Sticks and Stones Essay Example for Free

Sticks and Stones Essay The text Sticks and Stones is written by Trezza Azzopardi in 2006. It’s about a young man named Lewis. He is a teacher and becomes witness to collective bullying; he tries to talk with the headmaster to help these problems between the kids. Seeing the bullying bring flashbacks inside of his head, reminding him of his own childhood. When Lewis was a kid he got bullied and in the text we indirectly get to know, that he had many traumatic experiences. Lewis tries helping the boy Paul Fry who gets bullied, but doesn’t succeed. We don’t get to know why. The main theme in this text is bullying and the following consequences. In the text we get an insight in how bullying can affect a person for the rest of his life. Lewis is really traumatized, and we can see that he is affected by his childhood experiences in everything he does. Bullying is now a worldwide problem, and bullying often results in self harm, eating disorders, anxiety or, in worst case, suicide. Children, youngsters and adults all over the world are experiencing bullying, and it is safe to say, that something must be done. Lewis is the main character in the story. He experiences great trauma, since he was bullied in his childhood. He is an adult now, and a schoolteacher. He moved into his mothers house about a month ago, because he had many problems, and got something like a depression that caused him to not be able to live a normal life. Lewis has beforehand escaped into the city of London to live his adult life, because he has traumatic experiences from the countryside. But when he experiences the scenery with Paul Fry, it bothers him in an unimaginable way, and he moves back into the house of his mother. It is safe to say that Lewis is emotionally unstable, and it is not possible to predict wether he’ll ever fully mentally recover. Paul Fry is a child and a student on the school where Lewis teaches. Paul gets bullied by some of the other children. His situation deeply affects Lewis, because Lewis sees himself and his childhood in Paul Fry. Paul has a very important role in the story, because he reflects Lewis’ childhood. He has a central importance in the outcome of the story, since his case results in Lewis losing his mind, and leaving his job. Azzopardi uses flashbacks throughout the entire story. They are used to create the entire image of Lewis’ life, with all of its trauma and consequences. There seems to rule some kind of calmness in the last couple of lines in the story. Lewis realizes that there’s nothing he can do, nothing he should so. When Lewis lies down on the ground, he is in contact with the same ground witch he hit several years ago. But this time, it is in calm surroundings, and it is something he has chosen himself. He also mentions how he listens to the humming earth, where he before only could hear the noise of the crashing waves that he feared. In the end, everything goes quiet, and you get the feeling that Lewis will be all right after all.

Trascedental Challenge :: Essays Papers

For my transcendental challenge, I chose to spend twenty minutes a day outside in a park. I did nothing but observe me surroundings. I observed the children playing, and the pedestrians going about their businesses and the nature. My original thoughts on this challenge were that it was great waste of time especially due to the freezing weather. I thought I had much better things to do and greater priorities. I even believed it would be boring so I doubted whether I should have done it or not. The thought of a great reward in the end or a possible lesson or discovery about life made me choose to start my challenge. I first wondered whether walking to the park was part of the challenge. On one hand the park was about five minutes away and the round trip in itself would cover half the time of my daily challenge. The trees and people I passed could have also been a part of observing nature and I believed I could have made some observations on my walk. On the other hand I was not still in one place because I was moving and the passing cars distracted me so I was not away from technology. I decided that it would not be fair to make a decision, being so biased, and I would decide after the results of my first ten minutes. I arrived at the park on this first day and sat on the first bench available. I sat with a frowned face. My first observation twenty seconds later was how the cold wind blasting on my face reminded me of how much I already hated this challenge yet liked the class responsible for it. My first thought was to count the number of trees. I counted sixteen trees and decided to examine the biggest of them all. I worked my way up from the giant trunk, to the long branches, to the highest leaf. I saw this tree as a home to animals such as squirrels and birds. Although they were not present at the time, I could imagine them climbing and flying in. I went home twenty minutes later smiling with an internal picture of squirrels and birds living in harmony. So I had decided that the round trip should not have been included in the challenge. On day two, after reviewing my notes, I realized I was imagining animals when I should have been observing them.

Gaming in Shanghai Essay

Overview HyperHawk, one of the world’s major providers of global supply management software and services, helps companies reduce costs through efficient product and services sourcing. It has handled more than $50 billion worth of products and services in the oil and gas, other natural resources, retail, transport, finance, and industrial sectors for customers including General Motors, Nestlà ©, Shell, Japan Energy, Mitsubishi, and Cadbury Schweppes. Shanghai-based JJM, one of the biggest gaming and hospitality companies in Asia, is owned by Chinese businessman Tan Wu Bo. This case study revolves around the period when JJM has been a HyperHawk client for six months, and the companies have signed an agreement to conducttwo projects. The first, completed in March 2005 and tremendously successful, saved JJM some $1 million, and the second one is set to start.Impressed with the results, JJM wishes to explore the possibility of other joint endeavours with HyperHawk. To this end, a meeting is arranged between JJM’s Senior Vice-President of Finance Iris Ma and HyperHawk’s RegionalManaging DirectorDrake Dubois, and attended by JJM’s Vice-President for Procurement Henry Chow and HyperHawk Sales Group Director Layton Pang. Ma is keen to explore more projects with HyperHawk and has tasked Chow to follow up with HyperHawk as soon as possible. The managing director of HyperHawk suggests that a session be arranged with key stakeholders from both companies to discuss and assess possible opportunities for other JJM projects. The Scene Ma and Chow agreed to the suggestion and asked that a proposal be submitted to JJM after the opportunity assessment meeting that was attended by Chow, his assistant Mary Xie, who is also the purchasing manager, and two members from HyperHawk. Both parties identified ten possible projects. Xie asked for a proposal to be submitted to JJM through her, and HyperHawk provided a competitive price package that included services over a twelve-month period. As is to be expected from a Chinese company like JJM, Xie asked for a reduction in the licensing fee, additional program management days (at no extra cost), and an extension of the software term from twelve months to  twenty-four months. In reply, HyperHawk put in writing its discussions to date with JJM: 1.JJM had agreed that HyperHawk could add value to the projects identified. 2.JJM would sign for a ten-project package to get a competitive price. 3.If HyperHawk could meet JJM’s demands, the latter would sign the contract by May-end 2005. Xie agreed to point one above, but was noncommittal on points two and three. After much discussion, HyperHawk agreed to lower its fee and provide JJM additional program management days at no additional cost. However, HyperHawk said it could not agree to extend the twelve month term for use of the software without charging extra. Then, to complicate matters further, Xie suggested that JJM could not commit to an agreement even if all the issues were resolved. The most recent negotiations were conducted quite hastily, since HyperHawk knew that Xie was not the decision maker and approval had to come from her top management. Negotiations to Date HyperHawk’sprimary concern was how likely JJM would be to enter into an agreement even if the issues were resolved, and within what time frame. JJM argued that the proposed price was beyond what it could afford, although it recognized the need for help from HyperHawk to implement the projects, and that it needed twenty-four months to implement the ten projects due to its lack of manpower. HyperHawk took the position that, while it was prepared to look into the fee structure and program management term as part of the total package, the request for twenty-four months was not reasonable. Although it reasoned that other organizations were able to implement ten projects in twelve months, to satisfy JJM, HyperHawk negotiated a mid-way solution: a maximum of eighteen months. When one week passed and there was no response from JJM, HyperHawk asked if it would be prepared to sign if HyperHawk acceded to its three requests.Xie replied that she would submit the proposal for approval to her superiors, Tan and Ma, but added that there was no guarantee the agreement would be signed by the end of May. From HyperHawk’s perspective, all the issues presented by JJM had been resolved—yet there was still no deal. When asked about the status of the project, JJM cited staff turnover, but then mentioned another possible IT project where there was a clear need for HyperHawk. The discussion ended with JJM requesting that HyperHawk prepare the preliminary work and submit yet another proposal.  Based on the updated information, it appeared that the IT project might get underway earlier than the previously proposed ten projects. Moreover, given that this project had an entirely different scope, there was a strong argument to negotiate a separate deal for it. Whichever proposal JJM wished to undertake first, HyperHawk was ready to negotiate and finalize an agreement, but it could not yet tell whether the latest development was a genuine project or a further stalling tactic. Observations 1.Both parties acted rationally in the way the negotiations were conducted, and it helped that the relationship between them was excellent from the start. 2.HyperHawk gave in to JJMs demands in the hope of concluding the agreement quickly and starting the projects. But JJM continued to indulge in last minute wavering and only introduced a new project, which took the parties away from the initial negotiations. 3.The way HyperHawk responded to JJM’s delaying tactics, showed it’s patience and its determination to get the deal done. 4.Meanwhile, JJM believed it was negotiating from a position of strength, having even gone so far as to assert that it had in-house a system similar to that of HyperHawk that could probably fulfil its needs, even though without the sophistication of the HyperHawk product. 5.Going forward, it was critical that HyperHawk engage with Ma, the senior vice-president and decision maker, since the groundwork had been laid with her staff. But they were finding it difficult to do so due to the complicated hierarchy of the Chinese companies. 6.HyperHawk reflected that maybe it should have asked for the agreement to be signed within a fixed time when it met JJM’s initial demands, although JJM had previously delayed decision making on other projects. Conclusions This case is typical of what vendors face in a competitive, hi-tech environment, and illustrates the opportunity they have to reduce their price. Handled appropriately, a win-win outcome is not difficult to achieve. From this case study, at least two scenarios for short-term success can be derived. First, assuming the vendor, is taking a tough stance, you can take a long-term perspective and conclude the first sale with a friendly, competitive attitude, countering the buyer’s demands with suitable offers, while never losing sight of your determination to bag the order. But,  besides showing friendliness, flexibility, and determination, you must show the potential buyer that you will be there for them over the long haul. For this you require people with leadership qualities in your team. Should one lack high-quality leaders in your team, you have the option of a second scenario. In this case, you would show, right from the beginning,that your team comprises hard workers who w ill do whatever the buyer needs. By adopting Chinese-style service orientation and dedication and making your team indispensable to the potential buyer, being available daily, and making yourself virtually a part of your opposite number’s staff—you could clinch a deal. HyperHawk failed to show the requisite service orientation and commitment. From the perspective of longer-term success, an initial achievement provides the opportunity for friendship to be cultivated with the client company’s key people, perhaps even with the CEO, the final decision maker. Should one eventually become accepted as â€Å"family,† the client will telephone you for what they want and no longer require competitive quotations. But to reach that point, you will have had to develop a genuine friendship and service orientation with those at the top of the client company.

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