Boena Nmcov Babika Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Boena Nmcov Babika Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Boena Nmcov Babika Boena Nmcov Babika Babika (Magdalna Novotn) Matka Terezky, babika Barunky, Adlky, Vilma a Jana. Moudr, sv, vlasteneck, konzervativn, nenech sesthnoutdobou, nepizpsobiv, milujc, pracovit, lechetn, zkuen, prost, zsadov, spravedliv, pokorn, klidn, vldn, mrumilovn, vyrovnan, upmn, pejcn, ijc v souladu s prodou, image starch zvyk Barunka (Boena Nmcov) Dcera Terezky, vnuka Magdalny Novotn. Nejstar a nejrozumnj zvnouat, m rda svou babiku. Adlka, Vilm, Jan Sourozenci Barunky Terezka Dcera Babika, Matka Barunky, Adlky, Vilma a Jana. Knna Dobrosrden, pejcn. Viktorka Blzniv, divok. Hortensie - Schovanka knny, jemn, pokorn, mil. Dj knihy se odehrv ve vesnici jmnem Star Blidlo, kam pesthuje Magdalna Novotn (Babika) zmal pohorsk vesniky, na slezskch hranicch. Jej dti se toti odsthovaly, a tak svou chaloupku odevzdala Star Btce, an odjela do Starho Blidla, kde se na n vnoutka a dcera se svm manelem moc tily. Hned jak babika pijela, dti si ji zaaly prohlet a Terezka zaala plakat radost, e pijela. Babika dtem pivezla dobroty, zvtka a hraky. Dti si hned babiku oblbily a ona je tak. Po pr dnech si babika zvykla na toto msto a zaala se starat o zvata, hldala dti, navtvovala lidi vokol a vyprvla vem historky zjejho mld. Prvn st knihy je vnovna popisu ivota na Starm blidle, kadodennminnostembabiky, dt a dalch top. Babika dti vychovv ke svm mravm, v duchu lsky, mrumilovnm souit s prodou a vlastenectv. Jsou tak zmiovny rzn tradice, zvyky a pbhy, kter se odehrvaj na Starm V druh sti knihy jsou rozvjeny pbhy dalch postav. Babika se setkala s knnou, kter byla okouzlena babiinou prostotou, srdenost a citlivost. Babika s vnouaty navtvila zmek, kde poznali I slenu Hortensii, kter si zamilovala dti. Babika se pimluvila za chudourodinuKudrnovu, kter knna rda pomohla. Hortensie byla vychovna v Itlii, kde se uila malovat. Zamilovala se do svhouitele. Knna o jejch citech nevdla a chtla ji provdat za sprvce. Hortensie onemocnla a byla velmi smutn. Kdy babika vidla naobrazeHortensiina uitele, poznala na n, e ho miluje, a pimluvila se u knny. Knna rda provdala Hortensii za male. Hortensie porodila dt, brew po dvou letech odsvatbyzemela. Viktorka byla vesel dve, kter se lbilo chlapcm. Viktorkuzaalsledovat a pronsledovat podivn, tmav vojk, kter byl do n zamilovan. Star kovka se o Viktorku starala a radila j, aby si tajemnho vojka nevmala. Ona se pak do nj vak zamilovala a porodila snm dt, pot lager vojk odeel svojskem pry. Viktorka se kvli nmu zblznila,a vyhodila dt do splavu an ono se utopilo, ilav jeskyni, nosila roztrhan aty, nebavila se s lidmi, jen nkdy pila ke dvem professional kus chleba a pak rychle odbhla,zpvala a kiela u splavu svmu mrtvmu dtti. Zabil ji blesk. Kristla byla zamilovan do Jakuba Mly an on do n. Jakub brew musel na vojnu, oba byli neastn. Babika Kristle pomohla, pimluvila se u knny a ta dovedla Jakuba zpt ke Kristle. Babika umr na Starm blidle mezi mnoha pteli. Na jej poheb jde obrovsk prvod top. Vknize se mi lbil pbh o Viktorce a setkvn sknnou. Byla psna staroetinou, take jsem si njak slova musela vyhledat, jinak se mi kniha lbila. Jsou to spe povdky, take je spe genius star Boena Nmcov Narozena: 4. 2. 1820 mrt: 21. 1. 1862 Rodn Jmno: Barbora Novotn esk spisovatelka. Je povaovna za zakladatelku novodob eskprzy. Pjmen Panklov zskala, a kdy si jej matku Terezii Novotnou v lt roku1820vzal Johann Pankl. Barboe bylo pl roku. V roce1821se Panklovi pesthovali doRatiboic, kam se za nimi v roce1825nakrtko pisthovala I jej 55let babika Marie Magdalna Novotn rozen udov (1770Dobruka- Kovice1841Vde), kter malou Barunku velmi ovlivnila; v dosplosti si babiku velmi zidealizovala. Od roku1826do roku1833navtvovala kolu vesk Skalici. Boena Nmcov proila cel ivot v poniujc chudob an asto I v hladu. Jej povzdech: Technical knockout povznsti ducha, kdy starost o chlb vezdej jej t. Korespondence ukazuje, e byla nucena opakovan dat o pomoc v eskch vlasteneckch kruzch. Neinnost tto pomoci kontrastuje s velkolepm pohbem, kter j vlastenci uspodali a s posmrtnou slvou, kter se j dostalo. Pohbena je naVyehrad. Jej hrob byl pvodn vedle hrobu Vclava Hanky, brew po smrti jeho eny Barbory byly ostatky Boeny Nmcov peneseny na souasn msto. Zemela na tuberkulzu. Jej mu byl pohben vTboe, kde zemel u svho syna Karla. Div Bra - Pbh venkovsk dvky, kter jej okol pezdvalo Div Bra. Nmcov vn ukazuje, e dobrota srdce a ryz povaha lovka nesouvis ani sjeho

Thorstein Veblen Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Thorstein Veblen Paper - Essay Example His dad's orderly and systematic act of his art, and the straightforward hard working attitude of the individuals around him, made an enduring engraving at the forefront of his thoughts. The effect on his thinking about the stamped social and way of life differentiate between the innovative, persevering rancher craftsmans and the little businesspeople, merchants, and legal counselors (generally white Americans) in the towns discovered its demeanor in quite a bit of his work in later years. Until 1891, when Veblen found a showing post at the financial aspects staff of the University of Chicago, he was for all intents and purposes an expert disappointment. In any case, when he was joined to an organization of higher learning, he flourished and his vocation bloomed, moving to Stanford in 1906, the University of Missouri in 1910, and in 1918 worked at different posts, addressed, and composed intriguing works that keep on provoking present day psyches right up 'til the present time. We find in this differentiation his knowledge into the working of the economy as a planned framework with two parts: the delivering, innovation driven, down to earth side called industry and the organizing, esteem giving, and capital animating business endeavor. His idea of industry doesn't just identify with the working of machines. Veblen applies it similarly to agribusiness and creature cultivation as to envelop any movement that includes a progression of exact, related, and interlocking procedures that are bigger in scope than the machines, creatures, and yields that are outfit for open utilization and comfort. He calls 'skippers of industry' the individuals who arrange these modern procedures. Veblen (6) took a gander at mechanical procedure as having two clear and general attributes: it must be all around facilitated and exact. These, he finished up, would prompt more noteworthy effectiveness and the improvement of principles that, thusly, would prompt consistency. The possible decision in a market where free rivalry exists is the creation of merchandise that are progressively reasonable, an expansion in utilization, and the improvement of new items dependent on benefits produced by the proceeding with mechanical procedure. The general coordination of the machine modern procedures must be finished with exactness, in light of the fact that any awkwardness would influence its productivity, compromising the uprightness of the framework and creating waste, inaction, and hardships (18). How is such generally coordination accomplished This is the place the business undertaking plays a significant and conclusive job. Veblen states (19) that the association of the few ventures just as the interstitial changes and errors of the mechanical procedure everywhere are of the idea of monetary exchanges and commitments. It along these lines rests with the agents to make or blemish the running changes of industry. Business, in

Standard Chart of Accounts Explained

Standard Chart of Accounts Explained Numbers provide a great way of summarizing information in a way that it can be quickly understood.This is especially useful in the business world where all sorts of information are presented using numbers.In fact, the whole profession of accounting revolves around summarizing company information into easy-to-understand numbers.One of the tools that is commonly used by accountants to provide a summary of a company’s financial power is the chart of accounts.Unfortunately, a lot of people do not understand this important accounting tool.In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the chart of accounts to understand what it is, what it does and how to design one.WHAT IS A CHART OF ACCOUNTS? The term “chart of accounts” (COA) refers to a list that contains all the accounts that a company uses to record transactions in its general ledger.An account in this case refers to a unique record for each type of the company’s revenue, expense, equity, assets, and liability.The chart o f accounts usually lists the account type, a brief description of the account, the account balance, and an identification code for the account. This information is typically represented in the order by which the accounts are represented in the company’s financial statements.It includes balance sheet accounts as well as income statement accounts. The typical order is balance sheet accounts at the top, with the income statement accounts following.The purpose of a COA is to organize the company’s finances, segregating its expenditures, revenue, assets, and liabilities in order.This orderly listing makes it easier for stakeholders and other interested parties to understand the company’s financial health.It is also an important tool for analyzing a company’s past transactions and using historical data to forecast its future trends.The standard chart of accounts usually contains two main categories â€" balance sheet accounts and income statement accounts â€" which are then further subdivided by account type.The following are the various types of balance sheet accounts:AssetsLiabilities,Stockholders’ or owner’s equity.The income statement, on the other hand, contains the following accounts:Operating revenuesOperating expensesNon-operating revenues gainsNon-operating expenses losses.A well-designed COA achieves two things: it satisfies management’s information needs, and it enables the company to comply with financial reporting standards.The format of a chart of accounts allows a business to tailor its chart of accounts to best suit its unique needs.For instance, accounts in the categories of “operating revenues” and “operating expenses” can be further organized according to business function as well as company divisions.Since it is a flexible financial organization tool, there is no standard length of a chart of accounts.Its length will naturally depend on the company’s size, with larger companies having a larger and more complex chart of ac counts compared to smaller companies.For instance, a large, multinational company that has many divisions may need to list thousands of accounts whilst a local retailer may require as few as one hundred accounts.Depending on the sophistication of the company, the COA may either be paper-based or computer-based.STRUCTURE OF A CHART OF ACCOUNTSLike I mentioned above, the chart of accounts is a flexible financial organization tool, so you will seldom find a company that has the exact same charts of accounts as another company.Each company will develop its own COA based on its own unique factors, such as the volume of business, the nature of the business, the need for external parties to go through the company’s financial information, and so on.That said, there is still a common structure that you will find on most charts of accounts.Accounts in a COA are typically listed in the order by which they appear in the financial statements.For that reason, balance sheet accounts are typicall y listed first, with the income statement accounts following.The typical structure of a Chart of Accounts is, therefore, something that looks like this:Balance Sheet AccountsAssetsLiabilitiesOwner’s (Stockholders’) EquityIncome Statement AccountsThe Various Types of RevenuesThe Various Types of ExpensesSome organizations may also structure their COAs such that various expenses are separately listed by department, with each department having its own set of expense accounts.DIFFERENT ACCOUNT TYPES REPRESENTED IN A CHART OF ACCOUNTSSome of the different accounts that will typically be found on a standard chart of accounts include:Asset AccountsAn asset is a resource that contains economic value and is owned by the organization. Put simply, the term “assets” refers to what a company owns.Part of the value of assets stems from the expectation that they will provide future benefits. A company reports its assets in the balance sheet.When a company buys or creates an asset, this res ults in either an increase of the company’s value or a benefit to its operations.The best way to think of an asset is as something that might in future generate cash flow for the company, reduce its expenses, or increase sales.Examples of assets include land/property, machinery equipment, patents, cash, inventory, investments, buildings, furniture, vehicles, stock, and so on.There are two types of assets: current assets and fixed assets.Current assets are those you can easily convert into cash â€" they include cash, money in the bank, short-term deposits, stock, and marketable securities.Fixed assets are those you cannot readily convert into cash or cash equivalents. They are typically long-term/hard assets. Examples include buildings, patents, land, equipment, machinery, and trademarks.Liabilities AccountsA liability is, to put it simply, what the company owes to some other party (a bank, a person, another company).In other words, liabilities are the company’s legal financial obligations or debts that present themselves in the course of conducting business operations.To settle liabilities, the company has to transfer economic benefits such as money, goods or services to the other party.Basically, liabilities are the opposite of assets: while assets add value, liabilities reduce the company’s value.Liabilities are recorded on the right side of the balance sheet whilst assets are recorded on the left. Examples of liabilities include bank loans, mortgages, accounts payable, deferred revenues, accrued expenses, and so on.There are three main types of liabilities: current liabilities, non-current liabilities, and contingent liabilities.Current liabilities are short-term and are typically due/payable within one year. Examples include interest payable, accounts payable, bills payable, income taxes payable, short-term loans, accrued expenses, and bank overdrafts.Non-current/long-term liabilities are those that are due after a year or more. Examples include bon ds payable, deferred tax liabilities, mortgage payable, long-term notes payable, and capital lease.Contingent liabilities are those whose occurrence depends on a certain event. In other words, contingent liabilities are basically potential liabilities: they may or may not happen. For instance, if a company faces a lawsuit, it may or not be a liability â€" it depends on the outcome of the lawsuit.Accounting standards dictate that a company should only record contingent liabilities if the liability is probable and if it’s possible to reasonably estimate the amount. Examples of contingent liabilities include lawsuits and product warranties.Owner’s/Stockholders’ Equity AccountsThis is the third type of balance sheet account listed in the chart of accounts. It refers to financial capital which is sourced through investment by owners/shareholders.Financial capital is one of the key factors of production.Financial capital is absolutely necessary for any business to get off the ground . No business can operate without capital. Capital comes from two sources: debt and equity.Equity capital, unlike debt capital, is not repaid to stockholders/investors in the normal course of business.Equity capital is the risk capital staked by investors through purchasing a company’s common stock (ordinary shares).Put simply, equity capital is the funds a company generates from the sale of its stock.Owner’s equity is the funds owners inject into the business to finance its operations.For a private limited company, the owners are an entity separate from the business.In that case, the business is considered to owe the equity funds to its owners as a liability in form of share capital. Owner’s equity is also known as liable capital or risk capital.In a case where shareholders are the owners (public limited companies), the equity is known as shareholders’ equity.It refers to the ownership equity spread out amongst the company’s shareholders. Shareholders will vary in rank ac cording to their use of share classes and options.Should the company liquidate its assets, for instance due to bankruptcy, the first priority will be the creditors. The last to be paid will be the owners/shareholders.The accounting equation for owner’s equity is, therefore, the difference between a company’s assets and debt liabilities.The company can break down its shareholders’ equity into the following accounts: common stock, preferred stock, and retained earnings.Expenses AccountsThese accounts represent the company’s expenditures.An expense may be defined as the amount by which an asset reduces in value when it is used to generate revenue for a business.For instance, when the asset has been in use for an extended period of time, the expense that develops is known as depreciation.Examples of common expenses include cost of goods sold, rent, utilities, insurance, depreciation, wages, and utilities.Expenses are typically divided into two main types: operating expense and n on-operating expenses. Operating expenses are those that involve the business’s main/core activities.For instance, the operating expenses of a retailer include the cost of goods sold along with the selling, general, and administrative expenses.In a large company, these are typically sorted according to product line, department, and so on.Non-operating expenses are the expenses which do not involve the business’s main activities. They pertain to incidental/peripheral activities.For instance, a common non-operating expense encountered by retailers is interest expense.Other examples of non-operating expenses that will turn up on a retailer’s income statement include: commissions earned by the sales staff, rent, employee wages, advertising, and the cost of electricity.Revenue AccountsRevenue accounts display the earnings/incomes the company accrues during a specific period. Common examples include sales, interest income, and service revenue.Discounts and deductions for returned me rchandise are also included as part of the business’s revenues.A better definition of revenues is the income a business generates from selling goods or providing services, or from any other use of its capital or assets.This is before the deduction of costs and expenses.Revenue is typically represented as the top item in a profit and loss (income) statement.Net income is determined by subtracting the costs from the gross income.You calculate revenue by multiplying the price per unit by the number of units sold. Revenue may also be referred to as sales or (in the UK) turnover.In a large company, revenue can be subdivided according to the various divisions that generate it.Revenue may also be divided into operating revenue and non-operating revenue.Operating revenue is the sales the company makes from its core business.Non-operating revenue refers to the sales the company makes from other secondary sources.Since non-operating revenues source are typically not predictable or recurring , they are termed one-time events or gains.Examples include proceeds from selling an asset, money awarded for winning a lawsuit, a windfall from investments, and so on.HOW TO NUMBER ACCOUNTS IN A CHART OF ACCOUNTSAccounts in a standard chart of accounts are organized according to a numerical system.The numbering sets up the structure of the accounts and assigns specific codes to the various general ledger accounts.The account number typically involves three key components: the division code, the department code, and the account code.Division CodeThis is usually a 2-digit code. It represents a specific division within the company.For that reason, it is only used in multi-division companies.Single-entity companies do not use this code. If the company is large and has very many divisions, this code is expanded to a 3-digit code, enabling the inclusion of more than 99 subsidiaries.Department CodeThis is also typically a 2-digit code. It represents a specific department within the busine ss; for instance, engineering, sales, accounting, or human resource departments.Account CodeThis is typically a 3-digit code which describes the account itself. Accounts are divided into major categories and sub-categories.Each major category starts with a particular number. Consequently, all the sub-categories that fall under a certain major category all start with the number of the major category.For instance, the first major category is “assets” and begins with the digit “1”. The first account could be “cash” and is labeled “100”. The next could be “savings account” and labeled “101”The second major category “liabilities” starts with the digit “2”, then the liability accounts will be labeled in the 200 to 299 range. The next major category “Equity” will start with a “3”, occupying the 300-399 range, and so on.The account code will not always be represented by 3 digits. In some cases, especially for bigger companies with a more complex chart of accounts, the account code might be represented by 4 digits.As you might have realized so far, the account code breaks down two key pieces of information about an account: the type of major category account and the type of sub-category account.For instance, if you find that an account code starts with 100, you can automatically conclude that this account belongs to the ‘assets’ category.The subcategory account is usually represented by the second digit within the account code. For instance, let’s assume that the account code for a specific account is 109.Since the first digit is 1, we already know that this is an assets account. However, there are different types of asset accounts.Therefore, the second digit is used to show the subcategory in which the account belongs.In our case, this might mean the account falls under the current assets subcategory within the assets category. The third digit denotes the actual identity of the account.If the account number was 115, then t his would mean that this particular account is account number 5 under the receivables sub category within the assets category.Bringing It All TogetherIn a multi-division company which has several divisions and departments, the chart of accounts numbering would be as follows: xx-xx-xxx.If it’s a single-entity company (that is just one division) that has multiple departments, the first two digits (the division code) would be left out. The numbering scheme would instead be as follows: xx-xxx.If it’s a very small business that has no departments at all, only the account code would remain. In that case, the numbering would be simply as follows: xxx.EXAMPLE OF A CHART OF ACCOUNTSBelow is a rough sample COA to help you understand how it looks.Assets (100-199)Current Assets100 Checking Account101 Savings Account102 Deposits103 InvestmentsReceivables110 Accounts Receivable Clients113 Travel Advances116 Notes ReceivableUnbilled Services120 Unbilled ServicesFixed Assets150 Accumulated Dep reciation152 Furniture and Fixtures153 Leasehold Improvements154 AutomobilesLiabilities (200-299)Payables (Short-Term)200 Notes Payable Short-TermAccounts Payable210 Accounts Payable â€" Trade211 Accounts Payable â€" Consultants212 Accounts Payable â€" OtherNet Worth (300-399)301 Capital311 Previous Year’s Retained Earnings312 Current Year’s Profit and LossRevenues (400-499)400 Commercial Sales410 Interest Income422 Grant RevenueExpenses (500-599)Direct Costs500 Direct Labor502 Equipment503 Materials and SuppliesFringe Benefit Costs510 Vacation511 Sick Leave513 Payroll TaxesOverhead Costs 520 Overhead Labor525 Depreciation â€" Office Equipment526 RentGeneral Administrative Costs 530 General Administrative Labor532 Utilities536 Equipment RentalUnallowable Costs 540 Interest Expense541 Contributions542 ExhibitsBEST PRACTICES FOR CHART OF ACCOUNTS DESIGNThe following are the criteria/principles a company should follow when designing a chart of accounts:Do the Mystery Accountant T estA good COA provides structure for the business, uniformity, and enhances communication across the company.It should also be possible for a concerned third party to understand the information provided in the COA without difficulty.To accomplish this, test to see if your chart of accounts passes the Mystery Accountant Test.This is a thought experiment where you try to see if competent accountants unfamiliar with the details of your business can successfully close the book.Can they successfully perform the close or do they get confused because of poor chart design?Can they use the provided code combinations to figure out the nature of each transaction, who is responsible for it, and where the transaction is occurring?Avoid RedundancyThe chart should contain only one type of information in each segment; otherwise, there will be overlapping of information across segments, which can lead to potential inaccuracies during reporting.For instance, if a company defines two of its segments a s “Location” and “Department”, then the location segment should only contain location information and the department information should only contain departmental information.Leave Room for ExpansionSmall companies may tailor the design of their COA to the current size of their business.This is not necessarily a problem.However, if this is a company that is likely to experience growth in future and greater success, it is important to design a COA that leaves room for expansion.Otherwise, when the company grows, there will be risk of some of the segments filling up.This can pose a problem, particularly for a publicly traded company where accuracy of information is legally crucial.Use Logical RangesWhile leaving room for expansion is good, it is possible to get carried away and go to the other extreme where you have ridiculously large ranges.For instance, if a company is small and unlikely to expand, but insists on having a range of values such as 20000-29999.This leaves room f or up to 9,999 accounts.The trends in your business should inform your decision when determining the most appropriate range.Don’t Rely on SpreadsheetsWhile spreadsheets are great tools for organizing simple data, they are not the best choice for transforming data from your financial systems to report results.Not relying on spreadsheets to get financial information is a key best-practices consideration when designing a COA.WRAPPING IT UPThe chart of accounts is one of the most important accounting tools.The COA is essentially a summary of the company’s financial power. It contains both balance sheet information and income statement information.A good chart of accounts reveals the size or financial might of a company.Any interested party can then figure out how large the company is (from the division code and department code or their absence), and see the range and number of its transactions (based on the number of recorded accounts).

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How Corruption Varies With Culture - 2982 Words

Corruption varies with culture Introduction Mr. Biswas, Mr. Lee and Mr. Lai are the natives of different countries. While doing business they face various difficulties due to corruption. It is hard to understand the practice of tipping in discrete cultures. In their country, organizations have to pay bribe in form of money or gift to the government officials to get their work done in an appropriate time to get the advantage over their competitors as well as to reduce their tax burdens. But due to difference in culture norms and values it is complicated to say that which activity is considered as immoral, unethical or illegal. Q-1) Corruption means actions taken to get personal benefits by providing goods and services secretly or†¦show more content†¦Hence, in some other countries organizations want the purchasing agent to deal with their companion or friends due to strong level of trust. He doesn’t even check their financial information, as they believe that it will disrespect others (Hooker 2003). Tipping refers to giving money as a gift to the workers with a good intention or when satisfied with the services provided by them (Lynn 1988). As Pearl (1985) states that consumers gives tips more then $9 billion annually in US. These tips are given mostly to those people who provide services such as bartenders, hairdressers, bellhops, designers, taxi drivers, delivery person (Star 1988). Tipping is an interesting form of consumer behavior and a major economic activity. Tipping in the private sector is a form of corruption as Eicher (2005) illustrates three criteria’s (a) The payment is optional and not compulsory (b) The size of payment can be bargained (c) Trust and social contract has not been broken. As, corruption contravenes all three conditions but tipping doesn’t as it is largely depend on social norms and customs. It is done due to various reasons- getting good services from the worker during future encounters (Bodvarsson and Gibson 1988), wish for social approval (Crespi 1947), a desire to payback for their work (Holloway 1985) and also for the sake of maintaining their status (Scott

Literature Review on IT architecture Free Essays

string(141) " Federal Enterprise Architecture is defined as a method of creating enterprise architecture and thus also known as proscriptive methodology\." Literature Review Abstract The research is all about the use of information system in the organizations. There are many tools which are helpful in managing the whole organization. The business environment is getting highly competitive and many organizations are making strategies to grab the market share. We will write a custom essay sample on Literature Review on IT architecture or any similar topic only for you Order Now A company was selected in order to understand the scenario. A conceptual frames work was developed in the mind to present the problem. The IBM organization was selected to conduct the research. Literature review presents the important theories and concepts along with the importance of he information system in organization. The introduction of the research was done by analyzing the problem which organization face because of the information. Literature suggested many systems which can improve the processes of the organizations. There are many other systems which can increase the performance infrastructure of service quality. The literature was extracted from different articles which improved the report. The report has many suggestions for the organizations. The study of this report can give solution to many problems which the company faced in the current scenario. The comparison was done in the later part of the report and the scenario and literature was matched in order to find loopholes in the system and to provide solution to incapability. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Literature Analysis 4 Current practice section 7 Comparison of Literature and current practice 10 Conclusion 11 References Literature 12 References Current Practice 12 Introduction Enterprise architecture is the process in which operation and structure of an organization is defined. The intention in the process is to achieve future and current objectives. One of the most agreed upon viewpoint is where business perspective, applications perspective, information perspective and technology perspective is part of the future objectives a company is likely to foresee. The use of enterprise architecture includes properly documented processes, systems, infrastructure and applications. This assignment briefly discusses various theories of enterprise architecture particularly at the strategic level and thus explains the theory with a practical example which further glorifies the literature review. Literature Analysis The evolution of the enterprise information system and management is the core responsibility of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the company. The CIO information processing and decision making is aided by the technique or process known as Enterprise Architecture. A model based planning and management approach to evaluate management wise information system is called enterprise architecture. The complexity of business supporting system and its significance has been addressed in this enterprise architectural approach. The planning and problem information system is under the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Thus, it can be rightly stated that enterprise architecture is the best way to aid decision making of CIO (Stated et al. AAA). According to Eriksson and Pinker (2000), the importance of a good modeling framework should be emphasizes in the organization but the reason of choosing one model over the other is ambiguous. As a basic question, the model should be able to answer the questions pertaining to the reasons it is designed for. The enterprise architecture is successful in answering the question. The dilemma is to explore the probable questions the model is able to answer. In the enterprise architecture model it is possible to come across the questions of why and how of using the framework or model. In order to mitigate the risk involved, organizations can simply produce more than one model to select the most adequate one. Analysis of the enterprise architectures The decision making as followed by CIO can help in studying the architectural analysis model. The first step is to formulate scenario, the need to recognize the options available to the CIO is the foremost step in order to foresee the information system of an organization. The possible future states of the company can be conjured by performing this step. The next step is to determine the criteria to decide upon; in this step criteria allow CIO to set a benchmark to evaluate different models. One of the important questions needed in setting the criteria are to find out business support, IT security and availability. In this paper, architectural theory or criteria is used to evaluate the model. After setting the criteria the next step is to analyze scenario, in which case one of the criteria is selected to evaluate both models and then so on and so forth. Stated et al. (AAA) explain that next, the firm undertakes the selection of the scenario where process selection of the model takes place on the Asia of the chosen criteria and the support offer to the decision making of CIO. Stated et al. (AAA) further elaborates stating that the birth of the enterprise architecture took place twenty years ago and designed to address two problems poor business alignment and system complexity. In poor business alignment the problem of IT system to align it with the cost is addressed. Kanji, H. And Burns, P. (2011) add that in system complexity entails the need to develop IT systems. The basic idea is to serve the organization with less cost involved but providing more value and utility. However, according to the theory of Stated et al. (AAA), the complexity and cost of these IT systems implemented in the organization have dramatically emphasized by now globally whereas the real value derived from the systems have decreased. Kanji, H. And Burns, P. 2011) stresses that the giant organizations fail to ignore such problems therefore the field of enterprise architecture is powerfully prophetic in the world today. Some methodologies of enterprise architecture are widely used in the world today however the large field makes use of mainly four methodologies. According to Kanji and Burns (201 1), the taxonomy is given another name to the work of Coachman and is termed as the first methodology of the Enterprise architecture (EAI). Another methodology known as the Open Group Architectural Framework (TOGA) is more precisely or accurately defined as the process. The Federal Enterprise Architecture is defined as a method of creating enterprise architecture and thus also known as proscriptive methodology. You read "Literature Review on IT architecture" in category "Literature" The practice of architectural enterprise is known as the Gardner methodology. As articulated by Coachman (1982), the Canaan framework for enterprise is recognized s a framework which is contrary to the definition of the framework. The framework is defined as something that serves as a skeleton structure for construction. The second name given to the approach of Coachman is taxonomy and by definition it is a classification in ordered systems of organisms to give a natural relationship. The Coachman framework is in simple ways taxonomy and organizing of architectural artifacts for instance models, documents and specifications. According to Coachman (1982), the enterprise manufacturing and engineering is around for more than thousand years and will remain for longer. However Kanji and Burns (2011) stress that the understanding of the process is changed with respect to time. The Canaan is the most frequently used technique in large firms due to ease of application and best responses. It is also desirable to cater for necessary complexities of the system design while Enterprise Architecture. Kanji and Burns (2011) also support the Open Group Architecture Framework (GOFF) which is which primarily used within four categories namely business architecture, application architecture, data architecture and technical architecture. The business recess to meet the desired goals is described in the business architecture. The designing of the application and their probable interaction is studied under application architecture. The access and organizing of the data store is termed under data architecture. Finally technical structure talks about the hardware and software to cater for application and access (Stated et al. , 2004). Kanji and Burns (2011) also explain the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEE) which is done to amalgamate ubiquitous and functions under enterprise architecture. But Moms (2007) contends stating that this new methodology apparently s in the infancy stage so no noticeable work can be seen in the organization and there is not much talk about its failure. The last methodology employed in the Enterprise architecture (EAI) is Gardner. It is the practice rather than a process of an IT and research consulting organization Gardner. Literature Analysis summary The Enterprise Architecture is more of a theory than any thing practical. Above some methodologies are stated that shows different approaches to the EAI and can be studied when considering different perspective. It can also vary with respect to the difference in opinion or difference in practice. These four approaches may be used by Giant Corporations to address different engineering, business and manufacturing issues. The large corporations are entitled to use complex systems which necessitate such EAI methodologies. Current practice section The implementation of the architectural enterprise is not resulted from designing the software or relating it with different business units. The organization itself along with processes affected must be changed sometimes in order to show flexibility and competency in the business functions. IBM has used EAI model in the multi-brand enterprise and multi divisional enterprise. The purpose of this model is to enhance the debate and sharing among the top executives within organization. It is also designed to reach at a common goal by ignoring most of the differences and reaching to the potential outcome. The global system practices are avoided by the corporations if the intended outcome is local profit and loss only. In multi-local enterprises where PL are regarded as the parameters to measure performance and that other performance measure are nonexistent. In this way two avenues left open for such kind of EAI. The first that change in the incentive system is needed to address the issue. In this way enterprise sharing of resource or enterprise integration can be enhanced which was much needed at MOM. The EAI system as employed in the IBM is based on four consenting I. E. Shared identity and purpose, common bonds of performance, shared knowledge and shared infrastructure. These elements when used together can help in integrating the organization with its functions (Gravesend, 2012). Figure 1 . Four factors necessary for integrating the organization Source: Adapted from Shoal S. And Grafton L. â€Å"Integrating the Enterprise. † MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall 2002, and Well P. , Suburban’s M. , and Broadband M. IT Infrastructure for Strategic Agility. MIT Center for Information Systems Research Working Paper No. 329, April 2002 The CIO organization or IBM business transmission integrates all the business units across geographies and transform strategic business priorities into initiatives of transformation. The company is entitled for maintaining IT Landscape as per the strategic roadman provided. According to Gravesend (2012), any organization does require strateg ic planning. It provides them the leverage to enhance their capabilities and gives them a direction. There are many aspects of planning which collectively make a strategic plan. Strategic planning helps keep focus on the area that is most responsible for boosting the profit levels and overall performance of organization. Since it leads organization to be focused it automatically makes organization polish its skills that are more required in running the business in an efficient and effective way. Innovation and new offerings are always very important for any company to increase its sales. Variety in new products is the obvious way but the manager must work on the execution of the issuance of new product because most of the times poorly executed new offering perform poorly ND they end up in big losses. The basic need to implement EAI in the organization focused on the provision of the information and successful strategies in order to feed in the data before hand. This information should be sufficient enough for both stakeholders I. E. Team designing the software as well the top managers making use of the information stored. In order to address loop holes in the system, a best- practice approach must be used in the system. The imposed system should be open to any kind of re purposing and time should be saved by doing re purposing instead of re-inventing. Secondly, it is desirable that system provides future state of the IT landscape along with existing risk and cost analysis. One way of getting growth is to take full advantage of learning curve and utilizing economies of scale. Learning curve makes you more efficient in your production process. It tells you how to fully utilize your resources. Economies of scales help in reduction of average cost because of factors like managerial specialization and buying power. Strategic implementation is an ongoing process of an organization’s plans which they made in order to survive and to earn profit for a longer period of time. It consists of series of action plans which are integrated to each other. Strategic implementation of the plans which were proposed for the extension and growth are very vital. The long term strategy can help them create a loyal customer and to get more profitable branches which can earn profit for at least five years. The implementation of EAI is found successful in the organization and supports the business functions across geographies. The Enterprise architecture used in the IBM is supported by Coachman methodology. His model is based on the integration of the organization which is clearly addressed in this section (lbs., 2013). Comparison of Literature and current practice Literature has enlightened many aspects of the information which can help any organization to prosper. The problem which they are facing is that they do not use any information system which integrates the employees. They are lacking in the internal information. According to literature there are many tools which will help the organization to increase their productivity. Software like management information system, decision support system and others can help to improve the information flow within the organization. The current situation is that they are losing customers because of the service delivery time. Information system will align all the departments and will provide the information about the customer which will increase the overall flow of information. Literature suggests that internal and external flow of information is very important for all the organization. Stakeholders must be contacted in decision making process. Decision support system integrates all the stakeholders and provides the best possible solution to any business scenario. Internal information with the organization must be improved and transaction recessing system will be helpful to record all the business transactions. It was found in literature that information and feedback from employees and customer is very important and many organizations lose their customers because of this issue. Conclusion The report provides many aspects and after analyzing the literature and the other aspect it was found that companies must include information system in their system. It was found that communication with stakeholders is very important for any organization. They are the pillar of organization and help to build the reputation of NY organization. Organizations must contact different stakeholders and must take their views about the problems they are facing. The other dimensions which were found that management information system, decision support system and other systems are enhancing the capabilities of the organization. In service industry, the most important part is service delivery and these information systems are contributing to increase the performance. Internal and external sources of information are found very important for the organizations and they help to analyze the need of customer. How to cite Literature Review on IT architecture, Essays

Castle Island free essay sample

I don’t really remember, but I think I first went to Castle Island two years ago when I caught a random bus in front of my school, wondering where it would take me. I got off the bus when I saw water, figuring, not falsely, that I was somewhere along Boston’s coastline. What Castle Island stand out from all the other places that I like going to is that it is always full of people. Castle island, like Deer Island to the north of it, is not a true island. It is a peninsula that juts out from South Boston with an old fort standing on it. The whole island looks like a crescent which surrounds Pleasure Bay. On windy days, as many as twenty kitesurfers flood the bay, and on calm days swim teams challenge themselves to swim from one end to the other. Because Pleasure Bay is alike to many lakes in inland Boston, the island is a favorite spot for many joggers, walkers, and bicyclists. We will write a custom essay sample on Castle Island or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the summer, families come out there to swim, or eat while watching their children play. One of my favorite things about Castle Island are the planes that land close by. On most days, planes fly directly overhead much closer than I see them anywhere else before their landing in Logan since one of the airport’s longest runways is directly behind the peninsula. In the future I want to design things that will allow people to fly, and being such, planes have always fascinated me. Whenever I go to the island I am reminded of that dream and can spend a long time just looking up at the sky. However the planes I see at Castle Island arent my favorite thing about the place. If I were to paint a picture of Castle Island, my first thought would be to paint myself standing there, with the Boston harbor and its islands behind me, a hint of a rainbow in the background with grey rain clouds, and a plane just overhead taking up a lot of space on the canvas. However a much better picture would be looking over the peninsula at the people who were there exclaiming ‘Look there are two rainbows!’ to each other, which I was able to notice thanks to them, the people who go there on windy days to kitesurf, the joggers, walkers, loiterers, swimmers, and families who come there every day. My favorite thing about the island is that unlike the grim people I see on the trains and busses, who never seem look around them, the people I see at Castle Island are able to take time out of their days and schedules to come there to simply enjoy the view. I am reminded that although they may look grim in the mornings or evenings, each person I meet is living in a dream of their own.

Trabajo 4 Bimestre Essays - DraftCarmen Herrera,

Trabajo 4 Bimestre Ana Christina Vos Garcia de Alba 2B N.L #24 Materia: Redaccion Maestra: Carla Rivero Fecha de entrega: 20/04/16 7480300top 3460099000 Aun lo recuerdo como si hubiera sido ayer, todavia puedo revivir la emocion y felicidad que senti ese dia. Tenia yo 3 anos y vivia en Holanda. Es dificil pensar que han pasado mas de 12 anos y que la experiencia sea aun tan tangible en mi mente. Era pleno verano, la mejor temporada en Holanda. Consideremos que en Holanda por casi 10 meses al ano hace frio y que la mayor parte del tiempo llueve. Pero al llegar el verano toda la gente y los lugares se transforman. Las personas se visten con ropa mas ligera y colorida, las mujeres finalmente muestran los pies al caminar en sus sandalias, los hombres permanecen felizmente por horas sentados tomando una cerveza en una de las muchas terrazas que los restaurantes abren en esta temporada ; todo mundo es feliz, todos incluyendo hasta los ninos. A bandonamos nuestro capullo para convertirnos en hermosas y alegres mariposas! Llevaba dias esperando este gran dia. En mi mente de 3 anitos no parecieron dias, parecieron interminables meses, pero al fin habia llegado el gran momento. Ese dia iria junto con mi prima Linde al mas increible parque de atracciones de toda Holanda, el Ef teling , un parque como ningun otro que lleva existiendo desde 1952 con algunas modificaciones claro. Lo que distingue a este parque de cualquier otro es que todo el tema gira alrededor de las fabulas y fantasia Ya llevabamos horas en el parque, disfrutando de cada momento, y de repente mi prima Linde y yo vemos a Pardoes a lo lejos. Gritamos las dos, y corrimos hacia el. Mis tios, papas de mi prima Linde, con quienes fuimos en esta ocasion al parque, apenas si nos podian seguir el paso. Corrimos, lo abrazamos y nos regalo a cada una un globo que conserve por meses hasta que se desinflo por completo. Pardoes se arrodillo, me abrazo y en ese momento mis tios nos tomaron la foto a mi prima y a mi . Oh, que gran momento. Si pudiera describir la felicidad con una foto, esta seria la foto elegida. En la imagen destacan unos globos amarrados a un un palito blanco que teniamos en la mano mi prima y yo. Los glob os tienen la cara de Pardoes , el personaje tematico del parque, que es un duende que va vestido como arlequin, trae puesto una especie de vestido color rojo, y a la cintura trae amarrado un gran cinturon color marron, sus zapatos son rojos y terminan en forma puntiaguda, trae un collarin en el cuello de color amarillo con picos y de este van colgando unas borlitas , el sombrero que trae es color rojo, es de gran tamano y tiene colgado 3 campanas que suenan cuando este camina. Su cara se caracteriza por unos ojos muy grandes y abiertos de forma ovalada , una sonrisa amplia y unas chapas muy rozadas. Teniamos 3 anos aproximadamente mi prima y yo, ella es tan solo 6 meses mayor que yo, y siempre fuimos muy unidas y buenas amigas. Nuestro caracter es muy diferente, pero precisamente esto hace que nos complementemos perfecta mente desde chiquitas. Fisicamente mi prima era gera con pelo lacio y corto, yo con pelo marron y chino. En la imagen t engo puesto un overol de mezclilla con un bordado de Minnie M ouse, combinado con una playera y tenis rosas. Mi prima trae un pantalon rosa claro , una playera con rayas blancas y rosas, y unos zapatos de color negro. Detras sale Pardoes abrazandonos par a tomar nos la foto. Se pueden ver al fondo unos adoquines de color rojo oscuro, que eran el suelo. Resaltan las caras que teniamos mi prima y yo de felicidad, y gusto al tomarnos una foto con e l unico e inigualable Pardoes . Grandes sonrisas y colores forman esta imagen que tan buenos recuerdos me trae. Ese dia termino, de seguro acabamos rendidas y dormidas en el trayecto a la casa, pero con memorias que permanecerian por siempre con nosotras. Los anos pasaron y e sta pasada Navidad del 2015

SPS 032 Growing My 8-Figure Business With a Book with Ryan Deiss

SPS 032 Growing My 8-Figure Business With a Book with Ryan Deiss SPS 032: Growing My 8-Figure Business With a Book with Ryan Deiss 2 SharesRyan Deiss has taken email marketing, sales funnels, and creating and selling products to another level. He is the founder and CEO of DigitalMarketer which is a premier online community for anyone marketing online. Ryan and his team have invested over $15,000,000 on marketing tests, have generated tens of millions of unique visitors, sent over a billion emails, and have run over 3000 split tests. Today, Ryan shares his marketing expertise as we talk about his book the Invisible Selling Machine which is all about email marketing and is also based on a product that supplies marketing email templates. Ryan shares how a book is a great tool to jumpstart a business and the importance of having a back end in place. He also used a unique webinar concept to test the title and write the book fast. Ryan shares how he and his editor collaborated and then how he edited everything to make sure it was in his voice. He also shares insights into marketing, writing, and being an effective ent repreneur. Â  You can find Ryan here: DigitalMarketer Ryan Deiss LinkedIn @RyanDeiss Twitter Ryan Deiss facebook Invisible Selling Machine Books by Ryan DeissShow Notes [01:49] Ryan feels that books are timeless because people get it. Ryan wrote The Invisible Selling Machine because he had something to say and there werent a lot of books about this topic. [03:27] The book is great as media and a lead generation tool. A book isnt a business, a book jump starts a business. [04:15] After the book Ryan had the next step which was The Invisible Selling Machine template product. The concept stands alone and that information is the foundation of the book. [04:59] Even though he had a course on the topic, writing the book took a lot of effort. Ryan had to think through how to teach the concepts. [06:21] Ryan created a webinar and split tested titles to get the title for the book. The webinar bullet points were on the back of the book. [07:16] He wanted the story in the webinar to create a foundation and then share the result. Then he wrote a step by step and addressed objections and it turned out to be a good format for a book. Ryan had an editor that helped turn the webinar into the book, then Ryan rewrote a lot of it. [10:49] How its important for a book to stand on its own and not just be a disguised sales letter. [15:15] The importance of turning a glance into a stare with a title and subtitle. [15:45] How Ryan accidently sent the wrong cover to the editors and how the printer messed up on the first print. He was so disappointed to see his first copies looking so bad. He had 10,000 copies and was able to use them for a free promotion with paid shipping only. [24:13] Ryan has total control over his book and he uses it for marketing purposes that he controls. [24:56] His book has produced millions of dollars of revenue for him and he owns all of it. He doesnt want to have to buy from a publisher to use his book as a tripwire. Although, someday he may go the trad itional route. [26:14] One of the biggest issues with using a publisher is the timeline. If you take your advance and put it back into the campaign it would be effective, but 12 to 18 months is a deal killer. [29:03] The importance of having a funnel in place before you public the book. There needs to be steps in between like additional training or mini-classes. [30:39] He also made a quick optional upsell video. It was passive, but it performed well. [32:24] Having a permission based micro commitment upsell. [33:54] The thank-you page had another video which also gave away free videos. Which are used as a perpetual launch. He is also driving facebook ads to the book which will always sell because of the backend. [37:02] For immediate revenue it came from the Secret Selling upsell. The 30 and 60 day revenue was trumped by The Machine. [38:43] Ryan uses that money to put back into the campaign to get subscribers for Digital Marketer Labs. You have to reinvest money if you want to grow. [40:11] People want new products. With a membership, you can deliver the new without selling the new. [43:00] People join membership groups to have a community. [44:57] How Ryan hired key people who are responsible for his membership even a dedicated community manager for the facebook group. [48:23] How the team tracks campaigns to make sure they are effective. How a $500 buy on facebook ads is a good risk. Its hard for Ryans team to justify a funnel that goes past 90 days. Â   [50:47] The importance of the cost of customer acquisition and customer lifetime value. Looking for ways to maximize the value of the customer. [52:39] The dangers of big companies getting too comfortable and dying a slow death. [53:13] How Ryans business isnt a launch centric business. [54:24] How having subscription revenue and ongoing sales and products is so much safer than the launch model as the sole method of selling.

How Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) influenced by the French Essay

How Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) influenced by the French New Wave - Essay Example In the film, Tarantino cuts some scenes and moves to other scenes in a manner that the audience is able to note that some scenes are not there. The Reservoir Dogs has a non-linear narration just like the French New Wave films. This is evident where Tarantino introduces the past life of some characters and then comes back to the present. The Reservoir Dogs film also makes references to films produced earlier including Get Christie Love and The Lost Boys films. The referencing of films produced earlier, in a film was a common characteristic of the French New Wave films (Conard, 2008, p.108). In terms of the formal elements of the film, the film employed the on-location shooting concept. Tarantino shoots about a quarter of an hour in one particular location and entry of new character in the scene happens without cutting of the shot. According to Neupert (2007, p.39) the French New Wave films were produced on a low-budget and location of shooting was not costly. The use of handheld cameras which was also a popular concept during the French New Wave can also be seen in the Tarantino’s

Consultancy Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Consultancy Management Techniques - Essay Example For internal sources of data, maintaining data quality is not that important as data is extracted through company generated reports whose authenticity is verified. For external sources of data to ensure data quality care must be put on selecting a good data source. Data should be extracted only from reputed research firm, company reports and other reputed reporting agencies. Information that needs to go in a management report depends on the type of management report. Mostly the information that goes into a management report is financial data, industry analysis reports etc. The report actually presents a picture of the specified area and how it affects the management. Sometimes vision of top executives and other qualitative information may also go into a management report. In a management report the data used can be both qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative data represents those data which can be statistically or mathematically analyzed. There is certain other form of data which cannot be analysed in this manner and those data represents qualitative data. Qualitative data are those data which represents what an industry expert views about the future of a particular industry and likewise (Johnson, and Christensen, 2008. Â  ). The data that will be collected by the company in the course of operation will be huge. The data will be of all sorts ranging from sales data, to financial data, to industry data, to human resource data. This is a digital age which means that the data collection mechanism has seen a rapid change and so the amount of data collected and will be huge. Collecting the data is just an initial step in creating the management report. The next important step is to select and keep the relevant data and discard the rest. To understand which data is relevant and which is to be discarded, it is very important to define the scope of management report. Once the scope and purpose of the management

Analysis of McDonalds’ Expansion Strategy

Analysis of McDonalds’ Expansion Strategy Introduction: McDonalds is one of the most giant burger brands in the global fast food chain which is presented in nearly 120 countries (Keegan and Green, 2013). However, McDonald still has to challenge with a number of problems arisen in not only home market but also global market (CBS Chicago, 2014). Based on its report of final quarter last year, there was a huge number of its customers purchasing McDonalds’ products has been decreased. Especially in the U.S market in 2013, the company has lost more than 1.6 percent of its customers compared to the same moment with previous years (CBS Chicago, 2014). Question 1: McDonalds has lost its customer attraction in home market, however, its reputation is still popular in emerging markets due to the lack of trust on their local brands (Doctoroff, 2014). Understanding this opportunity, McDonald has made a decision of expanding its business to the global market (Rudarakanchana, 2013). Though McDonalds segmented its business in a number of parts, the quality of its products and services has been claimed that: â€Å"McDonald’s was built on a strong foundation of a core menu that we took around the world but we need to make sure we are more locally relevant,† (Grant, 2006). In particular, the quality of its products will be locally delivered that is different with other regions by applying ‘polycentric orientation’ which related to ‘localized approach’ (Keegan and Green, 2013). This answer will use four main aspects of marketing mix to analyse how McDonalds run its business locally in its segmentations. Product: When McDonalds entered the India market, it coped with the problems of beefs products in there because the most Indian people follow the Hinduism avoid using meat from beef or cow (Rowley, 2012). Hence, McAloo Tikki which is a beef-free burger has been provided in the India market and quickly became the most favourite products in India McDonalds (Hickman, 2013). In addition, in the France, McDonalds has also produced the McCamembert for the local market which using the Camembert cheese the popular cheese brand in France (Tepper, 2013). Moreover, McArabia burger product, which uses chicken sandwiched between a long bread, has been presented in the Middle East market (Hickman, 2013). Place: McDonalds’ expansion strategy has been executed with a huge number of nearly 40 thousands stores in over 110 countries (McDonalds, 2014). Taking advantages from this succeed and its experience in home market, the corporation planned to keep increasing the number of over 400 drive-thru stores to compete with other rivals in global market (Vignali, 2001). For example, McDonalds in the UK has opened its stores in diversified places but still focused on high traffic locations such as in shopping malls, near entertainment areas or at airports and train stations (McDonalds, 2014). It happened as the same as in India McDonalds where has more than 200 restaurants in the final quarter of 2010. McDonalds established also nearly 2000 outlets in China and approximately 1000 restaurants in France (Keegan and Green, 2013). Price: The price for a McDonalds’ burger, in particular the Big Mac, was created based on the average wages of customers in the market. The higher minimum wages is, the higher price of a Big Mac will be charged (The Economist, 2014). The Figure 1 will present the differences of prices of Big Mac that McDonalds charges in some popular markets. The income rank of India has been considered as a lower in the middle class with the minimum wage from USD 5 to USD 6 per day (Office of Labour Department, 2014). Hence, the price of USD 1.54 for a Big Mac of McDonalds is much cheaper compared to the price in the UK market with the price for a Big Mac burger is charged USD 4.63, approximately equal price in the US home market. Promotion: Firstly, understanding the habits of watching commercial on television in China, McDonalds in China plans to attract its customers through print media (Vignali, 2008). In addition, ‘Green’ promotion has been executed in India with the claim of no beef products delivered (Keegan and Green, 2013). Secondly, sponsorship activities have been implemented in a number of sports. For example, in the USA, McDonalds maintains close relationship with the most favourite basketball league NBA to attract the awareness of its audience on McDonalds’ brand (Vignali, 2008). Brand name of the McDonalds was also changed in order to be suitable to the market. For example, in Australia, Macca’s was known as McDonalds in there (The Telegraph, 2013). Thirdly, sales promotion has been also delivered to McDonalds’ customers. For example, â€Å"Another burger each weekend† promotion was conducted in Czech market which provided different tastes of burgers (Keegan and Gre en, 2013, pp. 55) Question 2: For a giant service-orientated corporation as McDonalds, there will exist a number of arisen problems related to environmental aspects that influence the internationalisation of its brand. This paper will analyse these impacts by using the PEST framework which will be briefly presented in Figure 2. Factors Opportunities Threats Political Conflicts between national government and Beijing’s government in terms of McDonalds promotion plan Legislators and critics discouragements in terms of McDonalds’ impacts on French food culture Economic China is one of the rapidest-developing market Currency instability Social Indian customers are interested in McDonalds Indian prevents using beefs products French complains about World Cup sponsorship of McDonalds Technological Designing outlets by using more glass window and air cooling systems in India Applying electronic devices to provide better services Creating Order Application Political factor: In order to conduct a huge investment on promotion strategy in China, McDonalds has spent more than USD 1 billion on building a big shopping mall in the middle of Beijing where is considered as a crowded area. However, though having agreements from Beijing government, this project of McDonalds was still postponed by the nation government of China (Keegan and Green, 2013). In France, concerning the negative impacts of McDonalds into traditional lifestyle of French people, there was a lot of legislators and critics has been in disagreements with continuing to allow McDonalds’ outlets to be established more (Keegan and Green, 2013). Economic factor: Due to the hundred time of development in terms of meal industry in India, McDonalds has considered this statistic as one of potential changes to expand its business in this market. Hence, the company opened a number of outlets mainly in areas where have high customer traffic (McDonalds, 2014). Since McDonalds has realized the potential of fast food industry in China, it has planned to enter this market and achieved considerable outcomes in terms of profits and customer attentions. Hence, China was considered by McDonalds as the rapidest-developing market that stimulates the company to keep expanding in there (Keegan and Green, 2013). However, currency instability was also recognized as one of serious threats for McDonalds in terms of economical factor. Due to its main proportion of profits generated from external American market, there may cause a significant threats to McDonalds’ profit if exchange rates are not constant. For example, in 2012, nearly 0.5 percent of company’s revenue has been decreased because of this issue of exchange rates (Gasparro, 2012). Social factor: The customer expectation for the fast food industry was increased strongly in India when McDonalds entered this market in 1996. After a number of being presented here, the amount of money for purchasing fast food products has been increased strongly and will be expected to be increased up to 1.5 time in 2016 compared to the statistic in 2013 (Nayak, 2013). However, there still has a number of considerations towards this factors. For example, most Indian people follow the Hinduism which indicated that beefs and products from beefs will not able to be used in there. Therefore, McDonalds has had to design a different menu for its customers in this market (Hickman, 2013). In addition, the presence of its brand in World Cup 1998 in France was received a lot of criticisms in terms of health issues from French people. Technological factor: Understanding the fast innovation of technology that affects considerably towards business strategy, McDonalds has spent much efforts on planning to apply high-technological devices in delivering its services (Patton, 2013). In order to make its customer comfortable and be relax when using McDonalds’ services, iPod and television were provided to customers to use. In addition, in India, glass window and air cooling systems have been used to help McDonalds’ outlets in this market satisfy Indian customers (Keegan and Green, 2013). Question 3: Assuming that McDonalds has decided to expand its business into Vietnam fast food market, the following step is very essential for the corporation to start planning a strategy to deliver its products in this market. This part will use the international market entry strategy which will be outlined in Figure 3 to provide recommendations for McDonalds. Indirect exporting: This decision of market entry was considered as the safest way for the McDonalds. When this type of strategy is chosen, the company will not participate to export its product oversea and it also not participate in marketing strategy in the target market (Lambin, Chumpitaz and Schuiling, 2007). For example, McDonalds may trade its products with a local company and allow to sell these products into Vietnam market. Hence, this local company will take responsibility for the sales of these products. However, with the weak connections between McDonalds and its products, the company may be unsuccessful to attract the huge awareness from target customers (Lambin, Chumpitaz and Schuiling, 2007). Direct exporting: In contrast with the indirect exporting decision, with the direct exporting strategy, McDonalds will straight participate to export its products to a Vietnamese company to sell it in this market. The advantage of this action is that the company can ensure its marketing strategy in the targeted market (Lymbersky, 2008). Hence, though McDonalds has to spend a lot of efforts on justifying the market before making decision, it will have more power on managing its sales and marketing activities in the foreign market (Lymbersky, 2008). Direct investment: The popular activity related to this direct investment strategy is to collaborate with a local company in the target market, particularly Vietnam market, in order to create a joint venture form. The advantage of this activity is that McDonalds is not the only one who has to suffer risks from entering new markets, especially in terms of profits. It also has a chance to acquire more information of the market from its partner. However, managerial issues can be arisen when working with the local company due to the dissimilarity between two cultures (Keegan and Green, 2013). Indirect investment: Related to this type of strategy, licensing and franchising are considered as two popular methods which are used to plan to enter a new market (Keegan and Green, 2013). Licensing. Similar to direct investment decision, licensing will be used for the long-term purpose which provides less risks to the company, in this case is McDonalds. The local company in the targeted market will be empowered to use the reputation of McDonalds to distribute products in its market (Lymbersky, 2008). Because of using image of popular products, it will create an opportunity for the local distributor to attract a huge number of customers for these products that related to increase sales revenue (Lambin, Chumpitaz and Schuiling, 2007). Hence, McDonalds in this case may take profit benefits from this method. However, it is also considered as a risk for McDonalds due to the lack of power on controlling the delivered marketing strategy of the distributors into the market (Lambin, Chumpitaz and Schuiling, 2007). Franchising. Franchising plays as one of recommendations for investing indirectly to enter the new market. This method is the agreement between the franchiser, in this case is McDonalds, and the franchisee who will be empowered by McDonalds to sell its products in the targeted market (Jobber and Fahy, 2009). Though it seems to be similar to licensing, there is a difference that the franchise will run its business as the same as the business in the host country (Keegan and Green, 2013). For example, there will be an outlet of McDonalds in Vietnam which has the same design of outlets and deliver the same services with McDonalds in the US. This type of market entry strategy has been also used by McDonalds in overall markets that it entered (McDonalds, 2014). The main advantage of this decision is that McDonalds, who plays as the franchiser role, can apply its global marketing strategy to its outlet in Vietnam. Moreover, it is easy for McDonalds for controlling the quality of delivered p roducts, the quality of recruited staffs in the Vietnamese outlet to ensure the similarity between its outlets in home market and in Vietnam. Hence, it could be seen that Vietnamese customers can have a chance to experience the products and services as the same as it is delivered in the U.S (Lymbersky, 2008). Taking advantages from the success in terms of franchising strategy in the world market and the popularity of its reputation, it could be recommended that franchising should be adapted in the Vietnamese market. Question 4: Based on the global expansion strategy of McDonalds, ‘Plan to Win’ was designed in order to create a standard marketing plan which will be adapted in any market in general (McDonalds, 2014). However, for a particular market as Vietnam fast food market, there still has to concern in a number of factors initiatively that influence the strategy of marketing to create competitive advantage. Porter’s five forces model (Porter, 2008) will be used to explain in detail. Threat of New Entrants. With the positive GDP growth of the economy started from 2004, Vietnam was reported as one of the fastest and the most stable economy in Asia. In addition, in 2007, Vietnam has been conceded as one of official members of WTO and the government of this country has renovated its laws and regulations which provided open opportunities for multinational companies like McDonalds to enter Vietnamese market. (KPMG, 2012). Threat of Power of Suppliers. Though there is a lot of potential local suppliers for food ingredients and equipment for fast food services, only few current foreign brands in Vietnam accepted to participate with them due to disagreements (Vietnamnet Bridge, 2014). Hence, there has a chance for McDonalds to find its suppliers in the local market to reduce the cost from importing oversea if the company find solutions for this issue. Threat of Power of Buyers. Due to the increase of young population and the high proportion of middle income customers in Vietnam, the demand for reputable brands, particularly in fast food restaurants, has been raise rapidly (Azzaro, 2012). Hence, it partly reduces pressures for McDonalds entering the new Vietnam fast food market. Threat of Substitute Products. In case of charging the price of McDonalds’ products as similar as them in some Asian market, McDonalds may have to suffer the loss of customers to substitute products. For example, steam sticky rice, pho or noodles are popular traditional fast food in Vietnam which can be considered as substitute products for burgers of McDonalds (Vietnamnet Bridge, 2014). Threat of Competitors. McDonalds could be considered as a late fast food giant in Vietnamese fast food market because there was a number of giants, for example, KFC, Lotteria, Starbucks, Subway or Burger King have earlier entered the market than McDonalds (Vu, 2014). Understanding these five forces can help McDonalds to create its own competitive advantage over its current rivals in Vietnam fast food industry. Presented as a late competitor in this market, in order to compete with its competitors, it could be recommended that spending significant efforts on executing its marketing plan is very important though â€Å"Plan to Win† global strategies has been provided with clear marketing mix. As the same as obtaining qualitative and quantitative results by creating an effective marketing plan, there are three marketing executing tools which are popular to be applied to implement its plans (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). Customer Relationship Management. Though researching on customer’s needs before entering the market is necessary, maintaining the relationship between McDonalds and its customers is also important. (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). Hence, McDonalds should collect information or feedbacks of customers who used its products and classify this data to enhance the better services to the customers. Since potential customers are satisfied, it is less challenge for the company to create marketing plans to maintain the relationship with its customers in long term (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). Internal Marketing. Customers are not only known as people who use products or services but also known as the human resources who directly participate in delivering products and services of a company. This is considered as internal customers (Saxena, 2009). Therefore, the company should assign clear job tasks and suitable reward systems for employees that fulfil their expectations to help them commit to contribute to the success of the company (Pride and Ferrell, 2008). Total Quality Management. Due to the low-priced products strategy, McDonalds has to spend a considerable effort to effectively control the quality of its products and services. It is not only related to ensure the customer relationship maintenance but also its suppliers’ relationships in order to increase its market shares and reduce the costs of production (McDonalds, 2014). Therefore, the company can satisfy its customers by delivering cheaper products but still ensuring its high quality. Conclusion: This paper has attempted to analyse McDonalds’ expansion strategy and provided justification and executing plain for entering Vietnam fast food market. With the positive researched information of fast food market in Vietnam, it could be believed that McDonalds will be successful to attract the customers and compete other rivals to become market leader in there. However, adjustments for this marketing plan will be required due to the change of environmental factors in the market.

Sustainability and Environmental Standards

Sustainability and Environmental Standards: Seeking Competitive Distinction at Damai Lovina Villas . Executive Summary Throughout this analysis, my purpose is to clarify and condense the information so the reader will have a better understanding at the end of the analysis. This analysis will be broken up into six categories; the executive summary, issue statement, alternatives analysis, recommendations, actions and implementations, and data analysis. In the issue statement, there will be a brief overview on how the hotel companies and the environmental regulations clashed.Throughout the alternative analysis we will discuss different alternatives that Damai could have focused on to benefit and sustain his hotels. As we move to the recommendations our group will give clear advice on how we would’ve handled the situation. Actions and implementations will implement the steps that Damai took to clean up his name and benefit the locals that were on the island. The data analysis will be a break up of data to better explain the situation at hand. Issue Statement:One of the major issues impacting the Hotels was that the environmental regulations were lacking since existing standards were not enforced and growth often was promoted to the detriment of the environment. For years the Balinese government had promoted sand dredging to enlarge the island for more hotel development off the port of Benoa. By the continued dredging of the sand, this would in effect alter the water currents and the new currents have eroded the natural beaches bordering the town Sanur.Dredging projects rarely involved environmental impact studies or guaranteed protection of natural areas as required by law. Tourism was the island only source of income, but this source of income was causing serious social and environmental problems. For example the drinking water often slowed to a trickle during daylight hours due almost exclusively to the high demand for water in the resort area of Nusa Dua. Also the lack of a centralized waste collection system has encouraged alternative solution such as the formation of an informal collection system.Many hotels and residents left used paper and plastic outside of their properties. Despite these challenges the system successfully diverted a significant amount of waste from the landfill. Data analysis: As the benefits of advertising proactive environmental efforts were recognized by global hospitality hotels targeted environmentally conscious customers to gain competitive advantage as a result of which helped non luxury hotels command premium prices of $30/night in a very competitive industry. Marketing sustainability shows that participation in a VEP could be costly depending on the program.Adopting a formal EMS and certifying it IDO 141001 may typically cost $270-$1370 per employee depending on the extent to which the company had instituted proactive environmental and continual improvement procedures prior to implementing a formalize d Ems. Although more than a dozen VEPs and eco-labeling programs targeted the hotel industry by 2006 only handful of these were available to Indonesia hotel. Alternatives analysis: Damai has several alternatives to ultimately benefit and sustain its hotel.Damai could of considered voluntary environmental programs and take the risk of the hotels luxury to take a negative impact by lacking integration that can possibly have a major impact in the long run. Another alternative damai could of pursued was a better marketing strategy that fully described everything about the hotel in regards to its environment, community status overall. This could have been achieved through a brief slideshow that offered key components of information on the website or brochure developed by Damai.Damai should focus less on advertising its produces of food and more on the sustainability efforts. A better description and more detailed amount of information given about the hotels sustainability efforts along w ith other factors will ultimately create more attraction for business. Recommendations: So at to expand capacity by constructing additional rooms, Damai should ensure that existing room were filled and that the restaurant operated above its current 65% occupancy. This will bring improvement in the business as Knape hoped to better integrate Damai into the local network of eco-hotels and eco-tours.Damai should continue to rely on its website and local travels agents to promote the hotel’s sustainability vision because Damai’s website was the primary vehicle for marketing hotel’s various sustainability efforts which directed environmentally conscious customers to an organic resort link to learn about the hotel’s sustainability vision. Besides, these local travel agents will play an important role by promoting the hotel’s sustainability vision to customers, which will benefit the industry. . Action And Implementation:Through a partnership with IPSA, D amai helped the farming and fishing communities remediate the effects of management techniques that could be harmful to the environment and public health. The burning of agriculture impaired air quality and human health, which comes from the hundreds of small farms that operate in a single community. The hotel work towards teaching farmers composting methods and organic growing practices, using IPSA products to increase the pace of decomposition. Damai utilized a water recycling system that directed used guest water to on site tanks.All wastewater was filtered through a series to tanks containing volcanic rock, porous rubber, and sand and then reused in the hotel gardens. Even waste from the toilets, was then collected and treated using natural enzymes to break down the organic waste. This waste was then passed through a series of filters and re used in the hotel gardens. One of the hotel big implementations came when it decided that they should join forces with local farmers to rec laim eroded topsoil. Damai built a series of large rock wall filters in the river that ran through the property creating a series of waterfalls.At the bottom of each waterfall was a large pool of water that captured much of the topsoil from the hotel pools to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. Question: 1. The relationship between tourism and social/environmental issues in Bali was every thing that was resulted from tourism had impacts on society and environment of Bali. Although tourism plays an important role in Bali’s economic growth and financing, it also caused serious social and environmental problems. Bali’s hotel alone required 260 liters of water per second, which was an amount equivalent to the typical water consumption of 50,000 villagers when drinking water in Denpasar often slowed to a trickle during daylight hours due almost exclusively to the high demand for water in the resort area of Nusa Dua to the south. Besides this Hotel and retail chains ha d avoided locating in Lovina Beach of Bali because it was less accessible than South Bali. 2. Bali’s environmental status was affected by different government polices like the government’s focus on energy development and resource extraction, close relationship with developers, and lack of budgetary caused many citizens to lose faith in its ability or intent to protect Bali’s environment.Environmental regulations in Bali was lacking since existing standard were not enforced and growth often was promoted to the detriment of the environment. The Balinese government had promoted sand grudging enlarging the island for more hotel development off the port of Benoa. Dredging projects rarely involved environmental impacts studies or guaranteed protection of natural areas as required by law and when they did was almost never monitored for accuracy. The island had one government-operated landfill that was located outside Denpasar on reclaimed tidal land.Like many landfills in emerging economies, it lacked controls to guard against groundwater contamination. 3. Firms did not need to wait for government in order to take action in addressing Bali’s social and environmental issues. Many Balinese began to get discouraged of how the government handled the environmental and social issues that occurred. Instead Balinese citizens took matters into their own hands and decided to rely more on communal code guided by strong social norms to influence behaviors 4. Damai’s focus was to sustain and distinguish their hotels.Since damai did not participate in the idea of voluntary environmental programs they were able to avoid the luxury status of the hotel to downgrade. It complemented the sustainability program because the hotels reputation remained the same by relying on other factors such as the website and travel agents that have the potential to create a positive impact. 5. There are numerous sustainability activities Damai had already implemented. Which activities can be described as pollution prevention, product stewardship, clean technology/innovation, and sustainability vision?Pollution prevention: Damai has made an impact on the local surrounding when it comes to preventing pollution, for example normally at the end of each growing season, traditional farming practices involving the burning of agriculture waste to generate ash for the fertilizing of the next year crops. But hundreds of farmers in the community lack the knowledge on how the burning of agriculture impaired the air quality and the human health. The continued of burning of agriculture drive a greatly needed source of income which is tourist away from the community due to poor air quality.Damai solution for this is through partnership with local farmers to educate them about different ways of making fertilizer, which is through the different composing methods and organic growing practices using products from IPSA, which would increase the pace of decompositio n. Product stewardship: Damai shift from paying a deposer contractor to lovina Beach, to pick up the hotel’s solid waste, which transports the waste back to a dispensary, had proven costly. So Damai develop an environmental efficient way by transporting plastic and bottle containers to their respective suppliers to be recycled and reuse.To save cost of the purchasing of the purchasing of water, the Damai hotel use waste from the toilets, which are collected and treated using natural enzymes to break down the organic waste. This waste then passed through a series of filters, which is then re-used in the hotel’s gardens. By doing this implementation of treating waste from the hotel, Damie water conservation efforts reduced hotel water use by 75%. Clean technology/innovation: Hotel works closely with local famers and village leaders to develop the best possible way to reclaim the community eroded topsoil.The eroded topsoil came about because of traditional irrigation wate r systems, and monsoon rains, which caused fertile topsoil to flow from the rice paddies and drain into the ocean. The problem of the loss of topsoil loss prompted more farmers to rely on chemical fertilizers to grow their crops. Damai address this issue by building a series of large rock wall filters in the river that ran through the property creating a series of waterfalls. At the bottom of each waterfall was a large pool of water that captured much of the topsoil lost from the seven villages surrounding the hotel.This showed the hotels continued efforts to better the community through is efforts, Damai went on to encouraged the local farms to reclaim their topsoil from the hotel pools to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers. Sustainability Vision? The hotel had chosen to refrain from promoting its sustainability focus in guest rooms, restaurant and gardens. Damai also decided not to involve guest in an optional linen reuse program in order to maintain its luxury status, even though such programs had become popular in the US and European hospitality industry. . How does Damai’s current sustainability focus compare to the environmental performance criteria listed in the VEPs listed in case Exhibits C-H? Damai did not participate in any VEPs. However, the hotel was considering if it would be beneficial for the hotel to participate in the VEPs. Damai was not able to expand its capacity by constructing additional rooms; the most important way to improve the hotel was to ensure that existing rooms were filled and that the restaurant operated above its current 65% occupancy.By doing this, Damai had integrated itself into local network of eco hotels and eco tours. Damai has different sectors in which its market itself whether marketing through its website which directed environmentally conscious customers to an â€Å"organic Resort† link which help customers learn about the hotel’s sustainability vision. Damai provided travel agents with in formation about the hotel, some the travel agents began to market the hotel as being environmentally conscious by advertising that Damai produces 80% of its food local gardens. 7.Best Green Hotels and others have no financial charge listed. A 10% expense on lodging charge has to be paid by the owner that lists on the Eco Lodge even though the website is free of charge to utilize. The number of rooms and workers determine the fees for Global Green 21. Hotels with less than or equal to five workers or less than ten rooms pay $395, whereas hotels with less than or equal to 50 works or 70 or less rooms pay $1610. An independent external auditor must also be appointed along with the cost of becoming ISO 14001 certified. . I recommend that Damai join the Eco Lodge Program. The program offers ways to tutor guests and staff of environmental protection by recycling trash and water. Partaking in this program allows Damai to network with members who are not wasteful and proved to contribute to environmental protection. It also gives his future customers a way to view Damai on the Internet, which has over 600 travel agencies. Although there is a 10% commission it doesn’t compare to the benefits Damai will receive from being on the site.

Night World : Witchlight Chapter 17

Not for the dragon. She jumped for the tree. It was a good, tall loblolly pine, whose drooping lower branches didn't look as if they could support a kitten. But Keller didn't need support. As she leaped, she changed, pushing it as fast as she could. She reached the tree with four paws full of lethal claws extended. And she ran straight up the vertical surface. Her claws sank into the clean, cinnamon trunk, and she shot up like a rocket. When she got high enough to be obscured by the dull-green needles on the droopy branches, she launched herself into the air again. It was a desperate move, betting everything on one blind spring. But it was all she could think of. She could never take the dragon in a fair fight. She was betting on her claws. In the wild, a panther could shear the head off a deer with a single swipe. Keller was going for the horns. She came down right on target. The dragon made the mistake of looking up at her, maybe thinking that she was trying to get behind it, to land on its back again and kill it. Or maybe thinking that she might see the pale face of an innocent girl and hesitate. Whatever it thought, it was a mistake. Keller was already slashing as she landed. A single deadly swipe with all her power behind it. Her claws peeled the forehead off the creature in a spray of blood and flesh. The screaming roar almost burst her eardrums. It was the sound she'd heard before in the mall, a sound so deep in pitch that she felt it as much as heard it. It shook her bones, and it reverberated in every tree and in the red clay of the ground. And that was another mistake, although Keller didn't know it at once. At the same instant as she heard the roar, she felt the pain. The dark power crackled through her like a whiplash and tore her own involuntary scream from her. It was worse than the first time she'd felt it, ten times worse, maybe more. The dragon was much stronger. And it followed her. Like a real whip, it flashed across the clearing after her. It hit her again as she hit the ground, and Keller screamed again. It hurt. She tried to scrabble away, but the pain made her weak, and she fell over on her side. And then the black energy hit her right shoulder-exactly where it had hit the first time in the mall. Keller saw white light. And then she was falling in darkness. Her last thought was, I didn't get it. I couldn't have. It still has power. Diana, I'm sorry†¦ She stopped feeling anything. She opened her eyes slowly. Hurts†¦ She was looking up at the dragon. It had dropped Iliana; Keller couldn't see where. And it was staring down at her in malevolent fury, obviously waiting for her to wake up so she could feel it when it killed her. When he killed her. He'd taken on the shape he'd been wearing in the beginning. A young man with clean, handsome features and a nicely muscled if compact body. Black hair that shed rainbow colors under the moonlight and looked as fine and soft as her own fur. And those obsidian eyes. It was hard to look away from those eyes. They seemed to capture her gaze and suck her in. They were so much more like stones than eyes, silver-black, shiny stones that seemed to reflect all light out again. But when she managed to drag her gaze upward, she felt a thrill of hope. His forehead was a bleeding ruin. She had gotten him. Her slash had carved a nice hamburger-sized piece out of his scalp. Somewhere on the ground in the clearing were two little stubby horns. But only two; there were three left on his head. He must have turned at the last instant. Keller would have cursed if she had a human throat. â€Å"How're you feeling?† the dragon said, and leered at her form under the gory mess of his scalp. Keller tried to snarl at him and realized that she did have a human throat. She must have collapsed back into her half-and-half form, and she was too weak to change back again. â€Å"Having trouble?† the dragon asked. Keller croaked, â€Å"You should never have come back.† â€Å"Wrong,† the dragon said. â€Å"I like the modern world.† â€Å"You should have stayed asleep. Who woke you up?† She was buying time, of course, to try and regain some strength. But she also truly wanted to know. The dragon laughed. â€Å"Someone,† he said. â€Å"Someone you'll never know. A witch who isn't a witch. We made our own alliance.† Keller didn't understand, and her brain was too fuzzy to deal with it. But just at that moment, she noticed something else. Movement behind the dragon. The figures that had been lying on the ground were stirring. And they were doing it stealthily, in ways that showed they were awake and with their wits about them. They were alive. She could see Galen's head lift, with moonlight shining on his hair as he looked at her. She could see Winnie turn toward Iliana and begin to crawl. She could see Nissa's shoulders hump and then fall back. Later, when they were asked, they would all say the same thing had brought them to awareness: a deep rumbling sound that vibrated in their bones. The dragon's roar. Or, at least, three of them would say that. Galen would always say that all he heard was Keller's scream and his eyes came open. The surge of hope she felt made Keller's heart beat hard and wiped away the pain-for the moment, at least. But she was terrified of giving the dragon some clue. She didn't dare look at Galen any longer. She stared at the dragon's black stone eyes and thought with all her strength, Get away. Get away, take the Jeep, take Diana. He may not be able to follow you. Run. â€Å"Your time's over,† she told the dragon out loud. â€Å"The shapeshifters don't want you anymore. Everything has changed.† â€Å"And it's changing again,† the dragon said. â€Å"The end of the world is coming, and the beginning of a new one. It's time for everything that's sleeping to wake back up again.† Keller had a horrified vision of hundreds of dragons being dug up and brought back to life. But there was something going on in the clearing that was even more horrifying to her. Galen wasn't getting away. He was slithering on his stomach toward her. And Winnie, the idiot, was beside Diana nowbut she wasn't dragging her to the Jeep. She seemed to be whispering to her. Keller felt a hot wave of utter desperation. What can I do? If the dragon sees them, they're all dead. There's nothing any of them can do against him. Galen's not a warrior-he can't change. Nissa looks too hurt to move. Winnie's orange fire won't even singe the dragon. And Diana will get swatted like a butterfly. They can't do anything. I have to. She was so tired and hurt, and her claws were much less lethal than in her full panther form. But she had to do it, and she had to do it now. â€Å"Go back where you came from!† she shouted. She bunched her muscles and jumped. Right for him. Straight on. That was what took him by surprise, the sheer insanity of the attack. He threw the black energy at her, but he couldn't stop her leap. Her claws ripped into his forehead again, and then she fell back. The dragon's scream split the heavens. Dizzy with pain and shock, Keller stared at him, hoping desperately†¦ But she'd taken only one horn off. He still had two. He thrashed around in wounded fury, then threw the dark power at her again. Keller shuddered and lost her balance. She crashed to the ground and lay there, limp. â€Å"Keller!† The scream was full of such raw anguish that it hurt Keller's throat to hear it. It made her heart throb hard and then fall in sick dismay. Galen, no, she thought. Don't bother with me. You have to get Iliana away. â€Å"Keller!† he screamed again, and then he was beside her, holding her. â€Å"No . ? .† she whispered. She couldn't say more than that. She looked at him pleadingly with the eyes of a dumb beast. If he died, too, it would make her own death meaningless. The dragon was still screaming, both hands to his forehead. He seemed to be too angry to attack. â€Å"Keller, hang on. Please, you have to hang on.† Galen was dripping tears on her face. â€Å"Run†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she whispered. Instead, he did the most gallant thing she had ever seen. He was already holding her, his shaky hand stroking the hair off her face, brushing one of her tufted ears. Now, suddenly, he gripped her hard, and his expression changed. His jaw tightened, and a white line showed around his mouth. And his eyes†¦ seemed to darken and glow red. Too late, Keller realized. He was taking her impression. Learning her shape. No. You were meant to be something gentle. Galen stood up. And changed. But something was a little off. Maybe it was the fact that he had to hurry when he took the impression, or some extra twist from his own genes. Because, instead of becoming a soot-black panther, he became a gleaming golden leopard. The same animal. Different colors. This leopard was the dark rich gold of Galen's hair, and its eyes were the incredible green of his eyes. He was marked with perfect black rosettes, each with an even darker gold center. His body was sleek and supple and almost seven feet long with the tail. He was a big leopard, at least a hundred and sixty pounds. And before Keller had time to think, he was in motion. A good spring. Untutored but full of the real killer instinct. The coughing yell he let out as he jumped was the kind a cat makes when its fury is too great to hold in. The dragon whirled to face him. But it was too late. Once again, the crackling dark power hit but couldn't stop the rush. The dragon's human body couldn't fend off a hundred and sixty pounds of solid feline muscle. Keller saw Galen swipe. The dragon bellowed, clapping a hand to his head. And Keller wanted to cheer. She couldn't. She didn't have the strength left. But her heart was singing inside her with sheer pride. You did it. Oh, Galen, my prince, you did it. She saw his body falling, struck by the black energy. She saw it hit the ground and lie still. And she was sorry that they were both going to die. But with the dragon dead, too, and Iliana alive, there would still be hope. There would be people to carry on. Then she looked at the dragon, and time stopped, and her heart turned to ice. He still had a horn left. The one right in the middle. They hadn't done it after all. He still had power. He was going to kill them now, and Iliana, too. And neither she nor Galen could do anything to stop him. The noises the dragon was making were beyond description. He seemed to be out of his mind in pain and fury. And then Keller realized that it was more than that. He was screaming in sheer blood-lust-and he was changing. So strange-she hadn't even thought about the dragon changing before. But she could take on most animals. She knew to go for the juncture between head and neck for rhinos, the belly for a lion. But this†¦ what it was shifting into†¦ No. I don't believe it, Keller thought. It looked more like a moth being born than a shapeshifter changing. It split its human skin like a chrysalis. More of the yellowish liquid she had seen on Jaime's cheek oozed from the splits. And what was revealed underneath was hard and greenish-yellow, flat, smooth. Scaly. The smell was the smell from the basement Sickly-sweet, pungent, an odor to make your stomach lurch. Powerful back legs bunched, and the figure grew and stood against the moonlit sky. It was huge. In her mind, Keller saw a scene from the past. Iliana, her violet eyes huge, saying, â€Å"He can turn into a dragon?† And Keller's scornful answer, â€Å"No, of course not. Don't be silly.† Wrong, Keller thought. It actually looked more like velociraptor than a dragon. Too big-it was more than fifteen feet long, counting the powerful tail. But it had the same look of alien intelligence, the same reptilian snout, the same saberlike hind claws. It's not a mindless animal, Keller thought. It's smart. It even has things like hands on its forelegs; It's where evolution took a different turn. And it had power. Maybe more power this way than in its human form. Keller could feel its mind even at this distance, the terrible ancient core of hatred and malice, the endless thirst for blood. It opened its mouth, and for an instant Keller expected to see fire. But what came out was a roar that showed huge spiky teeth-and a flood of black energy. The dark power crackled around it like an aura of lightning. Nothing-no shapeshifter, no witch, no vampire-could stand against this creature. Keller knew that absolutely. That was when she saw Iliana getting up. Stay down, you idiot! Keller thought. Iliana stood straight. There's no point, don't attract its attention†¦ â€Å"Azhdeha!† Iliana shouted. And the monster turned. There they were, the maiden and the dragon, face to face. Iliana looked twice as small as ever before in contrast to this giant. Her silver-gold hair was blowing loose in the wind, and her dress shimmered around her. She was so delicate, so graceful-and so fragile, standing there like a lily swaying on its stalk. I can't watch, Keller thought. I can't see this. Please†¦ â€Å"Azhdeha!† Iliana said, and her voice was sweet but ringing and stern. â€Å"Hashteher! Tiamat!† It's a spell, Keller thought. Winnie taught her a spell? When they were lying there, whispering together? But what kind of spell would Winnie know against dragons? â€Å"Poisonous Serpent! Cold-blooded Biter! Rasta-ban! Anguis!† No, they're names, Keller realized slowly. Its names. Dragon names. Old names. â€Å"I am a witch and the daughter of a witch. Mine was the hand that took your power; mine was the hand that buried you in silence. Hecate was the most ancient of my mothers. Hecate's hand is my hand now.† Winnie couldn't have taught her that. Nobody could have taught her that. No witch alive today. Keller could see Winnie's pale face watching in surprise from beyond Iliana, her eyes and mouth dark O's. â€Å"Mine is the hand that sends you back!† Diana's palms were cupped now, and orange fire crackled between them. Keller's heart plummeted. Golden-orange fire. Witch fire. It was impressive, from a girl who'd never been trained, but it wasn't nearly enough. It was about as dangerous to the dragon as a firefly. She heard Winnie's voice in the silence, small and frightened but determined. â€Å"Aim for the horn!† The dragon threw back its head and laughed. That was what it looked like, anyway. What came out was a roar like all the other roars and a belch of black energy that fountained skyward. But in her head, Keller heard maniacal laughter. Then it swung its head back down and pointed the horn straight at Iliana. Die! it said. The word wasn't spoken but sent on a cold wave of pure energy. â€Å"Mine is the power of the ages† Iliana shouted back. â€Å"Mine is the power-â€Å" The golden flare in her palms was changing, blazing white, blinding hot†¦ â€Å"-OF THE END OF THE WORLD!† Something like a supernova was born between her hands. The tight shot up and out, exploding. It was impossible to look at. And it was no longer white but dazzling, lightning-brilliant blue. The blue fire. The Wild Power had awakened. I knew it, Keller thought I knew it all along. Keller couldn't see what happened to the dragon; the light was simply too bright. While it flared around her, she was bathed in radiance that seemed to shine through her, humming inside her and lighting up her bones. She tried to lift her own hand and saw nothing but a vague rainbow shape. But she heard the dragon's scream. Not low like the roar but high and squealing, a sound like icicles driving into her ears. It went up and up, higher in pitch until even Keller couldn't track it. And then there was a thin sound like distant glass shattering, and then there was no sound at all. There were shooting stars in the blue-white light. For the second time that evening, Keller fainted. â€Å"Boss! Please, Boss, hurry. Wake up!† Keller blinked open her eyes. Galen was holding her. He was human. So was she. And Winnie and Nissa were trying to drag both of them somewhere. Keller gazed up into those gold-green eyes. The exact color of a leopard's, she thought. Only leopards don't cry, and his were brimming with tears. She lifted a languorous hand and stroked his cheek. He cupped his own hand over it. Keller couldn't think. There were no words in her mind. But she was glad to be here with him, for this last moment in the moonlight. It had all been worth it â€Å"Boss, please!† Winnie was almost crying, too. â€Å"Let me die in peace,† Keller said, although she didn't realize she was saying it aloud until she heard the words. Then she added, â€Å"Don't you cry, Winfrith. You did a good job.† â€Å"Boss, you're not dying! The blue fire did something-it healed us. We're all okay. But it's almost midnight!† Keller bunked. She blinked again. Her body didn't hurt anymore. She'd assumed it was the blessed numbness that comes just before death. But now she realized that it wasn't. Her blood was running in her veins; her muscles felt firm and strong. She didn't even have a headache. She stared beyond Winnie to the girl in white. Diana was still slight and childlike, almost fairy-like of figure. But something had changed about her. At first, Keller thought she looked as distant and beautiful as a star, but then she smiled and wasn't distant at all. She was simply more beautiful than the dreams of mortals. And really shining with her own light. It pooled around her in soft, silvery radiance. Keller had never seen a Wild Power do that before, not on any of the tapes. But she's not just a Wild Power, the voice in her head whispered. She's the Witch Child. And Goddess alone knows all that she's meant to do. For a moment, Keller felt so awed that it was almost like unhappiness. But then Winnie's message finally sank in. She snapped her head up. â€Å"Midnight?† â€Å"Yes!† Winnie said frantically. Keller bolted upright. â€Å"Nissa?† â€Å"Right here, Boss.† Keller felt a flood of relief. Nissa was the one who had seemed closest to death on the ground there. But now she was standing on her own two feet, looking cool and imperturbable, even though her shirt was bloody and in rags. â€Å"Nissa, can you drive that Jeep? Can you figure out how to get to Charlotte?† â€Å"I think so. Boss.† Keller had never been so grateful to hear that calm voice in her life. She jumped up. â€Å"Then let's go!†