...“Stuck in the Middle” From families with two parents to one and families with one child to multiple, families are all different. And, just as every family is different, every family has its own problems. The Wingfield family, in Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” is definitely different with its own unique set of problems. Amanda, the mother; Tom, the son; and Laura, the daughter, are all extremely detached from reality. They all live in a live in a world of fantasy. But, out of all three characters the daughter, who appears to be the most detached at first, is forced to be the most in touch with reality because of how she must be the mediator between her mother and brother. While all three members of the family are grown adults, they all still live in a cramped apartment together. And, the mother, Amanda, still treats both of her completely grown children as if they are still small children in need of constant guidance. Amanda is constantly correcting Tom and Laura, telling them how to behave or how to dress or even how to chew their food. Amanda also continuously reminisces on stories of how when she was a young girl in Blue Mountain, she had numerous gentlemen callers and expresses how Laura needs to obtain gentleman callers of her own. Out of everything that Amanda does what points out her refusal to face reality the most is the fact that she refuses to admit that Laura is crippled or to even voice the very word. The constant control that Amanda places over Tom...
Words: 721 - Pages: 3
...Michael Porter’s “Generic Strategies” • Porter’s five-forces model describes strategy as taking actions that create defendable positions in an industry. • In general, the strategy can be offensive or defensive with respect to competitive forces. • Defensive strategies take the structure of the industry as given, and position the company to match its strengths and weaknesses to it. • In contrast, offensive strategies are designed to do more than simply cope with each of the competitive forces; they are meant to alter the underlying cause of such forces, thereby altering the competitive environment itself. There are, of course, many specific strategies of each type (offensive or defensive), and identifying which is best depends on the circumstances. But Porter suggests 3 broad or generic strategies for creating a defendable position in the long-run and outperforming competitors. 1) Cost Leadership • Cost leadership means having the lowest per-unit (i.e., average) cost in the industry – that is, lowest cost relative to your rivals. • This could mean having the lowest per-unit cost among rivals in highly competitive industries, in which case returns or profits will be low but nonetheless higher than competitors • Or, this could mean having lowest cost among a few rivals where each firm enjoys pricing power and high profits. • Notice that cost leadership is defined independently of market structure. Cost leadership is a defendable strategy because: I. It defends...
Words: 966 - Pages: 4
...Dear Stuck in the Middle, First off don’t beat yourself up about the problems in your relationship, we all go through them and I am sure it will get better. That being said, I do agree with you on this matter. The Never Ending Story was an amazing show. The actors in GPAC were pretty great. Moving away from my opinion now, I can give some details on what they play was really about and the meanings of each scene and characters. The plot pretty easy to follow and was actually very clever. This story used two levels of reality. This means that there were two different things going on at once, there was the boy reading the book and then there was the actually tale that was being told. Maybe that’s why your girlfriend had a hard time believing this was a good show, she maybe didn’t understand why there was just a random boy (who was played by an obvious girl) on the side of the stage. It seemed to be this modern fairy tale that seemed to somehow mash well with the reality today. This show spoke to the little scared child that is in all of us, it gave us hope and made us feel like the hero. The acting quality in GPAC could have been more professional, but it was a student production, so for what it was I feel it was pretty descent. We all make mistakes every now and then, it’s only natural. The costumes and the scenery were basic, but it was still somehow enchanting. The dresses and the costumes for the different characters were pretty nice to look at, the horse could...
Words: 320 - Pages: 2
...South Africa: Stuck in the Middle? | 2014 | 1. Why is South Africa stuck in the middle? 2. Please find at least three problems to answer the first question. 3. Give your opinion for solving each of the problems mentioned in second answer. | | Contents Africa is experiencing extraordinary growth 2 Challenges 2 Challenge #1 Education 2 Challenge #2 Unemployment 3 Challenge #3 South Africa's growth path is highly resource intensive and hence unsustainable 4 Solutions 4 Solution # 1 - Improve education form the bottom up 4 Solution # 2 – Address unemployment from a new angle and become More attractive to Global business and entrepreneurship 6 Solution # 3 - Reduce the need for commodities and Invest in technology and entrepreneurship 8 Conclusion 8 Africa is experiencing extraordinary growth, In fact this decade has seen more growth for Africa than any other time in history making it six in the world’s 10 rising economy’s. Life expectancy is improving and HIV rates are down almost 30%. Malaria is also down and despite SA having the highest concentration of HIV in the world, African children born today are increasing their life expectancy one year for every three years over the last a decade. Education rates are increasing 25%, and more young educated man are entering the South African workforce. Yet despite these growth factors South Africa, and the continent of Africa as a whole...
Words: 3939 - Pages: 16
...JetBlue: Stuck in the Middle? Let me start by acknowledging that, as a customer, I love JetBlue. Their service stands out in an industry known for, quite frankly, a pretty awful customer experience. Having said that, I've always worried that they run the risk of being "stuck in the middle" in terms of their strategic position. They are not a low cost player in the industry, but on the other hand, they cannot command a premium price either as a truly differentiated player. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that CEO Dave Barger is under fire, as financial performance has been subpar. The paper notes, "Meanwhile, excluding fuel and profit-sharing, unit cost—the cost to fly a seat a mile—rose by 6.3%, and labor expenses were up about 15% on a unit-cost basis, the biggest jump ever year over year." What's the diagnosis in this article? Wall Street Journal writer Susan Carey explains, "But many analysts and investors believe that JetBlue is marooned in an industry middle ground, between much larger, full-service carriers like Delta Air Lines Inc. that are improving their service and profitability, and successful ultra-discounters like Spirit Airlines Inc. that go after passengers who don't want perks—just rock-bottom fares. JetBlue has been profitable since 2009, but only marginally so and it often disappoints on quarterly profits." That sure sounds like a company stuck in the middle, doesn't it? Is JetBlue stuck in the middle? In other words, are they stuck in a...
Words: 773 - Pages: 4
...Competitive Advantage: Question 1/2: A competitive advantage is a position that a firm occupies in its competitive landscape. Cost advantage Cost advantage A firm possesses a sustainable competitive advantage when it has value-creating processes and positions that cannot be duplicated or imitated by others, that lead to the production of above normal rents, in that it provides a long-term advantage that is not easily replicated. Sources of competitive advantage: Competitive advantage Competitive advantage Similar products at lower price Differentiation advantage Differentiation advantage Price premium from unique products Competitors’ gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices. Porter suggested four "generic" business strategies that could be adopted in order to gain competitive advantage. The strategies relate to the extent to which the scope of a business' activities are narrow versus broad and the extent to which a business seeks to differentiate its products. Question 3: The differentiation and cost leadership strategies seek competitive advantage in a broad range of market or industry segments. By contrast, the differentiation focus and cost focus strategies are adopted in a narrow market or industry. Cost leadership With this strategy, the objective is to become the lowest-cost producer in the industry. The traditional method to...
Words: 1626 - Pages: 7
...IKEA: Making a success of being “Stuck in the middle”? Each organization in the world follows some strategies to carry out its business activities in an appropriate manner. Strategies are the game plans stating that how to achieve an organization’s goals. Strategies, if outlined in an optimal manner can take full advantage of a company’s competitive advantage, where competitive advantage refers to a company’s ability to stand out from its competitors in the business, i.e. a business’ distinctive point, which is not easily imitate able by the firms in competition. Competitive advantage of a firm can come from its core competencies, a business’ capability to do a thing in a different manner from others, organizational resources, firm’s plus points like an organization holds something very unique which others in that industry don’t have. It’s not a real issue that a company is having competitive advantage over the other firms, but the main thing is to ‘ sustain’ that competitive edge over a long period of time. Because all business firms have resources, capabilities and core competencies, if these are utilized effectively, competitive advantage is gained but the crucial fact is the sustainability of that edge over a long time. For that purpose a business has to adopt such a business strategy which will lead to a sustainable competitive advantage, because a business strategy directs a business in dealing with its competition within the business or industry, in which it serves, i...
Words: 1129 - Pages: 5
...A four year college isńt necessary because most jobs today don´t require a college degree. People don’t need a college degree to pass in life. “it's time to give up the idea that every young person has to go to college and start offering high school seniors an alternative route into the middle class”. “46 percent of recent college graduates were in jobs that don't even required a college degree”. This means that even though people went to college and got their degree they still work at jobs that don't require a degree. Also “Even if they get the degree, thyŕe stuck with a huge bill-and may be paying down their student debt for years”. when students finish college their stuck with a bill that they might be paying for years. So is it really...
Words: 297 - Pages: 2
...Russian Roulette lyrics Songwriters: Fenty, Robyn Rihanna; Harmon, C; Smith, Shaffer; Take a breath, take it deep "Calm yourself," he says to me If you play, you play for keeps Take the gun, and count to three I'm sweating now, moving slow No time to think, my turn to go And you can see my heart beating You can see it through my chest Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving I know that I must pass this test So just pull the trigger Say a prayer to yourself He says, "Close your eyes, sometimes it helps" And then I get a scary thought That he's here means he's never lost And you can see my heart beating Oh, you can see it through my chest [ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/r/rihanna-lyrics/russian-roulette-lyrics.html ] Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving Know that I must pass this test So just pull the trigger As my life flashes before my eyes I'm wondering will I ever see another sunrise? So many won't get the chance to say goodbye But it's too late to think of the value of my life And you can see my heart beating Oh, you can see it through my chest Said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving, no Know that I must pass this test You can see my heart beating Oh, you can see it through my chest I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving, no Know that I must pass this test So just pull the trigger California King lyrics Chest to chest Nose to nose Palm to palm We were always just that close Wrist to wrist Toe to toe Lips that felt...
Words: 1409 - Pages: 6
...words, you ended up being stuck in your current position. The second critical message is the acknowledgement of being stuck, that being stuck is mostly your responsibility and to get out of the stuck is also your responsibility. Also the author explained that we need to find the “why” we got stuck, develop a strategy based on the answers to your “why” questions, implement that strategy, and assess it and readjust. The third critical message was to recognize the reality that you were hired because of your technical skills, but promotion to middle to upper management is mostly related on how good are your people skills. People skills are very necessary to career...
Words: 457 - Pages: 2
...Lord, I give You my heart This is my desire to honor You Lord, with all my heart, I worship You All I have within me, I give You praise All that I adore is in You Lord, I give You my heart I give You my soul, I live for You alone Every breath that I take, every moment Im awake Lord, have Your way in me This is my desire to honor You Lord, with all my heart, I worship You All I have within me, I give You praise All that I adore is in You Lord, I give You my heart I give You my soul, I live for You alone Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake Lord, have Your way in me And I will live And I will live for You And I will live And I will live for You Oh and I will live And I will live And I will live for You Lord, I give You my heart I give You my soul, I live for You alone Every breath that I take, every moment I'm awake Lord, have Your way in me Have Your way in me Lead me to the cross Savior I come, quiet my soul Remember, redemption's hill Where Your blood was spilled For my ransom Everything I once held dear I count it all as lost Lead me to the cross where Your love poured out Bring me to my knees, Lord, I lay me down Rid me of myself, I belong to You Oh, lead me, lead me to the cross You were as I, tempted and trialed You are, the word became flesh Bore my sin and death Now You're risen Everything I once held dear I count it all as lost Lead me to the cross where Your love poured out Bring me to my knees, Lord, I lay...
Words: 1286 - Pages: 6
...Stefani Arcadi C. Centorame ENG 2D March 24, 2015 The Catcher in the Rye The transition from childhood to adulthood is a huge journey. In the novel the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is on his own journey and cannot accept the fact that his childhood is slipping away and that he has to grow up and face reality. Holden is having a difficult time doing so because he is afraid that if he grows up he will become a phony and will not be himself. Holden is poised between two worlds; one he fears to enter and one he cannot return to. Holden's refusal to face the adult world leads him to isolation and the realization that he has to mature. The museum of natural history displays how Holden is stuck between childhood and...
Words: 565 - Pages: 3
...Strategic positioning : Cost Advantage and Benefit Advantage Generic Strategies Competitive advantage cannot be reduced to a formula or an algorithm. Even if such formulas or algorithms could be concocted, describing them in a textbook such as this would make them valueless because they would be accessible to everyone. But although there is.no single formula for success, we can discern broad commonalities across industries in the different ways that firms position themselves to compete. For example, in sporting goods retailing, Sports Authority is a broad-based competitor whereas 2nd Wind Fitness specializes in" exercise equipment. To take another example, Dell computer serves a wide array of customers, including business, govern¬ment, and individual' buyers," whereas Alienware specializes in HigK-end computers for hard-core gamers. The Strategic Logic of Cost Leadership A firm that follows a strategy of cost leadership creates more value (i.e., B — C) than its competitors by offering products that have a lower C than those of its rivals. This can happen in three qualitatively different ways. First, the cost leader can achieve benefit parity by making products with the same B but at a lower C than its rivals. The competitive advantage achieved by low-cost producers in com¬modity markets (e.g., Mittal Steel in the global steel industry) is an example of this. Second, die cost leader can achieve benefit proximity, which involves offering a B that is not much less than those...
Words: 923 - Pages: 4
...Punch! Punch! Punch! In the story “The Fight” by Adam Bagdasarian. Adam is very arrogant throughout the story beginning, middle, and end. Adam is arrogant in the story, like when he fights with elbows over a basketball rebound against Mike, “Mike Dichter and I went up for the same rebound, and I accidentally stuck my elbow in his chest. Then Mike stuck his elbow in my chest, pointed a finger at me, and told me to watch out”......“so I told him to watch out,” this is important to notice because this shows Adam’s personality and character trait. Therefore there is more, after the rebound fight, Adam thinks he can, fight fight, Mike, “I know I can take him,” Adam says to Kevin. “He’s three inches taller than you,” Kevin responds. “So?” “He’s...
Words: 332 - Pages: 2
...Strategic Alignment and Core competencies Strategic alignment refers to how an organization can create sustainable competitive advantage by linking its business strategy to its core competencies. This shows how an organization can achieve superior performance by gaining alignment between its environment, strategy, core competencies and Organization structure. There are several frameworks, which can be leveraged in this process to assist a manager in building a high performance organization. The case highlighted how Singapore Airlines(SIA) navigated through the various challenges faced by the airlines industry such as over capacity, commoditization of offering and proliferation of low cost carriers through the execution of its business strategy and dispel the notion that competition advantage can only be created either by Cost leadership strategy or a differentiation strategy. The case show that SIA made a clear strategic choice of giving priority to profitability over growth and leveraged related diversification along with its operational practices, such as continuous people development and rigorous service design as drivers to achieve its strategic choice. SIA had unique challenges of competing solely on international routes due to the absence of domestic routes which acted as a catalyst in driving its goals of being just a little better than its competitors in the value chain and to achieve its strategic choice. The analysis of this case provides an insight into the...
Words: 457 - Pages: 2
