Relationship between Soul and Body Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Relationship between Soul and Body - Assignment Example People comprehend that Buddha was very much inclined by the Upanishads and in peoples view the cause that Buddha went from self to meaninglessness was that the trend with the education of personality was. The spirit of Chariot The king suggested that Nagasena are all not the Skandhas put together. He went ahead and explained that nothing was to be found outside the five Skandhas that are known as the Nagasena (Jacobsen, Pg 56). He explained that the Nagesena is an empty sound and it is a falsehood that people believe that their respect has spoken. The king answered that the parts were not the chariot and not anything outside them was the chariot. What are the differences between minds and bodies which Descartes lines out? The actual difference of mind and body supported on their varied natures is the basis of the prominent mind-body trouble: how can these two matters with exceptionally dissimilar natures causally interrelate to provide growth to a human being able of having deliberat e bodily movements and sensations? Their worries occur from the assertion at the spirit of the actual difference disagreement that mind and body are exceptionally dissimilar or opposite things (Jacobsen, Pg 72). What problems does Philonous lead Hylas into concerning the way substance stands under or supports accidents? What does Hylas conclude? Philonous suggest that thing that causes accidents are a thing that people know very well. Their color, shape, and size are factors that are familiar to individuals. What is surprising is that these things cannot have meaning when they are alone, thus they cannot cause accidents. There must be a unifying factor for these things to have meaning thus cause accidents. Hylas concludes that without this a common factor, these items do not have meaning and they cannot cause accidents. What problems does Philonous point out about Hylas view of objects existing when no one perceives them? Philonous suggests that Hylas takes looks things as single ob jects that is why he has a problem in getting meaning of the main picture. He does not put things together for them to have meaning in order to get the correct idea (Jacobsen, Pg 76). For instance, he does not understand that accidents only occur when some factors are put together. There must be a unifying factor for these substances to be incorporated for an accident to occur. For Hume, an impression is some experience, like a sound, a color, a smell, pain or pleasure, etc. The idea of self describes the necessary traits that make one individual different from all others. There have been numerous methods to centralize these traits. The self is the thought of a combined being that is the basis of awareness (Jacobsen, Pg 85). Furthermore, this self is the means in charge of the opinions and events of a person to which they are credited. It is an essence, which therefore tolerates through time; consequently, the opinions and events at dissimilar instances may relate to the same person ality. How does Ryle think Descartes gave rise to the category mistake involving the mind?  

Twentieth-century Marxism. Georg Lukcs and the problem of Essay

Twentieth-century Marxism. Georg Lukcs and the problem of consciousness - Essay Example Georg Lukacs stands as a dominant figure in twentieth-century Marxism. The publication of his  History and Class Consciousness  and Karl Korsch  Marxism and Philosophy  in 1923 marked the first serious efforts to rethink Marxism Both Lukacs and Korsch were responding to the inability of the orthodox viewpoint to account for either the unexpected survival of the Russian Revolution or the progressive dissolution of revolutionary working-class movements in Europe. Their efforts led them to examine the origins of Marx's thought and to revitalize and reemphasize aspects of his work which had previously been underplayed or ignored. Their work gave rise to what later would be labeled "Western Marxism." This variant of Marxist thought is characterized by its interest in the early Marx and in the philosophical (especially Hegelian) roots of Marxism; by its focus on Marx as opposed to Engels; and by its stress on consciousness, culture, and subjectivity science, economics, and nature. It is within Western Marxism, of course, that Critical Theory is situated. And Lukacs's work would particularly influence the critical theorists. Lukacs is also a controversial figure in twentieth-century Marxism. The contributions and contradictions of his work, as well as his reassessments and repudiations of it, have been the subject of a great deal of debate and discussion.19  My interest here, however, is not in his work as a whole, but rather in his treatment of the proletariat as the revolutionary subject. His effort to address the issue of the proletariat's self-conscious agency effectively created more problems than it solved. At the same time that he insisted upon the identification of the proletariat as the revolutionary subject, he detailed the socioeconomic conditions that precluded its ability to fulfill its world-historical mission. It is the development of this dilemma in Lukacs's work that interests us here. In  History and Class Consciousness, Lukacs speaks of the proletariat as the "identical subject-object," "the subject of action," "the 'we' of the genesis." Although he would later label his treatment of the proletariat as an "attempt to -17- Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning.  www.questia.com   Publication Information:  Book Title: Critical Theory and Political Possibilities: Conceptions of Emancipatory Politics in the Works of Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse, and Habermas. Contributors: Joan Alway - author. Publisher: Greenwood Press. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 17. out-Hegel Hegel,"  20  he held firm to his conviction that the proletariat was the historical subject whose actions would bring about the revolution. Lukacs followed Marx in believing that it was the position of the proletariat in the capitalist mode of production that conferred upon it its unique status. Within a system based on the production and exchange of commodities, workers were both commodities and the pro ducers of commodities. The fact that they, and they alone, were in a position to recognize themselves as both the subject and the object of the production process, and thus of the historical process, meant that the proletariat was capable of gaining unique insight into historical truth. For Lukacs the proletariat is the first truly universal class: for the first time in history, there existed a class whose self-understanding was the understanding of society as a whole, whose fate was the fate of society as a whole. In the proletariat subjective awareness and objective knowledge coincided. Lukacs insists that subjective awareness is not an automatic consequence of objective position. He argues that while objective position and conditions "give the proletariat the opportunity and the necessity to change society," social transformation will result only from their "free" action.  21  And this free action will be a function of the prolet

Identifying An Organizational Structure In A Startup Business Essay

Identifying An Organizational Structure In A Startup Business Essay Organizational structure contains activities such as coordination, supervision and task allocation, which are directed towards all achievement aimed by an organization. It can also be considered as the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals see their environment and the organization. Most likely there are many organizations that have graded structures, but not all companies do follow the grading steps. Most organizations are with variants of gathered entities. Different organizations have different variants of gathered entities. An organization can be structured in different other ways. It all depends on their objectives. The structure of the organization would determine the modes in which it performs and operates. An organizational structure allows the expressed distribution of responsibilities for different processes and functions to various and different units such as the department, workgroup, branch, and individual. All organizational structure does affect any organizational actions in mainly two big ways. Firstly, an organizational structure provides foundation on which standard routines rest and operating procedures. Secondly, the organizational structure determines which individuals get to do which particular decision-making processes, and also to extent their views in shaping the organizations work actions. Types of Organizational Structure 1.2.1 Bureaucratic structure Bureaucratic structures have their certain grade of standardization. They are more suited for larger scale or more complex organizations. They usually have a very tall structure. Then strain between non-bureaucratic and bureaucratic structures is reverberated in Burns and Stalker distinction between organic and mechanistic structures. It is not the entire thing about bureaucratic structure. It is very much complex and useful for graded structured organization, mostly and mainly in tall organizations. The other way of understanding the characteristics of bureaucracy structure are a ranked structure, a clear defined responsibilities and roles, also a respect for merit. 1.2.2 Functional structure All employees within the functional divisions of an organization are often to perform a specified set of tasks, for example in the engineering department; there would be a specified group of engineers that would be staffed. For example, they could be staffed with software engineers. This could lead to a lack of communication between the functional groups within the organization. This would make the organization very inflexible and slow. A functional organization is best suited for producer of standardized services and goods at large volume at low cost. Specialization and coordination of tasks are normally centralized in the functional structure, which makes it to produce a limited amount of services or products expectable and efficient. Efficiencies can be realized as functional organizations integrate their activities vertically so that products those are distributed and sold quickly at low cost. A small business could start making the mechanisms it requires for production of their products instead of just procuring the product from an external organization. It is not only beneficial for an organization; it is also beneficial for the employeeà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s faiths 1.2.3 Divisional Structure This is also known as a product structure, the divisional or product structure divides every organizational function into different division. Each and division within the divisional structure consist of all the necessary functions resources and within it. Divisions are categorized in different points of view. One might make distinctions on a product basis /service basis or on geographical. Different products for different customers: households or companies. Another good example is an automobile company; they have different division such as a division for the four heel drive, a division for sedan car, a division for compact cars and more. Each division might have their own sales, marketing and engineering departments. 1.2.4 Matrix structure The matrix structure gathers employees by both product and function. This structure combines the best of both separate structures. A matrix organization normally uses groups of employees to complete any work, this is to make up for the weaknesses, as well as to take advantage of the strengths, of the decentralized and functional forms. For example a company produces two products, product A and product B. Product A would have different and various departments, product B would have the exact same structure and departments as the product A. Matrix structure is the purest of all the organizational structures, it is the most simple structure in emulating the companies demonstration. 1.3 Type of Company This company organizes parties. It is a party planner company. This company plans all sorts of parties in any celebration. For example the organization does organise parties for wedding, birthdays, and many other functions in schools, companies and more. This company provides catering service too. Cleaning service after any function or ceremony is provided if this company had managed the event. Event management is the application of project management to the development and creation of events, conferences, and festivals. Event management includes studying the details of the brand, identifying the objectives of the audience, planning the concept of the event, planning the logistics and organizing the technical features before actually trying to execute the modalities of the planned event. The events that this company does are; making games in a birthday party. For example, for a childà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s birthday party that is twelve years and below, we provide them with clowns, magicians, and simple events such as musical chairs for the kids. For birthday party of the adults, sixteenth birthday would be a great example, this company provides disk jockey (DJ) to have some music, this company provides the state of the art lighting service, and more. For parties that this company plans for a wedding is small games for the groom and the bridegroom. These games are chosen by our customers. The games that we provide are not only for the groom and bride groom but it is also for the people who attends the wedding ceremony. 1.4 Functional Structure The organizational structure that had been chosen for this company is the divisional structure. This is because this structure has the simplest form of organizing people into different departments to prepare the necessary needs in the organization. The main reason of choosing this structure is that we could divide groups of people into department. For example; a group of people will be on the in the lighting department, a group of people will be in the music department, a group of people will be in the cleaning department and many more. 1.4.1 Advantages: The advantage of having this structure is that the manager or the boss of this organization can easily see the process of network of the people working under them. It is easy to organize people in this structure in order to make things happen. It is also easy to control the employees or workers in this form. 1.4.2 Disadvantages: The disadvantages are that if the company does not have enough workers the organization has to find for new fresh workers. The managers cannot just move employees from department A into another department B. This is because department A would be lacking of workers to finish work on time. 1.5 Illustration of Functional Structure Foreman (arrangement) Foreman (cleaning department) Foreman (music) Foreman (lighting) Site Agent Material Buying Work Scheduling Office Project Manager Project Manager Project Manager Finance Director Personnel Director Site Operation Director Marketing Director Managing director 1.6 Conclusion This structure Is really the best for all event managing companies. This structure helps a lot in dividing groups in various kinds of departments and making it so easy for the managers to manage the progress very smoothly without any problem. The fear of facing the weakness of this company is sometimes very terrifying and it would not be as terrifying at times. The terrifying moment of weakness is when the company Is lack of workers at the last minute. that is really a bad news for this kind of organizational structure.

Race and Class Affecting Education Essay -- Education

The decision of Brown vs. Board affected education nationally in 1954 by dismantling racism in schools. For this reason, segregation did not produce affirmative results for implementing equal opportunity in society. Citizens of the United States should receive a suitable education regardless of an individual’s race or class. Unfortunately, society is continuing separation because of the injustice of race and the location of poverty stricken individuals by not upholding a certain stature. â€Å"Compounding and reinforcing this educational inequality is the startling socioeconomic inequality and residential segregation in the United States† (Rist 4). Isolation of African American, Hispanic, and other minorities are affected because of their lack of prosperity, and it continues to influence society negatively by reducing the equality and opportunity to succeed. Race and class are the main issues of concern affecting education’s infrastructure; to change th is misfortune, people will have to stand to fight for proper education within the United States and not depend on the government. Education is being affected by the lack of proper parenting skills, scarce economic resources in school systems, and society’s misinterpretation of individual’s environment affecting learning capabilities. One of the primary causes of a failing education system is the insufficient amount of support from parents to improve education. For instance, majority of parents who send their children to impoverished schools are not playing an active role in their children’s education. Consequently, there are many factors that keep parents away from supporting their children’s educational needs. Parents may be working more than one job to maintain a roof... ...advantage of the opportunities provided to them. â€Å"In the last 40 years the United States has more than doubled its spending on K-12 education and now outspends almost every other country in the world—devoting 4 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to K-12 education compared with, for example, Japan’s 2.6 percent† (Goodwin 2). Nevertheless, citizens of the United States must put education first to grant children the opportunities to receive proper education, regardless of race or class. Works Cited Glenn, David. "Scholars Question New Book's Gloom on Education." Chronicle of Higher Education 57.24 (2011): a1-a11. Abstract. Print. Heckman, James J. "The Economics of Inequality." Education Digest Dec. 2011: 4-11. Print. Rist, Ray C. "Color, Class, and the Realities of Inequality." Society Mar.-Apr. 1996: 32-36. Print.

Netflix Case Study Essay

Company Overview The idea behind Netflix, the most popular provider of online and by-mail rental services, came from an unsatisfied, embarrassed customer. Reed Hastings, founder and current CEO of Netflix, was charged 40$ as a late fee because he returned the movie Appolo13 six weeks late (Zarafshar, 2013). This made him think creatively about an idea to transform the movie rental model into a more innovative business. In 1997, Hastings and Randolph started Netflix which was a DVD rental-by-mail business with no subscriptions. Later in 1999, and as a step further towards developing the business, Hastings launched the subscription-based business model which was based only on renting DVDs by mail with multiple plans dependent on the number of titles at a time. Netflix offered its subscribers to choose from its extensive DVD library with more than 120,000 titles for unlimited monthly DVD rental with free shipping as well as zero late and per title rental fees. It was very attractive for customers to mak e subscriptions on the spot as they were tempted with the incredible Netflix service. For example, Blockbuster subscribers found Netflix’s offers more appealing and it was easy for them to make the switch. (Wikipedia, 2014) Netflix has been always open to new opportunities that Hastings believes it will sustain the company’s competitive advantage. A new opportunity was captured when the streaming service was introduced in January 2007 where it enabled Netflix’s subscribers to instantly watch movies, TV-episodes, documentaries, series and much more on internet-connected devices such as smart TVs, PCs, DVRs, Blu-Ray players and special Netflix players. During that time, Netflix was leading the industry as it was the first company to offer paid streaming  services to its subscribers in US, Canada and Latin America. Today, Netflix is known as the largest provider of online streaming service with almost 44 million subscribers in more than 40 countries offered access to an ever-growing library of thousands of titles. (Netflix PR, 2014) Netflix executives were keen to devise flexible strategies accompanied by a profitable business model that gave them sustainable competitive advantages over their rivals. They constantly monitor their external environment and do the required amendments quickly and swiftly to leverage the emer ging opportunities and tackle the upcoming threats. Strategies ranging from growing its library content, service differentiation, very competitive DVD-by-Mail service, unique marketing plan and ambitious international expansion all made Netflix a leader in its industry. However, Netflix isn’t the only player in the DVD-rental and streaming services market. Blockbuster and Redbox are one of the many competitors in the DVD-rental market that use different competitive models to outcompete Netflix’s. Hulu Plus, Amazon and HBO GO have fueled the competition in the streaming service market. They all compete on acquiring more titles to expand their libraries and try to offer the best subscription plans in order to get more market share. Having this in mind, what should Netflix do next in order to outperform its competitors and sustain its competitive advantage. External Environment Analysis Macro Environment We will start our assessment of the external environment by examining the PESTEL factors in the Macro (General) Environment of the movie renting industry. Political Factors Network Neutrality is the principle that preserves the internet to remain free and open for all users. It defends against discrimination of the internet use based on the content or website services (Ala, 2014). Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would like to charge a company like Netflix more money because it’s website of online movie streaming is eating a lot of their internet bandwidth. According to the broadband internet service tracking firm Sandvine, Netflix alone is consuming 32.3% of the downstream traffic in North America, much more than any other site or service. (Protalinski, 2013) Major ISPs may well contemplate the idea of blocking Netflix from their service to release all that traffic or they  might demand increased internet subscription fees from Netflix to continue hosting their website; this would be a disaster for Netflix who is facing increasing content obligation costs and if ISPs opted for that step, they will have no other choice other than increas ing the monthly fees of their streaming service which will definitely not come to the delight of their customers. All of this is against the Net Neutrality rule, which states that all internet users will be under the same conditions to get space on the net whatever their website or content, is. â€Å"The possibility of regulations designed to mandate the neutrality of the Internet has been subject to fierce debate, especially in the United States† (Internet Cleaner, 2013) In an interview (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014), Reed Hastings says he is not concerned with the threat that ISPs might block Netflix since â€Å"it will fuel the fire for more regulation and no one is interested in this†. Environmental Factors Historically, the video rental industry was built on the idea of reusing the same stuff by different people over and over again and this concept is environment-friendly. Moreover, switching to the soft copies of media and streaming it through the internet reduces energy consumption and pollution levels due to a decrease in delivering DVDs by mail and also less manufacturing of DVDs. Socio-Cultural Factors People are expected to watch movies or play video games when they have more leisure time. However nowadays, many people are having 2 jobs to support their families which basically means less leisure time and less watching movies. In addition to that, people are now becoming more convenient watching movies at their homes instead of going out to the theaters since it is cheaper, less time consuming and is ideal after having a long tiring day; this emerging trend will boost the volume of the streaming media subscriptions. Moreover, the rapid acceptance of the society for technological advancements greatly benefits the online movie rental industry, this is particularly correct due to the new educational and pedagogical systems that stress more on computer learning making people more convenient when dealing with technology. Technological Factors The rapid technological advancements and production of electronic products such as Blu-ray DVD players, Video game consoles, smart phones, smart TVs and many other devices that can connect to the internet, made the concept of online rental and video streaming easier and more adaptable. As the internet services are becoming more popular and an important ingredient in people’s daily life, companies like Netflix will be able to increase its operations especially in the video streaming service. Therefore, the advancement in technology is an opportunity and enabler for the industry as a whole. 4K streaming is a new high-quality video technology that reduces compression rate and produces output in 4K/Ultra HD format. (Burns, 2014) Netflix started offering some of its content in this format, which signals their aim to go side by side with technological advancement. Of course, to be able to stream at this high resolution, you need to have a super speed internet (40-50 Mbps) so people now have a reason to upgrade and it means more profits to the ISPs. (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014) Economic Factors The industry depends on the consumers’ spending power and real income, which is affected by employment rate, interest rate, tax rate and inflation rate. When consumers have more money, spending on entertainment facilities rises and this is an opportunity for the industry. On the other hand, the spending power of households usually decrease in recession periods, so they will probably tend to sacrifice the theater ticket and may well reward themselves with some older movies available on streaming services such as Netflix’s. Legal Factors There is a considerable potential for legal actions to be taken against companies operating in this industry, actions related to the use of licensed material and customers’ privacy issues. Moreover, any company that operates in the international market should study well the rules and regulations specific to that market or else it will shortly fall in trouble or lose valuable opportunities. Some legal actions might have a positive impact on companies in this industry such as the amendment of the VPPA law discussed earlier. On the other hand, Netflix had some hard times in 2010 with lawsuits pertaining to privacy issues when an academic research suggested it exposed the movie preferences of its customers for the programmers who  participated in the Netflix prize to produce a better recommendation algorithm. (Buley, 2010) The issue was later resolved and Netflix cancelled the sequel â€Å"Netflix Prize II† competition. Competitive Environment In order to determine nature and strength of the competitor pressures in the movie rental industry Netflix is operating in, we use Porter’s five forces model of competition. Bargaining Power of Customers In the streaming market, customers have a high bargaining power; the reason behind this is that people are very well informed about other companies which are in the same line of business as Netflix. Customers are always in search for a better deal because buyers are very price sensitive when it comes to the video rental industry and they are always looking for the best quality, so they will leave Netflix as soon as a better offer is available since there is no switching cost. Customers always expect product differentiation, and if Netflix does not give it customers this variety, they will simply leave. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers is very high; Netflix relies on getting exclusive rights to certain television shows and movies so suppliers play a very big role in bargaining over what content is exclusively reserved for Netflix users. Also, there are only a number of studios who supply the movies and shows. Another reason bargaining power of suppliers is high is that Netflix can only get its content from those studios and there is no substitute for that content, also contracts with those studios are usually for a short period of time (1-3 years) and expensive; a good example of this is when Netflix was unable to renew its contract with Starz because they were demanding a much larger amount of money – $300 million instead of the $30 million paid in 2008. (Kafka, 2011) Threat of New Entrants Although entering the online movie rental industry needs a huge initial investment to get content and secure exclusive copyrights, we can say that the threat of new entrants is moderately high since it remains a growing market with a growing demand, and huge rich companies like Apple and Google may be tempted by its growth potential and might well enter the play stage  with generous budgets; and also the low exit costs in this market make this threat high. But in order to be profitable in this industry, companies need to achieve economies of scale and try it best to have a large volume of subscribers, which in Netflix’s case is how they achieve profitability, and also to have a large number of viewers if it is a VOD company. Threat of Substitutes The threat of substitutes is relatively high since substitutes are available, such as Blockbuster On demand, Amazon Prime Instant Video and many other VOD streaming media. Rather than having a subscription of unlimited views, customers can switch to a pay per view option. Another reason is that there is no switching cost. In addition to that, the prices of substitutes are convenient and low which makes it relatively easy to switch. Customers might also choose to switch because companies working on a VOD bases have better features such as making certain television shows and movies available within a few hours of airing them on T.V, unlike Netflix where customers need to wait a few months. Intensity of Competitive Rivalry Competition is very high in the video rental industry; Netflix has many current competitors which include Blockbuster on demand, Amazon, Apple, Hulu Plus and many others. Also Netflix has to keep scanning the environment for new competitors since it is easy for new rivals to enter the market for there are low barriers to market entry and exit. Netflix must fear its competitors because they can easily lose customers to them since switching cost is very low and they have no loyalty programs to make it harder for customers to leave. VRIO Analysis Netflix’s top resources can be listed as follows: 1. The variety and big selection of titles (comprehensive library of movies and TV-episodes) 2. The unique software for streaming and recommendation 3. Nationwide distribution network 4. CEO Reed Hastings Resources must have enough competitive potential for the organization to outcompete its rivals. By applying the VRIO framework (see table 1), one of  the best strategic tools to evaluate the firm’s resources, Netflix is shown to be at a moderate sustainable position. Providing its subscribers a wide selection of titles has been always Netflix’s primary strategy. During the year 2012, its library has reached over 120,000 DVD-titles and more than 30,000 titles ready for streaming (Wikipedia, 2014). This extensive library is definitely valuable for Netflix to attract more subscribers to watch from a wide variety of titles. Moreover, this resource is rare as not all competitors are able to offer its customers a huge number of titles for both DVD-rental and streaming services. However, such a comprehensive library is not very difficult to imitate. Apple and Amazon, for example, are constantly working hard to gain license agreements to acquire new content and grow their lib rary of titles. An obvious example on this is when Amazon won over Netflix and secured the streaming rights of the whole 8 seasons of Fox’s award winning series ‘24’ (Cantisano, 2014). Netflix has shown to be organized to capture the value of its library by making it available for its subscribers when using both services. Thus, having a big selection of titles places Netflix at a sustainable competitive advantage as long as no competitor grows a more extensive library. Otherwise, it will become easy for Netflix subscribers to switch to another company that offers wider selection. Netflix had well developed and easy-to-use software that provides titles recommendations for each subscriber based on personalized ratings. This resource is an added value to Netflix’s business because it became convenient for subscribers to quickly view movies they like or place them on â€Å"instant queue† for watching them later. (Netflix, 2014) Netflix announced a 1 million-dollar compe tition to challenge programmers to create an algorithm that can beat its Cinematch system by at least 10% of enhanced accuracy (Netflixprize, 2009). In 2009, three teams of talented programmers combined forces and developed that algorithm and Netflix’s system was given a major boost. Since the software is customized only for Netflix and consists of complicated algorithms, such a resource is considered rare. Although Netflix had set the bars high for its rivals, another company can call for a competition or hire top programmers to develop their own software that may beat that of Netflix’s. There is always room for improvement, and for that reason, this software can be imitated. Nevertheless, Netflix is continuously prepared to capture the value out of its smart software and make the best  use of it. As a result, the recommendation software positions Netflix on a sustainable competitive advantage as long as no competitor develops similar or improved software. For its DVD-by mail service, Netflix had largely invested in developing its nationwide distribution network by establishing as much distribution centers as possible. Their strategy is to provide customers with the fastest shipping service by delivering ordered DVDs within one business day. This is of a big value for customers who used to wait several days to obtain a DVD. To make it more effective and efficient, Netflix util izes a distribution network system (logistics system) that saves a lot of time looking for the closest center that has the ordered DVD in stock. The combination of wide-spread distribution centers and effective logistics software makes it a rare resource. It’s still almost impossible for competitors, such as Blockbusters, to deliver any of its DVDs within 1 business day. Furthermore, it’s difficult to have a large number of shipping points close to every home. Therefore, this resource is considerably inimitable. Obviously, Netflix is doing a great job in regards to quick delivery. It has promised its customer to ship DVDs anywhere within 1 business day. Today, by effectively employing the distribution network system, the company leveraged its capability to reach 98% of its subscribers. Hence, Netflix is organized properly to capture the value of their distribution centers. It is worth noting that although this resource gives them an sustainable competitive advantage, the demand on this type of service (DVDs sent by mail) is on a continuous decline, and the service might completely vanish in the next few years. L ast but not least, Netflix’s CEO, President and co-founder Reed Hastings is considered one of the firm’s most valuable resources. In the most difficult times, this innovative and visionary man knew what he was doing and didn’t lose the focus. His vision was very clear since the very beginning back in 1997 when he named the company Net-flix and not DVD-by-Mail (Fortune, 2009); he saw what the industry will be like in the future and believed in the powers of the internet. an intangible asset, as we are interested in his vision, education, expertise, know-how’s, innovation and skills, is considered a valuable one. If you take a quick glance on what has happened in the past few years, you’ll find it clear how such influential people affect their organizations in every aspect. For example, when Steve Jobs died, Apple’s  stock price went down by 5% immediately (Kollewe,2011) which shows you how people believed that the tremendous success Apple had in the past few years was directly linked to the innovative out-of-the-box thinking of their ex-CEO, and future manifestations showed that that was extremely true. So these brilliant executives are so valuable to their firms and they are also rare. Blockbuster’s ex-CEO Jim Keyes had the chance to buy Netflix in year 2000 for as little as 50 million dollars (now it’s worth more than 20 billion dollars!), but he was so arrogant and refused to give any recognition for Netflix’s success claiming his firm can easily do anything Netflix does. (Zarafshar, 2013) Failing to see the opportunities, combined with many wrong asse ssments of the external environment led to the bankruptcy of Blockbuster in 2011. Many analysts were actually quite sure that Netflix will be sold after the 2011 missteps that caused the stock price to fall by about 80% ; however, at that same exact time Reed Hastings was confident and quite sure that Netflix â€Å"will not only survive but flourish† (Morrissey, 2013). Those same analysts didn’t see, at that time, anything of a value in Netflix other than its CEO, who previously one the â€Å"CEO of the year 2010† award (Hartung, 2013) and whom they had great respect for (Morrissey, 2013); and indeed he was able to turn on his company and return it back to the list of the most successful companies in the world and the stock prices went up by more than 700% between 2011 and 2014! (Google Finance, 2014) In an interview, Hastings clarified that he doesn’t see his firm just competing with the other companies in the media-entertainment industry, but he believes to be competing with all companies that offer any kind of product or service that a person can enjoy during his leisure time, whether it is a soccer match, a newspaper, a video game or even hiking with friends or family (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014). This gives you an idea of the high mindset of this man which explains the success his company is now enjoying. Such a reso urce is hard to imitate as they usually come through the hierarchy of the same company; that’s what explains their full understanding of the industry they’re working in and the core competences of their firms. Just moving one brilliant CEO from one company to your company doesn’t guarantee you any success at all since many complex factors take action in the whole mix-up. Proceeding from here, it is obvious that this resource is organized to capture value for the firm. By setting the  strategies and adjusting them whenever and wherever needed depending on the ever-changing environment, Mr. Hastings is the captain who controls the helm to take Netflix to the island of success. Therefore, this resource gives Netflix a sustainable competitive advantage as long as he’s on the helm. In the future, will Netflix face the same difficulties Apple faced after their CEO was deceased? RESOURCE Valuable Rare Inimitable Is the company organized to capture the value of the resource? Competitive Potential Big Selection of Titles YES YES NO YES Sustainable/Temporary CA Title Recommendation Software YES YES NO YES Sustainable/Temporary CA Nationwide Distribution Network YES YES YES YES Sustainable Competitive Advantage CEO Reed Hastings YES YES YES YES Sustainable Competitive Advantage Table : Conducting VRIO analysis on Netflix top resources Netflix’s Competitive Strength The Netflix Strategy Netflix’s strategy so far hasn’t been to just focus on one or two aspects of their customer base, but to focus themselves in a number of directions in order to build upon and capitalize on a growing subscriber base. Their main strategy has been to build and maintain the most comprehensive selection of DVD titles in the industry, and they have done so by creating mutually beneficial relationships with a number of entertainment video providers. Their second main strategy has been focused on service differentiation- not only how customers receive content and consume it, but also how customers choose what to watch. Netflix’s number one competitive advantage over Amazon and Blockbuster is their unique software that takes what a customer has seen or rated, and based upon that information builds a list of suggested titles similar to ones they have just watched. While other companies had begun to leak into the rent-by-mail niche category that Netflix had started, no othe r company had customer profiling software quite like Netflix. Between 2006 and 2009, the film rental market underwent a major shift. The in-store rental market declined, while vending machine rentals increased and by-mail rentals nearly doubled. However, VOD (Video on Demand) services through cable, digital, and subscription also saw major increases. All of these changes meant companies like Blockbuster had to either restructure and make a complete business model shift – or face bankruptcy. Meanwhile, the increases in by-mail rentals and online subscriptions, two services that Netflix offered, meant that the number of Netflix subscribers more than doubled in that same time frame. Purchase decisions from customers were focused on convenient access, price, variety of DVD offerings, and ease of return/return fees. Customers like variety; a video rental store that only stocks the newest releases will not appeal to all markets. Increasingly, customers are becoming more nostalgic in their movie preferences, searching for titles long past premiere. Customers have also become increasingly busy, often not having the time to go to a store to pick out a movie or remembering to return their rentals on time. We live in a world of instant gratification, where being able to click a few buttons and watch the latest  movie or an old clas sic is extremely important. Customers also do not like fees. More and more companies today are offering free shipping/return shipping, and the same is true in the DVD rental industry. Netflix’s third main strategy was to attract more subscribers using multiple marketing channels including online advertising, radio stations, regional and national television, direct mail, and print ads. One of these marketing strategies included participating in a variety of cooperative advertising programs with studios through which Netflix received cash for featuring a studio’s movies in its advertising. Moreover, Netflix worked closely with the makers of Netflix-ready electronics devices to expand the number of devices on which Netflix subscribers could view Netflix-streamed content (Thompson, 2012). This is considered Netflix’s second competitive advantage because it got ahead competitors by being the first to market with next-generation products. By 2012, with the aid of new technology, Netflix added another core strategy which was to grow its streaming subscription business domestically and globally. By doing so, executives expected that the number of members with DVD-by mail subscription would decline, as subscribers migrated from renting DVDs to streaming online and as subscribers with both DVD-by mail and streaming subscriptions opted to only streaming online. The company continuously improved its streaming experience by expanding the size of its content library, increasing the number of Internet-connected devices, and improving the ease of navigating Netflix’s w ebsite of locating and selecting content to watch. The result was a rapid growing customer acceptance and interest in the delivery of TV shows and movies directly over the Internet. Finally, a central element of Netflix’s long-term strategy was making Netflix’s streaming service available outside the US, in countries like Canada, Latin America, the UK and Ireland. (Thompson, 2012) Although this international expansion was expected to temporarily depress the company’s overall profitability and incur huge expenses of obtaining licenses from movie studios and owners of TV shows, Netflix’s entry into such markets would launch a preemptive strike to secure an advantageous position of being market leaders with high-quality suppliers via exclusive partnerships or long-term contracts (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, Strickland, 2014). â€Å"We have to win the bidding for a big set of content, and then market ourselves effectively to start the membership growth† (Seave, 2013). How  long it takes for such a bold move to yield good results was not a major issue because Reed Hastings indicated that Netflix would take longer than eight quarter s after initial entry to reach sustained profitability. How Does Its Competitive Strength Compare Against That of Blockbuster and Amazon Compared with Blockbuster and Amazon, Netflix operates within the highly competitive media streaming market that has been forecasted to increase to $12.5 billion in 2017 (Bauman, Deal, Ishak, & Johnson, 2013). Netflix by far has the most comprehensive number of products and distribution channels, given that consumers can either rent DVDs by mail or stream them on their PC or TV. Its identity is valued greatly among consumers as a quick, easy, and available destination for streaming media. Additionally, the value of their brand has risen recently after the strong media attention for the success of its first original series, House of Cards. When it comes to competitors, Netflix’s main competitors were Amazon and Blockbuster. Operating as Amazon Prime Instant Video, it has three main advantages over Netflix; it offers subscription as a prime member for $79 a year which is $6.59/month, less than Netfl ix’s streaming price of $7.99/month, subscribers get free 2-day shipping on millions of items and its users can buy or rent a movie/show just after a few hours of it being broadcasted on TV, while Netflix subscribers needed to wait a few months in order to view the same movie or show (McGrath,2014). However, Netflix’s competitive advantage over Amazon is its library which has more variety and includes original content, thus making their library comprehensive in the streaming market. They also offer all their content to their subscribers for streaming through a very user friendly personalized interface and effective recommendation system that boosts the watching experience; in comparison, Amazon’s Prime Instant Video library have less categories and less straightforward search results, plus a significant portion of their online content cannot be streamed for free, you have to pay additional money to watch certain shows or movies. (Honorof, 2014) Blockbuster’s strategy was to keep expanding geographically by opening new stores in different locations, rather than switching to online streaming, thinking it would increase their market share. But due to the rise in competition from Netflix and Amazon, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and in January of 2014 they permanently closed all their stores and only operated through â€Å"Blockbuster On Demand† on a pay per rental  bases and operated only in the US (Netflix Alternative, 2013). The competitive advantage Netflix had over Blockbuster is the number of titles they offered. Because Netflix did not operate from a physical store, it made it possible to store thousands of titles, both old movies and movies which were on high demand, and thus satisfying the preferences of much more customers than Blockbuster. Blockbuster was restricted in the amount and titles they had to offer in their stores because of its limited storage space. Another advantage was convenience. Netflix made it very convenient for customers to get their DVDs without having to leave the house and having unlimited videos on a subscription basis without late fees, all of which are things Blockbuster lacked. With all this said, it is obvious that Netflix used offensive strategies that helped it build its reputation as a market leader and created a strong brand loyalty by binding customers to its service. As a first mover, Netflix was able to move down the learning curve ahead of rivals, so it now knows exactly what customers are expecting and learned a hard lesson not to do sudden strategic changes as it did in 2011 missteps of price changes and split of service. As a first mover also, Netflix was able to set the technical standard for the industry by adopting the advanced streaming player and recommendation program that customers now can’t imagine accessing huge movie libraries without it, and Netflix is ahead of its rivals in this and it’s building it over time. Back in its early stage of existence, Netflix had no chance to compete traditionally with the giant Blockbuster, so it chose a special kind of offensive strategy called â€Å"The Blue-Ocean Strategy† which dictates that a firm can â€Å"gain a dramatic and durable competitive advantage by abandoning efforts to beat out competitors in existing markets and instead inventing a new industry or distinctive market segment that renders existing competitors largely irrelevant and allows a company to create and capture altogether new demand† (Thompson, Peteraf, Gamble, Strickland, 2014) This is exactly what Netflix did as it didn’t go into the block and mortar business but focused from the very beginning on growing its online library and achieving its most important strategy back then which is to deliver DVDs by mail within one business day. This created a new segment of customers for its service and factors in the external environment started changing to its advantage wh ich shows that Hastings and his team where correct in reading their external  environment. Then in 2007 they started their streaming service which is also an offensive strategy that positioned Netflix far ahead of its competitors. Recommendations The past few years have shown how volatile the stock price of Netflix was as it fluctuated between as low as 53 dollars in 2012 to as high as 448 dollars in March 2014 (Google Finance, 2014). This is an indication that Netflix is operating in a very fast moving industry where innovation and continuous improvement are the keys for survival. Consequently, as professional consultants, we advise Netflix executives to learn from what has happened in the past and put new strategies or amend existing ones to tackle the future probable recurrence of the problems they have faced in the past few years. One of the major competitive advantages of Netflix over its rivals in the industry is having this huge and varied collection of title selections in its offering. First we advise them to convert all their DVD-version content, which is not available for streaming, to soft stream-able versions as statistics showed more customers are leaving the DVD-by-mail plan and registering for the more convenie nt trendy streaming service (Roettgers, 2013). Maintaining an increasing selection of title offering is vital in this respect, as in such an entertainment industry, we don’t see loyalty in customers as decreed by Marketing gurus; what we mean by this is, if another rival had a similar service with a richer content, many customers will switch with the blink of an eye. That’s why we are stressing on this point as it is a key for survival. Accordingly, Netflix should opt to create strategic alliances and cooperative partnerships with many movie studios to maintain its database of titles – retaining existing ones and adding new collections, and negotiating to reduce the wait time for streaming movies after they are out in the theaters. This will definitely create value to the customers, but Netflix’s harder job is how to create value for those suppliers, that is, how to convince them to add their productions in the Netflix service. This can be done by creating a win-win model that will persuade those studios to choose Netflix over other rivals, and hence can be achieved by highlighting a set of advantages they’ll get from the deal. An example of such an advantage, is to have the studio’s work available not only in US, but in all the 41 countries Netflix currently operates in, and  maybe make it available in local languages; this will increase the popularity of the studio’s work inter nationally and will basically mean more profits for future project releases. Catching up from this last point, it is vital for Netflix to find new smart ways to continuously increase their subscription base. By the end of Q1 2014, the number of subscribers went up to 33 million US subscribers and 11 million international subscribers (Welch, 2014). More subscribers simply mean more annual income which will lead to the ability to get richer content to their offering, which will in return link more customers in. This recursive cycle is so prominent and can be triggered by some smart tactics, to initially get more customers. Lowering the subscription price might lure many potential customers to register, but is not advisable to do that since the profit margin of the streaming service is already narrow (Roettgers, 2013). On the other hand, increasing the price of subscriptions is also risky and the crazy chaos that happened in 2011 will remain unforgettable. Hence, Netflix executives should devise new innovative ways to increase the value proposition of their service that will increase their customer base and enhance their reputation as a market leader. This can be achieved, for example, by doing the exact opposite of what they did in their 2011 missteps. What happened back then was to increase the price of their service for the sa me quality they offered; so let’s now try to increase the service quality holding the price fixed. One way of doing that, is to diversify their content; for example to start providing Live programs such as Sports events and News. This addition will get-in new customer segments – not only those who love to watch movies and TV series. So, if Netflix was able to secure the online broadcasting rights for a major soccer league matches, for example, and broadcasting Live CNN news, their customer base will be more fragmented and they will be moving in the direction of being an Internet TV provider with a variety of shows that suites all the different categories of viewers. Another technique to increase the quality of their service is to enhance their GUI (graphical user interface) by creating a new advanced online player for streaming media that can detect voice commands sent from the embedded microphone of the client’s personal gadget (laptop, Smartphone, tablet, etc†¦), analyze those commands and perform actions accordingly. For instance, â€Å"Volume Up† to increase player’s sound volume instead of using  your laptop’s mouse or going to â€Å"Settings† on your Smartphone/iPad; or the voice command â€Å"Action Category† to go to the list of movies in the Action category. Adding such a high-tech innovative feature in their player will amaze their happy customers and will leave their competitors contemplating in the shadows. Netflix can also enhance its online service by continuously challenging and rewarding bright programmers to come up with new algorithms that increase the effectiveness of their rati ng application. What they did with their one-million-dollar contest, which was won in 2009 by a team called BellKor’s Pragmatic Chao who were able to come up with an algorithm that overcame Netflix’s recommendation system by more than 10% (Netflix Prize, 2009), was very tidy and it really paid off; so they need to continue upgrading their systems – as it goes side-by-side with the ever increasing size of their database. Speaking about the content, it was very clear that the bargaining power of the suppliers, which are the TV shows producers and movie studios, are becoming increasingly high; and what happened with the Starz Entertainment deal is one example to mention here, when it announced it would remove it movies from Netflix streaming starting February 2012 (Young,2011). This leads us to what we believe is the most important recommendation for Netflix to consider, that is, invest more in original content. Going backward to the recursive cycle we previously explained, it is clear that getting new content goes in parallel with increasing the number of subscribers. For example, when Netflix secured the deal with Disney for exclusive rights to stream its movies starting 2016, many analysts assumed that the firm needs to get 4 million new subscribers to just breakeven with the cost of that deal (Morrissey,2013). One here might contemplate, that sooner or later, Netflix will reach a stage where it wil l cease to be able to increase its customer base, so its revenues will reach a kind of a slow moving ceiling, but their content obligations will continue to rise: to maintain the licenses for the current collection and to get new content in. Many movie studios are closely monitoring Netflix’s performance and stock prices, and they are demanding higher money for renewing their contracts, and this is a major threat for Netflix to consider. Unable to reach a renewal agreement with a major movie studio, will result in the disappearance of hundreds or  thousands of titles from their online library in a fortnight. This will really embarrass the customers. That’s why we recommend that Netflix needs to heavily invest in original programming before they reach the saturation stage, or a deadlock situation whereby they cannot enhance their content because it’s too costly and they need more money by growing membership, and they cannot grow membership because they aren’t able to enhance their content because it’s too costly! Reaching this stage means the firm is approaching its last days. The solution for this misery, and to avoid this tragic end, is to invest in original content right away. Netflix started distributing premier programs in 2011 and now has more than 10 exclusive TV shows in its offering (Wikipedia, 2014), one of which is â€Å"House of Cards† – an America political dram a television series – which â€Å"became the first TV series to win a primetime Emmy Award without ever broadcasting on a network or cable channel† (Neal, 2014). The success of the series encouraged Netflix to produce a second season of it in Feb 2014, and a third season is scheduled in early 2015 (Wikipedia, 2014). According to a study (Popper, 2014), one episode of such original content costs Netflix four million dollars; but although this is very expensive, allocating an important portion of the budget every year to produce such exclusive series will have its mark in the future. People can enjoy watching such series any time, as it is a permanent title in the online library, and Netflix doesn’t have to pay licensing or any other kind of expenses on originals once it is broadcasted. They can also make it available for their international customers by adding local language features (subbing or dubbing) to it. Growing internationally is still one of the main strategies that Netflix is counting on and although international expansion proved to be very costly, as Canada for example broke even after 2 years (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014); they are recommended to continue with it. It will give them more international recognition that will enhance their reputation and will pay off in their competition with rivals, and this is exactly what CEO Reed Hastings said in Netflix Q4 2013 Earnings Interview â€Å" we are treating international as a segment – for competitive reasons† (Netflix Investor Relations, 2014). As first movers in the streaming movie industry, it is advisable for Netflix to leverage their position as pioneers of the market by offering several loyalty programs that will increase the switching cost  of the customers to their existing and future rivals. One thing they can do is to create a points-based reward system which works as follows: every month you renew your subscription you’ll add 10 points to your balance, and if you’re a new customer you get 50 â€Å"free welcome points†. Then through time your balance will keep adding up points and you’ll have the choice to buy several valuable things with it. For example, one-month free subscription for 100 points, an original DVD movie (from a predefined list of titles) sent directly to your mail and that will cost you 200 points, and the chance to meet with the actors of your favorite TV-series (Netflix Original) for 300 points. Such a loyalty program will keep delight the customers and keep them hooked to the service. While many consumers have cut the cord and made the switch to Internet-only TV offerings, undoubtedly they’ve experienced frustrations as well. Netflix’s mobile app, while good, can be upgraded to present a much better and more seamless experience for those on tablets. We suggest added-value features like friendship connections, including the ability to see what friends on both Facebook and Twitter have watched, their recommendations, and share content with others. Another impre ssive change could be a ‘tagging feature’ when watching shows which we believe to be instrumental in expanding the social aspects of Netflix’s content. Viewers can tap the button at any time during a show to tag moments on the timeline relevant with quotes from the scene or make a comment regarding what they saw. Subsequent friends watching the content can see these tags, opening up dialogue between the partners and encouraging more social conversation through Netflix’s app. (The lab Blog, 2013). Compared to the current app’s design, this new proposal feels fresh and clean. Of course, those added features are optional and can be switched off whenever privacy is needed. By adding this feature, Netflix will be leveraging the benefits of the latest VPPA (Video Privacy Protection Act) law amendments President Obama signed which â€Å"facilitate social media sharing of video viewing preferences when users consent to disclosure of information via the Internet†.(McClellan, 2013) Moreover, integrating social media with customers’ viewing experience will give Netflix an important marketing tool that will help them detect which content is more appealing to their customers and will also give their customers a window to speak out what they like to see in the future. Finally we can say that the next step for Netflix  is to produce a Hollywood 100-million dollar movie that can be streamed same day it goes into the theater. This massive step of producing one movie eve ry year, of such a caliber, will be a major boost for Netflix in the coming years especially if they were lucky enough and those movies turn out to be a major hit. But here one has to say, is it wise for a company like Netflix, that reported 112 million dollars in net income by the end of 2013 (Google Finance,2014), to handle a project of this size? Isn’t it a crazy adventure? Or should Netflix go through a joint venture with other Pay-TV firms to reduce the risks of such a gigantic project? References Bauman, L., Deal, N., Ishak, P., & Johnson, S. (2013, February 3). Netflix Environmental Scan / SWOT Analysis. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from Memoirs of a Student: http://lisabauman.blogspot.com/2013/02/netflix–?environmental–?scan–?swot–?analysis.html Thompson, A. A., Peteraf, M. A., Gamble, J. E., & Strickland III, A. J. (2014). Crafting and Executing Strategy – The Quest for Competitive Advantage – Concepts and Cases (19th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin – Ch:6, pgs. 151-152 Thompson (2012) – Netflix in 2012: Can It Recover from Its strategy Missteps? Thompson, A. A. (2012). Netflix Alternative (July,2013) Blockbuster on Demand – Retrieved from: http://www.netflixalternative.com/blockbuster-on-demand/ McGrath (Jan, 2014) Amazon and Hulu Could Slow Netflix Growth in 2014 – Retrieved From: http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2014/01/07/amazon-and-hulu-could-slow-netflix-growth-in-2014-morgan-stanley-sa ys/ (Seave, 2013) Netflix to Competitors: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid – Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/avaseave/2013/06/06/netflix-to-competitors-be-afraid-be-very-afraid/ NetflixPR – Netflix Media Center – Company overview – Retrieved April 19,2014 from https://pr.netflix.com/WebClient/loginPageSalesNetWorksAction.do?contentGroupId=10476&contentGroup=Company+Facts Kollewe (October,2011) Apple Stock Price Falls on News of Steve Job’s Death – Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/06/apple-stock-steve-jobs Zarafshar (Nov,2013) Remembering Blockbuster Retrieved from http://deweydigest.com/tech/2547 Cantisano (April,2014) Netflix loses Fox

Development levels and record Essay

To observe Lydia during a creative â€Å"choosing† session. I will try to observe her development levels and record how she interacts with other children and the adults around her.  Setting  The primary school, in which I am working in, is situated on a campus with a sports centre, a community school and a 6th form college. It has 6 junior classes and 3 infant classes. There is a class room assistant and a teacher for each class. On a Thursday and a Friday there are 2 students working in the infants. There are a various number of parent helpers in on different days of the week. Lydia is 6 years 11mths old and is in yr. 2. She has just completed her SATS. She is in the 1st (higher) set for math and in the 2nd (middle) set for literacy. She has many friends and enjoys school, learning new things. Lydia has 3 friends who she usually plays with and works with in class. They are all girls and all in year 2. Hannah, Shannell Erica and Lydia always do the same activity even if they don’t all agree. English is Shannell’s second language and she sometimes has trouble with the language barrier between the girls in the group. I will observe Lydia on the 27th of July 2002 for 45mins during a creative choosing session. There are several activities set up in the class rooms and the children may choose which activity they wish to participate in. Some of these activities include painting, drawing, junk models and collage work. Observation  I will make notes during my observation, then copy it up into a written report.  Lydia heads straight for the art table at the far end of the classroom where a painting session has been set up. Her and many of the yr2 girls start collecting sheets of paper. Lydia, Hannah, Erica and Shannell ask me what they can paint as I sit down at the end of the table. I suggest that they draw each other. So the girls pair up. Hannah and Lydia start to paint Shannell and Erica. Lydia looks closely at Erica’s features and tries to copy down all the details. She notes the freckles, the dimples the small earrings and the way her hair is put up. She miss judges the size of Erica’s nose and as a consequence the picture looks out of place. She mixes up the colour to fill in for Erica’s skin tone. Erica sits slightly impatiently fidgeting slightly. Lydia still concentrates on the painting and ignores Erica impatience and continues to concentrate hard on the colour mixing. I ask her some questions. â€Å"Lydia, what colours make green?†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"That’s easy, you just mix blue with yellow   But you have to put yellow in first ’cause blue is darker and you have to put loads of yellow in to make it a lighter colour.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ok, how about purple?†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh Miss Carr, that is well easy, don’t you know?†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’m just seeing if you do, so that if you don’t know I can teach you.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh, -thinks hard- ok. It’s blue and red. Isn’t it?†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yes well done, How about brown?†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yellow, blue and red!†    I learnt a lot from with class 1 / 2 K and this was a typical session. Everyone in the class has different view on things and even though there are definant social groups every one is friends with everyone else. The teachers and other staff need to practice anti-discriminatory and anti-bias practice. It is important to portray equal opportunities.  Children are to be treated equally but at the same time their personal needs need to be taken into consideration. In class 1 / 2 K there are friends who are in definite social groups then there are groups that inter-change and mix with the whole of the infant’s school. This observation points out how the girls work together to the get tasks completed. They all work together to form a good team. It is a clear that the team works well; they all have roles to play. There’s the team leader Hannah, the quick thinker Erica and the â€Å"do-er† Lydia who always works hard to complete necessary tasks. Shannell is a hard work er and tries to fit in even if she doesn’t always understand. I learnt to set up and clear away activities with the children’s help how to encourage exploration of colour and creativity. I managed to gain the children’s confidence and by helping them to reach their full potential.  All four girls developed their fine motor skills and creativity in this exercise. They practice painting techniques and different colours and styles. They learned how to co-operate and communicate with each other. They learn to trust opinions of the adults they work with, they learn to respect their knowledge and experience. I think that in the future the children could be put into groups to help them to mix into different social groups and form new relationships. Lydia could have, in the future, extra help during task’s which involve thinking though complicated theories, and she has trouble understanding some complicated concepts.

Case SDM Essays

Case SDM Essays Case SDM Essay Case SDM Essay What would be your suggestions for distribution channel for mushrooms? B. Possible Solutions Consumer awareness can be created by test marketing. Through sales persons and customer response to the product. Samples can be distributed in big malls and Variety stores. Awareness can also be created through outdoor publicity such as wall hoardings, banners, insertions in news papers etc. Targeted Customers: Hotels * Household sector * Restaurants * Industrial canteens Brand name of the company along with the product can also be highlighted to the customer by using the concept of event marketing. For different kinds of selling modes they can target different customers Institutional sale: Hotel / Restaurants/longitudinal canteens Individual sale: Household Approach to hotel industry can be made and product benefit can be shown to convince the customer. Mushroom related recipe booklet can be given to them for use. Can approach the T. V programs for Khan Khan to show different recipes of Mushrooms in their shows. Dealer push through sales promotion campaign. Press meetings can be a way to consumer awareness. Editors, ruinations of newspapers having maximum circulation can be contacted and samples to be distributed to them (such as 250 GM or 100 GM packs). Packaging should be attractive. Distribution network: Product having being perishable, company should go for faster and effective distribution network having cold storage facility. Distribution through company livery vans In local market Ana Lustrously markets. Network Sales person Chain Store Telemarketing Manufacturer Supplier Retailer Customer Order Case Study 2 Indian Refrigerator Market tongue n rail or road transport t to roan Indians Refrigerator market estimated at RSI. 750 Cry. Is catered mainly by 10 brands. The annual capacity is estimated at around 4. 15 million units is running head of demand of 1. 5 millions. As there is a demand and a surplus supply, all the manufacturers are trying out for new strategies in the market. Times have changed and also the buying behavior of the customer. Earlier it was cash and carry system. Now dealers play an important role in selling; now the systems is exchange for old bring your old refrigerator and take a new one with many gifts. A new company by name Electrocute has entered the market which has acquired Lankly, Cultivator and Volta brand. Researchers have revealed that urban and city sales are declining and hence all manufacturers are trying to concentrate on rural markets. Electrocute strategy is customization of market, with special attention to the Northern and Southern India markets, while Godard the main player thinks that dealer network in rural market for sales and service will be beneficial and is trying to give more emphasis on dealer network, whereas Whirlpool has adopted the strategy of increasing the dealer network by 30%. The market shares of the major players are as follows: God reek Evidence Cultivator Lankly Volta Whirlpool Deadwood Others 5% 27% 1% 1 . Could the refrigerator market be segmented on geographical base planned by Electrocute? 2. What would be the marketing mix for rural market? 3. Wicked 125 L and 150 L models be an ideal choice to launch in rural market? 1 . The main Justification for Electrocute strategy would be Electrocute is amalgamation of 3 companies, Cultivator, Volta and Lankly. Lankly is popular in South Indian racket, while Cultivator is famous in North India Market. Electrocute wants to cash in on the popularity of the respective brands. It is not possible to segment according to North or South Indian Market, once a companys name becomes a logo, then the reason for buying for customers for other brand depends upon price, quality, usability and features of the product. The storage pattern of foods in North India and South India is same. Same is the case of rest of India, so it wont be possible to segregate the market according to the geographical base. 2. The rural market is small but significant as far as refrigerator is concerned. Moreover, the cost of selling of dealer in the rural market should also be Justified. The type of food the rural people consume should also be taken into account; they prefer to have more of natural foods and less of derived food products like Ice- creams, Utter, scenes etc. I nee cost AT ten retaliatory snouts De less attractive to buy. The size and material should be so adjusted that the cost price would be reasonable. The capacity of the refrigerator should be 100 1 300 1. Much more space as to be given for storing vegetables. Other important factor to be taken into consideration is the Power supply which is not so good in rural areas. To avoid the voltage fluctuations in built stabilizers will be the selling features in the rural areas. 3. The chances of selling of 125 1 and 150 1 refrigerators are high because the prices of the refrigerators would be less. This would be a major factor. The second aspect would be they dont have many items to store. They would prefer a small refrigerator, also the space in their homes are not very big wherein a small refrigerator would serve their needs.

Alice Munro The Shinning Houses Character Essay

Alice Munro The Shinning Houses Character Essay The Shinning Houses Alice Munro presents a protagonist whose personality and values conflict with her neighbours. The protagonist Mary is an open-minded, fair, but somewhat powerless character.Mary is an open-minded individual who understands values from both Mrs. Fullerton and the new community. She is the only character in the "Shinning Houses"  willing to "[explore Mrs. Fullerton's] life as she had once explored the lives of grandmothers and aunts,"  and the only one who buys her fresh eggs. Mary "[smiles]"  openly to everyone while her new neighbours, whose "faces [are] applied,"  "smile in rather a special way"  that they only perceive Mary "as a conversational delight."  Even at the birthday party did Mary keep a smile and listen to the new neighbours talk among themselves, going about in "circles of complaint."  Mary's own personality and values conflict with her neighbours', but she remains open to any situation she faces.Shrine to Our Lady - Mary, The Mo ther of GodMary is a fair lady, who does what she believes is right. Her name suggests religious allegory with Mary, the Mother of God, and human creation. Mary exhibits her Mother-like qualities at the birthday party, defending Mrs. Fullerton, the neighbour who "never [changes],"  against the mothers who wear "nylons and skirts," ¦[their] hair fixed and faces applied."  She knows that Mrs. Fullerton deserves a chance to stay in her home, as Mary, the Mother of God knows that all creation deserves a chance to live. Mary's fair personality conflicts with her neighbours' values and beliefs: while she is fair to human rights, the neighbours are fair to their community of "shinning houses."  Although Mary is courageous in being the only person to defend Mrs. Fullerton, she is somewhat powerless with her arguments against her neighbours. Mary stands alone only listening to her neighbours speak with "self-assertion."  She remains...

Benchmarking With Costa Coffee And Caffe Nero Marketing Essay

Benchmarking With Costa Coffee And Caffe Nero Marketing Essay The organisation chosen for the report is Starbucks Corp. and the report would compare it with two similar companies, one being Costa Coffee and the other being Caffà © Nero. The report would highlight the frameworks underpinning the competitive position of Starbucks and also would identify and asses the economic and the competitive position of the firm. A financial model using appropriate ratio analysis would also be presented in a spreadsheet format identifying the industry trends and their impact on the performance of Starbucks vis-à  -vis Costa Coffee and Caffà © Nero. Both quantitative and qualitative data would be made available so as to provide an insight into Starbucks sustainable performance and prospects. Analysis of Starbucks operational, financial, organisational and marketing capabilities would be made available through application of PESTEL analysis, Porter’s 5 forces model, the Ansoff Matrix and the BCG Matrix. The report would also discuss the issues, the p roblems, the opportunities and the options available to Starbucks for future business growth, followed by conclusions to draw together all the variables identified. Recommendations would be provided for the company highlighting the direction it needs to take to ensure business profitability with comments on the suitability, acceptability and the feasibility of the options made available. INTRODUCTION The Starbucks Company was founded in Seattle in 1971 by Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Seigel with a vision to educate American consumers about the fine coffee drinking experience. In 1987 Howard Schultz took over the Starbucks Group. Starbucks is the number one in the industry, with more than 12,000 shops in more than 35 countries. Just within a couple of years they grew from a small coffee business house to a multi-million dollar player in the coffee industry by buying the best coffee available and providing the people with an unmatched store experience. Freshly brewed coffee is the main product offered by Starbucks along with other drinks which include cold and hot teas, cakes and pastries. The Starbucks coffee comes in a many varieties each possessing a different taste, aroma and flavour. INDUSTRY TRENDS AND MARKET ANALYSIS The market right now for gourmet coffee business is hot. All the multi-national fast food chains and street-corner shops want in on the boom. Many big companies are focused on the supply of specialty branded coffees and the economic stage is heating up. Specialty coffee industry is one of the fastest growing financial services globally. Growth in the coffee industry is continuously peaking, with many new overseas companies entering the market using policies offering exclusive perks and special discounts, despite the questionable quality of the coffee being used to increase the market share. A notable trend seen is that often a significant increase in sales occurs every time a cafà © starts to use branded consumables. The consensus is that these coffee drinks would be a long-term trend, with focus on elevating the customer’s taste for a product that they are familiar with and then leading them to the coffee stores to buy it. Many companies are also tinkering with expanding the food menus as well including an in-store display of sandwiches, fresh baked goods and many confectionary items.

Legal Thinking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Legal Thinking - Assignment Example In inertial, the consistency in principle supposes that people are entitled to legal rights that follow from legislation and precedents that enforce coercion. Legal Interpretivism would be most useful for front-line supervisors. The reason is that legal interpretivism holds that there is no distinction between law and morals and that morality is non-existence outside of the law. As such, legal interpretivism is usually opposed to natural law theory and that it decides the morality of any situation. Like the constructivist style, interpretivists focus on integrity and thus looks to what best justifies the law as a whole. Legal interpretivism has some similarities with both natural law and legal positivism schools of thought (Venter, par. 7-14). Natural law has some basics rules consisting of fairness, justice and also equity that â€Å"positive† law ought to respect. On the other hand, legal positivism states that laws are created by human societies but were not discovered by nature and that they do not have any inherent connection to either justice or ethics. Therefore, legal interpretivism agrees that there is an external purpose for the law and that the law is a product of human societies. Due to the merger of the two schools of thought, legal interpretivism would be most suitable for supervisors since they would be following both positive and natural

Child Development through Interaction, Observation and Conversation Essay

Child Development through Interaction, Observation and Conversation - Essay Example For example the child could run away from balls that were thrown at them and could easily hit them to hurt them. The child was however selective with choice of games as he preferred less strenuous games. Again, the child used mastery in motor skills to walk from shelf to shelf to get books that they preferred to read. Interacting with the child, it was noted that his choice of book selection was affected by gender as the child perceived that as a male he was to read books with themes that focused on adventure and fiction rather than those about nature. From Piaget’s cognitive child development theory, children can be seen a little scientists who possess the ability to create their own forms of knowledge (Joseph, 2000). This was exactly what was experienced with the child as he constantly preferred to use real life situations and experiences to get questions that were posed in the classroom answered. At the playground, the child exhibited intensive metacognition abilities as he confirmed that he could know through knowing. This is because while the child was observed playing a video game on football, the child always tried to transfer knowledge in real life football into the game so as to win. According to Piaget’s stage of cognitive development, second graders can be said to be concrete operational stage where they start to think more logically but also struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts (Jacobi, Calamari & Woodard, 2006). This was seen with the child’s language capabilities which were translated into choice of books that were selected. This is because the child wanted books with more illustrations that directly translated the ideas they wanted to read about. Through interaction with the child, it was found that there child had some difficulty accepting and adapting to the classroom as a social setting. This is because the child was constantly withdrawn from

In Defense of Traditional Marriage By R. Anderson Essay

In Defense of Traditional Marriage By R. Anderson - Essay Example Anderson in his article about traditional marriages argues that a marriage should still be viewed in the traditional sense of it being a reunion between a man and woman for the purpose of procreation as is indicated in the constitution (Anderson, 2013). His argument therefore dispels the gay activists’ attempts to have this wording changed in the formal documents simply because they have already been accorded the right to get married. The article further ascertains that this definition of marriage has been in existence way before there was any evidence of same sex marriages and hence cannot be changed now. Furthermore, the moment the federal government will change this definition; it will mean that it will be on the road to changing other things as well and being cornered to allow enforcement of other untraditional issues in the marriage institution such as allowing polygamy and the likes. Anderson stands with his word that simply because the gays were allowed to get married i n the states that they have does not allow them the power to demand a change of the traditional institutional definition of marriage (Anderson, 2013). They should be glad with what they have been accorded and remain silent on the issue and let traditions remain as they have always been. The argument by Anderson leans more towards deductive reasoning where he starts by stating the general rules and laws of marriages that have always been and moves to focusing on the sole aspect of procreation. This argument is based on only one major point and a few others that are not too strong to support the traditional marriages or even provide enough reason to avoid the definition of marriage being changed in the constitution despite it being an age old definition whose changes will open up a Pandora’s box of other issues related to modern marriages. The argument of

Best practices for teaching literacy for student with significant Research Paper

Best practices for teaching literacy for student with significant disabilities - Research Paper Example Literacy therefore, encompasses the lifelong as well as intellectual processes of generating meaning from a critical perspective presented in the form of a print or written text (Browder et al 2009). The primary role to all literacy relates to reading development that encompasses a progression of necessary skills for understanding spoken words as well as decoding the written words that eventually leads to deep understanding of the text. Developing reading encompasses a variety of complex language underpinnings that touches on awareness of speech sounds, patterns use in spelling words, meaning of words as well as grammar among others. Once a person acquires these skills, the person attains full literacy that also ensures the ability to apply critical analysis as well as inference and synthesis (Browder et al 2009). Writing accuracy as well as coherence together with basing the thoughts on creativity also serves as important factors in developing the literacy of individuals. However, there exists a significant challenge for teaching students with significant disabilities. Various approaches have been employed over the recent past to enhance students with severe disabilities to gain literacy. The paper therefore examines the best practices that ensure effective teaching literacy for these disadvantaged students. Achieving improved literacy improvements for students has been for long a major goal throughout the society settings. The trend towards enhancing students suffering from both moderate and severe intellectual disability has however remained elusive for a significant period of time until the recent past attributes towards ensuring equal opportunities for all. Limited opportunities, poor quality or absence of literacy instructions for the intellectually disabled students have for long made literacy acquiring challenging for students suffering from intellectual disabilities. The traditional

Difference between Judicial activism and Judicial restraint Essay

Difference between Judicial activism and Judicial restraint - Essay Example In Judicial restraint, the Supreme Court, as well as the judges from other lower courts occasionally, construe to the constitution in a manner that the policies placed by the Federal Government and the state governments are always taken into consideration (Lowi et.al, 2012). This implies that the decisions arrived at by the judges should acknowledge the limits of power of those in authority. Judicial activism, on the other hand, does not recognize the limits of power. This is major because the judges tend to construe the Constitution based on their own philosophies, which is a practice that many times results in interpretive fidelity.I believe the US Supreme Court should embrace judicial restraint rather than judicial activism. This is major because, in as much as we subject the judges of our land to quality and inclusive training, decisions should normally be arrived on based on what is entrenched in the Constitution. In addition, judicial activism, which allows judges to arrive at decisions based on their own perceptions may result in laws being manipulated to satisfy the interests of given individuals. In addition, an unconstitutional practice, which if left unattended to, would render our constitution useless with time.An example of a case where judicial restraint was duly practiced was District of Columbia vs. Heller case, which was decided in 2008 after a nine-year duration (Lowi Ginsberg, Shepsle, & Ansolabehere, 2012). The matter of contention in the case was whether the D.C code.

In Defense of Traditional Marriage By R. Anderson Essay

In Defense of Traditional Marriage By R. Anderson - Essay Example Anderson in his article about traditional marriages argues that a marriage should still be viewed in the traditional sense of it being a reunion between a man and woman for the purpose of procreation as is indicated in the constitution (Anderson, 2013). His argument therefore dispels the gay activists’ attempts to have this wording changed in the formal documents simply because they have already been accorded the right to get married. The article further ascertains that this definition of marriage has been in existence way before there was any evidence of same sex marriages and hence cannot be changed now. Furthermore, the moment the federal government will change this definition; it will mean that it will be on the road to changing other things as well and being cornered to allow enforcement of other untraditional issues in the marriage institution such as allowing polygamy and the likes. Anderson stands with his word that simply because the gays were allowed to get married i n the states that they have does not allow them the power to demand a change of the traditional institutional definition of marriage (Anderson, 2013). They should be glad with what they have been accorded and remain silent on the issue and let traditions remain as they have always been. The argument by Anderson leans more towards deductive reasoning where he starts by stating the general rules and laws of marriages that have always been and moves to focusing on the sole aspect of procreation. This argument is based on only one major point and a few others that are not too strong to support the traditional marriages or even provide enough reason to avoid the definition of marriage being changed in the constitution despite it being an age old definition whose changes will open up a Pandora’s box of other issues related to modern marriages. The argument of

Difference between Judicial activism and Judicial restraint Essay

Difference between Judicial activism and Judicial restraint - Essay Example In Judicial restraint, the Supreme Court, as well as the judges from other lower courts occasionally, construe to the constitution in a manner that the policies placed by the Federal Government and the state governments are always taken into consideration (Lowi et.al, 2012). This implies that the decisions arrived at by the judges should acknowledge the limits of power of those in authority. Judicial activism, on the other hand, does not recognize the limits of power. This is major because the judges tend to construe the Constitution based on their own philosophies, which is a practice that many times results in interpretive fidelity.I believe the US Supreme Court should embrace judicial restraint rather than judicial activism. This is major because, in as much as we subject the judges of our land to quality and inclusive training, decisions should normally be arrived on based on what is entrenched in the Constitution. In addition, judicial activism, which allows judges to arrive at decisions based on their own perceptions may result in laws being manipulated to satisfy the interests of given individuals. In addition, an unconstitutional practice, which if left unattended to, would render our constitution useless with time.An example of a case where judicial restraint was duly practiced was District of Columbia vs. Heller case, which was decided in 2008 after a nine-year duration (Lowi Ginsberg, Shepsle, & Ansolabehere, 2012). The matter of contention in the case was whether the D.C code.

Analyse the way Beatrice and Benedick Essay Example for Free

Analyse the way Beatrice and Benedick Essay The characters Beatrice and Benedick in the William Shakespeare play â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing† can be described as sparring lovers. At the start of the play, it is difficult for them to converse without becoming involved in a â€Å"merry war† or a â€Å"skirmish of wit†. This attitude gradually changes as the play progresses. I shall analyse the way in which this attitude changes as Beatrice and Benedick engage in parlance. From Act One, Scene One, Beatrice demonstrates hypocrisy when to Benedick she says â€Å"I wonder that you will still be talking, Signor Benedick, nobody marks you†. The ironic part of this is that she is actually listening to him. Therefore, as much as she may like to deny it, she is giving the man she â€Å"detests† her undivided attention, and is noticing him. Benedick, in a quick flash of wit answers back â€Å"What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living? † As Benedick asks Beatrice if she is living, it presents the witty assumption that Benedick has not been aware of Beatrice’s presence. A very well-put reply to this from Beatrice is that â€Å"Disdain† can’t die whilst Benedick is there â€Å"feeding† it to carry on. This battle of wit which occurs between the both of them illustrates the deep loathing that they appear to have for one another. As we shall discover further on in the play, this seems only to be a guise for the immense passion they have for each other. There is, here, however, a suggestion from Beatrice that both of them have had a relationship before: â€Å"You always end with a jade’s trick. I know you of old†. The aforementioned evidence of a possible relationship provides a reason for the skirmish of wit, and also implies there may still be romantic feelings between the two. In Act Two, Scene One, Beatrice is dancing and having a conversation with a masked Benedick. It is not clear, and remains the decision of the reader whether Beatrice truly knows that she is speaking with Benedick. She goes on to describe him as â€Å"the prince’s jester, a very dull fool†. As there is a sense of possession â€Å"the prince’s jester†, it creates the impression that Beatrice sees Benedick as nothing more than a puppet. When speaking with Claudio, Benedick makes it clear he was shocked by this: â€Å"Lady Beatrice should know me, and not know me: the prince’s fool! Hah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  †¦ â€Å"Every word stabs†. Here, Shakespeare has used a dramatic device, ie: the masqued ball, and the inherent identity confusion to make Benedick believe that Beatrice had all along intended to speak ill of him. It is for this reason that I believe that Beatrice knew full well that she was indeed speaking to Benedick. In Act Two, Scene Three, Benedick is successful tricked into thinking that Beatrice is in love with him. However, this trick has not yet been carried out on Beatrice. In the garden, Beatrice approaches Benedick and announces â€Å"I do spy some marks of love in her†. This is ironic because there are none. The passion she shows is one of hate for what she is about to say: â€Å"Against my will I am sent to bid you come in to dinner†. When asked by Benedick if she â€Å"takes pleasure in the message†, she says â€Å"Yea, just so much as you may take upon a knife’s point† (ie: not at all). Benedick has got completely the wrong end of the stick in his soliloquy: â€Å"there’s a double meaning in that†, and thinks that she does not want him to come in, but instead to stay out in the garden with her. Hence, his going inside would not be a pleasurable message for her. However, this is an example of dramatic irony as we know this is not the case at all. Shakespeare points out the truth beneath the characters surface, as well as using language as his tool to juxtapose these feelings, in effect, switching the meaning around so that the connotations are what illuminate the truth. He is also able to use a technique to capture the truth beneath the surface of the characters. Everything that is spoken by the characters seems to have a deeper or double meaning under the words. In Act Four, Scene One, Benedick declares his love for Beatrice. He does this so she will call upon him to right Hero from the terrible injustice that recently occurred at the wedding scene. He asks her if it seems strange that he loves her. This is again an example of dramatic irony, because the audience knows that it’s not strange – she knows already that he loves her. Beatrice, usually extremely able to articulate herself is strangely not able to here. The use of commas and colons break up the following speech, as she is overcome by fierce emotions. She is therefore not able to articulate anything but the fact that she feels sorry for her poor cousin who has been wronged. â€Å"It were as possible for me to say, I loved nothing so well as you, but believe me not, and yet I lie not, I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing. † Beatrice, therefore equivocates here being deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information, ie: her love for Benedick. This is particularly emphasised by the long sentence length. Benedick’s immediate rejection at the idea of killing Claudio â€Å"Not for the wide world! † elicits anger, and impatience in Beatrice who doesn’t wish to converse with Benedick any longer. After much deliberation, knowing it will please Beatrice, Benedick agrees to â€Å"use† his hand â€Å"in some other way than swearing by it†. In other words, he has agreed to engage Claudio in a duel. Beatrice’s reason for wanting him killed is that â€Å"he is now as valiant as Hercules†. This allusion to Hercules implies that Claudio has become too boastful, too big for his boots. In conclusion, it’s clear to see how the attitude between the two changes, and the relationship progresses. Shakespeare employs the use of juxtaposition to mask true feelings. The best illustration of this juxtaposition masking is of the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick. Their incessant banter and wit-battles mask the true feelings each has for the other.