het reisgedrag van de nederlanders

het reisgedrag van de nederlanders Het reisgedrag van de Nederlanders Nederlanders staan er om bekend dat je ze overal tegen komt, in dit opzicht zou je zeggen dat er een bepaald reisgedrag typerend is voor Nederlanders. Toch is dit wel het geval, ook Nederlanders hebben een aantal belangrijke overeenstemmingen wanneer het gaat over hun reisgedrag. In dit deel van het adviesrapport zal u dit kenbaar gemaakt worden. Hierbij word gebruik gemaakt van betrouwbare bronnen die u terug kunt vinden in dit document. Vakantieparticipatie De duur van de vakantie Bestemmingen binnenland Bestemmingen buitenland Vakantieparticipatie Opvallend is dat een hoog percentage Nederlanders op vakantie gaat. Zowel voor korte vakanties (2 tot 7 dagen) als lange vakanties (8 of meer dagen). Dit percentage komt neer op 82% (2008). Dit percentage is erg stabiel het verschilt namelijk slechts 1 procent als u kijkt in de periode van 2003 tot 2008. Dit percentage komt neer op 12,5 miljoen Nederlanders die jaarlijks op vakantie gaan. Hoewel wintersport de laatste jaren steeds meer in opkomst is blijft de lange vakantie in de zomer favoriet onder de Nederlanders. Het aantal Nederlanders dat in 2008 op wintersport is gegaan bedraagt 5,1 miljoen tegenover 10,0 miljoen zomervakanties. Hierbij gaat het wel om vakanties die 5 of meer dagen duren. Korte vakanties daar in tegen worden meer gedaan in de winter. Een belangrijke toevoeging hieraan is wel dat de winter periode 7 maanden (oktober april) duurt en de zomer periode slechts 5 maanden (mei september). De duur van de vakantie Een gemiddelde lange vakantie in 2008 duurde 12 dagen. Buitenlandse lange vakanties duurden gemiddeld 3 dagen langer dan binnenlandse lange vakanties. Korte vakanties duurden gemiddeld iets meer dan 3 dagen. Hierbij was bijna geen verschil tussen het gemiddelde van binnenlandse en buitenlandse vakanties. Bij het lezen van deze statistieken is het echter wel belangrijk dat u zich realiseert dat zowel de dag van vertrek als de dag van aankomst bij de duur van de vakantie worden gerekend. Zo worden korte vakanties vaak in het weekend doorgebracht. Tijdens de deze vakanties moest er natuurlijk ook een overnachtingsplaats gevonden worden, hiervoor boekte Nederlanders voor lange vakanties in totaal 253 miljoen overnachtingen. Meer dan de helft van deze overnachtingen vonden plaats in het buitenland. Op alle bestemmingen overtrof de zomerovernachtingen die van de winter. De meeste overnachtingen tijdens lange vakanties werden gemaakt in Frankrijk (17%), Spanje (11%) en Duitsland (9%). Bij korte vakanties waren de resultaten van het onderzoek anders. Hier vonden de meeste van de 70 miljoen overnachtingen plaats in Nederland. Zowel in Nederland als in het buitenland waren er weinig verschillen in het aantal overnachtingen in de winter en de zomer. Bestemmingen binnenland Door de statistieken van het ContinuVakantieOnderzoek van TNS Nipo hebben we tijdens het onderzoek een goed beeld gekregen van het Nederlandse Reisgedrag in Nederland. Het toeristengebied Veluwe en Veluwerand blijkt in 2008 met 12% het meest bezochte gebied door Nederlandse vakantiegangers. Daarna komt met 11% de toeristen gebieden Groningse, Friese en Drentse zandgronden en Noordzeebadplaatsen op de ranglijst. Opvallend is dat het laats genoemde gebied de laatste jaren wel steeds minder Nederlandse toeristen trekt. Trokken ze in 2003 nog 1,3 miljoen Nederlanders, nu is dat nog slechts 1 miljoen binnenlandse toeristen. Hieraan kun je zien dat de bosrijke gebieden meer in opkomst zijn en juist de water (zee, rivieren en meren) gebieden minder interessant worden. Dit word ook beaamd door de volgende statistiek. Hierin staat de ontwikkeling van het aantal bezoekers in de periode van 2003 tot 2008. http://www.cbs.nl/NR/rdonlyres/8665248B-16B7-4C08-B980-4159B7AE0F6F/0/2008g72pub.pdf Grafiek binnenland verdeling overtypen/invoegen!

External Influences on Lenovo

External Influences on Lenovo The main purpose of this report is to show the way of Lenovo from just project to international corporation and to analyze their way using such methods as PEST and SWOT analysis as well as Porters Five Competitive Forces. Using PEST makes possible to determine the impact of external environment (politics, economics, society and technology) and indirect factors on company. SWOT reveals the strengths and weaknesses of given organization. Combining these two methods makes analysis even more precise. In its turn, Porters Five Competitive Forces helps to understand the competition within the industry. Lenovo is a great example of a company which used innovation and creativity, obstinacy and communication with customer as a tool to make their way to the top. Today Lenovo is one of leading PC vendors. They manufacture tablets, laptops, ultrabooks, All-in-One PCs, desktops, nettops and own accessories. Lenovo creates unique and durable products at really aggressive price point. And they are here to stay. Introduction Lenovo. The company was established in Beijing, China in 1984 by eleven members of the Computer Technology Research Institute, they called it the Legend Holdings. But in 2003, decision to expand outside Chinese market led to another one change the name of the company. Legend changed their name to Lenovo. Name of Lenovo is combination of Le- (as part of Legend) and novo Latin ablative for new. In Chinese it can also be understood as connected thinking or creativity. Despite the fact that current name of the company was introduced just in 2003, Lenovo already gained trust and loyalty of millions of customers. The company has started from budget of 200ÂÂ  000 yuan commissioned Liu Chuanzhi (founder of Lenovo) by Chinese government in order to distribute computers which are made in other countries. Lenovos first office was about 17 square meters. Mr. Chuanzhi once said: It wasnt easy. The lowest thing you could do in the early 80s, as a scientist, was to go into business. China had a strict planned economy and there was barely room for a freewheeling company like ours (Liu Chuanzhi for Asiaweek, June 13, 1997). First major win was a circuit board which enabled IBM computers to process Chinese characters Han-card. Later on Lenovo started to create and distribute computers using its own brand. In May 1988, Lenovo looked for employees for the first time. They have placed ads on the cover of the China Youth News. Out of all respondents, 280 were selected to sit for a written exam. About 120 of the candidates were interviewed in person. Despite interviewers had authority to hire only 16 people, 58 were given offers. 18 people of these had graduate degrees, 37 had undergraduate degrees, and three students did not have university-level education at all. Their average age was 26. Future CEO of Lenovo Yang Yuanqing was among this group who introduced new name and expanded company on Europe and USA. In 1994 Lenovo became a publicly traded company after listing in Hong Kong. Later in 2002 Lenovo Group made partnership with Xiahua Electronics Stock Company, giving the start of Lenovo mobile phone business. In 2008 Lenovo has sold its mobile department but then would pay $200 million to buy it back in November of 2009. Now Lenovo Mobile ranks third in terms of market share of mobile phones market in China. On May of 2005 Lenovo Group announced the completion of the $1.75 billion deal of acquisition of IBMs PC unit. That made companys annual revenue almost quadruple. Company which used to have $3 billion in annual revenue now had nearly $13 billion. They became the worlds third-largest PC vendor, behind Dell and Hewlett-Packard. But revenues are not the only benefit Lenovo got from this deal. They have acquired the ThinkPad brand. ThinkPad is ultra-resistant due to special casing, special keyboard structure that let water drain through the laptop. Moreover it was one of first laptops with hard disk block system, which could turn on emergency brakes thereby save data from being just lost because of physical damage of the disk when laptop is dropped. Later Lenovo would face the closest rival on their way to the top Dell. It was a hard competition, it was a complex competition. The main problem of Lenovo back in the days was a bit more conservative way of making business. Dell used new and innovative methods to produce, distribute and promote products. They spent on ads twice as more than Lenovo, their prices were lower and market share grew more and more. Dell even captured segments which used to be favorite ones of Lenovo. To overcome the enemy Lenovo started to increase value of brand. That means they started to raise name awareness among the customers, they delivered maximum possible customer satisfaction. They are still using those principles as core philosophy of the company. Nowadays, Lenovo has three main categories of laptops. ThinkPads are powered for productive work experience, uncompromised secured and ultra-reliable, solid and durable. IdeaPads are optimized for entertainment and multimedia. They have some enchantments in audio, video performance and possess both functional internal and beautiful external designs. The third lineup is Essential. These products have nothing unnecessary; they are always up-to-date, portable enough and reliable. The tablets are also divided on Idea and Think lineups as well as All-in-Ones and desktops. The principal stays the same. Idea for creativity and entertainment, Think for business and work. In 2012 Lenovo became the fastest growing company in the USA for 8 quarters in a row. Actually, they are the only one who has a growth. In the third financial quarter of 2012, shipments of the company expected to reach 15.7 per cent of world-wide PC shipments. Lenovo would surpass Dell and HP. The Mission and Vision of Lenovo Mission is the main goal, beliefs which push company to develop into new something more than just business. Mission is the reason why company does actually exist. Lenovos origins are in China; their name has meaning so their mission is strong and inspiring as well. Lenovo has a desire to become the leading company of new world that is respected for break-through innovation and award-winning designs, quality, to be loved for an ecosystem of devices, services. Become recognized as one of the best, most trusted and most well-respected companies to work for and do business with. And they are on the right way to reach the goal. Company strives to be one that creates extraordinary, innovative and exceptionally great PCs for its customers. They do not have formal restrictions and bonds which could distract or interfere from manufacturing best possible machines. Lenovo claims that they design exciting and innovative products, services to meet customers needs. And sometimes they even manage to exceed level of the expectations. Lenovo wants to do business from their own global point of view, own perspective and own commitment to building great technology for people who view technology as a tool to accomplish fascinating things. By having few categories of products, Lenovo does not put any effort on useless departments therefore does not waste resources and time. David Schmoock, President of North American Lenovo department said: What I want to do is get to number one and be sustainable as number one. At the very basic level of the company there is one core principle that is extremely important: We do what we say and own what we do. So far the main goals company wants to reach are serving customers, trust and integrity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. Lenovo. New World, New Thinking PEST Analysis PEST analysis in general measures a market, its potential, indicates growth or decline, thereby market attractiveness. Actually, PEST analysis helps to determine SWOT factors. PEST analysis is a model that can be used for describing the framework of macro environmental factors that a company should have in mind forming its long-term strategic plans. Of course, the external factors may vary in significance to a given company based on the products and services that it produces and also on the industry it is in. For any company which wants to win in the competitive marketing, such methods of analysis of the external factors and environment are the way to succeed. In this report PEST will be used in order to focus on analyzing external environment of the Lenovo Corporation and try to foresee major influence of those external factors in their business environment. The letter P stands for political factors influencing companys market. Those are level of bureaucracy, laws and regulations, legalization and policies, rule of law, freedom of press, tariff controls and trade. Nowadays, computers are tightly linked with peoples life. From the last century computers were used in business and other areas and help factories, hospitals and other structures to increase production and interest. At the same time, new technology caused some new problems such as pollution of the environment, health and energy consumption. Considering these problems European Union, China and other countries encourage the Green IT. That means computer must not produce noise pollution more than specified, energy consumption must be no more than required. In Lenovo groups, the isopsophic index is lower than 30dB. Therefore, Lenovo has achieved in noise pollution section. Since China has a population of one and a half billion, there is more than enough labor and payment would not be too high. That is the reason why many of assembly lines are Chinese, so Lenovo placed factory in China as well. When China joined WTO in 2005, the export tariff for IT products has decreased to 9.1%. So thes e policies are encouraging business organization developing to global. Next one is E. It stands for economic factors such as interest rates and inflation, disposable income, labor cost and supply, impact of globalization. Letter S is for social culture. It is social studies and education, lifestyle attitudes and choice, population growth rate and age profiles, etc. And the last letter is T. That is for technological factors such as impact of energy technologies, increase in remote working, and current level of technological development, impact of technology on the work process and productivity. For economic, influence by the 2008 economic crisis, the world economic tends to going down. But in the worst time, Chinese government published the new economic policy which was positive financial policy and loose and comfortable monetary policy. The government also offered four-hundred million RMB stimulates economic development (The Marketing Surveillance Center of China, 2008). For Chinas IT industry, this is a great opportunity to develop them. Then change the focus to the economic development. In 1950, the total trades of China include import and export was 11.3 hundred million dollars, but in 2008, it enhanced 25616 hundred million dollars. Also at home, the GDP increased with a high speed: So according to this chart, it very clear that Chinas GDP has achieved satisfactory level and the disposable personal income has increased also (stats, 2009). So the demand of products will increase with the economic enhancing. In the other words, the IT market becomes bigger and Lenovo also has strength to competitive the market share because Lenovo not only produce computers, mobile phone also produced by them. For society culture, the population growth, lifestyle choice and attitudes, population health, education, social mobility and attitudes are influence the demand of high technology products. 60 years ago, 80% people in China were illiteracy, but under the new government value, in 2008, the Einschulungsrate f. of different education level has achieved a satisfactory level: It is clearly that the education level has increased and the demand of high technology products also enhancing (Communist Party Learning, 2009). This situation also offered a huge market for Lenovo. On the other hand, because the globalization and influenced by the developed countries lifestyle, the Chinese people also become more international which live with a high level life and influenced by the education level, the lifestyle of Chinese people become more out-going and open enough (Human Geography Research Center, 2003). So the consumption custom of modern Chinese people also offers a good developing environment to Lenovo. Also in the next five to ten years, this situation will be increase. At the same time, the social culture of China has changed from traditional feudalism to modern lifestyle which is more science and high technology in life. For technological, Lenovo was set by 11 scientists who worked in Chinese Academy of Science which is a governmental organization. So this situation offered a good technology support. In 2005, Lenovo has finished the purchase IBM, so the technology transfer from IBM also helps Lenovo make the Research Development activities and produce high quality products with high technology (Lenovo, 2005). At the same time, with the technology development, the communications costs and increased remote work can help the different corporations share their techniques and also good for Research Development activities. So all of these technological factors can help Lenovo increase their competitive ability in the next five to ten years and the marketing share of IBM also belongs to Lenovo. For the legal section, here just mention two articles which can support Lenovo. Firstly, in light of article 6, Peoples Republic of China Consumer Protection, the government encourages and supports every person and organization supervises the illegal action which damages the consumers legal power (National Peoples Congress, 1993). So this law can reduce other organizations use illegal method to competitive in the marketing and its also a protection for Lenovo. On the other hand, in light of article 6, Peoples Republic of China Law on Product Quality, the government encourages apply scientific management method, advanced science and technology, support the products achieved or beyond the industry standard or international standard. And give the award to the organizations whose products achieved or beyond the international standard (National Peoples Congress, 1993). So as an international corporation, Lenovo links the technology of IBM, they will produce the high quality products and r eceived the government supports from the legal. Finally, for the ethical, because the increased of education level, the peoples diathesis also enhanced. So protect the legal power has become normal in the modern society. Then if the organization make illegal actions, it will be ejected from the market by customers, such as never buy their products. Also for an organization, the ethical problems are faith, fair and good service. As Lenovo, their value are serve consumers, innovation, faith and fair (Lenovo, 2005). So this entire ethical development tendency is good for Lenovos business environment in the next five to ten years. In summary, the policies which about green IT from European Union and the export tariff which from Chinese government are good for Lenovos improvement; at the same time, the economic development of China and the increased disposable personal income also offering a big market to Lenovos development in the future; as the modern society, the population of the world was achieved 67-hundred million in 2007 (Unctad Report, 2008). It offers a huge number of customers; also because the education increase, the lifestyle of modern customers is tend to high technology and high quality. On the other hand, the purchase of IBM also offers the technology transfer and the development mechanics of communication saved the communications costs and its good for international Research Development activities and international cooperation. At the same time, the law of Chinese government also supports and the ethical factors in the modern society are good for Lenovos improvement. So based on the analysis, in the next five to ten years, the likely major influences in Lenovos business environment are environment protection, international cooperation, the economic development, technology communication and Research Development, legal protection and ethical problems. But all of these tend to good for Lenovo in the future. So if the strategy department managers based on the external environment to make the strategic planning, Lenovo will take a great leap for their business in the next five to ten years. The PEST analysis is a model for reviewing and surveying a companys strategy or its position in the market. It measures the market, along with its competitors from the viewpoint of a particular business. It is also used to describe the framework of macro environmental factors that a company should regard and take into consideration. Of course, the external factors may vary in significance to a given company based on the products and services that it produces and also on the industry it is in. Political factors Economic factors Economic factor relates to the economy of the country itself, as well as market and trade cycles. Over the past years Walmart has had a stable economic condition and had 11% growth totalling in $6.5 billion. Why Walmarts figure has been doing so well so far is because it takes into account not only the economy of the company, but also of the countrys economy in which they are setting up their business. Another reason for its success is that Walmart prefers to first check the economical factors of the county before actually doing any business there. The main economical factors that are worth considering are economic stability and peoples purchasing power. Its crucial to acknowledge these factors for doing business in the third world countries because any change in economy can increase the actual price of the goods and services, which the company offers to its customers and of course the demand for these products will go down. Social Factors Social factors are made up of lifestyle trends, major events and various influences, religious and ethnic factors. Walmart has a tendency of evaluating and measuring social factors, just like economic factors, of a country they have chosen to do business in. Social values and frugality are also quite important factors. Walmart appeals to consumers with a rather low income, nevertheless, it ensures that the goods, products and services that they provide are apprised and accepted by their customers. It is a known fact that Walmart doesnt supply its stores with goods that are likely to cause various complaints from the clients and customers. The company makes good relationships with its customers in engaging and taking part in various public activities. Technological Factors Technological factors generally include various factors like maturity of technology, global communications and innovations, as well as technology legislation. Nowadays technology plays an immense part in the whole society. As a matter of fact, technology hugely improves quality of the products, however it tends to decrease the amount of time to promote and advertise the goods and services. Walmart was quick to accept new technology and to make effective and best use of it. It operates most of its logistics with the usage of a modern system called hub-and-spoke of its distribution centres. Customers that shop at Walmart stores get the most benefits out of it. Walmart believes that by introducing natural products on the market, it can have a big and positive impact on the atmosphere around us and the worlds natural resources. Walmart exploits the newest technology such as brad new cash register and security system. In short, Walmart keeps up with technology innovations and adjusts very well to the changes in the world. Porters Five Competitive Forces Porters Five Forces model is generally used in order to understand better the context of the industry in which the company is operating in and to see the attractiveness of an industry structure. By using this model we can see that Walmart is a strong independent company that has a stable growth, professional management and reasonably competitive prices. This model helps to look into the company more closely by assessing the potential threat of new entrants, the competitive rivalry within already existing companies, the threat of substitute products and goods, the bargaining power of suppliers and finally, the bargaining power of customers. Threat of new entrants Theres always a possibility of new companies coming into existence, however in order to compete with such strong company as Walmart they will need a relatively large capital. Walmart is expanding rather fast and it practically leaves neither chance nor room for other new companies to enter the competitive market. Above anything else, Walmart has excellent distribution systems, for example hub-and-spoke system that I mentioned before, as well as good locations and an enormous capital to be actually able to compete with new entrants. Competitive rivalry Walmart is a much larger and more profitable company than its competitors, so the competition inside the retail industry poses no threat whatsoever to it. However, there are a few other strong competitors such as Target, which can bring out some fair competition to Walmart. To sum up, Walmart is generally ahead of its competitors; it is a global leader in the retail industry and has a firm position in the competitive market. Threat of substitute products There arent a lot of direct substitutes to Walmart, because stores in the retail industry sell products for everyday use mostly. However, there are some substitute products that can be a threat to the sales of branded products. Another threat can be put from specialized retail stores like electronics and various garments. There are stores such as Carrefour and Target, which can offer same goods at a similar price or even lower. Still, when it comes to Walmart, there arent many other stores that can actually replace its convenience and attractively low prices. Bargaining power of suppliers Walmart is a huge customer to its suppliers and, thus, it has a lot of power, because in case it decides to switch to a different supplier, this would create a very scary tactic for its suppliers. It also has an option to purchase goods from many various suppliers so if they decide to drop out some, this wont make a significant difference. Walmart definitely takes advantage of being one of the largest customers to such international companies as Kraft Foods and Gillette. Because of its strong position in the market, suppliers are more than willing to satisfy Walmarts requirements, as well as provide them with favourable terms of payment and various discounts. We can see this good relationship between Walmart and its suppliers through its enhancing success. Bargaining power of buyers The customers will surely always be a threat to Walmart mainly because there are so many competitors. The buyers decision tends to be based on the price and quality of the product, and also on the convenience. Usually consumers are price sensitive and their decisions are based mainly on the price itself. And if products are similar this will increase the rivalry in the industry, which will lead to lower prices and thus, lower profit. Also, Walmart is not in a monopolistic market, but a competitive one, so the goods it offers can be replaced or substituted by its rivals. However, the company strives to please its clients by making the prices of their products and services similar to those of their competitors. Its profitability has proved that consumers are pleased with the chains reasonably low prices and its very convenient locations. Conclusion The purpose of this report was to analyze the external factors that have a certain impact and influence on Walmart. There are some significant factors that became clear after the PEST analysis and Porters Five Competitive Forces analysis have been made. I found out that Walmart is one of the global leaders in the retail industry, which has a great influence on various sectors. Walmart is still expanding to new locations and it is a growing strong company that has a firm position in the domestic market in the US and abroad as well. Unfortunately, Walmart, just like any other organization, isnt protected against the negative influence from various environmental factors, which may decrease the companys total revenues or even weaken the popularity of the whole company. However, despite all of the negative factors mentioned above, the positive impact of the external factors is much greater. Walmarts intention to help people save money so they can live better moves the company on the top position in the retail industry and makes it more attractive and appealing to existing and future consumers. Recommendations In my personal opinion the future success and survival of Walmart will depend on changing its attitude and becoming even more customer focused, as well as building even closer relationships that would broaden the product range and competitive prices. The company should take into consideration that the market is still rather new to foreign companies and that other retail stores are also expected to appear in the nearest future, which will probably result in reduction of clients Walmart is considered as one of the international leaders in the retail industry and I think it will keep its position for a certain period of time. However, I have to make a point that the company should also consider its promotion and shouldnt rely in the fact that they are one of the best in the market. Whats more Walmart should take into consideration that the market is still rather new to foreign companies and that other retail stores are also expected to appear in the near future, which will probably result in reduction of clients.

Major Themes in Steinbecks Of Mice and Men :: Steinbeck Of Mice and Men Essays

Major Themes in Of Mice and Men  Ã‚      The theme of loneliness is manifested many times in the work, Of Mice and Men and is often the dominant theme. This theme occurs during many circumstances but is not present from start to finish. In my mind for a theme to be pervasive is must be present during every element of the story. There are many themes that are present most of the way through such as sacrifice, friendship and comradship. But in my opinion there is only one theme that is present from beginning to end, this theme is pursuit of dreams. There are many characters where lonliness is evident throughout parts or all of their life. But all of these characters who appear to be lonely only tend to play a minor role in the story. This is not to say that they are insignificant but they help to convey the feelings and emotions that surround the major characters rather than their own. Characters like Curley's wife and Crooks are unmistakably lonely, but they show how their lonliness is the opposite of the two main characters, George and Lennie. Crooks actually states that George and Lennie have got each other but he hasn't got anyone. Curley's wife portrays the same message but under different circumstances. There are really no other main characters besides George and Lennie. From reading the novel and watching the film it is clearly evident in most cases that all of the support characters appear to be lonely. Therefore lonliness is quite a strong and influential theme in the story but it only features as a bakground theme and is not always present at critical stages. Themes such as sacrifice, comradship and freindship feature under very similar circumstances as lonliness but are also evident within the main characters. Candy made a sacrifice when he decided to have his ageing debilitated dog killed. But afterwards he regreted not having killed the dog himself, possibly having killed it at all. Just as when George killed Lennie, he knew it had to be done but he just kept making up excuses to avoid the inevitable. George made that sacrifice but unlike Candy he knew that if Lennie was to be killed he had to do it himself. The issue is morals, if there is such a thing as a moraly correct way to kill somebody thats how George did it, because during that time period in America there was not the resources nor facilities to deal with characters such as Lennie so drastic measures had to be taken.

Dodge Ram Quad Cab Advertisement :: Advertising Marketing

Ram Tough The makers of the Ram Quad Cab make the claim that this truck is representative of the new Dodge. This truck is, according to the makers, more comfortable and easier to ride in than other trucks. In addition, loading and unloading people and cargo is made easier when using their truck. The Dodge company makes the claim that their full-size pickup truck is among the best and backs this up with impressive evidence in this advertisement. When Dodge says in their opening sentence that their company is always open for new ideas, they could be suggesting that other companies are not as willing to accept change. They also insinuate that they give people what they want and expect from a truck, resulting in the company's success. Implying that their company is "legendary" because of their reputation for having powerful trucks, they show complete confidence in the fact that their truck is better in its class. This Dodge Ram 4x4, according to the advertisement, is the "first extended-cab pickup ever with four doors", placing it among an elite group of vehicles. It appears that the company is so confident in its product that they even predict it will win a fourth J.D. Power and Associates in the upcoming year. In addition to the evidence, Dodge even makes an appeal to the "common man" by saying that they make their truck roomier mainly because they "think it's a darn good idea", believing that they are providing people with what they have come to expect from them. They emphasize what a "proud" company they are because of their many achievements and their devotion to the consumer. The Dodge company does not make their claims lightly. They back up their statements with strong support. One example of this is their assertion that they have a "roomy, even more economic interior" and a "big, comfortable backseat" that help to separate their truck from the competition. Even more convincing is their factual evidence by J.D. Power and Associates, noted for their credible analysis of cars and trucks, who ranked the Ram Quad Cab as the "Most Appealing Full-Size Pickup" for the third year in a row. These facts, coupled with an appealing and vibrant picture of the truck, draws the reader in and makes him more interested in the product.

The Cultural Identity Within Asian Writing Systems Essay -- Cultural Id

The Cultural Identity Within Asian Writing Systems The style of Asian writing seems to be completely different from that of the western writing systems. For starters, many western languages are phonetic: words are spelled out with symbols that represent sounds. The way that a word looks has nothing to do with the meaning of the word. On the other hand, the most recognized form of Asian writing, Chinese characters, are completely pictographic. A single character is correlated to one sound or meaning. To convey more complicated meanings, pictographs are either combined into new pictographs, or multiple characters are simply used in succession. The meaning of words is depicted through pictographs, but for the most part, there is no information about their pronunciations. Asian and western languages appear so different because they had evolved in isolation from each other for hundreds of years. However, the evolution of each group of languages is similar. Whether Asian or western, languages borrow from each other and evolve toge ther when they are in close quarters. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are perfect examples of languages that have evolved together because they are spoken in countries that are so close together. Their cultures are also arguably similar when compared to western cultures. All three have used Chinese characters exclusively as their writing system for a period of time and parts of the Korean and Japanese vocabularies are actually derived from Chinese. Up until a few hundred years ago, the three written languages have developed quite closely. But in the present day, the three systems appear to have taken very different evolutionary paths. The Korean language has developed a phonetic alphabet syste... ...se Writing System. 20 July 2001. Kanji Dictionary Publishing Society. 20 Apr. 2004 <http://www.kanji.org/kanji/japanese/writing/outline.htm>. Katsiavriades, Kryss. KryssTal:Language Page. Amazon, Britannica. 20 Apr. 2004 <http://www.krysstal.com/language.html>. Laugk. "Chinese hostages to their writing system: A case for simplification and reform." China Daily 7 Feb. 2004. 20 Apr. 2004 <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-02/07/content_304083.htm>. Noll, Paul. History of the Chinese Language. 25 Mar. 2004. 20 Apr. 2004 <http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Culture/language-history.html>. Ohak-Yonku. "Formation of Korean Alphabet." Language-Research Sept. 1987: 527-537. "Types of Writing Systems." AncientScripts.com. 20 Apr. 2004 <http://www.ancientscripts.com/ws_types.html>. Usaburo, Shimizu. "Hiragana." Meiroku Zasshi 1800s.

Benito Cereno

The Razor In â€Å"Moby Dick,† by Herman Melville, he writes about multiple gams between Captain Ahab’s ship, the Pequod, and other ships, yet because of Ahab’s selfishness, these meetings do not last a while unless there is information to be gathered about Moby Dick’s whereabouts. This differs from Melville’s novella, or short story, â€Å"Benito Cereno,† in which Captain Delano’s ship, the Bachelor’s Delight, have a gam with Benito Cereno and his ship, the San Dominick.We see a major difference in how Ahab acts and how Captain Delano acts in their meetings with other ships because of Delano’s willingness to help, but this good trait of his is what makes â€Å"Benito Cereno† such a good story. He continually tosses hints of a slave revolt on San Dominick to the side because of he gives the benefit of the doubt to Benito Cereno. Some of these rebellion hints include the captives, or slaves, being free from chains, and slaves slashing axes together.The biggest hint though is the razor that Babo shaves Benito Cereno. The razor is very important in this novella because it ties the entire story together as well as signifies multiple things such as power and fear. The razor symbolizes power, and even perhaps the balance of powers, because this is the first instance in which Babo, one of the slaves onboard the San Dominick, shows his dominance over Benito Cereno by keeping the razor close to Cereno’s neck and eventually cutting his cheek.When this â€Å"accident† happens, we hear no apology from Babo, only, â€Å"See master- you shook so- here’s Babo’s first blood,† (Melville, p210), which shows that he might have meant to cut Cereno, but also that Babo is willing to make Cereno, and perhaps the rest of his oppressors, bleed more. This is important because Babo draws the first blood and the balance of power is possibly beginning to change through harming Benito Ce reno physically and mentally. Although the razor represents power, it also represents the other side of the coin, being fear.Because Babo holds down Benito Cereno with a razor to his throat, Cereno knows he is in Babo’s full control. This evokes a fear from Cereno, knowing that his life could potentially be at stake, especially since Captain Delano is oblivious to the fact that the San Dominick has been taken over by the captured slaves. Not only do we see fear while the razor is close to Cereno’s throat, but when Babo cuts him, we see him become very frightful of what might happen.Melville writes,† No sword drawn before James the First of England, no assassination in that timid king’s presence, could have produced a more terrified aspect than was now presented by Don Benito,† (Melville, p 210) which shows that Cereno is scared that he might be killed, but yet is still frightened of the little blood of his that Babo spilled. Fear plays a major role i n â€Å"Benito Cereno† because of the fact that Don Benito has already experienced the slave revolt on the San Dominick, and could be killed momentarily if he makes one mistake.The razor keeps him in line during his conversation with Captain Delano because he fears what Babo could do to him if he makes one mistake. The razor not only symbolizes the balance of power as well as evil, but it is also meaningful in â€Å"Benito Cereno† because it ties the entire story together. First off, because the razor symbolizes power, we can relate this to Senegal, the place that Babo and the rest of the slaves are forcing Cereno to sail to for their freedom, back to their rightful home.This place could also be considered weak because of the people that are forced from their homes into the slave trade, and now the balance of powers is shifting. At one point during this journey, Benito Cereno was in full control of the slaves, bringing them to Lima, but now, Babo and the slaves that on ce lost their humanly rights, are now in control over the man who kidnapped them. The razor signifies this changing of power because in that scene we see that Babo is holding it to Cereno’s neck and not vice versa.Just like above, the razor to the neck of Don Benito signifies fear, but can also be connected to Cape Horn, which represents suspicion and lies. Fear and Cape Horn can be connected to one another because not knowing what something, or someone, might be can be frightening. As basic as this may sound, it is true because Cereno fears what Babo might do to him next, after cutting his cheek with the razor.As little as the razor may be, it plays a big role metaphorically and literally. The razor is obviously used by Babo to shave Cereno, and while doing this, Babo cuts Cereno, asserting his control and putting fear into his enemy. The razor completes the story of â€Å"Benito Cereno† because without it, blood would not be spilled, showing the slaves’ newly acquired dominance over their oppressors, which is best shown with a razor to the neck.

Christianity Essay

Trade and merchants play a major role in Christianity and Islam from their origins to the 1500’s, and even though both had similar attributes yet differed as well. Christians and Islam both had a negative outlook, both had their religious viewpoints, as well as both changed their views towards trade. Despite this, Christianity began to open up to trade, even tolerating it, while Muslims became stricter on merchants and trade. Furthermore, Both Islam and Christianity had a negative attitudes for instance, in the Bible, Jesus preaches to his disciples how a rich man will never reach heaven. This is due to their behavior, for merchants are greedy and lying people whose only content is to get rich, which goes against Christianity’s belief. Moreover, Thomas Aquinas explains how unfair and unjust merchants are for they price their goods higher than what the product actually cost. By the tone of the document as well as how he explains trade and its problems show his dislike. L ikewise Ibn Khaldun describes merchants as weak, and disgusting men and how they negatively affect the government. His tone is harsher however, which indicates his anger towards the merchants. Merchants constants rip-off of the people by selling their goods at a high price as well s giving their all their goods to those who pay more. The Islamic Court in Ankara had to deal with a case in which merchants would give all their cotton to a single person, if they pay extra high price in addition to the merchant’s high prices. Document seven contains quotes from that of the people who have complained about the merchants. Both Christianity and Islam share the same pessimistic attitude towards merchants and trade because of their behavior and how they sell their goods. Anyways, I would have like to see a document from a merchant, it would have help me better indicate if merchants were really sneaky and unfair as spoken in the documents given. Some looked to the Christianity’s and Islam’s beliefs, to determine their view on merchants and trade for both religions impacted all their followers. In the Bible, Jesus says that no rich man will ever reach heaven. The small passage comes from the bible, which heavily every Christians view. Which is also why he emphasized how the quote from the bible and how i t fit into the situation. The Muslim Qur’an also circled around honesty and truthfulness which the Muslims and Muslim merchants had to follow if they wanted to reach paradise. Thomas Aquinas who was also heavily influence by Christianity, and its bible, for he states a line out of the bible. He indicates the bible  because he knows that adding the bible would persuade many of the Christians which was his intended target audience. Reginald, a monk of Durham also says explains the life of Godric and how he became a successful merchant, only to become tired of it and soon devoted himself to God giving away all his possessions to the poor. Reginald’s attended audience was Christian followers, he also helps justify document 1 in Godric went from rich to poor in order to devote himself to god. I would have liked a document from a person not Christian or Islam because it would have allow me to understand how much both religions influence the views of its subjects. Despite the similarities Christianit y religious views seem to rather negative and stricter than the Muslims were lighter and positive. Merchants and trade in the eyes of Christianity and Islam began to change significantly overtime. Ibn Khaldun says how beneficial the merchants are to the capital, for they buy goods in one area, only to sell at a higher price in an area in demand. Which the Qur’an also depicts, however it encourages trade as long as it is fair and truthful. Yet Ibn Khaldun gives us evidence of laws which were established in order to control merchant’s behavior. In addition, document 7 shows how the Islamic court had power over merchants and could affect their behavior as well as. Unlike Islam which began to become stricter, Christianity began look towards it positively, such as, letter C of document 6 describes an order being canceled for English wool, and the consumer seemingly brings god name into it, which suggest the consumer does not think of trade conflicting with Christianity. Which letter A also identify for both letters show how the merchant’s goal is to make a profit, and they see no problem with. In conclusion, Christianity and Islam attitudes towards trade and me rchants were similar in certain aspects as, of the beginning both viewed it negatively, and on a religious level. However, both began to change their views on trade and merchants. For Christianity began approving trade, while Islam began harsher treatment towards trade and merchants.