Mumtaz Mahal

Arjumand Banu Begum  (also called  Mumtaz Mahal) was the third  wife  of  Shah Jahan. Mumtaz Mahal (meaning ‘Jewel  of the  palace') was the  nickname  her husband gave to her. Mumtaz Mahal was born in  April  1593  in  Agra, India. Her father was the  Persian  noble  Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, the brother of  Nur Jahan. Mumtaz was a  Muslim  and fell in love with and married her cousin,  Shah Jahan, later to be the Mughal emperor on  May 10,  1612  at the age of 19. She was his third wife, and became his favorite. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal were married for 19 years. They had thirteen children together. Seven of the children died at birth or at a very young age. Mumtaz travelled with Shah Jahan and his army as he carried out  military campaigns. Mumtaz Mahal supported Shah Jahan and they respected each other very much. Mumtaz Mahal died on  June 17,  1631  in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in  Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of their fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. She had been with her husband as he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was kept at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad. A popular story says that on her deathbed, her last wish to the emperor was for a  symbol  or a  monument  to their love. She also asked her husband not to marry anyone else. The emperor promised immediately. Her body was buried in the  Taj Mahal  in Agra. After she died, Shah Jahan went into  mourning  for a year. When he appeared again, his hair had turned white, his back was bent, and his face worn. Jahan's eldest daughter, Jahanara Begum, slowly brought him out of mourning and took the place of Mumtaz at court.

A Love Story in Boracay Essay

Philippines is a nation located at South-East of Asia, just east of Vietnam. It is surrounded by three different seas, namely, the Celebes Sea, the South China Sea, and the Philippine Sea. Comprising of 7, 107 islands, this country has a total area of 300, 000 sq km. Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are the three islands that form the main island groups of the Philippines. There are numerous tourist attractions in the Philippines. One of them is the famous Boracay Island. This island has white, sandy beaches and luxurious resorts.   One day, I spent a lazy twilight just wading through the calm waters. The sea was very much alive yet it the air seemed romantic. I was pondering on important things when I saw a couple fighting. The woman was close to tears and the man was regretful. Something he said must have hurt the poor woman’s heart. The woman walked away, leaving the man confused and unsure of what to do.I thought, â€Å"Maybe love isn’t enough to keep relationships last.† I for one did not really believe in love. But I decided to approach the guy and offer a helping hand anyway. I asked him if he’s okay. He said, â€Å"I don’t know. It’s just that she’s too vulnerable. I don’t know how to handle her.† The man got something from his pocket. It was a little heart-shaped case that no doubt contained a ring. â€Å"I was supposed to ask her to marry me but she burst out crying even before I popped the question. I have no idea what’s wrong with her. Could it be that she loves someone else?†, he said. I shook my head. â€Å"No, she loves you. I saw the way she looked at you. It was a look of love but it had a hint of pain. Maybe you did something to cause that pain. You know, women are really sensitive.† â€Å"So what do you reckon I should do?† He looked at me with hopeful eyes. This man really loves her woman so I thought hard on helping them. We were sitting with our backs on a tree when something came up my mind.mâ€Å"I know!† I exclaimed. â€Å"You should treat like she’s the most beautiful girl in the planet.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"How?† The next day, he asked the woman for a date at a grandiose restaurant in Boracay. When the woman arrived at the place, she was lead into the balcony at the second floor. She couldn’t be more surprised to find that the whole place was closed or reserved just for the two of them. While they were eating, the favorite band of the lady was hired to provide music for that very special night. After eating, they open a bottle of Champagne and as soon as the guy had poured the Champagne into the wine glass, the woman noticed a diamond ring floating happily. She blushed and giggled. She was about to ask for an explanation from the guy when fireworks began to color the night sky. The scene was oh so breathtaking. When the fireworks display was almost over, up in the sky, written were the words: â€Å"I love you. Please marry me.† The two of them were married three months after that and I was really happy to have helped save their once-drowning relationship. Even now, when I think about Boracay, I remember those two persons who were madly in love with each other despite their differences. And, most importantly, I now believe in love. It was not the help that I gave that propelled their relationship into the right direction. It was their love that conquered everything; I just gave it a little push. Works Cited http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Philippines/Where+to+Go. 2007. Online. May 23, 2007.

Take a theme of the poet Cathy Song and explain, prove it thru support Essay

Take a theme of the poet Cathy Song and explain, prove it thru support and analysis of at least 3 poems, using point by point me - Essay Example This realization seems to have become an impetus for her creative sensibility. The recurrence of this theme of filial connections forms the pervasive subject and the thematic content of her poetry. Song has credited her early interest in writing to her family’s travels: â€Å"Our family travels started my writing. I guess I was around nine years old when I decided I wanted to be the family chronicler† ( â€Å" Poetry Foundation†). From this quote we can infer that incessant traveling with her family does have an impact on her creative genius and may also have made her admit the importance of these family relationships in a person’s life. â€Å"Song’s poetic oeuvre is united by her abiding focus on family. The moral ties that bind women to children and parents, to their community, to tradition, and to the land are continuously interwoven throughout her verse† ( â€Å" Poetry Foundation† ). We also find a mention of some broader themes l ike impact of immigration on the lives of the people. But whatever she sees these things, she sees them through the kaleidoscope of her family. In her poetry, Cathy Song usually examines the everyday world that touches and affects her. Cucinella observes: As such, possible topics for Song’s poetry include the lives of her grandparents in Hawaii following their immigration from China and Korea, the resistance of third generation Asian Americans to the traditional Asian Ways and their paradoxical needs to embrace their Asian ancestry, and the more mundane aspect of her life as a daughter, mother , and wife (353). In her third collection of poem, School Figure, â€Å"Song explores further than before relationships between husband and wife, mother and son, and mother and daughter. â€Å" The Grammar Silk† explores how a mother wishes a better life and escape for her daughter†( Cucinella 353). In the following lines we will explore the extent and scope of this recurr ent theme of family ties in Cathy’s poetry. Our probe will further be delimited to mother-daughter relationship in her poetry. All the nuances of this relationship will be explored to strengthen our thesis that Cathy’s close association with her family became the cause of her creative genius and made her imprint different facets of her connection with her parents and especially of her mother. Our analysis will be based on three of Song’s representative poems:† The Grammar of Silk†, â€Å"The Youngest Daughter† and â€Å"The White Wash†. The Grammar of Silk The grammar of silk shows a mother’ concern for her daughter and desire to see her past and future in her. The mother is trying to accomplish what was missing in her. â€Å"She was determined that I should sew/ as if she knew what she herself was missing† ( Song Lines 49-50).That’s why she has sent her to a sewing school. She wants to ensure that her daughter shou ld be an accomplished seamstress and should learn this art to the perfection. The mother’s choice seems to be pleasing for her daughter. On Saturdays in the morning my mother sent me to Mrs. Umemoto’s sewing school. It was cool and airy in her basement, pleasant—a word I choose (Song Lins 1-4). The place is not just a sewing school. It assumes a higher existence and transforms into a safe haven for women. Song reflects: This evidently was a sanctuary, a place where women confined with children conferred, consulted the oracle, the stone tablets of the latest pattern books( Song Lines 27-30). The Youngest Daugh

Shoud Smoking in Public Areas be Banned Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shoud Smoking in Public Areas be Banned - Essay Example Public health is serious social concern that cannot be left to the discretion of those who are endangering personal health relentlessly. Smoking is a personal choice and despite its known negative effects on human health there is no restrictive legislation to ensure this personal freedom of choice. However, equally important are the liberties to of a non-smoker who does not want to put his health at risk. Everyone has a right to make choices that he likes baring those choices that can affect the same right of others. Smoking in public areas is a sort of abusing non-smokers’ right to safeguard their health and this is something that should not be permissible legally and morally. Smoking in open public areas is often defended by the argument that in first place it does not harm others because of open and fresh air, secondly they are free to move away from smoking site. It is rather a ridiculous argument to support smoking. Smokers cannot be allowed to pollute air at a public pla ce only because there is a lot of fresh air and people can move around. Smoking in open and enclosed public area should not be treated separately because open public areas are mostly used to get fresh air and soothing environment. However, we can introduce separation areas for smoker at public places to ensure they have equal right to enjoy themselves. â€Å"Recent research conducted by the Office of the National Statistics (ONS) found that 63% of respondents considered that there should be smoking and non-smoking areas in pubs and bars† (Health Committee, 2006) It should be clear that the ban we are talking about is not absolute in nature and we have to have exceptions in this ban. Public areas are either open or enclosed and the ban should introduce exceptions in both cases separately. Most of the countries have implemented a strict ban in enclosed public area whereas a lenient approach is adopted for open public areas. Various states have their own perception in this regar d and have implemented the ban with varying depth and exceptions. Molyneaux (2006) has pointed out this approach, â€Å"Smoking is banned in all or most enclosed public places in South Africa, New Zealand, Italy and the Republic of Ireland. There are similar bans in the American states of California and New York. Smoking in enclosed public places was recently banned in Scotland. It will become illegal in the rest of the UK in 2007. In England and Wales, pubs that do not serve food can continue to choose to allow smoking.† Though smoking is equally dangerous and hazardous for all nations but the realization at public and state level is not same. International organizations like WHO are working extensively on issues pertaining to public health and can play an important role in educating masses on the issue. The argument that secondhand smoke does not have clear links to the diseases attributed to smokers is not a valid argument because World health Organization has rejected thi s argument. Chen (2007) has pointed out this clearly, "The evidence is clear there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke." This underlines the importance of the issue and we need persuade and convince public and authorities that the legislation to ban smoking in public areas is an imperative requirement to ensure public health and safety at large. We need to focus our attentions in this area of public health because lack of awareness in this area is alarming as WHO (2009) pointed out

What is beauty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

What is beauty - Essay Example fixed in the subconscious memory of the person at the gene level as a result of human evolution. This implies that beautiful form, line, shape and color combination are practical solutions worked out by millions of years of natural selection. Can something be beautiful to one person but not to another?  David Hume said that: â€Å"Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty. One person may even perceive deformity, where another is sensible of beauty; and every individual ought to acquiesce in his own sentiment, without pretending to regulate those of others†. (Hume. p.136) I consider that this thesis is the main concept of beauty. In my understanding of this question I relay on this thesis. So I can say â€Å"Yes†, one and the same thing can be beautiful to one person but not to another. Does a work of art have to be beautiful to be considered good art?  I consider that the art must be beautiful. Some pictures of modern artists can be called art but not all the people find them beautiful. Here be back to the main concept of beauty saying that one and the same thing can be interpreted in different ways by different people. The understanding of beautifulness of the art can vary depending on the persons’ perception. It also depends on a cultural belonging of a person that is what we call authentic art of different cultures. So, as an inference I can say that art is a very versatile concept which cannot be enclosed in one thing as a beauty-gauge. Is beauty just a physical thing? Who or what decides what the standers of beauty are? Scientists have found that from the microcosm to the cosmos, everything exists in harmony due to the law called the "divine proportion". If there is a subjective idea of ​​beauty, a masterpiece of music, painting or poetry, everything meets this criterion. It could be derived geometrically from a right triangle and his unit

An Ounce Of Cure By Alice Munro and A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Essay

An Ounce Of Cure By Alice Munro and A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery OConnor - Essay Example The narration is from the third person, but the story is centered on grandmother. She is the one, who is described the most, who’s thought and actions are given more attention. Other characters seems not as important to the story, and others are downplayed so much so that the reader hardly notices they are there, like children’s mother, who seems to wear the same clothes all through the story, she hardly talks, her name is unknown. As to contrast, the grandmother is very particular in her choice of clothing; she is a real â€Å"lady†. However it seems children do not like her so much. The story takes place in Georgia, even though no specific place mentioned. During the second half of the story the characters are mainly in the â€Å"ditch†, only sometime people are taken to the forest. The story keeps the reader in suspense. It starts with an argument in the beginning as to what place they will go for vacation – Florida or Tennessee. The old lady rea lly wants to go to Tennessee, so she uses all the arguments possible to convince her son to head that direction. Then she attempts to talk to her daughter-in-law, but the mother seems to be utterly uninterested in what grandmother has to say.

Expand business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Expand business - Essay Example In other words, it is a process of undertaking two or more unrelated product lines for the purpose of diversification. The rationales behind adoption of this concept are: cost advantage by diversifying production activities, maximum utilization of resources and mitigation of risk associated with operations in single market (Wiersema & Bowen, 2008). The only relevance that can be developed among the products is that all four products of the company cover low, mid and high level markets. The luggage line covers the lower section of the market; the writing instruments cover mid-level consumers, while the LED TVs are sold at higher end of the market. Lastly, miscellaneous plastic and paper tags are useful across all kind of markets. In conglomerate diversification, it is difficult to relate diversified products of the same company as a part of same base. However, the brand equity of each product indirectly adds to overall brand equity of the company. Conglomerate diversification is a major growth strategy that brings forward different hidden opportunities that a company can pursue, when market for one of its line of business is saturated. It is important to realize that with product line diversification, a company can achieve greater market share and growth rate within comparatively small period of time. In addition, this is one of the most suited strategies for internationalization. In international venture, most companies pursue two kinds of strategies: horizontal or related integration and conglomerate or unrelated integration. The main advantages of related integration is that the company can continue growing in the same sector by producing or introducing similar or related product under the same branch. The following section focuses on product elimination, when a company switches from unrelated to related diversification strategy (Wan &

Project procurement and contract management Essay

Project procurement and contract management - Essay Example In managing contracts related to procurement of materials in projects the purchasing manager or the specialist has to perform a series of tasks according to some predefined criteria. In the same way the purchasing specialist has to take it to consideration the number of factors that directly and indirectly impact on his performance In the first instant skills of the purchasing specialist would be enhanced by the vertically integrated organizational and management structure which essentially support the design planning and implementation of supply chain strategies, especially those directly related to the purchase of raw material and components for primary operations.The purchasing specialist has to focus on his tasks associated with procurement and management in order to achieve a degree of functional conformance to established standards such as the core business activity related efficiencies. This means that the ever increasing practice of modern business organizations' preference f or outsourcing certain tasks that lie out of the core business functions of the organization is dictated by competitive pressures. For instance the purchasing specialist would be able to hone his skills depending on the level of concentration on core business operations by the company.Business organizations’ increasing level of dependency on resources procured from outside enables purchasing specialists to develop a special set of skills for effective practice as a purchasing specialist. ... Customer relations and strategic focus on facilitating the control over internal and external relations are much more important than the activity of selling. As such the purchasing specialist's functional skills are augmented by both complexity and diversity of the facilitator's role rather than putting the purchasing manager or specialist into and old fashioned functionary's mould. The purchasing specialists would have to place emphasis on the supplier's credentials rather than the price itself. In the first instance a competitive tendering process involves not only specification and evaluation criteria but also the painful task of selecting the best team for the tasking hand (Morris & Morris, 2007). This requires not only a knowledge of tendering skills but also particularly strong evaluation techniques. This is due to the fact that value parameters attached to the determination process of suitability criteria are fundamentally based on the purchasing specialist's dynamic role. The entire process of procurement of supplies has to be specified in conformance with the cost involved in the prolonged lifecycle of the product. The purchasing specialist has to plan for the appropriate evaluation criteria, that would otherwise be ignored and delivery schedules dragged without much consideration of the critical path (CPA). This might affect both the functional paramet ers and the technical specifications, thus hindering the aesthetic and qualitative outcomes of the process. Finally the purchasing specialist needs to focus attention on the objective of controlling the entire supply chain evaluation process in a manner that non price factors receive a fair share of attention throughout the tender process, thus leaving little room for any

The communication method (or channel) that you select should depend on your message Essay Example for Free

The communication method (or channel) that you select should depend on your message Essay Interactive or static should your communication be one-way or two-way? Interactive means a back-and-forth conversation; static means delivery of a message. What does your message require? Brainstorming and questioning require interactivity. Updates can be static. ï‚ · Personal or impersonal Personal means face-to-face, or on the phone. Impersonal communication is in writing. Does your communication require you to hear or see your customers or colleagues? Are you trying to build relationships? Will the tone of voice be important for this particular message? Are the ideas potentially confusing? Put some thought into whether your presence is a vital component of your message. 1. Assess what kind of audience you are communicating with. Keeping in mind all of the differences among specific audience and the various manners in which they perceive your messages – you must realize that the use of all communication channels is not desirable at all times. For example, when speaking to a CEO, provide him with relevant and short information. When speaking to employees with the lower status, feel free to explain what you have to say in more detail. When you need to be convincing, try to communicate personally. 2. Assess the real value of the message you want to communicate. You should never overload your audience with information of little relevance that seems important only to you because you will lose their support and they will start perceiving you as a nuisance who rarely has something important to say. By avoiding this rule you risk becoming irrelevant. 3. Check the cost level you can bear when selecting communication channels. You should be aware that indirect communication, for instance, becoming involved in various events or charity activities, requires the greatest investment. On the other hand, established interpersonal communication channels are much less expensive. 4. Assess whether your choice of a ​​communication channel is justified. For instance, why should employees in your organization learn new standards of operations through mass media? On the other hand, it is more worthwhile to plan certain stories in a targeted and controlled manner with journalists than to â€Å"drag† them through all media. 5. Assess the long-term sustainability of selected communication channels. It is not the same if you establish a successful long-term manner of communication that is recognized by the target audience and the one that receives positive feedback from the public or if we constantly communicate in the manner that you receive feedback from two people or one medium. Do not forget that in this manner you are developing your long-term public relations! When all of the stated factors are taken into consideration, you will easily arrive to conclusion that different audience responds to your message in different ways so they always must be considered separately and, often, communicated to differently and through differing channels and tools. Message customized for the audience The title of this section probably best summarizes the wisdom of selecting a right communication channel – communication must be conducted differently with various audiences. It is good to note that communication and PR activities should not be directed to the ‘general public’. They are aimed at carefully selected groups of people who are subdivisions of the vast general public – for example, stakeholders, shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, distributors, opinion makers, trade unions, institution representatives, Government members, media and many others. In terms of good communication with your key audience, it is preferable to become more â€Å"discriminating† towards your selection of desired audience. That means that communicating certain kinds of message only to selected audience is less wasteful and more successful. For the above-mentioned reasons, the usual methods of communication must be more and more adapted, which requires a greater use of tactics. Why? Simply because it is becoming increasingly challenging to transfer the message to specific section of the public from which we have concrete benefits and which can benefit from us. Everything else can be considered as a loss of our precious time.

New Issues during the Civil Rights Movements Essay Example for Free

New Issues during the Civil Rights Movements Essay â€Å"What new issues emerged for the civil rights movement in the period 1965-1970? How did black leaders respond to those issues in different ways? † During the period 1965-1970, new issues had emerged for the civil rights movement, such as the question of whether Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non-violent tactics were too moderate and limited, poverty and voting rights. During 1965 to 1970, black leaders responded to these issues in a number of ways. Responses to these issues included the forming of Black Nationalist groups, voter registration campaigns and campaigns to get rid of poverty. An issue that emerged during 1965-1970 for the black civil rights movement was voting rights. Even though blacks had been given the right to vote since 1964, they often were frightened and intimidated by the whites if they went and voted. An example of this is with Fannie Ion Hamer. When Hamer came back from registering to vote, she was met by the owner of the plantation where she and her husband had worked for 17 years and was told that she would either leave or withdraw her name from the voters roll. She left and that night 16 shots were fired at the house she and her husband were staying in. Blacks were forced to do literacy tests, which most failed, before they could become registered voters; this was done to prevent the blacks from voting as they didn’t have very good literacy skills. By 1965 very few blacks were still not enrolled for example in Selma and Alabama, where only 350 blacks were registered to vote. The voting had become a new issue because many black civil rights leaders realized the significance of blacks voting to get their own people into positions of authority and create more progress for blacks in America. Another issue that emerged in the 1965-1970 for the black civil rights movement was the question whether Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non-violence stance was too moderate and limited. Martin Luther King’s tactics for making America desegregated was all non-violence, for example sit-ins, marches, signs or protests, boycotts, freedom rides and wait-ins. At first these tactics worked. The freedom rides achieved to desegregate bus terminals, issued by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The sit-ins worked because the protesters annoyed the whites, but not enough for them to take violent action from the police. Bills and laws were being passed. In the 1963 Birmingham campaign led by Martin Luther King the sit-ins, boycotts and mass marches managed to desegregate Birmingham. But by 1966 Black Power emerged and was an alternative philosophy to non-violent protest that civil rights’ activists could use. To some black leaders the methods Martin Luther King had always seemed too fair and his aim of winning concessions from the white majority appeared too inadequate. This was an issue to many blacks, because even though the non-violent methods worked most of the time, blacks were still getting beaten for it and or even killed. The Black Power became a very good alternative because it united black people to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It was a call for black people to define their own goals, doing whatever is necessary to get what they need. The Black Power proved its point in the riots that emerged in Watts, Selma and Chicago, where blacks got what they wanted using means of violence. The riots showed that violence can be the answer too, the total opposite of Martin Luther King’s beliefs. Poverty was another issue the civil rights movement had to face in the period 1965-1970. Poverty of blacks occurred because of blacks being denied skilled jobs that paid well, this led the blacks to not having enough money for education, housing and food supplies, which led to theft among their own people. Blacks in ghettos believed there was no point in going to school if in the end they weren’t to get any good, well paid jobs. Blacks found that there was no use in working if their jobs paid a little more than the Social Security payments for the unemployed. These beliefs created a cycle of poverty and that in order to change and progress further than they already are they needed to break that poverty cycle. This proved to be a great challenge for conservative black groups and leaders but was one of the significant factors for the rise of nationalists groups. In response to the issue of voting rights, black leaders held many voter registration campaigns and demonstrations. An example was the Selma Campaign in 1965, which became a significant campaign. Marches from Selma to Montgomery, which had been banned by the Federal Court, was led by Martin Luther King. On one march the marchers were met by State Troops and so King led them in prayer and marched them back to Selma. This cost the support of many King’s younger supporters, but the Selma Campaign was still a success. This led to the introduction of the Voters’ Rights Bill, which ensured that obstruction to voting would be prevented and many more blacks were now enrolling. In response to the questioning of Martin Luther Kings non-violent methods, black leaders started to form nationalists groups which had more violent policies. For example, in 1966 the Black Panthers were formed. They called for the arming of blacks, to have all blacks released from prison and for blacks to receive compensation for centuries of exploitation by whites. This group also used a lot of violence, but younger blacks found this more appealing than Martin Luther King’s tactics, as they had more aggressive approaches and could relate to blacks who had grown up in the ghettos. Finally, in response to the issue of poverty, black leaders held campaigns for this problem too. During 1968, King organised the ‘Poor Peoples Campaign’. This was an attempt to bring together all of America’s poor – not just blacks – and was obviously not fought along racial lines. This would have been a great way to deal with the poverty of America because it would have brought together many different groups of people in order to achieve common goals. In conclusion during the civil rights movement in years 1965-1970, the new issues that emerged were voting rights, the question whether Martin Luther King’s tactics were too fair and limited and poverty. These issues were responded by the black leaders in different ways such as the forming of Black Nationalists groups, for example the Black Panthers, voter registration campaigns and campaigns to get rid of poverty.

Strategic Analysis Of Blacks Leisure Group Plc Marketing Essay

Strategic Analysis Of Blacks Leisure Group Plc Marketing Essay Nowadays, many of organizations are faced with challenges of strategic development. To overcome significant problems, all organization desire to grasp new opportunities. In 21st Century, changes in strategic direction very important, we cant keep using the traditional way to operate a corporate. Strategy can help a firm how such decisions are taken and the concepts that can useful in understanding these issues. Overall, a definition of a strategy is required. However, the characteristics can provide the definition (Johnson, Scholes Whittington, 2005): Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. This report is give information about the strategic analysis of Blacks Leisure Group PLC. This report includes the following: Background and History Porters Five Forces Value Chain SWOT analysis PEST factors This process will help Blacks Leisure Group understand the company position and impact on strategy of the environment. Background and history Blacks Leisure Group plc is a British outdoor retailer. It owns 3 different brand names Blacks, Millets and Free Spirit. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It currently has around 308 stores. The company headquarter is based on Northampton and selling specific products like camping, walking, skilling, cycling, mountain equipment and others. Group history Blacks Leisure Group was formed in 1985 and faced financial difficulties in 1986 and 2009. But in year 1986, Blacks had survived because it received money injection from stakeholders to keep in afloat the following month. Until 2006, it engaged in an expansion of its business by opening many stores but it was short lived. Blacks changed the name of its Blacks Camping stores to Blacks Outdoor in 1994. The reason Blacks changed it name because it try to capture wide range of outdoor products market. At the same time, Blacks only focus its retail outlet on city center. In year 1999, Millets Leisure Plc became the outdoor Group which was bought by Blacks Leisure Plc. Unfortunately in year 2008 and 2009, Blacks loss  £6.8 million, pre-tax loss of  £14.4 million. Blacks had loss before tax to  £5.3m (2010: £43.6m) and in loss before tax and exceptional items to  £6.6m (2010:  £14.1m). In 2009, round 90 stores were close down as a part of restructuring (appendix 1). On November 2009, Blacks reached an agreement with the creditors which needed 75% backing. This saved Blacks from liquidation. In that time, it was a summer time, camping was a popular activity for many families. For those families member who could no longer afford an expensive holiday, outdoor activities are very good for Blacks. Blacks can capitalise the market to become market leader, it estimate  £1.2 billion in UK market. However, the problem with Blacks was its outdoor activities products conveyed for family and those people prefer outdoor activities. To become a very successful company, the process of strategic analysis for Blacks Leisure Group is the examination of the external factors which effect on the activities of the company. A business environment analysis of Blacks Leisure Group Plc, the UK outdoor equipments retailer. The analysis of the industry is conducted using PEST, competitive and Porters Five Forces models.   The internal analysis of Blacks is performed in terms of their assets, core competencies, primary and supporting activities, SWOT features, market, etc. Porter Five forces and value chain analysis can help in understanding the environment and competitive advantage The following shown porters five forces are as follows: Threat of rivalry Blacks need to think how to avoid this generic force because the leisure industry is very high competitive. Entry barriers are not very hard, other competitor can easily entry to this market. Investors have high risk to leave, if the capital costs are strenuous, if not enough. The overall effect is frequent advertisement like newspapers, radio, new product introductions and frequent price battles. Prices is one of the big issues, it can influence the sale such as buy 1 get 1 free, promotion, free delivery and others. In order, to become a market leader, Blacks need become aggressive. Leisure industries are very fierce rivalry. Only the most vigilant firm garner enough support. Threat of new entrants In this industry, it very easy to enter because this leisure industrys capital cost requirements not as high as other industries like manufacture. Additionally, the patent requirement in the industry are not that high. So that Blacks has to be ready for intense competition. Blacks need think for unique and good strategy selling point to sustain their competitor. (Porter, 1985) Threat of Buyers This is because leisure industry is highly differentiated, Blacks has to think and plan how to do well to offer their service in a superior manner to their customers. However, it gives the buyers advantage, consumers can easily switch from one leisure company to another. To keep their brand awareness, Blacks Leisure Group need offering good and high quality to their consumers. Good service also very important, so consumers have no chance to complaint about their products. Threats of suppliers The company operates in an industry segment that has a lot for different substitutes for the products. Consequently, suppliers have a lot of bargaining power. The company can make to cope with threats of suppliers is by teaming up with other leisure company to be more influential in their respective market. Example, the company can fixed all the prices or without any permission, Blacks cannot increase or decrease the prices. Threats of substitutes There are a lot of substitutes in the leisure industry like Cotswold, Mountain Warehouse, Trespass and others company. Therefore, Blacks should invest in research to forecast some of this future threat. Value chain analysis of Blacks Leisure Group Infrastructure Human resource management Technology development Procurement Inbound logistics Operations Outbound logistics Marketing and sale Services Margins Margins Support activities Primary activities Inbound logistics, this include: transportation, material handling, material storage, communication, and test information system. This all inbound logistics are related to the suppliers. For those related to the consumer is outbound logistics. So that Blacks Leisure Group needs to plan and consider how it can outsource its information system which can help them to improve performance. All media are referring to marketing and sales technological. Audio and communication involved in selling the product. Blacks need consider incorporating technological system in service operations. Process and materials involved in the service offering of the company, it call operations technologies. Besides that, Blacks need to plan how to increase their sale, merging some of their business units to sustaining competitive advantage (Thompson Strickland III, 1992). SWOT Analysis Strengths Blacks have very good seller to guide customers to the right outdoor products and equipment, it shown that this as a unique selling point. Blacks also selling good range of products. Products will range in price to meet all customers needs and wants. A good brand name help Blacks developed a common language of style among young people around the UK. Weakness A lack of experience may affect the progression of the business and wrong decision. Blacks has face financial problems (appendix 1). It very important for Blacks to learn from mistake and overcome these problems. Opportunities Outdoor products are a powerful factor for those sports coming into fashion, providing opportunities for fast moving companies. The high streets obsession with sporty fashion is creating opportunities for specialist to distribute performance products through other channels especially internet. The most important thing is know their customers well, all manufacturers and retailers have the option of adapting to any new trend and look. Threat In the event of severe recession, there is a danger of a retail price war breaking out on leisure products, with too many stores competing for the same customers. Retailers face the possible threat of more vertical integration by manufacturer (e.g. Mountain warehouse, Cotswold) PEST factors Political Based on Consumer Protection Act 1987, provides for the safety and protection of consumers by enabling Regulations or orders to be make controlling consumer goods. Provides for approved safety standards to enable compliance with general safety requirements. Next, all company need provides for liability for damage caused by defective products. Finally, prohibits misleading prices indications. The above rules, Blacks Leisure groups must follow the legistration, or else it will be take action by governments. Economic Economic stability is very important for all business. It allows a firm maintain a regular pattern of trade. Sometimes, inflation rate will affected the demand of the market. If the inflation rates grew up a lot mean that the products price will go up. In other ways, consumers purchasing power will decrease, consumers will spend less. This is an example, when governments increase the VAT from 17.5% to 20% Social Sport plays important role in many people social life. So I believe leisure and sport is a big market and large demand. In the future, it will grow rapidly especially with the recent spate of news and media reports regarding heart disease and the dangers of without any exercise. Technological Advances in technology could be advantage to the company. Blacks can try to link or develop software which show all the details of the sales and keep up to date. Latest technology like internet can help Blacks reduce expenditures, in other way it can help firm increase profit. A good website will also help promote and advertise the business, it also a good opportunities to Blacks to open up a new market. Strategic analysis Environmental marketing dynamic and the need for strategic change in order to sustain competitive advantage Nowadays, the world has changed it gaol regard to who are the real competitors. There are a lot of dynamics that come into play when trying to select which companies are Blacks Leisures competitors. Blacks assume that its competitors are other Leisure groups in the country. This is an example Barnes and Nobel used up a lot of resource to expanse many chain but it was underestimated the effect of technology like internet. The company who is call Amazon accessing numerous books without spending much inventory. In 21st century, many consumers want to access service in convenient way. Like Blacks, it online transaction have caused many consumers to leave tangible. Blacks had try to take their business to the internet. Blacks should give online transactions precedence because this has become a vital part of the marketing environment today. (Baird, 1994) Industry Concept To understand a market dynamics, Blacks has necessary to look at competition through different angles. Competition may be defined in relation to industry concept or market concept. Blacks Leisure Group is under monopolistic competition. Blacks offer only a specific range of service to consumer in superior manner. Blacks need to consider issue is entry vs. exit barriers within the industry. The leisure industry has minimal entry barriers and it require low capital to entry to new market. For exit, it rather high because it likely that the assets will be obsolete by the time to leave the exit industries. These dynamics need to be incorporated by Blacks to stay ahead. Now the world has different industries with different level of globalisation. There are a lot number of companies to compete on a global platform, this mean that leisure industry is one of the most heavily hit. Blacks Leisure is not an exception, so Blacks need to break into other market segments owing to the fact that many leisure companies to do same. It would be necessary to check consumers that may be interested in their service (Aaker, 1984) Market Concept Marketers consider competition in different light. It can be define competitors as entity to meet the same consumer need. Even the service may not relate, but they may qualify as competitors. When analysing competition, we can find out which companies are using same strategic path as Blacks Leisure Group. Blacks need always look at other companies whether the competitor under consideration has wide or narrow line. Blacks can analyse the manufacturing costs of its competitor, if the competitor have the same costs, Blacks ought to watch out of it. It can be followed by an analysis of service offering. It is a force worth reckoning, if Blacks competitor offers a high quality or service products. The following step, Blacks can consideration different type of price offer. After doing an analysis of the strategies used by other company, Blacks need to look out for the objectives of their competitors. I will suggest Blacks look at their competitors strength, so it will know how large their share in the market. By examining all the latter issues, Blacks can figure out some loopholes among their competitors and establish itself in the market (Benter and Booms, 1981) Recommendation It is very important developing and sustaining competitive advantage for Blacks Leisure Group. Blacks Leisure ought to be sustaining competitive advantage because the world becomes increasingly interconnected. Globalisation has present new challenge to all leisure industries around the world and also UK. Blacks Leisure Group should make sure that sustain competitive advantage, if they fail to do so the online companies might drive them out of the market. The high technology and internet have further aggravated the situation. It is necessary for Blacks to ensure that they can expand their business or distribution their chain in a cost efficient manner such likes online companies example Amazon. If Blacks is not enough to drive a new change to improve the financial debts, the company has to improve product offering, service and quality to battle with other larger competitor. Leisure companies have a lot of brand names or products, this may give advantage over Blacks to their company strength. However, Blacks should develop and sustain an advantage or competitive advantage over its players in the leisure equipment industry. Blacks Leisure groups stakeholders should not underestimate the effects competition. If they fail to do, it will make loss profits or profits decline. Consequently, Blacks Leisure group need vigilant about to built up a good market positions and managing their brand selectively. Conclusion The Blacks Leisure Group operates in highly competitive market with their competitors. Consequently, Blacks Leisures environmental dynamics cannot be ignored. What can Blacks do is try to sustain competitive advantage include offering superior service, outsourcing their inbound and outbound logistics, integrating business unit, teaming up with leisure groups to strengthen their buyer power from suppliers. Finally, integrating technological advancements and encompassing the global market more aggressively. All this strategic steps will help Blacks Leisure Group enhancing their position in the market (Amit, 2007) Reference and bibliography Aaker, David A. (1984): Strategic Marketing Management. New York: John Wiley. Baird, L. (1994): Meeting global challenges: The executive perspective; University of Boston Barney, J.   B. (1991): Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage, Journal of Management, 1 (January) Barney, J. B. (1997): Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage. Reading, MA: Addison- Wesley. Benter, J. and Booms, B. (1981): business development strategies and organizational structures for service firms, in Donnelly, J. and George, W. Marketing, American Marketing Association, Chicago. Blackwell, David, Weather Puts the Freeze on Blacks Leisure,  Financial Times,  January 11, 2001.   Blacks Leisure Group PLC. (2011).  Blacks Leisure Group PLC.  Available: http://www.firefighters3peaks.co.uk/Fire%20Service%203%20Peaks%20discount%20form.pdf.   Dyer, R.   F. and Ernest H. F (1991): An Analytical Approach to Marketing Decisions. Fashion Puts Bounce in Blacks Leisure,  Financial Times,  May 21, 1997.   Focus: Blacks Leisure,  Guardian,  October 20, 1999.   Gloomy Day for Clothing Group,  Birmingham Post,  January 11, 2001, p. 24.   Grant, R.M. (2005): Contemporary Strategy Analysis; Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford (U.K.) Johnson, G. Scholes, K. Whittington, R. (2005).  Exploring Corporate Strategy. Edinburgh Gate: Preson Education Limited. Lumsden, Quentin, Sports Chain Looks Unbeatable,  Independent on Sunday,  August 18, 1996, p. 6.   None. (2011).  Blacks Leisure Group PLC.  Available: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Blacks-Leisure-Group-plc-Company-History.html. Last accessed 8 Nov 2011. Potter, Ben, Blacks Sticks to Expansion Track,  Daily Telegraph,  October 20, 1998, p. 33. Porter, M.E. (1985): Competitive Advantage: The Free Press, New York, 1985. Professor Raphael Amit (2007): Strategic Management , a journal for Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada Thompson, A. Strickland III, A. (1992): Strategy formulation and complementation: Tasks of the General Manager; Blackwell Publishers

Free Essays - Anthony Burgess A Clockwork Orange :: Clockwork Orange Essays

"A Clockwork Orange" is a very different movie. It has everything a movie should have, but the plot is quite disturbing, especially for the time it came out. I have personally watched this film several times to find the meaning, and every time I watch it I come up with a different one. I am going to try to explain what this film contains as well as try to explain the plot. "A Clockwork Orange" is a story of a young man whose principle interests are rape, ultra-violence, and Beethoven. It's about a teen named Alex (Malcolm McDowell) who torments people in Britain in the near future. He is then betrayed by his friends and caught by the police, after he had murdered somebody. He was sent to live in a Juvenile Facility where he had to endure a strange torture of being forced to watch horrific movies. When Alex gets home, all the people that had done him wrong had their revenge on a weak, recuperating Alex. I'll let you find out what happened at the end =). "A Clockwork Orange" is a cult classic. It was Stanley Kubrick's 2nd Critically acclaimed film (the first being "Spartacus"). I was first interested in the book by Anthony Burgess (which in my opinion, is equally as good as the movie). "A Clockwork Orange" contains only a few of the element that can make a good film. One of them is the makeup. Alex and his gang (droogs) all where a makeup when they go out and do there thing. It gives them all a look of insanity and makes them look disturbed. I think that this was well done because it gives you a feeling of fear. Being afraid of a character in a movie is an excellent way to get to know them. Another element used is the script. Stanley Kubrick used the same special language used in the book. A lot of the words have no real meaning and you still know what they mean. The context the words are used in is very much like the book. Doing this, the book comes to life on the screen. I always enjoy watching a movie the follows the book so close because it doesn't change the story. Another is the theme. The theme of "A Clockwork Orange" is very hard to explain. However, it still has one if not many. As I stated before, every time I watch it I get something else out of it.

Explain And Evaluate Critically Malthuss Population Theory. Essay examp

Explain and Evaluate Critically Malthus's Population Theory. In 1798 Thomas Robert Malthus, a British clergyman and professor, wrote an essay showing the way to modern demography. In 1824 he wrote a shorter final version, the article on population for that year's Encyclopedia Britannica. Malthus has been criticized for his lack of scientific foresight—he did not foresee modern advances leading to increased life expectancy, food production and birth control. He has been criticized for his politics—he thought welfare immorally increased population and hunger. He has been criticized for pessimism— the adjective Malthusian is associated with a gloomy outlook for humanity. But he showed the way for the study of human population. People. To learn how fast people might reproduce, Malthus examined the United States census. Conveniently, that count was required each decade, starting in 1790, by the Constitution of the former British colonies. Land was so fertile and uncrowded that food production seemed not to limit population growth. Immigration counts were available to subtract from natural rates of population growth, thus revealing net reproductive growth. Malthus observed that under such ideal conditions, during each 25 years the human population tends to double. So if world population is represented by 1, then after each 25 years it would be 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and so on, provided there were no limits on such "natural" rates of population in...

Emma Gifford Poems Essay

Hardy shows a various amount of thoughts, feelings and concerns throughout the ‘Veteris Vestigia Frammae’ section of his poems. These emotions always differ depending on the memory he is recalling to the place where it took place and even general differences between the way he feels about his late wife, Emma.  To start with in the first poem ‘The Going’, Hardy shows feelings of guilt and blame towards Emma. The first line of the poem, â€Å"why did you give no hint that night† straight away shows that Hardy is blaming Emma for her own death when she didn’t even know herself that she was going to die just that she was quite ill. In this poem Hardy doesn’t show guilt straight out but he does it by asking many questions in the poem but never giving any answers, it seems as if he doesn’t, maybe even can’t explain the way he feels due to Emma’s death. Another emotion shown in this poem is resentment, resentment for the fact that they did â€Å"not speak† and she died without him being able to say what she meant to him. ‘I Found Her Out There’ is also one of Hardy’s poems that shows many emotions and some concerns of his about where Emma had been buried. Hardy’s main concern is the fact that he wants Emma to be in her childhood home of Cornwall where she loved to be but instead she is buried in Wessex where they lived. In the poem Hardy says that he wants Emma to be â€Å"where she once domiciled†. This shows that Hardy wanted Emma to return to her home where she once was as he knows that she enjoyed her life there more than what she did in Wessex. Hardy uses the word â€Å"creep† to describe the way Emma would move underground, this seems to be an odd word to describe how the woman you love would move. In this case it seems as though he uses it to express his regret and how morbid it is without her but also morbid for him to remember that she loved Cornwall more than him and he knew that that was where she belonged no matter what. Hardy also uses to word â€Å"shade† to represent Emma’s soul which also seems a little strange as it would be her soul that would move if anything was going to not her shade which to me means her shadow as she doesn’t have one now. This to me represents that Hardy can’t and maybe don’t want to believe that she has gone and he will never be able to make things better between them and make her happy like she once was. â€Å"Without Ceremony† is also a good poem that shows a lot of Hardy’s emotions as I think it can be seen as his way of having a break down as he is being haunted by the past. This poem is addressed to Emma which shows that it means a lot to him and is rather sentimental but also it shows how strong and powerful his words are and how much they generally mean to him. The very first line shows affection as he calls Emma, â€Å"my dear†, this however is not the way it was when she was alive. We can see from this that either he is imagining things or is wishing how could have been. The poem to me shows a confession from Hardy as he says a lot of things that he never got a chance to say to her but always wanted to but also he lets out some of his grief and regrets. It also shows slightly how it used to be for them being together but never being with each other. For example, â€Å"before I had thought thereon† showing that he neglected her and wasn’t there for her even when she needed him to be. Hardy even went as far to say that he â€Å"inferred† which to me is him telling himself that it wasn’t all his fault but he is also questioning if they acted like a couple when they were around others but went their separate ways when no one was around. The last line of the poem, â€Å"Good-bye is not worth while!† is a very strong statement to finish on. This can shows a number of thoughts and feeling from Hardy, it could mean something as simple as it is exactly what Emma did as neither of them said bye. But it could also mean how much of pretence their relationship was and how little it meant to Emma in his eyes. Lastly it could show his grief and regret of loving her but not being in love with her, as it shows that he had more to say to her and wished that he could now so to him for not doing that he doesn’t deserve a good-bye from her.

Race, Gender and Ethnicity Problems in Education Essay

Education has faced race, gender and ethnic problems for many years. This continuous problem in all most likelihood will not be solved. Educational issues involving race, gender, and ethnicity of all schools will always cause controversy in society as long as there is prejudice and hatred. Education should not look at ones race. We are who we are because that is the way that God intended us to be. Many blacks are prejudice and have hatred in their hearts for things that happen in the past that this generation has no control over. I believe that we all are equal and should be treated equal in every aspect. Every race has a right to the best educational opportunity available. Admittance in to a University should not be based on race; it should be based on the highest academic grade averages. Blacks, whites, Hispanics, and any other race should have the same opportunities. In my opinion if some, one of a certain race should not take priority over academic standings. However, on the other hand many black are very lazy and want to sit back and wait for the white society to give them every thing on a silver platter. Please do not take this comment in the wrong way, I am not a prejudice person, several of my best friends are black. In my opinion, this is why there is such a social and economical break down in the black society. Blacks have the same social and economical opportunities as whites or any other race or gender; it is just a matter of wanting to take advantage of opportunities and being willing to help their self. I totally disagree with the fact that students that come from an inner city school get the worse education. My children go to an inner city school and they are very much up to state standards for their grade level. In fact, Social Circle scored in the ninety percentile for the 2002 state graduation test. Social Circle City School is sixty-five percent black population. In conclusion, race, gender and ethic background should not make a difference in the type or quality of education that a child receives. All should be treated equal. If a black child earns a placement over a white child then  give them the placement. The same if the roles where switched. We need to stop making a difference in race, gender, and the ethnicity of students and treat them all equal according to their ability.

Nucor Steel Case Study

There are many competitive forces that are affecting Nucor Corporation. Some of the primary ones are the market size, number of rivals, and pace of technological change. The market size is shrinking because of the increase in competing international steel companies. The number of rivals in America is declining due to higher labor costs than in foreign countries. There is a very fast pace of technology in the steel industry and it seems that the company, that obtains the newest technology, flourishes. This is due to the difficulty in lower costs of steel production. Better technology is one of the only ways to decrease costs because labor is pretty much at a set cost and all that is left is the cost of iron and making the steel. If a company can get its hands on a new technology that allows it to under price its competitors then it has a big advantage in the steel industry. Nucor’s main rivals in the steel industry are AK Steel Holding Corporation, Mittal Steel Company, and U. S. Steel. The five forces for the steel industry are the buyers, substitutes, suppliers, threat of new entrants, and rivals. The buyers have a fairly strong power on the steel producers. This is because of the low switching cost between competitors. Unless a contract is signed between a steel company and its buyer, there is little cost to the buyer if it wants to switch to a different steel company. There are not very many substitutes for steel, as steel is a commodity, so the substitute power is weak. Steel is a one of a kind item in that it is very strong and very versatile in its use. It is used in buildings, automobiles, bridges, garage door openers, and many other everyday objects. Suppliers also have a weak power in the steel industry. The suppliers are supplying iron to steel companies. Iron is very common and many companies sell it. Also, steel companies frequently integrate backwards and provide their own iron to their steel mills. The threat of new entrants is very weak due to high entry barriers and the current struggling competitors. The rival power is moderate to strong because there are a fair number of steelmaking companies. Also steel dumping occurs, but I will be talking about that later. According to this analysis, Nucor is in a three star industry, so it seems to have an okay chance at surviving. It is not the best industry to be in, but Nucor still has been able to flourish due to its organizational philosophy and technological innovation. 2) The driving forces behind the steel industry are industry growth rate, globalization, technological change and manufacturing process innovation, exit of major firms, and frequent change in cost. The steel industry is falling. There is a declining demand for steel and many companies have already gone bankrupt or are on the verge of going bankrupt. Some of these companies are Bethlehem Steel and Ling-Temco-Vought. The steel industry is very difficult to compete in because more steel is being produced than there is demand for it. Globalization is also a problem for the steel industry in America. Due to globalization it is getting easier for competing companies to send their products to other countries. This causes a problem for companies like Nucor because America has strict labor laws. In other countries labor is exploited and workers are paid very little, while in America, companies must pay their workers a minimum wage. One good thing that America does do is provide tariffs on incoming steel products to help American companies better compete with the international companies. Some countries are subsidiaries to the steel companies in their countries. This means that the governments have a vested interest in the company and want it to succeed. The companies can then sell products, like steel, at a much lower price due to the incoming funding form the government. China has been accused of this and America has taken action to alert the World Trade Organization to settle the matter, but this is only one step to â€Å"leveling the playing field† with China. The technologies for making steel are constantly changing and this allows for more efficient and therefore cheaper steel products. It seems that the companies, who obtain these technologies, obtain a significant head start in the industry. Like I said before, many companies are going bankrupt and are leaving the exiting the industry. Since steel is a commodity it leads to very volatile prices and can change quite frequently due to demand. By looking at Exhibit 1, you can see how the average price per ton decreased form $425 per ton in 2000 to $354 per ton in 2001. This exhibit shows how many tons of steel Nucor sold during certain years from 1970 to 2006. It is interesting to see that Nucor’s net income was fairly low during the years of 2000-2002, but increased to $1,121. 5 million. This is because of Nucor’s many acquisitions during the low period. Just a few years later in 2004, the price of steel was back up to $595 per ton. These driving forces very easily impact the steel industry’s competitive structure in a bad way. These driving forces make it very difficult for steel companies to compete in this industry. 3)The prospects for future profitability of the U. S. steel makers are very unattractive. Unless America can successfully combat China’s enormously, inexpensive, production ability, I do not see any American steel company surviving. China just has too big of a production ability and has the workforce to do it cheaply. Nucor will have to expand in this industry in the United States to survive. If the WTO negotiations with China go well then American steel companies may have a chance in the steel industry. If they do, then America can increase tariffs on incoming steel products and give American steel companies a chance to survive. Future profitability looks grim for American steel companies because of what I described before. China has been accused of subsidizing its steel companies, therefore funding them to make it possible to â€Å"dump steel† which is the process of selling steel at prices below the cost of making it. China would do this because then it would eventually under price foreign competitors and run them out of business. This, supposedly, happened back in 2000-2001 and devastated the steel industry in America, causing many companies to go bankrupt or be bought by other companies. Nucor was lucky enough to have survived this fall out and acquired many steel plants at low prices. The steel industry did bounce back in 2005-2006 and this allowed Nucor to grow quite rapidly due to its previous acquisitions. If America can again survive the big Chinese power, then Nucor will succeed, but right now it looks bleak for the American steel industry. 4)Nucor has adopted a low-cost strategy based on four parts. These parts are acquisitions, technological innovation, plant innovation, and joint ventures. The acquisition part of the Nucor strategy is that it has acquired many different steel companies in 2000-2001, when the steel industry in America was suffering. Because of the low time in the steel industry, Nucor could purchase steel companies at lower prices than normal. This helped its low-cost strategy substantially because it allowed Nucor to grow yet still remain a low-cost steel producer. Exhibit 2 shows Nucor’s financials, and very accurately illustrates the hit Nucor took during the low period of 2000-2003. This was a perfect time for Nucor to buy other steel companies, as this was one of the only ways for it to grow. Nucor invested heavily in new technologies. Investing in new technologies is very important for steel companies to do, as it is very easy to reduce costs if the company has a foothold on a new technology. Nucor focused on the introduction of disruptive technologies to give it an advantage in the market as compared to its competitors in terms of product quality, cost per ton, and market share. One example of this is the Castrip process. This new process produced flat-rolled, carbon, and stainless steels in very thin gauges. It allowed Nucor to produce steel in fewer steps, and helped produce savings in its operating expenses, therefore increasing Nucor’s net income. The Castrip process needed lower-quality scrap steel, which decreased costs of the scrap steel, and required 90% less energy. Also this new process cut green house gases by 80%. Nucor also increased its capital investments on the newest machinery to provide more efficient steel plants. By providing its workforce with the best possible technology, Nucor was able to max out production yet still retain a safe working environment. The implementation of hard working plant managers, produced hardworking managers that are aggressive enough to implement methods to improve product quality while keeping costs low. Nucor’s last strategic part was its joint ventures. By investing in joint ventures, Nucor was able to grow internationally with out the full capital risk. Some examples of this were its joint ventures in Brazil, Australia, and Trinidad. The joint venture in Brazil was between Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and Nucor. The goal was to produce an environmentally friendly pig iron plant that used eucalyptus trees as fuel. The use of eucalyptus trees as fuel removed 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for every one ton of pig iron produced. Another joint venture was three other companies in Australia. This plant used a new technology process called HIsmelt. This new process converted iron ore to pig iron at a lower cost and higher quality than previously known pig iron producing technologies. The Trinidad plant was acquired in 2007 and was originally in Louisiana. The plant was moved to Trinidad because of the constant supply of natural gas as fuel therefore lowering costs. This plant reduced scrap metal dependence by as much as 25%. It also allowed for a higher quality production of sheet steel. Nucor’s four-part strategy has lead to a competitive sustainable advantage as seen in exhibit 2 between the years of 2004-2006 when its net income soared to more than $1,757. 7 million. Nucor used a cost-based advantage to achieve its competitive sustainable advantage. )Nucor employed an organization philosophy consisting of decentralization, individually operated plants, a three layer structure, good compensation practices for its employees, and good employee relations. Nucor’s decentralized structure allowed for its employees to make quick decisions that did not have to go through all of the bureaucratic steps like that in a centralized company. A decentralized co mpany relied on higher quality employees that could analyze a situation and react quickly and successfully. The individually operated plants were akin to the decentralized company. Each plant was individually responsible for its profits. The three layers consisted of the executives at the headquarters located in South Carolina, the general managers that ran the plants and talked to the executives, and the hourly employees that did most of the labor at the plants. The general managers ran the plants individually form each other and were expected to reach, at least, a 25% return on its total assets. If a general manager failed this, the executives would interfere and had no hesitation in replacing an unsuccessful general manager. The individual plants allowed for team like competitions between plants to see who could be the best performer. Nucor was nonunion, but provided salaries based on competing plants’ salaries in the area. Nucor offered a generous compensation bonus to good work that differed for each worker. Hourly workers received bonuses if they produced more than the standard number of tons. Department managers earned annual bonuses depending on percentage of net income to dollars of assets. Nucor also had great employee relations. Nucor offered 401k plans by matching up to 25% of employees’ contributions. Medical and dental plans were very common for Nucor employees. There was also a tuition reimbursement of up to $2,750 for any employee. For the children of employees, Nucor would provide a scholarship up to $2,750, which would encourage employees to stay until their went to college. As seen here, Nucor treated its employees very well to reduce employee turnover and attract the best employees. Nucor required a high human capital if it were going to use a decentralized structure. The high quality employees that Nucor attracted helped Nucor execute its low-cost strategy, and led to superior results. )Nucor’s leadership, great strategy, and execution were what led to why Nucor was so successful in the steel industry. The great leader that Nucor relied upon was Kenneth Iverson, who changed Nucor from a nuclear energy company into a steel company. As seen in the last question, the decentralized structure helped Nucor react t problems quickly due to the ability of employees to take t he authority to solving problems. To be a great company, you need all three. This was evident in the case of Nucor because it was turned around and became a very successful company in a very different and difficult industry than where it started. )The SWOT analysis of Nucor is as follows. The strengths of Nucor are its strong market position, historically based position, increased production capacity, and strong technological focus. Nucor had a strong market position that allowed it to flourish in the steel industry. The strong market position is shown by its ability to stay out of the red during hard times. This is seen in exhibit 1. Nucor continued to have a positive net income, even during the low period between 2000 and 2002, as seen in exhibit 1. Nucor’s historically based position has given it a long-standing presence that is known to most steel consumers. This has helped Nucor because it tells the consumers that Nucor has been able to provide quality steel year after year. As seen in exhibit 1, Nucor has increasingly produced steel starting at 207,000 tons in 1970 to 22,118,000 tons in 2006. This growth is enormous and not once did Nucor’s steel sales fall below its previous year. Nucor’s strong technological focus has allowed it to become a power in the steel industry. It used electric arc furnaces when they were a new technology and encouraged further innovation into the steel production methods. Some weaknesses of Nucor are that it is mainly located in America and that the steel industry is already very developed. The fact that Nucor is mainly in America limits its growth. Nucor cannot compete with international companies so it is best to stay in America, but that continues to limit its growth because Nucor can only sell so much steel in the United States. The steel industry is very developed due to the early demand for the high amounts of steel back when the steel industry started. Now demand has lessened and the developed companies are fighting to stay alive. Nucor’s opportunities are joint ventures and new technologies. Nucor has taken advantage of some of its joint ventures in Brazil and Australia. This is good because is allows for an expanded production line and further integration backwards. New technologies are a good way for Nucor to grow as it can decrease its costs and therefore increase its net income. This is a necessity for Nucor due to its â€Å"prison-like† existence in America. The threats on Nucor are foreign competitors and decreasing demand. Foreign competitors are growing in the developing nations like India and China. These nations are very large and China already produces one third of the steel in the world. Decreasing is also a problem, which is caused by the increasing amount of suppliers. Nucor’s distinct competencies are its highly successful strategy and high quality human, technology, and leadership capital. 8)My assessment of Nucor’s stock is that it has done the best out of its American competitors as shown in exhibit 3. Exhibit 3 is a comparison of the stocks of Mittal Steel (MT), U. S. Steel (X), AK Holding Steel Company (AKS), and of course Nucor Corporation (NUE). As shown, exhibit 3 shows these four stocks from 1999 to 2009. Mittal Steel did surpass Nucor during the years of 2007 and 2008, but currently Nucor is the highest. This is good because it shows the reaction to the recession, and it shows that Nucor bounced back the best. I personally would not purchase any steel stock because I believe that the growing steel industries in China and India will over power the American steel companies. However, if I had to invest in a steel company, it would in fact be Nucor. 9)Nucor needs to address the growing steel industry in Asia. Daniel DiMicco needs to do something to ensure that Nucor survives. I would recommend further investment in new steel technologies, and if it comes to it, Nucor may have to change industries again, like it did back in 1970. DiMicco may want to make sure that he is not â€Å"keeping all of Nucor’s eggs in one basket† by staying in the steel industry. Moving into the energy industry may be a smart move as there is a definite need for alternative energy. Nucor’s current, increasing net income could help invest in alternative energies that would help Nucor become sustainable. 10)The biggest recent event is the possibility of China potentially steel dumping, which would under price Nucor substantially. This would lead to the downfall of Nucor. Another current event is the new technology of producing â€Å"Green Steel† (http://news. n. msn. com/business/article. aspx? cp-documentid=1090378). This is a new technology that takes waste plastic and converts it into steel. Since plastic is mainly carbon, it is possible to produce steel from the waste plastic. This would solve the problem of what to do with the plastic that is no longer used and help produce cheap steel that also lowers emissions. Lower temperature is needed in this new process therefore reducing the energy needed. This new technology converts waste into very much needed, and useful steel. Nucor Steel Case Study There are many competitive forces that are affecting Nucor Corporation. Some of the primary ones are the market size, number of rivals, and pace of technological change. The market size is shrinking because of the increase in competing international steel companies. The number of rivals in America is declining due to higher labor costs than in foreign countries. There is a very fast pace of technology in the steel industry and it seems that the company, that obtains the newest technology, flourishes. This is due to the difficulty in lower costs of steel production. Better technology is one of the only ways to decrease costs because labor is pretty much at a set cost and all that is left is the cost of iron and making the steel. If a company can get its hands on a new technology that allows it to under price its competitors then it has a big advantage in the steel industry. Nucor’s main rivals in the steel industry are AK Steel Holding Corporation, Mittal Steel Company, and U. S. Steel. The five forces for the steel industry are the buyers, substitutes, suppliers, threat of new entrants, and rivals. The buyers have a fairly strong power on the steel producers. This is because of the low switching cost between competitors. Unless a contract is signed between a steel company and its buyer, there is little cost to the buyer if it wants to switch to a different steel company. There are not very many substitutes for steel, as steel is a commodity, so the substitute power is weak. Steel is a one of a kind item in that it is very strong and very versatile in its use. It is used in buildings, automobiles, bridges, garage door openers, and many other everyday objects. Suppliers also have a weak power in the steel industry. The suppliers are supplying iron to steel companies. Iron is very common and many companies sell it. Also, steel companies frequently integrate backwards and provide their own iron to their steel mills. The threat of new entrants is very weak due to high entry barriers and the current struggling competitors. The rival power is moderate to strong because there are a fair number of steelmaking companies. Also steel dumping occurs, but I will be talking about that later. According to this analysis, Nucor is in a three star industry, so it seems to have an okay chance at surviving. It is not the best industry to be in, but Nucor still has been able to flourish due to its organizational philosophy and technological innovation. 2) The driving forces behind the steel industry are industry growth rate, globalization, technological change and manufacturing process innovation, exit of major firms, and frequent change in cost. The steel industry is falling. There is a declining demand for steel and many companies have already gone bankrupt or are on the verge of going bankrupt. Some of these companies are Bethlehem Steel and Ling-Temco-Vought. The steel industry is very difficult to compete in because more steel is being produced than there is demand for it. Globalization is also a problem for the steel industry in America. Due to globalization it is getting easier for competing companies to send their products to other countries. This causes a problem for companies like Nucor because America has strict labor laws. In other countries labor is exploited and workers are paid very little, while in America, companies must pay their workers a minimum wage. One good thing that America does do is provide tariffs on incoming steel products to help American companies better compete with the international companies. Some countries are subsidiaries to the steel companies in their countries. This means that the governments have a vested interest in the company and want it to succeed. The companies can then sell products, like steel, at a much lower price due to the incoming funding form the government. China has been accused of this and America has taken action to alert the World Trade Organization to settle the matter, but this is only one step to â€Å"leveling the playing field† with China. The technologies for making steel are constantly changing and this allows for more efficient and therefore cheaper steel products. It seems that the companies, who obtain these technologies, obtain a significant head start in the industry. Like I said before, many companies are going bankrupt and are leaving the exiting the industry. Since steel is a commodity it leads to very volatile prices and can change quite frequently due to demand. By looking at Exhibit 1, you can see how the average price per ton decreased form $425 per ton in 2000 to $354 per ton in 2001. This exhibit shows how many tons of steel Nucor sold during certain years from 1970 to 2006. It is interesting to see that Nucor’s net income was fairly low during the years of 2000-2002, but increased to $1,121. 5 million. This is because of Nucor’s many acquisitions during the low period. Just a few years later in 2004, the price of steel was back up to $595 per ton. These driving forces very easily impact the steel industry’s competitive structure in a bad way. These driving forces make it very difficult for steel companies to compete in this industry. 3)The prospects for future profitability of the U. S. steel makers are very unattractive. Unless America can successfully combat China’s enormously, inexpensive, production ability, I do not see any American steel company surviving. China just has too big of a production ability and has the workforce to do it cheaply. Nucor will have to expand in this industry in the United States to survive. If the WTO negotiations with China go well then American steel companies may have a chance in the steel industry. If they do, then America can increase tariffs on incoming steel products and give American steel companies a chance to survive. Future profitability looks grim for American steel companies because of what I described before. China has been accused of subsidizing its steel companies, therefore funding them to make it possible to â€Å"dump steel† which is the process of selling steel at prices below the cost of making it. China would do this because then it would eventually under price foreign competitors and run them out of business. This, supposedly, happened back in 2000-2001 and devastated the steel industry in America, causing many companies to go bankrupt or be bought by other companies. Nucor was lucky enough to have survived this fall out and acquired many steel plants at low prices. The steel industry did bounce back in 2005-2006 and this allowed Nucor to grow quite rapidly due to its previous acquisitions. If America can again survive the big Chinese power, then Nucor will succeed, but right now it looks bleak for the American steel industry. 4)Nucor has adopted a low-cost strategy based on four parts. These parts are acquisitions, technological innovation, plant innovation, and joint ventures. The acquisition part of the Nucor strategy is that it has acquired many different steel companies in 2000-2001, when the steel industry in America was suffering. Because of the low time in the steel industry, Nucor could purchase steel companies at lower prices than normal. This helped its low-cost strategy substantially because it allowed Nucor to grow yet still remain a low-cost steel producer. Exhibit 2 shows Nucor’s financials, and very accurately illustrates the hit Nucor took during the low period of 2000-2003. This was a perfect time for Nucor to buy other steel companies, as this was one of the only ways for it to grow. Nucor invested heavily in new technologies. Investing in new technologies is very important for steel companies to do, as it is very easy to reduce costs if the company has a foothold on a new technology. Nucor focused on the introduction of disruptive technologies to give it an advantage in the market as compared to its competitors in terms of product quality, cost per ton, and market share. One example of this is the Castrip process. This new process produced flat-rolled, carbon, and stainless steels in very thin gauges. It allowed Nucor to produce steel in fewer steps, and helped produce savings in its operating expenses, therefore increasing Nucor’s net income. The Castrip process needed lower-quality scrap steel, which decreased costs of the scrap steel, and required 90% less energy. Also this new process cut green house gases by 80%. Nucor also increased its capital investments on the newest machinery to provide more efficient steel plants. By providing its workforce with the best possible technology, Nucor was able to max out production yet still retain a safe working environment. The implementation of hard working plant managers, produced hardworking managers that are aggressive enough to implement methods to improve product quality while keeping costs low. Nucor’s last strategic part was its joint ventures. By investing in joint ventures, Nucor was able to grow internationally with out the full capital risk. Some examples of this were its joint ventures in Brazil, Australia, and Trinidad. The joint venture in Brazil was between Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and Nucor. The goal was to produce an environmentally friendly pig iron plant that used eucalyptus trees as fuel. The use of eucalyptus trees as fuel removed 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for every one ton of pig iron produced. Another joint venture was three other companies in Australia. This plant used a new technology process called HIsmelt. This new process converted iron ore to pig iron at a lower cost and higher quality than previously known pig iron producing technologies. The Trinidad plant was acquired in 2007 and was originally in Louisiana. The plant was moved to Trinidad because of the constant supply of natural gas as fuel therefore lowering costs. This plant reduced scrap metal dependence by as much as 25%. It also allowed for a higher quality production of sheet steel. Nucor’s four-part strategy has lead to a competitive sustainable advantage as seen in exhibit 2 between the years of 2004-2006 when its net income soared to more than $1,757. 7 million. Nucor used a cost-based advantage to achieve its competitive sustainable advantage. )Nucor employed an organization philosophy consisting of decentralization, individually operated plants, a three layer structure, good compensation practices for its employees, and good employee relations. Nucor’s decentralized structure allowed for its employees to make quick decisions that did not have to go through all of the bureaucratic steps like that in a centralized company. A decentralized co mpany relied on higher quality employees that could analyze a situation and react quickly and successfully. The individually operated plants were akin to the decentralized company. Each plant was individually responsible for its profits. The three layers consisted of the executives at the headquarters located in South Carolina, the general managers that ran the plants and talked to the executives, and the hourly employees that did most of the labor at the plants. The general managers ran the plants individually form each other and were expected to reach, at least, a 25% return on its total assets. If a general manager failed this, the executives would interfere and had no hesitation in replacing an unsuccessful general manager. The individual plants allowed for team like competitions between plants to see who could be the best performer. Nucor was nonunion, but provided salaries based on competing plants’ salaries in the area. Nucor offered a generous compensation bonus to good work that differed for each worker. Hourly workers received bonuses if they produced more than the standard number of tons. Department managers earned annual bonuses depending on percentage of net income to dollars of assets. Nucor also had great employee relations. Nucor offered 401k plans by matching up to 25% of employees’ contributions. Medical and dental plans were very common for Nucor employees. There was also a tuition reimbursement of up to $2,750 for any employee. For the children of employees, Nucor would provide a scholarship up to $2,750, which would encourage employees to stay until their went to college. As seen here, Nucor treated its employees very well to reduce employee turnover and attract the best employees. Nucor required a high human capital if it were going to use a decentralized structure. The high quality employees that Nucor attracted helped Nucor execute its low-cost strategy, and led to superior results. )Nucor’s leadership, great strategy, and execution were what led to why Nucor was so successful in the steel industry. The great leader that Nucor relied upon was Kenneth Iverson, who changed Nucor from a nuclear energy company into a steel company. As seen in the last question, the decentralized structure helped Nucor react t problems quickly due to the ability of employees to take t he authority to solving problems. To be a great company, you need all three. This was evident in the case of Nucor because it was turned around and became a very successful company in a very different and difficult industry than where it started. )The SWOT analysis of Nucor is as follows. The strengths of Nucor are its strong market position, historically based position, increased production capacity, and strong technological focus. Nucor had a strong market position that allowed it to flourish in the steel industry. The strong market position is shown by its ability to stay out of the red during hard times. This is seen in exhibit 1. Nucor continued to have a positive net income, even during the low period between 2000 and 2002, as seen in exhibit 1. Nucor’s historically based position has given it a long-standing presence that is known to most steel consumers. This has helped Nucor because it tells the consumers that Nucor has been able to provide quality steel year after year. As seen in exhibit 1, Nucor has increasingly produced steel starting at 207,000 tons in 1970 to 22,118,000 tons in 2006. This growth is enormous and not once did Nucor’s steel sales fall below its previous year. Nucor’s strong technological focus has allowed it to become a power in the steel industry. It used electric arc furnaces when they were a new technology and encouraged further innovation into the steel production methods. Some weaknesses of Nucor are that it is mainly located in America and that the steel industry is already very developed. The fact that Nucor is mainly in America limits its growth. Nucor cannot compete with international companies so it is best to stay in America, but that continues to limit its growth because Nucor can only sell so much steel in the United States. The steel industry is very developed due to the early demand for the high amounts of steel back when the steel industry started. Now demand has lessened and the developed companies are fighting to stay alive. Nucor’s opportunities are joint ventures and new technologies. Nucor has taken advantage of some of its joint ventures in Brazil and Australia. This is good because is allows for an expanded production line and further integration backwards. New technologies are a good way for Nucor to grow as it can decrease its costs and therefore increase its net income. This is a necessity for Nucor due to its â€Å"prison-like† existence in America. The threats on Nucor are foreign competitors and decreasing demand. Foreign competitors are growing in the developing nations like India and China. These nations are very large and China already produces one third of the steel in the world. Decreasing is also a problem, which is caused by the increasing amount of suppliers. Nucor’s distinct competencies are its highly successful strategy and high quality human, technology, and leadership capital. 8)My assessment of Nucor’s stock is that it has done the best out of its American competitors as shown in exhibit 3. Exhibit 3 is a comparison of the stocks of Mittal Steel (MT), U. S. Steel (X), AK Holding Steel Company (AKS), and of course Nucor Corporation (NUE). As shown, exhibit 3 shows these four stocks from 1999 to 2009. Mittal Steel did surpass Nucor during the years of 2007 and 2008, but currently Nucor is the highest. This is good because it shows the reaction to the recession, and it shows that Nucor bounced back the best. I personally would not purchase any steel stock because I believe that the growing steel industries in China and India will over power the American steel companies. However, if I had to invest in a steel company, it would in fact be Nucor. 9)Nucor needs to address the growing steel industry in Asia. Daniel DiMicco needs to do something to ensure that Nucor survives. I would recommend further investment in new steel technologies, and if it comes to it, Nucor may have to change industries again, like it did back in 1970. DiMicco may want to make sure that he is not â€Å"keeping all of Nucor’s eggs in one basket† by staying in the steel industry. Moving into the energy industry may be a smart move as there is a definite need for alternative energy. Nucor’s current, increasing net income could help invest in alternative energies that would help Nucor become sustainable. 10)The biggest recent event is the possibility of China potentially steel dumping, which would under price Nucor substantially. This would lead to the downfall of Nucor. Another current event is the new technology of producing â€Å"Green Steel† (http://news. n. msn. com/business/article. aspx? cp-documentid=1090378). This is a new technology that takes waste plastic and converts it into steel. Since plastic is mainly carbon, it is possible to produce steel from the waste plastic. This would solve the problem of what to do with the plastic that is no longer used and help produce cheap steel that also lowers emissions. Lower temperature is needed in this new process therefore reducing the energy needed. This new technology converts waste into very much needed, and useful steel.

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 12

â€Å"I can't believe you keep coming back,† Dante told me when I showed up at his shop the next day. To no one's surprise, the place was empty. â€Å"Me either,† I admitted. I never felt welcome here, yet I didn't feel I had anywhere else to go. â€Å"How do you stay in business?† â€Å"Beats me. I don't suppose you're here to give me the best night of my life? You missed your El Gaucho chance, though.† â€Å"I'm here because I had another dream.† â€Å"You're using me, succubus.† He sighed and sat down at the chintzy table. â€Å"Okay. Give it to me.† Settling down across from him, I recapped the latest dream events. â€Å"Not really much in the way of new developments,† he pointed out afterward. â€Å"You got, like, thirty more seconds of plot.† â€Å"Does it mean anything?† â€Å"Hell if I know.† I narrowed my eyes. â€Å"You are the worst dream interpreter ever.† â€Å"Nah.† He rested his chin in his hand, elbow propped on the table. His expression was typically lazy. â€Å"I'm a very good interpreter. There's nothing to interpret in your dream, though, unless it's just your subconscious lamenting your infertility. Which is likely. It also suggests you have bad taste in music. Is ‘Sweet Home Alabama' really playing each time?† Now I sighed. â€Å"The dreams clearly aren't prophetic either since we know it's impossible for you to have a kid.† He drummed his fingers on the table, face thoughtful. â€Å"You sure you might not adopt or something?† â€Å"She was mine,† I said firmly. â€Å"My own flesh and blood. I could feel it.† â€Å"Okay. Far be it from me to argue delusional maternal instincts. But like I said, it doesn't really matter. The content, I mean. What matters here, I guess, is the energy loss.† I could have hugged him. â€Å"Finally, someone fucking thinks that's important.† â€Å"It's a pattern now. Can't really blame it on anomaly anymore.† â€Å"So what's it mean?† â€Å"You sure you want the opinion of the worst dream interpreter ever?† â€Å"Good grief! Get on with it.† â€Å"If you were human, I'd say without a doubt that you were being preyed on.† I flinched. â€Å"What? What do you mean?† He reached across the table and caught my hand, flipping it over absentmindedly while he thought. I was too caught on the word preyed to care about him touching me. Little Kayla's words popped into my head. They're monsters. They swoop in the air and go in people's dreams. â€Å"You and I both know there are plenty of supernatural beings walking the world. Some walk the dreamworld and don't really have humans' best intentions at heart. Not that you do either. And honestly, some aren't too different from you. They crave human life and energy, and they can suck it out of dreams.† â€Å"But they can't do that to me?† â€Å"Mmm.† He let go of my hand. â€Å"I don't see how. You don't make your own energy. You steal it too. But who knows?† I shivered. The idea of some creature – some parasitic creature – latching on and sucking out my life made me ill. I was fully aware of the hypocrisy, however, seeing as I did the exact same thing all the time. â€Å"So†¦what kind of creature might be capable of doing that?† â€Å"Dunno. Not my specialty.† â€Å"But you're a dream expert! Shouldn't you know about dream†¦creatures?† â€Å"Supernatural creatures are Erik's thing, not mine. You should ask him.† â€Å"You're the worst dream interpreter ever.† â€Å"So I hear.† His earlier seriousness flitted away. â€Å"So†¦are we going to have sex now?† I stood up. â€Å"No! Of course not.† Dante threw his hands up. â€Å"What more do you want? I actually gave you useful information this time. And it's not like you couldn't use the fix – small or no.† â€Å"It's more than that,† I said. Suddenly, I hesitated. â€Å"I†¦I know you now.† â€Å"What's that supposed to mean?† â€Å"If you were some anonymous guy, there might be a chance. But now you're like a†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Friend wasn't quite the word I was looking for. â€Å"†¦an acquaintance.† He appeared genuinely baffled for once. It was almost amusing. â€Å"I'm really not following this, succubus.† â€Å"I've got a boyfriend, remember? When I have anonymous, casual sex, it's not really cheating. But if I do it with someone†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦you like?† Was it my imagination, or was there something hopeful in his eyes when he asked that? â€Å"No, I don't think I like you. But I don't exactly dislike you either. The point is, you aren't anonymous. It would be cheating.† He stared at me for several moments, and whatever glimmer of hope I thought I'd seen was definitely gone. â€Å"No wonder succubi are so good at passing as human women. You've certainly got the head games and complete lack of rationality down.† â€Å"I've got to go.† â€Å"You always have to go. Where to now? Some anonymous guy?† I rose. â€Å"No, I'm going to find Erik and see if he can actually give me useful information.† â€Å"I did give you useful information!† â€Å"Debatable.† â€Å"Well, let me lock up, and we'll see what Lancaster has to say.† I froze. â€Å"What do you mean ‘we'?† Dante grabbed some keys from behind the counter. â€Å"You've piqued my curiosity. I want to see how this turns out. Besides, you owe me for my help, seeing as you won't put out.† â€Å"‘Help,' indeed,† I muttered. He walked to the door with me. â€Å"Did it ever occur to you that in spite of how unuseful you think I am, I'm still kind of concerned about what happens to you?† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"It actually hadn't.† But I let him go with me over to Arcana, Ltd. When we stepped inside, we found Erik unpacking a box of books. He smiled without looking up, having sensed me. â€Å"Miss Kincaid, always a – † He stopped when he noticed Dante. For the first time in our friendship, I saw Erik look angry. It was disturbing. Frightening, even. â€Å"Mr. Moriarty.† Dante nodded his greeting. â€Å"Always nice to see you.† The expression on Erik's face showed the feelings weren't mutual. He straightened up from his work and walked over to the counter. Crossing his arms over his chest, he peered at both of us. â€Å"What can I do for you?† No cordial host or tea chats today. The air between the two men suddenly felt thick and oppressive. I spoke uncertainly. â€Å"We†¦that is, Dante thinks he has an answer to my dream problems.† Dante laughed, wearing his trademark smirk. If he bore Erik the same animosity, he was hiding it well. â€Å"I wouldn't call it an answer, succubus. More like a theory.† â€Å"I've had the dream again,† I told Erik. â€Å"More than once now. And I still keep losing my energy. Dante says it could be some kind of†¦dream creature preying on me.† I stumbled over the words. The concept was still too ludicrous. â€Å"But he didn't know what kind. He said you might know.† Erik shifted his eyes from Dante to me. I could tell the old man was still unhappy about us being there together, but he cared about me too much and couldn't stop himself from helping me. I wondered at what point over the years I had earned such regard. And how. He sighed and gestured us to the table. We all sat down, but no tea was offered. â€Å"Something like that going after a succubus is hard to imagine,† Erik said at last. â€Å"That's what I thought,† said Dante. His lighthearted mask had slipped a little. He looked much as he had in the store, thoughtful and curious. He reminded me of a mechanical engineer I'd once known. The guy couldn't help himself when it came to fixing some technical problem. Give him something in pieces, and he had to analyze it and figure it out. Dante might give me a hard time, but his nature, corrupt or not, couldn't stay away from this. Erik's eyes studied me, hard and intent. I was an intriguing puzzle for him too. â€Å"If I had to pick†¦I'd say the symptoms most match Oneroi.† I'd heard of them. They'd been in the Greek myths I'd grown up with. â€Å"Dream spirits?† Dante considered. â€Å"More than spirits. They're the children of Nyx and Erebus.† I shuddered. I'd heard of them too. Nyx and Erebus. Night and Darkness. Primordial entities of chaos. They were powerful and dangerous. The world had been born of chaos, true, but it was also a fact – even science agreed – that the universe was always trying to move back toward chaos. Nyx and Erebus were destructive – so much so that they were now locked away, lest they tear the world apart. The possibility that their children could be sucking away my life made me feel sick again. Dante was still turning this theory over in his head. â€Å"Yeah, that'd be the closest. But they still don't match one hundred percent.† â€Å"Nothing does,† admitted Erik. â€Å"I've never heard of anything attacking a succubus.† â€Å"What do Oneroi do exactly?† I asked. The two men exchanged glances, each waiting for the other to explain. Erik was the one who stepped up. â€Å"They visit mortals in their dreams and feed off the emotions such dreams stir up. Victims of Oneroi wake up drained and sick.† More irony. Legend said that succubi visited men in their dreams too and took their life. â€Å"That's what's happening to me,† I argued. â€Å"Why couldn't it be them?† â€Å"It could be them,† agreed Dante, â€Å"but like we said, the details don't fit. Oneroi can seize control and shape what you dream. But the dreams they stir up are usually nightmares. Fear and other dark emotions tend to be more intense – they offer more for the Oneroi to feed off of. Your dreams are short, and they're†¦fluffy.† â€Å"Fluffy?† â€Å"Well, I don't know. Not nightmares. They're intriguing to you. They bring out emotions – fascinated, happy emotions. They're giving you visceral reactions, I suppose, but not the type that the Oneroi usually go after.† â€Å"And,† continued Erik, â€Å"there's also the fact that you aren't an ideal choice for them. You're inefficient. You're a conduit, a link to the mortal world and their energy. If Oneroi are stealing from you, they have to wait for you to get your power from someone else first. Far simpler for them to take directly from a human.† I suddenly realized I'd forgotten something. â€Å"One other weird thing happened†¦more than the energy loss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I explained about waking up feeling cold and wet. â€Å"I guess that's kind of weird,† said Dante, â€Å"but I don't know that it's really related to this.† â€Å"Well, except later that day, I read this article about a guy who went crazy and tried to swim across the Sound. He thought it would help his family – and it did because he drowned and they got his insurance money. When I read the article, the wet and cold feeling came back. It was like†¦for a second, I was him. I felt exactly what he'd felt. Like I was drowning too.† â€Å"Empathy,† said Dante. â€Å"You read it and imagined what it must be like.† â€Å"No.† I frowned, trying to bring the feeling back. â€Å"I†¦I felt him. I knew it was him I was feeling. That guy. The same way I knew the girl was my daughter. It was in my gut.† Dante looked annoyed. â€Å"Would have been helpful to know this earlier.† â€Å"I forgot. I didn't really see it as relevant until now.† â€Å"Have you ever had anything like this happen before? Knowledge of something you didn't experience?† â€Å"I don't think so.† Erik glanced at Dante. â€Å"Clairvoyance?† â€Å"I don't know. Unlikely. Too many variables. None of them mesh.† Dante turned his gaze back on me. â€Å"Have you talked to your own people about this?† I shook my head. â€Å"Jerome's been gone. I mentioned the first dream before he left, but he didn't seem very concerned.† â€Å"Well, I don't know what to make of it,† Dante said. â€Å"Nor I,† said Erik kindly. â€Å"But I will look into this for you.† â€Å"Thanks,† I told him. â€Å"I really appreciate it.† We stood up, and like that, the momentary truce between Erik and Dante vanished. Erik looked stormy once more. Dante appeared smug and condescending. â€Å"Miss Kincaid,† Erik began stiffly. â€Å"You know I have nothing but the highest regard for you, and I am more than happy to assist you in any way you need. I also recognize that Mr. Moriarty can also offer you help. But I would prefer it if†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"†¦if you don't bring me around anymore,† finished Dante. He saluted. â€Å"Noted, old man. Meet you at the car, succubus.† He turned and walked out of the shop. Erik's mood didn't vanish with Dante's departure. I could still sense the fury radiating from him. Erik had said Dante was corrupt, but really, so was I. Erik didn't have this kind of reaction around me. There was something I was missing here. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I told Erik. â€Å"I didn't know it would bother you so much.† â€Å"You couldn't have known,† he replied wearily. â€Å"And after all, I was the one who directed you to him.† â€Å"I'll keep him away,† I promised. I thanked him again and went out to meet Dante. He leaned against my car, his thoughts obscured by a lazy smile. â€Å"Why does Erik hate you so much?† I asked. Dante glanced down at me. â€Å"Because I'm a bad man who does bad things.† â€Å"There's more to it than that,† I said. â€Å"And you don't seem that bad. The worst things you've done are trick customers and offer useless information. Although†¦well, you actually were pretty helpful just now. But like I said, I don't think you're as bad as your reputation implies.† â€Å"How would you know?† I shrugged. â€Å"Instinct.† In one swift motion, Dante snaked his hand behind my neck and pulled me to him. I put a hand on his chest and started to push him away and then stopped. There was a warmth in his body, the eagerness of a man who'd been deprived of something for a very long time. To my surprise, I felt arousal burning in me – a yearning of my own to touch someone who wasn't all business. I experienced that feeling a lot, and it usually got me into trouble. My succubus nature woke up, wondering if energy might be on its way. And despite my lofty talk earlier about not sleeping with people I was acquainted with, I suddenly wanted him to kiss me. I wanted his energy – just a taste. His mouth moved toward mine. I started to close my eyes and part my lips – then, abruptly, he stiffened. Releasing me, he stepped back. I opened my eyes, staring in astonishment. â€Å"What the hell?† I asked. â€Å"You backed off. And after all the grief you've given me about sleeping with you.† â€Å"You're drained and hungry, succubus,† he said. â€Å"It'd be like taking advantage of a drunk girl.† â€Å"Right. And you've never done anything like that.† â€Å"Yeah, well, I'm not eighteen anymore.† He opened the car door. â€Å"Are we going or not?† I studied him a bit longer, thinking again I saw that hope and compassion from earlier. I was starting to wonder if a lot of his cattiness was just bravado, hiding the same insecurities everyone in the world had. I kept my psychoanalysis to myself, however, and joined him in the car. We drove back to his shop, our usual flippant banter obscuring anything serious that might have happened.