The Pretender Essays - The Pretender, Dream, Jackson Browne

The Pretender "The Pretender" by Jackson Browne tells a story of a man who has dreams of money and love. Pretenders dream of the "American Dream," money, and love, but do not possess these things. The Pretender in the song, typifies the middle-aged American. All want money and love, but few have them. "The Pretender" reveals a message of a man who had strong dreams, only to have them fade into the harsh reality of life. First, the Pretender dreams of possessing legal tender and living the American life. He dreams of living in a good house, and living a stable life. The quotation, "I'm going to rent myself a house in the shade of the freeway I'm going to pack my lunch in the morning and go to work each day And when evening rolls around I'll go on home and lay my body down," states that the man has a desire for a normal life. He wants a steady job, and a comfortable house. The Pretender also yearns for money, as stated "I'm going to be a happy idiot And struggle for legal tender Where the ads take aim and lay their claim To the heart and soul of the spender And believe in whatever may lie In those things that money can buy Thought true love could have been a contender," and he even thought money could by love. But in the end, the Pretender found out that money can't buy love. Second, the Pretender dreams of love, only to see his dreams fade. The quotation, "Ah the laughter of lovers As they run through the night Leaving nothing for the others But to choose off and fight And tear at the world with all their might While the ships bearing their dreams sail out of sight," perhaps describes the pretender's dreams. He dreams of love, and to have nothing disturb it, only to have his dream "sail out of sight." Third, the pretender, with all of his dreams, realizes the harsh reality of his life. The quotation, "Out into the cool of the evening Strolls the Pretender He knows that all his hopes and dreams end there," describes how he realizes how, though he has hopes and dreams, he will not likely attain them. Also, he realizes the monotony of his life, caused by a lack of love, as stated in the quotation, "And when the morning light comes in I'll get up and do it again Amen Say it again Amen." Clearly, the Pretender dreams of big things such as money, possessions, and love. Along the way, however, he loses his dreams and realizes how they only go so far. So, "Say a prayer for the Pretender Who started out so young and strong Only to surrender."Amen.

How Geographic Differences Influenced American Artists essays

How Geographic Differences Influenced American Artists essays How Geographic Differences Influenced American Artists Grant Wood and Fredric Remington were both American artist who painted on oil and canvas during the early part of the twentieth century. Grant Wood is best known for depicting American farmers during the 1930s. Fredric Remington is best know for painting the American West during the late ninetieth and early twentieth centuries. Their subject matters and painting techniques are vastly different. The oil on canvas painting Parson Weems Fable was painted by American Artist Grant Wood. Wood was an American artist who through his depiction of outdoor scenes combining a bright Fauve palette and a loose, impressionistic style. Wood painted during the early part of the twentieth century. Raised by Quaker parents his accessible, representational paintings showed reassuring American subjects tied to enduring myths about the perfection of agrarian life. Woods paintings reflected his surroundings as a young child. The painting looks as though you are being shown the subjects through the window by the man pulling the drapes back. The painting has abstract details such as the miniature The various shades of bright colors show many details. The various shades of green create detail and emphasis in the painting. The gray clouds moving in on the blue-sky emphasiss the idea of the calm before the storm. The shadows of the characters in the paining add detail. The vivid colors used on Washington and his father let the viewer know their importance. The man showing the painting is wearing a gray jacket. The paint thickness is the same throughout the paining. The brush strokes are smooth and do not take away from the message of the painting. The angle created by the two colors of the green grass creates a vocal point on the tree. The angle of the side of the building creates a diagonal line towards the tree. The ...

Are organizations rational Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Are organizations rational - Essay Example Given this explanation, organizational rationality is therefore comprehended as identical with the economic efficiency of the managerial unit itself. However, efficiency is also a central organizational requirement for individuals as well as administration (Hertz & Livingston, 2006). This paper tries to prove that organizations are indeed rational systems. Closely tied on the organizational rational is the comprehension of how the structure of authority in organization controls or is affected by individual decisions as well as examining how administrative rationality meet the criteria of limited or bounded rationality. In the discussion of any type of political or organizational theory, in the past the main consideration was accorded to the place of authority both within and outside the organization. Business experts believe that exercising authority in organizations is only possible in the event that an individual allow their decisions to be influenced by decision principles offered to him by a different individual. In addition, this logic of organizational rationality, this authority is evidently that of organizational management (Sapru, 2008). From the above statement, what comes out clearly is that individuals are not capable of influencing their own decisions out of their own free will, but instead, the management is deliberately responsible for moulding this behaviour. For example, the goal recognition of a worker is a product of the placement of the individual within the organization since being a member of an organization changes the person’s behaviour by changing the original premises that characterize his or her choices and verdicts. Employees are therefore expected to match their behaviour with the organizational goals and objectives. An individual decision can therefore be said to be organizationally rational in the event that it is founded on the organization’s goals. However, this creates

The Strategies Applied In the Operations, Information and Marketing Research Paper

The Strategies Applied In the Operations, Information and Marketing Management at Toyota Motor Corporations - Research Paper Example The paper tells that Toyota motors are one of the most successful companies dealing with the making and assembling of motor vehicles. Its success can highly be attributed to the mechanisms that the owners put in place from time to time with an aim of not only beating competition but also remaining atop. Operations management at Toyota is done in a way that leaves the competitors with little to counter. In a company, this department is tasked with the oversight of the processes applied in the production and distribution of goods or services. Usually, there are various approaches one could apply including lean, six sigma and kaizen. According to Ewan and Ron, the approach applied at Toyota is normally Lean whereby the focus is on the customer. For instance, in 2008 it was reported that Toyota had initiated a process of making cars that did not emit much carbon. This was as a result of studying that the society was not focused on having low carbon-environment, especially in Europe. Addi tionally, the research showed that there was an increased demand for cars in the Asian countries more so in Russia. Consequently, Ruffa reported that Toyota started processes, which fit every need for the markets. Therefore, from these studies, it is clear that Toyota’s approach in operations is lean and is solely focused on the clients’ needs. As a result of using this technique, it is not surprising to find many customers from all over the world preferring Toyota-made vehicles. In fact, Knoespel stated that this approach by Toyota has been the main key to its success and the ever-increasing dominance in the market. In terms of the assisting the enterprise strategy, lean management has seen the company’s major goals be achieved within the specified period. By first understanding the client’s need, it then becomes pretty easy to establish the markets and supply. As state earlier, the company noticed that the countries of China and Russia had an increased demand and immediately embarked on a mission to meet it.

Pros And Cons Of Offshore Outsourcing Commerce Essay

Pros And Cons Of Offshore Outsourcing Commerce Essay In the new era offshore outsourcing has emerged as a very important and extensively adapted business strategy. Organisations across the globe consider outsourcing as a pathway to avail benefits of cost and effective resources of the country to which work is outsourced. Many organisation s in western markets offshore outsource their activities extensively to emerging market countries where there are location, cost and resource advantages to gain a competitive edge in the global market. The distinctive feature of offshore outsourcing is to provide uninterrupted service in order to meet the different time zones and gain customer satisfaction. Off shoring refers to the relocation of outsourced activities across countries. In the process of outsourcing, initially a particular activity is generalized across firms, then the shift of the location of the vendor can cause off shoring. Chandrasekhar Ghosh, 2006, p.92 The main reason for any organisation to offshore outsource their activities is to gain extended benefits and increase net profits. It is also adapted to achieve various cost, product, and differentiation advantages. It is a known fact that companies outsource various activities depending upon the country in which it is good at and this comes from the educational system and standards followed by that country. India, for example is most preferred destinations for the service and IT industries owing to the advantages like cheap labour, effective skills, language consistency and courtesy. Outsourcing is successful and effective cost saving strategy when applied in a legitimate way. For any buy decision, taken by the companies in west the most attractive solution would be to offshore outsource to destinations across the globe. WESTERN COMPANIES ADVANTAGES:- The major advantages for western companies by offshore outsourcing their activities would be tax benefits, cheap labour and increased productivity. It enables the firm to lower supply cost by relocating production to countries where inputs and labour costs are lower. Thomson, the French consumer electronics group, transferred the production of some of its video cassette models from Germany to Singapore to take the advantage of the latters lower cost base. Outsourcing services to India is continuously rising because of its various advantages like advanced technology, cheap talented labour, infrastructure and other facilities. Western companies will improve their brand name by customer satisfaction and substantial profits by offshore outsourcing. Microsoft, software giant in USA offshore outsource their customer service and technical support activities to destinations such as India which has no language barriers, good quality infrastructure, stable government policies, supporting labour laws and other favourable factors. The market for home country products is extended; for example: IT firms in India working for US companies will buy US computers and related equipment. 40% of the fortune 500 companies are strongly interested in the software outsourcing model because the average cost savings by adopting this is in the range of 40% to 70%. The companies can escape from various laws and restrictions imposed by the home country and hence reduce production costs by outsourcing production channels. It is adapted by majority of the car manufacturing companies. Ford Motors, USA based car manufacturing company has shifted 70% of their production units to Mexico owing to stringent environmental and emission laws imposed by USA. Free trade across European Union has also favoured many motor companies to shift their production units to Eastern European countries to exploit cheap labour and resources. DISADVANTAGES:- The direct relationship between employees and companies are lost due to distance and communication gap. Risk in transferring technology and know-how, this can be copied by its market competitors in the host country. The company faces a potential threat from the employees and competitors as their technical information can be leaked anywhere and spreads like a rapid fire. This has a direct impact on the companys brand name and sales. Dell for example, is basically a US based company but its activities such as manufacturing, customer and technical support are outsourced on a global scale. Many competitors took advantage of unmotivated employees, gained access to technical information and manufactured similar kind of products with same features and services. The same is the case with Chinese firms. It is a common sight to find any duplicate of consumer goods of western brands appearing to be exactly same for 80% cheaper price in the Shanghai local black market. Offshore outsourcing carries the risk of lower quality products and lower standards because of lack of training and effective controls by home company. EMERGING MARKET COMPANIES ADVANTAGES:- People always look forward for something new every day! Emerging market companies can grow and create new brand name by satisfying this similar need of flock across different markets in the world. For example, Hyundai motor company is in the process of growing into brand appreciation by its customer as it is determined to achieve the goal of making better quality product. It also builds its image as a top global automobile company by handling every task transparency from the perspective of business ethics. Foreign direct investment plays an important role by focusing on emerging economies than developed economies. By increase in inflow of FDI by the global company into emerging market the revenue and sales increases thus increase in standard of living. By establishment of Microsoft, IBM and Oracle in metropolitan cities of India, it has enormously resulted in increase in income and spending capacity of people. Technology and skills are transferred from western companies to the emerging market. This creates waves and builds up competitive spirit in emerging companies thus improved productivity by the emerging market companies is achieved. DISADVANTAGES:- Small and medium companies in emerging markets suffer from low revenues and profit margins by presence of highly competitive brands. By establishment of several clothing western brands in India, several yarn farmers to the cloth sellers in the supply chain have shut their doors for business. It is observed that some companies which emerged has not succeeded due to lack of co-ordination and good relationship with their service provider. WORKFORCE OF WESTERN COUNTRIES ADVANTAGES:- Workforce in western countries builds group and individual learning techniques to promote self awareness and professional development. Employees are trained with World class design and delivery designs and finally from their experience they are improved in learning intervention. Employees are motivated by providing benefits and incentives for a better performance of the company. McDonalds, for example provides potential benefits to its employees and thus retains its employees to work better for more benefits. Highly talented and multi skilled employees are given more benefits like increase in salary and bonus facility. The first preference is given to employees who work inside the home other than outside the country. The companies who initially invested in fringe countries of south-east Asia such as Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are now investing in China due to their highly technical and knowledge skilled labour. DISADVANTAGES:- Decline in operation and manufacturing process in home country, which leads to loss of jobs and thus create unemployment in ones own country. Inefficiency shown in the progress of work and lack of knowledge for which employees expect training for each and every task, thus increases the expenses. Dell computers returned its business help desk from India to North America because of an increase in complaints from its customers about Indian employees as they were lacking in solving complex computer problems. The workforce of western companies faces a tough competition on a global scale. They are less motivated because of job insecurity and pay cuts. WORKFORCE OF EMERGING MARKET COMPANIES ADVANTAGES:- Employees desire to work in such emerging companies as their payrolls will be high when compared to local companies. These are large companies in which employees professional life grow faster with attractive salary package. If one wants to visit the world and have the capabilities to communicate with different kind of people they have an opportunity to work in such field and thus changes their lifestyle. TESCO, for example a U.K. based company which outsources all its payroll, service and supply chain control operations to India. Employees who work offshore for this company are given an opportunity to switch their jobs if promoted to a higher level and get a chance to work in U.K. This is regarded as a dream come true for any typical middle class Indian employee. It creates motivation and lifts the spirits of workforce, hence job satisfaction is achieved. DISADVANTAGES:- Expatriate assignments can be very expensive, maintenance cost of expatriates in a host country range from three to ten times the cost of domestic employees with similar responsibilities. Sometimes employees are not motivated properly which results in failure to achieve the assignment goals and thus reported at disturbing levels. Employees are made to work overtime and not paid properly. The employees of the western market dependant companies are seriously affected if there is any financial crisis or economy imbalance in that country. For example, Indian software employees are directly hit by the recession in the USA or UK. If there is no business for the firm the dependant workforces in the outsourced countries suffer from losing out their jobs.

Huanted House :: essays research papers

I could not sleep that night, for I was not given the chance to. For numerous times I had been yelling at my cousin to lower down the volume of the Compact Disc player. He insisted on testing out every single disc of my brother’s heavy-metal music collection at a certain volume that made my heart jump too fast or choke my mind with angry thoughts. My tired eyes shifted to the alarm clock, which stood, on my computer. Eleven, another hour to a brand new day. The next day, I will be bringing my cousin to have a view of the things we have in stall for him in the small neighborhood of mine, but before that can be possible, I will require my beauty sleep! â€Å"Hey, you moron! Are you finished with those trashy sounds?† I yelled, throwing the blanket over my head. I then grabbed my soft-toy dog, and threw it at him, aiming for his head. He responded, launching the toy back at me, hard at the bum. â€Å"Self-defence,† he reasoned out, reaching for the power switch of the player, finally. I heaved a sigh of relief, dropping dead on the pillow. As soon as I was about to enter the dream world, someone tapping at my shoulder awakened me. â€Å"I cannot sleep,† my cousin explained. I felt like strangling him. Thinking of what the family might say for destroying or killing a potential family name-bearer, I guessed it was not a very healthy idea after all. I sat on my bed, rubbing my eyes as I looked at my cousin through blurred eyes. â€Å" I remembered the last time you stayed overnight when you were around eight, you slept like a pig,† I muttered, reaching out for my spectacles. It hurts to be shortsighted. â€Å"I am thirteen now,† he reminded his ‘meet-once-a-year-during-Chinese-New-Year’ cousin. â€Å"So? Can’t thirteen-year-old don’t act like nocturnal animals?† I gave up, and soon the both of us were in the living room, with freshly brewed cups of coffee in our hands. It reminded me of how I drowned myself in caffine in order to stay awake for last minute examination preparations. My cousin strolled his way over to the television. â€Å"Don’t switch on that. The rest of the them are sleeping, mind you,† I warned him, recalling the time when my father threw down my radio on the ground, for blasting it during his sleep.

The requirements for the perfectly competitive market

The modern business environment is characterized by an intense level of competitiveness. While this may not be good for the suppliers of products and services in the short-term, it is certainly good for the consumers because a high level of competition reduces the level of prices so that consumers can enhance their standards of living with the same purchasing power that they had before.The requirements for the perfectly competitive market are related to the number of suppliers in the market, barriers to entry in that market, economies of scale, mobility of resources and homogeneous products. The market is recognized as perfectly competitive when the conditions related to these five aspects have been fulfilled.Therefore a perfectly competitive market is characterized by a large number of suppliers, elimination of barriers to entry in that market, no significant economies of scale, mobility of resources and the homogeneousness of competing products and services. The Anti-trust law ensu res that in every industry these conditions are maintained so that competitiveness is not compromised.As mentioned before, competition is not good for the suppliers of products and services. This is because competition forces them to constantly reengineer their operations in order to reduce the cost of production or the cost of providing services.As a result, they have to constantly innovate on their product lines whether it is in terms of differentiation or cost leadership. In respect of both differentiation and cost-leadership, efficiency in resource allocation is created. In the perfectly competitive market, the suppliers have to ensure that they can get the maximum from investing the minimum.However competition also forces them to maintain the level of quality in their products and services. Since a large number of suppliers operate in a perfectly competitive market, consumers will immediately boycott the supplier who is offering low quality and they will migrate to other suppli ers.In this manner, competition creates the framework for maximum efficiency in what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce. That is why the anti-trust law has been formulated to correct departures from the perfectly competitive market.When competitiveness has been compromised, it means that there is one firm which has more power than its competitors. In this case, there is the possibility of inefficiency in the form of the monopolistic firm offering lower quality products at higher prices because consumers do not have choices in this matter. The anti-trust law ensures that such inefficiencies do not occur.ReferencesMcConnell, Campbell R., and Stanley L Brue. Macroeconomics. South western college pub. 2007.