Arthur Machen’s The Great God Pan Essay -- The Great God Pan Essays

In â€Å"The Great God Pan† (1894) Machen uses ancient Greek god Pan to serve as a symbol of spiritual reality that lies beyond human perception and knowledge. Machen’s use of this divine entity and his success in rediscovering a minor figure of the classical pantheon, yet â€Å"mostly neglected by earlier authors of English literature† (Pasi 69), provide what Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari argue to be the significant value of a minor author, â€Å"†¦by using a number of minority elements, by connecting, conjugating them, one invents a specific, unforeseen, autonomous becoming† (106). â€Å"The Great God Pan† uses a detective plot and English upper class male characters’ search for an elusive figure, Helen Vaughan, who travels by assuming various identities. Helen, through her changeability of her identity destabilises the humanistic notion of identity as a stable phenomenon, and enters into the domain of becoming Pan. This fluidity a nd indeterminacy of Helen’s character is Machen’s attempt to undo the established notion of canonical subjectivity, and propose an alternative possibility of becoming. Helen’s insistence on entering into the zone of inhuman – god Pan- involves a position of alliance with the elements of her desire, which are beyond human accessibility and control. Helen, with this alliance with the god Pan, which has multiple forms and identities, enters into the flux of becoming Pan. Machen, through the experiment of Dr. Raymond, invokes to reveal the reality behind the veil in his supernatural tale â€Å"The Great God Pan†. In this attempt of removing the veil, Dr. Raymond’s practice of â€Å"transcendental medicine† provides the means to reach out the reality behind the veil: Dr. Raymond surgically changes the structure of a woman’s brain... ...e. How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernatics, Literature and Informatics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999. Hillman, James. "An Essay on Pan." Pan and the Nightmare. Trans. A.V. O'Brien. New York: Spring Publications, 1972. Jackson, Kimberly. "Non-evolutionary Dageneration in Arthur Machen's Supernatural Tales." Victorian Literature and Culture 41 (2013): 125-135. Navarette, Susan J. "The Word Made Flesh: Protoplasmic Predications in Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan"." The Shape of Fear: Horror and the Fin de Siecle Culture of Decadence. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 1998. 178-201. Machen, Arthur. The Great God Pan and The Hill of Dreams. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2006. Pasi, Marco. "Arthur Machen’s Panic Fears: Western Esotericism and the Irruption of Negative Epistemology." Aries 7 (2007): 63-68.

Philosophy Communication Barriers Essay

(a) How does James think of my intending to say something? Does he think of it as a process in consciousness? James argues that our phrasing â€Å"intended to say† is an almost wrong explanation on a subconscious or even psychic thing that it happening within our minds.   The point is that we never consciously form the words in our minds or even draw upon our memory banks to call to mind images of the thing that we mean to say. Instead, it is an unconscious function of the mind that we hear something and choose to respond to it with some form of language. In the event that the language we choose is wrong, we often react with the phrase. â€Å"What I meant to say was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  James argues that this happens when the precognition of our own mind fails to work rapidly enough to anticipate the reaction of the person we are speaking to and choose the proper words to convey to a thought stream to that specific person. On the most basic level, it means that our minds did not act quickly enough to substitute the proper word into a sentence. For example, imagine talking to your best friend about her sister. The intended sentence would be, â€Å"How’s she doing?† As the speaker you would not have planned out the conversation or thought specifically about what to ask, but when you speak and say, â€Å"How’s he doing?† the immediate response is to say, ‘I meant she. How’s she doing?’ there is never a point at which the conscious mind stops and chooses the words to use. This might therefore make an interesting discussion for linguists and psychologists to determine how speech actually happens. James argues that it is a subconscious thing, which implies then that speech is a learned ability you can train the subconscious mind. Take for example learning to speak another language fluently.   Teachers argue that you cannot speak another language fluently until you can think in that language. The premise is basically the same as what James has argues. If you are completely fluent in the language and someone asks,   â€Å"Que es el nombre del gato?† You will be responding with the cat’s name before the image of the cat is even called to mind. If you are less than fluent, you will need to translate the question before you can answer, thus moving the response from the subconscious speech centers to the conscious mind. [(b) Can the arguments Wittgenstein employs against the idea that understanding words is a conscious process be adapted to show that intending or meaning to say words is not a conscious process that begins before I say them   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wittgenstein argues that the meaning of a word is defined as we use it, not by some memory flash card system begun when we are children.   This then would explain in English the tendency to crease euphemisms and phrases which cannot be translated literally based on the presumed meaning of the individual world. To use his argument, if language were a conscious thing, human speech patterns would always be precise and would never relay on simile, metaphor or any other form of literary device. Instead, in essence, he is arguing that because language to create imagery that is not a specific reflection of the exact meaning of what is said, it is a subconscious action. Likewise then, if the use of language is subconscious and not dependent on a specific meaning when a word is chosen, Wittgenstein’s argument can easily be developed to explain that the use of words or even the development of an answer is not necessarily a conscious thing. Think of it as a sort of language autopilot. Our subconscious mind understands what is being discussed and how to respond to it before the conscious mind has a chance to understand the nature of the question. Therefore, the subconscious mind can formulate a response and begin it before the conscious mind starts to speak. In the event that the conscious mind disrupts the process and inserts its own words, the subconscious mind can send it a message that says, ‘What I meant to say was†¦.† c) James claims that intending to say something is or provides an anticipation or premonition (=knowledge in advance) of the words I will say or think. Do Wittgenstein’s remarks in section. 187-192 show that James is laboring under some misunderstanding about this? Explain. Wittgenstein’s remarks indicate that James is misunderstanding the functioning of the mind by calling the natural process of communication between the conscious and subconscious premonition. He would argue that the act of speech is a sort of subconscious act, with only specific forms of speech coming from the conscious mind. If both parts of the mind are working in proper harmony, the subconscious can formulate and plan a response long before the conscious mind can even think about it. However, this is not a self-premonition or anything as supernatural as James might be implying. Instead, it is a factor of the understanding of the human brain and how it works. Since the body cannot, by definition, understand the workings of the subconscious, we simply must accept that these incidences occur when the subconscious works more rapidly than the conscious mind.   Wittgenstein argues that this is not a premonition, but simply evidence that the mind works much faster than we appreciate. 2.) P. F. Strawson writes: States or experiences†¦owe their identity as particulars to the identity of the person whose states and experiences they are. From this it follows immediately that if they can be identified as particular states and experiences at all, they must be possessed†¦in such a way that it is logically impossible that a particular state or experience in fact possessed by someone should have been possessed by anyone else. The requirements of identity rule out logical transferability of ownership. [Individuals, p. 97] (a) Briefly describe Wittgenstein’s treatment of the idea that â€Å"another person can’t have my pains† in Philosophical Investigations Section 253. (Describe the aims and strategy of his remarks.)[ Wittgenstein disagrees with Strawson, with a tongue-in-cheek sarcasm to illustrate that in the event of Siamese twins, two people could share the exact same pain. Ultimately, though his goal is to demonstrate that identity is not as important to the identification of pain as far as location and intensity. Whether a person has the exact same headache that you are having is not nearly as relevant as the fact that they have had a headache in the past and can therefore commiserate with the pain that you are feeling.   In essence, he is arguing that the sameness of the pain is also irrelevant. When discussing the human condition, it is more important to draw parallels between like circumstances than to throw up semi-rational boundaries such as the identifiers that Strawson used. While it may technically, maybe, be impossible for more than one other person to feel the exact same pain that you are feeling, in the human nature of inexact speech we often use the phrase â€Å"same pain† to indicate that we have been in similar circumstances. Drawing unnecessary barriers by pointing out that our individuality will affect the way that we feel pain does nothing to promote a greater understanding of pain, the nature of the individual, the nature of empathy or the human condition. If Strawson were attempting to define the uniqueness of the individual, his commentary might have been relevant, but in a discussion about the nature of pain, it is divisive and irrelevant. The point is to discuss the sameness of the human condition in that while we may have different understandings of pain, we can interrelate via the concept of pain. For example, two women with menstrual cramps may not be experiencing the same intensity of pain or even the same location, but they can relate based on the similar circumstance. (b) Do observations like those in his PhilosophicalRemarks *2 account for all the ways we use the expression (same) pain?] Wittgenstein’s examples via Philosophical Remarks perhaps do not go far enough in disavowing Strawson’s claims, but he does make a good start. By arguing that the criteria of identifying the sameness of pain involves location and intensity as criteria rather than identity of the person feeling the pain, Wittgenstein effectively argues that Strawson’s claim is false. What he fails to discuss are the non-physical sources of pain and whether they can be the same pain or if Strawson is closer to the mark when using inaccurate language to describe emotional trauma. But here too, if Wittgenstein had desired, he could argue that Strawson’s claim is fundamentally flawed. Again, we go first to the example of identical twins that are raised together. Though there might be some differences in their emotional makeup, for the most part, they are going to feel emotional pain in the same way. But even if we forgo the genetic aspect ad simply discuss emotion as an end result of experience, it seems ludicrous to assume that each of the six billion people on the planet will have experienced life in a completely unique way and will therefore never have the same pain as another person. (c) Push Wittgenstein’s investigation one step further. We say things like this: â€Å"I had two bad headaches today: one in the morning and one in the afternoon†. What are â€Å"criteria† for sameness and difference in such cases? The primary criteria for sameness and difference in this case would be the location of the headache and its intensity. For example, a tension headache might begin at the base of the spine and radiate upward, a sinus headache might begin just below the eyes and a migraine might be a throbbing in the temples. Each can be described as a bad headache depending on the severity and each is unique in its location. However, often people who are prone to headaches will have them in the same location and are given to saying, â€Å"I had that same headache again† to indicate to the listeners that this is a recurring problem in the same location with the same intensity. When language is used precisely, this is an inexact statement, but if the primary purpose of language is to convey meaning to the listener, this can be a much simpler way of saying â€Å"I have a headache again in the same spot as I did yesterday and it hurts the same amount.† Much like with the other discussion, Wittgenstein seems to be challenging his fellow philosophers regarding their choice and use of the language. Because the language itself is inexact, making a claim simply based on the language usage is invalid. (d) Do these cases vindicate Strawson? I do not believe these issues vindicate Strawson at all. It appears that he was doing exact what Wittgenstein was trying to warn against: he was using an imprecise example of language to erect a barrier to human empathy that need not exist. Generally speaking, when a person uses the phrases, â€Å"I feel your pain† it is to indicate that I have been in a similar circumstance and have felt pain because of it. As such, I can empathize with your pain. However, people simply do not talk that way and to expect them to do so is illogical. Therefore, Wittgenstein rebukes Strawson, fairly gently, trying to make him understand that the same is not always the same.   It makes perfect sense when you consider the propensity in English to use the phrase â€Å"exactly the same†. Though sameness implies that two things are alike, we have learned to differentiate between things that are similar and thus the same in casual conversation and things that are identical.

The Importance of the 14th Amendment

The fourteenth amendment covers equal protection as well as due process. One of the most influential amendments that is still playing a huge role even today in the court system is the equal protection clause. This clause which states in section 1 â€Å"No State shall†¦ deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. † In section 5, the Amendment establishes the federal civil rights legislation: â€Å"The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. These clauses have been the basis for many court challenges, and ultimately the Supreme Court must decide if discrimination issues are unreasonably discriminatory against a particular group or class of individuals. This country has witnessed laws challenged under this Amendment such as the separate but equal laws, also known as Jim Crow laws. The Supreme Court must use three different tests to determine if a law breaks the equal protection clause .The three tests are to include strict scrutiny, which prevents certain groups from practicing a fundamental right, such as freedom of speech. The law must be a compelling state interest. A law based on a suspect classification such as race falls under this test. There must be justification that a law is written and it is a compelling state interest. The next test is intermediate scrutiny. This is more difficult for the Court to decide on, but under this test, laws based on gender classification are allowed only when they are clearly related to a government issue.The punishment for statutory rape was an example used. Men are punished but women generally aren’t. The reason being, women are the ones who become pregnant, so an over age man who impregnates an under aged girl has left her dealing with the ramifications of his actions. It is not as clear cut with an over aged women and under aged male. Yet having separate drinking ages for males and females does not meet the criter ia of the intermediate scrutiny because it is unreasonable to think there should be any different in the genders in this case.The last test is the rational test. Most laws pass this test as most laws are reasonable. An example given was a city that didn’t want street venders in a certain area of town. The city just needs to show that it is reasonable to not want venders in an area because the city doesn’t want an increase in traffic issues in an area, or any other reasonable justification for prohibiting certain actions. This clause however has been used to eventually overturn the idea that separate but equal is constitutional.In 1955, the Supreme Court ruled that segregated school was a violation and even harmful to children. Much of the civil rights movement was based on this clause, that all people are to be equal under the eyes of the law. Today we are looking at very similar battles going on in our courts. It is no longer an issue of race or even gender, but disab ilities and sexual orientation. Many are fighting for their equal protection under the law. They aren’t asking for special treatment, just equal treatment, as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Marketing Final Paper Essay

Yum! Brands is the world’s largest restaurant company with over 38,000 restaurants in over 110 countries and territories and more than 1 million associates. Yum Brands is also a leader within the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) industry in China, with over 3,500 restaurants in the region (i.e., Taiwan, Mainland China, and Thailand), more than 1,800 of which are located in Mainland China. Yum Brands operates in the Food Service Industry, which will never be replaced or outdated due to increasing technology or increased competition. Consumers will always need to consume from the Food Service Industry. Growth and consumption is guaranteed with increase of the world population and expansion to additional countries world wide. In 2010, the company increased its net income by 10% from $824 million in 2009 to $1.16 billion in 2010. Yum Brands continues to show strong sales, profits, and growth. Yum Brands is the worldwide leader in multi branding, which offers consumers more choice and convenience at one restaurant location from a combination of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, A&W or Long John Silver’s brands. Yum Brands also shows great Corporate Social Responsibility in the industry. Yum! Ranked #337 out of 500 on Newsweek’s 2010 Green Rankings U.S. list #62 on Corporate Social Responsibility Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List of 2010, #33 in 2009. Yum Brands has cemented their products with unique taste differentiation by making their chains the leaders in the industry. A&W is Root Beer and KFC is fried chicken. Yum Brands has demonstrated a strong business plan and corporate goals for competing in the global market. Introduction Yum Brands holds a strong position as the number 2 company in the Food Service Industry. The food Service Industry is a necessary industry that will not see great change due to innovation or a new competitor entering the market. The market is strong and consistent based off consumer needs. The fast food industry is cheap and cost effective, providing excellent services to consumers at the lowest possible prices. Yum Brands is the world’s largest restaurant company with over 38,000 restaurants in more than 110 countries and territories and over 1 million employees. This shows the size of Yum Brands, a global presence that will continue to increase Yum Brands has also displayed global business and marketing strategies. * Build leading brands across China in every significant category * Drive aggressive international expansion and build strong brands everywhere * Dramatically improve U.S. brand positions, consistency and returns * Drive industry-leading, long-term shareholder and franchisee value David C Novak has been CEO of Yum Brands (YUM) for 6 years. Mr. Novak has been with the company for20 years. The 53 year old executive ranks 1 within Forbes rankings of highest paid restaurant CEO’s. While most consumers are unaware of the parent corporation, Yum Brands is silently taking a more controlling share of the global food industry. Its well-known brands include Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco-Bell, Long John Silver’s and A&W Restaurants. Yum Brands continue to show growth that will put it on par with the leader in the Food Service Industry, McDonalds? Despite having more locations than McDonalds, McDonalds annual revenue of $23.1 Billion dwarf Yum Brands at $11.3 Billion Overview of Yum Brands Yum! was created on October 7, 1997, as Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. an independent company, as a result of a spin-outfrom PepsiCo, which owned and franchised the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell brands worldwide. Because of the company’s previous relationship with Pepsi, Yum! Brands has a lifetime contract with PepsiCo, with notable exceptions being the contract of A&W Restaurants with Dr Pepper Snapple Group to be the exclusive restaurant provider of A&W Root Beer. Yum Brands is the world’s largest restaurant company with over 37,000 restaurants in more than 110 countries and territories. There is probably a Yum restaurant near you. Its well-known brands include Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco-Bell, Long John Silver’s and A&W Restaurants. There are 14,001 stores internationally including 3,664 locations in China. Yum has 17,476 stores in the U.S. A total of 77% are owned by franchisees. The company implements practices and procedures to maintain a high level of service including Customer Mania Training and CHAMPS (which measures operational basics like Cleanliness, Hospitality, Accuracy, Maintenance, Product Quality and Speed). A&W Restaurants, Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., is the longest running quick service franchise chain in America. Since 1919, A&W All-American Food has been serving a signature frosty mug root beer float and All-American pure-beef hamburgers and hot dogs. There are over 600 A&W All American Food outlets in 13 countries and territories around the world and nearly 600 points of distribution at Yum! Brands multibrand restaurants. There are approximately 344 A&W All-American Food restaurants in the U.S. and more than 290 in 11 other countries. KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain specializing in Original Recipe, Extra Crispy and Colonel’s Crispy Strips with home-style sides, Honey BBQ Wings, and freshly made chicken sandwiches. Since its founding by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, KFC has been serving customers delicious, already-prepared complete family meals at affordable prices. There are over 12,000 KFC outlets in more than 102 countries and territories around the world serving some eight million customers each day. Long John Silver’s, Inc. based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s largest quick-service seafood chain, specializing in batter-dipped fish, chicken, shrimp and hushpuppies. Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island, Long John Silver’s was founded in 1969. Today, there are more than 1,000 Long John Silver’s, Inc. restaurants worldwide, and over 350 additional points of distribution in multibrand restaurants. Pizza Hut Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is the world’s largest pizza restaurant company specializing in Pan Pizza, Thin ‘N Crispy pizza, Hand-Tossed Style Pizza and Stuffed Crust Pizza. There are more than 6,100 restaurants in the United States and more than 4,900 restaurants in over 92 countries and territories around the world. The company is the recognized leader in the pizza category. Taco Bell Corp. is the nation’s leading Mexican-style quick service restaurant chain serving tacos, burritos, signature Quesadillas, nachos and other specialty items. Taco Bell serves more than 35 million consumers each week in more than 5,100 restaurants in the U.S. Marketing Strategy Product Yum Brand is in the food service industry but they also look to market their restaurant chains, as individuals own 80% of Yum Brands restaurant chains. Yum Brands is the largest restaurant supplier of chicken, tacos, fish, and pizza to the consumer market and they sell very recognizable products. In their marketing of products, Yum Brands focuses less on individual products and more on the brand as a whole. After conducting comprehensible market research, Yum Brands found that the majority of people purchasing from one of their restaurants are not looking for a specific product. Yum Brands found that the majority of consumers choose Yum Brands because of their convenient locations, low prices, and the quality of food is high. KFC sells the most recognizable brand of chicken in the world, although they have many competitors, none of their competitors have as many locations or as much brand recognition as KFC. However, there have been some large selling Items, which Yum Brands has chosen to market individually, such as the KFC 12 piece bucket and Taco Bell’s Crunch Wrap Supreme. With large ticket items, Yum Brands has designed custom meal deals focused around these items. Instead of simply offering chips and a drink or a biscuit, Yum Brands has focused on supersized meals and the marketing strategy of getting the most for your money. They do this by supersizing the meals consumers purchase at a price increase that is both favorable to the consumer and beneficial to costs. Price The goal of Yum Brands is to compete at the lowest price possible and they do this by owning distribution centers around the world and controlling the process that food comes into one of their restaurants, from the farm to the customer. Because Yum Brands is the largest supplier of chicken, tacos, fish, and pizza to the market they have a competitive advantage over their competitors simply because they can move more product, thus they can provide lower prices. This industry’s customers are characterized as highly price sensitive so they can easily switch to a product that is like in quality and service but offered at a lower price. Also, switching costs are quite low. Customers do not have to incur any cost for not buying from a firm. Place Yum Brands has more physical locations than any other restaurant in the world. Yum Brands operates over 38,000 restaurants in 110 countries. Yum Brands has focused on convenience for all consumers in the structure of their restaurant chains. With large physical location presence in the market, Yum Brands can ensure stability as well as growth. Recent expansion into China has also proved to be a booming market for more physical locations and sales growth. Yum Brands continues to surge in revenue and market share with each additional restaurant opened in expanding markets such as China. Promotion Unlike competitors such as McDonalds who attempt to brand their products like the Big Mac, Yum Brands focuses on controlling the entire market. KFC chicken is an American cornerstone of culture. KFC dominates the chicken market because of the great reputation and wide brand recognition of Colonel Sanders. There are fierce advertising battles among the large restaurant chains McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, Taco Bell. Because brand recognition and price so greatly affect consumers, marketers want to make customers aware of deals occurring at their chains. The Food Industry is one of the most heavily marketing industries in the world. In 2010, the fast food industry spent $4.2 Billion in advertising. Analysis Yum Brands has shown significant, consistent, large financial growth in the last year. (YUM) has a market cap of $23.99 billion with a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75. The stock has traded in a 52-week range between $45.94 and $57.75. The stock is currently trading around $52. On July 14th, the company reported second quarter revenues of $2.82 billion, compared to revenues of $2.57 billion in the second quarter of 2010. Second quarter net income was $$1.16 billion compared to net income of $824 million in the second quarter of 2010. Yum Brands has shown significant financial growth over the past year, and projects continued growth and expansion through 2012. One of YUM’s competitors is McDonald’s Corporation (MCD). McDonald’s is currently trading around $90 with a market cap of $90.14 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68. McDonalds pays a dividend that yields 2.8% versus YUM, whose dividend yields 2.2%. YUM is one of the largest food service company’s in the world. In 2010, the company increased its net income by 10% from $824 million in 2009 to $1.16 billion in 2010. YUM is an international company that is rapidly increasing its overseas earnings. In 2010, YUM took in $755 million from China while taking in $700 million in the United States. On September 15th Jim Cramer endorsed YUM. YUM has a policy of paying out 35 to 40% of its profits in dividends. Over the last five years, the company has done well and has increased its dividend by 34.7%. I believe that YUM will continue to increase earnings, and that the dividend and the stock price will follow. This ratio shows us the percentage of total assets made up by goodwill and other intangibles is called the Intangible Asset Ratio. Heiserman, creater of the ratio, says he views anything over 20% as worrisome, â€Å"because management might be overpaying for the acquisition or acquisitions that gave rise to the goodwill.† Yum! Brands has an intangible assets ratio of 11%. This is below Heiserman’s threshold, and a sign that any growth you see with the company is healthy (Moore). The strengths of Yum Brands is in their global reach and consistent financial growth. Also Yum Brands operates several large chains in a strategic move to diversify their assets and sales. However, their largest competitor McDonalds, has also shown significant financial growth and expansion. In 2010 McDonalds saw a global sales growth of 5.0% and earnings per share growth of 11%. Although, McDonalds is also showing large profits and increased growth, Yum Brands is increasing at a faster rate. Yum Brands saw a 10% growth in sales in just the third quarter of 2010. Yum Brands is a low cost leader in the food industry with unique taste differentiation. The wide availability and unbeatable values of Yum Brand chains make it convenient and affordable for customers to buy from Yum Brands. Yum Brands has cemented their products with unique taste differentiation by making their chains the leaders in the industry. A&W is Root Beer and KFC is fried chicken. Yum Brands has shown an excellent demonstration of Focus Strategies by not trying to compete with McDonalds. Yum Brands does not offer hamburgers, instead they have focused on cornering the market in Tacos, Fried Chicken, Pizza, Fish, and fountain beverages. This strategy is key to their continued growth. By letting McDonalds control burgers and fries, Yum Brands can slowly take control of all other consumer needs in the fast food industry. This strategy will lead to Yum Brands surpassing McDonalds because Yum Brands is showing much greater growth. However, McDonalds revenues are still much greater than Yum Brands. In 2010 McDonalds brought in $23.1Billion to Yum Brands $11.3 Billion. Yum Brands has great Corporate Social Responsibility and leads many initiatives around the globe. In Australia, KFC has been working on a Closed Loop recycling project for the past three years. This program has attracted never before seen government funding and is a world leading QSR recycling initiative. No other QSR in Australia (nor have we found elsewhere in world) is doing anything on this scale and impact. KFC has been awarded $400K from the Australian Packaging Covenant and state governments to go towards the infrastructure of the new â€Å"Split Bin† to support this initiative. In addition, 100 percent of waste oil is recycled. Yum! Ranked #337 out of 500 on Newsweek’s 2010 Green Rankings U.S. list #62 on Corporate Social Responsibility Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List of 2010, #33 in 2009 The company is expected to enjoy a number of tailwinds in 2012 including lower interest expense due to favorable debt issuance over the past couple of years and retirement of the April 2011 bonds as well as around 20 million currency translation benefits in China. Although Yum’s market is exposed to risks, such as changes in interest rates such as food cost pressure, wage inflation in China, competition, unexpected margin pressure, inability to execute its growth plan, and food safety. Foreign currency exchange rate risks exist as international operating profit constitutes around 50% of the company’s operating profit. Key variable factors affecting the U.S. results include consumer spending, gasoline prices, housing market conditions, consumer credit, and stock market volatility. Taco Bell, which accounts for more than 60% of the total U.S. earnings, is presently the most important domestic brand. The recent Taco Bell lawsuit related to the content and quality of its beef products has negatively impacted the sales. Although, on April 18, Alabama-based Beasley Allen law firm voluntarily withdrew the allegation, YUM expects the negative impact to continue in 2012. KFC and Pizza Hut are the primary concepts, accounting for nearly 96% of total YUM restaurants within the YUM Restaurants International (YRI) division. Each concept offers sit-in as well as take-home options for customers. YUM has over 38,000 restaurants in over 110 countries. YUM is also a leader within the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) industry in China, with over 3,500 restaurants in the region (i.e., Taiwan, Mainland China, and Thailand), more than 1,800 of which are located in Mainland China. Yum Brands is the worldwide leader in multi branding, which offers consumers more choice and convenience at one restaurant location from a combination of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, A&W or Long John Silver’s brands. Yum Brands has seen substantial annual growth for the past 2 fiscal years. Yum has seen tremendous growth in china with over 50% of Yum’s income coming from outside of the United States. Yum is putting all its chips in China, and growth there was strong. Same store sales grew 19% in the quarter, compared with a 6% increase a year ago. Margins, though, eased and fell to 21.3%, from 25.2% a year ago. Operating profits surged 13% to $301 million. Store sales in the U.S. fell 3%, compared with a 1% gain a year ago, while operating profits hit $143 million, down 16% from a year ago. Internationally, the company earned $163 million (up 15%) and saw system sales growth increase by 13% (Fontevecchia). In May of 2011, Yum agreed to purchase Chinese hotpot chain Little Sheep for HK$4.56 billion. The deal spent more than 4 months in anti-trust review by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, to determine whether or not the transaction would result in a monopolistic positioning of Yum in the country’s restaurant industry. The Chinese Ministry just approved the deal in November of 2011, according to Little Sheep representatives. This new acquisition should continue to increase growth in China. Yum recently raised its 2012 earnings per share forecast to $2.85, excluding one-time items, meaning growth of at least 13 percent, despite what Chief Executive David Novak said were â€Å"disappointing U.S. results. That compares to its previous forecast of a 12 percent gain. The forecast comes ahead of Yum’s annual investor day on November 30th and two months after the company sought to reassure Wall Street that business in China remained on track. With this reassurance, Yum will continue to expand, giving investors a strong reason to invest. The share price went up in response to this news (Reuters). In direct growth, Yum Brands far exceeds any other competition in the industry including their largest competitor, McDonalds. If Yum Brands continues this net growth, they are on par to surpass McDonalds, becoming the global leader in the Food Service Industry. The corporate structure of Yum Brands is strong, the company is continuing to increase employment opportunities and expand their staff. David C Novak has been CEO of Yum Brands (YUM) for 6 years. Mr. Novak has been with the company for 20 years. The board of trustees overseas consistent growth of the company and the core values of Yum Brands have served them well thus far in the Industry.

Union Demands Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Union Demands - Essay Example Union Demands In the apartment building the supervisor, Larry Melton, was very mad that the employees were interested in forming a union. Mr. Melton began a behavioral pattern that was hurting the employees because he was making inquiries to several employees about the dealings of the union with the janitorial workers. Larry Melton was harassing the employees by calling them at home with questions about the affairs of the union. Larry did not have the right to call the employees after labor hours and ask them about things that occurred outside the workplace. He was violating both the trust of the employees and their privacy. Some of the claims of wrongdoing by the union in regards to the actions of the company included: Repeatedly interrogating employees about union activities. Threats of reducing of benefits. Threatening the employees for refusal to reveal the identities of who attended the union meetings. Forcing employees to reveal the nature of the private union meetings. Making employees offe rs of better medical benefits if they fail to join the union. In my opinion the majority of the claims made by the union were true. Larry Melton acted in an unethical manner in regards to the union activity with the janitorial workers. He pushed the employees to tell him information that they did not have to reveal. His actions constituted harassment. The company realized that Larry Melton acted wrongly and in order to protect the firm the company decided to terminate his employment contract. One of the arguments of the company was that they were not aware of the behavior of Larry Melton and that his actions were not sponsored by the company.

Out of African film and the book changes by Ama Ata Aidoo Essay

Out of African film and the book changes by Ama Ata Aidoo - Essay Example Despite huge difference in their classes, Farah is treated like a close friend by Karen. She always fearlessly interacted with him to discuss work affairs. Karen and Denys overcome many stereotypes associated with a British colonial lifestyle. For example, Karen disregards the life of a delicate British lady and deals with many work affairs which traditionally used to be looked after by men. Denys also disregarded the aloofness of a typical British aristocrat and treated the local Africans with great respect. This trait helped him to transcend cultural boundaries and effortlessly interact with different African tribes. The scene where Karen begs to have land set aside for â€Å"my Kikuyu† to live on once she is forced to leave Kenya is very significant because it shows that she wants what is the best for the Kikuyu people. It shows her loyalty to them and how attached she has become to them during the times she spent in Kenya. The representation of colonialism in Tarzan: The Ape Man is different from that in Out of Africa. In the latter, the British colonists more or less try to act as peacemakers with the locals. In the Tarzan film, there is a very clear line between the whites and blacks. No importance is given to the blacks who only look like mere shadows in the background. There is obvious othering of the African nation. In The African Queen also, the attitudes and observations about Africa and its people are different than those in Out of Africa. The colonialists are shown as civilized people, while the Africans are characterized by negative values. There is no harmony between the colo nialists and the Africans who are shown as primitive and simple people (Stafford). Esi is a strong and independent woman in the book Changes who leaves her husband to get able to live a fulfilled life. This is not the kind of thing which is usual for even a modern African woman living in contemporary times. The story starts with these words, â€Å"Esi