The Birthday Party :: Literary Analysis, Katherine Brush

When a wife surprises her husband on his birthday, an ironic turn of events occurs. Katherine Brush’s â€Å"The Birthday Party† is a short story about relationships, told from the perspective of a nearby observer. Brush uses the words and actions of the married couple to assert that a relationship based on selfishness is weak. Immediately, the narrator stereotypes the couple by saying â€Å"they looked unmistakably married† (1). The couple symbolizes a relationship. Because marriage is the deepest human relationship, Brush chose a married couple to underscore her message and strengthen the story. The husband’s words weaken their relationship. When the man rejects his wife’s gift with â€Å"punishing†¦quick, curt, and unkind† (19) words, he is being selfish. Selfishness is a matter of taking, just as love is a matter of giving. He has taken her emotional energy, and she is left â€Å"crying quietly and heartbrokenly† (21). Using unkind words, the husband drains his wife of emotional strength and damages their relationship. The husband was also selfish in his actions. With good intentions, the wife had planned a surprise for him, but he was not pleased. â€Å"Instead, he was hotly embarrassed, and indignant at his wife for embarrassing him† (13). When the narrator describes the husband at the beginning, he has a â€Å"self-satisfied face† (3). Embarrassment is a result of feeling self-conscious. Because of his self-conscious nature, he assesses first how the few people in the restaurant will view him because of his wife’s actions. He does not prioritize appreciation for his wife’s effort and care, but rather sees the worst in her misguided actions. The husband’s selfishness causes him to be prideful, which in turn causes him to destroy his relationship with his wife through his actions. In a subtle way, Brush also makes the wife’s actions selfish. Even though her husband was wrong to react in the way that he did, she was also selfish in her actions. Clearly, her husband has a shy personality because â€Å"he was hotly embarrassed† (13) in front of â€Å"such few people as there were in the restaurant† (11). Using a couple of this age (â€Å"late thirties† (1)), Brush asserts that the wife should have known her husband’s preferences and been sensitive to them. The author also uses the seemingly opposite descriptions the couple: â€Å"There was nothing conspicuous about them† (5) and the â€Å"big hat† (4) of the woman. The big hat reveals the wife’s desire to be noticed.

Steve Jobs :: essays research papers

Steve Jobs Born 1955 Los Altos CA; Evangelic bad boy who, with Steve Wozniak, co-founded Apple Computer Corporation and became a multimillionaire before the age of 30. Subsequently started the NeXT Corporation to provide an educational system at a reasonable price, but found that software was a better seller than hardware. Steven Paul, was an orphan adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs of Mountain View, California in February 1955. Jobs was not happy at school in Mountain View so the family moved to Los Altos, California, where Steven attended Homestead High School. His electronics teacher at Homestead High, Hohn McCollum, recalled he was "something of a loner" and "always had a different way of looking at things." Going to work for Atari after leaving Reed College, Jobs renewed his friendship with Steve Wozniak. The two designed computer games for Atari and a telephone "blue box", getting much of their impetus from the Homebrew Computer Club. Beginning work in the Job's family garage they managed to make their first "killing" when the Byte Shop in Mountain View bought their first fifty fully assembled computers. On this basis the Apple Corporation was founded, the name based on Job's favorite fruit and the logo. Steve Jobs innovative idea of a personel computer led him into revolutionizing the computer hardware and software industry. When Jobs was twenty one, he and a friend, Wozniak, built a personel computer called the Apple. The Apple changed people's idea of a computer from a gigantic and inscrutable mass of vacuum tubes only used by big business and the government to a small box used by ordinary people. No company has done more to democratize the computer and make it user- friendly than Apple Computer Inc. Jobs software development for the Macintosh re-introduced windows interface and mouse technology which set a standard for all applications interface in software. Two years after building the Apple I, Jobs introduced the Apple II. The Apple II was the best buy in personal computers for home and small business throughout the following five years. When the Macintosh was introduced in 1984, it was marketed towards medium and large businesses. The Macintosh took the first major step in adapting the personal computer to the needs of the corporate work force. Steve Jobs was considered a brilliant young man in Silicon Valley, because he saw the future demands of the computer industry. He was able to build a personal computer and market the product. His innovative ideas of user-friendly software for the Macintosh changed the design and functionality of software interfaces created for computers. The Macintosh's interface allowed people to interact

Gender Roles in Society Essay -- Gender Studies

Gender Roles in Society Gender role is a commonly discussed subject in society. Gender role simply defined is a person's inner sense of how a male or female should feel and behave. Society and culture are also very important in relation to this subject. This means different societies and cultures may produce children and later, grown men and women, who have quite different views of a man or a woman's place in the world around them, often determined by their culture's gender stereotypes. These topics will be explained and compared to each other later on. How to implement a gender free childcare environment will also be discussed. Children begin to learn their gender roles at a very young age. Boys must learn what boys and men do, what they like, and even how they think and feel. Females do likewise as they learn the roles for girls and women. This is called gender stereotyping. When children seem already aware of differences between what men and women wear and do, then children are deeply involved in this search for these "rules," and later on can often apply gender-specific labels to toys, activities, types of work around the home, and even adult occupations. This how the children, since they were born, step-by-step came to learn their gender roles. We see gender roles and the results of gender stereotyping around us every day in the society. In our homes, there are often certain tasks that are usually carried out by a man - cutting the lawn, for example, or fixing a broken washing machine - and others, like the bulk of the cooking and the washing up - that often are almost always done by the woman. The stories we watch on TV and in the movies often follow exactly the divisions of sexual roles that so many cultur... ...cussing adults, I would show the children pictures of female doctors and male nurses and find other ways to show that almost all occupations are now open to both of the sexes. Children learn from their play about what the world is, or should be. They learn new skills and about new possibilities. I would not be disappointed if the boys still liked their toys more in the end and the girls sometimes preferred housekeeping to the monkey bars. The important thing is to provide openness and diversity of choices. There are biological sexual differences between men and women, of course, but gender roles are often imposed on children by the culture around them. As an ECE educator I believe that I need to promote un-biased play activities and teach children in an open and diverse environment so that each child can discover on their own who she is and what he wants to be.

Our Nation’s Hidden Problems †Hate Crimes Essay

It happens every day, people are made fun of, people are bullied and the bully-ers, and some people are just flat out victims of straight hate crimes that lead to death. â€Å"A Hate Crime is a criminal offense committed against persons, property or society that is motivated , in whole or in part, by an offenders bias against an individual’s or a group’s race, religion, ethnic/national origin, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation.† -IACP Definition. With the definition of a hate crime explained, hate crimes are offenses against society. The perpetrators have their eyes on not only a primary victim, yet everyone in the victims group – everyone perceived as different. The perpetrators impact not only the victims, group but society as a whole, breaking the bond that holds its people together. Victims are seen as different from what the â€Å"norm† of society needs in its everyday life. Actions from the perpetrator doesn’t happen very randomly, yet happens all around the world. What is an extremely interesting topic is hate crimes on the college campuses. I was somewhat surprised to see just how many incidents actually happen. According to Justice Department data, 12 percent of hate crimes take place on college or school campuses but the numbers don’t show how much occurs on university campuses. Officials also say that many of the racial or sexual incidents are commonly not reported. The most common hate crimes committed on a college campuses are racial bias, religious bias, and sexual orientation bias. Now with a racial bias hate crime has many examples of people hating each other for being black, or brown, or even white. However with college kids, its not as simple as saying something like â€Å"You’re a Nigger,† or â€Å"You’re Cracker.† They have to put things to the extreme. Simple things are never good enough. At the University of Missouri-Columbia, there were cotton balls scattered outside the black cultural center. This might seem like a harmless joke to some people, yet to others it is one of the most hateful and devastating thing someone could do. As early as 1560’s slavery was brought into America from Spain. Blacks were treated as animals, were forced to do things that White people didn’t want to do because they thought that they were to good for it. One task that is commonly known that blacks did as they were slaves was â€Å"cotton pickers.† The thirteenth amendment, abolishing slavery, was passed by the Senate in April 1864, and by the House of Representatives in January 1865, however feelings that the white people had for blacks still did not go away. Another example of a racial hate crime was done by a white fraternity sparked an uproar at the University of California San Diego when it sponsored a ghetto-themed â€Å"Compton Cookout† to mock Black History Month. There is a very fine line between hate crimes and stereotyping someone/many people. Almost every member of a stereotyped group is seen as an equal opportunity of everyone else in the group. A stereotype usually cannot be modified by contradictory evidence, meaning that no argument or evidence is compelling enough to change a hate mongers mind. Also, the the perpetrator is emotionally invested in believing the worst about the members of stigmatized group. Finally, the person who accepts the validity of a nasty stereotype isn’t simply trying to make sense of his world. More likely, he is looking for a convenient excuse to express hostility, to attack and victimize the people he despises. Stereotyping is more â€Å"accepted in society† because every sing le person has stereotyped before. Religious based hate crimes are second most common in all of the hate crimes all over the world. More often than not Religious discrimination are usually acts of vandalism although personal attacks do occur. Of the religiously based hate crimes, attacks against Jews rose from 64% in 2006 to 68% in 2007. Anti-Muslim hate crimes, meanwhile, decreased from 12% in 2006 to 9% in 2007. This surprises me because hate crimes against Jews went up, yet I feel like the hate towards the Muslims has gone up and their hate crime attacks has gone down. After the terrorist attacks the United States suffered from on the Twin Towers in New York City 2001, the FBI found that while attacks against Muslims had previously been the least common hate crime against a religious group–just 28 in 2000–the number of incidents surged to 481 in 2001, an increase of 1,600%. Even the hate crimes against peoples religions occurred college campuses. For examples, there was a swastika scrawled on a bathroom wall near a Jewish studies center at the University of Miami. Miami-Dade County, the eleventh largest Jewish community in the country, consists of 121,300 persons living in 54,000 Jewish households. Of these 121,300 persons, 113,000 are Jewish. Which is obviously a huge population of Jewish members, the perpetrators knew that it would be completely offensive. It is again just another college student who lacks in self-discipline. The question that I have been wondering is â€Å"Why possesses you to do such a thing like this?† Why do people think its alright to put all of their hatred out into the open and hurt other people. What people do is not hurt people emotionally, but they also sometimes hurt them physically. It might not be a physical act by the person committing the crime, it could be done by the victim of the hate crime, meaning self-infliction. Another example that hits closer to home here in Massachusetts. A young man names James Samar was a college student who attended a small Massachusetts college was indicted on three counts of using threats of force to interfere with the rights of three other students. He used anti-Semitic slurs and threatened to actually kill one of the three other students. What James did was sent photographs of holocaust victims and said â€Å"A reminder of what happened to your relatives because they too mad a mockery of Christianity.† To go as far as this someone must thing that there is something wrong with Samar. People should not have this much hatred towards people or a certain group that they belong to. There is no right or wrong when it comes into what you believe. People need to take a step back, they don’t need to agree with other people, it just has to be understood that opinions are opinions and everyone can have theirs. The third more common hate crime committed on a college campus is sexual orientation. Meaning the preferences on whether you like boys or girls, homosexual or heterosexual. Two main cases that stand out on a college campus, are two young men Matthew Shepard who was a student at the University of Wyoming and Tyler Clementi a student at Rutgers University. Matthew Shepard was a 21 year old man who was attacked by two other men because he was gay. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were the two men who attacked Shepard with a pistol-whip, and tortured him, tying him to a fence and leaving him to die. Eighteen hours later a cyclist Aaron Kreifels, discovered Shepard and thought he was a scarecrow because he was alive but in coma. This however wasn’t the first time Shepard was attacked for being gay. In 1995 during a high school trip, he was beaten, robbed, and raped, causing him to withdraw from school and experience depression and panic attacks. However, Henderson and McKinney were not charged with a hate crime, because no Wyoming criminal statute provided for such a charge. The nature of Shepard’s murder led to requests for new legislation addressing hate crime, urged particularly by those who believed that Shepard was targeted on the basis of his sexual orientation. As for Tyler Clementi, he was an 18 year old man who was a student at Rutgers University in New Jersey. What happened here to cause him to commit suicide was his roommate, Dharum Ravi, video tapes him with another man doing sexual acts. Clementi was video taped without his knowledge, and Ravi was charged with invasion or privacy and bias intimidation. It was at this point where Clementi had talked about his problems to his RA and also made his complaints public putting them up online on Yahoo! and a message board website called â€Å"Just Us Boys.† No one listened to him, and thats when he took matters into his own hands and committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. All of these cases that have been discussed in the paper are considered to be in some way or form of a hate crime. Hate crimes can be committed by everyone and anyone. It happens every day, people are made fun of, people are bullied and the bully-ers, and some people are just flat out victims of straight hate crimes that lead to death. The most common hate crimes committed on a college campuses are racial bias, religious bias, and sexual orientation bias. Websites used: Ashcroft, John. 2001. â€Å"Hate Crimes on Campus: The Problems and Efforts to Confront it.†. Retrieved February 2012 (https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bja/187249.pdf) Associated Press. 2009. â€Å"Attorney General urges new hate crimes law.† Retrieved February 2012 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31392054/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/#.Tz0Q75iLFSU) Barker, Tim. 2010 â€Å"Racial campus hate crimes surge across America† Retrieved February 2012 (http://www.cisternyard.com/article/racial-campus-hate-crimes-surge-across-america) Brandou, Collen. 2010 â€Å"Hate Crimes Increase on College Campuses† Retrieved February 2012. (http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/education/2010/april/Hate-Crimes-Increase-on-College-Campuses.html) FBI. 2009. UCR. â€Å"Hate Crime Statistics.† Retrieved February 2012. http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2009/index.html Gipson, Ashley, 2008. â€Å"Religious hate crimes down overall, up against Jews.† Retrieved February 2012. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-10-28-hate-crimes_N.htm) Jones, Lawrence, 2008. â€Å"FBI: Religious Hate Crimes Down in 2007.† Retrieved February 2012. (http://www.christianpost.com/news/fbi-religious-hate-crimes-down-in-2007-35238/) Levin, Brian. 2010. â€Å"Stone Cold Jew-Baiting.† Retrieved February 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-levin-jd/stone-cold-jew-baiting_b_659335.html Martindale, Gayla. 2009 â€Å"Hate Crimes on Campus† Retrieved February 2012 (http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/College-Hate-Crimes.html) Putnam, Robert and David Campbell. 2010. â€Å"American Grace. How Religion divides and unites us.† New York, New York, United States: Simon & Schuster. Serrano, Richard. 2002. â€Å"Hate Crimes Against Muslims Soar, Report says.† Retrieved February 2012. Hate Crimes Against Muslims Soar, Report Says – Los Angeles Times Statemaster. 2010. â€Å"Religion Hate Crime Statistics.† Retrieved February 2012. http://www.statemaster.com/graph/cri_hat_cri_rel_rel-crime-hate-crimes-religion-related) Wax, Heather. 2010. â€Å"Breakdown of Hate Crimes, Based on Religion.† Retrieved February 2012. http://www.scienceandreligiontoday.com/2010/11/23/breakdown-of-hate-crimes-based-on-religion/ (

Macbeth- the Destruction of Power

Within William Shakespeare’s play, ‘Macbeth’, the destructive nature of power is immensely explored. The nature of power is obliquely and inevitably expressed through Macbeth’s ambitious drive for supremacy, the unknown and distraught notion of fate and free will, as well as a personal reaction towards the concept of power. Although, the majority of the play is based on the destructive nature of power, the moral nature of power is also portrayed, in spite of the evil. Macbeth was naturally an ambitious man, who constantly desired more.However, he was greatly influenced by his wife Lady Macbeth, for in the beginning Macbeth’s nature was â€Å"too full o[f] the milk of human kindness†. Lady Macbeth’s provocation encouraged the evil residing in Macbeth and his ambition only increased â€Å"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other. † The weird sisters we re aware of his overpowering determination and were able to manipulate him into believing he had the potential to gain â€Å"absolute power†.Via these strong influences and his unfathomable ambition, Macbeth went to great extents to retrieve ultimate power, essentially transforming into a tyrant within the process. Macbeth’s level of free will is questionable, for it seems that despite the triggers of his ferocious actions, he was an exceptionally hubris man. The witches can be depicted as advocators for fate, rather than fate itself and with the support of manipulation, they were able to convert Macbeth into an ignorant autocrat. â€Å"Fair is foul and foul is Fair. Weird sister’s prophecies were not what they seemed. Although, Macbeth received various triggers that led to his destiny, it is likely that he would have received the same fate, had the witches not interfered. â€Å"I'll make assurance double sure, And take a bond of fate. † Macbeth attempts to control fate by murdering his possible threats to power. Macbeth was ambitious at heart and clearly a power driven man, whom takes pride in his masculinity and in essence already on the pathway to destruction.Macbeth was too focused on gaining his own power and control, to comprehend the issues arising against him. As Macbeth aspired to optimum power, he gradually began to dehumanise. â€Å"What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? † Lady Macbeth questions whether the guilt and anxiety of murdering these loyal people was worth the power or lack of it. The weird sisters manipulated Macbeth into believing he was invincible, resulting in irrational acts of terrorism against the people of Scotland.Murder, betrayal, torture and cruelty were inflicted upon all of Macbeth’s followers on a regular basis, whom were forced to obey him. â€Å"I am in blood, stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more† Macbeth went too far, to withdraw and developed into a tyrannical leader for the simple reason he had the power to do so. What he chose to do with his power lead to his corruption, although, not all choose the wrong path. There are some individuals born to lead and gain power, with the intention of goodness and then there are others who do not retain the ability to effectively control their power.Duncan and Malcolm both emanate morality, with the aspiration to improve and support their country, Scotland. â€Å"But I must also feel it as a man,† Malcolm exclaims as he understands he must feel compassion In order to become a respectable leader. The destructive nature of power is explored in many aspects throughout the play, for each individual reacts differently. Macbeth was ambitious at heart and easily influenced to commit such brutality against his own people.However, Malcolm and Duncan were able to harness and control their power with intention of supporting their country to the best of their abilities. Mac beth’s fate seemed inevitable despite the weird sister’s interference, for he already retained the qualities of an ambitious tyrant. Macbeth ultimately desired power with fierce determination and eventually received it. Once he had acquired all power, he became ignorant and apparently ‘invincible’ ultimately resulting in his destruction.

Family Essay

1. Describe 5 different types of familiesA family is a group of people living in a household together either by reason of marriage, blood relation or adoption. Families are the reason for creating today’s society. This is because in a family, people are created and brought into the world, cared for, and given the correct tools to survive in life.There are five different types of families, which are as follows:I. Nuclear Family: The nuclear family is a family that consists of a mother, father, and their child/children. In most cases, the parents in a nuclear family are married. An alternative name for a nuclear family is an elementary family.II. Extended Family: The extended family expands wider than the nuclear family. This is because it consists of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins living either nearby or in the same household.III. Single Parent: A single parent is when a parent lives without their spouse, leaving them with most of the responsibilities to raise the chi ld/children on their own. A single parent is usually considered the primary person who takes care of the child. In some cases due to divorces or separation, the child lives with their primary parent, but is given the privileges of visiting the residence of their noncustodial parent, meaning the parent who does not have complete custody over their child. In this case, the noncustodial parent is most likely to be the father of the child. Single parenting has been caused by many reasons in today’s society, which include:Death of a partner.Child abuse.Neglect.Divorce.Adoption, when the adoptive parent does not have a partner/spouse.IV. Blended Family: A blended family or sometimes called a â€Å"step family† is a relationship when both spouses have been married before and have remarried again, which sometimes lead to a child being brought into the marriage from the past relationship.V. Foster Family: Foster means to help someone grow  and develop. A foster family is two adults that take care of one or more children that belong to other parents. This action is usually called adoption.2. What are the rights and responsibilities of family members?A right is something that people are entitled to. A responsibility is the opportunity to work independently and make your own decisions without being told what to do. Being a part of a family imposes rights and responsibilities on each family member that must be taken seriously. The overall rights and responsibilities of family members are essentially to look after the house and to take care of each other. The responsibilities of the parents are very critical.This is because a parent is supposed to feed, clothe, shelter, educate and provide a safe and comfortable living environment for their child/children. The rights of parents are to interact with their souls mates especially through tough times when they need someone to talk to. Overall, parents should provide companionship for each other. Similarly, child ren also have responsibilities, which include performing the chores that their parents give them to do.These chores can include cleaning, assisting with cooking and looking after younger siblings or other family members. Children also have the responsibility to be respectful and obedient to their parents. The right of a child is to be able to request some things that can be valuable to them from their parents. Perhaps most importantly, the joint responsibilities and rights of all family members are to ensure that the home is a safe and loving environment.3. How does social pressure affect the family?Social Pressures are the combined pressures that surround individuals during everyday life. Examples of social pressure are Peer Pressure, and Academic Pressures. Social Pressures can be confusing and stressful. Despite the strain, these are common pressures that families are normally faced with, especially in the teenaged life. Social pressure affects the family because if not properly managed, it can cause family members to make poor choices, which can lead to the family breaking apart, someone being taken away from the family, or in a worst case scenario, death.Social pressure with the big impact of it, sometimes lead family members into taking drugs trying to relieve their stress. Social pressure can lead up to death in various occasions. This reason is caused mostly because of the pressure that is placed on an individual, forcing them into taking dangerous medication or hanging themselves which leads to death. Many people turn to drugs or alcohol to relieve themselves from pressure. Other social pressure that people are affected by is unemployment or a general lack of finances.In this case it can force a family member to start stealing and committing robbery in attempt to provide for their family members. This can affect the family because it usually leads to person being remanded to prison for several years. Imprisonment of a parent automatically causes the d ynahousehold to become a single parent family and When it comes to the family members trying to fix their problems with alcohol or drugs, this can normally lead up to addictions.In reference from pastor Philip Stubs, he states that social pressure affects a family unit primarily by way of supplanting the family time that is essential for the nature of the family unit. The competition with the family time, from various social events, projects or circumstances results in individual family members opting to reduce their involvement with their family and instead investing their time, money, and emotional energy in societal events, resulting the family unit being weekend. †4. Divorce has been one of the causes of the change in the Bahamian family Structure. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons to support you answer.Before answering this question it is first and most important that we understand what is divorce. â€Å"Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate. à ¢â‚¬ (Mark 10:4) â€Å"Now to the married, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. † (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). In the â€Å"Oxford Student’s Dictionary,† a divorce is the legal ending of a marriage. An online dictionary, â€Å"Datasegment.  com,† refers to a divorce as a legal dissolution of a marriage contract by a court or other body having competent authority.I agree, divorce has been one of the causes of the change in the Bahamian family structure. I then questioned Pastor Stubs on his view of the question. Pastor stubs agreed as well, he stated that â€Å"Of course the Bahamian family structure has also been defined by single parents who have never been married. While many single parents continue to lead excellent households, the best model for a family is the one in which a married man and woma n work together as a team and lead the household and family.I then questioned pastors from my church, Abundant Life Church where Pastor O’Neil Russel along with Pastor Gil. gave their view about the question. They too agreed with the statement. The pastors said that â€Å" Indeed, divorce has been one of the major causes of the change in the Bahamian family structure. As a nation, the Bahamas has been founded upon biblical principles. The biblical model for the family is for a husband and wife to be living together in a godly marriage which, as a result, produces children which ought to be brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord.However, when a divorce occurs there is a disorting of what the family structure ought to look like. The structure is different when a husband and wife are not living together and this structure produces problems in the homes with the children as well as with society as a whole. In the Bahamas, there have been many divorces and as a result the basic family structure is deficient in function and effectiveness when it comes to our society.5. To what extent does the change in the Bahamian family structure lead to the many social problems in our society todayIt is very important to understand first that every family makes up today’s society. The change in the Bahamian family structure is highly responsible for the many social ill in our country say’s pastor Gil. This is especially the case when it comes to young men. Most of the social problems in our society are being committed by young men. These young men do not have any sense of identity, direction, or purpose in life.When the young men decide to take part in criminal activity, it always ends up in to a family losing a loved one. In the Bahamian society today, many residents complain about the men who are doing the crime not being brought up properly in their homes. The reason being for that problem is because of the fact that there is no father figure i n the hose hold. This is the job for their fathers. When a father does not live up to his responsibility in the lives of his children, he causes problems with their identity.They are not given the discipline, love, acceptance, and direction that God has designated the father to introduce to them and thus they turn to other vices or persons to the detriment of their lives. The intake of this question from Rev. Philip Stubbs was very straight forward to the question too as well. Rev. Stubbs said that â€Å" In our society the family is the most foundational unit. It is through the family that persons are socialize, that is to learn social skills so that they might be properly prepared to function well in society.The sad diminished familial situation had directly resulted in many social problems in our society. These problems include low academic performance, violation of the nation’s laws, low levels of ambition and long term planning amongst young people. † In my opinio n, the social problems are mainly because of how some parents are raising their children. Inside the homes, some parents may not take time to spend with their children, show no kinds of love towards them, treat the aggressively and with all of this being done can lead to the child being a pest to the Bahamian society.6. How do you think the family can help to combat the social problems of today?The family can help to combat social problems today by being responsible enough to raise their children properly. Parents should pay close attention to the problems that are going on today and realize that because of the poor teachings about being a good citizen are leading to the many problems today. Pastor Gil says that â€Å" the family can help to combat the social problems of today by seeking to remain together as husband and wife while raising godly children in the fear and admonition of God. The parents are to be an example to the children of godliness and they should as a result foll ow their example.When more families decide to take on this purpose, the social problems of today will be decreased over time. Wanting to know more on what someone else thought we could do to combat social problems, I again question Rev. Stubbs on his point of view. He said that â€Å"Socialization through transference of excellent values like self- respect, respect for others, respect for law and order, promotion of Christina spirituality, promotion of education and industry are key ways Bahamian families can help to combat social problems in the Bahamas.7. Assess the role the church plays in creating a good familyBefore we can answer the question, we must first understand what is a church. A church is said to be a place that we can go and give thanks and praise to the almighty God. We can also go to the church for weddings, funerals, help with funds, and family crisis. The church plays a very big role in creating a good family. Pastor Gil says that â€Å" the church plays a funda mental role in creating a good family.The church is the pillar , ground of truth and the place where the family ought to go to receive biblical preaching and instructions that will help them to grow together into becoming a family that is pleasing to the Lord. It will train fathers to lead, wives to submit to the husbands in the Lord, and for children to obey their parents. The church is important because the teaching of God’s Word will help the family to be what it ought to become in the sight of God so that it will be functioning and the possibility of it producing social problems is decreased.

Global Brand Roll-Out Essay

Gross world product up 2.5% in 2005, following two years of < 1% growth. Overall emerging market economies exploding; + 10% GDP growth in China and + 6% growth in Latin America. Political values in emerging markets may make it difficult for foreign competition to enter market without domestic partner and / or; foreign investment & market diversification less attractive (import / export tariffs). Situational Analysis Situational Analysis Industry Purpose of the Oral Personal Care industry is to prevent teeth and gum diseases and deliver cosmetic benefits. Scope of the industry includes toothpaste, floss, mouth rinses and toothbrushes. Industry Definition Competition Colgate has dominant market value share in China (32%) and Mexico (82%). China market fragmented with Colgate & P&G representing 53% of share. Situational Analysis Industry Product Development growth strategy with launches of premium tier brand extensions Crest Whitening Expressions (US) Crest With Scope (US), Colgate Icy Fresh (China), Crest Cool Expressions (MX). Brand Position: Competition Strategy (P&G) C+S = toothpaste + mouthwash + whitening CWE / CCE = flavor + toothpaste + whitening Entering Emerging Markets under its Crest brand without JV partners. Leveraging x-brand scale with Crest + Scope. Built its brand around therapeutic benefits, while cosmetic benefits market growing fastest in Emerging Markets. Innovating in cosmetic segment; a historic Colgate stronghold. Heavily invests in advertising behind new product launches. Situational Analysis Growth Market Strategies Porter Five Forces Analysis Global Oral Personal Care Colgate Palmolive Oral Care SWOT Analysis Situational Analysis Marketing Strategy Pricing: Positioned as a super-premium brand, price parity to Crest Cool Expressions (14.99 – 15.99 pesos). Marketing Budget: $2MM marketing budget aimed to drive trial through in-store merchandising, sampling, and public relations. Corporate Marketing Strategy Objectives Colgate Max Fresh (CMF) Mexico Marketing Plan Strategic Growth driven by high margin core business. Advertising focused on high margin products and high potential markets. Innovation driven: 40% of sales from products launched in past 5 years. Tactical Growth Strategy: Product Development; Super Premium segment Growth Targets: China 2% YR1, 2.8% YR2; MX 5% YR1, 6% YR2 value share. Will require trading up consumers. Value Proposition: CMF would drive new dimension of freshness Target Market: Geared towards 18-34 yr. old adults (female oriented); augment Colgate’s strong competitive position in Value & Mid-Tier. Situational Analysis Marketing Strategy Will US developed media plans translate? Can Colgate effectively trade-up consumers? What impact will cannibalization have on profitability? Is market large enough in Mexico for premium segments? Will benefits of CMF convey to Mexico consumers? BASES testing and Consumer Viability Index showed marginal promise.. CMF Marketing Concerns for Mexico Symptoms of Colgate Palmolive’s Primary Problem Emerging Market consumers are price sensitive Crest attacking cosmetic segment Consumers experiment through trial vs. large initial purchase Despite Growth in key areas Colgate-Palmolive operating profits and net income are down. +6.5% unit volume growth +7% sales dollar growth +0.1% growth in gross profit margin -2% Operational Profit -7% Net Income To drive growth Colgate-Palmolive is looking to focus on higher margin core businesses. Core Elements of the Strategic Problem In the US toothpaste market CP is seeing a 3.1% increase in volume of sales attributable to the Super Premium Toothpaste Category. Global Strategic Opportunity exists in the Premium Toothpaste market. Represents $75 M sales dollar increase and total market cap of $409.5 M dollars Only the Premium Toothpaste Category is growing at a substantial rate. In 2004 CP captured ~60% of that Sales Dollar Increase in the US largely dues to the introduction of Colgate Max Fresh. In order to continue to grow CP must find a way to develop their Premium Toothpaste product CMF in emerging countries. Colgate Palmolive’s Primary Problem Would the costs of adopting CMF in each new country provide sufficient incremental sales and profits to justify the added complexity of localized marketing and rollout plans associated with those new markets. Colgate-Palmolive must continue to globalize its Premium Toothpaste Strategy. Any solution must balance they cost of localization with the expected sales and profit increase for each new market. Also it is in Colgate-Palmolive’s best interest to develop reusable guidelines as it approaches other new markets similar to China and Mexico. Colgate Palmolive’s Secondary Problems Type 1: Establish a tactical marketing plan for the CMF rollout in an emerging market where Colgate-Palmolive has little previously established presence(China) Type 2: Establish a tactical marketing plan for the CMF rollout in an established market that has high competitor activity(Mexico). In order to establish an effective global strategy two types of secondary problems must be solved in the Colgate Max Fresh Case Study: Any solution must balance they cost of localization with the expected sales and profit increase for each new market. Secondary Problem Detail Need to introduce a product to push Colgate-Palmolive profitability Colgate has worldwide share, the only way to expand is to drive high margin business. China(new markets) have strongly entrenched local brands. Colgate Max fresh will need to compete with its own joint venture brand Darlie(High End). Due to new product introduction at the Super Premium Toothpaste Market competitor Crest has 3% growth year to year, Colgate Equity Brands have been stagnant for 3 years. CP is not only loosing out on possible profits but also slowly loosing market share to its #1 competitor. Market is unfamiliar with CMF â€Å"breath strips† US Marketing Video will be ineffective due to the US Star involved. Is it worth creating new celebrity backed marketing content? Will the Go Big or Go Home strategy work in China and other similar markets? How can Colgate-Palmolive best enter the Chinese Market with CMF. China Secondary Problem Detail Colgate-Palmolive knows P&G will be introducing Crest Cool Expressions(CWE) in Mexico in the near future. CO must develop the best marketing plan to stunt P&G Crest Cool Expressions while protecting their overwhelming market share. 82% Value share for Colgate-Palmolive CP needs to create a marketing plan to introduce CMF with limited budget and maximize regional utility. Due to CP’s large inherent market share, the goal of the Mexican campaign will be to maximize the product funnel. There is a large opportunity present to upsell customers from the Big Red Brand toothpaste to the new CMF toothpaste. Mexico See Exhibit 17 – Will waiting to introduce CMF until after the CWE product introduction change the company estimates of profitability? Can the Mexico Snowsurfer commercial be better standardized for global marketing plans? Going forward how will CP utilize this marketing plan for future markets? Colgate-Palmolive Company Alternatives Locally make the clear bottle Works for China, not Mexico China Allows for ease of expansion of the Colgate Max Fresh brand in clear bottle to other regional locales Also, provides future capabilities for use in other new products Problems: This does add 20% variable cost to COGS Initiates a 6 month delay on production $1.5 M sunk cost before production Alternatives Colgate-Palmolive Company Alternatives Regional Market Alternatives Mexico China Colgate-Palmolive Company Alternatives Provide more trial availability with the smaller packages to sway more to give CMF a try CMF has the breath strips or â€Å"cooling crystals† within the toothpaste, therefore bundle the breath strips package with CMF to build awareness. Stop utilizing celebrities to promote CMF Provide regional flavors Keeps product as a premium product Cost of $200,000 per flavor Has shown promising outcomes in other regions In China, Crest utilized a tea flavor and Colgate a salt flavor In Russia, after releasing a local flavor, the toothpaste market share rose from 11.8% in 2002 to 24.9% in 2005. Colgate-Palmolive Company Alternatives Allows for greater differentiation between the CWE toothpaste In Mexico, drop the price from 15.99 pesos to 14.99 pesos to protect a greater share of CP market share. In Mexico and other markets CP is highly entrenched in, utilize clear bottle In Mexico, Keep the price at 15.99 pesos Implementation Strategic Vs. Tactical Plans The strategic plan moving forward for emerging markets will be to use an easily customizable commercial and adapt it to multiple countries Colgate is the dominant toothpaste brand world wide, so our primary goal will be to prevent Crest from gaining market share and also to upsell our existing customers to the super premium segment We agree with the decision to use a celebrity commercial in China due to the size of the market share the Crest is cultivating Each region and culture has a different set of values and preferences Each region will have a unique tactical plan to maximize effectiveness Jay Chou Colgate Max Fresh Commercial Implementation in China Dispensing the toothpaste in clear bottles to build brand awareness Colgate-Palmolive has invested a large amount of capitol in the Max Fresh marketing campaign Maximize the return on investment by: Transition to less expensive packaging once consumers are familiar with product Include breath strip samples with Max Fresh tooth paste in selected markets Snowsurfer Commercial (English Dub) Implementation in Mexico Our strategies in Mexico will be very similar to our plan in other emerging markets Focus will be on preserving our market share instead of new growth Use clear bottle and breath strip samples in select markets to increase brand awareness Colgate accounts for 82% of total market share compared to 10.2% of Crest’s total market share Crest + Scope only accounts for 3%of total market share Set price at 14.99 pesos per 100 ml We will re-evaluate our Colgate Total (19.36 pesos per 100 ml) marketing campaign to focus on the affluent 40+ age group to minimize cannibalization Implementation in Brazil Characteristics of the Brazilian Market 71% of Brazilians agree that â€Å"music is an important part of my life† 33% have participated in trips to the beach in the last 30 days 76% agree that â€Å"it is important to be attractive to the opposite sex† 65% agree that â€Å"it is important to keep young looking† 32% express the desire for plastic surgery in order to improve their appearance Statistics from Geoff Wicken, KMR Group Tactical Strategy Brazil Vollyball is the 2nd most popular sport in Brazil To become a sponsor on the FIVB circuit, we must apply by July 31, 2006 Update packaging to include â€Å"Made in Brazil† The busy season in Rio De Janeiro December to March, so we recommend kicking off a medial marketing campaign in October 2006 This will give Colgate-Palmolive a chance to evaluate the success of the BreathStrip samples in China and Mexico If we do not see the return on investment we will not include the promotional packaging in Brazil Brazilians place a high emphasis on being attractive to the opposite sex, which means there could a tremendous opportunity to market Colgate Max Fresh as a product that will whiten teeth and make you more â€Å"kissable† Adapt the SnowSurfer commercial to the Brazilian market Sponsor a national beach vollyball tournament Conclusion Colgate-Palmolive is actively seeking ways to increase their operating profit and net income Introducing new high margin products to emerging markets will be critical to their success Marketing Colgate Max Fresh as efficiently and effectively as possible will be necessary in helping us achieve our financial goals UNILEVER