operations are planed out by the terrorist groups, which can take place individually or in particular assortments. The different activities, which are planned by the terrorist groups, include employment of suicide bombers to counter insurgency operations. The terrorist

Interview of an HR Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interview of an HR Manager - Assignment Example According to Judy Rossum, her job within the company is to maintain a proper balance between the interests of the company and the welfare of the employees. It is also part of her job to ensure that the company will never be over or under staffed during any given production season. It is not an easy according to her. But thanks to her assistants, she manages to pull off what can be considered to be a monster of a headache type of job. Since the company has only been around for 2 years and does not have an enormous staff like its big-time counterparts. Judy only needs a total of 6 assistants to help make sure that all her job requirements are met. but even with the assistants, she still meets some tasks that take a lot of her time to resolve. Some of the issues that she has to handle include the performance evaluation of the employees and employee labor complaints. She does her best to resolve the problems in such a manner that the company will not have to call in a legal adviser in order to resolve the situations in the case of labor complaints. While when it comes to performance evaluations, she has to make sure that the rating is applied to the employee is always fair, balanced, and based solely on his workplace attitude and job performance. Ms. Rossum believes that there is a tremendous amount of room for further professional development in the field of human resources. She suggested that those who are in the position to further the field do so by increasing the training and development programs for current and future human resource managers. This can be done through a consistent and thorough study of human development theories, practices, and processes. Updating the necessary areas in order to keep human resources abreast of 21st-century business and employee  needs.  

Business Description - Management Stagey and Policy Research Paper

Business Description - Management Stagey and Policy - Research Paper Example tugal Greece Trinidad/Tobago Poland Maldives Indonesia Thailand Iceland United Kingdom Mexico Namibia Ukraine Germany Israel Russian Federation Turkey Nigeria Lebanon Australia Jordan Puerto Rico Ireland Kuwait Seychelles Barbados Mauritius South Korea U.A.E USA Nicaragua Cameroon Netherlands New Zealand Sweden Oman Vietnam Switzerland Some of the services produced by Hilton hotels include printing and photocopy services, babysitting services, high speed internet connection, cable television, meeting rooms, automatic teller machines, barber and beauty salon, foreign exchange, video conferencing, car rental services, news, shoe shining and safe depositing. Outdoor activities for fitness and recreation, which include swimming, fishing, jet-skiing, sailing, tennis playing, walking, squashing, windsurfing, sight-seeing and snorkeling among others (Hilton 2012). In addition, the company offers luxury in Conrad and Waldorf Astoria Hotels and resorts, full services in Hilton Hotels and reso rts, embassy suites and DoubleTree; focused services at Hilton Garden and Hampton Inn and suites; extended stay suites at Homewood Suites and Home2Suites; time share at Hilton Grand Vacation and Defunct at Denizen Hotels. Currently, Hilton and its brands is owned, operated and managed by Blackstone Group. Hilton Hotels and it other brands such as Conrad, Waldorf Astoria and DoubleTree among others offer excellent services to tourists and business travelers. Hilton is one of the best and renowned companies in the hospitality industry, which symbolizes excellent services and high quality customized meals. The Hotel offers high quality services. For example, in one of its branches, the renowned Hotel offers accommodation, dining, breakfast and lunch at Le Terrazza, which provides world renown meals, which are available between 6:30 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. every day. The hotels also offers landry services, bar, and live music among others. The hotel accommodation amenities include king and t win guest room as well as twin and king guest room plus. The hotel has suite amenities. They are king, executive, junior and residential suites. It also has executive, deluxe and deluxe plus room for working. Abu Dhabi Hilton Hotel has fifteen bars and restaurants including Vascos and Le Terrazza restaurants. Diagrams: Hotel guest room and sample restaurants Guest rooms Executive suits Toki Restaurant Vienna Plaza restaurant Japanese cuisine Hemingway's restaurant Part 1: Company’s Business Model Business Strategy: Differentiation Hilton Hotel and its other brands have been able to maintain its strong and excellent brands worldwide. The competitors include Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International, intercontinental Hotels, Choice Hotel international, and Hyatt Corporation. The strong competition in the hospitality industry demands that a player need to develop strong brands to distinguished themselves from the others. Hospitality industry is driven by location attra ctiveness, quality of services and rooms as well as global presence and operations. The services of Hilton and its other bra

Managing Your Time as an Adult Learner Research Paper

Managing Your Time as an Adult Learner - Research Paper Example An instance whereby the teacher is able to fashion the learning activities in such a manner, that the learners identify with the concept being taught, there is a great likelihood that, the learners will identify themselves with the contents being taught (Turner, 2001). For learning to be effectual, the need to set realistic goals is vital. All processes are worth undertaking if the learner is directed towards achieving a certain goal. Goals allow learners define what they work for and at what levels, they would also be in a better position to attain their goals. It is also imperative to note that, creating weekly schedules is crucial if individuals have to achieve their set goals and standards. Through set schedules; learners are able to detect extra time that they have, that can be dedicated to remedial classes. With strict timelines, learners are able to create quality and uninterrupted study time. Creation of schedule lists allows the learners schedule what they have to do in the following day. Schedules have been credited for their ability to allow learners plan on what to do and what not to do. According to Matema (2007) understanding one’s schedule is of importance to adult learning. ... Anderson, Samimi and Bohl (2010) argue that, time management is the major ingredient in the success of learning among learners. Learning how to manage time requires that learners come up with a daily occurrence list that needs to be constantly updated. Prioritizing activities allows learners plan what to do first and according to their urgency. The learners are also able to discern the repercussions of not following their time schedules. The learners must always update their skills and be in a position to assess their performance. Adult learners are faced with a myriad of barriers in their course of study. Rothwell (2008) indicates that, learners must devise solutions towards procrastination. The study recommends that adult learners can handle this problem through strictly following their set schedule. The schedule must be set on limits that the learners must plan their work in a manner that will not strain their abilities. Procrastination is known to instill guilt feelings among lea rners; a factor that drains their abilities to perform well. In order to work without interruptions, the leaner may need to understand the contents of their tasks, so as to allocate enough time for all of them. In this way, the learners will be in a better position to meet deadlines of the specific tasks as well as, acquire help when need in a timely manner. It is possible to eliminate stress in the learners if they understand the fact that, they do not have to be perfect, but do what they can within the allocated time. The learners must always attempt to make their learning interesting despite the fact it may prove extremely difficult at times. Conclusively, it is justified to argue that, adult education can only be successful if all the tips of effectiveness are followed

What makes Sophocles's Antigone a paradigm of the very idea of tragedy Essay

What makes Sophocles's Antigone a paradigm of the very idea of tragedy - Essay Example Firstly, we should understand that the notion of tragedy concerns only a human being. This concept cannot be devoted to the natural phenomena. It can face various kinds of devastating disasters, but their consequences are evaluated as a tragic only in relation to their emergence in peoples lives. Tragedy always involves some conflicts in human relationships. It characterizes the irresolvable question, which always ends with the loss of some significant life values ​​for the participants of the conflict, or even the destruction of their personality. Every person is mortal. Moreover, any individual accepts it as a fact and does not consider it as a tragedy. Death is only one of the manifestations of life - the law of nature. Tragic conflicts arise when people fail in their truly human manifestations, asserting themselves as free and rational beings. The spiritual dimension of human life is the only arena in which the tragedy takes place. The works of Sophocles were based on the myths of ancient Greece. The play â€Å"Antigone† is often compared with the myth about Oedipus. The plot of the tragedy is not complicated. Its main character Antigone (the daughter of king Oedipus), despite the decree of Creon (the legitimate ruler of Thebes), performs funeral rites over the body of one of her fallen brothers Polynices, who led foreign troops to Thebes and betrayed the interests of his native city. As a result, Creon condemns Antigone to a painful punishment, commanding to immure her in one of the caves. Antigone refuses to accept such sentence and commits suicide. Antigones death entailed the suicide of her fiancà © Haemon (Creons son). His mother Eurydice could not stand the sorrow and dies as well. These misfortunes made Creon recognize his miserableness and humble before the gods. Sophocles developed the plot of the original myth, as it was necessary for the disclosure of the tragic actions. He did not paraphrase the

The Normalising Machine Essay Example for Free

The Normalising Machine Essay The normalising machine has two parts to it and I am going to talk about the first part that is what we did in the lessons. We started off by looking at the characters. We had to make a little improvisation up about how the characters are put across to us. We used still images, role plays and prepared improvisations. We had to make it obvious that the characters were greedy, manipulative and just plain stupid. The lessons then progressed and we started to take scenes from the normalising machine book. We made it, again obvious that the characters were greedy, manipulative and plain stupid. We took each lesson one at a time and kept trying to make it more and more obvious that the characters are who they are and people had to guess who was who in the play. We looked at everyone elses performances and discussed their ideas and attitudes towards the play. Some examples of the other groups ideas are: Using different levels, pushing people down to make it seem like they are in control, using still images to emphasise the point they are putting across and using split staging to make it obvious of what they are doing. We discussed how these ideas helped the drama to progress onto the next stage which was trying to be over the top within the role of a character from the normalising machine. I found it very hard to be over the top and I think a lot of other people in the class did too. The drama had to be over the top because the play is very comical and if we werent over the top then it would have just been plain, simple, boring and totally rubbish. I thought that being over the top was a good thing to do but it is also a very hard thing to do. For instance, when Rudolf met Trudy at the tube station, he was so over the top and so outrageous that some people actually got worried that they were too over the top. Also when Rudolf met Mr and Mrs Tolerant he was also very over the top. This was very effective because the Mr Tolerant wanted to beat Rudolf up and he actually got scared of Rudolf because the character was full of beans and giddy as some people said, and when Mrs Tolerant said Rudolf was em barrassing her he got frustrated and worked up as some people said and he told Mr Tolerant to ask him to leave but Mr Tolerant insisted that he stayed. The only thing with Rudolf is that he sometimes gets worked up and feels frustrated because he is doing things wrong when he actually isnt but he thinks he is. Ben percent is Grace Beverly Brices P.R agent. He is the manipulated, sly and cunning character in the play. He swindles his way into the eyes of Grace Beverly Brice and becomes the official spokes person of Judge Juniper Jones. In the scene were he meets Grace Beverly Brice he shows her the contracts of some other people who arent actually celebrities any more but Grace Beverly Brice doesnt realise this and as Ben Percent manipulates her into agreeing to draw up a contract, he gave a sly grin and walks away only wanting 10% of the money she makes from the normalising machine. Also, Ben Percent was the person who finalised Doctor Michael Molecule because Ben got very worked up that Michael Molecule was spreading rumours about Grace Beverly Brice. In this scene we see that when Doctor Michael Molecule enters the room with Ben Percent in it that whoever was in control of the other person would stand up and the person who had no control had been pushed down onto a chair. This is a very effective way of doing things because the audience could see who was and who wasnt in control at that point, and as Ben percent offers for Doctor Michael Molecule to come back on the project of the normalising machine with the excuse that they need something to clear the dust from inside the machine and asks him what he wants to do, Ben Percent pushes Doctor Michael Molecule into the normalising machine and finalises him and gives a very sly and cunning laugh. This was also very effective because the book play shows that Ben percent is a very manipulating any character even if it means finalising them. Grace Beverly Brice is the character that completed the normalising machine because Doctor Michael Molecule got frustrated and couldnt finish it because he didnt know what to add to sedate the radicals and the badicals so Grace Beverly Brice stepped in to finish the project and completed the machine to become a billionaire. Grace Beverly Brice is a manipulated character and a very innocent character who knows what she wants to do with her life but when it all boils down to it she is manipulated by Ben Percent. All the scenes in this play were sometimes complicated to put together and to drop thoughts on, on how to bring the scene together so it looked like the person who was in charge was in charge and the person who was being manipulated was manipulated and the person who was manipulating was manipulating. I think some people found it very hard to be the character they was meant to be playing and to make it seem like they was in charge etc but the groups the people were in dropped some good thoughts and put it all together brilliantly and it looked very professional. I am now going to talk about the development and presentation that the class did. Both groups based their plays on the normalising machine but changed the lines a bit except for my group. We based half of our development and presentation on the normalising machine. This part was the head teachers scene in the normalising machine book. We then went from that scene to a Blind Date scene which was called now been normalised and that was based on the characters from the normalising machine who had been normalised in the normalising machine and wanted to take Trudy on a romantic date. The characters we used are: Trudy, Ben Percent, Doctor Michael Molecule, Rudolf Right and Anthony Badlad. We used these characters because they are the most manipulating, over the top and vile characters in the book. We then used another scene from the book were Trudy takes Rudolf home to meet her parents. This scene is so over the top that even Rudolf was nearly laughing at himself because it was so funny a nd then we went back to the Head teacher who finished the whole play off by using smart and witty comments to make it so that he was put across as evil and cruel. We did this by making him have a very deep voice and made him to shout at the top of his voice for further credit to the character. Over all I think this project was very good fun and we used a lot of skills to put across our point that the characters are who they are. Some of the skills we used are: still images, Role play, development and presentation, role within a role, hot seating, split staging and many more. All the plays that the other groups made were very good. They used all the skills that were needed in the scenes they were acting and even used more skills that werent needed but they put them in any way to make it even better for the audience to watch.

Sports Equity and Inclusion in British Rowing

Sports Equity and Inclusion in British Rowing British Rowing: A critical review Rowing is a sport which involves propelling a boat on a body of water using oars to push against the water and produce a force to move the boat. Rowing itself can be recreational or competitive and competition in rowing can be traced back to Ancient Egypt. Modern rowing as a sport dates back to the 10th Century in London. The arrival of Boat Clubs, for example, the Leander club in England, and the formation of University and public school rowing teams, especially at Oxford, Cambridge, and Eton in the early 18th Century, propelled the popularity of the sport to other Universities and boat clubs around the globe including the U.S and Germany (Burnell, Page, 1997).   Rowing is also one of the oldest Olympic sports. Initially it was part of the 1896 Olympics but the racing could not go ahead due to bad weather. Since 1900 it has been present at every Olympic Games with competitions ranging from individual races (single scull) to eight-person shells (coxed eight). Rowing has also had women participants from 1976 and Paralympic athletes from 2008 (Olympic Studies Centre, 2015). Despite being an amateur sport, rowing in Britain has always reflected the division of social classes by being synonymous with the more upper classes. Sugden, Tomlinson (2000) support this by suggesting that involvement in Henleys boating regatta can be a clear sign of high social status. Social classes, in their most basic form can be described as a division of a society based on social and economic status (English | Oxford Dictionaries, 2017). Later in the report I will analyse this further using different theories and concepts. During the rise in popularity of sports in Britain in the 18th century some sports, for example, football and Rugby, were more associated with the working and lower middle classes and other sports, for example, tennis and golf, where more associated with the upper middle and upper classes (Wilson, 2002). This can be attributed to all cultural consumption, including sports consumption, which requires the right tastes and preferences as well as knowledge and skills. This is called cultural capital. (Bourdieu, 1986, cited in Holt, 1998). Cultural capital is defined by access to cultural processes and products. These include the way by which educational, social and intellectual knowledge can used to advantage the social and economic position of a particular individual or group (Bourdieu, 1986, cited in Beedie, Craig, 2010, p. 268). The access to higher levels of educational knowledge in the 18th Century was achieved through the public schools which required fees to attend. Therefore, th ey attracted students from more economically advanced backgrounds and wealthy families that could afford the fees. These included schools like Westminster, Harrow, and the previously mentioned Eton (UK Parliament, 2017). As rowing was only available at boat clubs, universities, and public schools, all of which were out of reach to all but the ruling class, rowing became the preserve of the higher classes. People in poverty and low social classes, therefore, found it harder to participate in the sport. Rowing in England today is governed by British Rowing. The organisation was founded in 1882 and oversees both indoor and on-water rowing. They are responsible for the development of rowing in England and the selection of crews and individual rowers that represent Great Britain. They are affiliated with the International Rowing Federation and the International Olympic Committee. British Rowing has roughly 30,000 individual members that range in age from 11 to over 80. Individual members are usually linked to one of 550 associated rowing clubs, which in turn are within ten rowing regions in England. Each region has a regional rowing council and representatives who represent them on British Rowings Council. The British Rowing Council is made up of the members of the Board, the Regional Chairmen, the Honorary President, the Honorary Rowing Safety Adviser, the Regional Representatives, Home Nations Representative, and Honorary Life Vice Presidents (Governance British Rowing, 2017). The m embers of the Board are the Directors of British Rowing who meet regularly to manage the business of the organisation. This is headed by the chairman, Annamarie Phelps, CBE. Together they create and govern the policies and initiatives of British Rowing. This report will look specifically at the Equity and Inclusion policies and initiatives for British Rowing. Equity is about being fair and impartial and examines inequalities resulting from race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age, religion, or disability (Fletcher, Dashper, 2014). Being inclusive is about providing many different options to suit people of all ages, skills, and backgrounds, in the most appropriate manner that is possible. Therefore, Equity and Inclusion in sport can be defined as being fair and providing a range of opportunities for different people from different backgrounds to participate in sport. By being equitable and inclusive, a sporting organisation, or sport in general, can help to tackle inequalities that are present in wider society. In sociology and sport the idea of inequality has been broadly characterized and has been connected to different political ideologies. Inequality, as characterized from the right, is unavoidable, or is important for society to cope well. Conversely, from the left, inequality is a social detriment and ought to be killed by vote based or progressive means. This can mean democratically via policies and initiatives or even via revolution and forced change. As indicated by Donnelly (1996), Sport by its very nature, produces, and displays inequality. Early research proposed that sport reflected existing inequalities i.e., it was a microcosm of society. Regardless, more critical research of sport has since uncovered that, as opposed to being a passive component and simply reflecting inequality, sport, by means of social operators collaborations with sporting spaces, is effectively involved in creating, repeating, supporting and indeed, acts as a site for resistance when it comes to inequal ity (Dashper, Fletcher, 2013). Jarvie, Thornton (2012) add to this by stating that Inequality is often limited to two notions of inequality namely inequality of condition and inequality of opportunity. Inequality of condition refers to factors such as time, income, occupation, and education, whereas, inequality of opportunity focuses on the individual and the degree of freedom they may have. Equity and inclusion policies should aim to negate these inequalities. In order to correctly analyse the equity and inclusion policies and their impact on a group within society an organisational SWOT analysis will be conducted for British Rowing in regards to their Equity and Inclusion policies and initiatives (Appendix). A SWOT grid / matrix is a grid that highlights the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with an organisation. The strengths are positive factors that are internal to the organisation and within their control. The weakness are also internal factors that may hinder the organisations ability to attain their goals. Opportunities are external factors that the organisation can use and take advantage of in order to progress. Threats are also external factors that could jeopardise the organisations progress.   Once the grid has been filled the information is analysed to ascertain the limitations and issues affecting the organisation. The benefits of a SWOT analysis are that it is cost free, quick and easy to use, anyone can conduct it, it can highlight strengths, weaknesses, deter threats, capitalise on opportunities, provide a better understanding of the organisation and help develop goals and strategies. There are, however, limitations to a SWOT analysis. A S WOT analysis cannot provide solutions, doesnt prioritise issues, it is open to human error, can produce a lot of useless information and doesnt address complex two sided factors that could be considered a strength or a weakness. Taking these into consideration I have listed 3-5 key points in each grid and will expand on them during the analysis. The first strength that was highlighted was that the British Rowing Equity Policy identified key principles in regards to equity in rowing. It stated that Sports Equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It involves changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure that it becomes equally accessible to all members of society (BRITISH ROWING EQUITY POLICY, 2014). It goes on to explain that no members will be treated differently due to certain factors (age, class, gender etc.) and that anyone can have an equal opportunity to participate. This shows that the equity policy has considered the two notions of inequality as previously discussed and that it will try to address these issues. The second strength highlighted was the implementation of an equity action plan to display their commitment to sports equity. The action plan is 5 points and one key point is the commitment to tackle under representation should eff ort be unevenly distributed. They also state the need to review the policy annually which is good practice. The third strength highlighted was the recognition of the legal requirements to be fair and equitable. This includes The Equality act: 2010 among others. The forth strength highlighted was the Adaptive rowing initiative designed to encourage people with disability to join rowing. Through this initiative, they also recruit people to participate in the Paralympics. This is an excellent strength and one that is surely equitable. The final strength was a statistic from 2013 showing that 52% of new recruits were men and 48% were women which displays a very even split between the two genders. This shows their equity policy is working to break down gender barriers as previous stats showed a 60/40 split in favour of men (British Rowing, 2013). The first weakness in the equity and inclusion initiatives was that participation from state schools remains low. 7% of the U.Ks school children are educated by independent schools but 54% of Great Britains elite rowers from the 2012 Olympic games were educated at independent schools. Those from state schools learnt almost entirely from boat clubs (Brown, 2016). The second weakness was that the cost of equipment/membership. Membership at clubs can be on average  £150-300 for a junior participant and even more for adults (Club rules, forms and prices, 2017 and Smithson, 2017). There is also a membership fee with British Rowing from  £17 for a junior to  £1150 for a lifetime membership. These fees may not be affordable for those who are struggling financially and who are in poverty and therefore the costs of the memberships act as a barrier to participation for those individuals. The final weakness is that equity policy states that British Rowing will publicise this to all employ ees, members, volunteers and officials through its website, Almanack, magazine and club mailings (BRITISH ROWING EQUITY POLICY, 2014). This is good to an extent but there is no mention of publicising its equity policy beyond its members and inner circles. By publicising its equity policy to a wider and more diverse audience in the public it is possible to encourage more participation from individuals that may not realise the opportunity is there to join the sport and that it is inclusive. The first opportunity highlighted was the increased popularity in rowing after the success of the 2012 Olympic games in London. British Rowing endured a spike in new recruits of 12.2% in the final 6 months of 2012 (British Rowing, 2013). British Rowing could take further advantage of this by specifically targeting certain groups in society that have low participation levels. The second opportunity is related to the first. It was that the one of the Olympic legacys goals were Promoting community engagement and achieving participation across all groups in society through the Games (London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Annual Report February 2011). The final opportunity is that rowing is one of Britains most successful sports. They have accumulated 68 medals, including 31 gold, in mens rowing alone at the Olympics, 3rd overall in the history of the games. This can inspire more people to join and be part of the sport. The first threat highlighted was that costs may remain high or even grow with inflation. Costs to participate is a barrier for individuals but the cost for state schools to build facilities and buy equipment, such as boat houses, indoor rowers, storage rooms etc., can be a major factor in state schools deciding not to become involved in rowing. Another threat is that, despite being one of Britains most successful sports, rowing still falls behind other sports such as football, rugby, tennis, cricket, badminton, swimming, and athletics, in terms of popularity (Russell, 2014). Other sports may be more appealing to new participants and sports that are played regularly at both state and independent schools will inevitably have higher participation levels and a more diverse participation pool. The final threat is that now that the 2012 Olympics is long over, and the buzz around rowing is diminishing, the opportunity to encourage state schools and people from social deprivation backgrounds to participate could be fading. From the SWOT analysis, we can see there are issues and challenges for people in social deprivation and in the lower classes of society. To fully understand the context and impact of this, definitions must be understood and sociological theory must be applied. Sociology, as defined by Giddens (2001), is the study of human social life, groups and societies. A theory is a framework for understanding, but it always develops within a particular cultural context and is always provisionalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ theory provides us with a starting point for our understanding but it begs to be expanded, contradicted, refined, replaced (Birrell, 2000). Therefore, a sociological theory is a framework of understanding around the study of human social life, groups, and societies. Three key terms must also be understood and they are ideology, power, and politics. Ideology is the shared ideas or beliefs which serve to justify the interests of dominant groups (Giddens, 2001). Power is the ability of individ uals, or the members of a group, to achieve aims or further the interests they holdà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Many conflicts in society are struggles over power (Giddens, Sutton, 2013, p. 584). Politics takes place wherever conflict exists about goals and the method of achieving those goals (Houlihan, 2002). The way in which society develops unequal layers based on wealth, income, status, and power is defined as social stratification (Beedie, Craig, 2010, p. 116). Karl Marxs Conflict Theory can be used to better understand the social stratification from the perspective of poorer groups and less powerful of people. Karl Marxs work on conflict theory can be best understood by taking into consideration the context of the social world in which he lived. He developed his work during the mid-19th Century, which was a time of deep political and social unrest, due to the rapid expanding system of industrial capitalism and the political and economic issues that accompanied it (Foster, 1979). These political and economic tensions helped to further divide society in the form of social classes, that competed against each other, forming a class conflict. The Marxist view on social class can be basically divided into two main groups but the reality is that there are at least four groupings, which Marx identified to a certain extent. They are the lumpenproetariat, the proletariat, the petite bourgeoisie, and the bourgeoisie. They can also be called the underclass, the working class, the middle class, and the upper class. Each have their own problems and goals and are interconnected and interdependent to a ce rtain degree. This makes it hard to allocate class labels at times as it be a fluid and elastic term that is ever changing. Nevertheless, Marx describes the upper class as the class in control of the means of production and the classes below are the ones that make these means possible by selling their labour for wages. This division of labour causes relationships between classes to become exploitative where the upper classes exploit the lower classes by maximising commodity production for profit rather than need. This profit driven ideology is based on and creates inequalities and these inequalities between the classes cause conflict. This relates back to the definition of power where by conflicts in society are struggles over power and that the groups that wield the most power (upper class) can further their aims and interests that they hold. This also then relates back to our definition of politics; that it takes place wherever conflict exists about goals. This explains why some o f the most powerful people in society are located at the summit of politics (Rigauer, Tomlinson, 2002). When applying this sport, it is important to understand, as previously mentioned, that sport can act as a microcosm of society and reflect the fractures and divisions within society. If modern sport was developed in the 19th Century in tandem with the rise of industrial capitalism, then it is understandable that the same divides and conflicts that were in society at the time were reflected in sport. Houlihan and Malcolm (2016) add to this and state that Sport reflects and reproduces the ideologies of capitalism like aggressive individualism, ruthless competition, elitismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦These ideasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in sport, reflect the broader structure of capitalist society. Having considered the historical context of rowing at the beginning of the report, it is clear to see how Sugden, Tomlinson (2000) suggested that rowing was a sport more associated with the upper classes. As rowing as a competitive sport began to form in independent schools, which became less and less accessible to the lower classes with the rise of industrial capitalism, the only class with the opportunity to participate in the sport were the upper classes that attended the high fee paying schools and as a result rowing, with its lack of lower class members became a sport for the upper class in the 19th century.   Beedie, Craig (2010) support this with an example of the town of Bedford. Bedford is a town with a tradition for rowing due to the River Ouse which flows near it. The grass roots entry points to rowing here were dominated by the fee paying independent schools and thus, any school children from state schools wishing to get involved in rowing had a very little oppor tunity to do so. They go on to state that rowing does not reflect the cosmopolitan diversity of social groups living in Bedford, but instead remains populated by those privileged educationally. Despite conflicts of social classes being less volatile and society being more integrated in the modern era of sport, the class divide in British Rowing is still clear to see. Of the 12 board members in British Rowing, only 2 attended state schools and of all the elite athletes that represented GB, 54% were educated in independent schools. Despite the organisations significant steps to improving inclusion for disability and female participants, it still has an identity as an upper-class sport. This could be further explained again using Marxism as Marx suggests that the ruling elite à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦controls the means of mental production (Storey, 1993). If the people in charge of British Rowing and the lead figures and elite athlete are constantly coming from upper class backgrounds, then the image and idea of rowing being an upper-class sport cannot be changed. As I have previously mentioned, equity and inclusion polices should seek to negate the inequalities associated with that spo rt. One of those inequalities was highlighted as a lack of opportunity for people in poverty and the lower classes as poverty is at the core of exclusion (Collins, Kay, 2014). To combat this inequality and exclusion, I recommend that British Rowing should seek to reach out to other organisations to form a partnership with the goal of bringing more water sports to state schools. Craig, Mellor (2010) state that the recognition of, and involvement in, common activities enables and promotes social cohesion. Therefore, if more and more people from poverty and social deprivation backgrounds can have a better opportunity to participate in rowing it would improve relations between social classes even more and help to alleviate any barriers. For British Rowing, it will also provide a much larger pool of athletes to choose for elite level competition, for example the Olympics, and this could boost Great Britains success in the sport even further. They have proven that initiatives for specific populations (Female, Disability etc.) can improve participation and success in those groups and further effort for people in poverty could boost participation for that group a lso. Other potential means of improving participation could be to place a cap on membership fees so that they cant rise to a level that will become unaffordable to more people. Reaching out to state schools and providing them with equipment would be highly costly to the organisation. As sport becomes more commercialised and media heavy it is perhaps an option for British Rowing to negotiate a TV or sponsorship deal to raise capital for initiatives to improve equity and inclusion in their sport. Events at the Olympics and The Boat Race are the two main televised rowing events. As The Boat Race is one day per year and events at the Olympics only come once every 4 years, opportunity to highlight the sport to wider audience is not as frequent as some of the sports competitors. Staging exhibition races or creating completions for television could get more regular coverage and help to spread interest in rowing and also raise funds for initiatives to improve equity and inclusion. As sport not only reflects society but also helps to shape it, by using rowing to break down social barriers within the sport, and within social groups, society too may be effected in a positive way. Breaking down these barriers will help to provide more opportunities for participation and to be more fair and equal.

Strategy Formulation in the Retail Industry

Strategy Formulation in the Retail Industry Marks Spencer and Next Johnson and Scholes (2006) define strategy as, ‘Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term: which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations Corporate strategic management helps us to understand: Direction: Where business is heading in the long run. Markets; Scope: In which market business should compete and what activities are involved. Advantage: How business can do better than competitors in these markets. Resources: To compete in the market what resources are required. Environment: What are the factors which will affect the business. Stakeholders: What are the expectations of stakeholders. THE THREE LOGICAL ELEMENTS OF THE STRATEGY FORMULATION PROCESS: The three essential elements of the strategy process Strategic Intent is the driver of the strategy process. Without an underlying intent, strategy lacks an overall sense of direction and there is no reason to choose one direction rather than another. Strategic intent provides the answer to the question ‘Where do we want to go? The fundamental role of Strategic Assessment is to provide relevant knowledge about the strategic context. It has to assess both the outside world and the relative capabilities of our own enterprise. The role of strategic assessment is to anchor future strategies in reality. Strategic assessment must address the ‘Where are we now? Strategic Choice is fundamental to the strategy process because it is the link to action. It must address the question ‘Which options will we choose for getting where we want to be from where we are? If strategy is to be anything more than an intellectual relaxation then actions must result from the strategy process. The strategy formulation process: three inter-locking aspects. (Macmillan and Tampoe, 2000: 64-65) â€Å"Corporate success derives from a competitive advantage which is based on distinctive capabilities, which is most often derived from the unique character of a firms relationships with its suppliers, customers, or employees, and which is precisely identified and applied to relevant markets.† (Macmillan and Tampoe, 2000: 22, 86, 87) In order to develop competitive advantage, the decision-maker should understand in detail the enterprises skills and resources, and after that manage in a way that the business delivers superior customer value to target segments at a cost that leads to profit. (Wilson and Gilligan, 2005: 405-406) Introduction We have selected Marks and Spencer, and Next as our case study. Both are UK based fashion retail companies having almost same product line. We shall review both companys current position and future potential development according to their strategic management concepts and techniques. By comparing the statistics of two organizations we will evaluate their enterprise skills, objectives and competences that associated with their principals and formulation of individual organizational strategy. Our findings and research shall include companys resources that required addressing short term and long terming strategic challenges in pursuit of sustainable competitive advantage. Assignment focus will implement the concept and theory they have followed such as Porters Five Forces Model, PEST analysis, School of Business strategy, etc. We will undertake a comprehensive review of their past corporate strategies as well as the present economic situation and crisis of global economy. The Marks and Spencer (MS) is one of the most famous retailers in UK. It started in 1884 by Michael Marks in partnership with Tom Spencer in Leeds. Company offers various ranges of products that include stylish and high quality clothing, womens wear and lingerie, means wear, kids wear, home wear, groceries, freshly produce prepared meals etc. They have around 2,000 suppliers globally, about 75,000 employees and have 750 stores round the world. Next is also UK based retailer. It was founded in 1864 by J Hepworth Son as gentlemans Tailors in Leeds. In 1981 company develop a womens wear group of shops by the name of Next. Next has wide range of collection around the world that offers high quality products in clothing that include executive shirts and suits, stylish home products and accessories, children and teenage fashion, footwear and etc. Next has more than 500 stores in the UK and Eire. They have more than 170 franchise stores overseas. Next has following five strategic businesses NEXT Retail operates the high street shops; NEXT Directory is the mail order division; NEXT Overseas operates international retail outlets; Venturaruns the financial services division and Other activities include telecommunication software services and property management Mission Statement: Mission statement is written statement which tells the core purpose of existence of business. Mission statement show the descriptive form of vision Marks Spencer Vision To be the standard against which others are measured Mission To make aspirational quality accessible to all and Values Quality value, service, innovation and trust. NEXT We atNEXT PLChave a task to build,with the main focus of giving all of our customerswhat they deserve The Best. Individuality, long experience, courage in development, and open-mindedness are our tools. The idiom â€Å"The Customer Is The King!!!† is, in our company, not simply a kind of marketing strategy -it isTradition. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: Competitive analysis is done to evaluate the competitive position of the company with in an industry. There are many tools for competitive analysis but the important ones are ;Porters five forces model, PEST Analysis, Group mapping, Pricing and quantity dynamics, SWOT analysis and etc. Porter Model Porter says that there are five forces affecting a business and the company has to survive amongst all these force Bargainig power of Supplier Due to big brand names and diversified portfolio both brands are not influenced by supplier. So bargaining power of supplier is low for both brands. This factor works more when product line of business is less and there are few suppliers in the market. There is no such situation for Marks Spencer and Next. Bargaining power of buyer Because of much competition in clothing market there are many sellers and limited buyers so buyers have more options that is way bargaining power of buyer is high the nature of product and nature of buyer both Marks Spencer and Next can not get under influence. This factor affects more in B2B system. Threat of Substitute product There are may not be the exact substitute of product in case of both Marks Spencer and Next. Because there cannot be any substitute of clothing. Threat of new entrant Marks Spencer and Next both have brand loyal customers. So none of them has the threat of new entrant. Industry Rivalry Industry rivalry influences business relatively more when overall industry volume is small. When there are number of players in industry with huge investments and especially with brand name rivalry turns in shape of innovation. Being well established groups and having good financial health both MS and Next dont have such fear. PEST Analysis PEST stands for ‘Political, Economic, Social and Technological. It illustrates a framework of macro environmental factors. It explains how easy or difficult it is to make profit in a certain market. So Political condition of untied kingdom is stable and favourable for the business. So far as economic and social factors are concerned both are good. When we look at technological factor it also very much in favour of doing business in UK. So PEST for both companies is same since both are in UK. SWOT Analysis: SWOT Analysis shows business strength,weaknesses,opportunities and threats. INTERNAL ANALYSIS: Internal analysis is an internal evaluation of the business. It tells us the footing of the business that where it stands and what is the actual worth of the business. There are many tools for checking internal health of the company. For example BCG Matrix, 7s Model and accounting data of the company. Now we look at internal analysis of both companies. BCG Matrix: Boston consultant group matrix evaluates the strategic business units of the company with relative market share and market growth. If we evaluate different SBUs of MS and Next it will be like this. The portfolio of MSs products in terms of BCG matrix is good in clothing having star position and in food MS has occupied the position of question mark relative market shares is low with low industry growth and in financial services industry growth is high but MSs market share is low and will require substantial capital investment to turn them into ‘stars. either ‘dogs (cash in balance) or question marks (cash user). In case of Next they too have good sales in clothing sector occupying star position then comes its homeware at question mark position, electrical SBU comes at cash cow while its other product line like flowers and wines comes at dog level. McKinsey 7S Framework: In strategic management McKinsey7S framework is considered as one of the major landmarks. In a wide variety of situations this 7S model can be used where it is necessary. The 7 Ss are Structure, strategy, system, skills, style, staff and shared values. Both NEXT and MS are fully exercising the 7s model and coordinating at all levels to generate maximum output. Structure of both companies are will defined since both are very old player in this industry so they have learnt a lot from their experience curve and now have developed an outstanding structure. In the initial phase both companies got experience through hit and trial method and now have developed good strategies and system. Both companies have got excellent skills and are full getting benefit of these skills. Both companies are well known figures in clothing industry and have gained professional and productive staff. Both companies have shared values which are widely spread in its all 7s and are reflected by their strategic moves. Accounting Data Analysis: Accounting data analysis shows the growth trends of the company which is very helpful in taking strategic decisions. Following figures just shows the trend of both companies that either company is getting positive response or if there is any downward trend is seen then its reason is traced out so that right strategic move should be taken in future. M S is the leading clothing retailer with market share11.2% Market share of food sector is 3.9% of total UK market. Market share fell down as compared with previous year from 11.2% to 10.7%this was because of effect of recession QUARTER 3 2009/10 INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT Group sales +2.6% UK sales* +2.3%: General Merchandise +3.2% (Clothing +4.0%; Home -0.7%); Food +1.3% UK like for like sales* +0.8%: General Merchandise +1.2%; Food +0.4% Online sales +32% International sales +6.0% Next Progress in the first half has been better than expected and the business has proved itself resilient in the face of a weak consumer environment.Sales and operating margins were ahead of last year in both Retail and Directory.Financial highlights are as follows: Group revenues increase to  £1,512m Group operating profit increases to  £199m Earnings per share rise to 68.2p Cash inflow of  £114m Net debt reduced to  £514m, ample debt facilities of  £1bn Interim dividend increased by 1p to 19p Ansoffs Matrix : We can use Ansoffs product/market matrix to identify directions for Marks and Spencer and Next strategic development. This matrix offers directions for strategic option available to MS and Next in terms of products and market coverage, taking into account its strategic capability and also expectation of stakeholders. We can see from the Ansoffs Matrix that Marks and Spencers lunch of Financial services products will have involved a diversification strategy. As MS did not already sells financial products, so new market and new product. Both capability and market consideration has driven MS into development of new markets and products. Similarly Next has also entered into other businesses which is to be done to diversify the product portfolio. MS and Next Generic strategies: There are three main generic strategies available to all companies including, either become the lowest-cost retailer or differentiate products and services in such a way that it is valued by customers to the extent that they will pay a premium price. By applying these strengths in either a broad or narrow scope, three generic strategies result: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. The case of MSs core products (food and clothing), it implements a focus generic strategy as it concentrates on a narrow segment (a particular buyer group (executives), market segment (high-end), product feature (freshness) and within that chosen segment MS attempts to achieve differentiation from Tescos Asda, BHS, Top Shop etc. The premise is that the needs of the group can be better serviced by focusing entirely on it. Next has also adopted the product differentiation strategy by offer products of higher quality and charging premium price. Thus Next is offering high end products by catering the upper middle social class of the society. GLOBAL STRATEGIC DECISION MODEL When companies enter into international market so they have to take global strategic move in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage. For global strategic decision there are different models. Ghoshal Model: Ghoshal put forward a theory for three types of enterprise in international markets ; Multinational, Global and International. He discussed the strategic competency and structure in Multinational,Global and International Enterprise. Diamond Model: Another model for global strategic decision making was defined by Michael Porters which is known as diamond model. He said that first firms in nations gain competetive advantage in local industry and then compete in international market. He also said that endowment factors of nation help firm to flourish. In his model he also discussed that in order to develop a competitive environment with in an industry there should be rivalry so that firms take more strategic decisions and learn to compete. Marks Spencer can move and set up their outlay in developing countries to where efficient workers and supportive utilities are available to gain advantage of factor condition and also act as supporting wall, have to move in those market where large and potential customer size (like as China, India where they currently operating) to gain demand condition by avoiding ethnocentrism with adoptive firm strategy. They have to practice One-To-All marketing in developing countries to become cost leader in those countries and One-To-One marketing where to perform as quality is matter. NEXT plc obviously to move in developing countries to ensure low cost of production (mainly labor cost), and in large potential market like as in China, India etc. with adoptive marketing strategy but with the think of cost leadership which will create or add value. They have to FDI in global market place other than franchising. M S CURRENT STRATEGY (in recession) Short term Priorities Cost Saving initiatives In global economic downtown and changing in customer needs the company taken major steps to cut down the costs and responding customer needs very quickly. Quality, Value, Service, Innovation and Trust is the prime strategy of MS keeping in mind the firm analysed its position in the last few years and to tackle global challenges the firm draw a new plan is called â€Å"PLAN A† to get in to success. This plan includes cutting down the cost of production, reducing staff, closing down less operative branches and reducing dividends to its shareholders to invest in new business, widening its business activity in the international market, improving performance in food and to retain the leading position in General Merchandising. To improve business performance MS invested in pricing. Delivering the best quality at unbeatable value the MS introduced new promotions in General Merchandising and in Food sector. For example Dress for Less One day Christmas Spectaculars Wise Buys Dine in for Two for  £10 Major Steps in the recession period (Cost Management:) In 2009 the MS closed its 26 less operative branches mostly simply food stores, to cut down the cost. Secondly reduced its Head Office Roles and increased the level of pay for eligible to get pension which is major cost to the company. Changing in Logistics system i.e. merging GM and Food together, Introducing mechanisation in warehouse and Streamlining the international distribution system to reduce cost. The main Objectives Increasing the pace of change and operational execution in the business To become multi-channel retailer focusing customer channels Investing in international business particularly in India, China and Eastern Europe Reinvigorating the brand to customers to highlight ethical and sustainability objectives Future plans: Improving UK Core business Introducing MS Direct Sales (Online) Expanding international business (the revenue in this market is proportionately higher than the UK market) Strengthening UK business Portfolio(modernising and expanding existing system) Integrating Plan A across the business (become carbon neutral CO2 emissions tonnes, Send no operational waste sent to landfill tonnes, Improve energy efficiency in Stores Company Perspectives: (NEXT) Nexts mission is to be the natural choice retailer in the UK for fashion aware men women who expect style, distinction quality from their clothing. Next have a task to build with the main focus of giving all to its customers what they deserve the best. Individuality, long experience, courage in development, and open-mindedness are the tools. The idiom â€Å"the customer is the king† to the company and not simply a kind of making strategy it is tradition. Current Strategy (2009) Concentrate on the design, quality and value of product together with excellent customer service and delivery. The company believe this will serve well through the current recessionary period and it will keep in well place when recovery begins. Controlling cost Controlling stock Continue to invest in the brand Operational cost savings Next found two ways to do the business during recession period. 1). Making the best of current position by providing customers with what they expect. 2) Exciting brand name, beautiful design with great quality in clothing and home ware. 3) Engineering product ranges to lower price points by reducing expense in design and quality. During recession next decided not to devaluate its product for the aspect of pricing nor quality and design of their product ranges, and keep maintaining market position and the company believes that this will provide strong foundation when economic conditions change. To improve the business performance the NEXT introduced pilot data warehouse recording system with its 300 stores to control inventory. REFERENCES: Brews, P. J. and Hunt, M. R. (1999) ‘Learning to Plan and Planning to Learn: Resolving the Planning School/Learning School Debate, Strategic Management Journal, 20/10. Baker, M. (2000), â€Å"Marketing Strategy and Management† 3rdedition, Macmillan Business, London Ghauri, P. and Cateora, P. (2005) International Marketing (2nd edition). McGraw-Hill Education (UK) ltd. Kay, J. (1993) The Foundation of Corporate Success (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Macmillan, H. and Tampoe, M. (2000) Strategic Management (1st edition). Oxford University Press., New York. Mintzberg et al. (1998) Strategy Safari (1st edition). FT Prentice Hall. Wilson, R. M. S. and Gilligan, C. (2005) Strategic Marketing Management, Planning, Implementation and Control (3rd edition). Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Robert D.galliers and Dorothy E.Leidner,2003, Strategic Information management, (3rd ed) (P 113-121, 446, 451-3) Michael E. Whitman and Herbert J. Mattord, Management of Information Security (P 505-507) Wilson and Gilligan, (1998), â€Å"Strategic Marketing Management†, 2ndedition, Butterwoth Heinemann, Oxford Baker, M. (2000), â€Å"Marketing Strategy and Management† 3rdedition, Macmillan Business, London Next Articles â€Å"Next Trading Update,† inUK Retail Report,May 2000. â€Å"Next Homes in on Bigger Stores,† inIn-Store Marketing,October 2001. Internet http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/homeware#LID=01_02_08 http://www.marksandspencer.com/