Business in Focus & Research Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business in Focus & Research Skills - Essay Example Globalisation of businesses on the one hand, and the extensive spread of the Internet on the other, facilitated the phenomenon of global manpower outsourcing. The growth of usage of computers in all walks of life created enormous demand for English speaking and trained manpower for working as programmers. The economic rationale for using foreign nationals in low-end application programmes was the significantly lower wage costs and sheer manpower resource availability. This trend has rapidly spread to many other areas such as call centre operations, legal, accounting and auditing, engineering, manufacturing processes etc. generally termed as business process outsourcing (BPO), and gave rise to two types of employment of foreign nationals - onshore or off-shore services and in each case there have been corresponding loss of job opportunities for locals. In the onshore format, the foreign national is In the US, which is the major promoter of outsourcing as a model for competitive global business operations, there is a growing public resentment on the jobs lost to foreign nationals. The volume of jobs lost can be gauged by the fact that in each of the cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore in India, there are hundreds of companies employing thousands of men and women, providing back office services on 24x7 basis, to the US and European companies (BPO India, 2009). In the past most of these jobs in areas such as customer services, credit card operations, medical transcription, data entry, telemarketing etc. were being performed locally in the US itself by US nationals. The high hourly wage costs and the opening up of the world markets for services led to the outsourcing trends. In addition, the major Indian IT firms place thousands of their employees at the clients' premises for operations such as programming, installation, maintenance and training. Further, major US firms like Microsoft, IBM, Dell, Accenture, and Deloitte have established subsidiary companies in India i.e., they have effectively shipped jobs abroad. While economising on manpower costs is one reason for outsourcing, avoiding payment of taxes in the US is another aspect. Some business houses establish overseas operations in tax haven countries because the corporate income tax in the US is relatively higher, thus encouraging firms to establish operations abroad where either there is no tax or the tax rates are much lesser. Under the double taxation agreements, which the US has with a host of countries, if US firms pay taxes abroad on the income generated fromBusiness in focus 3 their foreign operations, then there is no need to pay taxes again on such income in the US, meaning consolidation of global income for tax purposes is not required. There is a growing criticism of such tax breaks for firms, which ship jobs abroad. The current economic down turn has only accentuated the demands for discouraging firms from outsourcing. During the 2004 presidential elections, Mr. John Kerry

Flannery o'conner's - any topic use of faith violence or compare two Essay

Flannery o'conner's - any topic use of faith violence or compare two stories - Essay Example This daughter, and subsequently the rest of her family, is eventually taken advantage of by a drifter of some kind that enters the family’s world for a brief period. Despite this similarity, particularly in the characters of Hulga Hopewell and Lucynell Crater (the younger), the two somehow defective and unmarried daughters, O’Connor manages to convey widely different messages. By comparing the two daughters within these stories and their unique experiences, as they measure up against known trademarks of O’Connor’s writing style, it is possible to find O’Connor’s general worldview regarding the nature of evil in the world but also her hope that there might still be some good left in it as well. It is in contrasting these characters that one begins to understand O’Connor’s ideas of the loss of innocence and what makes a person defective. In â€Å"Good Country People,† a small household of women gets a visit from a young door-to-door Bible salesman. One of these women is Hulga Hopewell, who is 32 years old and feels herself ugly beyond belief. Although she has earned a Ph.D. in philosophy, she must wear a false leg because her natural leg had been shot off in an accident when she was a child. She finds no inner value in her ability to think and can only judge herself by her outward appearance, purposely suiting her inner character in every way she can devise to match with this outer perception. While her mother invites the salesman in and considers him ‘good country people’ like she is, meaning they share many of the same morals, values and ethics, Hulga does not believe in anything so prosaic. As a means of acting out against this ideal of the ‘good country people’, Hulga determines to seduce this young man as soon as he shows the slightest interest in her. She reasons if she can sed uce something as good, pure and sweet as the man her mother chooses to see, the epitome of

Emil Durkheim Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Emil Durkheim - Essay Example A change in any part is seen as leading to a certain degree of imbalance, which in turn results in changes in other parts of the system and to some extent to a reorganization of the system as a whole. The development of functionalism was based on the model of the organic system found in the biological sciences. (Theodorson and Theodorson 1969, page 167) Accordingly, the three elements of functionalism are: 1) The general interrelatedness, or interdependence of the system's parts; 2) The existence of a "normal" state of affairs, or state of equilibrium, comparable to the normal or healthy state of an organism; and 3) The way that all the parts of the system reorganize to bring things back to normal. In analyzing how social systems maintain and restore equilibrium, functionalists tend to use shared values or generally accepted standards of desirability as a central concept. Value consensus means that individuals will be morally committed to their society. The emphasis on values is the second most important feature of functionalism. As such, it contrasts directly with the other major macro-sociological perspective, the conflict theory. Whereas functionalism emphasizes the unity of society and what its members share, conflict theorists stress the divisions within a society and the struggles that arise out of people's pursuits of their different material interests. (Wallace and Wolf 1999, page 19) The Collective Conscience (later called Collective Representations). Another key theory that Durkheim developed was The Collective Conscience. In his own words - Of the totality of beliefs and sentiments common to average citizens of the same society that forms a determinate system which has its own life, one may call it the collective or common conscience (Durkheim [1893] 1947, pages 79-80). People are born into the collective conscience, and it regulates their perceptions and behavior. What Durkheim was denoting with the concept of collective conscience, then, is that social systems evidence systems of ideas, such as values, beliefs, and norms that constrain the thoughts and actions of individuals. Durkheim was concerned with morality and moral facts. This area is now termed culture. Durkheim was concerned with the systems of symbols - particularly the norms, values, and beliefs - that humans create and use to organize their activities. In the course of his analysis of the collective conscience, Durkheim conceptualized its varying states as having four variables: 1) Volume, which denotes the degree to which the values, beliefs, and rules of the collective conscience are shared by the members of a society; 2) Intensity, which indicates the extent to which the collective conscience has power to guide a person's thoughts and actions; 3) Determinateness, which denotes the degree of clarity in the components of the collective conscience; and 4) Content, which pertains to the ratio of religious to purely secular symbolism in the collective conscience. Functionalism in action. Functionalism is macro-sociology. An airport is an example of the interrelatedness expressed within the functionalism framework. There are the pilots, maintenance crews, air traffic controllers, baggage handlers, and ticketing and reservation personnel .What could cause "disequilibrium" of the airport

Competition Energy Drinks Essay Example for Free

Competition Energy Drinks Essay The beverage industry, like most food service industries in these economic times, faces many challenges. Not one company is excluded from the challenges of economic conditions, demographics, social and global forces, and regulatory, political, and legal factors. The global economic conditions affect the energy drink industry in many ways. This industry depends highly on the disposable income of its customers. People are very cautious with their money these days and if additional income does not exist to purchase these items, then the companies suffer. In recent projections, however, this does not seem to be the case. The global industry factors show a projected growth of $20 trillion in sales between 2009 and 2014, and demand for these alternative beverages is expected to increase globally as customer purchasing power increases. Social factors play an important part in the industry’s strategy, as well. With customers concerned with healthy lifestyles and exercise, the alternative beverage industry has increased sales in the last decade. Customers demanding low calorie, energy vitamin-enhancing drinks turn to these types of beverages for their needs instead of carbonated soft drinks. Alternative drinks are consumed by a slim demographic. These products are generally used by young adults, college and high school students, athletes and exercise aficionados. Another branch of these drinks are the energy â€Å"shots,† which have become very popular in the last decade. With new legislation and changing regulations, it is very important for companies to stay abreast of all changes. There has been an increase in negative reports on what affects energy drinks have on people that use them, from high blood pressure to arrhythmia, which as forced some companies to include warning labels on their packaging. There is also a concern with the consumption of these drinks contributing to the obesity issue, many of these drinks contain high fructose corn syrup, and many additives that can contribute to weight gain if consumption is not limited. Competition is fierce in this industry; not only between the two biggest competitors, Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo Inc., but also Red Bull GmbH, Hansen Natural Corporation and privately owned regional brands. The two major companies, Pepsi and Coca Cola, are strong competitors within the alternative beverage market and use both the introduction of new products as well as the introduction of existing products in new markets to increase sales. Pepsi has introduced several new products Charge, Rebuild, and Defend three new brands available to consumers interested in vitamin-enhanced drink alternatives. Pepsi has also recently agreed to distribute the â€Å"Rockstar† brand drinks in Canada and the United States. Coca-Cola Company’s strategy is to distribute their existing brands in the new markets of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and other Asia/Pacific countries. In order to compete with these two major companies, Red Bull relies on sponsorships and promotion as well as celebrity endorsements. By using advertising in this manner, Red Bull is able to use its slogans and logos in a variety of ways to get their name out into the public. Hansen Natural Corporation utilizes a different approach to boost sales. This company increased their package size and still maintained a competitive price compared to Red Bull. Like Red Bull, Hansen also uses celebrity promotion and sponsorship as a marketing tool. This is not to say that PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Company do not utilize this method of advertising, as they both spend billions on advertising promotions, celebrity, and sporting endorsements. The competitive edge in this case lies with PepsiCo Inc. , whose sales of energy and alternative beverages have surpassed its competitors in the past few years. New entrants are not a strong competitive pressure for this industry. The dominating companies are unsurpassed in their strong brand names and great distribution channels. The industry is fully saturated. These factors make it difficult for new companies to compete against them. Any new company wanting to get into this industry would face high capital start-up expenditures and would surely fail due to the high cost. Substitution of products is also an area where the competitive force is low. With brand loyalty, the market for substitution is very low. Consumers want the brands they are used and won’t accept substitution. Suppliers for the industry do not hold much competitive pressure either. Suppliers to this industry are bottling equipment manufactures and secondary packaging suppliers. The suppliers have little bargaining power, as the two major brands own their own bottling centers. As discussed earlier, changes in this industry’s long-term growth rate is a positive one. Growth is high in this market and is expected to continue to grow. One of the reasons for this is the increasing globalization. Coke is expanding its operations to be more global as are some of its competitors. The changing spectrum of the customer base is not really a factor here. Most of the demographic has not changed much since the introduction of these alternative beverages. Marketing and innovation has to continue to grow so that the company can grow. Regulatory influences and government policy changes are a huge factor in this industry. As the customers call for increased legislation and regulation of the ingredients, the companies have to make adjustments to their drink formulas, and this could prove costly if not monitored closely. Society is constantly changing and this industry needs to transition with these changes. By the introduction of new products and the re-tooling of existing products, all of the competitors can be successful. This industry has several success factors, product marketing, product differentiation, brand name, a strong distribution network and the ability to adapt to change. PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Company have strong aspects of all of these factors which is what has made both of them so successful. PepsiCo Inc.has branched into the food market as well as remaining in the soft drink and alternative beverage markets. Coke has had a similar strategy and relies heavily on their brand name and product recognition. All of the companies have unique and successful marketing techniques such as sponsorships, promotions, and celebrity endorsements. In order to achieve a successful strategic plan, a company needs to establish a group of people to discuss the goals and objectives of their company, sometimes called a task force. The task force should then decide what the company’s goals and objectives are. By drafting Mission and Vision statements, this task force can begin to convey their goals and objectives. Strategic planning is an on-going task for every company. When a plan is established the implementation and monitoring phases begin. To be successful a company should be constantly monitoring its goals and objectives and changing them when the need arises. With competition so high in this industry, a strong strategic plan is critical. In viewing these companies one can see that their plans are very strong. In order to continue to grow and compete in this market all companies need to look forward at the changing times, attitudes and cultures. All of the companies in this market, as with any market, need to maintain their competitive advantage and find new and different ways to achieve it. A comprehensive action plan needs to be put into place and reviewed often. By doing this all companies have a better chance at keeping their competitive advantage and enjoying better profits for their shareholders.

Entrepreneurs Typically Learn From Failure Business Essay

Entrepreneurs Typically Learn From Failure Business Essay In the literature, there is no specific definition of failure. Every author that will be discussed in this essay has described failure using different parameters. Therefore, it is not possible to use a particular authors definition because their work is based on their different definitions. To begin with, one of the widely accepted definitions of failure is the termination of a business that has fallen short of its goals, thereby failing to satisfy principal shareholder expectations (Beaver and Jennings, 1996 mentioned in Cope, 2011, pp 605). This differs from the definition of Cochran, 1981, mentioned in Cope (2011, pp 605 Carter and Evans 2012, pp 181) who suggests failure as bankruptcy or liquidation as the loss of capital and an inability to make a go of it. However, a similar view is shared by Shepherd (2003 pp. 318), who feels that business failure occurs when a fall in revenues and/or a rise in expenses are of such that the firm becomes insolvent and is unable to attract new d ebt or equity funding; leading to the inability of operating under the current ownership and management. Oxford dictionary defines typical as having the distinctive qualities or characteristics of a particular type of person or thing or informal  showing the characteristics expected of or popularly associated with a particular person or thing. It is typically expected that entrepreneurs will learn from failure. This essay will discuss the reasons the why entrepreneurs fail, the factors that increase the probability of failure, how and what entrepreneurs learn from failure. In the essay, all the theories or literature that has been mentioned is in context to small firms. The reasons they have been targeted is because there is higher incidence of faillure in small firms and are more likely to close than larger ones (Blackburn and Stokes, 2002). To understand success, it is important to understand failure (Carter and Evans 2012). Sitkin (1992) as cited in Shepherd (2003 pp. 318) argues that failure is more important than success for learning. Sir James Dyson, the founder of Dyson Company (Entrepreneur 2012) also believes that a person never learns from success, but they do learn from failure. The causes that lead to business failure have been divided into two categories; internal and external failures. The following table shows the internal and external factors contributing to failure of a business: Internal and external factors contributing to failure cited in Carter and Evans (2012, pp.184) One of the major internal cause of failure is poor management an event that occurs as a lack of entrepreneurial or managerial attention or focus (Carter and Evans, 2012 pp.184-184).Beaver (2003 mentioned in the Carter and Evans. 2012 pp. 184) refers to a research done by Dun and Bradstreet in 1991 which proves that the primary cause of business failure in the USA is due to management incompetence of the business owner. This view is confirmed by Thornhill and Amit (2003 as mentioned in Cope, 2011) who also consider lack of management and financial planning skills as the most common causes of firm mortality. Authors like Brough (1970); Stanford (1982); Hall (1992); Beaver and Jennings (1995) as mentioned in Beaver (2003 pp. 117) consider finance, demand forecasting, management, marketing, capitalization at start-up and strategy and planning as the main causes if business failure in small firms. Another view by Beaver (2003 pp. 117) is that if business start-ups are a desperate response to unemployment, rather than based on sound principles and the committed fashioning and management of competitive advantage, it is inevitable that many firms will fail. The external factors of failure are those that are beyond the control of even the most capable entrepreneurs and will trigger problems in new firms (Osborne, 1993 as mentioned in Carter and Evans, 2012 pp. 184). Entrepreneurs tend to attribute failure to external causes, such as market conditions and financial problems through a process known as attribution theory (Carter and Evans, 2012 pp.184). Rosa, Carter and Hamilton (1996 as mentioned in Carter and Evans, 2012 pp.185) interviewed 600 UK small business owner-managers and found that most of the business people tend to blame external factors to their possible shortcomings. The reason why entrepreneurs dont want to be associated with failure is due to the potential danger to their self-esteem (Cannon and Edmondson, 2005 Carter and Evans, 2012, pp. 185). This view has been encouraged due to the social norm of failure being regarded as a negative event and the stigmatization (Cope, 2011). One of the external causes of failure mention ed in Carter and Evans (2012) is bankruptcy of main customer or supplier. Len Rainford, M.D., Sameday UK went through the same problem with his business of warehousing when his biggest customer had gone bust. However, with the help of his banks and accountants, he was able to recover losses and make profits within 3 years. A similar problem was also faced by Vikram Talwar, founder of EXL Service, one of Indias largest BPOs when their only client, Conseco went bankrupt (Bansal, 2008). They were able to recover because of the strategies of the management and help of the investors. Other than the causes of failure, there are certain factors that increase the probability of failure. There are two main independent factors that are important determinants of a firm growth; size and age (Storey, 1994, Carter and Evans, 2012 and Bates and Nucci, 1990). Bates also found that firm age was the strongest single determinant of small business survival among firms owned by white males (Bates and Nucci, 1990 pp. 10). The empirical evidence on the negative relationship between size and age of the firm and the failure rates had been unanimous (Storey, 1994). There have been various studies to prove this relationship for example; the study done by Dunne, Roberts and Samuelson in 1989 (Storey, 1994 pp.92)on manufacturing plants showed that the average failure rate for plants with employees in between five to nineteen was 104.7 % higher than for plants with more than 250 employees. In this case, they had used the number of employees as a factor to recognize the size of the business. A similar study done by Gallagher and Stewart in 1985 as cited in Storey (1994 pp. 92) found that a firm employing less than twenty people was 78% more likely to fail over the next decade as compared to the one employing more than 1,000. On comparison of the size of the firm in terms of the net assets, it was found by Dunne and Hughes (1992 mentioned in Storey, 1994 pp. 92) that the non-survivors over the 1980-5 period con stituted 27% of those with net assets less than  £1m, compared with 14 % of those with net assets exceeding  £64m.In terms of age, Hudson (1987b mentioned in Storey, 1994 pp.93) finds clear evidence that insolvency is a characteristic more suitable for young firms. He found that 61% of the firms that became insolvent did so between 2-9 years after formation and that there was a peak age of 2-5 years. Entrepreneurs who focus more on the success of the more than failure are also more likely to fail because drawing lessons from successes is much more difficult as success does not create an urgent need to enrich current knowledge structures or behaviors and on the other hand it reinforces existing beliefs and routines. (Ellis et al., 2006 mentioned in Cope, 2011). After establishing the causes of failure, it is also important to understand how entrepreneurs recover and move on to learn lessons from failure. Failure causes damage not only financially and emotionally but also relationally and recovering and moving on from failure includes overcoming these costs too (Shepherd et al, 2009 mentioned in Cope, 2011 pp. 613 and Cope, 2011 ). According to Cope (2011) failure does not necessarily produce any long-term negative professional consequences as the key stakeholders accept failure as a fact of life in the start-up community. Cope (2011) feel that this encourages the entrepreneurs who are concerned about the possibility of receiving future support for their ideas as failure is not automatically considered a black mark by other professionals. Shepherd (2003) and Shepherd and Kuratko (2009, pp. 451) use the word grief to define the emotional response to the loss of something important which causes behavioral, psychological, and physiological symptoms. The more important the project to the innovator, the more extreme the negative emotional reaction incurred upon failure (Shepherd and Kuratko, 2009, pp. 452). Shepherd and Kuratko (2009, pp. 452) also mention that grief can obstruct learning from failure and in such circumstances; learning from failure involves a process of regulating the negative emotions. This process is called grief recovery (Shepherd 2003, Shepherd and Kuratko 2009). He argues that an individual has recovered from grief when thoughts surrounding the loss of the business no longer generate a negative emotional response. Oscillation between the two models of coping behavior is the most effective in speeding the recovery process. Shepherd (2003) and Shepherd and Kuratko (2009) Involves actively confronting the loss and associated negative emotions in order to work through what happened and make sense of the failure. Shepherd (2003) and Shepherd and Kuratko (2009) Avoiding, suppressing and purposefully distracting oneself from loss-related thoughts, allowing gradual fading of memories related with the loss. Shepherd (2003) and Shepherd and Kuratko (2009 Figure 1: Using Shepherds approach to grief recovery as cited in Shepherd (2003) and Shepherd and Kuratko (2009). The process of oscillation (shown in figure 1) is important as it gives the innovator the benefit of both orientations while minimizing the costs of maintaining either for an extended period and also allows them to learn more from their failure experiences (Shepherd, 2003 and Shepherd and Kuratko 2009). In order to be effective, the oscillation approach requires the innovator to confront the loss and work through the events leading up to the failure; to distract ones thoughts away from the failure event to focus on addressing secondary causes of stress; and to recognize when one orientation has been held too long and be able to switch to the other orientation (Shepherd and Kuratko, 2009, pp.454). Grief is generated not only amongst the entrepreneur but also the team members (Shepherd, 2003). The organizations form support groups through which they provide an opportunity for their members to interact with others who have experienced a sense of loss. By interacting with others who have experienced similar grief-inducing events, individuals can model coping behaviors and build their coping self-efficacy skills (Shepherd, 2003). However, the amount of feedback information available also appears to impact the degree to which grief interferes with the learning process (Shepherd, 2003). People learn using the outcome of action (feedback) to revise their belief systems (Huy, 1999; Kim, 1993; Weick, 1979 as mentioned in Shepherd, 2003, pp. 320). For the self-employed, learning from business failure occurs when they can use the information available about why the business failed to revise their existing knowledge of how to manage their own business effectively (Shepherd, 2003 pp. 320). For example, Ravi Kalakota has learned a number of lessons from the loss of his business, Hsupply.com, such as dont let venture capitalists hijack your vision, dont burn through capital rapidly to achieve short-term growth, and dont underestimate the speed others will imitate your products and services (Gilbert, 2000 as mentioned in Shepherd, 2003, pp. 320). Following the understanding of the reasons for failure and how they learn from failure, it is now important to acknowledge the learning from failure. According to Len Rainford, there is no such thing as failure, its a learning curve. He supports that even if entrepreneurs fail, they start again because they believe in bouncing back from failure and trying something else. An example of this is Sir James Dyson, the founder of Dyson Company. When he invented his first Dual cyclone vacuum cleaner, he spent 15 years creating 5,126 versions that failed and all this paid off in the form of a multi-billion dollar company that it is now (Entrepreneur, 2012). In the literature, the learning specifically points towards the launch of a new venture. It has been repeatedly mentioned by various academics that entrepreneurs who have learned from failure have become more motivated to start another enterprise (Cope 2011, Stokes and Blackburn, 2002) An example of entrepreneur learning from failure is Madan Mohanka, founder of Tega Industries, the worlds third largest company designing solutions in the field of mining equipment (Bansal, 2008). When his company was having huge cash flow problems, and was almost on the brink of bankruptcy, he learnt some valuable lessons. The first one is that an entrepreneur should at least plan for 50% or double the investment, the second one is that if an entrepreneur believes in his/her product and business, he/she should never give up (Rashmi Bansal, 2008). When Madan went bankrupt, he mortgaged his wifes jewelry, but did not abandon the dream. Due to the failure, they learn lessons regarding what they should have done and how they can do it better and this adds value to the entrepreneurs stock of experience (Reuber and Fischer, 1999 in Cope, 2011, pp. 618) , stock of knowledge (Minniti and Bygrave, 2001; Reuber and Fischer, 1999 mentioned in Cope, 2011 pp. 605)and improves the level of entrepreneurial preparedness for the future entrepreneurial activity (Cope, 2005a; Harvey and Evans. 1995; cope and Zacharakis et al., 1999 ;Stokes and Blackburn, 2002 mentioned in Cope, 2011, pp.618). This is done by revising previously ineffective routines, highlighting the mistakes, spotting new opportunities (Gupta, 2005; Politis, 2005) and expanding the skills and knowledge about the entrepreneurial process (Cope, 2011, pp. 618). Many entrepreneurs become successful serial entrepreneurs (Cope, 2011). According to the research done by Stokes and Blackburn (2002); 62% of entrepreneurs who failed, continued as a business owner in some way and almost three-quarters of their respondents also agreed that they have improved their skill in personal management areas like coping with setbacks, self-management and adapting to change. An example of this is Shankar Maruwada, owner of Marketics, an analytics company. When his first business went bust, he learnt his first lesson of failure; things dont as per plan and he and his team used the failure to get it right the second time with Marketics (Bansal, 2008). This proves the positive learning experience of failure. The repeated reference to a better awareness of pressure points warning signs and stresses and strains during the entrepreneurial process is evidence of the productive and practical learning outcomes of failure (Cope, 2011). Failure is also called a trial and error (Gibb, 1997; Politis, 2005 in Cope, 2011) approach for entrepreneurs to understand what works and doesnt work (Sarasvathy and Menon, 2002, mentioned in Cope, 2011) thus increasing the probability of success. Experiencing failure has also been found to lead to more positive attitudes to failure (Politis and Gabrielsson, 2009 in Shepherd, 2003). Studying and learning from failure can help entrepreneurs to avoid falling into unreflective cognitive ruts or learning traps (Rerup, 2005; West and Wilson, 1995 in Shepherd, 2003). A study done by Scholl-hammer (1991) mentioned in Shepherd (2003) suggests that 51 percent of all entrepreneurs in the United States have previous owner-manager experience. This view is also supported by Timmons (1999 mentioned in Shepherd, 2003), who considers failure as a necessary step to success. From the work of various researchers and especially Cope in the field of entrepreneurial learning, it is clear that entrepreneurs who have experienced failure are more prepared than those who have only enjoyed success. Learning from failure but it is not an automatic or instant process and thus requires time in moving on from the understanding of the failure and its causes to generating learning outcomes from it. Processes that fail lead to grief and by using methods like loss orientation, restoration orientation, and oscillation between these two methods, causes grief recovery (Shepherd, 2003). Learning is a dynamic and on-going process and it will take place during and beyond the process of failure (Bower, 1990 as mentioned in Shepherd, 2003, pp. 320). However, entrepreneurs will eventually move on and recover from the grief.

Blindness in Richard Wrights Native Son Essay -- Native Son Essays

Blindness in Richard Wright's Native Son Does it seem sometimes as if people are ignorant to other feelings? Have you ever had a friend get away with something or toy with someone's thoughts to benefit him or her? Similar types of blindness occur in the novel Native Son by Richard Wright (1940). The story starts in the Great Depression with a poor black family waking up to a foot long rat in their one room apartment. Bigger, the main character, and his younger brother Buddy narrowly kill it without bodily harm. Bigger is supposed to start a job for a rich white man as a chauffeur. Bigger has never really interacted with white people before and is not wanting to be there. After an accident on his first day, he kills the man's daughter and throws her body into their furnace, severing her head from her body to make it fit. He acts like he didn't do anything and slyly puts the blame on Jan, her communist boyfriend, while leaving a ransom note. It almost works until the media finds remnants of her bones in the ashes of the fire. Bigger believes that he will be blamed and runs away with his girlfriend, who he also ends up killing. He ends up being cornered by a mob of white people and taken to jail. His trial is fast and unjust, but he is convicted regardless of the surprising help of Jan and his lawyer. During the course of the novel, there are many instances where people were blinded by the actions of others or did not realize that their actions were negatively affecting their own lives. The following will better explain and demonstrate this. When Bigger first meets Mary, he instantly hates her for her ignorance in prodding him when all he wants is to be left along. Her blindness about his thoughts and feelings makes him hat... ...nd pray because she thinks she is only drunk. This is may be considered somewhat ironic. However, Bigger could also be considered 'blind' in this situation because he doesn't see what he is doing and how it will eventually end his own life. There are other instances where Richard Wright uses 'blindness' as a symbol. Bigger considers the whites 'blind' of blacks and blacks 'blind' of freedom after he kills. During the entire story, the reader senses that Bigger is lost in life. He never understand why he acts the way he does until his lawyer, Max, explains to him why whites seclude blacks and why blacks naturally push back. In the end, everyone is 'blind' for one reason or another. Work Cited "Native Son" Native Son Richard Wright. 30 April 2004. Barnes & Noble. <http://www.sparknotes.com/> Wright, Richard. Native Son. New York: Harper & Row, 1966.

Existentialism & Fight Club Essay

In modern day society, individuals usually experience the same routine over and over again, but rarely become aware of the drudgery of daily life. These people are unable to achieve a higher level of existence by being uniform. Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett, is an existential play where two men are stuck in the same routine day after day. They sit around all day waiting for the inevitable arrival of a man named Godot, who seems like he will never come; the two lose track of time. The men are completely unaware of what day of the week it is; they seem to be achieving nothing in their dull lives due to their tedious ways. Waiting for Godot is more than a mere existential play; there are heavy undertones of Christianity, creating a religious aspect to the play, yet the author manipulates Christian beliefs to strengthen existentialistic ideas. There are many existential elements in this play, mainly monotony and the inability to take action. Both Acts one and two of the play are similar because they contain identical events. First, Vladimir meets Estragon at the same tree. Estragon sleeps in a ditch all night and is continually beaten up. They become acquainted with Pozzo and Lucky, and then a boy notifies them that Godot will arrive tomorrow. At the end of the act, Vladimir and Estragon are unable to leave, and the second act repeats the same sequence of events. Vladimir admits that â€Å"habit is a great deadener† (Beckett 105). A fundamental belief of existentialism is, individuals who repeat the same mundane task will not live life to the fullest and are stuck in a lull. The characters in Waiting for Godot are constantly stating that they will take action but do not acquire the initiative to finalize the task. Their life is not complete or entirely satisfied because of their â€Å"lack of perfection, power, and control†¦over their [lives]† (All About Philosophy). Pozzo realizes his inability to maneuver and remarks, â€Å"I don’t seem to be able†¦to deport† (Beckett 5). Estragon then rejoins stating, â€Å"Such is life† (Beckett 5). People are inflicted with the difficult task of taking initiative and become dormant when they do not choose to take their own future into their hands. According to Kierkegaard, people constantly have to choose what they become of and therefore, â€Å"must take responsibility for [their] future† (Philosopher). The men in this play are unable to take action and need an outer force to act upon them (Philosophy Paradise). They are afraid to â€Å"accept the risk and responsibility of following their commitment wherever it leads† (Age of the Sage). The men do not want to act on their own because they are scared to take a chance. They are unable to determine their own fates and therefore, wait for God to decide. Existentialists believe that the individual should to take charge in what becomes of their fate. That burden cannot be shifted â€Å"onto God, or nature, or the ways of the world. –Professor Robert Solomon† (Dividing Line). By taking control, one can enjoy their life as an individual because they choose what becomes of their existence. Christianity plays a major role in Waiting for Godot, as there are many references relating God to Godot and Jesus Christ to Estragon. During the first act, Estragon decides to walk around barefoot and claims, â€Å"[a]ll my life I’ve compared myself to [Christ]† (Beckett 57). He is able to compare himself to Christ because all men, including Jesus, are God’s children. Moreover, â€Å"Godot stands for God† (New York Times) because â€Å"only God know what the future contains. † (Urbana). This is relevant to Godot because the men are depending on him to decide their fate. They will not settle on a path for their futures until they meet Godot. The two men inquired Godot for â€Å"a kind of prayer† and are waiting for his reply (Beckett 12). This religious act is an allusion the prayers that many Christians make to God. Thus far, the men have not been aquatinted with Godot because â€Å"God does not calculate time as [they] do. † (Urbana). Their day may not be the same amount of time as what Godot designates it to be. The men are forced to wait endlessly for the day that he will arrive. This is yet another allusion to Christianity; the men lingering around for Godot and the Christians waiting for the Lord’s coming. The Christians believe that â€Å"in God’s good time [he will] again enable men to see clear† (Reformation Ink). By allowing men to see clearly, they can make their own decisions in life and become more of an individualist. Christians believe they should live in awareness for a unique time when they are needed to set everything aside to â€Å"receive something from God or to do something for God† (Urbana). When this time comes, one should know the difference between what needs to be done and what is truly important (Urbana). A time when this is relevant, is when Vladimir contemplates whether he should assist Pozzo up or go harass Lucky with Estragon. He discovers that it is important to help Pozzo up. He declares, â€Å"It is not every day that we are needed† (Beckett 90). Vladimir realizes how valuable life is and how â€Å"[f]reedom is a gift from God† (Christian-Philosopher). Both Estragon and Vladimir are, â€Å"waiting for†¦waiting† (Beckett 5o). This is against Christian beliefs because the men are not cherishing the time God has given them. The time God bestows upon them must be spent with responsibility and should be seen as a divine gift (Urbana). Christianity and existentialism are intertwined in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Although they both have different beliefs about the demise of one’s life, they have the same principles on how to live. Christianity and existentialism both believe that time should be cherished. Christians view time as a heavenly offering from God, while existentialists believe that individuals must live in the now, because they will not be on earth for long. When Vladimir and Estragon encounter Pozzo in the second act, Pozzo divulges, â€Å"I don’t remember having met anyone yesterday. But to-morrow I won’t remember having met anyone to-day† (Beckett 101). It has been stated earlier in the play that Pozzo is the â€Å"universe. † He is trying to convey that one day someone is born and the next, another person dies. Eventually there is no recollection of the deceased human, and the world keeps going on. According to both existentialism and Christianity, it is up to the individual to choose what they do in life, since â€Å"time is limited† (Urbana). John Cassidy declares â€Å"[n]o one [can] do their work for them, and no one [can] stand behind† them (Christen-Philosopher). It is up to the individual decide what they become of in life. No one, including God, has to deal with their way of living, except for themselves. They are the ultimate rulers of their existence and â€Å"have some control over the course† their future takes (Urbana). ? Bibliography Banks, Robert. Complete Book of Everyday Christianity. 1997. Urbana. 7 December 2009 Beckett, Samuel. Waiting for Godot. New York: Grove Press, 1954 Cassidy, John. Christian Existentialism. Christian – Philosopher. 13 December 2009 Eiermann, Katharena. DividingLine. com. Dividing Line. 13 December 2009. < http://www. dividingline. com/> Existentialism – A Philosophy. Philosophy All About. 12 December 2009 Existentialism. Philosopher. 13 December 2009 Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. 2006. Philosophy Paradise. 30 Nov. 2009 The origins of Existentialism. Age of the Sage. 17 December 2009 . Machen, J. Gresham. What is Christianity? Reformation INK. 17 December 2009. Atkinson, Brooks. 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