Coke vs Pepsi Essay Example for Free

Coke vs Pepsi Essay Pepsi has historically targeted a young audience especially since the 1980s .Many of their ads were usually aimed at teenagers and even younger groups by introducing fun, sports and music in their ads and this still hasnt changed in 2014.Pepsi has consistently found new ways to adapt to each generation and found great success through it. But most of the credit comes from their segmentation methods. Pepsi has a Behavioral segmentation that contains customers usage. They range customers usage from light to occasional drinkers. They also look at customers purchase behaviors trying label them as instinctive or planned buyers. A good example of a planned buyer and a purchase occasional buyer would be somebody having a get together or a party where the customer chooses to buy Pepsi products to quench their thirst after a exciting fun time. Pepsi also has a Psychological segmentation that focus on a lifestyle and personality. Pepsi has created a motto for themselves called Live Now, but they say that its not just a motto but a mindset. So you already know that they had to have a segment of people that share their same belief. These customers are usually fun sophisticated people or cool teenagers. Pepsis final segmentation is Geo-demographic which mostly focuses on the urban areas around the world .which make a lot of sense because most people believe that the cities is where the most fun and big event occur at. As well as finding this particular demographic ages 18- 25 ,which are considered to be young cool sophisticated people that just want to live now. Coca Cola Company is the worlds largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands.But for some reason Coca Cola doesn’t have a specific target segment but adapt its marketing strategy by developing new products, which really means their segmentation are really broad. Generally, Coke does not have a specific target because they are really trying to addressed everyone. Coca Cola also doesn’t try to target a lifestyles, but they are seeing more and more busy lifestyle and mobile generation that are considered to be the most important part of Coke’s consumers. Coca cola also doesn’t care about a customers occupation but found out that mainly students and family oriented people buy Coca Cola products. Coca Cola also sees that their main consumers are 12-30 years old people and even though there is no specific product or communication for less than 12 or more than 30, the brand succeed in reaching them, through partnerships from six flags,restaurants, fast foods such as McDonald’s or Loyalty from customers. Finally, Coca Cola consider each customer as a target and a potential consumer. All age groups are being targeted but the most potential is the age group from 18-25 that covers a good amount of the age segments. How do their segmentation strategies differ? Their segmentation strategies differ in a big way because Pepsi used the segmentation method to target their customers ,but Coca Cola didn’t really structure a segmentation method to target their customers with .They mostly used the positioning method to grow their company. Pepsi focus on customers that wanted to live now ,a more exciting life. While Coca Cola just wanted everybody to enjoy a Coca Cola product, living your life even if its boring or exciting they didnt care, as long as you had a coke in your hand.

Efficiency Reward Management in British Airways

Efficiency Reward Management in British Airways Competition in the airline industry has gone global and the market and industry dynamics have necessitated the need for companies to make concerted efforts streamlined towards ensuring that high quality goods and services are offered in the market at competitive prices. This has resulted in the adoption and implementation of several tools and strategies by British Airways geared towards the aforementioned goals attainment. One of the strategies that have been soundly embraced by British Airways is the effective and efficient management of human resource department in regards to the selection, recruitment and satisfaction of employees. This has been attained through an emphasis on work site wellness program within the company. These initiatives are aimed at enhance performance management within the company. Company Overview Stiff competition has pushed the airline industry to attain very high levels of service quality to their customers. British Airways has been left outside the bracket in this push to smoke away competition and remain a top provider of airline services. The market expectation levels are expected to improve with the increase in the complexity of travelers demands. British Airways has recognized that employees from its most prized assets and has attached the capacity to improve its performance on the ability to effectively and efficiently manage its of human resource department. The pivotal challenge faced by the company is its inability to become a truly transnational airline. The recent economic crunch, political uncertainties in the Middle East and managerial problems have negatively on its ability to improve on its current performance. However, despite the above challenges, Yahoo Finance (2010) illustrates that net profit for the company has improved from 72m Pounds in 2003 to $438 m in Pounds in 2007 and the earnings per share increased from 6.7 pence to 37.2 pence within the same period. Efficiency Reward Management in British Airways Reward management Chew and Teo (1991) state that a reward system expresses what an organization values and is prepared to pay for; it is governed by the need to reward the right things in order to convey the right message about what is important in terms of expected behaviors and outcomes. The importance of HRM has increased with time and the need to properly manage people is becoming a central focus within organizations today. This has precipitated competition amongst various organizations seeking to portray the best skills in peoples management. This has defined a new role for line managers whose roles in organizations have shifted from the traditional supervisory role to more advanced people resource management. To effectively take efficient steps in the recruitment and selection, employee relations, reward management, appraisal and performance reviews, line managers must receive the support of the HR specialists. The above discussions illustrate the high levels at which British Airways as gone to enhance high levels of performance through better rewards management. Reward systems within organizations are always based on how ones value to the organization. It is concerned with both financial and non-financial rewards and embraces the philosophies, strategies, policies, plans and processes used by organizations to develop and maintain reward systems. Most organizations make use of the term compensation to refer to pay or remuneration. There has been a noted problem with the term compensation in that it means rewards to the employee is only for making amends for the distasteful fact people have to work to make a living. In the analysis of Chew and Teo (1991) proposition for most people work is, in the main, a source for disutility, and they therefore require payment to compensate them for the time they devoted towards it. While this argument is true in its literal sense, it however fails to provide a complete definition of pay philosophy. This is because pay philosophy should take into consideration one competence and contribution, not just compe nsation simply because some none has worked for it. In appreciating that employee rewards takes into deep consideration of the organizations integrated policies and practices, rewards are best given according to market worth of an employee. In addition to that, the ones contribution, skills and competence should also form central measurements under which rewards systems can be based. The rewards scheme runs through the culture and philosophies of an organization and is developed within its framework with the aim of maintaining the best levels of pay, benefits, compensation and other forms of rewards. According to Carter (1988), reward system consists of financial (fixed or variable pay) and employee benefits, which together comprises the total remuneration. In addition to that, rewards system also encompasses non-financial components that include (recognition, praise, achievement, responsibility and personal growth). The non-financial components of rewards system also include performance management systems (Lafferty McMillan, 1989). The combination of the two; financial and non-financial rewards forms the total reward system. Deeper analyses of the reward systems reveal that it has five more components that include processes, practices, structures, schemes and procedures (Heskett, Sasser and Hart, (1990). The successful design, development and implementation of management decisions are very complex and at times daunting tasks for many managers especially when managing the most prizes assets of organization-employees. Usually, managers will be faced with daily problems that require the application of tools that will ensure for the successful operations irrespective of the sectors they manage such as the identification of the objectives of the organization, alternative means of achieving the stated objectives and the selection of the means that accomplish the objectives in the most efficient manner. The first process in the decision making process will entail the identification of the problem. The problem in dealing with employee rewards for the optimum benefit of the organization must enhance the ability of the organization to effectively achieve its objectives. Ideally, successful identification of the problem will encapsulate trying to delineate answers to questions such as what coul d be the causes of the problem, where this is happening, how it is happening, when it is happening, with whom it is happening, and why it is happening (MacNamara, 2008). In essence, this should be followed by an in-depth analysis of the delineation of the complexity of the problem, verification of the understanding of the problem; prioritization and understanding the role to be played towards the redress of the problem (Collins, 1987). In recognizing the fact that an organizations performance depends primarily on the quality of its management and employees, line managers appreciate the role of reward in improving the quality of management through generous rewards. British Airways knows that rewards alone cannot play the sole role of management quality improvement but this process demands with it a number of other factors for it to be fully realized. This is because, the culture, values, and management style of an organization, together with its performance management and employee development programs are equally important (Bureau of Tourism Research, 1989).ÂÂ  It is therefore true that reward management forms an integral part of quality management but cannot stand alone in an organization in ensuring quality management. Reward management is one of the central management issue British Airways top management has over the year managed excellently. Effective reward management not only motivates the employees but also depicts harmonious management style the company is applying to capture and succeed in the market. In addition, the recruitment and retention of best talents take precedence in the business. According to Debrah (2005), The reward or compensation people receive for their contribution to an organization includes monetary and non-monetary components. Remuneration does not simply compensate employees for their efforts it also has an impact on the recruitment and retention of talented people. In this regard, reward management within British management calls for brilliant strategies to ensure that it succeeds. Towards this, the company has employed a number of strategies to help successful implement this program. These strategies include controlling reward, monitoring and evaluating reward theories, managing development of reward system, devolution of line mangers for responsibility for reward system (Hollings, 1998). Controlling reward British Airways has got a good reward management control strategy. Control offers the opportunity to plan and execute reward in a more organized and logical manner which reflect the spirit and mission of the company. According to Gabriel (1988), employers and managers should pay attention to their employees and special attention to the best employees. This is done to encourage good performers, to push them to greater heights. Positive recognition for people can ensure a positive and a productive organization. The recognition of outstanding performance aims to create an understanding of what behaviors might add significant value to the organization and to promote such behaviors. Awards- monetary and non-monetary should be given based on the achievements and accomplishments of workers. Effective reward management calls for effective and strategic management to ensure that the programs not only succeed but also offer a good platform for other companies to emulate. This is an entrenched culture within British Airways aimed at ensuring employee performance improvement. In controlling the rewards, the organization benefits a lot from such an initiative. The befits that come along as a result of reward control include offer of the best opportunity for strategic planning, ensures continuity of the reward system, it is effective in the process of the reward scheme evaluation. Monitoring and evaluating reward theories The process of monitoring and evaluating reward theories demand good management practices from the line managers. In British Airways, This process is ideally inclusive of the major parties to the problem and will involve holding a brainstorming session where the possible solutions to the problem are all presented and analyzed. Bowen (1986) has advised against passing judgment on the possible solutions as presented at the earliest stage of evaluating rewards so as to provide chance for possible solutions and errors that could be omitted. The selection of the reward within British Airways considers best alternative to resolving the problem is the next stage and is essentially where the possible solutions advanced are analyzed and dissected in details. In the selection of the best alternative, the line managers within British Airways takes into considerations the approach that is likely to resolve the problem in the long run, the most realistic solutions, the resources available, time a nd the risks associated with each alternative (McNamara, 2008). Managing the developing reward system Initiating a reward program in most organizations has been easy but managing and developing the rewards comes along with many challenges. This is because reward systems must be well developed and enhanced to reduce employee conflict (Irwin, 2003). In British Airways, this involves assessing how the situation will be once the reward has been initiated and looking for possible weaknesses within the reward scheme. This process is well handled within the British Airways by a pool of highly trained line managers. Essentially, this will entail a careful consideration of the best way to implement the new reward policies and procedures, what resources are desirable in terms of people, facilities and finances, time, who will drive the process, and the person in who will be responsible for the success of the plan. It is imperative that the action plan is communicated to all the stakeholders who will be affected by the new changes within and without the organization to limit the possibility of conflict and take into consideration all the divergent views. Communication within the British Airways values the culture and takes into consideration the major drive within the Airline industry which centrally aims at providing the best competitive work environment to the employees. Devolution for line managers The success of reward schemes and projects has to a large extent relied on the interests, support and commitment of the senior management within the British Airways. This is in order to ensure that everybody in the project team and indeed the whole employees are focused and committed. Most reward schemes within organizations are sometimes conceived, funded and developed without appropriate senior management involvement or approval. Naila (2009) has for example noted that some projects go forward without the management clearly conceptualizing what the project entails. A distinction between mere approval and commitment should be clearly discerned so that the projects run smoothly. According to Kerzner (2006), most projects fail when the senior management lacks a clear understanding and a paucity of the projects perceived benefits, risks and difficulties. This is fundamental because the management plays a central role in costs appropriations and budget allocations for project activities . This means that while the projects approval may actually have been acquired, in the euphoria of getting the projects approved; some of the risks may be ignored or glossed over. Efficient project cost management especially in the field of IT should however ensure that projects approvals are not based on hype and unrealistic calculations but on a framework that encapsulates a realistic assessment of the projects. These remain the central themes within British Airways that define its culture and its reward schemes. Interviews in selection and recruitment The most frequently used selection method in most organizations and companies, with British Airways being no exception, is the interview. The company employs this selection process in selecting and recruiting personnel in the top management positions such as departmental managers. Interviews occur when a candidate responds to questions posed by a manager or some other organizational representative. In an interview, common areas in which questions are posed include education, experience and knowledge of job procedures, mental ability, personality, communication ability, social skills as well as the knowledge of current affairs. The recruitment process within British Airways as a close nit process that enasure only the best is recruited. This is ullusterated below by Guemier and Lockwood (1989). Quality Performance Measurement The capacity to understands and measure performance of an organizational policies is crucial for the success of any business. These measures should include process performance and improvements that can be seen by customers. The importance of performance measurement is important to ensure that customer service is given, to set individual team and business objectives, highlight problems and failure in the processes, provide the needed stimulus for continuous growth and provide benchmark for establishing comparisons. To effectively carry out quality performance, an organization must understand the component of quality costs. These is because the capacity to show that quality system is effective, find more efficient ways of working and get it right from the first time are fundamental in the processes. Performance measurements include four quality costs such as prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure costs and external failure costs. Through the application of EFQM that recognizes the fact that there are many approaches to achieving sustainable excellence, British Airways has extensively made use of this non prescriptive framework to analyze its quality performance measurements. This process has been carried out using leadership in at the fore front while enablers include people, policy and strategy partnership and resources who are subjected through a process. The results for the performance of the reward policy within British Airways are then measured by peoples results, customer results and social results. These generate key performance results that are generated through three result components. The tool that was preferred for this process was Radar Scoring Matrix that was capable of covering all aspects of results, approach, deployment, assessment and review. The five poor causes of quality include wrong application of measurement tools, poor combination of enablers for the process, poor leadership, inability to establish a measurement process and failure to engage of all employees in the process. Conclusion The world over, organizations and business enterprises are experiencing major economic crunch and environmental upheaval such as deregulated industrial regulation systems, globalization, competition and technological advancement. These economic, social and political circumstances have precipitated a complex and sophisticated of overlapping and concurrent interventions that are radically changing the existing structures, cultures and job requirements. In response to this dynamic and rapid change, managers need to approach the selection and recruitment from a strategic perspective. Recruitment and selection strategies, process and policies should be integrated within the company human resource department and the organization culture. These have been entrenched in the operational culture of British Airways. In the Airline industry, there is need to streamline the operations to embrace the dynamic changes in selection and recruitment. These changes include new strategies on selection and outsourcing. British Airways has been successful and continue to gain more ground in the world market due to its strategic planning and management. This paper has given a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the role of the human resource department in the selection and recruitment with special reference to British Airways.

Technology Knowledge :: essays research papers

Technology: Knowledge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My definition of technology would be something that one possesses that helps to make their life easier. Knowledge would be one of those factors that have been made easier to access. Not merely knowledge, but certain things such as computer/internet access, calculators, television and so forth that help one to be more aware of these conveniences. American Samoa has been blessed to witness parts of this â€Å"technological revolution†. There are many things affected by technology, however, I will be basing this paper on the conveniences that we deem as necessary to continue an education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After discussing the best parts of technology with Timoteo Tali, I talked with Tu’umasina Tui about what one’s life was most like without technology. In comparing my notes, I find that technology is a great thing, yet at the same time Anapogi Young and I realize that there are many downfalls to the numerous things that help make school and work, among various things, much more accessible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Examples of how technology affects us in a positive way are the computer programs, Internet access, television shows, and also calculators that make it easier for one to learn. I’ve seen the benefit of having television programs such as Sesame Street, Barney, and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. I realize now, that though I was probably just enjoying the program, I was also learning from it. As I matured, so did the programs that I watched, but nonetheless, I was still learning and at the same time, having fun doing so. I am glad to have had such technological devices to help me throughout school and life. Another device would be the computer. There are computer programs and games that help you learn without really knowing you are. And then there’s Internet access that gives you information to practically anything you need. â€Å"You’ve got the world at your fingertips†, is a quote that I’ve heard many times. You’re able to research any topic at any time from the private comfort of your home; you can also e-mail assignments to your teachers. Now, there are also classes you can take online without going to school, another benefit. Another major device would be the calculator. In my discussion with Tu’u, I realize that it must have been quite difficult to solve certain math problems without the use of a calculator. The calculator is one’s best friend in a math class; it has values such as sine or logarithm that would be quite hard to calculate by hand due to the amount of time of the class.

Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 44~45

44 Revealed: The Perfect Couple Back at his bungalow, an argument went on in the still-sober brain of Tucker Case. I am scum. I should have told them to shove it. But they might have killed you. Yeah, but I would have at least had my integrity. Your what? Get real. But I'm scum. Big deal. You've been scum before. You've never owned a Learjet before. You actually think they'll give me the jet? It could happen. Stranger things have happened. But I should do something about this. Why? You've never done anything before. Well, maybe it's time. No way. Take the jet. I'm scum. Well, yes, you are. But you're rich scum. I can live with that. The dog tags and Jefferson Pardee's notebook lay on the coffee table, threatening to set off another fusillade of doubt and condemnation. Tuck lay back on the rattan couch and turned on the television to escape the noise in his mind. Skinny Asian guys were beating the snot out of each other in a kickboxing match from the Philippines. The Malaysian channel was showing how to fillet a schnauzer. The cooking show reminded him of surgery, and surgery reminded him that there was a beautiful island girl lying in the clinic, recovering from an unnecessary major surgery that he could have prevented. Definitely kickboxing. He was just getting into the rhythm of the violence when the bat came through the window and made an awkward swinging landing on one of the bungalow's open rafters. Tuck lost his breath for a minute, thinking there might just be a wild animal in his house. Then he saw the sunglasses. Roberto steadied himself into a slightly swinging upside-down hang. Tuck sighed. â€Å"Please just be a bat in sunglasses tonight. Please.† Thankfully, the bat said nothing. The sunglasses were sliding off his nose. â€Å"How do you fly in those things?† Tuck said, thinking out loud. â€Å"They're aviators.† â€Å"Of course,† Tuck said. The bat had indeed changed from rhinestone glasses to aviators, but once you accept a talking bat, the leap to a talking bat with an eyewear wardrobe is a short one. Roberto dropped from the rafter and took wing just before he hit the floor. Two beats of his wings and he was on the coffee table, as awkward in his spiderlike crawl as he was graceful in the air. With his wing claw, he raked at Jefferson Pardee's notebook until it was open to the middle, then he launched himself and flew out the window. Tuck picked up the notebook and read what Pardee had written. Tuck had missed this page when he had looked at the notebook before. This page had been stuck to the one before it; the bat's clawing had revealed it. It was a list of leads that Pardee had made for the story he had been working on. The second item read: â€Å"What happened to the first pilot, James Sommers? Call immigration in Yap and Guam.† Tuck flipped through the notebook to see if he had missed something else. Had Pardee found out? Of course he had. He'd found out and he'd followed Sommers to the last place anyone had seen him. But where was Pardee? His notebook hadn't come to the island without him. Tuck went through the notebook three more times. There were some foreign names and phone numbers. Something that looked like a packing list for a trip. Some notes on the background of Sebastian Curtis. Notes to check up on Japanese with guns. The word â€Å"Learjet† underlined three times. And nothing else. There didn't seem to be any organizational form to the notes. Just random facts, names, places, and dates. Dates? Tuck went through it once more. On the third page in, all by itself, was printed: â€Å"Alualu, Sept. 9.† Tuck ran to the nightstand drawer, where the Curtises had left him a calendar. He counted back the days to the ninth and tried to put events to days. The ship had arrived on the ninth, and the morning of the tenth he had made his first flight. Jefferson Pardee could be lying in the clinic right now, wondering where in the hell his kidney was. If he was, Tuck needed to see him. Tuck looked in the closet for something dark to wear. This was going to be different than sneaking out to the village. There were no buildings between the guards' quarters and the clinic, no trees, nothing but seventy-five yards of open compound. Darkness would be his only cover. It was a tropical-weight wet suit – two-mil neoprene – and it was two sizes two big, but it was the only thing in the closet that wasn't khaki or white. In the 80-degree heat and 90-percent humidity, Tuck was reeling from the heat before he got the hood on. He stepped into the shower and soaked himself with cold water, then peeled the hood over his head and made his escape through the shower floor, dropping onto the wet gravel below. In the movies the spies – the Navy SEALS, the Special Forces, the demolition experts – always sneak through the night in their wet suits. Why, Tuck wondered, don't they squish and slosh and make squeaking raspberry noises when they creep? Must be special training. You never hear James Bond say, â€Å"Frankly, Q, I'll trade the laser-guided cufflink missiles for a wet suit that doesn't make me feel like a bloody bag of catsick.† Which is how Tuck felt as he sloshed around the side of the clinic and peeked across the compound at the guard on duty, who seemed to be looking right at him. Tuck pulled back around the corner. He needed a diversion if he was going to make it to the clinic door unseen. The moon was bright, the sky clear, and the compound of white coral gravel reflected enough light to read by. He heard the guard shout, and he was sure he'd been spotted. He flattened against the wall and held his breath. Then there were more Japa-nese from across the compound, but no footsteps. He ventured a peek. The guard was gesturing toward the sky and brushing his head. Two other guards had joined him and were laughing at the guard on duty. He seemed to get angrier, cursing at the sky and wiping his hand on his uniform. The other guards led him inside to calm him down and clean him up. Tuck heard a bark from the sky and looked up to see the silhouette of a huge bat against the moon. Roberto had delivered a guano air strike. Tuck had his diversion. He slipped around the front of the building, grabbed the doorknob, and turned. It was unlocked. Given Beth Curtis's irritation at being buzzed and the amount of wine she'd consumed, Tuck had guessed that she'd get tired locking and unlocking the door. What did Mary Jean always say? â€Å"Ladies, if you do your job and assume that everyone else is incompetent, you will seldom be disappointed.† Amen, Tuck thought. He squished into the outer room of the clinic, which was dark except for the red-eyed stare of a half-dozen machines and the dancing glow of a computer screen running a screen saver. He'd try to get into that later, but now he was interested in what, or who, lay in the small hospital ward, two rooms back. He sloshed into the examination/operating room by the light of more LED eyes and pushed through the curtain to the four-bed ward. Only one bed held a patient – or what looked like a patient. The only light was a green glow from a heart monitor that blipped away silently, the sound turned off. Whoever was in the bed was certainly large enough to be Jeffer-son Pardee. There were a couple of IVs hanging above the patient. Probably painkillers after such major surgery, Tuck thought. He moved closer and ventured a whisper. â€Å"Pst, Pardee.† The lump under the covers moved and moaned in a distinctly unmasculine voice. â€Å"Pardee, it's Tucker Case. Remember?† The sheet was thrown back and Tuck saw a thin male face in the green glow. â€Å"Kimi?† â€Å"Hi, Tucker.† Kimi looked down at the other person under the covers. â€Å"You remember Tucker? He all better now.† The pretty island girl said, â€Å"I take care of you when you sick. You stink very much.† Tuck backed off a step. â€Å"Kimi, what are you doing here?† â€Å"Well, she like pretty thing, and I like pretty thing. She tired of having many means and so am I. We have a lot in common.† â€Å"He the best,† Sepie added with an adoring smile at Kimi. Kimi handed the smile off to Tuck. â€Å"Once you be a woman, you know how to make a woman happy.† Tuck was getting over the initial surprise and began to smell the smoke of his beautiful island girl fantasy as it caught fire and burned to ash. He hadn't realized how much time he'd spent thinking about this girl. She, after all, was the one who had revived his manhood. Sort of. â€Å"You right,† Kimi said. â€Å"Women are better. I am lesbian now.† â€Å"You shouldn't be doing this. This girl just had major surgery.† â€Å"Oh, we not doing nothing but kissing. She very hurt. But this make it better.† Kimi held his arm up, displaying an IV line. â€Å"You want to try? Put in you arm and push button. It make you feel very very nice.† â€Å"That's for her, Kimi. You shouldn't be using it.† â€Å"We share,† Sepie said. â€Å"Yes, we share,† Kimi said. â€Å"I'm very happy for you. How in the hell did you get in here?† â€Å"Like you get out. I swim around mimes and come here to see Sepie. No problem.† â€Å"You don't want to let them catch you. You've got to go. Now.† â€Å"One more push.† Sepie held the button, ready to administer another dose of morphine to Kimi. Tuck grabbed it from her hand. â€Å"No. Go now. How did you know about the mines?† â€Å"I have other friend. Sarapul. I teach him how to be a navigator. He know a lot of things too. He a cannibal.† â€Å"You're a cannibal lesbian?† â€Å"Just learning. How come you have rubber suit? You kinky?† â€Å"Sneaky. Look, Kimi, have you seen a fat white guy, an American?† â€Å"No, but Sarapul see him. He see the guards take him from the beach. He not here?† â€Å"No. I found his notebook. I met him on Truk.† â€Å"Sarapul say he see the guards bring him to the Sorcerer. He say it very funny, the white man wear pigs with wings.† Tuck felt his face go numb. All that was left of Pardee was a pelvic bone wedged in the reef, stripped of flesh and wrapped in flying piggy shorts. Oh, there might be the odd kidney left alive in someone in Japan, a kidney that he had delivered. Had the fat man died on the operating table during the operation, the surgery too much for his heart? Or was he put under and never meant to wake up? Tuck suddenly felt that getting into the doctor's computer was more important than ever. He grabbed Kimi's arm and pulled the IV needle out of his vein. The navigator didn't resist, and he didn't seem to feel it. â€Å"Kimi, see if you can get that back in Sepie's arm and come with me.† â€Å"Okay boss.† Tuck looked down at the girl, who had evidently picked up on the panic in his voice. Her eyes were wide, despite the morphine glaze. â€Å"Don't buzz the doctor until after we're gone. This button will let you have only so much morphine, and Kimi's used some of yours. But if it hurts, you still have to wait, okay?† She nodded. Kimi crawled out of the bed and nearly fell. Tuck caught him by the arm and steadied him. â€Å"I am chosen,† Sepie said. â€Å"When Vincent comes, he will give me many pretty things.† Tuck brushed back her hair with his fingers. â€Å"Yes, he will. You sleep now. And thank you for taking care of me when I was sick.† Kimi kissed the girl and after a minute Tuck pulled him away and led him through the operating room to the office section of the clinic. In the glow of the computer screen, Tuck said, â€Å"Kimi, the doctor and his wife are killing people.† â€Å"No, they not. They sent by Vincent. Sepie say Vincent come from Heaven to bring people many good things. They very poor.† â€Å"No, Kimi, they are bad people. Like Malcolme. They are taking advantage of Sepie's people. They are just pretending to be working for a god.† â€Å"How you know? You no believe in God.† Tuck took the boy by the shoulders. He was no longer angry or even irritated, he was afraid, and for the first time ever, not just for himself. â€Å"Kimi, can you swim back around the mines?† â€Å"I think.† â€Å"You've got to go to the other side of the island and you can't come back. If the guards find you I'm pretty sure you'll be killed.† â€Å"You just want Sepie for yourself. She tell me you follow her.† â€Å"I'll check on her and I'll meet you at the drinking circle tomorrow night – tell you how she's doing. I won't touch her, I promise. Okay?† â€Å"Okay.† Kimi leaned against the wall by the door. Tuck studied him for a moment to try and determine just how fucked up he was. It wasn't a difficult swim. Tuck had done it stone drunk, but he'd been wearing fins and a mask and snorkel. â€Å"You're sure you can swim?† Kimi nodded and Tuck cracked the door. The moon had moved across the sky throwing the front of the clinic in shadow. The guard across the compound was reading a magazine by flashlight. â€Å"When you get outside, go left and get behind the building.† The navigator stepped out, slid down the side of the building and around the corner. Tuck heard him trip and fall and swear softly in Filipino. â€Å"Shit,† Tuck said to himself. He glanced at the computer. It would have to wait. He slid out the door, palming it shut behind him, then followed the navigator around the building. He heard the guard shout from across the compound, and for once in his life, Tuck made a definitive decision. He grabbed the navigator under the arms and ran. 45 Confessions Over Tee Tucker Case dreamed of machine-gun fire and jerked as the bullets ripped into his back. He tossed forward into the dirt, mouth filling with sand, smothering him as the life drained out of a thousand ragged wounds, and still the guns kept firing, the rhythmic reports pounding like a violet storm of timpanis, like a persistent fist on a rickety door. â€Å"Just let me die!† Tuck screamed, most of the sound caught by his pillow. It was a persistent fist on a rickety door. â€Å"Mr. Case, rise and shine,† said a cheery Sebastian Curtis. â€Å"Ten minutes to tee time.† Tuck rolled into the mosquito netting, became entangled, and ripped it from the ceiling. He was still wearing his wet suit and the fragile netting clung to it like cobwebs. He arrived at the door looking like a tattered ghost fresh out of Davy Jones's locker. â€Å"What? I can't fly. I can't even fucking walk. Go away.† Tuck was not a morning person. Sebastian Curtis stood in the doorway beaming. â€Å"It's Wednesday,† he said. â€Å"I thought you might want to play a few holes.† Tuck looked at the doctor through bloodshot eyes and several layers of torn mosquito netting. Behind Curtis stood one of the guards, sans machine gun, with a golf bag slung over his shoulder. â€Å"Golf?† Tuck said. â€Å"You want to play golf?† â€Å"It's a different game here on Alualu, Mr. Case. Quite challenging. But then, you've been practicing, haven't you?† â€Å"Look, Doc, I didn't sleep well last night†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Could be the wet suit, if you don't mind my saying. Here in the tropics, you want fabrics that breathe. Cotton is best.† Tuck was beginning to come around, and as he did, he found he was focusing an intense hatred on the doctor. â€Å"I guess we know who got laid last night.† Curtis looked down and smiled coyly. He was actually embarrassed. Tuck couldn't quite put it together. The doc didn't seem to have any problem with killing people or taking their organs – or both – but he was blushing at the mention of sex with his wife. Tuck glared at him. Curtis said, â€Å"You'd better change. The first tee is out in front of the hangar. I'll go down and practice a few drives while you get dressed.† â€Å"You do that,† Tuck said. He slammed the door. Twenty minutes later Tuck, his hair still wet from the shower, joined Curtis and the guard in front of the hangar. He was feeling the weight of three nights with almost no sleep, and his back ached from dragging Kimi across the compound, then towing him in the water to the far side of the minefield. The guard had never caught up to them, but he had come to the edge of the water and shouted, waving his machine gun until Tuck and Kimi were out of sight. â€Å"We'll have to share a set of clubs,† Curtis said. â€Å"But perhaps now that you've decided to stay, we can order you a set.† â€Å"Swell,† Tuck said. He couldn't be sure, but he thought the guard might be the same one that had chased them to the beach. Tuck sneered at him and he looked away. Yep, he was the one. â€Å"This is Mato. He'll be caddying for us today.† The guard bowed slightly. Tuck saluted him with a middle finger. If the doctor saw the gesture, he didn't comment. He was lining the ball up on a small square of Astro Turf with a rubberized pad on the bottom. â€Å"We have to hit off of this. At least until someone invents a gravel wedge.† He laughed at his own joke. Tuck forced a smile. â€Å"The Shark People covered this entire island with gravel hundreds of years ago. Keeps the topsoil from being washed away in typhoons. This first hole is a dogleg to the left. The pin is behind the staff's quarters about a hundred yards.† â€Å"Doc, now that we've come clean, why don't we call them the guards?† â€Å"Very well, Mr. Case. Would you like honors?† â€Å"Call me Tuck. No, you go ahead.† Curtis hit a long bad hook that arced around the guards' quar ters and landed out of sight in a stand of palm trees behind the building. â€Å"I have to admit that I may have a bit of an advantage. I've laid out the course to accommodate my stroke. Most of the holes are doglegs to the left.† Tuck nodded as if he understood what Curtis was talking about, then took the driver from the doctor and hit his own shot, a grounder that skipped across the gravel to stop fifty yards in front of them. â€Å"Oh, bad luck. Would you like to take a McGuffin?† â€Å"Blow me, Doc,† Tuck said as he walked away toward his ball. â€Å"I guess not, then.† The pins were bamboo shafts driven into the compound, the holes were lined with old Coke cans with the tops cut off. The best part about it was that Tuck was able to deliver several vicious high-velocity putts into the shins of Mato, who was tending the pins. The worst part was that now that Curtis considered Tuck a confidant, he decided to open up. â€Å"Beth is quite a woman, isn't she? Did I tell you how we met?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"I was at a transplant symposium in San Francisco. Beth is quite the nurse, the best I've ever seen in an operating room, but she wasn't working as a nurse when I met her.† â€Å"Oh, good,† Tuck said. Curtis seemed to be waiting for Tucker to ask. Tucker was waiting for the guard to rat him out for sneaking out of the compound last night. â€Å"She was a dancer in North Beach. An exotic dancer.† â€Å"No shit.† Tuck said. â€Å"Are you shocked?† Curtis obviously wanted him to be shocked. â€Å"No.† â€Å"She was incredible. The most incredible woman I had ever seen. She still is.† â€Å"But then, you've been a missionary on a remote island for twenty-eight years,† Tuck said. Curtis picked his club for the next shot: the seven iron. â€Å"What's this?† â€Å"Looks like blood and feathers,† Tuck said. Curtis handed the club to Mato for him to clean it. â€Å"Beth did a dance with surgical tubing and a stethoscope that took my breath away.† â€Å"Pretty common,† Tuck said. â€Å"Choke you with the surgical tubing and use the stethoscope to make sure you haven't done the twitching fish.† â€Å"Really?† Curtis said. â€Å"You've seen a woman do that?† Tuck put on his earnest young man face. â€Å"Seen? You didn't notice the ligature marks on my neck when you examined me?† â€Å"Oh, I see,† Curtis said. â€Å"Still, I, at least, had never seen anything like it. She†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Curtis couldn't seem to return to his story. â€Å"The wet suit this morning. Was that a sexual thing? I mean, most people would find it uncomfortable.† â€Å"No, I'm just trying to lose a little weight.† Curtis looked serious now. â€Å"I don't know if that's such a good idea. You're still very thin from your ordeal in getting here.† â€Å"I'd like to get down to about eight pounds,† Tuck said. â€Å"There's a big Gandhi revival thing going on back in the States. Guys who look like they're starving have to beat the babes off with a stick. Started with female fashion models, but now it's moved to the men.† Curtis look embarrassed. â€Å"I guess I'm a bit out of touch. Beth tries to keep up with what's going on in the States, but it, well, seems irrelevant out here. I guess I'll be glad when this is all over and we can leave the island.† â€Å"Then why don't you just leave? You're a physician. You could open up a practice in the States and pull down a fortune without all this.† Curtis glanced at the guard, then looked back to Tuck. â€Å"A fortune maybe, but not a fortune like we're accumulating now. I'm too old to start over at the bottom.† â€Å"You've got twenty-eight years' experience. You said yourself that the people you take care of are the healthiest in the Pacific. You wouldn't be starting over.† â€Å"Yes, I would. Mr. Case – Tuck – I'm a doctor, but I'm not a very good one.† Tuck had met a number of doctors in his life, but he had never met one who could bear to admit that he was incompetent at anything. It was a running joke among flight instructors that doctors made the worst students. â€Å"They think they're gods. It's our job to teach them that they're mortal. Only pilots are gods.† This guy seemed so pathetic that Tuck had to remind himself that the good doctor was at least a double murderer. He watched Curtis hit a nice hundred-yard bloodstained seven iron to within ten feet of the pin, which was set up on a small patch of grass near the beach. Tuck chased down his own skidding thwack of a nine iron that had landed between the roots of a walking tree, an arboreal oddity that sat atop a three-foot teepee of tangled roots and gave the impression that it might move off on its own power at any moment. Tuck was hoping that it would. The caddie followed Tuck, and when they were out of earshot of the doctor, he turned to face the stoic Japanese. â€Å"You can't tell him, can you?† The guard pretended not to understand, but Tuck saw that he was getting it, even if only by inflection. â€Å"You can't tell him and you can't fucking shoot me, can you? You killed the last pilot and that got you in a world of trouble, didn't it? That's why you guys follow me like a bunch of baby ducks, isn't it?† Tuck was guessing, but it was the only logical explanation. Mato glanced toward the doctor. â€Å"No,† Tuck said. â€Å"He doesn't know that I know. And we're not going to tell him, are we? Just shake your head if you're getting this.† The guard shook his head. â€Å"Okay, then, here's the deal. I'll let you guys look like you're doing your job, but when I wave you off, you're gone. You hear me? I want you guys off my ass. You tell your buddies, okay?† The guard nodded. â€Å"Can you speak any English at all?† â€Å"Hai. A rittle.† â€Å"You guys killed the pilot, didn't you?† â€Å"He tly to take prane.† Mato looked as if the words were painful for him to form. Tuck nodded, feeling heat rise in his face. He wanted to smash the guard's face, knock him to the ground, and kick him into a glob of goo. â€Å"And you killed Pardee, the fat American man.† Mato shook his head. â€Å"No. We don't.† â€Å"Bullshit!† â€Å"No, we†¦we†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He was searching for the English word. â€Å"What?† â€Å"We take him, but not shoot.† â€Å"Take him where? To the clinic?† The guard shook his head violently. Not saying no, but trying to say that he couldn't say. â€Å"What happened to the fat man?† â€Å"He die. Hospital. We put him water.† â€Å"You took his body to the edge of the reef, where the sharks would find it?† The guard nodded. â€Å"And the pilot? You put him in the same place?† Again the nod. â€Å"What's going on. Are you going to hit or not?† Tuck and the guard looked up like two boys caught trading curses in the schoolyard. Curtis had come back down the fairway to within fifty feet of them. Tuck pointed to his ball. â€Å"Kato here won't let me move that out for a shot. I'll take the penalty stroke, Doc. But hell, we don't have mutant trees like that in Texas. It's unnatural.† Curtis looked sideways at Tuck's ball, then at Mato. â€Å"He can move it. No penalty. You're a guest here, Mr. Case. We can let you bend a few rules.† Curtis did not smile. Suddenly he seemed very serious about his golf. â€Å"We're partners now, Doc,† Tuck said. â€Å"Call me Tuck.†

Elecriccity and Magnatism Essay

A hostile takeover defense wherein the target firm makes its stock less attractive to a potential acquirer is called Choose one answer. | a. a standstill agreement. | | | b. greenmail. | | | c. a poison pill. | | | d. crossing the palm with silver. | | Question 38 Marks: 1 Compared to managers, shareholders prefer Choose one answer. | a. riskier strategies with greater diversification for the firm. | | | b. riskier strategies with more focused diversification for the firm. | | | c. safer strategies with more focused diversification for the firm. | | | d. afer strategies with greater diversification for the firm. | | The Enron employee who reported the financial manipulations at the company to her superiors can be considered to have engaged in Choose one answer. | a. an act of courage. | | | b. white-collar crime. | | | c. vindictive disloyalty. | | | d. managerial opportunism. | | Question 40 Marks: 1 The longer the focus of managerial incentive compensation, the greater the ____ top -level managers. Choose one answer. | a. earnings potential for | | | b. incentives for | | | c. potential tax burden for | | | d. risks borne by | | Marks: 1 The choices that a firm has for entering the international market include all of the following EXCEPT Choose one answer. | a. acquisition. | | | b. leasing. | | | c. exporting. | | | d. licensing. | | Question 36 Marks: 1 There are few true mergers because Choose one answer. | a. few firms have complementary resources. | | | b. of managerial resistance. True mergers result in significant managerial-level layoffs. | | | c. integration problems are more severe than in outright acquisitions. | | | d. one firm usually dominates in terms of market share, size, or value of assets. | | Market power is derived primarily from the Choose one answer. | a. size of a firm and its resources and capabilities. | | | b. core competencies of the firm. | | | c. depth of a firm strategy. | | | d. quality of a firm top management team. | | Question 34 Marks: 1 The use or application of entrepreneurship within an established firm is called Choose one answer. | a. transformational leadership. | | | b. corporate entrepreneurship. | | | c. corporate emergence. | | | d. exceptional R&D. | | Four perspectives are integrated to form the balanced scorecard framework. The financial perspective focuses on the view of the firm by the Choose one answer. | a. employee. | | b. general society. | | | c. customer. | | | d. shareholder. | | Question 32 Marks: 1 Managers may decide to invest ____ in products that are not associated with the firm’s current lines of business to increase the firm’s level of diversification and decrease their employment risk. Choose one answer. | a. free cash flows | | | b. unsubstantial pro fits | | | c. marginal profits | | | d. frozen assets | | An international diversification strategy is one in which a firm Choose one answer. | a. acquires a firm in a foreign country | | | b. expands into a potentially large number of geographic locations and markets | | | c. xpands into one or a few markets | | | d. expands into nearby markets | | Question 30 Marks: 1 Firms needing to change their strategies should Choose one answer. | a. emphasize the training and development of internal managerial talent. | | | b. implement transformational leadership. | | | c. focus on their core customer base. | | | d. create more heterogeneous top management teams. | | The primary responsibility for effective strategic leadership of the organization rests with the Choose one answer. | a. top management team. | | | b. stakeholders. | | | c. CEO. | | | d. board of directors. | | Question 28 Marks: 1

The Incredible Disappearing LinkedIn Profile

The Incredible Disappearing LinkedIn Profile Okay, I might be exaggerating when I say your LinkedIn profile is disappearing, piece by piece. But it might feel that way. With the new LinkedIn, you might be wondering where those old familiar functions went! For me, it’s a bit of a â€Å"Where’s Waldo† experience, with some items hiding under my nose. LinkedIn has a history of removing features, often without notification. With its newest revision, true to form, LinkedIn has taken away or moved a few of the items that I, for one, had been taking for granted. Here are a few things to watch out for: 1. Your Summary section. Okay, well, it hasn’t entirely disappeared. It’s just that only the first 210 characters (including spaces) are visible when you initially view someone’s profile. This means that whatever you consider the most important information for viewers needs to be in your first 210 characters. If you attract enough interest in your opening lines, people will click on â€Å"See more† to read the rest of your summary. 2. Job descriptions. Similarly to the summary, although your first (most recent) job description will appear in its entirety (up to 2,000 characters), all other positions will be curtailed and your viewers will have to click on â€Å"See description† to read more. Done with reading the description? Click on â€Å"See less.† 3. Contact Information. This information hasn’t actually disappeared either. It has, however, been relocated to the right navigation bar in a section called â€Å"Contact and Personal Info.† To view someone’s deets, including email, phone number, and web addresses, click on â€Å"Show more† and you’ll be greeted with lots of valuable info. To edit your own contact information, when viewing your profile, click on the pencil icon and you’ll be brought to an â€Å"Edit contact info† box. At the bottom, you can choose whether you contact details are visible to your connections, your network, or all LinkedIn members. 4. No more Interests section. There used to be an opportunity to use up to 500 characters to list both your professional and personal interests. This section no longer exists that I can see (if you find it let me know!). If you backed up your profile as I urged you to do before the rollout, you’ll have access to these in case you want to add them back in another way. Otherwise, while probably easy to reconstruct, whatever you previously had in your Interests section is gone gone gone. 5. No more subject lines. You used to be able to insert a subject line into messages sent through LinkedIn. No more. Now you will simply have a title-less ongoing thread of your conversations with other members. The good news is that it’s much easier now to see the complete history of your communications with your connections. 6. No more saved searches (but wait†¦!). LinkedIn took away saved searches, and got so much pushback about it that they added it back in! How about that †¦ LinkedIn listened! 7. Alumni and other top navigation items. The top navigation bar used to include Home, Profile, Connections, Education, Jobs, and Interests. The new bar comes with seven â€Å"core areas†: Home (Your Feed), Messaging, Jobs, Notifications, Me (with your profile image), My Network, and Search. Then the â€Å"non-core areas†: Work and Advertise. The old â€Å"Connections† tab had an Alumni option which is no longer located under the comparable â€Å"My Network.† Your choices are â€Å"Invitations† and â€Å"People you May Know.† To find alumni now, put the name of your school in the main search bar and then click on your school from the dropdown. You’ll be taken to a page where you can then click on â€Å"See alumni.† The old Alumni page is hidden under that â€Å"See alumni† button! Under these statistical bars will be images of your current connections, followed by images of other alumni with whom you might want to connect. Thankfully, if you click â€Å"Connect† you will be brought to a window to write a message. LinkedIn will NOT send a generic message for you! Alumni are some of the highest quality connections you can make on LinkedIn, so explore this function thoroughly. 8. Education. This tab used to be its own navigation item. Now, instead, go to the Work icon and click Learning to access the courses available through LinkedIn. As you can see, there are several other features hidden under that â€Å"Work† menu as well. Please check all the items out to see which are most valuable for you. 9. Tagging and Notes Tagging and notes really have been eliminated. No joke. If you want to add tags or notes to your contact list now, you have three choices that I am aware of: 1) Upgrade to Sales Navigator for a pricey $79/month, 2) If you’re using Chrome, get the Chrome Extension Dux-Soup, or 3) Invest in the CRM solution Nimble ($25/month). I have not tried this extension myself but it’s recommended by Viveka von Rosen of LinkedIntoBusiness. 10. LinkedIn Groups While LinkedIn Groups are still around, there’s a lot of talk that they might be becoming irrelevant or extinct. Many group owners have been shutting down their LinkedIn groups and moving them to Facebook or the newer platform, beBee. One of the main complaints is that group notifications of discussions and group announcements have not been working properly. According to my sources, LinkedIn knows about this issue and is working on it. I am not ready to abandon LinkedIn groups, but my curiosity has been piqued about beBee, an engagement-based community with 12 million users worldwide. After I get some other projects complete, I’ll be thinking about joining some hives and creating some buzz on that site! Is there anything else that’s gone missing from your LinkedIn profile? Let me know and I’ll see if I can find it for you! Or, I’ll write another blog about all the things I didn’t notice disappearing at the time of this writing. I also invite any questions or comments about the new LinkedIn redesign. I will answer them! Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save

Idioms About Distance

Idioms About Distance Idioms About Distance Idioms About Distance By Mark Nichol The English language, rich with idiom, is replete with colorful words and phrases about measurement of distance. Here is a look at some of those expressions, roughly in order of the magnitude of the length being referred to. Colloquial phrases about distances include hairbreadth, referring, as the word indicates, to the thickness of a hair with the connotation of coming within an infinitesimal distance of doing something. The closing of this compound word, first known to have been used in the early 1600s, is unusual, as is the insertion of the plural s in the middle of the plural form: hairsbreadth. Similarly, one can refer to doing something â€Å"by a whisker.† One can also say that that a room or other place is so small, one could not swing a cat in the confined space. Two idioms that do not refer to literal distance but include figurative references to distance follow: To express that someone is not trustworthy, one can write or say, â€Å"I don’t trust [someone] any farther than I can throw him† (or her). To indicate that one does not want to get close to an object or a subject, one can refer to not wanting to touch something or someone with a ten-foot pole- or, rarely, a barge pole (referring to a long pole used to propel a barge, a long, flat boat used for hauling freight or debris, by pushing the pole’s end against the shallow bottom of the waterway). A small but more extensive distance might be described as a hop, skip, and a jump or spitting distance (not to be confused with the much more intimate striking distance, denoting sufficient proximity to hit someone or something), though these expressions refer to more than the literal distance, likely even more than â€Å"a stone’s throw†- literally, the distance one can throw a rock of indeterminate size. Meanwhile, something right in one’s backyard is no great distance. Many people are familiar with the expression â€Å"Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes,† attributed to various American officers during the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War. This admonition to withhold musket fire until the targeted enemy is close enough for a sure shot that justifies the use of precious ammunition had been used repeatedly in various forms for several decades before that conflict, however, and originated with a Swedish king in the early 1600s. It never achieved popular usage, though, even as a figurative expression. An expression from the American South refers to how many looks away a destination is; this term denotes how many landmarks one must look for before arriving. (â€Å"Turn right at the church, then, when you come to a big stump right next to the road, take the next left turn, and it’s right past the creek crossing† represents three or four looks, depending on whether the left turn after the stump counts as a look.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of Humor15 Types of DocumentsWhat the Heck are "Peeps"?