Food and beverage manager Essay Example for Free

Food and beverage manager Essay 1.1Describe with examples, some of the characteristics of food production and food beverage service systems that is in use within the hospitality industry. The centralised Production System is the modern methods used in bringing together production and beverage activities in the hotel industry. Food that is centrally produced is easier to distribute to the point of service than for it to be produced in batches or separately. Centralised production system may be transported in a ready to serve state made e. g. hot or cold if it needs some form of regenerator for chilled or frozen food. The advantages of centralised production include, lower food cost and supply cost are lower In centralised production methods you need to employ a few staffs in the kitchen. The kitchen can also be operated in a cheaper location. The disadvantage of the centralised production methods is if there is a case of food poison the effect will be more spread and can cost loss of business, these can affect the finances of the hotel. When food and beverage come in by centralised system, they were then distributed into different departments. Main Restaurant A coffee shop Chinese food shop Fine restaurant Is the Traditional Parties’ production system, this is a table service. Table service, where cook or chill are served Table service, for Tradition Parties production. Table service (British table service or French. Also Traditional Parties’ production. Bars: are for drinks only 1.2For the systems discussed in 1.1, discuss factors that can affect recipes and menus. These are factors affecting receipts and menus. Guest religion and health, has remained a very important issues, religion of the guest and health restrictions Some people have allergy to e.g. crabs meat, protein, and fibre/vegetable, these can affect receipts and menu in the hotel. Financial resources, restaurant and guests types cost: types of restaurant, Guest, spending power, age Group, labour cost. Chinese food is only prepared by Chinese people these can also affect the receipts and menu, Time factor, if the food is not serve at the right time the food may be too cold or if care is not taken the food may not be ready in time for serving. Pricing of food: because of the market is not stable for price; the pricing of the food may change, and can affect the receipt and the menu, by buying a alternative price or brand. 1.3For the systems discussed above, compare the cost and staffing implications. Outlet COST OF FOOD STAFF Main restaurant The cost is moderate and affordable Many staffs are required, can be service from office or home A coffee Shop The cost is affordable and low price Few staffs are needed a serve customer. Speciality restaurant serving Chinese food. The price is low and affordable by class. Few staff is needed, and can be operated by member of the family. Fine dining restaurant The price is high and can some be for special occasion e.g. anniversary, birthday, or business meetings. Few staff are required e.g. silver service, wine steward. Bar There are high class bars that are very expensive or common bar for everybody. Few staff are needed to operate. 1.4A justification with examples regarding the suitability of systems for different types of food and beverage outlets. For coffee shop is non-alcohol beverage services The fine dining restaurant sales food and beverage is based on good quality at the high prices In the bar selling different types of drinks or beverage Chinese serving food is about culture food, which is served by the Chinese 2.1Taking in to account, the various needs for financial statements, discuss the use of financial statements in food and beverage operations. Financial statement or financial operations; these outline the finance of the revenue and expenses over a period of time. Which gives the production budget, the units that have been produce to the sales of the company, the production budgets also estimates the cost involved in material and labour. Operating budget: these gives the estimate of the income expenses based on sales, manufacturing costs, labour etc. Cash flow Statements: Is receipt from the business these help the business, when income will be enough to cover expenses or when the organisation needs help. It helps in taking loans from the bank and repayment. Balance Sheet; is statement of the total assets of what the company own or owe. Income statement: A finance statement that shows earnings report, operating statement, profit and loss. 2.2 To demonstrate the use of cost and pricing processes. To be able to demonstrate the assess cost and pricing will need the following methods, the purchase price per item, we then divide the food into different packs, for example if chicken are brought for  £10 per pack and the meal are going for  £15 per plate as a meal. It may sense to add the extra with the meal e.g. the rice or chips. List of the purchasing methods: Central purchasing is used by chains organization. This enable the hotel to buy their food stock in one location, all the services need will be in on site and contain the buying power and be able to negotiate the price at reasonable cost. The disadvantage; are that the individual outlets can’t complain regarding the suppliers, if one is receiving better offer than the other, These may affect the quality of the food, if too far from the site. Total supply: This method is new, these allowed the hotel to buy from one supply, these cut the papers work, the administrative work and can be expensive. 2.3 Implement effective purchasing process of the five Star Hotel Food and beverage managers we can attend industrial events and trades show in order to get new innovation ideas and learn above new products. We can communicate with functional departments regarding pricing trends products variations and inventory when available. Food and beverage manager provide effective and strategic re port to corporate the hotel catering office supplies on inventory and costing performance and recommendations. We also go to menu and catering seminal to identify new inventory that are in demands, including schedules and procurement needs.

Abortion Poems Essay Example for Free

Abortion Poems Essay Gewndolyn Brooks and Anne Sexton both wrote poems about the controversial subject of abortion. Brooks wrote a poem titled â€Å"The Mother† which stressed the physiological and ethical consequence of her choice. While in Sextons poem â€Å"The Abortion† the focus is more on the emotions felt before and after the actual process of aborting the baby. Yet both poems posses similar use of words to get a point across. The main way the authors did this is through the use of tone. The tone of these poems easily allow the reader to see just how easy it is to know something is wrong, but do it anyway. In Brooks poem â€Å"The Mother† she selects words and expressions that give the poem an air of sadness. By saying things such as â€Å"You will never neglect or beat Them, or silence or buy with a sweet.† it shows her longing to do things that mothers are generally thought to be good at. At the same time this also shows she is aware that she has essentially taken life and its experiences away from not only her unborn child but herself as well because she never gets the chance to do the things she speaks of. The title of the poem demonstrates this trough a paradox, she never actually got to be a â€Å"Mother† because she aborted her baby. The line in which she states, â€Å"you will never end up sucking thumb† reinforces all this as well as demonstrates her use of imagery thought the entire poem. By creating such vivid images of things she and her child would have done it connects the reader on a more personal level because it gives them a chance to really imagine everything Brooks is saying. Having the connection and the images in their mind while knowing that the baby was aborted makes it all the more real, allowing the reader to feel similar emotions that the mother herself had felt such as sorrow and remorse. The remorseful feeling is really expressed towards the ending of the poem when there is a change in whom she is addressing. Brooks now begins to address the actual child that was aborted and ask for forgiveness while acknowledging she has done wrong by saying â€Å"the crime was other than mine†. She also tells the child that she loves them and that â€Å" even in my deliberateness I was not deliberate.† showing that she is sorry for what she has done even though she knew what she was getting into when she did it. All of these things together give Brook s poem a remorseful tone that perfectly expresses how someone can so easily do something they know deep down is wrong. In Sextons poem â€Å"The Abortion† the emotions she is feeling are expressed to the reader through the change setting. It begins while she still has the baby inside her and she uses words that make the world sound as though it is full of life such as puckering and puffing. She describes the landscape hilly mountainous and green, which is a color that symbolizes new life. Towards the end of the poem when returning from her abortion the setting is described in a more gloomy empty way. The sky had grown thin and the roads were flat. This shows the change in her emotions, just like the land she used to be full of life as well and afterwards she was empty and flat without a child in her womb. The first line of the poem â€Å" Somebody who should have been born is gone.† is an expression of her feelings on abortion. The statement itself lets the reader know right off the bat that she thinks abortion is wrong, yet she goes along and does it anyway. She does not even describe the actual process of aborting the baby as badly as one would imagine someone with that view on the subject would have. She makes an allusion to Rumplestilksen saying that the man who performed the abortion for her was nothing like him at all, basically meaning that she didn’t feel the experience was horrible and as though he was forcing her to give up her first born child like Rumplestilksen had done in a fairy tale. The repetition of the first line thought the entire poem expresses the regret she is feeling thought the entire experience of her abortion. She even calls herself a coward at the very end for doing such a thing. But none of that stopped her from getting the abortion done. The tone of regret Sexton set for this poem once again shows that it’s not at all hard to go ahead and do something they you are sure is wrong. Both of these women were well aware that getting an abortion, in their opinion, was wrong. They each expressed their regret and remorse through the wording of their poems and both poems were quite simple and soothing, something a child would understand. The poems described different aspects of abortion but stress the idea that having an abortion comes with the emotions of sadness, sorrow, and guilt. The reader is easily able to connect to the pome and understand the emotions that are being felt through the imagery used and tone set by the authors. But even with all of that both women still chose to abort their baby. Doing something you know is wrong is something every reader can easily relate to and understand.

Using The Macro External Environment Analysis

Using The Macro External Environment Analysis Macro external environment here includes the factors such as issues related to politics, economical reforms and achievements, social behaviour, technological enhancements and inventions, environmental changes and environmental concerns and legislation and legislative changes. All these factors bear a significant effect on any industry and business. A business has take into consideration all such effects and then formulate its strategies and policies to work along with them and prosper. PESTEL analysis tool helps in determining the effect of all such factors on an industry and businesses. With the help of PESTEL analysis we will be seeing the affects of such factors on Indian Bakery and Dairy Industry. PESTEL analysis is a technique for identifying and listing the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors in the general environment most relevant to an organisation. (Boddy, D (2005). Management An Intoduction. 3rd ed. UK: Pearson Education. 88.) Type of Factors Effecting Factors Political Economical Social Technological Environmental Legal Exemption on Customs on Sugar Raw Material Import Shortage of Milk Need for Healthy Eating Habits Cloning of Livestock Change in the Climatic Conditions Raising the Norms for the Probiotic Food VAT on Biscuits Rise in Sugar Production and Duty Free Sugar Imports Problems with Cloned Livestock New Age Packaging Removal of Import Duty on Dairy Products Globalization Incentives to Build Cold Storage Facilities Requirement for Logistics Political Exemption on Customs Duty on Sugar Raw Material Import Due to the shortage in the production of sugar the deadline for the exemption on customs duty on raw sugar imports has been extended by the government to April 1, 2011 (Dey, A Jha, Dilip K (2010) Duty-free sugar imports extended till April 2011, Business Standard). Since sugar is a major input in the bakery, the price of sugar highly influences the price of inputs of the bakery industry. Exemption on customs duty will help in purchasing sugar at lower cost, which in turn will control the cost of production. VAT on Biscuits The VAT of 12.5% on Biscuits, being the only processed food item to attract such high VAT rates, will affect the pricing of the product (Bhushan, R (2009) Biscuit prices to rise by 10%, The Economic Times). Price of the biscuits might need to be increased due to the high VAT rates which may result in switch of brands due to the highly competitive market. Removal of Import Duty on Dairy Products The whole-sale price based inflation indicates that the milk prices have moved up by 14.73% over the last year. Worried about the rising prices government announced the removal of duty on Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) and other dairy products (Govt removes import duty on dairy products (2010), Business Standard). The imports at cheaper rate would help in reduce the cost factor for dairy products. Incentives to Build Cold Storage Facilities Wastage of food items due to lack of cold storage facilities lead to a loss of Rs. 500 billion every year. The government announces schemes and incentives to attract investments in cold storage warehousing (Union Budget 2010: Cold-storage incentives to attract fresh funds (2010), The Economic Times). Increase in the number of cold storage facilities would help in preserving products better and reduce the wastage cost. Economical Shortage of Milk Even though the milk production has risen by 4.6% compound annual average growth rate, it still cannot match up with the increasing demand. The demand for milk has been growing at a faster rate than the growth rate of milk production resulting in the shortage of milk supply (Milk output would stagnate (2010) The Economic Times). India cannot meet its expected demand if the demand and supply rise at the same rate. For the same the reason, the milk prices are on a constant rise. Price of milk increased by 12.6% to 13.6% (Goyal, K (2010) Indias Food-Price Inflation Holds Near 11-Year High- Business Week). This can cause an increase in the input cost for the dairy products and which in turn can lead to hike in price or lower profit margins. If the company increases the price of its products, it may affect the sales as it might lose on consumers. Rise in Sugar Production and Duty Free Sugar Imports The total sugar production in the first six months ending September 2010 is expected to be 22% more than the output in the unchanged phase last season, the total production expected is at 16.7 million (Press Trust India (PTI) (2010) Sugar output rises 22% in first half of 2009-10, Business Standard). Due to the shortage in the production of sugar the deadline for the exemption on customs duty on raw sugar imports has been extended by the government to April 1, 2011 (Dey, A Jha, Dilip K (2010) Duty-free sugar imports extended till April 2011, Business Standard). The increase in sugar production and the duty exemption on raw sugar can help in purchasing sugar at lower prices and this in turn can help in producing goods at lower prices. Globalization Globalization a universal phenomenon is affecting each and every industry. The world is coming closer, the communication gap is closing and the businesses are going global. This can serve as an opportunity to expand the business to a global level but on the other hand there is a threat of new entrants from international market. Requirements for Logistics Logistics in India suffer due to the poor infrastructure and other limitations. There is a high demand for sophisticated third party logistics so the domestic logistics service providers are trying to improve their service. International participation is also expected in the logistics industry (Pandey, S Basu, A (2010) Logistics cos ramp up supply chain to meet rising demand, The Economic Times). Sophiscticated logistics system will help in proper supply chain management and on time delivery of goods, which help in maintaining the shelf life of goods on meeting the demand on time. Social Need for Healthy Eating Habits Studies say that Indians are more prone to Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), which is the major independent risk factor causing Cardiovascular diseases, due to the smaller calibred arteries found in Indians (Isalkar, U (2009) Indians more prone to heart disease, The Times of India). This suggests that Indians should move towards more healthy food and diet. This could be a new area to explore for Britannia with its new health associated products like Nuti-Choice biscuits and Actimind flavoured milk. Problems with Cloned Livestock Cloned animals are supposed to be suffering from large-offspring syndrome. The mother cows face a problem in giving birth to the cloned animals as they are larger than normal. Also these cloned animals suffer from health issues (Gogoi, P (2007) The case against cloning, BusinessWeek). It is morally wrong to clone animals as they cause problems to the mother during the birth and moreover the cloned livestock suffer from health issues which might make unsafe to consume the produce from them. Technological Cloning of Livestock India, a late entrant in cloning research, is now moving with a great pace in cloning technology. Hand guided cloning technique, a technique very different from the conservative cloning practice has been a successful venture (Mahalakshmi, BV Chowdhary, S (2009) Cloning Glory, The Financial Express). New Age Packaging The new packaging systems help in protecting food from micro-organisms by creating shelter layer. It uses new technologies like oxygen scavenging function, atmosphere control, biodegrability etc. and is low cost (Han, J Packaging Innovations, Bakers Journal). The packaging technology helps in preserving food for longer by protecting them from micro-organisms with the help of new technologies, thus resulting in longer shelf life of the food. The advantage of low cost packing and longer shelf life could be very beneficial for the company in increasing its profit margin. Environmental Change in the Climatic Conditions Climate plays an important role in the agriculture process. The change in the rainfall pattern has been a matter of concern now in India. The agriculture sector in areas which are monsoon dependent suffered badly due to the change in the rainfall pattern. The sector suffered a huge loss in terms of total output (Bhosale, J (2009) Farmers worried over climate disturbances, The Economic Times). The loss in crop will affect the input supply and this might delay or cause problems in the production. So the industry might not be able to meet the demands resulting in the loss of customers. Legal Raising the Norms for the Probiotic Food There is a need for setting the standards for probiotic food. Clinical tests should be conducted on the probiotic foods before they could reach the market for sale. The Indian Council of Medical and Research has submitted the proposal for the same to the government (Das, S (2009) Probiotic food likely to come under clinical trial ambit, The Financial Express). Strict norms will help in raising the quality standards but on the other hand the cost and time of production might subsequently increase. Micro External Environment Analysis Factors that influence the micro external environment are Competitor Rivalry, Threat of New Entrants, Threat of Substitutes, Buyers Power and Suppliers Power. These factors play a vital role in determining the current situation of the business and to plan strategies accordingly. With the help Porters Five Forces we will be analysing these factors and their immediate effect on the company. Five forces analysis is a technique for identifying and listing those aspects of the five forces most relevant to the profitability of an organisation at that time. (Boddy, D (2005). Management An Intoduction. 3rd ed. UK: Pearson Education. 83.) Competitor Rivalry: BIL has a market share of 38% and has been growing at 27%, compared to the industry growth rate of 20% (Saxena, R (2007) Battle-scarred Britannia on expansion spree, Business Standard) and has many competitors based on the nature of product. Parle and ITC (Sunfeast) pose a great competition to BIL (Biscuit Industry: India (2010), Market Research India). BIL earning major of its income from the biscuits (Britannia Annual Report 2007-08 (2008)), and Parle and ITC are the other major players in biscuit market. BIL is also into the production of dairy products, where the two major players in market are Amul and Nestle. Amul is the leader in the dairy industry. There is also a high level of competition from the unorganised baking sector. Overall rivalry is high. Threat of New Entrants: The entry on a small scale dairy industry and in the unorganised baking sector is easy. But on the other hand to enter the large scale dairy industry and organised baking sector a huge amount of investment is required in terms acquiring assets and to establish supply and distribution chains. Government regulations pertaining to food norms and others may also seem to be unattractive. Looking at the latest trends, the bakery industry is expected to earn huge revenues which might attract new entrants (Vijay, N (2008) Indian Bakery sector foresees high growth and increasing interest in product offering, FnBNews.com). So the threat of new entrants is moderate. Threat of Substitutes: Savoury snacks, crisps, cereals, fruits and other fast food can be substituted for biscuits. Dairy products are dubious to be replacing with other products as they key ingredients of majority of peoples diet. So the threat is a very moderate threat of substitutes. Buyers Power: The buyers of these products could be a retailer or the consumer. Both the dairy and bakery industry are price sensitive, so a little increase in price might lead the consumer to shift other brand or product. So the buyers power is calculated to be very strong. Suppliers Power: The major supplies for a bakery industry include wheat, sugar and other agriculture products. And the major supplies for dairy product is milk. Its difficult to bargain with the suppliers of the above mentioned inputs as the price of these inputs is majorly influenced by the production of these inputs. The prices tend to be high as the demand for these products is rising at much faster rate than supply. The secondary supplies include the packaging material. The secondary supplies can be easily substituted with the low-cost ones to save on cost. Overall the suppliers power is assessed to be moderate. Conclusion of Five Forces Analysis: There is an existence of major players in the market with a moderate level of threat of new entrants and substitutes. The suppliers power is moderate but the buyers power is measured to be strong. So the rivalry is suggested to be high. Stakeholders and Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) Freedman (1984) defines a stakeholder as any individual or group who can affect, or is affected by, the achievement of the organisations objectives. Further in addition to that, Clarkson (1995), stated that the government and the other communities that effect the working of the business and the market also form as a part of stakeholders. Stakeholders, except the employees, have a high power over the strategic change ideas (Hayes, J (2007). The Theory and Practice of Change Management. 2nd ed. UK: Palgrave Macmillan. 153). Internal Stakeholders The internal stakeholders are the ones associated with the company internally. For BIL its internal stakeholders would be: The Shareholders The Board of Directors, and The Employees Currently, nearly 51% of shares are held by Corporate Bodies and the rest 49% is held by the public (Statement showing shareholding pattern (2009), Britannia Industries Limited). The board consists of 11 members (Company Overview, Britannia Industries Limited) and employees nearly 2000 people (Britannia Industries Ltd. Overview, MarketLine). External Stakeholders The external stakeholders are the ones who are not immediately associated with company but influence the decision making of the company. To BIL the external stakeholders are as follows: Customers Suppliers Contractors Government Regulatory Agenices (like Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, etc.), and Society Britannia being the leader in the baker industry of India has a huge amount of customers to cater. Britannia has to keep up the tastes and quality preferences of its customers. The government plays an important in influencing the market by creating and changing the policies. BIL has to adhere to the rules and regulations formulated by the regulatory agencies. The suppliers and contractors form an important part of a business. Britannia completely relies on its suppliers and contractors for its raw materials. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) For years corporate entities followed the practice of providing goods and services and maximizing wealth. But the trends have changed over the period of years. The companies are now expected to be more socially responsible. The company now has to be responsible to the stakeholders, society and environment. They are expected to pay back to the environment and society for all the affects that are caused due to its operations (Idowu, S Filho, W (2009) Global Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility. Berlin: Springer. 1-2). BIL believes in working with the society and the culture. It gives a premier importance to the nation and its policies. It believes in being a good corporate citizen by not just adhering to the rules and regulations but also by helping the community to improve the quality of life. BIL involves itself in initiating and providing support to community health and family welfare, water management, vocational training, educating people and encouraging the application of modern techniques and technologies. BIL believes in ethical behaviour.

Eleanor Maccoby Essays -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eleanor Maccoby is a renowned psychologist, with publications dating from 1957 to today. She specializes on the socialization of children, developmental change in personality and behavior, relationships of couples after divorce, and parent-child interactions. In this review I focus on her work examining the socialization of children, and parent-child interactions. I link her work between the socialization of children, from their interactions with their parents and with other children, to the interactions of adults. There is a clear parallel between the sex-typed skills learned in child-interactions and those conveyed in adult interactions. Parent–Child Interactions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maccoby looks at the development of gender through interaction: â€Å"social behavior is never a function of the individual alone. It is the function of the interaction between two or more persons† (Maccoby 1990). Maccoby’s earlier work dealt with parental effects on children’s gender identity, focusing on the sex stereotypes that parents instill in their children through interaction. Rothbart and Maccoby (1966) studied parents’ reactions to specific child behaviors, especially those regarded as sex-typed, like dependency and aggression, in hopes of understanding what accounts for sex differences in behavior. Social-learning theory addresses the finding, that girls display more dependent behaviors than boys, and boys display more aggressive behaviors than girls. And that dependent behaviors are less rewarded for males, just as aggressive behaviors are less rewarded for females (Rothbart and Maccoby 1966). Using social-learning theory, and assuming that the family constitutes the â€Å"culture† into which a young child is exposed, Rothbart and Maccoby (1966) predicted that both parents would reinforce dependency more strongly in girls, and aggression more strongly in boys. Rothbart Maccoby (1966) tested their prediction by placing parents in a hypothetical situation with a child, asking them to record their reactions and responses to statements made by the child, such as: â€Å"Daddy (or Mommy), come look at my puzzle†¦Daddy, help me†¦Baby, you can’t play with me. You’re too little†¦Leave my puzzle alone or I’ll hit you in the head!† (Maccoby and Rothbart 1966). The â€Å"child† in this situation was a recording of a 4 year old’s voice. Parents were told eith... ...  Ã‚  Maccoby (2002) argues that since the same patterns that exist in children’s mixed and same-sex interactions are prevalent in adult interactions, it is not sufficient to only look at the interaction styles of adults, but that researchers must start with examining those of young children. This review traces those steeps that Maccoby has taken in her research. She began her research with parent-child interactions, studying the affect parents have on the sex-typing behavior of their children, in hopes of establishing where children learn about gender identity. Maccoby then took that information and combined it with research on children’s interactions in play groups, which led her to believe that parental sex-typing is inconsequential in children’s decisions to play in sex-segregated groups. Maccoby (1987) argues that it is the combination of dominance and control with gender labeling that drives children to interact in same-sex groups. Maccoby then ascert ains the importance of the interaction skills learned in these same-sex-segregated groups in affecting adult behavior, and illustrates the many parallels that exist between the interactions of the two different age groups.

A Summary of Bram Stokers Dracula Essay -- English Literature

A Summary of Bram Stoker's Dracula Dracula is an epistolary novel, meaning that is composed from letters, journal and diary entries, telegrams, and newspaper clippings. Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray (later Mina Harker), and Dr. Seward write the largest contributions to the novel although the writings of Lucy Westenra and Abraham Van Helsing constitute some key parts of the book. The novel has a slightly journalistic feel, as it is a harrowing account supposedly written by the people who witnessed the book's events. A young Englishman named Jonathan Harker travels through Transylvania on a business trip. He is there to aid Count Dracula, a Transylvanian nobleman, in buying an English estate. His journey into the remote Eastern European landscape is fearsome, although initially he is charmed by the Count's generosity and intelligence. Gradually, he comes to realize that he is a prisoner in Dracula's castle, and that the Count is a demonic being who plans to prey on the teeming masses of London. Possessing the supernatural ability to scale vertical walls and live without a reflection. Dracula leaves him to die at the hands of three female vampires, but Jonathan attempts a desperate escape. Meanwhile, in England, Jonathan's fiancà ©e Mina visits her best friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy has recently been proposed to by three men Arthur Holmwood, Dr. Seward, and Quincey Morris. She chooses Arthur to be her happy fiancà ©. Mina and Lucy vacation together at Whitby, a quaint seaside town renowned for its ghostly history. While they are there, a Russian vessel is shipwrecked. A large dog leaps from the wreck and runs away. All of its crew are missing apart from one dead captain. The ship was carrying fifty boxes of e... ...la's chest. Now, after enough time has passed she will become one of the undead unless they can destroy Dracula first. They set to work, sterilizing (with holy wafer) all but one of the boxes in one day. Dracula, in the last box, flees back to Transylvania to rest and regroup for another attack. The band of friends tracks him down, splitting up so that Van Helsing and Mina will go to purge the castle while the four young men track the last box. Van Helsing and Mina succeed, killing the three female vampires and using holy wafer to render the castle uninhabitable for the undead. They then regroup with the others, and all together they surround the gypsies who are transporting Dracula in his coffin. During the struggle against the gypsies, Quincey receives a mortal wound. Jonathan and Quincey deliver the killing blows to Dracula just as the sun is setting.

Tillie Olsens Yonnondio Essays -- Yonnondio

Tillie Olsen's Yonnondio    In contrast to many other Depression-era novels, in which the teamwork of the common man is seen as society's glue, Tillie Olsen's Yonnondio looks with great admiration at one family's struggle to keep above water. Through the travails of a coal-mining/farming family, Anna Holbrook becomes the one constant in a society that turns man against himself, and where fortune is evanescent.    The thirst for something stable is evident as the children show their awe of the physical world. As an adult explains the stars to Mazie, Olsen writes: "As his words misted into the night and disappeared, she scarcely listened†¹only the aura over them of timelessness, of vastness, of eternal things that had been before her and would be after her, remained and entered into her with a great hurt and wanting." (33) The present, the words describing the stars, hold no intrigue for Mazie; the idea of a permanence stronger than the Depression does. Two pages later, Olsen writes of Mazie stripping corn silk: "Ã…  she would dream of weaving it into garments incredible. But the tassells withered, grew brown and smelly, and she had to throw them away." (35) Her actual life results only in death, and she must again call up something enduring, "a poem learned from Old Man Caldwell." (35)    Olsen views the Holbrook's struggle as heroic. Says Caldwell, "'Mazie. Live, don't existÃ…  Better to be a cripple and alive than dead, not able to feel anything. No, there is more†¹to rebel against what will not let life be.'" (37) It is this very nobility that allows the Holbrook family to survive past expectations. Life is filled with hurdles, most coming from other people. After learning about different natio... ... emotional resource for the split family. The last passage reveals Mazie's mixture of compassion and strength necessary for survival in the dusty, cold world: "Her hand on the arm around him was open and tender, but the other lay fisted and terrible like her father's that night in the kitchen. Till the dayÃ…  " (152) Olsen has faith in the family; they have waded through hardship after hardship, encountered abandonment and death, and still they will wake the next day. Survival here is not accomplished by reliance upon others, but on one's own reserve of will. This is a stark departure from Steinbeck's and others' views on the Depression; nonetheless, both schools of thought hold tremendous sympathy for the lives full of misery about which they wrote.    Work Cited Olsen, Tillie.   Yonnondio: From the Thirties, Delacorte, 1974, reprinted, Dell, 1989.

British Airway’s Essay

A research report with a word limit of 1,500 on British Airway’s (BA) change program that resulted in long-running industrial disputes between its management and crew members in 2009-2011. The contextual information about the BA’s introduction of strategic changes – why BA produced this change, explain market (rising fuel costs etc.) British Airways is the UK’s largest airline. Since becoming privatized in 1987, BA has continued to grow despite increased competition (Connell & Williamson, 2011). The UK’s economic climate had a large influence to why the British Airways’ industrial occurred. In 2011, UK inflation was 4% on the previous year, compared to an average pay rise of 2.3% for the same period. This means that the cost of living was increasing at a much more rapid rate than people’s income. As a result, workers like BA’s cabin crew put pressure on employers to raise pay. Additionally, lower disposable income means fewer than usual are withdrawing money for one-off purchases such as foreign holidays – â€Å"A lot of people are not touching their savings because they do not know what is round the corner† (Giles, Groom & Bounds, 2011). Therefore demand for international flights is lower. Fuel accounts for 25% of British Airway’s total costs, therefore any fluctuations in the price of natural resources will have a huge impact on this industry. In 2011, after oil prices surged to $110 a barrel, BA informed passengers that they face rising fares (Groom, 2011). IAG’s (BA’s parent company) fuel costs were predicted to rise by â‚ ¬1.2bn to â‚ ¬5.1bn ( £4.36bn) in 2011 (Groom, 2011). However increasing fares would have reduce the airline’s competitiveness. Alternatively the company could remain profitable by reducing wage costs instead of passing the increases onto the customer. The airline industry has also been affected by social trends. Insurance costs have risen because of fear of terrorism and tighter security checks at airports (Barrows & Neely, 2011). Technological advances have reduced demand for business flights, with companies using alternative communication systems such as teleconferencing in order to cut costs (Shaw, 2011). As a result of these macroeconomic factors, BA felt that they needed to adopt an internal cost-cutting strategy to remain profitable. The dispute developed into a row over travel concessions removed from Unite members who went on strike, as well as suspensions and dismissals (Groom, 2011). The current environment of high unemployment increased BA’s bargaining power as an employer (Conrady & Buck, 2012, 11). The union was powerless to stop the original cause of the dispute as BA removed at least one crew member from most long-haul flights, saving  £63m a year (Groom, 2011). It has also hired 700 new crew members in its so called â€Å"mixed fleet† on certain routes, earning  £17,000 a year on average compared with  £29,000 for existing Heathrow cabin crew (Groom, 2011). This programme should yield  £160m annual savings within a decade. According to Deutsche Bank, following the cuts, BA has the lowest employee costs of the major European network airlines at 22.9 per cent of sales in 2010 compared with 26.8 per cent in 2006 (Groom, 2011). Evaluation on the nature of such changes – was it gradual, radical, top management, grass roots up scale, depth time scale. Apply the kaleidoscope model. On October 6, 2009 the airline announced plans to cut 1,700 cabin crew jobs and freeze pay. Union officials accused the company of †holding a gun† to the heads of staff and warned that they were prepared to fight the proposals. It wasn’t until May 1, 2011 that the dispute was on the verge of being resolved following a breakthrough in crucial talks aimed at ending the long-running row (Telegraph, 2011, May 12). The dispute lasted more than 18 months and led to 22 days of strikes costing BA  £150m. Therefore this proved to be a costly process, and had it been resolved sooner, BA would have saved a lot of money and the brand wouldn’t have received as much negative publicity. However, analysts said the airline’s savings on staff costs would far outweigh the losses from the strike and the outcome should reduce the likelihood of future stoppages (Groom, 2011). The ‘unfreezing’ phase (Lewin’s model) of this change was a gradual, drawn-out process. Time: As this was not a company in crisis there wasn’t a need to implement change reactively, British Airways had time to achieve their long-term strategy. Scope: British Airways did not require a transformation of the organisation as a whole. A realignment of the cabin crew’s operations and wage structure was the desired scope for this change. However, due to the industrial action taken by Unite the change had an impact organisation-wide. Preservation: It is important that BA preserves what makes British Airways, British Airways. This means they need to retain their brand identity, because this is one of their biggest selling points. It is also important to not destroy the business’ heritage and culture. Job security for the remaining cabin crew will be at an all-time low. Key members of staff need to be reassured of their position so that BA doesn’t lose these assets to competitors. Diversity: The change should not affect diversity between divisions. This means that the culture should remain consistent throughout BA, from pilots, to cabin crew, to administration staff. Capability: The individual within the cabin crew will need to be capable of adapting to the new operational requirements and be able to accept the change in pay structure. It is a managerial responsibility to help staff through this transition phase. The new BA chief executive, Keith Williams was praised for being â€Å"strong, brave and courageous† in reaching the agreement. These are the sort of capabilities required by the managerial team. Capacity: With the savings made in the long-term, BA will be able to invest in training for staff so quality of customer service will improve. The managers have shown devotion to this process by holding out for 18 months to ensure change was implemented. There must also be a number of people in the organisation with an adequate change capability. Readiness: The workforce was not aware of the need for change until it was announced that there would be 1,700 job cuts. As a result cabin crew members refused to commit to making the personal changes required of them. Power: The British Airway’s managerial team were the change agents containing the most power. As a trade union, Unite also contained considerable power, and this caused opposition for the implementation of change. The change management strategy, if any, as outlined by the BA management – have they addressed employee emotions or all focused on change process? The focus was placed mainly on the change process rather than employee emotions. The strategy appears to have been to implement the change at all costs. Throughout the 18 month negotiation process BA refused to give into the union demands. Despite 22 days of strikes BA continued to refuse the people what they wanted. They were accused of â€Å"management bullying, press slanders, and legal gerrymandering†. A big factor in the two parties coming to an agreement was BA agreeing to reinstate staff travel concessions, as stated by the Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey – â€Å"I am particularly pleased that travel concessions will be restored† (Scott, 2011, May 12). However, this was used as a bargaining tool rather than as an empathetic gesture. Having said this, there were a few minor interpersonal strategies. The personnel change of BA’s chief executive from â€Å"protagonist† Willie Walsh, to former finance director Keith Williams, contributed to the breakthrough. Union leaders described Keith Williams as a ‘genuine and honest man’, saying to cabin crew, ‘he values you’ (Smith, 2011, May 12). This is evidence of showing personal compassion in order to reduce resistance. However, many workers were unhappy with the praise he received. So if anything this strategy is likely to have hindered progressive rather than help it. BA also appointed an independent facilitator in the form of psychologist, Mark Hamlin to deal with the â€Å"fragility of trust† and act as a â€Å"long-term relationship builder† (Milmo, 2011, April 10). Long-term the ‘hard ball’ strategy employed by BA has left them with integrity and respect. This will help the company move forward and rebuild relationships. Good relations prevent industrial action and hence operational interruptions (British Airways, 2010). The challenges and difficulties in implementing such changes – as experienced by BA. Resistance/Acceptance. 93% of cabin crew voted for strike action originally. Through collective action and collective resistance they forced BA to change the terms. The resistance received enthusiastic support from wide sections of the working class in Britain in form of donations from union branches and solidarity on their picket lines (Counterfire, 2011, June 24).