Current Ratio Essay

1) Current Ratio The ratio is mainly used to give an idea of the company’s ability to pay back its short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The higher the current ratio, the more capable the company is of paying its obligations. 2) Quick Ratio An indicator of a company’s short-term liquidity. The quick ratio measures a company’s ability to meet its short-term obligations with its most liquid assets. For this reason, the ratio excludes inventories from current assets 3) Asset Turnover Ratio The amount of sales or revenues generated per dollar of assets. The Asset Turnover ratio is an indicator of the efficiency with which a company is deploying its assets. Asset Turnover = Sales or Revenues/Total Assets Generally speaking, the higher the ratio, the better it is, since it implies the company is generating more revenues per dollar of assets. But since this ratio varies widely from one industry to the next, comparisons are only meaningful when they are made for different companies in the same sector. 4) Fixed Turnover Ratio A financial ratio of net sales to fixed assets. The fixed-asset turnover ratio measures a company’s ability to generate net sales from fixed-asset investments – specifically property, plant and equipment (PP&E) – net of depreciation. A higher fixed-asset turnover ratio shows that the company has been more effective in using the investment in fixed assets to generate revenues. The fixed-asset turnover ratio is calculated as: 5) Inventory Turnover Ratio A ratio showing how many times a company’s inventory is sold and replaced over a period. The days in the period can then be divided by the inventory turnover formula to calculate the days it takes to sell the inventory on hand or â€Å"inventory turnover days.† This ratio should be compared against  industry averages. A low turnover implies poor sales and, therefore, excess inventory. A high ratio implies either strong sales or ineffective buying. High inventory levels are unhealthy because they represent an investment with a rate of return of zero. It also opens the company up to trouble should prices begin to fal 6) Debt Ratio A financial ratio that measures the extent of a company’s or consumer’s leverage. The debt ratio is defined as the ratio of total debt to total assets, expressed in percentage, and can be interpreted as the proportion of a company’s assets that are financed by debt. The higher this ratio, the more leveraged the company and the greater its financial risk. Debt ratios vary widely across industries, with capital-intensive businesses such as utilities and pipelines having much higher debt ratios than other industries like technology. In the consumer lending and mortgage businesses, debt ratio is defined as the ratio of total debt service obligations to gross annual income. 7) Debt Equity Ratio A measure of a company’s financial leverage calculated by dividing its total liabilities by stockholders’ equity. It indicates what proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. A high debt/equity ratio generally means that a company has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt. This can result in volatile earnings as a result of the additional interest expense. 8) Equity Multiplier The ratio of a company’s total assets to its stockholder’s equity. The equity multiplier is a measurement of a company’s financial leverage. Companies finance the purchase of assets either through equity or debt, so a high equity multiplier indicates that a larger portion of asset financing is being done through debt. The multiplier is a variation of the debt ratio. 9) Net Profit Ratio A ratio of profitability calculated as net income divided by revenues, or net profits divided by sales. It measures how much out of every dollar of sales  a company actually keeps in earnings. Increased earnings are good, but an increase does not mean that the profit margin of a company is improving. For instance, if a company has costs that have increased at a greater rate than sales, it leads to a lower profit margin. This is an indication that costs need to be under better control. 10) Days Inventory A financial measure of a company’s performance that gives investors an idea of how long it takes a company to turn its inventory (including goods that are work in progress, if applicable) into sales. Generally, the lower (shorter) the DSI the better, but it is important to note that the average DSI varies from one industry to another. Here is how the DSI is calculated: Also known as days inventory outstanding (DIO).  This measure is one part of the cash conversion cycle, which represents the process of turning raw materials into cash. The days sales of inventory is the first stage in that process. The other two stages are days sales outstanding and days payable outstanding. The first measures how long it takes a company to receive payment on accounts receivable, while the second measures how long it takes a company to pay off its accounts payable.

Use of Prayer and Scripture in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Use of Prayer and Scripture in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: A Journal Article Beatrice St. Surin Liberty University COUN-506 September 23, 2012 Abstract According to the article Use of Prayer and Scripture in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, published in the Journal of Psychology and Christianity in 2007, Siang-Yang Tan talked about how prayer and scripture can be incorporated into the practice of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).Lately, in the field of CBT, there have been an increased on a suggestive awareness regarding a two-component model that involves self-regulation of attention in order to preserved on instant knowledge, centers on present circumstances, and implements an orientation to the acceptance of a person’s situation. Tan demonstrated that this model of CBT can be combined with prayer and scriptural truth to bring long-term benefit to clients.He mentioned a study by Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda and Lillis (2006) that defined an ancient method of behavior therapy that was divided into three generational actions and involved a gradual transition from traditional behavior therapy and CBT to a collection of views and approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) (Tan, 2007, p. 101). Tan referred to a self-developed biblical model to this approach that consists of an 8-part process. These processes consist of emphasizing agape love, the necessity to cultivate a sincere and open relationship with the client.While they ease the process of settling with past unresolved issues they also help with discovering spiritual meaning; by means of scriptural truth to stimulate behavior change; depend on the Holy Spirit’s ministering; concentrating on the main goal and stick to techniques that are biblical. The discussion of ongoing research before generated irrefutable statements about the advantage of CBT (Tan, 2007, p. 102). Tan also addressed the use of implicit and explicit integration in therapeutic situations.He vowed that the choice o f either an implicit or an explicit method should be decided first and foremost by the necessities of the client, and that the Holy Spirit should be relied upon for guidance (Tan, 200, pp. 102-103). According to the article, Tan however, did not emphasize to take for granted that all clients will be comfortable with the inclusion of prayer and scripture in the CBT process. He stated that this approach may not be suitable with more severely distressed or psychotic clients (Tan, 2007, p. 104).A complete intake interview will obviously reveal whether the client is open to this method or whether this technique is appropriate. Tan stressed that this type of approach is very beneficial to clients who are experiencing depression, anxiety and anger issues, as well as those struggling with addictions. One method, developed by Tan in 1992, is a 7-step inner healing prayer. This method is a form of communication between the Counselor and the client to concentrate more on Christ than upon the h urt or childhood trauma they have experienced.It is really good that Tan also described actual interaction between client and counselor (Tan, 2007, p. 105). Tan indicated that the appropriate and ethical use of Scripture and prayer in CBT can be a significant help to Christian’s clients who completely believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God and their definitive authority in life (Tan, 2007, p. 108). He also expressed how the use of Scripture can enhance cognitive restructuring.Although, this technique of combining prayer and scripture with CBT appeared to be a very good approach, Tan cautioned the readers that there are some clients who will not accept it, even though several empirical studies have shown its benefits. It is evident to see how the author is addressing an approach to therapy that has in the past been overlooked by many typical practitioners. The combination of CBT with prayer and scripture obviously provides most clients with durable, maintenance-free resolution.Since we are created by God (Genesis 1:27), in my opinion, it makes perfect sense to go to him when something is broken and need repairing. As Christians, we understand that absolute truth comes only from the Scriptures and that God alone is truth. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). I believe Christian counselors should, therefore, make positive use of what God has given them in their attempts to reconstruct an individual’s thought rocesses. Subsequently we all have bad thinking sometimes and are in need to reframe the mind. For instance, according to the word, Jesus died for all of our sins (John 3:16, 1 John 2: 1-2), but after we accepted Jesus Christ in our lives, most of us struggled with self- forgiveness. We can only count on the Holy Spirit to change our thoughts and reveal the truth through the Scriptures to replace all the lies and misconceptions, we formulated from old traumatic experiences.The knowl edge I accrued from this article are similar to what I went through myself last year around this time; but, I would say I found it very encouraging that experimental studies are beginning to demonstrate the benefits of incorporating prayer and scripture into CBT, and that the scientific community is beginning to take notice. After reading this article, I was inspired to look for more information on this subject, and see what others are doing in this area to help people who profoundly brokenhearted.It’s acknowledged that in CBT a therapist with the best intentions can convince a client to reason differently about themselves and to change their views about their history. Although, after I observed a family member fell into a deep depression after she lost of her husband, got better with Therapy then lost it completely when her mother passed away. It is apparent that at any particular time in a client’s life one day, something dramatic can happen and all the work accompli shed can be undone by another disturbing event that can cause the client to regress to the previous defective thinking.I would say, I truly believe until a client is set free by the Lord Jesus Christ, the giver of life (Genesis 2:7); they will never be completely free. Application As a Christian who had to face my own demons in life, I could say before July 2011 I never used the principles of the inner healing prayer. It was not until I was strike by a very rare illness that was destroying me mentally and physically, no doctor or specialist knew what was wrong with me when part of the sickness was visible physically. All tests ran was very good but no one new or could explain why I was so sick.It wasn’t until a friend of mine took me to his Co-Pastor at a new Church, and the pastor and his wife are both professional Christian counselors. They used that approach for me and I found it to be a very effective approach. Although, I have to say that I truly believed God did a mirac le for me due to the fact that I was not only healed mentally, but also physically. I will definitely use this method when I complete my degree and begin helping people. Furthermore, I plan to use this approach with references to the Scriptures, as the Lord guides me for all my clients who will be open to this method.Even though, right now I am working as an accountant, my line of work does not involve any counseling or helping people but I have many of my tax clients, business clients, Church brothers, sisters and friends with various problems. Many are depressed, suffer from gender confusion, childhood traumas and addiction issues. I believe with the help God, this extra education and with support from my husband and children, I will incorporate prayer and scripture with CBT in my ministry at my church and in my community. My approach with my clients will be to always begin a session with prayer.Then a complete intake interview, follow with encouraging the client to reflect and re trieve the memories that have been the most traumatic if it is a new client. I will help the client to develop a warm and open relationship with me, make he/she feels safe and that it is okay to accept the truth of what happened, and recognize the hurts and dishonesties associate with the memories. As the client re-live the events of what took place in the past, I will pray silently and call upon the Holy Spirit to take control, to give me discernment and reveal the truth to me about the memories.I will then encourage the client to tell me what he/she is feeling and discern from the answers what book of the Bible can be helpful according to the Word of God. I will also tell the client to do a confession prayer to ask God for forgiveness and help to forgive anyone that was not easy to forgive. This will then be followed by giving the client some homework that might include a 3 day of fast while asking God to reveal more memories. I will ask them to write down anything else that God r eveals during the fast after the previous session.After the client has obtained truth from the Lord regarding the painful event, we will then re-visit that place and see how the client feels about the memory and how he/she relates to the new experience. From there I will ask the Holy Spirit to guide me to what to do next. I will encourage prayer, reading the scriptures, meditation on the word and anything that transpires before the next session. I will end the session by asking the client to pray and thank God for revealing the truth.The use of prayer and scripture in combination with CBT seems to be a very effective technique to help clients make sense of their difficulties. I believe this approach can be the best medicine for a long-term change and freedom from memories who are affecting people’s lives. References Dake Annotated Reference Bible. Tan, S. -Y. (2007). Use of prayer and scripture in cognitive-behavioral therapy. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 16(2), p. 101-111.

Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine - Essay Example Antique civilization contributed a lot to our modern science and laid foundation of modern scientific conceptions of the world inside and outside of us. Rhetoric is just one point of ancient heritage. Rhetoric from Homer to Augustine went through the phase of its origin and becoming when fundament of this art was laid. 2. Rhetoric in Greece was one of the three liberal arts. So it was a very important art. In Homer days rhetoric was not widely developed yet, but it is possible to say that Homer's contribution to rhetoric is obvious. His epic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were full of poetic dialogues, argumentations and word exercises for achieving different goals. His poetry influenced further poetic and rhetoric development in Greece. But in 5th century B. C. rhetoric became known for wide people through sophists. They thought people skill of argumentation. Sophists' work was valued rather high as they helped people to defend their personal interests, not always fair. So this form of teaching soon declined. Plato's teaching was another significant step to rhetoric development. He was an opponent for the sophists. ... Aristotle developed Plato's ideas and went further. He introduced rhetoric as a system of particular skills necessary for an orator. It was the next step of rhetoric development. Aristotle identified three main elements of rhetorical art: character of an orator, his emotions and his language. It is very important to feel the character of the audience, its structure - it will help to choose correct ways of influence on it. Orator's character and emotions must be directed to the goals of the speech - his speech must be emotionally-colored, bright and address everybody's hearts and feelings. The choice of appropriate language is also important. It in turn depends on the audience structure and goals to be achieved. So Aristotle's system influenced rhetoric very much and prepared fertile ground for its further rise and development.3. Rhetoric in Ancient Rome took much from that of Greece, but there were its own features. The main figures of Roman rhetoric were Cicero and Quintilian. Cicer o was one of the most brilliant orators of the ancient world. His speeches were full of expression, his influence on the audience was great, his oratorical methods were much imitated in his days and by later orators. Cicero's works on rhetoric were influenced this art in Rome and for further rhetoric development in general. Quintilian's treatise "Institutes of Oratory" was the next step of rhetorical skills systematization. He wrote about five main rhetorical canons. These are: development of an argument; its arrangement and organization for achieving an appropriate effect; definition of the speech style for a determined audience; speech delivery methods; orator's memory needed to keep in mind all elements of the speech. Quintilian's

People`s Points of View on the Gerrymandering Issue Article

People`s Points of View on the Gerrymandering Issue - Article Example This commentator laments the removal of a largely monolithic voting block from diverse Congressional districts to create ones with little or no opposition to elevate congressmen and congresswomen who may push their own agendas back home. He adds that only when both parties or the Courts realize the damage such gerrymandering has done to the country will the negative tenor of political debates eventually subside, but he is not banking on that possibility. The second commentator takes a more realistic view in expressing his favor of transparency. He claims that gerrymandering may be anti-democratic, but it is done by partisans who clearly show their partisanship. It is obvious to him that the public is aware of the political agenda of the candidates they elect and owns up to his preference for politicians whose motives are out in the open do the redistricting than other â€Å"unelected and accountable ‘worthies’† do so. He thinks that there is no such thing as an unbiased district map and that political preferences are built-in in some districts. The third and last commentator discussed the threat of extremism posed by gerrymandering. He claims that when parties have safe districts party extremists get elected, to the disappointment and dissatisfaction of the American electorate with Congress. He explains that the massive disappointment is caused by these extremists who are often unwilling to agree on policies set by the majority of the electorate since they are decided to firmly put their foot down on their own belief system. This last commentator believes that extremism in Congress is equivalent to most congressmen believing that it is more important to take a stand than to be effective as lawmakers.

Jet Blue Key Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jet Blue Key - Case Study Example Jet Blue Was the best ever funded airline n the aviation history of U.S.The aim was to bring humanity back to air travel. Also the airline aimed at having a paperless airline .the company focus was efficiency and service. The company thinks of them as advocates of their customers. David Neelman was the founder of Jet Blue Airlines. Neelman with his experience and new ideas gave jet blue a new look and setup a target market where they could bring back humanity to air travel jet blues top management team was a virtual team in many respects . The geographical dispersion of the top management team reflected the diverse lifestyles and preferences of Jet Blue's top management. They intended to take the best from all airlines and apply it to Jet Blue. Rhoades emphasized on defining values and making them comprehendible to the team at jet Blue. Rhoades believed values were that drove the other activities around in an organization. All was going well with the airlines but now Rhoades was thinking how they would sustain this level of performance where they ere looking to serve airline travelers low fares, but high quality service. The case summary stated above gives us a brief outlook but yet entails all aspects of the case being discussed. Jet Blue Airline is new in the airline industry; it has already had one successful year of operations. The management consists of the most reputable, and experienced individuals of the aviation industry. We observe high capitalization has been done for the project. The aim of the top management is to offer low fares to people yet give them the best flying experience (i.e. the best quality of service ) we would making a few recommendations with reference to the key issues identified above . In order for jet Blue Airlines to be able to develop a value based high commitment culture along with rapid growth it is vital for organization's management's to understand the meaning and importance of an organization's culture, how it affects the performance and productivity. As we are aware that by definition culture is a set of norms, beliefs, and expectations. In order for organizations to be successful they need to consider what are the factors that influence an organizations culture. The management at Jet Blue Airlines needs to consider also that the external environment which most importantly consists of the competitors effect the culture. Here we are looking at a high performance culture. in order to achieve this the employees at jet blue airline have to plan and conceive

History of Art and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

History of Art and Technology - Essay Example This can be seen in how human beings absorb information from the systems of education that have ever existed and from the mass media from past to present. The ideas they learn may have come from the concrete practice of man’s ordinary or extraordinary pursuits, thus coming from life itself. However, there is art in the manner that the lessons are imparted to the audience or to the learner. The artists behind this are the writers, the songwriters, the film makers, the educators, and everyone else who work as mediums of every idea or mere observation. Therefore, while life imitates art, art can never be absolutely detached from life. This is because its inspiration is material. Even the strangest art works are based in the material. What makes these odd though in the senses of some is the fact that the artist has the freedom to express his interpretation of the material. Many of Vincent Van Gogh’s works of art, for example, were considered by his fellow artists and art critics of his time as eccentric and out of touch with reality. However, it was only much later that his works were appreciated. Francis Bacon, a renowned Irish artist, articulated on Van Gogh’s case â€Å"real painters do not paint things as they are...They paint them as they themselves feel them to be.† (Farr 112) The message holds true not just for painters and paintings but for all artists and works of art. Nevertheless, an artist can only create out of his subjective interpretation of what he hears, sees, touch, or even taste. His imaginations can still be bound by the realities of even the most ordinary things and situations in life. Considering the premises mentioned above, everyone sees art and is an artist at the same time even while observing the most normal day-to-day activities. There is art in people in motion, in the way they walk to work and interact when strangers and acquaintances. There is art in the way that motorists deal with

Robbing people of the ability to see enormous opportunities directly Essay - 2

Robbing people of the ability to see enormous opportunities directly in front of them - Essay Example Much as with many nebulous and difficult to define terms, this American dream means something different for almost each and every individual that seeks to integrate with it. Rather than arguing whether or not the American dream is ultimately a life were dead, this brief analysis will seek to analyze whether or not present America is something of a â€Å"stacked deck† and whether or not the current system is robbing people of their ability to see enormous opportunities directly in front of them. As a function of such an analysis, three of the readings which have been engaged during the course of the semester will be utilized to prove that the current system of opportunity and potential that exists for the individual within the United States is ultimately constrained and unreflective of the faults height and bravado that is so oftentimes associated with such terms as the American dream. In such a manner, it will be the goal of this author to prove to the reader why the United St ates, in its present form, promise and hopeless situation for many participants within its society. Although it is not hard to disagree with such political buffoons as Rush Limbaugh, the point that he made with regards to disagreeing with the overall level of potential and opportunity that exists within the United States was less outlandish been many of his other statements. Ultimately, what them off claimed was the following â€Å"such an understanding robs people of the ability to see the enormous opportunities directly in front of them†. Such a statement assumes that these semi-nebulous â€Å"opportunities† exist for each and every member of the society; a fact that has been fundamentally disproven with regards to the literature which will be discussed and with regards to existing literature outside this given subject matter. In such a way, the reader can definitively understand that the opportunities and potential that someone such as Rush Limbaugh, a

Current event and Us Diplomacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Current event and Us Diplomacy - Essay Example rld War Two and dominated decades of international crisis and major global affairs as the countries engaged in psychological, technological, economic and even sports competitions to exercise and stage a sense of supremacy over the other. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the doctrine employed by John F. Kennedy during his tenure as president. Kennedy took over the most important position in the global arena – the presidency of the United States, at a time when tensions between the US-led West and the Soviet-led East were quite evident, because of this premise the foremost agenda for the president during his tenure was to identify and then curb the growth of communism. Kennedy’s vision was that of a stronger America that had the ability to conquer the challenges communism posed for freedom. According to many commentators Kennedy actually had very little ideology in the creation of his foreign policy other than his anti-communist sentiments and an unparalleled belief in the capability of strong governance. In his inaugural address Kennedy made his belief and desire for expected action against communism very clear when he addressed the issue in the following words; â€Å"Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate† (John F. Kennedy, 1961). Kennedy’s presidency saw the o ccurrence of notable events such as increased participation of the United States in the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Many commentators have argued, assessed and discussed the emergence of presidential doctrines and their origins, until the arrival of the twentieth century the only presidential doctrine that actually had the name of a president associated with it was that of Monroe’s (Brands, 2006). The Kennedy Doctrine arrived at a crucial time for the United States, outlining the foreign policy agenda for his establishment, the major tenets for the policy firstly outlined that the United States would not pursue any military initiative

Title Primary and Community Care Services need to provide Essay

Title Primary and Community Care Services need to provide comprehensive, integrated and coordinated care for individuals and their families - Essay Example In collaborative healthcare practice in the clinical setting, it can be an action dependent on opinions based on a process of reasoning that builds on academic learning. A multidisciplinary team comprises professionals from different specialities who work as a group towards care to the patient. The main reason for such a care strategy is diversity and complexity of healthcare, rapid advancement of medical specialities in terms of knowledge, technical dexterity of members of the team, enhanced client concerns about health and care, and many other intricate issues in present-day healthcare where no profession has superiority over another across the contexts of healthcare delivery plan to a patient. This is a case study of a patient, whose identity will remain undisclosed in this work for ethical and confidentiality reasons. A nickname, Mrs. Chang will be used throughout the work. This writer had an opportunity to assist in her care while she was admitted to the hospital following a tri p and fall in the shower few days back, and she was admitted to the hospital due to her age of 82, frailty, baseline neurological disorder Parkinsonism with gradually declining cognition and deteriorating mobility, and lack of support at home and community, for further assessment and evaluation. In this work, based on nursing assessment of the case, a nursing discharge plan was enacted and presented with an attempt to critically analyzing the discharge plan based on her needs and at the same time finding evidence from contemporary literature about the justification of the discharge plan in association with other professionals involved in care, coordinated so that the family can participate in the care when the patient is discharged to the community. This condition is characterized by gradual slowing of voluntary movement, muscular rigidity, stooped posture, and distinctive rigid gait. Over and above that, she has evidence of rheumatoid arthritis of both hands. She tripped and fell in the bathroom; this impairment of mobility may get accentuated with her rheumatic disease. A thorough examination of all her joints indicated osteoarthritis and associated osteoporosis, which are age related, and these would further aggravate her problem of mobility. During this admission, she was admitted since she sustained a fall at home in the bathroom, and she had been admitted to the hospital for observation and further evaluation. She had been on ibuprofen. This indicates her baseline chronic pain, which may further compromise her mobility. The impaired mobility was further accentuated by the fact that at home, she stayed with her husband who was older than her by 4 years, who himself might be frail enough to be insufficient to help her out in these activities at home. The discharge plan must include provision for the patient to maintain joint mobility and range of motion while exhibiting adaptive coping behaviour. Improvement in muscle strength and endurance would be the goal. With age, there is baseline muscle wasting from the 50-80 years of age, and this is the result of aging process in the

Homeworks and Study Guides in English Essay Example for Free

Homeworks and Study Guides in English Essay I rolled myself, patting and searching for the alarm clock with my eyes closed. When I reached it, I turned it off and got myself up to get ready for school. I barged in the bathroom with my still sleepy eyes, washing my face as I put some toothpaste in my toothbrush. Brushing my teeth, I walked in my closet to choose some outfit. After five minutes of choosing, I throw the clothes at the bed then turned to take a bath. I relax myself as I feel the tingling sensation of hot water seducing my whole body. After fifteen minutes of showering, I finally rinsed and walked out of the shower room. Opening the drawer, I got my hair dryer and make-up. I blow my hair for ten minutes then I dressed-up. Glancing at the clock and seeing that I still have time, I decided to put some light make up. After finishing my mascara, I took a step back, glancing at the mirror to take a full look at my outfit before going downstairs. Today was the first day of my senior year at Jacksonville Highschool. I was wearing a white tank top that showed my flat tummy and my piercing, a pink hollister shorts that showed my long tanned legs, and a high cut converse to finish the look. Fully contented with the outfit, I sighed, running my hands through my blonde hair as I walked out of the bathroom. I took my bag which was hanging at the side of my bed and stormed downstairs. When I finally get down, I went straight to the kitchen to grab my breakfast, which is apple and milk. Yay, the perks of being a vegetarian. I found my dad sitting peacefully with a newspaper in his hands, his eyebrows are scrunching. Good morning dad I greeted him, munching my apple. Silence. He didnt greet me back because he was too preoccupied with the article hes reading. I frowned and stop to look at the front page, which read Boston Bombing. Oh yeah, the latest news. I rolled my eyes, gulping my fresh milk. After I finished my breakfast, I got up, walking outside to find my mom in the garden watering her so-called little daughters. Hey mom Good morning, honey. Have you eaten your breakfast? Yup, Im finished. So wheres Anna? I asked, looking around. Annabelle Jacobs is my best friend. She always picks me up in the morning so that we could go to school together. Oh, she texted me this morning, she says shell be 5 minutes late I rolled my eyes. I know exactly why shes late. She always have those lame excuses telling me that her toothbrush got lost, she run out of panties, the flush wont work, the rats ate her clothes etc. I shook my head at the sudden thought. Okay mom. I kissed her in the cheek. Ill just check on Simon first Simon is the love of my life. Hes a puppy actually, but whatever. I run at the back, finding my shih tzu stiffing some flowers. Heeeeeeeey Simooooon I cooed in a sweet, girly girl voice while picking him up. I spin him around giggling while his licking my face. Gross I know. After a minute of playing around, I heard Annas car pulled up so I put him down and kissed him goodbye. I ran back inside to say one last goodbye to my parents then i ran towards the car as fast as I can. Samantha!!! Anna shouted when I got inside. I smiled at her. Hey there! Whats up?   Do I look like I’ve lose some weight? She immediately respond. I burst out laughing then I looked at her figure up and down. Annabelle, well Anna, look a lot like me. We have the same weight and height. Were also popular in a way, but we didnt like being the center of attention so we stay low. The only difference we have is our hair. She has brown hair while me, well Im blonde. Ugh, you have a perfect figure. Why do you have to work your butt out? And yes, youve lost some fats Really? Yay! She screeched. You see, I need to work out because Im planning to eat a whole box of pizza later She added. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right. So, whats the plan? Well, I was thinking that maybe we should go shopping after school. Youve got your credit card in you, right? She asked. Uh yeah, sure. Meet me at my locker around four I said, finishing the conversation. She parked the car then we walked together inside the school grounds. We made our way to our lockers since our lockers are right next to each other. I opened mine to get my history textbook, -since its my first class- switching it with my english. Closing my locker, I said goodbye to Anna, telling her to see me at lunch because we dont have the same schedule for the first four classes. We waved goodbye to each other and started walking the opposite way. After a minute of walking and goofing around, Im finally face to face with the door that leads to my first class. I took a deep breath before opening it. Just as I was turning the door knob, a boy passed quickly to get inside first, causing me to fall backwards with the rest of my stuff. What the hell I said in a low voice. I heard him groan in an annoyed voice, then he started walking back towards me, closing the door in the process. Hey, no need to swear neighbor Then it hit me. I looked up, wide eyes to see my oh-so-handsome neighbor aka the most popular boy in school, Spencer Young. You see, Ive known him since we were young. Our mothers, both Filipina, were married to some Canadian which means were half filipino, half american. I also know a lot about him since our bedroom are next- well, lets just say parallel to each other. I know that he loves switchfoot, the script and matchbox twenty because his room are full of their posters. I also know his favorite book, food and stuffs. And also when I was 14, in my sophomore year, I used to have a little crush on him ever since the first time I saw him half naked walking around his room. But that was freaking before. I got myself up, thinking of shouting at him for his rude manners. But before I do that, he spoke first. Sorry about that He said, pinching both of my cheeks. I was thinking of pushing him back. But I sighed, realizing that were already late in class. Instead, I rolled my eyes, ignoring him as I made my way inside the classroom. When we walked inside, the class went full silent at first. Then, they started whispering to each other, probably wondering why their Queen Bee and Mr. Popular are together. Yay, perks of being a popular student. Mind explaining to me why youre both 5 minutes late, Ms. Reynolds and Mr. Young? Our professor, Mr. Lantican asked. Wow. I didnt realize it took that long outside. Spencer speaks first. Well sir, w-we bumped into each other a-at the hallway He stuttered. And it took 5 minutes? Well done, kids. And good job at lying. Now, as your punishment, I want you both to stay here after class and go straight to the detention room to- WHAT?! I shouted, startling the whole class. I cant believe it. I really cant believe it. This is my first time to get a detention and I know for a fact that I didnt deserve it. No offense sir, but Im a straight A student and this will greatly affect my grades. I stopped, catching my breath. And just so you know, I have a scheduled meeting with- I stopped, realizing that im pushing the limits. Never mind I gave up, finding the way to my seat. Yeah, detention at the very first day of my senior high. Great right? Spencers POV I stare at her from a good distance. She sits at the front row with some geeky nerds while me, well, Im at the far left side of the back with Blake Morgan and Nathan Brooks, my bestfriends. I felt really bad that I bumped her earlier. The detention will surely drive her crazy, and it was all because of me. She always makes sure to get perfect As, which I couldnt understand. Its like shes going to die if she gets B or lower. I look up at her again memorizing her perfect back features, hoping that I wouldnt get caught, but i was wrong. HOLYSHITBALLS Blake and Nathan both hissed. WHAT? I said, wincing and rubbing my ears. We can tell it dude This time, its just Blake who spoke. Ugh. What is it, again? You like her right? I mean, Samantha Reynolds Nathan spat. WHAT?! Oh no, youre seeing it wrong man. I spat back. Okaaaaaaaaaay, whatever you saaaaay maaaaan They both sang in a girly voice. I rolled my eyes. It was a misunderstanding. I, Spencer Young, will never stoop that low. Sure, shes rich, sexy, gorgeous or to make it short, shes miss perfect. But shes not really my type. I dont know though, because in some way, I find her actions weird and cute. My room is facing hers and I can see all of her actions or whatever. Her room is very neat and she always make sure that all her things are in place. She also has a very strict schedule of sleeping, waking up, exercising and eating. Not that Im stalking her, of course. Anyway, I really dont understand her. I feel like shes hiding something even from her next-miss perfect bestfriend, Annabelle Jacobs. And thats what Im going to find out. Finally, the bell rang signaling us to our next class. I stand up, eagerly wanting to get the hell out of here before our beloved old teacher call up to me. But then again, I was wrong. Mr. Young and Ms. Reynolds can I have a word with you two? Mr. Lantican asked. I groaned mentally, turning back to face his old crooked face. I saw Samantha glaring at me. Man, was she sexy. I shot her an apologetic look before walking towards Mr. Lantican. Yes, Mr. Lantican? I asked, raising an eyebrow. He took a deep breath before answering I want the two of you to be at the detention room at exactly four. Have I made myself clear? Yes sir We both said. Okay, the two of you may go now He finally dismissed us. Thank you, sir. I said lastly to him then I got out of the classroom. Just as I started to make my way upstairs to my next class, I saw Sam alone leaning at one of the bars, smiling at me. Confused, I made my way to her. Whats with the smiling, Sammy? I asked. Thank you, Spence She suddenly said. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. What was that? A while ago, she was throwing fires at me by the way she glares. And now? Man, was she bipolar? Fo-for what? I manage to say. Ive said enough, Spence. I just want you to know that Im very happy that you save me She look at me gratefully then suddenly, she kissed my cheek, then left. I was pretty sure that my jaw hit the ground. Samanthas POV In chemistry, which is my third class, I loiter towards the back of the room, waiting for everybody to file in their seats. Mr. Maruso has this rule that whoever you choose to sit with on the first day of class, becomes your lab partner for the entire year. Needless to say, seat selection is definitely critical. Since the sciences arent really my thing, I search around for someone who I think might do well with the laboratory stuffs. I mustve been busy daydreaming; thinking about what happened earlier because when i look up, they are all paired up. Which leaves me standing awkwardly at the back with my books. Embarrassed, I scan the room until I spotted two empty chairs in front. I made my way there and I can see that my suppose-to-be-partner isnt there. I wonder if he or she is just late or absent. I sighed heavily, praying in every god that he or she better have some brains or else Ill be doomed. Five minutes later, Mr. Marusos disscussion of safety precautions and proper handling of equipments was interrupted by a student who just barged in through the room. I turn around to look at my partner which is†¦.. OH BLOODYHELL is that Spencer? Oh great. I forgot that we also have the same class. But really, this cant be happening. It will be too friggin awkward to have him as my partner. Not to mention, FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR. You see, the moment I kissed him earlier, I immediately regret it. I was also shocked. I didnt know what comes through my mind or what made me do that I REALLY DONT KNOW. I guess I was just so grateful from the fact that he saved me from the shopping plan Annabelle and I were going to have. Shoping isnt really my thing. Especially with Annabelle. I brought all my clothes, shoes and bags online. And Anna, being Anna, you wont like it. She was sooo shopaholic. She buys all the possible clothes and shoes she can get. One time, she runs out of money and im forced to let her use my credit card. Not that Im selfish, of course. Its just that Im saving some of my money for my own car. Nobody knows about that except Simon. Shaking my thoughts, I look at Spencer again only to find him talking to Mr. Maruso. He was probably saying some crappy excuses or whatsoever. I saw them nodded in agreement then Spencer turned around to look for some seat. Our eyes met as he spotted the empty seat beside me. Oh bloody great. He raised his eyebrows at me, doing his famous smirk that showed his dimples. How cute. He made his way to his chair. Hey partner, Sammy I rolled my eyes. Dont call me that. It sounds gayish He laughs in a carefree way So does Spence I tried to hide my smile but I couldnt. Minutes passed and we stopped talking to scribble some notes that our professor told us to copy. As I was writing, I notice him looking down at me whilst playing with my hair. How romantic. I stopped writing. What?! I asked. A little annoyed. Nothing. I was just wondering why little miss perfect is bipolar He said coolly. I gritted my teeth. First, Im not little. We have exactly the same height. And second, Im not bipolar He raised an eyebrow Oh really? I thought- Ahem He was interrupted by a girl. We both turned our heads to see who may that be. Unsurprisingly, its Lilly Thompson, one of the oh-so-popular girls. What do you want, Lilly? I asked. This time I was really annoyed. How dare she interrupt us? Youre flirting with my boyfriend She hissed, faking smile. My eyes went wide and I look at Spencer. He too, has the same expression as me. Will someone please tell me what the heck is happening? Pardon me? I dont even know you Spencer spat. I turned to look at Lilly, who was faking hurt. What do you mean? We chatted on facebook last week and you ask me to be your girlfriend. Dont you remember? She asked in a flirtatious way. Someone give me a bucket Spencer raised an eyebrow. Well, that isnt me. Nathan and Blake knows my password. Theyre the ones who probably ask you out. Besides, I havent open my account for ages. You should go and ask them. He sighed. Lilly was close to tears. So you mean, I dont stand a chance to be with you? She said in a weak voice. This time I interrupted. You slut, will you please cut the act? Just look at him. This- I gestured at spencers body. -is the definition of perfect. And you? Youre just a whore who has nothing to do but to seek attention. I finished. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Spencer smiling at me. I ignore him as I gave Lilly the death glare. But this time, she looked angry as hulk You bitch! She shouted, causing some students to look at the three of us. Is there a problem? Mr. Maruso asked. I turned to answer him Oh yeah, theres a snake wandering around here. Poor snake, SHE probably doesnt know where she belongs. I fake crying, causing the whole class to errupt in laughter. I smiled proudly to myself. Good job, Samantha! At that moment, the bell finally rang. Talk about being saved by the bell. I quickly grab my things, said a quick goodbye to Spencer, then I hurried to the door to meet Annabelle at the cafeteria. When I got there, everyone at the school had already heard about the confrontation. Yeah, news travels fast in Jacksonville Highschool. I saw Anna already buying her lunch so I catch up next to her in line. Yo anna I said while putting a carbonara, salad and a boxed milk at my tray. Hey there, Sam. Soooo, fighting with Lilly huh? She asked, waggling her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes. She made me do it I said, finishing the conversation. After paying the bill, we made our way to our table which is located at the far side of the cafeteria. Our table is the circle one with the four silver chairs. Actually, its just the three of us who sits there. Me, Annabelle and our boy-bestfriend, Max Carter. We found him already sitted, stuffing sandwich in his mouth. When he notice us, he greeted us with a smile. Yo girls! So hows the two queen coping up? He asked. Anna raised her eyebrows Coping up? Haha, were fine. As always I added, winking at him. Time passed and were already finished with our lunch. Max started telling us some jokes which cause Anna and I to laugh hysterically. That is until Spencer Young decided to come at our table to remind me of the detention. I know I said, giving him the death glare and signaling for him to leave before I pull out both of his mighty eyeballs. Thankfully, he obeyed and left. Slowly and carefully, I turn to face the now angry Anna who was looking at me with an intense glare. I-im sorry, anna I stuttered. I was looking at the floor, twiddling my fingers. I was waiting for her to shout at me but instead, she put an arm around my shoulder, looking worried. What happened? She asked. You know that this is your first time getting a detention right? I nodded. Well, Spencer and I were late and Mr. Lantican got mad I explained. This is unfair She said. What about our shopping?She raised an eyebrow. Great. I really expected that. I was thinking of shouting at her, telling her that she has so many freaking goddamn clothes. But instead, i come up with an idea. Well, Max will be honored to accompany you I said, smirking at Max. Max widened his eyes in horror. I AM NOT GOING NEAR THE VICTORIAS SECRET! He shouted dramatically causing all of us to laugh again. I guess well just go shopping on friday night then Anna said. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, sure. NOTE: On friday, make sure to forget my credit card at home. Spencers POV After lunch, i made my way to the locker room to change for the basketball practice. I flicked the combination to my locker and opened it. Just as I was grabbing my clothes, Blake came up behind me. Spencer! You ready? He asked. Yeah, give me a second to change I said, going inside the comfort room. Seconds later, I got out of the comfort room, completely dressed. I grab a bottle of cold water and started gulping. I need to stay hydrated. So, do you like her too? Blake suddenly asked. I scrunched my eyebrow in confusion. What are you talking about, man? Are the two of you going out now? He asked again, ignoring my question. I glared at him. Who exactly are we talking about, blake? I spat. Uh, Lilly Thompson. He said nervously. Huh? Who is Lilly and why are we talking about her? I dont care about her, duh. Then it hit me. YOU! I shouted. It was you who chatted her! He rubbed the back of his neck. Sorry, man. Its just that- Let me guess I interrupt him. You like her. Am I right? He nodded. Yeah. I really liked her since we were sophomore. I know a lot about her and i know that she likes you so much. Thats the reason i used your account without permission. To be able to talk and ask her out He finished. I sighed. I forgive you, man. But i wont trust you anymore. Im going to change my password the moment i got home. I joked, then i continue. You shouldnt be ashamed to ask her out, Blake. Im sure shell like you I said, finishing the conversation. Thanks, man He said, punching my arm lightly. We made our way to the court where Nathan was. We saw him sitting and waiting impatiently, spinning a ball in his thumb. When he saw us, he shouted. You two! What took you so long? He asked in an annoyed voice. I faked sigh. Sorry, nate. We cant take it anymore. I replied, smiling flirtatiously to Blake. Blake just laughed while Nathan, realizing what im talking about, gave us a dirty look. Youre both disgusting He said. But you love us I cooed, patting his shoulders. Come on, lets play Somehow, we managed to play smoothly for one and a half hour. When were finished, the three of us jogged our way back to the shower room, dying for a cold shower. When were finished with our cold showers, we separate ways to go to our last class. I check my schedule to find out what class am i having. French. Oh oui, mon sujet favori! Just as i was making my way, i remember something. Something that ive been dreading to know. I turn around, running downstairs to catch up with Blake. I saw him making his way to the registrars office. Blake! I shouted. He turned around. Huh? He asked, confused. I ran towards him. I have a question I said, panting. He laughed. Is it that important that you have to- Why Lilly? I interrupted. He looked at me, startled. What do you mean, man? He asked, raising an eyebrow. I sighed. What made you like her? I asked again. He just look at me blankly for a couple of seconds. Finally, after realizing what i meant, he let a huge sigh of relief. Okay, fine. You see spencer, you wouldnt just want to know the outside, arent you? He asked and I nodded. Then he continue. Think about it. For you to know the person completely, you have to also see the inner beauty. For every person in this world, theres a reason why theyre like that. Theres a reason behind why their attitudes and personalities are like that. Thats why we should not judge first. He said, looking at me sadly. You know, I always thought that Lilly will be always like that. People keep saying that shes a bitch, a slut, a whore, an attention seeker but you know what, spencer? In my eyes, i see her differently. The minute i saw her at the orphanage playing with the little kids, man, i was lovestruck. I didnt expect that, especially from a Lilly Thompson. Shes a type of girl who would change her attitude so that people will not recognize her nor to be able to see through her. Thats what made me like her, spencer. He finished, smiling mostly to himself. I was pretty sure that there were tears forming in my eyes. Gayish i know. I, uh- thanks a lot, blake. And, good luck. I stuttered, patting his back. No worries He shrugged. I checked my watch. Three minutes till the last bell. Uh, spencer? Blake called. Yeah? Always remember, dont judge the book by its cover. And, if you like someone, learn to love her flaws first. He finished, then he left. Samanthas POV I stared at the clock, counting the time in my head. 56 57 58 59 RIIIIINNNGGGG! Shoot. I got up as fast as I could then hurried my way towards the door then down the stairs. Great, I thought to myself. Its just a detention, Sam. Calm down. Its just a detention. just a detention Just a fuc- SAM! Someone shouted, taking me into realization. I stopped in my tracks to find whoever who was calling me. I saw Spencer waving at me frantically, gesturing the way to the detention room. Right. What the hell am I thinking and why am I walking the other way?! I shrieked, thinking to myself. I made my way to Spencer who was now laughing like theres no tomorrow. Embarrassed, I tried to cover up. Why are you laughing? I asked, faking innocence. He stifled some laugh. You looked a little.. lost. Do you really study here? Why are you walking the other way? You do know that the detention room is here, right? He asked, pointing to the room. Who said that I was going there first? I asked, keeping my face blank. Where were you going, then? He asked, challenging me. To the ladies room I said confidently, hoping hed buy it this time. He just stared at my blankly. Then he started laughing. Harder and louder this time. Samantha! HAHAHAHAHA! Youre f-fucking hi-hilarious! The la-dies room i-is upsta-irs! He manage to say between laughs. My mouth formed a small o as I realize that he was right. I was left utterly speechless and really embarrassed. I can feel my cheeks turning bright red. I look up at him and hes still laughing. This time, with no noise coming out. Are you done making fun of me? I asked, raising my eyebrow. He finally stopped laughing, clutching his hard-abs stomach as he spoke. Yeah. You didnt tell me youre a good comedian, Sam. I rolled my eyes. I know right? Its one of my hidden talents. Absolutely right. By giving me a good laugh everyday, I wont have to work out anymore. He waggled his eyebrows at me. I smiled. This man surely made my day. Who would have thought that Mr. Spencer Young is like that? Maybe, if we hang out a long time ago, we would be bestfriends by now. And did I mention that he looked hot in his outfit? From v-neck to skinny jeans, perfect. Are you done checking me out? He asked, gesturing to his body. I rolled my eyes and started walking towards the detention room, worry and nervous free. As we walked inside, we realized that were not the only ones who got detention. We saw a girl and a boy -probably freshman- lurking around the room waiting for Mr. Lantican. At last, he came inside, holding a cup of coffee and a large notebook in his hands. We all stand up to greet him. Good afternoon, sir. Good afternoon, kids. He replied. Now, I will group and assign you all to your works He said, looking and flipping through the notebook. Lets see Luke and Miley both of you will be at the movie room to fix all the cds and equipments He finally said. The two student nodded, then left. As for you two- He said, looking at us intensely. -Ill be assigning you to the library to fix and rearrange some books. You may now proceed He finished, then left. I made my way to the library with Spencer, eager to finish the task. We stormed downstairs, taking a left to the library. When I opened the door, we were surprised on how messy it was. Youve got to be kidding me. We cant finish this in one hour What happened here? Spencer asked. I dont know I said, stretching. Lets get working. *After one hour* Woooooh! I shouted, wiping my head with the back of my hand. Weve been cleaning for an hour, throwing and stacking some books here and there. Spencer isnt much of a help though. While I was working my butt out, rearranging some books, he thought it would be fun to just sit there and draw some silly faces on the book covers. But somehow, thankfully, weve managed to clean the library. When were contented with our work, we turned the lights off then we headed out of the school. Uh, Spencer? I asked, realizing something. Yeah? He replied whilst looking at his watch. I-uh, would you give me a lift? I mean, Anna is usually the- No problem, milady He interrupted. I smiled at him. Thanks. As I got up to his car -which is a grey Porsche carrera gt- I pulled out my phone and saw that I have two messages coming from Anna and mom. I opened moms first: Honey, where are you? You didnt tell me youre going to be late I immediately hit the reply button: Sorry, mom. Just got detention. Ill explain it to you later, love you. After sending, I read Annas message: Hows detention with Mr. Young? ;) I smiled, typing: Weve been asked to clean the library. I hate to admit it, but its fun. Never thought Mr. Young has a great sense of humor ;) I hit the send button then I put my phone back in my pocket. Minutes passed and I started to feel some awkwardness so I decided to play some music. I reached for the Switchfoot album, then pushed the CD inside. I stared at the window just as while You was playing. Great. I look like an emo Theres always something in the way Theres always something getting through But its not me, its you At exactly 6:00 pm, Spencer pulled up in front of my house. I thanked him and waved goodbye, then he left. I sighed heavily, thinking of the very tiring day. I pushed myself to the door and I walked inside. Moooom? I shouted, looking for her. At the kitchen! She shouted back. I made my way to the kitchen, dropping my bag at the bottom of the stairs as I walked by. MOM!- I immediately talk. -Im so sorry. I didnt mean to be late in class, I swear it wont happen again and I just want you to know that Ill still be getting straight As and also- Samantha! Calm down! Were not mad, okay? She interrupted. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. Huh? Why are you not mad? Youre supposed to be shouting at me for letting you down. I said in a weak voice, tears starting to fall. Shhh, Samantha. Dont ever think about that. Actually, your dad and I were happy that it happened. Youre experiencing the things youve never experience before. Were so proud of you, honey. I stopped crying then I studied her face. Was she serious? Things that Ive never done before? That would be parties, drinking alcohol, taking drugs and sex. I stared at her in horror. Sam, are you okay? Mom asked, waving a hand to my face. She must have noticed that im not breathing. I came back into realization. Uh yeah, mom. Im just.. tired. I should go up and change now I said, kissing her cheeks. I walked pass the dining room, grabbing a banana to calm myself down. I picked up my bag and jogged my way upstairs. Just as I was about to walk inside my room, my father appeared in the hallway Your moms right, Sam. You should live your life the way you wanted. He said, holding back tears. I just nodded then I locked myself inside the room.

Introduction To The Coca Cola Business Commerce Essay

Introduction To The Coca Cola Business Commerce Essay John Pemberton invented Coca Cola in 1886, which then was brought out by Asa Griggs Cangler, a business man, whose marketing strategies made coca cola, top soft drink in the 20th century. Coca Cola is a carbonated soft drink, often called as coke, is produced by the Coca-Cola Company in more than 200 countries. Coca Cola introduced other colas under the brand name like Zero, Diet, used flavours like Vanilla, Cherry, etc. Introduction to HRM An organisation has many resources like IT, financial, knowledge, human, etc. HRM is related to managing human resource, which plays a very important role in the organisation. HRM can be defined as, an organizations strategy to managing and motivating its employees and processes to increase organizations ability to enhance skill and attract more employees. Introduction to Marketing According to Kotler (1991), marketing is a social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they want and need through creating, offering and exchanging products of value with others. Marketing is a strategy developed by an organization to identify, anticipate and satisfy customer needs, requirements profitably. It also deals with techniques to increase sales, businesses, and communication. It helps organization to build strong customer relationships by creating value for customers and organizations. Task 1: Employee relations Employees are very important assets and employee satisfaction plays a vital role in the development of the organization. Satisfaction from the job helps and motivates employees to work more effectively and efficiently. And if employees are not satisfied from the job, they will lose their motivation and cannot perform effectively and efficiently. So, employee relationship is very important for the organization. Coca Cola has huge human resource, as it is spread around 200 countries, so it is highly concerned regarding HRM. Employees are the driving force of business, their dedication increases operational excellence, new innovations, and other perspectives. Coca Cola understands this, so it offers employees a great place to work, where employees work to fulfil the organizational objectives but can also work to improve their personality and education, here employees are considered as associates. Coca Cola University is a virtual global university which helps employees to increase their capabilities and education, it provides practical skills and knowledge to employees to win markets and increase production, marketing, etc. Company also helps and encourages employees to pursue higher education, with providing reimbursements for undergraduate and graduate studies. Improvement in the working environment standards, which supports human rights and labour rights made coca cola, a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact Citizenship. Some other provisions are like employees are shareholders in the company, regular communications with employees to understand their problems and satisfactions, team meeting to upraise their performance, employee survey to understand the needs of employees every two years. Task 2: Communication approaches with the workforce and Grievance management Coca cola designed and launched a new system, to take care of disputes between employees and employee litigations, known as Solutions, which not only solves the problems but increases employee relationship, it practices grievance policy to get better solution which is appreciated by both organization and employee, formally or informally. Solutions is a process to identify a problem, create a solution for the problem, implement the solution and check how effective and efficient the solution is, which can help to resolve the conflict within the organization. If Solutions fails to resolve the problem then it will move to second level known as Support. Support is a process where employee will be talk to a mediator, but the mediator is within the organization itself. Here employee can talk to human resource officials or other resources given by the organization to resolve the problem. If Support fails to resolve the problem, then it will be moved to the third level known as Mediator. Medi aton is a stage where organization appoints a mediator to resolve the problem. And if this process also fails to resolve this situation then employees can get their own mediators, who get paid by the organization. Coca cola encourages employees to participate in this process to resolve the problems as it is the mandated grievance solution for the organization. Organization also provides training to employees who are interested. Task 3: Benefits of performance, rewards, role of performance appraisal, and recognising achievement In an organization every employee has a particular task to do which helps the organization to reach its goal, mainly business goals or short term goals. Performance recognition is considered as a process to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the employees performance. Employees performance is directly proportional to organizations growth so, coca cola formulates a strategy which relates individual performance with the organizations growth and if individuals perform well, they will receive rewards and appraisals which not only encourage employees to perform efficiently and efficiently but also make them loyal to the organization for recognizing their performance. Coca cola follows a strategy where strategic goals are formed at top level management, after that there are many individual departments, so top level management develops a strategy for each and every department which then will be taken care by the department head. Department head then develops and organizes plans, which are followed by the unit managers. Unit managers develop plans for supervisors and employees to get executed. This kind of management sets goals for each and every employee; this is what makes coca cola a leading organization. Coca cola not only helps employees to study and develop but also creates new offers and challenges for those who want to take responsibility for the organization. The rewards are set in different levels like monthly, half-yearly, and yearly. Performance rewards mainly include bonuses, increment in salary, increment in position, or change in designation. Coca cola uses PMS, which is managed through 4 stages during business cycle and has multiple objectives like annual performance review where organization appreciates top accomplishers, plan performance for the year where organization finalizes current year developments and accomplishments, rewards and recognitions where again organization recognize top performers, mid-term reviews where organizations prepares plans for competencies and gives feedback to support employees. Task 4: Performance appraisal and reward management Definitions: Reward management and Performance appraisal Armstrong and Murlis (2004) said reward management is concerned with the formulation and implementation of strategies and policies that aim to reward people fairly, equitably and consistently in accordance with their value to the organization. Performance appraisal is process with the help of which, management examines and evaluates employees effectiveness and efficiency, which can help management to learn about employees, how to improve their work order, etc. Mainly it is used to take decision about promotions, demotions, etc. Objectives of reward system and Coca colas reward system In general rewards should support organizations strategy, should help organization to recruit more people and continue to have experienced people, increase motivation, increase psychological and emotional contract, etc. Employees motivation and determination in work plays a vital role in organizations development and growth, one of the best ways to increase motivation and determination is acknowledging the employees hard work in terms of rewards. Which not only increases confidence of that employee but it also motivates other employees. Reward management is an internal part of Human resource management in coca cola; it is not only designed to support business strategies but also designed to take care of motivating employees, increasing the performance of employees, in long term process for the organization. When employee realises that organization is monitoring and acknowledging his/her activities, employee would make sure to give the best performance he/she can give. That is exactly what the organization wants. Task 5: Financial and non-financial rewards Rewards, in general are of two types extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards / financial rewards consist of performance bonus, special prizes to increase performance, presenting gifts in festivals to increase attachment with employees. Non-financial rewards include experience of autonomy, choice of which employee wants to work with or allowing employee to choose area he/she wants to work in or department they want to work in, this approach believes that financial rewards are not necessary for employees to work more effectively. Coca colas intrinsic reward system Coca cola provides monthly, half-yearly, yearly rewards. it provides AIP, annual incentive plan and annual appraisal for personal progress report for performance, employee salary increment, designation change reward. The organization provides health insurances for its employees with respect to their health and safety, and also provides protection and coverage for their vision, dental, disability, etc. Other provisions include life insurance, pension plans, saving plans, paid time off, maternity leave with half and full pay, etc. Under non-financial, organization also allows its employees to study further in their interested areas in Coca Cola University. Provides training to increase performance of the employees with respect to their jobs and knowledge. Some of the key areas to judge employee efficiency are work environment and quality, work presence / working hours, problem solving, customer satisfaction, improvement in work performance. Task 6: Marketing planning with respect to strategy development Marketing planning alone, without strategic planning makes no or less sense, strategic planning is an annual process, some times more or less. In general marketing plan consists of organizations marketing strategies; it may be used on an individual product or all the products in the organization to cover many views like, Executive overview, which helps coca cola to learn about its grip as a soft drink, on the market when compared to its competitors. Coca cola, with the help of the results can evaluate its production quality, quantity, performance, and what else it has to do to achieve more. Market review, market is an ever changing entity, so keeping track of the trends of the market is very important for coca colas survival and growth and not all the markets are same. Coca cola uses market segments, to localize itself to various markets and learns about the markets and provides its products with respect to market requirements. It also helps to learn about new threats and opportuniti es in the market and finding new markets and new products. SWOT analysis is used to learn about coca colas strengths and weaknesses which are internal objects i.e. the factors that organization can control and deal with, and opportunities and threats that coca cola is going to face, which are external factors i.e. organization has no or limited control over them. Goals and objectives, which helps coca colas mission and vision and sales objectives, that deal with how many products should be developed and how to market them and how this sale is going to help the organization to grow and develop, and it also helps coca cola to develop marketing objectives to keep tract of sales and in its growth. Marketing plan also helps to develop strategies like coca colas positioning, its products, its pricing, its distribution strategies, communication strategies, action plan and implementation, and many more. Task 7: Operational zing marketing strategy and marketing mix in coca cola Marketing mix or 4Ps is made up of product, price, promotion, and place which helps to develop business marketing strategy. Marketing mix is connected to external and internal environment so it helps to full fill the coca colas marketing objectives and plans, keeping track of changes in internal and external markets or environments. Product: A product can be a physical good or service; coca colas main products are soft drinks. Four types of products are potential, augmented, tangible, and core products. Coca colas core product is wide range of soft drinks; it also offers services like phone service, complaint about dealer, takes feedback from the customers about the product, etc. which comes under augmented products. Price: Coca colas prising strategy takes care of both the demand of the product and competitive advantage i.e. price of the soft drink is not too high that a targeted customer cannot buy and competitors can produce similar products with less price or low price that can a ffect the organizations growth. Some pricing strategies, that organization follows are competition-based pricing, cost-plus pricing, limit pricing, market-oriented pricing, etc. Place: Coca cola has wholesalers, distributors in more than 200 countries. It produces the soft drink and delivers to wholesalers and distributors with licenses, and then they will follow the organization strategies for marketing and promoting the product. Coca cola is a global organization, but it projects as it is local by taking care of local needs and producing products to support local tastes and trends. Promotion: promotion can be divided as international promotion and local promotion, coca cola as a global organization has international promotion strategy and also has local promotion strategies to attract local people like using local film, pop stars to advertise the product. Positioning also plays a role to set the image of the product, which controls the minds and feelings of the customers, it also helps in competitive advantage. Task 8 9: Supply chain and Delivery management, and Marketing plans in Coca cola According to Harland (1996), supply chain management is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customer. Supply chain management involves process like, gathering raw materials, storing raw materials, work process inventory, and finished goods from the point of origin to point of delivery. Delivery management is a broader scale of project management which includes organization, administration, human resource, business functions, tactical goals, etc, that are needed to achieve what client is looking or expecting from the organization. Coca cola produces soft drink using sugar, citrus, coffee, water, and other flavours, various products are brought from the various suppliers, and supply the product to bottling partners, who manufacture bottles, to package and they product goes to wholesale and local distributors. One more important thing is developing a proper business unit to take care of this supply chain, in 2004 coca cola combined three business units in North America to make one effective and efficient integrated unit. Coca cola company doesnt has its own bottling company but it has 35% share in the largest bottling company, even though the company doesnt have a controlling share in the bottlers it does work closely with the bottling organization to monitor and evaluate their situations. Developing a perfect strategy helps organization to keep track of distributors in more than 200 countries, some of the factors that influence supply chain and delivery are like, amount of the product with respect to distributor, marketing strategies in local markets, and many more which will be taken care by the local business units located in respective local areas. Marketing plan of Coca cola Coca cola, after carefully analysing the internal and external environments and the industry/market chooses most suitable strategies which can help the organization to grow. The organization appointed many administrators to administer execution of these strategies and monitor for any changes in the market, which can be opportunities or threats. Situational analysis Here coca cola carefully gathers information about its internal and external business environments, keep track of changes and trends in the market, what the organization originally wants to do and what are the new changes or strategies to follow to overcome any radical changes in the business environment. This information contains many other aspects, one important aspect is about competitors, keeping track of competitors growth and development and activities help coca cola to stay as number one soft drink company. SWOT analysis is a powerful tool which can analyse these factors for the organization. Internal Business Environment Internal business environment consists of factors which are under the control of the organization i.e. the organization can modify them; they are Strengths and Weaknesses of the organization. Some of Coca colas strengths include, coca cola has been in the market for long time, more than 100 years, and people are emotionally attached to it. Even though it is a global organization it projects as it is local using its business units, which takes care of local needs and demands. It has a very high brand name and spread throughout the world. Some of Coca colas weaknesses include, keeping prices low and maintaining effective productivity throughout the world is not easy, organization has to keep track of all the areas, and when it is more than 200 countries it is too difficult and distracting, as organization cannot concentrate on all the areas simultaneously. The soft drink has some adverse affects on health like gas problem and caffeine which is not suitable for teenagers. Some of Coca c olas opportunities include, it is worlds leading soft drink manufacturer and brand name, its name is recognised anywhere in the world which gives it a serious competitive advantage. With this recognition it is not hard for the organization to launch any new product or enter into any new market. Some of Coca colas threats include new and local competitors and as its products are spread worldwide, many countries are not stable with respect to economy and politics, so any radical change in those countries can give adverse affects on the organization. Its competitor in the soft drink Pepsi also has a huge market and the competition between these companies is like forever, so slightest price change may result in losing the market share. Task 10: Information technology on marketing in Coca cola Coca cola uses SAP, world leading enterprise Software Corporation, which delivers variety of business solutions like FICO, which takes care of financial accounting, asset management, treasury, asset accounting, etc. HR, which takes care of human resource, employee management, payroll, workforce planning, etc. SAP Logical and Manufacturing, which takes care material management, sales and distribution, service management, etc,. SAP PLM, to take care of product life cycle management, quality planning, quality management, etc. Governance, risk, and compliance, etc. Technical components like ABAP, advanced business application programming, NetWeaver apps, to take care of business process management, knowledge management and collaboration, etc. SAP IS to take care of information system management like master data management, etc. Using this kind of extra-ordinary software Coca cola, was able to maintain it operations all over the world. As new technology growing more and more, marketing st rategies changed a lot, these new technologies helped global organizations like Coca cola to expand themselves and grow more. With the help of SAP supply chain management, organization was able to develop itself and manage many products and many distributors simultaneously, which helped it to grow. Other software products which are designed to take care of specific departments of an organization helped organizations like Coca cola to expand itself more. Internet marketing of Coca cola helped it to grow, in early 20th century it was too costly to make advertisements and to present them in TV, but it changed with internet which decreased the prises of advertisement and helped organization to reach its customers more rapidly and more efficiently, technology helped Coca cola to make reviews and take feedbacks from its customers and helped it to analyse data from the customers and sales and delivery which helps organization to make stronger strategies which can take care of rapidly evolv ing and ever changing external environments. Task 11: Portfolio model on Coca cola BCG on Coca cola, Boston Consulting Group is four celled matrix tool to analyse corporate portfolio. It provides information for an organization to test different businesses in its portfolio on the basis of related market and industry growth rate, in other words it helps to analyse business potential and evaluation of market. Star: Coca colas business units in many developing countries have a large market share, but the industry is growing fast and also has serious competition from other soft drink providers. Coca cola is making advertisements using local celebrities to increase their production which is somewhat costly, to maintain their lead. Question Marks: Generally these business units have low relative market share and located in a fast growing market. Coca cola is all over the world, and some countries have less economical stability and under developed, the business units in those places have to gain more market share, however they may take large investment. Cash Cows: these are business units which are matured and the industries they live in are slowly growing. In developed countries coca cola is so famous, everyone know about the soft drink, so it has less competitors to fear and has a strong grip on the market, these business units are matured and has a good profit rate. Dogs: these business units have weak market share in low-growth markets; Coca cola units in those countries which are losing political stability, economical stability, and recession for prolonged years can lead to weak market growth as well as because of instability business units may lose their identity or market share. Normally in this case businesses liquidate these units or develop new strategies for them. Task 12: Market segmentation in Coca cola As no two markets in two different places are same, an organization needs different marketing strategies to follow up in different markets. Market segmentation is a process by which an organization learns about individual markets and answers some question like, what is purchasing power of the customers in the market, what are their interests, number of soft drinks in the market, number of teenagers and families in the market/society, with the help of which organization can produce relevant products which thus can increase organizations growth. Coca cola has distribution centres in more than 200 countries, one of the main reasons to keep many distribution centres and local offices is to understand and act according to the local communities. One way to motivate locals is through advertising where coca cola uses local celebrities to endorse its products. Second, learning the market trends, when market started to move towards food products with less fat, coca cola launched coke zero with less than one calorie. Coca cola also introduced caffeine free coke, when health care institutions warned people about the adverse affects of caffeine. Many more products in different markets to suit the needs of the customers and to satisfy customers, coca cola uses market segmentation. Advantages with this process is, coca cola can stay on top of other soft drink companies and keep a close relation with local people, where people can get connect to the product, which increases the products and organizations growth and value in the local mark et, which again helps organization to face new competitors. Task 13: Market structure Market structure is the order in which the market is organized; it mainly depends on number of sellers, who sell identical products or services, and buyers, competition between the sellers, and the behaviour and economical strength of buyers. There are four basic market structures namely Perfect competition, Oligopoly, Monopoly, and Monophony which deal with different ratios of buyers and sellers. Undifferentiated markets: Even though Coca cola has many products, in the beginning it is mainly known for coke, a soft drink. Even coke comes in few flavours but flavoured coke wasnt a successful product for Coca cola. Worldwide the core product coke has similar taste and people recognise the taste, which helped coca cola a lot in its growth. Here the organization has to concentrate on only one product, to produce, market, advertise, and distribute, so organization doesnt need to concentrate differences within the markets and conceders whole market as single. It also helps organization to control the price of the product and maintaining products. Differentiated markets: it is a strategy which helps organization to grow sales by producing different products with respect to different market segments. Coca cola developed a strategy to produce same product with different flavours, flavours with respect to markets and communities like, vanilla flavour, cherry flavour, etc, which ware not that successful as its base product coke. However the products like zero coke, caffeine free coke, were successful in some markets. Monopoly Market: is a market where there is only one seller so, the seller has control over the product, supply and the price. Ideally this kind of markets doesnt exist in the present world. Coca cola has one major competitor in the global market, Pepsi which has similar popularity and brand name as coke. It is also a global organization, spread through many countries challenging coke at every step. Task 14: brand identity of Coca cola There are many strategies for branding, coca cola uses individual brand strategy i.e. major products designed by Coca cola has their own brand names and images like Sprit, Fanta, Thums Up, etc. and all these products operate under the name, Coca cola. Brand identity is a process in which an organization develops its unique brand name or symbol to represent all its products, in other words it is a symbol or name with which customers identifies the organization producing the product. An organizations value is directly proportional to its brand identity, i.e. how many people recognize the particular brand and how much emotionally and personally they are connected to that brand. For example Coca cola is in the market for more than 100 years, so generations lived through the development of this organization, and today many people are attached to this brand emotionally. This is a strong support for the organization, and this helps the organization to produce or experiment to produce new pr oducts and enter new markets. Even a new product, if comes under a brand name customers will buy the new product, not because they can identify the product but they identify the brand name. It also helps organization to reach its customers and understand what customers are looking from the organization. Coca cola mainly has a single product and is there for many years which helped its brand image to develop, with the help of globalization and rapid growth in technology, today coke can be found anywhere in the world, which is strengthening the brand name and identity. Few steps to follow to develop branding in general are, defining the brand, defining the brands objectives, focusing on targeted customers, identifying and removing brand barriers, and packaging and identity of the brand. Task 15: Stages of Product Life Cycle and Strategies for PLC in Coca cola PLC is group of stages or levels that a product goes through, mainly used by organization to measure life of product. PLC compares any product life with general living beings i.e. they take birth, grow, reach a maturity stage and then they die, same applies to products, products gets designed, they grow in market and reach a stage where they support organization to grow and then they die by losing its identity. PLC has 4 stages as follows Introduction: In this stage, an organization introduces a new product in to the market, in this stage the profit organization is gaining from the new product would be less than what they have invested in the production of that product. Organizations use marketing techniques like advertisement and brand name to influence the product sales. New products help global organizations like Coca cola to face competitors in the local and global markets, it also helps them to increase customer relation in the product is targeted for particular market. Customers review plays a vital role in launching new products, for example coca cola launched vanilla flavoured coke as its new product, the organization learned from the feedback of customers it learned that the new product was not a success. Growth: it is a stage where sales of the product increases in the market. In late 20th century coca cola in India increased rapidly, one main factor which increased the sales is through growing awareness about the product to people. One main strategy they followed is through movies, as coca cola realised the popularity of movies in India, they placed their products in movies, showing celebrities drinking and enjoying, which boosted its sales. Maturity: is a stage, where products earn good profits and started helping its organization to grow. In 21st century Coca cola in India reached maturity level i.e. people are aware of this product throughout the country, people are recognizing the brand name and coke as a soft drink and other products by the organization. It today holds many customers mainly in summer it has many sales in the country. Decline: is a stage where the product reaches a stage where organization has to stop producing the product. For example vanilla flavoured coke is the product released by Coca cola which didnt gain the popularity from the people and failed to grow in the market, even though Coca cola used marketing strategies to improve the sales, customers didnt like the product so, it has to stop producing the product, however the original product coke is still on top and Coca cola uses many strategies and advertisements to keep the product on top. Some strategies used in product life cycle are, skimming price strategy in introduction stage, in growth stage many strategies are implement to grow the awareness of the product, maturity stage implements strategies to learn any new trends but lessens development of strategies on increasing awareness of the product. And in the final stage organizations implement strategies like cost-cutting, inventing new products or revitalizing the product.

Antimicrobial Activity of Soil Isolates Essay -- Biology Microbiology

Antimicrobial Activity of Soil Isolates Abstract: Isolation and characterization of microorganisms is a practice that aids in Increasing ones knowledge of a laboratory setting and it helps improve on Using sterile technique. Isolates of soil microbes can be categorized and Characterized based on a number of criteria ranging from gram-staining Which is done for this project to enumeration which is quantitative description Based on the amount of microbial colonies available. The Antimicrobial Activity of three different microbes were also tested and results were obtained For two out of three of the microbes. Two out of three of the tested microbes Exhibited antimicrobial activity towards the bacteria E. Coli and B. Mycoides And the results were recorded. Microbes produce various antibiotics and by Isolating different microbes the antibodies can be tested for. Introduction: This lab focuses on the isolation and characterization of an unknown organisms expressing interesting properties in relation to Antimicrobial Activity. At the conclusion of this laboratory experience The researcher would be required to describe the isolates obtained from the soil macroscopic and microscopic appearance, Perform the gram stain of the microorganisms in question and to discriminate the organisms from other microbes that could be contained in the soil and to finally make certain that the organisms have not been exposed to outside sources and be isolated in a pure culture. The researcher must first isolate the microbe and try to grow the organism in a pure culture to commence with testing the organism. The isolation of Microbes in a laboratory and clinical settings are of the up most importance and due to the isolation of different microbes from each other various procedures become open for the researcher to use like six fold dilutions that allow for the quarantined m icrobe to be reduced down in number to ensure that the test are being run are being tested on just a single type of organism. But before dilutions can occur the microbe must first be liberated from the soil and streaked onto an Agar plate to grow. There are various methods that can be used once the organism has grown onto the agar plate to ensure that the sample collected would o... ...actors due to the large or small amount of colonies present on my agar plated media. This could be accounted for by stating that there was a very large amount of microbes present in the soil and the dilutions did not dilute enough of the microorganism out or human error could also account for Not having any statistically significant plates to use. The bacterium that I replated was obtained from the YPD 10-3 media and it gave rise to bacterium 1 & 3, The other bacterium that I obtained came from LB 10-5 . The two bacterium from the YPD plate varied in color the bacterium that I refer to as one had a reddish color had a circular form a raised elevation and a entire margin, The bacterium that I refer to as 3 Had a grey appearance a circular form a raised elevation and the margin appeared to be entire. The bacterium that I obtained from the LB media had a white appearance had a circular form a faintly raised elevation and the margin was entire. References: -Microbiology Laboratory Manual -http://www.talron.co.il/index.php?module=pagemaster&page user op=view page&PAGE id=8&MMN position=9:2 -http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/img/assests/6840/95762_YPD_Agar_17119_83055_ 1777 .pdf

Brave New World and Farhenheit 451 :: essays research papers

Imagine a world where free will is obsolete. Nobody has any freedom; most people do not even have a yearning for autonomy. The direction the world is heading right now could possibly produce such a world. Both Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, and Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, envision this world which lacks liberty. These books, both of which are supposed to be set in the future, have numerous theme similarities throughout them. Of all their common factors, the ones that stand out most would have to be the outlawed reading of books and the theme of the protagonist being a loner or an outcast from society because of his differences in beliefs as opposed to the norm. In the societies of both of these books outlawed reading is a common and almost completely unquestioned law. In Brave New World reading is something that all classes are conditioned against from birth. In the beginning of the novel there is a group of infants who are given bright, attractive books but are exposed to an explosion and a shrieking siren when they reach out for them. This thus prevents them from wanting the books and causes them to scream and shrink away in horror at the mere sight of the books. In reference to the accomplishment of this conditioning, the director said, "Books and loud noises...already in the infant mind these couples are compromisingly linked; and after two hundred repetitions of the same or a similar lesson would be wedded indissolubly. What man has jointed, nature is powerless to put asunder," (Huxley 21-22). We come to learn that the basic reasoning behind this conditioning against reading in Brave New World was because "you couldn't h ave lower-caste people wasting the Community's time over books, and there was always the risk of their reading something which might undesirably decondition one of their reflexes" (Huxley 22). In Fahrenheit 451 the outlawing of book reading is taken to an even greater extent. In this novel the whole purpose of a firefighter isn't to put out fires, rather it is to start fires. The reading of books in their society is completely forbidden and if someone is suspected of even owning a book, the firefighters are dispatched to go to that person's residence and start a fire. They start fires for the sole purpose of destroying books, as illustrated here, "They pumped the cold fluid from the numeraled 451 tanks strapped to their shoulders.

marriage and funeral in ancient greece :: essays research papers fc

Marriage and Funeral in Classical Athens Marriage in Classical Athens was inevitable. It was a part of life. Everyone had to get married, just as everyone had to someday face death. Although most people would not see a connection between marriage and death, the Greeks did. Both define an irreversible physical change—the loss of virginity and the loss of life. This idea of loss, rebirth, and renewal are present in both wedding and funeral. This is evident in the way wedding and funeral ceremonies complement each other in character and content. Both ceremonies are interwoven with ritual meaning and overlapping rites.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are three distinctive parts to a Greek marriage: the engue, ekdosis, and gamos (Powers). The engue refers to the betrothal arranged by the kurioi, which are the fathers of the bride and groom (Duby 273). In this ceremony a verbal contract is made called engye. This is basically an agreement upon marriage between the groom and father of the bride. The dowry is also paid to the groom during this time. The agreement is sealed by the phrase ‘I hand over this woman to you for the ploughing of legitimate children’ (Blundell 101). Witnesses were present as proof of engue in case the legitimacy of children was ever questioned.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the engue marked a pledge the ekdosis marked a transformation of the bride as she shifted from a child to an adult, a virgin to a wife. Actions that symbolized this transfer included cutting of the bride’s hair, removing the girdle she wore since puberty, and taking a ritual bath in water from a sacred spring.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the ekdosis the daughter is given away by the father to her husband. The bride and groom prepare for the wedding with offerings, dedications, and sacrifices. All of these rites are for purification and conciliation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The bride offers locks of her hair to the virgin deity Artemis in hopes that the god would ease her passage from virginity. The bride’s girdle is also taken off and consecrated to Artemis or Athena (Blundell 105). This pre-wedding ritual is one of the few events women are allowed to participate in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The bride and groom both take a ritual bath which is believed to induce fertility (Avagianou 6). Sacred spring water for the bath is carried in a loutrophorus which means â€Å"someone who carries the bath water† (Rehm 15).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The bride is then assisted in adorning herself for the public ceremony which begins with a feast at the family’s home.