Market Segmentation and Product Positioning Article

Market Segmentation and Product Positioning - Article Example Market segmentation by Epson the tech company manufacturing these glasses has been clearly been highlighted by the article because it touches on the glasses offering more comfort to a workplace or office setting as opposed to just entertainment as mentioned by the author of the article that one cannot walk in them comfortably down the street. The market segment being targeted here appears to be the average career individual with PowerPoint presentations, visual reports summations and whatnot. The glasses appear to be made to appeal to the group made of career enthusiasts who want to look more professional by using the smart glass mover BT-200 achieve that desired effect while in the working environment. The Working class consists of the middle class and high class envisioning the target market segment. â€Å"Samsung readies phone for your wrist† is an article by Min-Jeong Lee and Yun-Hee Kim captured on Wall Street Journal that talks about the tech giant Samsung planning to unveil a smartwatch that does not need to be tethered to a phone referred to as the wrist communicator which has developed as an innovation of the initial smartwatch concept (Lee & Kim). The article elaborates the product positioning concept because of the fact that Samsung is introducing the concept and benefit of their smart wrist watch that is yet to be launched into the world market. The company boasts of already having the leading role in smartwatch presence already in the market as opposed to its competitors like Apple Inc. that are yet to make a debut in the same tech sector. The article builds on the fact that the watch will give a different experience to the intended market because it has new exciting features than its predecessors like Galaxy Gear. The mere fact that the watch will be able to ha ve a SIM card is enough to juggle the public minds to want to associate with the product before it is launched into the market and if possible make pre-orders.  Ã‚  

Essential Anatomy and Physiology Components

Essential Anatomy and Physiology Components Mahbubul Alam Task 1 Most of the nutrients in the feed are large molecules that can not be directly absorbed in the gut due to their size or hydrophobicity. The digestive system is responsible for the reduction in the size of these molecules directly absorbable smaller units and the conversion of hydrophilic molecules with hydrophobic complexes. Proper operation of absorption and transport mechanisms is essential for the delivery of products of digestion in human body cells . An abnormality of one of these systems can cause malnutrition even in the presence of adequate nutrition . Functions of Digestive System The task of the digestive system is the physical and chemical breakdown of food. In addition, energy needed by the body , as well as raw materials for growth and repair of body structures come from the food and drink that ingerimos. In the digestion process are the following functions: Test food through the senses of smell and taste, food crushing , dissolution in water, food transport crushed decomposition of food into simple substances with the aid of digestive enzymes, absorption simple substances, and elimination of indigestible residues. Regulation of digestive functions Digestive functions traction and secretion are controlled by two main types of regulation: the nervous regulation and hormonal regulation . Neural Mechanisms Nervous regulation of motor and secretory phenomena uses two types of neural networks : a local system , the enteric nervous system and the autonomic nervous system (ANS ). Nerve receptors are sensitive to various stimuli : the chemical composition of the chime (acidity) , stretching (feeling of fullness ) , etc. . They send impulses to the muscle and secretory cells of the digestive tract via the enteric nervous system consists of the myenteric plexus and submucosal . Neurotransmission is nervous or chemical type ( enkephalins , somatostatin , serotonin, bombesin , neurotensin , etc. . ) .The ANS consists of two contingents of fibers : sympathetic fibers that run along blood vessels, and the parasympathetic fibers of the vagus nerve. These two contingents have antagonistic actions: roughly, sympathetic fibers are inhibitory while the parasympathetic fibers are excitatory . Structure Core Structures : Mouth, pharynx , esophagus , stomach thin intestine , Ano Associated structures : salivary glands ( three pairs ) , Pancreas , Liver, Gall Bladder ( with their associated ducts) , and Appendix. Process The substances that the body needs are absorbed from food , it passes through the digestive system. When chewing food, it is moistened by saliva. As food is sufficiently fragmented and wet mouth are pushed by the tongue into the pharynx and swallowed. The muscles in the walls of the esophagus contract and relax to cause movement in waves, known as peristalsis, which lowers food into the stomach. In this , mixed with acidic juices produced by the wall of the organ. These juices facilitate the fragmentation of food in even smaller particles , the muscles of the stomach wall also contract , and facilitating the greater fragmentation. Thereafter , they pass into the small intestine where certain products contained in the digestive juices , known enzymes continue the degradation of food in nutritional components which are absorbed by the blood through the walls of the small intestine. Leftover food particles , which are not digested in the small intestine pass into the large intestine where water is absorbed. The remaining food is a partially solid waste is gradually propelled along the large intestine and takes the form of feces reach the rectum. The depositions are stored in the terminal portion of the digestive tract and are then expelled through the anus. Anatomy The esophagus is a tube or membranous muscle that extends from the pharynx to the stomach. Incisors to cardia ( portion continues where the esophagus and stomach) there are about 40 cm. Esophagus begins at the neck, chest and traverses into the abdomen through the esophageal orifice diaphragm . Usually it is a virtual cavity ( ie that its walls are joined and only open when the bolus passes ) . Measure reaches the esophagus 25 cm and has a structure consisting of two layers of muscles which allow contraction and relaxation of the esophagus downward . These waves are called peristalsis and is causing the progress of food into the stomach. Its just a passage of the bolus , and is the union of different holes , oral , nasal , ear and larynx. Stomach: The stomach is an organ so that varies depending on the state of repletion (amount of nutritional content present in the gastric cavity) that is usually shaped J. It consists of several parts that are: fundus, body, antrum and pylorus. Its less extensive edge is called the lesser curvature and a larger curvature. The cardia is the boundary between the esophagus and stomach and pylorus is the boundary between the stomach and duodenum. In an individual measures approximately 25cm cardia to the pylorus and the transverse diameter is 12cm. To see what is inside the stomach click here. Small intestine: The small intestine begins at the pylorus and ends at the ileoceal valve, which is attached to the first part of the large intestine. Its length is variable and its size gradually decreases from its origin to the ileocecal valve. The duodenum, which is part of the small intestine, is about 25 to 30 cm in length, the small intestine consists of a proximal portion and a distal jejunum or the ileum, the boundary between the two portions is not very apparent. The duodenum joins the jejunum after 30cm from the pylorus. The jejunum-ileum is part of the small intestine that is characterized by relatively fixed ends: The first originates in the duodenum and the second is limited to the ileocecal valve and first portion of the blind. Its size decreases slowly but progressively towards the large intestine. The boundary between the jejunum and ileum is not noticeable. The small intestine villi has numerous surface increasing intestinal absorption of nutrients. Intestine: The large intestine . starts from the ileocecal valve in a blind pouch called from where the vermiform appendix and ends at the rectum . From the cecum to the rectum describes a series of curves , forming a frame in the center of the handles are yeyunoà ­leon . Its length is variable between 120 and 160 cm , and its size gradually reduces , being narrower in the region where it joins portion rectum or rectosigmoid junction, where the diameter is usually not exceed 3 cm , while the blind is 6 or 7 cm. After the blind , the second portion of the large intestine is called as ascending colon, with a length of 15cm , to give rise to the third portion which is the transverse colon with an average length of 50 cm , resulting in a fourth portion which is the descending colon 10cm in length. Finally differs sigmoid , colon rectum and anus . The rectum is the last part of the digestive tract. It is the continuation of the sigmoid colon and ends up opening up to the outside through the anal opening . Pancreas: Gland is intimately related to the duodenum, the excretory duct of the pancreas, which ends meet with the bile through the ampulla of Vater, their secretions areimportant in the digestion of food . Liver: The liver is the largest internal organ of the body weighs 1500 grams. It consists of two lobes. The bile ducts are the excretory ducts of the liver , bile for them is driven into the duodenum . normally get two channels: left and right , that converge together to form a single duct . the hepatic duct receives a finer duct, cystic duct coming from the gallbladder housed in the visceral side of liver. Meeting of the cystic duct and the hepatic bile duct , descending duodenum , into which together with the excretory duct of the pancreas is formed. The gallbladder is a reservoir musculomembranous shunted on the main bile duct. It contains about 50-60 cm3 of bile. Is oval or slightly pear-shaped , and its major diameter is about 8 to 10 cm . Spleen: The spleen , for its main functions should be considered an organ of the circulatory system. Its size depends on the amount of blood contained therein. Digestive Physiology The gastrointestinal tract is responsible for the digestion of the ingested food , so that they can be used by the body . The process of digestion begins in the mouth where food is covered by saliva , crushed and divided by the action of chewing and once formed the bolus swallowed . The stomach is not an essential organ for life, for though his removal in man and animals cause certain digestive disorders, not fundamentally affect health. In humans , the essential function of the stomach to reduce food to a semi-fluid mass of uniform consistency called chyme , which then passes into the duodenum . The stomach also acts as a temporary reservoir for the acid foods and their secretions , has some antibacterial action. The chyme passes the pylorus and enters the duodenum intervals where it is transformed by the secretions of the pancreas , small intestine and liver was continued digestion and absorption. Chyme is progressing through the small intestine until it reaches the large intestine. The ileocecal valve too fast hinders the emptying of the small intestine and prevents reflux of the contents of the large intestine to the small intestine. The main function of the large intestine is the formation , transport and disposal of feces. A very important function is to absorb water. In the cecum and ascending colon faeces are almost liquid and that is where the greatest amount of water and some dissolved substances are absorbed, but also in more distal regions ( rectum and sigmoid colon) liquids are absorbed. Digestion and absorption Digestion of food is effected by hydrolysis using digestive enzymes and cofactors such as hydrochloric acid or bile . Cofactors are also involved in the mechanisms of absorption. Enzymes are of 2 types: exoenzymes and endoenzymes. Digestive enzymes are exoenzymes mainly synthesized by specialized cells of the mouth, stomach , pancreas or small intestine and that are released in the digestive light to catalyze the hydrolysis of the food to the outside of the cell .The enzymes are endoenzymes localized on the membrane lipoproteins digestive mucosal cells . The connection to their substrate therefore when those latter penetrate into the cell. Ingested food are absorbed about 95%. The water , inorganic salts , monosaccharides , vitamins and alcohol are absorbed without change. As against , disaccharides , polysaccharides , lipids and proteins are to be transformed by hydrolysis into simpler components before being absorbed. Factors influencing the digestion Psychological factors: The appearance, smell and taste of food served modifies the emotional climate during the meal which influences the digestion of ingested food. Indeed , salivary secretions , gastric , etc. . and alter motility of the digestive tract . Emotions such as fear , anxiety or anxiety act via the hypothalamus and the autonomic nervous system affect digestion by reducing secretions , inhibition of peristalsis and increased sphincter tone . Bacterial action . The intestinal flora is a complex community with over 100 different species. At birth, the gastrointestinal tract is sterile, but many species rapidly colonize the digestive tract. Lactobacillus is the main bacteria flora until the child gets a varied diet . Then Escherichia coli dominant in the terminal ileum , and the anaerobic flora in the colon appears . However, the number of lactobacilli persist in subjects taking a normal diet. In the stomach , hydrochloric acid (HCl ) has a bactericidal action , which destroys most bacteria in the gastric acid chyme . In hyposà ©crà ©tion gastric cases, bacterial overgrowth can be responsible for gastritis resulting in inflammation of the mucosa. In the colon , bacterial action is more intense. It leads to the formation of gas (H2 , CO2 , CH4 , O2, NH3 , etc . ) , Acids ( lactic , acetic , etc . ) , And many other substances ( indoles , phenols , etc. . ) . The smell of feces is related to many of these components. The meal ingestion alters the fecal flora in very different ways depending on the individual . The ingestion of carbohydrate fermentation tends to increase while the increase of protein putrefaction . Effects of food preparation and meal composition . Cooking makes them more easily digestible : cooking meat relaxes connective tissue, facilitates chewing making it more accessible to digestive juices tissues. A heat load and composition equal meals low volume and more can be better digested than lavish meals . The chemical reactions during cooking alter food digestion . Acrolein produced by frying foods at elevated temperature, delays gastric emptying . Instead, meat extract ( bouillon ) stimulate digestion . Finally, there is a wide variation within and between individual sensitivity to food, their physical properties (temperature , acidity, etc. . ) That is frequently associated with the state of repletion of the digestive tract . Task 2 The Endocrine System and Its Working The endocrine system is a term for all the organs and tissues that produce hormones. They are distributed throughout the body and can show effects over long distances on: Growth Development Functions of many organs Coordination of metabolic processes The endocrine glands are organs, but who have no ducts, because they distribute their products directly into the blood or an autocrine or paracrine effect, however. Therefore, there is at this tissue with a dense network of blood capillaries with windowed endothelium. Exocrine gland secretions free to oppose it with their inner or outer surfaces: on the skin, on the wall of the stomach or in the pancreatic ducts. The hormone-producing tissue can be divided into three groups: Purely endocrine glands, used exclusively for the production of hormones; Exo-endocrine glands, in addition to the hormones produced other exocrine secretions; Certain non-glandular tissue such as the autonomic nerves, which also secrete hormone-like substances =neuro secretion Location and Function of 3 Endocrine Glands Thyroid Developmentally, the thyroid gland goes out of the intestinal epithelium of the pharynx bottom out on the tongue base. This gland stands at the beginning of the development through the ducts thyroglossus still with the floor of the mouth in combination and is located in front of the trachea after a descent. Anatomically, the thyroid gland is composed of two lobes, which are on an isthmus that is sometimes formed as a real pyramidal lobe, in conjunction. Without thyroid hormones cannot live. The thyroid hormonetriiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxin (T4) are iodized. They work in almost all body cells and stimulate there on the energy metabolism. The thyroid itself is in terms of a control system by the hypothalamic hormone TRH (TSH-releasing hormone), and originating from the pituitary TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) in their function regulated (Hiller-Sturmhofel, 1998). Endocrine Pancreas The pancreas is an exo-endocrine organ by both digestive juices into the duodenum and releases hormones into the bloodstream. The endocrine portion, the islets of Langerhans are localized mainly in the pancreatic and stand out due to their brighter appearance. They secrete their secretions directly into the bloodstream. A distinction is to effect different types of cells: B cells: 60-80%, are used to produce insulin A cells: approximately 20%, and are therefore intended to antagonist to insulin D cells: about 2% serve to have an inhibitory effect on the A-and B-cells as well as on the exocrine pancreas. PP cells (pancreatic polypeptide): ~1-2% and inhibit pancreatic exocrine These islands consist of a net-like organization of several thousand epithelial cells arranged in groups and are crossed by numerous capillaries with windowed endothelium (Carter, n.d.) Pituitary The pituitary gland is located at the underside of the brain and is composed of three parts. In contrast, the anterior pituitary produces own hormones. The activity of its cells is determined by complex humeral and neural mechanisms regulated (= control hormones). It is above all the hypothalamic releasing and release-inhibiting hormones that play an important role (Drake, 2010)

My Life Essay -- Personal narrative, descriptive Essays

Road trips make for great writing, especially if you are driving alone. All you have is the road and your thoughts. Even the radio is turned off eventually, as silence takes precedent. This was my experience a few weeks ago, driving home from a pseudo-family reunion. My first thoughts were basic; what I had to do the following week, how great it had been to see all my friends, and how good Jordan had looked that weekend. Yet, as my drive progressed, my thoughts began to wander. I began thinking about my life; what I had already accomplished and what was still waiting for me. I realized that there are so many things that I want to do before I die. I quickly sorted through them in my mind and this is what I discovered. I want to visit the 7 Wonders of the World; walking along the banks of Victoria Falls and standing beneath the shadow of the Sphinx. These are some of the most amazing structures in the world, and I need to experience them for myself, instead of through books and photographs. I want to use my time to help others. There is an amazing organization called Sa...

Fool Chapter 3

THREE OUR DARKER PURPOSE[15] â€Å"Well this is a downy lot of goose toss if I've ever read it,† said I. I sat on the bastard's back, cross-legged, reading the letter he'd written to his father. â€Å"‘And my lord must understand how unjust it is that I, the issue of true passion, is shorn of respect and position while deference is given my half brother, who is the product of a bed made of duty and drudgery.'† â€Å"It's true,† said the bastard. â€Å"Am I not as true of shape, as sharp of mind, a – â€Å" â€Å"You're a whiny little wanker,[16] is what you are,† said I, my brashness perhaps spurred by the weight of Drool, who was sitting on the bastard's legs. â€Å"What did you think you would possibly gain by giving this letter to your father?† â€Å"That he might relent and give me half my brother's title and inheritance.† â€Å"Because your mother was a better boff than Edgar's? You're a bastard and an idiot.† â€Å"You could not know, little man.† It was tempting then, to clout the knave across the head with Jones, or better, slit his throat with his own sword, but as much as the king might favor me, he favors the order of his power more. The murder of Gloucester's son, no matter how deserved, would not go unpunished. But I was fast on my way to fool's funeral anyway if I let the bastard up before his anger cooled. I'd sent Shanker Mary away in hope that any wrath that fell might pass her by. I needed a threat to stay Edmund's hand, but I had none. I am the least powerful of all about the court. My only influence is raising others' ire. â€Å"I do know what it is to be deprived by the accident of birth, Edmund.† â€Å"We are not the same. You are as common as field dirt. I am not.† â€Å"I could not know then, Edmund, what it is to have my title cast as an insult? If I call you bastard, and you call me fool, can we answer as men?† â€Å"No riddles, fool. I can't feel my feet.† â€Å"Why would you want to feel your feet? Is that more of the debauchery of the ruling class I hear so much about? So blessed are you with access to the flesh's pleasures that you have to devise ingenious perversions to get your withered, inbred plumbing to come to attention – need to feel your feet and whip the stable boy with a dead rabbit to scratch your scurvy, libidinous itch, is it?† â€Å"What are you on about, fool? I can't feel my feet because there's a great oaf sitting on my legs.† â€Å"Oh. Quite right, sorry. Drool, lift off a bit, but don't let him up.† I climbed from the bastard's back and walked to the laundry doorway where he could see me. â€Å"What you want is property and title. Do you imagine that you will get it by begging?† â€Å"The letter's not begging.† â€Å"You want your brother's fortune. How much better would a letter from him convince your father of your worth?† â€Å"He would never write such a letter, and besides, he does not play for favor, it is his already.† â€Å"Then perhaps the problem is moving favor from Edgar to you. The right letter from him would do it. A letter wherein he confesses his impatience with waiting for his inheritance, and asks for your help in usurping your father.† â€Å"You're mad, fool. Edgar would never write such a letter.† â€Å"I didn't say he would. Do you have anything written in his hand?† â€Å"I do, a letter of credit he was to grant to a wool merchant in Barking Upminster.† â€Å"Do you, sweet bastard, know what a scriptorium is?† â€Å"Aye, it's a place in the monastery where they copy documents – bibles and such.† â€Å"And so my accident of birth is the remedy of yours, for because I hadn't even one parent to lay claim to me, I was brought up in a nunnery that had just such a scriptorium, where, yes, they taught a boy to copy documents, but for our darker purpose, they taught him to copy it in exactly the hand that he found on the page, and the one before that, and the one before that. Letter to letter, stroke for stroke, the same hand as a man long gone to the grave.† â€Å"So you are a skilled forger? If you were raised in a nunnery how is it you are a fool and not a monk or a priest?† â€Å"How is it that you, the son of an earl, must plead mercy from under the arse of an enormous nitwit? We're all Fate's bastards. Shall we compose a letter, Edmund?† I'm sure I would have become a monk, but for the anchoress. The closest to court I would have come would have been praying for the forgiveness of some noble's war crimes. Was I not reared for the monastic life from the moment Mother Basil found me squirming on the steps of the abbey at Dog Snogging[17] on the Ouze? I never knew my parents, but Mother Basil told me once that she thought my mother might have been a madwoman from the local village who had drowned in the river Ouze shortly after I appeared on the doorstep. If that were so, the abbess told me, then my mother had been touched by God (like the Natural) and so I was given to the abbey as God's special child. The nuns, most of whom were of noble birth, second and third daughters who could not find a noble husband, doted on me like a new puppy. So tiny was I that the abbess would carry me with her in her apron pocket, and thus I was given the name of Pocket. Little Pocket of Dog Snogging Abbey. I was much the novelty, the only male in that all-female world, and the nuns competed to see who might carry me in their apron pocket, although I do not remember it. Later, after I learned to walk, they would stand me on the table at mealtime and have me parade up and down waving my winky at them, a unique appendage in those feminine environs. I was seven before I realized that you could eat breakfast with your pants on. Still, I always felt separate from the rest of them, a different creature, isolated. I was allowed to sleep on the floor in the abbess's chambers, as she had a woven rug given her by the bishop. On cold nights I was permitted to sleep under her covers to keep her feet warm, unless one of the other nuns had joined her for that purpose. Mother Basil and I were constant companions, even after I grew out of her marsupial affection. I attended the masses and prayers with her every day from as long as I could remember. How I loved watching her shave every morning after sunup, stropping her razor on a leather strap and carefully scraping the blue-black whiskers from her face. She would show me how to shave the little spot under your nose, and how she pulled aside the skin on her neck, so as not to nick her Adam's apple. But she was a stern mistress, and I had to pray every three hours like all the other nuns, as well as carry water for her bath, chop wood, scrub floors, work in the garden, as well as take lessons in maths, catechism, Latin and Greek, and calligraphy. By the time I was nine I could read and write three languages and recite The Lives of the Saints from memory. I lived to serve God and the nuns of Dog Snogging, hoping that one day I might be ordained as a priest myself. And I might have, but then one day workmen came to the abbey, stonecutters and masons, and in a matter of days they had built a cell off of one of the abandoned passages in the rectory. We were going to have our very own anchorite, or in our case, anchoress. An acolyte so devoted to God that she would be walled up in a cell with only a small opening through which she would be passed food and water, and there she would spend the rest of her life, literally part of the church, praying and dispensing wisdom to the people of the village through her window until she was taken into the bosom of the Lord. Next to being martyred, it was the most holy act of devotion a person could perform. Daily I crept out of Mother Basil's quarters to check on the progress of the cell, hoping to somehow bask in the glory that would be bestowed upon the anchoress. But as the walls rose, I saw there was no window left to the outside, no place for the villagers to receive blessings, as was the custom. â€Å"Our anchoress will be very special,† Mother Basil explained in her steady baritone voice. â€Å"So devout is she that she will only lay eyes on those who bring her food. She will not be distracted from her prayers for the king's salvation.† â€Å"She is the charge of the king?† â€Å"No other,† said Mother Basil. The rest of us were bound by payment to pray for the forgiveness of the Earl of Sussex, who had slaughtered thousands of innocents in the last war with the Belgians and was bound to toast on the coals of Hell unless we could fulfill his penance, which had been pronounced by the Pope himself to be seven million Hail Marys per peasant. (Even with a dispensation and a half-price coupon purchased at Lourdes, the earl was getting no more than a thousand Hail Marys to the penny, so Dog Snogging was becoming a very rich monastery on his sins.) But our anchoress would answer for the sins of the king himself. He was said to have perpetrated some jolly-good wickedness, so her prayers must be very potent indeed. â€Å"Please, Mother, please let me take food to the anchoress.† â€Å"No one is to see or speak to her.† â€Å"But someone has to take her food. Let me do it. I promise not to look.† â€Å"I shall consult the Lord.† I never saw the anchoress arrive. The rumor simply passed that she was in the abbey and the workmen had set the stones around her. Week's went by with me begging the abbess to allow me the holy duty of feeding the anchoress, but it was not until one evening when Mother Basil needed to spend the night alone with young sister Mandy, praying in private for the forgiveness of what the abbess called a â€Å"Smashing Horny Weekender,† that I was allowed to attend to the anchoress. â€Å"In fact,† said the Reverend Mother, â€Å"you stay there, outside her cell until morning, and see if you can learn some piety. Don't come back until morning. Late morning. And bring tea and a couple of scones with you when you come back. And some jam.† I thought I would burst, I was so excited when I first made my way down that long, dark hallway – carrying a plate of cheese and bread, and a flagon of ale. I half expected to see the glory of God shining through the window, but when I got there, it wasn't a window at all, but an arrow loop, like in a castle wall, cut in the shape of a cross, the edges tapered so that the broad stone came to a point at the opening. It was as if the masons only knew one window they could put in a thick wall. (Funny that arrow loops and sword hilts, mechanisms of death, form the sign of the cross – a symbol of mercy – but on second thought, I guess it was a mechanism of death in itself.) The opening was barely wide enough to pass the flagon through; the plate would just fit through at the cross. I waited. No light came from inside the cell. A single candle on the wall across from the opening was the only illumination. I was terrified. I listened, to see if I could hear the anchoress reciting novenas. There wasn't even the sound of breathing. Was she sleeping? What kind of sin was it to interrupt the prayers of someone so holy? I put the plate and ale on the floor and tried to peer into the darkness of the cell, perhaps see her glow. Then I saw it. The dim sparkle of the candle reflecting in an eye. She was sitting there, not two feet from the opening. I jumped back against the far wall, knocking over the ale on the way. â€Å"Did I frighten you?† came a woman's voice. â€Å"No. No, I was just, I am – forgive me. I am awed by your piety.† Then she laughed. It was sad laughter, as if it had been held a long time and then let out in almost a sob, but she was laughing and I was confused. â€Å"I'm sorry, mistress – â€Å" â€Å"No, no, no, don't be sorry. Don't you dare be sorry, boy.† â€Å"I'm not. I won't be.† â€Å"What is your name?† â€Å"Pocket, mum.† â€Å"Pocket,† she repeated, and she laughed some more. â€Å"You've spilled my ale, Pocket.† â€Å"Aye, mum. Shall I fetch you some more?† â€Å"If you don't want the glory of my bloody godliness burning us both down, you better had, hadn't you, friend Pocket? And when you come back, I want you to tell me a story that will make me laugh.† â€Å"Yes, mum,† And that was the day that my world changed. â€Å"Remind me, why is it we're not just murdering my brother?† asked Edmund. From whimpering scribblings to conspiracy to murder in the course of an hour, Edmund was a quick study when it came to villainy. I sat, quill in hand, at the table in my small apartment above the great gatehouse in the outer wall of the castle. I have my own fireplace, a table, two stools, a bed, a cupboard for my things, a hook for my coxcomb and clothes, and in the middle of my room a large cauldron for heating and pouring boiling oil upon a siege force through gutters in the floor. But for the clanking of the massive chains when the drawbridge is raised or lowered, it is a cozy den in which to pursue slumber or other horizontal sport. Best of all, it is private, with a thumping big bolt on the door. Even among the nobles, privacy is rare, as conspiracy thrives there. â€Å"While that is an attractive course, unless Edgar is disgraced, disinherited, and his properties willfully given to you, the lands and title could pass to some legitimate cousin, or worse, your father might set about trying to sire a new legitimate heir.† I shuddered a bit then – along with, I'm sure, a dozen maidens about the kingdom – at the mental vision of Gloucester's withered flanks, bared and about the business of making an heir upon their nubile nobility. They would be clawing at the nunnery door to escape the honor. â€Å"I hadn't thought of that,† said Edmund. â€Å"Really, you, not think? How shocking. Although a simple poisoning does seem cleaner, the letter is the sharper sword.† If I gave the scoundrel proper rope, perhaps he could hang for both our purposes. â€Å"I can craft such a letter, subtle, yet condemning. You'll be the Earl of Gloucester before you can get dirt shoveled on your father's still twitching body. But the letter may not do all.† â€Å"Speak your mind, fool. As much as I'd love to silence your yammering, speak.† â€Å"The king favors your father and your brother, which is why they were called here. If Edgar becomes betrothed to Cordelia, which could happen before the morrow – well, with the princess's dowry in hand, there'll be no cause for him to resort to the treachery we are about to craft around him. You'll be left with your fangs showing, noble Edmund, and the legitimate son will be all the richer.† â€Å"I'll see he is not betrothed to Cordelia.† â€Å"How? Will you tell him horrid things? I have it on good authority that her feet are like ferryboats. They strap them up under her gown to keep them from flapping when she walks.† â€Å"I will see to it that there is no marriage, little man, don't you worry. But you must see to this letter. Tomorrow Edgar goes on to Barking to deliver the letters of credit and I'll return to Gloucester with my father. I'll let the letter slip to him then, so his anger has time to fester in Edgar's absence.† â€Å"Quick, before I waste parchment, promise you'll not let Edgar marry Cordelia.† â€Å"Fine, fool, promise you'll not tell anyone that you ever penned this letter, and I will.† â€Å"I promise,† said I. â€Å"By the balls of Venus.† â€Å"Then, so do I,† said the bastard. â€Å"All right, then,† said I, dipping my quill in ink, â€Å"although murder would be a simpler plan.† I've never cared for the bastard's brother Edgar, either. Earnest and open-faced is he. I don't trust anyone who appears so trustworthy. They must be up to something. Of course, Edmund hanging black-tongued for his brother's murder would make for a festive chandelier as well. A fool does enjoy a party. In a half-hour I had crafted a letter so wily and peppered with treachery that any father might strangle his son at the sight of it and, if childless, bastinade his own bollocks with a war hammer to discourage conspirators yet to be born. It was a masterpiece of both forgery and manipulation. I blotted it well and held it up for Edmund to see. â€Å"I'll need your dagger, sir,† said I. Edmund reached for the letter and I danced away from him. â€Å"First the knife, good bastard.† Edmund laughed. â€Å"Take my dagger, fool. You're no safer, I still have my sword.† â€Å"Aye, which I handed you myself. I need your dagger to razor the seal off that letter of credit so I may affix it to this missive of ours. You'll need to break it only in your father's presence, as if you yourself are only then discovering your brother's black nature.† â€Å"Oh,† said Edmund. He gave me the knife. I performed the deed with sealing wax and candle and handed the blade back with the letter. (Could I have used one of my own knives for the task? Of course, but it was not time for Edmund to know of them.) The letter was barely in his pocket before Edmund had drawn his sword and had it leveled at my throat. â€Å"I think I can assure your silence better than a promise.† I didn't move. â€Å"So, you lament being born out of favor, what favor will you court by killing the king's fool? A dozen guards saw you come in here.† â€Å"I'll take my chances.† Just then the great chains that ran through my room began to shake, rattling as if a hundred suffering prisoners were shackled to them rather than a slab of oak and iron. Edmund looked around and I scampered to the far side of the room. Wind rushed through the arrow loops that served as my windows and extinguished the candle I had used for the sealing wax. The bastard spun to face the arrow loops and the room went dark, as if a cape had been thrown over the day. The golden form of a woman shimmered in the air at the dark wall. The ghost said, â€Å"A thousand years of torture rule, The knave who dares to harm a fool.† I could only see Edmund by the glow of the spirit, but he was moving crablike toward the door that led out onto the west wall, reaching frantically for the latch. Then he threw the bolt and was through the door in an instant. Light filled my little apartment and I could again view the Thames through the slits in the stone. â€Å"Well rhymed, wisp,† said I to the empty air. â€Å"Well rhymed.†

A Culture of Professionalism Essay

One of the challenges of making Kamak a professional organization is to get Pete, the Managing Director, to change his leadership style that is suitable to the organizational culture. First and foremost, Pete has to accept that he is merely a driver of that culture rather than its measure, and that he should get in touch with the realities of that culture. His personal actions as the main representative of management impact the assessment of organizational culture being that management practices are a significant dimension of it. It is measured through â€Å"the fairness and consistency with which policies are administered, the accessibility of management to employees, the degree to which management provides a safe working environment and how well management encourages diversity.† (Jolly & Recarda, 1997). Given that, he must be prepared to act in a way that promotes and implements the policies and good management practices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The members of the staff, on the other hand, seem keen on getting their opinions heard but they are having difficulty given the current situation. Moreover, confidentiality or a semblance of it is apparently an important condition before anyone will step forward and communicate an opinion. Since a face-to-face and one-on-one meeting opportunity is hard to come by, the best option at this time would be to express their opinion in writing and leave it anonymously and hope actions will be considered and forthcoming or sign it and explicitly request for a private meeting to discuss it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In a professional organization, continuity and consistency are important in order to instill a set of values, beliefs and practices that are understood and shared by its members. Unilateral and regular changes in policies merely tend to confuse especially since the organization has only recently evolved from a local organization to one that deals with international companies and has yet to homogenize. However, dealing with international companies would also mean having enough flexibility to adapt to the constantly changing environments and demands and thus, it is prudent to aim for continuous improvement as opposed to drastic changes. Consistency with policies and practices and service commitments can still be maintained and merely the strategy will be amended. It is essential, though, that to make a change successful, that change must be properly communicated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To achieve professional standards in organizational communication, the elements must be present and developed. This would include the communicators or those engaged in the exchange and sharing of ideas with their assessment and accessibility, the message, the language of interaction, the channel of communication which may be formal such as memoranda and meetings or informal such as casual conversations and the climate of the communication situation which would be the dynamics of interaction that there are no hidden agenda, no repercussions, and the like (Chan & Palo, 2002).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The organizational culture in Kamak is a networked culture that is â€Å"high in sociability but low in solidarity† and is still at the low context stage which is â€Å"characterized by considerable dependence on explicitly articulated messages†¦ that is usually observed in small firms or start-up firms where the entire operations is in the making and information must be widely distributed and clearly disseminated.† (Chan & Palo, 2002). Hence, the following are essential in its organizational communication: Promote a communication climate that is supportive, i.e., information is widely shared with the aim of progressing towards a climate that is high on empowerment and support; Open alternative modes of communication and utilize and maximize technology such as e-mails especially for information dissemination, fax, voicemail, phone if face-to-face communication is not immediately possible; Conduct regular meeting so that policies are formally introduced, implemented and reinforced; Make use of the grapevine to be in touch with the staff level and would encourage face-to-face interaction between parties making it personal and social; Open a feedback mechanism through suggestion boxes and at the same time, continue to encourage and promote the open-door policy but ensure accessibility in a climate and setting that nurtures confidentiality. References Chan, G.S. & Palo, T. M. (2002). Organizational communication. In G. Chan (Ed.), Managing people in Asian organizations (pp. 229-285). Singapore: Prentice Hall. Jolly, J. and Recardo, R. (1997). Organizational culture and teams. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 62 (2), 4-9.