Plato and the Sophists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Plato and the Sophists - Essay Example triad of philosophers beginning with Socrates, often called the father of classical philosophy, followed by his student Plato who in turn was followed by his student Aristotle. Between the three of them they shaped classical Greek thought and the way of life which became a model of inspiration for generations to come. Socrates, who was one among the group of Sophists, is generally considered to be the wisest and noblest Athenian, whose thoughts were always concerned with ways of improving public life and who well knew that in order to lead a life of goodness, man must stay away from public office. Plato in his Apology quotes Socrates as saying that â€Å"The true champion of justice, if he intends to survive even for a short time, must necessarily confine himself to private life and leave politics alone.† This could be the reason why Socrates shied away from holding any public office and instead devoted his whole life to the â€Å"supreme art of philosophy† and taught it to willing students without any monetary gains. He was the only one of the philosophers, who lived the life he preached. Socrates became so popular that his advice was sought on matters ranging from social conduct to solving the most mundane problems. But in 399 BC Socrates was charged "as an evil-doer and curious p erson, searching into things under the earth and above the heavens; and making the worse appear the better cause, and teaching all this to others" (Plato) and was eventually given the death sentence on charges of impiety. Socrates has often been called the gadfly of Athens because of his ceaseless pursuit of truth. Plato, one of the most famous students of Socrates is famous for his work ‘The Republic’ which is generally considered a text for a perfect society. In this book Plato argues about knowledge and reality and makes reality an offshoot of our thinking process. In Platos argument’s there is a higher reality called ‘Forms’ which is unchanging and universal and it is

Drama coursework - Response Essay Example for Free

Drama coursework Response Essay Introduction In our group we came up with lots of similarities in our thought showers. A lot of us described the Witches the same as in the green faces, long noses warts spots, and there broom sticks. Some differences that our group came up with is that a few of us thought of modern witches, as in a normal human being look but with witch features, instead of black cats a lot of our group wrote different pet names. Our mind has been influenced about the topic by many things e. g. the media’s outlook on a stereotypical witch, children’s stories also portray witches with the green faces big hats etc. which means movies portray it like this. Also from the image created by our ancestors where the apparent witches were being burnt at the stake. Macbeth extract: focusing on the ‘outsider’ This role-play brought about issues such as how society today fears outsiders. How society today is divided into different groups, such as Goths / punks / gangster and take different paths in life. We fear the outsiders of society because we fail to understand the logic behind their culture / background. This also brings about racism / religion clashes. In the olden days most of the fear was based around witches because they were conveyed as the biggest outsiders. The storyline of our role-play was about a gothic boy who was feared isolated from family school because of being a Goth. We started the role play with Steven (the gothic boy) being in a school photo where is he is isolated from the rest of the school and then we went into his home life where his parents siblings make jokes about his appearance and his way of life. We ended the play with a twist, where Steven was with all his gothic friends and his little brother (Aaron Tovee) walks past Steven and his group of gothic friends and is mocked for being what society would call â€Å"normal† and he is then conveyed as the outsider. We showed isolation in this play from the very first scene. In the first scene we had school photos were Steven (the outsider) was separated a foot away from the rest of the school that were huddled together for the photo. We portrayed an even bigger sense of frustration isolation by this when the photographer asks Steven to step in the photo and the group moves away from him. The photographer blames Steven and again snaps at Steven to move into the photo. We did this to show how normal society blames the outsider, as if it was just easier to do so. We also showed isolation at the dinner table of Stevens’s family-home. We showed this by having all his siblings laugh and snigger at him and make comments like â€Å"drink blood† because of his gothic background. We ended that scene with Stevens father shouting at Steven telling him he’s not welcome in the home for kicking his sibling under the table (for making the comments) and telling him to get out and hang around with ‘his own kind.’ This made the whole idea of isolation seem a lot more effective because even his father, he whom he should be very close with, kicks him out of the house belting abuse at the top of his voice just because he is a Goth. We also ended our role-play with a twist on the sense of isolation where Steven is with a group of his Goth friends when his little brother walks past and his little brother feels isolated and afraid because he is the outsider there. The crucible Some similarities of ideas that we had on the idea of witchcraft from this stimuli went along the lines of how accusations were so quickly thrown around in the courtroom, and how everyone believed someone who was called a witch. Most people also thought that it was a fairly racist time and that’s why if you was black like the maid in the stimuli the blame was easily put on you. Some differences on the stimuli were about how the accused always showed a sense of fear. How society was so gullible and why the lies were started. In our role play we showed the accusation by the same sort of scene as the stimuli. We had it set in a court-room in the olden times whereas the judge’s verdict was the final, and punishment was death / something incorporating pain. We built hysteria in our role-play by levelling up the amount of volume in the courtroom until it was mayhem and chaos with everyone throwing accusations of being a witch to the accused. We marked the moment where the defence is getting shouted at and abused really badly and she gets up and accuses a man from the courtroom audience. We did this by building up the hysteria with everyone standing up shocked, and built up amount of noise slowly to a really loud volume and then when she got up and said â€Å"It’s him!† we silenced the courtroom immediately so it was just a big awkward silence. Studying this stimulus helped us understand the context at the time because it showed how gullible society was at that time period. An example of this is the fact that everyone believed that a person was a witch just by someone else’s word. The stimulus also shows that there was a big thing about racism in that time. An example of this is where the black woman was blamed for being the witch and beat brutally, the accusation was easily accepted by society because of the colour of her skin. Forum Theatre. Our class used forum theatre through studying a news article about a woman sacrificing her two babies to Satan. We then used this as a stimulus and did a whole-class courtroom drama, where we would switch places (defence, prosecution, judge, witnesses etc) This was useful to use because it made you think on the spot about the subject and it also improved your improvisation skills. Using the court-room drama attached with forum theatre was very useful because reading about just the sacrifice gave you a biased opinion about what really happened. But when we used the courtroom drama we had to act as defence as well so you started thinking about both sides of the story, and maybe reasons for why they did it. When playing the witnesses it also opened up that it might not just affect the family it could also affect other people around too. Conclusion My understanding of the topic has developed through studying the different stimuli a lot because you start to realise that witchcraft isn’t all fairytales and children’s books. It can be portrayed through children’s theatre, but also relate to serious events such as when the babies were sacrificed by the mother to Satan and such. Studying the different stimuli in different times and cultures developed our Understanding a lot too because you can see that not along ago was it that people actually were killed for being accused of witches, and everything was done through religion, and people believed in God strongly. You can see that science has developed through the ages and changed the thoughts of people today drastically through things such as the theory of evolution, which puts people in 2 minds about the creation of mankind, and even questions religion. Therefore people aren’t willing to believe things like witchcraft anymore as it has become abnormal for us to comprehend supernatural things.

A Case Study of Operational Strategies Adopted By Jyoti Remedies Essay

The global Pharmaceutical sector is worth US$300 billion and this is expected to rise to US$400 billion within three years. With 10 largest drugs companies controlling over one-third of the market, several have sales of more than US$10 billion a year and profit margins of about 30%. Of the top 10 six are based in the United States and four in Europe. It is predicted that North and South America, Europe and Japan will continue to account for a full 85% of the global pharmaceuticals market well into the 21st century. (wikipedia, 2014) In 2006, the US contributed 52 per cent of the pharmaceutical sector's growth, while the seven emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey referred to as â€Å"pharmerging† contributed 16 per cent combined. This year the pharmerging economies are expected to account for 51 per cent of the industry's growth, while the US has declined to -19 per cent. The Pharmerging Countries:- In reviewing each of the world’s emerging economies, the upcoming major players are generally classified as pharmerging countries and further they are divided in to three tier. (money control, 2014) Tier 1: China. With a GDP of more than $8 trillion, China is the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical market. Most of the growth in China come from branded generic products manufactured and marketed by established domestic companies, although demand for innovative products from multinational companies is rising in the country’s leading urban centres. Tier 2: Brazil, Russia and India. These countries are each expected to add $5-15 billion in annual pharmaceutical sales by 2014. Brazil and Russia both have achieved consistent double-digit pharmaceutical sales growth in recent years, while ... ...ogi, R. (2011). The indian pharma sutical industry: the emperical study. the emperical study, 40-48. Schuh and compay. (2013). Operational excellence in pharmaceutical indusry. 3-13. Jyoti Remedies. (2014, march 10). jyoti remedies. Retrieved from Jyothi remedies: http://www.jyotiremedies.com/html/index.html money control. (2014, March). Money Control. Retrieved from http://www.moneycontrol.com/stocks/top-companies-in-wor;d/net-sales-bse/pharmaceuticals.html reserch and markets. (2014, march 10). Retrieved from reserchandmarkets: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/2043060/industry_insight_crams_contract_research wikipedia. (2014, march 10). wikipedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry wikipedia. (2014, march 10). wikipedia. Retrieved from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry_in_India

Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Six

It was no secret: my mother hated Otherworldly things. Her feelings weren't that hard to understand, considering that she'd been a prisoner there, serving as Storm King's forced mistress-not unlike my own experiences now. Just as she tried to ignore what Roland and I did for a living, she also tried to ignore the gentry blood in me, treating me as though I were fully human and often refusing to hear otherwise. Therefore, I was a bit surprised that she took everything better than Roland did when we got back to Tucson. I knew they had discussions when I wasn't around. He filled her in on what had happened in Yellow River, how I'd been practicing magic on the sly, and how I was now the reigning monarch of a fairy kingdom. He told her about Leith too. If she was shocked by any of it, if she was repulsed by it and hated me for what I'd become†¦well, she never let on. She was just†¦well, my mother. She set me up in my old bedroom. It hadn't changed much over the years and even still had the same glow-in-the-dark stars I'd stuck to the ceiling. When I'd put them there in my youth, she had fretted that they'd never come off without ripping out part of the paint. So, I guess she'd never bothered in all these years. Roland knew someone who knew someone who came and did a field surgery on my shoulder, removing the bullet and leaving me with pain meds and antibiotics. That was about all I saw of Roland in those initial days of recovery. It was my mom who stayed with me the most, talking about anything that wasn't Otherworldly and making sure I had entertainment in the form of books and TV. I could pay little attention to those diversions, though, not when my mind was on so many other things. I would turn the events of the previous weeks over and over in my head until I grew too weary to string any coherent thoughts together. When I reached that exhausted point, I would usually just let my mind go blank for a while. It was oddly soothing, particularly since I so often woke up from nightmares about Leith. An empty mind was sometimes welcome. And it was my mother I went to when my period came. She'd already bought a pregnancy test too, just for peace of mind. When it came out negative, I stared sobbing. My mom held me in bed and rocked me the whole time, saying, â€Å"I know, baby, I know.† It was odd because I didn't even know why I was crying. The negative test was a good thing, and I was glad there were no loose ends with Leith. As she held me-the first time I'd really let anyone touch me since Art's house-I suddenly wondered how she had felt when she was pregnant with me. Had she been repulsed by the thought of the half-gentry child forced on her? Had she wanted to get rid of me but been unable to in the Otherworld? I shuddered, not wanting to ponder that too much. Thinking I was cold, she went and got me a sweater. It was a few days later that Roland and I finally talked. I was more mobile then and had come downstairs to make a bowl of cereal in the kitchen. He strolled in and joined me, sitting at the table with his coffee. His face seemed to have more lines than the last time I'd seen him. My fault, no doubt. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said when the silence grew too hard to bear. â€Å"I†¦I should have told you.† He looked up from his cup. â€Å"Which part exactly?† â€Å"All of it. Everything. I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I sighed. â€Å"You were always so mad that I was spending time in the Otherworld at all. I thought you'd be upset if you knew the rest.† â€Å"Oh, believe me, I'm much more upset to hear it now than I would have been then.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said again, not knowing what else to say. â€Å"It all just happened so fast. There was that fight with Aeson-â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know. Kiyo gave me the details of that, though he too was a bit surprised to find out you can conjure up hurricanes worthy of Storm King now.† I shook my head. â€Å"I'm a long way from that. And once I started learning the magic†¦I just can't stop.† Now Roland sighed. â€Å"He's been by a couple of times.† It took me a moment to realize he meant Kiyo, not Storm King. â€Å"I'm not ready to see him.† â€Å"I know.† There was a pause, and I think it took a lot for Roland to say his next words. â€Å"He's not so bad. Relatively speaking.† I gave him a sad half-smile. â€Å"Yeah, he's great.† And I meant it†¦but something was bothering me about Kiyo, something that kept nudging me in the back of my head. I continued to ignore it. â€Å"So what happens now?† Roland asked. â€Å"What are you going to do?† I stared in surprise. â€Å"Well†¦what else would I do? The same thing I've been doing.† â€Å"What, running back and forth between the worlds, trying to act like you have some semblance of a normal life?† The tone of his voice hurt me. â€Å"What do you expect me to do? And it's not like our lives have ever been normal.† He shook his head. â€Å"This is different. You can't do this. You can't literally live in two worlds.† I munched on my cereal for a moment to give me a chance to think. â€Å"I don't really see that I have a choice. That land is bound to me. If I neglect it, it dies.† Roland said nothing. â€Å"Oh, come on! You think I should do that? Abandon it and let all those people suffer? You're as bad as Art.† The mystery of what had happened to Art's body and to Abigail was†¦well, a mystery. No one had told me exactly, save that it had â€Å"been taken care of.† Roland's eyes flashed with anger. â€Å"No, I'm nothing like him. Don't ever make that mistake. But the gentry aren't our people. They aren't your people.† â€Å"They are now,† I said, surprising myself. He stood up, his entire posture weary and defeated. â€Å"I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know what to think of you. I don't even feel like I know you.† In all these years together, he'd never raised a hand to me. But in that moment, it was like he'd slapped me. â€Å"What does that mean?† I asked. I meant to sound defiant. Instead, my words came out very small and very scared, much like a pleading child's. I remembered how grateful I'd been to see him at Art's. My father. My protector. â€Å"Do you not†¦do you not love me anymore?† He'd started to walk away but paused to look back. His blue eyes took me in for several moments. â€Å"Of course. I will always love you. You're my daughter. But†¦I'm not sure if things can ever be the same.† Roland walked out of the kitchen, and that's when I realized it was time for me to leave. Tim nearly knocked me over when I got back to my own house. My mom had called him to tell him I was okay when I'd first come to her place, but between my recovery week and the week at Art's with no contact, Tim had done a fair amount of freaking out. â€Å"What happened? Are you okay? I dealt with Lara while you were gone. You would have been proud.† I smiled, more pleased that he'd called her by her first name instead of â€Å"bitch secretary.† â€Å"Do you want me to make you something?† â€Å"You sound like my mom,† I teased. â€Å"Always wanting to feed me.† He shrugged. â€Å"You're too skinny. And I don't say that lightly, considering the kinds of girls I go after.† He was right both about me and his choice in women. They'd fed me at Art's, but I'd hardly eaten any of it. I'd lost a lot of weight, and while part of me wanted to bulk back up by tapping the bag of Milky Way candy bars in my pantry, I knew I should probably be delving into some serious nutrition for a change. So, I dispatched Tim to cook up some steak stir-fry, a request he was more than eager to accomodate. I spent the rest of the day restless and bored, unsure of what to do with myself. I did some laundry, despite Tim's protests that he could do it, and scarfed down lots of his stir-fry. The animals were all there, which led me to believe Kiyo was still staying there too. After I'd refused to see him at my parents', I half-expected him to have moved out. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do now. I didn't plan on going to the Otherworld anytime soon, and there was no way-as I told Lara later on the phone-that I could take any new jobs for a while. This made both Tim and her nervous about my accounting, but I knew my savings account was at least temporarily secure. My magic I left completely alone. I wasn't going near that, even though there were times the air and the water vapor around me would call to me like a siren's song, and I'd burn to touch them. The one bit of magic I did use was shamanic: I tried to summon Volusian. He didn't come. I wasn't sure what to think of that. I was almost grateful for nightfall so that I could go to bed and stop trying to figure out things to pass the time. I wondered if this apathy was just a natural consequence of the trauma I'd been through, some kind of numbed state. TV, my puzzles, even Tim's cheery chatter†¦none of it could hold my attention. I wasn't bored, exactly. I just wasn't very engaged with the world. That night, just as I used to do, I dreamed of the Thorn Land. The dream was so vivid and real. It was like I'd stepped outside my own home to go walking in the foothills, like my soul was traveling on without my body. The air was sharp and clean, filled with the fragrance of desert flowers. The sun was warm and merciless-yet comforting in its familiarity. And the colors†¦the colors made my dream self want to weep. Peaches and greens and all the colors of the cacti flowers looking up at the clear blue, blue of the sky. For the first time since my capture and rape, I felt at peace. I felt whole and healed in the dream. I woke up with a longing in my chest, like there was a piece of me missing. The sharpness of it startled me-and scared me a little. Tossing on a robe, I made my way out to the kitchen, hoping coffee and breakfast would shake off that all-consuming desire to run to the Otherworld. â€Å"Kiyo,† I exclaimed. He sat at the table with coffee, both dogs at his feet. I had a weird deja vu from coffee with Roland yesterday and suspected there was â€Å"a talk† in store for me. â€Å"Eugenie,† he said, looking up from the paper. His eyes were warm and chocolate-brown, filled with so much love. He rose from his chair and approached me, arms open. I started to go into his embrace but something made me shrink back, some protective instinct of my body's to keep itself safe. I knew he wasn't Leith. I knew Kiyo loved me†¦but there was just something within me that was afraid to touch anyone else. My mother was the only one I'd allowed to hug me so far. Sadness and hurt flashed through Kiyo's eyes at my rejection, but he seemed to understand. Awkwardly, he simply gave me a soft touch on the arm, which I allowed with only a slight flinch. We both sat down-after I'd fetched coffee-and he drank me in with those intense eyes, like he hadn't seen me in years. Of course, these last two weeks or so had certainly felt like years to me, so perhaps that wasn't such a bad comparison. â€Å"How are you?† he asked. â€Å"I've missed you so much. I've been so worried.† â€Å"I'm okay. I was in good hands.† â€Å"How's your shoulder?† I gave it a slight shrug. â€Å"Stiff. But mending. I could probably go over to the Otherworld and get someone to patch it right up.† His face instantly darkened. â€Å"I think you need to stay away from there for a while.† â€Å"Jesus Christ. Not you too. I'm that land's ruler. I have to go back.† A flash of the dream came back to me. It was more than some subconscious musing, I knew. The Thorn Land and I were tied. We couldn't stay apart. I had known that being away from it would cause it to die, and now I was realizing that I might die without it as well. â€Å"There has to be a way. I was talking to Maiwenn, and she's going to look into it. Surely, somewhere in the pages of their history, someone gave up their kingdom without dying.† â€Å"Is that a good idea?† I asked. â€Å"Me giving it up?† â€Å"Of course,† he said, shocked. â€Å"You've never wanted it. You've said so a hundred times. It'd be better for everyone. The next person bound to the land probably wouldn't transform it into a desert. You'd be free, able to go on with your life here, free of the magic†¦.† I narrowed my eyes. â€Å"I'll never be free of that either.† â€Å"Yeah,† he agreed, stiffness in his voice, â€Å"but there'll be less temptation outside of the Otherworld. Why the hell didn't you tell me you were learning all that stuff?† â€Å"I did tell you! I told you about Dorian sending Ysabel.† â€Å"What I saw you do in there†¦that was nothing like what you said she taught you.† â€Å"It happened fast†¦I didn't realize it half the time myself, and I didn't want to upset you.† â€Å"No one learns that fast,† he muttered. I remembered Shaya's words. Storm King did. â€Å"Well, I'm apparently not all-powerful. I lost hold of Volusian during that ordeal. He didn't come when I called.† â€Å"Oh. I thought you knew.† â€Å"Knew what?† â€Å"He's bound to Dorian now.† I stared for several seconds. â€Å"Oh my God. I thought that might happen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Kiyo stared back. â€Å"You did? Then why the hell did you send him to Dorian? Why not send him to warn me?† â€Å"For exactly that reason! If Volusian broke from my control, I knew Dorian could probably bind him.† â€Å"I suppose. But I feel like you've just given Dorian a nuclear warhead.† I didn't say it, but I had a feeling Kiyo was more upset that it was Dorian I'd contacted for help and not him. â€Å"And that's how you found me, right? Volusian told Dorian, who then told you and Roland?† I'd heard it from Roland but wanted to hear it again. Kiyo nodded. â€Å"We'd been looking for you as soon as you disappeared after the battle. None of us had a clue what had happened. We got Roland involved a few days later to help with a hunt in this world, but none of us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"None of us had any idea that that's what had happened to you.† Awkward silence fell, each of us thinking about the things neither of us would give voice to. My imprisonment. My rape. I lowered my eyes, playing with the edge of the coffee cup. The memories were like a rollercoaster. Sometimes they'd sink way down low into the bottom of my mind. Other times, they'd flare up sharply, pushing to the forefront of my mind and unleashing all the dizzying, horrible feelings of fear, violation, and helplessness that ordeal had caused. I suddenly looked up sharply and met Kiyo square in the eyes. â€Å"Why didn't you let me kill Leith when I had the chance?† With a shiver, I remembered the vengeance burning within me and the storm swirling around me. The question clearly caught Kiyo off-guard. â€Å"What? You know why. Because of the political fallout†¦because you're not the kind of person given to revenge†¦.† â€Å"Aren't I?† I demanded. I was suddenly angry at him, and it occurred to me right then that I'd been suppressing a lot of it this whole week. â€Å"You have no right to talk about when revenge is right. You didn't go through what I did.† â€Å"I know,† he said, trying to be gentle. â€Å"I don't doubt he deserved a horrible punishment. I can only imagine how it was for you-â€Å" â€Å"No. There is no way you can imagine.† â€Å"It's more than just revenge, though. Do you know what's happened in the wake of this? Katrice is massing her armies, Eugenie. The monarchs haven't had an all-out war in ages. This could get very bad. People are going to die. I wanted to save you from that†¦wanted to save you from being her target.† â€Å"Alright. Then why didn't you kill him?† Dead silence. â€Å"What?† Kiyo exclaimed at last. I never lowered my gaze, astonished at the coldness in my voice. â€Å"You said he deserved a horrible punishment.† â€Å"Yeah, imprisonment or-â€Å" â€Å"Imprisonment? Are you crazy? He's a prince. We couldn't have kept him without the same ‘political fallout.' He would have walked.† â€Å"Going to war is worse, believe it or not.† â€Å"Then you still should have killed him,† I repeated. â€Å"Everyone keeps going on about how you're ‘just' a kitsune. You aren't technically aligned with anyone. Maybe she would have put a hit out on you, but she wouldn't have gone to war against you alone.† Kiyo's eyes were wide. â€Å"Are you listening to yourself? This is insane! You're condemning me for not killing a man that was on his knees.† â€Å"That man did horrible, awful things. He didn't deserve to walk away unpunished.† Kiyo's shock had given away to anger. â€Å"I can't believe you're holding me responsible for this. And you know what? This is the magic talking. The more of it you use, the more it changes you. This is why you need to stay away from the Otherworld! For your own protection. Before you turn into someone you don't want to be.† â€Å"Oh, now you want to protect me! Look, you of all people should understand. I can't stay away from the Otherworld. I can't stay away from this world. I don't belong anywhere! And yet†¦I belong everywhere. There's no good fit for me. I'm split, Kiyo. I thought you'd get that. You told me before that you did. You're the same.† â€Å"It†¦it's different somehow.† â€Å"That's not good enough. You're being a hypocrite,† I exclaimed. â€Å"You make decisions for both of us based on what's convenient at any given time. You think you can handle it one way but that I can't. That's not fair. You can't make different rules for each of us.† â€Å"I'm trying to protect you,† he repeated. â€Å"You don't think I'm strong enough to handle the things you can?† He held up his hands. â€Å"I don't know. Maybe I'm the one who isn't strong enough to make the tough decisions.† â€Å"Dorian is.† It was out before I could stop it. Dead silence, round two, descended on us. Kiyo finished his coffee. â€Å"I see. So that's what this is really about.† He stared around, taking in the house and the cats sprawled everywhere. â€Å"Maybe†¦maybe it's time I pack up my things.† I crossed my arms. â€Å"I think that's a good idea.† â€Å"It might take me a day or two to collect these guys, though.† â€Å"That's fine.† I kept perfect control in my voice, focusing all my energy on sounding flat. If I slipped up, I might start crying or begging him to stay. I might apologize for being so harsh and holding him responsible for not letting me kill Leith. It wasn't fair for me to blame Kiyo and laud Dorian†¦ †¦and yet I did. Kiyo stood up, saying he'd come back to do a thorough packing when I wasn't around since that might be easier on both of us. I agreed. Tension engulfed us as he moved toward the door. I'd hurt him; I knew it. And truthfully, I didn't fully know if I was making the worst mistake of my life here in breaking up with Kiyo. True, we had been fighting a lot, with him not understanding the choices I'd been having to make. The heart of it was, though, that I felt he'd had the opportunity to protect me†¦and hadn't. â€Å"Eugenie,† he said, hovering near the back door. â€Å"I know you were hurt. I know you suffered-and still do. And I guess I can see why you think what Dorian did was noble. But it's not. There are big consequences to this, and someday-probably soon-you're going to regret what he did.† I shook my head, still obstinate. â€Å"I don't know. Maybe.† â€Å"No matter what you think of me, it's not too late. You can make amends with Katrice. You can stop this.† There was a desperate, pleading look in his eyes, and I wondered if it was because of his desire for peace or the agony of leaving me. My own hurt over him leaving was steadily growing, but something in his words halted it. â€Å"Make amends? What's that mean?† â€Å"I don't know†¦apologize†¦blame it on Dorian. Maiwenn might negotiate†¦.† My anger spun back up. â€Å"I am not going to grovel to the woman whose son raped me. And I'm not going to let Dorian get punished for something I should have done myself.† Maiwenn didn't even deserve mentioning. â€Å"I'll face the consequences, Kiyo. I'm the Thorn Queen.† He gave me a small, sad smile. â€Å"Are you sure? Or are you the Storm Queen?† I frowned. â€Å"What?† â€Å"That's what you told Leith. Back in the kitchen.† â€Å"No.† So much of those memories were fragmented, but I was certain I'd recall that. â€Å"I told him I was the Thorn Queen a few times-but good God. Not Storm Queen.† â€Å"I heard you. Once you said Storm Queen.† I shook my head, anger returning. â€Å"You made a mistake. They sound alike. Easy to mishear.† His smile twitched; his sadness grew. â€Å"Not with my hearing.† Kiyo left after that-to where, I didn't know. It didn't matter. My heart was broken, and thinking about him too much was only going to make things worse. Instead, I knew I had to leave too. I had to get out of here-and I knew exactly where I had to go. I had to go to my kingdom.

Esprit Strategic Analysis Essay

In regard to a research of microenterprise in Macau, casino and gambling enterprise is the main source of income to the Macau economy. Over 80% of income is contributed in 2012. However, microenterprise is also taking an essential role to the healthy long-term development to the local economy. By doing so, a bundle of different strategies have to be conducted in each company in order to achieve the goal. Strategic Management is a way to identify competitive advantage and analyze the internal and external factors which influence one’s performance. It also helps in making a bundle of decisions for future direction and attaining sustainable development by formulating and implementing appropriate strategies. In this report, company background information, vision and mission, a series of strategy formulations and analysis are provided. Furthermore, applying various strategies in actions and implementation are attached in the following. INTRODUCTION Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei is one of the historical cafe in Macau and their exclusive hand-made pork chop bun is the icon while it will come up in mind of locals and tourists when thinking of Macau. It was established in 1968, with nearly 50 years of history located at the Taipa village. The initiate owner of the cafe was Ms. Kuok Loi Ho but the business is transmitted to her daughter Ms. Chan Ka I and other two family members. In the 1960’s, Taipa village is not well-developed as what people see today where there were lots of firecracker factories set up there. Ms. Kuok was originally operating this kind of business but it involves high risks and accidents were often occurred during that time. She later transformed her business in opening a cafe which was selling drinks only. At that period, there were many Portuguese working at the Municipal Council at Taipa next to the cafe. Ms. Kuok was taught by a Portuguese to make a pork chop bun with special Portuguese sauce and it becomes the reputable pork chop bun nowadays. Following the success of the business, more stores are rapidly opened in Macau and even Hong Kong. Besides of the flagship store at the Rua do Cunha, it can also be found in Venetian and one near Ruins of St. Paul. The food items are diversified for options which fish ball, squid, beef, and pork chop rice with onion sauce etc. are served as well. With good word-of-mouth and reputation and being recommended by many guidebooks, their main customers are tourists and it is said that the Tai Lei pork chop bun has to be tried when every tourists come to Macau. MISSION According to the owner of Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei said, their mission is â€Å"Whoever talks about pork chop bun, the first brand name come up with in their mind is Tai Lei Loi Kei.† Our group thinks that it is not strong enough in regard to be a good mission statement; therefore, we have further developed a more comprehensive mission statement below. â€Å"To be the leading role of pork chop bun market not only in Macau, but also expand the business to South-East Asian countries. As a top family style pork chop bun store, we are determined to reinforce our image by designing our own logo, slogan and brand of Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei. With the insistence of fresh ingredients used and friendly sentimental service, we are committed to serve high value and quality products to all visitors and local residents at reasonable price. In order to meet the customers’ needs and demand in the rapid changing market, we will continue to develop new technology applying in food production and innovative products. Our dedicated team is also responsive to social community in hiring uneducated local employees as well as contribution in charity activities, in where providing growth opportunity and building a more familiar relationship to employees.† VISION â€Å"We are transforming the original operation pattern to microenterprise, with regional franchise operations not only limited to Macau but also to the South-East Asian market. We believe that an accelerated profit will be kept over the next few years. We will constantly design and launch new menu items in accordance to the local appetite in the market. Our goal is to make a remarkable profit for every branch of Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei and fulfill every customer’s expectation.† STRATEGY FORMULATION i.External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE) Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei – Key External Factors OpportunitiesWeightRatingWeighted Score Increase number of tourists coming to Macau0.1530.45 Better economy in South East Asia and Mainland China0.1030.30 Increase in Macau people’s purchasing power0.1030.30 Promotion coupons attached in Macau’s official tourist map may help increase awareness0.0520.10 Cooperation with the youth correctional institution may help finding manpower0.0530.15 Threats Customers are easy to change another brand to consume pork chop bun0.1020.20 Increasing number of competitors in the town selling similar product0.1510.15 Increasing amount of rent in Macau may lead Tai Lei suffer0.0520.10 Local people refuse to work in small-middle enterprises0.0520.10 Negative comments from online reviews and locals0.0520.10 Negative news in Taipa’s flagship store in December 2011 (required to close by IACM)0.0530.15 People seek for healthier food and beverage nowadays0.1020.20 TOTAL1.002.30 Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei has a total weighted score of 2.30 revealing that the company is below average in its performance to implement strategies that capitalize on external opportunities and avoid threats. ii.Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (IFE) Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei – Key Internal Factors Strengths WeightRatingWeighted Score Old history and reputable brand name0.1040.40 Use central manufactory to produce pork chop to ensure same quality and acquired ISO recognition0.0530.15 Earning profit every year0.1540.60 Attractiveness to investors from South East Asia and Mainland China0.1540.60 Strong marketing team to develop new promotional programs and expansion strategies0.1030.30 Weaknesses Low educational level of all level of the employee0.0520.10 Lack of manpower0.1010.10 High selling price compares to similar products in the market0.1520.30 Limited amount of branches in Macau Peninsula0.0530.15 Most products are in high calories 0.1020.20 TOTAL1.002.90 Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei has a total weighted score of 2.90 indicating that the company is above average in its effort to implement strategies that utilize on internal strengths and minimize weaknesses. iii.Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) Two core competitors are identified in accordance to geographic location, product, quality and price. Cafà © E.S.KIMO is the first Taiwanese coffee shop in Macau (MGTO, 2012), with the immersion of local favors. It also provide famous pork chop bun with a very nice unit price of MOP 13. It has many branches across the town as well as mainland China. In the Taipa branch which just located opposite to Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei, it placed an easy-up banner (see picture 1) outside of the store showing that â€Å"Macau’s famous pork chop bun only sells MOP 13† (see picture 2). Another competitor is â€Å"Taipa’s famous pork chop bun† (named Taipa pork chop bun below) located in Rua do Cunha, which also selling pork chop bun with unit price of MOP 23 and Kopi Luwak (a kind of high quality coffee). Cafà © Tai Lei Loi KeiCafà © E.S.KIMOTaipa Pork Chop Bun Critical Success FactorsWeightRatingScoreRatingScoreRatingScore Advertising0.1020.2030.3010.10 Food Quality0.1530.4530.4520.30 Dietary Consideration0.1020.2030.3020.20 Service Quality0.1030.3030.3020.20 Price Competitiveness0.1020.2040.4020.20 Management0.0330.0930.0920.06 Financial Position0.0530.1530.1520.10 Customer Loyalty0.0520.1040.2010.05 Reputation0.0540.2040.2020.10 Global Expansion0.1520.3030.4510.15 Market Share0.0530.1540.2020.10 Accessibility0.0330.0940.1210.03 Atmosphere of Restaurant0.0420.0840.1620.08 Total1.002.513.321.67 According to the result of CPM, it shows that Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei has a total weighted score of 2.51 which is just above average. Comparing to the other two core competitors, the company is situated in the middle; while Cafà © E.S.KIMO is performing the best among them. iv.Strategic Position & Action Evaluation Matrix (SPACE) According to the result of the SPACE Matrix, it showed that the strategic position of Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei is aggressive (1, 1.11). The environment is stable, have the strong competitiveness and financial background. The appropriate strategies are backward, forward, horizontal integration, market penetration, market development, product development and diversification. v.SWOT Matrix Strength 1.Old history and reputable brand name 2.Use central manufactory to produce pork chop to ensure same quality and acquired ISO recognition 3.Earning profit every year 4.Attractiveness to investors from South East Asia and Mainland China 5.Strong marketing team to develop new promotional programs and expansion strategiesWeakness 1.Low educational level of all level of the employee 2.Lack of manpower 3.High selling price compares to similar products in the market 4.Limited amount of branches in Macau Peninsula 5.Most products are in high calories Opportunities 1.Increase number of tourists coming to Macau 2.Better economy in South East Asia and Mainland China 3.Increase in Macau people’s purchasing power 4.Promotion coupons attached in Macau’s official tourist map may help increase awareness 5.Cooperation with the youth correctional institution may help finding manpowerS1, S4, S5, O2 – Expand the business to South East Asia and Mainland China S1, O1, O2, O3 – Put more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in existing market – Threat 1.Customers are easy to change another brand to consume pork chop bun 2.Increasing number of competitors in the town selling similar product 3.Increasing amount of rent in Macau may lead Tai Lei suffer 4.Local people refuse to work in small-middle enterprises 5.Negative comments from online reviews and locals 6.Negative news in Taipa’s flagship store in December 2011 (required to close by IACM) 7.People seek for healthier food and beverage nowadays-W3, T3 – Acquire supplier company to lower the cost W5, T7 – Develop healthier product to capture the market share of the â€Å"healthy followers† i.Acquire supplier company According to the W3 and T3, it shows that Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei is suffering the very high rent in Macau, especially the shop located in the Taipa old town which costs them almost MOP 150,000 per month. Furthermore, Tai Lei has set the selling price in a high level comparing with other similar products in the market in order to balance their financial statement. However, it does not help with the cost issue. We suggest that backward integration strategy would be suitable for them. Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei has already taken care of their distribution; therefore, they can acquire some of the supplier companies such as the company which provides bread and pork chop. With the implementation of this strategy, they can have better control in the cost of their business and they might lower the price to attract more customers. ii.Develop healthier product Nowadays, people concern their health more than before. The trend of the current environment is tent to buy healthy and green products and company always promotes well-being. However, the products of Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei are high calories and fats and it’s not what the current market looks for. According to the W5 and T7, it indicated the need to develop healthier food. For example, Tai Lei can invest a new product which claims at healthiness, such as using organic vegetables, low fat milk, vegetable oil, etc. iii.Expand the business to South East Asia and Mainland China According to the strength 1, 4, 5 and opportunity 2 and the concept of the market development, it discloses that Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei have a strong power to expand their business out of Macau. They are successful and have a long history of their business and have already accumulated a well reputation. In addition, they are famous to the South East Asia and Mainland China. It’s attractiveness to the investors from those countries to invest a new business in there. Moreover, the economy of South East Asia and Mainland China are doing well nowadays, it’s one of the motivators that Tai Lei should expand their business to the two markets. iv.Put more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in existing market In strength 1 and opportunity 1, 2, 3, we suggest Tai Lei can create a new strategy with application of market penetration. Tai Lei owns two branches in Hong Kong and three in Macau. Hong Kong and Macau are popular tourism cities in the world, especially Macau; the number of tourists coming to Macau is increasing rapidly. Moreover, according to the opportunity 2, there is better economy in South East Asia and Mainland China, and the main tourists of Hong Kong and Macau are come from those countries. Advertisement and promotion can help to introduce Tai Lei to those tourists before the company enters to these two new markets. For example, using celebrities to promote the brand and product or distribute coupons via different channels. If Tai Lei put more efforts to do the advertisement and promotion in Hong Kong and Macau, it can attract more consumers and increase the market share. vi.Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) A QSPM for Cafà © de Tai Lei Loi Kei Acquire supplier companyPut more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in exiting marketExpand the business to South East Asia and Mainland ChinaDevelop healthier product External FactorWeightASTASASTASASTASASTAS Opportunities 1.Increase number of tourists coming to Macau0.1510.1540.6020.3030.45 2.Better economy in Southeast Asia and Mainland China0.1010.1030.3040.4020.20 3.Increase in Macau people’s purchasing power0.1020.2030.3010.1040.40 4.Promotion coupons attached in Macau’s official tourist map may help increase awareness0.0530.1540.2000.0030.15 5.Cooperation with the youth correctional institution may help finding manpower0.05-　-　-　-　-　-　-　-　 Threat 1.Customers are easy to change another brand to consume pork chop bun0.1020.2040.4010.1030.30 2.Increasing number of competitors in the town selling similar product0.1520.3040.6010.1530.45 3.Increasing amount of rent in Macau may lead Tai Lei suffer0.05-　–　-　–　-　-　 4.Local people refuse to work in small-middle enterprises0.05-　-　-　—　–　 5.Negative comments from online reviews and locals0.0510.0540.2030.1520.10 6.Negative news in Taipa’s flagship store in December 2011 (required to close by IACM)0.0510.0540.2020.1030.15 7.People seek for healthier food and beverage nowadays0.1010.1020.2030.3040.40 Sub Total1.00　1.30　3.00　1.60　2.60 Internal FactorWeightASTASASTASASTASASTAS Strengths 1.Old history and reputable brand name0.1010.1040.4030.3020.20 2.Use central manufactory to produce pork chop to ensure same quality and acquired ISO recognition0.05-　　–　–　-　-　-　 3.Earning profit every year0.1510.1530.4540.6020.30 4.Attractiveness to investors from South East Asia and Mainland China0.1510.1530.4540.6020.30 5.Strong marketing team to develop new promotional programs and expansion strategies0.1010.1040.4030.3020.20 Weakness 1.Low educational level of all level of the employee0.05-　-　-　-　-　-　-　-　 2.Lack of manpower0.10–　-　—　-　- 3.High selling price compares to similar products in the market0.1540.6020.3010.1530.45 4.Limited amount of branches in Macau Peninsula0.0510.0540.2030.1520.10 5.Most products are in high calories 0.1010.1030.3020.2040.40 Subtotal1.00　1.252.50　2.301.95 Sub Total Attractiveness Score　　2.555.50　3.904.55 As the table of QSPM for Cafà © de Tai Lei Loi Kei show that the left two columns are extracted verbatim from the EFEM and IFEM of Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei and also note that four alternative strategies – 1) Acquire supplier company 2) Develop healthier product 3) Expand the business to South East Asia and Mainland China 4) Put more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in exiting market – were from the company’s SWOT Matrix. Moreover, the Attractiveness Score (AS) from1 to 4 is used to reveal each strategy’s attractiveness given the respective external or internal factor, where 4 is the best and 1 is the least attractive. Work row by row in developing the QSPM and decide which strategy is the best for the external or internal factor. After conducted the QSPM, the strategy of â€Å"Put more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in exiting market† was highly recommended based on the result of the sum total of the Attractiveness Score from QSPM and it acquired the highest score of 5.50. The second recommendation strategy is â€Å"Develop healthier product† and the third one is â€Å"Expand the business to South East Asia and Mainland China† due the priority of the Attractiveness Score, which is 4.55 and 3.90. QSPM can be important information for a firm to make decision of strategies. The strategy of the Attractiveness Score below 3 in the QSPM is not taken into the consideration. The reason of chosen â€Å"Put more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in exiting market† as the highly recommend strategy, the Attractiveness Score of this strategy in the sector of external factor, there are two  opportunities are rated as 4 and two rated as 3 reflecting that the strategy was attractive enough to fulfill those opportunities and one of the opportunities is not related; those opportunities are related to the market trends – the chance for increasing sales because the tourists, especially the South East Asian and Mainland China tourists, are flooding to Macau tourism market and the booming economy increase the spending ability of local people as well. In addition, two threats about the competitors become more and more because of the opportunities that they can gain the market share of pork chop bun, besides; two threats related to lots of negative comments, news are appeared on the internet, newspaper and magazine. Therefore, a strategy of â€Å"Put more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in exiting market† got the highest score on Attractiveness Score because it can against this situation by create more promotional advertisements and distributed by mass media in order to capture the largest amount of pork chop bun market share, by the way; this strategy can break the negative comments and news as well. The remaining one about the shortage of man power in Macau cannot solve by the firm themselves due to the government policy. On the other hand, in the internal factor, two strengths are rated as 4 and two strengths are rated as 3 to show that Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei has the ancient and reputation brand name, the ISO recognition and the new hire marketing team so it is attractive enough to get the attention of investors all over the world, besides they had good financial report on earn profit per year. Thus, â€Å"Put more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in existing market† can be chosen as a tool to attract more investors so as to expand the pork chop bun market by the promotional advertisement about the ancient and reputation brand name and cooperate with the new hire marketing team, the expanding no longer focus on Macao but Southeast Asia. And one strength does not have any relationship of this strategy. Moreover, one of the weaknesses is rated as 2 and one is rated as 4 related to higher price and do not have enough branches in Macau, so the promotional poster or promote in the travel guide book to emphasis the ancient brand name with â€Å"where to buy† instruction that can be a good solution to against the weaknesses which already excited in Tai Lei, furthermore; one of the weaknesses is rated as 3 for the less of healthier food, thus first at all, Tai Lei prove some health product then use â€Å"Put  more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in existing market† to do more promotion of the related product. And the other weaknesses are no impacted on this strategy. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION i.Acquire supplier company Acquisition is one of the backward integration methods. Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei could acquire suppliers such as the pork chop and bread suppliers, etc. This benefits Tai Lei because it eliminates the profit which normal suppliers get from Tai Lei, causing reduction of cost. Upon the acquisition, Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei may have to keep all the original staff of the suppliers. However, the organizational culture of the two firms may be different so it becomes difficult for Tai Lei to persuade all staff to have full commitment to the Cafà ©. Remuneration package have to been discussed again in order to retain all experienced staff. ii.Develop healthier product Inventing and creating new flavor products will be a way for Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei to survive in the keen competition. Customers are always looking for new products and innovations, especially some healthy food. After the launch of new products, it takes Tai Lei a long period of time to test the market response and to see whether the customers accept the new products or not. Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei will definitely bear the risk that the new products do not help them to expand the product line and obtain good response from customers. iii.Expand the business to South East Asia and Mainland China It costs Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei a lot to expand a new market, such as some South East Asian countries. They have to spend a lot on marketing campaigns and promotion methods. Tai Lei has to tolerate the heavy marketing expenses and at the same time, bear the risk that the customers from new market do not accept this kind of new products. The marketing strategies with high cost will affect Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei’s profit. iv.Put more efforts on the advertisement and promotion in existing market By applying the same concept with the expansion of new market in South East Asian countries, Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei has to spend a lot to emphasis more on the marketing effort within the existing markets, Macau and Hong Kong. It will be beneficial for them to focus more on the existing market since it is easier to retain customers rather than attracting new customers. However, the high marketing cost decreases Tai Lei’s revenue at the same time. CONCLUSION Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei is a local brand with long history, selling its superior pork chop bun to delight customers with most efforts. According to the interview result and data, we created a brand new vision and mission for Tai Lei. Those interview result includes its internal strengths and weaknesses, external opportunities and threats and many other factors which may affect the future development and performance of Tai Lei. A number of matrixes have been conducted to better analysis the current situation of Tai Lei. After all the matrixes analysis, four strategies have been developed. We suggest Cafà © Tai Lei Loi Kei to adopt these four strategies, in order to further develop and expand its own business and have a more prosperous future.