Modernist And Postmodernist Interior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modernist And Postmodernist Interior - Essay Example Most importantly, this paper will show the connection between culture and interior designs. It will do so by analyzing the changes in different cultures currently experiencing change. As a global village, there is increased cultural interaction that has seen a lot of borrowing between cultures. These kinds of interactions are some of the forces that are responsible for shaping modernism and post-modernism development. The most visible progress from modernism to post modernism is not only exhibited through technology but also through architecture and interior designs (Piotrowsky, 2008, p.116). Withal, in the comparison of the two designs, this paper will also elaborate on the close links that tie together interior design and socio-cultural aspects of the society. It will also assess the interdependence between the two broad dynamics of each of these aspects (Tangaza, 2006, p. 80). It will sustain this by analyzing how a change in one aspect directly or indirectly prompts the other to change. In order to bring a clear understanding on the interconnectivity between these two major contexts, this paper will bases its assessment and comparison on relevant theories of modernism and post modernism. These are theories that explain the concepts of modernism and post-modernism in the context of the society and its culture. ... Some of these actors may be hard to achieve or attain for some regions more than it may be for some regions. Perhaps the best question on should be asking now is what exactly modernism and post modernism mean. After that it will be easier to understand the concept of modern interior designs and postmodern interior designs in architecture. The Concept of Modernism and Post-Modernism Some scholars are of the opinion that the concept of postmodernism is one that has arisen out of a desire and endeavor to move away from the eighteenth century enlightment philosophy. They claim that there was a need for man to come with present and more current ways of defining the present times and living by those standards that befit the current age. While this may be true, there is however a clear attempt or omission that skips one step. Postmodernity cannot come ahead of modernity. This brings us to the debate on whether one can clearly distinguish whether the concept of modernity and postmodernity is actually one thing. Can one sufficiently argue that postmodernity concept is one that man coined to celebrate his immense achievements although these achievements are just slightly above modernism? This may not presents clear distinction. Nevertheless, one can be bold enough to say that postmodernity exist side by side like two faces of the same coin. However, postmodernity presents an understanding of man’s response to humanity and making of great strides in his quest to make life better. Postmodernity therefore appears to be a new way of doing things in the best way possible. One can also say that postmodernism is movement towards decentralizing and dispersing of aspects about life. Call it a great shift to make modernity even better. Other scholars argue that postmodernity is

Choose one of the lists Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Choose one of the lists - Assignment Example This has resulted in progression of disunity in the country causing extremist tendencies while indicating urgent need of a curriculum that can appreciate diversity as strength and inculcate expectations of an enlightened country and the enlightened globe. In this regard, it is very imperative that educators and leaders should have a sound knowledge and understanding of existing curriculum that will enable them to deal effectively with diversity issues that exist in curriculum. Discussion Curriculum has often been defined as the â€Å"planned interaction of students with instructional content, instructional resources, and instructional processes for the attainment of predetermined educational objectives† (Ashraf, n.d, pg. 69). This clearly indicates that the curriculum is not a confined document, and that many factors play around the aspects of curriculum that need consideration, as in this paper, diversity of learners is the main focus. Principally, the teaching and learning a ctivities are predominantly the notions that enable curriculum to include ‘how’ factor in its characteristics, and thus, I believe curriculum cannot exist in confinement but it always need presence of teaching, learning, as well as assessment to ensure its existence. In other words, the curriculum refers to ‘what is taught’, whereas, the teaching and learning can indicate ‘how it is taught’ that clearly signifies the interdependent relationship that exist between these notions and the curriculum and that will be very helpful in management of diversity issues in education. Traditionally, the curriculum was limited to the narrow scope of â€Å"set of courses, coursework, and their content, offered at a school of university† (Riehl & Firestone, 2005). However, after detailed analysis of different curriculum documents and from course readings and discussions, I admire the 1968 definition of Kerr, where curriculum exists as â€Å"All the lea rning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school† (Lawton, 2012). This definition has somehow exceeded the bounded vision of traditional perspective of curriculum that used to confine the curriculum as only course and content and this definition, thus, can act as a basis for educational leaders to recognize and resolve diversity issues in the curriculum. Kerr’s definition obviously acknowledges the importance of teaching and not keeping it in the mode of ‘jug and mug theory’ only but the usage of term ‘guided’ itself is an indication of the role of teacher as a facilitator that was also observed during the analysis. Moreover, while relating this definition once again, I came across the understanding that the knowledge is not limited to the range of content only. Rather, it goes beyond the levels of content producing a complex set of relationships that play their ro le during the processes of teaching and learning after the development of curriculum and its objectives. Briefly, one cannot remove the curriculum from these factors and their relationships, which falsify traditional definition of curriculum in which it was viewed as an â€Å"

Business description and market analysis for cadbury

Business description and market analysis for cadbury Cadbury is a global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded confectionery. The companys confectionery business operates chocolate, gum and sugar categories. The company along with its subsidiaries primarily operates in the Eurozone, the US, Central and Southern America, Australia and other parts of Asia Pacific. Chocolate business represents the biggest business segment of the company with around 46% of the overall revenues FY2008. The companys chocolate business is carried out on a regional basis according the tastes of the consumers in each market. The company operates its business through four business segments namely: Britain, Ireland, Middle East and Africa (BIMA), Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Britain and Ireland (BI) is the largest business unit in the Group. The company has strong market position in the UK (30% market share in FY2008), and Ireland (42%). The companys main markets in Middle East and Africa include South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Kenya, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, and Ghana. The company American business comprises the US, Canada and Mexico, three of the largest confectionery markets in the world, and extends through Central America and the Caribbean. The company also has its operations in South American countries including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru. The company is the leading player in South America with a market share of nearly 20%, with core strengths in gum and candy. In Europe, the company has significant gum and candy businesses, with strong gum market shares in the majority of Western Europe, Scandinavia, Turkey and Russia. The companys chocolate business is concentrated in Poland, Russia and France.The companys biggest European operating unit is in France. The companys Asian businesses are concentrated in India, Malaysia, Thailand and China. The companys key brands in these regions include Cadbury Dairy Milk, Bournvita, Halls, Eclairs/Choclairs, Clorets, and Dentyne. In the Pacific regions the companys operations are primarily located in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Cadbury has a leading position in Australia with an overall 30% market share. While in New Zealand, the company holds a market share of around 41% in FY2008. 3.2 HISTORY Cadbury Schweppes (which was split into: Cadbury plc; and Dr pepper Snapple Group in May 2008) was actually formed in 1969 by the merger of Schweppes and Cadbury Group. Over the years, Cadbury Schweppes expanded its business through organic growth and acquisitions. In 1982, it acquired Motts, which was engaged in the production of apple juice and sauce. The company further strengthened its portfolio of key brands through the purchase of Canada Dry (1986), Trebor (1989), and Bassett (1989). In the 1990s, Cadbury Schweppes acquired 14 more companies, including the US soda giant Dr Pepper/7 UP (1995). Cadbury acquired Snapple Beverage Group in 2000. In the same year, the company also made acquisitions of Hollywood, and Kraft Foods in France, and Wuxi Leaf Confectionery in China to strengthen its chewing gum portfolio. Other acquisitions in the year included Spring Valley Juice and Wave flavored milk in Australia; and Mauna LaI tropical juice drink in the US. In the following year, Cadbury Schweppes acquired Pernod Ricards soft drinks brands and businesses in Europe, North America and Australia. Also in 2001, Cadbury Schweppes acquired the Slush Puppie, a frozen, non-carbonated beverages firm; and Carteret, a contract packer mainly of Snapple. The company also purchased La Casera, Spains third largest soft drinks manufacturer. In 2002, Snapple Beverages, a subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes, purchased Nantucket Nectars, a producer of premium high juice content drinks. In the same year, the company acquired Brau und Brunnens 72% interest in the Apollinaris Schweppes joint venture in Germany. In 2003, Cadbury completed the acquisition of Adams Confectionery from Pfizer with its brands included Halls, Trident, Dentyne and the Bubbas bubblegum range. In the same year, Cadbury Schweppes main UK operating arm, the Cadbury Trebor Bassett division, announced the closure of two of its factories located in Greater Manchester and Chesterfield. In 2005, the company invested  £40 million (approximately $74.2 million) at its Bournville factory in Birmingham, UK to meet the growing demand for Cadbury Dairy Milk. In the following year, Cadbury sold its business division of Europe Beverages. The company fully acquired the Dr Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group in the same year. In 2007, Cadbury Schweppes acquired the Southeast-Atlantic Beverage, the second largest independent bottler in the US, by Americas Beverages. In the same year, Cadbury Schweppes acquired Intergum, the leading Turkish gum business. In the same year, Cadbury Schweppes announced its plan to split itself into two separate businesses focusing on chocolate and confectionery on the one hand and the US soft drinks on the other. In February 2008, Cadbury Schweppes sold its Monkhill business, a manufacturer of sugar confectionery and popcorn for the UK market. In May 2008, Cadbury Schweppes completed its demerger and was split into: Cadbury plc, the new holding company of the worldwide confectionery operations and the Australian beverages business; and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), the new holding company of the Americas beverages business. Further in December 2008, Cadbury plc sold its Schweppes Beverages business in Australia to Asahi Breweries for a total consideration of approximately  £550 million ($1,020 million). In May 2009, Cadbury Schweppes Overseas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cadbury purchased 4% of the share capital of Kent Gida Maddeleri, a Turkey base supplier of confectionary products, from Tahincioglu Holding. In September 2009, Cadbury rejected a  £10,200 billion (approximately $18,922 million) offer from Kraft Foods to combine the two businesses and create a global manufacturer of snacks, confectionery and quick meals. 3.3 MAJOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Cadbury is an international manufacturing and marketing company of branded confectionery products. The companys key products and brands include the following: Products: Chocolates Candy Candy bars Chewing gum The key chocolate brands of the company include Caramilk, Cherry Ripe, Crunchie, Five Star, Freddo, Mieszanka Wedlowska, Milk Tray, Moro, Mr. Big, Old Gold, and Perk. The company also offers a cocoa based food drink beverage under Bournvita brand name. Gum business offers chewing gum with a number of flavors including strawberry splash, strong mint, peppermint and watermelon wave. The business contributed around 33% of the companys overall sales in FY2008. The key gum brands of the company include Bubblicious, Falim, First, Stride, and V6. The company offers a number of functional candies including cough drops, indulgent candy such as premium toffees. The company offers its candy products in a number of flavors including American hard gums, mints, sherbet lemons, pear drops, everton mints, imperials, mint creams, and fruit, lemon, and strawberry. The key brands of the company under this category include Bassetts, Kent, Maynards, Pascall, Sour Patch, and Swedish Fish. 3.4 CADBURY, INDIA 3.4.1 COMPANY BACKGROUND à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cadbury India is a subsidiary of Cadbury Plc, with Cadbury Schweppes holding a 97.61% stake in its local subsidiary. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company operates in the hot drinks and packaged food industries. In packaged food it is present in confectionery, biscuits and dairy products. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The companys strategy is to cater to all price segments and consumer groups have a strong presence across the major impulse and indulgence categories in India. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It has national coverage with manufacturing and distribution facilities in all four regions. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In March 2009 the company re-launched Cadburys Perk with a new image, and employed up and coming bollywood actress as its new brand ambassador. The Perk brand portfolio was also extended with the launch of Cadburys Perk Poppers a selfline positioned as direct competition to Nestlà ©s Munch Pop Chocs. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company launched Cadbury Bournville Fine Dark Chocolate from its parent companys international brand portfolio in India in October 2008. The company also launched Cadburys Dairy Milk Shots in late à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In a bid to cater to all consumer groups, the company launched Cadbury Lite in February 2008. This is a smooth milk chocolate with no added sugar, which is suitable for diabetics. 3.4.2 PRODUCTION à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company supplies the local market through its local production units. Cadbury India has five factories, located in Thane, Pune, Induri and Malanpur in West India, and Baddi in North India. Cocoa is one of the major raw materials used by the company, and is procured mainly from plantations in South India, in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company exports its products to Sri Lanka, Dubai, the US and the Maldives. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cadbury India is not known to be involved in third party manufacturing. 3.4.3 COMPETITIVE POSITIONING à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company ranked seventh in packaged food in India in 2008 with a 3% value share. The company is the leading player in confectionery, with its Cadburys Dairy Milk brand accounting for over 13% of total confectionery value at the end of the review period. The companys other brands, such as 5 Star and Cadburys Gems, have been favourites across several generations, and the company is highly visible in the mass media channels with its tagline of kuch meetha ho jaye (lets have something sweet). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company is also very active with media and consumer promotions, as well as flavour innovations for its malt-based hot drinks brand Bournvita. While its presence in biscuits is very low it has represented the sole driver of sales in filled biscuits with Bytes. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company is a key innovator in packaged food in India as it has pioneered several new product concepts, including Chocki and Bytes, and has been active in flavour innovation with products such as Fruity Gems and Bournvita 5 Star Magic. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company strives to maintain its leadership in confectionery in India and expanded its presence in Confectionery in 2007 with the launch of Bubbaloo its first gum product in India. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The companys presence in packaged food in India is mainly concentrated in confectionery, where it is present across almost all categories. Its product portfolio outside confectionery is limited to flavoured powder milk drinks and filled biscuits. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company is mainly present in well-established and mature categories in India. However, several of the categories in which it is present, including malt-based drinks, filled biscuits and chocolate confectionery, are fast growing with double digit constant value forecast CAGRs. Moreover, the company heavily leverages new product launches and brand re-launches to boost growth rates in the categories in which it is already well established. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company has a very large product portfolio within confectionery. However, its brand portfolio is very limited in biscuits and flavoured powder milk drinks. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The company is positioned in the standard and premium price segments in confectionery and in the premium price segment in biscuits and flavoured powder milk drinks. 3.4.4 SWOT ANALYSIS Cadbury is a global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded confectionery products. The company has a strong market presence across all its operating regions. It is the market leader in the global confectionery sector with a market share of 10.5%. Strong global market position would boost the revenues and profitability of the company. However, the rising raw material prices and intense competition would affect the companys market share in certain geographies. A very peculiar characteristic of the chocolate consumers is that there is an overwhelming awareness among the users about different brands that exist in the market. There is however very little brand loyalty in users. People always are ready to try out new brands and keep on switching from one brand to another. This behaviour poses lot of challenge, as the job of designing of marketing strategies becomes two fold. Firstly non-users need to be converted to users and more importantly the existing customers should be retained. Organisational analysis of Cadburys Organizational analysis identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities that employees will need in the future as the organization and their jobs change. Organizational analysis is a holistic approach which involves looking at the entire organization; the overall structure, the departments, functions, processes, jobs, the interplay between groups, system dynamics, human energy alignment, and other issues. It explores what is as compared to what should be and the gaps between the two. Strength Cadbury is a company, which is reputed internationally as the topmost chocolate provider in the world. The brand is well known to people they can easily identify it from others. Users have a positive perception about the qualities of the brand. Cadbury main strength is Dairy milk. Dairy milk is the most consumed chocolate in India. By using popular models like Cyrus Brocha, Preety Zinta and others Cadburys has managed to portray a young and sporty image, which has resulted in converting buyers of other brands to become its staunch loyalists. By roping in Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador, Cadbury has succeeded in portraying itself as an evergreen, credible, trustworthy and eternal product. Cadbury has well adjusted itself to Indian custom. With the brilliant marketing campaign of Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye on every small or big family or social occasion, Cadbury has been able to create the notion that any occasion has to go along with a Cadbury. It has also catered to all the age groups across various demographics. It has properly repositioned itself in India whenever required i.e. from children to adults, togetherness bar to energizing bar for young ones etc. Weaknesses There is lack of penetration in the rural market where people tend to dismiss it as a high end product. It is mainly found in urban and semi-urban areas. It has been relatively high priced brand, which is turning the price conscious customer away. People avoid having their chocolate thinking about the egg ingredients. Cadbury offers a limited variety of products as opposed to other leading competitive brands, e.g. Amul and Nestle that offer an array of products like biscuits, dairy products, etc. One of the major raw materials i.e. cocoa has to be imported, leading to bunched imports and higher inventory. Majority of the markets in India are not air conditioned, hence cannot store chocolates, at least during hot summers, which limits market access. Environmental Analysis of Cadburys Opportunities The chocolate market has seen one of the greatest increases in the recent times (almost @ 30%). There is a lot of potential for growth and a huge population who do not eat chocolates even today that can be converted as new users. Infrastructure and potential to expand (other countries and markets) Narrowing down on their most popular and highest selling items (dairy milk) to increase sales (including brand ambassadors) Venture into new segments individually or jointly (food and beverages) Introduce their foreign products in India Targeting urban areas and developing sectors- by working on availability and affordability Using information and technology to bring efficiency in logistics and distribution. Though small now, fast growing modern trade with A/c and good ambience suitable for Cadbury products offers huge growth opportunity. Increase related category offerings like snacks (Cadbury bytes) Introduce Schweppes non carbonic drinks in India. Increase the chewing gum market. Threat There exists no brand loyalty in the chocolate market and consumers frequently shift their brands. New brands are coming and existing brands are introducing new variants to add up to an already overcrowded market. Competitors could use scandals in the past and company problems against the company (worm scandal). This could put the reputation of the company at stake. Stiff competition in the confectionery segment. (Amul, Nestle, etc.) New competition including global majors like mars Hersheys expected to enter the fray due to opening up of the Indian economy. The company has large exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk, mainly on account of imported cocoa beans and cocoa butter in US dollars and Pound Sterling. Significant increase in the food snacks segment offerings which means high indirect competition with low cost local players as well as high brand recognition global players. As Cadbury produces chocolates and a few related products, effective management of all the areas proves to be difficult at times. Trends of purchase may change with the ever-changing taste preference of consumers. Changing restrictions and rules from Government quality control boards may result in pressure on the production of the company cost increase Cadbury is exposed to rise in the cost of cocoa beans, dairy products and other vital ingredients. Increase in modern trade will increase competition especially from global players will also increase cost pressure thru malls negotiating higher discounts from suppliers. 3.4.5 PEST ANALYSIS Demographic factor 1. Population growth:-chocolates have wide impact on population growth. 2. Educational groups:-target population is all age groups but the education group will have more influence on it. As this is used as 2 celebrate events such as birthday, days. 3. Population age mix:-both men and women would like 2 prefer dairy milk. 4. Household patterns:-consumption and need is according to the household patterns. 5. Population age group: Preschools:-5% School-age: 15% Teens:-40% 25-65:-38% 65+:- 2% Political factor Increase in the tax rate by the government on chocolates will force a customer to pay more for it An increase/decrease in inflation rate can affect the FMCG sector and thereby also increase/decrease the price of Cadbury products Economic In festival seasons the demand of chocolates increases. Willingness to buy Demand of chocolates depends on the persons willingness to buy, which in turn is affected by the persons needs and requirements. Taste and preference Cadbury has wide variety of products and a particular product like lets say Dairy milk is also differentiated in many ways such as fruit and nut, raisins, almond. So the demand will be according to the taste and preferences of the variety. Income Variation in income will affect positively or negatively on Cadbury products. Sale is directly proportional to the income of an individual keeping other factors constant. Social Social factors includes such as norms, beliefs, values of the company. Cadbury has created a positive impact on customers in terms of belief and values. Advertisement Dairy milk, a brand of Cadbury renews its advertisement in every 6 months. The advertisements convey that it can be consumed by people of all ages. The type of advertisement also affects the buying interest on customers. They get known about new products and variety. Technological Milk quality can be improved much by technology. Refrigeration power can be improved by new technology so that cold storage product such as dairy milk and other milk products can be stored well and for a longer duration. 3.4.6 COMPANY FACTFILE Corporate Summary Cadbury India Ltd is a subsidiary of Cadbury Schweppes Plc, with Cadbury Schweppes holding a stake in excess of 90% in its local subsidiary. The company was incorporated in 1948 and formerly called Hindustan Cocoa Products. It has four factories located in Thane, Induri and Malanpur in West India and Baddi in North India. The production facilities in India are not only used for domestic production but also for the export of finished products to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Ghana and the Maldives. 3.5 CADBURY AFTER KRAFT Wider geographic reach but still developed markets bias à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢The acquisition of Cadbury provided Krafts confectionery operations with a better balanced geographic mix between developed and developing markets, although the share of combined North American and Western European retail value sales remained at 55%. However, its exposure has increased in North America and decreased in Western Europe. Competition in both developed regions is fierce from well-established, domestic confectionery conglomerates, such as Mars/Wrigley and Hershey in North America, and Nestlà © and Ferrero in Western Europe. Market gaps to fill in emerging regions à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Krafts Asia-Pacific confectionery revenues in 2008 were just above US$100 million, and with the integration of Cadbury it is expected to exceed US$1.4 billion. However, over 50% of this retail value is generated in just two national markets: Japan and India. China, the regions most attractive confectionery market accounts, for around 8% of the joint entitys confectionery revenues. Although China is forecast to grow by a more modest rate than India, at a CAGR of 4% over 2009-2014, in absolute value terms it makes up over 50% of the Asia-Pacific confectionery market growth over the period. The next step in Krafts strategy should be to focus on strengthening its position in the Chinese market, potentially with further acquisitions/partnerships to gain a larger slice of this dynamic market.

Tybalts Character in Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet :: Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Although admirable qualities add to one's life, they can often lead to their death. One such example of this occurs in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet where we are introduced to Tybalt, a fiery and prideful young relative of the Capulet family. In the play, In the play, Tybalt plays a prominent role in both the thematic scheme and in the ultimate outcome. Tybalt is the instigator of a chain of reactions which change the course of this tragedy, sending it into a headlong collision with fate. Tybalt?s uncontrollable vengeance, skill as a fighter and sense of Capulet pride are admirable in their own ways, but lead Tybalt to his eventual death at the hands of Romeo. Tybalt seems to be recognized even by his own family as a hothead. Up until his death in Act III, he is constantly quarreling and never hesitates to draw a weapon in the face of a foe. Are anger management classes a spoof? If there were not a real problem with anger, they would not exist. Let us just say that Tybalt never was able to complete his anger management classes, because it is evident he has trouble controlling his anger. Tybalt is first introduced at the Capulet party that Romeo has decided to attend without an invitation. When Tybalt first spots Romeo at his family's party, he immediately races to Lord Capulet, who tries to calm Tybalt. Tybalt turns and addresses Lord Capulet: ?But this intrusion shall, now seeming sweet, convert to bitter gall.?(I, V, 92-93) Through this Tybalt cools down for the time being, but he certainly demands revenge again from Romeo. Tybalt's characterization in the play occurs by a direct means and it remains static throughout the duration of the play. His rude, hateful, and bitter character is made clear by his eloquent words and actions. I feel that some of the characters best development occurs when he isn?t even involved in the scene. In Act II, Scene IV, Mercutio and Benvolio develop characteristics of his fighting methods and skill as well as his French styled mannerisms in a mocking way. The method of this development could also have occurred because of the audience that Shakespeare was attempting to entertain, an anti-French group. Thus Tybalt would be both a hated villain in a fictitious play, but also a hero in some people?s eyes. In the end, although Tybalt is proud and fiery, I do sympathize with him.

Partners Healthcare Case Aanlysis Essay

Partners Healthcare had established several financial resources pools, such as the short-term pool (STP) and the LTP, so that they can satisfy different needs of the several hospitals in the network. In more detail, the STP was invested with very high-quality, short-term fixed-income financial instruments. The average maturity of these instruments is about one to two years. STP is always treated as the risk-free part of the hospitals’ holdings. On the other hand, the LTP is thought as the risky part of holdings. It consists of different forms of equity and a smaller fixed-income part. In order to diversify the risks of the LTP, the Partners Investment Committee introduced a new type of assets, real assets, into the original LTP during the past years. Both of the assets’ performance turned to be excellent during 2004. As a result, the Investment Committee was considering expanding the real-asset segment of the LTP. Michael Manning, the deputy treasurer of Partners Healthcare System, was asked to recommend the size and the composition for the real-asset portfolio contributed to the $2.4 billion long-term pool (LTP) in the Partners. Facts and Analysis Due to the fact that different Partners Healthcare hospitals might have different acceptable risk levels for their investment portfolio then the most reasonable solution would be to invest both in risk-free STP and risky LTP. By choosing different mixes each hospital could achieve their acceptable risk level. Since the STP has a nearly fixed rate of return considered to be risk free for each hospital’s own portfolio, the variation from LTP would ultimately determine the risk and return level of individual portfolio. Using long-term historical data, Manning and his staff calculated average annual returns, volatilities, and correlations for each of the asset classes (exhibit 3). Since real assets belong to LTP, there is no direct impact on the STP returns from investing in this category. Given the current mix of Domestic Equities (55%), Foreign Equities (30%) and LT Bonds (15%) and our expected return for each category (exhibit 3), the expected return of the LTP is calculated from the following formula: e.g. E(Rp)= 0.55(0.1294)+0.30(0.1242)+0.15(0.054) = 10.8% In order to find the optimal portfolio allocation, the group needs to find the portfolio structured with lowest risk under a given return. This can be achieved by applying Mean-Variance Theory and Markowitz model find the efficient frontier, which yields the most optimal portfolio under given returns. It can be expressed in mathematical terms and solved by quadratic programming. [Appendix A] In this case, the Partner’s Treasury Department has computed all the portfolios for minimum level of risk with different types of assets, more specifically, adding Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Commodities or both, from an undefined approach. Since the results are identical as calculated from Mean-Variance Theory, they should be the optimal portfolios for each target level of return. Therefore a graph with efficient frontier, which represents the optimal portfolios with different assets, is constructed based on Exhibit 5 to 8 for comparison. [Appendix B] Technically, any portfolio on the efficient frontier is an optimized portfolio and is indifferent from each other in terms of risk/return trade off. From the Risk VS Return graph, we can see that for any given return, the portfolio with both REITs and commodities would yield the lowest risk. Also, the portfolio with only commodities would outperform the portfolio with only REITs. For instance, if we invest in both REITs and Commodities, in order to obtain a return of 10%, the new proportion of the LTP will be portfolio 4 with approximately US Equity 14.3%, Foreign Equity 27.5%, Bonds 22.2%, REITs 13.8%, and Commodities 22.3%. It produces the lowest risk of 8.49%, comparing to original portfolio of 9.94%, REITs only portfolio of 9.69% and Commodities only portfolio of 8.49%. This is the basic concept of diversification, which means that the more assets with less correlation are introduced to the portfolio; the less risky the portfolio will be for any achievable rate of return. [1] For the overall portfolio, each hospital can allocate between the STP and the LTP. In fact, they can always construct the most efficient portfolio for their acceptable risk level with combination of LTP, which holds the risky assets, and STP, which holds the risk-free asset according to The One-Fund Theorem. [2] For example, if the shareholders want a total return of X, with a 3.2% return of STP and a 10% return of LTP, the proportion of STP and LTP can be obtained through X= w(0.032) + (1-w)(0.10) And it is guaranteed to be the optimal portfolio. Even though Mean-Variance theory can allocate the most optimal portfolio, there are several flaws with its assumptions. First of all, it assumes that assets returns are normally distributed. However, often times, it’s observed that asset returns are more like to be fat-tailed distribution, [3] instead of having thin tails like normal distribution. Second of all, it assumes there is a constant correlation between different assets. However, under certain conditions, for example, severe financial crisis like 2008, all assets tend to be positively correlated with decreasing rate of return. Depending on the total time period used for historical data, it can place an impact on the long term correlation. Aside from the assumptions, the time period of data can also affect each variable. In this case, the client uses data started from 1970 for the new asset classes, which might not be as representative as using long term historical data from 1926 as they did with the US equities and US long-term bonds. This can have some impacts on the returns, standard deviations, and correlations depending on the movement of assets from 1926 to 1970. Recommendation By comparing the data in the table of Exhibit 5a with the numerical results shown in Exhibit 6 and Exhibit 7, as well as the efficient frontier constructed, we can derive the conclusion that with the same expected returns, the most optimal portfolio is to add both REITs and commodities. In other words, we can control the risk of LTP by expanding the portion of real assets. If only one asset is allowed to be added to the real asset category, it’s more efficient to add the commodities than the REITs based on the position of the efficient frontier. Therefore, with a combination of risk free STP and the improved LTP, each individual hospital is able to construct the most optimized portfolio under any given risk level.

The apocalypse

I was on Brewers lane when I heard a slight whisper over here† I scanned the area, the area where only yesterday me and my mates were chilling, took another glance. Stood there is the mist was my best mate Joana. He was shocked at seeing me, shocked that Vive been walking about the streets fine and haven't encountered any of them things. â€Å"Haven't you seen any things†. My heart thudded. â€Å"What things†. Knew at that point we were in something big together, I couldn't lose him, and we've been best mates since first school.As I said that I saw a dark staggered shadow eve across the back of the churchyard. It moved with such jolt, instantly panicked and froze on the spot. It was like something out of the movies, like something that shouldn't be real. Like something that couldn't be real. Me and Joana went to explore the churchyard to see what this was, as it was the only life we have seen today. We opened the gates the hinges squealed as we pushed to gate to. We stumbled down the pathway, legs like jelly, a place that would normally be so calm, was now so terrifying. Let the bitter saltiness of the sweat that dripped down from my forehead rolled over me eyebrow down my cheek and dribbled into my mouth. The gargoyles on the church seemed as if they were real and were about to pounce on you. Every gravestone glistened; it was as if all the people buried were stood up like an army in formation replacing the gravestones. All the flowers were dead and rotting, there was no color in sight. Just the dark grey of the church and the mellow green tinge of the trees.I heard a wild growl from round the shaded corner, mine and Jonahs hearts started pumping, and we turned around to and got ready to sprint. We took one last look and this demonic shadow was running around the corner except this wasn't no shadow it was what we call walkers of TV programmer and games. I looked at its face; flesh was hanging off around its cheek, I could see inside its eye s the whole eye was white with a hint of grey. Blood around its mouth and teeth were rotten and yellow.