Critical thinking Essay Example for Free

Critical thinking Essay 1. How does critical thinking affect you as a reader and writer? How can thinking critically improve your writing? Critical thinking affects a person as a reader and writer in that it is essential to be able to absorb and assimilate knowledge from the environment as well as organize one’s own thoughts and express oneself in a clear and comprehensive manner. It is important to consider critical thinking as being a twofold process. As a reader, one is able to utilize critical thinking as a tool to analyze information being taken in from the outside. Not all information is useful or truthful to a person, and critical thinking is a method of filtering out what is incomprehensible or untruthful and absorbing what is meaningful and valid. As a writer, critical thinking is used in relation to one’s own personal creative thoughts, coming to subjective conclusions about what one believes about the world and expressing these beliefs through writing. Critical thinking is able to improve people’s writing in that the ideas one wants to express become central to the writing process, to develop the perfect way of stating what one desires to say. It is essential to utilize critical thinking in both reading and writing, so that one is able to take in and organize the information from the external environment and make personal judgments and assertions about what one believes. All situations and experiences are both objective and subjective, in that people experience events within the context of the external world. It is important to be able to digest and process information from the external world in an organized fashion, so that one is able to accurately describe and share one’s experiences with others. 2. Read the following Discussion Question response written by Owen, a fictional student. Identify areas of vagueness and ambiguity and discuss how you might clarify the e-mail message using the writing principles addressed in the text. In the response written by Owen, the writing style is such that the reader is not able to clearly understand what is being said. There are instances of vagueness and ambiguity in the writing, and Owen is left appearing as if he does not truly understand what he is supposed to be writing about. For instance, Owen states that critical thinking affects him in â€Å"all ways†. Although this may be true, there is not enough information describing in which ways he is affected. It is important to include enough detail in writing, so that the reader is able to fully comprehend what is being claimed. Owen goes on to say that clear writing is the â€Å"hardest thing in the world†. Although Owen may be having difficulty with his own writing, clear writing is not the hardest thing in the world for all people. Instead of generalizing and making blanket statements, Owen should be plain and honest in saying that clear writing is difficult for him personally. Further on, Owen claims that critical writing is like business writing in that they both need a certain amount of structure, yet then claims that â€Å"structure is harder†. These ideas are simply uncorrelated and do not logically proceed from one another. One cannot compare two styles of writing as being similar and then immediately state that they are dissimilar, at least not without a clear explanation and transition. Overall, Owen could improve his own writing style by paying attention to explaining himself in detail, by taking the necessary time to organize his own thoughts before writing them down. It is vital to express oneself in a clear and comprehensive manner, so that other people are able to easily understand what is being conveyed.

Corporate Strategy of Fedex Corporation

Corporate Strategy of Fedex Corporation Executive Summary This analysis of the corporate strategy of FedEx Corporation relates to three specific issues in the corporate strategy case. The first issue is a critical analysis of the global express transportation and logistics industry. The second issue discusses about the mergers and acquisitions in transportation and logistics industry. The final issue is a critical review of the performance of FedEx in the events leading to the January 2000 reorganisation. In the first section, the global express transportation and logistics industry is an attractive sector based on the fundamentals of the sector given in the five forces analysis using Porters framework. There are large barriers to entry, there are minimal substitutes that exist, industry is relatively disciplined, and the power of buyers and suppliers are mixed. FedEx is well placed in the sector given its core competencies and dynamic capabilities relating to its management and the functional areas of marketing, human resources and information technology and systems. In the second section, gives a brief knowledge about the benefits and limitations of merger and acquisition strategies in this industry. This also describes how effective was the 1998 Caliber System acquisition and where did it led the company do in its further years. In the final section, it is noted that FedEx performed poorly within its sector and given its capabilities, the firm was expected to have been more proactive in moving past its poor performance. Nevertheless, the firm had to wait until after several quarters of poor performance and only after the competitors have taken advantage of the development in the Internet market did FedEx make changes to its business. Post the changes, FedEx did well in utilising its core competencies that were identified in the first section, and leveraging these competencies to its advantage. CHAPTER-1: Analysis Of Global Express Transportation And Logistics Industry Introduction To Transportation And Logistics Industry. Global Transportation Logistics Industry comprises a wide range of service providers, covering all modes of transport air, road, rail, sea as well as related services such as warehousing, handling, stevedoring, and finally value added services like packaging, labelling, assembling etc. In addition to these physical services, TL involves all sorts of planning, organising and managing services in the area of transportation and logistics. Over the past years, we have seen a trend to diversification (growth strategies mergers acquisitions), which results in larger integrated groups operating in more than one of the TL sub-sectors. As a result, it becomes very unclear to understand the limits between the different TL sub-sectors. (http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/transportation-logistics/index.jhtml) About FedEx FedEx corporation offers transportation, e-commerce and business services through its network of subsidiaries, divided into four business segments. The FedEx express segment includes Federal Express Corp., a leading global express transportation company offering time-certain delivery within one or three business days; and FedEx Trade Networks Inc., a provider of customer brokerage, global cargo distribution and Global Trade Data and Global Trade Tools software products. The FedEx ground segment includes FedEx Ground Package System Inc., which provides small package ground delivery to nearly 100% ofU.S.residences. The FedEx Freight segment includes FedEx Freight Corp., a US provider of next day, second day and interregional less than truckload (LTL) freight services; FedEx Custom Critical Inc., the worlds largest provider of expedited time critical shipments; and Caribbean Transportation Services Inc., a provider of airfreight forwarding services between the US and Puerto Rico. The last segment is FedEx Kinkos, consisting of FedEx Kinkos Office and printing services Inc., which provides copying and printing services, signs and graphics, videoconferencing, high speed wireless and wired Internet access and computer usage, as well as retail access to all FedEx ground and global express shipping services. (Jack W. Plunkett 2007) Porters Value Chain Analysis This section assesses the global express transportation and logistics industry through the value chain analysis of Porter. The review is done across the primary and support activities for the value chain with the details presented in the following table: Primary Activities Comments Inbound logistics Increased presence in various markets to expand footprint and capture market share by players (Lai et al, 2008) Operations Increased cost in operations due to rising fuel prices; margins of industry players hit (Wadewitz, Johnson Weinz, 2008) Outbound logistics Important activity as link to customers Distribution centres being set up by the largest players in the sector in new markets such as China (Lai et al, 2008) Marketing and sales Increased importance in current market with pressure on margins though players have generally kept pricing discipline Service Service to customer could potentially change with new pressures and competitive dynamics; current focus on service but business models on customer service delivery could change (Greene Longson, 2008). Support Activities Comments Firm infrastructure Entrepreneurial culture typically Management of firms could be forced into action with potential consolidation in the sector driven by pressures in decreased business and margins; could lead to synergies and value (Fitchie, 2008) HR management Human resources continues to play an important role as talent influences the activities across the value chain Technology development Technological capabilities continue to be critical factoring the sector and a requirement to be a player (Greene Doshi, 2007) Procurement Important lever for sector given large capital outlay required for building or replacing fleet Some are pursuing this activity despite sector pressure as business has decreased; FedEx recently reported to have bought some aircraft from Rolls-Royce (Armitage, Fornaro Crispin, 2008) www.umbrellacloud.com/business-model/value-chain We note from the analysis above and the supporting arguments in articles, the key factors impacting the value chain are the following: Integration of the firms activities across primary and support activities Though each of the activities above have their influence on the sector and its development, the important underlying factor is the integration of the primary and support activities in order to drive the efficiency of the firms in the sector, and ensure the delivery of the customer service required by clients. Use of technology to drive integration and also efficiencies across the value chain Aside from the integration of the activities, a key driving force as well is the use of technology to both drives the integration and also pushes the efficiencies across the value chain as this impacts the pricing of services and delivery of customer requirements. Strong management to drive actions and initiatives across the chain Finally, strong management is needed in order to identify the opportunities and be able to push for the implementation of these initiatives, particularly in technology and in integration. The current industry pressures from higher fuel prices are changing the dynamics of the sector. Supply Chain Management Supply Chain analysis involves working across multiple enterprises or companies (Inter-enterprise) to shorten the supply chain time in the delivery of goods and services to the consumer or customer. Demand uncertainty in supply chains can be addresses by faster response times. A basic product supply chain can afford longer lead times and batch manufacturing of large lot sizes to meet the demand. A supply chain that produces fashion or mass customization products must respond quickly and be more agile. Most supply chains are moving in the direction to support a more rapid changing of demand by the consumer or customer. Good transportation and logistics companies also natures in reducing total costs through supply chain management excellence. Supply chain management means managing the business process from the initial supplier to the ultimate customer focusing on speed and flexibility, resulting in the lowest total cost and highest customer satisfaction-from suppliers supplier to customers customer-with supply decisions based on total life cycle costs. In this Context, FedEx identifies five principal attributes of supply chain management: Strategy Creating an effective supply chain management organization and supporting fact-based strategies and plans. Resources Developing and deploying human resources and information systems necessary to maximize performance. Nothing happens without top-notch, highly-skilled professionals using effective technical tools. Processes Creating strategic plans based upon total cost management and in sourcing/outsourcing analysis and applying a systematic approach to better utilizing the supply base. Optimization Aligning the supply base with our supply chain goals and continually seeking to improve the supply chain methods and composition. Globalization Viewing supply opportunities on a global basis. (www.fedex.com) FedEx Core Competencies And Dynamic Capabilities The analysis above of the global express transportation and logistics industry provides an indication of the requirements needed in order to be successful in the sector. This sub-section presents the core competencies and dynamic capabilities of FedEx and will present the link with the sectors requirements for success. The core competencies and dynamic capabilities of FedEx are the following: 2. Human resources: empowering employees One of the core competencies of FedEx is the empowerment of employees which has led to entrepreneurial behaviour among the employees (Schindehutte, Morris Kocak, 2008). This empowerment is the reason that FedEx is able to adapt quickly to market changes and keep abreast of the development in the global express transportation and logistics sector and ahead of competition. 3. Marketing: delivering customer value FedEx is known for their innovativeness in delivering value to their customers. It is partly the point above on employee empowerment which drives this. However, it is also largely the strength of their marketing organisation in being able to identify the value that customers require and their ability to deliver this through convenience and minimised relational costs (Smith Colgate, 2007). 4. Information systems and technology: providing accurate 24/7 information FedEx has invested significantly in its information and technology systems in order to provide customers with information to track the services being provided by FedEx. The firm realised early on in their business history, and well ahead of the other firms in their sector, the importance of information (e.g. package tracking, drop-off location finder) and the power this brings to meeting customers needs (Bhattacharya, 2006). 5. Management: continuing learning and application to operation This core competence of FedEx is driven by their CEO and Founder Fred Smith who stated that the success of FedEx is based on â€Å"continual learning and education and the discipline to apply those lessons to your operation† (Sarros, Cooper Santora, 2007). FedExs actions have been based on a continual understanding of their market situation and the implementation of initiatives to meet the requirements of the evolving sector such as technological demands and customer service level requirements. Strategic Vision And Infrastructure Within FedEx Corporation (a) FedEx Strategic Vision And Visionary Leadership. Frederick W Smith, the Chairman, President, and CEO of FedEx Corporation was presented the â€Å"Peter F. Drucker Strategic Leadership Award† for the year 1997. The award, established in 1995, was in recognition of an individuals innovative and result-oriented leadership. With the help of his team he executed a vision with consistency and focus. Analysts credit Smiths leadership as the reason for the transformation of FedEx, from a once loss making company, to a global logistics industry leader with revenues of â€Å"$22.5 billion.† Under his leadership, FedEx management has developed rigorous processes with extremely low defect rates; employees are empowered through information, technology and thorough training. Information technology has transformed the company into a cyberspace leader as well as a logistics trailblazer. Smith was one of the few business leaders who first anticipated the application of Internet in business operations, resulting into the launch of the website www.fedex.com in 1994, enabling customers to do business online. FedEx had been established as a technologically driven company. Smith stipulated three goals, which he believed would form the critical success factors of FedExs business in future speed, reliability and customer service. In order to achieve these goals, Smith invested heavily on IT. Smith strongly believed that for an express industry, it was necessary to use IT to provide customers with real-time information about the movement of their documents/packages. Visionary Leadership FedEx Supply Chain Services will be an acknowledged world leader in global integrated logistics management, supply chain solutions and time-definite delivery. Our motivated associates will forge mutually profitable partnerships with our customers using world-class technology and business practices. Smith also believed that in a service oriented organization like FedEx, it was very important to have highly committed employees, failing which; it was not possible to deliver the kind of service that the customers expected. FedExs employees were made to believe that they were not merely performing their duties but were solving the transportation problems of the customers. It is clear from these analyses that FedEx Corporation had been very competent in technology and human resources which resulted in its great success. FedExs corporate strategic vision is based on three principles; operating independently: by focusing on independent networks to meet distinct customer needs; compete collectively: by standing as one brand worldwide and speaking with one voice Manage collaboratively: by working together to sustain loyal relationships with their workforce, investors, and customers. http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Leadership%20and%20Entrepreneurship/LDEN023.htm (b) FedEx Transportation And Logistics Infrastructure FedEx Corporation (â€Å"FedEx†) provides a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services through companies competing collectively, operating independently and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. These operating companies are primarily represented by Federal Express Corporation (â€Å"FedEx Express†), the worlds largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. (â€Å"FedEx Ground†), a leading provider of small-package ground delivery services and FedEx Freight Corporation, a leading U.S. provider of less-than-truckload (â€Å"LTL†) freight services (FedEx Annual report 2007). Overall, FedEx hasover 280,000 employees worldwide,operates approximately 50,000 drop off locations and managed over 10 million square feet of warehouse space worldwide. They have 670 aircrafts, and 75,000 vehicles and trailers, handling around 6.5million daily shipments to more than 220 countries and territories. (Jack W. Plunkett 2007). FedEx Corporation introduced express delivery to the world in 1973, and remains the worlds largest express transportation company and it is the worlds largest overnight package carrier with about 30 percent market share. Taking into considerations the key elements from the above analysis and FedExs core competencies it can be figured out that FedEx primary activities are Marketing and Sales, checking orders, financial analysis and receiving payment, packaging, shipping products, logistics, handling and storing of products to be shipped, handling orders, delivery of the products, and finally Service to ensure customer satisfaction. But, the key elements which support these activities are: Procurement (purchasing, trucks, planes, gas and other assets). Research and Development (RD) activity which include technology development, investments in systems innovation, and information technology (IT) development. Human Resource Management that includes hiring, training, developing and compensating employees from the truck drivers to the top management. Firm infrastructure which includes general management, planning, accounting, legal support, government regulations, and other general requirement to support the value chain. (c) FedEx Virtual Information Infrastructure Information Technology is the backbone of the FedEx Corporation which is immensely responsible for its success and its competitive advantage over its rivals. FedExs consistent effort in the development of information technology and system innovations has always been its prime concern which created the direct interconnection between its customers and services. FedExs Virtual Information System emerged as a revolution in this context which closed the gaps between the consumer and seller. In 1979, a centralised computer system Customer, Operation, Master Online System kept track of all packages handled by the company. This computer system relayed data on package movement, pickup, invoicing and delivery to a central database. In 1984, FedEx started to launch a series of technological systems. The Power-Ship program, aimed at improving efficiency and control, which provided the most active customers (around 850,000) with the proprietary online services. But, the most significant development in this field came between the years 1994-99 which started giving the shape to the virtual information infrastructure. They were first to offer online package status tracking through FedEx website so that customers can actually conduct business via internet. In 1995, a Windows-based shipping and tracking software allowed around 650,000 users to process and manage their shipment from their desktops. FedEx Virtual-Order Software in 1996 linked internet ordering with the delivery and o nline tracking. In 1997, FedEx introduced e- Business tools for easier connection with shipping tracking applications. FedEx decided to overhaul its internal I.T. infrastructure under the Project GRID (Global Resources for Information Distribution). The project involved replacing 60,000 terminals and some PCs with over 75,000 network systems. Also, in 1999 FedEx signed an agreement with Netscape to adopt Netscape software as the primary technology for accessing its corporate intranet sites. FedExs intranet included more than 60 Websites, created for its end users and some cases by its end users. At this point of time FedEx was the largest online client server network in the world that operated in real time. The benefits of these services were not limited to FedExs customers. Its online services, which in 1999 handled 60 million transactions per day, saved FedEx cost of 200,000 customer service employees. In turn, the Company reported spending 10 percent of its 17 billion U.S. dollar s annual revenue on I.T. in 1999. Information had allowed FedEx to lower its costs such that the cost to customers of using FedEx in 1999 was lower than it was 25 years ago. FedEx Virtual Order Process http://www.ite.poly.edu/people/brao/fedex_case.htm CHAPTER-2: Mergers Acquisitions In Transportation And Logistics Industry. Benefits And Limitations Of Merger And Acquisition Strategy. Merger and Acquisition is basically a mechanism by which an organization grows. It is a kind of external growth strategy which involves using the businesss money to invest in other businesses, whereas the internal growth occurs by investing profits in the same business. A merger occurs when two separate companies agree, usually by mutual consent, to come together. On the other hand, acquisition is a takeover which involves purchasing a shareholding of over 50%, and then this company can control and impose its will upon this. Merger and acquisition are growth strategies are beneficial for transportation and logistics industry, as in all the other industries if two companies decide to join hands after a detailed research and surveys. (book†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦book†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.book) Benefits Of Merger And Acquisition: Mergers and acquisitions usually succeed in building cost efficiency through the implementation of economies of scale. Basically, a new economically stable firm emerges, through the union of two parent firms with an increased scale of operations. As a result, there are chances that the cost per unit will come down with rise in output production. In context of TL industry the company will get a bigger infrastructure and they may get easy access to the areas which were to difficult to reach. This in turn will increase their logistics offerings and their efficiency with reduced cost, which was not possible if they would have thought of increasing the branches on their own. This process also often leads to an increased value generation for the company. It is expected that the shareholder value of the newly established firm would be greater than the sum of the shareholder values of the parent companies which is applicable in TL industry as well. One of the benefits of mergers and acquisitions is increase in market share. When a financially stable company acquires a contrastingly distressed one, the newly found organization experiences a substantial increase in market share. The new firm is usually more cost-efficient and competitive when compared to its financially weak parent organization. Limitations Of Merger And Acquisition: I. If due to mergers and acquisitions, a company has considerably a big market share then there could be less competition complacency amongst firmscan lead to lower quality of services and less investment in new products and services. II. Due to merger or acquisition, if a company expands too much then it could also lead to diseconomy of scale. In this condition, it will lead the firm to produce products and services at increased per unit costs. III. Mergers and acquisitions can lead to loss of jobs. IV. Mergers could be a factor of de-motivation for staff, for example, managers would prefer to work for big company where they get higher salaries and more prestige. V. There could be failure to secure good will of a wide range of stakeholder groups in both companies. VI. Potential conflict between individual and corporate objectives is not given sufficient recognition and isnt managed. VII. Reputation can also be damaged during the merger process. Acquisition Of Caliber Systems In 1998 By FedEx Corporation In the year 1998, FedEx took a big leap in context to its diversification by acquiring Caliber System Inc. As a result of this, five subsidiary companies were formed: Federal Express, RPS, Roberts Express, Viking Freight and FDX Logistics. Apart from Federal Express, all the other four were the part of Caliber System and all were managed independently. The logistics operations of both FedEx and Caliber were different as differed in customer bases and service offerings. Caliber was expertise in providing an elaborate logistics operation focusing mainly on high priced goods industries such as moving raw materials, managing work-in-progress, manufacturing of cars and fork-lift trucks etc. Federal Logistics and Electronic Commerce (FLEC) before the acquisition was not able to provide complete supply chain solution because they just focused on finished goods and reverse logistics. But, the acquisition led FLEC to put there hands into areas like warehousing and transportation apart from th e basic logistics functions. Later, Caliber became apart of FDX Logistics and FLEC continued as a division under Federal Express. The burden which this acquisition brought along with it to the company was that, the company has to loose its image of just being an express delivery company. The challenge was that all the critics including the customer related the FedEx brand just with transportation. One solution to this challenge was the renaming of the company. In this context, the acquisition gave the name to the holding company as ‘FDX Corporation but they did very less to promote the name. Therefore, the transportation subsidiary FedEx Express still lived on as a brand image and the corporate name was still under cover. Unlike other companies such as UPS which ran only under one name for all its services, FedEx was trying to promote all its subsidiary companies with completely unrelated names under FDX logo. The key agenda here was that, the two separate logistics businesses within the group with separate sales and customer service staff created confusion within customers and resources were duplicated. The big thing was despite having such confusion the branches continued to operate and offer solutions at all level of supply chain. In this scenario, the autonomy of all subsidiary companies where maintained but the challenge was to bring the companies closer to create the synergy. These companies were operating with separate accounting systems and customer service staff, so they made a vision to â€Å"progress individually but compete collectively.† Therefore, we can figure out that this acquisition was not a complete success as all the subsidiary companies sustained but the ultimate goal for the corporation was to provide customers with a single point of access to the whole Group. In later years, this became the main reason for the companys structural transformation through advancement in information technology within the company. CHAPTER-3: Events Leading Up To January 2000 Reorganization This section provides an analysis of the events leading to the January 200 reorganisation of FedEx. The first sub-section reviews the performance of FedEx and the developments in the Internet market while the second sub-section touches on the impact of the major strategic initiatives undertaken. The final sub-section provides a quick summary of the analysis. FedEx Performance And Internet Market Developments The January 2000 reorganisation was largely driven by the poor performance of FedEx in the preceding periods. While performance remained strong and positive up to 1999 with record earnings, this proved to be the start of a downtrend in performance. The next several quarters saw FedExs performance experience considerable in income and profit. This was partly influenced by the rising fuel prices but the failure of the company to react and still be reasonably profitable in a backdrop of rising fuel prices led management to believe that change was needed. The performance of FedEx was sub-par and deserved poor reviews. The lower financial performance aside, FedExs performance was inadequate for the following reasons: Un-reactive and inflexible It took several quarters of poor performance for FedEx management to take action. FedEx could have been more aggressive in its actions and realised immediately after the first quarter of poor profit performance that the industry was changing and that FedEx needed to make a move. At the very least, FedEx could have made moves that would have impacted other players as well and severely harm the poorer capitalised firms (e.g. start a price war) Did not utilise advantages in sector Partly related to the first point, FedEx did not push to make any impact on the sector. FedEx could have utilised its network, for example, and worked with its suppliers and even buyers to ensure that the firm still maintained good profitability in the period of high fuel prices. In addition to the poor performance of FedEx in the preceding several quarters, the development of the Internet market and the actions of competitors forced FedEx to review its business strategy and determine the steps necessary in order to bring the firm back to profitability and successful operations. In this respect, the actions of FedEx were unacceptable as well for a couple of reasons: Failure to realise technological changes For a firm that was known to be reliant on technology as well as at the forefront of technological advancements, the actions of FedEx were unacceptable as they showed poor pro-activity and understanding of the changes happening in the sector. Reactionary moves to technological innovation Not only did FedEx not realise technological changes that would impact the sector, FedEx had to wait for other firms to take the first move in tapping the new technology. This thus made the situation worse as it placed FedEx in a position that was far behind other competitors in terms of the use and development of technology. Motivation for Strategic Initiatives FedEx had three strategic initiatives following the reorganisation in January 2000. For these actions, FedEx could be lauded as these addressed the concerns that FedEx faced following the several period of poor performance and the developments in the Internet market. The strategic initiatives and the rationale for pursuing each are as follow: A new branding strategy that involved changing the Companys name to FedEx Corporation, and extending the ‘FedEx brand to four of its five subsidiary companies This is an excellent move for a couple of reasons: (1) integrates the firm and leverages the successes of the various divisions, (2) taps the brand that clients are familiar with. This would allow FedEx to leverage its advantages in the sector as seen in the five forces analysis. Although relatively belatedly, FedEx did realise the importance of integrating their businesses and maximising their position in the sector. The need for one point of access to sales, customer services, and billing and automation systems This again touches on the integration point although at a different aspect. With an integrated business across its key activities, FedEx could provide clients with easy access and reliable services, factors that are important for the FedEx clients. Also, this action gives FedEx the technological push that it needed in order to bring its technology up to par with competitors, and position the firm for possible advancements at a later time. FedEx Home Delivery, a new, economical residential delivery service- This last action by FedEx touched on several important factors related to the success of firms in the global express transportation and logistics industry: (1) innovation in products and services, (2) leverage of strengths of related businesses, and (3) exp

This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix

This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix Sherman Alexies This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona is one of the most fulfilling short stories of times. Victor as named in this particular story had lost a job. Immediately after this, he also received the sad news of his fathers demise from heart attack in a distant city named Phoenix, Arizona. As it turns out, he had not met his own father for a long period of time. This however does not prevent him from feeling the pain of the lose as still there was the link in the blood. The time of the occurrence being so unfair on him, he had no money with him to go over to make the necessary arrangements. It can also be seen that fireworks and cigarette form a major part of the lifestyle of the people of this neighborhood. According to the story, people who have money in excess are those selling the two commodities. He may have not been so broke anyway as his dead father had some savings which could take victor a long way in performing the necessary ceremonies and the burial. How ever, there was the challenge of getting to Phoenix to retrieve the remains which had badly rotten due to the body staying for a week in the vehicle where he died in abundance of heat before being finally found. The most final option according to him was to request for assistance from the Tribal Council of his community which was ‘ill funded (Sherman Alexies Short Stories). This particular Tribal Council had some funds always set aside to tackle problems of their community members in such situations as Victors. However, the distance between them and the city Victor wanted to travel to was so enormous that they could not afford to fund him with their reserved money. Eventually, only some one hundred American dollars could be availed to him and though it was too little, he accepts it and cashes the cheque he is given after signing the necessary papers. He had little option; he could not be assisted according to his need. Where he goes to cash his cheque, he encounters one man with a low profile in his community named Thomas Builds-the -fire or simply Thomas ‘the story teller (Sax 20). As it is written in this story, this man always talked to himself because no body ever gave attention to his stories whenever he told them. In fact in this story, a simile is used to describe him; ‘Thats like being a dentist in a town where everybody has false teeth (123HelpMe.com. 1). In this simile, the meaning as comes out is that he offers services that are not appreciated by the locals. This two had grown up together in this same neighborhood ‘childhood friends (123HelpMe.com. 1). Thomas, as usual, had something for peoples ears. From here there is a series of flashbacks about the days and times they had as children and what Thomas actually was made of. First to be mentioned is the childhood experience at about the age of seven when Thomas told a story about Peters father to his age mate Peter. He had referred to Peters daddy as being weak in that he did not want to get quality time with his own wife and children (family). He talked about the old man wanting to buy himself a motorbike and run away. In this same story, there is a flashback to a time when together they used one bicycle then aged about ten years old. Thomas was quick to surrender the bicycle to Peter his friend and cousin as they went forth to attend a fairground where they would watch the fireworks in the dark and then walk back home. This were celebrations for fourth July which was the independence of the Indians a very much fought for liberation. In this flashback, there is the mention of Junior being a very common name with the inhabitants of the reserve. There surfaces some symbolism in this remembrance that at some point during that time as they sat in the night and were attacked by mosquitoes, victor still went back to Thomas for assistance by requesting a story just like in the situation of need, only Thomas would be available to offer him help. The story told to victor by his cousin Thomas in this context more or less just brought out the realities of their lives late on when they became kind of heroes after the departure of victors daddy. They shared a common wish of being heroes at that tender age in their lives. The ‘shadows and light from streetlamps referred to here symbolizes the ups and downs that eventually they had to endure together in the course of their lives even when everybody else felt that Thomas was an insignificant person. Also when young, aged about fifteen, they had already lost their friendly touch and so they picked up a fight with literally nothing being the specific cause. A lady named Norma stopped the bitter fight because of the respect she commanded. This is also a clear reflection of Thomass life in his adult age as no one seems to take whatever he says seriously just as the other boys would stand around and watch him get a beating. The memory of their experience at the age of about twelve years old brings out a symbolic encounter in the story where Thomas saved Victor from wasps that would have otherwise badly injured or even killed him. This reflects later on in the story as it is found out that at the point of need, only Thomas is willing to come close to Victor and offer some assistance. He literally pulled his foot out the hole of wasps for Victor to escape. An even funnier memory about this story-telling friend of Peter is the attempt to fly where according to the story he managed to su stain himself in flight for about a single second without fear like other boys did. A simile is also used in describing his flying when it is said, he ‘flapped his wings like a crazy eagle. As well, it is said, ‘As real as the dirt when Thomas lost attitude and crashed to the ground. Thomas Builds-the-Fire was lonely even in his school but yet he describes himself as one who was offered the gift of telling stories. At this point it is understood that the father died in the Second World War and the mother during his birth so he never had anybody for him. Away from the memories of the lives of this two men in their past, we get to consider what they encountered together to and from Phoenix, Arizona. Thomas had foretold the departure of Victors daddy to a place far from his family and as things turn out as Victor stood at the Trading Post to cash a cheque, Thomas walked over to him and condoled him as one who knew every occurrence to do with his late father. He made claims that he got to learn about it from such communicators as birds, wind and Victors crying mother. Since Thomas was not regarded nicely by the locals of this area, many were surprised that the two were even having a conversation. Victor was to a great extend embarrassed of Thomas but much to his surprise, just to fulfill the symbolism of the wasps, Thomas offered to assist him yet again from some savings he had been making over the time. From perhaps embarrassment or mere pride, Victor was very reluctant to take the offer from his childhood friend, to the extent that he requested time to ‘think about it. According to him, they were not to be referred to as friends at this time because it had been years since they last talked. Thomas followed Victor over to his place as though he knew that he would decide to take the offer and also take Thomas with him to the place. They flew over next to one another in the plane where the social nature of Thomas is revealed. He manages to engage a white woman in a free conversation and even pulls Victor along to it as they continue which shows actually that he was an open minded person. They even perform some gymnastics as directed by the lady and talk about matters of governance. The humor displayed by Thomas continues to carry the two and their new made friend named Cathy. Victor came to acknowledge talking to people was nice and apologized to Thomas over the happenings of the fight when they were fifteen. The body was stinking and the fact that dental records were needed for the identification meant it was even harder a task than it first looked. With the understanding that there could have been some valuables in there, they had to do it. Again with his eyes, just like the usual way, closed, Thomas remembered the fallen old man as having taken him from Spoken where he was standing and cautioned him against being mugged, bought him dinner and took him home. There was a prior deal that Thomas takes care of Victor in exchange for the favor as it shows out in the memory. Respect is accorded to the dead as even a wooden box containing part of the ash from the cremated body had a hat on it while the rest in a card box had a cap on it. They then drove a long way in turns through regions devoid of life until eventually a jackrabbit appeared only to be killed by the car in what they referred to as suicide. They arrived in the morning as the tribe awoke with all that had taken them away for some time up until then. Thomas did not want the money back from Victor but rather an ear during the telling of his usual stories. The friendship could however not continue in this neighborhood. A simile is used to back up this as being, ‘As real as the ashes where the ashes symbolized Victors daddy behind the car seats. Victor only thanked Thomas with the content of cardboard box. Thomas with his usual many ideas planned to spill the ash into the water at Spokane where he said Victors father would, ‘rise like a salmon, his teeth will shine like silver, like a rainbow. All these are similes. Victor also uses another when he says, ‘I thought itd be like cleaning the attic or something. The conclusion of this story as the two part shows just how much sometimes people reject good people because of pressure from others (Ariana 10). Victor had a debt to pay, listen to stories. Works Cited Richard, Sax. This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona. Magills Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition. Salem Press, 2007. Ariana, Todd. â€Å"This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona.† 2008. 123HelpMe.com. Conflict in This is What it Means to say Phoenix, Arizona. 7th May 2010. . Kelly, Jermaine. â€Å"Conflict Within The Mind† 2007. â€Å"Sherman Alexies Short Stories† 7th May 7, 2010. ,

Essay examples --

Communication is the necessary exchange of experience, knowledge, thoughts, feelings between two or more people. Need to communicate to any person if it is not then begins depression, caused by deficiency of emotions, impressions, and the person begins to need to communicate as well as in food or water. By the way a person communicates in psychology generally divided people into two categories: introverted and extroverted (Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 2013). Introvert - people, socio-psychological makeup is characterized by concentration on his inner world, insularity. Introverts consider their most important interests; give them the highest value, for they are characterized by social passivity and a tendency to introspection. Introvert gladly fulfills his duties, but does not like the responsibility for the final results. For introverts typical behaviour associated with more comfortable solitude, inner thoughts and feelings, creativity or observation of the process. Introvert can be an excellent scientist, researcher, observer, writer or an individual entrepreneur. Extrovert - a man whose psychological characteristics expressed in focusing their interests in the outside world, the external objects. Extroverts peculiar behavior impulsivity, activity in the gestures, communicative, initiative, social adaptability and openness of the inner world. For extroverts typical behavior in which a person seeks: to communicate with people, attention from others, participation in public speeches, participation in crowded events and parties. An extrovert can be an excellent master of ceremonies organized (often volunteer), official, manage people, artist or entertainer. In which of the two types, you probably know yourself? Perhaps you were u... ...thdrawal from live communication and addiction to the Internet. The user does not notice how he stops to meet with friends, all communication limited social networks. Every day he comes to your pages to view or message came that interesting going on in his friends and it becomes a habit and we can not live peacefully day, if not Go online, and it is already clear signs of addiction. Besides overreliance on social networks leads to a decrease in efficiency. Many employers do not allow their employees to go to the Internet during working hours, to track even special programs, they are happy to use. By the way, if you are using such social networks like twitter, then you can have it in a small income. Of course, to have an extra income on microblogs you will need to place them in advertising, but many services do just focus on it to make it look as natural as possible.

An Essay on The Landlady by Roald Dahl -- The Landlady by Roald Dahl

The Landlady by Roald Dahl In the short story â€Å"The Landlady,† Roald Dahl’s use of foreshadowing prepared readers well for the end of the story. He used hints such as describing the outside of the bed and breakfast, giving details of the entry and the bedroom, and also telling the readers about the living room. To begin, Dahl used the outside of the bed and breakfast as a use of foreshadowing. The sign was described to be distinctive. It was portrayed to be luring the boy inside. Dahl used the opening of the door as a hint also. He explained that the woman debouched the door open, which would foreshadow that she was abnormal. The woman also had cheap rent at her bed and breakfast. This would draw potential customers in for her awkward ...

Events During the Cold War Essay

The Cold War was a very terrible war that started in 1945 between the United States and the Soviet Union and lasted 45 years. The Cold War got its name because both sides were too afraid to fight each other directly. They used words against each other to make the enemy look dumb and foolish. They fought through many other wars, too afraid of nuclear attacks directly hitting them. These wars caused great devastation across the globe. This war had started because the Soviet Union wanted to spread communism across the world, but America being a democracy, did not want that. The first ten years were somewhat interesting. On February 4 1945, there was a Yalta Conference, a wartime meeting between the heads of government from the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union, and the Cold War began. Right after that, Germany surrendered to the Red Army in Berlin. On August 6, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and killed 80,000 people. Then three days after, the United States dropped another bomb on Nagasaki that killed 70,000. Shortly after that, the Japanese surrendered and that was the end of World War II. Winston Churchill had issued warnings about the Soviets in 1946 and first used the term â€Å"iron curtain†. This term was used to describe how the Soviets had wanted power. 1946 was also the year Josef Stalin made a very hostile speech, claiming communism and capitalism couldn’t live in peace. In June of 1947, the Marshall Plan was announced. This plan set a precedent for helping countries combat poverty, disease and malnutrition. That same year, the Rio Pact was established. This was a security zone around the hemisphere with the 19 Latin American countries. Between June 1948 and September 1949, Britain and America were struggling to keep West Berlin supplied through aircraft, since the Soviet government closed all ground traffic. That year, they made 277,000 flights to carry products. In March of 1948, Truman started a Loyalty Program which was made to catch Cold War spies. Then, in that same year the Brussels Pact was made to protect Europe from communism. In 1949, China became a communist country because Mao Zedong took over. He then established the People’s  Republic of China. In June of 1950, the Korean War started and Stalin supported North Korea and gave them Soviet weapons to invade South Korea. The war in Korea ended two years later, though. In 1951 the Federal Defense Administration was established which was a program that spread information about communism and the threat of attacks. March 1954 was when KGB (Committee for State Security) was established. KGB was the national security of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In May of 1955 the Warsaw Pact was established. This pact was a mutual defense treaty between the eight communist states of Eastern Europe during the Cold War. During these ten years, there were a few treaties and some different experimental things done, also some different groups were made just for this one huge war. The next 10 years (1956-65) didn’t have as many exciting things happen. In 1956, there was a rebellion in Communist Hungary. Then after that in 1957, Sputnik was launched into space and Laika died in space. In 1958, Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War, made the Soviet troops withdrawal from Berlin. Khrushchev then visited the United States in 1959 which caused the Kitchen Debate. This was a debate between Nixon and Khrushchev at the opening of the American National Exhibition. In 1960, the Soviets revealed that there had been a United States plane shot down over Soviet territory. This year was also the year John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States. Cuba aligns itself with the Soviet Union and their policies that same year. The Bay of Pigs invasion happened in 1961, this invasion was by CIA trained exiles of Cuba into southern Cuba to try to overthrow the government, but it was unsuccessful. In 1962 the United States becomes more involved in the Vietnam War to keep communist takeover of South Vietnam as a strategy of containment. That was the same year of the Cuban missile crisis between the Soviet Union and Cuba and the United States, it lasted thirteen days. November of 1963 was a sad month because President Kennedy was assassinated, probably because of a conspiracy. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was in 1964 which was a confrontation between North Vietnam and the United States. In 1965 some United States marines were sent to the Dominican Republic to fight Communism. These 10 years were not very exciting but there were a few important events that changed the United States. From 1966 to 1975, not much happened. It was kind of a dull period compared to the last twenty years. In 1967 the United Stated Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara admitted that the United States bombing raids had failed to meet their objectives. Richard Nixon was elected for president and North Korea captured U.S.S. Pueblo the year after. The USS Pueblo was a United States spy ship and it is still currently being held captive by Korea, though it is a museum now. Then, in 1969 Apollo 11 landed on the moon which had Neil Armstrong in it. He was the first person to step on the moon and it was a great accomplishment in US history. In 1970 Nixon spread the Vietnam War to Cambodia. The Pentagon papers were signed the year after in 1971. These papers were a United States history of its involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1972 not only did Nixon visit China, but SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talk) was signed; this was between the two Cold War superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union on the issue of armament control. The United States supported coup overthrew the Chilean government in 1973. The year after that, Nixon resigned but since then he has been the only president to ever resign. In 1975 North Vietnam defeated South Vietnam who then fell into communism. I do not know why these ten years were so boring, but they were even though they ended in another country falling into communism. The next ten years from 1976 to 1985 were even duller than the ones before. It started off with the Soviet Union and Cuba forcing Angola to become a communist state. In 1979, SALT II was signed. This time it was just an experimental negotiation about curtailing the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. The same year SALT II was signed, the Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan and the United States and China established diplomatic relations. In 1980, Polish shipyard workers started a strike and the Solidarity Union was formed, which was the first non-communist trade union in Warsaw Pact territory, and the strike leader, Lech Walesa, was elected as the head of the Solidarity Union. Three years later, President Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative. That initiative was created to protect the United States from nuclear missile attacks. In that same year, United States troops invaded and overthrew the regime in Grenada and ended  in a victory. Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union and initiated a campaign of increased openness and transparency in government institutions called â€Å"glasnost† and a political movement within the Soviet Union called â€Å"perestroika† in 1985. As you can see, not much happened during these ten years but there were still some interesting things that happened. The last five years were when quite a few countries became independent after so long. In 1986 President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev resolve to remove all intermediate nuclear missiles from Europe. Then in the year after that, Reagan and Gorbachev agree to remove all medium and short-range nuclear missiles. This meant that the war was coming to a close and things were becoming less violent. The Soviet groups with drawled from Afghanistan in 1989. Poland and Hungary both become independent and communist governments fall in Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Rumania, the Soviet empire declined in this year as well. Russia got a new president; Boris Yeltsin, in 1990 also. Another country became independent a year later, Lithuania. Germany also became reunited during this year. In 1991, the Warsaw Pact ended which meant the Cold War was over and the Soviet Union was done for, the end of it all. The Cold War was something terrible that happened between the United States and the Soviet Union for a stupid reason. It caused a lot of problems and different wars throughout the world just because they were too afraid to fight face to face but, it did not cause a huge amount of deaths. The Cold War was not really the kind of war that killed people; it was more of a war on which country could develop faster. This war could have been easily prevented but I guess some things just have to happen. A 45 year war for only one thing. Power. Works Cited â€Å"Cold War.† enotes. n.d. Web. 20 May, 2012. â€Å"Cold War Timeline.† History Timelines. n.d. Web. 20 May, 2012. Pillai, Prabhakar â€Å"Causes and Effects of the Cold War.† Buzzle. n.d. 21 May, 2012. â€Å"Timeline of the Cold War.† Think Quest. n.d. Web. 20 May 2012. Wikipedia.org.

Suicide in the Trenches- Analysis

Suicide In The Trenches In my analysis, I will demonstrate how Siegfred Sassoon has used many different language techniques to show his perspective on the true meaning of war. For example, the poet has used simplistic diction that creates an image of the destruction of a â€Å"simple soldier boy†. At first we see him whistling, this then degrades to depression which lead him to committing suicide. Siegfred Sassoon concludes his poem with anger and a powerful message. â€Å"Sneak home and pray you’ll never know† emphasizes that those who aren’t soldiers have to â€Å"sneak home and pray† to show their empathy for the soldiers.In the last line it implies the fact that the crowd doesn’t have to go through â€Å"the hell where youth and laughter go†. Sassoon had used a simple rhyme scheme of A-A-B-B to create a ‘joyful’ melody in the readers mind. The rhyme scheme makes the poem sound very light hearted when it is actually a v ery sad topic. It is quoted in â€Å"I knew a simple soldier boy Who grinned at life in empty joy† the sound ‘oy’ sounds very content which creates an irony throughout the whole poem. It makes an impact on the reader since it would sound like a nursery rhyme.It sets up the paradox of ‘nursery rhyme’ but ending with ‘death’. In the first stanza Siegfred Sassoon has made a very innocuous opening with â€Å"I knew a simple soldier boy†. As you read more, it reveals the evolution of the cost of war. In the first stanza the young soldier immediately loses the innocence of youth. The poet has used simple words to create an impact to the reader. Such as â€Å"simple† has connotations with innocence which establishes the soldier is still a young boy and not a man.In the 3rd line of the first stanza Sassoon quoted â€Å"slept soundly†. The usage of sibilance creates a harsh and bitter tone throughout the stanza. Also, it add an importance on the phrase â€Å"slept soundly†. People who can sleep soundly are the people who have nothing to worry about before they go the bed. This highlights how the boy was so innocent at the start of his experience in war. This is also linked with the word â€Å"whistled† (4th line, 1st paragraph), which is an action done when only someone is content and oblivious.At the end of the first stanza, Siegfred Sassoon had hinted by writing â€Å"lark†. Larks were found in the countryside that might mean the â€Å"simple soldier boy† was from there. News and propaganda weren’t available in the countryside. Before leaving for the war the young soldier boy did not know the reality of a soldier’s life. The delicate â€Å"lark† is the opposite of the true reality of a soldier’s life. The second stanza contrasts with the first stanza it shows how war has shaped this young boy. This is shown in â€Å"in winter trenches, cowed and glum†.The line â€Å"grinned at life† relates to â€Å"cowed and glum† as it suggest the inner changes in his maturity which leads him on to committing suicide. This links on to â€Å"lack of rum† that shouts imagery. This establishes the scenario that the boy is going through alcoholism. One of the symptoms of alcoholism is depression. Additionally, rum was usually given to troops before an attack to steady the nerves, increase confidence and numb feeling. Therefore this could inform the reader that the young soldier boy’s solution for life is death.The tone that the poet wanted to emphasise is a very bitter and sarcastic as we can see in the last stanza â€Å"You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye†. From this quote Sassoon strongly feels the general public is not able to empathise for the devoted soldiers. This brings out the theme that nobody knows how tragic war feels like without personal experience. The quote also shows how much anger Sassoon had towards the whole concept of war. â€Å"You smug-faced crowd† is represented as an insult to the higher status men during the period of war.The trenches had apparently turned a young light-hearted boy into a disheartened boy who had â€Å"put a bullet through his brain†. The alliteration of the letter ‘b’ also makes a severe and brute tone that creates a very bitter mood, mainly because the highpoint of the story is about the suicide. the rhyme of â€Å"brain† and â€Å"again† at line eight tries to form a connection that although a young boy was convinced to join the war and fought tremendously for his country and himself. However, in the end, he was pushed to his limit and â€Å"no one spoke of him again†. This shows how cruel and selfish war is.The boy had sacrificed his childhood fun, laughter and playful life in for nothing to return. This is effective because it makes the reader think about ‘why is there warâ⠂¬â„¢ and ‘why are there innocent lives at risk’ which creates the bitter mood. The diction used in the poem sends the reader a clear message about war. In the last stanza, the word â€Å"kindling† is being used to describe the â€Å"eyes† of the â€Å"smug-faced crowds†. â€Å"Kindling† is used to describe the facial description which shows that it is a very shallow expression feature that expresses the lack of empathy shown to the young men.However, Siegfried tries to show with a sarcastic tone that they think war is a glorious thing; they feel proud of the children risking their lives with nothing in return and seem to understand and appreciate what they are doing. But in reality the public cannot imagine what these children are going through. This is how the word â€Å"kindling† reveals a shallow side of everyone’s personality. In my personal opinion, the last stanza is the strongest and most impactful stanza. While the prev ious two stanzas shows the transformation of the boy when he enters war.The last stanza directly attacks people who support war, and only see the glory and honour. The poet shows us the other side: the dying and suffering. â€Å"Sneak home and pray you’ll never know† shows that while the â€Å"crowds† support war, they are not willing or are too afraid to think of the consequences, sacrifice and price of war. A price that separates families and destroys children. The poet uses an extreme example to illustrate his point of view. The poet was successful as it has left me thinking about the hardship that a soldier endures and the true cost of war.