Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Great Expectations Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations Essay Great Expectations, a novel by Charles Dickens, was first published in England as a serial in the years 1860 and 61 then later as a novel. It runs to 448 pages in modern paperback. The work is considered to be autobiographical and told in first person as a memoir of the orphan boy, Pip. Dickens’ thesis is moral in nature, saying that love, loyalty and a clean conscience are more important than wealth, social class and ambition. Pip believes he is in love with the Estella, a ward of the rich Mrs. Havisham and seeks to become a gentleman in order to win her heart. He comes to realize his sister and her husband and the convicted criminal, Magwitch, though low in social class, display more character than those he knows of the upper class. Dickens, through his protagonist, advances the idea that nobility is not noble by nature, and one can advance on his own intelligence and work ethic (183). Mrs. Havisham’s family earned their money in commerce but she still represents wealth. Dickens depicts her as a bitter and vengeful old woman, full of hatred for men. She uses Pip and encourages the like-minded Estella to break his heart (60). Pip comes into money and believes that the upper class Mrs. Havisham is his benefactress, which is not true. His money comes from the convict Magwitch who wants to make Pip a gentleman for his own reasons (335). Bentley Drummle, while a minor character, is used by Dickens to show that nobility does not confer morality on a person. Dickens proves his thesis by the relating the callous behavior of the upper classes, compared and contrasted to the kindness of his poor family and the lower classes represented. He produces a litany of noble scoundrels and lowborn citizens with high moral fiber for the reader to consider.

Monday, January 20, 2020

One Time Offer: Sell your Soul, Receive Eternal Life: Note: Do as I do, or Be Punished :: essays research papers

â€Å"Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.† (Buddha)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We were not given the gift of life to adhere to other’s dreams, we were not born to live in the shadow of another being, and we were not bequeathed with the right of freedom to dwell on other’s visions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Has our society fallen to such contemptible levels? Are we really that misplaced, that we must look to someone else’s ways to feel whole? We must look somewhere else for guidance? That, to me, is one of the sorrowful things I have ever heard. I fear for our future; I fear that independent thought will someday begin to seize to exist. There is nothing left to fear except the persistent refusal to find out the truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Religion; the satisfaction for your needs, a place to turn when you are too weary to continue searching for the truth. You should never believe those who claim they found truth, but only those you are still yearning for it. Religious persons do, have positive virtues, they do, have optimistic morals, but they settle for not their own vision, but someone else’s vision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Your elders should always be respected, but just because they contain some higher ranking, does not mean that you should follow intently to what they say, and what they tell you to do. It is in your own will, and your own right, to flourish in your own visions, in your own heart.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Barilla Spa Case Study Essay

1. Diagnose the underlying causes of the difficulties that the JITD program was created to solve. What are the benefits and drawbacks of this program? One of the underlying causes of the difficulties that the JITD program was created to solve was the effects of inconsistent demand that came from Barilla’s distributors. The extreme demand variation strained Barillas manufacturing and logistics, and made very hard for Barilla to meet that demand. For example, as noted on the case â€Å"the specific sequence of pasta production necessitated by the tight heat and humidity specifications in the tunnel kiln made it difficult to quickly produce a particular pasta that had been sold out due to unexpectedly high demand† (Barilla SpA). One of the benefits of implementing the JITD is to reduce the manufacturing cost. As Brando Vitali then Barilla’s director of logistics explained â€Å"we could try to reduce our own distribution costs, inventory levels, and ultimately our manufacturing costs if we didn’t have to respond to the volatile demand patterns of the distributors† this meant JITD will help reduce the costs associated with distribution channels, likewise distributors would not need to stock inventory that exceeds their real demand, and intern help them reduce their cost. Another benefit is that JITD will help improve Barilla’s visibility with trade and make the distributors more dependent on Barillas. As Vitali said â€Å"I think JITD should be considered a selling tool, rather than a threat to sales. We’re offering the customer additional service at no extra cost. In addition, the program will improve Barilla’s visibility with the trade and make distributors more dependent on us-it should improve the relationships between Barilla and the distributors rather than harm them.† Though this would require daily sales data input from distributers on products they shipped out from their warehouse to retailers during previous day and their current stock level, this would help barillas own forecast and would be just one step behind the retailers sell-through information. JITD might also help the relationship between Barilla and its distributors, since Barilla won’t need to use pressure on distributors to hold more finished products than necessary. While the JITD program has many beneficial it also has its drawbacks. One of them is the perception that the power will be transferred to Barilla, as one of the distributors was quoted â€Å"we would be giving Barilla the power to push product into our warehouses just so Barilla can reduce its costs.† Another drawback is that some of the distributors are not comfortable or willing to share their warehouse data, which is a vital piece in order for JITD program to work.   Furthermore, it might be hard for some retailers to report daily sales simply because they might not have the point-of-sale technology at their stores. 2. What conflicts or internal barriers to Barilla has JITD created? What causes these conflicts? How would you deal with them? JITD created lot of internal barriers to Barilla; while some of the concerns are easy to overcome others would need more convincing. For example, the sales department, sales representatives receive more on their compensation through commission from their sales. JITD would cut or reduce to zero most of sales people responsibilities, which in turn will squeeze their commission, as one sale man said â€Å"Our sales levels would flatten if we put this program in place†. As noted in the case most of the sales come from the promotions or incentives that marketing department advertises or promotes, JITD program would heavily affect the marketing department, and would make their job almost an obsolete. As one marketing representative quoted â€Å"we wouldn’t be able to run trade promotions with JITD, how can we get the trade to push Barilla product to retailers if we don’t offer some sort of incentive?† These conflicts are mostly caused by fear of losing jobs. Since these are legitimate concerns and a very possible outcome if JITD is implemented, from my opinion there are only two options either retrain all the employees that would be affected in a different positions or get rid of the JITD program all together and if it was up to me I would scrub the whole program all together. 3. As one of Barilla’s customers, what would your response to JIDT be? This would depend on whether I am a big retail store or a distributer. As a Barilla’s Distributor, my response to JIDT would be, why would I share my sales data to a supplier who also supplies the same products to my competitors? In addition, what makes Barilla’s management think that they can do superior job by making a better demand forecast then I do. I would think that Barillas is only looking after their interest by trying to reduce their inventory cost and as result dumping their product on me. On the other hand if am a big retailer the JITD program would help me reduce my overhead that comes from keeping a weeks of supply from Barilla in my store, and if there are any time gaps between when product is out and when new comes in I can use the shelf to move other quick turnaround products. 4. How would you proceed?  I would cancel the whole JITD program all together. Although the program has some benefits, its draw back and difficulties to implement out weight more than the benefits. The main problem that Barilla has is there average lead time which is 10 days and their distributors would prefer three days lead time; this was caused mainly by Barilla’s production line and machines as noted previously in the case, the specifications of each pasta and the time it takes in the tunnel kiln made it hard for Barilla to quickly produce and keep up with the demand. Barilla should look ways to improve the production line, whether by adding more lines to the production or building a smaller factories allocated strategically in the country, since, most of the Barilla’s products is consumed with in Italy, and depending on the region north or south, each consumes more type of Barilla product than the other.

Saturday, January 4, 2020

University of Mary Washington Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores, GPA

The University of Mary Washington is a public liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 72%. Located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, midway between Richmond and Washington, D.C., UMW was named after George Washingtons mother. Students benefit from over 60 majors and programs of study, a 14-to-1 student / faculty ratio, and an average class size of 19. Considering applying to University of Mary Washington? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including SAT/ACT scores and GPAs of admitted students. Acceptance Rate During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, University of Mary Washington had an acceptance rate of 72%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 72 students were admitted, making Mary Washingtons admissions process somewhat competitive. Admissions Statistics (2017-18) Number of Applicants 5,909 Percent Admitted 72% Percent Admitted Who Enrolled (Yield) 22% SAT Scores and Requirements University of Mary Washington has a test-optional standardized testing policy for most applicants. Applicants to UMW may submit SAT or ACT scores to the school, but they are not required.  During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 87% of admitted students submitted SAT scores. SAT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile ERW 540 650 Math 510 620 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing This admissions data tells us that of those students who submitted scores during the 2017-18 admissions cycle, most of UMWs admitted students fall within the top 35% nationally on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to University of Mary Washington scored between 540 and 650, while 25% scored below 540 and 25% scored above 650. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 510 and 620, while 25% scored below 510 and 25% scored above 620. While the SAT is not required, this data tells us that a composite SAT score of 1270 or higher is competitive for University of Mary Washington. Requirements University of Mary Washington does not require SAT scores for admission for most applicants. For students who choose to submit scores, note that UMW participates in the scorechoice program, meaning that the admissions office will consider your highest score from each individual section across all SAT test dates. University of Mary Washington does not require the essay section of the SAT. Note that applicants to the pre-nursing program, home schooled applicants, students applying from high schools that do not provide letter or numerical grades, and students applying for certain merit based scholarships are required to submit standardized test scores. ACT Scores and Requirements UMW has a test-optional standardized testing policy for most applicants. Applicants to University of Mary Washington may submit SAT or ACT scores to the school, but they are not required.  During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 21% of admitted students submitted ACT scores. ACT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile English 22 29 Math 20 26 Composite 22 29 This admissions data tells us that of those who submitted scores during the 2017-18 admissions cycle, most of University of Mary Washingtons admitted students fall within the  top 37% nationally  on the ACT. The middle 50% of students admitted to UMW received a composite ACT score between 22 and 29, while 25% scored above 29 and 25% scored below 22. Requirements Note that University of Mary Washington does not require ACT scores for admission for most applicants. For students who choose to submit scores, UMW does not superscore ACT results; your highest composite ACT score will be considered. University of Mary Washington does not require the ACT writing section. Note that applicants to the pre-nursing program, home schooled applicants, students applying from high schools that do not provide letter or numerical grades, and students applying for certain merit based scholarships are required to submit standardized test scores. GPA In 2018, the average high school GPA of University of Mary Washingtons incoming class was 3.64. This data suggests that most successful applicants to UMW have primarily A grades. Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph University of Mary Washington Applicants Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex. The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to the University of Mary Washington. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in  with a free Cappex account. Admissions Chances The University of Mary Washington, which accepts fewer than three-quarters of applicants, has somewhat selective admissions. However, UMW also has a  holistic admissions  process and is test-optional, and admissions decisions are based on much more than numbers. A strong  application essay  and  glowing letters of recommendation  can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful  extracurricular activities  and a  rigorous course schedule. The college is looking for students who will contribute to the campus community in meaningful ways, not just students who show promise in the classroom. While not required, UMW strongly recommends  interviews  for interested applicants. Students with particularly compelling stories or achievements can still receive serious consideration even if their grades and scores are outside of University of Mary Washingtons average range. In the graph above, the blue and green dots represent accepted students. As you can see, the majority of successful applicants had high school GPAs of B or better, combined SAT scores of about 1050 or higher, and ACT composite scores of 21 or better. The college tends to attract strong students, and youll notice that many applicants had grades in the A range. If You Like UMW, You May Also Like These Schools: James Madison UniversityCollege of William MaryGeorge Mason UniversityUniversity of VirginiaWashington and Lee University All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and University of Mary Washington Undergraduate Admissions Office.