How successfully does Alan Ayckbourn slice into the soul of surburbia in Absurd Person Singular?

I feel Ayckbourn does it extremely well, as he takes three very different couples with very different lives and compares and contrasts them to give the everyday people and situations we come across in our own lives. The characters in this play become more familiar as it develops and people like Marion who has a 2 faced personality becomes recognisable with people in your life. She begins complimenting Jane and Sidney on their kitchen by saying sweet things such as â€Å"what a simply dishy kitchen† but when Jane and Sidney cannot see her she turns to her husband Ronald and claims the house is â€Å"loathsome† and demands her husband to take her home in â€Å"5 minutes† However Jane and Sidney fell everything is going wonderfully, as they have only invited these particular guests, to help them in the future. Sidney says to Ronald â€Å"I hope you've been giving a little bit of thought to our chat if you had a moment† Ronald is a bank manager and Sidney wants him to help him out a bit with loans. Then there is Geoff, who is married to Eva. Not that his marriage should mean anything as he constantly cheats on Eva and doesn't care if she does or doesn't know. Also he speaks openly about his filthy obsession. He describes one of his conquests as an â€Å"absolute little cracker†. His disloyalty unveils his shallow self but also reveals the reason for Eva's pain which has led to depression. As Ayckbourn â€Å"slices† through each character, we can see they are all pretending be something and they all appear to concerned with themselves, except Eva she doesn't act differently to her self or hide her problems, which is clear when she says to Sidney on the subject of her pills † they prevent me from turning into a raving lunatic†. Ayckbourn goes deeper to see her reasons for depression instead of trying to reveal a fake intention, which is what the others posses. * * * * In Act 2 the characters are slowly developing. This time the Christmas party is being held at Geoff and Eva's and it appears they aren't in the best of spirits as Geoff has just told Eva he's leaving her for another woman, this is seen when he says â€Å"Sally and I will probably get somewhere else together† these words are harsh and blunt and have turned Eva mute. When the guests finally arrive, Eva has decided to commit suicide, she begins to gas herself by placing her head in the oven, when Jane walks in and believes she's cleaning the oven and volunteers to do it herself and says â€Å"don't you worry about the oven†¦I must clean that oven if it kills me† Eva, upset that her plan has failed then attempts to overdose herself but accidentally drops the pills down the plug hole. Whilst trying to capture them, Sidney enters and thinks she's trying to unblock it and says â€Å"you'll never get a sink unblocked that way† then gets his tools kit and begins to ‘fix' it. This creates a black humour as Eva's situation is becoming more desperate as people keep interfering even though they believe they are helping but its also quite sad because it shows how little they know about each other as they can't even see Eva is suffering from serious depression. You can also see how involved they are with themselves and are completely oblivious to the fact that Eva is desperate to kill herself. There is a dramatic irony as Ronald sets about a routine repair of fixing a light bulb but Eva's condition is anything but routine. We become more and more sympathetic with Eva as she feels without Geoff she cannot live or his dismissal has led her to suicide but with Geoff we despise as he plays with Eva trying to twist things on to her by saying such things as â€Å"if your blaming yourself don't† which seems he thinks she should be and he also claims â€Å"other men don't have this trouble† when talking about his cheating as if it were some illness and deserves sympathy for it. As Eva continues to ignore him his impatience grows until he speaks of previous violence such as â€Å"I'm going to lose my temper. And we know what happens then don't we. I'll take a swing for you† his patronising and angry tone is almost creepy and furthers are hate for him. Throughout it all, Eva's many suicide attempts, Ronalds electrocution when changing the light bulb and Sidney drying himself from being soaked in dirty water while fixing the pipes. Is slightly over the top but that adds more comedy but the symapathy for Eva is still there as she is still suffering and suspension is created of what will become of the Brewster-wrights marriage as tension is created when Marion says â€Å"You'd never think it but he was a really vital young man, Eva you'd never think it to look at him† maybe claiming she is no longer attracted to him.

Nike Business Analysis

IV. Marketing strategy As a leading athletic brand in the world, much of Nike’s success can be attributed to its shrewd marketing strategy. As reported in its 2009-2010 Annual report, because NIKE is a consumer products company, â€Å"the relative popularity of various sports and fitness activities and changing design trends affect the demand for our products†. Therefore, Nike must â€Å"respond to trends and shifts in consumer preferences by adjusting the mix of existing product offerings, developing new products, styles and categories, and influencing sports and fitness preferences through aggressive marketing†.In fiscal year of 2009, Nike’s demand creation expense, which consists of advertising and promotion expenses, including costs of endorsement contracts, grossed about $2,351. 4 (million dollars). In comparison with fiscal year of 2008, even the company had taken actions to reduce spending across nearly all demand creation related activities, Nikeâ €™s demand creation expense increased 3% during fiscal 2009. One of the most visible marketing strategies of Nike is favorable brand image, which is associated with a distinctive logo and the advertising slogan, â€Å"Just do it. To help market their products, Nike has successfully developed and is currently deploying a promotional approach in which Nike â€Å"contract[s] with prominent and influential athletes, coaches, teams, colleges and sports leagues to endorse our brands and use our products, and they â€Å"actively sponsor sporting events and clinics†. For example, Nike has a number of famous athletes that serve as brand ambassadors such as: -Michael Jordan: in 2007, the Jordan brand, now a separate Nike subsidiary with its own building, grossed about $800 million. Tiger Woods: in 2000, Nike agreed to a multi-year deal with Woods worth a reported $105 million, extending an earlier multi-million dollar deal originated in 1996. Researchers have discovered the Marke ting mix 4Ps of Nike as following: * Products: Nike offers a wide range of products, range from shoe, apparel, equipment, and accessories to plastic product such as protective gear, hockey stick. * Price: Nike’s pricing is designed to be globally competitive to other brands. The pricing is based on the basis of premium segment as target customers.As a brand, Nike commands high premiums. * Place: Nike sells its product to about 20,000 retail accounts in the U. S. and in almost 200 countries around the world. * Promotion: Nike has a number of famous athletes that serve as brand ambassadors and Nike â€Å"actively sponsor sporting events and clinics† V. Social responsibility Nike, as revealed in FY 07-09 CR report, has a long history of engagement in communities around the world, investing in their backyards, key markets and manufacturing communities, which has clearly demonstrated its responsibility and commitment to the society.In FY07-09, Nike has directly invested in community $168. 8 million, and set the goal of $315 million of contributions for FY11. However, not only does Nike make financial contributions, but also the company involves contributing expertise and philanthropic activity to the community. Nike has developed two core approaches for community investment strategy, which includes three primary areas of focus: 1) A focus on creating new models to provide young people access to the power of sport (to unleash their confidence, leadership, health, education or employment). The Nike Foundation (separate nonprofit organization): focuses on adolescent girls in developing world as powerful agents of change in community, capable of unleashing a ripple effect that will change the course of poverty. * Innovating for better world through sport: Nike believes that every young person in the world should have access to sport and have partnered to develop and deliver programming activities. ) Leverage philanthropy mechanisms that enable our partner ships to scale without limits and create financial flows that ensure long-term success: * Brand and retail engagement: Nike leverages the power of its brands to connect with consumers on issues they care about deeply, manage a portfolio of investment in custom product lines, marketing campaigns, events and athlete engagement that have triggered donations from consumers, amplifying its initial investment. Nike, as shown in FY 07-09 CR report, is well aware of its environmental responsibility.Highly committed itself to creating extraordinary performance products for athletes while managing our business within nature’s limits, Nike developed its own North Star to define what sustainable products and a sustainable company would look like: * Healthy chemistry: Minimize the impact of product ingredients throughout the life cycle * Climate stability: Provide leadership toward climate stability * Water stewardship: Borrow water responsibly and return it clean to communities * Closing the Loop: Product creation to allow for material ecovery or safe return to nature * Thriving communities: Enable all our stakeholders along our value chain to meet their needs and lead fulfilling lives * Game changers: Educate, challenge and empower athletes to join the sustainability journey To achieve its goal, Nike has broken it into a number of smaller attainable steps. For example: * Product design: Internally, Nike mobilizes its human resources to influence the development of short-, mid-, and long rang projects that make progress towards closed-loop product.Externally, Nike actively posts unresolved problems and requests solutions from outside investors, universities and companies. * Climate and energy: As a co-founding member of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), Nike and its partners have committed to strategic collaboration to push for US energy and legislation and rule making. * Water: Nike aims to contract with factories where water is abundant e nough to support it. Nike also collaborates with factories to improve efficiency of water-utilizing and encourages its suppliers’ adherence to high quality standards for all of their production.VI. Diversity and inclusion Nike, as shared in FY 07-09 Corporate Responsibility report, believes that Diversity and inclusion are key levers in continuing to drive creativity and innovation. Nike and its employees around the world emphasize the importance of diversity by four following reasons: 1) Diversity drives recruitment of the most dynamic people. 2) Diversity enriches the creativity and innovation that shapes the brand. 3) Diversity grows their competitive advantage. ) Diversity heightens the stature and belief in the brand within their culturally diverse consumer base. In 2006, Nike appointed its first VP of Diversity. In 2008, Nike formed a new global diversity and inclusion team focused on three areas: * Engaging employees * Providing business consultation * Developing innov ative tools, models and designs In order to create a culture of open innovation, Nike has developed diversity and inclusion strategy concentrates on three areas: 1) Focus on theFundamentals: Nike aims to cultivate an inclusive culture and inspire individuals and teams to find surprising connections and intersections that ultimately fuel business solutions and drive new innovation 2) Embrace a culture remix: In order to amplify creativity and innovation, Nike has created venues and environments for open dialogue that encourage diverse opinions and a multitude of perspectives. 3) External exchanges: Nike seeks to find and create unique and surprising combinations, intersections and connections within Nike, Inc. , and then share these insights with academia, industry and government.Diversity statistics: Gender, ethnicity and supplier 1) Gender diversity: Nike reports their global work force is half-male, half-female, and in overall management is 60% male and 40% female. 2) Ethnicity di versity: Nike reports 55% of its work force is Caucasian, 22% is African American, 13% is Hispanic, 9% is Asian/Pacific islander and 1% is American Indian. 3) Supplier diversity: Nike works with several national and regional partners on its suppliers effort, including the National Minority Supplier development council, the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs and the Women’s business Enterprise National Council.Bibliography: APA format NIKE Investor Relations (2009). NIKE, Inc. Corporate Responsibility Report FY2007-FY2009.. Beaverton, OR: Nike Inc.. Retrieved from http://www. nikebiz. com/crreport/ NIKE Investor Relations (2009). NIKE, Inc. Annual Report FY2000-FY2010. Beaverton, OR: Nike Inc.. Retrieved from http://media. corporate-ir. net/media_files/irol/10/100529/AnnualReport/nike-sh09-rev2/docs/Nike_2009_10-K. pdf DiCarlo, L. (2010). With Tiger Woods, it's Nike, Nike everywhere: Star pitches for apparel maker even when hawking other products.Forbes. Retrieved fr om http://http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/4554944/ Rovell, D. (2008). CNBC special report: Swoosh! Inside Nike: Michael Jordan continues to score points for footwear giant. CNBC. Retrieved from http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/23071595/ns/business-cnbc_tv// Cuizon, G. (2009). Audit on Nike's Marketing Strategies: The 4Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotion . Suite101. Retrieved from http://corporate-marketing-branding. suite101. com/article. cfm/audit_on_nikes_marketing_strategies

Toyota Australia to UAE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Toyota Australia to UAE - Essay Example The popularity of the Toyota and its reputation has been considered in dealing with the analysis. Selection of areas were highlighted which could provide added benefit to the export of the business. The underlying risk associated with the entry of foreign markets was also studied in detail. The market of UAE have been found to be promising for the Australian export market and owing to the benefits the market provides Toyota should not resist its temptation to test its fortune in the market. An added advantage which the market of UAE provides is in the low price of diesels, which generally increases the sale of cars. Other than the general market analysis a study of the associated service has been done to find out whether any obstacles lie in the smooth running of the business. 7. Macro-environmental analysis of UAE 7.1 Political and Legal Environment of UAE: The government of UAE is the combination of seven emirates which is ruled by the president. The government of UAE is flexible r elating to the investment from the foreign countries. It promotes and encourages foreign countries to enter their region and carry out business. Despite the nation being the combination of seven different emirates but there exist federalism in the UAE companies law and is applicable throughout. The UAE free zone offers 100%foreign ownership and tax exemptions to companies operating over a period of 15-50 years (United Arab Emirates UAE tax rates, n.d). So it is quite encouraging for the companies to invest in UAE. Owing to such favorable factors the foreign investment in UAE accounted to108billion dollar in 2011. (FDI in UAE, 2008,) 7.2 Economic Environment of UAE: The economic condition in UAE is always on a high and in recent times it is expected to grow at a rate of 3-3.5% in 2011. UAE’s rising economy can be contributed to the export of oil, which over the years have gained considerable amount of revenue for the country. It significantly rose to 30% and caused earnings of 74 billion dollars (UAE oil income up 30% in 2010, 2011). It happens to rise at a considerable rate every year. The employment rate in UAE is considerably high as the foreign companies are obliged to recruit local people. Out of approximately 2 million populations in the emirate a staggering 86.6% of them are economically active. (Holdsworth, 2010) Dubai sees 19% decrease in unemployment rate 7.3 Socio-cultural Environment of UAE: The standards of living of the inhabitants are pretty high owing to the good financial position of most number of people. UAE has a diverse culture of people as many foreign bodies have established their base in the country. 7.4 Competitive Environment in UAE: The demand for luxury cars in UAE is always on a high and the automobile industry faces sufficient growth over the years in UAE. There is a strong presence of local car manufactures as well as the presence of international brands like Hyundai. The sales figure of Arabian automobiles recorded an 18% growth and the increase in sales of the Japanese firm was accounted due to introduction of new brands of car. The overall market grew by 19.7% in the year of 2010. The rise in sales of cars have added considerable amount of competition among the big players in the market. (UAE automotive industry record high growth in sales, 2011) 8. SWOT analysis STRENGTH 1. The company ,Toyota had

Unique Marketing Model of Aldi Company Case Study - 135

Unique Marketing Model of Aldi Company - Case Study Example The international expansion of Aldi stores made a large impact on leading global retailers (Steen & Lane1). Giving customers first priority by owing them respect played a major role in the competitive environment. Production of superior and new brands than the competitors would play a significant role in sustaining the competitive advantage to Aldi. International expansion of the stores would also play a major role in sustaining competitive advantage (Tichy & DeRose Web). Lowering the prices and increasing the quality level of production to customers. Provision of unique and superior brands created loyalty to most of the suppliers of Aldi for long period of time and some customers believed that the products were national brands from a foreign country (Tichy & DeRose Web). Lowering the prices brings in more customers since all can purchase their choices with the little they own. Further, since the majority are always after quality products, more customers would come in to enjoy their respective preferences. Aldi greatly believed that quality is affordable to meet the growing demand by successfully entering new markets in Houston, Florida and New York and introducing of new product such as organic foods. Aldi’s financials are average. The company does not seem to get more revenues from other competitions such as Walmart. The company’s financial position is however very strong. The company generally has healthy financial statements with ever increasing in revenue collected almost on a yearly basis. According to the Aldi and Walmart data of (2012), the global revenue of Aldi ranges at $66 billion compared to that of Walmart that ranges from $444 billion.(Steen & Lane10) This is a clear indication that Aldi level is low compared to Walmart. Walmart also had the number of stores in the U.S compared to Aldi each owning 1,188 and 3211 respectively.  

Self-Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self-Assessment - Essay Example Understanding people and their culture help people to appreciate the culture. The book provides the history of the Latin Americans, their landscapes, migration and cities, and the current condition of that region (Sanabria 12). The information provided by the book is essential to compare Latin America’s past and current life. As a student, the book will help me know the successes and challenges the Latin Americans encountered, and how to face the future. The history of America is very long. What America is now is very different from the America of a century ago. The modern America is very developed. The book paints a picture of Latin America from the past to the modern picture. The book helps to trace the history of the Latin Americans, the development it has made, and the expectation of the future. The information provided opens people’s eyes concerning Latin Americans. The book offers some good lessons on what countries or individuals ought to do in order to face their challenges. As an individual, I learn that challenges exist in order to be conquered by people and countries. When an individual or country has planned well, when a country has a clear vision, it is a matter of time before the realization of the goals and objectives. The Latin America has developed since it values its culture and appreciates good leadership. Great leadership is a necessary ingredient if a country is to spur development (Sanabria 120). The people must be ready to work hard in order to ensure that the country grows in terms of social, economic and political facets. The Europeans played an important role in the process of civilization of the Latin Americans. The Latin Americans borrowed some cultures from the Europeans, and so did the Europeans. It might explain why Latin Americans have a good relationship with the Europeans. The book describes the impact of globalization in Latin America. Latin America has obtained many benefits from

Stereotyping of the Aging Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stereotyping of the Aging - Research Paper Example This is usually against the senior members of society by the much younger persons. Stereotyping of aging, often known as ageism, is something that has affected people all over the world. It is a form of discrimination just like racism and sexism. It takes the same pattern as these two since it was believed that the elderly faced the same prejudice due to their old age. This paper will review some of the negative and positive stereotypes of aging, and the process of aging. As seen above, this stage is inevitable. Every living thing that has been born must go through the process of aging. This is to ensure that the life cycle is maintained as the birth, and growth of other living organisms occurs. However, over the years, theories and myths have come up about aging. They often lead the much older people to be perceived in a certain way. The manner in which they are treated by the much younger generation is not right. A name has been given to this form of treatment. It is known as ageis m. It took this name since it had the same pattern as other forms of discrimination (Branch & Palmore, 2005). Stereotyping of the aging has become a common trend especially in these modern times. In modern times, families and relatives of old people still love them. However, this love is often shown to them if they are far away from the much younger family members. This shows that not many people value what the older people have to offer (Branch & Palmore, 2005). When they die, they often think of it as a relief since they were already old, and could not fend for themselves. They think that occasional is enough to show affection and appreciation. Also, that old folks will be satisfied with seeing their children and grandchildren once in a year is something that works. This cannot be considered the correct way to go about treating all those that paved the way for others. They paved the way for everyone, so it is the responsibility of everyone in society to guide and protect them in t heir old age. Stereotyping can be defined as a set of beliefs that often guide a person in everyday life. They shape the way an individual thinks and relates to their immediate surroundings. There are a number of stereotypes about aging and the old that run the lives of many people around the world today (Branch & Palmore, 2005). There are positive and negative stereotypes that exist about aging. The negative stereotyping of the aging has often taken centre stage in the lives of many. This means that the negative beliefs that many people harbour about aging are more than the positive ones. This should not be the scenario as the older generation still have a lot to offer the world. They might be old, but what they know, and believe in could be valuable to each and every person because they are bound to age with time. Positive Beliefs One positive stereotype could be that the aging are often kind. This stereotype can lead to many people believing that at a certain age, they often thin k of putting others before themselves. This is an immensely positive mind-set for those who believe that old people are unkind to those around them, and themselves, as well (Levy, 2001). As people grow older, they get the knowledge that is often not acquired in a classroom with the use of books. This knowledge is acquired with the coming of age. They often tend to become wiser than they were when they were much younger. This can tell all those who believe