Present Perfect

Introduction The theme of the present paper is â€Å"The Present Perfect†. The main goal of the work is to identify the main features of the Present Perfect and to present the cases of its use, basing on the theoretical and scientific works of Russian, English linguists. The objectives of the work, in their turn, represent ascending steps to the main goal of the project: 1. to give the definition to the present perfect; 2. to present the ways of formation of the present perfect tense; 3. to investigate cases of its use in the sentence and in American and British English compare them ; 4. o draw the line of demarcation between the use of the Present Perfect and the Past Simple Actuality of the work is the significance of the present perfect tense in the English language. That is a linguistic phenomenon, which exists not in every language and which is replaced by other tenses while translated into other languages appears to be one of the main constituents of English grammar. Nov elty of the paper lies in communicative approaches to linguistic analysis of the use of the present perfect tense aimed at acquiring the communicative competence.Theoretical value of the paper is based on the analyzed data taken from the works of American and English prominent linguists. Practical value of the work may be useful in practical grammar or in a daily use. The course paper consists of 4 parts; Introduction, Main Part, Conclusion and Bibliography. The Main Part consists of 2 chapters. Thus, Chapter I of the present paper is devoted to the general remarks the present perfect tense and comprises 3 points: 1. History of the Present Perfect Tense 2.The Formation of the Present Perfect 3. Differences between the Past Indefinite and the Present Perfect In this chapter we can find out general information about the origin of perfect tenses and the present perfect tense itself, and the ways of forming the present perfect, and the differences between the past simple and the present perfect in use. Chapter II includes 2 points: 1. The use of the Present Perfect in the sentence 2. Differences in use of the Present Perfect in American and British English.This chapter is devoted to the practical side of the work. We investigate the use of the present perfect in the sentence and the differences of the use of the present perfect in American and British English. Chapter Two can be interesting with the presentation of peculiar characteristics of the use of the present perfect of two main trends of English: American and British English. The reason I chose the theme â€Å"The Present Perfect† was the situation of not having this tense in the for us familiar languages: Russian and Kyrgyz.The Past Simple and The Present Perfect are replaced by only one tense in Russian called â€Å" †. The nature of this tense seems to be familiar for the learners of English at first sight, but there are many exceptions and special cases of their use. CHAPTER I: What the Pr esent Perfect Tense is 1. 1 History of Perfect Tenses and the Present Perfect The Present Perfect is an analytical form which is built up by means of the auxiliary verb to have in the Present Indefinite and the participle of the notional verb (e. g. I have worked. He has worked, etc. The word â€Å"perfect† in the name came from a Latin root referring to the idea of completion—of being now finished—rather than to perfection in the sense of â€Å"no flaws† (although the latter sense of â€Å"perfect† actually evolved by extension from the former, because something [for example, a drawing or a piece of pottery] is finished when it no longer has any flaws). So perfect tenses were named thus because of the idea that (in some uses in some languages, at least) they referred to actions that were finished with respect to the present (for example, â€Å"I have eaten all the bread† involves a sense of finality).However, as seen above, the name is a mi snomer in the sense that not all uses of present perfect constructions involve an idea of completion. In Old English the verb to have, used as the predicate in the sentence, was sometimes followed by direct object with participle II of a transitive verb attached to it on the function of a predicative adjective. The participle agreed in number, gender, case with the direct object. He has that book written= . As the state of the object ( written) was the result of the accomplished action, the mind of the speaker began to be interested in he action. The construction did not show whether the action expressed by participle II was performed by the subject of the sentence or by some other agent. It was from constructions where the subject of the sentence was the doer of the action denoted by the past participle, that the modern English perfect form developed. The participle lost its form of agreement with the noun-object and changing its place (He has written), became closely connected with the verb to have. Both elements lost their independent meaning and merged into one sense unit –the analytical form of the Modern English Perfect.He has written that book – the action of writing is accomplished by him at present and as a result of it the book is in a written state. Thus, what was originally a free syntactical combination has now turned into an analytical tense form. Such constructions, in which the doer of the action expressed by the participle was not the subject of the sentence, have still survived in Modern English as free syntactical combinations: He had three horses killed under him. I have my dress made here. Killed and made are still predictive adjectives to the direct object horses and dress.In construction with the verb to be, participle II of an intransitive verb was used as the predicative to the subject with which agreed in number, gender and case, and the verb to be had the function of a link-verb in a compound-nominal predicate: He i s ? ecumen = O? . When to have and to be –forms turned into perfect, the verb to have began gradually to be used as an auxiliary verb with both transitive and intransitive verbs: I have seen her. I have come. As a survival of the old constriction, to be is still used when the state is stressed: May Fielding was already come; and so was her mother. Dickens) When he was gone, my mother asked me all about the day I had had†¦ (Dickens)He is gone to the Leas†¦ (Bronte) The present perfect is a grammatical combination of the present tense and the perfect aspect, used to express a past event that has present consequences. An example is â€Å"I have eaten† (so I'm not hungry). Depending on the specific language, the events described by present perfects are not necessarily completed, as in â€Å"I have been eating† or â€Å"I have lived here for five years. The present perfect is a compound tense in English, as in many other languages, meaning that it is form ed by combining an auxiliary verb with the main verb. In modern English, the auxiliary verb for forming the present perfect is always to have. * I have eaten * You have gone * He has arrived In many other European languages, the equivalent of to have (e. g. , German haben, French avoir) is used to form the present perfect (or their equivalent of the present perfect) for most or all verbs. However, the equivalent of to be (e. g. German sein, French etre) serves as the auxiliary for other verbs in some languages such as German, Dutch, French, and Italian (but not Spanish or Portuguese). Generally, the verbs that take to be as auxiliary are intransitive verbs denoting motion or change of state (e. g. , to arrive, to go, to fall). In many European languages, including standard German, French and Italian, the present perfect verb form usually does not convey perfect aspect, but rather perfective aspect. In these languages, it has usurped the role of the simple past (i. . preterite) in sp oken language, and the simple past is now really only used in formal written language and literature. In standard English, Spanish, and Portuguese, by contrast, the present perfect (perfect) and simple past (perfective aspect) are kept distinct. The Present Perfect form denotes an action completed before the present moment (and connected with it) or before a definite moment in the past or future. It is formed by means of the auxiliary verb to have in the required tense and Participle II of the notional verb 1. The formation of the Present Perfect 1. The Present Perfect is formed by means of the Present Indefinite of the auxiliary verb to have and Participle II of the notional verb. 2. In the interrogative form the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject. In the negative form the negative particle not is placed after the auxiliary verb. Affirmative| Interrogative| Negative| I have workedHe has workedShe has workedWe have workedYou have workedThey have worked| Have I worked? Has h e worked? Has she worked? Have we worked? Have you worked? Have they worked? I have not workedHe has not workedShe has not workedWe have not workedYou have not workedThey have not worked| 3. The contracted affirmative forms are: I’ve worked He’s worked You’ve worked The contracted negative forms are: I haven’t worked He hasn’t worked You haven’t worked 4. The negative-interrogative forms are: Has she not worked? Hasn’t she worked? Have you not worked? Haven’t you worked? 1. 3 Differences in between the Past Indefinite and the Present Perfect It follows from the rules above that the Present Perfect is not used when there is an indication of past time in the sentence.It is the Past Indefinite that is used in this case because the mention of the definite past time ties the action to the past- time sphere as it were, and it cannot break through to the present. e. g. â€Å"Put on your clothes at once and come with me. † †Å"But what is it? Has something happened? † â€Å"I'm afraid so. Your husband was taken ill this afternoon. † â€Å"M. Poirot, you have no idea of what I have gone through. † â€Å"I know your wife died just over a year ago. † Similarly, it is the Past Indefinite that is used in questions introduced by when. e. g.When did you actually arrive? When did you change your mind? The Past Indefinite is also used in special questions beginning with where and how when they refer to the past events. The Present Perfect is not common here because the attention in such sentences is drawn to the circumstances of the action rather than to the occurrence itself, which means that the speaker has a definite action in mind. e. g. â€Å"Where did your uncle receive his guests? † â€Å"Right here. † â€Å"How did he get in? † I asked, and Evans said, â€Å"Oh, he has a key. † â€Å"Where is my hat?Where did I leave my hat? † Note. The questi on Where have you been? can be asked of the person who has just come. e. g. ‘Hello, Mum. I'm sorry I'm late† â€Å"Where have you been? † In all other cases it should be Where were you! e. g. â€Å"Did the party go off nicely? † â€Å"I don't know. I wasn't there. † â€Å"Where were you? ‘ In special questions beginning with interrogative words other than those mentioned above (e. g. who, what, why, what †¦ for and other), both the Present Perfect and the Past Indefinite are possible. The choice depends on the meaning to be conveyed.If reference is made to an action which is past or definite in the minds of the people speaking, or if there is a change of scene, the Past In definite is used; if reference is made to an action which is still valid as part of the present situation, the Present Perfect should be used. e. g. â€Å"What have I done against you? † she burst out defiantly. â€Å"Nothing. † â€Å"Then why can't we ge t on? † â€Å"I know she gave him a good scolding. † â€Å"What did he do? † Looking up at her he said: â€Å"Dorothy's gone to a garden party. † â€Å"I know. Why haven't you gone too? Why didn't you speak to my father yourself on the boat? Note 1. As to general questions, the Present Perfect as well as the Past Indefinite may be found in them because they may inquire either about new facts which are important for the present or about events that are definite in the mind of the speaker. Note 2. In the following example the verb to be is used in the meaning ‘to visit', ‘to go'. Hence it takes the preposition to after it. It is noteworthy that to be acquires this meaning only if used in the Present Perfect or the Past Perfect. e. g.Renny said: â€Å"He has been to Ireland too† â€Å"Have you been to a symphony concert? † he continued. Note 3. The combination has/have got may be used as the Present Perfect of the verb to get (which is not very common, though). e. g. I don't know what's got into Steven today. He has got into financial difficulties and needs cash. But it is often used as a set phrase which has two different meanings  Ã¢â‚¬â€ ‘to possess' (a) and ‘to be obliged' (b). e. g. a) â€Å"Have you got a telephone? † she looked round the room. â€Å"I don't think we've got any choice,† said Francis, ) â€Å"No† he said loudly, â€Å"there are some risks you've got to take. † â€Å"It doesn't matter what caused it,† said Martin. â€Å"We have got to take the consequences† In this case the time reference also changes  Ã¢â‚¬â€ has/have got is the Present Perfect only in form; it actually indicates a present state of things. Note 4. She is gone is a survival of the old Present Perfect which was formed with certain verbs by means of the auxiliary to be. In present-day English it is to be treated as a set phrase meaning ‘she is not here any lon ger'. CHAPTER II : The Use of the Present Perfect . 1 The use of the Present Perfect in the Sentence The Present Perfect falls within the time sphere of the , present and is not used in narration where reference is made to past events. It follows from that that the Present Perfect is used in present-time contexts, i. e. conversations, newspaper and radio reports, lectures and letters. The Present Perfect has three distinct uses. They will be further referred to as Present Perfect I, Present Perfect II and Present Perfect III. 1) Present Perfect I is the Present Perfect proper.It is used to express an accomplished action which is viewed from the moment of speaking as part of the present situation. Attention in this case is centred on the action itself. The circumstances under which the action occurred appear unimportant and immaterial at the moment and need not be mentioned. e. g. He is very sensitive, I have discovered that. I've had a talk with him. He says he has all the proof he wants. Such news! We've bought a racehorse. â€Å"I've spoiled everything,† she said. His secretary said tactfully: â€Å"I've put off your other appoint- ments for a while. It should be especially noted that though the action expressed in the Present Perfect is regarded as already accomplished, it belongs to the present-time sphere and is treated as a present action. It becomes obvious from the periphrasis: I've heard the doctor's opinion —> I know the doctor's opinion. She's gone off to the woods —> She is in the woods. A similar idea of an accomplished action is also traced in such expressions referring to the present as He is awake. I'm late. The work is done. The door is locked, etc.Since it is the action itself that the Present Perfect makes im- portant, it is frequently used to open up conversations (newspaper and radio reports, or letters) or to introduce a new topic in them. However, if the conversation (report or letter) continues on the same subject, going into detail, the Present Perfect usually changes to the Past Indefinite, as the latter is used to refer to actions or sit- uations which are definite in the mind of the speaker. Usually (but not necessarily) some concrete circumstances of the action (time, place, cause, purpose, manner, etc. are mentioned in this case. e. g. â€Å"You are all right. You are coming round. Are you feeling better? † â€Å"I'm quite all right. But what has happened? Where am I? † â€Å"You're in a dug-out, You were buried by a bomb from a trench-mortar. † â€Å"Oh, was I? But how did I get here? † â€Å"Someone dragged you. I am afraid some of your men were killed, and several others were wounded. † â€Å"Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, Where have you been? † â€Å"I've been to London To look at the Queen. † â€Å"What did you see there? † â€Å"I saw a little mouse Under her chair. â€Å"As is seen from the above examples, the Present Perfect is us ed to name a new action, whereas the Past Indefinite is used to refer back to a definite action and the attention in this case is often drawn rather to the circumstances attending the action than to the action itself. Note. The functions of the Present Perfect and the Past Indefinite may be in a way compared with those of the indefinite and the definite articles. The indefinite article is used when an object is just named (e. g. Glue me a book. She is a teacher. I have a brother).Likewise the Present Perfect serves to name an accomplished action (see the examples above). Both the definite article and the Past Indefinite are used when an object or an action, respectively, is definite in the mind of the speaker (e. g. The book is on the table. The teacher returned the compositions,) As has been said, Present Perfect I is mainly used to introduce a new topic. But it may also be used to sum up a situation. e. g. â€Å"I've done bad things,† I said, â€Å"but I don't think I coul d have done some of the things you've done. † â€Å"You've so often been helpful in the past. â€Å"I've tried,† said Joseph. We've all been young once, you know. We've all felt it, Roy. â€Å"I'm afraid I've been horribly boring and talked too much,† she said as she pressed my hand. â€Å"Agatha has told me everything. How cleverly you have both kept your secret,† â€Å"You and your wife have been very good to me. Thank you. † In accordance with its main function  Ã¢â‚¬â€ just to name an accomplished action  Ã¢â‚¬â€ the Present Perfect is generally used when [the time of the action is not given. e. g. He sat down. â€Å"You have not changed,† he said. â€Å"No? What have you come for? † â€Å"To discuss things. â€Å"Mr has told me such wonderful things about you. Walter. † â€Å"I haven't thought about it,† she returned. However, sometimes, even though there may be no indication of past time in the sentence, th e Present Perfect cannot be used because reference is made to happenings which are definite in the mind of the speaker (either because the action has already been mentioned or because the situation is very well known to the listener). In this case the use of the Past Indefinite is very common. e. g. Did you sleep well? I didn't understand you. Did you enjoy the play?Did you have a good journey Did you like the book? (trip, ride, flight, day, time)? What did you say? Did you see the accident? Did you hear what he said? I'm sorry I lost my temper. I didn't hear your question. It is possible, however, to use the Present Perfect when there is an adverbial modifier of time in the sentence that denotes a period of time which is not over yet, e. g. today, this morning, this week, this month, this year, etc. e. g. What Rosanna has done tonight is clear enough, (Tonight is not over yet. ) This year we have taken only one assistant. (This year is not over. I have had only one new dress this s ummer,† exclaimed June. (This summer is not over yet. ) Conversely, if the period is over or reference is made to a particular past point of time within that period, the Past Indefinite is used. e. g. â€Å"Did you see the letter in the â€Å"Times† this morning? (It is no longer morning. ) â€Å"No. I haven't had time to look at a paper today,† (Today is not over yet. ) â€Å"Whom do you think I passed in Richmond Park today! † (Today is not over, but the action took place at a particular point of time within today, namely when the person was in Richmond Park. â€Å"I wasn't very well this morning, but I'm perfectly all right now. † (This morning is over. ) Note. It should be noted that sometimes an adverbial modifier of place points to a past period of time. e. g. Did you see him at the theatre? (= when you were at the theatre) I ran into her in Oxford Street. (= when I was in Oxford Street) The Present Perfect may be found with certain adverbs o f indefinite time and frequency such as just (‘ '), not †¦ yet, already, before, always, ever, never, often, seldom, recently, late ly, of late, etc. e. g. She's just missed being run over.I haven't even had coffee yet. He has never made a sixpence by any of his books. Have you heard of him lately? â€Å"What is the point? † â€Å"I've made it clear enough before. † However, the use of the Present Perfect is by no means obligatory with the above mentioned adverbs, because any other finite form may be used with these adverbs if it is required by the situation. e. g. He was studying to be a pianist, but he never touches the piano now. He noticed that the leaves of the chestnut were already beginning to turn yellow and brown. His room was not yet furnished, and he liked it to remain empty. Note 1.Note the use of the Past Indefinite with just now. e. g. I told you just now I had never had time for much fun. Note 2. Russian students of English, under the influenc e of the Russian language, tend to use the adverb already nearly in every sentence containing the Present Perfect. That is not characteristic of the English language as it is sufficient to use the Present Perfect alone to express an accomplished action. The addition of already appears redundant in many cases. Present Perfect II serves to express an action which began before the moment of speaking and continues into it or up to it.This grammatical meaning is mainly expressed by the Present Perfect Continuous. However, the Present Perfect Non-Continuous is found in the following cases: a)Its use is compulsory with stative verbs. e. g. I've known the young lady all her life. I've loved her since she was a child. â€Å"But we've been in conference for two hours,† he said. â€Å"It's time we had a tea break. † b)With some dynamic verbs of durative meaning the Present Perfect is sometimes used instead of the Present Perfect Continuous with little difference in meaning. e. g. â€Å"It's a pretty room, isn't it? â€Å"I've slept in it for fifteen years. † â€Å"I'm glad to meet you,† he said. â€Å"I've waited a long while and began to be afraid I'd not have the opportunity. † He's looked after Miss Gregg for many years now. As to terminative verbs, they can only have the meaning of Present Perfect I and never of Present Perfect II. Since it is often difficult to draw the line between durative and terminative verbs, it is recommended that students of English should use the Present Perfect Continuous with all dynamic verbs to express an action begun in the past and continued into the present. )The Present Perfect is preferred to the Present Perfect Continuous in negative sentences, when it is the action itself that is completely negated. e. g. â€Å"Shall we sit down a little? We haven't sat here for ages. † â€Å"I was just having a look at the paper,† he said. â€Å"I haven't read the paper for the last two days. â⠂¬  â€Å"She hasn't written to me for a year,† said Roy. It is noteworthy that Present Perfect II is associated with certain time indications  Ã¢â‚¬â€ either the whole period of the duration of the action is marked or its starting point.In the former case we find different time indications. Some expressions are introduced by the preposition for and sometimes in (e. g. for an hour, for many years, for the last few days, for a long time, for so long, for ages, in years, in a long while, etc. )- Other expressions have no prepositions (e. g. these three years, all this week, all along, so long, all oneys life, etc. ). e. g. The picture has been mine for years and years. I've felt differently about him for some time. â€Å"Why haven't I seen you all these months? † said Hankins.We haven't had any fun in a long while. I've wanted to go to the sea all my life. The starting point of the action is indicated by the adverb since, a prepositional phrase with since or a clause introduced by the conjunction since. e. g. â€Å"But, Dinny, when did you meet him? † â€Å"Only ten days ago, but I've seen him every day since. † The sun has been in the room since the morning. But she has seemed so much better since you started the injections. In the clause introduced by since the Past Indefinite is used to indicate the starting point of an action.However, we sometimes find in both parts of such complex sentences two parallel actions which began at the same time in the past and continue into the present. In this case the Present Perfect is used in both clauses, e. g. I've loved you since I've known you. It should be noted that the indication of time is indispensable to Present Perfect II because otherwise its meaning in most cases would be changed. It would come to denote an accomplished action which is part of the present situation. Cf. I've been taught to do it for three years. I have been taught to do it. But we met him here about a month ago.We haven't heard from him since. We haven't heard from him. Care should be taken to distinguish between the use of the Present Perfect and the Past Indefinite when the period of duration is expressed by a prepositional phrase with for. If the period of duration belongs to the past time sphere, the Past Indefinite should be used. It is only if the period of duration comes close to the moment of speaking or includes it that the Present Perfect is used. Cf. â€Å"I have lived like this,† he said, â€Å"for two years, and I can't stand it anymore. † â€Å"I teach History at a secondary school.I went to the University here for four years and got a degree. † The same is true of questions beginning with how long. â€Å"Are you married? † â€Å"Yes. † â€Å"How long have you been married? † â€Å"Are you married? † â€Å"No. I'm divorced. † â€Å"How long were you married? † 3) Present Perfect III is found in adverbial clauses of time introduced by the conjunctions when, before, after, as soon as, till and until where it is used to express a future action. It shows that the action of the subordinate clause will be accomplished before the action of the principal clause (which is usually expressed by the Future Indefinite).This use of the Present Perfect is structurally dependent as it is restricted only to the above mentioned type of clauses. e. g. â€Å"You'll find,† said Fred, â€Å"that you'll long for home when you have left it. † As soon as we have had some tea, Ann, we shall go to inspect your house. I'll take you back in my car but not till I've made you some coffee. Sometimes the Present Indefinite is found in this type of clauses in the same meaning as the Present Perfect. The choice of the form depends on the lexical meaning of the verb. With durative verbs the Present Perfect is necessary. e. g. When you have had your tea, we'll see about it.I can tell you whether the machine is good or bad when I have tried it. With terminative verbs the use of both forms is possible, Cf. He says when he retires he'll grow roses. When I've finished this I must go and put the baby to bed. Mother will stay at home until we return. â€Å"Your mother wouldn't like me. † â€Å"You can't possibly say that until you've met her. † 2. 2 Differences in Use of the Present Perfect in American and British English In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment.For example: I've lost my key. Can you help me look for it? In American English the following is also possible: I lost my key. Can you help me look for it? In British English the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American English. Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include already, just and yet. British English: I've just had lunch I've already seen that film Have you finished your homework yet? American English:I just had lunch OR I've just had lunch I've already seen that film OR I already saw that film. Have your finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet? American English speakers do not use the present perfect for events that are still connected to the present. However, most Americans have a narrower perception of such connections than do other English speakers, particularly the British. For example, the British will say â€Å"have you had breakfast this morning,† but Americans will often say â€Å"did you have breakfast this morning. There is no difference in grammar; the difference is in the fact that Americans often think of the morning as being past history, whereas the British tend to see breakfast as still being part of the day, at least for a longer time than Americans do. Both groups use the past simple to describe things that they perceive to be unconnected with the present, and both groups use the present perfect to describe things that they perceive to be connected with the present. The difference is in the perception, not the grammar.Some Americans may well use the present perfect, if that's how they perceive the action in question. Conversely, some British speakers may use the past simple, if they think of the action in question as being isolated in the past. The important thing to remember is that, in many expressions, the choice between present perfect and past simple depends solely on what the speaker has in mind. If the speaker perceives something as being completely finished and unconnected to the present, he'll use the past simple; if he still sees some sort of connection to the present, he'll use the present perfect.Two different people talking about the exact same thing may choose to use two different tenses to describe it. There are some cases in which one tense or the other is gramatically necessary, of course, but there are many cases in which both are acceptable. If you specify a particular time in the past, for example, you normally use the past simple (â€Å"I did it yesterday†). And if you say â€Å"I've lived here for a year,† the implication is that you still live here, whereas if you say â€Å"I lived here for ayear,† the implication is that you no longer live here.Similarly, if a woman says â€Å"I've had two children,† things are going well, but if she says â€Å"I had two children,† it might be a good idea to change the subject. The distinction between present perfect and past simple is difficult to explain in terms of rules because the rules are quite complex. I usually explain it in terms of the speaker's perceptions and via specific examples that illustrate the different ways in which the tenses can be contrasted. If someone says â€Å"John went to the movie,† it tells me several things. It tells me that John is not with the speaker, for example.It implies that the speaker probably does not expect to encounter John while he is at the movie. It implies that nothing the speaker is doing right now is connected to John's trip to the movie. If someone says â€Å"John has gone to the movie,† that, too, tells me several things. It implies that John's trip to the movie is recent. It implies that something about John's action is connected to some present state or action in the speaker's mind (for example, she may be planning to join him, or she may be describing the reason for his absence in the present, as when answering the telephone).In many cases, the choice between the two is almost arbitrary. In isolation, the present perfect sounds more recent, and/or implies that something may have happened more than once in the past, and implies a connection with the present somehow, but in many contexts these distinctions are unimportant. If someone answers the phone and is asked about John, she wi ll probably say â€Å"He has gone to the movie,† but she might also very well say â€Å"He went to the movie,† particularly if she is American (Americans have a narrower perception of â€Å"present time† than do many other English speakers).Conclusion After investigation of the theme â€Å"The Present Perfect Tense† I came to the conclusion that although the perfect tenses are called as the secondary tenses in the works of Russian scientists Ganshina and Vasilevskaya, it appears to be one of the main and indispensable constituents of the English language tense form. Every action leads to the results. Without results the action is not valuable. So the essence of using the perfect tenses is in expressing the results, consequences and the level of accomplishment and duration of the action.The present perfect tense and its use follow the learners of the English language from the first stage of the learning and of a great importance on the same level as the ve rb ‘to be’ or there is/ there are constructions. So, on the basis of the theoretical and practical investigation of the use of perfect tenses in the works of prominent Russian and English scientists and within American and British fiction conforming to the examined theory, we have reached the following results of the research work: The Perfect form denotes an action completed before the present moment (and connected with it) or before a definite moment in the ast or future. It is formed by means of the auxiliary verb to have in the required tense and Participle II of the notional verb. The Present Perfect is used in the following cases: 1. The Present Perfect denotes a completed action connected with the present. 2. The Present Perfect is used in adverbial clauses of time after the conjunctions when, till, until, before, after, as soon as to denote an action completed before a definite moment in the future. 3. The Present Perfect denotes an action which began in the pas t, has been going on up to the present and is still going on.In this case either the starting point of the action is indicated or the whole period of duration. The preposition for is used to denote the whole period of duration. Since is used to indicate the starting point of the action. If the conjunction since introduces a clause, the verb in this clause is in the Past Indefinite. In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example: I've lost my key.In American English the following is also possible: I lost my key. In British English the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are generally accepted in standard American English. Other differences involving the use of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include already, just and yet. British English: I've just had lunch American English: I just had lunch OR I've just had l unch American English speakers do not use the present perfect for events that are still connected to the present.However, most Americans have a narrower perception of such connections than do other English speakers, particularly the British. Bibliography 1. ?. ?. , , , 1968, 227 . 2. ?. ?. , A Grammar of Present Day, ,  «Ã‚ »,1990, 100 . 3. Greenbaum Sidney, Oxford English Grammar, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996, 652 p. 4. Greenbaum Sidney, Quirk R. , Leech G. , Svartvik J, A University Grammar of English, Moscow, 1982, p. 158 5. Newsperson Otto, University of Grammar, Chicago and London, The

Home Schooling’s Net Effects

The article found in the Washington Post on July 16,2000, addresses the role of the Internet in aiding home schooling. The Internet is revolutionizing the growing home-schooling movement. The Internet makes home-schooling a more popular option because of its vast capabilities. It is a key tool in education, serving as a teacher, textbook, and even a library. The concept of home schooling is not new, however, the ideas of cyberschools and â€Å"e-teachers† are. Through the use of a computer, school-age children can actually enroll in an â€Å"e-school† and take classes. These classes include a normal curriculum, and the Internet is able to expand these classes to include virtually anything. â€Å"E-teachers† post lecture notes, direct students to various web-sites and links for reading and visual material, hold discussion questions in chat rooms, and even conduct parent-teacher conferences. Almost 100% of schoolwork is completed and turned-in online. Students download worksheets, submit them to their â€Å"e-teacher† who grades them and returns them. E-students† are expected to complete projects, tests, and even take field trips. They interact with other students in their virtual classroom via chat-rooms. In this course, we are learning how computers and computer information can provide a foundation in other courses. Computers help us with research, communication, and writing. The uses of the Internet and the World Wide Web are incorporated in daily life, and can be used for business, education, or pleasure. Cyberschools make use of computer technology as a tool for learning. Many advocates of â€Å"E-schools† feel that the combination of home-schooling and the Internet allow for a more individualized curriculum For parents, online courses make instructional work easier and free-up their time so that they can continue to work full-time jobs. Also, parents feel reassured that â€Å"e-teachers† are adequately teaching their children classes that they themselves don†t feel qualified to teach. Many parents are now opting for â€Å"e-schools† because of their reservations concerning the safety and quality of traditional schools. Some argue that the idea of cyberschools is detrimental to children†s† social and emotional development. Critics are concerned that children taught at home are not properly socialized. They feel that children need to interact with teachers and peers in a traditional classroom setting, not over a keyboard. Also, â€Å"e-schools† detract from what should be the purpose of home schooling, bringing together the parent and the child. The ultimate challenge of cyberschools is the students. Students are highly susceptible to slacking-off when they don†t have a school bell ringing in the morning. These students must learn that discipline (regarding schoolwork) comes from within. Additional concerns about â€Å"e-schools† are that the courses teach students to rely too heavily on Web sites rather than books for information. Also, many fear that these cyberschools are unaccredited and employ uncertified teachers. Although I have never taken a full curriculum online, I have however taken a class online. I owe the Internet a big thanks, because without the option of â€Å"e-school† I would not have graduated on time. In order to fulfill my graduation requirements, I had to take a math class, which was not being offered at my high school in Amman, Jordan. My advisor immediately asked me how I felt about taking a class online, and I was thrilled with the idea. I was a pioneer of ACS (my high school), I was the first person to take a class online. The experience was fun, but I wouldn†t say that it was very educational. The biggest difficulty I faced, was my lack of self-discipline to actually log on to my virtual classroom and do my assignments. It was tough for me to learn math without having a teacher to help me hands-on. Also, the temptation of â€Å"surfing the net† seemed to take over every time I was supposed to be in my virtual classroom. I often found myself checking my e-mail, shopping online etc. Towards the end of the semester, I dreaded having to sit in front of the computer for my math class. For many, cyberschool is a great option, allowing them an individualized curriculum and teaching responsibility and self-discipline. For example, the Internet makes it possible for people with physical disabilities to obtain an education from their own home. For others (such as myself), it may not be well suited. This may be because they need more structure, more personal and hands-on attention or various other reasons. I applaud computer technology because it has made virtually anything possible. I am greatly concerned that â€Å"e-school† impairs socialization because of the lack of interpersonal relationships and interaction. A family who chooses cyberschool for their children, must be prepared to provide structure and interaction for their kids. The Internet also expands the realm of knowledge and provides an alternative to traditional classrooms and teaching. The Internet is one of many educational tools, allowing us to broaden our horizons of research and communication.

History of the New York Police Department Essay

History of the New York Police Department - Essay Example Departments within the forces that had been incorporated into the NYPD included the New York Police [which formed the bulk of NYPD], Brooklyn Police Department, Brooklyn Bridge Police, Long Island City Police Department, the Park Police [also known as Central Park] and the Telegraph Bureau. The Telegraph Bureau is the forerunner of the present day Communications Division. Over the time, these departments and units expanded and divided as they became more specialized, to the point that presently, NYPD has more than 300 units. In a closely related wavelength, the framers of the Charter punctiliously included language in the document to ensure that no political party could muster control of this police department for its own purpose. John McCullagh served as first commissioner of NYPD. At the time, the NYPD has grown to incorporate several departments and special units such as anti-organized crime unit, Emergency Service Unit, harbor patrol, K-9, bomb disposal unit, air support, counterterrorism, air support, anti-gang, criminal intelligence, anti-narcotics, public housing unit and public transportation unit. The New York City Housing Authority Police Department and the New York City Transit Police were made part of the NYPD in 1995 (Vitale, 290-92). The Demographics That Informs NYPD’s Services According to Weiss, the size of New York bespeaks the size of NYPD’s duties and roles. This is because NYPD does not only serve New York City, but also the larger geopolitical expanse which is New York as a state.

Public International Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Public International Law - Essay Example To stop the influx of the people from the mentioned countries, the Immigration Act 1971 came into being. According to which only those Britishers who have strong links with the United Kingdom, the  Channel Islands  and the  Isle of Man had the right to abode, live and seek employment in the United Kingdom and the cited Islands2. Gone are the days when Indians, Africans and the Carribians were on the priority list of job seekers in the United Kingdom. The people of mentioned countries joined Armed Forces and Factories to help the Britishers to fight against their enemies in the World War-II and to produce war related products. Another factor of migration to Britain on the mass scale was the wages of working in the Armed Forces and the Factories, which were higher in Britain as compared to their homelands3. International Laws The International Law, unlike national laws has to address certain laws, rules and regulations, customs (interaction with the people of different countries) , respective governments, businesses entities besides rights and responsibilities in dealing with the sovereign states. The apex body responsible for making international laws must take into consideration the international norms; agreements; treaties; accords, UN charters, protocols; tribunals; memoranda’s; legal precedents of the International Court of Justice etc to adhere and to abide by the member countries4. The diverse legal systems and different historical backgrounds of different countries have compelled the countries to address international law including common law and civil law. It covers all the aspects of domestic laws, substantive laws, procedures and the remedies. The international law is heavily dependant on a) Principle of Comity   b) State Doctrine  and c) Sovereign Immunity5.   Keeping in mind the importance of International law, the developed world hires to address international issues in many of its agencies. The prominent entities are a) State Depa rtment b) Commerce and Environmental Protection Agency. There are number of lawyers who are working in a) United Nations b) World Bank c) Bureaus of American States d) International tribunals e) International Court of Justice and f) certain intergovernmental establishments. Apart from that mentioned above, there are NGOs who keep an eye on the international issues, including but not limited to, development activities, protection of human rights, environment laws, power sector, trade, arms control, drugs, human trafficking and transitional justice6.    National Laws of USA According to the US Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) â€Å"any person who is not a citizen or a national of the United States is considered as Immigrant.† U.S. Immigration law further provides a detailed guidance to the immigrants in terms of residence and naturalized citizenship, wherein they will avail full citizenship rights. It includes regulatory body, which deals with the immigrants, who intend to enter in the US with reference to how long he or she will remain in the country and when he will leave the country7. As far as the duties and obligations of US law enforcers are concerned, they can be termed as shared responsibilities. For example, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is taking care of its responsibilities towards a) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) b) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Cost of Quality SLP Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost of Quality SLP - Assignment Example By so doing he attracted many competitors, where some of them try to capitalize direct using the Coke name. This case tries to consider the strategic way in which the company continues to record its growth all across the global beverage markets, successfully becoming the position of the largest maker of beverages, frequently being recognized for the consumer marketing and the distribution strategies that created the long-standing advantages through competitiveness. The scale of distribution was propelled by strategy made by chairman and CEO Robert W. Woodruff to guarantee the global supply in U.S. servicemen in times of Second World War (chronicles of Coca-Cola 2011). The company strategies starts with manifesto, for growth that the former chairman and CEO Neville Isdell continue to initiate on as the current chairman and the CEO Muhtar Kent make advancement on his own strategy:(2020 Vision Press Release ,2009). This new strategy worked on to mould the predecessor, specifically for the god use of new innovation to reach their vision of (2020.) The Coca-Cola Company has owned minority shares in some of their largest franchises, in 2007; the company brought back their campaigns after, according to the company coca-cola company (89 years) under the new contract bottling business has experienced about 60 percent of coca-cola syrup, Coca-Colas quality. In other words the problem was primarily technical, even though, the problem was through quality control and quality assurances, where not only Coca-cola executives were solving the wrong problems precisely, but still violating the cardinal rules of crisis management: never try to insult you customers or stakeholders, especially the parents and the children’s. Without the knowhow, the Coca-cola executives were tricked by numerous forces, many of them being their own make: where strong corporate culture makes the group reinforcement mentally (groupthink), the narrowest and the

MGT Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGT - Coursework Example The character David Bunzik does not perfectly fit in this type of personality. But he exhibits some traits of this personality during the argument on the plane which gets him sent to rehab. He however has a boss who exhibits all the traits of an abrasive personality. In the movie has several conflict handling styles are employed especially between David Bunzik and Doctor Buddy. The job responsibilities are clarified so as to reduce the conflicts. The two parties also find ways of coming together in order to foster an understanding amongst them. The two characters result in changing their focus to much larger goals so as to minimize the level of conflict between them. These methods do work since they are able to get through with the therapy and achieve the desired results. I have learnt that there is need to understand the different characters that exist in the work place. Another lesson from the movie is that conflicts which are a part of human interaction can be resolved to enhance coexistence. Managing Teams The team in the movie â€Å"Remember the Titans† went through all the stages of group development. First the team underwent formation, a period during which Washington was hired to take over as the coach of the T.C. Williams High School. During this period Washington decides to honor his predecessor (Yoast) with an assistant coordinators position. Patton declines this position at first. During the storming stage, the white players of the team pledge to boycott their team if Yoast does not accept the offer. The athletes are also involved in racial-related conflicts in their camp. After seeing how bad the situation had gotten Yoast decides to accept the offer and at this point the team enters the norming stage. The conflicts are resolved following the rigorous coaching by William. The team enters the performing stage as demonstrated in the scene where even after the loss of their star player, they still go ahead and win the championship. One of the s trategies that were employed by the two coaches was that of helping the members of the team to stay together and to view matters as a team. The two coaches were instrumental in creating the rules for the team in order to establish team spirit. The issues that plagued individual members did not escape the two coaches who ensured that they dealt with them firmly. The coaches also celebrated the team’s success. All these actions help in ensuring that a team mentality is developed among the different members of the team. I believe the two coaches handled their team in a very professional manner. If I had been managing the team, I would have sort to grant the team members more autonomy much earlier so as to facilitate the members to develop a sense of responsibility towards the team. The lesson here is that teams are usually built through the tactful use of skill. For the team to achieve its goals, all the members need to play their part. Organizational Culture The organization cu lture in Enron Corporation that is the subject of the movie is very wanting. The values held by the organization do not uphold upright integrity. This is evident since the management team diverts the corporation’s money to offshore accounts. The lack of integrity is also evident as the executives end up with criminal cases. The executives are also involv

Power and Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Power and Politics - Essay Example Since political legitimacy is define as the extent to which citizens regard the state, its institutions, personnel, or policies are morally or acceptable. On their situation it is difficult and somewhat impossible, to acquire legitimacy as to their response since there is no economic growth , no major political parties to lend stability and continuity for their public policy and also there is no dominant leader since Lucien have resigned and gone away leaving them no authority's to enjoy. An opportunity doesn't come always. People's tendency when given an opportunity is to grab it immediately. But in Michaels situation, there is a big confusion, but remember that Michael have the patience , for he waits for this opportunity for about 2 years though not that long, so this is the chance for him. Since he has a stellar brand results and strong track record that might help him gain the position though there is competition between Danielle Harcourt and him. But let him face it. The will to fight for the position is great emblems of braveness that leaders should possess. He must consider his fellows and help his company gain legitimacy under him. What he needs to do must be for the common good. Not only for his personal progressions but same with his people. Michael should take the China opportunity but let us consider the practicality regarding its job location. If he is an origin of New York and lives there with its culture, it's better for him to stay. If he do really w ants to go too to China as his aspiration, he may go and be a settler for time. Michael enters and performs the Elitism power. He will manned a top hierarchy or elite; for he is one of the powerful individuals of high status which enhanced by prestige or salient position within the hierarchy of the power structure constituting him as an elite. 1) He must provide political stability which makes possible of the continuity of public expectation and government performance essential to the political process. 2) He must impose democracy making possible of the meaningful and wide spreads participation of citizens in the definition of public policy. Cultures matters most surviving of Michael in china is basely difficult. Since he is not aware of china's culture and tradition regarding business of people there. Michael must provide the following: (outline) 1) Goal a) improving the business production b) transaction (deals and orders) c) increase sales 2) Controlling the people a) assign task b) improved leadership with them 3) Hire a) high qualitative persons b) Flexible and hardworking individuals 4) Implement a democratic socialism government a) Authoritarian b) Presidential form Bibliography Rodee C. et al. (1983) Introduction to political Science. USA: Mc

Skills and Strengths of a Nutritionists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Skills and Strengths of a Nutritionists - Essay Example Service orientation is the third skill that is necessary for any nutritionist (Anthony, 2006). Whereas employment is based on how much is offered for the position, it is equally necessary for one to be motivated by the desire to serve that the hunger to gain wealth. A needier place is the hospital where the patients feel helpless and their life lies deeply on your hand to serve them without having to consider what you get out of it. As a nutritionist is such a setting, one should be actively looking for a way to offer help to other people. My driving force has always been the desire to serve others and not the gains associated with my service. This skill suits me for a hospital where I will be in a better position to help others who are in need. Fourth is time management which involves managing both one's time and that of others. A chain of activities occurs in a hospital which calls for the need to properly manage one's time so that one does not inconvenience others. A proper time s chedule should be laid down and be followed strictly to improve the efficiency of service. Speaking is also a necessary strength in this practice (Proper, 2009). This skill enables one to convey information to others by talking to them. Speaking to people gives one a platform to convince them to do what is right. In speaking, a nutritionist is able to give advice to both the medical professionals, patients and their families. I have demonstrated a proven ability to effectively communicate verbally to people.

La haine ( French Film) COMENTARY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

La haine ( French Film) COMENTARY - Essay Example This paper will analyse a scene from this movie and describe why the particular scene has considerable significance in the film. The scene analysed here takes place in 9.3 to 10.10 minutes of the film. Scene Analysis The three young friends; Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Hubert (Hubert Kounde), and Said (Said Taghmaoui), are the major characters in this movie. Among the three friends, Vinz is a Jewish and a character filled with rage. He keeps heroic notions of a gangster in his mind and therefore he tries to attain respect by killing a cop. In a scene, Vinz tries to impersonate the character ‘Travis Bickle’ played by Robert De Niro for the movie ‘Taxi Driver’. Vinz imitates Travis Bickle in front of a mirror and asks, â€Å"You talking to me?† Then he points his fingers like a gun and shoots. This imitation cannot be considered as just a sudden emotional expression because he repeats the ‘gun firing imitation’ twice during the film. I do believ e that this scene is of great importance in the movie for several reasons. First, this scene plays a crucial role demonstrating the character of Vinz. As mentioned already, he perceives himself as a gangster and tries to win respect through violence. In fact, Vinz is not such a heartless person but his worse life experiences have filled him with rage. As he is not involved in any gangster group, he tries to adopt the characteristics of an underworld hero and to transform himself into a cruel-minded person. He deliberately attempts to bring maximum brutality into his eyes while imitating the character played by Robert De Niro. Vinz has a gun and he is looking for an opportunity to kill a cop and thereby win respect among his friends. Hence, this impersonation can be considered as a preparation for his future actions. However, Vinz is scared of doing actions that he believed to be helpful to win respect as a gangster. To illustrate, in a scene, some anti-immigrant skinheads assault Vi nz’s friends Said and Hubert cruelly. Vinz rushes to the spot and brings an end to the fight by pointing his gun toward the skinheads. Although Vinz got one of them at his gun point, he becomes reluctant to execute his dream and finally Vinz allows the skinhead to flee. This incident later forces him to accept the fact that he cannot be a heartless gangster as he dreamed. Referring to this scene, it is clear that Vinz deliberately impersonates Travis Bickle so as to convince himself that he has the courage to kill someone. In other words, he tries to convince himself that killing someone is not such a difficult task and to make certain that the deed looks so cool. The beauty of this film is that it is shot in black and white. In fact, it reminds the viewer of the fact that instead of sharing the colours of life, Kassovitz clearly wanted to show the hard realities of life; black and white, or the contrast between virtue and vice. According to some reviews, the decision to show the film in black and white has even deeper meaning (La Haine, n.d.). In fact, the film was first shot in colour and then converted to black and white. As Siciliano (2007) points out, this black and white portrayal indicates the colourless life of people in France as a result of the relentless repression and suppression they faced from the French state (Loshitzky 2010). Yet another view point about the colourlessness, according to Siciliano (2007) is that the black and white portrayal helps understand the eeriness and dreariness surrounding the

About Euripides Alcestis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About Euripides Alcestis - Essay Example Alcestis has the character of the powerful Greek woman in the Greek Mythology. However, love makes her to be humble like any common woman. She dies for her husband because of love. She is a hero who decides that she has to sacrifice her life for his husband. Through her heroic deed, Alcestis depicts the character of women that makes them different from Men. While men in the Greek society are shown to be selfish and even foolish, Alcestis shows that women, through simple sacrifices can make a change. In the first stasimon, the Chorus says, â€Å"Oh poor man! What a man you are! What a wife you are losing!† (25). This shows that Euripides in his writings thought of Alcestis as a hero. The chorus affirms that the lose of Alcestis was a big blow to Admetus. Alcestis says, â€Å"My death is enough--I am dying for you.† The sacrifice by Alcestis is captured in her own words. She affirms her heroic stature among all the mortals by declaring that she is dying for her husband. In the third Stasimon, Pheres speaks of the heroic deeds of Alcestis, â€Å"And she has made life more glorious for all women by undertaking this generous deed.† This shows that Alcestis is a Hero amongst women through her act of sacrifice. Because of Alcestis heroic deed, Heracles decides to do a heroic deed by fighting death and eventually managing to restore Alcestis. The heroic deed by Alcestis of dying for his husband is appreciated by Heracles to the extent that he decides to give Heracles life back. Selfishness helps create Alcestis heroic character. Admetus through his own selfishness, had agreed that he be given prosperity by Apollo, on the condition that he was destined to die. However, Admetus could cheat death if he managed to find someone willing to die in his place. Admetus had tried to look for a person who was willing to die for him, but everyone had refused. Alcestis through her bravery and sacrifice decided to

Terrorism on September 11, 2001 Essay Example for Free

Terrorism on September 11, 2001 Essay Terrorism is no vague concept but a modern danger and growing concern throughout the world. With the peak of violence seen on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent attacks experienced throughout the world following that attack, the United States awareness and reaction to terrorism and terrorist acts has changed. In an ideological war with no end in sight the way in which America fights the war on terror will help determine the eventual outcome. In his report, Unconquerable Nation, terrorism analyst Brian Michael Jenkins attempts to provide background and a deeper understanding of the threat faced by the United States in the coming years from al Qaeda and similar groups. This information teamed with advice and analysis gleaned from decades of terrorism research, lay out a plan for combating terrorism through deeper means and deeper understanding of the enemy. As Jenkins explains is his introductory chapter, a five-point philosophy of war must be employed not only by the government in the war on terror but also supported and carried by the average citizen. The five points are a necessity of knowing the enemy, mobilization of individual courage and commitment to the necessary good, psychological strength, an understanding and commitment to the longevity of the mission, and embracing â€Å"liberty as the source and sustenance of security† (2006, p. 5). Among some of the flaws in the current campaign is the failure to perform many of these points, chief among them is a lack of understanding of the enemy and the reality of the time necessary to defeat such a foe. Brian Michael Jenkins has been part of terrorism research and strategy from the beginning, when in 1972 the U. S. first began to take a look at terrorism as a distinct and increasingly dangerous risk (p. 6). As he notes, the Lod Airport massacre in Israel and the murder of Olympic athletes in Munich in 1972 led to the creation of the Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism (p. 7). However, terrorism has continued to evolve over the past several decades as the terrorist ideology has shifted from a strictly political standpoint into the arena of religious (p. 8). Conventionally defined as â€Å"a small, artificially defined segment of political violence† (Jenkins, 2006, p. 8), it has grown to be most visible in recent years as a mix of skewed religious ideologies and political unrest viewed through centuries of historical and theological unrest. In the 1980s the threat from terrorism grew outside the arena of simply a political vehicle. Where once terrorist acts were committed to gain visibility and understanding of the group and their demands, the attacks had now become more bloody and indiscriminate as the terrorists are not interested in image. Jenkins explains that, â€Å"today, many terrorists want a lot of people watching and a lot of people dead† (2006, p. 9). With the increase of senseless, casualty-heavy violence fears over what methods they will employ have increased. In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union a general sense of fear began to permeate among international and political analysts (p. 146). The United States and other western countries began preparing for the worst, as predictions were made on nuclear proliferation, the diversion of the Soviet Union’s heavy arsenal to terrorist groups and unsympathetic countries (p. 147-148). However, none of these fears has yet come to tangible proof. While on 9/11, terrorists were able to deal the largest blow to the United States through conventional terrorist methods of attack, their bombs were neither nuclear or biological; their infiltration into society and subsequent hijacking were done using conventional means and bombs (p. 149). Primary among, Jenkins points is the understanding of al Qaeda and related jihadist groups in waging a successful campaign against terrorism. Terrorists today aren’t the same as traditional guerilla militias or the terrorists of the 1970s. â€Å"The enemies we face have changed fundamentally† (Jenkins, 2006, p. 14). Though the current U. S. led efforts to subdue and eradicate al Qaeda and related groups have been successful in driving them underground, they have not addressed the root of the terrorist discourse or stemmed recruitment or what Jenkins calls the political war (p. 14). In ignoring the current implications and ideology of al Qaeda and like-minded terrorists the U. S. is counteracting its own progress. The concept of jihad, the driving force behind al Qaeda, has been elevated, â€Å"from a struggle within one’s soul to an unlimited war against the West† (p. 23). Their grievances with the West, as espoused by Osama bin Laden and his brothers in arms, are both valid and unattainable. One of the root causes noted by bin Laden and his followers include the treatment of Palestine by Israel which the U. S. is seen as supporting through their support of Israel. This could and, according to Jenkins, should be addressed as it is a â€Å"noble† cause (p. 125). However, many of their grievances such as the presence of the U. S. in the Middle-East, Saudi Arabia, a saturation of Western culture as a destructive factor in Islam are unattainable goals. Jenkins implies and I agree, that the demands are unattainable by design and therefore supportive of a never-ending jihad. Those who believed that the war on terrorism would begin and end with the war in Iraq were only half right. While of strategic and ideological importance, Iraq has been both an overly dominant and distracting force in the overall war on terrorism. I agree with Jenkins assessment that the conflict will only reach another stage with the withdrawal from Iraq and whether viewed with defeat or victory the withdrawal will usher in a new stage in an ongoing conflict. I agree wholeheartedly with Jenkins assessment that, â€Å"we are still closer to the beginning then the end of what is likely to be a very long campaign† (p/ 176). In fighting a political war against al Qaeda and other jihadists, the U. S. would be most effective in trying to stem recruitment, prevent the spreading of their ideology by promoting alternatives and education on religion (p. 125). By using measures to halt recruitment and reeducate detainees, the U. S. would see more long term results. Many of the tactics used so far like the fall of the Taliban and closing of training camps in Afghanistan, thwarted attacks, and disrupted funding (pp. 27-29), while important do not dispel the group’s danger. As Jenkins explains, they have adapted to the new limitations and not knowing the actual size of the enemy it is difficult to assess the true danger and actual gains (p. 27). The jihadist’s real weapon against the U. S. is ideological, â€Å"Armed forces alone cannot win this war. The real battle is ideological† (Jenkins, 2006, p. 120). A loss of capital hasn’t prevented attacks since 9/11 or halted recruitment. In the environment created by the U. S. ’s continued presence in Iraq, the jihadists have attempted to seize an opportunity to use discontent to build their numbers. The U. S. has to fight this as well. The U. S. and other countries fighting the war on terrorism have to discredit al Qaeda’s message and to use their extremism against them. Jihadists’ beliefs are the minority, â€Å"to many Muslims, even those angered by U. S. policies, bin Laden is a crackpot† (p. 107). Still to some he speaks the truth and even changing the way in which believers are handled would be effective in the long run in defeating the threat. By trying to change the thinking and treatment of detainees, the U. S. and other governments can prevent future acts of terrorism. By working with willing defectors and possible converts, the U. S. could stem their flow of willing bodies, which is their greatest weapon, as Jenkins explains and I agree, â€Å"political warfare accepts no for as having irrevocably crossed a line† (p. 122). If the U. S. government and it’s allies write off the discontent of the recruitment population they run the risk of alienating a whole new generation of terrorist fighters. Jihad’s strongest weapon is its connection to the people; recruiters are able to recognize and weed out the committed and able to manipulate religious belief. Islam is used as a unifying factor by these terrorist groups, they see unity in the Muslim world as an outcome of jihad (p. 107). Increased modes of communication such as the internet and intense organization have allowed for a broader reach in the jihadist message. Their leaders are in for the long haul, â€Å"al Qaeda will not quit its leaders have no alternatives† (p. 38). By fighting the root causes of the movement and creating disillusionment and doubt in its followers, though more time intensive, the West will create a better future. As long as jihadist ideology is treated as outside the realm of reasonable understanding, it will not be defeated. As Jenkins pointedly explains, â€Å"their mindsets and their concepts of fighting are foreign to us, but they make sense in the context of their beliefs and circumstances† (p. 60). Through understanding, the war on terrorism will have its greatest victories. It can’t be treated or viewed like a conventional war, the enemy is not another country or a distinct leader but a mindset bred from circumstance and perverted ideals. So, first and foremost we must battle against the mindset. Countries like Yemen, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia have had success with religious counseling and debate with detainees (p. 130-131). Why doesn’t the U. S. do the same? Instead their have been indeterminate detainments, isolation, and endless interrogation (p. 132). Torture as a means of interrogation, something thought to be beneath American values has been not only practiced by defended. This is not the way to show and maintain our values in the face of a belief based insurgency. We have to learn from other countries examples and Jenkins proposes acceptance of even our imperfect allies, particularly Russia and Pakistan (p. 134). I agree with Jenkins in his assessment of realizing and accepting the risks and realities of this type of campaign is paramount in a publicly advocated and successful war (p. 153). War does not come without risk or with guaranteed successes, there will be discouragements as not every attack can be foreseen and prevented but conscientious persistence is a must. References Jenkins, B. M. (2006). Unconquerable Nation: Knowing Our Enemies, Strengthening Ourselves. RAND Corporation.

Kathakali make up Essay Example for Free

Kathakali make up Essay Like all performing arts, Kathakali require facial make up. Professional Kathakali make up artists usually classify the make up process for Kathakali characters into five basic sets. These are the Pacha which is reserved for the mythological characters that belong to the hero Dhirodatta; Nala, Yudhishtra, Rukmangada, Arjuna and Bhimsena are just some of the characters who are treated with the Pacha make up. The next one is the Kathi or Katti which means ‘Knife’ and is characterized by the marking on the nose and forehead. Following it is the Kari which is characterized by the make up style that involves the putting of black in the face and red colors on the cheek bone complimented by the elongated black eyes like those found in characters like Ravana, Kamsa and Duryodhana. The Thaadi or Tadi is the one that refers to the beard of characters like Rakshasas and Dussasana (red beard), Vali and Sugriva which are the monkey kings and Kali (black beard), and Minukku. Female characters in Kathakali which are generally good-natured, like the Sages, Sadhus, Brahmins and Rishies, rendered with the Minukku make up, which represents the characters’ traits of spirituality, piousness, restraint, simplicity and equipoise. Make up for Kathakali is difficult, taxing, tedious and elaborate. It is difficult to make and create as it is difficult to remove too. A webindia123. com article on the make up of Kathakali characters notes how ‘it takes about four hours to wear and two to take it off’. The make up artist should be very particular with the colors since it symbolizes the emotions and the ‘gunas’ or their attributes. The make up artist should know when to make the eye appear lotus like and when to apply a square patch of black collyrium to make the character look more frightening. Looking at the performance of the Dryodana-vadham play, a section taken from the Mahabharata and conducted in the classical Kathakali way, a prospective make up artist can see not just the need for the consistency in make-up between characters who needs to appear with similarly shaded faces. In the Dryodana-vadham, two characters are featured in the performance namely Arjuna and Krishna. Both characters are wearing green base make up with white beard and reddish lips. During the play, war has broken out involving members of the same clan and Arjuna, the third of the five Pandava brothers, was the chosen leader. Arjuna is depicted as riding towards battle atop his war chariot. He is accompanied by Krishna who serves as his driver. They stop to look out over the enemy and Arjuna was distressed to see many of his relatives in the enemy chariots. Because of this, he tries to stop the battle. Arjuna is the one wearing the gold and red adorned circular head dress while Krishna is the one wearing the silver-hued head gear. From the dancing of the characters, their elaborate bodily movements and the sometimes severe heat brought about by the spotlight when performing inside a poorly air-conditioned theater, it is clear that the make up should be done perfectly so that it will hold and not melt or disintegrate throughout the performance. A Chouttikkaran can guide a make up artist in putting make up. The Chouttikkaran is tasked with this along with his other tasks since he has an active role in both the training stage and the performing stage. There are several characters in a Kathakali plays and all of them deserves different make-up treatment. There are characters in Kathakali play that portray men who are endowed with positive attitudes like piousness, or Satvik, and majestic, kingly air or Rajasic. For this particular type of character in the play, a make up which is predominantly green is expected. Acting as adversaries to these kinds of men are equally kingly and majestic male characters but is endowed with what is called a ‘tamasic’ characteristic. This means that these characters are those who are possessing evil characteristics in the play, and to be able to distinguish them from the pious, kingly men, those who have evil inclinations in the play like Ravana who is the popular demon king in Kathakali plays are colored with a very dose of red applied over a green background. But the mark of the true evil is found in the Chuvanna Thaadi or the Red Beard, the characters in Kathakali which is adorned by a very heavy red make up along with a red beard. Kathakali plays also features other characters aside from those mentioned earlier. Some other Kathakali characters include the uncivilized hunters Kari/ Karutha Thaadi or the black beard. The required make-up for these characters is usually characterized by a heavy black base complimented by a black beard. Kathakali plays also feature women characters, and for these women characters, the typical predominantly yellow make up on the face is required. For characters like the Monkey God Hanuman and the Sun God Pazhuppe, make up artists decorate the faces of the individuals portraying these characters by using a white beard or Vella Thadi to indicate their roles and characteristics. Aside from the colors of the make up particularly in the face, a Kathakali play also requires its make up artists to be knowledgeable in the enhancements of several facial parts of the different characters which adds depth and personality in every character. Some of the common facial parts that require elaborate exaggeration and enhancement include the moustache and the nose. The teeth are also exaggerated as some characters require appearing bearing fangs protruding from the mouth. The chin is another important aspect of the facial make up and design since the beards of the characters are supremely important in the successful portrayal of innate characteristics of each Kathakali persona. Make up artists craft a chutti or a chine mask for the characters, and this is one aspect of Kathakali make up that requires a very thick application of make up as well as other facial attachments. The usual way for the making and application of the chutti requires the make up artist to create a series of white ridges starting and developing evenly from both parts of the chin until it reaches the cheek. The stress of applying the makeup on the actors takes its toll on both the actors and the make up artists as well. Because of this, the make up artist and the actor / actress are expected to be truly dedicated to the performance of the Kathakali for them to be able to endure such stress. Stress generally results from the fact that first, Kathakali make up is usually long, the quickest procedure finished after three hours. The long work usually strains the muscles involved in the delicate and precise application of the make up. Some artists experience strain in the muscles found in the eyes, the lower back and the arms. The eyes are strained because for hours, the eyes are generally focused on the detail of the make up on the face as it develops. Actors are usually lying on a sleeping position, making it impossible for make up artists to sit down while providing the make up. They instead spend the entire time putting the make up on the character standing up and moving around as they decorate the face from one side to the other, straining the back. Make up artists are usually expected to be ambidextrous, meaning they can use both hands with equal results. This is important in applying make up especially if the process takes a long period of time like in Kathakali since this allows for the other arm to rest. Using just one arm in applying the make up can tire the make up artist faster. Another reason for the build up of stress is the need to combat fatigue. Fighting off tiredness and fatigue especially during the long and tedious hours of putting make up for Kathakali characters so that the focus on detail and make up aesthetics is constant can build up stress since the body is not relaxed anymore. Five main colors are very noticeable in Kathakali character’s make up, and these colors are designated because they represent the characters’ ethos. Green is the representation of the character’s ‘Sattivika’ nature, or the characteristic of the character to be pious and god-fearing. Red is the representation of the character’s ‘Rajasic’ nature, which refers to the disposition of being violent and totally ambitious. The ‘Tamasic’ nature is represented with the use of the color black, which is commonly used to refer to persons with evil personalities, although this is not always the case since sometimes it is also the color used to represent characters in the Kathakali which are aborigines as well as off-beat characters. Example of which is the character Kirata, who is actually Siva disguised as hunter. Yellow is the representation of the passivity of the characters, which is why it is commonly found in women characters in Kathakali. Yellow is also the similar coloring of other characters in the story like Narasimha, the Lion-God, the yellow hue used for the make up of the character representing adbhuta or wonder. White is the representation of the spirituality of the character. White is the basic make up of Hanuman and other half-human gods in the Kathakali which are characterized as benign sometimes and ferocious in other times. The make up in Kathakali plays is characterized by the use of vibrant and wide range of colors, and this is because colors in the face of the characters are generally symbolic as these colors indicate who they are and what the characters’ particular characteristics are. These colors indicate whether they are male (the use of pacha or green color in the face) or female (for female, the face make-up is usually that of yellowish tone, but aside from the yellow hue, female characters also wear black and red make up colors on their face, including the character Surpanaka of the Ashuras), human or god (god characters are assigned with the white beard) and good or evil (like the use of the red color in the face of Ravana and the and the uncivilized hunters who are considered as evil in the play).

Swot Analysis Of The Garden Company Limited

Swot Analysis Of The Garden Company Limited Garden supplies thousands of food products to todays retail and catering markets, with many of their products internationally awarded. As one of the largest bakery production corporations in Hong Kong, they are well equipped with state-of-the-art large-scale equipment. Their technology, quality, output and market development have long reached International Standards. Gardens wide assortments of products, high sales volume and extensive market penetration have long been broadly recognized. To further cope with rising market demand, they continue to inject large sums of investment into product research and development as well as upgrading their technology and production hardware. The various production procedures are completed with the most sophisticated equipment in their factory. Computer automation is integrated in all the processes from production to packaging, fully manifesting the remarkable results brought about by scientific management. Furthermore, their principal factory in Sham Tseng with a total area of 70,000 square meters carries out the production lines for bread, cakes, biscuits, candies etc. Unlike most firms in Hong Kong, Garden was a pro-China company and had been supplying bread to Chinese army during World War II. The firm closed its operations during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945. The company expanded with the growth of Hong Kong before and after World War II and benefited from the influx of immigrants from Mainland China. In the 1980s and 1990s, Garden products were shipped overseas to Chinese communities around the world. Besides their major business in Hong Kong, Garden has also been actively taping into the Mainland China market since the 1980s. Factories had been set up in Dong Guan and Yang Zhou to introduce the advanced technology into the food manufacturing industry of the Mainland. Achieving the ISO9001 certification in 1997 was a milestone in their history. It demonstrates that Garden, with its world-class corporate management and modern operation system, is a globally acclaimed food manufacturer. Today, the company remains a privately owned family (Cheung family) business with several joint ventures with mainland Chinese firms. It is one of the few Hong Kong firms with manufacturing operations still in Hong Kong. All Garden products are made of the finest ingredients selected from all around the world, for example their barley is from Australia, flour from the United States, milk and butter from New Zealand, just to name a few. Their long-standing experience, fully-automated technology and packing equipment together with careful quality control guarantee that every product of theirs can meet strict quality testing and safety standards in many countries. With the past 80 years of excellence, Garden has successfully established itself as a distinguished brand supported and favored by many consumers around the world. Their products currently reach many major Chinese communities in as far as Europe and America. Today they are actively developing overseas markets in order to offer their quality foods to consumers in different corners of the world. With more than eight decades of experience in food production, the Garden Companys determination in offering quality products and services and its innovative spirit are as strong as ever. Looking ahead, they will continue with their commitment to producing nutritious and quality food with the pursuit of perfection. QIE, which stands for Quality, innovation, Efficiency, serves as Gardens corporate mission with the objectives to lead their staff to pursuit of superb quality, continuous innovation and achieve efficiency enhancement. It is through the implementation of QIE that the recognition and reputation of their brand have been greatly elevated. To realize their goal of QIE, the Company puts LTC Learn, Think, and Communicate into practice with all their working together to continuously improve the manufacturing of quality products, developing new technologies and new product values so as to satisfy the ever-heightening needs of consumers. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis Strengths: Garden has a global brand, it is a strong brand, strengths including brand recognition, brand quality, economies of scale, strong distribution network, strong distribution chain, supply chain, strong international operations, online growth, good reputation, reputation management, market share leadership, effective marketing strategy, experienced personnel, strong management team, effective communication, extensive customer base, loyal customers, cost advantage, asset leverage, competitive pricing, original and unique products, high research and development, advanced equipments, innovation, etc. Apart from all these company strengths, they are famous in Hong Kong. I believe that all households in Hong Kong consume their products, one or the other on a regular basis. They are considered second to none in the bakery industry. Weaknesses: Due to Gardens huge range of products, coupled with a substantial global retail network, bad communication is unavoidable, it happens from time to time. Furthermore, they experience diseconomies to scale, at times over leveraged financial position, and weak corporate governing practice. Since Gardens range of products is for the public in general, many of their competitors go to the upper end market, for example to high class customers such as hotels and delis, and leave Garden in the lower end market for many years. Opportunities: Garden basically has a healthy financial position. They did some acquisitions, merger and takeovers on a small scale basis. They also tie up with international events to capitalize on synergy opportunities for growth of the operation. They continuously look for new markets; expand in Asia, expand into online shopping; decrease its taxation through donations to charity organizations. In the era of emergence of international middle class, and change in consumer lifestyles, they are constantly changing their products to expand their customer base, and their service lines like new products such as drinks and snacks, and new service such as mail order. Threats: Although Garden has a lion share in the bakery industry, they have many competitors in the high end sector. With Hong Kong returning its sovereignty to Mainland China, Garden is facing many financially strong competitors from the Mainland. There are new competitors from the Mainland entering into this relatively small market. As far as their foreign business is concerned, foreign exchange rate changes affect its imports/exports strategies. The volatility in fuel costs, rising costs of business, pricing pressures, potentially slowing global economy, changes in demographics, change in consumer lifestyles, changing to cheaper technology, substitute products, changing consumer patterns, growing power of customers to set the price etc. are possible threats Garden has been facing during the past few years. Porters Five Forces analysis Competitive Rivalry within an industry: Since multi-market competition exists, rivalry between competitors in the industry is extremely intense. Companies in the industry have started new businesses to increase the level of competition with one another and compete heavily for geographic markets. There is no clear dominant market share player in the industry. Though the industry currently has relatively high growth, much of the business is cyclical, which leads to intensified competition in economic downturns. High fixed costs also contribute to intense competition. More recently, the continued growth of online shopping, mail orders, combined with increasing awareness of door to door logistics arrangements have been giving Garden headaches and they have been streamlining their services in this competitive environment. A few remarks are listed below to introduce some of Gardens international and local rivalries. Sara Lee Corporation Sara Lee Corporation is a global consumer products company with food, beverage, and household and body care lines of business. With powerful brands, such as Ambi Pur, Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Kiwi, Sanex, Senseo and its namesake, Sara Lee, the company has leading positions in numerous categories in the more than 180 markets in which it competes. In Hong Kong, Garden has two main competitors in its frozen and fresh breads. For frozen breads, it major rivalries are Maxims, Sara Lee. For fresh breads, Garden is facing numerous small size competitors, in particular in the western style restaurants which bake on an everyday basis for its afternoon tea customers. Competitive Rivalry is a strong force in the bakery industry because the competitors use price cuts to compete, there is a low cost product range and there is ease in switching brands, and the companies in this industry can diversify and acquire other companies for strategic growth and for synergy purposes. Threat of New Entrants: The threat of new entrants into this industry is relatively low because of the scale required to make companies in the industry competitive. Capital demands to fund all of the assets required in the industry are extraordinarily large, making competition from entrepreneurs or small companies very difficult at this level of market competitiveness. Economies of scale are necessary for the business to be profitable and because of the intensity of rivalry, customers are difficult to attract. While the basic service of shipping goods would be relatively easy for new entrants to imitate, the competitors in the industry have created value and high switching costs for their customers through proprietary technologies. Threat of New Entrants is a weak force in this industry. Each company currently in the industry has strong brand images, leaving a harder job for new companies. The capital expenditures to start a bakery company are large, and the companies currently are achieving economies of scale by going global. Any smaller company will not be able to achieve these right away, not allowing them to compete on prices. Another factor threatening potential entrants is trade tariffs and international regulations. Most companies currently in the industry have already established relations with foreign countries. New companies will have to prove themselves to foreign companies, suppliers, and customers. Threat of Substitute Products: The threat of substitutes is currently high for the industry, but major technological or governmental foods regulations could change that. As mentioned above, although Garden has a lion share in the bakery industry, they have many competitors in the high end sector, for example Maxims, Saint Honore, Tai Pan Bakery etc. Garden is also facing many financially strong competitors from the Mainland. The latter produce substitute products such as dumplings, dim sums to suit the changing consumers taste. This is one of the many reasons why Garden has been continuously modifying the ingredients and packaging of their products during the past few years. Threat of Substitute Products is a strong force in this industry. There are plenty of substitute products in the market. Bakery retail outlets such as Maxims, Saint Honore, Tai Pan Bakery etc are conveniently located in all the 18 zones. One can literally find either one of them in almost every main street in Hong Kong. These competitors also offer very competitive prices which make potential consumers lose their brand loyalty and easy to switch to another brand. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers bargaining power is fairly low in the industry, but different suppliers have slightly different pricing strategies to fight for their survival. Competitors are also on the same footing with suppliers, as they are all subject to the same prices, although they may have hedged differently. Labour is a major factor of production in the industry and differences between companies regarding labour contracts subjects them to varying degrees of supplier power. Suppliers of raw materials, components, labor, and services (such as expertise) to the firm can be a source of power over the firm, when there are few substitutes. Suppliers may refuse to work with the firm, or, e.g., charge excessively high prices for unique resources. This is a strong force if the suppliers serve different industries with their raw materials. If a supplier only has accounts or the majority of their accounts with different companies, they will not be able to control prices and supplies. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Customers in the industry initially have power, but once they commit to a bakery, their bargaining power decreases significantly. New customers can easily shop around for price or level of service in the beginning, but once they have chosen a bakery and buy their product, they are usually loyal to them. Customers are likely to become loyal to a certain provider because of long-standing relationships or personal interaction with the company. This is a moderate force in this industry because competition keeps prices similar among the companies. The only difference is degree in loyalty. Also, the buyers of the services in this industry are reactionary. They do not know the technology before it happens. They become dependent on the technology, service and speed offered by the companies in this industry and will pay for it. SCOR (Supply-Chain Operations Reference) Model Planning activities: Gardens target customers are the public in general, whether they be as young as 2 years old, to as old as 99, they could be Gardens customers. Their pricing strategy is value for money. Their marketing slogan has been nutrition you need every day with the highest quality. These planning activities have proved to be most successful and made Garden the leading supplier in the bakery industry, in particular in the breads, biscuits and cakes sectors. Sourcing activities: According to the reading materials I searched and found, Garden has been purchasing all the baking ingredients directly themselves. However, they do outsource through logistic companies in their delivery activities. Locally, they need to deliver their fresh breads every early morning to hundreds of retail outlets. They also need to deliver fresh buns to all McDonalds franchisees. Furthermore they also deliver a range of fancy breads to airline caterers, hotels and restaurants. Internationally, they outsource transportation companies as well as freight forwarders for special orders such as wedding and birthday cakes. Internally, they outsource information technologies, finance and accounting, sales and marketing, foods testing etc. just to name a few. Make or production activities: Gardens upstream suppliers are worldwide. These included but not limited to flour, sugar, milk, cocoa, vanilla, wheat, soda powder, etc. again just to name a few. Countries included but not limited to (in alphabetical order) Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Bread Production Gardens bread production lines operate on a 24-hour basis, of which one is the first fully-automated line for hamburger buns in Asia. Apart from the retail market, they provide a huge volume of wholesale goods, which include bread, pastry and frozen dough products to major fast food chains, restaurants, hotels and airline catering services in Hong Kong. With their far-ranging businesses, they are committed to providing consumers with better choices with continuous innovations. Biscuit production Garden possesses diverse expertise, equipment and automated production lines to produce a wide variety of biscuits including wafers, cookies, sandwich biscuits, saltine, crackers and assorted biscuit gift packs to meet market demands. Cake production Their wide range of cakes has long been famous for its high quality and great taste. To cope with market demand, Garden produces cake products with highly efficient production lines, of which one is fully computerized for producing mini-cakes. With a wholehearted contribution from over 1,200 employees, Garden has established itself as the most reputable manufacturer in the local industry. Order processing information systems All market interactions, from the understanding of aggregate demand to the fulfillment of each order are not done wholly by Garden internally themselves. Some logistics are being outsourced, in particular for the overseas markets in Northern and Latin America, Australia, Europe, and Canada. Garden normally receives their orders through phone, fax and e-mail or e-order. Its IT department uploads orders to the printing invoice system. Automatically, these invoices pass to its distribution department for delivery. After deliveries, these invoices will be, again automatically, sent to its accounting department. The latter department then issues credit notes to the appropriate customers. Currently they are still using the information systems designed by IBM. Quality Control foremen in Garden are made responsible to ensure that expiry date, and appearances are properly done, and presentable. All delivery vans must have the correct temperatures for the different kinds of products. Delivery activities: Different transportation teams are required for different products. Fresh breads, frozen breads, biscuits are being delivered by the China and Hong Kong transport teams. Fresh bread team has about 60 vehicles to deliver 4,000 orders per day. These trucks are recognizable easily on the streets. Frozen breads and biscuits teams have about 20 vehicles to deliver 400 orders per day. Three trailers are being outsourced for the Mainland China and Hong Kong markets. As mentioned above, Garden does outsource through logistic companies in their delivery activities. Locally, they need to deliver their fresh breads every early morning to hundreds of retail outlets. They also need to deliver fresh buns to all McDonalds franchisees; deliver a range of fancy breads to airline caterers, hotels and restaurants. Internationally, they outsource transportation companies as well as freight forwarders for special orders such as wedding and birthday cakes. Not only that Garden wants to manufacture the best products, they also want to provide their best delivery service. Return activities: Garden guarantees its products are fresh and proper. They promise their retailers that they will replace any damaged or rotten items, that is if that happens. Garden has agreed with their retailers that they will pick up any expired items on their shelves. Assess how well the organization implements the supply chain management As mentioned right at the beginning of this report, Gardens major upstream suppliers are from the US, Canada, and Australia whereas their three biggest downstream suppliers in Hong Kong are supermarkets Wellcome, ParknShop and Mcdonalds. As far as this report is concerned, I would focus in the downstream supply chains; and before I go into how well Garden implements the supply chain management, I would like to introduce Gardens major downstream supply chains Wellcome, ParknShop and Mcdonalds. Wellcome Wellcome is Hong Kongs longest-established supermarket chain, they have an overall staff of 5,000 in more than 240 stores and serves more than 14 million customers every month. ParknShop ParknShop is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong (the other is Wellcome Supermarket). ParknShop operates more than 260 outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China. ParknShop has more than 200 stores and 9,000 employees in Hong Kong. Mcdonalds McDonalds Corporation is one of the worlds largest chains of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million customers daily. Most of their breads in Hong Kong are supplied by Garden. Although Garden does supply their products to airlines catering companies, hotels and restaurants, as well as supply chains such as 7 Eleven, Circle K and etc., I am not going to introduce these supply chains on a one on one basis. Basically these supply chains are owned by substantial and listed companies with well-trained management teams. Top management, as well as middle management personnel at Garden have very good business relationships with their supply chains. They have properly done legal contracts specifying all the details in supplies and payments. I have not been able to find any past news regarding any communication breakdowns between Garden and its supply chains. I have neither been able to find any past law suits about Garden suing any of its supply chains for non-payments, nor any company suing Garden for not delivering its responsibilities although there have been rumors that Garden has been finding it more and more difficult to get their payments on time during the past few years. Based on these findings, I believe Garden has been successful in its supply chains management activities. Suggest solutions/ways to improve the organization business; especially by improvements on supply chain management of the organization Supply Chain Management (SCM) is not created to suit for every company. It can succeed only with top management commitment and managers loyalty in executing those management strategies. Gardens management teams need to spend time in evaluating whether new SCM, inclusive of international networks, is suitable to be implemented into their company and how it could be successful. Garden bread has long history in Hong Kong that the fundamental target market should be the mass public served as the stable diet. With the increasing awareness of healthy eating, the variety of healthy consciousness products have been promoted like multi-grained, whole wheat, high calcium low fat breads. It is the general social trend and also serves as one of the marketing strategies that focus on the targeted middle-class, office-ladies and health consciousness customers. The relative advantage of Garden obviously is its long history and well-developed manufacturing factories, well-connected distribution channels, competitive retailing price and, of course, the well-known and long established brand name. On the other hand, these relative advantages might contribute some shortcomings in terms of the flexibility of market positioning and variety of products in response to the ever-changing and ever-increasing market force. Personally I am disappointed with Gardens decade-long use of coconut oil as an ingredient for their biscuits production. According to certain food magazines, too much consumption in coconut oil is bad for our health. Although all the reading material I found have been saying good things about Garden, nevertheless Garden is not a listed company, it is a privately owned company. They do not have to disclose any of their operation details to the public. Particularly, they do not have to disclose their financial position apart from to the Inland Revenue. My perception of Garden is that it is a very old style traditional company. Its top management includes family members of the founder. It is purely family business. Its image is not catching up with the young generation. Their product range is also conservative. It does not give any modern flare to attract those expats from the west. They focus on Asians so far, that means there is a huge expats market for them to develop. Garden reminds me of the Green, Yellow and White Arrow brands chewing gum company. The latter company has been too conservative and has not been innovative to catch up with the new entrants. Hence, Green White Arrow chewing gums have been losing market share. Until today, they have not been able to gain back what has been lost. The image of Garden should shift to focus more clearly on each market segment. For instance, Garden should develop a Gourmet production line which emphasis on the finest ingredients, the innovative design, for example in its packaging, and its advertisements. They could consider making more choice of breads, land cakes similar to those recipes from Italy and France, or from Europe at large. In order to shave off the old stable diet image, instead, the building up of the delicate and professional crafted food and to state that not only the five stars hotels can produce but Garden can also make and even better. The efforts to make sure managers do well in the SCM program and not treat it as another flavor-of-the-month include but not limited to the followings. Firstly, Garden has to ensure that the companys SCM strategies are specifically designed. Secondly, the SCM program need to meet their customers demands and reduces the companys costs. Thirdly, the management team must buy-in the program. Also, all the benefits included from the program such as customer responsiveness, more consistent on-time delivery; shorter order fulfillment lead times; reduced inventory costs; lower cost of purchased items; higher product quality; faster product innovation and etc. must be clearly explained to all the concerned managers so that they know the importance of the program. Garden must ensure that the staff concerned understand the objectives of the program, for example to better utilize the company resources and yet with higher product quality. Finally, if managers do well in implementing and executin g the program, the company should consider giving them incentive such as bonus or additional rewards other than their normal compensation. This will give them more motivation to continue to run the program. Garden has to do detailed surveys and researches to find out what are the products that their customers demand. They should listen to the voice of their customers. Their views and suggestions could in turn help the company to produce specifically the range of products the customers need. The company could also utilize their findings for meetings and discussions with their suppliers, both upstream and downstream and production managers to reduce the order processing time and inventories. The company would also be able to produce higher quality products with lower prices and less order processing time. In this way, the company would be more responsive to both their customers and suppliers. By doing the above, the company would be able to expand its market share from other competitors. Further possible improvements can be capitalized in the advances in technological and informational environment. These improvements have major implications for all industries, particularly logistics. If used effectively such advances may be a key source of competitive advantage. The technology listed below may become a competitive edge advantage for Garden in the future. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) not ready to implement? Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. It works like a barcode, but instead of having to be passed in front of a scanner for recognition, tiny transponders (known as tags or chips) send out radio signals. Each tag is small, robust and unique so any one item can be tracked individually throughout the supply chain. Logistics and transportation are major areas of implementation for RFID technology. For example, yard management, shipping and freight and distribution centers are some areas where RFID tracking technology is used. Transportation companies around the world value RFID technology due to its impact on the business value and efficiency. The new technology is currently seen as too expensive to put on individuals products, but large companies already use it to track shipping items. RFID trials have met with mixed customer reactions. As with many such technical advances the effects can be both positive and negative. RFID technology is currently unsophisticated and largely applied to logistical operations. Training of staff and informing all internal stakeholders as to how RFID technology works and can benefit the company, stating the impact on customers so that companies are able to improve their operations. Global Positioning System (GPS) The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S. space-based global navigation satellite system. It provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to worldwide users on a continuous basis in all weather, day and night, anywhere on or near the Earth which has an unobstructed view of four or more GPS satellites. GPS has become a mainstay of transportation systems worldwide, providing navigation for aviation, ground, and maritime operations. Installing GPS systems for delivery vehicles can increase the efficiency and effectiveness in delivering products. Even though transportation companies offer tracking and insurance services to their customers, there are still chances that the customers packages might be lost or stolen. Imagine a GPS chip attached to the delivery packages; it can then be tracked anytime. Adding this technology can boost the customers confidence about Garden. Conclusion Gardens supply chains are owned by substantial and listed companies with well-trained management teams. Garden has very good business relationships with their supply chains. Garden has been successful in its SCM activities. For further improvements, Garden should keep themselves abreast of the current important trends being developed in the business arena, for example electronic commerce has been widely used. Experienced users reveal that e-business reduces costs and time. It creates less conflict between suppliers and consumers. Garden must realize that very few industries are protected geographically; competition is getting more and more fierce. Gardens determination to change as the contents mentioned-above is critical for its advancement. With Gardens top management teams commitment, together with managers efforts, I believe that Gardens staff is more willingly to change and Garden has a good chance of success in improving its current SCM program. During the process of finding reading material for this exercise and thereafter digesting the material, I became more familiar with what supply chain management is. I will be interested in searching material for other type of companies when time permits.