Robert G. Ingersoll, America’s Preacher of Freethought

Robert Ingersoll was born in Dresden, New York.  His mother died when he was only three years old.  His father was a Congregationalist minister, adhering to a Calvinist theology, and also an ardent abolitionist.  After the death of Robert’s mother, he moved around New England and the Midwest, where he held ministerial positions with many congregations, moving frequently. Because the family moved so much, young Robert’s education was mostly at home.  He read widely, and with his brother studied law. In 1854, Robert Ingersoll was admitted to the bar.  In 1857, he made Peoria, Illinois, his home. He and his brother opened a law office there. He developed a reputation for excellence in trial work. Known for:  popular lecturer in the last 19th  century on freethought, agnosticism, and social reform Dates:  August 11, 1833 - July 21, 1899 Also known as:  The Great Agnostic, Robert Green Ingersoll Early Political Associations In the 1860 election, Ingersoll was a Democrat and a supporter of Stephen Douglas. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1860 as a Democrat. But he was, like his father, an opponent of the institution of slavery, and he switched his allegiance to Abraham Lincoln and the newly-formed Republican Party. Family He married in 1862. Eva Parker’s father was a self-avowed atheist, with little use for religion. Eventually he and Eva had two daughters. Civil War When the Civil War began, Ingersoll enlisted.  Commissioned as a colonel, he was the commander of the 11th Illinois Cavalry.  He and the unit served in several battles in the Tennessee Valley, including at Shiloh on April 6 and 7, 1862. In December of 1862, Ingersoll and many of his unit were captured by the Confederates, and imprisoned.  Ingersoll, among others, was given the option of release if he promised to leave the Army, and in June of 1863 he resigned and was discharged from service. After the War At the end of the Civil War, as Ingersoll returned to Peoria and his law practice, he became active in the radical wing of the Republican Party, blaming the Democrats for Lincoln’s assassination. Ingersoll was appointed Attorney General for the state of Illinois by Governor Richard Oglesby, for whom he had campaigned. He served from 1867 to 1869.  It was the only time he held public office.  He had considered running for Congress in 1864 and 1866 and for governor in 1868, but his lack of religious faith held him back. Ingersoll began to identify with freethought (using reason rather than religious authority and scripture to form beliefs), delivering his first public lecture on the topic in 1868. He defended a scientific worldview including the ideas of Charles Darwin. This religious non-affiliation meant that he was unable to run successfully for office, but he did use his considerable oratory skills to give speeches in support of other candidates. Practicing law with his brother for many years, he was also involved in the new Republican Party. In 1876, as a supporter of candidate James G. Blaine, he was asked to give the nominating speech for Blaine at the Republican national convention.  He supported Rutherford B. Hayes when he was nominated. Hayes tried to give Ingersoll an appointment to a diplomatic job, but religious groups protested and Hayes backed down. Freethought Lecturer After that convention, Ingersoll moved to Washington, D.C., and began to split his time between his expanded legal practice and a new career on the lecture circuit.  He was a popular lecturer for most of the next quarter century, and with his creative arguments, he became a leading representative of the American secularist freethought movement. Ingersoll considered himself an agnostic.  While he believed that a God who answered prayers did not exist, he also questioned whether the existence of another sort of deity, and the existence of an afterlife, could even be known.  In response to a question from a Philadelphia newspaper interviewer in 1885, he said, â€Å"The Agnostic is an Atheist. The Atheist is an Agnostic. The Agnostic says: ‘I do not know, but I do not believe there is any god.‘ The Atheist says the same. The orthodox Christian says he knows there is a God, but we know that he does not know. The Atheist cannot know that God does not exist.† As was common in that time when out-of-town traveling lecturers were a main source of public entertainment in small towns and large, he gave a series of lectures that each were repeated many times, and later published in writing.  One of his most famous lectures was â€Å"Why I Am an Agnostic.†Ã‚  Another, which detailed his critique of a literal reading of the Christian scriptures, was called â€Å"Some Mistakes of Moses.†Ã‚  Other famous titles were â€Å"The Gods,† â€Å"Heretics and Heroes,† Myth and Miracle, â€Å"About the Holy Bible,† and What Must We Do to Be Saved? He also spoke on reason and liberty; another popular lecture was â€Å"Individuality.†Ã‚  An admirer of Lincoln who blamed Democrats for Lincoln’s death, Ingersoll also spoke about Lincoln.  He wrote and spoke about Thomas Paine, whom Theodore Roosevelt called a â€Å"filthy little atheist.† Ingersoll titled a lecture on Paine With His Name Left Out, the History of Liberty Cannot Be Written. As a lawyer, he remained successful, with a reputation for winning cases.  As a lecturer, he found patrons who funded his continued appearances and was a huge draw for audiences.  He received fees as high as $7,000. At one lecture in Chicago, 50,000 people turned out to see him, though the location had to turn 40,000 away as the hall would not hold so many.  Ingersoll spoke in every state of the union except North Carolina, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. His lectures earned him many religious enemies. Preachers denounced him. He was sometimes called â€Å"Robert Injuresoul† by his opponents. Newspapers reported in some detail his speeches and the reception of them. That he was the son of a relatively poor minister, and made his way to fame and fortune, was part of his public persona, the popular image of the time of the self-made, self-educated American. Social Reforms Including Women’s Suffrage Ingersoll, who had earlier in his life been an abolitionist, associated with a number of social reform causes.  One key reform he promoted was women’s rights, including the legal use of birth control, women’s suffrage, and equal pay for women. His attitude towards women was apparently also part of his marriage. He was generous and kind to his wife and two daughters, refusing to play the then-common role of a commanding patriarch. An early convert to Darwinism and evolution in science, Ingersoll opposed social Darwinism, the theory that some were â€Å"naturally† inferior and their poverty and troubles were rooted in that inferiority. He valued reason and science, but also democracy, individual worth, and equality. An influence on Andrew Carnegie, Ingersoll promoted the value of philanthropy. He counted among his larger circle such people as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Eugene Debs, Robert La Follette (though Debs and La Follette were not part of Ingersoll’s beloved Republican party), Henry Ward Beecher (who did not share Ingersoll’s religious views), H.L. Mencken, Mark Twain, and baseball player â€Å"Wahoo Sam† Crawford. Ill Health and Death In his last fifteen years, Ingersoll moved with his wife to Manhattan, then to Dobbs Ferry. While he was participating in the 1896 election, his health began to fail.  He retired from law and the lecture circuit, and died, probably of a sudden heart attack, in Dobbs Ferry, New York, in 1899.  His wife was at his side.  Despite rumors, there’s no evidence he recanted his disbelief in deities on his deathbed. He commanded large fees from speaking and did well as a lawyer, but he did not leave a great fortune. He sometimes lost money in investments and as gifts to relatives. He also donated much to freethought organizations and causes.  The New York Times even saw fit to mention his generosity in their obituary of him, with an implication that he was foolish with his funds. Select Quotes from Ingersoll Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so. All religions are inconsistent with mental freedom. The hands that help are better far than lips that pray. â€Å"Our government should be entirely and purely secular. The religious views of a candidate should be kept entirely out of sight.† â€Å"Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows.† â€Å"What light is to the eyes - what air is to the lungs - what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.† â€Å"How poor this world would be without its graves, without the memories of its mighty dead. Only the voiceless speak forever.† â€Å"The Church has always been willing to swap off treasures in heaven for cash down.† â€Å"It is a great pleasure to drive the fiend of fear out of the hearts of men women and children. It is a positive joy to put out the fires of hell. â€Å"A prayer that must have a cannon behind it better never be uttered. Forgiveness ought not to go in partnership with shot and shell. Love need not carry knives and revolvers.† â€Å"I will live by the standard of reason, and if thinking in accordance with reason takes me to perdition, then I will go to hell with my reason rather than to heaven without it.† Bibliography: Clarence H. Cramer.  Royal Bob. 1952.Roger E. Greeley.  Ingersoll: Immortal Infidel. 1977.Robert G.  Ingersoll. The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll. 12 vols. 1900.Orvin Prentiss Larson. American Infidel: Robert G. Ingersoll.  1962.Gordon Stein.  Robert G. Ingersoll, A Checklist. 1969.Eva Ingersoll Wakefield.  Letters of Robert G. Ingersoll. 1951.

Pros And Cons Of School Uniforms - 1158 Words

School Uniforms: Are Boomers and Stickers Affecting the Way People See Them? People say that school uniforms are a good thing. They prevent bullying, they are easier for parents to dress younger students, and they help students focus on studying, not what they are wearing. Are school administrators or boomers of the American school systems causing students to become Wendys Berrys version of stickers? Having students wear school uniforms have several pros and cons to them, including the cost of uniforms, student’s self-image, bullying of students, and student’s academic behavior, but the stickers view (cons) outweigh the boomers point of views. What exactly are boomers and stickers? According to Wendell Berry, boomers are people who†¦show more content†¦This trend started to spread to other states on the east coast. Students who attend schools with mainly low-income and minority students started to enforce the school uniform policy (Background of the Issue). In 1994, Long Beach Unified School District in California was the first school District in the United States to require all [the] students to wear uniforms (Background of the Issue). They felt that the gang activity was an issue and that the clothes the members wore were an unofficial uniform of intimidation(Background of the Issue). School uniforms have changed throughout the years. As they started to make the journey to American schools, people have started to notice that not all the benefits said about them are true. People who enforce students to wear uniforms are considered to be boomers. This does not mean that these people are mean, rude, and â€Å"only stop when they get what they want† people, but they are taking an easy way out when dealing with students clothing. There are some students at public schools that are attending because that is all their parents can afford. Their family most likely cannot afford to pay for extra clothing. On average, students who wear uniforms will end up changing once they get home. That means that the students’ parents are paying for extra clothing that they regularlyShow MoreRelatedPros and Cons School Uniform1515 Words   |  7 PagesPros and Cons of School Uniforms Trina Warren Liberty University Professor Mink GRST 500/501 June 17, 2013 Abstract The decision for school district to enforce school uniforms has been in existence since the 16th century. School uniforms were originally created for poor children; however, over time, schools saw uniforms as a way to bring students together. There has been debate whether uniforms improve academic success while reducing affiliation of violence. There is opinion and study thatRead MorePros And Cons Of School Uniforms1206 Words   |  5 Pages School uniforms have been around for a long time in k-12th grades along with even some colleges, while most private schools have uniforms, now some public schools are trending toward uniforms as well. There are two sides to this argument, with pros and cons to both. I have interviewed Dale Patnode, Kelly Patnode and Patricia Patnode, they bring a first hand experience with what uniform show and what they do for students. Dale Patnode went to catholic schools throughout his whole life, experiencingRead MorePros And Cons Of School Uniforms1936 Words   |  8 PagesEnglish 10 CP 27 January 2015 Pros and Cons of School Uniforms In 1994, the school district of Long Beach California was one of the first to enforce school uniforms in the grades Kindergarten through 8th, and crime rates in the district dropped 22% soon after. School attendance also improved after the uniforms were introduced. Although this one statistic shows there are positive outcomes from school uniforms, there is one question that remains: Do school uniforms help or harm the students andRead MorePros And Cons Of School Uniforms712 Words   |  3 PagesAn epidemic among many schools around the United States and around the world is one huge thing. This epidemic among schools is the fact that students have to wear uniforms for their schools. However, some parents and students may disagree with wearing these uniforms. I am one who supports the statement that students should not wear these uniforms for their schools. The next paragraphs will explain the pros and cons of not wearing and wearing school uniforms. I personally think that students shouldn’tRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of School Uniforms2005 Words   |  9 PagesStates is whether or not public school students should be required to wear uniforms. According to Lisa Flam, author of the article, â€Å"Are School Uniforms Helping or Hindering?† on Today.com, â€Å"Nineteen percent of public school principals reported requiring uniforms in the 2009-2010 school year, up from 12 percent a decade earlier, according to TODAY.† Many people are against the idea of allowing students to dress freely, but students not having to wear uniforms has its benefits. Parents wouldRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of School Uniforms702 Words   |  3 PagesSchool uniforms have been around for decades within many private and parochial schools. In more recent years more and more public schools are implementing their own uniforms hoping to see a change for the good within their schools. Upon researching the effects of these uniforms, it is clear to see that school uniforms are unnecessary concepts that decrease student individuality and do not actually help school attendance or test scores. Prior to taking a strong stance on this controversial topicRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Uniforms In Schools845 Words   |  4 Pages School uniforms: a debate that has been tossed back and forth for years now. The percentage of schools that necessitate uniforms and the percentage of the ones that do not are approximately equal. This conveys a dispute that is difficult to find a definite solution for, due to the ambiguous negatives and positives being drawn between both arguments. Uniforms being a part of school systems became widespread first after Long Beach, California implemented them into their elementary and middle schoolsRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of School Uniforms791 Words   |  4 Pageshave the school uniform policy (research conducted in 2017). This means that one-fifth of the country’s students who are in school are not allowed to wear their own clothes. The statistics indicate that a majority of the United States disapprove of school uniforms since the percenta ge remains low. The topic about school uniforms has created two sides of the issue. Some believe that students should wear school uniforms to provide an equal learning environment. Those who oppose school uniforms believeRead MorePros, Cons, And Solutions Of The School Uniforms752 Words   |  4 PagesPros, Cons, and Solutions of The school Uniforms Individuality or uniformity, which one will you choose? The school uniforms are specific clothing students are forced to wear in an attempt to fix school related problems. They are quite controversial because they do fix some problems, but they also restrict students freedom of expression. School uniforms were first enforced in the 1980’s as an attempt to fix academic and behavioral problems. There are both positives and negatives of school uniformsRead MorePros And Cons Of School Uniforms819 Words   |  4 Pagesbe desired in schools with no school uniform. Being there is a major ethical appeal to introducing school uniforms to schools nationally. An advocate for school uniforms, Hillary Clinton, â€Å"as a way to help students focus on learning: ... Puts the focus on school, not on what youre wearing (Mike Wilson). When everyone is wearing school uniforms, equality would become more than a desired idea or way of life. It would become a reality. Visually accessible to an yone. School uniforms will reduce the

Foxconn Case Study Free Essays

Vietnam Value system chosen: â€Å"Achievement Disease In Education† 1. In any country, education plays a very important role to promote the development of all economics and society. However, with methods of education for so long which do not fit the requirements of the new era, Vietnam education is producing passive â€Å"people† who is good at theory but bad at practice. We will write a custom essay sample on Foxconn Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Students and even teachers nowadays are always under a great deal of pressure from the so-called â€Å"Achievement ease†. Vietnamese obsession of having any type of â€Å"achievement† creates a negative effect in education. While students are having pressure of getting good grades In order to fulfill their parents’ will, teachers also have to make sure all of their students receive good marks to meet the school’s decided achievement. This might sound obvious, however there are students who are good at math but not good In science, who loves study and who don’t. As a result, academic dishonesty Like cheating exam Is likely to be occur frequently these days. My attempt In this paper s to contribute my voice to acknowledge and make people understand more about this fact in education in Vietnam as well as giving suggestion to eliminate this situation. 2. The definition of â€Å"Achievement Disease†: â€Å"Achievement† simply is an accomplishment in whatever goals you’ve set for yourself, not necessarily earning a lot of money. Achievement is doing what you want to do within the bounds of the law. It Is the pursuit of dreams. It is liberty from the chains of fear and unbelief. It Is recognition of what makes you unique and what you have to offer others. It Is the realization, the substance, and the tangibly of a dream fulfilled. Thus, we can understand that â€Å"Achievement Disease in education† is a type of disease which people try seeking to pursues achievements at any cost even with doing dishonesty or unethical behavior. Regarding the above explanation, taking efforts to pursue achievements of an individual or a group is a good moral character. It should be commend and encourage to every people. Just imagine a country in which every member takes efforts to achieve higher performance on the fields of activities: sports, arts, education, manufacturing, trade, technology and so on for his/her on sake and for the whole community. The country Is certainly wealthy and prosperous In Its economy as well as society. However, when these efforts to achieve a good and necessary qualities of each which causes the system to be corrupted. To simplify the definition of this term, let’s just think of the basic differences between â€Å"original achievements† with â€Å"Achievement Disease† is the different between genuine goods and counterfeiting goods. And the key factor that makes the difference is the existed or non-existed of onsets. 3. According to Murray (1938), he considered that need for achievements as one of the basic human needs. 4. Degree Appreciation is a serious issue in Vietnam Society nowadays. In fact, the psychology of degree appreciation is essential and remains harmless if it goes with a proper certification mechanism, which reflects one’s capability through the degree. Japan is considered to be the most succeeded country in pursuing degree appreciation. Here, the employee assessment relies heavily on their degree which trigger a strong competition in the society. People are urging to receive alluvial degrees to ensure their premise for success. However, this is a totally different story in Vietnam. In a lot of cases, the degrees are not associated with actual capacity of the owners. In Vietnam, most people think that the best way to pursue successful in life is to obtain good university degree. This seems to be a huge burden creates by parents and the society, which forces the children to try their best to fulfill their parents. Unfortunately, many young people who do not pass this pressure fell into fear and depression feeling, even leads to suicide. It is a painful truth seeing many students duty 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for the periodical achievements which are mostly useless in the future. Currently, every Vietnamese family and person has a desire that they themselves or family members could achieve a university degree. This is actually one type of â€Å"achievement disease† which leads to the fact of redundant in teachers but shortage in workers and the more dangerous disease of â€Å"actual degree but simulated man†. In a society where people only appreciate educational degree but underestimate the real ability of individuals may leads to severe consequences on the society: In Vietnam, we could easily find information regarding the evils of degree buying, point selling, academic degree selling, etc†¦. Due to the fact that high positions always go along with better degree, in many cases a person is promoted in a higher position but he doesn’t meet the position degree criteria. As a result, he must buy a good degree to fulfill the promotion requirements or to keep the existing position. Therefore in Vietnamese language we have a phrase called: â€Å"Paper P. H. D or Paper Master† that implies people who use their money to buy fake certificates or degrees. Not until recently does the story about the fake degrees and certificates appears, it has been existed for many years since the beginning of â€Å"Doi Mom† policy. People always desire to have a position in the society. However at â€Å"old age, exhausted intelligence†, most people do not have enough time to study properly to obtain Due to the degree appreciation that has been rooted in most family, from kindergarten period till high school, parents always try to have their children study in granted schools and selected classes or extra study so that their children could be bled to pass universities entrance examinations. As a result, some of so-called â€Å"granted school† is always overloaded and ran out of vacancy. However, in order to send their children to those schools and arrange at the best class, parents are often willing to â€Å"bribe† teachers. However, we cannot blame the parents because they are just the victims of the degree requirements society. The situation is that those who have more degrees or higher qualifiers will be preferable than those have less. They do not test the real capability of the individuals but rather seeing if the individual acts all the degree criteria or not. One other impact of â€Å"Achievement Disease† is that young people nowadays tends to choose the major which help them obtain money and promotion after graduation or easy to study. At the same time, they turn their back on the society and humanity major, agriculture†¦ It is said that the reason why young people turn their back on the social sciences and humanities is the bad impression from the high school education. There is an implicit distinction between main and minor subjects. Math, physics, chemistry, foreign languages are always carefully taught by the teachers. Meanwhile, other subjects such as literature, history, geography seems to be taught briefly since teachers do not really care about what student acquired during the course. On the other hand, many students consider not taking priority learning social subjects since they find it harder to find Job and receive low payment. A lot of students say that the graduate from social sciences could only find Job in government companies where they have to work within the framework like a robot rather than creation. Other reason is that the massive expansion of banking and business companies rates a lot of Job opportunities with high salaries attracts many students and so that most of them choose economic majors. As a chain effect, students always choose economics to study as a secure decision and ignore their true passion and hobby. Also, since in Vietnam society students of economics are likely to be more appreciated and respected rather than study social science or humanity. The â€Å"Achievement Disease† also appears to be happened at school. For example, in most schools, the most concerns are how to help the student study well and the ratio of graduated students. At the beginning of each year, most schools have to assign a goal setting towards the ratio of graduate student. If at the end school doesn’t make its own criteria, it will hurt its reputation which might result in fewer investments from higher levels. As the solution, in a lot of schools, teachers are assigned to change the students score in order to meet the school’s standard. This creates a significantly negative effect to the education sector and causes it to be more and more corrupted. , Remedies to this situation: should be a coordination and agreement between every management levels to repose a suitable solution. Examination and quality evaluation must be implemented seriously. The education sector needs to have a long term strategy for the radical solution, synchronize but not hasty and impatient. We have to stay consistency to our goal but the methods have to be very flexible and capable of changes when needed. Currently, we need to strengthen the inspection of examination, giving strictly sanctions to the individual or group of people who deliberately try to violate the rules. On the mean time government should focusing ore on providing extra education to teachers so that they can cope up with model teaching methods, increasing investment in infrastructures and facilities to schools. Once the quality of education is fundamentally improved, â€Å"Achievement Disease† will eventually be eliminated. At the same time, we have to promote, encourages motivate teachers and education managers striving to overcome the outdated, inertia of the old education systems. This will be a long process of striven for education sector in particular and society as a whole. In addition, we should prevent the phenomenon of achieving† unrealistic goals, ratio which causes students as well as schools to dishonestly produce a fake result in study. Meanwhile, all upper levels agencies should not put â€Å"Achievement† pressure on an area which has low-graduate rates but rather confront other real result, analyses to find out the main causes as well as delivering proper solutions to the situation. At the same time. Reforming the student assessment methods, since the current system measures success on the basis of completion of a particular grade but fails to measure students’ capacity. More appropriate assessment methods could identify a child’s problems in a timely manner allowing for pragmatic adjustment. As we have already discussed, obsession of obtaining degrees and qualifications is also a main cause of â€Å"Academic Achievement Disease†. Therefore, companies should not only based on one’s qualifications but also evaluate carefully one’s real capability through giving tasks and observe the final results. In order to accomplish this, in all industry, individual capability assessment needs to be changed so that there will be no more â€Å"Paper P. HP’ or â€Å"Paper Master† and so on. How to cite Foxconn Case Study, Free Case study samples

Honeymoon by Lana Del Rey free essay sample

Lana Del Rey has been known for being a sultry songstress in the world of pop music since her first album, Born To Die, and despite the mixed reviews of critics, it is safe to say her lyrics and vintage persona have left a mark in pop culture.Del Rey’s lyrics are captivating stories that reveal her glamorous and edgy past, usually visually accompanied in her music videos with swimming pools and late night drive ins.Released in September 2015, her fourth studio album Honeymoon drifts from the moody aura and darker themes her previous album Ultraviolence conveyed, bringing in a more ethereal and surreal sound. The dramatic and emotional violin in the title track, â€Å"Honeymoon,† starts the album off with cinematic vibes as Lana coos the first verse in her signature deep voice and haunting tone: â€Å"We both know, that it’s not fashionable to love me.†The album follows with another moody track, â€Å"Terrence Loves You,† which is then followed up b y a more celestial track, â€Å"Music to Watch Boys To,† where Del Rey’s trademark vintage persona is truly reflected as she sings about pink flamingos and lemonade with a soft drum beat in the background. We will write a custom essay sample on Honeymoon by Lana Del Rey or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The eerie track â€Å"God Knows I Tried† is similar to the melancholy vibes felt in Ultraviolence, and is then followed up by â€Å"High By the Beach,† an angsty song with a powerful beat that shifts from Del Rey’s usual airy sound to a more catchy and pop-esque direction.â€Å"Freak† follows after with an atmospheric melody and beat that smoothly transitions to â€Å"Art Deco,† which captures the album’s harmonious chill vibes.â€Å"Burnt Norton Interlude† is a chilling and ethereal recitation of T.S. Eliot’s famous poem delivered by Del Rey herself, which introduces the nostalgic pop anthems â€Å"Religion,† â€Å"Salvatore,† â€Å"The Blackest Day,† â€Å"24,† and â€Å"Swan Song† that are similar to the tracks in Born to Die but with a cinematic twist.The album closes with a strong cover of Nina Simone’s famous song, â€Å"Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,† and it is the second time Del Rey follows the trend of Ultraviolence with the last song being â€Å"The Other Woman,† tying some of the same elements from her previous albums to create the perfect, whimsical sound of Honeymoon. As a huge fan of Lana Del Rey, I believe Honeymoon is her best album yet because she incorporates all of her previous sounds and lyrics to create the perfect compromise between Born to Die and Ultraviolence.Honeymoon is a unique pop masterpiece that will definitely not disappoint fans and new listeners.

Effective Memos and Emails

A person, who working in a professional business setting, has to have well-developed communication skills, in order express his/her thoughts clearly and persuade others. The ability to write effective memorandums and emails is also critical for administrators or entrepreneurs who have to interact with frontline personnel, colleagues, or senior executives.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Effective Memos and Emails specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper is aimed at discussing the relevance of memos and emails to business communication and the reasons why employees should be able to write them properly. Overall, it is possible to argue that effective business writing is critical for the exchange of information within an organization and even the professional growth of an individual. This is why this issue should not be overlooked by students and professionals who take effort to elaborate their writing skills. T his is the main argument that can be put forward. First of all, it should be noted that business communication is often affected by time constraints, and leaders often have to take urgent decisions that can profoundly influence the performance of their businesses. Therefore, an individual should be able to write in a concise and clear way so that other people could easily grasp the gist of his/her announcements, recommendations, or reports. This issue is particularly important when one speaks about memorandum or memos. These documents can serve several letters. For instance, they are supposed to describe the actions that were taken by the personnel. Secondly, they are aimed at identifying the difficulties or challenges that an organization faces (Stuart 204). Furthermore, in these documents business administrators can propose strategies that can solve certain problems (Kolin 133). These examples suggest that memos can be related to various organizational activities. Moreover, they c an be intended for almost every employee of a company. Therefore, an individual, who wants to succeed in the business setting, should be able to write effective memos. Without this skill, many ideas of this person may not be understood by others, even when they are useful or innovative. Furthermore, the arguments of this employee can be misinterpreted, and this can lead to the adoption of poor strategies.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Again, one should bear in mind that poor communication can have adverse effects on an organization, especially at the time when it has to resolve some urgent problems. Therefore, a good business administrator should be able to write effective memos in order to cope with his/her duties. This is one of the reasons why this skill is so important. Furthermore, one should not forget about the needs of readers who expect other people other to expre ss their opinions in a clear way. If a memo contains spelling mistakes, typos or inaccuracies, they can come to the conclusion, that the writer is an irresponsible employee who cannot be relied on. Thus, it is important to consider that writing produces a powerful impression on the reader, and this impression is important in the business world. Apart from that, one should not forget about emails that are vital for the communication in a company. In this case, much attention should be paid to the so-called business emails that have some important characteristics. For example, they can be used a legal records, because the writer represents an entire organization (Kolin 145). Therefore, employees should carefully proofread their electronic messages that can be read senior executives. Furthermore, they should be formatted properly. Overall, this skill is particularly important nowadays, when information technologies have transformed the communication within organization. In the future, emails will probably play a more important role because modern companies often operate at an international level (Stuart 204). This is why effective emails are vital for business administrators. Although people are accustomed to sending messages via an Internet, business letters have to correspond to certain standards. For example, they should be limited to one screen and broken into short paragraphs (Kolin 146). Furthermore, they should not contain any abbreviations that are typical of personal emails. These are the rules that are often overlooked by people working in business settings. Again, one can say that the ability to write effective emails is vital for business communication and responsiveness of a company to changes, difficulties, or problems.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Effective Memos and Emails specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, students and sometimes even professionals learn more about writing business emails. Finally, managers and entrepreneurs should remember that people often judge a person by his/her written messages such as emails or memos. This is why it is necessary to focus on the development of their writing skills. On the whole, these examples show that excellent communication skills are vital for people working in business settings. Memos and emails are probably the most widespread forms of written communication within many companies. Moreover, such documents have to meet specific standards that are set for business communication. Therefore, one should take some time in order to learn how to write effective memos or emails. These skills are vital for the exchange of information within private companies or public organizations. More importantly, the failure to acquire and develop these skills can prevent even a competent employee from making a successful career. Works Cited Kolin, Phillip. Successful Writing at Work, New York: Cengage Learning, 2012. Pr int. Stuart, Bonnye. Integrated Business Communication: In a Global Marketplace, New York: John Wiley Sons, 2007. Print. This essay on Effective Memos and Emails was written and submitted by user Asia Lott to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences essays

Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences essays In 1979 a young graduate student in cognitive-development psychology, Howard Gardner and a group of colleagues received a grant from the Bernard Van Leer Foundation. The money was intended to, ...produce a scholarly synthesis of what had been established in the biological, social, and cultural sciences about the nature and realization of human potential ( Gardner, 1999, p.32 ). Four years later, Gardner published his discoveries, including his infamous Theory of Multiple Intelligences, in the 1983 book, Frames of Mind ( Gardner, 1999 ). Gardners multiple intelligence theory originally contained seven intelligences, and defined an intelligence as, the ability to solve problems or to create products that are valued within one or more cultural settings ( Gardner, 1993, Gardner,1999, p.33). Since that time, Gardner has expanded his list to ten, following the addition of three more theoretical intelligences ( Gardner, 1999 ). His theory has revolutionized the methods in which children are taught, and spawned new methods of recognizing an individuals cognitive abilities. Linguistic, or verbal, intelligence is identified as the first of the seven intelligences. Children with this kind of intelligence enjoy reading, writing, or other creative tasks such as story telling or crossword puzzles ( Abernathy, 1999 ). These children will be exceptionally apt at understanding the order and meaning of words, persuading others, and more easily recognizing and utilizing the humorous aspects of language( Edwords, 1999 ). T.S. Eliot possessed this intelligence, as evidenced by his creation of a magazine, dubbed Fireside, at the age of ten. He composed eight complete issues in a three-day period, each including poems, adventure stories, humor, and a gossip column ( Gardner, 1993 ). A compliment to those with verbal intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence includes various abilities such as...

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Accounting-- Annotated Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Coca-Cola Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Coca-Cola Marketing - Case Study Example In United States the drink has been tailored to its targeted market by decribing it zero calorie drink rather than a diet drink. In Australia the drink was promoted by fake front groups. They used graffiti and spamming to promote the product. When they were exposed the cosumer advocates attacked the campaign and formed Coke-Zero Movement. After first five weeks of Coke Zero's entry in Australia the product set a new record by achieving the highest level of household penetration ever for any beverage company in Australia. The Success of Coke-Zero is the power of the zero percent sugar proposition in response to consumer drink requirements. The company demonstrated the impact which new products have when a gap in the market is identified.(Heiman, 1998) Another success of Coke-Zero is because of Coca-Cola's bottling system which is their greatest stregths, this system allows the company to conduct their business globally while maintaining local approach.

Business Plan Of Innovative Green Product Marketing Essay

Business Plan Of Innovative Green Product Marketing Essay The coconut crop is grown in 14.3 million hectares of land which constituted about 1.1 per cent of net crop area of the world. And annual output is around 13.3 billion coconut nuts in the India. In 1000 hectares of land approximately 1,47,000 trees can be planted and which can give 23 million coconuts. India contributes about 15.46 per cent in area and 21 per cent in terms of production of coconut in the world. The coconut crop is grown in eighteen States and three Union Territories. It is concentrated on the West Coast region of the country comprising the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, followed by East Coast of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Pondicherry. The coconut cultivation areas also traditionally located in the coastal region of Gujarat, Goa, West Bengal, Islands of Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Kerala is considered as the land of coconut and holds the key for the development of coconut. Coconut Development Board CDB is a main organization for the expansion and development of coconut industry. It is the main body which is attached to the coconut industry. Coconut Development Board is a statutory body established by the Government of India for the integrated development of coconut production and utilization in the country with focus on productivity increase and product diversification. The Board which came into existence on 12th January 1981, functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, with its Headquarters at Kochi in Kerala and Regional Offices at Bangalore in Karnataka, Chennai in Tamil Nadu and   Guwahati in Assam. There are six State Centres situated at Bhubaneswar in Orissa, Calcutta in West Bengal, Patna in Bihar, Thane in Maharashtra, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Port Blair in the Union Territory of Andaman Nicobar Islands. FUNCTIONS OF THE BOARD Imparting technical advice to those engaged in coconut cultivation and industry. Providing financial and other assistance for the expansion of area under coconut. Encouraging adoption of modern technologies for processing of coconut and its products. Adopting measures to get incentive prices for coconut and its products. Presentation of Data For starting of any business, we required some market research data. Data may be primary or secondary data. Primary data are those which are collected for the first time. And the secondary data are those data which are collected from secondary sources like research paper, circulars, guidelines, magazines etc. We have to gather data which can help us in determining the feasibility of project. Here in this business plan we have collected primary data through questionnaire and interview method. Also we have studied some important data from government agency like Coconut Development Board (CDB), Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) etc. Following are the data was collected. Consumer Survey was carried out. Around 1000 Questionnaire were filled out. 65% respondents chosen natural health Coconut Water Out of this 65%; the proportion of age group of 18-35 years was around 70%. Market Availability/ Market Potentiality The coconut is not only significant in socio cultural needs of our society, but also has gained considerable importance in the national economy as a potential source ofemployment and income generation among the plantation crops. In India soft drink and juice industry is very vast. India has a diverse agro-climatic condition due to which there exists a wide-ranging and large raw material base suitable for food processing industries. India is the largest producer sugarcane, coconut etc. If we set up a plant, the availability of raw materials and infrastructure would be available to the entrepreneur. Indian soft drink market is valued to be Rs.7100 crore: In India soft drink companies have captured a large amount of market for colas and juice products. This is because of two reasons. First is India has a large population which can afford to consume a cola product with a reasonable price. Second is penetration of marketing activities carried out by marketers. In India the market for natural and health drink like coconut water has not surpassed too much. The reason may be lack of advertising efforts and lack of awareness among people about the coconut water benefits. So if we just turn the preference of 1% of the soft drink colas consumers, it will be great or huge market for coconut water. This is the reason of focusing on soft drink market. The carbonated drinks are the mainstay and accounts for 85% of the total soft drink market. There are also around 15% of the consumers prefer juice market. So they can be a less efforts required to shift their preference. Coconut water can be the part of the $19 billion sports drink market globally: In todays fast and stressful situation energy drink and sport drink are becoming more and more famous and favorable choice of consumers. Sports drink is useful to Athletes and sports enthusiasts to replenish electrolytes lost in perspiration. Coconut water contains more nutrition than any commercial sport drink. India being the less developed in nutritional level and governments interest in growing up of nutritional products: Indias rank in health development and facilities is very lower. As the time passes, government is also taking interest in increasing the nutritional product expansion and health of the public gets superior. So it may be steering point for development of coconut water. Benefits of the product First of all to start any of the business, we have to think about the benefits of the products and how it will be marketed so that the maximum utilities of the product can be possible. The water of tender Coconut is a sterile, nutritious, thirst quenching health drink. The pure and sweet tender coconut possesses enormous therapeutic properties and is a thirst quenching refreshing health drink for all age groups. Tender coconut water has the same level of electrolytic balance as we see in our blood. Numerous medicinal properties of tender coconut water reported are:   (Given by Coconut Development Board) Good for feeding infants suffering from intestinal disturbances.   Oral rehydration medium Contains organic compounds possessing growth promoting properties Keeps the body cool Application on the body prevents prickly heat and summer boils and subsides the rashes caused by small pox, chicken pox, measles, etc. Kills intestinal worms Presence of saline and albumen makes it a good drink in cholera cases Checks urinary infections.   Excellent tonic for the old and sick Useful for different diseases Useful to Athletes and sports enthusiasts to replenish electrolytes lost in perspiration. Can be injected intravenously in emergency case. Ingredients Nutritional Facts As everyone knows about health benefits of coconut water. Coconut water is also used for long term benefits like smoothly digestion system, smooth urine system, maintains body temperature etc. In coconut water main ingredients has been elaborated as follows. These all facts about nutrition is taken into consideration per 100 ml of coconut water. Nutrition (Per 100 ml) Potassium (mg %) 247 Sodium (mg %) 48 Minerals (mg %) 0.5 Fat (mg %) 0.1 Calcium (mg %) 40 Magnesium (mg %) 15 Phosphorous (mg %) 6.3 Iron (mg %) 79 Copper (mg %) 26 Protein (mg %) 0.1 Production Process The process from the starting to its final products is very easy. It does not require a high degree of mechanicals or engineering process. Coconut Water of 6-7 month stage is first filtered through pressure filters and then mixed with the desired proportion of additives plus sugar and concentrated to the appropriate level. The water is then packed in pouches/cans and retorted in an autoclave, after which it is cooled in a stream of cold water. List of machinery to be used: Coconut   water collection tank  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Autoclave Filter  Ã‚   Additive mixing tank  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   coconut water storage tank  Ã‚   Volumetric filling machine   Baby boiler  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Raw material  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   10000 Coconuts Final product 3100 litres Driving Forces for Coconut Water At the time of setting up of any business, we have to see possibilities or factors that can help us in developing/expanding our product line. Generally these are called driving forces of the product. Following are the driving forces for the coconut water. Abundant availability of raw material: As we have seen that the India being the 3rd largest producers of coconut nuts globally. This production of crop has spread over the many states and union territories of India. So we can be sure about the continuously supply of raw materials throughout the year. The main season of procuring raw material is monsoon. Convenient in moving to final consumers: Generally, a coconut nut is heavy in weight and sometimes makes it difficult to carry in bulk. Even the time has come for packaged food and processing items. The marketability of packaged food and beverages has increased tremendously since last decades. So if coconut water is packaged in tetra pack or aluminum can or pouch, it will be convenient in carrying at different places for different time. Increasing awareness about health consciousness: In todays time people are tend to be more health conscious and prefer to natural eatable items. More specifically in metro cities or urban areas people have suffered too much from the disease and they are bearing the cost of hygiene foods. It is the result that coconut industry has developed by 2-3 times.Increasing dieses due to the soft drinks have awaked public more. Pure natural and hygiene product by sciences: In todays competitive era, everything has to be prove and get it to be certified and registered with the concerned agency for consumption. Coconut water is declared as pure natural and health drink by science. So it may also increase the chances of convincing people to shifts their choice. Liberal Government policy towards healthier eatable items: Government is also helping for promotion of healthy food and beverages. So for the coconut water promotion government policy may not be as strict as in the case of some others products. Increasing demand of By product like Ethanol coconut oil etc.: It has been increasing amount of petroleum products. Thereby spreading pollutions and decreasing volumes of non-renewable sources of energy. Lignocellulose can be used for this purpose. 9. Target market In the very beginning before launching of any product one has to think about their target market. Who will be their target customers?For the successful launching of Coconut Water in the market, following consumers would be targeted. Youth people [ India being the youngest country in world] Old aged people Patients (Strong Focus) Children Ladies [specially for pregnant ladies] India is the youth nation in the world. And youth people are tend to be more health awareness. Also India has a lot of opportunities for the patients as we have large number of sick people every year. We can also target pregnant ladies. Because even the doctors are also suggesting to drink coconut water as a good medicine. 10. Marketing and Communication As we have studied earlier that the reason for not popularity of coconut water product into the market. So here extremely efforts would be towards the marketing and communication aspects of marketing mix. Here we can consider important factors that affects to the final consumers. i.e. four Ps of marketing viz. Price Product Place Promotion. Pricing: Price of the product is very crucial and determinant of profit from that product. Especially here in the case of coconut water as we have to enter in that market which is dominated by giant companies with their giant operations of efficiency and marketing campaigns. At this stage we can go for two options that is capturing market share with lower pricing and creating awareness among public. And other option is charging competitive pricing with colas companies. Pricing @ introductory stage: Here we go with this option preferably. At the introductory stage of launching of product we have to pull huge customer attention. So we will keep our pricing at lower margin compare to the soft drink colas companies. At the initial stage we have decided price of Rs. 15 per 300 ml bottle. Competitive pricing to soft drinks and colas: As we start to grow our product into market, and research talks about the consumer awareness about coconut water into the market; we will be able to charge competitive pricing to the colas companies. Product: The second P of marketing is Product itself. It states following: How should be the product? How should it be packed in attractive way? How should it be in size etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦? How should it be looking externally? Here we will in the initial stage focus on 300 ml packaged in aluminum can. Afterwards in family size of 1 ltr,1.5 ltr and 5 ltr bottle. The main focus is on the external looking of the packing. Place: This P of marketing states about how product should be placed at different places so that there is maximum possibilities of sell. Place for Coconut Water includes following: Hospital region College areas Sports areas Gym Khana Malls Central areas etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ coffee houses or high end snack shops With the hope of moving the product into a more mainstream setting, our distribution strategy aims at selling to larger distributors that directly capture our niche target markets. We plan on expanding from smaller localized grocery stores into mainstream action sport retailers including: Sports Chalet, Sports Authority, larger surf retailers, 24 Hour Fitness, and Golds Gym. Our plans to move into these distribution channels with confidence, knowing the growing demand from our current selective target market. Promotion: Promotion may be of two types i.e. product promotion and sale promotion. Product promotion : Promotion of the products means making products more popular among the general public. Product promotion of Coconut Water includes:- Advertising. Free sample distribution. Health awareness programs. Social networking sites etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Yoga centers Sales promotion: Sales promotion means how to increase short run sales of the products. It denotes short run increase in sales. For the Coconut Water it includes:- Discounted pricing for big quantities like family pack, executive pack or party packing. Presenting lucky draw prizes. Sponsoring some social events. Point of purchase 11. By products In todays competitive era, cost reduction and maximum utilization of available resources has become very much important. It means in the production process, there should be a minimum wastage. Every component should be utilized as possible as their extent. Following are the coconut by products. Ethanol (lignocellulose waste): Though it is too much difficult to get liquid in terms of ethanol from wastage of shelf that is called lignocellulose waste. The reason for this coconut shelf has a large amount of glucose and minerals. If we are using huge amount of coconut shelf, it will be available for the by product. Coconut oil: There are so many producers in the market who makes coconut hair oil and also coconut edible oil. Coconut oil is used in the country as a cooking fat, hair oil, body oil and industrial oil. Coconut oil is made from fully dried copra having maximum moisture content of six per cent. Steam cooking of copra is also practiced by some millers to enhance the quality and aroma of oil. Refined coconut oil is also manufactured in the country for industrial uses. Refined coconut oil is mainly used in the manufacture of biscuits, chocolates and other confectionery items, ice cream etc. 12. Export Opportunities Today the extent of international trade has increased by many folds. Considering it as an opportunity we can also look forward for export efforts of coconut water in packaged form. The countries like UAE, USA, Japan and UK are the major export destination for the products. Because these are the nations which have applied and maximum users of the product. Even this nations government also plays an active role in marketing of this healthy product. First and foremost we have to acquire IEC (Import Export Code). This code can be availed through the DGFT i.e. Director General of Foreign Trade. Other than this there are so many documents required for fulfillment of the regulations like LC, Leding Letter, GR form, FEC A/c with RBI, quality certificate, contract with the overseas and domestic depository banks etc. We can also set up our plant at SEZ or EOU to avail the various government skims and subsidies. 13.Cost Analysis The very important aspect of any product or service is its price. Cost analysis includes from the beginning i.e. from the procurement of raw materials until it reaches to the final consumers. It is consisting of direct and indirect expenses. Purchase Rs. 4.50 per unit Other Cost Rs. 6.00 per unit 1. Transportation Cost. 2. Marketing Cost. 3. Packaging Cost. 4. Office Cost. 5. Other Cost. Total Cost per Unit: Rs. 10.50 Selling price : Rs. 15.00 Less (Total cost): Rs. 10.50 Profit per unit: Rs. 4 .50 Financial Aspects As we know finance is a blood for any organization. As our body will not work without blood. Similarly business activities cannot be worked or done without availability of finance. Here in this B plan we have taken model for coming five years. We have calculated financial flow for five years. Because at least we should be clear about next five years about our business, though not at all sure. Investment: Total machinery cost : Rs. 12 lakhs Other Fixed cost : Rs. 20 lakhs (Including Working Capital) Total cost Rs. 32 lakhs Total revenue : Net revenue in 1 year : Rs. 54,00,000 Total net revenue in 5 years : Rs. 3,22,82,700 Here machinery cost includes different types of machine required for carrying out the process. Other fixed cost includes land expenses, depreciation expenses, some lease expenses etc. Year wise calculation of revenue and growth Year Sales (units) Per Unit Price (Rs.) Total Value (Amount) % Growth 1 3,60,000 15 54,00,000 2 3,78,000 15 56,70,000 5 3 4,08,240 15 61,23,600 8 4 4,57,240 15 68,58,600 12 5 5,48,700 15 82,30,500 20 Total 21,52,180 03,22,82,700 Here we are setting target of monthly sales of 30,000 units thereby yearly sales in units will be around 3,60,000 units. By multiplying this by sales price of Rs. 15, we get net revenue of Rs. 54,00,00 at the end of 1st year. In the second year, we are setting target of 5% increase in sales volumes in 3rd year 8%, in 4th year 12% and in the last year 20% growth in sales volume. If we sum up, we will have earned net revenue of Rs. 3,22,82,700 in five years of time (assuming that the selling price would remain the same and growth target will be achieved through). Profit Calculation: Net revenue : Rs. 03,22,82,700 Less fixed cost: Rs. 32,00,000 Less Variable cost: Rs. 2,25,97,890 Net Surplus: - For five years Rs. 64,84,810 Average profit per year Rs. 12,96,962 BREAK EVEN POINT: FIXED COST Rs.32,00,000 - = - CONTRIBUTION Rs. 4.50 7,11,111 UNITS =============== BEP means at this stage No profit No loss. So it means till the sales volume of 7,11,111 units we will not have a profit. In second option if we want profit every year, we have to write off equal proportion of fixed cost from profit. 15 .Financial Feasibility of Project Before investing any amount in a project investor will think about its return. For this there are various method can be applied like Pay Back Period (PBP) method, IRR method or Net Present Value (NPV) method. Among this NPV is considered to be an appreciable method as it takes into account present value of future inflow. So here we will use NPV method to analyze the financial viability of project. Net Revenue Variable cost Fixed cost = Net surplus (In Rupees) Year Net Revenue (Rs.) Variable Cost (Rs.) Fixed Cost (Rs.) Net surplus (Rs.) PV factor @ 12% NPV (Rs.) 1 54,00,000 37,80,000 6,40,000 9,80,000 0.893 8,75,140 2 56,70,000 39,69,000 6,40,000 10,61,000 0.797 8,85,617 3 61,23,600 42,86,520 6,40,000 11,97,080 0.712 8,52,320 4 68,58,600 48,01,020 6,40,000 14,17,580 0.636 9,01,580 5 82,30,500 57,61,350 6,40,000 18,29,150 0.567 10,37,128 Total 32,00,000 45,51,787 We will calculate NPV @ 12% rate of return i.e. our required rate of return. We have total fixed cost of Rs. 32,00,00 spreading in five years of life. So per year we will write off equal proportion which is Rs. 6,40,000. So we will get net surplus every year by deducting variables and fixed cost from net revenue. If NPV > 1 project is selected If NPV If NPV = 1 project may be selected Conclusion: Here in this project NPV > 1. So project should be selected. As the total sum of future flow at present is greater than its investment made. Here our NPV is Rs. 45,51,787 and our investment outlay was Rs. 32,00,000. . Challenges/ Limiting factors for growth Market Dominated by soft drinks companies: As we can see in the market that the colas and drinking market is well dominated by giant colas companies. So As a new player in the market it will be tough to sell our product. And specially to convince to try a new one which is not entertaining or any status to the final consumers. So we have to work upon this and have to make proper strategies and programs to capture a market share. High popularity of soft drinks and colas among youths: As our youth people are most consuming colas. There is too much marketing penetration on youth. So Ill be difficult task to make our product more popular. Because unless our product is popular, no one is going to buy it or no one will know about our existence in the market. We have to divert maximum efforts towards the marketing funda. Challenges to maintain health standard of product as it is a natural product: As we are marketing our product as a natural product, we have to be very quality conscious and obey standards set by various laws. If we fail in that, competitors will take advantage of it and they will start spreading wrong rumors into market which will cause our ultimate sales volumes. From the view point of lower income society, it is an Exploiting business. As it reduces their employment: In majority case, coconuts are sold by small vendors on the roadside. Generally they are lower class people. They run their family on daily income basis. So if we start selling coconut water in packaged form, it may happen that small vendors sales will decline and consequently there will be negative impact on the family running. So they may also start a unethical social activities. So we have to find out solution to overcome these challenges. Here we can make them our vendors. And also we can follow the model of supplier and franchise. No longer life/Changes in taste in long period of time: If the coconut water comes in touch with air, within 24 hours it will spoil. We will not be able to drink it. The reason is some important bacteria evaporate from it. So as a solution we have to use scientific preservative technology and packaging techniques. Here we can add some additives which is natural and not harmful. We cant mix any hazardous chemicals like soft drink colas. 17. Laws For doing any business we have to follow the rules and regulations, policies of government laws. Here especially we are in processed and packaged food business. Also we are dealing with agro food as raw materials. So we have to take into consideration various laws. Below is the list of laws that we have to consider. Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), 1954 The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 The Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977 The Insecticide Act, 1968. Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963. Environment Protection Act, 1986. The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 18. Conclusion As it is a natural and energy product People are becoming more health conscious Coming time is of natural items Market is broad Raw material and environment is appreciable Healthy government policies and subsidies Every coin has two sides. Similarly it has also pros and cons of starting up of unit. But after analyzing facts and situation, the more possible weight goes towards its favorable.

Fixed or Variable Cost Essay -- cost, business,

Cost can be divided into fixed and variable and by considering into fact that fixed and variable cost can be unarguably split into two, even though they behave differently based on the level of sales of volumes. Since, cost is used in every field to determine the price of an item and the unit sold. Two of the main components of cost are fixed and variable cost and is used to differentiate between the costs that have no direct correlation to business and those that do. Definition:- Fixed cost is not affected by the changes in the sales, they have slight relationship to the business and they do not change considerably when the sale increase or decrease. Fixed cost is set for particular period of time and changes occur during the specific time. Since, fixed cost does not change directly some of the examples of fixed cost are insurance premium, real estate taxes etc. For example, ‘an increase in the cost of insurance premiums may be attributable to an insurance company’s perception of increased risk associated with higher volume. Even though the increase in insurance cost is somehow related to an increase in volume, the cost of insurance is still considered a fixed cost’ (Tiffin, 2007). Other component of cost is variable cost changes frequently do not haves specific set period. Variable costs can be aptly defined as," which increase directly in proportion to the level of sales in dollars or units sold†. Depending on the type of busines s, some examples would be cost of goods sold, sales commissions, shipping charges, delivery charges, and costs of direct materials or supplies, wages of part-time or temporary employees, and sales or production bonuses. Both fixed and variable cost elements are components of mixed or semi-vari... ...the equation for a straight line as follows: Y = $3,400 + $0.80X Hence the above example shows that costs can be determined as either fixed or variable even in a semi variable cost. In conclusion cost can be divided into two to find the exact amount of sale of an item sold and purchased by the customer. All fixed cost can be variable cost since, variable cost change often. Reference †¢ Tiffin, R., (2007) Finance and Accounting Desktop Guide: Accounting Literacy for the Non-financial Manager 2nd ed., London Thorogood. †¢ Hansen, D., Mowen, M., & Guan, L., Cost Management: Accounting & Control 6th ed., Mason, Ohio: South-Western †¢ Dittmer, P. & Keefe, D., (2009) Principles of Food, Beverage and Labor Cost Controls 9th ed., Hoboken, N.J John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (US). †¢ Weetman, P. (2006) Management Accounting, FT/Prentice Hall (Pearson Education)

Impact of Organizational Culture in Decision Making Essay

In any organization, decision making has traditionally been put in the hands of the management or superiors. An organization’s hierarchy emerges when an organization experiences problems in coordinating and motivating employees. As an organization grows, employees increase in number and begin to specialize, performing widely different kinds of tasks; the level of differentiation increases; and coordinating employees’ activities becomes more difficult (Jones, 2004). As globalization and information technology has changed every sector of the world, business organizations have attuned to demand their leaders to make decisions quickly, without needless ado, and move on to other pressing matters. This creates the temptation to make the decision unilaterally, for the sake of speed and efficiency, and be done with it. On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly clear that healthy organizations characteristically find strength in opening up participation in decision making and empowering relevant people at all levels of the organization to contribute to the quality of the decisions made. There are two reasons for making decision making in organizations more dynamic. First, empowering people to participate in important decisions is highly motivating to them and second, broad participation infuses the decision making process with the full spectrum of knowledge and good ideas that people throughout the organization have to contribute. On the other hand, the concept of organizational culture is at the core of understanding organizational behavior such as decision making. Organizational culture involves the norms that develop in a work group, the dominant values advocated by the organization, the philosophy that guides the organization’s policies concerning employees and client groups, and the feeling that is evident in the ways in which people interact with one another. Thus, it clearly deals with basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of the organization. Taken together, these define the organization itself in crucial ways: why it exists, how it has survived, what it is about. As an organization’s culture influences decisions made by its members it also influences its members’ acceptance or rejection of decisions made by its leaders. So when an organization changes its strategy, the primary interest involves assessment of the compatibility of a decision option with the organization’s culture–where an option is defined as a possible course of action in the case of a member who is making a decision, or a proposed course of action in the case of a decision that has been made by leaders (Beach, 1996, p. 118). For example, CEOs in different industries vary considerably from one another in terms of their background characteristics and experience, an observation that has intrigued the business and academic press. For example, a widely scrutinized and publicized CEO selection decision was Apple Computer’s decision in 1985 to replace founder Steven Jobs with John Sculley, an industry outsider with virtually no experience in the technology-driven personal computer industry. The arguments in this controversial decision centered around the relative suitability of these individuals given the changing nature of the personal computer industry. As a result of changing industry conditions in which marketing and advertising were viewed as increasingly important strategic levers, Sculley’s marketing background and experience at Pepsi’s beverage operations were expected to make him a better â€Å"fit† as CEO than the technologically oriented Steve Jobs (Datta, Guthrie & Rajagopalan, 2002). In this regard, the impact of organization culture in decision making is seen to be very vital. Organizational culture is a powerful environment that reflects past experiences, summarizes them, and distills them into simplifications that help to explain the enormously complex world of the organization. Efforts to reduce this complexity through simplification processes such as imposing decision-making models on it are not likely to be very workable. In this view, therefore, the culture of the organization represents significant thinking prior to action and is implicit in the decision making behavior of the organization’s leaders. So when two organizations merge, there will be an impact in it uniting the culture as to who will make the decision and the issue of empowerment and participation. Empowerment and participation would be viewed by some leaders as losing power by giving it away to others. However, modern empowering leaders understand that one gains power by sharing it with others because in collaborative effort the power available to the group multiplies. To make this effective, this effort should be accompanied by the support of ongoing technical training and consultation to help all participants to master the group process skills that are essential to making empowerment succeed. They must also be accompanied by the development of concrete and publicly known processes through which one participates in the collaborative process.

The 12 Best Journalism Schools

The 12 Best Journalism Schools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When you have a niche interest like journalism, it can be difficult to find reliable information on the strength of undergraduate programs. To help you get your college search going, we’ve rounded up a list of the best journalism schools out there for aspiring writers, editors, and reporters. Ranking Criteria for Top Journalism Schools College ranking lists can be really helpful if you’re just starting your college search- they’re great if you want to get a general idea of what schools are out there and whether they fit your interests and criteria. The danger comes with using them as the be-all, end-all source of info about college quality- ranking organizations all use different methods for coming up with these lists, and they’re not always transparent about the process. Although this ranking list should also just be used as a jumping-off point, I want to be much more transparent about the process used to compile this list of best journalism schools. First, I started by searching for colleges and universities that have a dedicated journalism major for undergraduates. After that, I took these major criteria into account: School Reputation- Journalism has grown increasingly interdisciplinary as communications and media have changed with technological advances. It’s important that undergraduate students have access to other strong departments within the school as well, so I considered the general reputation of the school when compiling this list. Graduate School Reputation- Although I only listed schools here if they had a dedicated undergraduate program, schools got points if they had a well-regarded graduate department in journalism or communications. Undergraduate students studying journalism will often benefit from faculty and resources from the graduate program. Career Preparation- Journalism is a field where it’s super important to get plenty of hands-on experience before jumping into a career. I looked for schools where students were getting plenty of prep working in the field (e.g. internship opportunities at local or national newspapers or news stations). Class Options- A reputation for providing a strong foundational knowledge is important, but interesting, unique classes are definitely a plus. Journalism classes in more niche subject areas may also signal a creative faculty with greater resources to spare. Alumni- When departments have many notable alumni, that signals a strong alumni network and a strong journalism program. This boosts the reputation of the school and may help out when you’re starting to look for jobs. The Best Journalism Schools The caveats I listed for ranking lists above continue to apply here: although this list was compiled in a transparent (albeit unscientific) way, you should use it primarily as a jumping-off point for your own research. I encourage you to focus less on the strict order of rankings (which is pretty subjective to begin with) and more on the individual characteristics of each school. #1: Northwestern University Journalism is one of the most popular majors at Northwestern, and for good reason. There are many programs in place to ensure that students are well-prepared for careers as journalists. Some of these programs include: The Journalism Residency Program- Students spend time working as reporters or public relations specialists at media outlets across the country (and sometimes even internationally). The Media on the Hill Program- Students serve as mobile journalists and quickly update info on events in DC. Medill Justice Program- Students examine potentially wrongful convictions and look into criminal justice issues. Special courses offered through the school include interesting electives like â€Å"The Googlization of America† and â€Å"Journalism in a Networked World.† Finally, Northwestern hosts one of the top graduate journalism programs in the country in addition to an awesome creative writing program. #2: University of Missouri- Columbia (Mizzou) Mizzou is a large public university that’s well known for its undergraduate and graduate journalism programs. There are over 30 different interest areas (i.e. concentrations) available to undergraduate journalism students, including ones like â€Å"Entrepreneurial Journalism† and â€Å"Magazine Publishing and Management.† If none of the existing interest areas meet your needs, you have the option to design your own. Hands-on opportunities in real-media labs are available to students in each interest area. There are also quite a few relevant student groups on campus, including ones like the Association for Women in Sports Media and the Student Society of News Design. #3: Boston University BU is a well-ranked school in a bustling college town- the area around the school (never mind the school itself) comes with a lot of opportunity. The school itself- which has produced 24 Pulitzer Prize winners- combines a liberal arts background with plenty of pre-professional training in the field. Undergrads have many different focus areas to choose from, including Online Journalism and Magazine Journalism. Students often intern at prestigious Boston-area news organizations like the Boston Globe. Finally, BU boasts a strong journalism master's program, which indicates access to plenty of awesome faculty and other resources. Living in a hub like Boston opens up a lot of professional opportunities. #4: Syracuse University One of the best universities in upstate NY, Syracuse offers eight different undergrad programs in journalism and communications, including Broadcast Digital Journalism and Newspaper Online Journalism. The school maintains several industry partnerships with major communications companies, leading to professional/networking opportunities. Special programs include the SULA Semester (Syracuse University Los Angeles), where students spend a summer living and working in LA. #5: UT Austin Journalism is a popular major at UT Austin, but there are also many helpful supporting departments, including Communication Media Studies and Digital Communication. Journalism at UT Austin- which boasts 18 Pulitzer Prize winning alumni- emphasizes digital skills training for all its students. The school's Specialty Communications Career Services Center helps journalism students find internships and jobs. There are also many relevant student groups on campus, including University of Texas Hispanic Journalists and ORANGE Magazine (UT’s student magazine). #6: NYU NYU is a highly-ranked school in general (with a highly-ranked creative writing program to boot). Journalism students at NYU choose between two undergraduate tracks: Journalism and Media Criticism. Both programs focus on professional ethics, the cultural politics of media, the social role of the journalist, and the importance of craft. Students are required to double-major in one additional field of study. This is great if you want a more liberal arts spin to your education, but not so great if you’re sure you just want to focus on journalism. New York City is a great place to study journalism- there are so many prestigious media outlets with headquarters there- but if you have international ambitions, you might be interested in NYU's Journalism Abroad Program: students study and work in Ghana, Czech Republic, China, and England. #7: Arizona State University ASU is a huge public university in a large city with a lot of opportunity for hands-on experience. The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication offers three bachelor's degree options: Journalism and Mass Communication, Mass Communication and Media Studies, and Sports Journalism. Students get training in live newsrooms under professional journalists. ASU’s PBS station- which reaches 1.9 million households- is also used as a teaching tool for students at the journalism school. At such a large school you'll be sure to find an equally large selection of student groups. Some relevant groups include the Fashion Journalists Club, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Cronkite Cut. Phoenix is more of a metropolis than you might realize- and the area comes with some extra perks. #8: American University American University is located in DC, a perfect spot for aspiring journalists to get work experience (especially if you're interested in politics). In addition to the standard bachelor's degree program, American offers a unique joint BA/MA program. Undergraduate students choose from one of two tracks: Broadcast or Print Journalism. Investigative journalism workshops and practicums are an important part of the program. Other programs offered at the school include communication studies, film media arts, and public communication- all disciplines that play well with journalism. #9: Emerson College Emerson is located in Boston, just blocks from the state house. The program really strives to be proactive in embracing technological advances in the field- it adopted a new multimedia curriculum in 2011. Aside from journalism, other popular majors at Emerson include film, marketing, and digital communication. The college boasts several award-winning on-campus media outlets (including newspapers and radio stations). There is a wide array of interesting student groups, including Captured Emotion (dedicated to documentary and nonfiction work), spec (a group dedicated to the art of screenwriting), and Wax on Felt (a student record company). #10: Ohio University Ohio University offers its students a combination of a liberal arts + professional degree. Its mission statement says the school is committed to providing an education in professional ethics, critical thinking, and responsibility. There's a strong emphasis on the importance of media training while studying journalism. Student media groups on campus include The Post (a daily newspaper), Backdrop (a lifestyle magazine), and the interActvist (a progressive magazine). Bonus Schools These schools didn't meet the criteria to make the list above, but they still make great options for students who are interested in entering the field. Just because they didn't make the official list doesn't mean these schools aren't great places for aspiring journalists! UCLA UCLA doesn’t offer a dedicated undergraduate journalism degree- instead, undergrads can major in â€Å"Communication Studies,† which is much more broad (but still very applicable). Students can take courses in up to 12 different departments. The Communications Studies curriculum includes hands-on field study courses for students' junior and senior years which sounds like a great way to get relevant experience. Columbia Columbia also doesn't have an undergrad journalism major, but you are able to take courses through their top-rated graduate program. Since it's in New York, it comes with the same location advantages of NYU- not to mention that it's a top-ranked Ivy League school with a great creative writing program. How to Choose the Right School Like I mentioned earlier, the rank itself will matter less than whether the school offers everything you’re looking for in a journalism program. Follow these tips to figure out which of the best journalism schools listed above might be the best match for you. Check Out the Curriculum If you have special interests (or even if you don’t), you’ll want to check out the core classes and the available electives for each program. Different schools may also offer various concentrations or tracks within their journalism degree program- if that’s the case, explore those different options. You don’t have to get excited about each and every course (especially when it comes to foundational or required courses), but you want to look for a school whose curriculum is aligned with your own interests. Learn More About Relevant Student Groups When pursuing a degree in journalism, it’s super important to get professional experience as a student- this will help prepare you for your job search. Is there a specific type of media that you’re very excited to work in outside of your classes? Is there a particular subject you’re passionate about working on? Student-run media is the place to do this. Some of these schools have more limited student media options than others. This may not be a problem if a program already has a group you’re interested in, but if not, you might want to check out other programs. Do Your Research on the Faculty The people who will actually be teaching you will make a huge difference in how much you get out of your education. Check out the type of work that they do- many top profs in journalism programs have achieved some serious professional success. You may also want to check out their ratings on ratemyprofessor.com, but remember that students are less likely to leave reviews if they’re generally satisfied with the instructor- you get sort of a skewed perspective with the site, as you do with any ratings platform. Think More About the School in General A journalism program is (usually) only a part of whatever school you attend- your overall experience will also depend on the school more generally. What’s the student body like? Where is the school located? What’s the housing situation? If you aren’t happy with these (very important) aspects of student life at a school, chances are you won’t be happy in the journalism program. To figure out what you should prioritize when looking for a college or university, check out our guide to choosing where to go to college. Finally, keep in mind that it's possible to pursue journalism at almost any school, regardless of whether it has a formal program. The most important thing is that you find opportunities to gain professional experience. You can do this by working at campus media outlets (like newspapers, magazines, or websites) or by seeking work off-campus as a student writer. What's Next? If you're thinking about becoming a journalist, you might also want to check out the top-ranked creative writing programs. Like I mentioned earlier in this article, you don't necessarily need a dedicated journalism program to enter the field. Getting into any top program means top grades, high ACT/SAT scores, and awesome extracurriculars. Check out our guides on those topics before reading more about the college application timeline. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Melancholy in Twelfth Night Essays

Melancholy in Twelfth Night Essays Melancholy in Twelfth Night Essay Melancholy in Twelfth Night Essay Essay Topic: Cymbeline Symposium By Plato Twelfth Night Twelfth Night is the merriest of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, it is also the saddest. The Christian associations of the title suggests the carpe diem theme which runs through the play. Epiphany, according to Christian mythology, is the time when the shepherds recognized the birth of Christ. The feast of epiphany is the last festival of the Christmas season, after which death takes over. This cycle of life is an extension of the ancient pagan fertility rituals. The mood is similar in Keats’s ‘To Autumn’, Hedge-crickets sing; and now with a treble soft The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft; And gathering swallows twitter in the skies. Only, Keats finds reassurance in the fact that swallows will return, but Shakespeare is concerned with the cessation of life which looms over the whole play. Here the recognition is of the transience of life, unlike in Cymbeline where the rediscovery of Perdita symbolises the rediscovery of one’s soul. Significantly, Twelfth Night is the last of the romantic comedies. After this Shakespeare moves on to the tragedies and the problem plays – this is the last play where joy is not alloyed with problems of evil and anti-life. Everything that is subject to time is valueless, this was the medieval conception. Thus during the middle ages all human activity was directed towards God. Man was given little importance. Then with Renaissance came yet undiscovered knowledge. The new astronomical discoveries allowed man to explore the universe independent of the scriptures. With this was born man’s pride in being man in the mortal universe. And thus man became conscious of the beauty and transience of life. This removed the concept of life everlasting from the framework of eternity. This introduced the prominence of mortality. The dance of death was now more feared than ever. New questions about human existence took form. Comedy seeks to find answers, a meaning of life; yet Shakespeare presents a frail shadowy background to his actions. One of the main governing thoughts in Twelfth Night is the fragility of life. This is the play of youth, almost all the characters are young, and this generates the sadness. Shakespeare asks all to enjoy fleeting life, make the most of the twelve days, scorning the Malvolios. A pattern emerges from all this lot which gives life some meaning. Twelfth Night, despite all its laughter, seems to play upon the keys of loss, affliction and deep bewilderment, which sounds through the gentle beauty of the romance convention and the festive humour. The bonded family words – father, brother, sister – signifies absence, loss of security and a longing. It is this sense of irreparable loss, and the mild apprehension that all this might prove to be a dream provides the poignant dream-like feeling which pervades the play. The loss is internal as well as external. The recognition of one’s self is a dominant theme, and almost all characters are haunted by this and hunt for their selves as well as their lost loves. Orsino’s languorously insatiable desire for love and ‘food of love’ in the first scene presents a parodic statement of the omnipresent sense of want. The hunting pun serves to express the search which is already begun. Nevertheless, Orsino’s words set the mood of the play, which, even through all the ‘caterwauling’ of the kitchen group, never fades. Orsino says That strain again, it had a dying fall: O, it came oer my ear like the sweet sound That breathes upon a bank of violets, Stealing and giving odour Orsino’s appetite is soon satiated. The music loses its appeal and his love for love becomes evident. Even the hunting image takes on contemporary significance – Diana becomes the naked truth which makes Acteon wild. This is a parody of Petrarchan conceits and it is fittingly given to Orsino, who, like all in Illyria, is in a state of illusion. According to Plato’s Symposium love is a hole, an absence longing to be filled. So Twelfth Night is a play of pining: Orsino for Olivia, Olivia for Viola, Viola for Orsino, and comically Sir Andrew and Malvolio for Olivia. This emphasis on pining invokes the classical myth of Narcissus and Echo, and makes a narcissistic triad of self enclosed loneliness. Each of them playing simultaneously Narcissus and Echo with respect to others. They seek their own reflections in the other’s face and own echo in the other’s voice. But more melancholy than this ‘love-sorrow’ is the separation of loved ones by real or apparent death. This again can be traced to the sense of romantic lack as embodied in this state of primary loss. Nearly all characters bear traces of such loss – from the father-brother loss which provides similar traumatic experiences for Viola and Olivia, down to the farcical yet nostalgic exclamation of Sir Andrew: ‘I was adored once, too. ’ While Viola’s sorrow is genuine, Olivia’s vow to keep her face veiled for seven years seems more like a ploy to ward off Orsino’s unwanted advances. Otherwise her whole behaviour is comically excessive in place of being melancholy. Seven years in black violates the Elizabethan mourning etiquette which prescribed a period of one year for a brother. Olivia closely parallels Orsino – both in her reclusiveness more alleged than borne out – and as a willing victim of introspective melancholia. Olivia’s unnamed brother fades from the surface of the play. But his spirit continues to haunt. For no sooner has the theme of brother loss been sounded in the minor key than it recurs in the major. The ‘eye-offending brine’ of tears gives way to the sea. Olivia’s brother fades into Viola’s. In a drama greatly concerned with wholeness of identity, the twinned heroines are each presented as halves of a pairing, cloven away from the male counterpart with whom she started life. In Jungian terms, when Viola assumes the male disguise, it is as if she recapitulates in her own person the lost other, dressing exactly like Sebastian, and as if Olivia also locates her own in Viola. Herein lies the fact that both of them are in an illusory world, it is only the presence of Sebastian which allows a happy resolution, otherwise the imminent result was definitely tragic. There might be an autobiographical element in this brother-sister separation theme. Shakespeare himself was the father of boy-girl twins of whom the boy died before the composition of this play. The twins were eleven and half years old when death separated them. Shakespeare must have felt at heart the wistful sadness in the eyes of Judith the surviving child, which he endowed to viola. Twelfth Night contains a calm, loving elegy, and a myth of rebirth. It feigns that Hamnet, the boy twin, is not dead, but lingers in the unknown, washed up on the shores of Illyria, the land of illusion and lyricism. Prove true, imagination, O prove true This is not only Viola’s, but also Shakespeare’s heartfelt cry. Thus Viola’s sadness resounds with a new meaning. Her exclamation at her entry is, And what should I do in Illyria? My brother he is in Elysium. Her brother comes back to her, but Hamnet does not. Unlike Sebastian, Viola controls herself and centres her thoughts on immediate problems. Her wit allows her to obtain a shelter in an alien and unfriendly world. But her wit also has a touch of the autumnal – in keeping with the autumnal note of the play. And even in her sorrow she can sympathise with others. She understands Olivia’s plots instantly in place of scorn, shows tender understanding, she says, Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we, For such as we are made of, such we be. Her identification with Olivia is appropriate in more ways than one – not only both of them are lovesick, but also they long for a brother figure. But Viola’s pathos is more touching. She has to bear messages to her rival from the man she loves. This she does without a murmur and with all sincerity. Her praise of Orsino comes straight from her heart. She is pained to the extreme, and almost reveals herself when Orsino calls women less faithful and lacking in depth of emotion. She tells the Duke: My father had a daughter lov’d a man, As it might be perhaps, were I a woman, I should your lordship. Thus secretly professing her love. But her suppressed agony is felt when she tells Orsino the supposed ending of her non-existent sister’s love whose history was, she tells Orsino, A blank, my lord: she never told her love For she never expects to have Orsino and she dares not aspire to the impossible. As when her brother’s name is mentioned she fears to hope for the best. Shakespeare saves the play from ending in total disaster by bringing in Sebastian and thus allowing Viola to have a happy end, in an union with Orsino. In the first scene orsino begins with an imagery of flowers. And the scene ends with flowers: Away before me to sweet beds of flowers! Love-thoughts lie rich when canopied with bowers. The image of flowers comes again and again throughout the play. Flowers symbolise transience – momentary beauty, something that does not last. So Feste tells Olivia: As there is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty’s a flower. Reminding her that times are never always bad, thus to keep on mourning for something that is past is to waste precious time and no one has world enough and time. Orsino talks about woman’s beauty, asking Cesario to fall in love with some woman younger than he, For women are as roses, whose fair flower Being once displayd, doth fall that very hour. Viola has to agree. She admits that death comes when one has just reached perfection. Speaking not only for women but for all mankind. The flower imagery stresses the carpe-diem theme of the play – cease the day before it ends. This theme is also propagated through the music of the play. In Twelfth Night music plays a vital role, establishing the tone of the play. Through music the emotive basis of human existence is emphasised, which is to be felt rather than perceived cerebrally. There is rare music in Viola. She does not sing, but her words carry poetic inspiration. She echoes Shakespeare’s sonnets when she tells Olivia: Lady, you are the cruellst she alive If you will lead these graces to the grave And leave the world no copy. Like the early marriage sonnets the theme here is of beauty perpetuated through marriage. But the character who is full of music and is truly melancholy, though not in his attitude or expression, is Feste. Feste is the first true fool of Shakespeares plays. One of the functions of the clown is to sing. He sings to Toby and Andrew: What is love? Tis not hereafter, Present mirth hath present laughter: Whats to come is still unsure. In delay there lies no plenty, Then come kiss me sweet and twenty: Youth’s a stuff will not endure. The fragility of youth and shadow of death – this is in line with the play’s theme and mood and also Feste’s character. His other song, which he sings to please Orsino, is equally sad, Come away, come away death, And in sad cypress let me be laid. Fie away, fie away breath, I am slain by a fair cruel maid. This song continues to reveal Feste’s own bleak future. He is outside the action, an objective onlooker. There is no involvement. He is poor, has no security. He begs to acquire money. For a man of his intellectual capacities this must be disgusting. He has no past, no future and no considerable present. He is a relic of the past, from Olivia’s father’s time. He is constantly threatened with discharge which is as bad as hanging for him. But he lets summer bear it out. Only his song betray his state. Thus in his songs the thought of hereafter is subordinated. In the final scene everyone leaves except Feste, who stays to give the audience a song. A song in which he is transformed from the character to the actor. His final song marks the ending of the play, the ending of the twelfth night. Death’s reign starts from the next day. Feste’s song is nostalgic, he recalls when folly was not as unacceptable or threatening. He also gives a cynical view of marriage as an unwanted responsibility. This casts an oblique perspective on the centrality of marriage in the play as a symbol of concord and resolution. A great while ago the world begun, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, But thats all one, our play is done, And well strive to please you everyday. That’s all one’ signifies from one perspective that since nothing is really important enough to worry about, pleasure and folly are the only activities worth undertaking. From another, similar, perspective the phrase can be read as hopeless, despairing resignation, pleasure and folly are doomed attempts to escape from an intolerable consciousness of futility . In ‘our play is done’, it is more about the innocent activities than about the play itself. It is a nostalgic recognition of the post innocence state. Feste’s song probably takes place on a dark, empty, silent stage, encapsulating Feste’s loneliness. His life is really as empty. He is as much an outcast as Malvolio, only he is not embittered. He is the artist. Isolated, presenting life, but not belonging to it. His song is a very cynical comment on human existence. To Feste the world does seem like a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. The song is a reminder of the theme of the play – youth and its subjection to time. The question which arises is whether this kind of existence is worth the strife. With this question the curtain descends on Shakespeare’s romantic world. The final song, which brings together all the melancholy passages in the play, leaves a yearning in the reader’s mind. A tinge of sadness which fills the heart and leaves a deep impression, is given to the whole play. This song marks a turning point in the world of Shakespearean drama. The playful attitude is done, now it is time for serious businesses of life, which involves the greatest of calamities. Perhaps at the moment Shakespeare himself identified with Feste. He who even with his immeasurable height of mind had to be the public’s jester and servant. Perhaps for an idle moment he wondered, if all this is worth the complications or not.