concept of corporate social responsibility - Free Essay Example

To what extent are car manufacturing firms operating in a more socially responsible manner when designing environmentally friendly cars? Abstract Social responsibility is one of the key differentiators between modern corporations, and is seen by many analysts as an antidote to the past few years trend towards the demonisation of corporate institutions. The recent economic crisis, in particular, has led many observers to argue that corporations that fail to address issues of social responsibility will struggle to survive. However, other observers question whether this phenomenon is anything more than a superficial consumer trend, and whether the world economy in general can seriously contemplate a corporate system in which the profit motive is subservient to the need for corporate social responsibility. This dissertation examines social responsibility in terms of the car manufacturing industry, and looks in particular at the question of whether or not the move towards environmentally friendly cars is anything more than a passing phase in an industry that is extremely sensitive to public opinion. Ultimately, the aim of the dissertation is to determine whether or not corporate social responsibility within the car manufacturing industry is a genuine change, or whether it is simply a superficial response to a passing public trend. Introduction The concept of corporate social responsibility has been one of the dominant themes of the past decade, with consumer recognition of a corporations social responsibility being increasingly seen as a lucrative phenomenon. In the west, in particular, increasing levels of affluence have led to a trend that has seen more customers show willingness to pay more for products that are designed according to theories of social responsibility., and this shift has been nowhere more apparent than in the automobile manufacturing industry. This trend has inter-cut with a recognition (in some quarters) of the need to ensure a more environmentally-friendly approach to industrial production and consumption, and a number of corporations have secured dramatically enhanced public images through a focus on affordable but socially responsible products. However, critics argue that since the primary aim of these corporations is to increase their profits, the appearance of social responsibility has been more o f a cosmetic change than a substantial alteration of core business practices; many critics believe that corporations have, in most cases, merely become better at packaging their products as a more socially responsible, environmentally friendly alternative. Despite the recent financial crisis, the automobile manufacturing industry remains a bellwether for the global economy, and any genuine global industrial changes regarding social responsibility will likely be evident in the automobile industry at an early stage. This dissertation will examine the behaviour of car manufacturing firms and will ask whether they have genuinely become more socially responsible when designing environmentally friendly cars, or whether this is merely a superficial smokescreen designed to generate improved public exposure without leading to genuine changes in design and production philosophies. In particular, the difference between the industrys approach before and after the onset of the recent economic crisis will be examined, and these differences will be used to determine whether or not the move towards social responsibility represented a genuine change to production systems or was merely an attempt to capture the early twenty-first century zeitgeist. Furthermore, the dissertation will examine the extent to which social responsibility and environmental awareness have affected not only above-the-line (i.e. visible to the public) areas of the industry, but also below-the-line (i.e. internal corporate) systems; the d issertation will argue that firms can only be said to have adopted a greater level of social responsibility if their attempts to tackle this issue extend to below-the-line activities. The dissertation will use a series of core examples in order to determine both the hyperbole (i.e. the claims made to the public) and the core below-the-line changes that may, or in some cases may not, reflect the car manufacturing industrys more socially responsible, environmentally friendly approach to business and production. Literature Review Corporate Social Responsibility Social responsibility has been one of the key growth areas in recent years. Crane et al. (2007) define social responsibility, in the corporate context, as a companys ability to put aside the profit motive in order to perform tasks that have a beneficial effect not on the company itself in terms of capital but in terms of an entirely separate social group (Crane et al., 2007, p. 6). In this context, social responsibility can be seen as something that companies are expected to do unbidden, in much the same way as many people choose to donate their time and volunteer to help charities. In some ways, therefore, social responsibility can be seen as an attempt to anthropomorphise corporations by rendering them indebted to a cultural belief that they should act in a more ethical and moral manner. This is in some ways a cultural corrective to the idea of corporations as solely capitalistic, profit-orientated organisations. May et al. (2007) suggest that corporate social responsibility is a popular construct that seeks to imbue corporations with humanistic traits regardless of whether those traits are present or not (May et al., 2007, p. 118). In order for public recognition of these traits to be tangible, there must be a relative relationship between different corporations, so some must be seen to be exercising a great deal of social responsibility, while other must be seen to be doing very little. This is, in effect, the classic polar relationship between good and bad, and it allows consumers to associate themselves with positive, socially responsible companies purely by making certain purchasing decisions. Both sides therefore have a vested interest in social responsibility: consumers feel good if they reward socially responsible companies with their custom, and can use such purchases as a form of status symbol; corporations, meanwhile, can try to generate a larger, more loyal customer base. While some critics argue that social responsibility is a trend that will wax and wane according to various social and economic factors (May et al., 2007, p. 119), others believe that the emergence of social responsibility as a major business factor in the past decade is in fact a permanent change. Crane et al. note that growing awareness of environmental issues has led many people to recognise the importance of social responsibility (Crane et al., 2007, p. 10), and although the recent economic crisis may have led many to hold back on the spending that they would otherwise have directed towards socially responsible corporations, there still appears to be a broad consensus that social responsibility is one of the most important factors in modern business. Consequently, many companies have sought to strengthen their social policy credentials. Environmental Policy One of the key elements of social responsibility is the environment. For more than twenty years, there have been warnings about the effects of global warming. Many corporations choose to exhibit their social responsibility through one of a number of environmentally friendly policies: Reducing the environmental cost of production distribution. Reducing the environmental cost of consumption. Reducing the environmental cost of disposal. Using more environmentally-friendly materials. Reducing packaging and other superfluous elements of a product. Instigating specific environmentally-friendly technological elements. Funding research and education programs. Carbon and pollution off-setting. All of these options and more are regularly employed by companies that want to emphasise their environmental credentials. Large companies tend to focus on methods that require little more effort than throwing money at the problem, e.g. by funding research or off-setting their carbon emissions. However, some other companies are far more inventive, and genuinely try to reduce their environmental impact. Social Responsibility Aside from the environmental factors noted above, companies have found a number of ways of demonstrating their corporate social responsibility: Funding education programs. Providing services, e.g. transportation for school and disabled groups. Promoting volunteerism among their own workers. Donating money to charities. Working to eliminate abuse in the chain of production. The globalised corporate environment makes it more difficult than ever for companies to hide practices that might be unpopular in their domestic markets. For example, if a company seeks to use cheap labour in third world countries, it can make a short-term impact but will usually be exposed eventually. In other words, companies find it increasingly difficult to hide any non-socially responsible behaviour. The Car Manufacturing Industry The vast majority of manufacturers are global in terms of production facilities. The leading US and Japanese manufacturers, for example, tend to have dozens of factories, with at the top five companies all having at least one factory in each of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. As such, the industry can be said to be truly global in terms of both customer reach and production. Furthermore, companies often experience great success in non-domestic markets, e.g. Japans Toyota also sells many cars in the US, and Germanys BMW is extremely popular in the UK; the only major exceptions to this rule are two of the three big US companies, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler, both of which have been criticised for their focus on the US market. The Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Car Manufacturing Industry All the worlds car manufacturers have in recent years suffered from the global economic downturn. In the US, the big three manufacturers Ford, Chrysler and General Motors (GM) have all come close to bankruptcy, and GM has been forced to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Around the world, companies have suffered similar problems, although in most cases not to the extent of the major US companies. In Japan, both Honda and Toyota have suffered heavy losses and have been forced to reconsolidate their core business areas. As a result, the automobile industry has been undergoing a period of immense uncertainty, and this has led many consumers to believe that they can no longer rely on the continued presence of the big names. Apart from the well-publicised problems for the big three US companies GM, Ford and Chrysler, almost every other major car manufacturer around the world has suffered a slump in profits in the past two years, and many have incurred legacy debts during this period that will impact upon their performance for decades to come. Toyota reported a massive $1.7bn loss (Fackler, 2008) and, like most other manufacturers, was forced to re-focus activities on core revenue streams. As one of the key figures in the green car revolution, Toyota had been investing heavily in environmentally-friendly cars, and had been happy to make such investments since it believe there would be massive financial benefits in the long run. However, the financial crisis crippled Toyotas ability to consider the long term implications of its current activities, and forced the company to focus on its core business. As Satoshi Hino notes, Toyota has long been one of the more adventurous companies when it comes to placing substantial industrial bets on future changes in the automobile market, but these have always been backed by strong performances in the companys core activities (Hino, 2005, p. 41). The companys move into electric and hybrid cars seen by many as a key element in the push towards greener automobiles has largely been financed by success in core diesel machines, with the pay-off for this front-end investment expected to arrive between 2010 and 2015. However, with the core business model threatened by double-digit year-on-year sales drops, Toyota was forced in 2009 to consolidate its activities and re-focus on the most profitable elements of its production line. This decision by the company served as dramatic proof that while there was clearly a high degree of confidence in terms of the potential for socially responsible cars to provide a significant pay-off in the medium to long term, this confidence was not strong enough to allow the company to rely on such vehicles during a time of economic crisis. Clearly, therefore, market forces are not yet dictating the need for social responsibility in sufficient numbers, or with sufficient support via purchasing decisions . Research Methodology Research Approach The research will take two key approaches: a questionnaire will be used to conduct primary research into consumer awareness of the question of social responsibility in the car manufacturing industry, and two case studies will be used to determine how two of the worlds biggest manufacturers GM and Toyota deal with this issue. In order to assess the impact of the social responsibility policies of both GM and Toyota, the questionnaires will be designed to measure the impact of such policies (or the lack of them) and the degree to which they change public opinion and have the effect for which they were designed. These questionnaires will be vital in terms of bridging the gap between the theory and reality, and will expose the limitations inherent in this approach. In order to increase the likely response rate, and to comply with ethical considerations regarding privacy, the questionnaires were left anonymous and respondents were told that they could ignore any individual questions that they would prefer not to answer. The secondary research will focus on two case studies, one looking at the leading US car manufacturer (General Motors) and the other looking at the worlds leading car manufacturer, by sales (Toyota). These companies have been chosen for specific reasons. General Motors (GM) has had a difficult economic history over the past two decades, almost filing for bankruptcy in the 1990s before going on to enjoy considerable success with a series of non-environmentally friendly cars (SUVs) while professing to hold social responsibility as a key philosophical point, and then suffering a massive collapse that resulted in the company filing for the fourth largest bankruptcy in US history (see chapter 4). Toyota, meanwhile, has made a name for itself with a series of advanced hybrid cars, but has also suffered during the recent financial crisis (see chapter 5). In other words, GM is seen by many as one of the worlds least socially responsible manufacturers, and Toyota is seen by many as one of the worlds most socially responsible manufacturers. By comparing and contrasting their approaches and fortunes, it should be possible to develop a clear understanding of the extent to which major car manufacturers have been socially responsible in pursuing an environmentally friendly agenda. Research Questions The research is based on the following key questions: To what extent do car manufacturing companies act with a high degree of social responsibility when designing environmentally friendly cars? How important is consumer behaviour to car manufacturers interest in social responsibility? Do consumers drive companies behaviour, or vice versa? What different approaches to the subject of environmentally friendly, socially responsible cars have been taken by different companies? How has the recent economic crisis affected manufacturers interest in social responsibility? Is social responsibility progressing according to narrative trends? Is this a major change to business, or merely a passing trend? Research Limitations Any research project contains inherent limitations. If these limitations are ignored, they do not go away; rather, they linger and negatively impact the reliability of the overall project. Consequently, the best approach is to recognise these limitations from the start and to work to ensure that they are factored out of the equation as much as possible. As Saunders et al. note, its only by recognising the limitations of any research program that the problems that always affect any research project can be brought into the open, addressed and contextualised and, in some cases, turned into positives (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 51). The research limits of this project are as follows: Social responsibility is an inherently subjective matter. Something that is socially responsible in the view of one person may be socially irresponsible in the view of another. Many of the relevant subjects, such as global warming, are not universally recognised. Its therefore important to reflect the fact that there is ongoing debate. There is insufficient time and space to analyse the entire market. Therefore, key examples must be selected for the case studies. As noted in 3.1, the subjects for these case studies were chosen for very specific reasons. Questionnaires must be brief and simple to understand, yet they must also focus on the key points. Persuading respondents to fill in questionnaires can be difficult. All these limitations can be overcome, to various extents. The subjectivity inherent in the research subject is in fact relevant to the continuing social, cultural and political debates regarding the extent to which car companies should, and can, adopt socially responsible roles; some critics argue that this can only be achieved if consumers adopt socially responsible approaches to their purchasing patterns, which will inevitably force corporations to adapt to face this trend. Similarly, the continuing debate over global warming although settled in many peoples view continues to cause debate in many parts of the world. Finally, the limitations of time and space mean that the case study subjects must be analysed extremely closely, and the choices of company must be made carefully. Results Analysis Response 200 questionnaires were sent out. The expected response rate was 40-50%, as per the suggestion by Saunders et al. that any questionnaire-based research project that prompts between a third and a half of targets to respond can be said to have performed averagely (Saunders et al., 2009, p. 102). In the event, 81 questionnaires were returned, representing 40.5%, which is just within the expected range. This gives a statistically relevant sample group. Demographic Information Demographic details are important in research concerning attitudes to consumer activity and the environment, since both of these factors can impact upon an individuals view of these issues. Question 1 concerned the age of the respondents: How old are you? The majority of respondents were in their teens and twenties, with a total of three quarters being under 40. This makes the questionnaire more relevant in terms of analysing the attitudes of younger people. The second question concerned the occupation of the respondents. It was decided to provide broad categories rather than to request specific details. For one thing, this emphasised the confidentiality and privacy of the research, and for another it allowed for easy and effective categorisation of answers: What is your occupation? Around two thirds of the respondents were employed, self-employed or in part-time work, with the rest being students, retired or unemployed. Awareness of Social Responsibility among Car Manufacturers The next question asked respondents if they believed the car manufacturing industry, as a whole, to be socially responsible. A brief explanation was appended to this question, defining social responsibility as an awareness of their impact on society, including the environment, and their efforts to ensure that this impact has a positive rather than a negative effect: How responsible do you think car manufacturers are? An overwhelming majority (67.9%) considered car manufacturers to be either not very or not at all responsible. Breaking these results down according to age and occupation gave the following results: Appreciation of manufacturers social awareness, broken down by age range Clearly, levels of appreciation appear to be at least partly linked to age, with these levels peaking for individuals in their fifties. There are numerous possible reasons for this, including: Media exposure: different age groups are exposed to very different media forms and sources, each of which will likely carry very different stories concerning manufacturers levels of social awareness. Learned behaviour: older respondents will have spent longer living in a time when many of the relevant issues, particularly environmental impact, were not considered. Environmental awareness: some of the answers may be influenced by a lack of belief in the various arguments concerning the environment and, in particular, the car industrys contribution to global warming. Clearly, therefore, awareness of social responsibility is a dynamic factor that reflects a number of different viewpoints, and this factors is by no means viewed the same by different age groups. The clear correlation between age and awareness indicates that manufacturers must ensure that they operate multiple simultaneous social responsibility programs if they are to reach all these groups. However, the next question sought to determine whether or not it was strictly necessary for the manufacturers to try to appeal to everyone, and asked how important social responsibility is to purchasing decisions. First, in terms of the overall response, the result was as follows: How important is a manufacturers social responsibility for you when choosing what car to buy? Almost half (48.1%) claimed that social responsibility was either very or quite important, with just over half (51.9%) claiming that it was not very or not at all important. Given the relatively small sample group for this research project, the difference is small enough to be statistically irrelevant, and broadly indicates a 50-50 split in terms of opinion on this subject. However, looking at the results in terms of an age-related breakdown results in a very different set of results: Importance of social responsibility of manufacturers, by age The data shows a clear depreciation of the importance of social responsibility for older consumers, although there is evidence of an increase for consumers in their 50s and above. In order to determine a link between awareness of social responsibility in the industry and the importance of social responsibility in purchasing decisions, the results from figures 4 and 6 were then combined: Importance, and awareness, of social responsibility in the car manufacturing industry There is clearly an inverse relationship between awareness of social responsibility as a factor in the industry, and belief in the importance of social responsibility. For example, younger people are most likely to believe that social responsibility is an important factor when making purchasing decisions, but are the least appreciative of any efforts that have so far been made. To an extent, this can be seen to be a matter of perception, but theres also clearly a problem for the industry in terms of persuading parts of the consumer base that its intentions are genuine. In order to measure the degree to which various manufacturers have succeeded in their aim of seeming more socially responsible, respondents were next asked whether they thought the industry had become more socially responsible over the past decade: Do you think the car industry has become more socially responsible over the past decade, less socially responsible, or it has stayed mostly the same? The vast majority of respondents believe there has been no real change, strongly suggesting that either the message from the manufacturers has not got through to the public, or that there is a deep level of cynicism in terms of whether the public believe that the rhetoric has translated into genuine action. Finally, respondents were given a range of options and were asked to indicate which they believed were most important in terms of social responsibility. They were asked to tick two or three options, with the aim being to allow them to indicate the elements of corporate social responsibility that were deemed most important: Most important elements of social responsibility Clearly, the vast majority of consumers overwhelmingly equate social responsibility with environmental issues. The only other factor to come close to this in terms of relevance was making donations to charitable causes, which to an extent also involves the environment. Social responsibility is not purely about the environment, and encompasses a range of other activities that can improve society. However, for the consumers canvassed for this research project, environmental issues were by far the most important, and its therefore possible to argue that the environment has overtaken all other elements of social responsibility and has become the single most important issue. Although manufacturers could fight against this perception and attempt to focus attention on other factors, the best approach might be to accept that when it comes to social responsibility, most consumers overwhelmingly focus on the environment. Case Study 1: General Motors (US) Background General Motors (GM) is the largest US car manufacturer, and the second largest in the world (after Toyota) (Trott, 2009). The company relies heavily on four key brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Each of these brands has a distinctive presence in the US market, but critics have argued that GM has lacked focus on the non-US markets, leaving it particularly vulnerable to domestic turmoil and economic volatility. In 1994, GM came close to bankruptcy following a $4.5bn loss, but cost-cutting measures and management changes ensured its survival. The company was one of the key instigators of the huge rise in sales for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in the 1990s, a trend that was highly lucrative for GM but which resulted in criticism from environmental campaigners. Between 1998 and 2001, GM and Ford vied for the top spot in the US market, primarily through massively increasing sales in the SUV market. However, the downturn which followed the September 11th 2001 attacks saw GM suff er particularly hard, even compared to Ford, with the latter at least having a strong European heartland on which to rely during difficult trading conditions in the US. Nevertheless, GM bounced back and by 2005 was recording strong sales figures and was eyeing major expansion into overseas markets. However, the recent economic crisis virtually crippled GM, as well as its two key domestic rivals, Ford and Chrysler. GM lost $38.7bn in the 2007 fiscal year (Wearden, 2009), and an almost 50% drop in sales. The following year, GM predicted that it would run out of money in mid-2009 without a substantial re-financing program, and called for government help. In November 2008, the company joined with Ford and Chrysler in formally requesting help from the US government in order to stave off bankruptcy. Even in the context of the financial crisis, this move was massive, since it represented the genuine possibility of the USs three major car companies going bust almost simultaneously. Although the US government, under outgoing president George W. Bush, was initially reluctant to provide money at a time when many other businesses also had legitimate claims for government help, in December 2008 a bridging loan was finally offered. Despite numerous attempts to cut costs and reorganise the co mpany over the next six months, in June 2009 GM filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After Lehman Brothers, Worldcom and Washington Mutual, this was the fourth largest bankruptcy filing in US history. Eventually, on July 10th 2009, the US government helped to finance a new company, NGMCO Inc., that took on the majority of the old GM assets. The old GM changed its name to Motors Liquidation Company, and the new Vehicle Acquisition Holdings company changed its name to General Motors Company, thereby bringing GM back to life. The new version of GM is mostly owned by the US government, while the old GM Motors Liquidation Company continues to go through the process of the bankruptcy filing. Social Responsibility Both the old and the new GM have been involved in programs to emphasise their social responsibility. Since 1996, GM has financed the Safe Kids USA Buckle Up program, designed to encourage children to use seatbelts. The company has also contributed to a consortium that has donated over $1.2bn to fund education for engineering graduates, a scheme that has recently been extended worldwide. GM has also donated more than $200m in the past decade to charitable causes, and has supported both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates often simultaneously. The companys more recent philanthropic activities include a new global aid program (GM, 2009) and a number of smaller, local community projects designed to improve provisions mostly for children in areas surrounding the companys main factories. These projects have, for the most part, been maintained despite the continued financial uncertainty and the chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that took place in mid-2009. GM has also launched a major program called I Am GM, designed to showcase the companys strong workplace diversity policies. The program involves placing adverts in newspapers and magazines, and on television, in which GM employees from different ethnic backgrounds talk about their pride in the company. As well as reinforcing the idea of GM as an equal opportunities, ethnically diverse employer, the campaign is designed to show how GM works towards engineering a higher degree of diversity in society. Linked to this program is the companys renewed focus on safety, which has seen not only improvements designed to help children in the event of an accident, but also high-profile campaigns to reinforce the companys vehicles in order to make them withstand bigger crashes. The Buckle Up program has been maintained, and GM has expanded this campaign since 2008 by taking the message to schools around the US. The company claims that corporate responsibility is about more than just words its an acknowledgement that our actions shape our reputation (GM, 2009). Environmentally-Friendly Technology During the 1990s, a number of scandals saw the company accused of poor environmental management, including an accusation that sediments have been stored in unsafe conditions. In 2006, GM was one of a number of manufacturers from around the world named in a suit brought by the State of California over the issue of pollution. The case was dismissed a year later, but the damage to GMs reputation had already been done. In 2008, the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) ranked GM 18th on its list of the USs worst polluters, giving the company a toxic score of 73,248, set against the no. 1 polluter, E.I. du Pont de Nemours, which scored 285,661 (PERI, 2008). Meanwhile, in the same year, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) ranked GM 7th out of the worlds largest car manufacturers in terms of pollution and environmental performance, noting that although some of the companys brands performed well in this area, many others performed very badly (USC, 2008). As a result of this negativ e publicity, by the end of 2008 GM was seen to be lagging behind other companies in terms of (a) establishing its green credentials, and (b) getting these credentials across to the public. In fact, GM has a better record on environmental issues than might seem the case given the poor ratings mentioned above. Back in the early 1990s, GM produced the first all-electric US car, the EV1; although this was not a huge success, and was ultimately discontinued within ten years, the EV1 still popularised the idea of electric cars in the US and showed other manufacturers that the concept had potential. GM has long been working on alternative-technology vehicles, pioneering the use of turbochargers and ethanol-burning flexible-fuel vehicles. In 2004, GM was the first US company to introduce alternative fuel systems for SUVs and pick-up trucks, and the company has since launched a number of mild (i.e. part electric, part diesel) hybrid cars, such as the Saturn Vue and Chevrolet Malibu. Although these cars were introduced alongside, rather than instead of, conventional diesel cars, many industry analysts argue that GM has worked hard to create environmentally-friendly cars but has for the most part failed to promote this aspect of its business. GM has also worked on hybrid vehicles that have been mostly ignored by other companies, including a hybrid Magic-branded bus due for introduction between 2012 and 2014. GM has also worked hard on improving electric car batteries and instigating hydrogen technology. The company is pioneering flexible fuel technology, and all four of its core brands now have some form of flexible fuel model available. Criticisms of GMs Social Responsibility As the largest US car manufacturer, GM has naturally come in for heavy criticism for pioneering the modern phenomenon of the SUV. An SUV is a large, very strong car designed for carrying heavy equipment and negotiating difficult terrain; however, these vehicles have become extremely popular in suburban America, where they have routinely been used for common urban journeys. Since SUVs have very poor fuel efficiency, some critics have argued that SUVs, their owners, and their manufacturers including GM are contributing to the global warming problem. GM has recognised that global warming is a genuine phenomenon, and has made a number of clear public pronouncements on the subject. However, the SUV was one of the key vehicles in GMs recovery from near-bankruptcy in the mid-1990s, and the recent economic crisis has seen the SUV confirmed as one of GMs core products. Attempts to create hybrid SUVs have met with mixed results, and its notable that while some other companies have found succ ess with smaller, lighted hybrid cars, GMs attempts to create hybrid SUVs have for the most part failed. As of the end of 2009, GM has sold less than 1,000 hybrid vehicles (GM, 2009). This compares with companies such as Toyota (see chapter 5), who have sold more than 1m around the world. Clearly, GMs attempts to create an environmentally friendly and socially responsible vehicle have been somewhat stymied by an inability to capitalise on apparent public interest. Most US users of hybrid vehicles buy imported Toyota machines, with the Japanese manufacturer having captured around 75% of the American market (Toyota, 2009b). When the US government was forced to help GM (and other US car manufacturers) with its recent stimulus package, it was apparent that there was disappointment in some quarters concerning the lack of an emphasis on the need to promote environmentally-friendly vehicles. However, this lack of emphasis arguably reflects the fact that there isnt enough of a market for GM to justify the kind of investment that the hybrid sector requires. Consequently, GM like Ford and Chrysl er, the other two barely surviving US car giants has focused on its core brands and products, and for now this means little attention to environmentally friendly vehicles. Case Study 2: Toyota (Japan) Background Toyota is the worlds largest car manufacturer by sales (Isidore, 2009), with annual revenue in 2009 standing at $263.42bn down 21.9% on the previous years figures (Toyota, 2009). The company has a massive worldwide presence, with factories in over 30 countries including the US, the UK, France, Brazil, Portugal, Russia, India and Japan. Since the late 1990s, Toyota has been the most prominent exponent of hybrid technology and environmentally-friendly options such as electric cars. Ranges such as the Toyota Prius have become recognised as symbols of a new generation of car manufacturing in which the environmental and social impact of vehicles is a key consideration. Although sales of these hybrid vehicles have not, as yet, surpassed sales of Toyotas traditional diesel-engined cars, the company is at the forefront of the environmentally-friendly, socially responsible market and as such expects to capitalise massively when the market for such vehicles reaches maturity. However, Toyota like most other car manufacturers has experienced difficult financial times in recent years. With revenue down and the company reporting its first net loss in more than seventy years, 2008 was a traumatic years for a company that traditionally prides itself on stability and reliability. Like its domestic rival Honda, and many of its international rivals, Toyota had to ask for government loans in order to remain competitive; however, while many other companies needed these loans in order to survive, Toyota requested loans simply because it wanted to ensure it remained competitive in an environment in which it felt that many of its competitors would be artificially boosted by government cash. The company cut back many ancillary programs, including a number of factories, a chain of dealerships, and the costly Formula One racing team, and re-focused on core products. Just as recovery seemed to be around the corner, a major safety recall was necessitated in late 2009 and early 2010 as the company discovered problems with braking software on a number of models. The estimated cost of this recall program is between $1.8bn and $2bn (Fisk, 2010), which represents a sizeable chunk of the companys profits for the next few years. Social Responsibility In 2001, Toyota began to promote the Toyota way, a socially responsible philosophy that emphasised two key areas: respect for people, and continuous development. Aligning technological advances with the need to improve lives, Toyota sought to counter the idea that technology is essentially de-humanising. The Toyota Way has four main components: Group problem-solving, recognising the ability of individuals to express themselves. Long-term thinking, including an awareness of the companys environmental impact. Developing employees, improving their skill sets so that they contribute more to the company. Solving root problems, rather than covering up the symptoms of those problems (Liker, 2004). The Toyota Way quickly came to be seen by many analysts as the benchmark for early twenty-first century social responsibility. Many observers began to position the Toyota Way as less about Toyota, and more about how the worlds major corporations can retain their cutting-edge competitiveness while acting in a more socially responsible manner (Liker, 2004, p. 205). As a result, many other companies around the world began to expressly or implicitly define their own corporate social responsibility programs within the parameters of the Toyota Way. The result, for Toyota, was substantial positive publicity about the companys leading role in fundamentally changing the way in which corporations approach their relationship with their customers. By 2004, the Toyota Way had been championed by over 100 leading companies around the world (Liker, 2004, p. 206) and was widely seen to have made a substantial and genuine contribution to corporate social responsibility, including establishing the idea of such responsibility in the first place. Despite some criticisms of the plan, including an emphasis on words over actions (Crane et al., 2007, p. 56), the Toyota Plan positioned Toyota as one of the most socially responsible corporations in the world today. In 2006, Toyota established the Toyota Corporate Citizenship Division (CCD) in a bid to further formalise its commitment to social responsibility and sustainable development. CCD was based on Toyotas claim that it was determined to reinforce social contribution activities and integrate corporate social contribution functions that had (previously) been performed by multiple divisions (Toyota, 2006). The CCD program was not specifically a new initiative, but rather an umbrella venture designed to bring the companys various environmental, educational and traffic safety programs together. However, one key aspect of the CCD launch was Toyotas formal acceptance of the global warming phenomenon, and of the car manufacturing industrys role in accelerating global warming and thereby threatening the environment. Among the CCD initiatives designed to improve Toyotas contribution to the environment were: A reforestation program, providing funding for reforestation schemes around the world, including Japan, North and South American, and Europe. An educational program, designed to help school-children learn about the need to protect the environment. Research funding, providing money for research into reforestation and other methods of combating the effects of global warming. CCD also expressly committed Toyota to a series of regional Harmonious Society programs, designed to promote philanthropy, welfare and self-reliance within local communities, and to demonstrate ways in which these communities can help themselves, and less fortunate members of society, to improve their local environment. Volunteer activism was promoted as part of this scheme, with Toyota employees in Japan encouraged to spend time working with charities and other organisations. CCD also enabled the construction of a Toyota museum in Tokyo, with the aim of educating people about not only the history of the company, but also about the key principles of CCD. Many analysts broadly welcomed CCD as an affirmation of Toyotas social responsibility, and the company remains one of the firmest backers of the need to educate children about the dangers of climate control. Toyotas funding of research has also enabled significant work to be undertaken regarding experimental reforestation techniques, as well as work on new fuel and automotive technology. Although the benefits of this research have yet to be seen in the real world, this is largely due to the necessarily long periods of testing, and the company confidently predicts real world application to be manifested by 2015 for a number of projects. Environmentally-Friendly Technology As well as focusing on social responsibility through its CCD program, Toyota has also been arguably the most active proponent of environmentally friendly cars. The company has noted that these vehicles can not only cut down on pollution, but can also improve local communities by running more efficiently and with less noise. As part of its drive to improve its environmental standing, Toyota initiated the Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) project in the early 1990s, with the aim of developing a cohesive set of hybrid car technologies which allow Toyotas Prius, Hybrid and Lexus ranges to operate as full hybrids (i.e. fully powered by electric batteries) rather than mild (partial) hybrids. HSD has been extremely successful since its launch, and in 2009 the company announced that it had sold more than 2m hybrid cars, resulting in a cumulative estimated reduction in CO2 emissions of around 11m cubic tonnes (Toyota, 2009b). HSD has allowed Toyota to corner 75% of the US market in hybrid cars, 63% of the European market, and 61% of the Japanese market (Toyota, 2009). The system has been so successful that Toyota has announced plans to introduce HSD on all its models from around 2015-2019. Concomitant with this success has been work, jointly undertaken with Honda, to reduce the costs of hybrids, and this too has been successful: between 2005 and 2009, the incremental costs of hybrid vehicles was reduced by 50% (Toyota, 2009b). As a result, Toyota is now widely seen around the world as one of the most dynamic and experimental but also successful manufacturers of hybrid cars. The recent economic crisis has somewhat dented Toyotas previous enthusiasm for hybrid technology, although the company remains committed to the concept in the long-term. Prior to the onset of the 2007 economic crisis, it was widely noted that although Toyota had made major improvements in terms of both the technology and affordability of the hybrid program, there was still a great deal of work to be done, and this would require continued high levels of investment. However, the economic crisis has removed much of the companys financial stability, and this has resulted in a reappraisal of Toyotas ability to fund the kind of aggressive investment that is widely accepted as necessary in order to bring HSD technology to a much wider range of everyday cars. Toyota has admitted that funding for some projects has been put on hold, but remains committed to continuing investment with its core Prius, Lexus and Hybrid ranges (Toyota, 2009b). The companys public identity is so closely linked with environmentally friendly cars, that Toyota faces two conflicting elements of the debate over its continued investment in this area during troubled economic times: on the one hand, investing in this technology is one of Toyotas unique selling points (USPs) and arguably helps it maintain a high profile even among users who are not (for whatever reason) likely to purchase a hybrid vehicle in the near future; on the other hand, this public image is so well established that the company could likely afford to rein in its spending in this area and concentrate on promoting its existing technologies, and this would probably be enough to maintain the public image of Toyota as an environmentally friendly, socially responsible car manufacturer. Criticisms of Toyotas Social Responsibility Toyota has been roundly praised by many analysts, who argue that the companys environmental and social responsibility programs have been strong, effective and genuine. However, these programs have not been without their critics. William B. Werther and David Chandler suggest that much of Toyotas press commentary on the issue of social responsibility has focused on recycling the same initiatives repeatedly, rather than developing new policies (Werther Chandler, 2006, p. 88). The company has proved remarkably adept when it comes to repackaging old news, and this old news is in many cases more effective than the new news of rival manufacturers, but its still possible to argue that Toyota has not really moved on with its social responsibility programs since the early 2000s. Furthermore, some of its aims such as educating children about the dangers of global warming are laudable rhetoric but have not been transformed into realisable achievements to the degree that the rhetoric might hav e proposed. Werther and Chandler go on to note that Toyota has benefited from the relative lack of action of its contemporaries (Werther Chandler, 2006, p. 90), which has allowed the company to make small moves towards social responsibility and environmental concern and have those moves come across as far more powerful and bold, in relation to companies such as Honda and GM etc., than they would seem if judged purely on their own merits. Nevertheless, this criticism has for the most part been drowned out by a chorus of approval, and its notable that the companys reputation for social responsibility no matter how carefully orchestrated has been received by the public, for the most part, as a genuine phenomenon. Conclusion Car manufacturers are business entities and, as such, are committed to pursuing profit. Although its certainly not impossible for such companies to pursue operational goals with socially responsible objectives, these will inevitably have to be couched within the terms of a profit motive, and the structure of such large companies with a board of directors reporting to shareholders makes it virtually impossible for them to abandon the profit motive in favour of a wholly socially responsible approach. Although some world governments have shown a degree of sympathy for the idea that socially responsible corporate behaviour (particularly in the heavily-polluting car industry) should be rewarded by beneficial tax and trading incentives, it remains clear that for the most part it is necessary for such changes to be market-driven. A market-driven change will therefore reflect consumer desire to make purchases that reward social responsibility, and there is a perception that this will neces sarily result in higher costs. As has been shown, its certainly clear that the cost reductions achieved in the car manufacturing industry over the past three decades are mostly inconsistent with environmentally and socially responsible cars. However, while some consumers have always shown a degree of willingness to pay more for a certain type of car than might strictly be necessary, this type of behaviour has almost exclusively been couched in terms of the desire to own a car that functions as a status symbol. Consequently, socially responsible car manufacturers must position their products in a similar manner. While this is certainly one of the potentially profitable opportunities available to car manufacturers, however, its clear that many manufacturers do not see it as sufficiently strong to support an entire company. In other words, the market has not yet pushed manufacturers towards full social responsibility. The research carried out for this project clearly shows that the environment is by far the most important factor in most peoples thoughts about social responsibility. This presents the industry with a problem, since cars are inherently environmentally unfriendly and even hybrid technology requires production plants etc., i.e. things that produce pollution. Even the most ardent supporters of environmentally-friendly vehicles would not go so far as to suggest that the industry can be made entirely compliant in terms of the environment. The best case scenario for the car manufacturing industry is to work to reduce the direct impact of motoring (i.e. the impact of the actual vehicles through carbon emissions etc.) and to hope that consumers will be more tolerant of less visible factors such as the carbon emissions from factories and production plants as well as subsidiary activities such as research and design. Whether this approach will be successful is unclear, but consumers are unlike ly to want to give up their dependence on cars, so some form of subconscious compromise is likely to be achievable. Its likely that consumers will adopt relative views of the industry, i.e. viewing certain manufacturers are being more socially responsible than their competitors. As the research shows, younger consumers are more likely to be influenced by this, so there is a real benefit for companies such as Toyota who can demonstrate their environmental credentials. It remains to be seen whether younger, environmentally-aware consumers carry this awareness through to their purchasing decisions in later life, or whether their attitudes change as they get older. However, whatever the permutations, its clear that manufacturers cant afford to ignore the issue of social responsibility, and that they must focus in particular on the environment. Its clear that the market still favours safe options, and that socially responsible products are for the most part seen as a luxury. In fact, social responsibility can be seen as the ultimate luxury in the modern market. As Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee note, decadence and overt luxury have become unfashionable in recent years, as part of a backlash against excess, so social responsibility and socially responsible brands are now one of the key means by which those with disposable income can flaunt their wealth without inviting criticism (Kotler Lee, 2005, p. 80). According to this theory, someone driving a Toyota Prius hybrid car, for example, is essentially doing so (at least in part) for the same reasons that someone might drive a top-of-the-range Ferrari: both cars are a form of status symbol. However, while the Ferrari might draw accusations of flashiness and showmanship, the Prius is seen as a sign of environmental concern and social responsibility. The Prius therefore confers a degree of social responsibility upon its owner. Furthermore, Kotler and Lee argue that in the west, we are increasingly aware of global inequality, yet we do not want to give away our wealth (Kotler Lee, 2005, p. 82). In other words, driving a socially responsible car is a way of spending money, and displaying wealth, while buttressing the act of spending against criticism by emphasising the socially responsible aspect of the product. This means that the public appetite for socially responsible cars is fundamentally based on a desire to display wealth and status; its therefore no surprise if poor economic conditions limit the degree to which such status symbols can be afforded, and companies such as Toyota are therefore unable to rely on these ranges to generate huge profits. The development of environmentally friendly cars can therefore be seen as a function less of social responsibility on the part of car manufacturers, and more as a function of social responsibility (for various reasons, as outlined above) on the part of consumers. Car manufacturers will always react to consumer demand and consumer opinion, and the recent relative success of socially responsible cars can be seen as an example of companies attempting to gain an early foothold in a potentially extremely lucrative market. Companies such as Toyota did not, therefore, decide to focus so much money and time on products such as the Prius simply because their executives felt social responsibility was a morally or ethically correct approach, although well-planned and well-executed advertising campaigns may well have given this impression. Instead, Toyota a company with a history of spotting opportunities early and moving into growing markets (Hino, 2005, p. 6) sought to become the dominant fi gure in a market that it believed would grow massively over the next decade. The economic crisis has limited such optimism, and Toyota (and other manufacturers) have cut back on this area accordingly. However, it would seem that there is, overall, a high degree of optimism concerning the long-term future of socially responsible cars, and most car manufacturers believe that this is an area that will eventually prove highly lucrative. The fact that such an approach is not, however, a part of core business strategies, was evident in the various financial stimulus plans put forward by world governments in recent years, many of which failed to provide the level of support for socially responsible cars as campaigners would have wanted. Nevertheless, many analysts believe that the market is still moving towards rewarding social responsibility on a larger scale, and even if this process has been dramatically slowed by the economic crisis, many expect it to ultimately resume when the financi al basis is in place. Consequently, although the motives for socially responsible behaviour can be questioned, its clear that there is still a place for social responsibility in the car manufacturing industry, and this is likely to lead to major developments and investment programs once the immediate effects of the financial crisis have been overcome. Recommendations Based on the research carried out, the following recommendations can be made: Manufacturers should not abandon socially responsible and environmentally friendly vehicles simply because of the short term problems associated with the economic crisis. Consumers should be more prepared to back their interest in social responsibility with relevant purchasing decisions. The car manufacturing industry should make concerted, united efforts to introduce certain standards in terms of environmentally friendly, socially responsible technology. Bibliography Adams, John Hafiz T. A. Khan Robert Raeside David I. White (2007). Research Methods for Graduate Business and Social Science Students. Oxford: Oxford University Press Automaker (2007). Automaker Rankings 2007, available at (accessed 02/10) Blattberg, Charles (2004). Welfare: Towards the Patriotic Corporation. Oxford: Oxford University Press Crane, Andrew Dirk Matten Laura Spence (2007). Corporate Social Responsibility: Readings and Cases. Oxford: Oxford University Press Crane, Andrew Abigail McWilliams Dirk Matten Jeremy Moon (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press Everingham, C. (2001). Reconstituting Community. London: Palgrave Macmillan Fackler, Martin (2008). Toyota Expects its First Loss in 70 Years, in The New York Times, December 22nd 2008, available at (accessed 02/10) Fisk, Margaret Cronin (2010). Toyota Recall Cost to Exceed $2bn, Lawyers Say, available at (accessed 02/10) GM (2009). Corporate Responsibility, available at (accessed 02/10) Granger, C. M. Lord (2009). Case Study: Small Business Performance During Times of Economic Hardship, in The Journal of Business and Management Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 33-36 (Winter 2009) Harvard Business Review (2003). Business Review on Corporate Responsibility. Harvard: Harvard Business School Heald, Morrell (2005). The Social Responsibilities of Business: Company and Community, 1900-1960. Basingstoke: OU Press Hino, Satoshi (2005). Inside the Mind of Toyota: Management Principles for Enduring Growth. London: Productivity Press Hollander, Jeffrey Stephen Fenichell (2004). What Matters Most: Business, Social Responsibility and the End of the Era of Greed. London: WileyBlackwell Hopkins, Michael (2008). Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Is Business the Solution?. London New York: Routledge Isidore, Chris (2009). GM Loses No. 1 Sales Title to Toyota, available at (accessed 02/10) Liker, Jeffrey (2004). The Toyota Way: Fourteen Management Principles From the Worlds Greatest Manufacturer. London: McGraw-Hill Professional McWilliams, Abigail Donald Siegel (2001). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Theory of the Firm Perspective, in Academy of Management Review, vol. 26, no. 1, p. 117-127 (Summer 2001) Miller, Frederic P. Agnes F. Vandome John McBrewster (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility. London New York: Routledge OICA (2008). Production Statistics, available at (accessed 02/10) PERI (2008). Toxic 100 Index, available at (accessed 02/10) Phillips, Robert Edward Freeman (2003). Stakeholder Theory and Organization Ethics. New York: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Saunders, Mark K. Adrian Thornhill Philip Lewis (2009). Research Methods for Business Students. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Schreck, Philip (2009). The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility: Understanding and Measuring Economic Impacts of Corporate Social Responsibility. London: John Wiley Sons Scott, Allen J. (2008). The Social Economy of the Metropolis. Oxford: Oxford University Press Strott, Elizabeth (2009). Toyota Takes Sales Crown from GM, available at (accessed 02/10) Toyota (2006). Social Contribution, available at (accessed 02/10) Toyota (2009). 2009 Financial Results, available at (accessed 02/10) Toyota (2009b). Worldwide Sales of TMC Hybrids Top 2m Units, available at (accessed 02/10) Wearden, Graeme (2009). General Motors Countdown to Collapse, available at (accessed 02/10)

Random Science Facts and Trivia

Everyone knows a few fun random facts they can pull out as a party trick or a conversation icebreaker. Here are a few more to add to your collection. Although some of these facts are strange and obscure, they are 100% verified, so rest assured that youll be sharing solid information at that party. Rotation of Earth Did you know that the Earth rotates a full 360 degrees in 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds, not 24 hours? Cataracts Sometimes the crystalline lenses of elderly people become milky and cloudy. This is called a cataract, and it causes partial or complete loss of vision. Berry Interesting Did you know that pineapples, oranges, and tomatoes are actually berries? Pure Gold Pure gold is so soft that it can be molded with your bare hands. Real Life Dragons The Komodo dragon is a renowned giant, with the average male measuring around 8 feet long; some exceptional individuals reach 10 feet long. It is the heaviest lizard of all, with an average weight of 130 pounds and some reaching nearly 180 pounds. Thats So Nuclear The word nuclear is related to the nucleus of an atom. It is often used to describe the energy produced when a nucleus is split (fission) or joined with another (fusion). Hes Lost It Did you know that a cockroach can live for nine days without its head  before it starves to death? He Said No Did you know that the physicist Albert Einstein refused the job of president of Israel? Einstein was asked to be the president when the Israeli president died in 1952. Old Guys The earliest cockroach fossil  is about 280 million years old, 80 million years older than the first dinosaurs. Newts Are Neat Newts are members of the salamander family. They are found in North America, Europe, and Asia. A Little Lithium in Your 7UP? The original formula for 7UP contained lithium citrate, a chemical used today as a treatment for bipolar disorders. The ingredient was removed by 1950. How Many Lightbulbs... The tungsten filament inside an incandescent light bulb reaches a temperature of 4,664 degrees when turned on. Blue as Turquoise Traces of copper  are what give turquoise its distinctive blue color. Brainless Starfish, like many radially symmetric animals, do not have brains.

Wedding Crashers - 769 Words

Wedding Crashers Wedding Crashers was the return of the R rated adult comedy movie, it was the sixth biggest grosser in 2005, it is a sex comedy about two men who crash weddings to meet single woman and deceive them to get them into bed. I believe the movie Wedding Crashers is against feminism. The two male characters treat women like sex objects to gain their need for sexual satisfaction. The movie stereotypes women to make them seem like sex objects, disregarding their personality and intelligence. I think the target audiences are men who are in their late 20s and early 30s that are successful and enjoy humorous adult comedy. The movie revolves around the two main characters, John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey. John and Jeremy are†¦show more content†¦He usually wants to be uncommitted to relationships and have no strings attached sex. This is what John and Jeremy are doing by crashing these weddings. They do not want to get out of the phase they were in as adolescence, because they do not want to grow up. Chazz Reingold is the man who passed on all the rules to being a wedding crasher to John and Jeremy. He is a middle-aged man and still lives with his mother at her house. He rarely crashes weddings anymore because he has found an unlikely success in meeting girls by crashing funerals. He says grief is nature s most powerful aphrodisiac, therefore implying he is using the vulnerability of women at funerals to gain his sexual desires. He is taking advantage of women who are not in the right state of mind, which is very low in standards because again he is treating them as an ordinary object disregarding their feelings and intellect. Claire s boyfriend Bradley is the testosterone-fueled person who assaults people but is always dismissed as harmless. He also is a cheating rat who treats Claire with great disrespect. When Bradley is in the bathroom throwing up and Claire asks him if he s ok he responds in a rude sarcastic way saying well Claire my head is bu ried in a toilet, what do you think? Why don t you do the math ok? He is talking to her with no regard towards her emotions and her feelings. He talks to her in a loudShow MoreRelatedWedding Crashers By David Dobkin950 Words   |  4 Pagesromantic comedy films then Wedding Crashers might just be the film for you! Wedding Crashers is a popular film from 2005 directed by David Dobkin. The top stars in Wedding Crashers include Owen Wilson as John Beckwith, Vince Vaughn as Jeremy Grey, and Rachel McAdams as Claire. The movie begins as the main characters (John and Vince) who are divorce mediators in Washington D.C. go to crash a wedding held for the U.S. Secretary of Treasury’s daughter. While at the wedding Jeremey ends up finding anotherRead MoreBook Review : Midnight Magic By Woody Allen1104 Words   |  5 Pagesmovies such as: The Wedding Crashers, The Internship, Hall Pass, Meet the Parents and many more. Owen Wilson was nominated for a Golden Globe for the Best Performa nce by an Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance in Midnight in Paris (â€Å"awards†). Wilson has won an abundant amount of other awards for his performances in other movies such as Best On-Screen team with Vince Vaughn in The Wedding Crashers and Comedy duo of the year also with Vince Vaughn for The Wedding Crashers. In addition to OwenRead MoreThe Wedding Crashers Movie Analysis Essay1374 Words   |  6 PagesThe Wedding Crasher Analysis In the 2005 film The Wedding Crashers directed David Dobkin show many normal gender stereotypes and gender inequalities that are still present in today’s society. The film mainly focuses on two divorce mediators Jeremy and John, who enjoy sneaking into wedding parties in order to get drunk off free booze and seduce bridesmaids. Certainly, the film exposes the bromance relationship that Jeremy and John have, which opposes the hegemonic masculinity that society is accustomedRead MoreMidnight in Paris2167 Words   |  9 PagesToday’s Claudia Puig doesn’t applaud Wilson’s performance as I do. She refers to his work to less than convincing of a novelist with a passion for Fitzgerald or Hemingway like he does in the film. Puig argues that unlike his comedy films like Wedding Crashers or Zoolander, Wilson does a mediocre job on the film. Based on the film, Wilson is able to keep the audience thinking and believe that he is a dedicated and talented writer. Pete Hammond of Box Office Magazine, declares Allen’s romantic comedyRead MoreMovie Review : My Opinion1763 Words   |  8 PagesThe movie I decided to watch is called Wedding Crashers. The movie in my opinion is a great movie when you look at it from a sociological standpoint. The two main characters in the movie are John and Jeremy; they’re â€Å"wedding crashers.† What they do is go to different weddings of people they have never even met and try and sleep with the bride maids. They use aliases so no one can notice them and they have a whole back story which is completely fake. They act like they’re part of the family by studyingRead MoreEssay on Motion Picture Industry Managerial Report1230 Words   |  5 Pagesextreme values. Once a box-plot is created, one can see the extreme values are 108.44 (Star Wars: Episode III), 102.69 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), 77.06 (War of the Worlds), 50.34 (Mr. and Mrs. Smith), 48.75 (Batman Begins), and 33.90 (Wedding Crashers). Total Gross will demonstrate how much money a movie has earned overall. This can serve as an indicator of which types of movies will resonate with movie-goers and do well in the future. This could also serve as a guide of whetherRead MoreWhat Is Love Essay796 Words   |  4 Pagessome type of void that you’re missing in your life. Heavenly Love on the other hand is that can’t eat, can’t sleep, heartache when you leave feeling that is truly undeniable. My favorite quote that defines this type of love is from the movie Wedding Crashers, â€Å"True love is your souls recognition of its counterpoint in another.† Each speaker looks at love in a mysterious and powerful way but with their own twist of ideas added to it. Love is Eros. Love is desire, essence, wholeness, beauty, andRead MoreThe Head Or The Heart : Lincoln And Thoreau1373 Words   |  6 Pagesgenerally not an issue if only a small number of people act as â€Å"free riders.† However, by urging all his readers to disobey the laws, Thoreau could have created a catastrophic problem in his society. Consider a wedding crasher. Not much damage is done by stealing a single slice of wedding cake, but if forty people decide to do the same, there won’t be enough cake left for the rightful guests. Government and laws are necessary because they act as benevolent authority, encouraging people to work togetherRead MoreWestern Asian Women : The Dragon Lady 1001 Words   |  5 Pagesup getting up imposed on their people as well. East Asian women are seen as decorative and fragile, much like a decorative vase – an item on e can collect. Sadly, East Asian women are also perceived as trophies for collection. In one scene in Wedding Crashers, Vince Vaughn said, â€Å"This is my first Asian!†15 It shows that the fact East Asian women are seen as objects is still very much alive on a daily basis. Personally, I have been on sites and apps to meet new people, and I have always received messagesRead MoreList Of Top 10 Overlooked Music Moments Of The Years1271 Words   |  6 Pagesexpressive introduction of the Portlanders artistry. With versatile flows and dense lyrics wrapped into playful beats, Amine flaunts his creativity on each track.   Theres definitely some Nelly and Outcast inspiration in his music. In tracks like Wedding Crashers, STFU, and Veggies he turns his personal situations into witty punchlines that are so light that theyre comical. Amine is of the few rappers that actually embraces the BlackBoyJoy movement and expresses that in this album. Its a shame that

How Electoral Votes Are Awarded - A Complicated Process

There are 538 electoral votes up for grabs in every presidential election, but the process of determining how  electoral votes are awarded is one of the most complicated and widely misunderstood facets of  American presidential elections. Heres the thing you should know: The U.S. Constitution created the Electoral College, but the Founding Fathers had fairly little to say about how electoral votes are awarded  by each of the states. Here are some common questions and answers about how states allocate electoral votes in presidential contests. How Many Electoral Votes Are Needed to Win an Election There are 538 electors in the Electoral College. To become president, a candidate must win a simple majority of the electors, or 270, in the general election. Electors are important people in each major political party who are chosen by voters to represent them in the selection of a president. Voters dont actually vote directly for the president; they choose electors to vote on their behalf. States are allotted a number of electors based on their population and number of congressional districts. The larger a states population, the more electors it is allocated. For example, California is the most populous state with about 38 million residents. It also holds the most electors at 55. Wyoming, on the other hand, is the least populous state with fewer than 600,000 residents. As such, it holds only three electors. How Electoral Votes Are Distributed States determine on their own how to distribute the electoral votes that have been allocated to them. Most states award all of their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote in the state. This method of awarding electoral votes is commonly known as winner-take-all. So even if a presidential candidate wins 51 percent of the popular vote in a winner-take-all state, he is awarded 100 percent of the electoral votes. Exceptions to Electoral Vote Distribution   48 of the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., award all of their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote there. Only two states award their electoral votes in a different manner. They are Nebraska and Maine. These states allocate their electoral votes by congressional district. In other words, instead of distributing all of its electoral votes to the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote, Nebraska and Maine awards an electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. The winner of the statewide vote gets two additional electoral votes. This method is called the Congressional District Method; Maine has used it since 1972 and Nebraska has used it since 1996. The Constitution and Vote Distribution While the U.S. Constitution requires states to appoint electors, the document is silent on how they actually award votes in presidential elections. There have been numerous proposals to circumvent the winner-take-all method of awarding electoral votes. The Constitution leaves the matter of electoral-vote distribution up to the states, stating only that: Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress. The key phrase pertaining to the distribution of electoral votes is obvious: ... in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the states role in awarding electoral votes is supreme. Electors and Delegates Electors are not the same as delegates. Electors are part of the mechanism that chooses a president. Delegates, on the other hand, distributed by the parties during the primaries and serve to nominate candidates to run in the general election.   Delegates are people who attend political conventions to choose the party nominees. Controversy Over Electoral Vote Distribution Former Vice President Al Gore has expressed concern about the way most states award electoral votes. He and a growing number of Americans support the National Popular Vote initiative. States that enter the compact agree to award their electoral votes to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Electoral College Ties The 1800 election  exposed a major flaw in the countrys new constitution. At the time, presidents and vice presidents did not run separately; the highest vote-getter became president, and the second-highest vote-getter was elected vice president. The first Electoral College tie was between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, his running mate in the election. Both men won 73 electoral votes. Electoral College Alternatives There are other ways, yes, but they are untested. So its unclear whether theyd work better than the Electoral College. One of them is called the National Popular vote plan; under it, states would  cast all of their electoral votes for the presidential candidate winning the nationwide popular vote.  The Electoral College would no longer be necessary.

Essay about Overpopulation in the United States - 1949 Words

Overpopulation in the United States The world is being over populated with humans not only in China but in the United States of America as well. The problem isn’t as obvious in the United States as in other countries, but I believe over-populated nations will soon become a problem everywhere in the world. Population is not a bad thing in all situations, but I think that our population growth problem is un-healthy and needs to slow down. I believe there are several ways to come about this problem as well. Population can be slowed down in many ways; it’s just how we choose to execute this problem. I do not think drastic measurements need to take place in order to slow down our rapid growth in the United States. Regulations and higher†¦show more content†¦The government went into even more drastic measurements for this policy, forcing abortions, sterilizations, and fines on an entire village when a birth that was not supposed to happen occurred. China is a male-or ientated country; therefore, females got the short end of the stick when it came down to the one-child policy. For example, if you were supposed to have a girl they would force you to try harder for a boy because males were more valuable in China. China is still very over populated to this day, and I believe it is carrying on into the United States. This worries me because I would not want to be involved or participate in the one-child policy. That is why I believe that, though right now our population is not a problem, it soon can become one, and it should start to be controlled and organized better then what it is being now. Abortions and sterilization were enforced in China to slow down their population problem. In order for us to slow down our population problem in the United States I do not think abortions are necessary. I think less drastic measures can take place in order to slow down reproduction. For example, in order to go to school, every child must get shots. They are m andatory, or else you cannot go to school; it’s required by the government. I think the government should make it mandatory that all females be on some kind of birth control, such as the shot, patch pill, etc., untilShow MoreRelatedHow to Save an Animal Life Essay1636 Words   |  7 Pagesit is not their time. This is due to overpopulation in animal shelters. Death in animal shelters due to overpopulation is a problem that I believe could easily be resolved if we were to take more responsibility as pet owners. There are simply too many animals being brought into this world, and not enough space or homes for them to live. As pet owners, we need to take responsibility in the way we handle this problem. As sad as it is, the issue of overpopulation is one that is literally deadly. EveryRead MoreOverpopulation And The Problem Of Overpopulation1747 Words   |  7 PagesOverpopulation Programs There are many organizations that deal with the problem of overpopulation or problems related to the effects of overpopulation such as environmental effects. Some of the organizations that I found related to this topic are the United Nations Population Fund, a group called Population Matters, another group called the World Population Balance and the Center for Biological Diversity. All of these groups deal with the issue of overpopulation and the effects that overpopulationRead MoreOverpopulation Is More Than Just A Crowded Planet1343 Words   |  6 Pagescurrent world population no longer signifies progression; it signifies regression. Today, the Earth’s human population is approaching overpopulation. Overpopulation is more than just a crowded planet. The definition of overpopulation is, â€Å"†¦too many people for the amount of food, materials, and space available†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Cambridge Dictionaries). This means that overpopulation will impact crucial aspects of th e planet and not just increase city sizes. Robert Kolb suggested in the Encyclopedia of Business EthicsRead MoreA Great Matter Of Concern Today Or Just A Bust?1667 Words   |  7 Pages â€Æ' A Great Matter of Concern Today or Just a Bust? While India is on the verge of being the most populated country. While the third world countries are deprived of their resources rapidly. People in the United States have to say that the problem of over population has been curbed and infant production rate controlled. Recently, one of the commentators in prominent U.S. publication declared that the population boom is a bust. Whether it is actually a bust nowRead MoreOverpopulation : Preserve The World1291 Words   |  6 Pages Overpopulation: Preserve The World If there was a way to have a better life for you and your loved ones would you take it? Or would you rather not take the opportunity and struggle throughout the rest of your life, this will happen by world overpopulation. In the past, Overpopulation started out from the baby boom which increased the birthrate, and according to Ewan Mcleish the author of â€Å"Overcrowded World, (16)† he stated that it made 40% of the national population. Today, overpopulation is aRead MoreOverpopulation Is A Social Science1492 Words   |  6 PagesCaloia, Angela Mr.Beck Geography 9 February 9 2016 Overpopulation is Overhyped Overpopulation has made headlines through the decades, advertised as one of the most pressing global issues future generations will have to confront, scientists stating that we as humans are undermining the life support system that sustains up. This, however, is untrue. Overpopulation defines a situation where the number of people exhaust the resources such that it can no longerRead MoreHow Overpopulation Affects Education Being in a classroom full of twenty people is a normal800 Words   |  4 PagesHow Overpopulation Affects Education Being in a classroom full of twenty people is a normal persons day, but being in a room full of seventy people is an example of overpopulation affecting education. Overpopulation in education affects the people and children very much. It affects the kids by the way they are being taught and the distractions around them. The overcrowding in classrooms cause many children to feel more negative. They feel more negative because most kids in a crowded roomRead MoreThe Effects Of Human Overpopulation On The Environment1242 Words   |  5 PagesThe Effects of Human Overpopulation on the Environment â€Å"Can one apple slice feed the world?† If the world were an apple, farmland would only be one very thin slice. The growing population on this Earth has some serious questions that it needs to consider as a whole. How are we all going to eat with eight billion mouths to eat? Farmers have an interesting proposition, they need to feed a growing population with very little land. Overpopulation also has negative effects on the earth through pollutionRead MoreOverpopulation Is An Issue Of Overpopulation930 Words   |  4 PagesOverpopulation is an issue that many in the world may never face, however, the ones that do experience this issue know the struggles that it can pose to the overall quality of life. There are multiple reasons on why overpopulation is an issue and why it can affect quality of life, but ones that have a major impact on the world is the shortage of food, overconsumption of fossil fuels, and decline in health care. These specific issues were selected because of the widespread availability of informationRead MoreA Brief Note On Animal Shelter And The American Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty Essay965 Words   |  4 PagesThey are many shelters in the United States being over populated with animals. Dogs and cats are left at the shelters for many reason. The question being research is why are animal shelter over populate. What are the causes of animal shelter being over populated? What are the benefit of adopting? What are the effect on animal in over populated shelters? And how can we help animal shelters stop being over populated? ASPCA. (2010). Pet Overpopulation. Teacher Newsletter of the American Society for

The Vampire Diaries The Struggle Chapter Fourteen Free Essays

Bonnie shivered as she waited outside the tall Victorian house. The air was frosty this morning, and although it was almost eight o’clock the sun had never really come up. The sky was just one dense massed bank of gray and white clouds, creating an eerie twilight below. We will write a custom essay sample on The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle Chapter Fourteen or any similar topic only for you Order Now She had begun to stamp her feet and rub her hands together when the Forbes’ door opened. Bonnie moved back a little behind the shrubbery that was her hiding place and watched the family walk to their car. Mr. Forbes was carrying nothing but a camera. Mrs. Forbes had a purse and a folding seat. Daniel Forbes, Caroline’s younger brother, had another seat. And Caroline†¦ Bonnie leaned forward, her breath hissing out in satisfaction. Caroline was dressed in jeans and a heavy sweater, and she was carrying some sort of white drawstring purse. Not big but big enough to hold a small diary. â€Å"There she is, Aunt Judith. On the corner.† The car slowed to a halt, and Bonnie slid into the back seat with Elena. â€Å"She’s got a white drawstring purse,† she murmured into Elena’s ear as Aunt Judith pulled out again. Tingling excitement swept over Elena, and she squeezed Bonnie’s hand. â€Å"Good,† she breathed. â€Å"Now we’ll see if she brings it into Mrs. Grimesby’s. If not, you tell Meredith it’s in the car.† Bonnie nodded agreement and squeezed Elena’s hand back. They arrived at Mrs. Grimesby’s just in time to see Caroline going inside with a white bag hanging from her arm. Bonnie and Elena exchanged a look. Now it was up to Elena to see where Caroline left it in the house. â€Å"I’ll get out here too, Miss Gilbert,† said Bonnie as Elena jumped out of the car. She would wait outside with Meredith until Elena could tell them where the bag was. The important thing was not to let Caroline suspect anything unusual. Mrs. Grimesby, who answered Elena’s knock, was the Fell’s Church librarian. Her house looked almost like a library itself; there were bookcases everywhere and books stacked on the floor. She was also the keeper of Fell’s Church’s historical artifacts, including clothing that had been preserved from the town’s earliest days. Just now the house was ringing with young voices, and the bedrooms were full of students in various stages of undress. Mrs. Grimesby always supervised the costumes for the pageant. Elena was ready to ask to be put in the same room with Caroline, but it wasn’t necessary. Mrs. Grimesby was already ushering her in. Caroline, stripped down to her fashionable underwear, gave Elena what was undoubtedly meant to be a nonchalant look, but Elena detected the vicious gloating beneath. She kept her own eyes on the bundle of clothing Mrs. Grimesby was picking up off the bed. â€Å"Here you are, Elena. One of our most nicely preserved pieces – and all authentic, too, even the ribbons. We believe this dress belonged to Honoria Fell.† â€Å"It’s beautiful,† said Elena, as Mrs. Grimesby shook out the folds of thin white material. â€Å"What’s it made of?† â€Å"Moravian muslin and silk gauze. Since it’s quite cold today you can wear that velvet jacket over it.† The librarian indicated a dusty rose garment lying over a chair back. Elena cast a surreptitious glance at Caroline as she began to change. Yes, there was the bag, at Caroline’s feet. She debated making a grab for it, but Mrs. Grimesby was still in the room. The muslin dress was very simple, its flowing material belted high under the bosom with a pale rose. â€Å"Did it really belong to Honoria Fell?† she asked, thinking of the marble image of that lady lying on her tomb in the ruined church. â€Å"That’s the story, anyway,† said Mrs. Grimesby. â€Å"She mentions a dress like it in her journal, so we’re pretty sure.† â€Å"She kept a journal?† Elena was startled. â€Å"Oh, yes. I have it in a case in the living room; I’ll show it to you on the way out. Now for the jacket – oh, what’s that?† Something violet fluttered to the ground as Elena picked the jacket up. She could feel her expression freeze. She caught up the note before Mrs. Grimesby could bend over, and glanced at it. One line. She remembered writing it in her diary on September 4, the first day of school. Except that after she had written it she had crossed it out. These words were not crossed out; they were bold and clear. Something awful is going to happen today. Elena could barely restrain herself from rounding on Caroline and shaking the note in her face. But that would ruin everything. She forced herself to stay calm as she crumpled up the little slip of paper and threw it into a wastebasket. â€Å"It’s just a piece of trash,† she said, and turned back to Mrs. Grimesby, her shoulders stiff. Caroline said nothing, but Elena could feel those triumphant green eyes on her. Just you wait, she thought. Wait until I get that diary back. I’m going to burn it, and then you and I are going to have a talk. To Mrs. Grimesby she said, â€Å"I’m ready.† â€Å"So am I,† said Caroline in a demure voice. Elena put on a look of cool indifference as she eyed the other girl. Caroline’s pale green gown with long green and white sashes was not nearly as pretty as hers. â€Å"Wonderful. You girls go ahead and wait for your rides. Oh, and Caroline, don’t forget your reticule.† â€Å"I won’t,† Caroline said, smiling, and she reached for the drawstring bag at her feet. It was fortunate that from that position she couldn’t see Elena’s face, for in that instant the cool indifference shattered completely. Elena stared, dumbfounded, as Caroline began to tie the bag at her waist. Her astonishment didn’t escape Mrs. Grimesby. â€Å"That’s a reticule, the ancestor of our modern handbag,† the older woman explained kindly. â€Å"Ladies used to keep their gloves and fans in them. Caroline came by. â€Å"I’m sure it was,† Elena managed in a strangled voice. She had to get out of here or something awful was going to happen right now. She was going to start screaming – or knock Caroline down – or explode. â€Å"I need some fresh air,† she said. She bolted from the room and from the house, bursting outside. Bonnie and Meredith were waiting in Meredith’s car. Elena’s heart thumped strangely as she walked to it and leaned in the window. â€Å"She’s outsmarted us,† she said quietly. â€Å"That bag is part of her costume, and she’s going to wear it all day.† Bonnie and Meredith stared, first at her and then at each other. â€Å"But†¦ then, what are we going to do?† Bonnie asked. â€Å"I don’t know.† With sick dismay this realization finally came home to Elena. â€Å"I don’t know!† â€Å"We can still watch her. Maybe she’ll take the bag off at lunch or something†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But Meredith’s voice rang hollow. They all knew the truth, Elena thought, and the truth was that it was hopeless. They’d lost. Bonnie glanced in the rearview mirror, then twisted in her seat. â€Å"It’s your ride.† Elena looked. Two white horses were drawing a smartly renovated buggy down the street. Crepe paper was threaded through the buggy’s wheels, ferns decorated its seats, and a large banner on the side proclaimed,The Spirit of Fell’s Church. Elena had time for only one desperate message. â€Å"Watch her,† she said. â€Å"And if there’s ever a moment when she’s alone†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then she had to go. But all through that long, terrible morning, there was never a moment when Caroline was alone. She was surrounded by a crowd of spectators. For Elena, the parade was pure torture. She sat in the buggy beside the mayor and his wife, trying to smile, trying to look normal. But the sick dread was like a crushing weight on her chest. Somewhere in front of her, among the marching bands and drill teams and open convertibles, was Caroline. Elena had forgotten to find out which float she was on. The first schoolhouse float, perhaps; a lot of the younger children in costume would be on that. It didn’t matter. Wherever Caroline was, she was in full view of half the town. The luncheon that followed the parade was held in the high school cafeteria. Elena was trapped at a table with Mayor Dawley and his wife. Caroline was at a nearby table; Elena could see the shining back of her auburn head. And sitting beside her, often leaning possessively over her, was Tyler Smallwood. Elena was in a perfect position to view the little drama that occurred about halfway through lunch. Her heart leaped into her throat when she saw Stefan, looking casual, stroll by Caroline’s table. He spoke to Caroline. Elena watched, forgetting even to play with the untouched food on her plate. But what she saw next made her heart plummet. Caroline tossed her head and replied to him briefly, and then Stefan looked toward Elena as he left, and for a moment their eyes met in wordless communion. There was nothing he could do, then. Even if his Powers had returned, Tyler was going to keep him away from Caroline. The crushing weight squeezed Elena’s lungs so that she could scarcely breathe. After that she simply sat in a daze of misery and despair until someone nudged her and told her it was time to go backstage. She listened almost indifferently to Mayor Dawley’s speech of welcome. He spoke about the â€Å"trying time† Fell’s Church had faced recently, and about the community spirit that had sustained them these past months. Then awards were given out, for scholarship, for athletics, for community service. Matt came up to receive Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year, and Elena saw him look at her curiously. Then came the pageant. The elementary school children giggled and tripped and forgot their lines as they portrayed scenes from the founding of Fell’s Church through the Civil War. Elena watched them without taking any of it in. Ever since last night she’d been slightly dizzy and shaky, and now she felt as if she were coming down with the flu. Her brain, usually so full of schemes and calculations, was empty. She couldn’t think anymore. She almost couldn’t care. The pageant ended to popping flashbulbs and tumultuous applause. When the last little Confederate soldier was off the stage, Mayor Dawley called for silence. â€Å"And now,† he said, â€Å"for the students who will perform the closing ceremonies. Please show your appreciation for the Spirit of Independence, the Spirit of Fidelity, and the Spirit of Fell’s Church!† The applause was even more thunderous. Elena stood beside John Clifford, the brainy senior who’d been chosen to represent the Spirit of Independence. On the other side of John was Caroline. In a detached, nearly apathetic way Elena noticed that Caroline looked magnificent: her head tilted back, her eyes blazing, her cheeks flushed with color. John went first, adjusting his glasses and the microphone before he read from the heavy brown book on the lectern. Officially, the seniors were free to choose their own selections; in practice they almost always read from the works of M. C. Marsh, the only poet Fell’s Church had ever produced. All during John’s reading, Caroline was upstaging him. She smiled at the audience; she shook out her hair; she weighed the reticule hanging from her waist. Her fingers stroked the drawstring bag lovingly, and Elena found herself staring at it, hypnotized, memorizing every bead. John took a bow and resumed his place by Elena. Caroline threw her shoulders back and did a model’s walk to the lectern. This time the applause was mixed with whistles. But Caroline didn’t smile; she had assumed an air of tragic responsibility. With exquisite timing she waited until the cafetorium was perfectly quiet to speak. â€Å"I was planning to read a poem by M. C. Marsh today,† she said, then, into the attentive stillness, â€Å"but I’m not going to. Why read fromthis – † She held up the nineteenth century volume of poetry. † – when there is something much more†¦ relevant†¦ in a book I happened to find?† Very slightly, almost imperceptibly, Stefan shook his head. Caroline’s fingers were dipping into the bag as if she just couldn’t wait. â€Å"What I’m going to read is about Fell’s Churchtoday , not a hundred or two hundred years ago,† she was saying, working herself up into a sort of exultant fever. â€Å"It’s importantnow , because it’s about somebody who’s living in town with us. In fact he’s right here in this room.† Tyler must have written the speech for her, Elena decided. Last month, in the gym, he’d shown quite a gift for that kind of thing. Oh, Stefan, oh, Stefan, I’m scared†¦ Her thoughts jumbled into incoherence as Caroline plunged her hand into the bag. â€Å"I think you’ll understand what I mean when you hear it,† Caroline said, and with a quick motion she pulled a velvet-covered book from the reticule and held it up dramatically. â€Å"I think it will explain a lot of what’s been going on in Fell’s Church recently.† Breathing quickly and lightly, she looked from the spellbound audience to the book in her hand. Elena had almost lost consciousness when Caroline jerked the diary out. Bright sparkles ran along the edges of her vision. The dizziness roared up, ready to overwhelm Elena, and then she noticed something. It must be her eyes. The stage lights and flashbulbs must have dazzled them. She certainly felt ready to faint any minute; it was hardly surprising that she couldn’t see properly. The book in Caroline’s hands lookedgreen , not blue. I must be going crazy†¦ or this is a dream†¦ or maybe it’s a trick of the lighting. But look at Caroline’s face! Caroline, mouth working, was staring at the velvet book. She seemed to have forgotten the audience altogether. She turned the diary over and over in her hands, looking at all sides of it. Her movements became frantic. She thrust a hand into the reticule as if she somehow hoped to find something else in it. Then she cast a wild glance around the stage as if what she was looking for might have fallen to the ground. The audience was murmuring, getting impatient. Mayor Dawley and the high school principal were exchanging tight-lipped frowns. Having found nothing on the floor, Caroline was staring at the small book again. But now she was gazing at it as if it were a scorpion. With a sudden gesture, she wrenched it open and looked inside, as if her last hope was that only the cover had changed and the words inside might be Elena’s. Then she slowly looked up from the book at the packed cafetorium. Silence had descended again, and the moment drew out, while every eye remained fixed on the girl in the pale green gown. Then, with an inarticulate sound, Caroline whirled and clattered off the stage. She exploded into comment, argument, discussion. Elena found Stefan. He looked as if jubilation was sneaking up on him. But he also looked as bewildered as Elena felt. Bonnie and Meredith were the same. As Stefan’s gaze crossed hers, Elena felt a rush of gratitude and joy, but her predominant emotion was awe. It was a miracle. Beyond all hope, they had been rescued. They’d been saved. And then her eyes picked out another dark head among the crowd. Damon was leaning†¦ no, lounging†¦ against the north wall. His lips were curved into a half smile, and his eyes met Elena’s boldly. Mayor Dawley was beside her, urging her forward, quieting the crowd, trying to restore order. It was no use. Elena read her selection in a dreamy voice to a babbling group of people who weren’t paying attention in the slightest. She wasn’t paying attention, either; she had no idea what words she was saying. Every so often she looked at Damon. There was applause, scattered and distracted, when she finished, and the mayor announced the rest of the events for that afternoon. And then it was all over, and Elena was free to go. She floated offstage without any conscious idea ofwhere she was going, but her legs carried her to the north wall. Damon’s dark head moved out the side door and she followed it. The air in the courtyard seemed deliciously cool after the crowded room, and the clouds above were silvery and swirling. Damon was waiting for her. Her steps slowed but did not stop. She moved until she was only a foot or so away from him, her eyes searching his face. There was a long moment of silence and then she spoke. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"I thought you’d be more interested inhow. † He patted his jacket significantly. â€Å"I got invited in for coffee this morning after scraping up an acquaintance last week.† â€Å"But why?† He shrugged, and for just an instant something like consternation flickered across his finely drawn features. It seemed to Elena that he himself didn’t know why – or didn’t want to admit it. â€Å"For my own purposes,† he said. â€Å"I don’t think so.† Something was building between them, something that frightened Elena with its power. â€Å"I don’t think that’s the reason at all.† She moved closer, so that she was almost touching him, and looked at him. â€Å"I think,† she said, â€Å"that maybe you need to be pushed.† His face was only inches away from hers, and Elena never knew what might have happened if at that moment a voice hadn’t broken in on them. â€Å"Youdid manage to make it after all! I’m so glad!† It was Aunt Judith. Elena felt as if she were being whisked from one world to another. She blinked dizzily, stepping back, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. â€Å"And so you got to hear Elena read,† Aunt Judith continued happily. â€Å"You did a beautiful job, Elena, but I don’t know what was going on with Caroline. The girls in this town are all acting bewitched lately.† â€Å"Nerves,† suggested Damon, his face carefully solemn. Elena felt an urge to giggle and then a wave of irritation. It was all very well to be grateful to Damon for saving them, but if not for Damon there wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place. Damon had committed the crimes Caroline wanted to pin on Stefan. â€Å"And whereis Stefan?† she said, voicing her next thought aloud. She could see Bonnie and Meredith in the courtyard alone. Aunt Judith’s face showed her disapproval. â€Å"I haven’t seen him,† she said briefly. Then she smiled fondly. â€Å"But I have an idea; why don’t you come to dinner with us, Damon? Then afterwards perhaps you and Elena could – â€Å" â€Å"Stop it!† said Elena to Damon. He looked politely inquiring. â€Å"What?† said Aunt Judith. â€Å"Stop it!† Elena said to Damon again. â€Å"You know what. Just stop it right now!† How to cite The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle Chapter Fourteen, Essay examples

Working with Community for Stonewall Gay Campaign- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theWorking with Community for Stonewall Gay Campaign. Answer: The three types of community work as discussed by Rothman and Tropman include territorial, categorical and thematically. To me, the territorial community work appeals more than the other two. This is because categorically and thematically done community work, are referred to the task of working with a specific group and in a field of a particular topic respectively, but this is not the same with the territorial community work. Territorial community work refers to the work which is done by the community workers based in a specific area along with different groups of the population. The two of the main tasks of a territorial community worker are innovation (stimulating and encouraging new projects) and to support the groups, communities and councils. The territorial community workers give all kinds of support to the local communities including strategic support, organizational support, facilitating support and educational support as well (Rothman, 1995). With the same, they encourage t he people and empower them for doing the things for their own betterment. Hence their main role is centered on helping the people to build the sense of self-confidence, to develop talents and to learn new knowledge and skills. The territorial community worker act as a challenger, developer, organizer, supporter and an advocate, all at the same time. In this context, I am going to elaborate on the Stonewall Gay Campaign. The aim of the campaign is changing the attitudes of the people towards the concept of homosexuality. It aim is to get lesser homophobic people towards it (Shragge, 2003). Moreover, it is a campaign that is aiming to get people stop using the term gay as a word to insult others. It focuses on raising awareness among the people about the fact that being a homosexual or a gay is OK and that it is not all about negativity. The sarcastic campaign, without using a single image and is all about words and letters, has created a positive impact on the mind of the people. As written in the article of The Guardian, Stonewall has influenced the society in a positive way by campaigning and lobbying. It is to be noted that the charity has changed the laws for the bisexual people and the lesbian gays. They have had a cancellation on the section 28 of the laws. It is to be mentioned that this campaign for the gay rights has a positive impact and the related posters are working. Networking refers to creating a useful linkage in between people, communities, organizations or societies that are useful in order to achieve different goals by mobilizing resources. It can be also referred to as the art of building up alliances. It is all about building up of reciprocal relationships with the people of authority. Networking helps in increasing the participation in community development in many ways. It plays a very important role in bringing people, resources and organization together from all the parts of the communities. Some of the example of activities of community networking are attending professional or trade association meetings, visiting social clubs and religious groups, volunteering the community works etc. These activities improve the quantity along with the quality of work along with spreading the responsibilities by enabling the groups and peoples to contribute and share their resources, expertise and ideas (Gilchrist, 2009). Such knowledge and ideas is believably to create social benefits, as these would result in smarter funding. It contributes in generating social capital, which in turn creates well-being in the community. To conclude, networking serves in order to empower communities so that they could achieve their goals. It is a collective activity at the local, national and global levels. References: Gilchrist, Alison (2009)The Well Connected Community: A Networking Approach to Community Development.Policy Press:Bristol Shragge, E. (2003) 'Social action and it's legacy for social change' (chapter 3)Activism and Social Change.Broadview Press; Ontario. Pp 75-105. Rothman J., (1995)Approaches to Community Intervention p26-63 in Jack Rothman and Johan Tropman (eds)Strategies of Community Intervention: Macro Practice, 5thEdn, Peacock, Illinois.