Goodfellas Essay example -- essays research papers

Goodfellas" is a dramatization of life in the New York Mafia. It is based on the accounts of real life ex-gangster turned state evidence. He tells his story from when he was hired by a wiseguy as a teenager in the fifties, to the time he is put in the witness protection program in the seventies.The movie portrays the spirit of the Mafia and demonstrates their distinctive values, customs,gangster like lifestyle. The Mafia is groups of criminals that developed for the purpose of protecting those who can not go to the police for protection. Its roots can be traced back to Sicily, where the Mafia was based on the premise that any member suffering an injustice was to take personal vengeance while avoiding all contact with legal authorities. Even in the modern day American Mafia, each family ruled it's own territory and when others from outside the territory interfered they were dealt with through violent methods.The wiseguys paid for their protection by paying the head of their local family. This payoff was also known as paying tribute to the boss. Many of the Mafia's morals and policies were identified throughout the movie. Some of the informal rules held by the Mafia were the codes of trust and silence. In other words, never rat on a friend and keep your mouth shut. These rules were highlighted when the narrator, Henry Hill, had his first arrest. He was brought to court, defended by a Mafia paid lawyer and after ...

New York City Before, During, and After the Civil War Essays -- Histor

New York City Before, During, and After the Civil War In its long and illustrious history, New York City (NYC) has gone through tremendous change. From a small trading post on the tip of Manhattan Island, to the greatest metropolis in the world, NYC has continued to evolve over time. One period in particular that had more degrees of change than many others, was 1860 to 1865. The lives of the residents of the great port city would be completely changed forever. The common life of a NYC merchant in 1860 was that of a well-rounded diplomat. One who was able to make deals with both the Southern plantation owner, who sold him the cotton from which the merchant made his money, and the European who the merchant sold this cotton to. This merchant was well aware of how the cotton came from the ground, through the gin, and into the bales. He was well aware that his whole economy was based on this cotton. He also had moral feelings toward the "peculiar institution" that had given him this cotton to trade. But the question on his mind is, "why bite the hand that feeds you?" Anxiety and fear were common emotions faced by these merchants at that time. If you were to sever the ties between the north and the south, what will America's greatest importing and exporting city do? Will this schism between the nation cause NYC's growth to stop? What effect, if any, would the formation of a new republic in the south have on the lives of the people and commerce of the City? In 1860, there were several different directions NYC could go. One option would be to stay firm and represent the ideals of capitalism, freedom, and liberty, which had made the city so strong. To side with the nation that their grandparents had liberated ... ...3-140 5. Foner Ph.D., Phillps Business and Slavery, The New York Merchants and the Irrepressible Conflict New York: Russell and Russell, 1968 6. Freeman, Andrew A. Abraham Lincoln Goes to New York New York: Coward-McCann, Inc., 1960 Pages 100-121 7. Harris, Bill The History Of New York City New York: Archive Publishing, 1999 Pages 98-111 8. Pleasants, Samuel Agustus Fernando Wood Of New York- Studies in History, Economics, and Public Law New York: Colombia University Press, 1948 Pages 102-125 Works Cited 1. Pleasants page 115 2. Pleasants page 115 3. Pleasants page 116 4. Alexander page 348 5. Pleasants page 103 6. Barrows page 869 7. Pleasants page 143 8. Barrows page 893 9. Barrows page 903 10. Gettysburg Address

Macbeths Images and Imagery Essay -- Free Essay Writer

Macbeth's Imagery      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Shakespeare in the tragedy Macbeth very skillfully uses imagery to support other aspects of the drama, especially the theme. In this essay let us examine the imagery, including literary critical comment.    Roger Warren comments in Shakespeare Survey 30 , regarding Trervor Nunn's direction of Macbeth at Stratford-upon-Avon in 1974-75, on opposing imagery used to support the opposing notions of purity and black magic:    Much of the approach and detail was carried over, particularly the clash between religious purity and black magic. Purity was embodied by Duncan, very infirm (in 1974 he was blind), dressed in white and accompanied by church organ music, set against the black magic of the witches, who even chanted 'Double, double to the Dies Irae. (283)    L.C. Knights in the essay "Macbeth" explains the supporting role which imagery plays in Macbeth's descent into darkness:    To listen to the witches, it is suggested, is like eating "the insane root, That takes the reason prisoner" (I.iii.84-5); for Macbeth, in the moment of temptation, "function," or intellectual activity, is "smother'd in surmise"; and everywhere the imagery of darkness suggests not only the absence or withdrawal of light but - "light thickens" - the presence of something positively oppressive and impeding.   (101)    In Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy, Northrop Frye shows how the playwright uses imagery to reinforce the theme:    This theme is at its clearest where we are most in sympathy with the nemesis. Thus at the end of Macbeth, after the proclamation "the time is free," and of promises to make reparations of Macbeth's tyranny "Which would be planted newly with... ...es and Noble, 1970.    Frye, Northrop. Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1967.    Kermode, Frank. "Macbeth." The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972.    Knights, L.C. "Macbeth." Shakespeare: The Tragedies. A Collectiion of Critical Essays. Alfred Harbage, ed. Englewwod Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin.    Warren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30.   N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.   

Kate Chopin’s Life in Writing

The life of Kate Chopin was an interesting tale of struggle and perseverance in an area of the country where things were quite difficult. Growing up around the turn of the twentieth century, Chopin had to put up with a difficult life in addition to the usual challenges that went along with being a woman at the time. Unlike in today’s time, women did not have many rights, nor did they have many opportunities when Chopin was growing up. As with the majority of great writers during that time, life experiences were important.Not only did Chopin draw from her experiences to come up with story ideas and character ideas, but she took some very specific instances to create stories. Though all of her works had some elements of this held within, there are two works that specifically highlight some of her more difficult life experiences and speak to the overall struggle of women during her time. In her works, Desiree’s Baby and The Story of an Hour, readers get to not only read a great story, but also understand how one woman’s struggle to overcome can impact the way that she writes.In order to understand the references in her work, a person has to understand exactly what she went to during various portions of her life. The one overriding theme in her life was loss. As evidenced by a article on Kate Chopin from A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, the woman had trouble keeping a man around in her life. This does not mean that she was divorced or had men leave her, either. Instead, almost every meaningful man in her life died in a difficult fashion.Her father was one of the leading railroad men around the turn of the century and he lost his life on the rail when one of his tracks collapsed. Kate Chopin was only five years old at the time, so she had to live the majority of her life without a father figure. The bad luck did not stop there for Chopin, either. Her half-brother passed away from a rare case of swamp fever when she was young, as well.When Ch opin married a few years later at the age of 20, she had married a man who she thought would take the place of her brother and her father. He did her no favor by racking up a huge amount of debt and subsequently passing away from swamp fever, as well. Those things alone were enough to nearly drive her over the edge and created a really difficult life that was much harder than what most of her contemporaries had to go through. In a way, this set her up as a strong woman and prepared her to take on many of the challenges that faced women of her era, though. It is from this struggle that Chopin’s great works arose.Another aspect of Kate Chopin’s life that must be taken into account is the racism and inequality that she had to face. She was of Creole origin, which was one of the factions of society that was looked down upon by everyone else around them. In Desiree’s Baby, these themes of racism are presented quickly and succinctly. In the story, things change dramat ically when it is realized that her baby, and subsequently Desiree, are not actually white. The more telling thing is what follows in the book. It is telling that she tries frantically to convince her husband that she is white.This is the most important thing to her. In the work, Chopin writes, â€Å"A quick conception of all that this accusation meant for her nerved her with unwonted courage to deny it. â€Å"It is a lie; it is not true, I am white! Look at my hair, it is brown; and my eyes are gray, Armand, you know they are gray. And my skin is fair,† seizing his wrist. â€Å"Look at my hand, whiter than yours, Armand,† she laughed hysterically† (Chopin, p.2).Though this is not exactly how Chopin’s life went down, she does draw from her experiences. In addition to the idea of racism, one can view the desperation to keep a man around as a commentary on her life. Chopin lost many of the men in her life for various reasons and that can be seen in Desireeà ¢â‚¬â„¢s story. Not only is she distraught about the realization that she and her baby are not white, but she also worries that her man will leave her because of it. This is the most important thing for her character, so this might be an indication of what Chopin finds important.Though the reference to her life can be seen in that story, it can be seen even greater in another one of her stories. The Story of an Hour is the most telling story that shows how much the author was impacted by the experiences of her life. Interestingly, the reader gets an indication in the first sentence of what the author is thinking. In that sentence, she writes, â€Å"Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death† (Chopin).Not only does her own experience of losing her husband play a role in shaping the story, but the pain of losing him also plays a role. She has been there in that situatio n, so she knows all too well that losing a husband is one of the most difficult things a person can go through. Though it is not exactly clear who the author is talking about in much of the story, there are times when it appears that she is representing herself in many of the lines.At one point, Chopin writes of the struggle when she writes, â€Å"She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought† (Chopin). From this, the reader can come away with some sense of what Chopin may have been going through with her experiences in her life. From the words, the struggle seems to be too much to overcome.Overall, the two stories present different struggles, which is something that really shows how much she had to go through in her life. Most people would consider losing three men as big a challenge as any person should ever have to face. That was obviously not the case for Chopin, though. Her experiences shaped who she became in a number of different ways, including her struggles with female equality.During her time, being a successful writer was not a given for a woman, even if that woman had all of the talent and resources to succeed in the business. While she was having to put up with all of the problems of her life, she also had to try to put up a fight against the people who refused to take her seriously. Her entire career was a struggle to balance the emotions that she had to face. She had to feel pain for what was going on with her husband, her father, and her brother, but she could not readily show that. It was a very brave move including her life experiences in her works because that was not exactly an accepted tactic. By doing that, she opened up herself to lots of criticism, but it was something th at made her a memorable writer.Overall, much of Kate Chopin’s life can be seen through her works. If a person takes the time to sit down and study her life, then they would see that she had to face a lot. From facing that adversity, she became strong enough to overcome some of the racism and the discrimination that plagued other writers during her time. She allows herself to show some emotion and to be a human, but she never lets her guard down so much that people can take advantage of her. That strength is reflected in her work and it’s the thing that makes them so interesting.Works CitedChopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. 1894.Chopin, Kate. Desiree’s Baby. 1893.â€Å"Kate O'Flaherty Chopin†, A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, Vol. I (1988), p. 176

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Director Karel Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, the classic story of an angry young man, heralded a new kind of cinema for British audiences. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is a classic social realist film of the British New Wave. Made in 1960, it was groundbreaking in both its portrayal of the industrial nightmare of working class factory life, and its unrepentant, cocky anti-hero Arthur Seaton. The British New Wave and La Nouvelle Vague Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) was Karel Reisz's first feature film, made in the light of a number of outstanding documentaries from the Free Cinema movement. Interestingly, this film emerged at the same time as Jean-Luc Godard's debut feature A Bout De Souffle (Breathless). Reisz and Godard, the enfant terrible of the French New Wave, shared certain traits. Both were critics turned film-makers whose debut films were the first commercial hits of their respective new waves, and both films were anti-establishment pieces from directors with political agendas. The Angry Young Man Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was a film to which many people could relate. Alan Sillitoe, who adapted his book for the screen, was the creator of one of the original angry young men of cinema history, Arthur Seaton. Arthur is a working class anti-hero whose boredom of factory life is assuaged only by his reckless attitude to life. Trapped in a dead end job, Arthur represents the individual against the system. He makes the most of his leisure time in an attempt to escape the mediocrity of his life. Arthur is blunt and cocky, out for a good time with women, booze and a well cut suit. But he is angry about the restrictions placed on him by his working class life. The cause of this aggression – factory life – united a public who recognized his anger. Cinema attendances reflected the fact that this was one of the first times audiences felt their own lives were represented on screen. Fatally Flawed At the beginning of the film Arthur is having an affair with Brenda, a married woman, who he gets pregnant. He tries to help her when she says she wants an abortion, although ultimately this is unsuccessful. It is a testament to the film-makers that this storyline does not alienate audiences. In fact, for all his gruff, rabble rousing, Arthur remains a likable, if flawed, character. He is seen to get a sort of comeuppance when Brenda's brother in law beats him up at the Nottingham Goose Fair, but audience sympathy is still with Arthur. This is also due in no small part to Albert Finney's amazing portrayal of Arthur as a working class lad coming to bitter terms with the responsibilities of manhood. The Midlands – A Backdrop For Social Realism Setting the film in Nottingham adds a further dimension of imprisonment, through iconography which has since been integrated into British cinema. The imposing chimney stacks and factories serve to increase the feelings of claustrophobia and provincial entrapment. Karel Reisz had already shown in his documentaries Everyday Except Christmas and We Are The Lambeth Boys that ordinary people could provide stories and entertainment, but his directors vision also demonstrates a poeticism of social problems. The views Reisz portrays through his lens have become embedded in British films, and typify a landscape still seen today in any British film within the social realist cannon. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Saturday Night and Sunday Morning By Alan Sillitoe Adapted by Amanda Whittington [pic] Harrogate Theatre 22nd February – 8th March 2008 Directed by Joyce Branagh Resource Material [pic] Alan Sillitoe's ground breaking picture of 1950's Britain, as seen through the eyes of the unforgettable Arthur Seaton (immortalised on screen by Albert Finney), is now brought raging back to life and bang up-to-date in a fast-moving new stage adaptation.Classic kitchen sink drama blended with high energy action and a toe-tapping 1950's fuelled soundtrack makes this at turns funny and heart-rending tale of the life and loves of the original angry young man a must see for three generations. ContentsPage Brief Synopsis Historical context About the author The adapted text List of Characters Principals Analysis In different media 21st Century references Synopsis Saturday Night and Sunday Morning tells the story of Arthur Seaton, a young Nottingham factory worker, who is having an affair with Brenda , the wife of Jack, an older co-worker.He also has a relationship with Doreen, a woman closer to his own age. When Brenda becomes pregnant with Arthur’s child, he goes to his aunt for advice on aborting the child. Jack discovers the affair. His brother and a fellow soldier give Arthur a serious beating. The play ends on an ambiguous note, with a recovered Arthur and Doreen discussing marriage and the prospect of a new home. Historical context 1958: The European Economic Community (Common Market) starts operation. The birth of Rock and Roll, which resulted in the emergence of clubs. Jerry Lee Lewis’s Great Balls of Fire reaches no 1 in the US charts.Women’s rights were still limited, but this was to change over the coming decade. Marie Stopes, a campaigner for women’s rights, dies, aged 69. The first man-made nuclear fusion was created. The class divide was still very prominent and strong. Labour were in government. Queen Elizabeth II had only recently bee n crowned. The idea of a new age had begun. About the Author Name:Alan Sillitoe Born:4th March 1928, Nottingham. Family:Second son of an illiterate tannery laborer. His father, Christopher Sillitoe, became one of the long-term unemployed during the 1930s Depression.On different occasions he worked as a house painter. Once he was imprisoned for â€Å"running up bills for food that he had no hope of paying. † Sillitoe's mother, Silvina (Burton) worked in a lace factory. â€Å"We lived in a room on Talbot Street whose four walls smelled of leaking gas, stale fat, and layers of mouldering wall-paper,† Sillitoe has recalled. Early life:Left school at 14 Sillitoe’s childhood was shadowed by the financial problems of the family, but he also found early on the joys of literature and started to plan his career as a writer.However, his first semi-fictional tale about his wild cousins was burned by his mother for being too revealing. At the age of 14 he left school and wor ked in a number of jobs in Nottingham factories, including a bicycle factory from 1942 to 1946. He served in the Royal Air Force, where he was a wireless operator. After returning from Malaya, he was discovered to have tuberculosis. Sill toe spent sixteen months in an RAF hospital. During this period he started to write again and read intensively. Pensioned off at 21 on 45 shillings at week, he lived in France and Spain for seven years in an attempt to recover.In 1951 he met an American poet, Ruth Fainlight, who was married, but they decided to go abroad together. From 1952 to 1958 they lived in France, Italy and Spain largely on Sillitoe's air force pension. Encouraged by Robert Graves, whom he met on the island of Mallorca in 1956, Sillitoe began to write his first novel, SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING (1958), a story about working-class life in Nottingham. Adapters of the book †¢ Amanda Whittington Previous plays for New Perspectives include: The Boy on the Hill; Last Sto p Louisa’s; and Player’s Angels.Other plays include: Ladies Day (Hull Truck); Satin N Steel (Nottingham Playhouse and Bolton Octagon); Be My Baby (Soho Theatre and subsequently staged by Oldham Coliseum, Hull Truck and Salisbury Playhouse); Born To Run (Third Space); Bollywood Jane (Leicester Haymarket); The Wills’s Girls (Tobacco Factory, Bristol and Radio Four). Publications include: Satin N Steel and Be My Baby (Nick Hern Books); and Twist & Shout, Runaway Girl and Shirley’s Song (SchoolPlay). Amanda has also written for film and television, and was joint winner of the 2001 Dennis Potter Screenwriting Award. David Brett David Brett is an English actor, singer and arranger. David Brett is one of the original members of The Flying Pickets. He arranged a number of the group's songs, including the number one hit Only You. Brett is working as an actor, mainly performing on stage, but he has also participated in a number of TV productions and played Dedalus Diggle in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone[1]. Characters Arthur Seaton: (21) a tall, iron-faced, crop-haired youth Loudmouth: (40) a sailor Brenda: (30) a married mother of two Em’ler: (20’s) Brenda’s friend, a bit touchedWinnie: (25) Brenda’s sister, small and fiery Waiter: too old for the job he’s forced to do Sweeper Girls: (20’s) factory workers Tealady: (40’s) a fixture of the factory Jack: (30) self-contained, fresh-faced, with a perpetual frown Robboe: (40) the foreman, a quiet man with tortured eyes Aunt Ada: (50) the personality of a promiscuous barmaid Mick: (40’s) an Irish drunk Landlady: (50’s) worldly-wise and cynical Courting Couple: (20’s) love-struck Grieving Man: (30’s) confused and sad Doreen: (19) fresh and innocent with a sharp edgeSwaddies: (20’s) army thugs Can be staged with a minimum of six actors, playing: Arthur Brenda/Tealady/Landlady Jack/Loudmouth/Grieving Man/Sw addie Winnie/Aunt Ada/Sweeper Girl/Ratface Doreen/Em’Ler/Sweeper Girl/Courting Girl Waiter/Robboe/Mick/Courting Boy/Swaddie Principal Analysis Arthur: Arthur Seaton, a lathe operator in a bicycle factory in Nottingham, England. The blond, muscular twenty- one-year-old fights to remain independent of society, employers, and marriage. He dates married women—first Brenda, then Winnie—and engages in boisterous drinking bouts.After a beating by Winnie’s soldier husband, he settles for the single Doreen, deciding that he need not reject all that life offers to remain independent. Brenda: Jack’s wife and Arthur’s lover. A young mother of two, she is bored with Jack and finds romance and excitement with Arthur. She is part of the dangerous â€Å"Saturday Night† life of the first half of the novel. After having an abortion, and after Arthur, discovered by Jack, has been beaten, she fades from the action. Doreen Greatton: a factory worker. Nine teen years old and single, she is eager to be married but seeks to curb Arthur’s excesses.She represents marriage and settling down to Arthur in the â€Å"Sunday Morning† half of the novel. She fails to get him past every pub but has won commitment from Arthur at the end. Winnie: nicknamed â€Å"Gyp,† Brenda’s sister. She is livelier and more reckless than her older sister. She, too, has an affair with Arthur. Her husband, Bill, is a soldier stationed in Germany. He returns on leave with a friend and, tipped off to the affair by Jack, beats Arthur. By dating Winnie, Arthur hastens an end to the dangerous life that he is finding to be a strain.Jack: Brenda’s husband and Arthur’s foreman at the factory. He is steady but dull. Rather than confront Arthur, he betrays him to Bill, Winnie’s husband. Aunt Ada: Arthur’s widowed aunt, a large, boisterous, and nurturing mother figure whose house teems with family at Christmas. Following his beating by Winnie’s husband, Arthur becomes withdrawn and cautious. It is in her house, under her vital influence, that Arthur breaks out of his withdrawal and returns to life, but with new attitudes. In different Media Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was first a novel written by Alan Sillitoe in 1958.It was one of the first kinds of Kitchen Sink Drama’s, with other noticeable ones being Angry Young Men and Billy Liar. It was adapted into a film in 1960, starring Albert Finney. The screenplay was adapted by Sillitoe himself. The next adaptation was by David Brett in 1964 as a low budget stage show, with a then unknown Ian McKellen in the role. The next proper adaptation was by Amanda Whittington References and Themes in the 21st Century Adultery Loyalty Revenge Violence Love/Friendship Deceit Rectification of your Mistakes

Google Business Strategies Essay

Executive Summary This report provides an analysis of Google’s development of new strategic resources, dynamic capabilities and core competency, Analysis of competency test, Google’s competency foundation to compete in shopping related searches and the positive impacts of Google’s competencies towards its business model. Moreover, this report provides recommendations that Google are effectively able to utilise. Introduction Google, a provider of multiple products and services, with the mission to â€Å"organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful†, is the number one web search engine. Additionally, Google has an old online shopping service site whose rivals include Amazon and eBay (Newth, F 2012). However, recently, in 2012, Google announced its adaption of a new paid model, where retailers were now starting to get charged. Moreover, the bases discussed throughout the report will be grounded in Google’s competency test, and its impact towards Google business model (Newth, F 2012). Google’s development of new strategicresources, dynamic capabilities and core competency Google’s recent change of passing on costs, a fee, to online retailers who display their products on the Google online shopping site (Hartwig, J. I 2012), will require Google to develop new strategic resources, dynamic capabilities and a core competency. Firstly, developing new strategic resources to work aside Google’s new paid model (Hartwig, J. I 2012), will mean that Google will need to improvise on teaching Google employees currently working in the Google online shopping sector, to adapt to the new changes appropriately, through being educationally mentored on new policies, procedures and most importantly, advancing this new process in a sustainable way (Sullivan, J 2007). Moving on to the development of dynamic capabilities, here, Google will need to effectively make changes towards the company’s internal and external organisational skills, resources and functional competences moreover, reviewing the company’s strengths, as a result of adapting to the new change(Newth, F 2012), that is, the re positioning of Google’s online shopping paid model. This is a crucial change to develop, as vice president of product management for Google shopping, Sameer Samat, explained that by  repositioning to an all-paid model will increase further trustworthy data(Sullivan, D 2012) , hence, it will greater improve the shopping search experience for its customers. Additionally, Google’s core competencies have already created various competitive advantages for the company, and as a result, Google will need to review their most valuable competitive advantage, and put emphasis on those advantages they have over other similar companies, such as Amazon who provides an online shopping service (Sullivan, D 2012). Analysis of competency test Referring to â€Å"appendix 1†, a competency test of Google was completed, and is now going to be further analysed. Additionally, the competency test as completed was based around three of Google’s strategic assets, that is, their employees, Google’s strong brand name and their loyal customer base. It should also be noted that the analysis for the business model impact will be discussed further in the report. The first strategic asset discussed is Google’s experienced and knowledgeable employees. Google is the number one best company to work for in America, as voted by the company’s very own employees (Sullivan, J 2007). Alongside this, Google acknowledges its employees by offering employees everything they need to get them focused on specific aspects such as creativity and innovation. Google also focuses on helping their employees have the correct information and resources in regards to their work (Sullivan, J 2007). Moving on, whilst providing to the employee’s work needs in every way possible, Google’s unique employees are also provided with outstanding people management practices, as a result of the company’s use of the people analytics approach. Google training efforts aren’t the usual traditional tactics applied, Google’s development efforts are decentralized meaning Google employees demonstrate self directed learning (Sullivan, J 2007). Along with self directed learning employees also demonstrate, continuous learning and development, and adapting to changes when needed, are key features that can be direct parallel to the core employee competencies at Google (Sullivan, J 2013). Moreover, when undergoing a â€Å"VIRO test†, to assess whether or not Google’s employee dynamic capabilities can become a competency, as presented, Google employees pose three of the four characteristics; valuable, organisation and rare. These characteristics are related to the employee’s competencies, as here, the  main employees competencies include, information and gathering, where employees are able to locate and collect data from a variety of sources, whilst also analysing the data in order to prepare it into meaningful reports (Sullivan, J 2013). Another competency is business perspective, whereby employees use an understanding of the company’s issues, processes and outcomes in order to enhance Google’s overall business performance. Additionally, Google employees manage important resources such as financial information, in order to achieve short and long term goals (Sullivan, J 2007). Moving on, the next strategic asset is Google’s strong brand name. Google’s brand name is one of the most recognised brand names globally, and is one of the leaders in internet brands. In 2010, Google for the fourth time was presented as 2010’s world valuable global brand, close to major competitors such as Microsoft (Interbrand, 2010). Alongside Google’s significant brand image, Google’s strong infrastructure base, another dynamic capability, is the base for providing new and advanced innovative products and services to end users; that is consumers (McDermott, T). Here, the company brand name plays a rather large role to add to Google’s strong brand name, as the strong infrastructure base allows Google’s new innovative products to gain a competitive advantage, hence keep its strong brand name visible(McDermott, T) . Moreover, like Google’s employees, the company’s strong brand name lies within similar VIRO test characteristics, such as , Valuable, rare and Imitability. Alongside these characteristics, Google’s strong brand name competencies as presented in table one, have given Google the opportunity to enter in a wide variety of markets, and has produced a competitive advantage, as well as, making Google profitable for the company in both short and long terms(Tsai, M 2011). Additionally the last strategic asset for Google is loyal customer base. Google’s dynamic capabilities in this case, refers to the company’s strong customers based brand equity and Google’s ability to create outstanding customer value. Starting with customer based brand equity, here Google utilises its customer brand loyalty which is attached to many benefits for the company such as greater brand loyalty from users and an increase in Google usage (Bhasin, K 2011), just to name a few. Here, Google is able to command for increased price premiums and receive additional trade cooperation and support. To add, customer value and customer brand relationships are the foundation of Google’s brand  resonance, for instance, Google’s search advertising has created a better fit between meeting potential customers’ needs and the relevant advisement. Hence focusing on these attributes has allowed Google to add these as one of their strengths towards the o verall company (T. Y. Chan, C. Wu, Y. Xie 2011). Furthermore, Google’s loyal customer base VIRO test characteristics as presented in table one, makes Google’s capability a true competency. In regards to this, the main reason it could be drawn upon that Google has a loyal customer base is through its ratings (Bhasin, K 2011). This can be seen through Google standing out as one of the top search engine for users, hence the reason for such a large customer base, whilst beating Bing and Yahoo, other competitors in the same category (Bhasin, K 2011). Google’s competency foundation to compete in shopping related searches An analysis of the competency test derives favourable outcomes for Google to more effectively compete in shopping related searches. Considering the fact that Google already has a highly established reputation, it sets itself as the most used search engine for users, hence allowing Google to better compete in online shopping (Bhasin, K 2011). Google’s high consumer awareness, strong market position and core employee competencies further contribute to their competitive advantages, resulting in a higher chance of shopping-related searches. Referring to Google’s online shopping transition to an all paid model, Google believes â€Å"that by having a paid relationship, it can better ensure the quality of what it lists in Google shopping† (Sullivan, D 2012). To add, Google also believes that it will provide more trustworthy information, which improves the shopping online search experience for both retailers and customers (Sullivan, D 2012). Overall, Google has the ability to utilise its competencies and competitive advantages in providing users with more out of their search engine, by working on making it easier for users to search and compare products whilst shopping online. In addition, by assisting shoppers to locate the best deals, they’re able to increase traffic to retailers in order for shoppe rs to easily find their sites (Sullivan, D 2012). The positive impacts of Google’s competencies towards its business model Furthermore, as mentioned above, Google has the proper competency base to effectively compete in shopping related searches. As Google has the proper  mechanisms and competencies to compete, it brings alongside it positive impacts towards Google’s business model. The positive impact of employee competencies at Google, include the positive attributes Google employee’s pose such as strategically working on intrinsic challenges on a daily bases, effectively gathering and processing appropriate information to further enhance Google’s culture of innovation , having a rather unique business perspective and resource management have greatly impacted the company’s business model (Sullivan, J 2007). Moreover, Google’s strong focus on human capital and retention (Sullivan, J 2007), overtime, has given employees the opportunity to make a positive business impact towards the company’s overall business model, such as their ability to execute their move into online shopping, whilst competing with other large online shopping companied such as EBay and Amazon. Moving along, like Google employees, the company’s strong brand name also has a positive impact towards Google’s business model, as Google’s strong market position allows Google to be innovative with its offering products and services, which in the long term adds value for the company, through increased sales (T. Y. Chan, C. Wu, Y. Xie 2011). Google’s outstanding recognition, through high consumer awareness, allows the company for more opportunities to seek, such as still being an effective competitor in the online shopping sector, though previous changes were put into place (Sullivan, D 2012). Overall, Google’s strong brand names, and its competitive advantages such as the competencies as mentioned above, play an important role in positively impacting the company’s business model. Similarly, like competencies from knowledgeable and experienced employees, and the company’s strong brand name, Google’s loyal customer base also has a positive impact. Google’s recognition as the top search engine for online users (Interbrand, 2010) gives Google the opportunity for expansion, as its built customer base are more likely to become a continuous user of Google’s product lines and services, if they are able to be correctly executed, such as Google’s online shopping changes, that even though there were speculations (Morphy, E 2014), once placed into action, it was a more effective way for users to and retailers to sell and buy products. Whilst creating value from Google’s loyal base, in the long term, this largely impacts Google’s overall company’s business model, as this competency has created a competitive advantage (T. Y. Chan, C. Wu, Y. Xie  2011) that even though other search engine company’s may be successful, Google is still deemed as the most popular and most chosen by its users. Recommendations Presented, are recommendations Google should effectively consider and utilise in order to stay competent, meet to its consumers need and moreover keep an overall positive impact towards the company’s business model. Google is grounded in its culture of innovation; however, with the increase of competition, Google will need to overcome this challenge. In order to preserve its culture of innovation as they grow, it is highly recommended that Google overlooks its employee’s competencies and re adjust some aspects, so employees are able to effectively execute any task given, in order to keep Google’s innovations unique, and superior (Morphy, E 2014). Google should utilise appropriate dynamic processes that result in capabilities that adds to the strength of the company, in order to develop strong and positive competencies that support Google’s unique business model. In turn, this will result in a competitive advantage that Google will be able to override its c ompetitors. Moving along, in order to compete with competitors in the online shopping sector, such as Amazon and eBay, Google will need to effectively build onto its dynamic capabilities, by critically reviewing the strengths of their strategic assets, such as Google’s strong name (McDermott, T). This can be done through promotional strategies and the correct use of their enormous brand recognition in order to allow Google to make smart investments in terms of their retail efforts. Moreover, in regards to the Google online shopping site, in order to terminate speculation (Owen, V 2013) with Google’s customer base, Google should provide search results that are in the best interest of consumers shopping online, not provide customised search results that only work in the best interest of retailers and advertisers. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that Google has positive competencies to contribute to the company’s business model, as a result of Google’s strategic assets, dynamic capabilities and its competitive advantages. Moreover, this has allowed Google to maintain its strengths, whilst allowing for greater opportunities for growth and expansion. References Bhasin, K 2011, â€Å"The 20 Brands -The Most Loyal Customers†, Viewed 24th March 2014, < http://www.businessinsider.com.au/brand-loyalty-customers-2011-9?op=1 > . Hartwig, J. I 2012, â€Å"Google Shopping: Preparing for Paid Listings† Viewed 5th April 2014, . Interbrand 2010, â€Å"Interbrand Releases 11th Annual Ranking Of The 100 Best Global Brands†, viewed 20th March 2014, McDermott, T, 2004, â€Å"Defining Google†, Viewed 18 March 2014, . Morphy, E 2014, â€Å"Google Can Handle Data, But Can It Handle Actual Shoppers?†, Viewed 28th March 2014, Newth, F 2012 â€Å"Strategic Management and Business Models: A Modular Approach†, Business Expert Press, 1st edition, pp.80. Owen, V 2013, â€Å"Sellers Hit By Google Chargers†, Daily Mail, United Kingdom. Sullivan, D 2012, â€Å"Google Product Search to Become Google Shopping, Use Pay-To-Play Model† Viewed 20th March 2014, Sullivan, J 2007, â€Å"Google†, Journal of Workforce Management, vol.86, issue 20, pp.42. Sullivan, J 2013, â€Å"How Google Is Using People Analytics to Completely Reinvent HR†, Viewed on March 25th 2014, < http://www.tlnt.com/2013/02/26/how-google-is-using-people-analytics-to-completely-reinvent-hr/ >. T. Y. Chan, C. Wu, Y. Xie 2011, â€Å"Measuring the Lifetime Value of Customers Acquired from Google Search Advertising† Marketing Science, vol.30, issue 5, pp.837-850. Tsai, M 2011, â€Å" A Grounded Theory Study On The Business Model Structure Of Google†, International Journal Of Electronic Business Management, vol.9, issue 3, pp.231-242.

Business Envirmonet

It’s very common in large business to expand abroad; however there are a lot of factors that have to be considered before planning to start business in another country depending on which policies they have or what their background is as well as their stability or whether your product or business will sell over there. In this assignment I’m going to compare the challenges to business activities in two different environments, my two chosen environments are the UK and the Republic of China.I have chosen China and the UK as my two contrasting countries and my chosen business is KFC which is large global fast food chain, china is the most populated country in the world and is also has the largest economy. The Republic of China is an Asian country which is situated in east of Asia and it comes within the 3rd largest country in the world as well as the second largest economy in the works it also has a population of 1. 35 billion people.The capital city of China is Beijing howe ver the most populated city and a global financial center is Shanghai. My chosen business is KFC (Kentucky fried chicken it’s an American based business which is centered all over the world and it’s now moving to China, I will look into the problems they may face in China . The two economic environments that I am going to be describing are recession and growth on the business activities of KFC. Growth occurs when more goods are being produced and bought.During growth people tend spend more money on goods and services because they have more money to spend on products and services and also businesses will invest more and hire more staff as because there is an increase in demand for them. Recession however occurs when people running the business become more cautious with their spending so they cut their spending and orders as well laying of some of their more disposable employees thus making them redundant.It is said n the news that Chinas GDP growth rate has averaged out at 3. 1% In the most recent years, Chinese business has become more efficient and Chinas is now the 1st largest Asian economy, this means that if KFC wanted to expand in china they would al lot of competitions from other successful business who offer similar products. KFC is a one of the world’s leading fast food chain and their products are food and beverages where as Chinas is one of the world’s top producers of rice and wheat as well a livestock .This mean that if KFC wanted to expand into China and start operating there, it might face challenges where the retailers and costumers refuse to buy food from KFC because they’ve got other Chinese based fast food stores whom are just as good or they’d rather go to another major fast food chain e. g. McDonalds. However Chinas media industry is very big and there TV networks have more that billon subscribers or which is nearly triple the size of the UK, this gives KFC a huge advantage because they can advertis e their company through the media, this gives KFC a major opportunity to advertise as well as sell their beverages online.If KFC do decide to expand their business into operating in China, they will be provided with many opportunities , however there also some issues that their business be challenges with these issues are; Import taxes high import taxes are a barrier to many business, especially business like KFC because they have import some of their products, this cost them allot of money, this is one the reason why it’s not responsible for KFC to expand in China, however they could negotiate with China on exchanging goods for a lower import tax but that’s is a high risk to take.Lack of skills its much cheaper for KFC to hire and local labour, it might not be as effective because the workers may lack appropriate skills such as language skills or education. So KFC has to first consider this before they begin to operate in China, because lack of skills will and can aff ect KFC in a negative way e. g. their profits and sales will decrease or get affected because having good employees is essential for a business it creates less problems and make the business work more efficient .Growth affects the business activities for KFC because just as economy can change for a business so can the demand for products and both could be associated with each other. During growth you can expect to see a high demand for KFC’s good quality products so customers as well as potential customers would buy more during this time because customers are freer and relaxed over money spending compared to when it’s in a period of recession.Mostly you could see KFC looking into recruiting more workers as since product demand can increase a lot during the growth environment they’ll need more workers to spread out the job load for their employees because if they didn’t hire more staff To ease the job load and they just overloaded an employee with workload it could de-motivate them as well as make them fee undervalued. I will be looking into these factors which KFC may face when opening up a branch in China InflationRecession is when economy slows down, and the level of sales and production orders start to decline Inflation is the prices different of goods or service may vary they can either increase or decrease over time in the economy. Most businesses in the UK and China, by looking closely at the inflation rate as it could have a big effect on the business and because if the inflation rate increases there could be less sales as the prices of the goods will be high and the customers will spend less on goods and services as the prices will increase.Looking at the current inflation rate in China the rate has reached to 3. 1%. â€Å"Prices rose 3. 1% during the month, from a year earlier, up from 2. 6% in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The bureau said that food prices rose 6. 1% from a year ago due to the impact of n ational holidays, as well as droughts and floods in some regions.†Resulting in many Chinese banks such as â€Å"the bank of China† to raise their interest rates this will have an effect on as inflation rate goes high this will result on the customers spending less on fast food stores such as KFC and this would mean that the business will not be making enough money or breaking even on their monthly bases to afford many employees and also pay the bills and taxes so they need to lay down staff or close up their business and open up in either a different countries.In conclusion to this assignment I, in my point of few I don’t this its reasonable for KFC to expand I idea because there are al lot of challenges they may face and it’s not worth the risk.