The Theme Of Secrets In Isabel Allendes The Japanese Lover

There is always a secret in something. Secrets always invoke an emotional response to people, whether it is excitement or fear. In literature, the theme of secrets is mostly associated with mystery books; however, Isabel Allende uses secrets to invoke emotional responses to her readers.With regards to Isabel Allende, she is a Chilean-American author who is well-known for her works such as The House of the Spirits (1982) and City of the Beasts (2002). She was formally admitted into the American Academy of Arts and Letter and received Chile’s National Literature Prize. In 2014, former-president Obama awarded her the â€Å"Presidential Medal of Freedom†. In 2015, she released her book The Japanese Lover. Allende’s book is about the interactions†¦show more content†¦I’ve turned the page. Nowadays I am Irina Bazili and I have another life† (pg190). Although she â€Å"turned the page†, she is repressing these memories to the point that she isn’t willing to pursue the compensation because it reminds her of the traumas that she experiences during her childhood. It may seem like she accepts it and merely moves on; however, this is her way of coping with her trauma, by keeping it a secret even to herself as to not remind herself of what happening in her â€Å"past life†. In addition, Irina may have developed PTS or PTSD due to because she may be disturbed by intense emotion and/or bodily sensations seemingly seemingly unconnected to the traumas they suffered as she pulls away whenever someone makes physical contact with as it relates back to the idea that she refuses to remind herself of the trauma and persists on keeping her past a secret. Another point would be the poor parenting of Irina’s mother, Radmila. When Irina immigrates to America, her mother was not a prime example to her daughter due to her behavior. This is shown when the FBI come to see Irina, â€Å"When she came to, she started to take it out on her daughter†¦..the whore who perverted her husband.† (pg221 novel) In a study, it was shown that babies raised by caretakers who didn’t meet their needs will lack resilience and will have troubles adapting to life. Furthermore, their brain may be less likely to process life’s experiences (pg16 â€Å"The Body Remembers†). Although

Legal Notes Free Essays

string(118) " the mortgage was executed by him and, therefore, mortgage was void and inoperative and the same should be cancelled\." What is Contract? Contract is an agreement with specific terms between two or more persons or entities in which there is a promise to do something in return for a valuable benefit known as contract. Since the law of contracts is at the heart of most business dealings. There are two important elements in Agreeement of Contracts, i. We will write a custom essay sample on Legal Notes or any similar topic only for you Order Now e. 1) A proposal or an offer 2) An acceptance of that proposal or offer Essential Elements of a Valid Contract:- a) Agreement: – A negotiated and usually legally enforceable understanding between two or more parties. Although a binding contract can result from an agreement, an agreement typically documents the give-and-take of a negotiated settlement and a contract specifies the minimum acceptable standard of performance. b) Intention to create legal relationship: – One of the essential elements in the creation of a binding contract, this intention is implied by the fact that it is not expressly denied. Intention to bind the other party with the involved legal obligations. ) Free and genuine contract:-Two parties must give their Free and genuine contract to the term of agreement. Such consent should not obtain one or more of following manners i. e. I. By coercion II. By undue influence III. By fraud IV. By misrepresentation V. By mistake If the consent would be proved to have been obtained in one or more of the aforementioned manner, such contract automatically declared as voidable contract. d) Lawful consideration:- Consideration is an essential element for the formation of a contract. It may consist of a promise to perform a desired act or a promise to refrain from doing an act that one is legally entitled to do. In a bilateral contract—an agreement by which both parties exchange mutual promises—each promise is regarded as sufficient consideration for the other. In a unilateral contract, an agreement by which one party makes a promise in exchange for the other’s performance, the performance is consideration for the promise, while the promise is consideration for the performance. Consideration must have a value that can be objectively determined. Example:- To make a gift or a promise of love or affection is not enforceable because of the subjective nature of the promise. e) Lawful object: – Courts will not enforce contracts that are illegal or violate public policy. Such contracts are considered void. For example, a gambling contract would be illegal in many states. f) Agreements not declared void or illegal:- The sagreement should be such Which have not been expressly declared as illegal or void by any law of the land. Such agreement would naturally be not enforceable by law just for this single reason. ) Necessary legal formalities: – legal formalities are the legal obligations which are to be performed or fulfill by each and every organization by performing legal formality a unique image of organization is created in the mind of employees and other stake holders. Who are competent to contract? Every person is competent to contract who is of the age of majority according to the law to which he is subject, and who is of sound mind, and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject, following person disqualified into valid agreement or contract: a) Minors ) Mentally incompetent person and c) Person who are declared incompetent through their status. MINORS Section 3 of Indian Majority 1875,a minor is a person who has not completed 18years of age. But then in the following specific cases, a minor is said to attain the majority on the completion of his 21 years of age ,instead : 1. Where a guardian of minor’s person or property is appointed under the guardians and wards act ,1890. 2. Where a court of wards assumes the superintendence of the minor’s property. For example : * If A is born in India on the 1st January 1850, and has an Indian domicile . B guardian of A is appointed by court of justice. A attains majority at the the first day of January 1871. (21 years) * If A is born in India on the 29th February 1852,and has an Indian domicile. B guardian A’s property is appointed by a court of justice. A majority at the first moment of the 28th day of February 1873. (21years) * A is born on the first day of January 1850. He acquires a domicile in India . No guardian is appointed of his person or property by any court of justice, nor is he under the jurisdication of any court of wards. A attains majority at the first moment of the day of januray ,1868. (18 years) Under the English law, a contract by a minor is not void, but only voidable , at the option of the minor only, though only under certain exceptional circumstances. Under the Indian law a contact with or by minor is void, and not just voidable. As noted above a minor is not competent to contract. One question which arises in case of an agreement by a minor is, whether the agreement is void or voidable? The Indian contract Act does not have any provision to answer this question. In the absence of any statutory provision there had been controversy on this point. The controversy was set at rest by the decision of the Privy Council, in the case of Mohori Bibee Vs. Dharmodas Ghose in 1903. It was held that the agreement made by a minor is void.. Point 1 CASE LAW 1: Mohiri Bibi vs Dharmodas Ghose * The plaintiff, Dharmodas Ghose, while he was a minor, mortgaged his property in favour of the defendant, Brahmo Dutt, who was a moneylender to secure a loan of Rs. 20,000. The actual amount of loan given was less than Rs. 0,000. At the time of the transaction the lawyer, who acted on behalf of the money lender, had the knowledge that the plaintiff is a minor. * The plaintiff(Dharmodas) brought an action against the defendant stating that he was a minor when the mortgage was executed by him and, therefore, mortgage was void and inoperative and the same should be cancelled. You read "Legal Notes" in category "Papers" By the time of Appeal to the Privy Council the defenda nt, Brahmo Dutt died and the Appeal was prosecuted by his executors(Mohiri bibi) . The Defendant, amongst other points, contended that the plaintiff had fraudulently misrepresented his age and therefore no relief should be given to him, and that, if mortgage is cancelled as requested by the plaintiff, the plaintiff should be asked to repay the sum of Rs. 10,500 advanced to him. The decision of the Privy Council on the various points raised by the defendant was as follows : * The defendant’s argument that the minor had falsely mis-stated his age, the law of estoppels should apply against him and he should not be allowed to contend that he was a minor, was considered. The Privy Council found that the fact that the plaintiff was a minor at the time making of the agreement was known to the defendant’s agent. It was held that the law of estoppel as stated in Section 115, Indian Evidence Act, was not applicable to the present case, where the statement (about age) is made to a person who knows the real facts and is not misled by the untrue statement. * Another contention of the defendant was that, if the plaintiff’s claim to order the cancellation of the mortgage is allowed, the plaintiff should be asked to refund the loan taken by him, according to Section 64 and 65, Indian contract Act. Judgement according session Section 64 of the Indian Contract Act reads as under : â€Å"When a person at whose option a contract is voidable rescinds it, the other party there to need not perform any promise there in contained of which he is promisor. The party rescinding a voidable contract shall, if he received any benefit there under from another party to such contract, restore such benefit, so far as may be, to the person from whom it was received. Their Lordships observed that Section 64 was applicable to the case of a voidable contract. Minor’s agreement being void, Section 64 was not applicable to the case and therefore the minor could not ask to pay the amount under this section. If a minor has happened to receive some benefits under a void contract , he cannot be asked to return or refund such benefits. A minor can be a promise or a beneficiary:- According to Indian law , a minor can’t behind himself by a contract. A minor may not create a valid mortgage (credit) ,to execute an enforceable promissory note, and also he not incapable of being mortgagee of a property that means minor is entitled to all the benefits available to him, under the contract Ratification of an agreement a minor after attaining majority is void and invaid. The reasons for the rule that a minor cannot ratify an agreement after attaining majority are * An agreement entered into by a minor is void ab initio. A minor cannot ratify an agreement on attaining the age of majority to validate the same as there is no valid agreement/contract to ratify. Ratification is always treated as validation of previous authority/concerned party and dates back to the date of actual agreement and so a contract/agreement which was then void cannot be made valid by subsequent ratification. The minor on attaining majority can enter into a fresh agreement but the earlier amount/asset cannot be treated as consideration for the new agreement. * Also when the agreement was entered into during the minority there was no ‘proper consideration’ as the contract was void and this amount becomes ‘bad consideration’ for new agreement and is not enough for validating that agreement by its ratification. â€Å"Under section 11 a minor is not competent to contract he is disqualified from contracting. He can therefore neither make a valid proposal nor make a valid acceptance as defined in section-2, clause (a) and (b). He cannot, therefore, for the purposes of this Act be strictly called a promisor within the meaning of clause(c) nor can therefore anything done by the promise be strictly called a consideration at the desire of a promisor as contemplated by clause (d). It may, therefore, be urged that an argument by a minor cannot be strictly as being for â€Å"consideration’. If the part of the benefit was received by a person during his minority and the other part after attaining the age of majority, a promise by him after attaining majority to pay an amount in respect of both the benefits is enforceable, as that constitutes a valid consideration for the promise. A minor cannot even enter into a contract through guardian or any other agent because it is void contract and the same is not capable of ratification by a minor, on his attaining majority. Ratification in law is treated as equivalent to a previous authority, and it follows that as a general rule, a person or body of persons, not competent to authorize an act can’t give validity after ratifying it. CASE LAW 2: Madras High Court Indran Ramaswami Pandia Thalavar vs Anthappa Chettiar And Others. on 14 March, 1906. In this case, a minor gave a promissory note for borrowing an amount of Rs. 2500 in 1895 and in 1898 after attaining majority he gave another promissory note ratifying the previous loan. But the court clearly declined the argument that though the first agreement was done by a minor, it was done on the â€Å"desire off the promisor† citing above two reasons. A Minor can take the plea of being a minor Case Law -Leslie Vs Sheill The Events in the Case Sheill, a minor , fraudently misrepresented himself as a major and borrowed 400 pound sterling from Leslie. Actually Sheill was a minor at the material time ie at the time of borrowing the money. Sheill then spent the borrowed money and did not repay the loan. Leslie filed a suit against him claiming the following: Leslie’s claims 1. Recovery of the loan amount 2. Damages for the fraudulent misrepresentation( ie for the tort of deceit) The Verdict The court held that Leslie cannot recover the amount given to Sheill and also cannot claim damages under the Law of Tort. The justification for the verdict 1. A contract with a minor is void ab initio meaning it is void from the beginning. Hence even though the minor had misrepresented his age, the court cannot ask the minor to give the money back to Leslie as doing so would mean that the court is enforcing a void contract, which is not enforceable by law. Hence Leslie could not recover his money back. 2. Sheill has committed a tort( an action that harms another person, in this case it is Leslie). Law of Tort allows the aggrieved party to claim damages. But here the minor, Sheill is not bound by contract to borrow money or even for other purposes. Hence even damages cannot be claimed as the contract is void ab initio. Another Remark If Sheill had not spent the money, he cannot be asked to refund the money back. This is as per Section 30 and 33 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963. Section 30 of Specific Relief Act Court may require parties rescinding to do equity. – On adjudging the rescission of a contract, the court may require the party to whom such relief is granted to restore, so far as may be, any benefit which he may have received from the other party and to make any compensation to him which justice may require. Section 33 of Specific Relief Act Where a defendant successfully resists any suit on the ground- (a)  that the instrument sought to be enforced against him in the suit is voidable, the court may if the defendant has received any benefit under the instrument from the other party, require him to restore, so far as may be, such benefit to that party or to make compensation for it; (b)  that the agreement sought to be enforced against him in the suit is void by reason of his not having been competent to contract under section 11 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (9 of 1872 ), the court may, if the defendant has received any benefit under the agreement from the other party, require him to restore, so far as may be, such benefit to that party, to the extent to which he or his estate has benefited thereby. Source: http://www. indiankanoon. org/doc/172614/ Example Say there is a Minor M and two other persons N and O. M fraudulently misrepresents himself as a major at the time of contract and borrows money from N by mortga ging his property. He later sold the property by fraud to O. N then cancels both the agreements. Both the contracts are void ab initio. It was judged that M has to compensate both O and N as they both were not aware of the fact that M had fraudulently misrepresented them at the time of contract. Other points A minor can’t become a partner in any partnership firm:- under Section 30 of the partnership Act , 1932. The estate of a minor is liable to a person who supplies necessaries of his life to him. The guardians and parents of a minor are not liable to a creditors of a minor , for any breach of contract by a minor , even for the supply of the necessaries , or otherwise. A minor can , however , act as an agent. Contracts by the Persons of Mental Incompetence Definition and Understanding The term Incompetence habitually means â€Å"The lack of ability, knowledge, legal qualification, or fitness to discharge a required duty or professional obligation† and consequently Mental Incompetence refers to that populace who are diagnosed as being mentally ill, senile, drunken state, delirium under the influence of high fever or suffering from some other debility that prevents them from managing his own affairs Such people may be accredited mentally incompetent by a court of law for which as a rule a guardian is appointed to handle the person’s property and personal affairs. In order to be competent to a contract, a person should be of sound mind where the soundness of mind of a person depends on the following two factors: * His ability to understand the terms of a contract, and * His capability to form a rational judgment as to its effect upon his interest Henceforth, Section 11 and 12 specifically articulates that â€Å"A person is said to be of sound mind for the purpose of making a contract, if at the time when he makes it, he is capable of understanding it and of forming a rational judgment to its effect upon his interests† * An individual who experiences from insanity at intervals can enter into a contract, when he is of sound mind * An individual who endures from insanity occasionally cannot enter into a contract, when he is of unsound mind Case Law 3: Civil Appeal Nos – 1619-1620 of 2001 Legal Terms Used * Appellant – An individual who, discontented with the judgment delivered and decided in a lower court or the findings from a proceeding asks a superior court to review the decision * Respondent – The revelry against whom an appeal or motion, an application for a court order, is instituted and who is obligatory to answer in order to protect his or her interests Details Citation : Supreme Court of India Appellants : Chacko and Anr. Respondent : Mahadevan Hon’ble Judges : A. K. Mathur and Markandey Katju, JJ. | Case Description The case essentially is of the civil nature dealing with the Sale of Property and the execution of aforementioned sale endeavor. Fundamentally the sale was challenged as being null and void, the circumstances being the appellant – Chacko and Anr. alleging that he was made to carry out the deed by acting under the influence of liquor by the respondent – Mahadevan and was not in a fit state of mind and hence confronting the sale of assets as illogical and annulled At the outset an injunction was sought against the respondent and anon a series of cross suits by both parties to the case were filed. As the trial court detained that the appellants failed to prove the accusations allowing the ensemble of the respondent. Shortly the appellant stimulated appeal before the first appellate court where the order primarily in favor of the respondent was now overturned in favor of the appellant as the fact that one cent land was sold for Rs. 18000 vide Ext. A2 (sale deed dated 4. 9. 1982) and three cent land was sold vide Ext. A3 (sale deed dated 11. 7. 1983) for a sum of Rs. 1000, showing an unconscionable and irrational transaction This lead to an infuriated respondent, bestowing a second appeal before the high court of Kerala on account of the indicted verdict against the judgment of the First Appellate Court and its findings of fact. The Findings of Fact include the â€Å"Unsound state of mind† of appellant established by medical certificate for Alcoholic Psychosis summiting to the well known Latin maxim â€Å"res ipsa loquitur† i. e. the matter speaks for itself The Rationale for the Final Decision â€Å"Transaction on the basis of documents executed when not in a robust state of mind† â€Å"The Court cannot interfere with the unyielding findings of fact as the medical certificate for Alcoholic Psychosis submitted for of the first Appellate Court and is restricted only to questions of law. † Judgment The second appeal signified that Chacko sold the land by sale deed dated 11. 7. 1983 when he was not of sound mind and some swindle was played on him at that time by Mahadevan with the court testifying that the Court cannot interfere with the findings of fact of the first Appellate Court, and is confined only to the questions of law. The deal was quashed by the court and in favor of the appellant Chacko dismissing Mahadevan’s plea Incompetence Through Status: Incompetence to contract may arise under various situations, like 1. From Political status 2. From corporate status 3. From Legal Status 4. From Marital status Examples 1. Pertaining to Political Status * An Alien Enemy cannot enter into a contract with an Indian during the period of war. If Pakistan is in war with India then no Pakistani can enter a contract with Indians during the period of war. But if they have entered into a contract already then the contract may be dissolved or suspended till the war is over. The contracts that are against public policy and that will benefit the enemy will stand dissolved. Other contracts will be suspended provided that they have not been rendered time barred under Indian Limitation Act. * Alien Friend: An Indian can enter into a contract with citizen of other foreign country which is not at war with India. 2. Pertaining to Corporate Status According to 1856 companies act, a company cannot enter into a contract against Memorandum of Association. 3. Pertaining to Legal Status Person declared insolvent are not considered to enter into a contract till such time they are able to get a certificate of discharge from insolvency. 4. Pertaining to Marital Status A married woman has full ability and competence to enter into a valid contract . She can sue and even be sued against, in her own name. How to cite Legal Notes, Papers

Talent Management Current Theories and Future Research Directions

Question: Describe about the Talent management for Current theories and future research directions? Answer: Introduction: Right talent is the greatest asset for any business ion the market. It plays an important role of human resource management that makes facilitates to enhance employee performance in an effective manner. Through the engagement of true talent management, company could get the right data along with the automat repetitive tasks. This assignment describes talent management is little more than just repackaging of human resource management. In modern complex global environment, multinational companies have to handle an international workforce to have sustainable growth. Managing staffs globally are challenging because it is diverse, mobile and not bounded by cultural and geographical boundaries. As a result, many HR practitioners are focusing on companys talent management aspects. One of the major factors of talent management has been the notion of shortage in talents, and the implication of shortages on the HR management practices in multinational companies. There are lot of evidence that describes even in poor economic conditions companies are having difficulties in managing talent across different range of positions. The purpose of this assignment is to review the relevant practitioner and academic literature on talent management from last five to seven years to identify the importance of talent management. Basic Discussion: Although the invention of talent management can be seen on arts/sports management literature late back to 1865, the concept of talent management came into the business sectors in the 1990s with study named "The War for Talent" written by McKinsey (Al Ariss, Cascio and Paauwe 2014). Many HR practitioners recognized the importance of this trend. As a result, lot of excellent studies was made by HR in subsequent years by HR practitioners to examine the shortage of talent. As a result, phrases talent retention, acquisition become very popular among human resource management. The concept of global talent management was accepted by the consulting society of human resource management, Manpower Inc., World Federation of People Management Association. Building on this study, academics currently started to evaluates the talent management phenomenon more closely (Cappelli and Keller 2014). Although there is increasing consensus that talent management is an emerging area, there is no such consensus that describes the exact definition or limitations of talent management. There are several interpretations of talent management. The most common definition of talent management are like, Talent management is usually explained by the standard HR management functions and practices. In global context, the term global talent management is used interchangeably with international HR management. The concept of talent management is mainly future oriented and describe in terms of HR practices, planning and staffing needs. According to this, talent management is focused on the types capabilities needed in the future. It is the capability-based approach to strategic HR management. Therefore, talent management can be defined as a subset of HRM activities to develop, attract, mobilize and retain individuals with high potential so that organization can remain consistent to achieve its goals and objectives. Talent management plays a vital role for organizational growth in the market. Multinational companies manage their talent through following several strategies. For example, IBM believes in evidence-based solutions for enhancing their work force in an effective manner. it suggest the process where the organization motivates and retain talent management program of IBM includes some major steps such as talent suit, talent engagement, recruitment process outsourcing, social learning, performance management and compensation (Meyers and van Woerkom 2014). The performance management of the organization involves the monitoring system to track employees performance in the business. On the other hand, Google believes that recruiting skilled professionals is the key challenge for the business. Therefore, the recruitment process of the organization is quite complex. The employee must go through under the LAX test in order to be recruited in the organization (Collings 2014). Moreover, the human r esource team of the company provides importance to their employees so that they get motivation to perform better in the business. They provide coveted career, abundant benefits and effective communication system to their employees to enhance the productivity. Through the engagement of recruiting the skilled performers, the organization has enhanced their workforce ability in the business. it is responsible for actual business growth. Hence, the IBM provides the enough training and learning session to retain their talent for long duration. On the other hand, Google manages their talent management process by recruiting the skilled professionals in the business (Cerdin and Brewster 2014). Many factors may have impact on organizational talent management issues. More specifically, these factors might have impact on how companies develop, retain, attract and mobilize talent. It includes Shortage of talented individuals, Differences in country culture, Changing demographics, Different attitudes towards structure of work There is lot of evidence that shows companies worldwide are having difficulties in finding right talent for the right jobs. Recent study by Cerdin and Brewster (2014) shows that shortages of talent are a global issue, it affects variety of positions in many countries around the world. Collings (2014) reported that almost 35% of organizations are having difficulties in finding suitable individual to fill positions. Brazil, Japan and India are among the top three countries in terms of having difficulty in filling suitable candidates for filling up organizational positions (Cooke, Saini and Wang 2014). Therefore, every company is implementing several strategies to manage shortage of talents that includes aggressive recruitment strategies and employee training and development. Boston Consulting Group and The World Economic Forum recommend systematic approach to handle talent and suggest many responses by the organizations (De Vos and Dries 2013). That includes Workforce planning (e.g., i dentification of expected talent gap), Foster brain circulation (e.g., encouraging individuals to work at birthplace i.e., decreasing the rate of brain drain), Increase employability (e.g., increasing the level of skills of future and current employees), Develop talents (e.g., offering several career developmental pathways). Culture of a country plays an important role in human resource management. It has indirect or direct effect on HR policies about how it influences employee performance and behavior both at the organizational and individual levels. An important topic of international human resource management is the issue of divergence/convergence of HR practices across regions, cultures and countries (Dries 2013). Convergence defines HR policies and practices are similar across the country whereas divergence describes exact opposite of that. In most country, talent management is a new concept. For example, talent management in China is viewed as a different form of human resource management. Therefore, it focuses on certain jobs or certain employee group. Many studies illustrate that the demographics of the world is changing. Current trends explain that developed countries economy is shrinking and becoming older whereas developing economies population size is increasing and getting younger. The major implication of these changes is the creation of several generations of employees. Simultaneously managing aging population or mature workers and younger employees is a challenge for talent management function. Hence, knowledge extraction from older generation is a key issue for HR practitioners. In addition, HR policy development regarding stereotypical beliefs towards senior employees is an important aspect of talent management for HR practitioners. According to a study by Gelens et al. 2013 the United States current generation makes up only 25% of the total workforce. Hence, it necessary to understand the characteristics of demographic changes regarding talent management. Attitude towards work evolves significantly in few countries. Traditionally employees rotated through a specific set of positions within a company. Horizontal movement (example, job mobility) was within the company, and the organization invested considerable amount of resources in training and developing staffs (Meyers and van Woerkom 2014). In return, individuals showed loyalty to their organization and expected to continue their job. However, the picture is somewhat different now. Employees are frequently changing jobs. Therefore, employee loyalty is decreasing over time. From talent management perspective, general assumption is that the structure of work will change continuously that eventually creates many challenges for companies to retain talent. Talent management is little more than repackaging of HR management: Talent management is relatively a new concept. McKinsey first refers it in the report The War of Talent. There are three factors that influences The War of Talent: shift from industrial era to information technology era, emerging requirement of highly talented individuals, the increasing tendency of the employees from one company to another. According to several studies that illustrates many factors relates to talent management (Meyers et al. 2013). Therefore, talent management concept cannot only be associated with the human resource policies and practices. Obviously, HR management has an important role in identifying talent across the globe that is best suitable for the organization. However, recruiting talent and keeping talent within the organizational structure is not similar at all. The major factors other than HR policies that can have impact on talent management are discussed as follows: Figure 1: Talent Management; Source: Cappelli and Keller 2014 One of the key aspects of talent management for the organization is its workforce planning. It consists HR matrices, human capital management, human capital reporting and workforce analytics (Minbaeva and Collings 2013). Workforce planning defined as the contrasting number and quality of employees to achieve organizations strategic objectives. There is consensus of stakeholders in few areas of human capital that affects organizational performance. They are employee motivation, leadership, performance improvement, training and development (Schiemann 2014). The findings of workforce planning study indicate that HR professionals do play an important role in managing and developing talents. For any business to grow, organizations need exceptionally talented people in their workforce. Therefore, it is up to the HR department to understand the future demand of employees and the kind of skills they need to possess to support organizational goals. Hence, a proper planning regarding workforce management is necessary. Human resource policies played key role in that. However, it completely not depended only on the workforce department alone. There are other factors such as employee benefits, growth potential, job satisfaction also has its impact on the organizational talent management. Study explores that core self-evaluation is an extremely broad term that consists of four personality traits: generalized self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control and emotional stability (Stahl et al. 2012). Study shows that above mentioned four personality traits are based on a single attribute of job satisfaction that eventually leads positive impact on organizational performance. Hence, it indicates that if an employee is not satisfied with his/her job then chances are high that he/she will move to another organization for better position. Hence, to keep talent associated with the organization, emotional stability of employees with the organization is must. Neuroticism is a major personality trait that identifies the tendency of the employees to have poor emotional adjustments and negative feeling experience and measures these factors that affect successful performances such as hostility, fear and depression. Individuals with this trait have anger, anxiety, and nervousness and frighten of situations (Thunnissen, Boselie and Fruytier 2013). This type of individuals cannot be managed through the talent management process. On the other hand, self-consistency theory illustrates that employees are motivated to act according to their self-image. Individuals who have high self-esteem will always want to maintain their self-image by maintaining high performance level. According to the theory of learned helplessness, employees with positive explanatory style have little tendency to display motivational deficits such as withdrawal from job oriented behavior and lowering efforts that ultimately decrease the job satisfaction. Therefore, it influenc e individuals to move to another organization and in turn cause talent management issue for the organization that has nothing to do with human resources practices and policies. Based on distinguishable and unique characteristics such as instructive value, product convenience and the mechanism that used to control employee action, the incentive that increases the motivation are social recognition, money and performance feedback. Considering the regulatory perspective of employee action, there are two types of properties of money instrumental and symbolic (Vaiman, Scullion and Collings 2012). In case of instrumental form, money motivates employees by satisfying their psychological needs. On the other hand, if it viewed as symbolic, it influence the social comparison with others regarding social life. Hence, money is a critical factor that can have severe impact on the talent management policy of the organization. Many studies indicate that pay for performance is probably one of the best way by which commitment of the employees can be enhanced. The process of engagement of the employees is based on non-tangible and tangible factors that influence the atmospher e of development, inspiration and recognition (Lacey and Groves 2014). It also requires cohesiveness of employee relationships, responsibility, autonomy and opportunities for development. Apples talent management policies can be an ideal example of describing talent management policies. Unlike other companies like Intel, Toyota, and Procter Gamble wanting to dominant their own industry. Apple is one organization that got into many industries in very small span of time. Therefore, it comes down to the agility of the senior management policy to keep talent associated with the organization. Since, Apple is now dealing in several industries like Google, their policy of lean talent management contributes immensely to the productivity, which in turn increase the sense of satisfaction among the employees. Since, innovation of new product is the major source of business of Apple, it is very critical to them to manage their talent properly. Therefore, Apple has policies like employee orient ation, well-defined carrier path, proper training and development for the employees, excellent facilities to keep their employees personal and work life in balance. These practices help Apple to keep talent within the organization. Hence, it also displays the fact that the talent management concept does not entirely depend on the HR practices and policies but it has some other factors as well that might have an impact on organizational talent management concept. Conclusion: With changing competitive business environment all over the world, every organization managements are strongly focusing on the concept of talent management very seriously. In last five to seven years, several studies are made on talent management issue with the purpose of identifying suitable technique for the organization to keep its best possible talents associated with the organizations. At initial stage, many beliefs that talent management concept is just an extension of human resource management. Nevertheless, the above study concludes that there are many others factor present that established that talent management is little more than repackaging of human resource management. References: Al Ariss, A., Cascio, W.F. and Paauwe, J., 2014. Talent management: Current theories and future research directions.Journal of World Business,49(2), pp.173-179. Cappelli, P. and Keller, J.R., 2014. Talent management: Conceptual approaches and practical challenges.Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav.,1(1), pp.305-331. Cerdin, J.L. and Brewster, C., 2014. Talent management and expatriation: Bridging two streams of research and practice.Journal of World Business,49(2), pp.245-252. Collings, D.G., 2014. Integrating global mobility and global talent management: Exploring the challenges and strategic opportunities.Journal of World Business,49(2), pp.253-261. Cooke, F.L., Saini, D.S. and Wang, J., 2014. Talent management in China and India: A comparison of management perceptions and human resource practices.Journal of World Business,49(2), pp.225-235. De Vos, A. and Dries, N., 2013. Applying a talent management lens to career management: The role of human capital composition and continuity.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,24(9), pp.1816-1831. Dries, N., 2013. The psychology of talent management: A review and research agenda.Human Resource Management Review,23(4), pp.272-285. Gelens, J., Dries, N., Hofmans, J. and Pepermans, R., 2013. The role of perceived organizational justice in shaping the outcomes of talent management: A research agenda.Human Resource Management Review,23(4), pp.341-353. Meyers, M.C. and van Woerkom, M., 2014. The influence of underlying philosophies on talent management: Theory, implications for practice, and research agenda.Journal of World Business,49(2), pp.192-203. Meyers, M.C., van Woerkom, M. and Dries, N., 2013. TalentInnate or acquired? Theoretical considerations and their implications for talent management.Human Resource Management Review,23(4), pp.305-321. Minbaeva, D. and Collings, D.G., 2013. Seven myths of global talent management.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,24(9), pp.1762-1776. Schiemann, W.A., 2014. From talent management to talent optimization.Journal of World Business,49(2), pp.281-288. Stahl, G., Bjrkman, I., Farndale, E., Morris, S.S., Paauwe, J., Stiles, P., Trevor, J. and Wright, P., 2012. Six principles of effective global talent management.Sloan Management Review,53(2), pp.25-42. Thunnissen, M., Boselie, P. and Fruytier, B., 2013. A review of talent management:infancy or adolescence?.The international journal of human resource management,24(9), pp.1744-1761. Vaiman, V., Scullion, H. and Collings, D., 2012. Talent management decision making.Management Decision,50(5), pp.925-941. Lacey, M. and Groves, K., 2014. Talent management collides with corporate social responsibility: creation of inadvertent hypocrisy.Journal of Management Development,33(4), pp.399-409.

Social Issues Of The 1960S Essays - Counterculture Of The 1960s

Social Issues Of The 1960'S SOCIAL ISSUES OF THE 1960s MANY SOCIAL CHANGES THAT WERE ADDRESSED IN THE 1960s ARE STILL THE ISSUES BEING CONFRONTED TODAY. THE '60s WAS A DECADE OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL UPHEAVAL. IN SPITE OF ALL THE TURMOIL, THERE WERE SOME POSITIVE RESULTS: THE CIVIL RIGHTS REVOLUTION, JOHN F. KENNEDY'S BOLD VISION OF A NEW FRONTIER, AND THE BREATHTAKING ADVANCES IN SPACE, HELPED BRING ABOUT PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY. HOWEVER, MUCH WAS NEGATIVE: STUDENT AND ANTI-WAR PROTEST MOVEMENTS, POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS, AND GHETTO RIOTS EXCITED AMERICAN PEOPLE AND RESULTED IN LACK OF RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY AND THE LAW. THE DECADE BEGAN UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE COLD WAR WITH THE SOVIET UNION, WHICH WAS AGGRAVATED BY THE U-2 INCIDENT, THE BERLIN WALL, AND THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, ALONG WITH THE SPACE RACE WITH THE USSR. THE DECADE ENDED UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE VIET NAM WAR, WHICH DEEPLY DIVIDED AMERICANS AND THEIR ALLIES AND DAMAGED THE COUNTRY'S SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SENSE OF PURPOSE. EVEN IF YOU WEREN'T ALIVE DURING THE '60s, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY MEANT WHEN THEY SAID, TUNE IN, TURN ON, DROP OUT. YOU KNOW WHY THE NATION CELEBRATES MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.'S BIRTHDAY. ALL OF THE SOCIAL ISSUES ARE REFLECTED IN TODAY'S SOCIETY: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, THE STUDENT MOVEMENT, SPACE EXPLORATION, THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION, THE ENVIRONMENT, MEDICINE AND HEALTH, AND FUN AND FASHION, THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. THE MOMENTUM OF THE PREVIOUS DECADE'S CIVIL RIGHTS GAINS LED BY REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. CARRIED OVER INTO THE 1960s. BUT FOR MOST BLACKS, THE TANGIBLE RESULTS WERE MINIMAL. ONLY A MINUSCULE PERCENTAGE OF BLACK CHILDREN ACTUALLY ATTENDED INTEGRATED SCHOOLS, AND IN THE SOUTH, JIM CROW PRACTICES BARRED BLACKS FROM JOBS AND PUBLIC PLACES. NEW GROUPS AND GOALS WERE FORMED, NEW TACTICS DEVISED, TO PUSH FORWARD FOR FULL EQUALITY. AS OFTEN AS NOT, WHITE RESISTANCE RESULTED IN VIOLENCE. THIS VIOLENCE SPILLED ACROSS TV SCREENS NATIONWIDE. THE AVERAGE, NEUTRAL AMERICAN, AFTER SEEING HIS/HER TV SCREEN, TURNED INTO A CIVIL RIGHTS SUPPORTER. BLACK UNITY AND WHITE SUPPORT CONTINUED TO GROW. IN 1962, WITH THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE PUBLIC PROTEST AGAINST RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. GAVE A DRAMATIC AND INSPIRATIONAL SPEECH IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AFTER A LONG MARCH OF THOUSANDS TO THE CAPITAL. THE POSSIBILITY OF RIOT AND BLOODSHED WAS ALWAYS THERE, BUT THE MARCHERS TOOK THAT CHANCE SO THAT THEY COULD ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF FIRST CLASS CITIZENS. THE NEGRO, KING SAID IN THIS SPEECH, LIVES ON A LONELY ISLAND OF POVERTY IN THE MIDST OF A VAST OCEAN OF MATERIAL PROSPERITY AND FINDS HIMSELF AN EXILE IN HIS OWN LAND. KING CONTINUED STOLIDLY: IT WOULD BE FATAL FOR THE NATION TO OVERLOOK THE URGENCY OF THE MOMENT AND TO UNDERESTIMATE THE DETERMINATION OF THE NEGRO. THIS SWELTERING SUMMER OF THE NEGRO'S LEGITIMATE DISCONTENT WILL NOT PASS UNTIL THERE IS AN INVIGORATING AUTUMN OF FREEDOM AND EQUALITY. (BURNSTIEN P.176) WHEN KING CAME TO THE END OF HIS PREPARED TEXT, HE SWEPT RIGHT ON INTO AN EXHIBITION OF IMPROM PTU ORATORY THAT WAS CATCHING, DRAMATIC, AND INSPIRATIONAL. I HAVE A DREAM, KING CRIED OUT. THE CROWD BEGAN CHEERING, BUT KING, NEVER PAUSING, BROUGHT SILENCE AS HE CONTINUED, I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE DAY ON THE RED HILLS OF GEORGIA THE SONS OF FORMER SLAVES AND THE SONS OF FORMER SLAVEOWNERS WILL BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN TOGETHER AT THE TABLE OF BROTHERHOOD. I HAVE A DREAM, HE WENT ON, RELENTLESSLY SHOUTING DOWN THE THUNDEROUS SWELL OF APPLAUSE, THAT EVEN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, A STATE SWELTERING WITH PEOPLE'S INJUSTICES, SWELTERING WITH THE HEAT OF OPPRESSION, WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO AN OASIS OF FREEDOM AND JUSTICE. I HAVE DREAM, CRIED KING FOR THE LAST TIME, THAT MY FOUR LITTLE CHILDREN WILL ONE DAY LIVE IN A NATION WHERE THEY WILL NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER. (GARRATY P. 278) EVERYONE AGREED THE MARCH WAS A SUCCESS AND THEY WANTED ACTION NOW! BUT, NOW! REMAINED A LONG WAY OFF. PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS NEVER ABLE TO MOBILIZE SUFFICIENT SUPPORT TO PASS A CIVIL RIGHTS BILL WITH TEETH OVER THE OPPOSITION OF SEGREGATIONIST SOUTHERN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. BUT AFTER HIS ASSASSINATION, PRESIDENT JOHNSON, DRAWING ON THE KENNEDY

Rise of Totalitarian Dictatorships essays

Rise of Totalitarian Dictatorships essays The Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations were major contributing factors into the rise of totalitarian dictatorships, especially in Europe, following the First World War. The symptoms of the treaty led to hostilities in most of Europe, and the lack of power propagated throughout Europe by the League of Nations to contain aggression proved its failure. Highlights of the treaty that ended the First World War would include the surrender of all-German colonies, German reparations (6,600 million), a ban on German and Austrian unions, the common military limitations, and Germanys acceptance for causing the war. These numerous chastisements to Germany are what have been blamed for the rise of totalitarian dictatorships in that country, and eventually the Second World War. As German nationalistic desires inflate once more, the accompaniment of instability in the economy, society, and politics, Germany was left considerably vulnerable and harsher governments were easily assimilated. Had it been softer on Germany, the Weimar Republic would have been stronger and would not have faced as much economic and social turmoil. Had the treaty been harsher, Germany would not have had the power to make war. ... The faults in the Treaty of Versailles were great, but the faults of those who refused to later enforce it were far greater. The Treaty of Versailles was also faulted in its promises to both Italy and Russia, countries both of who eventually were left vulnerable for totalitarian governments to be enacted in them. This vulnerability was created by the resentment of the two countries, Italy due to its mis-receivement of promised land, and the stripping of Russian land as punishment for leaving the war early. And as was with Germany, the accompaniment of poor economic, social, and political conditions in Europe laid the seeds for two very nationalistic countries and dictatorships easily arose. ...

Merriam-Websters 2018 Words of the Year

Merriam-Websters 2018 Words of the Year Merriam-Webster’s 2018 Words of the Year Merriam-Webster’s 2018 Words of the Year By Mark Nichol Toward the end of every calendar year, Merriam-Webster, like other major dictionaries, shares a list of the words most frequently searched for on its website. As usual, this search traffic is largely driven by public discourse, as people look up words they see and hear in the media and in conversations, seeking to learn definitions of unfamiliar words or to clarify for themselves the meanings of words they know (or think they know). This post discusses Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2018 and ten runners-up. The Word of the Year, justice, was newsworthy in several contexts. The primary sense is that of administration or maintenance of fairness and lawfulness, and increasing concern about social justice has brought the concept, and the term that represents it, to the forefront in our society. But justice is a job title as well as a concept, referring to a judge on a national or state supreme court or similar body, and the controversy over confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court also led people to check the definition. (The senior member of a supreme court is often titled â€Å"chief justice,† while the others are designated â€Å"associate justices.†) Finally, on a more trivial note, the Justice League is a team of superheroes created for DC Comics and appearing in various media, including a film released late last year. The runners-up include nationalism, which has figured prominently in the media as the concept gains traction throughout the world, including in the United States, where President Donald Trump recently unabashedly identified himself as a nationalist. However, he, like many people, appears to be unclear on the concept: Nationalism is often conflated with patriotism. However, while the latter term refers to pride in one’s country, nationalism denotes loyalty to a nation at the expense of international (and intranational) harmony. Nationalism is closely associated with fascism, a political philosophy that incorporates dictatorial control and centralization of authority and brutal suppression of individuals and groups deemed undesirable or resistant to fascists’ goals. In summary, to be called a nationalist is decidedly not a compliment, and to call oneself a nationalist does not invite compliments. Pansexual, incorporating a Greek prefix meaning â€Å"all,† refers to a conception of gender identity and sexual orientation as something that occurs along a spectrum, rejecting the idea of binary categorization. Lodestar, originally denoting Polaris, the North Pole Star, which for millennia has served as a navigational aid, now refers more broadly to a guide, inspiration, or model. (Lode is a Middle English word meaning â€Å"course† or â€Å"way; it’s seen also in the context of mining: A lode is a deposit of ore.) The term had a vogue this year after it was used in an anonymous op-ed in the New York Times purportedly written by a senior Trump administration official. Because Vice President Mike Pence is known to use the fairly obscure term, some people suspected him of being the author. An epiphany is an appearance or manifestation, but the term is most commonly employed to refer to a realization or revelation. Its popularity as a search term early this year likely resulted from the Christian holiday by that name, which on January 6 commemorates the visit of the Magi, or Three Wise Men, to where the infant Jesus lay; it derives from the Greek verb epiphainein, meaning â€Å"manifest.† Feckless, used by a television commentator to criticize Ivanka Trump for, in her role as adviser to her father, failing to criticize the Trump administration’s immigration policies, employs the root feck, of Scottish origin, meaning â€Å"value† or â€Å"worth.† Essentially, it is a rare synonym for worthless. Laurel, the word for a tree whose foliage was used to crown victors in athletic events in ancient Greece, became a hot search term when a debate erupted online about which of two words was being enunciated in an online dictionary’s pronunciation sound file. By extension of its original definition, the term came to apply to the celebratory object itself and to figurative honors; one idiom based on the term is â€Å"rest on (one’s) laurels,† which alludes to someone who, upon achieving an honor, refrains from attempting feats that bring further recognition. (Usage generally pertains to one who does not rest on one’s laurels, meaning that person does seek other honors.) Pissant was frequently looked up after a radio personality described a famous football player’s daughter with the word, which is a derogatory dialectal term formed from piss and ant. (This word is not to be confused with puissant, a rare term meaning â€Å"powerful† and etymologically related to power and potent. All three words derive from the Latin term posse, meaning â€Å"able,† which survives in English as the term for a group deputized to pursue a fugitive or, more loosely, to denote one’s entourage.) The death this year of Aretha Franklin, best known for her rousing rendition of the song â€Å"Respect,† prompted look-ups of that word, which literally means â€Å"look back.† (The second syllable of that word, meaning â€Å"look,† is also the root of spectacle, spectator, inspect, suspect, and so on.) Maverick is a term often applied to the late John McCain, a US senator and presidential aspirant, for his frequent opposition to party-line politics. The word, describing someone who often acts without regard for group or party loyalty, derives from the surname of a gentleman who, after taking a small herd of cattle as payment for a debt, neglected to brand them, rendering them vulnerable to appropriation by other ranchers, who rounded them up on the open range and applied their own brands to the livestock. Since then, the word has been a synonym for independent, though â€Å"stolen from a careless owner† would be a more appropriate association. The death of Marvel Comics mogul Stan Lee this year resulted in references to excelsior, the word with which Lee typically signed off in the columns he wrote for his company’s comic books. Though the primary meaning of the word is mundane- it was a trademark for a brand of wood shavings used as protective packing material and later a generic term- its origin is the Latin word meaning â€Å"higher†; excel, excellent, and so on are related. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Is Irony? (With Examples)Precedent vs. PrecedenceQuiet or Quite?

Timeline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Timeline - Essay Example Ferguson. This case declared that laws which created separate, but equal schools for black and white students, unconstitutional (McBride, 2006). 1964 - Civil Rights Act – This is legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It ended racial segregation in schools, in the workplace and in facilities (Whalen, 1985). 1971 – Sawnn v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education – The court ruled that when finding ways to handle the issue of illegal segregation in schools assigning students to bussing was legal (Mickelson, 2001, p. 215-252). 2003 – Grutter v. Bollinger – This case upheld affirmative action in education as long as there was a â€Å"highly individualized, holistic review of each applicant’s file† and in which race was not considered (Cornell University Law School, n.d.). The consequences of each of these cases eventually lead to total desegregation in the United States. As the timeline shows, with each case, the laws became more and more open to equality among the races. In terms of schools and children, there is now no desegregation and schools are racially diverse as well as the transportation to those schools. Students from any race are allowed to attend their public neighborhood school without issue thanks to the people who pursued these cases. Epstein,  L., & Knight,  J. (2001). Piercing the veil: William j. brennans account of regents of the university of california v. bakke. Yale Law & Policy Review, 19(2), 341-379. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40239568 Mickelson,  R.  A. (2001). Subverting swann: First and second generation segregation in the charlotte-mecklenburg schools. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 215-252.

HU-Midterm Composition Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HU-Midterm Composition - Assignment Example Therefore, the work portrays the events in the ancient Egypt. It is claimed that the British archaeologist, once J. E. Quibell, place this art in this location during his 1897/98 excavation season. Alongside his colleagues, they deposited stemming artifacts that would later be recorded in the history of the ancient Egypt. These artifacts contained fragments of the ceremonial head of Narmer alongside other mace head fragments with some other inscribed with the Horus ‘Scorpion the name that was traced to be the name of one of the Narmer’s predecessors. Regardless of these findings and records of the Palette of Narmer, there are still doubts that the exact finding circumstances related this palette are not exact; thus, it appears that a lot of contradicting publications have been published concerning Quibell’s work at Hierakonpolis. Nonetheless, the general military symbolism relating to the palette is still clear and acceptable (Stokstad and Cothren 26). The palette of Narmer describes the kingdom of the ancient Egypt while the Stele of Naram Sin presents the northern Mesopotamia kingdom that existed in 2332 BCE pictorially. It is apparent that these two pieces of art were used to describe the historical events of this time. In the 2334 BCE, there were loosely linked sites known as the Sumer. Sargon of Akkad became the great king who emerged to control these cities. Later, Naram Sin the grandson of Sargon initiated victory stele at Sippar in order to commemorate his Lullubi’s victory (Stokstad and Cothren 36). It is under these circumstances that the Stele of Naram Sin art created to signify his divinity. Therefore, it is clear these two pieces of art were related to actions of the ancient Kings. At some levels of understanding, it is apparent that the Stele of Naram Sin and the palette of king Narmer present a striking parallelism. Nonetheless, both of them are designed to commemorate

Advertising and Promotion Essay Example for Free

Advertising and Promotion Essay Introduction: Advertising and promotion are part of marketing which are very important. Without advertising and promotion the company cannot communicate the message of their product to the target customers. Through advertising the organisations use mass media to communicate the message to a large group of people. This can also be said as above the line promotion. Below the line promotion includes when the organisation is directly involved such as direct mailing and telecommunication. The assignment has been done on extensive research work to find out the various strategies used by organisation for advertising and promotion. The advantages and disadvantages, the competitive edge, etc. Requirement 1: 1.1 Advertising as we know is when there is the usage of paid announcement through media specially to bring in to attention of the people the knowledge of some product or service. Any medium that can take a message from an association to a potential purchaser can be utilized for promoting. Obviously, the most well known media are TV, print (daily paper, magazines, and so on.), radio, and the Internet. TV is well known in view of its vast range, however it is additionally exorbitant. The 2012 Super Bowl was viewed by in excess of 111 million individuals, and organizations that needed a 30-second business amid that game paid a normal of $3.5 million. The communication process involves the following: Source – A source is likewise alluded to as an sender. The sender has a message to pass on to others. The sender can be anybody from a brand specialist (in a significant company, for example, Nike or Budweiser) to a businessperson in a more diminutive association. Now and again, famous people are utilized to underwrite items and go about as an issue for the item. It is constantly vital to verify that the source is solid and reliable. An immediate source can be a sales representative conveying a message around an item. A indirect source utilizes a well known open figure to attract thoughtfulness regarding an item. Encode – The source encodes or makes an interpretation of thoughts into a message. Case in point, a brand director chooses to promote another item. Message – After characterizing the target advertise, the advertiser outlines a viable message that will accomplish the communication objectives. Recipient – The beneficiary is the individual or gathering with whom the sender endeavours to impart thoughts. Advertisers need a reaction, the responses of the recipient, in the wake of being presented to the message: for instance, a customer getting the message about the new item. Translate – The recipient deciphers or translates the message. For a message to be decoded by a beneficiary the way it was expected by the sender, the sender and receiver need to have regular encounters. As such, a recipient may not interpret a message the way it was proposed to on the off chance that her background and experience vary significantly from the senders. A marketer has to be sensitive to the intended audience. Noise – Noise meddles with or upsets compelling correspondence. This can incorporate a poor TV or radio signal. Feedback – Feedback is checking and assessing how precisely the expected message is consistently gotten. This is possible by directing statistical surveying. Basically, this includes inquiring as to whether they have seen the message, on the off chance that they review the message, and what their attitude was towards the product. There are various channels that companies uses in order to communicate their goods or services to customers in the market. BMW for instance uses BMW website, magazine, newspaper, trade shows, billboard, etc. (Elearningportal.com, 2013) 1.2 Promotion is a part of the marketing business. Basically, if marketing can be considered as the methodology of bringing an item or service to the consideration of purchasers, marketing is the selection of methodologies to keep the product or service in the personalities of buyers and stimulate  continued demand for it. In marketing sales, distribution and target market are closely linked with promotion and advertising. There are a few potential roads of actions that the marketing group can use. Advertising may emphasize in one or more media stations, including TV, film theaters, print media, for example, daily papers and magazines, and online entries. Organizations might likewise distribute posters, announcements and pamphlets to promote their items. An product or service is liable to have one sort of notice for its dispatch, and may have diverse adverts that constitute the ongoing promotion campaign. These later adverts may specify grants that the product or service has won, or confirmation of past sales success It is the centralized system that runs the organization of advertisement and promotion. There are different level of hierarchy who work together to make this industry successful. The organization includes advertising and marketing managers, directors, sales agents, staff from finance department, etc. The media works very closely with the advertising and promoting. There are agencies that are in charge of the production of these advertisements and their distribution. There are also collateral service providers. For instance for BMW there are artists, painters, photographers, directors, who support the advertising. (Kotlar et al., 2005) 1.1 Assess how promotion is regulated (P1.3) The regulation of activities of promotion relies on the risks and likely effect of marketing. In some cases the company may withdraw their promotional campaign as because it may have potential risk, instead of doing good, it could bring about more catastrophic events (Bagwell, 2007). Formal authorization activities are likewise instrument for managing promotions. Analytical work is carried out to recognize if there is a marketing issue being overlooked. They may concentrate in deceptive message, error of message, adequacy of pages and profit on promotional investments. On reading the case study of BMW it is seen that they changed and strengthened their promotional approach in 2005 after a research study on extravagance auto purchasers. The promotional activity transformed its regulatory directions  to assemble new brand picture. In the wake of finding that their message is not being accurately seen by purchasers BMW strengthened and enlisted another notice org in May, 2006. Who supplanted the organizations overemphasis on performance driving in the course of recent years with the idea organization of thoughts Thus regulatory tools are connected to control the stream and impact of promotional activities. . 1.4 The universe of promoting and advertising is changing and the patterns of the business are extending, adjusting and developing as customers change. The key is to staying on top of things and using an alternate level of considering products, groups, organizations and promoting channels accessible. Mobile Marketing :Yes, this trendy expression was thrown around a considerable measure in recent years yet it’s at last turning into a need, being put into improvement and being advanced. Publicizing on cell phones is going to increment exponentially not long from now as cell phones keep on becoming a top technique for correspondence between buyers. Regardless of what industry, the measure of the business or different components, mobile advertising specialists will be looked for after more than ever. Interactive Banner Ads : Individuals hear the expression, banner advertisements and flinch. They are a bad dream for buyers and advertisers. Customers scorn that they take up the page and advertisers cant get individuals to click on them. Be that as it may, what everybody knows is that they are an extraordinary source of product placement – right in the middle of your target market’s website.. What were starting to see is that advertisers are making banner of things their intended focus group needs to see and needs to recall. Basically, organizations are making their advertisements the feature story. As opposed to controlling buyers to their sites, they utilize interactive marketing segments to make these promotions shareable by means of social media. Local Advertising : Local advertising, in short, portrays promoting that purchasers arent altogether mindful that they are generally presented to on the grounds that it is flawlessly incorporated into how individuals use specific mediums. tricky for advertisers to attempt to evaluate how to discretely make their advertisements would appear to be a piece of the substance on the page the client is survey, yet imaginative promoting has truly taken off in this business sector and its fame is expanding exponentially among the promoting and advertising industry. Brands Look beyond Fans and Likes: This point is about understanding the motivation behind diverse social networking outlets, discovering which ones suits their target group best and realizing what purchasers use it for. At last, organizations understand that piece of the overall industry cant be measured by the quantity of preferences on a Face book page or supporters of whatever other social media. Organizations are using collaboration, correspondence and content sharing. (Infinitee, 2013) Requirement 2: 2.1 We all know that marketing is a broad subject; advertisement is just another element of it. We have discussed before that advertising is closely connected with media. There are different types of advertisement which severe different types of purpose in the process of communicating message via media to potential target markets. Marketing being broad has various tools apart from advertising such as public relations, direct marketing, digital marketing, promotion, etc. The various forms of media which are used for the purpose of advertisement are T.V, radio, newspapers, magazines, internet, SMS, etc. In order to pass on the brand message it is very important to choose the appropriate media. When the intention is to reach out to large group of people it is perfect to use advertising. Role of marketing can be interpreted as use of appropriate strategy is vital for marketing mangers to get the right message to the right customers using tools such as promotions, product price and distribution. In order to  determine the most productive and effective communicational vehicle, it is necessary to understand the importance of the promotional strategy. In order for advertising to be a effective tool for a promotional strategy, it is necessary to understand the characteristic of the potential customers and hence a series of steps needs to be carried out. Following are some: Segmentation: In order to make communication via advertising more effective it is essential to divide the customers in to different groups. If it is unknown to whom the message is intended to, it may not get any response at al. Once it is known who the advertisement message is intended for, there needs to be further drilling to know more. In this scenario the marketers go in for research and surveying, etc. Targeting: In order for advertisement to get the best response it is necessary to know that communication is being made to the right segment. Targeting plans should closely be related to marketing objectives. Other important steps include positioning and messaging. 2.2 Branding is more than simply a business trendy expression. It has turned into the must of selling in the new economy. On the off chance that the old promoting mantra was, Nothing happens until some individual sells something, the new rationality could be Nothing happens until someone brands something. â€Å"in its most straightforward structure, a brand is like a name. It is the name appended to an product or service. However it may be, brand is more related to the physical aspects of products or services: for example, color, image, status, quality, etc. It plays physiologically in the minds of the customers, gives them a perception of the product or service. In short, a brand offers the client a certification and then delivers on it. You might infer, then, that if you build a powerful brand, automatically it becomes possible to make strong marketing programs. Nonetheless, on the off chance that you cant persuade customers that your product is deserving and worthy of purchasing, no other measures such as fancy packaging or public relations will help to achieve sales goal. Successful branding programs are characterized by good quality product and services accompanies by good customer service which boosts the functioning of the entire organization. 2.3 When it comes to creativity in advertising, it basically means what to say and how to say it. The message in the advertising is very important. Thus, what to say is the message that will be passed on to the potential clients. How to say it on the other hand is basically the appropriate format that is to be used for the message. There are many creative specialist who are hired in the organization who deals with the creative aspect of advertising. Most companies these days pass on the work of the creative aspect of the advertising to advertising agencies. These agencies either hire specialists or has their own team of specialists. There are various steps which are involved in the creative design process which is also used by BMW. Following are the steps: a) Decision regarding objective of advertisements. b) Gathering of necessary information customers, products and competitors. c) Production of brand new ideas by creative specialist. d) Approval of these ideas by the managers of marketing and advertising. e) Coming to decision regarding the content of the message, message format, layout, etc. f) Testing and final check before the launching of the advertisement. The message in the advertisement has to be appealing to the desired customers. Ad appeal can be of many different types. It usually depends on what kind of message is the marketers most are focusing on. For instance they may want to say how high quality the product is or how low priced it is, etc. (Mukesh and Ranju, 2011) 2.4 Projects initiate in one department and when their work is done, it is passed on to the next. Organizations these days intentionally hire advertising agencies in order for the advertising work to be more promising and strong. Four Tips to Working Successfully with Your Advertising Agency Once the agency of choice is selected by the business, it is necessary to know how you would expand that relationship. How would you function adequately with your organization group to guarantee your advertising project is the best it can be? Consider these four tips for an effective org  customer relationship. Set clear objectives. Plot what achievement looks like at each stage as your org creates your promoting arrangements. Without clear objectives, it is difficult to judge the adequacy of promotions, outlines, mottos, or any piece of your campaign. Make certain your office is mindful of what you would like to perform with your system and characterize a particular estimation of achievement, whether regarding new clients, call-backs or strict deals. Cover the budget bases. Nothing jeopardizes a positive vendor relationship like squabbles over cash. Work with your advertising agency to set a particular plan for each one piece of your promoting campaign and in addition a general plan for advertising your business. Likewise, audit individual assessments for particular plan and printing tasks, office promoting commissions and managerial expenses. Establish specific timelines. Make sure you and your group are mindful of the proposed timetable of dispatch for your advertising program and additionally transitional dates for improvement paving the way to dispatch. React immediately when your office needs data from you to execute components of your fight, and catch up rapidly with sealing and asked for amendments. (H. Montgomery, 2011) Requirement 3: 3.1 Any techniques which are intended directly for the customers and are well within the control of the customers can be called as below the line promotions. Below the line promotion includes techniques which are creative and interesting meant for the targeted customers. BMW has used various below the line promotions to gain many customers. a) Public relations: This  involves various public activities. In order to get the attention of political parties’ worldwide and general public, BMW has created and donated to many charities. Activities as such has given them wide recognition, which is apart from the recognition they get from quality cars which they produce. b) Direct marketing: This is a form of marketing where the customers are reached out directly through flyers, leaflets. BMW does take part in this kind of direct marketing but not to a large extent. They usually do this when they represent them self in trade fairs and exhibitions. c) Internet: Internet as it does not need much introduction has become widely popular in the last decade. Internet is used to mainly use to reach out to various target groups. BMW has cars which vary in class, sizes, color and prices. Different customers have different preference. Internet is used as a medium of promotion to reach these messages to different target groups. It is also a medium to get feedback from clients. d) Events: Events include exhibitions and trade fairs. In these kind of events products are directly showcased, where the people can try the products or services and gain detailed knowledge about it. This is method of providing immediate good perception of the product or service in the mind of potential customers. e) Promotional campaigns: Companies includes certain number of individuals who widely participate in promoting the company. They usually design and execute campaigns. (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2013) 3.2 Following are other techniques which can be used as below the line promotional techniques: Door to-Door Marketing Door to door promoting takes selling to an personal level, and this is a standout amongst the most well-known manifestations of below the line promotion. This procedure obliges profoundly prepared sales staff that knows how to construct customer relationship and can walk that barely recognizable difference of being tenacious without being irritating. Most door to door promoting campaigns allows the person doing it some commission on the sales, so forthright expenses can be kept low and salesmen have more motivation to make sales. Most common door to door promoting is in the case of insurance companies. Exterior Location Marketing Exterior location marketing includes driving enthusiasm to an event or sale through the key utilization of employees set outside the area. Ordinarily, these systems incorporate sandwich-board style promotions or actually sprucing up the employee in an outfit to attract more attention on the location. These workers may remain nearby the street, getting the consideration of passing drivers. While this system is not frequently utilized, it can be helpful for small organizations, restaurants and car dealers. Thus, dealers dealing with BMW cars can be provided with incentives to do such activities to increase their sales. Email Marketing Email marketing can likewise be a manifestation of below the line promoting if your organization directs the campaign all alone. You are speaking specifically with the buyer through this manifestation of promoting and can steer them to a point of arrival where they can take in more about what you are putting forth. This thus provides for you the capacity to measure campaign effectiveness. Email promoting is for the most part economical, and results can be great if the email rundown is focused on fresh and follows double opt-in guidelines Double opt-in refers to the process where consumers have to confirm their subscription to an email list before emails can be sent to them. (K. McFerlin, 2014) Requirement 4: 4.1 Surviving in the market is not easy for the company. For companies to be prosperous they have to continue to attract and serve targeted customers within their budget. Hence budget for promotional strategy is very important. Following are some of the steps involved in the process of formulation of appropriate budget for promotional strategy: a) Observing market climate: Market can be unpredictable at time. Trends move in and out very quickly. Company’s market department has their eyes like eagles on the  market. They are always on the look for the that little gap which they can fill in. They are always looking for windows of opportunity. Not observing the market climate can leave them way behind, furthermore not having a appropriate budget estimation. b) Evaluating brand weakness and strength: This is important as because no brand is perfect. Even sometimes when a brand is created by the best of marketing managers, it may not be accepted well by the public or targeted groups. Hence, not keeping anything set in mind, marketers are always looking to find those weaknesses which they can improve on. c) Creating competitive marketing strategy: What sets your product, service and organization separated from your competitors? What quality do you give and how is it not quite the same as the plan B? Competitive strategies is about characterizing how youll separate your offering and make esteem for your business sector. Its about cutting out a spot in the competitive scene, putting your stake in the ground, and winning mindshare in the commercial marketplace – being known for a certain something d) Up to date plans: As the name suggests, plans are necessary to be on time rather than behind time for the estimation of appropriate budget. e) Getting feedback: One of the most important thing as without feedback companies cannot know where they stand. (MarketingMO.com, 2014) 4.2 An promotion plan diagrams the limited time instruments or strategies you want to use to achieve your promoting goals. To the new or unpractised advertiser, the promotion plan may be mixed up as the whole promoting arrangement on the grounds that it plots where most of the advertising plan will be used. It is, nonetheless, only one part of the advertising plan there are extra procedure and arranging segments portrayed in a marketing plan. You may decide to incorporate the accompanying components in your promotion plan: The significant segment to your Promotion Plan is the portrayal (or posting) of the planned promotional tactics you plan to use. Anticipated expenses for the year. Estimate your expenses as precisely as could be expected under the circumstances. Demonstrate the Relationship between the Promotional Tactics and Marketing Objectives Show the Relationship between the Promotional Tactics and Marketing Objectives Refer to or list again relevant objectives from the Marketing Objectives section of your marketing plan and point out how you will accomplish them using the promotion plan (Smallbusinessnotes, n.d) And appropriate promotional plan for BMQ product would incorporate the following: a) Define specific objective b) Distribution plan and targeted customers. c) Creating a theme to make it unique. d) Creating a supporting message with the product. e) Most important of all hiring a professional promotional consultant. 4.3 The integration of promotional techniques such as price incentives for a business or product must focus on the needs of the market, the condition and elasticity of demand, need for price incentives, and consumer responses towards price incentives (Dimitropoulos, 2012). A luxurious product such as BMW may use promotional technique of focusing on research and development for innovating new product features. Setting high prices also positions the product and represents it as a status symbol in consumer’s mind. Thus the integration of promotional techniques such as setting high price, branded entertainment, high performance, exclusivity eventually formulates an overall promotional strategy. However if not communicated properly or if the techniques are conflicting the brand message will be misinterpreted by consumers. Overemphasizing or underemphasizing features or overlooking the actual consumer needs should be avoided (Terence, 2010) An appropriate plan for the integration of promotional techniques for BMW  has the following steps to be incorporated: a) Assess the marketing communication opportunities for BMW. For example understanding the needs of the target market b) Determining the mode of communication that is going to be used for BMW. Example using intermediaries or selling products directly in BMW show room. c) Determine promotion mix. Gathering resources for sales promotion, adverting and publicity. d) Developing promotional budget. Gathering financial resource to afford the plan. e) Determining campaign effectiveness. Using various tools, like project appraisal techniques, analysis of the situation, etc to understand the viability. 4.4 Promotion is not a definite science. Theres no exact approach to measure the achievement of a promotion campaigns. You cant, for instance, decide what number of sales cash are created by each one promoting cost used. However there are strategies that will provide for you a harsh thought of whether your promotions are hitting the imprint. Verify you have clear promoting goals. You may need to help business generally, however your destination ought to be more particular: to increase sales of a new product or service, to assemble attention to your organization, to increase volume amid a certain time period, or to stretch your business in a specific market. To evaluate the viability of your promoting campaign, you can monitor sales, new clients, demands for information, telephone request, retail location activity, site movement, or navigate rates. Utilize these strategies to gauge the force of the promotion campaign A straightforward approach to tell if your campaign is working is to track retail activity by tallying the individuals who enter your store. Bear in mind to monitor activity before you begin the promotion campaign, so youll have a premise for correlation. Whats more ask new clients how they came to know about the business. (Smallbusinessnotes,n.d) References: a) Kotler, Veronica, Saunders (2005). Principles of Marketing:. 4th ed. London: Prentice hall. 34-56. b) elearnportal. (2013). Marketing Communications Process. Available: http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/business/advertising/advertising-marketing-communications-process. Last accessed 25/11/14. c) Infinitee. (2013). 5 Advertising and Marketing Trends for 2013.Available: http://www.infinitee.com/advertising-and-marketing-blog/bid/62829/5-Advertising-and-Marketing-Trends-for-2013. Last accessed 25/11/14. d) Mukesh and Ranju (2011). Advertising and sales management. New Delhi: V. K Enterprise. 55-67. e) H. Montgomery. (2009). Tips for Working Effectively with an Advertising Agency. Available: http://www.brighthub.com/office/entrepreneurs/articles/52999.aspx. Last accessed 25/11/14. f) Business case studies. (2013). Using promotion to campaign for public services. Available: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/unison/using-promotion-to-campaign-for-public-services/below-the-line-promotio n.html#axzz3K7hwVrCA. Last accessed 25/11/14. g) K. McFerlin. (2014). Examples of Below-the-Line Advertising. Available: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-belowtheline-advertising-10099.html. Last accessed 26/11/14. h) MarketingMO. (2014). Competitive Positioning. Available: http://www.marketingmo.com/strategic-planning/competitive-positioning/. Last accessed 26/11/14. i) Smallbusinessnotes. (n.d). Promotion Plan. Available: http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/marketing-your-business/promotion-plan.html. Last accessed 26/11/14.

Hidden Burden :: essays research papers fc

Hidden Burden In our society we are brainwashed every day and have been since we have exited the womb. What we don’t realize is that we need to train our mind on our own to rise above all the systematically programmed propaganda. Unfortunately, due to this brain washing we are born into, we come packaged and wrapped with the lovely word stereotype; prejudice embedded deep in our mind without knowledge of it until it is confronted and exposed by pure ignorance! Now when you go to a dictionary the first definition most likely to be seen for stereotype is one like so: " —n. 1. a process, now often replaced by more advanced methods, for making metal printing plates by taking a mold of composed type or the like in papier-mà ¢chà © or other material and then taking from this mold a cast in type metal. 2. a plate made by this process. 3. a set form; convention" (Webster’s,797). Further down from that definition should be something like: "—v.t. 1. to make a stereotype of. 2. to characterize or regard as a stereotype" (Webster’s,797). Although this definition is in a dictionary, the true meaning is far beyond that mild perception. The history of the word itself is a quite interesting one. In English, "stereo" is taken from the Greek "stere" or "stereo" - and which meant solid or solid body. Originally it was used to describe metal printing. "The conversion from printing to human psychology may have been commenced by early Russian neurophysiologists during the Pavlov period when stimulus-response motor mechanisms were being researched in animals and humans. In that sense, "dynamic stereotype" came to refer to the end-result of cortical analysis and synthesis of all stimuli arising from both the external and the internal world if the same response always occurred relative to the same stimulus" (Swann). Stereotype evolved into something all of us recognize, not as a type of printing, but as the negative word and feeling it is today. In society stereotyping is around us constantly. Women’s issues, homosexual issues, minority issues, everyday someone is confronted with a stereotype. For example, my friend Omar who is African American has been pulled over and harassed by the police for absolutely nothing. I was there and they didn’t even ask me one question. They completely ignored me until I asked them what Omar did wrong. They just replied with "Mind your own business kid!" I never knew what is was to be like in Omar’s shoes that day and I never will.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 7

Bonnie was in her new first-floor bedroom, and was feeling very bewildered. Black Magic always made her feel giggly, and then very sleepy, but somehow tonight her body refused to sleep. Her head hurt. She was just about to turn the bedside light on, when a familiar voice said, â€Å"How about some tea for your headache?† â€Å"Damon?† â€Å"I made some from Mrs. Flowers's herbs and I decided to make you a cup as wel . Aren't you the lucky girl?†If Bonnie had been listening closely, she might have heard something almost like self-loathing behind the light words – but she wasn't. â€Å"Yes!†Bonnie said, meaning it. Most of Mrs. Flowers's teas smel ed and tasted good. This one was especial y nice, but grainy on her tongue. And not only was the tea good, but Damon stayed to talk to her while she drank it al . That was sweet of him. Strangely, this tea made her feel not exactly sleepy, but as if she could only concentrate on one thing at a time. Damon swam into her field of view. â€Å"Feeling more relaxed?†he asked. â€Å"Yes, thank you.†Weirder and weirder. Even her voice sounded slow and dragging. â€Å"I wanted to make sure nobody was too hard on you for the sil y mistake about Elena,†he explained. â€Å"They weren't, real y,†she said. â€Å"Actual y everybody was more interested in seeing you and Matt fight – â€Å"Bonnie put a hand over her mouth. â€Å"Oh, no! I didn't mean to say that! I'm so sorry!† â€Å"It's al right. It should heal by tomorrow.† Bonnie couldn't imagine why anyone would be so afraid of Damon, who was so nice as to pick up her mug of tea and say he'd put it in the sink. That was good because she was feeling as if she couldn't get up to save her life. That cozy. That comfy. â€Å"Bonnie, can I ask you just one little thing?†Damon paused. â€Å"I can't tel you why, but†¦I have to find out where Misao's star bal is kept,†he said earnestly. â€Å"Oh†¦that,†Bonnie said fuzzily. She giggled. â€Å"Yes, that. And I am truly sorry to ask you, because you're so very young and innocent†¦but I know you'l tel me the truth.† After this praise and comfort, Bonnie felt she could fly. â€Å"It's been in the same place al the time,†she said with sleepy disgust. â€Å"They tried to make me think they'd moved it†¦but when I saw him chained and going down to the root cel ar I knew they hadn't real y.†In the dark, there was a short shake of curls and then a yawn. â€Å"If they were real y going to move it†¦they should have sent me away or something.† â€Å"Wel , maybe they were concerned for your life.† â€Å"Wha'?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Bonnie yawned again, not sure what he meant. â€Å"I mean, an old, old safe with a combination? I told them†¦that those old safes†¦could be†¦real y be†¦easy to†¦ to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Bonnie let out a sound like a sigh and her voice stopped. â€Å"I'm glad we had this talk,†Damon murmured in the silence. There was no answer from the bed. Pul ing Bonnie's sheet up as high as it would go, he let it drift down. It covered most of her face. â€Å"Requiescat in pace,†Damon said softly. Then he left her room, not forgetting to take the mug. Now†¦ â€Å"him chained and going down to the root cellar.† Damon mused as he washed out the mug careful y and put it back in the cupboard. The line sounded strange but he had almost al the links now, and it was actual y simple. Al he needed were twelve more of Mrs. Flowers's sleeping cachets and two plates heaped with raw beef. He had al the ingredients†¦but he'd never heard of a root cel ar. Shortly thereafter, he opened the door to the basement. Nope. Didn't match the criteria for â€Å"root cel ar†he'd looked up on his mobile. Irritated and knowing that any moment someone was likely to wander downstairs for something, Damon turned around in frustration. There was an elaborately carved wooden panel across from the basement, but nothing else. Curse it, he would not be thwarted at this point. He would have his life as a vampire back, or he didn't want any life at al ! To punctuate the sentiment, he slammed a fist against the wooden panel in front of him. The knock sounded hollow. Immediately al frustration vanished. Damon examined the panel very careful y. Yes, there were hinges at the very edge, where no sane person would expect them. It wasn't a panel but a door – undoubtedly to the root cel ar where the star bal was. It didn't take long for his sensitive fingers – even his human fingers were more sensitive than most – to find a place that clicked – and then the whole door swung open. He could see the stairs. He tucked his parcel under one arm and descended. By the il umination of the smal flashlight he'd taken from the storage room, the root cel ar was just as described: a damp, earthy room to store fruit and vegetables before refrigerators had been invented. And the safe was just as Bonnie had said: an ancient, rusty combination safe, which any whiz cracker could have opened in about sixty seconds. It would take Damon about six minutes, with his stethoscope (he'd heard once that you could find anything in the boardinghouse if you looked hard enough and it seemed to be true) and every atom of his being concentrating on hearing the tumblers quietly click. First, however, there was the Beast to conquer. Saber the black hel hound had unfolded, awake and alert from the moment the secret door had opened. Undoubtedly, they had used Damon's clothes to teach him to howl madly at his scent. But Damon had his own knowledge of herbs and had ransacked Mrs. Flowers's kitchen to find a handful of witch hazel, a smal amount of strawberry wine, aniseed, some peppermint oil, and a few other essential oils she had in stock, sweet and sharp. Mixed, this created a pungent lotion, which he had gingerly applied to himself. The concoction formed for Saber an impossible tangle of strong smel s. The only thing the now-sitting dog knew was that it was surely not Damon sitting on the steps and tossing him hearty bal s of hamburger and delicate strips of filet mignon – each of which he gulped down whole. Damon watched with interest as the animal devoured the mix of sleeping powder and raw meat, tail whisking on the floor. Ten minutes later Saber the hel hound was sprawled out happily unconscious. Six minutes after that, Damon was opening an iron door. One second later he was pul ing a pil owcase out of Mrs. Flowers's antique safe. In the glow of the flashlight he found that he did indeed have a star bal , but that it was just a little more than half ful . Now what did that mean? There was a very neat hole dril ed and corked at the top so that not one precious droplet more need be wasted. But who had used the rest of the fluid – and why? Damon himself had seen the star bal brimful of opalescent, shimmering liquid just days ago. Somehow between that time and now someone had used about a hundred thousand individuals'life energy. Had the others tried to do some remarkable deed with it and failed, at the cost of burning so much Power? Stefan was too kind to have used so much, Damon was certain of that. But†¦ Sage. With an Imperial Summons in his hand, Sage was likely to do anything. So, sometime after the sphere had been brought into the boardinghouse, Sage had poured out almost exactly half the life force from the star bal and then, undoubtedly, left the rest behind for Mutt or someone to cork. And such a colossal amount of Power could only have been used for†¦opening the Gate to the Dark Dimensions. Very slowly, Damon let out his breath and smiled. There were only a few ways to get into the Dark Dimensions, and as a human he obviously could not drive to Arizona and pass through a public Gateway as he had the first time with the girls. But now he had something even better. A star bal to open his own private Gateway. He knew of no other way to cross, unless one was lucky enough to hold one of the almost-mythical Master Keys that al owed one to roam the dimensions at wil . Doubtless, someday in the future, in some nook, Mrs. Flowers would find another thank-you note: this time along with something that was literal y invaluable – something exquisite and priceless and probably from a dimension quite far from Earth. That was how Sage operated. All was quiet above. The humans were relying on their animal companions to keep them safe. Damon gave the root cel ar a single look around and saw nothing more than a dim room completely empty except for the safe, which he now closed. Dumping his own paraphernalia into the pil owcase, he patted Saber, who was gently snoring, and turned toward the steps. That was when he saw that a figure was standing in the doorway. The figure then stepped smoothly behind the door, but Damon had seen enough. In one hand the figure had been holding a fighting stave almost as tal as it was. Which meant that it was a hunter-slayer. Of vampires. Damon had met several hunter-slayers – briefly – in his time. They were, in his consideration, bigoted, unreasonable, and even more stupid than the average human, because they'd usual y been brought up on legends of vampires with fangs like tusks who ripped out the throats of their victims and kil ed them. Damon would be the first to admit that there were some vampires like that, but most were more restrained. Vampire hunters usual y worked in groups, but Damon had a hunch that this one would be alone. He now ascended the steps slowly. He was fairly certain of the identity of this hunter-slayer, but if he was wrong he was going to have to dodge a stave launched straight down at him like a javelin. No problem – if he were stil a vampire. Slightly more difficult, unarmed as he was and at a severe tactical disadvantage. He reached the top of the stairs unharmed. This was real y the most dangerous part of climbing steps, for a weapon of just the right length could send him crashing al the way back down. Of course a vampire wouldn't be permanently injured by that, but – again – he was no longer a vampire. But the person in the kitchen al owed him to climb al the way out of the root cel ar unhindered. A kil er with honor. How sweet. He turned slowly to measure up his vampire hunter. He was immediately impressed. It wasn't the obvious strength that al owed the hunter to be able to whip off a figure eight with the fighting stave that impressed him. It was the weapon itself. Perfectly balanced, it was meant to be held in the middle, and the designs picked out in jewels around the handhold showed that its creator had had excel ent taste. The ends showed that he or she had a sense of humor as wel . The two ends of the stave were made of ironwood for strength – but they were also decorated. In shape, they were made to resemble one of humankind's oldest weapons, the flint-tipped spear. But there were tiny spikes extruding from each of these â€Å"spear flakes,†set firmly into the ironwood. These tiny spikes were of different materials: silver for werewolves, wood for vampires, white ash for Old Ones, iron for al eldritch creatures, and a few that Damon couldn't quite work out. â€Å"They're refil able,†the hunter-slayer explained. â€Å"Hypodermic needles inject on impact. And of course different poisons for different species – quick and simple for humans, wolfsbane for those naughty puppies, and so on. It real y is a jewel of a weapon. I wish I had found it before we met Klaus.† Then she seemed to shake herself back into reality. â€Å"So, Damon, what's it going to be?†asked Meredith.