Five Force Industry Analysis Essay

The Company distributes its products principally through third-party computer resellers. The Company is also continuing its expansion into new distribution channels, such as mass merchandise stores, consumer electronics outlets and computer superstores, in response to changing industry practices and customer preferences. The Company’s products are sold primarily to business and government customers through independent resellers, value-added resellers and systems integrators; to home customers through independent resellers and consumer channels; and to education customers through direct sales and independent resellers. In order to provide products and service to its independent resellers on a timely basis, the Company distributes its products through a number of Apple distribution and support centers. Business customers account for the largest portion of the Company’s revenues. Business customers are attracted to the Macintosh in particular for a variety of reasons, incl uding the availability of a wide variety of application software, the reduced amount of training resulting from the Macintosh’s intuitive ease of use, and the ability of the Macintosh to network and communicate with other computer systems and environments. Apple personal computers were first introduced to education customers in the late 1970’s. In the United States, the Company is one of the major suppliers of personal computers for both elementary and secondary school customers, as well as for college and university customers. The Company is also a substantial supplier to institutions of higher education outside of the United States. In the United States, the Company’s formal commitment to serve the federal government began in 1986 with the formation of the Apple Federal Systems Group. Although the Company has contracts with a number of U.S. government agencies, these contracts are not currently material to the Company’s overall financial condition or results of operations. Presently, the United States represents the Company’s largest geographic marketplace. The Apple USA organization, based in Campbell, California, focuses on the Company’s sales, marketing, and support efforts in the United States. Products sold in the United States are primarily manufactured in the Company’s facilities in California, Colorado, and Singapore, and distributed from facilities in California and Illinois. Approximately 45% to 46% of the Company’s revenues in recent years has come from its international  operations. The Company has two international sales and marketing divisions, consisting of the division and the Apple Pacific division. The Apple Europe division, based in Paris, France, focuses on opportunities in Europe as well as in parts of Africa and in the Middle East. Products sold by the Europe division are manufactured primarily in the Company’s facility in Cork, Ireland. The Apple Pacific division, based in Cupertino, California, focuses on opportunities in Japan, Australia, Canada, the Far East, and Latin America. Products sold by the Pacific division are manufactured primarily in the Company’s manufacturing and assembly facilities in California, Colorado and Singapore. A summary of the Company’s Industry Segment and Geographic Information may be found in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K under the heading â€Å"Industry Segment and Geographic Information†, which information is hereby incorporated by reference. Raw materials Although raw materials, processes, and components essential to the Company’s business are generally available from multiple sources, certain key components are currently obtained from single sources. For example, certain microprocessors used in many of the Company’s products are currently available only from Motorola, Inc. Any availability limitations, interruption in supplies, or price increases relative to these and other components could adversely affect the Company’s business and financial results. Key components and processes currently obtained from single sources include certain of the Company’s displays, microprocessors, mouse devices, keyboards, disk drives, CD-ROM drives, printers and printer components, ASICs and other custom chips, and certain processes relating to construction of the plastic housing for the Company’s computers. In addition, new products introduced by the Company often initially utilize custom components obtained from onl y one source, until the Company has evaluated whether there is a need for an additional supplier. In situations where a component or product utilizes new technologies and processes, there may be initial capacity constraints until such time as the suppliers’ yields have matured. Materials and components are normally acquired through purchase orders, as  is common in the industry, typically covering the Company’s requirements for periods from 90 to 180 days. However, the Company continues to evaluate the need for a supply contract in each situation. If the supply of a key single-sourced material, process, or component to the Company were to be delayed or curtailed, its ability to ship the related product utilizing such material, process, or component in desired quantities and in a timely manner could be adversely affected. The Company’s business and financial performance could also be adversely affected, depending on the time required to obtain sufficient quantities from the original source, or to identify and obtain sufficient quantities from an alternate source. The Company believes that the suppliers whose loss to the Company could have a material adverse effect upon the Company’s business and financial position include, at this time , Canon, Inc., General Electric Co., Hitachi, Ltd., IBM, Motorola, Inc., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Texas Instruments, Inc., Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd., and/or their United States affiliates, and VLSI Technology, Inc. However, the Company helps mitigate these potential risks by working closely with these and other key suppliers on product introduction plans, strategic inventories, and coordinated product introductions. The Company believes that most of its single-source suppliers, including most of the foregoing companies, are reliable multinational corporations. Most of these suppliers manufacture the relevant materials, processes, or components in multiple plants. The Company further believes that its long-standing business relationships with these and other key suppliers are strong and mutually beneficial in nature. The Company has a supply agreement with Motorola, Inc. (see Exhibit 10.B.12 hereto). The agreement with Motorola continues for five years from January 31, 1992 unless otherwise mutually agreed in writing by the parties. The Company single-sources microprocessors from Motorola. The supply agreement does not obligate the Company to make minimum purchase commitments; however, the agreement does commit the vendor to supply the Company’s requirements of the particular items for the duration of the agreement. The Company has also from time to time experienced significant price incre ases and limited availability of certain components that are available from multiple sources, such as dynamic random-access memory devices. Any similar occurrences in the future could have an adverse effect on the Company’s operating results. Item 2. Properties The Company’s headquarters are located in Cupertino, California. The Company has manufacturing facilities in Fountain, Colorado, Sacramento, California, Cork, Ireland, and Singapore. As of September 30, 1994, the Company leased approximately 5.2 million square feet of space, primarily in the United States, and to a lesser extent, in Europe and the Pacific. Leases are generally for terms of five to ten years, and usually provide renewal options for terms of up to five additional years. Certain of these leased facilities are subject to the Company’s restructuring actions initiated in the third quarter of both 1993 and 1991. The amount of space leased by the Company may decline in the future as the leases for facilities subject to restructuring actions are terminated pursuant to agreements with landlords or expire as scheduled. The Company owns its manufacturing facilities in Fountain, Colorado, Cork, Ireland, and Singapore, which total approximately 920,000 square feet. T he Company also owns a 450,000 square-foot facility in Sacramento, California, which is used as a manufacturing, service and support center. The Company also owns the research and development facility located in Cupertino, California, and a centralized domestic data center in Napa, California which approximate 856,000 and 158,000 square feet, respectively. Outside of the United States, the Company owns a facility in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, which is used primarily for distribution, totaling approximately 265,000 square feet, in addition to certain other international facilities, totaling approximately 553,000 square feet. The Company believes that its existing facilities and equipment are well maintained and in good operating condition. The Company has invested in additional internal capacity and external partnerships, and therefore believes it has adequate manufacturing capacity for the foreseeable future. The Company continues to make investments in capital equipment as needed to meet anticipated demand for its products. Information regarding critical business operations that are located near major earthquake faults is set forth in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K under the heading â€Å"Factors That May Affect Future Results†, which information is hereby incorporated by reference. Information regarding the Company’s purchase of its remaining partnership interest in Cupertino Gateway Partners, formed for the purpose of constructing the campus-type office facility that is now wholly owned by  the Company, may be found in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K under the heading â€Å"Commitments and Contingencies†, which information is hereby incorporated by reference. â€Å"Other countries† consists of Canada and Australia. Prior year amounts have been restated to conform to the current year presentation. Net sales to unaffiliated customers is based on the location of the customers. Transfers between geographic areas are recorded at amounts generally above cost and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the respective governing tax authorities. Operating income (loss) by geographic area consists of total net sales less operating expenses, and does not include an allocation of general corporate expenses. The restructuring charge and adjustment recorded in 1993 and 1994, respectively, are included in the calculation of operating income (loss) for each geographic area. Identifiable assets of geographic areas are those assets used in the Company’s operations in each area. Corporate assets include cash and cash equivalents, joint venture investments, and short-term investments. 1995 Approximately 45% to 48% of the Company’s revenues in recent years has come from its international operations. The Company has two international sales and marketing divisions, consisting of the Apple Europe division and the Apple Pacific division. The Apple Europe division focuses on opportunities in Europe as well as in parts of Africa and in the Middle East. Products sold by the Europe division are manufactured primarily in the Company’s facility in Cork, Ireland. The Apple Pacific division focuses on opportunities in Japan and Asia; Australia and New Zealand; and the Caribbean region. Products sold by the Pacific division are manufactured primarily in the Company’s facilities in California, Colorado and Singapore. The Company distributes its products through third-party computer resellers, and is also continuing its expansion into various consumer channels, such as mass merchandise stores, consumer electronics outlets and computer superstores, in response to changing industry practices and customer preferences. The Company’s products are sold primarily to business and government customers through independent resellers, value- added resellers and systems integrators; to home customers through independent resellers and consumer channels; and to education customers through direct sales and independent resellers. In order to provide products and service to its independent resellers on a timely basis, the Company distributes its products through a number of Apple distribution and support centers. Raw materials Although certain raw materials, processes, and components essential to the Company’s business are generally available from multiple sources, key components and processes currently obtained from single sources include certain of the Company’s displays, microprocessors, mouse devices, keyboards, disk drives, printers and printer components, application- specific integrated circuits (â€Å"ASICs†) and other custom chips, and certain processes relating to construction of the plastic housing for the Company’s computers. Any availability limitations, interruption in supplies, or price increases relative to these and other components could adversely affect the Company’s business and financial results. In addition, new products introduced by the Company often initially utilize custom components obtained from only one source, until the Company has evaluated whether there is a need for an additional supplier. In situations where a component or product utilizes new technologies and processes, there may be initial capacity constraints until such time as the suppliers’ yields have matured. Materials and components are normally acquired through purchase orders, as is common in the industry, typically covering the Company’s requirements for periods from 90 to 180 days. However, the Company continues to evaluate the need for a supply contract in each situation. If the supply of a key single-sourced material, process, or component to the Company were to be delayed or curtailed, its ability to ship the related product utilizing such material, process, or component in desired quantities and in a timely manner could be  adversely affected. The Company’s business and financial performance could also be adversely affected, depending on the time required to obtain sufficient quantities from the original source, or to identify and obtain sufficient quantities from an alternate so urce. The Company believes that the suppliers whose loss to the Company could have a material adverse effect upon the   Company’s business and financial position include, at this time, Canon, Inc., General Electric Co., Hitachi, Ltd., IBM, Motorola, Inc., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Texas Instruments, Inc., and/or their United States affiliates, and VLSI Technology, Inc. However, the Company helps mitigate these potential risks by working closely with these and other key suppliers on product introduction plans, strategic inventories, and coordinated product introductions. The Company believes that most of its single-source suppliers, including most of the foregoing companies, are reliable multinational corporations. Most of these suppliers manufacture the relevant materials, processes, or components in multiple plants. The Company further believes that its long-standing business relationships with these and other key suppliers are strong and mutually beneficial in nature. The Company has also from time to time experienced significant price increases and limited availability of certain components that are available from multiple sources. Any similar occurrences in the future could have an adverse affect on the Company’s operating results. The Company has a supply agreement with Motorola, Inc. (see Exhibit 10.B.12 hereto). The agreement with Motorola continues for five years from January 31, 1992 unless otherwise mutually agreed in writing by the parties. The Company single-sources certain microprocessors from Motorola. The supply agreement does not obligate the Company to make minimum purchase commitments; however, the agreement does commit the vendor to supply the Company’s requirements of the particular items for the duration of the agreement.

Relevance of Sociology for the study of Law Essay

If societies are based upon agreed upon laws, then they are very much interrelated subjects. They are symbiotic, interwoven, interconnected. When someone commits a crime against another person or their property, they will have to face the consequences in a court of law. Or reduce it to a smaller group such as a tribe. Even amongst members of a tribe, there are laws that may only be verbal, or perhaps not even as formal as that. They are followed because children see them in the form of examples as they grow up. Within each tribe, culture or society, some form of punishment is enforced when a cultural norm is broken. Law can be analyzed sociologically as a method of doing something. Law can be studied as a social process, instrumented by individuals during social interaction. Sociologically, law consists of the behaviors, situations, and conditions for making, interpreting and applying legal rules that are backed by the state’s legitimate coercive apparatus for enforcement. The sociology of law (or legal sociology) is often described as a sub-discipline of sociology or an interdisciplinary approach within legal studies. While some socio-legal scholars see the sociology of law as â€Å"necessarily† belonging to the discipline of sociology, others see it as a field of research caught up in the disciplinary tensions and competitions between the two established disciplines of law and sociology. Yet, others regard it neither as a sub-discipline of sociology nor as a branch of legal studies and, instead, present it as a field of research on its own right within a broader social science tradition. For example, Roger Cotterrell describes the sociology of law without reference to mainstream sociology as â€Å"the systematic, theoretically grounded, empirical study of law as a set of social practices or as an aspect or field of social experience†. The sociology of law became clearly established as an academic field of learning and empirical research after the Second World War. After World War II, the study of law was not central in sociology, although some well-known sociologists did write about the role of law in society. In the work of the Talcott Parsons, for instance, law is conceived as an essential mechanism of social control. In response to the criticisms that were developed against functionalism, other sociological perspectives of law emerged. 1. Critical sociologists developed a perspective of law as an instrument of power. 2. However, other theorists in the sociology of law, such as  Philip Selznick, argued that modern law became increasingly responsive to a society’s needs and had to be approached morally as well. 3. Still other scholars, most notably the American sociologist Donald Black, developed a resolutely scientific theory of law on the basis of a paradigm of pure sociology. 4. Equally broad in orientation, but again different, is the autopoietic systems theory of the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann, who sees law as normatively closed, but cognitively open system. The essential insight underlying all sociological approaches to law is that law is a social phenomenon that should, therefore, be studied sociologically. Beyond this core unifying orientation, sociology and law, otherwise known as the sociology of law, or law and sociology, consists of a variety of different approaches, assumptions, and attitudes. This internal proliferation of approaches is the product of diversity at two different levels. 1. First: sociology and law are contrasting bodies of knowledge. Sociology is a social science focused on the study of society, and like all such disciplines its overarching goal is the gathering of knowledge. Law, in contrast, is a practical activity that focuses on completing certain fundamental tasks, including promulgating and enforcing rules, responding to disputes, and maintaining order. 2. Second: each of these contributing bodies of knowledge is in its own way internally driven, with sociology divided among various competing schools of thought and law divided among practitioners and theorists (adhering to competing schools of thought). When sociology and law are brought together, the differences between them, and the internal divisions that characterize each, are manifested in the combination of the two. In the United States, the primary academic influences in bringing sociology to law were philosophical pragmatism, sociological jurisprudence, and legal realism; the key figures were Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Roscoe Pound, and Karl Llewellyn. These schools of thought and figures were leaders in the critique of formalistic approaches to the law that dominated at the end of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Under formalist views, law was a gapless, logically coherent self-contained system that could be discovered and applied exclusively through cons ideration of legal concepts, principles, and rules, without regard to social context or consequences. The figures identified above argued, to the contrary, that law was the product of social forces, that it was neither gapless nor  systematic, that one could not move mechanistically from principle to application (choices had to be made), and that judges were influenced by the social background in their interpretation and application of law. Most important: they argued that law, far from being autonomous and self-standing, was above all else an instrument to serve social needs. An important social-political influence on their thought was the social programs of the New Deal, which resorted to law as the key mechanism for implementing social policy. It follows this cluster of views that the efficacy of law, and its social consequences, must be carefully evaluated. Hence the call for the application of sociology to law. The early agenda for sociology ranged from studying the gap between â€Å"law in the books† and â€Å"law in action,† to discovering the social influences on the making, the application, and the interpretation of law, to learning whether law is effective in achieving social policy, and how it can be made more effective when it is not. Many sociological studies of law, from the study of crime to influences on judicial decision-making, were conducted to meet this call. Under the influence of sociologist E. A. Ross, law came to be understood as a mechanism of social control, and the thrust of many studies was to make law more efficient and effective in accomplishing this task. A backlash against this jurisprudence-dominated agenda gradually developed from the sociological standpoint, which decried the instrumental use of sociology as a â€Å"handmaiden to law.† As the science of society, the application of sociology to law, it has been argued, should take place in the context of general theories about society, with proper attention paid to epistemological and methodological concerns. The classical sociological theories about law—famously including 1. Émile Durkheim’s view of law as the essential element integrating modern society, 2. Max Weber’s ideal-type analysis of the kinds of law found relative to kinds of societies, and 3. Karl Marx’s characterization of law as determined by economic forces, serving the dominant class all possessed these qualities. 4. A modern sociological theory of this type of law is Donald Black’s view, which assumes a positivistic stance of measuring law in quantitative terms, and articulates a series of â€Å"laws† of legal behavior based upon patterns he observes relating to factors like degree of social stratification. A different current source of criticism of the  jurisprudence-influenced approach to sociology and law comes from critical schools of sociolegal theory, including â€Å"critical empiricists† and â€Å"post-empiricists,† which reject positivism and many of the epistemological underpinnings of classical sociology (including the fact/value distinction). Adherents criticize sociology and law as currently practiced as a conservative tool that serves to preserve the status quo by enhancing the efficiency of law and by failing to scrutinize and reveal the institutional structures and ideological beliefs about law circulating in society which perpetuate (class-based, gender-based, and/or race-based) oppression and domination. Sociological approaches to law, according to this view, must reject the agenda set by jurisprudence, and instead seek to expose all forms of domination perpetuated through law. Sociology and law thus encompasses divergent perspectives on law. Despite significant internal schisms, a growing community of scholars and body of discourse has developed around the combination of sociology and law, united by the shared commitment to view law as a social phenomenon that must be examined in sociological terms. Functions of law * Social control * Dispute resolution * Social change Social control: There are two basic processes of social control: 1. the internalization of group norms and 2. control through external pressures. In Chtonic societies, social control is ensured by the fact that socializing experiences are very much the same for all members. Even in larger societies, social control rests largely on the internalization of shared norms. Formal social control is characterized by: (i) explicit rules of conduct, (ii) planned use of sanctions to support the rules, and (iii) designated officials to interpret and enforce the rules, and often to make them. Law does not have a monopoly on formal mechanisms of social control. Control through law is usually exercised by the use of negative sanctions and not by positive rewards. A person that obeys the law does not receive an award. Mechanisms of social control through law: (i) Criminal sanctions, (ii) civil commitment, and (iii) administrative licenses. Criminal sanctions: the purpose of sanctions: Retribution (denounce unlawful conduct) Deterrence (both specific and general), Rehabilitation of the offender. Civil commitment: medicalization of social problems, such as drug abuse, alcoholism, etc. Administrative law: administrative regulations is used as a means of social control. Dispute resolution: Types: By the parties themselves: physical violence, family feud, lumping it, avoidance, etc. By adjudication: ADR: negotiation (without the help of any third party), mediation (third party helps disputants), and arbitration (third party makes a final and binding decision, which is enforceable). Hybrid resolution processes: rent a judge (like arbitration, but with a retired judge), med-arb (issues not solved by mediation are sent to arbitration where the mediator becomes arbiter), and mini trial (if there is no settlement before the â€Å"sentence† the adviser gives her opinion about the likely outcome if the dispute were litigated). Adjudication: a formal method of conflict resolution, where a third party –the courts- intervenes –even if not wanted by the parties- and renders a decision which is enforceable. Social change Law is both a dependent and an independent variable, i.e., an effect and a cause of social change. The question is not whether law changes society or whether social change alters law, but rather, what level or under what circumstances change is produced. Examples of social changes as causes of legal changes: Soviet Union, China, and other radical revolutions. Examples of legal changes as causes of social changes: adultery, sexual assault, etc. Problems of interaction between sociologists and lawyers Sociologists study everything about the law, except for rules –institutional structures, processes, behavior, personnel, and culture. Lawyers and sociologists don’t speak the same language. There is a special rethoric of law. It has its own vocabulary, an arcane writing style, and a form of irritating citation. There are also differences in professional culture. Lawyers are advocates. They are concerned with the identification and resolution of the problems of their clients. Sociologists consider all evidence on a proposition and approach the problem with an open mind. Lawyers are guided by precedents and past decisions control current cases. In contrast, sociologists emphasize empirical research. Lawyers and law professors tend to believe that they have a monopoly over law. This is as if physicians thought that they had a monopoly over the bodies. The pronouncements of law are predominantly prescriptive: they tell people how they should behave and what will happen to them if they don’t. In sociology, the emphasis is on description, on understanding the reasons why certain groups of people act in a certain way in specific situations. The law reacts to problems most of the time. The issues and conflicts are brought to lawyers by their clients outside the legal system. In sociology, issues and concerns are generated within the discipline on the basis of what is considered intellectually challenging, timely, or of interest to funding agencies. These differences are due in part to the different methods they use.

Marketimg Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketimg - Essay Example First, it helps the company to promote product awareness to the consumers and also position the company in the market. Second, marketing efforts can also help the organization to boost product sales. Third, marketing helps the company to build its reputation in the market. Without marketing efforts, a company cannot convey what services or product it is offering. Actually marketing is a huge area which covers various aspects of business from identification of need in the market to the after-sale services. Moreover, marketing efforts of a company help the people to recognize the product options available in the market and the features and qualities f the products. Therefore, marketing plays a very important role in the success of a company and its products and services. Three examples have been quoted here to explain how marketing concepts help the companies to operate in a particular market. IKEA is a prominent international player in the furniture industry. The company has been offe ring well designed, functional home and furnishing products to its customers for more than 60 years. The effective marketing strategies of IKEA have helped the company to develop a strong image in the markets where it is operating. The graph shows that the number of visitors to IKEA stores is expanding significantly. Company considers its every customer as a member of â€Å"IKEA Family†. The marketing function of the company has helped the company to establish an image in the market. Moreover, through marketing programs IKEA develops relationships with its customers for example; IKEA has recently introduced IKEA mobile content which is a marketing strategy through which company has developed a database of customers. Source: Batistia, 2009 These are the marketing efforts of a company which help the company to segment and target the market and position the product to reach the target audience. Red Bull was launched as an energy drink and today company is operating in many count ries across the world. Company heavily relied on â€Å"buzz marketing† or word-of-mouth to establish a strong image in the market. In order to position the energy drink, to attract customers and to increase the visibility of the product, the marketing strategies which the company adopted include sports marketing, even marketing, advertising, sales promotions and free sampling etc. By 2004, Red Bull was having 70 percent market shares of worldwide energy drinks market (Ny Mafia, 2008). Various competitors also tried to adopt the marketing strategies of Red Bull however; these tactics could not help the competitors. Therefore, even the taste of energy drink of Red Bull was not that very good however, these were the marketing efforts which communicated the purpose and features of energy drink. Various marketing efforts are pursued by companies to attract and retain customers. The following example of Lloyds Banking Group advocates however, marketing efforts help a company to pro vide information related to products and services to the customers of the company. The company is focusing on integrated marketing communication strategy to target its customers. In addition, the company also asks the people to join the network of the company through which company keeps on updating the customers via phone or email about the new products or services.

Parents and Their Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Parents and Their Children - Essay Example Most parents do not seem to be concerned with the possible outcome of this problem within their families. Moreover, this problem is closely correlated with Judaism and Christianity which are considered as the world’s greatest religions. In most cases, sibling rivalry is attributed to hostility between siblings. This antagonism can be depicted in numerous methods, which are extremely dangerous. This shows that this conflict usually involves aggression; however, sibling rivalry is not related to sibling abuse. Sibling abuse is a situation whereby a child oppresses the other through unnoticeable techniques (Susan, 1992). According to psychologists, sibling rivalry can be defined as a form of competition that crops up among children in a home (Susan, 1992). This can also be referred to as enmity among children whether they are blood-related or not. In most cases, the rivalry arises from several factors that are contained either outside or within the family. Some of the factors include personality of the children, birth order, treatment of children by the parents and life experiences. This contention vastly affects children who are of the same gender or those who are born at a close range. As explained by most child psychologists, this issue is widespread and can involve belligerence among the children. In addition, the factors largely contribute to this conflict. For example, parental treatment is said to affect children, even in their teenage years. When these issues are not resolved, then the children might end up hurting each other or even killing their fellow siblings. Reports show that children of age 10-15 are those affected largely by sibling rivalry with the main issue being intellectuality. In prolonged situations, these jealousy issues can thrive to adulthood (Faber & Mazlish, 2012). This can negatively affect the whole family line.

Online shopping players Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Online shopping players - Case Study Example This is to ensure that the goods arrive when and where the customers need them. There are three online stores focusing on the above factors for marketing their merchandise; they are the focus of this paper. Lane Crawford deals with fashion items. The website is very easy to navigate through. The very first tabs are ‘Women’, ‘Men’, ‘Lifestyle & Gifts’, and ‘Discover’ in that order. Anyone looking for designer clothes and fashion accessories for women just needs to click the first tab and several options are shown. The individual can click on the various designer brands or select the shoes, clothing, bags, and other accessories they need. The business offers free international delivery. In Net A Porter, the second online marketplace for high-end fashion products, the statement â€Å"The world’s premier online luxury fashion destination† meets the customer. Like in Lane Crawford, navigating through this website is quite easy too. The main difference, however, is that the options are more in Net A Porter. The very first tabs contain the items ‘Sale’, ‘What’s New’, ‘Designers’, ‘Clothing’, ‘Bags’, ‘Shoes’, ‘Accessories’, ‘Lingerie’, ‘Sport’, ‘Beauty’, ‘Gifts’, ‘Magazines’ in that order. Such neat layout of items is what makes it easy for customers to reach for whatever they are looking for. After clicking on say bags, a few items will present the customer but they can also go ahead and select the type of the bags they need or even the designer of the bag from a list of options on the left hand side of the items. Luisaviaroma is another luxury shop. The layout is quite similar to those of the above shops only that there is a slideshow of photos showing individuals wearing custom made attires. Nonetheless, the very first tabs are ‘Men’, ‘Women’, ‘Kids’, ‘Home’, ‘Designers’, and ‘Sale’ in that order. While this presents an easy way to navigate

Paradise lost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paradise lost - Essay Example Knowledge is compared to food and needs no less (Milton, 1905, p. 45). Wisdom to folly, as nourishment to wind. The influence of wind by tossing or creating turbulence in mind is a metaphor used to direct state the mind. The use of virginity to illustrate originality and innocence is revealed in the several lines of the poem. The use of â€Å"her Virgin Fancies pouring forth more sweet (v 291-97). Though Eve is revealed as a Matron latter on, the original status calls her a virgin because she does not know evil and she is an innocent nature spirit. In modern language, literary use is occasional, with the main approach being on the use of metaphor. Several issues in the society are addressed by the use of metaphor such as pass away to illustrate death. The current literature books address almost all the literary devices that can be used to evaluate the different contemporary literature (Milton, 1905, p. 67). Compared to paradise lost, the current literature such as water for elephant employs the use of metaphor in defining the life of the young man Jacob Jankowski. The young man’s life is depicted clearly through the use of metaphor and the other stylistic devices such as irony (Gruen, 2011, p. 34). Suspense and metaphor use in the book illustrates the power of literary devices. The use of styles that facilitate the development of interest to read the book. The exposition of Jacobs’s depression illustrates the beauty of the story with continued use of illustrative language and the development of understanding of t he overall plot of the novel. The behavior of the characters is explained by use of metaphor and epic similes making modern literature similar to the traditional literature such as paradise lost. In response to the different plots, the use of literary device is changed, by the authors, to suit the style of writing. The novel Paradise Lost has employed the use of metaphor significantly, with the statements being used,

Global Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Marketing - Essay Example There are many factors such as the changing consumers’ demographics and expectations, the nature of competitions and the advent of technologies that affect the operations of a firm among others. Question One: Environmental Factors Affecting Inniskillin The environmental factors play a significant role in the business and in a country’s growth. The numerous factors that will be discussed in this context are political factors, economic factors, social factors, technological factors, environmental factors and legal factors (Jones & Hirasawa, 2008). Political Factors It can be mentioned that the political as well as the legal factors have been favourable for the success of the Inniskillin. After the end of the prohibition on sales of the alcohol, most of the companies have built their reputation in Canadian market of spirits and beers. Despite the wine market remaining sectioned, the market seemed to be expanding because of the Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) that assists in maintaining the standard as well as the quality control. This can assist the Canadian wine to achieve more recognition in the global market especially for the production of the Icewine. It has been apparent from the case study that because of the permission that Vincor received from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)., the company was capable of being the biggest wine shop in the country of Canada. It permitted Vincor to set up its own shops whilst the other small wineries were capable of selling only at the government-owned stores since they had limited options from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (Jones & Hirasawa, 2008). The company was capable of gaining competitive advantage because of its own distribution channel in Canada. It was further apparent from the case study that domestic prices of the wine of the wineries in Canada were controlled by the government monopolies for getting their wine listed so that they can distribute as well as sell their wines. This led to low-sales volumes as well as restricted the options available in exporting, tourism activities along with the restaurant trade. Economic Factors The economic factors have been quite favourable for the Inniskillin. The reasons behind this have been the rising incomes as well as the rise in the consumption rate of the wine in terms of values and sales. The industry sought the global pressure of consolidation. However, Inniskillin undertook expansion strategy and thus enjoyed the benefits of economies of scale via acquisition so that it can produce cheap wines and thus ac hieve recognition in the domestic as well as global markets. It has further been apparent from the case study that because of the economic activities that have been concerned with the agriculture in Canada, the production of better quality European Vinifera has been possible (Jones & Hirasawa, 2008) Social Factors It can be mentioned that the taste and the preference of the consumers evolve on a continuous basis. With the rise in the income, the consumers were becoming more concerned regarding the taste. The premium wines became popular at the expense of low tier wines. It was because of the evolving consumers’ awareness regarding the premium brands that helped Inniskillin to enhance their product quality (Jones & Hirasawa

Childbirth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Childbirth - Essay Example The rate of vaginal birth after previous cesarean increased from1989 till 1996 and declined between 1996 and 2003. In the year 2003, 27.6% of all births in the United States resulted from cesarean deliveries. (MMWR, 54(02), 46) An institutional culture that views childbirth as pathological might have contributed to an extent for the increase in cesarean deliveries in the United States. The number of voices urging to make childbirth a human and social, rather than a medical, event signifies this. However, the institutional culture is not the sole reason for these undesirable results. The safety issues of mother and child and medico legal considerations appear to have contributed to the rise. A doctor is more likely to be sued for not doing a cesarean than for doing one. In addition, a high rate of malpractice by the midwives and the insurance costs favored the pregnant women to seek the services of an obstetrician. Childbirth is either by means of a vaginal delivery or a cesarean section. Cesarean sections are carried out by obstetricians. A few alternatives to a normal natural vaginal delivery are there for women in US. They are natural birth with pain medication, aromatherapy at birth, home birth, midwife delivery, birthing centers, water birth and Doula assistance. In a natural birth with pain medication, medication is given to alleviate the

Modern Business Statistics with Microsoft excel Essay Example for Free

Modern Business Statistics with Microsoft excel Essay When are you entitled to deduct interest? If you run a business in part of your home, you are entitled to deduct part of the interest on money you borrowed to buy your home if: part of your home is set aside exclusively as a place of business and is clearly identifiable as such, and that part of the home is not readily adaptable for private use, for example, a doctor’s surgery located within a doctors home. If you rent out part of your home with access to general living areas on an arm’s length basis, you are entitled to deduct part of the interest on money borrowed to buy the home (see Taxation Ruling IT 2167). In these situations you would satisfy the interest deductibility test. This means you would not obtain a full main residence exemption and so would have to pay tax on part of any capital gain made when you sell your home. You may satisfy the interest deductibility test even if you didn’t borrow money to acquire your home – you must apply it on the assumption that you did borrow money to acquire it. You also satisfy the test if you were entitled to claim a deduction for the interest, even if you didn’t actually claim the deduction. There is a special rule to work out the amount of your capital gain or loss if you first use your home to produce income in a way that satisfies the interest deductibility test after 20 August 1996. Last Modified: Tuesday, 30 June 2009 Main residence exemption the effect of using your home to produce income Where you first use your home to produce income after 20 August 1996 If you start using your home to produce income (in a way that would satisfy the interest deductibility test) for the first time after 20 August 1996, there is a special rule for working out your capital gain or loss. In this case, you are taken to have acquired your home at its market value at the time it is first used to produce income if all of the following apply: you acquired the home on or after 20 September 1985Â  you first used it to produce income after 20 August 1996 Â  you would get only a part exemption because the home was used to produce assessable income during the period you owned it, and you would have been entitled to a full exemption if you had sold the home immediately before you first used it to produce income. The effect of this rule applying is that the period before the home is first used by you to produce income is not taken into account in working out the amount of any capital gain or loss . The extent of the exemption for the period after the home was first used to produce income depends on the proportion of the home used to produce income. Example: Home first used to produce income after 20 August 1996 Louise purchased a home in December 1991 for $200,000. The home was her main residence. On 1 November 2001 she started to use 50% of the home for a consultancy business. At that time the market value of the house was $220,000. She decided to sell the property in August 2002 for $250,000. The capital gain is 50% of the proceeds less the cost base. Percentage of use X (proceeds – cost base) = capital gain 50% X ($250,000 – $220,000) = $15,000 Louise is taken to have acquired the property on 1 November 2001 at a cost of $220,000. Because she is taken to have acquired it at this time, Louise is taken to have owned it for less than 12 months and therefore cannot apply the indexation or discount method to calculate her capital gain.

Better to convince people than to force them Essay Example for Free

Better to convince people than to force them Essay It is better to convince people than to force them: DISAGREE/ Agree I would like to talk to you about today the topic â€Å"convincing people is better forcing them† and I am against this saying no forcing people is better but I also agree and saying that convincing Is better, please don’t get confused because in some cases it is truly better to force people but in some other cases it is better to convince all depending on the situation. There are a few ways to prove this point. One, forcing someone to do something is quicker and more efficient. There is also a term â€Å"fake it till you make it†. Convincing people might make it slower and waste time but in some cases it will be more efficient and thus be less violence. Forcing people can be quicker and more efficient. I believe in some cases being forced to do something is much more effective than convincing since it will be a waste of time. One, Valley and the damn Another example is homework, I know we all hate it but, we have to do it, we are forced to because of teachers and parents even though we don’t want to we are forced to do so but imagine if they tried to convince us but, obviously no one will actually do it in the end, in other words you can say they force us because they want what is best for us. Have you ever heard the term â€Å"Fake it until you make it† before? New school Working out Convincing people does take time but reduces all force or in some cases war or violence. Palestine and Israel war for the past almost 70 years Imagine a world where there were no advertisement and you were forced to eat them than to convince them. Eating products forcefully  Buying forcefully. But this might not always work in some cases like for example in Syria where the war that has been occurring for more than two years and after all the bloodshed and lives lost there is no room for trying to convince someone who has lost everything to the regime to stop fighting. Trying to convince some and to force someone both have their own time and place. To reduce violence Not to waste time in case of emergency

Solving Problems And Making Decisions

Solving Problems And Making Decisions SitesPower is a training institute specialized in providing Technical courses in IT and courses in Business Management fields. It is based in Dubai and with a branch in Sharjah. It has been approved by the UAE Ministry of Education and it is an approved and accredited institute from awarding bodies like ILM, Autodesk, and Microsoft etc. whose courses and trainings are delivered in the institute. As a trainer in SitesPower, I provide training courses in ICDL, Microsoft Office Applications (2007-2010), and a wide range of certified courses in Business Management to deliver specific skills that students need. Also, I accomplish a lot of tasks assigned to me by my manager, and that requires a lot of time, effort and preparation to complete those tasks on time. Trainers face many problems in training programs, but some of these problems are frequent and sometimes worrying, such as: problems of students failing in the ICDL Exams, and delay in receiving the certificate due to students repeating the course or not being able to complete the course. Before talking about this issue, I will explain through the following chart: the administrative and organizational structure of the training centre SitesPower Sharjah branch in which I work there Present situation (Analysis of the problem) The International Computer Driving License Course (ICDL) is the most important certificate for a large number of employees or job seekers, particularly in government jobs in the United Arab Emirates. For this reason, the demand for this certificate has increased over many years and has become a key requirement for employment in many companies. Because of its importance, the candidates enrol in our training centre programs and attend ICDL classes for the preparation for ICDL Exams so as not to be an obstacle to access to jobs or losing their current jobs. The main problem that we face with these courses is the failure of some students in the ICDL exams, and therefore they will not get the certificate or causing a delay to obtain the certificate due to repetition of the course or the exam, which leads to a major embarrassment and might lose job opportunities. First of all, I will explain the components of the ICDL sessions, rules and how to obtain the certificate in order to understand the causes of students failure in the exams. ICDL Course consists of the following Modules: IT (Information Technology) Using Computer and Managing Files (Operating System) Word Processor (Microsoft Word) Spread Sheets (Microsoft Excel) Database (Microsoft Access) Presentations (Microsoft PowerPoint) Web browsing and Communication (Internet Explorer Outlook Express) This course duration is seven weeks, i.e. average of 9 hours for each module. The candidate must pass the exam assessments for each module to obtain the certificate. Exams are provided on the web through a software program, and its files contains exercises shown on a computer screen and questions bar shown on the screen with a time calculator to calculate the time required to complete the test. The Exam timing prescribed for each subject is 45 minutes. Questions are categorized into groups according to the exam module, but the numbers of questions for each module are 36 questions. The Candidate should answer these questions within 45 minutes and has to get the rate of 75% or more to pass in the exam. Based on the above, the main problem I encounter during teaching and training students for the exam is some repetition in these certification exams and this will affect negatively on the students and also on the training centre and its employees. There are many reasons that I will clarify them later, some of these reasons are: Inefficient trainee using the computer Inability to concentrate during the lecture and thus no interaction with the instructor. Lack of opportunity to review the material and training tests on these exams. The student may not be able to answer all questions within the time allocated for the exam. Student may face a problem in understanding the wording of the question. There are reasons linked to the technical aspects of the ICDL Exams online, hardware and software used may affect the result of the exam and cause the failure of the student. We can classify the above mentioned problems into two categories: First: Expected problems Problems associated with weak efficiency trainee in using the computer, Exam system, and inability of the trainee to answer all questions within the limited time. These problems occur continuously, and we face them in every training session including: Number of students enrolled in the training course. Difference in the level of competencies and comprehension of the trainees in using the computer. Second: Unexpected problems The technical problems associated with the exam system, the computer used by the trainee during the exam or software used by trainee to answer questions. These problems occur few and only appear during the exam, but may cause either postpone the exam or failure of the trainee and thus give him a chance to repeat the exam again. The problems that I mentioned earlier, both expected and unexpected adversely affect everyone. First of all The candidate will be affected by these problems due to the failure and delay in receiving the certificate, which means losing job opportunities or may lead to termination of employment. Other candidates will also be affected by these problems because of their fear from making the same mistakes and problems that have occurred with their colleagues and thus will affect their self-confidence and possibly lead to failure as well. Secondly these problems might also affect the training centre, as it may lead to bad reputation of the training centre as it was unable to address the problems of the trainees and its inability to help the candidate solve these problems and ensure their success in the exam. Thirdly These problems will also affect the trainer in taking part of the responsibility for the failure of the trainee. One of the most important goals that I am trying to achieve through solving these problems mentioned above and in cooperation with the management is to help the trainees to achieve their objective to be certified by developing their computer skills to ensure getting that certificate. Through achieving the objective of the trainees, training centre will achieve its goal and gain a special position among the other accredited training centres in the region. The failure to take any actions to address these problems that I have mentioned above and solve them, will lead to increase the gap between the trainees and the training centre and unable to achieve the training centres goals and the trainees objectives. Investigation and identification of possible solutions to the problem When I started my job at the centre in 2006, as a trainer, I was assigned to give ICDL courses and train candidates on the ICDL practice exams. A lot of candidates joined our training centre programs at that time to get the ICDL certificate. Some of them faced many problems in the exams and failed to get the certificate. During that time, I didnt realize the reasons of those candidates who were failing in the exams. Gathering the information After a few months, the management asked me to start monitoring ICDL exams due to lack of exams testers. But I had to be qualified first in order to be authorized as a tester to monitor these exams. Therefore, I took a training course in the ICDL office in Dubai Internet City on how to monitor and solve problems that might occur during the exams. After taking this course, I had started to understand and analyse the reasons for why candidates were failing in these exams and also to know the nature of ICDL questions. And analyse historical records of exams and result reports. After knowing this, I decided to help candidates to overcome all problems of the exams plus for being an exam tester. In Summary, I gathered the information about the problem from the following sources: My evaluation of the candidates skills during the lectures. Monitoring the Exams Reports of the Exams Evaluation of Possible Solutions Fishbone is a way of analysing problems Super Series from ILM Based on the information gathered above, I have decided to use the Fishbone Tool to analyse this issue by identifying the main reasons and the subsets as shown in the diagram below: Problems in the Network system Difficult terms set out in some exam questions Lack of maintenance of devices before the exam by computer technicians Errors in the booking of exams for candidates Problems in the live exam system Problems in the hardware and software in the users computer The difference between the candidates in their skills The number of candidates in the ICDL course no interaction with the instructor during the lecture No preparation prior to exam Lack of practicing on mock exams Lack of computer skills Causes of student failure in ICDL Exams Candidates ICDL Course Equipment Employees Live Exam System By using the Fishbone analysis tool, I managed to collect all the reasons that might cause the students failure in the exams. After that, I conducted a survey among the candidates in a scale of impact and importance from (1-5), where (No.1 is very weak) and (No. 5 very strong): Identify the areas of improvement that can enrich the overall performance of the candidate in the exam. To know the level of impact on the students failure in the exams No. The Reason of student failure in the ICDL Exams 1 2 3 4 5 1 Weakness in skills, and incompetence and inability to use computer by trainee 31.58% 10.53% 21.05% 15.79% 21.05% 2 No enough time allocated for training on the practice exams at home or at office 15.79% 10.53% 15.79% 31.58% 26.32% 3 Less time of training on the sample exams in the classroom 47.37% 10.53% 36.84% 5.263% 4 The inability to interact with the instructor and the inability to understand his explanation of the modules 31.58% 31.58% 15.79% 21.05% 5 Uncertainty, and lack of understanding of examination program and not knowing how to use it during the exam by the student 26.32% 26.32% 31.58% 5.263% 10.53% 6 Lack of understanding of exam question because of the difficulty of the terms used in the exam 26.32% 21.05% 21.05% 21.05% 10.53% 7 Exam time is not enough 36.84% 15.79% 31.58% 5.263% 10.53% 8 Technical problems associated with the exam software 21.05% 15.79% 31.58% 26.32% 5.263% 9 Technical problems related with the computer user in the exam or technical problem in its software. 36.84% 26.32% 21.05% 10.53% 5.263% 10 Lack of the trainer experience and skills 89.47% 10.53% 11 ICDL Books and materials 47.37% 21.05% 5.263% 10.53% 15.79% Depend on the result shown in the table above I discovered that the most important reasons of student failure in the ICDL Exams were: Weakness in skills, and incompetence and inability to use computer by trainee No enough time allocated for training on the practice exams at home or at office Technical problems associated with the exam software Lack of understanding of exam question because of the difficulty of the terms used in the exam Recommended implementation plan to solve problem According to the results mentioned above, I have recommended to management the idea of taking the advantages of some features that we got form ICDL office, like booking for candidates ICDL exams at convenient and also provide them with practice exam cards. In addition, I have determined some other actions that would help solving these problems. These actions consist of the following points: Determine the number of candidates in each session with maximum number of 12 candidates. Increase the number of scheduled hours for each subject if necessary, and making more practices in the class. Provide each student with practice exam cards with 20 hours training to conduct the necessary training before the exam either in their offices, homes or even in the training centre. Explain the exam system for students at the beginning of each session, providing them with important advices and guidelines to ensure their success in the exam. Aware candidates of the importance of the exam timing, and the importance of answering the questions quickly. Getting help from the computer technician during candidate taking the ICDL exams, to resolve any technical problem that appears during the test. Update the computers and replacing the old one with new one. Making a routine and regular check on the computers, and especially before the ICDL exams. Print the result report of the student after taking the exam when necessary, in order to study the wrong answers with the student to avoid these mistakes next time. After applying these recommendations, and monitored its effectiveness and impact, we managed to: Increase the success rate of the ICDL exams. Reduce the percentage of the problems appearing in these exams to the minimum. Improve the performance of the candidates using of computers. Raise self-confidence of trainees in the exams. Following table show the different between ICDL Results through three years 2011 2012 -2013 2011 2012 2013 (January) Pass 42.85714% 70.58824% 71.42857% Fail 57.142857% 29.411765% 28.571429%

A Sense of Gothic Expressed in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay

A Sense of Gothic Expressed in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein The term ‘Gothic’ has many forms. Its origins go back to the medieval period and can be seen in architecture such as Westminster Abbey in London and the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. It can also be applied to art in the works of Hieronymus Bosch who’s grotesque and haunting imagery depicted ugly distorted humans who are morally degenerate and depraved, and to William Blake who visualised Dante’s Divine Comedy. In literature, the Gothic novel is credited as starting with Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto, (1764) which characterised most of what would become the essential ingredients in the Gothic genre. I will for the purpose of this assignment discuss what constitutes ‘Gothic’ in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein novel. Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus was first published in London in 1818 and again with an edited edition in 1831. It was a novel of its time in respect to its romantic style of flamboyant and extravagant characters, which are placed in mysterious, remote and exotic settings. Shelly’s ‘hideous progeny’ of a novel was largely inspired by her own tragic personal circumstances which saw the untimely death of her mother, half-sister who committed suicide and the death of two of her daughters, one of which died two weeks after a premature birth. Shelly’s nightmarish vision during a tremendous thunderstorm while on vacation at the villa Diodati at Lake Geneva had a profound effect on ...

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams Essay -- A Streetcar Na

ENGLISH ESSAY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the play A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams uses his brilliant writing to bring life to his characters in the story. I will be composing a character sketch on Stanley, one of the main actors in the play. I will focus on evaluating Stanley's ever changing character traits in the role he plays. They consist of different moods that he demonstrates during the play: his aggressiveness, his love for Stella and also his rudeness and cruelty towards Blanche.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Let's begin by talking about the way Stanley's aggressiveness affects the climax of the play. During scene three, while the boys were playing poker, Blanche and Stella come into the kitchen and, as a result, disrupt the games. This got Stanley very angry and violent . For this reason he got up and began attacking Stella. Here is a passage from that scene: ' Men: Take it easy, Stanley, easy fellow,--Let's all--. Stella: You lay your hands on me and I'll—'(57) This just proves what I was saying about one of Stanley's moods. His violence and the fact that he looses control of his actions is one characteristic which I didn't particularly like at all about Stanley. Here's another passage in Scene 10 that really show's how mean Stanley really is. This scene depicts when Stanley gets into a fight with Blanche. The scene concludes on a sour note when Blanche breaks a bottle top on the table and try's to hurt Stanley . Stanley says: 'Oh! S...

How My Academic Background Will Help Me

The centerpiece of my college education was that it offered me a chance to read extensively, develop writing skills and learn to think logically, coherently and analytically. I developed and nurtured these skills inadvertently by participating in class discussions, group work and research papers. These tools have subsequently been useful in my personal and work experiences. The breadth and depth of my college curriculum offered me the chance to take classes that cut across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines. The relevance of such a broad educational preparation to management is that it helps widen the horizon of analytical, service and product possibilities. Nevertheless, I was cognizant of the need for me to acquire work experience to help ground my education in a practical framework prior to enrolling in graduate school. My choice of management as the area of career interest was not fortuitous. My relentless participation in extracurricular activities in college and the insights I gained helping my mother in her small business helped galvanize my interest in management training and MBA education. Hence my interest in a finance and brokerage operations work after college. By virtue of my three-year work experience, I have been exposed to several management challenges and opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, the challenges have reinforced my interest to seek modern management solutions. I am intrigued by the manner in which the various facets of management affect each other including finance, operations, human resources, marketing, strategy and information technology. My career plan has been to seek different experiences by virtue of six-month stints in different departments. In this connection, I have had assignments in corporate finance, brokerage and human resources, culminating in my current position in back-office operations and settlement. In the above roles, certain characteristics have been apparent to me as critical success factors. I have learned that the attributes of teamwork, initiative, sense of urgency and leadership are at the core of success in management activities. In graduate business school, I would seek to explore the intricacies of modern business management efforts, challenges and opportunities. Moreover, I intend to learn about the relationships of the various disciplines within management and how their interplay may be optimized to benefit a particular entity.

Vampire Academy Chapter 23

TWENTY-THREE I'D NEVER HAD SO MUCH trouble staying out of Lissa's head before, but then, we'd never been through anything like this together either. The strength of her thoughts and feelings kept trying to pull me in as I hurried through the forest. Running through the brush and woods, Christian and I moved farther and farther from the cabin. Man, how I wished Lissa had stayed back there. I would have loved to see the raid through her eyes. But that was behind us now, and as I ran, Dimitri's push on laps and stamina paid off. She wasn't moving very quickly, and I could feel the distance closing between us, giving me a more precise idea of her location. Likewise, Christian couldn't keep up with me. I started to slow for him but soon realized the foolishness of that. So did he. â€Å"Go,† he gasped out, waving me on. When I reached a point close enough to her that I thought she could hear me, I called out her name, hoping to get her to turn around. Instead, what answered me was a set of howls – a soft canine baying. Psi-hounds. Of course. Victor had said he hunted with them; he could control those beasts. I suddenly understood why no one at school recalled sending psi-hounds after Lissa and me in Chicago. The Academy hadn't arranged that; Victor had. A minute later, I reached a clearing where Lissa cringed, back against a tree. From her looks and bond feelings, she should have fainted long ago. Only the barest scraps of willpower kept her hanging on. Wide-eyed and pale, she stared in horror at the four psi-hounds cornering her. Noticing the full sunlight, it occurred to me that she and Christian had another obstacle to contend with out here. â€Å"Hey,† I yelled at the hounds, trying to draw them toward me. Victor must have sent them to trap her, but I hoped they'd sense and respond to another threat – especially a dhampir. Psi-hounds didn't like us any better than other animals did. Sure enough, they turned on me, teeth bared and drool coming out of their mouths. They resembled wolves, only with brown fur and eyes that glowed like orange fire. He'd probably ordered them not to harm her, but they had no such instructions regarding me. Wolves. Just like in science class. What had Ms. Meissner said? A lot of confrontations were all about willpower? Bearing this mind, I tried to project an alpha attitude, but I don't think they fell for it. Any one of them outweighed me. Oh yeah – they also outnumbered me. No, they didn't have anything to be scared of. Trying to pretend this was just a free-for-all match with Dimitri, I picked up a branch from the ground that had about the same heft and weight as a baseball bat. I'd just positioned it in my hands when two of the hounds jumped me. Claws and teeth bit into me, but I held my own surprisingly well as I tried to remember everything I'd learned in the last two months about fighting bigger and stronger opponents. I didn't like hurting them. They reminded me too much of dogs. But it was me or them, and survival instincts won out. One of them I managed to beat to the ground, dead or unconscious I didn't know. The other was still on me, still coming on fast and furious. His companions looked ready to join him, but then a new competitor burst on the scene – sort of. Christian. â€Å"Get out of here,† I yelled at him, shaking off my hound as its claws ripped into the bare skin of my leg, nearly toppling me over. I was still wearing the dress, though I'd shed the heels a while ago. But Christian, like any lovesick guy, didn't listen. He picked up a branch as well and swung it at one of the hounds. Flames burst from the wood. The hound backed up, still compelled to follow Victor's orders, though also clearly afraid of the fire. Its companion, the fourth hound, circled away from the torch and came up behind Christian. Smart little bastard. It sprang at Christian, hitting him back first. The branch flew from his hands, the fire immediately going out. Both hounds then leapt onto his fallen form. I finished my hound – again feeling sick over what I had to do to subdue it – and moved toward the other two, wondering if I had the strength to take on these last ones. But I didn't have to. Rescue appeared in the form of Alberta, emerging through some trees. With a gun in hand, she shot the hounds without hesitation. Boring as hell perhaps – and completely useless against Strigoi – but against other things? Guns were tried and true. The hounds stopped moving and slumped next to Christian's body. And Christian's body†¦ All three of us made our way over to it – Lissa and I practically crawling. When I saw it, I had to look away. My stomach lurched, and it took a lot of effort not to throw up. He wasn't dead yet, but I didn't think he had much longer. Lissa's eyes, wide and distraught, drank him in. Tentatively, she reached out toward him and then dropped her hand. â€Å"I can't,† she managed in a small voice. â€Å"I don't have the strength left.† Alberta, leathery face both hard and compassionate, gently tugged her arm. â€Å"Come on, Princess. We need to get out of here. We'll send help.† Turning back to Christian, I forced myself to look at him and let myself feel how much Lissa cared about him. â€Å"Liss,† I said hesitantly. She looked over at me, like she'd forgotten I was even there. Wordlessly, I brushed my hair away from my neck and tilted it toward her. She stared for a moment, blank-faced; then understanding shone in her eyes. Those fangs that lurked behind her pretty smile bit into my neck, and a small moan escaped my lips. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it, that sweet, wonderful pain followed by glorious wonder. Bliss settled over me. Dizzying. Joyful. Like being in a dream. I don't entirely remember how long Lissa drank from me. Probably not that long. She would never even consider drinking the quantities that would kill a person and make her a Strigoi. She finished, and Alberta caught me as I started to sway. Dizzily, I watched as Lissa leaned over Christian and rested her hands on him. In the distance, I heard the other guardians crashing through the forest. No glowing or fireworks surrounded the healing. It all took place invisibly, occurring between Lissa and Christian. Even though the bite's endorphins had numbed my connection to her, I remembered Victor's healing and the wonderful colors and music she must be bringing forth. A miracle unfolded before my eyes, and Alberta gasped. Christian's wounds closed. The blood dried up. Color – as much as a Moroi ever had, at least – returned to his cheeks. His eyelids fluttered, and his eyes regained their life again. Focusing on Lissa, he smiled. It was like watching a Disney movie. I must have keeled over after that, because I don't remember anything else. Eventually, I woke up in the Academy's clinic, where they forced fluids and sugar into me for two days. Lissa stayed by my side almost the entire time, and slowly, the events of the kidnapping unfolded. We had to tell Kirova and a few choice others about Lissa's powers, how she'd healed Victor and Christian and, well, me. The news was shocking, but the administrators agreed to keep it secret from the rest of the school. No one even considered taking Lissa away like they had Ms. Karp. Mostly all the other students knew was that Victor Dashkov had kidnapped Lissa Dragomir. They didn't know why. Some of his guardians had died when Dimitri's band attacked – a damned shame, when guardian numbers were so low already. Victor was now being held under 24/7 guard at the school, waiting for a royal regiment of guardians to carry him away. The Moroi rulers might be a mostly symbolic government within another country's larger government, but they had systems of justice, and I'd heard about Moroi prisons. Not any place I'd want to be. As for Natalie†¦that was trickier. She was still a minor, but she'd conspired with her father. She'd brought in the dead animals and kept an eye on Lissa's behavior – even before we left. Being an earth user like Victor, she'd also been the one to rot the bench that broke my ankle. After she'd seen me hold Lissa back from the dove, she and Victor realized that they needed to injure me to get to her – it was their only chance to get her to heal again. Natalie had simply waited for a good opportunity. She wasn't locked up or anything yet, and the Academy didn't know what to do with her until a royal command came. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was so awkward and self-conscious. Anyone could have manipulated her, let alone her father, whom she loved and from whom she so desperately wanted attention. She would have done anything. Rumor said she'd stood screaming outside the detention center, begging them to let her see him. They'd refused and hauled her away. Meanwhile, Lissa and I slipped back into our friendship like nothing had happened. In the rest of her world, a lot had happened. After all that excitement and drama, she seemed to gain a new sense of what mattered to her. She broke up with Aaron. I'm sure she did it very nicely, but it still had to be hard on him. She'd dropped him twice now. The fact that his last girlfriend had cheated on him probably wasn't helping his confidence any. And without any more hesitation, Lissa started dating Christian, not caring about the consequences to her reputation. Seeing them out in public, holding hands, made me do a double take. He didn't seem able to believe it himself. The rest of our classmates were almost too stunned to even comprehend it yet. They could barely process acknowledging his existence, let alone him being with someone like her. My own romantic state was less rosy than hers – if you could even call it a romantic state. Dimitri hadn't visited me during my recovery, and our practices were indefinitely suspended. It wasn't until the fourth day after Lissa's kidnapping that I ran into him in the gym. We were alone. I had come back for my gym bag and froze when I saw him, unable to speak. He started to walk past and then stopped. â€Å"Rose†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he began after several uncomfortable moments. â€Å"You need to report what happened. With us.† I'd been waiting a long time to talk to him, but this wasn't the conversation I'd imagined. â€Å"I can't do that. They'll fire you. Or worse.† â€Å"They should fire me. What I did was wrong.† â€Å"You couldn't help it. It was the spell†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It doesn't matter. It was wrong. And stupid.† Wrong? Stupid? I bit my lip, and tears threatened to fill my eyes. I quickly tried to regain my composure. â€Å"Look, it's not a big deal.† â€Å"It is a big deal! I took advantage of you.† â€Å"No,† I said evenly. â€Å"You didn't.† There must have been something telling in my voice because he met my eyes with a deep and serious intensity. â€Å"Rose, I'm seven years older than you. In ten years, that won't mean so much, but for now, it's huge. I'm an adult. You're a child.† Ouch. I flinched. Easier if he'd just punched me. â€Å"You didn't seem to think I was a child when you were all over me.† Now he flinched. â€Å"Just because your body†¦well, that doesn't make you an adult. We're in two very different places. I've been out in the world. I've been on my own. I've killed, Rose – people, not animals. And you†¦you're just starting out. Your life is about homework and clothes and dances.† â€Å"That's all you think I care about?† â€Å"No, of course not. Not entirely. But it's all part of your world. You're still growing up and figuring out who you are and what's important. You need to keep doing that. You need to be with boys your own age.† I didn't want boys my own age. But I didn't say that. I didn't say anything. â€Å"Even if you choose not to tell, you need to understand that it was a mistake. And it isn't ever going to happen again,† he added. â€Å"Because you're too old for me? Because it isn't responsible?† His face was perfectly blank. â€Å"No. Because I'm just not interested in you in that way.† I stared. The message – the rejection – came through loud and clear. Everything from that night, everything I'd believed so beautiful and full of meaning, turned to dust before my eyes. â€Å"It only happened because of the spell. Do you understand?† Humiliated and angry, I refused to make a fool of myself by arguing or begging. I just shrugged. â€Å"Yeah. Understood.† I spent the rest of the day sulking, ignoring both Lissa and Mason's attempts to draw me out of my room. It was ironic that I should want to stay inside. Kirova had been impressed enough by my performance with the rescue to end my house arrest. Before school the next day, I made my way to where Victor was being held. The Academy had honest-to-goodness cells, complete with bars, and two guardians stood watch in the hallway nearby. It took a little bit of finagling on my part to get them to let me inside to talk to him. Even Natalie wasn't allowed in. But one of the guardians had ridden with me in the SUV and watched me undergo Lissa's torture. I told him I needed to ask Victor about what he'd done to Lissa. It was a lie, but the guardians bought it and felt sorry for me. They allowed me five minutes to speak, backing up a discrete distance down the hall where they could see but not hear. Standing outside Victor's cell, I couldn't believe I'd once felt sorry for him. Seeing his new and healthy body enraged me. He sat cross-legged on a narrow bed, reading. When he heard me approach, he looked up. â€Å"Why Rose, what a nice surprise. Your ingenuity never fails to impress me. I didn't think they'd allow me any visitors.† I crossed my arms, trying to put on a look of total guardian fierceness. â€Å"I want you to break the spell. Finish it off.† â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"The spell you did on me and Dimitri.† â€Å"That spell is done. It burned itself out.† I shook my head. â€Å"No. I keep thinking about him. I keep wanting to†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He smiled knowingly when I didn't finish. â€Å"My dear, that was already there, long before I set that up.† â€Å"It wasn't like this. Not this bad.† â€Å"Maybe not consciously. But everything else†¦the attraction – physical and mental – was already in you. And in him. It wouldn't have worked otherwise. The spell didn't really add anything new – it just removed inhibitions and strengthened the feelings you already had for each other.† â€Å"You're lying. He said he didn't feel that way about me.† â€Å"He's lying. I tell you, the spell wouldn't have worked otherwise, and honestly, he should have known better. He had no right to let himself feel that way. You can be forgiven for a schoolgirl's crush. But him? He should have demonstrated more control in hiding his feelings. Natalie saw it and told me. After just a few observations of my own, it was obvious to me too. It gave me the perfect chance to distract you both. I keyed the necklace's charm for each of you, and you two did the rest.† â€Å"You're a sick bastard, doing that to me and him. And to Lissa.† â€Å"I have no regrets about what I did with her,† he declared, leaning against the wall. â€Å"I'd do it again if I could. Believe what you want, I love my people. What I wanted to do was in their best interest. Now? Hard to say. They have no leader, no real leader. There's no one worthy, really.† He cocked his head toward me, considering. â€Å"Vasilisa actually might have been such a one – if she could ever have found it within herself to believe in something and overcome the influence of spirit. It's ironic, really. Spirit can shape someone into a leader and also crush her ability to remain one. The fear, depression, and uncertainty take over, and keep her true strength buried deep within her. Still, she has the blood of the Dragomirs, which is no small thing. And of course, she has you, her shadow-kissed guardian. Who knows? She may surprise us yet.† † ? ®Shadow-kissed'?† There it was again, the same thing Ms. Karp had called me. â€Å"You've been kissed by shadows. You've crossed into Death, into the other side, and returned. Do you think something like that doesn't leave a mark on the soul? You have a greater sense of life and the world – far greater than even I have – even if you don't realize it. You should have stayed dead. Vasilisa brushed Death to bring you back and bound you to her forever. You were actually in its embrace, and some part of you will always remember that, always fight to cling to life and experience all it has. That's why you're so reckless in the things you do. You don't hold back your feelings, your passion, your anger. It makes you remarkable. It makes you dangerous.† I didn't know what to say to that. I was speechless, which he seemed to like. â€Å"It's what created your bond, too. Her feelings always press out of her, onto others. Most people can't pick up on them unless she's actually directing her thoughts toward them with compulsion. You, however, have a mind sensitive to extrasensory forces – hers in particular.† He sighed, almost happily, and I remembered reading that Vladimir had saved Anna from death. That must have made their bond, too. â€Å"Yes, this ridiculous Academy has no idea what they have in either you or her. If not for the fact that I needed to kill you, I would have made you part of my royal guard when you were older.† â€Å"You never would've had a royal guard. Don't you think people would have been weirded out by you suddenly recovering like that? Even if no one found out about Lissa, Tatiana never would have made you king.† â€Å"You may be right, but it doesn't matter. There are other ways of taking power. Sometimes it's necessary to go outside the established channels. Do you think Kenneth is the only Moroi who follows me? The greatest and most powerful revolutions often start very quietly, hidden in the shadows.† He eyed me. â€Å"Remember that.† Odd sounds came from the detention center's entrance, and I glanced toward where I'd come in. The guardians who had let me in were gone. From around the corner, I heard a few grunts and thumps. I frowned and craned my head to get a better look. Victor stood up. â€Å"Finally.† Fear spiked down my spine – at least until I saw Natalie round the corner. Mixed sympathy and anger flitted through me, but I forced a kind smile. She probably wouldn't see her father again once they took him. Villain or no, they should be allowed to say goodbye. â€Å"Hey,† I said, watching her stride toward me. There was an unusual purpose in her movements that some part of me whispered wasn't right. â€Å"I didn't think they'd let you in.† Of course, they weren't supposed to have let me in either. She walked right up to me and – no exaggeration – launched me against the far wall. My body hit it hard, and black star-bursts danced across my vision. â€Å"What?†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I put a hand to my forehead and tried to get up. Unconcerned about me now, Natalie unlocked Victor's cell with a set of keys I'd seen on one of the guardian's belts. Staggering to my feet, I approached her. â€Å"What are you doing?† She glanced up at me, and that's when I saw it. The faint ring of red around her pupils. Skin too pale, even for a Moroi. Blood smudged around her mouth. And most telling of all, the look in her eyes. A look so cold and so evil, my heart nearly came to a standstill. It was a look that said she no longer walked among the living – a look that said she was now one of the Strigoi.

A Choice We Make through a Decision of Our Will

We cannot let the world's wounds destroy our spirits. We cannot let our hurts and betrayals destroy our capacity for growth and caring. That there will be Judgment and, perhaps, Justice, is necessary. That the violence be confronted and, if possible, contained is essential. But, most important is our capacity to nurture a loving heart, to affirm and not to curse, to forgive even when we cannot completely forget. † – Glenn H. Turner Some Questions to ask: How do you respond when you are wounded? How do you feel toward the person who has hurt you?How long do you carry your anger and how does that re-sentment (feeling it again and again) continue to hurt you? Can you forgive and break the cycle? Can you understand the other? What does forgiveness mean to you? It is not uncommon for Christians to have questions about forgiveness. Forgiveness does not come easy for most of us. Our natural instinct is to recoil in self-protection when we've been injured. We don't naturally ove rflow with mercy, grace and forgiveness when we've been wronged Is forgiveness a conscious choice, a physical ct involving the will, or is it a feeling, an emotional state of being?The Bible offers insight and answers to these and many more questions about forgiveness. We'll take a look at the most frequently asked questions and find out what the Bible says about forgiveness. Is forgiveness a conscious choice, or an emotional state? I believe forgiveness is a choice we make through a decision of our will, motivated by obedience to God and his command to forgive. The Bible instructs us to forgive as the Lord forgave us: Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one nother.Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV) How do we forgive when we don't feel like it? How do we translate the decision to forgive into a change of heart? We forgive by faith, out of obedience. Since forgiveness goes against our nature, we must forgive by faith, whether we feel like it or not. We must trust God to do the work in us that needs to be done so that the forgiveness will be complete. I believe God honors our commitment to obey Him and our desire to please him when we choose to forgive. He completes the work in his time.We must continue to forgive (our Job), by faith, until the work of forgiveness (the Lord's Job), is done in our hearts. Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (NLT) How will we know if we have truly forgiven? Lewis B. Smedes wrote in his book, Forgive and Forget, â€Å"When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself. ? More Forgiveness Quotes that comes as a result. We are the ones who suffer most when we choose not to forgive. When we do forgive, the Lord sets our hear ts free from the anger, bitterness, resentment and hurt that previously imprisoned us. Most times, however, forgiveness is a slow process. Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, â€Å"Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? † Jesus answered, â€Å"l tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (NIV) This answer by Jesus makes it clear that orgiveness is not easy for us.It's not a one-time choice and then we automatically live in a state of forgiveness. Forgiveness may require a lifetime of forgiving, but it is important to the Lord. We must continue forgiving until the matter is settled in our heart. Is it okay to feel anger and want Justice for the person we need to forgive? This question presents another reason to pray for the person we need to forgive. We can pray for God to deal with the injustices, for God to Judge the person's life, and then we can leave that prayer at the altar. We no longer have to carry the anger.Although it is normal for us to feel anger toward sin and injustice, it is not our Job to judge the other person in their sin. Luke 6:37 Do not Judge, and you will not be Judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (NIV) Why must we forgive? The best reason to forgive is because Jesus commanded us to forgive. We learn from Scripture, if we don't forgive, neither will we be forgiven: Matthew 6:14-16 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also orgive you.But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (NIV) We also forgive so that our prayers will not be hindered: Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (NIV) In summary and in closing, we forgive out of obedience to the Lord. It is a choice, a decision we make. However, as we do this â€Å"forgi ving,† we discover the command is in place for our own good, and we receive the reward of our forgiveness†freedom.

Relationship of Leadership to the Politics

DefinitionLeadership-This is the practice of controlling and directing the behavior of individuals towards the completion of some common goals and objectives. It involves influencing people in undertaking things to a given set and value on top of their standard and all this is done willingly.  Politics-This is the process of recognizing and eventually integrating opposing interests inside the organization. This may be as the means of creating non autocratic or a democratic working environment.  Organization-This is the social arrangement that pursues collective objectives and goals, hence controlling its own performance, and it has a boundary separating it from environment surrounding it.DiscussionThe politics of an organization is essential and an unavoidable reality woven with system of management whereby organizational activities are affected by it. Organizational mission, goals, strategy, correction, assessment and ways of developing agreement are always leadership and politi cs of that particular organization. This is so because some of the great leaders in organizations have also ventured in politics thus becoming more influential in there actions as they dominate specific places both within and outside the organization. Politics and leadership go hand in hand, since most key leaders will tend to listen and get involved as they interact with politicians. For instance politicians may seek to meet trade, chambers of commerce and economic planning and development leaders to find out the operational activities of firms since both of them are policy makers. These politicians go their not to ask for endorsements but they go there to get out what is happening in the market and their country.Employees have the biggest influence on deciding what leadership style works for them, and sometimes they will mislead the leader to a very easy style hence the first thing to be undertaken is figuring out an exact style which works for and with them, hence democratic will not work well here and the preferred will be situational leadership and this will make the followers of a particular leader to decide for him. Though leaders should lead by example and move further to formulate and implement organizational policies.Organizational structure cannot be expected to resolve political problems within an institution. Political ambitions are frequently driving force behind these structural changes. Wider political and social forces in societies a s a whole also limit the choice and operation of organizational structures. This is common in the case of state organizations in both socialist and capitalist economies and of public service departments as well. Here the form of structure is usually imposed as a political rather than purely managerial decision.According to George’s leadership, political climate of a particular organization is affected by a leader through management and making use of alternative settings which is visible in decision making, interaction with others in mobilizing support and setting of agenda, also in inspiring individuals, teams and other people. The relationship between organizational politics and leadership can be comprehended from the fact that organizational leadership occurs in the perspective of groups, where followers are prejudiced by the leader to make sure their loyalty and voluntary participation towards predetermined outcomes. The interaction between leaders and their influence & authority over the followers lay down the tone for political climate in an organization. By clearly understanding of organizations’ political systems which is necessary for leadership to lead the company towards the goal achievement. Leaders who have worked for long in the company will possess the general knowledge of political climate prevailing in the organization. Leaders from outside should take time to learn and understand the organizational politics by focusing and observing keenly relationship of the v arious groups in the company.  The literature on politics in organizations is both complex and confusing. Consistent with the connotation that politics is somehow bad and to be avoided, at least in rational organizations. Politics in organization arises where groups in an organization have there own preferred goals, and the means to attain those goals, sanctioned by rest of the organization, for instance the case must be of powerful groups. Pfeffer (1981) suggests that political behavior is best known as those activities taken within organizations to acquire, develop and use power and other resources to obtain ones preferred outcomes in a situation in which there is uncertainty or discensus about choices. In this respect organizational politics and social power are very much a like, only that they are distinguished primarily by the unit of analysis involved. When our focus is on individuals influencing other individuals, here we talk about social power and when our focus is on gro ups influencing other groups we are talking about organization politics, hence political behavior occurs in situation characterized by uncertainty.Conflicting opinions and preferences are perhaps the single most important cause of political behavior. But such conflicts can exist only if there is some degree of uncertainty about what is objectively the best or must appropriate course of action. To try and solve this political behavior in organizations, power should be distributed equally among the groups affected by decision which give rise to this. It is also important to recognize that although conflicting preferences can exist only when there is some uncertainty about what is objectively the most correct or appropriate course of action, uncertainty simply provides an environment in which conflicting preferences can develop. The real causes of the conflicting opinions and preferences are differentiation and resource scarcity. Political leaders place there interest ahead of the inte rest of an organization, to them don’t visualizes the difference between operating within the law and operating ethically.It is important to note that since differentiation is a natural consequence of organizational growth, and since both uncertainty and resource scarcity are the rule rather than the exception in organizations, it must be concluded that both conflicts and political activity are inevitable group level outputs that can be found in virtually any organization. Understanding is the key for leaders to make use of organizational politics and also to enhance their own leadership credibility.   The amount of conflict and political behavior that occurs in a given organization will depend upon the severity of the prerequisite conditions, that is the degree to which there exist task interdependence, parochial perspectives, resource scarcity and soon.Referenceshttp://www.careerknowhow.com/guidance/micromanager.htmhttp://www.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfhttp://www.leadersdirec t.com/leaderstyle.html