Hard Rock Cafe Case Study Essay Example for Free

Hard Rock Cafe Case Study Essay 1. When the Hard Rock Cafe opened up it first location in London, England in 1971, their strategy was based on expansion, placing their restaurants in areas with heavy tourism. In recent years, this strategy has changed in a few ways. First off they began putting social factors into play by each location. For instance, they have tweaked some of the menus to satisfy local taste. For example, in London, they have replaced much of the burgers and beef with seafood dishes. Secondly, instead of focusing on tourist locations like they used to do, the Hard Rock Cafe has begun to place establishments in areas where tourism isn’t as heavily counted on. 2. Product the menus at each Hard Rock location has been made up to fit the personalities of each region. As stated earlier, in London much of the burger and beef dishes in the England locations have been switched out with seafood dishes. Location when the Hard Rock Cafe first began expansion, they decided to place restaurants in locations that attracted heavy tourism. Decades later they decided to begin putting Hard Rock Cafe’s in locations that arent as heavily relied on by tourists. Inventory at each location, they began to sell merchandise unique to each location. About 48% of the cafe’s sales come from its merchandising. 3. The Hard Rock Cafe fits within the multidomestic strategy. Although it has become a recognized name by most people, it is still growing worldwide with them having 157 facilities in 57 countries. They have used this strategy by customizing both their product offering and market strategy to match different locations. For example in London cafe s, they offer seafood dishes over some of their hamburger and beef dishes that are offered elsewhere. Also in each location they have merchandise, such as; t-shirts, pins, and even shot glasses that are unique to that location

Problems And Preventions Of Ebola And AIDS :: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

Viruses have become of great concern all across the world in the last few decades. The most common and the most talked about killer virus is AIDS, a virus that starts out as HIV and then proceeds to develop into a immune breaker that ultimately kills its human host. So far, there is no cure for AIDS, and most unfortunately the numbers of deaths from AIDS only continues to grow. However, another virus has gained much public and national attention. That virus is called Ebola. It is thought that Ebola's effect on humans is restricted to Zaire, Africa. Viruses that kill people in large masses is a major threat to mankind; the only hopes of destroying the viruses is dependant upon technology. AIDS is a deadly disease that most people understand as a sexually transmitted disease. In fact, the virus can be transmitted sexually, but it can also be transmitted through blood transfusions. The fact that it can be transmitted sexually causes a great problem. Everyday, enormous amounts of people have sex--some people with different partners. People may have less sex than before because of the threat that the virus poses, but it has already started, and cannot be stopped until a cure is found. Unlike Ebola, AIDS was not detected as early as one would have hoped. The AIDS virus can stay dormant for over a decade before it is noticed as a real problem (Shenon 8). During that decade, the virus can spread like a wild fire. One person contracts the virus, transmits it to another, and another, and so on. As Shenon explains, AIDS became recognized as a real problem in the early seventies and was mostly concentrated in the United States and in Africa, but surprisingly it reached Asia a decade afterward. He goes on to explain that AIDS has spread exponentially in Asia. Thailand, recognized for its proliferation of prostitutes and illegal promotion of sex with children, could be held responsible for the tremendous outbreak of the virus in Asia, explains Shenon. He also points out that now that the virus has already broken out, Asia has the best AIDS prevention agenda in the world (8). For now the best prevention of AIDS that is available is education and protected sex. Until a cure is found for the ruthless virus, this is the only means of prevention that is available to the public. Ebola is one of the most rapidly fatal viruses on the planet and is believed to have begun somewhere in Zaire, Africa (Altman 3). There is no positive explanation as to how the virus is

History of Fiber Optics

HISTORY OF FIBER OPTICS * In 1840, Daniel Colladon and Jacques Babinet demonstrated the principle of guiding light by refraction. * It was followed by a public demonstration by John Tyndal in 1852. In 1870, Tyndal wrote about the property of total internal reflection in his book about the nature of light. * In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell and Sumner Tainter invented the Photophone, a device capable of transmitting sound waves over beam of light.This is considered as mankind’s first attempt to to use light for carrying information. * In 1930, Clarence Hansel and John Logie Baird demonstrated independently image transmission using fiber. * In 1940’s, Heinrich Lamm successfully transmitted images through a single glass fiber used for internal medical examinations. * In 1951, Harold Hopkins and Narinder Singh Kapany experimented with light transmission through bundles of fiber.Their study led to the development of the flexible fiberscope, which is used in the medical field. It was also Kapany who coined the term fiber optics in 1956. * In 1953, Charles Townes and two of his graduate students developed the MASER (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), and in 1960, Theodore Maiman developed the first LASER ( Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation). In 1967, Charles Kao and George Bockham of the Standard Telecommunications Laboratory proposed the cladded fiber cables. * In 1970, Robert Maurer, Donalk Keck and Kapron of Corning Glass developed the first fiber optics with losses less than 2dB/Km. * In 1980’s, losses in fiber optics were reduced to as low as 0. 16 dB/Km. This is due to the development of high-quality light sources and detectors. * In 1990’s, the photonic crystal fiber was developed that can carry high power than the conventional silica based fibers.

The external influence for Lufthansa airline

The external influence for Lufthansa airline was the gulf war which realized a decline of traveling passengers.   With the increased number of flights the they had to com up with a strategy to enable them to survive in the market. To do this the company started by redeveloping workshops tat would see change management instilled in the managers and the whole company as a whole. This therefore enabled the workers to be sensitized for the need for a radical change. This initial crisis management meeting was the starting point for the recovery team.The other step towards change was when the company decided to move from being publicly owned to privatization and the need to embrace restructuring that could see to it that there is an increase of cost and revenue transparency as well as market proximity and thus reducing the disintegration in decision process. There was a need for the company to focus on their external relationship. This was a result of experiencing overcapacity. Therefore there was the need to change their strategy of growth through internal strength to an alternative strategy of growth through partnership.   In the end of the 20th century the strategy of the airlines changed from competition between airlines to competition between networks.   Ã‚  So there was need to strengthen integration and alliance strategies.Change is inevitable in the endeavor of a company or an organization to remain relevant in its business. Change comes along with its advantages and disadvantages. For instance due to technological change some of the employees might be found redundant and therefore be retrenched. Also change might require some expertise manpower and therefore leading the company to hire skilled labor. It is therefore the responsibility of the managers to manage all manners of changes in the organization that matters, hence determining the success of the organization (Elsevier, 2005).At Lufthansa Airways the managers have been trained to counter change s trategically. They are sensitized such that they consistently redesign the company to fit the change in line with a new product. This is seen when the company takes on a new route.   The company makes the staffs to readjust frequently to the changing trends in business. For instance, the sometimes considers readjusting its payment mode to counter the fluctuation of the US dollar currency which the company is currently using.   Though this redesigning has not yet been approved, it shows that the company is ready to seal the loss it is encountering through this fluctuation.In the endeavor to manage the changing trends in the marketing field the company consistently comes up with new marketing strategies. The example provided earlier of the company contemplating of changing their trade currency due to fluctuation and its unpredictability shows that the company is proactive since the management foresees problems in the market which has already had an impact in terms of their revenue . For instance if the management decides to change the denomination of trade, they have to consider the pros and cons of the move before finally settling for the decision. The company is currently researching on the issue and this shows that indeed the management is sensitive on the issues thus manifesting a sound managementThe management of Lufthansa Airways handles change by prioritizing the change they have to take. In doing so, the management informs all the staff through written forms and meeting about the change. Of course, some of the staffs tend to resist change but the move is pacified by the management by ensuring the staffs that apparently resists change are informed about the need for change at the particular time. The staffs are taken through training and are shown the relevance of the change to particular individual and the importance of the change in reflection to the company’s goals.For instance when a new office is established on a new route, the staffs that are to be affected are put on a training session so that they are enlightened on the need for the expansion, how they will benefit individually and how they will be resourceful to the company. In essence the employees’ attitude is taken care of and the employees get motivated to take the responsibility they are given.This also tackles the issue of resistance to change since the employees are made to be part of decision making in the change process. Thus the company successfully manages change by ensuring that its vision is articulated. In addition the management ensures that they establish core values on which the workers will consistently work on (Handy, 1993). Thus in the process of managing change the management also succeeds in enabling the workers focus on quality services by encouraging them to participate, and pump a sense of ownership into them and shared accountability.The company’s Information Technology is wanting and this is affecting their communication. L ack of a thorough networked computer within the company’s premises makes it difficult for information to be relayed from one point to another. I T is indispensable in any business at this point and time in the contemporary world. The company has to invest in this technology and use it to do most of its transactions thus doing most of the business. It has to develop a website that will enable them to market their products globally.This problem of inadequate Information Technology has been deliberately caused by lack of prioritizing it as important. This in turn costs the company extra costs by keeping many employees who could have otherwise have been done away with. Therefore the main challenge in implementing this issue is that the current employees have a negative attitude towards the introduction of the new technology.The company should endeavor to improve the quality of their service. Partially their importation and distribution process is thwarted by the insufficient tech nology. They ought to employ the right employees in terms of the qualification too. This will make them to be more professional in their operations and thus increasing their productivity.In the endeavor to improve the quality of the company’s services the company ought to employ more employees and probably establish a synchronized customer care department. In this breath the company has to ensure that each department within their operation has defined roles and thus whenever a client asks for a query he/she is directed to the right department. This will make work easier for each person in the organization and thus leaving the client who is paramount in this organization pleased with their work. This also creates a win-win situation between the company’s management and other employees.The company can improve in minimizing the cost they incur by introduction of a synchronized technology and ensuring that information flows within the hierarchies of the company. Most of th e losses the company incurs as a result of poor communication between the company and its chain of distribution. This poor communication results to lose of customers’ due to dissatisfaction of their services. The company should not fear to hire competent people because they might be expensive in their charges and salaries, but they (competent people) are bound to work and bring results.The company should also ensure that its employees are trained and sensitized about time management. In so doing the company will save a lot in terms of the backlog of the work not attended to due to poor time management. The company will also have to solve the problem of perennial absenteeism among its employees. Time management is crucial in any organization that deals with supply and distribution of commodities since and if it is not taken into consideration, it might lead to loses as a result of cancelled orders due to late delivery and sometimes cancellation of the services. The challenge t hat might come along with implementation of strategies to manage time is that some employees might feel that their freedom is curtailed and feel that they are monitored around which might reflect negatively in their attitude and eventually their performance.The organization can resolve resistance by taking into account the needs, attitudes, and beliefs of the individuals involved as well as forces of the organization (Greenbury, 1999). The company should come up with a strategy that will ensure individuals are personally benefiting from the change so that they can be willing to participate in the change process. Positive and strong pressures for change can be established by creating shared perceptions by the group members of the need for change, thus making the pressure come form within the unit.The company can also reduce amount of opposition to change when those people who are to be changed and those who are to exert influence for a change have a strong sense of belonging to the s ame group.   There is a receptiveness for change from within to be easily acceptable than that that emanate from outside (Armstrong, 2002) it is therefore wise for the company to initiate change from within. Sometimes it is indispensable for change to come from outside, for instance technological change has to be borrowed from outside and at this time it is the duty of the company to enlighten their employees on the benefits of this kind of change. The company should at this point train their employee. This will make them to be positive in their attitude towards the change and thus work towards the success of the implementation of change.In addition the company must ensure that all relevant people in the group share the information relating to the need for change. They should plan for change and be ready to face the consequences of change. There is also the need of all the managers at all levels to deliberately open communication channels for the success of the process of change.à ‚   Also for the success of a change process the company has to specify the progress criteria against which improvement will be measured. This will reduce the possibility of conflict among the members of the organization thus reduction of resistance to change.List of ReferencesArmstrong, M. (2002) How to Become Even a Better Manager. London: Kogan PageBarbara S. (2006) Change management. NY Person EducationElsevier, B. (2005) Positive Working Relationships. London: Kogan PageGreenbury, J. (1999) Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Prentice HallReferencesHandy, C (1993) Understanding Organizations. Berkshire: PenguinMullins, L (2000) Management and Organizational Behavior. Berkshire: PenguinRollin, D (1988) Organizational Behavior and Analysis. New York: Wiley

Flew the Coop Essays - Diver Down, Inodoro Pereyra, Free Essays

Flew the Coop Essays - Diver Down, Inodoro Pereyra, Free Essays Flew the Coop Flew the Coop On June 6, 1982 I became an adult not a man, but an adult. That same week I graduated from Santa Barbara High School. I turned eighteen and went down to the DMV and passed my driver license exam and was given my first used car. It was one of those very first Hondas they made, so small; it had a motorcycle engine or a lawn mower motor. I dont know much about cars but I think someone told me it was a 2-cylinder engine and the car was so tiny that if I hung my arm out the driver window my knuckles scraped along the road. I hadnt needed a license before that because we lived right next to the High School right there on Nopal Street, and my parents taught me how to drive in the school parking lot. I got a 99 on the driver test and passed with flying colors my first time out. I didnt ask the DMV examiner why I missed that one point, but I think it was because I picked my nose at the last intersection. Im not a perfectionist so I didnt insist on taking the test again. Are you crazy? I was f ree now! Well, sort of. Even thought my parents had given the car to me and paid for it (I think it cost $350) they were kind of sending me mixed signals. I mean, they bought it for me because they wanted me to be have freedom and independence and lots of fun right? Or did they give it to me to drive away forever? I recall my mother always telling us that when you kids are eighteen youre on your own. I thought she meant it, you know, figuratively. But thats literally what happened. You see the plans for college fell through at the end of my senior year, primarily because I gave up on the whole idea. Now I just had a part-time job working at the local ice cream shop. I had a position as a soda jerk. When I got hired a couple years later at a hotel, the interviewer looked over my resume and he said hed never heard anyone refer to himself as a soda jerk. I didnt answer, but he chuckled and gave me the job anyway. You know when you go to an interview and they say, name three words to describe yourself? My prepared answer would be: versatile, enthusiastic, and um, jerk. Whats the adjective of jerk? Jerky? So that summer I was jerking around - no doubt about that. One morning my mom said she was going to borrow my car. I didnt object as they had bought it for me, but I forgot that there was a case o f empty beer bottles in the back seat. She came in the house yelling. It smells like brewery in that car! Im sure I had some wise retort or lame explanation. I think I told her that we hadnt actually drunk all the beer in the car itself. Where did you drink them then? she insisted on knowing. We had gone to Gibralter Road in the mountains and chugged the case in the dark up there where teenagers used to go in those days. Im still laughing now, imagining my mom driving to the supermarket with a case of empty beer bottles clanking around and enfumed by the odor of stale alcohol. It would have been real funny if she got pulled over. What would she have told the officer? Needless to say, I had a typical amount of contempt most kids that age have for their parents and I was pushing the limits to all degrees. Again, psychologically speaking, it was probably a self-fulfilling and unconscious act. I would never have thought that I actually wanted to get kicked out of the house, but in retrospect, its quite obvious now that I was making it happen and really fast. Another example is the personal diary I kept under my bed. I mean, talk about stupid. What was I thinking? Yes, I mentioned in a past chapter that I have always kept personal notebooks to record my thoughts,

55 Boxing Idioms

55 Boxing Idioms 55 Boxing Idioms 55 Boxing Idioms By Mark Nichol Despite the waning popularity of pugilism, or the sweet science, as boxing is also called, the sport has contributed a number of colorful words, phrases, and expressions out of proportion to its current stature among athletic endeavors. Here is a list of idioms that originated in boxing and were subsequently extended to the world outside the square ring. 1. bare-knuckle: fierce or determined (from boxing done without gloves) 2. beat (someone) to the punch: accomplish something before someone else does 3. blow-by-blow: a detailed account (referring to commentary during a boxing match) 4. bob and weave: be evasive (as a boxer ducking to avoid an opponent’s blows) 5–6. come out fighting/swinging: be immediately aggressive or energetic 7–10. deliver/land a (knockout) blow/punch: hit 11. down and out: destitute (an analogy to a boxer who has been knocked down and remains motionless) 12–13. down/out for the count: defeated or overcome (as a boxer who has run out of time to stand up after being knocked down) 14–15. drop/take off the gloves: abandon civility (from the practice of using bare fists rather than gloves) 16. duke it out: argue (likely from dukes as rhyming slang for fists; â€Å"duke of Yorks† was substituted for forks as slang for fingers or hands) 17. glass jaw: vulnerability (from a reference to the target point on a boxer that is most fragile) 18. go down swinging: persist (from the notion of a boxer fighting up to the point at which he or she is knocked out) 19. have (someone) in your corner: have an ally (from the boxer’s support team, positioned in a corner of the ring) 20. heavy hitter: an influential person or other entity (from the term for a boxer who lands particularly hard punches) 21. heavyweight: see â€Å"heavy hitter† (from the boxing and wrestling weight class) 22. hit below the belt: act unfairly (from the act of landing a blow below an opponent’s waist) 23. in-fighting: conflict within a group (from the term for boxing close up) 24. keep (one’s) guard up: stay alert (from the idea of protecting one’s face with a gloved hand) 25. kisser: lips 26–28. knockout/KO: a decisive blow; a knockout is also a very attractive or impressive person 29. lead with (one’s) chin: take a risk (from the inadvisable act of exposing one’s chin) 30. lightweight: an insignificant person or entity (from the boxing and wrestling weight class) 31. low blow: a hurtful or unfair action or comment (see â€Å"below the belt†) 32. on the ropes: in trouble (an analogy to an exhausted boxer who is hanging onto a rope on the perimeter of the ring) 33. one-two punch: a combination or sequence of two impactful things 34. pull (one’s) punches: hold back from using full force or full resources (as when a boxer does not use his or her full strength) 35–36. punch-drunk/punchy: dazed or fatigued (from the notion of a boxer disoriented from receiving multiple blows) 37. put up your dukes: said by someone as an invitation to fight (see â€Å"duke it out†) 38. ringside seat: a position close to an incident or event or chain of events 39. roll with the punches: be flexible (from the idea of a boxer remaining in motion despite having received repeated blows) 40. round: one of a series of activities or events (from the name of a period of time during a boxing match) 41. saved by the bell: rescued from difficulty at the last moment (from the bell rung at the end of a round in boxing) 42. slap-happy: see â€Å"punch-drunk/punchy† 43. slugfest: a literally or figuratively combative event 44. spar: fight or dispute (from the term for a boxing maneuver, used in the phrases â€Å"sparring match† and â€Å"sparring partner†) 45. square off: prepare for conflict (from the tradition of boxers standing facing each other at the beginning of a match) 46. straight from the shoulder: direct and forthright (an analogy to a blow delivered using one’s full strength) 47. sucker punch: an unexpected blow 48. take a dive: fail (from the slang phrase referring to a boxer falling after being struck) 49. take it on the chin: stand up to criticism (from the idea of a boxer receiving a blow on the chin without falling) 50. the gloves are off: said when someone begins to act mercilessly (in reference to boxing without gloves) 51–53. put/throw/toss (one’s) hat into the ring: issue a challenge or indicate one’s interest in participating (from the custom of a challenger throwing his hat into a boxing ring when a boxer takes on random opponents) 54. throw in the towel: give up (from the custom of a member of a boxer’s support team tossing a towel into the ring to indicate that the boxer concedes defeat) 55. undercard: a subordinate activity or event in a series (from the term for the category of one or more boxing matches preceding the featured bout) 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 Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:25 Subordinating Conjunctions"Gratitude" or "Gratefulness"?The Two Sounds of G

Research Paper on A Raisin In The Sun Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

On A Raisin In The Sun - Research Paper Example According to Miller (32), tragedy involves common people, not necessarily heroes. A â€Å"Raisin in the Sun† satisfies the requisites that Miller suggests. For example, in the play, the tragic hero appears to be normal, he does not have any superior qualities that would differentiate him from other characters in the play. Lorraine Hansberry creates common people who experience similar problems to people in the real world. The entire Younger family lives a poor lifestyle and only hopes for a better life than their current one in future. This is evident from the plant that Mama keeps in the play. This plant appears to symbolize the lack of direction that this family has. It has half a life and it grows in all directions that appear to have light (Hansberry 48). Lorraine Hansberry’s play â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† presents the younger family that has struggles with acceptance throughout the play. She creates the title of this play from Langston Hughes’ poem â€Å"Harlem†. Throughout the play, Lorraine Hansberry struggles to make her audience understand the challenges faced by the Younger family in their rented ghetto apartment (Rorty 29). Each member of the family seems to have intense issues that he /she must address to avoid conflicts within their families. For example, the tragic hero in this play wishes to head the family after their father dies. Walter Lee feels emasculated probably because of the presence of several women in his life. His mother controls all the cash that flows to this family, making the tragic hero to question his role as a man in the Younger household (Hansberry 42). Aristotle focuses on the element of Harmatia in tragic plays. He also suggests that the ideal tragic play must involve catha rsis. This implies that the readership of the respective play must connect with the characters by sympathizing. Aristotle also seems to indicate that successful tragic plays should reveals extremely sympathetic situations for their respective protagonists. This facilitates a quick purging of emotions that must be present for the success of a tragic plays. In his definition of tragedy Aristotle suggests that perfect tragic heroes must experience serious loses in their lives. For example, a tragic hero must fall from a high ranking to an extremely low one. The tragedy is implied in the fall that the hero experiences. Normally in all these tragedies, the fall is a punishment to the hero who disrespects either the gods or fundamental rules of society (NYTC 3). Critics Some critics disagree on the perfection of â€Å"A Raisin in the sun† as a perfect tragedy. The reasons attributable to these allegations are the evident differences between this play and Shakespeare plays whose str ategic heroes were always superior and could never compare to the common person as Lorraine Hansberry does in this play (Hansberry 46). Other critics argue that in this, there are intense elements of positivity that should not be in tragedies. There could be certain sad scenes but when the play ends, the Younger family has resolved almost all of their issues. Mama cannot forget the flower because of the extreme that it suggests for the family. According to these critics, this play cannot be tragic because there are no major loses to the Younger family that Lorraine Hansberry highlights. The final category of critics suggests that the characters in this play do not have any flaws. Ideally, characters in tragedies must have flaws that make characters commit regrettable