Tim Burton and art Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Tim Burton and art - Research Paper Example Tim Burton’s controversial pieces in a myriad of forms of art add flair to the debatable position that the art culture continually gets attached to. It can thereby be correctly stated that making a contribution to the industry in the manner in which Tim Burton does is a unique package that any other industry would warmly welcome. In this discourse, a view of the career that Tim Burton has had in art industry is made in order to highlight the importance that individual artists uniquely add to the entire culture. The uniqueness of this artist is particularly given the center-stage in a number of reviews for four different art pieces. Perhaps one striking contrast in the personality of this artist in the discussion is the current profession, though still in art, which is a complete shift from his earlier forms of art works. An introduction to the artist’s cultural environment during his career and his profile enable a critical analysis on his works which ends in a conclusion on the general contribution to American culture in the tail end of the discourse. Artists’ style of work is largely influenced by the prevailing environment due to the close relationship that art and culture or social surrounding of a people. It therefor implies that something can be picked from an artist’s work to depict the form of influential waves prevailing in form of culture that the people in the artist’s community had. Tim Burton’s career commenced in the early 1980’s during which fine art experienced many changes. Tim Burton was brought up at a time when the movie industry was hitting the market and he particularly had a taste for film works. Interestingly revelations on his early life confirm his liking for films where he made the influence contributed to his spirited input in making his first film in 1971 when only 13 years of age. Film making industry influence assisted in bringing out the artist skills in the artist by triggering interest in film

United States vs Mexico Essay Example for Free

United States vs Mexico Essay The United States of America and Mexico compare and contrast their differences when it comes to education, homeless rates, and their overall standard of living. The U. S and Mexico compare when it comes to homeless rates seeing as the numbers are increasing each year. As for education, Mexico lacks standard education, where as the United States has a higher standard for education. The overall standard of living in both countries is probably the biggest difference the two countries have. Mexico has many prosperous areas to it, but for the most part people who live in Mexico, live poor and on the streets. Children in Mexico usually have to get street jobs in order to help their families with poverty. The United States has its own level of poverty and economic issues, but Mexico has a much higher poverty rate and their money is worth less than the U. S dollar, making it hard to earn money from American tourists. These two standards of living are completely different from each other seeing as they both have different problems. Mexico and the United States share the same issues and values, but on different levels of greatness. The education in Mexico is very different from the education in the United States. They use different grade level systems and different national budgets for education. Both of these countries have successful educational programs, and have high standards. The grade level system Mexico uses is six grades in primary schools. Kindergarten is for the 5-6 year old age level. Then they begin first grade at 6-7 years old and sixth grade, which is the end of primary school, is for the 11-12 year olds. Then the Mexican students begin secondary school. Secondary school has three grades. First grade starts at age 12-13 and third grade is for 14-15 years old. Then they begin high school. This is called the beginning of middle higher education. High school, like secondary, has three grades. First grade is for 15-16 year olds and third grade, which is the end of high school, is for 17-18 years old. Finally the Universities take over. A bachelor’s degree takes four to five years to achieve, after that it takes two to three additional years to achieve a masters. The United States has a different education system than Mexico. Elementary school is from kindergarten to fifth grade, ages 5 to 10. Then it goes to middle school or junior high school which is grades sixth through eighth and ages 11 to 13. After that is high school which are grades ninth through twelfth which is ages 14 to 17 or 18. It is illegal in the United States not to go to school, but some immigrants do not have enough money to go to school. Most kids in Mexico do not go to school because of the money or because they need to work instead to help their family. America and Mexico have different laws and systems as far as the education systems go. There are over one million children in America who are not getting an education because they have no money and are also homeless. As many as 3. million Americans are homeless each year, one million being children. Most homeless people are families who have been thrust into series of unfortunate events that left them with no money. For those living in poverty or close to the poverty line, an everyday life issue that may be manageable for individuals with a higher income can be the final factor in placing them on the street. America can compare with Mexico because most people who are homeless in Mexico are families. Although Mexico has a lot of homeless families on the street, it has more homeless street kids. Six percent of children on the streets in Mexico are ages five to fourteen and about five percent of Mexicans are living on only $1 a day. There is a lot more people living in severe poverty in Mexico then there is in America, but it is easier for Mexicans to find cheap shelter, keeping them off the street. If they can figure out a way to make a few pesos, theyre free to do so. Some end up selling gum and bobble-headed toy turtles to tourists. Others hawk homemade tamales on local buses, with little fear of being turned in for a Food Safe violation. You see a lot more people on the streets of the U. S then the streets in Mexico, but people in Mexico are more vulnerable to poverty than people in the America. The United States in the past century has knocked down old apartments and turned them into million dollar condos, have knocked down shacks and banned beach camping, leaving people with just enough money to find food for their families on the streets. America has made it extremely hard to live with no money by over developing and knocking down the little shacks and old apartments when people do not have enough money to pay for the new higher end things. This has lead to many citizens turning to the streets or our parks for a home. There also is no way for them to make cheap money except for begging for it on the streets. Most people on the street do not even have money to buy crafts so they can make crafty nick-knacks to sell to the richer for profit. This makes the standard of living in America hard for people on the streets and for people who are very close to losing everything. Mexico has other options for homeless people which make it a little more sustainable to get by. Mexico still has abandoned sheds and shacks for people to live in and those people are able to sell the things they make to tourists. If you were to visit Mexico you may find little to no people on the streets because there are other more suitable places for these people. There are parts of Mexico that are developed and keep up with the industrialized world it is in, but there are also places that have not been touched by the modern world and stay untouched making it easier for more people to live. Mexico’s standard of living is easier in some cases and harder in others. Even though people find abandoned shacks to live, it is still extremely hard to survive in harsh living conditions. Mexico and the Unites States of America compare and contrast many issues and values. From what is explained above, most people struggle when it comes to money, education, and living standards. Some people go from having a house one day to sleeping on the streets with their families the next. Some kids have to work to help their families and some kids get the opportunity to get an education. Mexico and America both have education systems but with different grade levels and ages, they both have homeless citizens, but some conditions are worse than others, and they both have living standards that can be clean and dirty. Overall, Mexico and America both have equal comparisons to contrasts.

Business Analysis Of The Sony Corporation

Business Analysis Of The Sony Corporation As directed by the Board of Directors of Sony Corporation, this report will analyse the companys situation from 1999-2005. Sony, a world class consumer electronics makers, was facing serious concerns since the late of 1990s, such as Asian financial crisis in 1997, the tech bubble and the terrorist attacks in America in 2001. Besides, the ever increasing competition from competitors and rapid market changes are eroding the market shares of Sony. The top management confront their difficulties bravely and executed a series of actions to respond to those difficulties. This report focuses on the structure of Sony in 1999 and the restructuring in 2003, as well as the analysis of difficulties faced by Sony and how the management responded to those issues. The structure of the report starts with the business description and the corporation strategy which has significant relationship with the following sections. Then, the focus will move to structure 1999 follow with the restructuring of Sony in 2003 called Transformation 60. After the discussions about the business structure, the report will concentrate on analysing the issues associated with Sony and state the responses taken by the management and its underlying principle before concluding and with appropriate recommendations. 2.0 Business Description and Corporation Strategy Sony is one of the worlds top consumer electronics makers and employs over 167900 workers (Sony, 2010). The business operates in over 200 countries and covers the games, electronics, financial services, entertainment markets and others (ibid.). After 65 years of growth, today, the group has established a world class brand and the strong brand image can benefit its bargaining power and make the business move into new markets easily. 2.1 Key Figures Some key figures of Sony from 1997 to 2010 are listed below (Graph12). The Sales figure remained in the reasonably floating level before 2007. Unfortunately, the management and shareholders are unsatisfied with the profits, since 1998 the profits reduced nearly every year, this might have been the trigger to ignite the restructuring of Sony. Graph 1 Source: Sony Annual Report 2001, 2006, 2010- Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data Graph 2 Source: Sony Annual Report 2001, 2006, 2010- Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data 2.2 Correlation between Organisation Strategy and Organisation Structure Strategy and organisation structure are correlated to each other, even the debate of whether strategy or structure comes first is still in existence (Lynch, 2006). Therefore, to understand Sonys corporation strategy (Graph34) is significantly important before discussing the structure and restructuring of Sony. Besides, an essential portion of the study of Sonys actions is an understanding of the nature of business strategy for the Sony corporation as a whole (Mullins, 2010). Graph 3 Source: Sony Annual Report 1998 pp6, 7 Sony Annual Report 1999 pp26 Graph 4 Source: Sony Annual Report 2003 pp5-management discusses key issues 3.0 Organisational Structure This section is classified into two parts, 3.1 focuses on the structure of Sony in 1999 while section 3.2 concentrates on the restructuring in 2003. 3.1 Structure of Sony in 1999 Sony as a world class player in a diversified high-tech market was challenged with the fierce competition during the late 1990s (Sony, 1999). Therefore, the restructuring was necessary for Sony to survive in the competitive market. The group announced the organisations restructure plan in March 1999 to seize further growth opportunities in the new century and the Internet era (Sony, 1999). The structure of the organisation is determined by its age and size, technical system, power and environment (Mintzberg, 1979). Furthermore, in relation to the environment, the diversity of the environment will largely determine the structure of organization and directly affects the organisation functions into goal-seeking activities through the formal structure to achieve aims and objectives (Mullins, 2007; Mintzberg, 1979). In this diverse environment, different structures will be taken in specific department to meet different aspects of situation for Sony. 3.1.1 Internal Structure of Sony as a Whole The internal structure of Sony is a tall hierarchical structure as Sony consists of three main business areas which are electronic business, entertainment business and insurance and finance business (Graph 5). Besides, the setting up of the unified dispersed management model is to face the rapid change in market in the aforementioned pillars of Sony (Ravi, 2005). As a result, the overall structure of Sony in 1999 was divisionalized form. Schwartz and Thompson (1986) suggested that the divisionalization form can facilitate the various divisions to compete fiercely among them, with effective operations to face rapid changes in external environment. Graph 5 Source: www.HYPERLINK http://www.sony.net/Sony.net, Press Archive, March 29, 1999 Besides, centralization and decentralization depends on how organisational power is dispersed and is determined by the organization structure for decision-making and problem-solving (Schmidt, 2006). The structure of Sony in 1999 displayed Sonys trend to be decentralization to distribute the power yield. For example, Sony set up a unified dispersed management model which facilitates more functional and operational autonomy (Ravi, 2005). 3.1.2 Divisional Structures of Sony After the discussion above, the focus now moves to the structure of different divisions. The electronic business consists of various subsidiaries (Graph 6). Each subsidiary is responsible for its own different products and makes business decisions in different markets. There is little interdependence that exists between each other. Thus, the structure of electronic business was divisionalized form. Entertainment business displayed adhocracy due to its little formalisation of behaviour. Insurance Finance business displayed a Professional Bureaucracy structure due to its complex environment with highly trained skills and knowledge to offer standardisation of products and services (Mintzberg, 1979). Graph 6 Source: www.HYPERLINK http://www.sony.net/Sony.net, Press Archive, March 29, 1999 Each business division has the autonomous to make decisions in its daily operation. The Group headquarters concentrated on coordinating these business divisions to make a long-term business strategy. Nevertheless, under the complex, diverse and dynamic environment, perhaps the more organic and decentralized structure is more suitable for Sony. 3.2 Structure of Sony in 2003 Indeed, Sony restructured its organisation in 1999 into a more divisionalized and decentralised form using the unified dispersed model as a means of a Value Creation Model. Transformation 60 saw some changes in the architectural structure of the organisation with it becoming more centralised, management-wise and financial-wise. It was aimed to refining the organisational responsibilities in carrying out the operating strategies and restructuring the marketing strategies in profitable niches. The goals are to achieve more profit margins, reducing annual cost, and component outsourcing (Sony, 2003). 3.2.1 Divisional Structure of Transformation 60 Transformation 60 saw the convergence of the three pillars of Sony electronics, entertainment and financial as opposed to the unified dispersed model. The following are the divisional changes: In the electronics business, the management combined the Semiconductor Network Company, Home Electronics, Mobile Electronics and Information Technology (Sony, 2003). The entertainment business saw the joint of assets of pictures, music, game, electronics and services to enhance its position as a worldwide media company. The constructed financial holding company absorbed Sony Life Insurance Company Ltd, Sony Assurance Inc. and Sony Bank Inc. By these convergences, Sony clarified the operational structure and concentrated on the engineering, innovation and financial resources. According to the converging strategy, the new operation structure of Sony seems like a basic Machine Bureaucracy structure (Mintzberg, 1983). Although it is less dispersed than the structure in 1999, the pull to formalize by the technostructure of Sony could be seen in Transformation 60 (Mintzberg, 1981). The restructuring of Sony in 2003 was more centralised than before as a result of the serious convergences of several businesses. The tactical and strategic plans were permitted to each sectors, which points that the divisionalized form still existed. However, the power on personnel issues was controlled by the top management, as well as the supportive finance and the ultimate goal were allocated and formulated by the headquarters (Ravi, 2005). Moreover, the restructured Sony in 2003 did not belong to any specific structure of Mintzbergs pentagon t heory but the combined one (Graph 7). Graph 7 Sony organisational chart: electronics-related business (as of 1 April 2001) Source: www.sony.net, Press Release, 29th March 2001(a) 3.2.2 Financial Structure of Transformation 60 In the light of improving its fiscal position, the consolidation of fixed costs and the combining of assets reflected the change of a more centralized structure in Sony. The company aims to achieve an annualized cost reduction of approximately  ¥300 billion (Ravi, 2005). The cut in employees due to the off-shore strategy to China establish the Contribution equal to Compensation principal of paying for performances, as Schein (2004) stated that employees have worked well enough to be considered valid. Deactivating employees from Sony had cost the company financially and it might have explained the poor financial performance of Sony after the transformation was done. 4.0 Problems and Responses This section will discuss the problems associated with Sony alongside with the responses taken and its rationale. The difficulties faced by Sony have been separated into different categories mainly the rapid evolution of technology, competition in the market and the differences of national culture. 4.1 Rapid Evolution of Technology The rapid evolution of technology as pointed out by Idei (Ravi, 2005) has affected the electronics, entertainment and insurance and finance sectors of Sony. The constant improvements in technology have caused the company to respond to the demand of the market. The following are the responses made by the company alongside with its underlying rationale: Investments: Sony invested heavily in RD, capital equipment and facilities in order to meet demands and improve profitability. Technology for Inspiration and Shared Experience and Creating New Value are Sonys RD missions (Sony, 2011). The company believes that technology is capable of linking inspiration and shared experiences on top of creating new values and capturing emotions of customers (ibid.). Investment strategies link to the capability of top management of Sony. Organisation restructuring: The Company believes that the new group architecture can help gain market share besides increasing shareholders value (Sony, 1999). In this Value Creation Model, the unified dispersed management method saw changes in the electronics operations, establishment of Digital Network Solutions (DNS), changes in composition of workforce which could ultimately affect the morale of employees, implementation of new value-based performance measurement system and the separation of headquarters into two distinct functions (Ravi, 2005; Sony, 1999). Indeed, the model brings competitive advantage to Sony (Jayaranam Luo, 2007). In such a stiff market, it is understandable as to the measures taken to seize every opportunity. Unfortunately, in 2001, the September 11 attacks caused the consolidated drop in sales, affecting the fiscal position of the company (Sony, 2001b). This has proven that the Value Creation Model had loopholes, hence Transformation 60 took course. Severe cost saving measures were taken but by 2005, as a result of pressure from shareholder, a top management reshuffling with Howard Stringer as CEO (Ravi, 2005). This proves that investors of Sony began to lose confidence of the previous management team therefore it was necessary for the company to overhaul its board. 4.2 Market Competition Among Sonys competitors are LG, Samsung, Sharp, Dell and Canon. Each competitor seemed to have an advantage over Sony in different products. Below are among the steps taken by Sony to beat the competition in the market: Partnership with Solectron Corporation in year 2000 and off-shoring to China were to aid the outsourcing process of production of electronics was a step to help the company meet fluctuations in demands, cost reduction, quality improvisation and customer satisfaction (Sony, 2003; Sony, 2000). Outsourcing may be beneficial to the company as a whole but it could ultimately decrease the motivational level of employees, as there is a tendency of decrease of power of managers, and failure rate is between 40%-70% (Purse, 2009). This may explain the Sony Shock (Ravi, 2005) incident that happened in 2003 despite the laborious process of organisation restructuring. The cost-benefit consideration was not given much thought before the outsourcing was done. The takeover of Aiwa Co. Ltd. as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2002 was for the benefit of the electronics business of the company, particularly the audio and visual (AV) industry (Sony, 2002). The takeover became part of Transformation 60. It helped accelerate the structural reform of the electronics business of Sony on top of the creation of synergy as a result of the merger. 4.3 Differences in National Culture As Howard Stringer took over as the CEO of Sony in 2005, a major problem he would experience would be the differences in organisational culture. Culture refers to the way we do things around here (Sanchez, 2004). Being one of the few foreigners to be part of the top management in a Japanese company, Stringer has the responsibility of considering whether to impose the Western culture in a Japanese company. Azumi Mcmillan (1975) found that both the U.S. and Japanese culture are quite highly centralized and companys rules and procedures are abided. In Sony, although divisionalization form can be seen, the Headquarter still plays its role as a coordinator, meaning that ultimately, the decision-making process will need approval from the top management. Also, in Japan, traditional values that emphasises on hard work and details are a common practice due to its religion influences but in the U.S., creativity and innovation are the common values (Webster White, 2009). Hence, in U.S., risk-taking is very much observed. The open management style of Stringer, his understanding towards Sonys tradition and his international viewpoints could be the key to influence the cultural organisation (Sony, 2005). This can explain Stringers successes in streamlining Sonys movie and music businesses. 5.0 Conclusion Due to the external environment effect such as the Asian financial crisis, the ever increasing competition, as well as the internal business issues like the low efficiency, the profits of Sony has been reduced dramatically since 1998. Therefore the management had to execute some restructuring plan to respond to those concerns. According to the restructuring plan announced in March 1999, the structure of the group was divisionalized and more decentralization, in order to seize further growth opportunities in the 21st century. Besides, the group launched a unified dispersed management model to ensure that the business operate more efficiently and to be able to survive the rapid change of environment. Sony did a mass of changes to adapt to the market changes; unfortunately, the pace of the latter was overtaking the managements expectations. Consequently, Sony had to accelerate the reform plan and announced another restructuring plan called Transformation 60 in 2003. The change in 2003 s aw a stronger pull to formalize in the technostructure although it can be seen that there is a mixture between the machine bureaucracy and divisionalized forms. Convergences in the three sectors saw power being more focused at the top management. The change of technology, market competition and the differences in organisational culture, especially after the takeover of Stringer, were the main concerns of Sony. Organisational restructuring and investment strategies were among the solutions in coping with technological changes. Market competition forced Sony to deal with vast partnerships, joint ventures and mergers with other companies for outsourcing purposes. Finally, the change to a foreigner to lead a Japanese company spark concerns on the future of Sonys organisational culture. Nevertheless, based on the analysis that has been done, it can be concluded that Sonys management and business strategies affects its organisational structure. It was the drop in profits that led investors to force the overhauling of top management, as a result, the unified dispersed model and Transformation 60. Unfortunately, both measures failed to bring positive impacts to the companys fiscal positions. In light of the situation above, the new team led by Stringer with the probable change in organisational culture could probably help turn things around. 6.0 Recommendations Two main recommendations should be taken into account: Firstly, the future of the organisational culture of Sony has to be determined from two aspects based on the organization structure and the differences in national culture since the takeover of Stringer as CEO. Perhaps, Stringer could consider integrating the Eastern and the Western cultures to obtain the best of both worlds. Next, investment strategies of Sony may have to be re-evaluated again, as after the study of the company was done, there are hints of possibilities that failures in the companys fiscal position may have been caused by past investment decisions. Outsourcing may be beneficial but a thorough cost-benefit analysis has to be done. Investment decisions will reflect the capability of top management to stakeholders. Appendices Value Creation Model refers to the combination of intangible assets and monetary items to create additional value of the business for stakeholders, particularly shareholders (Qureshi, Briggs Hlupic, 2006; Haksever, Chaganti Cook, 2004). 2 The performance measurement system is capable of reflecting the current cost of capital of Sony 3 Before being elected as the CEO of Sony Corporation, he was the Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation of America. Bibliographies Azumi, K Mcmillan, C (2004) Culture and organisation structure: a comparison of Japanese and British organisation, International Studies of Management and Organization. Vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 35-47. Available from: Business Source Premier. [Accessed 16 January 2011] Datamonitor (2010), Sony Corporation-Company Profile, pp4, 5 and 21, Publication date: 12 Mar 2010 Elkington, J. Masaki, T. (2004) CSR Report 2004, [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr/issues/report/2004/index.html [Accessed 5 January 2010] Haksever, C, Chaganti, R Cook, R (2004) A model of value creation: a strategic view, Journal of Business Ethics. Vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 291-305. Available from: Business Source Complete. [Accessed 27 December 2010] Jayaranam, V Luo, Y (2007) Creating competitive advantage through value creation: a reverse logistics perspectives, Academy of Management Perspectives. Vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 56-73. Available from: Business Source Complete. [Accessed 23 December 2010] Lynch, R. (2006). Corporate Strategy, 4th edition, Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall Mintzberg, H. (1979). The Structuring of Organization.Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliff Mintzberg, H. (1983). Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations. Prentice-Hall Inc. pp 169-175, pp 190-200, pp 215-222, pp 273 Mintzberg, H (1981) Organization design: fashon or fit? Harvard Business Review [online]. Vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 103-116. Available from: Business Source Complete. [Accessed 16 January 2011]. Mullins, L, J. (2007) Management and Organisational Behavior, 8th edition Harlow: Pearson Education Limited Mullins, L, J. (2010) Management and Organisational Behavior, 9th edition, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited Purse, K (2009) Outsourcing myths and workers compensation claims administration, The Australian Journal of Public Administration Vol. 69, no. 4, pp. 446-458 Available from: Business Source Complete. [Accessed 4 January 2010] Qureshi, S, Briggs, R Hlupic, V (2006) Value creation from intellectual capital: convergence from knowledge management and collaboration in the intellectual bandwidth model, Group Decision and Negotiation. Vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 197-220. Available from: Business Source Complete. [Accessed 27 December 2010] Ravi, M., (2005) Sony in restructuring Mode: Stringers Challenge (B), ICFAI Knowledge Center Sanchez, P (2004) Defining corporate culture, Communication World [online]. Vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 18-21. Available from: Business Source Complete. [Accessed 27 November 2010] Schein, E. H. (2004). Organisational Culture and Leadership 3rd editions, John Wiley Sons, Inc. Schmidt, T. (2006) A review of Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations Schwartz, M. and E. Thompson, 1986, Divisionalization and Entry Deterrence, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 101, 307-321. Sony (1999) Press Releases: Sony announces new group architecture for network-centric era [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/199903/99-030/index.html [Accessed 23 December 2010] Sony (1999) Press Releases: Sony Announces Organisational Structure For New Network Companies [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/199903/99-038/index.html [Accessed 23 December 2010] Sony (2000) Press Releases: Sony and Solectron announce cooperation in electronics manufacturing [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/200010/00-1018E/ [Accessed 4 January 2011]. Sony (2001a) Press Releases: A New Group Structure for the Next Stage of Integrated, Decentralized ManagementTransforming Sony into a Personal Broadband Network Solutions Company.[online] Available from http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/200103/01-017E/ [Accessed 3 January 2010] Sony (2001b) News and Information: Consolidated financial results for the second quarter ended 30 September 2001 [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/qfhh7c000000kl5e-att/qfhh7c000000kl6g.pdf [Accessed 27 December 2010] Sony (2002) Press Releases: Accelerating structural reform of the Sony groups electronics business [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/200202/02-0228aE/ [Accessed 5 January 2011]. Sony (2003) Press Releases: Transformation 60 confirming Sonys position as a leading consumer brand in the 21st century [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/200310/03-047E/ [Accessed 4 January 2011] Sony (2005) News Releases: Sony Corporation announces new management structure [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200503/05-014E/index.html [Accessed 16 January 2011]. Sony (2010) Sony Annual Report 2001, 2006, 2010- Five-Year Summary of Selected Financial Data [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/Archive.html [Accessed 1 December 2010] Sony (2010) Sony Annual Report 1998 pp6, 7 Sony Annual Report 1999 pp26 [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/Archive.html [Accessed 1 December 2010] Sony (2010) Sony Annual Report 2003 pp5-management discusses key issues [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/Archive.html [Accessed 1 December 2010] Sony (2010) About Sony Group-Sony Corp. Info [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/index.html [Accessed 3 December 2010] Sony (2010) Technology: RD Mission [online]. Available from: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/technology/rd/index.html [Accessed 20 December 2010] Webster, C White, A (2009) Exploring the national and organisational culture mix in service firms, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science [online]. Vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 691-703. Available from: Springerlink. [Accessed 30 November 2010]

Essay examples --

Legal drinking age varies by many countries. In U.S.A, There has been a lot of debate when it comes to the legal drinking age here in US. When it comes to law. There is always an opinion, some are for it and some are against. When it comes to the legal drinking age being 21 we are totally against it. Many people still say the government should prohibit using alcoholic drinks at the age of 18. Legal adults deserve to be treated as such it is time the arbitrary drinking age of 21 Was lowered to 18, because there is no evidence that the National Minimum Drinking Age Act is effective or protects the people it is intended to protect . The Notional Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed in 1984 in an attempt to decrease the number of drunk driving related accidents. The act threatens to decrease a state’s budget for high way construction and maintenance if it sets its drinking age under 21. According to Cuccoli , â€Å" Keeping the drinking age at such a low age is leading to more ca ses of binge drinking,† (Cuccoli). Mothers against drunk driving reports that the number of alcohol related fatalities involving a vehicle decreased from 26, 173 to 16, 885 between 1982 and 2005. drinking alcoholic is very harmful for the people bodies. Furthermore, the number of overall motor vehicle deaths is decreasing – a trend that alcohol – related fatalities are sure to follow, regardless of the drinking age. For example, significant improvements in high way systems and vehicle safety have helped to decrease the overall number of motor vehicle deaths. According to C. Engs, research from the 1980s until the present has shown a continuous decrease in drinking and driving related variable which has parallel the nations and also university students, decre... ...tend to get overly drunk when they get a chance. As a result there are problems as serious as deaths. Finally, countries such as Italy, China, and Greece are some of the countries where the legal drinking age is lower and they seem to have fewer alcohol related problems. Current law in terms of legal drinking age has caused more alcohol related deaths than there has ever been. In conclusion , we should prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol in the same way we prepare them to operate a mother vehicle : by first educating and then licensing and permitting them to exercise the full privileges of adulthood so long as they demonstrate their ability to observe the law . According to Minton â€Å"it is true that America has a problem with drinking: the rates of alcoholism and teenage problem drinking are far greater here than in Europe â€Å"(Minton).

Getting over a Betrayal Essay

This song brings forth a feeling of that even though a loss of a loved one is a heart wrenching experience there is nothing a person can do to change the outcome of what has happened. My Immortal† seems to be more about losing one’s own sense of identity and self-worth due to the loss and/or betrayal of a loved one than about the actual loss of the loved one: These wounds won’t seem to heal/ This pain is just too real/There’s just too much that time cannot erase (7-9) By the end of the song, the survivor of the story is emotionally drained and paralyzed with the fear by the memory of the betrayer. The survivor of the incident just wants those memories of hurt and betrayal to go away. This pain is felt in the opening stanzas of the song. And if you have to leave/I wish that you would just leave/Your presence still lingers here/ And it won’t leave me alone (3-6). The theme of â€Å"My Immortal† is the struggle of trying to get rid of the feeling of betrayal and of guilt. The betrayer has hurt or betrayed her in a way that she can never recover from the emotional damage. You used to captivate me/ By your resonating light/ Now I’m bound by the life you left behind (14-16) For the rest of the girls’ life, she will be imprisoned by him. She sacrificed everything for him. After years of being together, he throws everything she has done for him back in her face. She know feels like that she will never be free of him Your face it haunts/My once pleasant dreams (15, 16) The effect of this song brings forth many different emotions. This song brings to light that if one lets a past betrayal or losses rule their life, there will never be any peace for the individual. The individual needs to let go of the hurt, even though they are feeling that they were alone the entire time they were with that one person. I’ve tried so hard to tell myself that you’re gone/ But though you’re still with me/ I’ve been alone all along ( 24-26) It hurts being betrayed by a loved one. The reality that she was all alone in her love when he was with her†¦ and ironically, now that he’s left her, she isn’t alone: He torments her with the memories of his betrayal (perhaps complicated by her genuine love for who she thought he was. ) These wounds won’t seem to heal/ This pain is just to real/ There’s just too much that time cannot earse (21-23) Works Cited Evanescence.

Pacific Crest.

Pacific Crest. There's a light that can't feel any darknessAnd it's the light we seeReflecting all the movement in spaceA wall falls causing a hornAll this leads to somethingSomething that is goodThings seem unfair and difficultBecause it's a pretty smart challengeRacing into Ourselves (Said So).Listen angel I never needed anything but youData see these let me know I'm a mysteryLet me know I'm a Fish on The SandHurry hurry hide closeYour body isn't yours of courseIt's the Lord's.There is A Place Through All the Stars.That stands on its ownAnd has looks from aboveThere's a reason our God's like usThere is a moment out of timeThat looks just LuckyBut full of designed precisionIt is important that you careEverything is a hundred times itselfPush the Button to Talk to Jesus.Investec media centre at Lord's cricket ground (cr...