Harley Davidson Company Essay Example for Free

Harley Davidson Company Essay Harley Davidson Inc is a company that has been in existence for over 100 years. The company is made up of several other subsidiary companies such as the Harley Davidson Motor Company, Harley Davidson Financial Services and Buell Motorcycle Company. These companies work together in the motorcycle industry with the motor cycle companies dealing with the production and marketing of the motorcycles while the financial services deals with providing financial services to the customers and dealers of the company. Harley Davidson Company has undergone various challenges in its internal and external environment such as the World War I and II, the Great Depression and other internal challenges such as the labor strikes and change in ownership. An analysis of the company portrays several strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the company faces. The company can use the findings of this analysis to develop a grand strategy that can help the company survive the future. The various stakeholders of the company are mostly the customers, the suppliers, dealers, employees, the shareholders and the management of the company. These are the people that are affected by the activities of the company and that also have expectations from the company. The company’s financial performance has been improving during the current financial year due to the restructuring changes that are ongoing. It has reported profits in its operations and also an increase in sales. The strategic issues that the company is facing have also challenged its performance. The shifts in the customers’ tastes and preferences for example have affected the sales of the company’s motorcycles. A grand strategy that focuses on growth through an increase in marketing and an improvement of the company’s product and manufacturing processes can help the company survive the current environment. 1.0 Introduction Companies strive to excel in all manner of situations and overcome the challenges that they face in order to succeed and become competitive. Harley Davidson Inc is once such company. It has been surviving for about 107 years since it was founded in 1903 (Harley-Davidson, n.d). The company has its headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and was founded by three brothers Arthur, Walter and William Davidson together with a partner, William Harley. The company consists of several subsidiary companies which operate in three continents. The companies include Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC) which deals with the production of motor vehicles together with Buell Motorcycle Company (Buell) (Harley-Davidson, 2010). Harley-Davidson Inc also includes Harley Davidson Financial Services (HDFS) which provides financial services to the dealers and customers of HDMC’s products. It also provides insurance policies and programs to the companies and its customers. HDMC sells motorcycles, together with the accessories and spare parts which it also produces. Harley-Davidson is also involved in other activities such as racing and in the production of bicycles and motor vehicles. The company which has been in existence for years now has survived several political and economical challenges such as the World War 1, the Great Depression, the World War 2 and other company trials such as labor strikes and change in ownership. Despite the many challenges it has undergone over its existence the company has been able to survive. The company’s sales have gone off severally, its quality has also been affected but it has been able to regain both the sales and the quality of its products. It has remained tough in the manufacturing of motorcycles and this has made its brands the most sought after all over the world (Davidson, Thompson, Barger, 2006). The company has also faced competition from other companies based in the U.S and in other countries such as Japan but it has been able to retain and maintain its market share. Further more; the founders of the company were named American heroes through their innovation with the company receiving several awards for its involvement in the two World Wars and other racing events (United States Department of Labor, n.d). This paper discusses Harley Davidson Company providing a SWOT analysis of the company, a description of its internal and external environment, a financial assessment of the organization as well as summarizing the major strategic issues that have faced the company. It also discusses the next grand strategy that the company can undertake in the future to improve its performance. 2.0 Harley Davidson 2.1 History William Harley, Arthur Davidson and Walter Davidson pooled their resources in 1903 to produce their first practical motorcycle (Harley-Davidson, n.d). The three men were assisted by William A. Davidson on a part time basis and by 1905 they had produced eight machines and they hired their first employee then. William Davidson quit his job in 1907 at the Milwaukee Road railroad and joined the Motor Company (Harley-Davidson, n.d). The Harley Davidson Company was later incorporated in September 1907 with the stock of the firm being split into 4 among the four founders.   At that time the staff of the company had more than doubled from 18 employees in 1906. The size of the company had also doubled by then and dealer recruitment had begun targeting the New England Region. In 1908, the company was able to sell its first motorcycle for police duty in Detroit Police Department and a year later they started motorcycles spare parts. In 1912, the company started building its six storey headquarters at Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee (Harley-Davidson, n.d). The building would also become its main factory with a separate parts and accessories department. During the same year the company made its first sales outside the U.S when it started exporting motorcycles to Japan. Its dealership network also grew to become over 200 dealers. A few years later, the company formed a racing department with Engineer William S. Harley who was assisted by William Ottaway. It also started publishing its first magazine, The Enthusiast which became the first motorcycle magazine all over the world (Harley-Davidson, n.d). In 1917, when the World War I started, the company was asked by the military to produce motorcycles to be used during the war. The company produced over 20,000 motorcycles to be used specifically by the military for the war (Speed Ace, n.d). The involvement of the company in producing motorcycles for the military enabled it to survive the war. By 1920 the company had become the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world due to the number of motorcycles it produced and the size of its facilities. It was operating in over 67 countries and had over 2000 dealers all over the world (Harley-Davidson, n.d). In the year 1941 when the World War II started, the company suspended the production of civilian motorcycles and started producing more military motorcycles (Harley-Davidson, n.d). The company also developed specific models for the army and in 1943; the company received the first of its 4 Army –Navy Awards for its excellent performance while producing motorcycles for the army. The company had produced over 60,000 models for military use (Harley-Davidson, n.d). When the war ended, the company wasting no time it resumed the production of civilian motorcycles. In the year 1952, the company was charged with restrictive practices after they applied to the US Tariff Commission for a 40% tax to be imposed on the imported motorcycles (Speed Ace, n.d). In 1953, as the company was celebrating its 50th anniversary, an attractive logo was developed that would depict the engine that had brought the company that far (Harley-Davidson , n.d). During the same year, Hendee Manufacturing Company, the Indian Motorcycle Company in the U.S, went out of business leaving Harley Davidson as the sole U.S motorcycle manufacturer over the next 46 years. The year 1969 was not a great year for the company as the American Machine and Foundry (AMF) acquired the Motor Company and made some changes that affected the company for years to come (Masker, 2007). AMF worked to streamline the production activities of the company and reduced the workforce in a bid to reduce the costs of the company. These changes were beneficial to the company in the short term but they became very damaging to the future of the business and in its long term. The reduction in the workforce led to a labor strike that affected the performance of the company. Furthermore the changes that had been done led to a reduction in the quality of the motorcycles that were produced over the years. The sales of the company were affected and the company almost went bankrupt. It was during this time that the Japanese manufacturers caught up with the company with their better quality, technology and increased stock. The regime by AMF lasted until 1981 when the company was bought back by 13 senior executives who were led by Vaughn Beals and Willie G. Davidson. The group bought the company for about $80 million and they were they able to set up the company to its load of recovery (Masker, 2007). Soon after in 1986 the company was listed in the American Stock Exchange and started to trade publicly in the year 1969. A year later the company was listed in the New York Stock Exchange and it petitioned the International Trade Commission to terminate a five year tariff on heavy weight motor cycles. This was seen as a major step for the company as it boldly stated it was in a position to compete fairly in the market. In 1993 the company celebrated its 90th anniversary with over 100,000 people parading their motorcycles in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Harley-Davidson, n.d). The company also purchased a minority interest in Buell Motorcycle Company which was manufacturing American sport motorcycles. In 1998 the company opened a new assembly facility that was to be the first of its kind outside the United States. The facility was opened in Manaus Brazil when the company was celebrating its 95th Anniversary and at the same time it bought the remaining interests in Buell Motorcycle Company of 49% (Harley-Davidson, n.d). The company has continued to expand its production facilities in Milwaukee, Tomahawk, Wisconsin, and New York and in Pennsylvania (Davidson, Thompson, Barger, 2006). The company has also been developing more products and improving its products with the latest technology. The company has also developed a Harley Davidson Museum which showcases the motorcycles that the company has developed over the years and other historical items that the company has maintained in its archives. The museum building cost the company over $75 million and is situated in Milwaukee (Rovito, 2006). 2.2 SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis is a framework that is used to audit an organization and its external environment. The results of the analysis help in the planning of any strategic decisions towards the future of the company. The analysis involves identifying the internal and external factors that favor the organization and that also form an unfavorable environment (Stahl Grigsby, 1997). The strengths of the company include those attributes that help the company to achieve its objectives while the weaknesses are the internal attributes that derail the achievement of the company’s objective and that also harm the company. The opportunities that are in the external environment include conditions that help the company to achieve the objectives. The threats on the other hand, include the conditions that are in the external environment and that challenge the company and affect it in a way that it may not be in a position to achieve its objectives. (a)  Ã‚   Strengths The Harley Davidson Company has several strengths that make it very competitive and profitable. The company has been in existence for over 100 years, and during this time it has established brand loyalty with its customers for its products. This is the major strength of the company as the products of the company are viewed as a culture and not just products. Most of the customers of the company are male and are in the middle-aged age bracket. They normally use the motorcycles for recreational purposes rather than for transport. The main qualities that the customers look for in the company’s product are the brand quality and the style. The company is able to provide these qualities and hence maintain its customers. The computer switching costs are high and once a customer buys a product from the company, they get trapped in buying more of the company’s products. The complementary products that come with the motorcycles also encourage the consumer loyalty. Once a customer purchases a Harley motorcycle, they proceed to buy accessories such as jackets and bandanas from the company. The company has also expanded its operations in different regions within the United States and also in other countries outside the United States. Some of the production plants are located in areas such as York, Kansas City, Tomahawk, and Milwaukee among others (Harley-Davidson, Inc., 2009). The different manufacturing plants have helped in reducing the costs especially in transport. The company has also diversified its activities and acquired several companies in different industries. The company acquired Buell Motorcycle Company which was also in the production of Motorcycles in East Troy, Wisconsin (Wheelen Hunger, 2002 ). It also acquired the company Eagle Mark in 1995 which was providing financial services to manufacturers of leisure products as well as their dealers and customers. The company acquired Eagle Mark so that it would provide retail financing to its customers, insurance and contracts for servicing. Eagle Mark Company has also been offering planning services on behalf of the North American Dealers in motorcycle floor planning. The two companies have been working together complementing each others activities. The diversification of the company in the motorcycles, related products and the financial services has helped the company to diverse its risks in the industry and in business. Over the years the company has maintained strong relationships with its suppliers. The strong relationship with the suppliers has given the company access to resources that it needs in its production processes as well as the design and development of its products. It has then been able to increase the quality of its goods and improve the features of the brands in a bid to remain competitive. The production process is also reduced in terms of time as the suppliers are able to deliver the suppliers on time reducing the lead time. This leads to a reduction in costs and saves time for the company. The company operates its business in three continents and in various countries all over the world. However it has not been able to increase its foreign sales which are mostly carried out outside the U.S. (b)  Ã‚   Weaknesses The major weaknesses that the company has experienced within its internal operations include the weak marketing strategies that it has applied especially in its foreign markets. The company has experienced low foreign sales over the years as compared to its competitors. In 2009, the international sales only made up 33% of the total unit sales of the company (Pravda.Ru, 2009). The number of dealers in international markets are also very few and this has contributed partly to the low market sales of the company’s products as most of the customers in the market can not access the company’s products through this dealers. The labor conflicts that the company has experienced in some of its plants over the years have been affecting the performance of the company. Dissatisfied workers of the company have held strikes that have contributed to losses for the company as it has had to shut down the production plants during these times. The company has also had to lay off workers during the strikes in a bid to cut down its operation costs as a result of the strikes in other production plants. The labor conflicts have also reduced the investor confidence in the company as the prices of the company’s shares have been affected. (c)  Ã‚  Ã‚   Opportunities The external environment of the company has several opportunities that can benefit the company and improve its performance and market share. The shifts in the trends in the customers’ preferences and tastes in the market are producing an opportunity that the company can exploit to its advantage. The customers’ preferences and tastes have changed especially among the young and hip crowd of customers who the company was once targeting as its sole customers. These customers have shifted their preferences to sporty motorcycles for their recreational purposes. Harley-Davidson Company does not engage in the production of sporty motorcycles; however the increased demand for these kinds of motorcycles is providing an opportunity for the company to develop them and target this new market. The company can grab this opportunity and develop these sporty motorcycles and hence gain from the high demand. The need to restructure the company’s business structure after the company’s subsidiaries have experienced a decrease in performance is providing an opportunity for the company to concentrate in its brands and grow. The new structure of the company will ensure that all the resources of the product are put into good use to help develop the company and expand its operations into other markets. The company will also be able to focus on the development of the products and also develop new products that can help increases the market share in different parts of the world. (d)  Ã‚   Threats The company has faced several threats in the market that have undermined its performance. One of the major threats that the company has faced include the competition in the market. The company has faced a lot of competition from other international companies and manufacturers especially in the heavy weight motorcycles market. Some of the major competitors include Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda among others. The increased competition has led to decreased sales of the company’s products especially in the foreign markets. The competition between these companies is based on the price, quality, and features of the products, the preferences of customers and the reliability of the products among other factors. The switching costs for the manufacturers in the industry are also quite low. With the increased growth in demand and the potential of the market, new competitors are entering the market and increasing the competition. The existence of substitute goods such as cars for transport and other recreational activities has also threatened the existence of the company and the sales. Consumers have a wide variety of products to substitute the motorcycles with and the increase of competitors is also leading to an increase in more brands in the market. This poses a big threat to the future of the company in the market of its products. The changes in customers’ demographics are also threatening the business in terms of sales. The percentage of males who have been purchasing the company’s products especially the motorcycles is declining. The percentages of women who are purchasing the products are however increasing. During the years 2003 and 2004 the percentage of sales that were purchased by men made up 89% with the rest being female. While in the years 2005 and 2007, the percentages had reduced to 88% among the male customers and 12% among the female customers (Harley-Davidson, n.d). The ages of the customers who have been purchasing the products of the company have also been increasing. By 2008 the median age of the customers had risen to 47 from 45 in the year 2004.

Article on Coke Blinks Essay Example for Free

Article on Coke Blinks Essay Mark Bittman’s article â€Å"Coke Blinks† discusses how the famous soda company, Coca-Cola, recently released a video where it addresses the growing problem in our nation of obesity. In the video Coca-Cola attempts to claim that it is not their fault people are obese; it’s the consumers fault because the company offers low calorie beverages and now has smaller proportioned drinks. They are basically saying that every calorie counts and not just the ones in their products. Bittman describes this video as, â€Å"Sheer manipulation, calculated to confuse, obscure and deny. † Bittman beliefs sugar, â€Å"Especially in liquid form† is extremely harmful and not just because it leads to obesity. He thinks Coca-Cola is more focused on making money than it is trying to help the nation deal with obesity. He goes on to compare soda to nicotine saying, â€Å"Soda is a fructose delivery system as tobacco is a nicotine delivery system.† He is stating that Coca-Cola is doing the same thing tobacco companies once did, ignore the fact that their product was extremely harmful and they didn’t want the consumers to know because it would lead to a loss in product sales. This article focuses on the negative effects that sugar based beverages have on the body. Bittman states, â€Å"There is virtual consensus that drinking too much soda is bad for you, and it’s not hard to understand the evidence.† In the end Coca-Cola is simply trying to lessen its bad reputation for causing health problems such as diabetes and chubbiness by releasing a video which talks about obesity. Bittman is implicating the irony in Coca-Cola’s video and he simply trying to warm people not to drink soda because it’s not healthy.

United Health Group Ingenix Subrogation Services

United Health Group Ingenix Subrogation Services The company that I am most familiar with and will be discussing is Ingenix a wholly subsidiary of United Health Group. United Health Group is the parent company of Ingenix, therefore a lot of the financial information and applicable laws, regulations budgetary information will be Ingenix and United Health Group. Other information that I will providing, will included United Health Group, because it fall under the parent companys financial and budgeting background in regards how they filed Form 10-K with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The financial reporting statement sheet that is filed on form 10-K are separated among the different business entities that is under the umbrella of United Health Group Incorporated. United Health Group Incorporated (2010) a diversified health and well being company, United Health Group offers a spectrum of products and services through seven was operating business: United Health Care, Ovations, Americhoice, Uniprise, Optum Health, Ingenix and Prescription Solution. In 1977, United Health Care Corporation was created and is now one of the largest health insurer in the United States. (http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/main/Businesses.aspx, 2011) The organization that I am employed is Ingenix, in the subrogation department. founded by United Health Group in 1996 to develop, acquire, and integrate the worlds best in class health care information technology capabilities. Ingenix (2010) serve market needs for data and analysis, to build core data assets and expertise, built the largest health care expertise work and developed core intellectual property. Headquarter in Eden Prairie Minnesota, with annual revenue of more than $1.8 billion as of 2009. (http://www.ingenix.com/about/history/) In 2006, Ingenix emergence of market focused and launched and developed Ingenix Consulting, developed leading information based business solutions, health reform, payment, revenue cycle management, health IT. Between 2011 and 2014 Ingenix will enhance connectivity and workflow competencies, provide ubiquitous infrastructure to connect all parties, have close partnership with Optum Health in care setting and expand globally. (http://www.ingenix.com/about/businesses/2010) At Ingenix getting valuable information to the right place at the right time requires a unique set of strengths (http://www.ingenix.com/about/businesses/), Ingenix have built to stride to deliver the information and technology needs that are unique to health care, gathering information and analytics to make it useful. To create secure, interoperable networks that enable the exchange of information among communities, understand how those in health care actually can do their work; so that information can be seamlessly introduce the flow of their everyday activities. Critical to our success, Ingenix includes several best in class businesses with specific, leadership roles in healthcare. The market service by Ingenix is physicians, government agencies, hospitals, employers, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology. (http://www.ingenix.com/markets/2010) Ingenix ethics and integrity believes that no other industry deals with an individuals privacy and personal well being more intimately than healthcare. (http://www.ingenix.com/about/ethics-integrity/). As the leading health information company Ingenix maintains clear, firm policies on privacy and transparency, and promote an atmosphere of culture based on integrity, compassion, relationships, innovation and performance. Ingenix, (2010) has implemented policies, procedures and training ((http://www.ingenix.com/about/ethics-integrity/, 2010) in order to comply with the standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and Security Rule. (Understanding Health Information Privacy, 2011) Information is the lifeblood of health care, applied at the right time and in the right place, when decisions need to be made, information can enhance the affordability, quality, usability, and accessibility of care integrity (http://www.ingenix.com/about/ethics-integrity/). As with any organization a cost analysis will determines the benefits and savings that are to be expected from the organization systems and compare with the expected costs. The cost benefit analysis for Ingenix is used to determine the degree of access to or the benefit of health care services to be provided to their members. Since Ingenix is a wholly subsidiary of United Health Group it is a complex system complied of many other subsidiary that falls under the umbrella of United Health Group. The ethical consideration as it relates to Ingenixs finance and budgeting came under fire, when United Health Care-Ingenix was sued by the former State Attorney General Perry Cumo. Ingenix settled out of court in the amount of $350 million dollars that they agreed based upon the determination of reimbursement that were used by insurance company nationwide. It argues that United Health -Ingenix rate setting practices violated several federal laws, including ERISA, RICO and antitrust law. Since that time United Health -Ingneix ethical consideration regarding to their finance and budgeting has put in place, a system that will attained independent certification of security procedures, Ingenix will demonstrate that the company will recognized and accepted measures to safe guard its assets. Providing health services, Ingenixs revenue has increased, $271 million or 17% during 2009 to 1.8 billion primarily due to the growth in new prayer business and new internal offerings. The contract of Ingenix backlog revenue grew $80 million or 21% percent during 2009 to $2.2 billion, which was led by growth in the government and payer sectors (UHC 2009 Annual Summary Report, Financial Results, pg. 36) While reviewing United Health Care 2009 Summary Annual Report of the Financial Results, the information that is excluded is the cash flow for each operating services, it only included as a whole the cash flow of United Health Group from operations revenue, reached $5.6 billion, which represent 147% percent of 2009 net earnings. (UHC 2009 Annual Summary Report, p.33) In reviewing the financial report for 2010 for United Health Group, according to the report for the full year of 2010 the net earnings were $94.2 billion an increased if 8% year over and it includes a 10% percent increase, which is $24 billion. Ingenix increase sequential revenue by 21%, buy 2010 year end. (United Health Group 2009, Annual Report, p.33) Table1: United Health Group 2010: Earning Release-Financial Content Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31, December 31, September 30, December 31, December 31, 2010 2009 2010 2010 2009 Ingenix Revenues $715 million $536 million $592 million $2.34 billion $1.82 billion Earnings From Operations $101 million $74 million $70 million $284 million $246 million Operating Margin 14.1% 13.8% 11.8% 12.1% 13.5% Note: Financial Statement. Three Months Ending to Year Ending 2009-2010 Because Ingenix (2010) is a wholly subsidiary of United Health Care, applicable laws and any regulation with the new health care reform bill or better known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) could potential effected the ability of price, managing medical costs, the enforcement that could have an affected on the companys financial position. These changes would have an overall effect, which will touch upon Ingenix that could including limited or reduced revenue, increase costs, and loss of businesses. These increase in costs and other liabilities associated with auditing and/or reviews cost, will impact future cash and capital requirements on the ability to maintain the quarterly divide payment cycle. Also this will affect the abilities to maintain the misappropriation of proprietary technology, and the ability to obtain sufficient funds from the other regulated subsidiaries (i.e., Ingenix) to fund United Health Group obligations. Ingenixs revenue cycle solution is part of a technology to improve the company financial and budgetary operations. The system will support the full spectrum of revenue cycle performance. The technology solution will included several systems from Patient Access Management, Billing Management, Payment Management and Audit Management technology to engage and conducted the finding of gaps in the ability to analyze the system for solutions. Ingenixs Management and Administrative Reporting Systems (MARS) have the capability of reporting expenditures, budget information, recoupment and collection according to federal and states criteria. MARS meets federal reporting and CMS system certification requirements with fiscal oversight and management. This reporting of various criteria will include funding sources, categories of the services and eligibility, the provider types. When processing and reviewing claims activity and the statistical analyst such how long it take to process claims, the remittance and payment summaries will be done for the financial analysis. (http://www.ingenix.com/government/solutions/business-intelligence-govt/solution/mars/features/, 2010) The MARS systems will provide specific provider either as individual or they will be categorize, in reporting which will include any error codes analysis, participation analysis, ranking and the status of filing of claims. With the MARS systems more than 80 core reports that will divided in six separated reporting modules and there will be one balancing module, that will provide the cost settlement and adjustment and financial transactions. (http://www.ingenix.com/government/solutions/business-intelligence-govt/solution/mars/features/, 2010) Ingenix-United Health group has to content with complex state and federal and local rules, laws and regulation in regards to their financial and budgetary operations, but it is bound by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to file a Form 10-K at the end of each year on December 31, 2010, which is part of the annual report for financial reporting to shareholder, and company executives. (United Health Group, Financial Annual Report, 2010). United Health Care Group is highly regulated at the federal, state, local and also international. Therefore, since the signing of the new health care laws or new regulations, and/or changes in the existing laws including and the enforcement of them could have an adversely affect on the company (i.e., United and their subsidiary) financial position and cash flow. (SEC Form 10-K, pg 19) Each state that United Health Groups wholly subsidiary businesses ( i.e. Ingenix) operates in, is require to keep a minimum level of statutory capital. This could place restriction on the dividend and distribution that is paid by regulated subsidiaries, this would limit the base entitys level of those statutory income, capital and surplus United Health Group Inc.(United Health Group Consolidated Balance Sheet, pg. 59), conducted an audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight (United States), the short term investments (in millions) for the end of the year of 2010 was $2,072 and for the year $1239.00 a gain of $833, the long term investments (in millions) for the year ending of 2010 $14,707 and for year ending of 2009, $13,311 a gain of $3396. (http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/invest/2010/UNH-2010-10-K.pdf) Stated in the (United Health Group 2009, Annual Report) is that, Ingenix has increased their revenue by 17% or $271 million dollars in 2009, from the organic growth of the new payer business and new internal services offering a total of 1.8 billions. As Ingenix revenues backlog increased by 21% or 300 million dollars, during the same period during 2009, the growth in government and payer sector totaling in the amount of $2.2 billion dollars. The backlog for Ingenixs revenue as of December 31, 2010 was $3.3 billion that was up 47%. Therefore, Ingenix full and fourth quarter for 2010 operation is $284 million against $246 million for the same period a year ago. Earning from their operations was very strong, exceeding management expectation for the full year. Looking forward to the first quarter of 2011, it is on the fast track of having a positive revenue and cash flow.

Byronic Hero Essay :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Typical heroes are perfect, they do everything right. However they are unrelateable because of it in the Romantic Era. Byron created a new kind of hero the Byronic Hero, in the movie First Blood, John Rambo is the perfect example of a Byronic Hero. In this movie John Rambo is rebellious, dark natured, hyper-sensitive, and passionate. He is willing to do whatever it takes for his cause.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Rambo is an ex-Green Beret, a peacetime misfit haunted by memories of Vietnam. He has no family and no one helped out of his plantation. He was tortured in Vietnam by enemies. He is dark natured through the whole movie. He has no friends; the only person he has left is his Colonel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As Rambo passes through a small town in western Canada an over-zealous sheriff stops him and gives him a hard time. As the cops clean him up at the station he is reminded of how he was tortured in Vietnam. He goes crazy and beats the crap out of five cops and runs off into the mountains. This slows characteristics of the Byronic Hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Rambo may seem like and evil villain but he is not, just confused and very hard to understand. Rambo is very hyper-sensitive and emotional through the whole movie. Getting upset about his past and having very emotional flash-backs of Vietnam. He has a passion for what he thinks is right. At the end of the movie Rambo gets very emotional talking about his friends at war and how they died and how he drove million dollar machines in the military and in the real world he couldn’t even hold down a job at the car wash. So as he talks about this he is crying and holding his colonels arm. You understand after that part in the movie that he is a Byronic Hero.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a way you feel sorry for Rambo in the end of the movie because of the way he is, but it is not his fault.

Free Essays - Achieving Understanding in Amy Tans Joy Luck Club :: Joy Luck Club Essays

Achieving Understanding in Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club In Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club the daughters are too young and naive to understand their mothers and the hardship they faced. But by the end on the novel the daughters are able to understand where their mothers came from through stories and experiences the mothers tell the daughters their background. This shows that the daughters overall understood the mothers better because through time they were able to experience some of the same conflicts giving them a better understanding. While Jing-Mei Woo is only one of four young women whose stories integrate the novel, her story makes her seem to be the initial character, especially since her tale not only begins and ends the novel, but also strongly develops the theme and plot of the entire book. Her mother, Suyuan Woo was very concerned with people and things they lacked, "Something was always missing...always needed improvements...not in balance" (19). This reveals that Suyuan is lacking something herself and feels not good enough for her family. We later discover her past and the twin girls she left behind in China. This past life draws readers and makes the story more interesting but a little confusing at the same time. This past comes back to Jing-Mei when her mother dies and Jing-Mei begins to understand how hard it is to let go of the people you love, which makes her become more open, understanding and mature. She lost a mother she got to share her life with, but like her half sisters, they did n't understand their mother until she was gone to share the experience of being reunited. In a sense, her spirit was there to capture their happiness of finally meeting one another. Although Waverly Jong is perceived in being an intelligent, ambitious, proud, and arrogant, she is constantly struggling with everything that happens in her life. Her unwillingness to adapt to change becomes a major conflict. "Bite back your tongue"(89) her mother's harshness on her while growing up may have caused her lack of self-confidence foiled but assurance. Not only that caused her to resent her mother but the way she introduced her to perfect strangers, "This is my daughter Waver-ly Jong"(101) just to tell people or make reference to the TIME article on Waverly cause her to become upset.

Compare and Contrast how feelings of fear and confusion are conveyed :: English Literature

Compare and Contrast how feelings of fear and confusion are conveyed through the use of imagery and other poetic techniques. I am going to compare the use of poetic devices to portray fear and confusion in 3 different poems, they are; Patrolling Barnegat by Walt Whitman, On the Train by Gillian Clarke, and Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney. These poems all portray a feeling of confusion, often it is linked with the theme of war. In Patrolling Barnegat, Walt Whitman uses repetition to enhance the power of the storm he is describing. "Wild, Wild the storm, and the sea high running" The repetition of wild in this line helps to enforce the power of the storm and nature. Whitman also uses personification in this line where he compares the movement of the sea to a person running, as if he is saying that the sea will move for nobody. He is also making it sound as if the sea is rushing to get somewhere as if it is on a mission. Whitman also incorporates rhyme in his poem. This gives his poem a strong rhythm and this rhythm ties in with the image of the rolling sea, and gives this image more effect. In Storm on the IslandSeamus Heaney also describes a vivid, powerful storm. He describes the storm like he has learnt from past experience. He describes preparing for the storm as if he has gone through it many times before. "Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale" Here Seamus Heaney is comparing the storm to a tragic chorus, which could be associated with an opera - a form of entertainment. Seamus Heaney is using 2 opposites to help describe the ferocity of the storm and give the reader a clearer picture of what it would be like to be where he is. Also Heaney uses no punctuation at the end of his lines, so it is like reading a continuous sentence. Despite the lack of punctuation, the poem still has a definite rhythm, and because of the lack of punctuation, an unusual style. Gillian Clarke's poem On the Train describes the Paddington rail crash of October '99 She uses many poetic techniques to describe what it must have been like for people waiting to find if their relatives that had been travelling on the train that day were safe or not. "The wolves howl into silent telephones" Here Gillian Clarke is talking about the people who have lost someone in the crash. She uses the metaphor of a wolf to describe the people trying to phone their loved ones, only to get silence, or an answer

Are social networking sites good for our society Essay

Are social networking sites good for our society? In todays lifestyle it is admitted that Social Network Sites bring convenience, efficiency, fast, speed and width for adolescents’ interpersonal relationship development. With various ongoing debates about why social networking may be bad for society, I have found it to be good for society. Social networking comes in many forms. It comes in the form of facebook, twitter, and even professional forums such as Linkedin. In such a fast-paced world, I find social networking to be an invaluable way of sharing ideas and interests that allow me to remain engaged. Although some may debate that social networking takes away from face to face and/or quality interactions, I have found it to be an invaluable tool in building community and networks. In fact, I believe it has given us a more effective way of communicating and engaging with one another especially in our fast-paced society. If I am on a work assignment one of my favorite tools to research is twitter. I find it to be a quick news feed and I usually learn about news first from there before learning it from the mainstream media such as television or radio. And of course facebook has been the staple for me as for many in helping us remain engaged and to keep abreast of graduations, weddings, births or other special events regarding our family and friends. Social media continues to make strides to make communication more accessible and easier for all of us. Just this week Mark Zuckerberg, founder of facebook, has announced that it is now offering a Graph Search function in order for the user to have the ability to run queries from one’s network of friends. It allows users to run queries in order to find commonalities or other areas of interest within friend networks. Twitter has allowed many in suppressed