The Odyssey Essay Example for Free

The Odyssey Essay Hunger, whether a literal hunger or a hunger for power has always been a downfall for humankind. In the Odyssey hunger destroys the lives of many men. Even though the Odyssey is just an epic it reflects in many ways how hunger can ruin and sometimes even destroy someone’s life. In history, hunger has shown itself in many different and unique ways. For example Hitler’s hunger for power destroyed millions of lives. It forced millions of people to move their homes and change their lives or to even lose their lives. Hunger has caused people and even entire nations to be decimated. If people could control there hunger the world and its people would be a safer and happier place. In this epic hunger rules all. In the Odyssey Odysseus shows several types of hunger. One that stands out above others is Odysseus hunger for knowledge. Odysseus is always on a quest for knowledge. To him knowledge is more powerful than anything else. No other weapon can stand up to knowledge. This has put Odysseus and even his crew in much danger and trouble in â€Å"The Odyssey†. Odysseus shows his hunger for knowledge in the â€Å"Lotus Eaters† when he sends his men to scout the land when they get to the land of the Lotus Eaters. If he would have never done that he would not have lost two of his men to the mind numbing effects of the Lotus plans. One of Odysseus’s other crazy acts to learn knowledge was in the â€Å"Cyclops†. In the epic Odysseus led himself and his men into a Cyclops cave. This caused several of his men to be eaten by the Cyclops. Many of Odysseus’s men have died because of his hunger for knowledge. Odysseus shows his hunger again when he ventures into the land of the dead! The man is so crazy to even try to go to the Underworld. Odysseus lives for wisdom and something that shows knowledge is everything to him is that the Goddess f Wisdom, Athena has taken Odysseus under her protection. But even with Athena as his protector Odysseus will face many troubles because of his hunger. Many of his men will suffer for his many mistakes. Odysseus also has a hunger for self glorification. He is always trying to make himself be in the spotlight. Odysseus tries to make himself a figure of the perfect hero that everybody should bow down to. An example of this is in the beginning of the story that Odysseus is so self-glorified is he even tempts Poseidon by saying that he does not need the gods and that he only needs himself. If Odysseus never did this he would have gotten home without having to make the long journey which is told in â€Å"The Odyssey†. But since Odysseus thinks he does not need the gods it forced him to face many dangers and to lose his crew. His wife has been forced to wait several years because of Odysseus’s insolence. Another example is when Odysseus goes back to Ithaca disguised as a beggar he tells his swineherd that he has seen â€Å"Odysseus† and that Odysseus is strong, perfect, and amazing. He is always trying to make himself seem like the most amazing person. Odysseus is a lustful man. He is a man that is not faithful to his wife. But if his wife would so much as dare think about another man it would be the end of the world. In Odysseus’s mind everything is about Odysseus. In the story Odysseus first becomes unfaithful with Circe and then later with Calypso. He is the perfect example of someone that says one thing and does another (a hypocrite). But because of his lust many problems have been unearthed and left unchecked for many years in the Odyssey. It has caused that his wife Penelope has to wait several extra years for Odysseus. It has also brought the problem of the suitors upon Ithaca. The reason being is that if Odysseus would have arrived home earlier the suitors would not have tried to make a move on Odysseus’s throne. Odysseus also has a hunger for power. He always wants to be the leader. He wants to be the person that everyone is looking up to. This caused him to go through great grief and sorrow many times throughout the Odyssey. The first of these incidents was when the Cyclops took away several of his men and ate and killed them. Also when Scylla and Charybdis took away more of his men Odysseus felt responsible for their deaths and went through a depression like state. In the â€Å"Lotus Eaters† Odysseus lost some his men to the Lotus plant. This hurt him as well. But the one that affected him the most was when Zeus cast his lightning at their ship and killed everyone except Odysseus himself. Odysseus is not the only one with a hunger for knowledge in this story. His crew also has the same hunger. They have taken after Odysseus in many ways but this one above all has shown itself. There are several examples showing where there hunger has gotten them into trouble or placed into the face of danger. One time above all where this has affected them was when the crew opened the bag of winds that Odysseus would not let them open. This caused the ship to come into view of Ithaca but then be pushed far out to sea away from their home and ultimately to their own deaths. The crew always wants to know what’s going on. If they come across a new land they automatically want to explore it. An example of this is in the â€Å"Lotus Eaters†. The crew wanted to know about this new land and because of this curiosity they lost two men. The crew also has a great hunger for the taste of food and drink. They indulge themselves whenever they can. One example of this is in Circes hall. The crew ate her food and drank her wine which ultimately had them turned into pigs. If they had never taken the food right away and had thought about their situation they would have never been turned into pigs. But the men’s hunger for drink and food overpowered their other thoughts. The crews mind is always on the thoughts of food and drink. If food and drink weren’t in the world the crew would no longer love life as they do. They are always indulging themselves. Another instance of where the crews hunger for food overpowers all other thoughts is on the island of Helios, The Sun God. The crew was shipwrecked on this island with no food or water but there are a lot of cattle there so the crew wonders why. Odysseus specifically tells them they can’t eat the cattle, but Odysseus makes the mistake of not telling the crew why they cannot eat the cattle. The crew not knowing why they cannot eat the cattle and dying from starvation takes a chance by eating the cattle. They believed they would rather die by drowning then by starvation. This angers the Sun God Helios. Helios makes Zeus kill every one of the crew except Odysseus. The suitors also have a great hunger for many things. They have a hunger for Odysseus wealth and all his lands. They want to be the king of the land. They want to be the ones in control the ones with the power. They want this so bad that they try to take his wife. This hunger did them no good when Odysseus returned home to find them eating his food and drinking his wine. This brought the wrath of Odysseus down upon them all. This led to the suitors deaths. But that wasn’t the own thing that brought Odysseus’s wrath. The suitors want to be king of Ithaca. The reason being is because Ithaca is a wealthy and powerful nation. They want to have all the power and all the wealth. These men let their or hunger for power rules their lives. Since they let this hunger rule their deaths came a lot earlier than it would have if they wouldn’t have let that same hunger rule. The thing that angered Odysseus the most was that they were trying to take Odysseus’s wife Penelope as their own. This angered Odysseus so much that he killed them all for the men’s insolence. If the men would have just stayed in their own land they would have never faced their own demise and would have lived to be old and happy. But the suitor’s greed drove the men to their own demise. The suitors are another perfect example of mans greed. Man is a species that always wants more. Nothing can ever stop man from wanting. â€Å"The Odyssey† shows perfectly how hunger in a man or in several men can ruin someone’s life. In The Odyssey a man and his crews hunger ruin the lives of themselves and many others. It forces the men to go on a journey that could have been easily avoided. This hunger causes their own lives and the lives they meet to experience the men’s hunger. These men are a perfect example of the hunger men can have in the real world. Even though Odyssey is just an epic it shows perfectly how hunger can destroy someone’s life. Hunger, whether a literal hunger or a hunger for power has always and will always rule people’s thoughts. If you don’t control your hunger it will destroy you and everything you love.

Educational stages Essay Example for Free

Educational stages Essay Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, research, or simply through autodidacticism. [1] Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts. Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems were also based on peoples religion giving them different curricula. [edit] Curriculum Main articles: Curriculum, Curriculum theory, and List of academic disciplines School children in Durban, South Africa. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences. [5] Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curriculums or within majors at colleges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater. [6] [edit] Preschools Main article: Preschool education The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate. [citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is â€Å"to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child’s physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them. †[7] [edit] Primary schools Main article: Primary education Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842. Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising. [8] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Students in a classroom at Samdach Euv High School, Cambodia In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, post-secondary, or higher education (e. g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better  prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history.

McDonalds Corporation in India

McDonalds Corporation in India Organization; McDonalds is the worlds leading fast food chain with 31,000 local restaurants in 118 different countries and collectively serving more than 58 million people (www.aboutmcdonalds.com). Due to globalization and internationalization, the corporation established joint ventures, and later franchises, which enabled them to spread into other countries, like India. This turned McDonalds into a multi-billion dollar enterprise (McDonalds Annual Report 2008). Founded in 1937 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald, the fast food chain began as a drive-in restaurant in California (Vignali 2001). In 1954, Ray Croc saw an opportunity in the fast food market and initiated a deal with the brothers, giving him rights to franchise McDonalds in America (Vignali 2001). By 1965, there were over 700 McDonalds restaurants in the country and in 1967, the corporation went global by opening restaurants in Canada and Puerto Rico (www.aboutmcdonalds.com). Since then, an average of 4.2 new McDonalds restaurants is opened daily around the world (Hill 2009), one of which included Indias first McDonalds in Mumbai in 1996 (www.mcdonaldsindia.com). The American fast food chain is the focus of this report because of its increasing international presence in the world. The literature review covers an overview of the strategies and models that will help better understand McDonalds move into the Indian market. The discussion and analysis section will focus on McDonalds in particular and the challenges and competition the corporation faced in this new foreign market. Lastly, the report will conclude with recommendations on how and what McDonalds can do to better their performance in India. Literature Review Globalization refers to the growing interdependent relationships among people from different cultures and nations as physical and psychological walls collapse, barriers to the movement of trade, capital and people are blurred and modern technology is integrated (Daniels et. al. 2009; Hill 2009). This indicates the two main factors that drive globalization are the decline in barriers to the free flow of goods, services and capital, and the change in technology (Daniels et. al. 2009). Internationalization involves customizing business strategies depending on cultural, regional and national differences (Vignali 2001). Since the 20th century, more corporations have become global to create value for their organizations and to achieve competitive advantage. This was followed by the development of multinational enterprises or corporations (Daniels et. al. 2009). According to Vignali (2001), globalization involves marketing standardized products the same way everywhere, thus viewing the world as a single entity (Vignali 2001). However, the reality is that nations, cultures and people vary around the world. Corporations need more than just globalization to succeed in the international market. According to Taylor (see Vignali 2001), companies should think global, act local (Vignali 2001, p.98) by combining internationalization and globalization elements to create a competitive advantage. Entry Modes Determining the appropriate entry mode for a corporation is a complex task. Hill, Hwang and Kim (1990) state that different entry modes have different levels of control over foreign operations, in terms of managing operational and strategic decision-making. Some of the common entry modes used by global corporations are franchising and joint ventures (Hill 2009). Franchising is when a company, or franchisor, sells intangible property, like a trademark, to the franchisee with the stipulation that the franchisee abides the by the rules and conditions specified in the franchising contract (Hill 2009). The rules as to how franchisees operate a restaurant extends to control over the menu, cooking methods, staffing policies, and design and location. This is a common strategy approached by many fast food chains. By franchising to local people, the delivery and interpretation of something foreign is translated by the local people, in terms of both product and service (Vignali 2001), and the costs of running the business is cheaper. However, franchising may inhibit a corporation taking profits out of one country to support competitive attacks in another country (Hill 2009). Also, the quality of the brand in the foreign country may not be the same or up to par as the quality of the brand of products in the corporations native country, which is ultimately bad for business (Hill 2009). Joint venture is sharing ownership between two or more companies and the percentage of ownership varies from 50% to more or less (Daniels et. al. 2009). It has similar advantages as franchising but can have more problems, such as lack of control of technology (Hill 2009). When choosing the market it is important to consider long-term economic benefits including the market size, the present wealth of consumers in the market, and the future wealth of the consumers, which depends on the economic growth rate (Hill 2009). Hill (2009) argues the product value in the foreign market is another deciding factor. This depends on if the product is suitable to the market and the local competition. As they turn global, organizations are transformed in terms of their strategies, operations, management, marketing, and human and material resources and services (Daniels et. al. 2009). This is because foreign markets have different physical, social and competitive factors from the domestic market, and this affects the objectives and the strategy of the corporation (Daniels et. al. 2009). IR Model Companies that operate internationally face two forces: pressures for global integration and pressures for local responsiveness (Daniels et. al. 2009). In their research paper, Doz and Prahalad (1984) explain economic, technological and competitive conditions push global integration, whereas diversity in customer needs, distribution channels, media and trade barriers between countries push responsiveness. Research shows that the higher the pressure for global integration, the greater the need to maximize efficiency through standardization (Daniels et. al 2009). Customers accept standardized products and this reduces costs for the corporation (Daniels et. al 2009). But, international corporations are under pressure to adapt their operations to the local market conditions and local customer demands, as well as adhere to the policies mandated by host-country governments, which varies around the world (Daniels et. al. 2009).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The integration-responsiveness model, shown in figure 1, was initially developed by Prahalad and Doz in 1987 and then developed further by Bartlett and Ghoshal in 1989. It shows the interaction between global integration and local responsiveness (Daniels et. al. 2009). The IR model presents four strategies to guide how international corporations will enter and compete in the foreign market: international strategy, multidomestic strategy, global strategy and transnational strategy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  International strategy is adopted by corporations when they want to influence their core competencies by expanding into foreign markets. Secondly, a multidomestic corporation is locally responsive (Daniels et. al. 2009, p.475) as it allows each of its operations in foreign countries to act independently. The subsidiaries have the freedom to respond to the preferences of their local customers when designing, making and marketing products (Daniels et. al. 2009). A global strategy maximizes integration and it pushes a company to make a standardized product for a global market, such as shampoo. Lastly, transnational strategy differentiates capabilities and contributions from country to country allowing companies to learn from them. It endorses an integrated framework of technology, financial resources, creative ideas, and people (Daniels et. al. 2009). Culture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hofstede, a key researcher in the subject, defines culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another (see Hill 2009, p.89). Banerjee (2008) adds it is a set of values, ideas, artefacts, and other meaningful symbols that shape our attitudes and actions. Globalization has given rise to a new concept of no-border (Banerjee 2008, p.368) world. Cultures merge, change and evolve as people move around the world; this has increased rapidly due to improved technology, the birth of the internet and expanding networks of interpersonal and mass communications (Craig and Douglas 2006). As mentioned earlier in this report, corporations become international to create value and gain competitive advantage. One means of doing this is by promoting cultural diversity (Daniels et. al. 2009) as people from diverse backgrounds and experiences are brought together. When divergent cultures come in contact, cultural collision takes place. In adjacent to this theory of cultural collision, Craig, Douglas and Bennett (2009) introduce Americanization, a type of internationalization, which refers to the spread of American culture through US corporations. Establishing a global platform allows individuals and organizations to interact with each other, regardless of time, space and language. Globalization leads to plenty of opportunities, but it has also gives rise to challenges. Mayo (see Rawwas 2000) found that first-time exporters often fail as they try to expand internationally is because they were unable to understand cultural differences and foreign business practices. Rawwas (2000) concludes that an enhanced sensitivity to cultural variables is needed (p.203) for understanding the needs of international customers and making the necessary decisions to meet them. Discussion and Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McDonalds has been operating in India since 1996 and has a total of 160 restaurants nationwide (www.mcdonaldsindia.com). Its strategy is to achieve best value by offering the best quality, while prices are kept reasonable (www.mcdonaldsindia.com). McDonalds success is attributed to its commitment to deliver quality, service, cleanliness and value to customers, increasing the number of outlets to improve convenience, and finally, its investment in supplier development, training and people (www.mcdonaldsindia.com). Entry Modes The growth of the emerging Indian market is attributed to the resurgence in manufacturing sector, growth in service sector, and bigger foreign investments (Sharma and Srinivasan 2008), as well as technological changes, GDP growth, and increase in literacy and income levels (Dana and Vignali 1998). Sharma and Srinivasan (2008) list Indias infrastructure, its economic development, market size, present and future wealth of consumers, and consumer culture as the main attraction for foreign investors. Hill (2009) and other researchers specify Indias large and relatively prosperous middle class of around 100 million (Harding 2000) was a main attraction for McDonalds. In addition, Sharma and Srinivasan (2008) state the expectation of India to be one of the top three economies in the world by 2050, along with China and USA also presented ample opportunities for the American corporation. It was a major risk on McDonalds part as India is the only country where the fast food giant does not include beef in its product, McDonalds primary raw material (Harding 2000). In conjunction with Sharma and Srinivasan, Morrison and Beck (2000) add that the costs and risks associated with doing business in India are lower because it is an economically advanced and politically stable democratic (Hill 2009, p.489) nation and it is cheaper for McDonalds to use local raw materials (Morrison and Beck 2000). Prior to its entry into India, the corporation was involved with local suppliers to ensure they were able to generate the right quality and quantity of raw materials required for production. These included potato farms in Gujarat, Trikaya Agriculture for lettuce, Dyanmix Dairy for cheese, and Vista Processed Foods for chicken and vegetables (www.mcdonaldsindia.com). McDonalds also developed a cold chain network, which keeps raw materials fresh as they are moved from the farms to the restaurants at the lowest possible costs. This unique network benefits the local farmers, while at the same time, gives customers high quality food products that are fresh and of great value (www.mcdonaldsindia.com). Goyal and Singh (2007) insist that although traditionally, Indians prefer home-cooked meals, there has been a shift in the food consumption patterns due to westernization. Indians were more receptive to international food and eating out at restaurants (Goyal and Singh 2007). According to worldwatch.org (see Goyal and Singh 2007, p.184), Indias fast food industry is growing by 40% each year. Prior to the entry of international fast food outlets, Goyal and Singh (2007) reveal that Nirulas was a popular domestic fast food provider. The British Wimpys was the first international fast food chain to enter the Indian market in 1984 and were an instant success. Except for Wimpys and later KFC, India was not home to many fast food outlets in the mid-1990s, and the McDonalds Corporation felt they could give something extra to the Indian customers (Goyal and Singh 2007). McDonalds entry into India was initially done through joint-venture companies: M.D. Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. heads up the restaurants in west and south India, while those in the north and east are managed by Connaught Plaza Restaurant Pvt. Ltd. (www.mcdonaldsindia.com). However, this is unlike Vignali (2001) and Hill (2009) who indicate that McDonalds growth and international success is attributed to using the franchising strategy (Hill 2009, p.498). McDonalds allows local firms in India to use its brand name as long as they stick to the franchising contract. They also organize the supply chain for its franchisees and provide management training and financial assistance (Hill 2009). As mentioned in the literature review, maintaining the expected quality of McDonalds products throughout its outlets in India is a challenge (Hill 2009). One way in which they handle this is by establishing a master franchisee (Hill 2009, p.498). This is where the joint venture McDonalds has established with the two local firms is crucial. The managers of the firms, who have been trained at McDonalds Hamburger University in America, head up the two master franchisee and oversee the operations in all McDonalds outlets in India (www.mcdonaldsindia.com; Hill 2009). It can be argued that the American fast food giant initially entered the Indian market through joint-ventures, but then later spread all over the country through franchises. Hill (2009) continues that, through joint ventures and franchising, McDonalds benefits from the local partners knowledge of the countrys competitive conditions, culture, and language, and the corporation is also relieved of the costs and risks of opening in the foreign market on their own; instead, the franchisee assumes all the responsibilities. By using this strategy, McDonalds was able to expand rapidly at a relatively low cost and risk (Hill 2009). IR Model McDonalds adopted the international strategy through franchising to push their core competencies in the Indian market and to customize their products and services to the local customer demands (Hill 2009). This way the corporation relies on local subsidiaries in India to stick to the regulations of running McDonalds and ensure the standardizing of its products and services (Daniels et. al. 2009). However, the Indian market is culturally diverse, so complete standardization within an international scale is impossible. Dana and Vignali (1998) argue that standardization is cheaper, but success is often a function of being able to adapt to an environment (p.50). McDonalds standardizes as much as possible to reduce costs, but they are aware of cultural differences and have adopted the concept of think global, act local (Vignali 2001, p.99). According to Hill (2009), international strategy provides the subsidiaries with some freedom, but the primary control resides with managers at the headquarters in America. Multidomestic strategy, on the other hand, allows McDonalds in India to act independently from its counterparts in America. The Indian subsidiaries are granted the authority to design, make and market new products that directly respond to the local customers preferences (Hill 2009). McDonalds does not use beef because the cow is worshipped by the local Hindu population. In fact, possession of beef could result in five years jail time (Dana and Vignali 1998). Thus, the corporation completely removed beef from all its products, as well as pork for the Muslims (Harding 2001). Instead of the ever-popular Big Macs found in the west, McDonalds in India serves Maharaja Macs made from mutton, spicy vegetarian rice patties (Morrison and Beck 2000), chicken burgers, vegetarian McAloo Tikki burgers, containing potatoes, and vegetarian pizza puffs all designed to draw in the Indian middle-class (Harding 2001; Vignali 2001). Customers in India have different preferences due to cultural and religious differences, so McDonalds is required to modify and adapt their products and services as according to the local demand. Therefore, as indicated in figure 2, McDonalds strategy is positioned between the international and multidomestic quadrant. Culture Craig, Douglas and Bennett (2009) state in their article that as that the opening on McDonalds in India is a reflection of the American culture spreading. The Indian public have mixed feelings about the companys presence in the country. Usually, the younger generation, particularly, the college-going crowd and high school students from the middle-class enjoy the new taste. However, many of them argue that McDonalds food is badexpensiveun-Indian (Harding 2001). Food ingredients are not the only things McDonalds had to modify. They learned the hard way to be aware of the religious belief and value of Hindus, Jains, Muslims and Christians in the country and adapt to each. Dana and Vignali (1998) recount an incident in the late 1990s that arose when McDonalds printed two million bags illustrating the flags of 24 competitors of a football championship. The problem was that the Saudi Arabias flag contained the religious words: There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet (Dana and Vignali 1998, p.50). This angered the large Hindu population in the country and caused a scandal, affecting McDonalds reputation. Competition McDonalds key competitor is KFC, another American fast food giant. KFC entered the Indian market a year before McDonalds and there were problems from the start. The corporation would fatten its chicken on maize, but this was also a source of nutrition for the poor in India. They were getting less and less maize and could not even afford to eat at KFC (Dana and Vignali 1998). The Karnataka Farmers Association went on riots to demonstrate their protest and anger at the corporation, and it eventually culminated with KFC losing their permit in the southern state (Dana and Vignali 1998). KFC restaurants in India are limited and many of them have faced issues, such as unsanitary conditions (Dana and Vignali 1998, p.51).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another competitor in India for McDonalds is the British fast food chain, Wimpys (Dana 1999). They are the only international fast food conglomerate who has been in India the longest. Their growth has been slowed down over the years due to the number of international fast food chains entering India, but they frequently expand and reinvent their menus with Indian dishes to attract Indian customers (Goyal and Singh 2007). Although McDonalds has done comparatively better than KFC in India, the former faced plenty of challenges too. In the following section, recommendations are given on how McDonalds can improve their performance in subcontinent. Recommendations and Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Early 2000, McDonalds faced a lot of problems and the local population were dissatisfied with the corporations presence in the country. The problems stemmed from the corporations lack of understanding about cultural and religious beliefs in India. This shows a sign of lack of faith and lack of trust, particularly after rumours of beef fat in cooking oil used by the French McDonalds (Harding 2001) set of angry protests in India. Delhis managing director for McDonalds insists the outlets in India do not use beef extracts, but since the McDonalds empire was built on beef products, some Indians find it hard to believe that the local outlets do not use beef extracts (Harding 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is a delicate situation and a hard problem to solve when religion and cultural beliefs are involved. The best thing McDonalds can do to keep business flowing in India is by building up consumer trust in the Indian market. By establishing a strategic alliance between domestic competitors, like Nirulas, customers might be influenced into eating at McDonalds (Hill 2009). This collaboration would encourage McDonalds to develop more Indian-friendly products, like curries, that fit the tastes of the local demand, and it might present the American corporation in a more favourable light. McDonalds is a popular fast food chain found all over the world. Entering into the Indian market was a brave move and it set new challenges for the corporation due to cultural, religious and ethical differences in the country. McDonalds are still facing problems, but for the most part they have managed to attract a part of the Indian population, fascinated by this western culture. In conclusion, despite the blurring of the physical boundaries between India and America, cultural factors still affect Indian customers buying habits (Banerjee 2008) and McDonalds need to focus on gaining the trust of their local customers, or they will be unsuccessful like their fellow-American competitors, KFC. References BANERJEE, Saikat, 2008. Dimensions of Indian culture, core cultural values, and marketing implications: An analysis. Cross Cultural Management : An International Journal, 15(4), pp.367-378. DANA, Leo Paul, 1999. Nirulas small business. British Food Journal, 101(5/6), pp.500-504. DANA, Leo and VIGNALI, Claudio, 1998. Introductory cases. British Food Journal, 100(2), pp.49-57. DANIELS, John D., RADEBAUGH, Lee H., and SULLIVAN, Daniel P., 2009. International Business: Environments and Operations. 12th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. DOZ, Yves and PRAHALAD, C.K., 1984. Patterns of strategic control within multinational corporations. Journal of International Business Studies, 15(2), pp.55-72. CRAIG, Samuel C. and DOUGLAS, Susan P., 2006. Beyond national culture: implications of cultural dynamics for consumer research. International Marketing Review, 23(3), pp.322-342. CRAIG, Samuel C., DOUGLAS, Susan P., and BENNETT, Aronte, 2009. Contextual and cultural factors underlying Americanization. International Marketing Review, 26(1), pp.90-109. GOYAL, Anita and SINGH, N.P., 2007. Consumer perception about fast food in India: an exploratory study. British Food Journal, 109(2), pp.182-195. HARDING, Luke, 2000. Give me a Big Mac but hold the beef [online], available at The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/dec/28/globalisation.lukeharding [accessed on 1/02/2010]. HARDING, Luke, 2001. Indian McAnger [online], available at The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/may/07/globalisation.lukeharding [accessed on 1/02/2010]. HILL, Charles W. L., 2009. International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. HILL, Charles, W.L., HWANG, Peter, and KIM, Chan W., 1990. An eclectic theory of the choice of international entry mode. Strategic Management Journal, 11(2), pp.117-128. McDonalds Corporation USA, 2010. About McDonalds [online], available at http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com [accessed on 25/01/2010]. McDonalds Corporation India, 2009. About McDonalds [online], available at http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/aboutus.html [accessed on 26/01/2010]. McDonalds Corporation, 2008. McDonalds 2008 Annual Report [online], available at www.aboutmcdonalds.com [accessed on 29/01/2010]. MORRISON, Allen and BECK, John, 2000. Taking trouble: the key to effective global attention. Strategy Leadership, 28(2), pp.26-32. SHARMA, Somesh Kumar and SRINIVASAN, R., 2008. Perceptions of foreign players for effective positioning in India. Management Decision, 46(10), pp.1465-1481. RAWWAS, Mohammad Y.A., 2001. Culture, personality and morality: A typology international consumers ethical beliefs. International Marketing Review, 18(2), pp.188-209. VIGNALI, Claudio, 2001. McDonalds: think global, act local the marketing mix. British Food Journal, 103(2), pp.97-111.

The Time Machine - Analysis :: essays research papers

There are numerous people in society who lack certain skills that they need for survival. These people may lack intelligence and depend on other human beings to help them get through life. However, most of the time, it is there fault that they lack these necessities. In â€Å"The Time Machine† by H.G Wells, the Eloi had this problem. They were victims of their own weaknesses because they didn’t understand that learning these important skills was necessary for them to survive. When he arrived in the future, The Time Traveller, after seeing and hearing the Eloi, concluded that they had an extremely low intelligence compared to the people that lived in his time. They were often described as and compared to little children. â€Å"Then one of them asked me a question that showed him to be on the intellectual level of one of our five year old children.†(39) He was very shocked about this weakness that the Eloi possessed. The fact that the Time Traveller lived 800,00 years in the past led him to believe that over time, the generations got less and less intelligent and more involved with having fun compared to the world where he lived. The Time Traveller also realized that the Eloi were very dependent on other people for many of there resources. He mentioned that the Eloi had houses and clothing but he didn’t see any machinery or anything that could possibly produce these items. â€Å"There were no shops, no workshops, no sign of importations among them.† (65) This led him the believe that there had to be someone or something that was making these items for them. Since the Time Traveller had already know about the low intelligence of the Eloi, this didn’t come as surprize to him. He was able to come to the conclusion that the Eloi cannot do very much for themselves. Another fact that the Time Traveler came across was that the Eloi spent all day playing games and doing nothing of importance. He didn't understand how they could get things done and survive in their world. "They spent all day of their time in playing gently, in bathing in the river, in making love in a half-playful fashion, in eating fruit and sleeping. I could not see how things were kept going." (65) He thought that the Eloi acted just like little children. The thing that puzzled him was how the society could function properly when no one took anything seriously. He never saw an Eloi doing work or anything of value. As a result, the Time Traveller didn't understand how the Eloi stayed alive.

Ode to a Grecian Urn Essay -- John Keats Poems Poetry Vases Essays

Ode to a Grecian Urn In the early 19th century it was not unusual to make a work of art, painting or sculpture a subject of a poem. Taken literally, the poem 'Ode to a Grecian Urn' is a poem about a vase, but Keats has inverted the traditional understanding of physical, tangible objects and transformed them into metaphors for abstract concepts, such as truth and time. An urn is primarily used to preserve the ashes of the dead. The theme of the Ode, accordingly, has to do with the relationship between imagination and actuality, and the supremacy and immortality of a work of art if compared to our ordinary life. With the masterful use of the device of figurative language, Keats has created a melodic, beautifully flowing poem which well serves the purpose he gives it. Keats himself can be assumed to be the speaker, the overall setting is unknown. The tone of the poem reflects the fact that Keats seems truly awed and astonished by the urn he considers. The poem is written in ten-line iambic pentameter throughout, which creates a flowing rhythmic effect. The rhyme scheme is unusual, but Keats breaks the form with this five-part poem. The rhyme pattern is A - B - A - B - C - D - E - D - C - E. There is apattern of interwoven paradoxes which persist throughout the Ode, contributing to its unity of thought and the development of its main theme (that the Urn has managed to achieve immortality). The first stanza sets the pattern of paradoxes that runs throughout the poem. Firstly in its structure, it is split into two sections - the first four lines are a series of apostrophes, personifying the urn, and addressing it in its special association to silence and time, and the last six are a series of questions. .. ...self from the urn to consider its overall significance in relation to human life and passion. "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" sums up the relationships described throughout the poem. In the poem "Ode On a Grecian Urn", the poet John Keats uses language and the object of his poem to link abstract actions and concepts to physical, real, concrete things, in many different ways. Using iambic pentameter, and a unique rhyme scheme, Keats' sets up a harmonious, delightfully fluid poem which well serves the purpose he gives it. The "Ode on a Grecian Urn" squarely confronts the truth that art is not "natural," like leaves on a tree, but artificial. Bibliography Romantic Writings: An Anthology (1998) Oxford University Press Abrahams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms (1998) Thomas Learning Stephen Bygrave (ed.), Romantic Writings (1996) Open University

Baruch Spinozas Anti Anthroponcentric View Essay -- Philosophy Spinoz

When Baruch Spinoza composed his philosophical masterpiece, the Ethics, he knew that his ideas (particularly those of God) would be considered heretical in the extreme, leading to any number of unpleasant consequences. This was the reason that the Ethics were published in 1677, posthumously (p.97)1. His apprehensions are well justified in the light of what he writes in the Appendix (p.145-149) to Part1: Concerning God (p.129-145) regarding the prejudices present in the minds of human beings. For, it is here that Spinoza directly challenges the prevalent religious orthodoxy and seeks to remove the very dogma that was the basis of their power. Spinoza asserts in the Appendix (p.145) that there exist certain prejudices in the minds of people that prevent them from understanding (and accepting as true) the conclusions that he reaches after a thoroughly logical and indeed, geometrical process of reasoning. The root of all these prejudices, he further clarifies, is the almost universal belief that all Natural things exist and act with some definite goal being pursued. Further, he presents for scrutiny the very strong anthropomorphism inherent in most human minds that makes these people believe in the universe having been created for their sake. Lastly comes the religious part of this picture, wherein mankind exists so that it may worship God, thereby closing the circle of creation. Spinoza (naturally, considering his philosophy) rejects this picture and thereby attempts in the Appendix to argue on the following crucial points: 1) The reason 1 Roger Ariew & Eric Watkins. Modern Philosophy: An anthology of primary sources. Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1998. Note: All references to Spinoza will be to this text unless otherw... ...e former, Spinoza replies, â€Å"...the perfection of things should be measured solely from their own nature and power† and not with respect to definitions in the imagination. Furthermore, God had no free will in creating the universe, (from Cor. 1 Pr. 32, p.142 as described previously) and (from Pr.16, p.137) â€Å"from the necessity of the divine..(follows)..everything that can come within the scope of infinite intellect†. Therefore, God must, of necessity, be the cause of everything, perfect and imperfect! 6 In conclusion, Spinoza provides an immaculate argument that should readily convince the reader of the truth of his main proposition in the Appendix, i.e. that the major reason for obstacles in the path of understanding is the anthropocentric view of Nature that most people hold on to, irrespective of the enormity of the contradictions inherent in that view. 7

Bismarck History Essay

The battleship Bismarck was named in honour of Otto Fà ¼rst von Bismarck, the architect of German unification and the arbiter of European politics during the second half of the 19th century. Bismarck, also known as the â€Å"Iron Chancellor†, was the founder and first chancellor of the German Empire, and through his diplomatic skills, he managed to maintain the peace in Europe for a generation. Otto von Bismarck was born on 1 April 1815 at Schà ¶nhausen in Brandenburg, Prussia. His father, Ferdinand von Bismarck-Schà ¶nhausen, was of the Old Prussian nobility. His mother, Wilhelmine Mencken, from the upper bourgeoisie. He studied law at the University of Gottingen in Hanover, and obtained his degree in 1837 and then entered the Prussian civil service. After leaving the service he helped manage the family estates. He entered politics & married Johanna von Puttkammer in 1847. During the revolutions of 1848, Bismarck favored suppression of revolt and opposed any concessions to the liberals, staying loyal to the monarchy & was determined to free the states from Austrian domination and to unite them under Prussian rule. In 1849, he was elected to the Prussian Chamber of Deputies (the lower chamber of the Prussian Diet). In 1851, Frederick William IV appointed Bismarck as the Prussian representative to the federal Diet in Frankfurt. In 1859, Bismarck was sent to Russia as Prussian ambassador to St. Petersburg, and in May 1862, he moved to Paris as ambassador to the court of Napoleon III. Soon after he returned to Berlin, on 22 September 1862, Bismarck became minister president and foreign minister for the Prussian king William I (Wilhelm I). In 1864 Prussia allied with Austria to provoke war with Denmark. The victorious allies won the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, but two years later quarrels over the duchies led to war between Prussia and Austria. The defeat of Austria gave Prussia control over the states north of the Main River. Bismarck formed them into the North German Confederation. Relations between Prussia and its age-old enemy France then became tense. In 1870 the nomination of a Hohenzollern prince to the vacant Spanish throne was withdrawn upon French demand. When the French ambassador asked King William I of Prussia to promise that the nomination would never be renewed, the king dismissed the ambassador. France then declared war on Prussia, and the Prussian army, with the armies of the other German states, attacked and defeated the disorganized French (see Franco-Prussian War). The German states were then united, and William I became Kaiser, or emperor, of the new German Empire. Bismarck, raised to the rank of prince, became the imperial chancellor (Reichskanzler). As German chancellor, Bismarck directed his foreign policy at maintaining and strengthening the power of the German Empire. In order to prevent a war of revenge, Bismarck decided now to isolate France diplomatically. In 1873, he formed the Three Emperors’ League (Dreikaiserbund) with Russia and Austria-Hungary. But rivalry in the Balkans provoked the Russo-Turkish War of 1877, and Bismarck had to mediate at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, successfully maintaining the peace. Increasing Russian hostility brought about the Dual Alliance with Austria (1879), and then the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. Bismarck, however, sought to tie Russia to this alliance by reviving the Three Emperors’ League (1881-87) through the Reinsurance Treaty (1887-90). He also gained British cooperation. During Bismarck’s chancellorship, Germany established colonies in Africa and in the Pacific and built up its industries. William I was succeeded in 1888 by his son Frederick III, a sick man who ruled only three months. Frederick’s son became Kaiser William II. Because William II wanted sole power, he forced Bismarck to resign in 1890. Bismarck retired to his estate at Friedrichsruh, where he died on July 30, 1898 at the age of 83.