Meditation In Zen Buddhism Philosophy Essay

Meditation In Zen Buddhism Philosophy Essay Meditation is the foundation of Zen Buddhism. Zen literally means to meditate. Meditation, in Zen, is the path and the goal. The goal is to meditate. Like all religions, Zen Buddhism has split into sections. Zen has two schools of thought, the gradual and the sudden approach to enlightenment. In the gradual school, there is only one way to practice Zen meditation, which is seated meditation, called zazen. Zazen can be performed in several different ways, but the positions have no spiritual significance. The positions are mainly to create comfort, stability, and ability to breathe through the diaphragm properly. The sudden school believes enlightenment could potentially occur instantly. They use koans, mondos, and turning phrases to help the practitioner gain more insight, and hopefully be enlightened. Koans, mondos, and turning phrases are irrational dialogues or statements that practitioners contemplate upon. The main topics to point out when discussing meditation in Zen Buddhism ar e the goals of their meditation, the gradual school of thought, and the sudden school of thought. In Zen, the path of meditation is the goal. It is similar to riding your bicycle just to ride your bicycle. Through mediation, Zen Buddhists do not attempt to do anything, but to be in the moment. The Vietnamese Zen teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, says, We practice so that each moment of our life becomes real life. There is no goal in Zen, but to focus on ones being, moment by moment. While practicing meditation, one may also find other benefits, like better health and a more relaxed state of my mind. Unlike many sects of Buddhism, as well as many other religions, Zen Buddhists do not have scriptures to which they should study, but they may do so if they choose. Zen Buddhists focus primarily on one simple act, which is meditation. They believe that achievement of the Buddhahood comes from silence. Zen has two popular sections, gradual and sudden. They both are means to enlightenment, but have two different points of view. In the gradual school of Zen, there is only one technique of meditation, which is called zazen. Zazen literally means sitting meditation. Zazens motto is: To be a Buddha is to sit like a Buddha. That is, while sitting, sit completely. Be aware of the stillness of everything while enjoying not having to do anything but be in the moment. Although there are no doctrines or disciplines in Zen, there are many instructions for meditation postures. In Zen culture, there was less of a difference between body, breath, and mind than in the west. Zen practitioners believe if one aligns their spine correctly, fold their legs properly, sit properly, and keep still; they can achieve stillness of the mind. Much of the stillness of the mind in Zen is believed to be achieved through the correct posture of the body. Many of the Zen postures come from ancient Indian yogic positions developed to increase alignment and awareness. Although they come from yogic postures, they have no divine meaning them; they are only intended to increase comfort, stability, and the ability to breathe well. In Zen, it is believed that awakening must penetrate every cell of the body, so they must engage the body as well as the mind when meditating. Zazen is typically done in one way with several variations. The most effective way of seated meditation is done is with ones legs crossed and spine aligned straight up and curved, giving a pyramid shape to ones posture. It is usually done on the floor, with a soft mat and pillow to sit on to raise the body a little so that ones knees can touch the ground. With ones knees touching the ground, it creates three points of contact with the ground to give the practitioner a sturdy base. The easiest form of zazen is the Burmese position. In the Burmese position, one has their legs crossed, and their feet flat on the floor. In this position it is very easy to keep ones back straight because putting ones feet on the floor forces the practitioner to keep his back curved, which is an essential part of zazen. Two other positions are the half lotus and the full lotus. Both positions are very similar, but the half lotus requires less flexibility, and is easier for most people. To perform the half lotus, one foot placed over the opposite thigh, and the other foot is placed under the opposite leg. The full lotus position is when both legs are put on both thighs. This position is more recommended because it gives the practitioner much more balance. There are also two other zazen positions which are commonly used. The first position is the sieza position. The sieza position is kneeling, with your buttocks on both feet. You can sit on either a pillow, or your bare legs. You can also use a sieza bench to kneel on. The second position is the chair position. The bench keeps ones back straight, and takes the weight off of ones feet. The other position is to simply sit on a chair with ones feet on the floor, arching the back. It is important to keep ones back straight while meditating so that one can breathe with the diaphragm properly. A good sitting posture as well as good hand position allows the body to give uninhibited deep breaths. While doing Zen meditation, one should use the Dhyani mudra hand position. The Dhyani mudra is a way to position ones hands so that they can take deep breaths from their diaphragm. To do so, the practitioner will place both hands on top of one another, with their palms facing up. Their knuckles should be on top of one another as well, with their thumbs touching gently together. Breathing through the diaphragm creates deep, slow breaths, which is quite useful when practicing zazen. Breathing is not only useful while meditating, but it is useful in all aspects of our health. Andrew Weil M.D., an author and physician said, Improper breathing is a common cause of ill health. If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly. Theres no single more powerful or simpler daily practice to further your health and well-being than breath-work. ~ Andrew Weil, M.D. The sudden school of Zen, which believes in sudden enlightenment, has koans as a focal point of meditation. In The Complete Idiots Guide to Buddhism, Gary Gach says that koans are seemingly illogical riddles, like Two hands come together in a clap. What is the sound of one hand? A koan is not a riddle. It doesnt call for a solution (its not a math puzzle with an equation waiting in an answer book); rather, it is a personal breakthrough with a flash of enlightenment. In other words, it is a statement or conversation that cannot be understood by rational thinking; it can only be understood by intuition. Zen Buddhists believe that scriptures will lead scholars to misinterpretations of the original meanings, which is why Zen masters made Koans. Koans go beyond words. They attempt to go beyond the boundaries of intellect and language, and find awakening or enlightenment. Zen master Hakuin, author of the koan, What is the sound of one hand? has said, Whats true meditation? Its to make it all coughing, swallowing, gestures, motion, stillness, words, action, good and evil, success and shame, win and lose, right and wrong into one single koan. Although Zen Buddhists are not against words, they try to limit the amount of description to leave the interpreting to the practitioner who is attempting to gain insight. The primary beginning of using koans in Zen Buddhism originated from Hui Neng, a poor man who gathered and sold firewood for a living. He achieved enlightenment suddenly while he overheard a man reciting the Diamond Sutra, a scripture on emptiness and wisdom which requires great insight to understand. When he overheard the man say, Awaken your mind without fixing it anywhere, he was enlightened on the spot. Koans are meant to be contemplated until they are realized. While one meditates is the optimal time to think about them, but they can also be taken home to contemplate. According to The Complete Idiots Guide to Buddhism, there are about 400 indexed koans and about 1700 in all. There are so many koans because they deal with particular parts of the Way of enlightenment. Many of the koans, such as Hakuins koan, What is the sound of one hand? are designed to take the practitioner past the normal self into Buddha mind. There are also koan related Zen dialogues called mondos. Mondos are question-and-answer banter between people. They are similar to koans because they have the same non-sense questions and statements. An example of a mondo is in the Milindapanha, which reads, King Milinda said to learned monk Nagasena, Im going to ask you a question. Can you answer it? Nagasena replied, Please, ask your question. The King: Ive already asked. Nagasena: Ive already answered. The King: What did you answer? Nagasena: What did you ask? The King: I asked nothing. Nagasena: I answered nothing Also similar to koans and mondos, the sudden school of Zen also used turning phrases to help promote enlightenment and understanding. Examples of a turning phrases are, Not one, not two, Chop wood: carry water, and Form is emptiness; emptiness is form. These are all mottos that are used to help the practitioner gain more insight, and hopefully find sudden enlightenment. Being the foundation of Zen Buddhism, meditation is the main aspect of the religion. Zen essentially is meditation. In Zen, the path is the goal. It is like riding your bicycle simply to ride your bicycle. Zen Buddhism has split into two schools of thought, the gradual and the sudden approach to enlightenment. In the gradual school, there is only one way to practice Zen meditation, which is seated meditation, called zazen. Zazen can be performed in several different ways, but the positions have no significance other than comfort and stability. Breathing is an important part of meditation as well. The sudden school believes enlightenment could potentially occur instantly. They use koans, mondos, and turning phrases to help the practitioner gain more insight, and hopefully be enlightened. Koans, mondos, and turning phrases are irrational dialogues or statements that practitioners contemplate upon. The main topics to point out when discussing meditation in Zen Buddhism are the goals of their meditation, the gradual school of thought, and the sudden school of thought. Gach, Gary. The Complete Idiots Guide to Buddhism. 3rd. New York City, New York: Alpha Books, 2009. 183-200. Print. Saint-Hilaire, J.Barthelemy. The Buddha and His Religion. 1st edition. London: New York E.P. Dutton and Company, 1914. 267-87. Print. Zazen. DharmaRain.org. Dharma Rain Zen Center, 2003. Web. 20 Sep 2010. . Zazen Posture. DharmaRain.org. Dharma Rain Zen Center, 2003. Web. 20 Sep 2010. . Zazen breathing techniques. DharmaRain.org. Dharma Rain Zen Center, 2003. Web. 20 Sep 2010. . Zen Meditation Instructions. mro.org. Mountains and Rivers Order, 2010. Web. 20 Sep 2010. . Phelan, Josho Pat. Zazen Posture. intrex.net. Josho Pat Phelan, 1997. Web. 20 Sep 2010. . About Zen Meditation. Zazen.rutgers.edu. N.P., 04/21/2010. Web. 20 Sep 2010. . Phillips, Fred. A Primer on Zazen. omcl.ogi.edu. Fred Phillips, 1998. Web. 20 Sep 2010. . Breathing and Medicine. oxygengenesis.org. Oxygen Genesis Institute, 2003. Web. 20 Sep 2010. .

Use of Satire in Kurt Vonneguts Cats Cradle :: Kurt Vonnegut Cats Cradle Essays

Use of Satire in Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut said in The Vonnegut Statement (1973), in an interview with Robert Scholes, that one of his reasons for writing is "to poison minds with humanity†¦to encourage them to make a better world" (107). This idea works quite well in Vonnegut's book, Cat's Cradle. It is a satirical story of a man's quest to write a book about the day the world ended (refering to the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima), which he never finishes. What we get is a raw look at humans trying desperately to find a sense of purpose in their lives through different means such as religion, science, etc. Vonnegut uses satire that is both dark and humorous to pursue this point. A good example is found in the prelude of the book where he writes, "Nothing in this book is true. 'Live by the foma [Harmless untruths] that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.'" Bokonon, we learn, is a religion that is made up of "bittersweet lies" (12). "Truth was the enemy of the people, because the truth was so terrible, so Bokonon [the creator of the religion] made it his business to provide the people with better and better lies" (118). We also learn that science takes the opposite opinion. One of the men who helped develop the atomic bomb tells us, "The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become" (36). I think one thing that Vonnegut is trying to show us is that man too easily accepts things as valid without questioning. Refering to this, Newt, another character, says, "No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat's cradle is nothing but a bunch of X's between somebody's hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X's†¦No damn cat, and no damn cradle" (114). Cat's Cradle is full of these kinds of "poisons" not only about religion and science, but also about many other human frailties as well. In a way, Vonnegut is holding a mirror (that hides no imperfections) up to humanity in order that humanity might see its own the folly and futility and thus be impelled to try and improve. I think Vonnegut's hope is that this book will allow people to laugh at themselves while also making them think about how they are directing their own lives.

Evaluation of Strenghts and Weaknesses of Morrison Supermarkets

[pic] Evaluation of Strengths and Weaknesses of WM Morrison Supermarkets Complied by: Karolis Petkus Student number: 2903678 Course tutor: Ian Edwards 2009 Contents or page index: †¢ Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. p. 3 †¢ Background †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦p. 3 †¢ Current strategy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦p. 4 †¢ Strengths †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. p. 5, 6 †¢ Weaknesses †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. p. 6 †¢ Opportunities †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ p. 6, 7 †¢ Threats †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. p. , 8 †¢ Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. p. 8 †¢ Appendices †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. p. 9 †¢ References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. p. 10 Introduction Wm Morrison is one of the most popular retailers in UK and it offers a great price and quality of food. For me, as a student and an athlete always looking for fresh, healthy food at good prices it is on of the best options to choose. That is why I have chosen this company to evaluate. Also, I will be able to find some new information about Wm Morrison, which will be useful for me as a customer. The essay includes information about background, current strategy, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and prospects. Background Wm Morrison was founded in 1899 by William Morrison, an egg and butter merchant. Now, it is one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK, offering a vide range of goods including other brands and own label products. The company is headquartered in Bradford, the UK and employs about 124,530 people. And it has assuranced to create about 5000 jobs this year. It operates over 382 stores and 287 petrol stations all over UK. With such a growth Morrison became a member of the â€Å"Big Four† grocery retailers. ttp://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2009/jan/13/morrisons-supermarkets (15/11/09) www. morrisons. co. uk/Corporate/About-Morrisons/Company-history1/ (15/11/09) Current strategy Wm Morrison has a vision called ‘Food Specialist for Everyone’. It has three different brand values: Fresh, Value and Service. Those three values should give them flexibility to react to market changes and customer tendencies. Brand values: Fresh The Company’s aim is to prepare more freshly food than any other retailer. That’s why they have more staff preparing food than others. The company is strong by having their own factories, production facilities and distribution network. With these facilities they can get food to stores faster so that it is always fresher. Value Value is the key to the vision and is very important in the market conditions. They offer quality and freshness at a price which people like. Their offers are about saving customers money. And their prices are great value across the ranges. Service Because they have their own distribution network, they can be sure that the right products are always available for our customers. The staff is well skilled so they give customers what they want – fresh food served by helpful, friendly, well-trained people. http://lispac. lsbu. ac. uk/record=e1000089 (15/11/09) Strengths Financial performance With high revenues of ? 14. 5 billion, Morrison is UK's fourth largest food retailer. The company operates 382 stores and serves 10 million customers every week. According to TNS market research, it has a market share of 12. 3 % in the grocery market. Morrison has achieved numerous of awards in 2008, including â€Å"Retailer of the Year†, the â€Å"Grocer of the Year† and many others. It develops the brand image of the company and provides a competitive lead. Vertically integrated operations Morrison is unique food retailer because it is the only one which owns and runs fresh food making and processing abilities. This company has 12 manufacturing places in the UK and a vide transport park. This is how the company provides economies of scale at a high level and is solid in its operations. Focus on conscious consumers In response to the recession Morrison has to offer something attractive to their customers. That is why company rolled out offers such as ? family meal deals, 2 for 1 offer on party foods and many others. With such a strategy Morrison can drive sales in a weak economic environment. www. marketlineinfo. com. lispac. lsbu. ac. uk/library/Default. aspx (16/11/09) Weaknesses Lack of taking part in online shopping Online shopping is growing every year in the UK. With such a high speed of growing online shopping, supermarkets start their online sales channel s to increase the revenues. ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury in the UK have started their channels in the online shopping. However, Morrison has not started this trend which could limit growth opportunities. ww. marketlineinfo. com. lispac. lsbu. ac. uk/library/DisplayContent. aspx? R=A72DB36B-5734-4779-B792-270152CA738A=4294836834=IDA2XUJB#IDA2XUJB (16/11/09) Opportunities Optimization plan Morrison started an optimization plan by 2007 to develop operations by FY2010. As a part of optimization plan, the company completed the re-branding of all its stores and over 3,000 own-brand Morrison products received new packaging. One part has been completed, to re–brand all stores and over 3,000 own-brand Morrison products have new packaging. The Company also installed self-scan checkouts over half stores. Successful optimization plan could develop market share, brand value and success for the company. Growth in private brand markets The private brand market is about a strong growth in sales and is expected to reach about ? 52 billion by 2011. These products have high margin potential. . Morrison offers 18,000 product lines in a typical store, 32% of which are own-brand labels. The growth in private label products could be a major opportunity for the company and could increase its success. www. marketlineinfo. com. lispac. lsbu. ac. uk/library/DisplayContent. aspx? R=A72DB36B-5734-4779-B792-270152CA738A=4294836834=IDA2XUJB#IDA2XUJB (16/11/09) Positive attitude for healthy foods Natural and organic food products sector is one of the fastest growing categories in food selling. Morrison offers a range of organic products, through its own label â€Å"Organic†, including eggs, cheese, potatoes, mushrooms, tea bags and muesli. The growing market for organic products could largely increase revenues. Prospects Recessionary climate Like most economies, the UK is now on recession, as well. Because of recession, unemployment is increasing and consumers have to be more cautious of spending. As a result, the company's sales and margins will be under huge pressure during such difficult economic times. www. marketlineinfo. com. lispac. lsbu. ac. uk/library/DisplayContent. aspx? R=A72DB36B-5734-4779-B792-270152CA738A&N=4294836834&selectedChapter=IDA2XUJB#IDA2XUJB (17/11/09) Rising work costs in the UK Employment costs are on the rise in the UK. Te adult minimum wage has increased from ? 5. 73 in October 2008 to ? 5. 80 which will come into effect in October 2009. An increase in labor costs will increase Sainsbury's in service costs and impact its margins. Intense competition Morrison is facing intense competition in their business from other supermarkets and stores. Tesco drives trough multiple store formats. Marks and Spencer's and Waitrose supermarkets are planning development in the UK. Growing competition could lead to the pricing pressures, which would reduce the company’s turnover. www. marketlineinfo. com. lispac. lsbu. ac. uk/library/DisplayContent. aspx? R=A72DB36B-5734-4779-B792-270152CA738A&N=4294836834&selectedChapter=IDA2XUJB#IDA2XUJB (18/11/09) Conclusion Wm Morrison has a good vision to their further marketing. They put a lot of attention on a fresh and healthy food which becomes more popular between consumers. With a strategy like this, they can stand strong between top 4 retailers in the UK. However, Morrison is not interested in online shopping, which according to the statistics will increase very fast in the next few years. What is more, in such difficult economic times consumers are eating out less and looking for cheaper forms of entertainment. It will be tough to keep high revenues facing recession and intense competition from other supermarkets. Appendices Appendix 1: SWOT analysis overview Strengths |Weaknesses | |Strong market company |Lack of taking part in online shopping | |Vertically integrated operations | | |Focus on conscious consumers | | |Opportunities |Threats | |Optimization plan |Recessionary climate | |Growth in private brand markets |Rising work costs in the UK | |Positive attitude for healthy foods |Intense competition | www. maketlineinfo. com (16/11/09) Referenc es Websites: www. library. lsbu. ac. uk (16/11/09) www. marketlineinfo. com (16/11/09) www. morrisons. co. uk (14/11/09) www. guardian. co. uk (15/11/09)

Free Essays on Belated St Pattys Day

BELATED ST. PATTY’S DAY I remember being nearly awake at two or so in the morning on March 18th, 1991 tossing and turning in my bed and then in the middle of my restlessness, a gun fired. The cops rushed the door, placed her in handcuffs, all the while I was looking from a distance in my pseudo sleep stage, not quite sure if what I had seen really happened. This day marked a new beginning and a healthy approach to life for my mother. On this day, which I came to learn some months after the fact, was my mother’s new birthday. Luckily, the bullet grazed her head, only to shatter a mirror behind her. Alcoholism is a drug addiction. Alcohol is the culprit drug and it’s classified under a group called depressants, which affects the central nervous system, impairing concentration and judgment. Soon after rehabilitation started, I learned that my mother was an alcoholic and the problems associated with alcoholism were both physical and mental. My mother’s problems with drinking came way before I was conceived and some would argue that her problems came before her conception too. Although it has not been proven, there is substantial evidence that supports alcoholism is hereditary. Offspring of alcoholics are three to four times more likely to develop alcohol problems than offspring of non-alcoholics. The most unusual thing that I learned after my mother stuck me in Alateen is that alcoholism is a disease. Alateen is a place for teenagers to get advise in dealing with their alcoholic parent or parents and is a growing department of Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholism has serious physical consequences, but there are several steps that lead to this disease. Your body gradually inherits a tolerance over a period of years and becomes dependent on the drug. The second step occurs when the victim notices memory lapses and blackouts. Lastly, the victim becomes powerless over alcohol and consumes beyond the normal limit. ... Free Essays on Belated St Patty's Day Free Essays on Belated St Patty's Day BELATED ST. PATTY’S DAY I remember being nearly awake at two or so in the morning on March 18th, 1991 tossing and turning in my bed and then in the middle of my restlessness, a gun fired. The cops rushed the door, placed her in handcuffs, all the while I was looking from a distance in my pseudo sleep stage, not quite sure if what I had seen really happened. This day marked a new beginning and a healthy approach to life for my mother. On this day, which I came to learn some months after the fact, was my mother’s new birthday. Luckily, the bullet grazed her head, only to shatter a mirror behind her. Alcoholism is a drug addiction. Alcohol is the culprit drug and it’s classified under a group called depressants, which affects the central nervous system, impairing concentration and judgment. Soon after rehabilitation started, I learned that my mother was an alcoholic and the problems associated with alcoholism were both physical and mental. My mother’s problems with drinking came way before I was conceived and some would argue that her problems came before her conception too. Although it has not been proven, there is substantial evidence that supports alcoholism is hereditary. Offspring of alcoholics are three to four times more likely to develop alcohol problems than offspring of non-alcoholics. The most unusual thing that I learned after my mother stuck me in Alateen is that alcoholism is a disease. Alateen is a place for teenagers to get advise in dealing with their alcoholic parent or parents and is a growing department of Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholism has serious physical consequences, but there are several steps that lead to this disease. Your body gradually inherits a tolerance over a period of years and becomes dependent on the drug. The second step occurs when the victim notices memory lapses and blackouts. Lastly, the victim becomes powerless over alcohol and consumes beyond the normal limit. ...

Jury Essays - Law, Legal Terms, Legal Procedure, Government, Verdict

Jury Essays - Law, Legal Terms, Legal Procedure, Government, Verdict Jury Members of the jury you have been chosen because you are a captive audience. You will be required to submit a verdict of guilty or not guilty at the end of this trail by raising the appropriate card. The Foreman will tally the votes and tell the judge. The courtroom is now in secession the Honorable Judge Bonnie is presiding Forman, is the jury ready? Case # BBA 329 WLS West Loop South vs Ima Slacker Will the defendant please rise? You are charged with 3 counts of being late to study group w/o calling 1 count of not doing your part of the assignment 1 count of yelling and throwing How do you plead? Please be seated. Defense; please call your first witness. Place your hand on the LeTourneau Catalogue. Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth? Over Ruler Sustained Restate the question Please approach the bench Prosecutor, do you wish to cross-examine? Witness please step down. Prosecutor your closing statements Defense your closing statements Jury please vote. Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict? Defendant please stand Forman, please read the verdict.

Public vs. Private school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Public vs. Private school - Essay Example Moving further ahead, one should believe that the private schools are faring better than the public schools because the private entities work to provide benefits to a select mix of students and thus the community premise is pretty apparent within the same. The public and private schools are different in their manifestations and this is the most basic reason why the public and private schools are seen with a sense of skepticism when the talk goes out loud regarding their combination at certain places (Fabry, 2001). What needs to be understood here is the fact hat both public and private schools will have to play a larger role than just getting combined for no solid reason. It is a fact that the combination might not bring the value that is expected out of their entireties but what it shall do is to form a core syllabus or curriculum for them, which will in return mean that both the public and private school mechanisms have a sense of uniformity within their aegis. The need is to prope rly combine the two so that the alignment factor does not seem to be a missing one, because this is important at the end of the day. The reason why private schools seem to work better for the students and the entire community in meticulous is because the private schools are geared to look after the selected few and does not take into consideration just about any segment of the society, which wants to attain education (Wang, 2001). Also the private schools are very much inclined towards quality which seems to be a problem for the public school enterprises – focusing more on quantity than the other way around. The private schools look after the needs and requirements of the students in a proactive way. What this means is the fact that the private schools are focusing on the quality tangent and are relying on how the students will advance into their professional domains over a period of time. Since the private schools do not require governmental funding, it becomes easier for th ese schools to bring about their thoughts into serious actions (Burke, 2003). This is not the case with the public schools where even the smallest of actions and steps take maximum amount of time. The public schools therefore lose out on a number of contexts when it comes to understanding their nuances in light of the private schools, and more specifically in the time and age of today. The argument for the sake pf the private schools seem to be a winning one because the private schools look to hire the best faculties, train teachers whilst they are on the job and give infrastructure and support to the students which seem unheard of when one compares the same with the public schools. However many public schools do seem to come up with different grants and scholarships for their students, the fact of the matter is that nepotism and like-mindedness seem to rule the roost there. These are some of the most depressing scenarios and situations that one can easily witness within the folds o f the public schools (Smith, 1949). The argument gains weight when one comes to the reckoning that the quality education does come with a price on its head. This means that the private

Asses the role and significance of the British Empire for the Essay

Asses the role and significance of the British Empire for the development of the nineteenth century international economy - Essay Example As compared with other powers that were not able to leverage an empire, or an empire of the sheer size and breadth/complexity and diverse peoples and markets as that which the United Kingdom had, were not nearly so competitive during this time. In such a way, these competitive powers help to show the level to which the United Kingdom’s dominance was nearly supreme. As a means of understanding this actuality, the reader should consider that the United Kingdom’s empire afforded it two extremely essential resources towards achieving and maintaining dominance within economics. These two factors were the markets which the existence of the empire afforded as well as the raw materials which the empire itself could supply. One might more broadly consider the degree of cheap and oftentimes free labor that the existence of the empire also provided as yet another key determinant in economic power and hegemony (Hagerman 2009, p. 345). As a function of this brief overview and analys is these three factors will be briefly considered and analyzed to help create the case that the existence of the empire and the economic power and strength that the United Kingdom was able to exhibit during the nineteenth century were mutually exclusive (Libecap et al 2011, p. 300). In short, without the empire, the power and dominance of the United Kingdom, both militarily, economically, and politically would not have been possible. Firstly, with regards to the raw resources that the empire afforded to the development of the British economy, with the lack of such an empire, the resources that the economy required would have been exponentially more expensive. Likewise, due to the fact that the mechanisms of resource extraction could take place throughout the British Empire and return these raw materials to the home island, finished products could then be developed and manufactured from these raw materials. By reducing the necessity to pay market prices for resources, something that any other economic power that did not retain an expansive empire during this time would need to do, the British Empire was able to provide integral resources for the production of relatively low-cost goods which in turn could be marketed and sold to the remainder of the world; as well as back to the very economies which the resources were originally taken from (Desbordes 2008, p. 128). This brings us to the second point, market places. As the British Empire spread over the entire globe, this necessarily meant that a litany of nations, regions, tribal groups and other segmentations of peoples and territory were introduced to the goods that the United Kingdom had to offer for sale (Candlin 2009, p. 524). Similarly, because there was a monopolistic type economic arrangement that existed within the empire, the ability to purchase for the competition states was a non-existent option. In this way, the United Kingdom had a captive market in which to resell the finished goods that the very same empire had supplied the raw materials for in the first place (Stuart 2008, p. 4). Finally, this analysis will consider the fact that the empire itself provided extraordinarily cheap labor which provided the Empire with a means to extract a great deal of material wealth and/or natural resources at a cost that none of the competing economic powers in Europe or the United States could match at the time (Roy 2003, p. 398). This again acted as a type of symbiotic relationship