Education Is Not the Key to Success Essay Example for Free

Education Is Not the Key to Success Essay

The Lie of the Land :: Haydn Middleton Davids Story

The Lie of the Land The Lie of the Land, written by Haydn Middleton, is a novel about protagonist David Nennius and his past, present, and future. David tells readers about his past through sections entitled "David's Story," a narrative that he is writing in which he reveals secrets about his conception, birth, life, and impending death. Through this, we learn that David is the son of the sky and that there is a woman who has claimed him as her own. This woman haunts him with the statement "I know you, I have found you, and I will not let you go," and in the end, he will "dance in the brightest light the dance of death at the gateway to Albion" (p. 84-85). He constantly lives in this woman's shadow and cannot know happiness with another, so after his is married to Melissa and fathers a son, Art, David knew "that he would dance before his time" and "that there would be more than one end" (188). In this so-called "end before the end," David found his 13 year old son being forced to give a man oral sex in a bathroom in a park, and, outraged, David kills the man. Soon after, Melissa and Art leave, and after some time, David believes that he is given a new beginning when he finds a man named Quinn at his allotment on top of the mound under which he had buried the man he murdered. In time, David loses faith in this false hope and believes that he has to die to atone for what he has done. This he shares with a girl named Rachel whom he meets at the Good Samaritan center. When Quinn and Rachel find David's Story, they are convinced that it is "the beginning of a very long suicide note," and the two intervene to keep David from taking his own life (154). Middleton, Haydn. The Lie of the Land. New York: Ballantine Books, 1989. Ordinary People Ordinary People is a novel about an adolescent boy named Conrad Jarrett. The story begins after Conrad has returned home from spending eight months in a hospital for attempting to commit suicide after he was involved in a sailing accident in which his older brother Jordan was killed. In the accident, a storm arose while the boys were on the lake with their sailboat. The two worked to control the boat, but it tipped and they fell into the icy water.

Why Is Strategy Important to Business?

Strategy is determining where you are now, where you want to go, and how to get there. It’s the art of developing and implementing specific actions and decisions that will help a business to achieve goals and objectives as set out by the owners. Through the strategy process the overall direction of the company is set including opportunities and threats in the outside world and the internal strengths and weaknesses of the business. The aim of a business strategy is to ensure that the threats posed by the external environment are minimized and also to strengthen or minimize the effects of internal weaknesses. The opportunities and strengths are combined to ensure maximum productivity is achieved. The more the external environment changes the more opportunities there are likely for a company, but the more threats can be a problem if not prepared for. Without a business strategy, it would be difficult for an owner to realize the opportunities available. Strategic management in contrast with business policy is a technical approach having a five step model. Strategic management is a set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long run performance of a company. Strategic management does not have to be just a part of the top level management. In fact, organizations should focus on strategic management at all levels of the management and the entire hierarchy of the company should be involved both in planning and implementation phases. Strategic management does not have to be just a part of the top level management. Organizations should focus on strategic management such that all levels of the management and the entire hierarchy of the company should be involved in both planning and implementation phases. The basic theory of strategic management involves the action of creating and implementing plans and decisions for the benefit of the organization and to help it achieve its objectives. Strategic management analyzes and scan the environment therefore future problems and opportunities could be well anticipated, allows a firm’s top management to anticipate changes and provide track and control for the enterprise, provides clear cut mission, also gives vision and objectives of enterprise to all the employees, and allows a firm to take decisions on the basis of long range forecast. Your vision must be future-oriented it has to paint a picture that attracts employees through the use of visual imagery. This is what gets people hooked into buy-ins, followership, and implementation of the plan. So it means you just have to think outside the box of today and describe the world of the future. With the current situation of the economy the fact that some business establishments have stopped their operation and closed has caused big drop in small and large corporations. Having back up plan would be the idea should the original plan does not succeed businessmen could have alternative options or backed up plans for the continuity and success of the business. Since businessmen are knowledgeable of the business processes, they know the importance of having back up plans. Without a contingency plan, and should the original plan fail, businessmen and the business could experience a lot of trouble. The Mission statement is important because it describes the reason for the existence of an organization and what it hopes to achieve. While mission statements vary from organization to organization and represent the distinctness of each one, they all share similar components. Before writing a mission statement, leaders in the organization must have an idea of what is in store for the future. This vision is the foundation for the mission statement. Most statements include descriptions of the organization's target market, the geographic domain, their concern for survival, growth and profitability, the company philosophy, and the organization's desired public image. In addition, it is a tool that conveys the goal, organizational structure and strategy, legitimacy, values, participation and ownership among employees, leadership, responsibility to the community, ethical priorities, and commitment to the public and stakeholders. The organizational decision making process involves proper and efficient implementation of strategic plans and methods to achieve desired business objective. Often one difficulty facing an organization is that multiple divisions are involved in the overall decision making process. Making a decision can have different implications for each respective division. With the businesses of today facing shortened product lifecycles, organizations are facing intense competitive pressures to build market share to stay ahead of rivals. Process changes, the introduction of new and improved disruptive technologies are forcing companies to adapt new business goals and objectives in shortened timeframes, this alone places stresses on all organization. References Karger (1991). Strategic Management: The Key to Corporate Success Pearce II, J.A., & Robinson, Jr., R.B. (2008). Strategic management. (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Mission and Vision Statements http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Mar-No/Mission-and-Vision-Statements.html#ixzz1LGZLzvbI

French Expression Explained Par Contre, Against

Expression: Par contre   Pronunciation: [par co(n)tr] Meaning: on the other hand, whereas, but Literal translation: by against Register: normal Explanation The French expression par contre is used to contrast two statements: Cet article est fascinant. Par contre, la grammaire est à ©pouvantable.This article is fascinating. The grammar, on the other hand, is appalling.Si Clara est trà ¨s sympa, par contre son mari est agaà §ant.Clara is really nice, whereas her husband is annoying. Grammar French grammarians and dictionaries have argued about par contre for hundreds of years. All but purists now generally agree that par contre is acceptable when there is a clear contrast between two ideas and the second one is negative, as in the above examples. However, they take a lesser view of par contre when it introduces a second statement which supports, compensates for, or adds information to the first. Many French speakers use par contre in this way, but generally speaking, its better to reserve it for negative meanings, and instead use en revanche when the meaning is positive or neutral. Jai oublià © de faire mes devoirs. Par contre — En revanche, il y avait un supplà ©ant et il ne les a pas ramassà ©s.​I forgot to do my homework. But there was a substitute teacher and he didnt collect it When the two statements are not in opposition—that is, when youre really just in need of a filler or transition—something like mais is preferable. Tu ne dois pas venir avec nous. Par contre — Mais est-ce que tu sais oà ¹ sont mes clà ©s  ?You dont have to come with us. But do you know where my keys are? The Great Par Contre Debate French grammarians and dictionaries have argued about  par contre  for hundreds of years. It all started with Voltaires  Conseils à   un journaliste  (1737): La plupart des gens de lettres qui travaillent en Hollande, oà ¹ se fait le plus grand commerce de livres, sinfectent dune autre espà ¨ce de barbarie, qui vient du langage des marchands  ; ils commencent à   à ©crire  par contre, pour  au contraire. Voltaires criticism was embellished more than a century later in the  Dictionnaire de la langue franà §aise, better known as  Littrà ©Ã‚  (1863-1872), setting the stage for the debate that continues even today: Par contre  est une locution dont plusieurs se servent, pour dire  en compensation,  en revanche  :  Si les artisans sont ordinairement pauvres, par contre ils se portent bien  ;  Si le vin est cher cette annà ©e, par contre il est bon. Cette locution, qui a à ©tà © tout particulià ¨rement critiquà ©e par Voltaire et qui paraà ®t provenir du langage commercial, peut se justifier grammaticalement, puisque la langue franà §aise admet, en certains cas, de doubles prà ©positions,  de contre,  daprà ¨s, etc. mais elle ne se justifie guà ¨re logiquement,  par contre  signifiant bien plutà ´t  contrairement  que  en compensation, et devant provenir de quelque ellipse commerciale (par contre  ayant à ©tà © dit pour  par contre-envoi)  ; en tout cas, il convient de suivre lavis de Voltaire et de ne transporter cette locution hors du langage commercial dans aucun style. In  Attendu que...  (1943), Andrà © Gide offered perhaps the first rejoinder: Je sais bien que Voltaire et  Littrà ©Ã‚  proscrivent cette locution; mais  «Ã‚  en revanche  Ã‚ » et  «Ã‚  en compensation  Ã‚ », formules de remplacement que  Littrà ©Ã‚  propose, ne me paraissent pas toujours convenables [†¦] Trouveriez-vous dà ©cent quune femme vous dise  :  «Ã‚  Oui, mon frà ¨re et mon mari sont revenus saufs de la guerre; en revanche jy ai perdu mes deux fils  Ã‚ »Ã‚  ? ou  «Ã‚  la moisson na pas à ©tà © mauvaise, mais en compensation toutes les pommes de terre ont pourri  Ã‚ »Ã‚  ?  «Ã‚  Par contre  Ã‚ » mest nà ©cessaire et, me pardonne  Littrà ©, je my tiens. Albert Doppagnes  Trois aspects du franà §ais contemporain  (1966) is equally blunt: le succà ¨s quont rà ©servà © à  Ã‚  par contre  la plupart des à ©crivains du XXe sià ¨cle, le fait quil ne soit pas toujours remplaà §able par les locutions par lesquelles on propose de le remplacer, là ©gitiment tout à   fait lutilisation de cette locution. Meanwhile,  par contre  had been included as a business term in the Acadà ©mie franà §aises 1835 and 1878 editions, then excluded in 1932, only to be re-added in 1988 along with a  lukewarm comment: Condamnà ©e par  Littrà ©Ã‚  daprà ¨s une remarque de Voltaire, la locution adverbiale  Par contre  a à ©tà © utilisà ©e par dexcellents auteurs franà §ais, de Stendhal à   Montherlant, en passant par Anatole France, Henri de Rà ©gnier, Andrà © Gide, Marcel Proust, Jean Giraudoux, Georges Duhamel, Georges Bernanos, Paul Morand,  Antoine de Saint-Exupà ©ry, etc. Elle ne peut donc à ªtre considà ©rà ©e comme fautive, mais lusage sest à ©tabli de la dà ©conseiller, chaque fois que lemploi dun autre adverbe est possible. Ce nest pas toujours le cas [comme] Gide remarquait [...] Le Bon Usage  (13e à ©dition, 2004) is more enthusiastic: Par contre, qui nest pas rà ©cent [...], est entrà © dans lusage gà ©nà ©ral, mà ªme le plus exigeant, au cours du XIXe s., malgrà © la rà ©sistance des puristes. [...] Nous pourrions citer plus dune centaine dauteurs, notamment environ quarante membres de lAcad. fr. [...] Les puristes recommendant duser den compensation  ou den revanche, lesquels ne conviennent pas toujours, comme Gide le fait remarquer [...] And  Le Grand Robert  (CD-ROM v2.0, 2005) agrees: Par contre  a à ©tà © condamnà © par certains pà ©dagogues puristes; cependant il nest pas toujours remplaà §able. Il introduit un avantage ou un inconvà ©nient, alors que  en compensation  et  en revanche  nintroduisent quun avantage. Si on peut les employer dans la phrase  «Ã‚  Sil na pas de cÅ“ur, par contre il est intelligent  Ã‚ »,  il est  impossible de les substituer à  Ã‚  par contre  dans celle-ci  :  «Ã‚  Sil est intelligent, par contre il na pas de cÅ“ur  Ã‚ ».  Mais  ninsiste pas assez sur lopposition.   Au contraire  marque une opposition trop prà ©cise. Purists may continue to disagree, but in my opinion, Hanse-Blampains  Nouveau dictionnaire des difficultà ©s du franà §ais moderne  (2005) offers the best analysis and the final word on the subject: Par contre, qui exprime une opposition de faà §on plus nuancà ©e que  mais, est entrà © depuis trà ¨s longtemps dans le meilleur usage, malgrà © Voltaire et les puristes, et est dailleurs utile et mà ªme parfois nà ©cessaire. On le dà ©finit mal en le donnant comme synonyme de  «en compensation, en revanche », qui expriment aussi une opposition.  En compensation, comme  en contrepartie, doit introduire un avantage.  En revanche  doit aussi logiquement avoir toujours ce sens, lià © à   celui de  revanche; mais on le substitue parfois à  Ã‚  par contre, quon nose employer:  Il joue fort bien du violon; en revanche cest un pià ¨tre chef dorchestre  (GLLF). Il faudrait dire  par contre, qui est plus neutre et (cest capital) introduit un avantage ou un inconvà ©nient opposà © à   ce qui prà ©cà ¨de:  Il est un peu paresseux,  par contre  il est honnà ªte  ou  Il est assurà ©ment honnà ªte,  par contre  il est trop naà ¯f. Lorsque  par contre  introduit là ©noncà © dune perte, dun inconvà ©nient, il ne peut à ªtre remplacà © par  en compensation  et il ne devrait pas là ªtre par  en revanche.  Andrà © Gide la fort bien montrà ©, il y a longtemps dà ©jà   [...]