Jay Gatsby †Victimized by the American Dream

Jay Gatsby – Victimized by the American Dream Free Online Research Papers The American Dream is a dream about possibilities, and a desire for success. In the eyes of the dreamer, the goal is to work hard to attain the end prize. Sometimes the prize is money, sometimes it is love; regardless of what the prize, the dreamer works hard to reach this goal. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is driven by his desire to achieve the American Dream. Unfortunately, Gatsby’s drive to achieve the dream also results in him falling victim to it. Essentially, Gatsby falls victim to the American Dream because he is forced to face the reality that his dream is just that, a dream that is out of reach and unrealistic. The main elements of Gatsby’s American Dream are: love, wealth and popularity/status. Through these concepts, Gatsby both attains and falls victim to them in his quest to fulfill his dream, the American Dream. There are many elements of the American Dream. Each dream is unique, depending on who the dream belongs to. One common element of the American Dream is to attain a great deal of wealth. Gatsby becomes primarily motivated to fulfill this dream in knowing that ‘Rich girls don’t marry poor boys’. It is this knowledge and insight that propels Gatsby to invest in his American Dream. Gatsby knows that to attain his dream he needs money and wealth. Gatsby grew up in North Dakota and did have any connections, neither money nor education. He spent his youth training for his â€Å"Big Break†. Highly motivated, he had a plan to escape his life in North Dakota. Gatsby was resentful of his parents and their poverty. â€Å"His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.†(Fitzgerald 9.) Gatsby’s desire to escape the poverty and limits of his upbringing was so powerful that he would pretend to not belong to his family. Gatsby’s opportunity to get out of his small family farm and into wealth occurs when he encounters a man by the name of Dan Cody. Dan Cody teaches Gatsby the ‘Tricks of the Trade’, skills he could use with a bootlegging business. With this new job, Gatsby is suddenly given the opportunity to meet his goal in the quickest and easiest way (even though it was illegal). Gatsby’s decision to partic ipate in this illegal trade shows how strong of a desire he has to reach his dream. Gatsby proves that he has attained a great deal of wealth when he invests in his large elegant mansion. Gatsby’s mansion is a key symbol of aspiration reflecting Gatsby’s successes as an American self made man for owning a large house in the 1920’s was an outward sign of material success. Gatsby’s status of wealth is so extreme, others describe it as: â€Å"†¦ a colossal affair by any standard- it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby’s mansion.†(Fitzgerald 11) Gatsby’s mansion is proof of his wealth and status which in time helps him achieve one element of his American Dream.Gatsby is a very proper man who, on the outside, shows a persona of wealth and success. He wears clothes that are reflective of his wealth (specifically his silk shirts) which are noticed by many people. Gatsby’s ‘Golden Girl’, Daisy, said that she felt overwhelmed with emotion as a reaction to his clothes. â€Å"It makes me sad because Ive never seen such such beautiful shirts before.(Fitzgerald 94). Gatsby’s silk shirts are a representation of his wealth, and proof that he has achieved a portion of his American Dream. The extravagances of Gatsby’s parties also illustrate how much wealth he has accumulated and how much of it he is willing to share. Gatsby pays for all his guests’ wild times which, in turn, shows that his wealth all the more apparent. People from all over the neighbourhood knew about his parties, for they were so large that neighbours would reflect and think about them long after they were over. Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbour observed the following: â€Å"There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and he champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his motor-boats slid the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammersand garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before†. (Fitzgerald 41) Clearly Gatsby’s parties are memorable, and illustrate to everyone that attended and heard about them that Gatsby is enormously wealthy. Gatsby shows off his wealth through materialistic objects in his house, especially with his massive library. In the 1920’s it was common that rich people would fill their libraries up with artificial books; Gatsby, however, proves his status of wealth with real books. A guest from one of Gatsby’s parties makes the following observation about his books: Absolutely real have pages and everything. I thought theyd be a nice durable cardboard. Matter of fact, theyre absolutely real. Pages and Here! Lemme show you. (Fitzgerald 47). The discovery of these actual books, and the apparent excitement the guest has, demonstrate the enormous wealth that is obvious to Gatsby’s neighbours and party goers. Although Gatsby attains wealth, he also falls victim to this element of his dream through the methods and ways he came into his money. Gatsby was raised in a morally correct family and he was brought up with the values and knowledge of right from wrong, however to achieve his dream Gatsby chose to go against his morals and values, by earning his money illegally through bootlegging. Gatsby’s true identity is bought forward by Tom Buchanan who says: He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of sidestreet drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. Thats one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasnt far wrong.(Fitzgerald ..) The way that Gatsby makes his money is what makes him a victim of the American Dream; It is because he sacrifices his values in the process. It is because of Gatsby’s desire to live his American Dream, he then overlooks his morals and knowledge of right an wrong. It is more important for Gatsby to become a success, and reach his American Dream, than to live by the standards he knows. Therefore, the decay of his morals are part of what makes Gatsby a victim to his American Dream. Secondly, Gatsby attains another important element of his American Dream, popularity. He has a certain status in society which he has personally built, showing of his hard-working nature to achieve his dream. Popularity and status is a part of his dream because he wants to belong to the East Eggers, which represents old money and a high social status. Gatsby throws wild and crazy parties every Saturday night at his mansion in West Egg and guests are catered to with food and liquors, and also treated to an orchestra of music. Because Gatsby’s parties are so grand, this makes him a very popular man. Gatsby’s house is the place to be every Saturday night, and guests simply ‘show up’, knowing that he will have a fabulous party planned. Gatsby throws these parties because he believes that they will help him achieve popularity and a high social status. This is a very important part of Gatsby’s American Dream. Therefore, the popularity and success that Gatsby gains because of his huge parties demonstrate that he has successfully attained that part of his American Dream. Gatsby falls victim to the ‘popularity’ element of his dream because his desire to be so popular and accepted by those who have a high social status leads to people who are attending his parties to take advantage of him. They use him for his house, his cars and his beach. I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsbys house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited they went there. They got in to automobiles which bore them out to Long Island, and some how they eneded up at Gatsby’s door†¦ Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission†(Fitzgerald 43) This first hand account of how guests came and went to his parties uninvited, and did not even know Gatsby, illustrate how he is victimized as a result of his search for popularity and high social status. Therefore, Gatsby falls victim to this part of his American Dream because it creates an environment where he is used and manipulated by those who attended. His party goers came to his parties because of the free food and liquor, not because they truly wanted to become friends with Gatsby. That is how Gatsby becomes a victim to the American Dream. Another way that Gatsby falls victim to the American Dream is through personal attacks in the form of rumours. In reality, very few people personally know Gatsby, and some people start rumours about him. One party guest said: Hes a bootlegger.One time he killed a man who found out that he was nephew to Von Hindenburg and second cousin to the devil.' (Fitzgerald 61). There is a lot of questions about who Gatsby is amongst his party guest, because most have never met him before. They make rumours up to fill their imagination of whom this man could possibly be, as he has such wealth that he can throw such extravagant parties. Therefore, Gatsby is victimized by the American Dream because he is attacked personally in the shape of rumours and lies that others spread about him. These lies are created and spread because of his wealth and popularity, and his success with attaining that part of his American Dream. People who are jealous of his successes are driven by this jealousy to hurt Gatsby in any way they can. The rumours that are created as a result of Gatsby’s popularity contribute to his victimization because of the American Dream. When Nick Caraway invites Wolfshiem, someone who has spent a great deal of time with Gatsby, to Gatsby’s funeral, he (Wolfshiem) comments that he does not want to go: When a man gets killed I never like to get mixed up in it in any way. I keep out. When I was a young man it was differentI stuck with them to the endLet us learn to show friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead. (Fitzgerald 173) This attitude demonstrates another way that Gatsby is victimized by the American Dream. It appears as if Gatsby is a popular man, well liked by many, when he is alive. However, when he is killed, and his friend refuses to pay his respect, true feelings are revealed. This lack of desire to show respect to Gatsby proves that Wolfshiem, like many others, were not really Gatsby’s friends after all. Infact, they used and manipulate Gatsby to get what they want. And when they cannot get any more out of him, they walk away. Therefore, Gatsby is victimized by the American Dream because he is abandoned by his ‘friends’. Their true desire to simply use Gatsby, and not be a true friend becomes clear. These people who associate with Gatsby, and attend his parties do not really care for him. Gatsby is successful in achieving a high social status, which is a large part of his American Dream. Gatsby works hard to achieve his high social status. He wants to become like the notorious East Eggers. What Gatsby discovers about the status he manages to achieve is that it ends up not being ‘the right one’. Gatsby strives to be accepted by the more ‘fashionable’ side of upper East Egg, while he represents West Egg. The difference is that the East Eggers are considered the highest social standard. They come from ‘old money’, where their wealth has been inherited, and usually not worked for. The West Eggers are people who make their own large fortunes, but they lack the traditions that come with inherited wealth. The West Eggers have to work for their money, and their wealth lacks the history that the East Eggers have. The East Eggers, represented in The Great Gatsby by the Buchanans, have the inherited traditions that come with wealth . Due to their inherited traditions, the East Eggers naturally disregard any change in the social hierarchy as a threat to the entire structure of society. Gatsby strives to be accepted by the old money but fails to do so. For example when Tom and Daisy Buchanan come to one of Gatsby’s parties that he throws specifically to try and ‘woo’ them, his efforts fall short of their high standards: â€Å"But the rest offended her-and inarguably, because it wasnt a gesture but an emotion. She was appalled by West Egg, this unprecedented ‘place.’ that Broadway had begotten upon a Long Island fishing village-appalled by its raw vigor that chafed under the old euphemisms and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing. She saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand†.(Fitzgerald 164) The people gathered at Gatsbys house were not particularly well known, and they behaved openly, in a manner that is not traditionally accepted by old money. This demonstrates another way that Gatsby is victimized by his dream of popularity and social status because his goal of fitting in with the old money simply was unattainable. Therefore, Gatsby is victimized because he is disappointed that, despite his hard work and effort, he is not, and will never be, accepted into the high social status that he wants so desperately to belong to. Finally, Gatsby attains his final and very important part of his American Dream, his quest for love. Gatsby focuses and obsesses about Daisy and the commitment they had given to one another before he went off to war. Gatsby met Daisy, the love of his life, when he was a youth, and he never forgot his first love. Before he went off to war, Daisy had promised Gatsby she would wait for his return. However, Daisy breaks her promise and marries the wealthy Tom Buchanan. Gatsby believes that this agreement they made to meet again will last. Gatsby goes to great lengths to reach his dream of being with Daisy. He buys a large mansion across the lake from her, and throws large parties (hoping she will wander through his doors). Gatsby longs for Daisy’s love and this obsession of Gatsby’s is a driving force for him; his love and desire for Daisy is the ultimate prize, the final piece to his American Dream. Therefore, Gatsby represents the American Dream with this element becaus e it (true love) is his driving force. The American Dream is about reaching goals, and stopping at nothing until you get them. Gatsby’s drive and ambition to attain this goal makes him relentless. He represents the American Dream because of the force that drives him to reach it; Gatsby is motivated and focused on getting his prize, his first true love Daisy. While Gatsby is driven to achieve this element of his American Dream, to reconnect with his love Daisy, it results in Gatsby becoming a victim. In their youth, despite knowing they could not marry due to differences in social classes, they still allowed their love to flourish. When Gatsby returns home from the war, he spends the next five years acquiring money to meet and exceed Daisy’s economic standards, in hopes of winning her back. ’Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now – isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.’ She began to sob helplessly. ‘I did love him once – but I loved you too.’ Gatsby’s eyes opened and closed. ‘You loved me TOO?’ he repeated. (Fitzgerald 126) Daisy, in revealing that she indeed loves both her husband and Gatsby, hurts Gatsby more than Daisy can comprehend. In Gatsby’s opinion, Daisy has betrayed him, as she states that she loves both Gatsby and Tom (her husband). Therefore, Gatsby is victimized by the American Dream when he discovers that his one true love does not love him back the way that he loves her. This particularly hurts Gatsby as his whole focus or drive to attain his American Dream is to win his ‘golden girl’, Daisy Buchanan. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby attains the American Dream and is victimized by it. His American Dream consists of attaining wealth, popularity and love. Although he gains all three of his desires, he also becomes victimized either through them, or as a direct result of them. First, Gatsby desires to find wealth. He reaches his goal, but then becomes a victim through people manipulating him and taking advantage of his wealth and generosity. Additionally, Gatsby desires to integrate into a high social status. Although he reaches this goal, he becomes victim to the goal because the status he attains is not ‘good enough’. Finally, Gatsby’s ultimate prize is about love. Although he achieves this goal, and his true love expresses her love for him, she also tells him that she loves another man. Therefore, Gatsby falls victim to this part of his American Dream because his love is not satisfied. In conclusion, Gatsby attains the elements of his America n Dream, expecting the Dream to be fulfilled. However, what he discovers is that the American Dream is a dream, not a reality. A dream cannot come true – because if it did, it would no longer be a dream. Therefore, F. Scott Fitzgerald successfully portrays Gatsby as a character who both attains the American Dream and becomes victimized by it. Research Papers on Jay Gatsby - Victimized by the American DreamMind TravelThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationTwilight of the UAWHip-Hop is ArtNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceStandardized Testing19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionEffects of Television Violence on Children

Word Choice That vs. Which - Proofread My Papers Academic Blog

Word Choice That vs. Which - Proofread My Papers Academic Blog Word Choice: That vs. Which The words â€Å"that† and â€Å"which† are tricky and even mentioning them in a room full of proofreaders is likely to cause an argument (especially if there’s a Brit about). Luckily, if all you’re interested in is communicating clearly in your written work, there’s a simple way of knowing which term is correct in any given situation. The important thing to know is â€Å"that† and â€Å"which† are both pronouns used when introducing a relative clause (i.e., additional detail about the thing being described). However, each is used in a slightly different situation. That (Restrictive Relative Clauses) The term â€Å"that† is used when introducing a restrictive relative clause (i.e., a relative clause that restricts the meaning of the sentence): All the houses that we rented were infested. In the above, the phrase â€Å"that we rented† identifies the specific houses being described (i.e., the houses that were rented, not those we didn’t rent). It is thus a â€Å"restrictive† clause and cannot be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. Which (Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses) By contrast, â€Å"which† is used when introducing a non-restrictive relative clause (i.e., one that doesn’t restrict the meaning of the sentence): All the houses, which we rented, were infested. The â€Å"which† clause here introduces new information, but isn’t essential to the sentence: It tells us that we rented â€Å"all the houses,† but not which houses we’re referring to. Here we see the difference between â€Å"that† and â€Å"which.† Since we could remove â€Å"which we rented† without changing the overall meaning of the sentence, it is a non-restrictive clause. You’ll notice too that the â€Å"which† clause is contained within commas, indicating the use of a non-restrictive relative clause. We also use a comma when a non-restrictive relative clause appears at the end of the sentence: I spent years living in infested buildings, which wasn’t much fun. That or Which? Keeping in mind these differences, knowing whether to use â€Å"that† or â€Å"which† at any given point simply requires asking, â€Å"Does this clause change the meaning of my sentence?† If removing the additional detail would change the meaning of the sentence, you need to use â€Å"that.† If removing the detail doesn’t change the overall meaning, you should use â€Å"which† and set the clause within parenthetical commas. Remember: Restrictive relative clause (i.e., one that changes the meaning of the sentence) = That Non-restrictive relative clause (i.e., one that doesn’t change the meaning) = Which

Role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in contributing to the Essay

Role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in contributing to the strategy of a company. if you were in a CFO position at your ch - Essay Example The supervision of the financial functions of the department is an integral part of the responsibilities of the CFO. In cases of public statements to be given on behalf of the company in the areas of financial performance, the Chief Financial Officer is the designated person to perform this task. A study of the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer of the organization in detail would reveal that the Chief Financial Officer needs to supervise the activities of record keeping, financial planning and reporting the financial performance to the top management that includes Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors. ... ng essential inputs on the formation, evaluation and implementation of the strategy of the company that could be driven by the financial resources by the organization. After the strategy is formed with due consultation among the senior corporate officers of the top management, the Chief Financial Officer plays the vital role in supervising the financial performance of the company in order to meet the strategic objectives. Based on the strategic objectives of the organization, the role of the Chief Financial Officer could be broadly divided into the three areas as explained below. These could be named as the treasury function, control function and the strategy based forecasting function performed by the Chief Financial Officer. The effectiveness of the Chief Financial Officer in these areas helps in meeting the strategic objectives of the company (Handlechner, 2008, p.73). Thus the contribution of the Chief Financial Officer is extremely important in the strategic growth of the compan y. Treasury function The treasury management of the company is one of the main financial areas based on which the financial performance of the organization is determined. The treasury management of the organization deals with the managements of funds available with the organization in order to satisfy the areas if interests like investments, credit, debts, etc. so that the short term and long term goals of the company could be fulfilled. The treasury function of the Chief Financial Officer involves supervision of the performance of the treasury management, plan initiatives to address the identified gaps in the management of funds of the organization so that optimum return could be achieved in the areas of investments, and finally reporting the financial performance of the treasury

Middle Class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Middle Class - Essay Example In the British Social Attitudes review of 1996, two-thirds, of respondents decided "there is single law for the rich and single for the poor" while 87% alleged that " the space between those with and lofty earnings is excessively great". However many scholars have disputed that, in its sternest wisdom, class in Britain is at the present dead and some have yet disputed that it is dead in any hypothetical sagacity. But I will disagree that no matter class no further lives in Britain but there is a sturdy practical function to play of class in Britain. Haralambos, M., et al (2000, Pg 34-35) proposes that any evaluation of "the demise of class" has got to start with the explanations of class itself, and of what people are accurately signifying when they declare it is "dead". Conventionally, class examination has been tear into strong and weak structures." Strong" class study, connected originally with Marx, assumes a holistic advancement: class is or was an untailored feature in chronological modification and the on the whole organization of the public. Karl Marx (1818-1883) a German, but worked in London from 1849 onwards wrote on class in the 1840s and all the way through to the 1860s and 1870s. In his vision, a class is distinct as an assembly, " in itself" and "for itself", as a socio-economic group with a communal uniqueness and a common biased accomplishment. "Weak" class theories, on the other hand, mainly prejudiced by the effort of Weber, are predominantly positional, spotlighting on empirically recognizing groups with ass ured other individualities in general. Max Weber (1864-1920) again a German wrote on class from 1910-1920. He tends to spotlight not just on possession of assets but also manage, and on individuals market capability - their profitable skills in the labor market. Weber says class is connected to dissimilarities that have their foundation in the workings of entrepreneurship and the market place. For Weber an individual's class is associated openly to his/her "market condition". It is imperative to divide two correlated but dissimilar points enclosed within "the death of a class" dispute. One advises that Modern Britain is classless - in additional words any known person's ability of accomplishment in society is no longer strong-minded by their societal class, as cleared by either of the observation above. The other spot suggests that class is no longer helpful as an investigative notion. Both of these visions hold grave faults. Myths of Classlessness Before I begin the historical account, a

Starbucks Marketing Strategy Essay Example for Free

Starbucks Marketing Strategy Essay If there is one company that should have failed in China, it would be Starbucks. China has thousands of years of history drinking tea and a strong culture associated with it. No one could have guessed that Chinese would ever drink coffee instead of tea. Yet, Starbucks has successfully opened more than 570 stores in 48 cities since it first entered China twelve years ago. Building on this momentum, it plans to open 1,500 stores by 2015. What did the Seattle-based coffee company do right in China? Here are five lessons from Starbucks’s success. A)Think Different When Starbucks entered China in 1999, many were sceptical that Starbucks had a chance. Given the fact that Chinese people have traditionally favoured tea, it seemed impossible that Starbucks would be able to break into this market. However, Starbucks did not let this scepticism stop it. A careful market study revealed that as the Chinese middle class emerged, there existed an opportunity for Starbucks to introduce a Western coffee experience, where people could meet with their friends while drinking their favourite beverages. Starbucks literally created that demand. Now you can find a Starbucks almost on every major street of the coastal cities in China. Even my 90-year old father in China began to tell me how he drank coffee after meals, rather than tea, to help his digestion. Starbucks has revolutionized how Chinese view and drink coffee. B)Position Smart Once Starbucks decided to enter China, it implemented a smart market entry strategy. It did not use any advertising and promotions that could be perceived by the Chinese as a threat to their tea-drinking culture. Instead, it focused on selecting high-visibility and high-traffic locations to project its brand image. The next thing Starbucks did was to capitalize on the tea-drinking culture of Chinese consumers by introducing beverages using popular local ingredients such as green tea. This strategy has effectively turned potential obstacles into Starbucks’ favour. Chinese consumers quickly developed a taste for Starbucks’ coffee, which was essential to Starbucks’ success in China. One of Starbucks’ key marketing strategies is to provide customers with an exceptional experience. The chic interior, comfortable lounge chairs, and upbeat music are not only differentiators that set Starbucks apart from the competition, but also have strong appeal to younger generations who fantasize about Western coffee culture as a symbol of modern lifestyle. Many go to Starbucks not just for a cup of Frappuccino, but also for the â€Å"Starbucks Experience† that makes them feel cool and trendy. Thus, Starbucks has established itself as an aspiration brand and is able to charge premium prices. C)Brand Global Starbucks understands the value of its global brand and has taken steps to maintain brand integrity. One of Starbucks’ best practices is to send their best baristas from established markets to new markets and train new employees. These baristas act as brand ambassadors to help establish the Starbucks culture in new locations and ensure that service at each local store meets their global standards. Western brands in general have a reputation for quality products and services. They have a competitive advantage over Chinese companies in establishing themselves as premium brands. However, as Shaun Rein, founder and managing director of China Market Research Group, pointed out, too many Western brands push for market share by cutting prices, which is a losing strategy because they can never â€Å"out-cut† local Chinese competitors. Global brand does not mean â€Å"global products,† or â€Å"global platform† as eBay mistakenly tried. Starbucks has highly localized menu of beverages that is particularly tailored to Chinese consumers. It has done an extensive consumer taste profile analysis to create a unique â€Å"East meets West† blend. It even gives each store the flexibility to choose from a wide variety of its beverage portfolio that fits the customers at its particular location. It is critical for global brands to adapt their businesses to local markets in order to succeed in China, and Starbucks has done just that. D)Partner Local China is not one homogeneous market. There are many Chinas. The culture from northern China is very different from that of the east. Consumer spending power inland is not on par with that in coastal cities. To address this complexity of the Chinese market, Starbucks partnered with three regional partners as part of its expansion plans. In the north, Starbucks entered a joint-venture with Beijing Mei Da coffee company. In the east, Starbucks partnered with the Taiwan-based Uni-President. In the south, Starbucks worked with Hong Kong-based Maxim’s Caterers. Each partner brings different strengths and local expertise that helped Starbucks gain insights into the tastes and preferences of local Chinese consumers. Working with right partners can be an effective way to reach local customers and expand quickly without going through a significant learning curve. E)Commit Long Term China is not an easy market to crack. It requires a long term commitment. An important strategy is to invest in employees. When I visited a Starbucks store in Shanghai back in 2007, I was impressed by the cheerful greetings of Chinese baristas, which set Starbucks apart from copycats. Starbucks has done an excellent job in recruiting and training its employees. This is a win-win strategy because employees are at the heart of delivering the â€Å"Starbucks Experience† to customers. They are the best marketing ambassadors for the company. Long term commitment also means patience. It takes time to educate the market and gain customer loyalty. The companies that invest in long term plans can be sure to reap handsome rewards. If Starbucks can succeed in a most unlikely-to-succeed market, there is no reason that any other company, large or small, cannot succeed in China. The ability to think differently, do your homework, implement right strategies, adapt to local markets, and commit long term are all important steps to achieve that goal.

Technology Use in the Mathematics Classroom Essay -- Education School

Technology Use in the Mathematics Classroom Technology is a growing field that affects every aspect of our everyday lives. When I look at centuries past, I am amazed at the technological advances this country has made. Just during my lifetime, computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and many other devices have become a huge part of everyday life. Not only is technology affecting every day life, but it is also making a huge impact on education, especially within the mathematic field. Computer programs are being created everyday to aid in the understanding of mathematical concepts. Calculators are replacing the pen and paper method of tabulating answers. The question that remains is, â€Å"Are the uses of technology helping or harming the classroom environment?† I do not have the answer to this question but from reading the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Technology Principle and viewing the Mathematics Association of America website I can offer personal opinions on this issue. I agree with the Technology Principle when it states, â€Å"Technology should be used to enhance the classroom experience but should not be a replacement for basic understandings.† I believe that basic concepts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.) should be taught by hand first, and then when these concepts are used to solve higherlevel math problems, a calculator may be used to speed the process along. If we, as a society, become too dependent on technological devices to solve math problems, we will be in trouble when computers crash or electricity. The basic mathematical concepts are so important for many life activities (paying bills, balancing check books, time management, etc.) and they should be learned without ... .... Each student has a different path in life. Some will continue their education with college and others will go straight to work, but either way they will need to be familiar with technology programs. In conclusion, I agree that technology needs to be used in the math classroom, but I strongly believe that it should not take the place of the pen and paper method. The basic concepts should be taught by hand and then calculators and computer programs should be brought into the classroom. The challenge as an educator is to balance the use of technology and the use of lecture. It is also a challenge to realize that each child is different and they all have different learning patterns, so each child deserves a fair chance to receive the kind of learning environment they need. I think these are the challenges that school systems and teachers will have to evaluate.

Difference Between Critical Analysis and Analytical Thinking

When you really want to reflect and put your points across, it’s said that you have to speak through your mind but from your heart with what you have lived and experienced. In this piece, I am going to use real life issues and experiences to help put forth my genuine reflections on the different ways of thinking analytical, critical and strategic. To start with, I would like to discuss the latest and prominent issue in Mumbai, whether it should be called Mumbai or Bombay. There was this debate going around in the class and one of my peers analyzed that it should be called Bombay because 80% people in Mumbai want to call it by that name. Then he also corroborated this by linking it with one of the newspaper and saying that it has stated that 65% of the public want to call this city Bombay and not Mumbai. He also conducted his survey and collected data of people from various parts of the city, the South Mumbai, the Central Mumbai and the North Mumbai. He later analyzed the question on the data collected and concluded that indeed people of this city want to call it by its colonial name Bombay. He was indeed very right because he had broken down this problem and had made all effort to reach every corner of the city for the survey. His survey number too indicated the same and with the help of analytical thinking, he convinced that people want to call this city Bombay. Thus the beauty of analytical thinking is that with the data and figure well in placed you can possibly prove anything without anyone even questioning it. However I was born in Mumbai knew this city in and out and decided to find the answer to the same problem but critically. More than numbers and figures, I relied more on my knowledge and experiences of this beautiful city. Therefore, I too conducted a similar but asked one more question, Why do they want to call Mumbai as Bombay? And the answer was surprising. They wanted to call it Mumbai but as the name of Mumbai was Bombay in the business circle, they wanted it to named Bombay. Moreover, the survey conducted by my friend was done in commercial areas of the South, central and North Mumbai. Where majority of the people come from other cities and have no knowledge and understanding of the local feelings. So the analytical thinking over here clearly missed out the local feeling of the people as well as the understanding of the complex community. I have mentioned the above experience because I want to bring forth the major difference between analytical and critical thinking. While analytical thinking did prove and gave an answer to the above question and even looked more credible because of the numbers, it failed to include local feeling and knowledge of the local area. This is one of the major differences between analytical and critical thinking. While analytical thinking segregates the problem into many areas and tries to back it up with figures, critical thinking uses the knowledge and experience and put them into logical thinking to formulate an answer. As far as strategic thinking is concern, I am still trying to define the meaning and the closer I am defining it the farther it goes. It’s like debating whether GOD exist or not. GOD is there we believe, but on experiences and intuitions. We cannot see Him but still feel He’s there. Similarly, strategic thinking eludes its definite existence but is always there. You can call it a plan of actions designed to achieve a particular goal. This plan of action is implemented by considering and weighing several facets and views. Your knowledge and most importantly your understanding and application is of uttermost importance for strategic thinking. After these prerequisites comes the analysis and synthesis of these prerequisites keeping the importance of all possible view and possibilities open. Hence, strategic thinking never has a definite answer or solution. Its all about selecting the best possibility. So even If I do manage to come out with a winning strategy other might ridicule it simply because they might look at it from different angle. So more you are ridiculed or castigated the better will be your strategic thinking. Today leadership is like a soul trapped between his internal consciousness and external realities. The soul can choose infinite possibilities but yet have to select a very few. Moreover, whatever he does should be such that it takes the side that benefits the all. In today world, a leadership would be difficult to sustain without keeping all the three things like financial, social and environmental aspects. And to keep this leadership has to inculcate power with ethics for any sort of sustainability. Leadership can be short-lived if one doesn’t compromise on some of the ethics at the same time would be dangerous if he follows none. So it has t o have it only to the point of sustainability. When an enlightened one writes a poem thousands read it. However, each one of them perceives it in a way they want to and this depends on their own life experiences and knowledge. Similarly, I use to perceive the World in a way I have seen it with my eyes and observed. But to really understand you need to perceive it through the eyes of many others and that is one thing that I have learned from this edifying experience of the last two weeks. Today when I am leading, I am open to infinite possibilities and views. I am trying to use the five why technique in my mind to reach out to the possible root cause.. Then the model that I am trying to work is to use critical thinking first and then use analytical thinking to corroborate the findings of the critical thinking. This I feel would help counter the limitations of the analytical thinking and at the same time will help foster the critical thinking results.