On Free Choice of the Will Essay

Questions to be addressed: Would a good God let bad things happen? Why does man choose to do evil? For many people, nothing drives them away from Religion like pushy, preachy people. I don’t feel that I am knowledgeable enough to argue many points when it comes to religion. I’m actually not a huge fan of organized religion myself. Like most things, it has its good and bad points, but overall, anything that brings people to God is great. However, you won’t find a better example of hypocrisy than the church. Throughout history, no cause has driven people to war like religion. On the other hand, if one does not agree with what people have done to the church, does that mean we have to turn away from its very foundation? When one analyzes the core of Religion, they discover that its most basic principles are, in fact, good. God IS good, right? Does God allow bad things to happen? Yes. But why? Because He has to in order to keep His promise of free will. God doesn’t make bad things happen, people do. God doesn’t snap his fingers and *poof*, somewhere in the world another person is murdered. That murderer chose to put himself in that situation. So does God let this happen? In the sense that He allowed the murderer to exercise free will – Yes, He did. Does this mean that we should blame God? No, I don’t think so. There is nothing I am more grateful for than my free will. There would not be much of a life without it. In Saint Augustine’s On Free Choice of the Will, the idea that God allows bad things to happen is presented in a conversation between himself and Evodius. On page 5 line 19 of the text, Augustine states â€Å"Yet it perplexes the mind how God should not be indirectly responsible for these sins, if they come from those very souls that God created and if, moreover, these souls are from God. † The entire concept of blaming God for bad things has always been hard for me to understand, but the book does clarify many points. I intend on presenting those points by defining several terms and applying them to the argument that Saint Augustine uses in order to obtain a sufficient answer to the question. In order to do this, we must assume that God does exist. People often say, â€Å"I know there’s a God, but I want to understand: Is this God good? And if he is good, then why do bad things happen? † By asking this question, one might really be asking â€Å"Does God even exist? † which is completely different. The question of whether or not God exists has nothing to do with people’s suffering, but instead, with creation, revelation, world history, etc. Therefore, for simplicity, we will not venture to answer that question and will assume that God does exist. The question we are addressing is, in essence, requiring us to â€Å"judge God. † In discussing this issue, I have chosen not to address the question of why particular things happen. Take a physicist, for example. He may be able to tell you why a leaf will fall in a certain place- it has to do with the aerodynamics of the leaf, the force of gravity, and the direction of the velocity; however, if you ask him where the leaf will fall, he cannot because it is impossible to quantify the different forces that a make a leaf fall in a particular place. Of course, he can propose several general principles, but calculating exactly where it will land is beyond the realm of his analysis. It’s the same idea here. We won’t be able to say why specific things are happening in a specific situation, but we will be able to speak about general principles that can lead us to understand the workings of a good God who lets bad things happen. The Bible tells us: â€Å"God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him† (Genesis 1:27). What does it mean that man was created in God’s image? It means that human beings are finite and corporal. So how are we created in God’s image? Obviously, the â€Å"image of God† is dealing with the non-physical part of us – the soul. We get our drive for morality and meaning from the soul which is in the â€Å"image of God. † Just as God has independent choice, so too does each human being have independent moral choice. The image of God means that we have the ability to choose. The ability to choose is what makes us special as a race. Life only becomes meaningful because of our ability to choose. Take love for example. The difference in being programmed to love and the choice to love, is exactly what makes love special. Similarly, if I don’t have the choice to do good, but am programmed to do good, then there’s nothing meaningful about it. On the same accord, if I have the ability to do good or evil, then good becomes significant. For a choice to be truly genuine, there must also be consequences. If every time I get in trouble, mom comes to bail me out, that’s not really a choice. Choice means consequences. Our history-personal or global- is based on decisions made by human beings including the consequences that come from that. Now we understand that â€Å"image of God† means that God created beings who have the ability to make decisions, and those decisions will create consequences that will make this being a co-partner in the development of the world. This has many ramifications as far as why God allows bad things to happen. For free choice to operate, it’s obvious that evil has to have the possibility of existing. If every time someone chooses to do evil, God is going to interfere, then there’s no moral choice. If every time the gun is pointed, the turret points backwards, after a few times you get the message. It simply becomes pragmatic not to do evil. If the lives of the righteous were obviously perfect, that too would destroy the possibility of choice. Pragmatically, we’d figure it pays more to be righteous because look at all the good things that come my way! That’s not choice. That’s not becoming God-like. A world where a human being can create himself into a Moses, also carries the possibility of a person creating himself into a Hitler. We have to understand and appreciate that in the Holocaust, it was not God who built the crematoriums, it was the Nazis. It is not God who was massacring Muslims in Bosnia, it was the Serbs. Augustine’s approach to the â€Å"free choice of the will† assumes that â€Å"there can be no denying that we have a will. † Instead, Augustine defines â€Å"good will† as â€Å"a will by which we seek to live a good and upright life and to attain unto perfect wisdom† which, of course, assumes that it is free. Those who choose evil are ruled by their passion and desire for things of this world. This is futile because they only have, as Augustine says, â€Å"the love of things which each one can lose against his will. † One who chooses to do good ultimately gains everything because there is no fear of losing â€Å"things† due to lack of attachment to them. Those who become perfect could lose every material thing and still gain all precisely because they are trying to attain the perfect, which is wisdom. Wisdom cannot be lost as long as someone has good will. This leads us to the question: Why would we choose evil? It is my belief that humans always choose to do good, it’s just a matter of whether one chooses a lesser â€Å"good. † This occurs when one chooses to allow passions and desires to rule the soul, which tend toward things of this world. While Augustine’s friend Evodius can claim â€Å"there is a great difference between† passion-desire and fear, fear is a part of passion. We fear because we hate something, which may or may not equate itself to reason. Therefore someone of good will necessarily seeks to order oneself perfectly with God’s lines of the Gloria: â€Å"Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men of good will† (Luke 2:14). Augustine begins to answer the question why man chooses to do evil by declaring what makes humans distinct from animals. It is the fact that humans have the capability of reasoning and animals do not. He points out that some things that men possess uniquely as opposed to animals, such as the â€Å"power to jest and laugh† and â€Å"the love of praise and glory,† are â€Å"of a lower order. † As a result, when reason rules the soul, â€Å"the more perfect [reason] is made subject to the less perfect [desire and passion]. † In our day, most people do not even realize they should work toward having reason rule their lives. It has been â€Å"in style† for more than one hundred years that humans must have their desires and passions rule their lives. Those who have reason rule their lives are thought to be â€Å"rigid† because reason assumes that someone can find truth, which many now claim is impossible. One can view this outlook first hand. It is manifested by people who think they can determine their own morality and even reality. On the flipside, people tend to think they’re at the mercy of the bad things that happens to them to explain away their need to eliminate their faults. If we have a free will, then we also have the duty to make decisions based on a well-formed conscience and what is good and evil. What determines whether a particular action is good does not depend on one’s own judgment on whether â€Å"it feels good† or â€Å"does not hurt anyone. † Instead, we have a duty to determine good and evil based on truth and to have it rule one’s life, with passion and desire subject to it. When people are ruled by feelings, it necessarily diminishes the dignity of a person. When a soul is not well-ordered, the ability to use one’s will freely is diminished, but not completely destroyed. Rather, we have the duty to work to order our souls correctly, no matter how low we’ve gotten. An interesting fact about Augustine exemplifies man’s imperfections and low points. According to an online encyclopedia reference site (Wikipedia. com), Augustine had a mistress for several years before turning from evil to do good. Not much more was written about this incident, but it did mention that Augustine attributed his rise from a life of sin to a great doctor of the Church by means of God’s grace. He believed that through God’s grace, we can choose to become men of good will and live good lives. For me, a â€Å"good life† means that I make a comfortable living as a doctor, I and my family enjoy good health, and then I die peacefully at age 80. That’s a good life. Anything else is â€Å"bad. † In a limited sense, that’s true. But if we have a soul and there is such a thing as eternity, then that changes the picture entirely. Eighty years in the face of eternity is not such a big deal. Relating this to a major historical event, after being responsible for the torture and deaths of millions of people, could Hitler could really â€Å"end it all† by just swallowing some poison? No. Ultimate justice is found in another dimension. I will stop myself there since the concept of â€Å"another dimension† is a whole other argument. That it is very difficult for us to â€Å"judge† God because we are stuck in time and space. And because our view is so limited, when â€Å"bad† things happen, there are so many possibilities of why it’s happening that we are incapable of considering them all: Is this a challenge in life that was given to me so I could become an example to inspire others? Or is this to get me to fix a wrong I’ve done? Or is this due to historical/national forces that are affecting me as an individual? Or is what’s happening to me now through a choice that I’ve made? Or that I’m on my own because I’ve distanced myself? † The fact that there are so many possibilities makes it easier to come to terms with the question and to be more comfortable realizing that if I had God’s infinite view I would understand. Until that day comes, these theories of mine will have to do. On Free Choice of the Will by Saint Augustine An essay providing insight as to why a good God lets bad things happen as well as why men choose to do evil. Roya Mohebpour.

Portfolio Management Practices in HDFC Bank Essay

HDFC Bank Ltd is a major Indian financial services company based in Mumbai. The Bank is a publicly held banking company engaged in providing a wide range of banking and financial services including commercial banking and treasury operations. The Bank at present has an enviable network of 2201 branches and 7110 ATMs spread in 996 cities across India. They also have one overseas wholesale banking branch in Bahrain, a branch in Hong Kong and two representative offices in UAE and Kenya. The Bank has two subsidiary companies, namely HDFC Securities Ltd and HDB Financial Services Ltd. The Bank has three primary business segments, namely banking, wholesale banking and treasury. The Bank`s shares are listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited and The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. The Bank`s American Depository Shares (ADS) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Bank`s Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) are listed on Luxembourg Stock Exchange. HDFC Bank Ltd Was incorporated on August 30, 1994 by Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd. In the year 1994, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd was amongst the first to receive an â€Å"in principle† approval from the Reserve Bank of India to set up a bank in the private sector, as part of the RBI`s liberalization of the Indian Banking Industry. HDFC Bank commenced operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank in January 1995. In the year 1996, the Bank was appointed as the clearing bank by the NSCCL. In the year 2001, they became the first private sector bank to be authorized by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as well as the RBI to accept direct taxes. During the year, the Bank made a strategic tie-up with a Bangalore-based business solutions software developer, Tally Solutions Pvt Ltd for developing and offering products and services facilitating on-line accounting and banking services to SMEs. During the year 2001-02 the bank was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In September 28, 2005, the Bank increased their stake in HDFC Securities Ltd from 29.5% to 55%. Consequently, HDFC Securities Ltd became a subsidiary of the Bank. During the year 2007-08, the Bank added 77 new branches take the total to 761 branches. The art and science of making decisions about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions, and balancing risk against performance. Portfolio management is all about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the choice of debt vs. equity, domestic vs. international, growth vs. safety, and many other tradeoffs encountered in the attempt to maximize return at a given appetite for risk. The meaning of Portfolio Management is as follows: * Portfolio is a collection of asset. * The asset may be physical or financial like share, Bonds, Debentures and Preference Shares etc. * The individual investor or fund manager would not like to put all his money in the shares of one company, for that would amount to great risk. * Main objective is to maximize portfolio return and at the same time minimizing the portfolio risk by diversification. * Portfolio management is the management of various financial assets, which comprise the portfolio. * According to Securities Exchange Board of India Act 1993, â€Å"Portfolio† means the total holding of securities belonging to any person. * Designing portfolios to suit investor requirement often involves making several projections regarding the future, based on the current information. * One of the key inputs in portfolio building is the risk bearing ability of the investor. * Portfolios are built to suit the return expectations and the risk appetite of the investor. The Basic objective is to maximize yield and minimize risk. The other objectives are as follows: * Stability of Income: An investor considers stability of income from his investment. He also considers the stability of purchasing power of income. * Capital Growth: Capital appreciation has become an important investment principle. Investors seek growth stocks which provide a very large capital appreciation by way of rights, bonus and appreciation in the market price of the share. * Liquidity: An investment is a liquid asset. It can be converted into cash with the help of stock exchange. The portfolio should contain a planned proportion of high grade and readily salable investment. * Safety: Safety means protection for investment against loss under reasonably variations. In order to provide safety, a careful review of economic and industry trends is necessary. In other words, errors in portfolio are unavoidable and it requires extensive diversification. * Tax Incentives: Investors try to minimize their tax liabilities from the investments. The portfolio manager has to keep a list of such investment avenues along with the return risk, profile, tax implications, yields and other returns.

Essay/proposal for job application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

/proposal for job application - Essay Example What matters to me most is the person for whom my efforts will be. I have had quite a chance to do team work and devotion to my team is something that has been a common feature of my work with companies so far. While working as an administrative assistant, translator, IT manager and quality control engineer for director of a medical center, I have displayed excellent work ethics and dedication. I am to date in the good books of the director and he can produce a powerful recommendation on my request if and when needed. From my previous place of work as a logistics specialist, I would like to mention as an example of my working skills, the most demanding project I had there. I was working with three parties, being in charge of more than 10 million dollars of equipment. During the project, feeling committed and responsible for success of the team, I disregarded the customer service hours, making myself available literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the project completion. During emergency conditions, by adherence to the policy, creative thinking, mutual trust, leadership and negotiation skills, I attempted to provide world-class service with much success. Switching over to accounting, I have prepared financial records for archiving, which included validation, correction and data recovery. For weekly financial reports, I used something similar to Six Sigma techniques to decrease the processing time from one to two days to less than two or three hours. Personally admiring your work, supporting it will all my heart and hoping to support you with deeds over my lifetime; I pray that you see a certain advantage in this, which I am sure is shared by all people you work with. I would like to be a member of your team. First of all, I should probably mention that I am studying for Ph.D. in Physics right now. Conveniently, my

Managerial Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Managerial Economics - Essay Example It happens because when the number of firms is few, any change in the price or quality of the products by one company will have an immediate and direct impact on the other companies. When this happens, it is highly likely that the rivals will immediately respond with similar or more aggressive changes. Thus, in oligopoly, companies remain in constant vigil about the actions and reactions of their opponents (Bolotova et al 2005). Also, companies will hesitate to adopt any such tactics to gain market share because the rivals will immediately respond with similar strategies (ibid). When this happens, it seems that most of the companies start giving more attention to advertising and selling costs. As other strategies will not work, companies try to increase their advertisement in order to achieve maximum sale. Similarly, companies will start reducing selling costs so that profits can be maximised. Yet another important feature is price rigidity. In an oligopoly system, prices often remai n rigid because firms are afraid of making changes because of the price-war (Liu & Serfes 2006) Another important point to be mentioned here is the importance of strategy. To illustrate, in oligopoly, it is highly necessary for firms to be careful about their own strategies because they cannot act independently. It is highly necessary for them to decide when to collude with their rivals and when to compete with them. Also, it is highly necessary to be careful while raising or lowering the prices. Admittedly, these features lure the companies to collude in order to reduce uncertainty and also to enjoy monopoly and higher profits. These firms often engage in various forms of collusion, ranging from overt collusion, covert collusion, and tacit collusion. Overt collusion occurs when firms openly engage in agreements like trade associations. Covert collusion is kept hidden in order to hide the results of the collusion. Thirdly, tacit collusion is the result when all firms in an oligopoly act in concert even without the existence of an agreement. One of the most notorious cases of collusion is the lysine price-fixing conspiracy. It took place in the mid 1990s, and various companies from various countries were involved. They were Archer Daniels Midland from the US, Japan companies named Ajinomoto and Kyowa Hakko Kogyo, Korean companies named Sewon America Inc. and Cheil Jedang Ltd. These companies colluded to raise the price of an important animal feed additive called lysine. It is seen that these companies, through the price-fixing, managed to raise the price of the product by 70% (Liski & Montero 2006). Thus, it becomes evident that the cartel helped the companies to raise their profit through gaining monopoly (ibid). It is found that in a perfect market, it is not possible for companies to collude easily because the decisions of a few companies will not impact the market as a whole. However, in an oligopoly market, the collective decision taken by a few companies will have significant impact on the whole market. This will give the companies monopoly and increased profits. Very similar is the case of the beer companies Heineken, Grolsch, and Bavaria, which made a price-fixing deal in Holland, monopolising beer distribution. In fact, these companies collectively controlled 95% of the Holland beer market (Brue & Mcconnell 2006, p. 210). Through collusion, they increased the beer price

Write a review of the movie And the Band Played On Research Paper

Write a review of the movie And the Band Played On - Research Paper Example During this he comes in contact with numerous public personalities such as politicians, gay leaders, etc who reject his theory to fulfil their personal agendas. He suggests closing all the local bathhouses and attempts to do the same. But he is met with resentment from many quarters as people view it as an unwanted inconvenience that would negatively impact their lifestyle. On the other hand, CDC tries to explain and prove to the American Red Cross that the disease is also transmitted through blood but American Red Cross does not accept it without any conclusive proof. Meanwhile, American and French scientists headed by Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Luc Montagnier fight over the credit of discovering the virus first. Through all this the death toll keep raising. The film has had a major influence on the way I think and definitely will play on my decision making in the future. The safety of my patients will be my first priority. Whenever there is any information, supported by conclusive evidence or not, that suggests that my patient is at risk, I will do everything under my control to prevent it. I wouldn’t repeat the mistake of American Red Cross of sidelining or rejecting CDC’s

The changing of a product among the years Assignment

The changing of a product among the years - Assignment Example However, after that point when the war ended, and America became more prosperous again, car production increased even faster than it had in the past due to all the demand that had built up during the war years and the fact that people had "several years worth of savings to spend" ("The History of 1940s Cars"). A few of the important changes that had happened after the wars end included the following. The efficiency of cars increased in terms of new technology like tires, better gas filters, and other newer developments that had been researched at war time ("The History of 1940s Cars"). In the 1950s, there was a big focus on modern designs and an increase in the speed of cars, and cars became sleeker looking and a lot of things we consider essential today like air conditioning were introduced for the first time ("Cars in the 1950s"). Cars are particularly interesting because of the rapid increases that have happened even in the past three or four years. Unlike some other products, cars are always being improved upon. For example, there is a company today called Tesla which builds completely electric cars, and their car the Tesla S could be "set to herald a sea change" in the design of cars completely

Monkey in the Mirror Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Monkey in the Mirror Essays - Essay Example But there are several things that mark us as being different from many of these other animals. Some of them are purely physical – for instance we have bipedal motion that is absent in the rest of apes (Tattersall, 2002 p. 89). But we also have many metaphysical qualities that mark us as different from our ancestors, such as the creation of music, art and culture. There is no one single thing that can truly account for all the ways in which we are different, but there are a few pieces that had to come together. One of which is our brain, which is by far the largest brain compared to body mass of any animal in the history of the world (Tattersall, 2002, p. 151). This probably had to develop in conjunction with a lot of other developments to be useful – for instance, larger brains would not have been useful if we were not already prehensile apes who were adapted to living in trees, and could thus use our prehensile hands to create and use tools (Tattersall, 2002 p. 69). Bu t probably one of the single things that sets humans apart from other animals the most is the development of speech. A change in our voice box and brain simultaneously occurred at some point in the evolution of homo sapiens, which allowed humans to differentiate themselves from previous iterations of humanity (or pre-humanity), and begin to do things that are truly novel in the animal kingdom Tattersall, 2002). One of the things that makes language so important is that it augments our innate intelligence, so that instead of things that become created instantly dying out when the person who created them dies, they can pass on the teaching to succeeding generations. This creates culture, which is probably the one biggest things that separates humans from other primates and other animals. If Gould and Tattersall were to have a conversation with each other, they would probably come to cross roads. Gould tended to entirely

Research report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Research report - Essay Example Now-a-days, several organizations within the aerospace manufacturing industry are trying to select Singapore innovation hub for several favourable reasons. Being one of the leading aerospace manufacturing organizations, Rolls-Royce tried to focus on emerging South Asian markets in order to gain potential competitive advantages within this particular industry. The significant growth of the Asian market and effective business opportunities attracted the organizati0ons to develop its manufacturing hub in the emerging Asian Markets. Singapore is one state and one country. The government of Singapore is trying to influence the leading aerospace manufacturing organizations around the globe to invest within the country’s industry as this particular industry is playing a significant role in the economic development of country. The government as well as the policy makers are trying to limit the degree of external environmental challenges in order to attain positive economic growth rate in this particular period of global economic downturn. This essay will discuss about the challenges that are faced by Rolls-Royce in international supply chain management operation. In addition to this, this study will recommend some important facts and concepts that will help the management of the organization to mitigate the associated risks and improve its supply chain management performance in global market place. It is clear that Rolls-Royce has tried to implement several unique strategies in the business operation process in order to maintain its core competency in global market place. Rolls-Royce started to venture in the global aerospace business in the year 1990. Slowly and gradually, the organizations started to expand its business practices in global market places in order to increase its market share. However, it is true that that the organization capitalized several opportunities in the supply chain management processes

Fantastic Literature Essay Example for Free

Fantastic Literature Essay Fantasy is a product of our subconscious minds. Just like the stories of the past, fantastic literature tries to give its messages with an indirectly way for making an impact to our subconscious minds. In other words, Fantastic literature is a genre of fiction that uses imagination, magic, supernatural elements such as ghosts, harpies, trolls, mermaids, nymphs, vampires, centaurs, personifications, allegories and unrealistic elements as its primary plot element, theme or setting. Many fantastic works includes an imaginary world where magic and fantastic creatures are common. The best known and successful English work for the genre is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings triology. But there are lots of successful works and famous writers of the genre such as Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and H.P. Lovecraft’s collection of stories about Cthulhu Mythos. The fantastic literature starts with the bed time stories in childhood such as fairy tales or folk tales to give instructions. We can say, it has a special appealing to children because of its didactic nature for giving moral lessons. Moreover, the children are too young to know the difference between real and the fantasy. Much of these folk tales comes from the times of Middle Ages where the place storytelling has an importance. This importance changed by the time due to technological advancements because rational progress decreased the amount of these stories. It happens to everyone when you grow up, the advancement of rational progress can decrease your superstitious beliefs and imagination. But using the middle age as setting, establishes a perfect base for fantastic stories because of the lack of technology, dogmatic thoughts and the importance of storytelling. Therefore even in our time, the fantastic works uses the middle age as its setting and much of the works in fantastic literature takes place in Middle age. When we come to its origin, in western culture, the origin of the fantastic literature depends on the mythic stories. But if we specifically give a document name for the genre, then we can say its origin comes from the stories of Homer The Iliad and The Odyssey. In eastern culture, this origin comes from Arabian Nights. The iliad and odyssey gives us the definition of the genre in the first place because of its contents. In case of Odyssesy, it includes gods, monsters such as centaurs, Cyclops or witches and wizards. And there is also a quest in the story as its plot. Odysseus tries to return to his home at Ithaca but he is not allowed by Poseidon because of his insults such as killing his cyclop son and claiming that he won the troy with only his own mind tricks. It is quiet similar to the stories of the Arthurian Romance such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight because of their usage of quest as framework. Same thing is in use in the case of LOTR. As a characteristic of the genre, there is always a quest in a fantastic work. Many of them include a universe as their setting look alike Middle ages because it is easy to create stories when you created the universe. There are also some common themes of the genre such as Good vs. Evil, Deceived heroes, making a sacrifice for saving the earth, journey to unknown etc.. All of these elements are in Fantastic literature to give lessons. The sign of a Fantast ic work is the inclusion of fantastic elements, a self-coherent setting as a universe to take place in and the inspirations from the mythology or folk stories. It gives a freedom of expression to author for explaining a rational sense within a supernatural framework. Therefore it may confuse the reader but there is always a message in these fantastic stories. It starts with the fairy tales in childhood. Fairy tale: Fairy tales a stories that contains a message and has an appealing to children for giving instructions with an indirectly style and by showing example through the story. Fairy tales aims to give moral lessons to its audience. Therefore, it is the first tutor of the mankind. They may include elves, dwarves, fairies, giants, ogres, trolls, goblins, mermaids, witches and wizards. There is always an adventure or a quest in these stories. But they are different than the legends in essence because there may be a truth behind the legends. Ancient Greeks are often accepted the legends as real events and told their stories for centuries but they didn’t the same thing for the folk tales. There is always a certain pattern in these fa iry tales, all of them starts with same word Once upon a time for implying that the story takes place in an unknown time. There is also a happy conclusion at the end of these stories such as â€Å"they lived happily ever after†. They can be found in oral or literary form but it is hard to trace their origins. Many of them may appear in different cultures with variations. Much of them appeals to adults but they are often associated  with children. There are some collectors of these folktales such as Grimm Brothers and Charles Perrault. Folklorists have classified the fairy tales with various ways. Among them Vlademir Propp is one of the most notable with his Morphology of the Tale. Vladamir Propp was a Russian folklorist scholar who analyzed the framework of Russian folk tale and published his analysis with name of Morphology of the Folktale in 1928. In his work, he divided fairy tale into sections and through these sections he tried to define the series of sequences within a fairy tale. To him, a fairy tale usually starts with an initial situation. And right after that there are 31 different se quences with different functions. He used this method to analyze the frame work of the Russian folk tales. Propp’s morphology is an exemplar for the analysis. In this type, the structural organization of a folkloristic text follows a chronological order as linear. Therefore, we can see if the tale has all of these elements from A to Z. Also we can give a name to those sequences. A tale usually starts with an initial situation such as with the enumeration of the family or the brief introduction of the hero. And after this point there are 31 sequences. Absentation: In this part, a member of the family leaves the home such as a prince may leave home to go for a journey by leaving his wife back. This absentation can also be someone’s death or going for a walk, fishing..Interdiction: In this point, the instruction comes to the hero such as don’t change your way, don’t talk with stranger, take care of your little brother to preparing a base for the further calamity. Violation: A counter action happens against to interdiction such as hero often violates this limitatio n and leaves the right way, talks with strangers. At this point a new person enters the story. And it could be a dragon, wolf, witch or a stepmother as a villain. Reconnaissance: Villain makes an attempt to find something. Villain is in search of something valuable or information such as the location of the children, wolf’s aim to find the goal of Little Red Cap by questioning her. Delivery: Villain receives a directly information to his questions. The wolf learns the house of the grandmother. Trick: The villain makes a persuasion. It is an attempt to trick his victim in order to take possession for his victim. Dragon turns into a golden goat, the witch turns into an old beggar and tries to give poisonous apple, wolf tries to act like grandmother by wearing her clothes. Complicity: The victim accepts the deception and helps  his enemy without knowing. Princess accepts the apple, The wolf acts like grandmother and little red cap could not recognize it. Villainy or lack of something: The villain causes harm or injury such as princess falls into a sleep after taking a bite from the apple, the wolf devours the little red cap as a result o f violation of the interdiction. One member of the family is in lack of something or desires to have something. The Prince intends to search for his bride, A magical agent is needed to wake someone up, huntsman tries to find a prey Mediation: the hero enters into tale with a quest or he is dispatched. The prince appears and decides to go for a journey to the tower of sleeping beauty, the huntsman appear hearing the snores of the wolf by thinking that there must be something wrong. Beginning counteraction: The hero sees the situation and decides to do something, the huntsman sees the belly of the wolf and thinks that he devoured them, the prince hears the story of sleeping beauty. Departure: the hero leaves home to make a counterattack. First function of the donor: A donor appears and meets with the hero or greets him for testing him to give some kind of a magical agent. The hero’s reaction: hero gives an answer to donor such as making a help to him, showing mercy, completes a service, learns some tactics, The hero receives the magical agent: he receives some kind of a power to defeat to evil. The transference between two kingdoms: The hero is transferred from one place to another to whereabouts an object or search. The hero flies through air on a bird, or travels on a boat. Struggle: The hero and the villain fights to get something for themselves. Branded: the hero receives a wound during the fight. Victory: the villain is beaten during the open battle or loses the game of cards. Liquidation: The initial misfortune resolved, spell casts off, captives freed Return: the hero returns to his home Pursuit: The some kind of evil pursues the hero and tries to kill him Rescue: the hero is rescued from the pursuit, an obstacle may delay the pursuer, the hero hides or saves his life from the pursuer. Unrecognized arrival: hero returns his home but no one recognizes him just like in the case of  Odysseus. False claims: A false hero appears and presents unfounded claims. DIFFICULT TASK: Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other tasks); SOLUTION: Task is resolved; RECOGNITION: Hero is recognized (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her); EXPOSURE: False hero or villain is exposed; TRANSFIGURATION: Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc.); PUNISHMENT: Villain is punished; WEDDING: Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted). Grimm Brothers were two unusual German scholars, linguists, academicians and great philologists that lived in the 19th century. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were two brothers and these brothers were nationalists and intended to collect the old Germanic stories and publish them to show the universality of German language. They were very interested with the Germanic folklore tales and dedicated rest of their lives to collect these tales. Therefore they collected stories and folk tales from the country and represented a pure form of national literature and culture. They established a kind of methodology for recording and collecting these folk tales and later on it became a basis for the folklore studies. They published their first collection of Germanic stories, and folk tales in 1812 with the name of Children’s and Housholde Tales. Their stories, includes the all details of German language and Germanic cultural identity. Their works translated into more than 100 languages. The most important and famous stories of them are Rapunzel, The Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, The Frog Prince and Little Red Cap. Little Red Cap Little red cap is a Germanic folk tale that published by Grimm brothers in their story collection known as Children’s and Household Tales in 1812. It is the 26t1h story of this story collection. It tells the story of a sweet but not obedience girl known as little red cap because of her famous Red Hood. But behind the background of the story, it is a story about grow up by leaving the naà ¯ve thoughts behind. It is a story that questions the curiosity of the children and urges them to leave these thoughts and get mature by following rules. By using the big bad wolf as a villain, it gives  us a message that don’t be so naà ¯ve, these fine gentlemen are nothing but greedy wolfs and they are so hungry for using your naivety for their own sexual purposes. So, follow your rules and don’t ever change your way. It can be interpreted as a moral tale, to give a message such as don’t talk with sexual predators. After the brief presentation of the characters, the story starts with an absentation in which the grandmother is sick. So her mother gives her a bucket and says bring this to grandma and don’t leave the path or you might break the glass. This is our interdiction and our quest. But she doesn’t listen to her mother, a counter action (violation) happens against to interdiction and wolf makes an entrance to story. The wolf questions the little red cap, this is our reconnaissance. And she answers all its questions with a naivety and describes the way that goes to her grandma. (delivery). The wolf goes there devours grandma and takes place of her (trick). She comes to house and accepts its trick without knowing what it is (complicity). And wolf devours her as result of her wrong actions (Villainy harm). Some versions of the story like Charles Perrault version ends in here but Grimm version continues. The huntsman makes an entrance to story (mediation). And he decides to free grandma and little red cap(beginning of counter reaction). He cuts the bell of wolf with a scissor and saves them both. This is the rebirth of Little red cap as a mature (Struggle, branding, victory, liquidation ). In any case, it is a story of puberty rite in which the red cap born again as an adult woman and learns how to act against to odds. After that point she doesn’t cares about the other childish things. The advancement of her rational progress is ending her childhood. The Frog King- Iron Heinrich The frog king is the first story of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm which they published it in their folk tale collection known as Children and Household Tales. The frog king is all about the glimmers of emotional life where they are developing in the first place, the childhood. It is story about sexual awakening in human beings, its acceptance and maturation process in human beings. There are some symbols in the story such as the frog, the princess and the Golden ball. The frog is the symbol of production and fertility and it is connected with witchcraft. Princess is the symbol of purified aspect of human soul and the golden ball is the symbol of perfection. The princes  in this story, is so beautiful, even more beautiful than sun that is explains her relationship and her desires towards to golden ball. When she lost the ball, she grieves at not only her ball but also grieves over her loss of innocence. She thinks that she will not be the whole again. But the only thing that can make her whole again is an ugly frog. She likes herself and this situation represents her narcissistic psyche. In the story, the princess increasingly becomes more anxious, angry and full of fear with the idea of marrying with a frog. She is not yet ready for the marriage. As the frog comes closer to her, she becomes more disgusted. This is also gives us her idea about awakening of sex throughout the puberty. But actually she becomes more a person while the frog comes closer to her. The father in this story is responsible for the marriage of the princess and he commands her to keep her word. Her actions are all under her id and there is a need for the development of super ego in her personality. Therefore, the responsible conscience of King helps to development of superego in child’s mind for bringing happiness, love and marriage to her life. And to become whole again, she finally decides to throw it against to wall by taking all the risks to gain her independence. This moment of violence is a painful experience but it is necessary. By doing so, she transcends her anxiety and hatred into a love. She becomes more a person by developing identity and her ugly frog turns into a handsome prince in her eyes. Snow White The story of Snow white is a Germanic Folktale that published in 1812 by Grimm brothers in their Collection of stories known as Children’s and Household Tales as the 53rd story. It is a story about the cycle of life as can be seen from the color symbolism of the story. But it also increases the theme of maturation process of a girl through some tests. It is a very common theme which can be found in the stories of Grimm brothers maybe because of the fact that their informants were woman or to put an emphasis on marriage for representing its importance in a feudal and patriarchal German society. Who knows? Anyway most of their stories are including these themes of Marriage, maturation, loss of innocence, growing up and including these damsels in distress as main characters. And in most of their stories the true love comes after the defeat of self-love as reward of maturation. Story starts with a queen’s wish to have a baby like white as snow, red as  blood and black as wood. It is a kind of symbolism of life that represents the natural cycle of life in which after every death a life starts to its lifetime. As a result snow white represents this natural cycle, she is the personification of this cycle. As soon as she born, her mother dies in order to give a birth to her. And that is also another emphasis that given to represent this cycle. After this point her unconcerned king father marries with another woman who is wicked. The unconcerned personality of King, although there is no king in the story, represents the feudal European perspective of seeing women as object. The personality of stepmother is another issue; she is the personification of immatureness. It is clear that she has failed in her personality development to have an identity. Therefore, she has only the self-interest just like the princess in The Frog King or Iron Heinrich. Therefore she plays her role to prevent Snow White for reaching her age because of her envy, pride and hatred. She orders to huntsman to kill her but he spares instead of killing her. He spares her because of potential status as a woman and bringer of new life. Therefore, the existence of huntsman also is a foreshadowing for the union of the opposite forces such as man and woman. In the story she deceives Snow White for three times and each times represents another aspect of life just like the color symbolism. In the first with a lace to prevent breath (White) which represents the spiritual matureness, second with a comb (Black) to represent the physical matureness and in the last with a red apple (red) to represent death or blood for establishing a basis for the death of childhood and the rebirth of as mature woman. Sleeping in a glass coffin also supports this idea of rebirth as a mature woman. Glass coffin represents the being in a woman’s womb. In essence, the witchcraft of queen was nothing but a test. After completing all these tests she becomes a mature woman and young prince appears as a reward. She marries with him. Therefore, completing these tests is essential in human life and story tries to put an emphasis especially to this aspect of life. The real love comes with maturation and with the sacrifice of childhood, it is necessary to get a real identity. And the time of union puts an end to the efforts of retarding powers with the hot iron shoes. The queen dies as dancing for celebrating the rhythmic cycle of life and death. All in all, Snow white is a story that explains the nature of creation, how something new comes into being through the  repetition of same cycle of transformation which is necessary in a traditional society. Cinderella The story of Cinderella is a European folk tale which published in 1812 by Grimm Brothers as the 21st story in their collection of Folk tales known as Children’s and Household Tales. It was also published by Charles Perrault in 1697. The Grimm version of the story is a dark version because it doesn’t include a fairy mother, pumpkin that turns into a carriage, animals that turns into henchmen. In Grimm version there is a Grant tree and talking pigeons. There is forgiveness in Perrault’s story for stepsisters but Grimm version there is a punishment for sisters in which stepsisters are blinded by pigeons. It is a story about an orphaned girl and it focusses on her rising into higher status and redeeming with happiness through hard work, suffer and marriage. Then again, the story gives us the patriarchal perspective of marriage and its importance by showing a poor girl’s struggling for rising into power and changing her status within this hierarchical society. The story can be interpreted from so many perspectives such as sociological, Freudian, feminism. But its theme is simple, young women can be saved by wealthy men. The golden slipper in the story stands there as a symbol of perfectness or perfect life. The story narrates the recovery process of a poor girl’s after an early wound such as loss of her mother. It is a process of person’s redeem and reaching happiness through hard working. Therefor the story represents a persons search for identity and self-esteem. The tale opens with an initial situation and the narration of characters as usual but then suddenly a member of the family leaves the family as it happened in the case of mother. Interdiction also comes in this moment, the mother tells her daughter right before her death, remain pious and good only then our dear god will protect you. After a time later, her ignorant father marries again and evil stepmother and stepsisters appears as villain to start their devilish deeds. She loses her social status and starts to live her life as a maid in the kitchen. Throughout the story she keeps her dignity against to all evil deeds of th e sisters and as a result her donor appears in the form of pigeons and grant tree. The donor offers her dreams to her and also through these it tries to test her. Eventually she passes all her tests by remaining pious and takes care of the wicked  step family. As a result, her foot fits to slippery shoe as an embodiment of perfectness. The story ends with a happy ending. There are different explanations of the story. We can think the slippery as the woman and we can think the foot as the man and their union as the perfect union of man and woman. From this point of view, story is about a woman’s search for sexual fulfillment. We can also look at it with a sociological perspective. Then we can say, it is about a woman’s struggle for rising into power within a patriarchal society through marriage. Prince choses Cinderella because her foots are tiny while sisters not. Her foots are tiny because she is coming from an upper class unlike them, but she loses her social status. In the end of the story, she manages to replace her social status through marriage and redeems with life. It is also a good role model for feminism for showing how young girls and women should not be. Cinderella is a kind, pious and passive girl. She can’t make stand for herself. She is waiting a prince for herself to rescue her from the misery and all of her actions are against to feminist ideas. Modern woman is expected to be more assertive in order to survive in the world but she can’t. Instead of that she is acting more pious by thinking that her dignity will save her. And this situation is giving us a sociological insight about the feudal European society. Enter Sandman Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann was a German Romantic writer, critic, musician and composer who opened his eyes to earth in 1776. He was famous with his works of horror and fantasy fiction. He is the author of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, on which famous The Nutcracker ballet based. In 1816, he composed one of his fantastic, horror stories which known as â€Å"The Sandman† and published it in 1817 within short story collection, known as â€Å"The Night Pieces†. The sandman is story about a childhood trauma that in the form of letters. It starts a bizarre and horrifying childhood story about a creature known as Sandman. The first letter is from Nathanael to Lothar. According to Nathanael, The sandman is a creature of night who is visiting unsleeping children and bleeding them with his sands to steal their eyes for feeding his own children on the moon. Scary isn’t it? This story becomes an obsession for him. And one night he plans to spy it and hides himself t o his father’s room. In there he sees Coppelius, a lawyer and one of his father’s associates and he catches him and desires to burn his eyes. But his father  stands against for him. Nathanael becomes ill and his father dies after a while in an experiment while working with Coppelius. The Coppelius disappears. Nathanael becomes a student and meets with an optician known as Coppola and buys a Spy-glass from him. Through this spy-glass he sees Olympia, an automaton created by Spalanzani and Coppola. And he loves this automaton unreasonably. But two men falls into an argument and Coppolla takes the eyes of automaton and throws them to Nathanael. This event reminds Nathanael the argument between his father and Coppelius. And Nathanael falls into a state of sanity. After recovering his mind, he goes directly to Clara to marry with her. While spending time with her, he suddenly sees Coppelius and goes insane. He tries to kill clara, but her brother saves him. Unfortunately he jumps off from the tower and dies. The uncanny is a concept in human psychology that means something extraordinary familiar and not familiar at the same time. Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who wrote about this concept in his The Uncanny and published it in 1919. He tried to analyze this concept by using Hoffmann’s The Sandman because of its extraordinary content. According the Freud, the uncanny is the mar k of the returning repressed memory. For Freud, the reason of the uncanny in this story is the fear of losing eyes. He associates the idea of losing eyes with the fear of castration and he suggests the story of Oedipus as his example. He argued that the most appropriate punishment of Oedipus’ crimes was the castration yet this showed on the stage in the form of losing eyes. Coppelius is Nathanael’s hatred against of his father for his castration and he interferes his all relationships which he both loves and hates. After this bad experience, he represses all his bad memories and forgets what happened in the past. With the reanimation of first shocking scene (losing of one’s eyes) in the second scene, he once again remembers everything but also loses his mind. This is the uncanny of the story which reminds his past. Coppola and Spalanzini are nothing but the representation of his father’s sides and Olympia which they made together is the personification of Nathaniel’s feminine attitude towards his father in his infancy. It is his doppelganger. That is why Nathaniel confronts Olympia as a person and loves it with a narcissistic kind of senseless love. It is a natural situation which he created after his castration because of being unable to love. As a result, he realizes this truth with the reappearance of Coppelius  once again while looking through the spy-glass. Looking through the glass is a kind of rationalization process. Nathaniel tries to explain all these events with the imagination until his usage of glass. And in each time when he use it, he loses his mind because of confronting with the sober truth.

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior Essay Example for Free

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior Essay An analysis and interpretation of: â€Å"Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior†. An article written by the 48 years old Amy L. Chua (or è” ¡Ã§ ¾Å½Ã¥â€ž ¿ in Chinese) who was born in Champaign, Illinois. Her parents were Chinese Filipinos and that’s where she got her parenting style from. To start of with, Amy Chua asks the question that has crossed most people’s minds: â€Å" How do they do it? How does the Chinese parents produce all these â€Å"math wizzes† and â€Å"music prodigies†? Amy makes it clear that the Asian kids are not born smart (For the most part, at least) It is hard work and training from the parents that shapes the children into these wonder kids. To prove her point she lists up a number of things that her daughter were never allowed to do, such as: * Have a play date * Watch television or play computer games * Attend a school play * Complain about not in a school play And so on.. Prohibitions that seems totally unreasonable for us â€Å"westerns†, as she loosely has named us. Throughout the text she covers several perspectives on parenting, which of a few I surprisingly agree on. Most of her viewpoints I deeply disagree with though and is far from my idea about proper parenting. Each time she lists up one of her perspectives, she compares the Chinese perspective with the Western perspective. She does this in a very subjective manner I think. She is very clever rhetorically. At some parts of the text, I actually caught my self being very close to getting dragged towards her side. I found it quite amusing to feel the power of pathos, but at the same time a bit daunting. According to Amy, the main difference between Chinese parents and Western parents is the way they see their children. Western parents believe that respecting their children’s choices, their individuality and always encouraging them to pursue their true passions is the way. In contrast, Chinese parents believe that preparing their children for the future, and showing them what they are capable of, in the form of hours of repetition and very high expectations, is the way for their children to get a good life. Which in common Chinese sense means a good job, so the boy/girl can take care of their parent when they grow old. Even though Amy admits that her parenting methods may be tough at first, she insists that it will all pay off in the end, but is that entirely true? The answer to that is generally no. Of course there are some children who can handle all the pressure and failure, and will grow up to be extremely successful and confident, but the majority can’t. In fact China is nr. 6 on the â€Å"Wikipedia list of countries by suicide rate† Which means that per.100.000 people in China 22.23 people commit suicide. Compared to Denmark (Nr. 36), where the number is substantially lower at 11.9 and where the Western parenting style is the dominant. A coincidence? I do not think so. As Amy points out in her article, she does not believe in individuality and I am certain that Amy is not the only one who feels that way. There are several studies showing that not everyone handles stress identically and that is displayed in this statistic. As I stated earlier I agree on a few on her viewpoints. An example could be that â€Å"What parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it† I agree on this as well as â€Å"theres nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldnt† I agree on these two quotes, but still think that her general parenting style is too strict. There is specifically one thing that she is taking away from her children that I do not get. The social aspect of a childhood. No doubt that using Amy’s techniques will lead to some academically strong children, but they will end up having a low social capital, and a big lack in social skills. Not being functional socially could end up costing them big job opportunities, because their lack of social functionality could strike them down, when for instance going to a job interview. So in the end the children might end up not getting a good job, because their parents took away their chance for developing some social skills. By that they won’t be able to take care of their parent, because they won’t be able to earn enough money. Which would mean that all those hours at home, practicing and repeating, is going to end up being wasted time, because the kid can’t take those abilities out in real life. By taking away their freedom and space for creativity you are basically turning your children into little machines. They will get extremely good at doing what they are told, but once they are asked to work something out for themselves, for instance producing a design for something, they will have no clue what to do. I am not a fan of Amy L. Chua’s methods but I do think that us ‘westerns’ could take small things from her and apply to our parenting. But as well as we can learn from her, she can definitely also learn from us. I want to finish my essay of with a quote I feel reflects my perspective on parenting very well. As Anne Frank once said: â€Å"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a persons character lies in their own hands.†

Role Of The English Language In Malaysia English Language Essay

Role Of The English Language In Malaysia English Language Essay Abstract This research examines the role of the English language in Malaysia, a former British colony in South East Asia from the 18th to the 20th century. My research question asks: to what extent can English be a unifying language in Malaysia? In order to approach the issue, the question has been narrowed down into two parts: English can be a unifying language of Malaysia; and English cannot be a unifying language of Malaysia. The influence of English in the lives of Malaysians such as daily life, workplace and education has been examined. There is a dichotomy in views whether English can become a unifying language in Malaysia. One side believes that English has already become an important part of Malaysian identity, particularly due to its colonial past and its current status of one of the languages of instruction in primary, secondary and tertiary education and also the status of business language. There is another view, mainly held by the Malay nationalists, opposed to such opinions due to the fact that there is a huge gap in the English language proficiency between people from the urban and rural areas. Three interviews have been conducted as part of the methods of investigation, but the most influential interviewee was Ram Mohann, an English teacher in a Malaysian secondary school. Books, news articles and academic journals have been used as well. The main sources for this research are written by Malaysian professors of linguistics, Azirah Hashim and Loga Baskaran. It is concluded that English can be a unifying language in Malaysia. The conclusion drawn is based on the fact that English plays an important role in the lives of Malaysians, private sectors and education in Malaysia. Most importantly, English is also regarded as a language that integrates all Malaysians by the non-Malays. Word count: 298 Introduction Malaya (now Malaysia) was a nation that had been occupied by European superpowers such as the Portuguese, Dutch and the British since the 16th century. However, the ones that really made a linguistic influence on the land were the British. Even though they left and granted independence to Malaya in 1957, one legacy that they have left the country is their language, English. English had been the official language of the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States since the 1800s during the occupation of Great Britain and also served as the official language of Malaysia for a decade after the nations independence in 1957. However, in order to promote national unity and increase the participation of Bumiputra (Malay-ethnic and indigenous people) in tertiary education, the Malaysian government removed English from its official role and promoted the use of Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian or Malay language) in 1967.  [1]   Nevertheless, English remains a dominant second language in Malaysia. It is still widely used in private companies. For the last two decades, the status of English has been a much debated-upon and jostled-about issue.  [2]  In this essay, I will investigate the role of English in Malaysia today. My research question is as follows; to what extent can English be a unifying language in Malaysia? Unifying language must be defined in order to answer the question. In this case, unifying language refers to the language that joins the people of Malaysia as a whole. I will discuss how English is used in many aspects of Malaysian lives in order to answer my research question. Moreover, the language of instruction in Malaysia will also serve as a springboard to investigate the role of English in Malaysia. Even though English is no longer an official language in Malaysia and therefore some might argue that Malaysia is not an Anglophone nation, the widespread usage of English in Malaysia is a fact that is beyond any question. English is a business language and a common language used among ordinary Malaysians, particularly in urban areas. Moreover, it is widely known that many of the older generation [in Malaysia] speak [English] very well.  [3]  Some elites even argue that English and Malay play an equally important role to help unite the people and create a unique national consciousness.  [4]  English is used for a variety of functions in professional and social transactions not only with the international community but also within the society.  [5]  In addition, even though all English-medium schools had been changed to Malay-medium schools in the 1980s, the implementation of PPSMI (teaching and learning Science and Math in English) policy in all Malaysian public schools s ince Primary One indicates that the government is not only concerning about the globalisation of the nation, but also with the importance of the language in Malaysia herself.  [6]  Hence, the use of English as a local language in Malaysia rather than an international language is enough to make Malaysia an unofficial Anglophone country. English can be a unifying language in Malaysia English language is the global lingua franca, a language for diplomacy and international trade. Workforces with good command of English will put the country a huge advantage in the world. According to Braj Kachrus three-circle model of World Englishes that categorises World Englishes into three concentric circles, which include Inner Circle representing the traditional base of English; Outer Circle that representing countries where English is not an official language but plays an important role; and Expanding Circle, including countries that employ it as a foreign language and for only limited purposes, Malaysia is listed under the Outer Circle.  [7]  This model indicates that there are a sizeable amount of people who use English as a first language. According to Azirah Hashim, a Professor of Linguistics in University of Malaya, English is used for a variety of functions in professional and social transactions not only with the international community but also within the society.  [8]  The quote tells us that Malaysians do not only use it as an international language, but some perceive English as a local language as well. Hashims view is not her own wishful thinking. It is evident everywhere in Malaysia, in both the Malaysian education and lives of Malaysia citizens. Broken English is very commonly used by taxi drivers, pedestrian pedlars, food hawkers, gardeners, garbologists, florists and food caterers.  [9]  For instance, phrases such as Buy 1 Free 1 or RM 5 for 2 are always visible in Malaysias local supermarkets, departmental stores and pasar malam, a Malay word for night market. It indicates that even for those who are not highly educated, they all have the enthusiasm to speak English because the degree of international integration is simply moving in leaps and bounds and man-on-the-street has to survive.  [10]  Most importantly, it shows that English is gaining more currency within Malaysian society, especially in urban areas.  [11]   After the PPSMI policy was implemented in 2003, the decision was described by some journalists as revive the glory of the language and reclaim English in education, which seems to allude to recognition of English as not just a global or international language, not just a European language, but also as a Malaysian language.  [12]  Moreover, even though there arent any official statistics available, it is known that there are sizeable numbers of English private kindergartens in Malaysia, particularly in urban areas. For non-English medium privately-owned kindergartens, English is always taught as one of the subjects apart from their mother tongue. According to a Malaysian Indian who is only willing to be identified as Subramaniam, My children are all studying in English-medium kindergarten because I know only a good command of English will lead them to success and I want them to build their foundation since they are young.  [13]  This comment reflects the fact that the Malaysia n parents are aware of the importance of English in todays world as well as Malaysian society itself and they know that a good command of English will put their children in a better position in todays world. In addition, English is generally taught 280 minutes per week in public schools  [14]  , which is even more than the teaching time for the senior class in Xiamen International School, an English-medium and IB World school. It must be noted that in Malaysian education, all high school students in public schools are required to learn English literature and English comprehension, rather than beginner English class. If the teaching time of English in a bilingual education is even more than an English-medium school, it indicates that English plays an equally important role for both Ministry of Education of Malaysia as well as an IB World school. However, it must also be noted that the level of English comprehension and/or literature might be lower than that of IB Diploma course, and hence the statistics do not indicate everything. According to a well-known Malaysian Indian journalist and politician, the late MGG Pillai, those who know English are better positioned for jobs than those without.  [15]  That was his comment regards the importance of English in his article written in 1994. His assessment was right spot on in todays world. In major companies in Malaysia, the only language used in a company meeting is English.  [16]  Meanwhile, some meetings in governmental departments are conducted in English as well, but mostly depending on the language preferred by the head of the department.  [17]  Reports such as annual reports or financial reports are either in English or in both English and Malay. For example, Malaysia Airlines, the national carrier of Malaysia, presents its financial reports to their staff only in English  [18]  . Meanwhile, it is known that the language a flight attendant will use is English, even for domestic flights although the national language is Malay.  [19]  When a pilot or co-pilot announces the latest information about the flight, English is always preferred for both domestic and international flights. If private companies prefer English and English language is also widely used in governmental departments although Malay is supposed to be the language of instruction, it tells us that English does play an equally important role in todays Malaysia. Moreover, English is no longer seen as a competitive advantage but a basic requirement for jobseekers.  [20]  In 2005, the Malaysian government conducted a survey of nearly 60,000 Malaysian graduates who were unemployed. It was also revealed in the survey that 81 per cent of the unemployed attended public universities where the medium of instruction in many courses is in Malay.  [21]  Moreover, according to the senior consultant of Alpha Platform Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian full service communication firm, Many of the [graduates] are rejected five minutes into an interview due to their atrocious co mmand of [English].  [22]  Those examples show that Malaysians with lack of proficiency in English will be at a serious disadvantage in Malaysian society. It also suggests that English is gradually replacing Malays prominence in Malaysia, especially in private sectors. In addition, English is also very common in the lives of ordinary people in Malaysia. For instance, no English language entertainment import is ever dubbed and local television channels in Malaysia screen a wide variety of English cartoons, serials, dramas and films in original language with Malay subtitles only.  [23]  There are sizeable numbers of local English magazines and newspapers such as Flavours, Football Weekly, the Star, New Strait Times, Business Times, the Sun, Motor Trader, Golf Malaysia, BPL and many others. Moreover, there are many well-known foreign magazines such as Times, Readers Digest, PC Magazine, and Newsweek on sale all over Malaysia. The numbers of English newspapers all over Malaysia is exactly the same as that of Malay language.  [24]  Several foreign publishers even publish their own magazines in Malaysian version in English language such as FourFour Two and Top Gear from United Kingdom.  [25]  In addition, English books have dominated the two largest bookstore chains in Malaysia, MPH Bookstore and Popular Bookstore. An English teacher, Ram Mohann, claimed that Popular bookstore has around 65% of English books while English books almost dominate MPH bookstores in Malaysia with around 90% by citing internal sources.  [26]  Those different statistics and information do indicate that there is a big market for English readers in Malaysia.  [27]  However, it must be stressed that Mohann is only a teacher, not a market profession and his internal sources might not be very reliable either. Nevertheless, it is always known by Malaysians the dominance of English books in that either of those two bookstores or other bookstores is a fact that is beyond any doubt. On 9th July 2009, the Ministry of Education announced that the PPSMI policy will be abandoned starting 2012 by citing the percentage of students who achieved A to C for science had fallen by around 4% in both urban and rural schools. Basically the overturn of the policy means that all science-based and math subjects in Malaysian public schools will be reverting back to Malay for government schools, Chinese for Chinese schools and Tamil for Tamil schools. The reversal of the policy has caused as much debates as the ones when the policy was first implemented in 2003. For instance, Azimah Abdul Rahim, the chairman of Parents Action Group for Education (PAGE), questioned the reversal of the government on behalf of all parents by telling the reporter that there might be some schools which would want to continue teaching in English. I think there should be a choice. There are many Malaysians whose first language is English.  [28]  In addition, Lim Kit Siang, a prominent opposition lead er in Malaysian politics, described the decision as a Raw Deal leaving Malaysia stranded in the march towards global educational quality, excellence and competitiveness  [29]  . Moreover, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia who was known for his Malay nationalism and the leader who, surprisingly, introduced the PPSMI policy under his administration, posted a poll regards the PPSMI abolishment and the result shows that 84 per cent want to retain English as the language medium for these subjects.  [30]  Mahathir also questions how [the reversal of PPSMI] is going to help integrate Malaysians,  [31]  which implies that English is not just a medium of instruction for science and math and business language in Malaysia, but at the same time a language that should help unify all Malaysians as a whole. However, it must be stressed that his view might be subjective as Lim is a leader from opposition party and the fact he was educated under English medium. Moreover, as Mahathir mentions in his blog, the result of the poll might be somewhat subjective as well since it was conducted in the English language and English language speakers might be biased in favour of English.  [32]  Nevertheless, the views collected, which represent the parents and politicians, have emphasized the fact that a lot Malaysians believe that it will be hard for their children to survive in the future with lack of proficiency in English and also reflected the fact that English speakers and the language itself do play an important role in the today and future society of Malaysia. English cannot be a unifying language of Malaysia While there is no doubt about the importance of English in private sectors in Malaysia, it must be stressed that Malay has been the sole official language of Malaysia since 1970 and the use of this language in various sectors is encouraged under the National Language Act.  [33]  The Malay nationalists are particularly against the increasing prominence of English in Malaysia, especially in education. This strong feeling had been shown by the Malay-ethnic people in a protest against the use of English in March 2009, which eventually caused the reversal of PPSMI policy.  [34]   Supporters of PPSMI always use Singapore, the neighbouring nation that once was part of Malaysia, as an example of how language skills can be a key to a connecting local workers and industries to global economy.  [35]  However, the reversal of PPSMI could eventually undermine the role of English in Malaysia today and the future because the students will have less opportunity to use the language in class in the future. Therefore, for the next generation, instead of English, there is a possibility that Malay might become the language that is going to be widely used among professionals. According to Muhyiddin Yassin, the minister of education Malaysia, , only 8% of teachers were using English exclusively in classes while the use of [Malay language] was still common, particularly in rural areas  [36]  Muhyiddins concern reveals several problems in Malaysian education today the gap between students from urban and rural areas and the lack of proficiency in English among Malaysian local teachers. According to Dr. Nor Hashimah Jalauddin, a professor in National University of Malaysias School of Language and Linguistics, students in urban areas adjusted better to the PPSMI compared with students in rural areas  [37]  and that English is considered a foreign language and third language for students in Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terrengganu, Kedah and Perlis.  [38]  She is convinced that learning Math and Science in English is a burden for students due to their lack of proficiency in English. In fact, it is not only a burden for students, even the Malaysian teachers going mad teaching subjects in English  [39]  because most Math and Science teachers in service were trained under the National Language Policy, which the language of instruction is Malay.  [40]  According to Dr Khalil Idham Lim Abdullah, while [the teachers] are still grappling with the language, they are required to teach their students as well.  [41]  This claim is supported by M ohann as well, there are 75% of [Science and Math teachers] were trained in Malay and that there is hardly a big improvement [in English for teachers] since [2003].  [42]  Even though the statistics given only refers to one particular school, it does suggest that there are a large number of teachers who cant use English fluently. If the teachers cant even speak fluent English, how can we expect the students to develop their language skill significantly and hence how is language going to become the unifying language? Even though English plays an important role in Malaysias society today, the amount of English speakers is rather limited. According to David Crystal, the total number of English as First Language speakers in Malaysia was 1.88% by 1994 while the number fell by 0.16% nine years later. Meanwhile, the total number of L1 and L2 speakers only rose from 31.9% to 33.2% within nine years and the rise is rather slight as well.  [43]  44The statistics indicate that there are very few fluent speakers Malaysia and thus English is definitely not a language that is understood by all Malaysians. Unifying language should be the language that unites the whole nation and if English is not generally understood by all Malaysia citizens, how can it be the unifying language of the country? The biggest problem that might threaten the status of English in Malaysia is the fact that English is a colonial legacy left by the British and it is evident that the Malays have been trying to wipe off the memory of colonialism. For instance, even though the Malaysian government only removed Englishs official role by 1967, ten years after independence, and removed all English-medium schools only by 1972, the Englishs elitist status in education and administration had been immediately downgraded in 1957.  [45]  They find it hard in accepting that English could be an ingredient in Malaysian national identity, in spite of its use in cultural situations in Malaysia at present.  [46]  Instead, they believe Malay is for national identity and English is for progress and for wider communication, which implies the Malays believe that English should be used for globalisation and internationalisation rather than a local language.  [47]  Thus, as Tan suggests, the fact that Malaysia is categorised under the Outer Circle means that it is more appropriate to talk about [the role of English in Malaysia in] individual communities or sections of society rather than the whole country.  [48]   Conclusion English is an important language in both the past and current society of Malaysia. Competence in English as a compulsory condition for employees in most private sectors and some governmental departments has emphasized the increasing prominence of English in the country. Moreover, the implementation of PPSMI policy in 2003 has significantly increased the usage of English among the new generation, especially those who are teenagers now and will become the future backbone of the country. While the implementation of PPSMI policy indicates that fact the government is concerned about the importance of English in the country, the debates among professionals and ordinary Malaysians regards the reversal of the policy also reveals how significant the language is for the people. In addition, the dominance of English books and magazines in bookstores of Malaysia indicates that there is a huge market for English books in Malaysia. However, some Malaysians, particularly the Malays, believe the only language that can unify all Malaysians is the Malay language. The lack of qualified teachers with fluent English is a reason why English is not a unifying language. Meanwhile, the inequality of English proficiency between students from urban areas and rural areas proves that English is not commonly understood by all Malaysians and hence it will not create national unity. Besides the proficiency of the teachers and students, the rather low percentage of English speakers also reveals the same problem in making English the unifying language in Malaysia. All in all, even though this issue is still rather debatable, the conclusion drawn is that English can be a unifying language in Malaysia to some extent. English plays an important role in the lives of ordinary Malaysians, private sectors and education in Malaysia. However, the usage of Malay language is encouraged in public sectors. The overturn of PPSMI policy in July 2009 has put the status of English in the country into doubt. Moreover, Malays believe their language should be the tool to unite the whole nation  [49]  but the Indians and/or Chinese believe Malay language will create division among all Malaysians. They believe that we should emulate the model of Singapore since English is a neutral language between all the different ethnicities as it does not identify any of the races in Malaysia and thus it will create an equal society.  [50]   Bibliography

BIG Brother and the Internet Essay -- Web security Internet Essays

'BIG Brother' and the Internet The Internet invention has most certainly opened many doors for a faster, more efficient educational medium. One can find information about almost everything, discussions range from daily issues to highly academic and scientific issues. It has indeed helped this generation to be much more productive and efficient. The vast web of electronic media that connects us is heralding a new age of communications. New digital networks offer a tremendous potential to empower individuals in an ever-overpowering world. However, these communications networks are also the subject of significant debate concerning governance and jurisdiction. While the free flow of information is generally a positive thing, serious problems arise when information flows free, problems such as: How to protect children and undesiring adults from exposure to sexually explicit or potentially offensive materials? How to protect intellectual property rights? How to determine which country's laws have jurisdiction over a medium that is nowhere and everywhere at the same time? How best to protect privacy and protect our values? How to ensure that legislators, access providers, and network users do not stifle disagreeable speech? While well-established legal principles and cultural norms give structure and coherence to uses of conventional media, the new digital media do not fit so easily into existing frameworks. The Internet might be helpful in making lives much more dynamic and resourceful, but we also hear hundreds of horror stories related to the Internet. Some people argue that it also has the potential of destroying our generation by exposing it to "pornography" and other "indecent" material readily available on the Intern... ...plamem.html>" (March 28, 97). 4: Biskupic Joan "Exploring the Frontiers of Internal Freedom" (March 17, 97) Document. "<http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/wplate/1997-03/17/037l-03179- idx.html>" (April7, 97). 5: Burton, Scott "The Indecency of the Communication Decency Act" Document."<http://www.isc.rit.edu/~sab0276/stv/cda.html>" (March 28, 97). 6: Fena, Lori , and Godwin, Mike. "Your Constitutional Rights have been Sacrificed for PoliticalExpediency" "<http:www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/cda_020296_eff.statement>" (March 28, 97). 7: Press Release. "Reno v. ACLU: The Road to the Supreme Court" (October 31, 96) Document. <http://www.aclu.org/news/n103196b.html>" (March 28, 97). 8: Webmaster. "ClariNet files suit over Communication Decency Law" Document. "<http://www.clarinet.com/suitepage.html>" (March 28, 97).

Adopted Heritage in Alice Walkers Everyday Use Essays -- Everyday Use

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each of us is raised within a culture, a set of traditions handed down by those before us. As individuals, we view and experience common heritage in subtly differing ways. Within smaller communities and families, deeply felt traditions serve to enrich this common heritage. Alice Walker's "Everyday Use" explores how, in her eagerness to claim an ancient heritage, a woman may deny herself the substantive personal experience of familial traditions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Narrated by the mother of two daughters, the story opens with an examination of one daughter's favoring of appearances over substance, and the effect this has on her relatives. The mother and her younger daughter, Maggie, live in an impoverished rural area. They anticipate the arrival of the elder daughter, Dee, who left home for college and is bringing her new husband with her for a visit. The mother recalls how, as a child, Dee hated the house in which she was raised. It was destroyed in a fire, and as it was burning, Dee "(stood) off under the sweet gum tree... a look of concentration on her face", tempting her mother to ask, "'why don't you do a dance around the ashes?'" (Walker 91) She expects Dee will hate their current house, also. The small, three-room house sits in a pasture, with "no real windows, just some holes cut in the sides" (Walker 92), and although, as Dee asserts, they "choose to live" in such a place, Dee keeps her prom ise to visit them (Walker 92). Her distaste for her origins is felt by her mother and Maggie, who, in anticipation of Dee's arrival, internalize her attitudes. They feel to some extent their own unworthiness. The mother envisions a reunion in which her educated, urbane daughter would be proud of her. In reality, she describes her... ...aking something for herself consists of putting on the garments of her heritage without truly living in them. As Dee says goodbye, Maggie smiles "a real smile, not scared" (Walker 97). She sits with her mother as they share a pinch of snuff "just enjoying." (Walker 97) Dee leaves two people who have in significant ways come to terms with her judgment of them and the way they live.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our heritage threads through history past the people who contributed to it, to affect us on a personal level. To be fully appreciated and claimed, it must reside in the heart. Dee understands the heritage of people she doesn't know. In this way, her adopted heritage can be understood intellectually, but it is not felt, not personal, and not truly her own. Work Cited Walker, Alice. Everyday Use Ed. Barbara T. Christian. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1994.

How a business can grow it’s customer base Essay

Coles Group Limited The Grocery industry is one of the most important industries in the Australian economy. The industry employs a big proportion of the workforce and is connected to many other industries in the economy environment. Supermarkets are one of the key players in the grocery industry providing around 70% of the value of the retail market for food and groceries. The  two major grocery chains – Woolworths and Coles – dominate with almost 70% market share of an industry valued at A$80+ billion. Over the past 5 years the sector has been witness of some significant developments. Dynamics were changed after new players like Costco entered the market and ALDI verified a rapid growth since its first appearance in 2001, making colossal to chase market shares by reviewing their campaigns. Some key statistics for the participants in the industry are presented in the Table 1 Table 1.1: Players in the grocery industry Retailer Market Share Woolworths 41.1% Coles / Bi-Lo 31.0% Other supermarkets ALDI 14.0% Speciality Foods / Franklin 7.1% Source: Coles Data, 2012 Coles is one of the two major supermarkets operating in Australia. In 1927 became property company and was launched on the Melbourne Stock Exchange; in 1985, Coles Myer Ltd.was established after a A$918 transaction. Myer was divided from the Coles Group to private equity interests in 2005, it has therefor not been part of the group since then. Westfarmers was founded in 1914, and in 1985 has been restructured to a public company and was listed on the ASX. Coles Supermarket is part of the Coles Group and subsidiary of Westfarmers for a total of: 749 full service supermarket retailer stores 792 liquor stores and 92 hotels 627 national fuel and convenience stores The reaserch conducted shows that Cole’s market share of 31% has not moved materially in recent years; is one of the successful supermarkets in Australia in terms of customer satisfaction, innovation in product strategy, marketing strategy, financial capability and strong work culture. To analyze the Global segmentation, we can consider the presence of Westfarmers  in New Zealand, but the nation largest employer remains committed to providing a satisfactory return to shareholders. The management of Coles supermarkets has not had many political barriers except the adherence to the sector’s rule and regulations. The slow growth uncertainity in the Australian economy poses a threat for thr retail players. The links between supermarket and fuel industries have been normalised. In response to concerns that cost of living pressures were affecting families, in 2008, the Australian Government commissioned the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to review of the industry. In 2010, the Trade Practices Act was recast as the Competition and Consumer Act, with several competition policy amendments in recent years. Supermarkets themselves have developed new pricing and marketing strategies. In 2011 Coles partenered with WWF-Australia to improve the sustainability of the seafood supply chain and to educate consumers about sustainable choices. Coles has also adopted new technologies developing its online shopping facilities. It also invested to improve its supply chain and distribution system with significant impact in cost savings. Coles’s commitment to their Ethical Sourcing Policy, a wide range of products, great logistics and a strong brand image among its internal Strengths. Being an important presence in the market, its operating cost is overall high and its management presents Weaknesses. The possibility to seek new sales opportunity and cut cost through technology and the potential to increase the customer base presents only a few of the Opportunities that Coles may have. The uncertainity that Australian economy presents, the vulnerability to attack by the key competitors of the market are to be seen as external Threats. From 2012, Coles has a new pricing and marketing strategy called ‘Down Down’. This has been a high profile campaign designed to increase its company performance. Other supermarkets have their own pricing strategies to compete, including IGA’s with â€Å"Locked Down Low Prices† from July 2012 and Woolworths’s â€Å"everyday low prices†. Over the last four years, Coles sales have increased by $4.8 billion to around $24 billion. Coles have out-performed the supermarket sector overall over the last four years, market share has gone up slightly. Growth in revenue reflects changes in prices and volumes. On the face of it,  a campaign like ‘Down Down’ should have the effect of lowering prices and increasing volumes. To obtain an overall picture of the savings to consumers we aggregate the price movement during this period and calculate a savings figure – based on both old volumes and current volumes. We find that in 2011-12, the one-year savings of the price reductions during the ‘Down Down’ campaign (i.e. over the 18 months from January 2011) is between $1.05 billion and $1.19 billion. The midpoint is $1.12 billion. The benefits of scale are generated due to the large average store size and the ability centralise their procurement so that they obtain better terms. Overall, Coles finds that the larger its stores, the more efficient they are, as measured by costs per store size. On average, a store that is 1000m2 larger has costs that are 3% lower – reflecting the spread of a number of fixed or standard costs for a store that are incurred regardless of store size. Over the past four years, Coles have also increased the productivity of assets, part of these improvements come for the fact that Coles operates larger stores whilst keeping the number of stores relatively constant. In this period Coles have divested or closed almost 90 smaller and underperforming stores and has acquired or built almost 90 larger, more productive stores. Sales generated from every square metre of selling floor area have increased almost 20%. While sales revenue has increased by 25%, total selling floor area has increased by 4.5%. Private labels are unbranded products purchased by supermarkets and then sold as their own products. Typically, these products are che aper than branded products because of limited marketing activities. Historically, private brands had an image of being quite avarage, targeting the most price-sensitive consumer; these days they are increasing thought of as an equal-quality, lower-price alternative. According to Coles’s data on ranging and space allocation decisions, Coles brand products are treated in the same manner as proprietary brand products. In many cases Coles brand products are located together with similar brands and less shelf space than proprietary brands. Coles periodically reviews if their brand is over/under represented by examining the quantity they sell relative to the space on the shelves. Private labels have been a matter of policy discussion: critics have asserted that they are part of a strategy to dominate the supply chain, thus reducing the viability of branded products. Table 1.2: White bread 650 Retail Prices Margin above COGS Coles Smart Buy White bread 650g $1.00 1% Wonder White Bread Wholemeal Plus Iron 700g $3.31 5.4% Table 1.3: Eggs 12 Pack 700gr Retail Price Margin above COGS Coles Eggs Free Range 12 Pack 700gr $4.04 24.5% Farmpride Eggs Free Range 12 Pack 700g $5.44 20% ï ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼ Source: Coles Data We analyze the margins for branded and private label products, following the Tables 1.2 and 1.3. For the white bread the branded product yields greater margins for Coles – for Eggs, the opposite. This suggests it is unlikely that Coles systematically achieves higher margins on its own products and directly encourages consumers not to buy branded products. According to Macquarie, Coles and Woolworths hold 72% of the Australian grocery market. The concentration of competition has made the rivalry palpable, penetrating deep into consumers mind. â€Å"Our customers want good honest food which is fresh, available and affordable†, says Simon McDowell, marketing director of Coles. Woolworths upholds those same values: â€Å"We want our customers to trust us to deliver best quality food and the best value every time they visit one of our stores,† said Lizzy Ryley, GM marketing at Woolworts. The five main players in the Australian retail food industry have vastly differen t approaches. Woolworths and Coles have well-known and similar business models, and command the lion’s share of the domestic food and liquor market due to their long history in Australia. Woolworths is commonly perceived to be more ‘premium’ while Coles promises  low prices, but in reality the experiences offered by both are incredibly similar. Beneath all the taglines and promotional strategies , the mandates of both Woolies and Coles are based on two things: fresh food and value for money. Aldi, like Costco, operates in the eastern states and sells private label (Aldi-branded) groceries, electronics and everyday household goods like bathroom taps. IGA operate small-scale, privately owned, stores across the country specialising in everyday groceries and liquors. In terms of size, Aldi’s 305 stores (March figure) are believed to generate in excess of $5 billion, Costco generated $612 million in 2012/13, while Woolworths reported sales of $58 billion and Coles $36 billion in the 2012/13 financial year. IGA sales data couldn’t be found as they are private companies, however Metcash (ASX: MTS) supplies IGA stores and reported revenue of $13 billion in 2012/13. Therefore, as a rough estimate it can be assumed that Aldi, Costco and IGA account for between 15% and 20% of the Australian food and liquor market. To make the Company a more effective organisation and in order to maximazie the shareholders value, I would focus on increasing staff productivity as well as motivation, not to mention the emphasis of maintaining or increasing profit margins where possible; developing the ‘Down Down’ campaigne and lowering the average prices by a further 1.9% . I would enfasise Exploiting the presence if Westfarmers in New Zealand, I would try an international market penetration and the trading environment. Following a comprehensive reform program that began in the mid-80s, the New Zealand economy is now largely deregulated, and more internationally competitive. Food prices rose 0.6 percent in April 2014, and were up 1.5 percent on a year earlier, Statistics New Zealand declare. The monthly rise follows a 0.3 percent fall in March, and a 1.0 percent fall in February. Niche products and Australia’s reputation for product safety can help the company with the penetration.   I would try and finalize the acquisition of EziBuy, a leading direct retailer of apparel and homewares in Australia and New Zealand, so it will act as a launch pad for our next phase of growth but most importantly it would represent a stop for the expansion of Woolworths into the country. Last but not least I would continue investing in important environmental projects and partnerships to further reduce the impact on the environment and I would also improve efficiencies within the  supply chains, reducing gas emissions across the overall business. In the future I would develop a marketing campaigne based on our recycling and sustainable efforts and we will continue to work on ways to both reduce the waste and increase the level of recycling in our stores. References http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness http://www.deloitte.com http://www.stats.govt.nz http://www.austrade.gov.au/Export/Export-Markets http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au https://www.coles.com.au http://www.euromonitor.com ABARES, 2011, ‘Agricultural commodity statistics 2011.’ King, Matthew, 2012, ‘One shopping basket, four supermarkets, who wins?’ Wesfarmers, 2012, ‘Annual Report 2012’.