Television Shows Is Nonexistent - 874 Words

Imagine a world where the freedom to binge watch seven, eight, or fifteen episodes of your favorite TV shows is nonexistent. This thought alone surely would evoke a unique terror in the hearts of many children, teenagers, and, funnily enough, adults as well. However, with the glorious invention of Netflix, people have been able to watch their favorite movies and television shows whenever they’d like, at whatever pace they’d like. Ever since Netflix was purchased in my household, I have been blessed with the opportunity to watch each season of Friends, The Office, Gossip Girl, and One Tree Hill. And even better, I was able to zoom through hours of episodes whenever I had a free moment to spare. Each show was at mercy of my remote. I could command my television to play any episode I wished, from any show that I wished, and within the next 60 seconds I would be watching it. My friends, with Netflix we now have the freedom to be kings and queens of our television sets, an authority we didn’t even know that we needed so desperately. There’s a sense of demand surrounding our world today. When we want something, we expect to receive it as quickly as possible, and when things don’t come to us as promptly as we’d like we get angry. It’s the way we’ve all been inclined to feel. Although we all know the world obviously doesn’t revolve around us, it’s difficult for us to act as though this fact is true. In the dark corners of our minds we believe that our lives are moreShow MoreRelatedThe Life Of Fahrenheit 451 By Ray Bradbury989 Words   |  4 Pagesworld of Fahrenheit 451, â€Å"willingly consume to the exclusion of independent thought† (McGiveron 245). The people of Fahrenheit 451 not only have nonexistent personalities, but also dislike thinking independently. Montag’s wife, Mildred, is a primary example of a nonexistent personality. 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Analysis Of Henry David Thoreaus Life In The Wild ...

Chapter 6: Anza-Borrego The epigraph in this chapter was a passage from Henry David Thoreau s â€Å"Life in the Woods†. In the excerpt, it explains how phenomenal nature is and how majority of people never take advantage of exploring it and discovering new things. Instead, they continue to live life the way its most accepted in society, â€Å"All nature is your congratulation, and you have cause momentarily to bless yourself. The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forget them. They are the highest reality... The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening†. McCandless meets Ronald†¦show more content†¦She figured out McCandless had a hard time talking and connecting with other people because of the disconnect from his biological family, â€Å"It was pretty obvious he didn’t get along with his family, but he never sa id much about any of them except Carine†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Westerberg suspected McCandless had a falling out with his father but didn’t question him any farther. This epigraph identifies with McCandless because he left his family without giving an explanation as well and it was due to the differences he had with his own family. Chapter 7: Carthage The second epigraph included in this chapter was from† Solitude: A Return to the Self† by Anthony Storr. In the paragraph, it explains how people choose live different lives and the various reasons why people might want to live an isolated life, â€Å"It is true that many creative people fail to make mature personal relationships, and some are extremely isolated†. McCandless had a rocky relationship with his parents and felt as if his parents never understood what he wanted and judged his choices, â€Å"Shortly before he disappeared, Chris complained to Carine that their parents’ behavior was so irrational, so oppressive, disrespectful and insulting that I finally passed my breaking point†. Due to this, he felt that leaving his family and being isolated behind was the only solution to his troubles at home. This led to him to be separated from others and be more dependent on himself. This epigraph connects withShow MoreRelatedTransc endentalism in Civil Disobedience3710 Words   |  15 PagesTranscendentalism in Civil Disobedience Thoreaus Politics of Individuality and Nature Dannheisig 2 Contents Introduction 1. Transcendentalism a. Nature b. Introspective Conscience and Politics 2. Political Individualism a. Ethical and Political (In)justice b. Critique of Democracy Conclusion Bibliography 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Dannheisig 3 Introduction Henry David Thoreau was part of a movement called American Transcendentalism. To illuminate Thoreaus understanding of democracy, political

Management Business Context Woolworths Holding Limited - Example

Question: Describe about the Management Business Context for Woolworths Holding Limited. Answer: Introduction Organisations do not function in silos. They affect and are affected by varied factors ingrained in the internal and external environment of the organisation, the impact of which can be seen in its structure and strategies (Tran and Tian, 2013). These factors are inherently dynamic, leading to many uncertainties and largely interconnected to different aspects of the organisation in a manner which forces organisations to consider them before formulating any decision of strategic importance (Hitt et al., 2011). These factors also affect organisational structure that is static in nature thereby making it difficult to adapt to changing environment and maintain its efficiency. Thus, attaining an appropriate fit between an organizations environment its strategy and structure is necessary for desired organizational performance (Wheelen and Hunger, 2012). The following report discusses different external and internal factors inherent in the business environment and risks arising out of them in context of Woolworths Holdings Limited. It aims to highlight the factors that drive the decision making process in the organisation which in turn affects its organisational structure, strategies and objectives. It further outlines the risks the organisation faces and business practices adopted by Woolworths in order to mitigate those risks. Discussion The following part discusses about the companys structure, different factors internal and external to the organisation that impact its strategies and the companys business practices. Organisational Structure Woolworths started in 1924as a small, entrepreneur dominated company with simple structure under the name Woolworths Stupendous Bargain Basement in Australia (Woolworths Limited, 2016). However, with its immense popularity and business success, the company grew to become a chain of stores all over the country. The organisation grew in its size and scope by diversifying its portfolio of products from merchandise and food items to liquor, electronics, furniture and homewares, hotels, financial services and clothing items. All this was achieved through organic growth along with acquisitions of major market players like Centralian Traders Pty Ltd., Dan Murphy, Dick Smith Electronics, 126 Australian Safeway Stores, and may more (Woolworths Limited, 2016). Thus, due to variety of unrelated product lines offered by Woolworths, the organisation now follows a conglomerate structure (Wheelen and Hunger, 2012). It operates three major divisions viz. Woolworths South Africa, based in Africa; David Jones, based and trading in Australia and Country Road Group based in Australia, New Zealand and SouthAfrica (WHL, 2016). This structure provides the organisation with the much needed flexibility, speed and adaptability to face and mitigate the dynamic business environment thereby building ambidextrous organisation (Schreygg and Sydow, 2010). Figure: Group Structure (Source: WHL, 2016) Impact of External Environmental Forces It is important for Woolworths to know about the internal and external environment factor, which influence its structure and achievement of business strategies. External Analysis: External environment analysis is very important in any organization, as it cannot develop its strategies without analyzing external factors. External factors impact on performance and corporate strategies of business organizations (Libelli, 2016). To evaluate Woolworths external environment, Porters five forces model and PESTLE analysis can be used. PESTLE analysis: Under PESTLE analysis of Woolworths external factors such as- Political, Economical, Legal, Technological and Environmental are explained. Political factors are the political and legal regulation, which affect political stability, tax regulation and regional trading of Woolworths. Economical factors are especially important for international marketing of Woolworth such as interest rate, GDP, inflation and per capita income (Webster, 2010). Under the Social factors, religion, attitude, language, gender roles, and population size are included, which affect the human resource and marketing strategy of Woolworths. Technological factors refer to the new technological innovation, which is useful to improve the organizational structure and strategy of Woolworths (Solhaug and Stolen, 2010). Porters five forces model: From Porters five force analysis Woolworths can assess its position in the industry, based on its competitive strength. Bargaining power of Woolworths customers is extremely high except some stores which carter to a specific market. Bargaining power of supplier in retail industry depends upon the brand image and the size of the supermarket (Robertson, 2015). So the bargaining power of Woolworths supplier is high to moderate. In the supermarket industry, a number of substitutes are available for consumers, which is less costly, such as substitute product of Woolworths is easily available in the market. The relationship of Woolworths with the suppliers and requirement of own distribution center by new entrants is a barrier, so threat of new entrants is moderate for Woolworths (Humphries and Gibbs, 2015). The rivalry between the competitors of Woolworths is intense. Internal Factors In addition to external factors, an organisation is also influenced by internal factors like structure, culture, resources, etc. that provide it with distinct capabilities and advantages with respect to its competitors (Johnson et al., 2014). McKinsey 7-S Framework given by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman is one such framework that can be used to identify interrelated factors that influence an organization (Bryan, 2008). The framework analyses the organisational strategic alignment with its resources based on 7 key internal factors: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills (Ravanfar, 2015). In context of Woolworths, the company follows a conglomerate structure with three distinct divisions. Its strategy is four fold with focus on market leadership in food and liquor segment, build new business and expand its portfolio to increase shareholders wealth thereby enabling sustained and profitable growth (Woolworths Limited, 2016). Woolworths has in place systems and business practices like pet recycling, waste management, cloth bank, refrigeration system, etc. that helps the organisation it not only reduce its costs but also work ethically and reduce its environmental footprint. Woolworths trains its employees effectively to develop required skills that are useful in career progression and building knowledgeable organisation. The company has diversified staff strength of 198,300 with a turnover of 6.6%. It invests heavily in training, motivating and rewarding its staff to help them deliver business strategies and prepare them for leadership roles. The company adopts de-centralized style of decision-making and promotes communication transparency. The company has a strong value system that promotes sustainability through social cohesion, advancement through education and environmental awareness. These values are shared by its suppliers, employees, customers and other stakeholders (Business Journey Report, 2015). Thus, these internal factors help Woolworths in building a highly engaged, innovative, and successful business. Woolworths Risk, Governance and Legal Requirements Risk refers to uncertainty, which surround the future events and outcomes. Risk measures the uncertainty that an investor is willing to take, to gain from an investment. Competition risk is increasing for existing firms as well as for new entrant, which may adversely affect the profitability level of Woolworths Limited (Annual report, 2015). There are some other risks, which affect the profitability and the level of exposure of Woolworths Limited such as- legal risk, political risk, economical risk, financial risk and socio-culture risk. Political risk relates to political action or policies, which are posed by foreign government. Political risk affects the expansion strategy of Woolworths. This risk also affects the supply chain management of the company (Harrison, 2013). To mitigate the political risk, risk acceptance approach is followed by Woolworths limited in which financial crisis are to be managed. Legal risk refers to the risk related to the taxation policies and employee management regulations of Woolworths Limited (McKeller, 2012). Human rights risk is also included in the legal risk. For the legal risk mitigation, risk acceptance approach is used by Woolworths Limited, under which anti-competitive strategy is used. Economical and financial risks both are parallel to each other. Recession and unemployment has strongly affected the profitability and sales of Woolworths limited. The condition of organization has decline due to financial crisis. As such, company faces many problems related to the strategic implementation or business decision making structure (Coleman and Young, 2010). For mitigation of financial and economical risk, risks transferences approach is used. Under this approach hedging process is used by Woolworths to reduce the credit risk and market risk by transferring it to third party. Social risk refers to operating different socio-culture activities in the environment. Under this food security, education to local communities, child vulnerability and safety risks are included by Woolworths Limited. Risk limitation approach is used to mitigate the risk (Ferris, 2015). This strategy is the combination of risk acceptance and risk avoidance. Positive Business Practices Woolworths has adopted many business practices that carter to its social, legal and environmental obligations. As a result, it has been working for ongoing water balance project with the WWF-SA as a part of its water management strategy. It conducts training workshops for its store employees through the GBJ champ program. It donates surplus food from stores to charities, which would otherwise go to landfill. Woolworths is also committed to introduce programs which support recycling of customers waste and reduced use of plastic bag to minimize the adverse impact on the environment. Woolworths holding limited is a member of SEDEX the supplier ethical data exchange, an innovative web based platform (Woolworths, 2015). It helps to ethically manage supply chain risks and challenging process of engaging with multi-tier supply chain of the company. Organizational function An organizational function is core process and a set of activities, which are to be carried out with a department of business. Common functions of Woolworths include operations, human resources, marketing and finance. An operations function of Woolworths limited supports the supplier and customer to reduce the waste and driving sustainability (Clegg et al., 2015). It uses its own distribution center to produce bulk quality and reduce cost. Marketing functions is a key strength of Woolworths. Their broader marketing strategy increases the aware customer base for Woolworths limited with the use of newspaper, television and magazines (Harford et al., 2012). Health promotion programs are managed by Woolworths through its marketing campaign. Human Resources functions, their people intent continue to establish an employment value, which continues to engage, attract, and retain the best talent in the Woolworths limited (Colin, 2012). Many types of training programs are conducted by the Woolworths to increase the efficiency level of the employee. In addition to normal financial functions, Woolworths is involved in financial risk management functions to safeguards the credit risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, and foreign exchange risk through group treasury functions (Hill et al., 2016). Conclusion Woolworths Limited is one of the most trusted brands in Australian retail industry. From this report it can be concluded that, the organization follows conglomerate structure for maintain flexibility and fluidity in working process. The company faces intense competition due to easy availability substitute products and services but is able to exercise cost leadership as a result of its well integrated supply chain and moderate bargaining power of its suppliers. The organisation is exposed to many risks from its external environment. However, economic risks like 2008 financial crises and legal risks related to labor and tax laws critically impacts its workings. Moreover, it was found that Woolworths has adopted positive business practices related to waste management, water management and other environment friendly programs that not only reduce its environmental impact but also helps in saving costs and resources. Also, the company has in place well structured programs related to differ ent functional areas that make it efficient and effective in delivering organisational objectives. Recommendations From the above report, it is recommended that Woolworths should improve their organizational structure so that complexity between the different levels of functions is reduced. Woolworths should also adopt a social media strategy to take advantage of low-cost promotional activities of the organization (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). It is recommended that the company should improve its CSR activities to reduce its environmental footprint. This in turn will help in improving its goodwill and enhancing its brand image. Woolworths should introduce some nationwide program to support recycling of waste by providing recycling facilities. Additionally, it should improve its supply chain management with the help of SEDEX that is helpful to manage its supply chain ethically and build better relationship with suppliers. Reference List Annual Report (2015). Woolworths Limited. Retrieved from: https://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/ Bryan, L. (2008). Enduring Ideas: The 7-S Framework, McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved from: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/enduring-ideas-the-7-s-framework Business Journey Report (2015). Woolworths Holding Limited. Retrieved from: https://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/investor/annual_reports/ar2015/whl_2015_gbj.pdf Clegg, R.S., Komberger, M., and Pitsis, T. (2015). Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. US: SAGE. Coleman, R., and Young, B. (2010). Operational Risk Assessment. US: John Wiley Sons. Colin, E. (2012). Creating Organizational Advantage. UK: Routledge. Farris, F. (2015). Risk. Australia: Random House Australia. Harford, J., Mansi, S. A., and Maxwell, W. F. (2012). Corporate governance and firm cash holdings in the US. In Corporate Governance (pp. 107-138). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sattar_Mansi/publication/222658381_Corporate_Governance_and_Firm_Cash_Holdings_in_the_U.S/links/0fcfd5130f0c49b07e000000.pdf Harrison, A. (2013). Business Environment in a Global Context. UK: OUP Oxford. Hill, W.L., Schilling, A., and Jones, R. (2016). Strategic Management: Theory Cases: An Integrated Approach. US: Cengage Learning. Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., Sirmon, D. G., and Trahms, C. A. (2011). Strategic entrepreneurship: creating value for individuals, organizations, and society. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 25(2), 57-75. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_Hitt/publication/237081689_Creating_Value_for_Individuals_Organizations_and_Society/links/02e7e51b6429fc2aae000000.pdf Humphries, A., and Gibbs, R. (2015). Enterprise Relationship Management. UK: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Angwin, D., Scholes, K. and Regnr, P. (2014). Exploring Strategy, 10th ed. USA: Pearson. Kaplan, A. M., and Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68. Retrieved from: https://michaelhaenlein.com/Publications/Kaplan,%20Andreas%20-%20Users%20of%20the%20world,%20unite.pdf Libelli, M.S. (2016). Environmental Systems Analysis. US: CRC Press. McKeller, R. (2012). A Short Guide to Political Risk. US: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Ravanfar, M.M. (2015). Analyzing Organisational Structure Based on 7-S Model of McKinsey, Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 15(10), 7-12. Retrieved from: https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume15/2-Analyzing-Organizational-Structure.pdf Robertson, H. (2015). Pestle Analysis for Business. NewYork: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Schreygg, G., and Sydow, J. (2010). Crossroads-organizing for fluidity? Dilemmas of new organizational forms. Organization Science, 21(6), 1251-1262. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Georg_Schreyoegg/publication/220520988_Organizing_for_Fluidity_Dilemmas_of_New_Organizational_Forms_Organ_Sci/links/0c960523ff93f6d8f3000000.pdf Solhaug, B., and Stolen, K. (2010). Model-Driven Risk Analysis. US: Springer Science Business Media. Tran, Q. and Tian, Y. (2013). Organizational Structure: Influencing Factors and Impact on a Firm, American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 3, 229-236. Retrieved from: https://file.scirp.org/pdf/AJIBM_2013042513413585.pdf Webster, R.M. (2010). Management of risk: guidance for practitioners. UK: The Stationery Office. Wheelen, T. and Hunger, J. (2012). Strategic Management and Business Policy, 13th ed. USA: Pearson. WHL (2016). Corporate Profile: Overview, Woolworths Holding Limited. Retrieved from: https://www.woolworthsholdings.co.za/corporate/profile_overview.asp Woolworths Limited (2016). How We Were Founded. Retrieved from: https://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/page/Who_We_Are/The_Woolworths_Story/How_We_Were_Founded/ Woolworths Limited (2016). Our Brands. Retrieved from: https://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/page/Who_We_Are/Our_Brands/ Woolworths Limited (2016). Strategy and Objectives. Retrieved from: https://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/page/Who_We_Are/Strategy_and_Objectives/

Table of contents Essays (3238 words) - Linguistics, Pragmatics

Table of contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Politeness - a theoretical approach 3 3. the concept of limao 4 4. Request strategies 4 4.1. Request strategies in Chinese 4 4.2. Request strategies in English 5 5. Forms of address 6 5.1. Forms of address in Chinese 6 5.2. Forms of address in English 7 6. Chinese: Politeness across social groups 8 7. Conclusion 9 References 11 1. Introduction In many parts of this world, former existing borders are removed and people move closer together. It has to be admitted that most of the time this happens due to economical reasons, and the phenomenon of mass media has to be mentioned in this context as well. Therefore it becomes even more important to be able to understand cultures of different life-styles. But the success or failure of communication does not only depend on how well a language is spoken, but also on intonation and body language. Dr. Mehrabian, a prominent and successful psychologist, is perhaps best known for the investigation of the role of non-verbal communication. He published findings indicating that spoken words only account for 7% of what a listener perceives. The remaining 93% of what a listener comprehends originate from the speaker's body language and tone employed in the delivery of the words. Not only because of studies like this, non-verbal communication plays an important role when studying language in its social context. A very interesting topic in this large field is politeness, since forms of politeness are often misinterpreted and lead to misunderstandings. So I chose to have a closer look at the differences between politeness in Chinese and English. Since it is very difficult to collect data concerning politeness in the language of Chinese, this paper is theory-based only. Nevertheless, many books that cover this topic can be found. Some of the books used for the research of this paper were written by native speakers of Chinese, which is an indication for the author's competence of the language. Therefore, collecting additional data would not only have been difficult, but also inefficient. This paper will deal with the topic of request strategies used by speakers of the People's Republic of China and the terms of address in Chinese and English. Besides, it will focus on request strategies across societal structures and social groups. In addition, it will discuss the concept of limao, the traditional concept of politeness in China. This paper will not allow to cover all important issues concerning this topic, but it shall give a rough overview and should give the reader an incentive to have a closer look at this field of study. 2. Politeness - a theoretical approach The theory of Brown and Levinson, published in 1987, focuses on communicative strategies and how these strategies are realized structurally and lexically in languages. This theory describes two levels of communication, namely the surface level and the underlying level. As Lee- Wong points out, "on the surface level, the maxims are deemed to be infringed but on the underlying level, the Cooperative Principle is still at work, i.e. conversation is still seen as purposive and rational." (Lee- Wong 2000: 18) Whereas Brown and Levinson look at the phenomenon from a socio- psychological perspective, Leech sees the role of politeness as essentially social. According to him a successful interaction does not only depend on the assumption of the Cooperative Principle, but the Politeness Principle plays an even more important role. So the more costly the request is, the greater the degree of politeness has to be. Besides these theories there exist a number of theoretical approaches concerning politeness. Other examples would be the "concept of politic behaviour" by Watts or the socio-psychological approach by Janney and Arndt, just to mention a few. Generally speaking, all these theories are either orientated toward the conceptualisation of politeness as a pragmatic means of conflict avoidance or as a form of ritual routine. Therefore politeness can be seen both as a norm-oriented phenomenon and as a strategy. This perspective emphasizes that politeness is context-bound. So an utterance that is perceived as polite in one context might be interpreted differently in another because of contextual features such as relative social relationship and power. In order to understand politeness in modern China it is necessary to look at its past since politeness can only be explained with the help of knowledge of Chinese traditions. It is very important to know that China was traditionally a family-based society, which explains that this society is still hierarchically orientated. 3. The concept of limao The most approximate Chinese equivalent to the English word "politeness" is limao which could be translated by "polite appearance". Limao