On Rape and Responsibility Essay Example for Free

On Rape and Responsibility Essay Throughout the course of Disgrace, Coetzee attempts to juxtapose the rape of Melanie with that of Lucy. By analyzing the actions of David Lurie, Lucy and Petrus, it becomes apparent that there is a dynamometric sense of responsibility among victims and abusers. Coetzee attempts to demonstrate that rape is more than a gendered based crime, that social class, and ethnicity also play roles in determining what harm is committed. It is because the rapes are not viewed through the eyes of the victim but primarily through Lurie, who sympathizes with Lucy and denies raping Melanie, that the readers are forced to determine who burdens responsibility and to what extent actions are repentant. Lurie’s attack on Melanie is more or less a date rape. He doesn’t take no for an answer and her passive means of refusal are not enough for him to take the hint. He truly believes that he is dating this woman, and that it is his right to engage in such relations with her. This belief is wound up in his perpetual state of selfishness and his arrogance of self delusion. She ends up filing for grievances making the whole situation public. Lucy is not just attacked, she is punished. What is done to her is done for the sole intention of causing her harm, of scaring her as an individual. It is done because she is a white woman, because she is the epitome of what is wrong with her rapist’s world. Along with the rape she is robbed of her property, and her father is assaulted and badly burned. In the end they both have to live with the scars of what happened. The attack on her is not personal; it is the way an oppressed social class is lashing out at the harsh mistreatment they have received for generations. What is ironic however is that the fact that the act in itself is the most personal it could have been. The society they are trying to punish is not going to be affected as a whole to what happened that day. It is a tragedy but one that would otherwise be swept under the rug, if Lucy had not swept it under herself Lucy. The hatred they had for society, they funneled into this woman. They made it personal once they had decided that Lucy was their victim. Similarly the reason these women are harmed is not purely random. Yes Melanie as student put her into the pool of prey for David Lurie, but his attraction to her is personal, and her mild response to him in the beginning paves the path Lurie takes. Her response is what Lurie feeds his delusions with, and that causes him to make the decisions he makes. Lucy is chosen out of what seems like convenience, Pollux attacks close to home, victimizing the woman that oversees his brother-in-law. Lucy is the best representation for the oppressive white class that he has, since she is â€Å"oppressing† Petrus. What theses essentially break down to is a crime of opportunity and a crime of restitution. The strongest underlying feeling that distinguishes the two is hate. It is not because Lurie hates Melanie that he does her injustice, it is because he is selfish and has no regard for her wants or feelings. Lurie finds Melanie alluring; he pursues his desires and treats what are blatant expressions of refusal as too subtle to actually mean â€Å"no†. The two rapes do however shed light on the misconception that rape is simply a gender based crime. Rather race and class complicate the situation making the two incidents vary widely in their response. Lucy keeps quite while Melanie comes forward; Lurie denies his actions while the other men acknowledge what they did as it matched their motive. Lucy’s refusal to come forward stems from white guilt, believing that what happened to her she had coming to her. She analogizes her gang rapists to tax collectors and feels that she should be paying to them what they feel they deserve. Her white guilt and higher class both make her a target and victim distinct from Melanie. Reporting such a rape would thereby align Lucy with the previous hierarchical white class of the apartheid period. She realizes that the crime would be used to â€Å"fuel the fires of racism† and knowing that her case would be used to represent â€Å"others† she does what she can to prevent the white class to rationalize future segregation. Melanie, who is a young black girl, is attacked by an older white man. Her response to his misdeeds is filled with want of restitutions. She does not accept what has happened to her as due to her, and she ultimately makes her attacker pay for the injustice he has committed. Interestingly, Coetzee uses Lurie’s view to further illustrate the racial-social class effects on perspective. Lurie’s inability to acknowledge what he has done as rape sheds light on his sexist and racists ideology, as Mardorossian points out, Lurie can only see rape as something black men do to white women, and prevents him from doing earlier what he does with Lucy, â€Å"namely call rape ‘rape’†. In his disciplinary hearing, Lurie establishes an equivalence between â€Å"the ‘rights’ of desire and sexual violence’† demonstrating his belief in his personal superiority over Melanie. The two rapes are diametrically opposed in their factors and responses, which demonstrates to the reader the â€Å"inextricable relation between incommensurable categories of identity such as gender, class, or ethnicity in the application of legal and moral authority†. When Coetzee introduces Lucy into the novel, she is sympathetic to her father’s situation. She leaves judgment aside as something that is his to deal with. She encourages him to make reparations but does nothing to make him feel ostracized for his previous misdeeds. All of this changes once Lucy is victimized. With Lurie’s inability to empathize with the situation, at least to the extent that Lucy wants, Lucy refuses to confide in him. She feels what has happened to her is a private matter and because he is not a woman, he could not understand the way she feels, and so she feels no obligation to share her experience with him. In addition to his male-handicap Lucy also starts to view Lurie as a predator, seeing only subtle differences between what he did to Melanie and what those men did to her. It made it harder to sympathize with his experiences, and she ultimately becomes distant. When Lucy does finally go into detail about what happened. Rather than offering solace to his daughter’s grief he instead attempts to give her another outlook on the situation. Her confession that the worst part of it was how personal the action was, and her inability to understand it. â€Å"Why did they hate me so? † is met with â€Å"It was history speaking through them†¦ A history of wrong. Think of it that way if it helps. It may have seemed personal but it wasn’t. While what Lurie is saying may have truth to it, this is not what Lucy is looking to hear when she confides in him. Lurie suffers from what Stember calls sexual racism- having a right to claim a â€Å"colonized woman’s† body, and to project his guilt onto the colonized man imagining him wanting revenge and thereby desires â€Å"the white woman†. In this light Glenn suggest that Coetzee uses Disgrace as a sociological and cultural statement, as â€Å"symptomatic- part of the traumatized white reaction to living in the Black Republic. Demonstrating that Lucy’s refusal to report the rape, taking responsibility for it, and even keeping the rape-child is central to South African politics and the use of women as objects in a kinship economy. In Addition, Petrus embodies the â€Å"black claims for restitution of farm land† essentially getting through violence, what black South Africans felt they were due. The rapes also introduce the idea of responsibility. The intertwining elements of ethnicity, gender, and social class also incorporate a sense of responsibility, both to self and community. Rebecca Saunders uses Nietzsche’s position of justice and responsibility as an economic manner to illustrate how characters shun responsibility off of themselves, or accept unwarranted responsibility. Lurie’s inability to confess, but rather simply plead guilty is a great example of such. He feels that his plea is what is necessary for the hearing, but sincerely apologizing is more valuable to him that he feels is warranted by the committee. Likewise Petrus’ solutions to Lurie and Lucy are compensation as if they appropriately equate to the emotional and physical harm done. Saunders explores this logic in the frame of â€Å"visceral† versus â€Å"reason†. How responsibility should be dealt in relation to the justifications behind the actions. He feels undercompensated, because he stands behind â€Å"reason† he understands that Petrus’ offers do not actually equate to the needs at hand. Also standing behind â€Å"reason,† Lucy equates the values of the harms done to her and to her aggressors, and feels as though a debt has been paid. This merely serves to illustrate that every character feels their side is the rational one, and their opponents’ are acting out of visceral. Rosemary Nagy, also explores the idea of responsibility, but in relation to the language of justification. How things are worded greatly impact the level of responsibility each character takes on for the actions they have committed, or have had done to them. The three figures centered around responsibility are Petrus, Lucy and Lurie. Petrus is of course playing surrogate for the men who attacked Lucy. She suggests that Disgrace establishes that there is no easy formula to decide where the middle ground falls between reconciliation and responsibility. David Lurie’s rape of Melanie is always met with a lack of culpability, despite Gal’s reasoning, that Lurie cleanses himself through his treatment of the dogs. However by the end of the novel he still refuses to believe that what he did constituted rape. The idea of repentance and responsibility stems from an expectation of transformation. That those committing such crimes become â€Å"new† men, but by the end of the novel we do not see this change in Lurie. In fact he nearly comes full circle, satisfying his sexual appetite with prostitutes and solving â€Å"the problem of sex rather well. Lucy on the other hand takes responsibility for what the white class in South Africa did for decades, a burden much bigger than warranted. She sacrifices herself, leaves herself with nothing â€Å"no cards, no weapons, no property, no rights, no dignity. † She completely switches roles with Petrus, who onces was dog-man, now she is â€Å"like a dog. † Petrus while not obligated, still accepts no responsibility for what happened to Lucy. Instead he reaps the benefits of her misfortune, gaining land, and a third wife because Lucy no longer feels capable of protecting herself. Through the act of (or lack of) accepting responsibility, Coetzee forces the readers to analyze the extent to which acknowledgement dictates reconciliation. Coetzee uses Disgrace, to make a statement about race and culture in a post-apartheid South Africa. That rape is more than a gendered- crime, that it crosses through socio-ethnic barriers to express something more harmful. That the feelings on reconciliation vary widely depending on who feels victimized and who feels responsible, which is a reflection of how Coetzee feels about the future of the white middle class in the years after the apartheid state.

How Social Media Has Helped Transform Event Management Media Essay

How Social Media Has Helped Transform Event Management Media Essay Social media has changed the way information is communicated completely. The fact that people have adapted social media and prefer to use social media to communicate and get in touch with the world is proof of the fact that social media is here to stay. Social media has become very important for communication, marketing and a sales discipline as well. Event managers know from their experience that the most effective way of communicating, selling or marketing is face to face, but the reach of this is very limited as you cant meet and approach every potential customer. Other forms of marketing that are less personal had a wider reach but social media has made it possible for event managers to get in touch with as many people as they want. Face to face conversations allow a consumer to get engaged with the brand. Social media also allows people to share experiences about a brand and become advocates of it. There are at least 41.3 million people online in the UK alone and twitter users allover the world are estimated to be around 35mn. Social media is like amplified word of mouth. The word spreads fast and to a number of people at a time. It is something that event managers had been waiting for. Event managers can now build their event strategy after taking advise from their customers directly on what to include in the content, promote the event, share the experience with others and also evaluate how they event went. Now the events life has increased as the event is kept alive in the mind of the consumer through videos and pictures that are shared with many other people. This also increases the reach of the event. Event managers now have to embrace the reality and make the event available online. Event management often involves 5 phases, I will discuss each phase and how social media has helped transform it. Step 1. Planning Every event requires planning. Planning an event is an extremely lenghthy and tedious job, many softwares and guidelines are available to do this work. It involves getting people together to make an event a success. Deciding on the venue, the food, emergency plans, promotion, attendees etc. An event will only work out if these things have been planned in detail and the right people to perform the task are there. Some ways in which social media makes this phase easier are: Skype: Skype can be used to communicate with people who are miles away, it allows people to brainstorm and contribute unique ideas to make the event better. Â  PBworks:Â  this platform also makes it easier for people to contribute ideas add notes and organize the entire event. It is used by organizers all over because of its document sharing features which makes information exchange much faster and easier. Step 2. Organizing and inviting Once the planning part is done, the event manager has to make sure that everything is going as planned and that the people who have been delegated responsibility are also working. Time management is crucial at this stage, because of delay by one person to do his duty can have disastrous results. Also the planner needs to start inviting people, these include guests and attendees, you have to make sure that all the people who make the event a success are invited and are able to come to the event. For this purpose social media is available to keep information on the event organized and also to publish guest lists and speaker lists. Starting a blog is another great idea that event managers can make use up, these blogs are updated on a regular basis and keeps the attendants informed about how the preparation of an event is progressing. Facebook can also create an invite to an event, it allows people to respond to the invite as well. Step 3. Promotion and distribution Promotion is important whether its for a brand or an event, without it consumers or interested people can not be brought in. a number of promotional techniques are available but can be divided into below the line(ATL) and above the line (BTL) ATL deals with indirect ways of promotion where there is no individual contact between the buyer and the seller, these include print ads, TV ads, billboards etc. BTL is about direct interaction with the customer, may include activities and organizing of certain events to invite people to the product, consumer reach is limited compared to ATL but is much more effective. Social media can also be called an ATL approach but it has a much wider reach so is more effective. The event management needs to make sure that it is promoted through every channel possible. Potential attendees should be able to access information about the event and ask questions easily. Social media like twitter, youtube, facebook, orkut should be used. Social media should be considered a primary mode of advertising. Twitter and facebook should be used because they are meant to transfer messages. A facebook page is more effective than a facebook group because everytime the page is updated it appears in the newsfeed, allowing more people to view it. Facebook event is also an important way of letting people know about the event and also knowing how many people are likely to attend the event. Step 4. Meet expectations The manager should optimize the event to meet people requirements, because if the event does not make the attendees satisfied they are also capable of creating bad publicity for the company. High speed wireless should be made available so people can communicate with each other and converse easily with the guests and other attendees. Often even before the event starts the attendees start having dialogues with the speakers on the event and after the event that communication is continued. The attendees should be able to tweet in their questions in real time and also get answers, other attendees should also be able to answer those questions for the speakers. This makes the whole event much more interesting. There should be live conference available for people who are unable to attend the event. This allows people miles away to attend the conference and interact with every one around, the event manger should try and make it a holistic experience for such people also. Live streaming can also allow the event managers to reach out people who could not attend the event, later on some videos should be uploaded of the event, so that the lifecycle of the event is lengthened. The event manager also needs to listen to what the audience has to say. If they complain about any aspect of the event like the food or a particular speaker then the event manager should take action to improve the situation. Twitter conversation should be tracked properly and if not than surveys should be used to see what consumers have to say about the event. This makes consumers feel important as their opinion is being listened to and it helps managers align the event to the needs of the consumers ensuring that the event is a success. Step 5: communication after the event Post event communication is also important to make sure that the impression of the event is positive and lasts long especially if more events have to be held later on; If this impression is not a good one than consumers are less likely to attend the one in the future. After the event make sure your attendees know how to remain in touch through social media, emails should be exchanged to facilitate communication. Thank you notes should be sent along with updates and other information. Event management is as much about relation building as it is about organizing the event.

How the Novel Rebecca Reflects and Subverts the Conventions of the Roma

"I'm invariably ill-tempered in the early morning. I repeat to you, the choice is open to you. Either you go to America with Mrs Van Hopper or you come home to Manderly with me." "Do you mean you want a secretary or something?" "No, I'm asking you to marry me, you little fool." Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a fine example of the romantic genre as it reflects certain conventions such as the hero and heroine?s characteristics. It also subverts many romantic conventions for example, the journey to happy ever after. Conventions of the gothic/horror genre are also found in the novel. The conventions that Rebecca reflects of the romantic genre are those of the characteristics of the hero and heroine (as mentioned above). The heroine is usually innocent and vulnerable with low confidence and low self-esteem. The narrator of the novel also holds these characteristics. The first impression of the hero seems rude, arrogant and insufferable but the heroine soon realises she was wrong and sees the hero differently. This is also a convention of the Romantic genre. Rebecca also subverts certain aspects of the genre, such as the ?happily ever after? ending to most romantic novels. The gothic genre is also found in the novel, with the spirit of Rebecca haunting Maxim and the narrator?s marriage. One major convention of the Romantic genre is the innocence, vulnerability and lack of confidence of the heroine. In Rebecca, the narrator constantly refers to herself as an un-educated, inexperienced and young schoolgirl, ??I was a youthful thing and unimportant?there was no need to include me in the conversation.? Throughout the first six chapters, the narrator is depicted as very young with no experience. She admits this herself, ?It was a s... ...it? Open the title-page.? Nonsense, I said, I?m only going to put the book with the rest of the things.? As if prompted by Rebecca?s spirit, the book falls open on the title page. The heroine can feel the force of the writing as she thinks, ?How alive was her writing though, how full of force.? The page is then torn out and burned, and the heroine?s thought feel cleared. This section of the novel has a major gothic and horror feel to it. Conclusively, the novel Rebecca reads as a very intense and interesting novel reflecting as well as subverting the conventions of the romantic genre. It also includes many aspects of the gothic and horror genre which create a haunting theme for the storyline. The hero?s way of treating the heroine is arrogant even though she refuses to accept it. They never reach happily ever after for their marriage is forever haunted by Rebecca.

Affirmative Action Violates Constitutional Rights Essay -- Argumentati

Affirmative Action Violates Constitutional Rights In 2003, the United States Supreme Court will hear two affirmative action cases. Each is dealing with the actions of the admissions office of the University of Michigan. The cases, Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger, have been called "this generation's Brown v. Board of Education." (Montoya.) These cases have much hanging in their mists, "The outcome of †¦ affirmative action cases will determine whether our society moves forward towards greater equality or backwards to resegregation [sic] and greater inequality"("New†¦"). Affirmative action which is, as defined by Webster's II New College Dictionary, "A policy or program that seeks to redress past discrimination by increasing opportunities for underrepresented groups, as in employment." Affirmative action not only increases opportunities for women and minorities it decreases opportunities for white men. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. - Amendment XIV, section one The U.S. Constitution is clear, the privileges and immunities will not be decreased, and states can not deny any person in its jurisdiction equality. Affirmative action lessens the immunities of white men; they are no longer guaranteed an "equal opportunity employer." White men who are in the jurisdiction of the United States are denied equality. This is proved by the fact that qualifications are not the top reason for whom is hired, instead the main reason white men are turned down, when ... ...//clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/ OP/html/aa/aa02.html> Stephanopoulos, George, and Christopher Edley, Jr. "OTHER FEDERAL POLICIES: THE FCC AND THE DEPARTMENTS OF TREASURY AND AGRICULTURE." Affirmative Action Review Report to the President. 19 July 1995. 16 Dec. 2002 <http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/OP/html/aa/aa11.html> Stephanopoulos, George, and Christopher Edley, Jr. "Letter to the President." Affirmative Action Review Report to the President. 19 July 1995. 16 Dec. 2002 <http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/OP/html/aa/aa-lett.html> United States. Department of Justice. "MEMORANDUM TO GENERAL COUNSELS." Washington, D.C: Office of Legal Counsel. 28 June 1995. <http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/OP/html/aa/ap-b.html> United States. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "The Civil Rights Act of 1964." 15 Jan. 1997 <http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/vii.html>   

Letter to State Official On Gay Rights :: essays research papers

Dear Mr. Governor: Since I was in third grade, I have learned that there are certain "inalienable rights", the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all of which the United States government is committed to protecting for every human being. I understand that you will soon have the opportunity to look at a bill which would allow gay marriage to be legalized, and I ask you to not veto this bill, but to support these inalienable rights to which every American is due. Whatever happened to all men are created equal? It seems to me that the people of America have a certain standards to the â€Å"all men† part of that statement, which is, that they need to be heterosexual in order to be considered for being treated equal. Americans are so proud of their freedom and their liberty, yet they are so anxious to take that same freedom away from someone else. Why can’t we take that statement for what it is, and start treating everyone equally regardless of his or her race, gender, or sexual preference? Homosexuals should be entitled to all the same rights as heterosexuals have. They are no different than the rest of us, they simply choose to practice there intimate life in a different way. What is marriage? Recently, people argue with respect to the definition of marriage. To get married is a very important event for almost everyone, it is often considered to be one of the single most important decisions and days of ones life. However, what would you do if you could not get married to the person that you loved because it was socially unacceptable and the law would not allow it? Sometimes it seems as if we are reverting back in history when interracial marriages were the topic of discussion, people were against interracial marriages because they did not understand. Now, people are against same-sex marriages for the same reasons. The United States is denying two people who love each other the right to legally be married. Gays and lesbians are just like heterosexuals, they want there marriages to be recognized by the law. They are like any normal couple and want a marriage to prove and show their love for one another. They want that simple document that the government gives to heterosexuals which binds two people into a marriage.

Marketing Planning Essay

Assume you have been appointed as a marketing consultant for Jollibee. As part of the international expansion program, the management wants you to prepare a report to identify marketing opportunities. The report should cover the following information: a) Identify three potential markets for expansion Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) is banking on franchising and overseas expansion to continuously boost its earnings in the long run. The aggressive expansion program is in line with doubling the company’s earnings in 5 years, company officials said. JFC board chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said the ideal business mix is 50-50 for franchising and company-owned expansion. JFC’s branches outside the Philippines are all company-owned, except those in the Middle East. In the Philippines, 45% of the stores are company-owned while 55% are franchised. For its overseas expansion, CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said the quick-service restaurant chain plans to expand its global footprint by putting up stores in Malaysia, Myanmar, Europe and Japan â€Å"after five years because we need to focus on China and the US.† JFC is also branching out in Canada next year while the company is still studying prospects in Indonesia, one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. The potential markets for expansion are the following: Three Options for Expansion Papua New Guinea- Raising the Standard New Entrant into 3 store fast food chain Tingzon offered to put up all capital required Hong Kong- Expanding the Base 3 Store already established, possibility of a 4th one. High volume with Filipinos but not with residents (Chinese) 4th store location high traffic but few Filipinos California-Supporting the Settlers Success in Guam led them to believe US had potential Food Appealed to Filipinos and Americans Decided on Daly City-Large Filipino population Plans to appeal to Asian Americans and then Hispanic Americans b) General information about the potential markets (geographical location, capital, population, per capita income, literacy rate, language spoken) Geographical Location Jollibee started with five branches in 1978 and has grown to a strong network of a total of 801 stores in the country, and 96 stores internationally. In total, Jollibee has 896 stores worldwide as of November 2013. It is the largest fast food chain in the country with international locations in Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Vietnam, the United States, and Canada. JFC is planning to expand Jollibee to other markets like Europe. Asia Brunei (launched 1987) Hong Kong (launched September 1996) Indonesia (to be launched 2015) Kuwait (launched 1995) Malaysia (to be launched 2015) Philippines (main hub) Qatar Saudi Arabia (launched 1995) Singapore (launched 2013) Vietnam (launched October 1996) North America United States (launched 1998) Canada (to be launched 2015) The first Jollibee branch in Vietnam was opened on October 1996 at the Super Bowl in Ho Chi Minh City. To date, Jollibee has more than 30 stores in Vietnam, they are located in the cities of Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, in the provinces of Vinh Phuc, Dong Nai and all provinces in the  Mekong Delta Region. In Hong Kong, there is currently one branch located in Central. At present, it is in the process of being renovated, while the opening of a second branch in the country is currently under consideration. As of end-September 2012, Jollibee was operating 2,040 stores in the Philippines for all of its brands: 765 for Jollibee, 383 for Chowking, 201 for Greenwich, 209 for Red Ribbon, 457 for Mang Inasal and 25 for Burger King. PAPUA NEW GUINEA: There are five million people in Papua New Guinea with extremely limited fast food options. Jollibee can come in and set a high standard, attract many customers, and scare future investors away. However they would have to quickly add three to four stores to be competitive and cover costs. There was also question as to whether the area could handle 20 stores. Either they will get the first mover advantage or they will sustain huge loss. Since the benefits offered by the local partner are uncertain and profit potential is low, Jollibee should not seek to enter New Guinea at this time. HONG KONG: In Hong Kong, Jollibee are located near a very densely populated area, which has a very loyal Filipino customer base. These people gave them great business on the weekends, but sales fell off during the week because the local Hong Kong people rarely frequented the Jollibee establishment. Also, there were tremendous problems with the Chinese stores. All of the managers resigned and many employees quit because the Chinese like to work for Chinese. There was obvious friction between the Chinese and Filipino’s. While the fourth store in Hong Kong represents a valuable learning opportunity, it will not generate the revenues needed to build a global empire. Catering to the local Chinese palette would allow Jollibee to build its competitive advanta ge by learning to balance flexibility in menu offerings with consistency across the global brand. Additionally, a success in cosmopolitan Hong Kong could give Jollibee the brand exposure it needs to attract better partners. However, given the staffing issues and uncertainty involving the local Chinese customer, it would be better for Jollibee to improve its current operations, rather than to commit additional resources to a new store. CALIFORNIA: It will be a very good idea to target the Asian community living in U.S and California is the best place to start from. The intense competitive atmosphere of US fast food market will provide Jollibee tremendous opportunity of global learning. Furthermore, they also discovered that there were many elements of their  restaurants that appealed to Americans. Similarly, there was great support from Filipino-Americans. Likewise, Jollibee was going to expand throughout California before it moved east. They were determined to gain recognition. Another helpful aspect is the diversification of America. In any given city a person can find Chinese, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Japanese, American, German, Polish, Indian, and other ethnic restaurants. Americans like to try food of different cultures and there is no reason to believe that we will not try Filipino food. There is very little reason to believe that Jollibee cannot successfully enter the fast food market in the United States. But on the other hand, United States is home to some of Jollibee’s most formidable competitors. As a late-mover, it will be difficult for Jollibee to obtain access to the distribution channels, suppliers, and store locations which allowed it to become a cost leader in the Philippines. Additionally, aside from its experience in Guam, Jollibee does not have any real experience operating in a Western business environment. c) Specific information about each market (legal and ethical requirements, market trends, competitors, size of the market, potential sales volume) Legal and ethical requirements When markets in foreign countries offer a higher profit potential than your home market, it makes sense to expand internationally. As you prepare your expansion and research target markets in other countries, you will often find that the legal structures and ethical frameworks differ substantially from those in the United States. You have to address the legal and ethical issues of your entering these markets to make your expansion a success. Traditional Small Scale Bribery- involves the payment of small sums of money, typically to a foreign official in exchange for him/her violating some official duty or responsibility or to speed routine government actions (grease payments, kickbacks). Large Scale Bribery- a relatively large payment intended to allow a violation of the law or designed to influence policy directly or indirectly (eg, political contribution). Gifts/Favours/Entertainment- includes a range of items such as: lavish physical gifts, call girls, opportunities for personal tr avel at the company`s expense, gifts received after the completion of transaction and  other extravagant expensive entertainment. Pricing – includes unfair differential pricing, questionable invoicing – where the buyer requests a written invoice showing a price other than the actual price paid, pricing to force out local competition, dumping products at prices well below that in the home country, pricing practices that are illegal in the home country but legal in host country (eg, price fixing agreements). Products/Technology – includes products and technology that are banned for use in the home country but permitted in the host country and/or appear unsuitable or inappropriate for use by the people of the host country. Tax Evasion Practices – used specifically to evade tax such as transfer pricing (i.e., where prices paid between affiliates and/or parent company adjusted to affect profit allocation) including the use of tax havens, where any profit made is in low tax jurisdiction, adjusted interest payments on intra-firm loans, questionable management and service fees charged betwee n affiliates and /or the parent company. Illegal/Immoral Activities in the Host Country – practices such as: polluting the environment, maintaining unsafe working conditions; product/technology copying where protection of patents, trademarks or copyrights has not been enforced and short weighting overseas shipments so as to charge a country a phantom weight. Questionable Commissions to Channel Members – unreasonably large commissions of fees paid to channel members, such as sales agents, middlemen, consultants, dealers and importers. Cultural Differences – between cultures involving potential misunderstandings related to the traditional requirements of the exchange process (e.g., transactions) may be regarded by one culture as bribes but be acceptable business practices in another culture. These practices include: gifts, monetary payments, favours, entertainment and political contributions. Involvement in Political Affairs- related to the combination of marketing activities and politics including the following: the exertion of political influence by multinationals, engaging in marketing activities when either home or host countries are at war or illegal technology transfers. Market trends More focus on youths Popular trendy cafà © Wi-Fi internet access Creative location Multi branding Cleanliness environment Competitors Size of the market Claimed market size Jollibee was able to capture 65% of the market share in hamburger market in the Philippines. The JFC reported Php 82 billion by the end of 2011 Based on the annual report of JFC, Jollibee earned Php 50 billion revenue on 2011 Total sales of JFC claiming 65% market share is Php 82 billion. The total market share is Php 126 billion Potential sales volume Local fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. grew its 2013 net profit by 24.5 percent year-on-year to P4.64 billion as sales from its restaurant network here and abroad expanded by a double-digit pace. In the fourth quarter alone, JFC’s net profit rose by 20.3 percent year-on-year to P1.52 billion. System-wide retail sales—a measure of consumer sales from company-owned and franchised stores—grew by 13.9 percent in the fourth quarter and by 12.8 percent for the full year, to P28.87 billion and P104.1 billion, respectively. The full-year retail sales growth marked the highest rate of rise in organic sales in six years and allowed JFC to breach the P100-billion mark for the first time, JFC chief operating officer and incoming chief executive officer Ernesto Tanmantiong said in a statement. Apart from growing its sales volume and distribution network, JFC also unlocked higher margins by improving the operating efficiency of its growing store chain. Net income margin for 2013 increased to 5.8 percent from 5.2 percent the previous year. JFC opened a total of 98 stores in the fourth quarter—the highest number opened in a single quarter in the company’s  35-year history. It ended 2013 with an international store network of 2,764, of which 2,181 are in the Philippines. â€Å"Our progress in building the business has been taking place across our brands in different countries. In the years ahead, we look forward to further strengthening our brands and accelerating our profitable growth by keeping our intense focus on the fundamentals of our business for the benefit of our consumers: Superior product quality and taste, value, service, restaurant experience and store locations made possible by an even stronger JFC organization,† Tanmantiong said. For 2014, Jollibee has earmarked P6.3 billion in capital spending. It will be used to open new stores and renovate old ones. The budget is higher than the P4.1 billion capital outlays in 2013, when the company opened 235 new stores. In the fourth quarter of 2013, system-wide sales in the Philippines alone rose by 12.2 percent, while business grew by 19.2 percent in China, 17.2 percent in the United States, and 35.3 percent in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In Southeast Asia, growth was led by Vietnam, where business rose by 40.2 percent. Same store sales across its global network for the fourth quarter grew by 8-9 percent year-on-year on higher customer traffic and purchases per store. With higher net profit last year, JFC’s return on equity improved to a 15-year high of 21.3 percent from the 18.3 percent seen in 2012. Aside from the flagship Jollibee brand, JFC operates Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal and Burger King. In China, it operates the Yonghe King, Hong Zhuang Yuan and San Pin Wang chains. It likewise has a 50-percent stake in the joint venture operating Highlands Coffee (in Vietnam and the Philippines), Pho24 (in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau and Cambodia) and 12 Sabu (China). d) An assessment of external factors for each market (PEST analysis) The general environment consisting of 6 segments and the analysis of its effects on Jollibee is as shown below. Demographic In the local Philippines context, the million consumers walking into Jollibee’s stores daily represent strong demand for its products. The uniqueness of the geographical landscape of Philippines has also made it a challenge for fast-food companies. Globally, there are many Filipinos workers situated in the overseas market, especially in the United States where there are estimated to be around 2 million Filipino immigrants.  Besides the US, many Filipinos are also situated in parts of Asia such as Hong Kong, Brunei and Indonesia. Not limiting to Filipinos, their stores have also attracted other Asians to eat at their restaurants. Economic The growing economic capabilities of developing countries have attracted major players in the fast food industry to establish their stores there. Likewise for Jollibee, the growing market possibilities in Indonesia for Chinese food enabled Jollibee to venture into the market by introduction of Chowking Brand. The potential China market for fast food also led Jollibee to acquire 85 percent ownership in Yong he King Chain. Sociocultural The social and cultural of each country differs from one another. For example, a Chinese might prefer to have noodles instead of rice in Japan. In our case of Jollibee, the â€Å"langhap-sarap† concept adopted by them may be hugely popular to Filipinos consumers, but this concept may not do so well in global markets. Foreign consumers might not like the traditional taste of Jollibee’s food, as compared to bigger global players such as McDonald. Global The ever changing global landscape is one of the critical factors Jollibee has to consider. As illustrated in the case study, Philippines have seen major global players entering the fast-food market having a take on this pie. Although Jollibee have always been the dominant in this segment, competing in foreign markets seems to be in a different story. Not only they have to penetrate the foreign market with their proven and successful local recipe, they would also have to compete against already established players such as McDonald, Wendy’s and KFC. e) Estimate the costs, risks, financial viability for each market. Papua New Guinea: Raising the Standard In early 1996, at the recommendation of Quality Assurance Manager Gil Salvosa, a local New Guinea entrepreneur in the poultry business approached Tony Kitchner about a Jollibee franchise. He described a country of five million people served by only one poorly managed, 3-store fast-food chain, that had recently broken ties with its Australian chicken restaurant franchise. â€Å"Port Moresby does not have a  single decent place to eat, â€Å"he told Kitchner. He believed Jollibee could raise the quality of service and food enough to take much of the Australian chain’s market share while discouraging further entrants. Although the original plan had been to open just one store in the foreseeable future—in the capital, Port Moresby—Tingzon was certain that the franchisee could only cover the costs of developing the market if he put in at least three or four stores soon after. But he was uncertain whether Papua New Guinea coul d support the 20 stores that he saw as the target critical mass for new markets. (For comparison, in the Philippines, approximately 1,200 fast food outlets competed for the business of 75 million people. GNP per capita in both countries was almost at US$2,500.) Hong Kong: Expanding the Base Also on Tingzon’s plate was a proposal to expand to a fourth store in Hong Kong. The franchise, owned by Jollibee in partnership with local businessmen and managed by Tommy King, TTC’s brother-in-law, opened its first store in September 1996 to instant, overwhelming success. Located near a major transit hub in the Central district, it became a gathering place for Filipino expatriates, primarily domestic workers. However, appealing to the locals had proven more difficult. While volume was high on weekends, when the Filipinos came to Central to socialize, it fell off during the week, when business was primarily from local office workers. Although two more stores in Central had attracted many Filipinos, they both relied extensively on Chinese customers and generated sales of only about one-third of the first outlet. One problem was that, despite strenuous efforts, Jollibee had been unable to hire many local Chinese as crew members. According to one manager, Chinese customers who did not speak English well were worried that they would be embarrassed if they were not understood by the predominantly Philippine and Nepalese counter staff. Another problem was that in a city dominated by McDonald’s, Jollibee’s brand recognition among locals was weak. Working with Henry Shih, the sub-franchisee who owned the second store, Jollibee staffs were trying to help launch a thematic advertising campaign, but due to the Hong Kong operation’s small size, the franchise could not inject sufficient funds. California: Supporting the Settlers Soon after signing his contract, Tingzon had learned of year-old plan to open one Jollibee store per quarter in California starting in the first quarter of 1998.Supporting TTC’s long-held belief that Jollibee could win enormous  prestige and publicity by gaining foothold in the birthplace of fast food, Kitchner had drawn up plans with a group of Manila-based busine ssmen as 40% partners in the venture. Once the company stores were established, they hoped to franchise in California and beyond in 1999.Much of the confidence for this bold expansion plan came from Jollibee’s success in Guam, a territory of the US. Although they initially targeted the 25% of the population of Filipino extraction, management discovered that their menu appealed to other groups of Americans based there. They also found they could adapt the labor-intensive Philippine operating methods by developing different equipment and cooking processes more in keeping with a high labor cost environment. In the words of one International Division veteran, â€Å"In Guam, we learned how to do business in the United States. After succeeding there, we felt we were ready for the mainland. â€Å"The plan called for the first store to be located in Daly City, a community with a large Filipino population but relatively low concentration of fast-food competitors in the San Francisco area. (With more than a million immigrants from the Philippines living in California, most relatively affluent, this state had one of the highest concentrations of Filipino expatriates in the world.) The menu would be transplanted from the Philippines without changes. After initially targeting Filipinos, the plan was to branch out geographically to the San Francisco and San Diego regions, and demographically to appeal to other Asian-American and, eventually, Hispanic-American consumers. The hope was that Jollibee would then expand to all consumers throughout the U.S.Like the expansion strategies in PNG and Hong Kong, this project had momentum behind it, including visible support from Filipino-Americans, strong interest of local investors, and, not least,TTC’s great interest in succeeding in McDonald’s back-yard. f) Rank the opportunities in terms of their viability and likely contribution to the business According to the corporate website, Jollibee International currently has over 50 locations in Brunei, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and U.S. There are now a total of 26 Jollibee stores in the U.S. including 9 stores in Northern California, 15 stores in Southern California, one store in Las Vegas, and one store in New York. According to Jollibee’s website, the company has modified its global strategy and stopped international  franchising temporary. The California franchise has been a success. Since opening the first U.S. store in Daly City in 1998, the company has expanded their U.S. presence to a total of 26 stores. The company has the advantage in the California market because there are a lot new immigrants entering the state with 80,000 Filipino migrating per year. Jollibee currently has only one Hong Kong store located in Central, implying that at least two Central stores have been closed since 1998 in addition to the Kowloon district store. Finally, there is no Jollibee presence in Papua New Guinea indicating that efforts to expand to this country were not successful. References: http://www.pinoyinvestor.com/smartinvestor/jollibee-banks-on-franchising-overseas-expansion-to-boost-long-term-earnings-04-aug-2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jollibee http://www.allfreepapers.com/print/Jollibee–Case-Study-Analysis/1794.html http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/12111.pdf http://business.inquirer.net/164038/jollibee-13-profit-up-24-5 http://nhobeelab.weebly.com/industry-analysis.html

Key Areas of Work by the United Nations

At the forefront globalization and the dramatic turn of events worldwide, the focus of states and government is towards economic stability and human development. These goals are also in conjunction with the goals set forth by the United Nations (UN), in particular, priorities on uk/why-nations-fail-chapter-5-review/">developing nations. More to this, the UN and its subordinate agencies are mandated to extend support and technical services on priority and special cases and at different areas.These global aspirations are carried out through government collaborations and or at the regional and bilateral level. However, at various junctures, these initiatives are often hampered by interventions driven by conflicts or disputes among nations and or within its people. Most often than not, these conflicts are either anchored or rooted to religious differences which brought about misunderstanding among interest groups. Hence, giving way to bitter resolution—wars and or violence.Relativ e to its functions and mandate, ethnic or religious conflicts have been proven to directly or indirectly affect the efforts of UN for international development, peace, justice, security, cooperation, gender equality, human rights and social justice. The domino effect is very apparent and dreaded in this type of conflict. Hence, an integrated approach in harnessing inter-faith communication among world religions and denominations is seen as a key factor in mitigating and or pacifying on-going international or bilateral conflicts.II. DiscussionInter-faith communication could be realized in various venues and through different media. In fact, it has itself a long history to stand on its own. This is done usually through inter-faith dialogues. But â€Å"inter faith† has always been interpreted in different ways and scope. Many were initiated by a particular group and were limited only to bilateral religions. On a wider range, many international organizations were born out of inte rfaith dialogues, usually inter-denomination within traditions such as Christianity. An example of which is World Council of Churches, the broadest Christian inter-denomination alliance.However, this does not include other major religions, not even Islam and the Catholic Church. Hence, a more integrated organization and a broader segment of religion or denomination are needed to establish and institutionalize inter-faith cooperation and understanding. Prior to coming up with this goal, a thorough study of the communication factors, conflict or risk management practices, cooperation and understanding principles as variables used and potentially to be used by different religions or faith is significant to establish the objective set above.Identifying Communication FactorsThis involves the identification of communication factors such as communication gap (language differences, information lapses, assimilation and or misinterpretations. This also allows for a better understanding of the weaknesses of the respective parties in holding dialogues or reaches out initiatives.Risk or Conflict ManagementThis variable is a very critical area in dealing with religious conflicts. The assessment of how parties practice conflict or risk management within their line or a counterpart enables possibility of drafting a roadmap for managing conflicts, or employing modifications to existing binding or non-binding policy.Employing Cooperation and Understanding PrinciplesThis is one of the most important considerations to be looked upon in initiating such critical moves as interfaith communication. Employing acceptable principles for cooperation and understanding enables mutual cooperation from opposing parties (respondents). For this study, denominations/religions in the village level will be the primary target. However, as to the assessment, the key informant will be coming from the hierarchy base or area.III. MethodologyThis research will be using a deductive approach in assessing the variables of the research as well as its implementation. The research will also employ a two-way data gathering scheme, including a key informant interview for religious leaders/elders and a survey among their respective followers and believers.The key informant interviewee will be asked (through guide questions) about their experience and perception of the variables being considered. The rest of the respondents will also be asked (through guided questionnaire) of their perception and affirmation of the variables in consideration and the affirmation of the leaders’/leaders’ information.The location of the study is proposed to be conducted in war-torn areas, devastated by ethnic or religious conflicts. The government concerned will be tapped for ensuring safe conduct pass and security and the academes in the conduct of the research respectively.The length of time for the conduct of the study is dependent on the availability of the respondents and financial and logi stical provisions.The researcher and a pool of experts will look into the data and subject it for analysis. After which, the research results will be published including the recommendations for referral to parties (religions, denominations, governments) involved, relative to UN concerns and work and request for actions to carry out the goals reflected in the research.IV. ConclusionIndeed, the need for a benevolent initiative as an alternative to resolve conflict is still the most acceptable to way to resolving global religious-related conflicts. War is not an answer to another war. It only derails and inhibits peace efforts. Hence, this research initiative to further understand and establish interfaith communication is filled with hopes in terms of feasibility and acceptability.Very recently, there was a global uproar in the Moslem world against the pronouncements of the Pope. Although The Vatican has already been in constant efforts to mitigate further disputes, the threats and ten sions are still high. Hence, without proper and peaceful venue for communication, worst may come to worst.V. Bibliography(Chicago, 1994). Learning’s for the Future of Inter-Faith Dialogue. http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs/diaparl.php.  (Berlin, 2005). Pope Stresses Interfaith Dialogue. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1558435,00.html.Ariarajah, S. (Geneva, 1991). Interfaith Dialogue.http://www.wcccoe.org/wcc/what/interreligious/diction.html.Ashafa,M.N.(Kaduna, 2005). Promoting Interfaith Dialogue.http://www.amf.net.au/PDF/diversityMatters/Imam-Muhammad-Ashafa.pdf#search=%22Interfaith%20dialogue%22.Garfinkel, R. (Washington, 2004). What Works? Evaluating Interfaith DialoguePrograms. http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr123.html.Goth, B. (Australia, 2005). Champion of interfaith dialogue.http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3778.May, D. (2006). Inter-Religious Councils Tackle World's Conflicts.http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0828-04.htm.Ra tanasara, H. (Kentucky, 1996). The Importance of Interfaith Dialogue: A Buddhistperspective. http://www.urbandharma.org/bcdialog/bcd2/interfaith.htm.Smock, D. (Harvard, 2004). Divine Intervention: Regional Reconciliation through Faith.http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o;se=gglsc;d=5002080704;er=deny.Smock, D. (Washington, 2006). Interfaith Dialogue andPeacebuilding.http://bookstore.usip.org/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=5121.