Friday, August 30, 2019
Remember by Christina Rossetti Essay
Choose the two poems that you have most enjoyed in our study of nineteenth century love poetry. Explain how these poems depict love and why you have chosen them. Draw comparisons with at least three further poems from the same collection Remember by Christina Rossetti: I chose ââ¬ËRememberââ¬â¢ because of the depth of the feeling of the sonnet. ââ¬ËRememberââ¬â¢ is a sonnet by ââ¬ËChristina Rossettiââ¬â¢. A sonnet has a typical regular rhyming scheme. This type of sonnet includes fourteen lines. It was written in the Romantic era, the poet talks to her lover and informs him to remember her when she dies by happiness rather than grief and sorrow. It is largely autobiographical, as she wrote it when she was in her death bed. She also tells him that he will be lonely when she leaves him. The poem ââ¬ËRememberââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËA woman to her loverââ¬â¢ both refer back to the Victorian/Romantic era. The opening two lines of Rossettiââ¬â¢s sonnet ââ¬Å"Rememberâ⬠introduce the idea of separation. ââ¬ËRememberââ¬â¢ starts with a repetition of the main idea that echoes the title name ââ¬ËRememberââ¬â¢. The poet refers metaphorically to death in the phrase ââ¬ËGone awayââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËGone far awayââ¬â¢ in lines 1 and 2. The phrase ââ¬ËGone awayââ¬â¢ is a repetition of the idea of parting between the couple, when the poet decides to leave her husband and be ââ¬ËGone awayââ¬â¢. In the next line which states the effective phrase ââ¬ËGone far awayââ¬â¢, it refers to death, separation and lack of communication between the couple. As readers we realize that ââ¬ËSilent landââ¬â¢ is a description of the place that Rossetti is going to. ââ¬ËSilentââ¬â¢ in this sentence means that there is neither happiness nor sadness. It is similar to ââ¬ËA Woman to Her Loverââ¬â¢ by ââ¬ËChristina Walshââ¬â¢, which talks about a woman talking to her lover about equality and how he should treat her, for her to be his devoted lover. In line 26 in ââ¬ËA woman to her loverââ¬â¢, there is an extended metaphor ââ¬ËLaugh with joyââ¬â¢, it suggests harmony and balance between the couple, when her lover treats her with respect. Physical nearness is used in the third line using phrase ââ¬ËWhen you can no more hold me by the handââ¬â¢; ââ¬Ëby the handââ¬â¢ is used to reflect this. Physical nearness is also referred to in her warning ââ¬ËYou can no moreââ¬â¢ where the consequences to that would be her departure to the ââ¬ËSilent landââ¬â¢. The poet uses personal pronoun ââ¬ËMeââ¬â¢ to hint to us that the man is the leader in this relationship. The word ââ¬ËNorââ¬â¢ in the phrase ââ¬ËNor I half turn to go yet turning stayââ¬â¢ reflects uncertainty of the time of death ever-present reality; it also verifies to the husband that the poet will leave him forever and never come back. The personal pronoun word ââ¬ËYouââ¬â¢ in the phrase ââ¬ËYou tell me of our future that you plannedââ¬â¢, proves to us that there is great dependence on the man as the decision maker in this relationship, because he told her of their future. The reference to his ability to tell the future adds more emphasis to his superiority in this relationship. The fact that there is a long-term relationship between the couple is conveyed by ââ¬ËOur futureââ¬â¢. The latter is a clear indication of the long standing relationship the couple enjoyed which lead the poet to refer to ââ¬ËOur futureââ¬â¢ more so than ââ¬ËMy futureââ¬â¢. There is a shift in focus in this sentence from the poet talking about herself to informing her lover what to do. This is successfully deployed as a result of the change in personal pronouns from ââ¬ËMeââ¬â¢ to ââ¬ËYouââ¬â¢. It is also evident in ââ¬ËA woman to her loverââ¬â¢, where there is an effective use of pronouns nearing the end of the poem. In line 8 the poet confers a sense of hopelessness and that time is running out by informing her husband that ââ¬ËIt will be late to council then or prayââ¬â¢. The poet is notifying her husband that he will appreciate her presence when she is gone and as a result he will turn to God. ââ¬ËPrayââ¬â¢ is a break in the rhyming pattern, it provides a change in focus from selfish to selfless; it is indicated by the choice of personal pronouns as mentioned earlier. At the beginning of the next sentence the poet begins to state commands concerning her husband by the word ââ¬ËYetââ¬â¢, which hints that the tone of the poet will change. The poet reflects on her wishes using the conditional sentence ââ¬ËYet ifââ¬â¢. In the same sentence there is a rapid change in tone from ââ¬ËYou must remember meââ¬â¢ which was used in the second quatrain to ââ¬Ëyou should forget meââ¬â¢, this now proves that the she is selfless and does not want her husband to grieve over her for a long time, and wants him to move with his life. She goes on to say that it is better not to remember her if he is going to be sad every time he thinks about her. The effective sentence ââ¬ËDo not grieveââ¬â¢ is a command and ââ¬ËPrayââ¬â¢ provides evidence that her lover is a religious person. The two powerful words in the sestet ââ¬ËDarknessââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËCorruptionââ¬â¢ express the horror of physical death at the time. The word ââ¬ËVestigeââ¬â¢ means left over. The poet confers her conclusion that he should forget about her and smile rather than remember her and be sad. First Love by John Clare: I chose ââ¬ËFirst Loveââ¬â¢ because it is similar to modern time ideas, although it was written in the 80ââ¬â¢s. ââ¬ËFirst Loveââ¬â¢ is a poem by ââ¬ËJohn Clareââ¬â¢, it talks about a young man who was the son of a farmer and grew up in a rural area. It mainly shows us how his break up in an early relationship with a young woman called ââ¬ËMary Joyceââ¬â¢ caused him to be deeply affected and he never got over it. The poem has a regular rhyming pattern and an ababcdcd rhyme scheme in all 3 stanzas with equal lengths of stanzas. This reflects his regular pattern of life which is a predictable routine. In other words this means that he will be in a state of shock if something unexpected happens. In the first line of the first stanza it says, ââ¬Å"I neââ¬â¢er was struck before that hourâ⬠, this line informs us that the poet is physically and mentally in shock. In the second line it says, ââ¬ËWith love so sudden and so sweetââ¬â¢, this line tells us that the poet fell in love so suddenly using the word ââ¬ËSuddenââ¬â¢. This line uses alliteration in the phrase ââ¬ËLove so suddenââ¬â¢ which again emphasizes how sudden and quick love struck him. Using a metaphor the poet refers to what is on the farm by the phrase ââ¬ËBloomed like a sweet flowerââ¬â¢. This is imagery from nature which is a typical characteristic of the Romantic era is also evident in ââ¬ËWhen we two partedââ¬â¢ in line 9 and 10 where metaphorically the dew represents his native feelings. This is also similar to a phrase in the poem ââ¬ËWhen we two partedââ¬â¢ by Lord Byron, which talks about how Lord Byron looks back in time with regret at a broken relationship with a woman whom Byron admired when he was a schoolboy. It is similar in ââ¬ËWhen we two partedââ¬â¢ in line nine and ten where imagery from nature is used in ââ¬ËThe dew of the morningââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËSunk chill on my browââ¬â¢. The poetââ¬â¢s heart was taken away as soon as he saw Mary-Joyce (the girl he broke up with). The poetââ¬â¢s lack of sophistication and naivety is revealed using repetition in the phrase ââ¬ËMy face turned pale as deadly paleââ¬â¢, deadly pale here means that his faceââ¬â¢s color and expression was as if he was dead. This Phrase is a sign that he is taking this relationship very seriously. A brilliantly placed rhetorical question ââ¬ËWhat could I ailââ¬â¢ has definitely reflected his bewilderment, as well as it echoes the title. In simple terms he is asking himself ââ¬Ëwhat is wrong with meââ¬â¢. Preservation of old ways is present in the poem using the phrase ââ¬ËMy life and all seemed to turn to clayââ¬â¢, using this phrase we identify the period of time that the poem was written. This means that everything in his life has changed. The poet described how he experienced issues when he saw the beautiful girl and how ââ¬ËBlood rushed to my faceââ¬â¢. This description also hints that he had health issues, as there are types of diseases that might cause this type of unusual rush. The use of simile is present when Clare is describing his excitement of watching the girl, using the imagery from nature ââ¬ËThe trees and bushes round the place seemed midnight at noondayââ¬â¢. The use of imagery from nature is also present in the poem ââ¬ËVillegiatureââ¬â¢ by ââ¬ËEdith Nesbitââ¬â¢ which was written by Edith Nesbit in the late 19th century. The actual word villegiature means holiday or retreat in French. ââ¬ËVillegiatureââ¬â¢ is a short poem which is about a woman who is being haunted by her former lover. Imagery from nature in ââ¬ËVillegiatureââ¬â¢ is mentioned in the 8th line ââ¬ËThrough the blossom climbed and kissed meââ¬â¢. The poet mentioned this description to frame her dream man, as well as it refers to the Romantic era. The word ââ¬ËSeemedââ¬â¢ is a sign that he is unsure of what is currently happening to him The third stanza opens with a rhetorical question asking if ââ¬ËFlowersââ¬â¢ are ââ¬Ëwinterââ¬â¢s choiceââ¬â¢ emphasizing the fact that the relationship does not grow. We become conscious that the relationship doesnââ¬â¢t develop by the apparent reality that flowers donââ¬â¢t grow in winter. The ââ¬Ëflowersââ¬â¢ contrast the chill of winter with warmth of summer and also inform us that he is falling in love for the first time. The next line also uses a rhetorical question, but rather to question if ââ¬Ëloveââ¬â¢s bedââ¬â¢ is ââ¬Ëalways snow?ââ¬â¢ and wonder how it could be so cold. The first two lines show us that metaphorically speaking he sees himself as ââ¬ËFlowersââ¬â¢, whereas his love is ââ¬ËSnowââ¬â¢. This is The poet is wondering about how could his voice be silent, and it is proven using the oxymoron when the poet asks himself whether the girl could hear his ââ¬ËSilent voiceââ¬â¢. The poet describes his voice as silent to describe how he was deeply affected by the break up. The phrase ââ¬ËLoveââ¬â¢s appeal to knowââ¬â¢ depicts love as an obsession and selfishness. The word ââ¬ËSweetââ¬â¢ is repeated three times throughout the poem, in the fourth line before the end he uses alliteration with the word sweet to describe deeply ââ¬ËSo sweet a faceââ¬â¢. As readers this makes us believe that he is now obsessed with her and can never get over it. In his attempt to reflect personification of his obsession he uses the phrase ââ¬ËMy heart has leftââ¬â¢, as if his heart can leave its place. There is also a shift intense from past to present in the last two lines where he first says in the past ââ¬ËMy heart has leftââ¬â¢ and then ââ¬ËAnd can return no moreââ¬â¢, this informs us about the final condition that he is left with. Finally to end the poem the poet states the word ââ¬Ëcanââ¬â¢ in the phrase ââ¬ËAnd can return no moreââ¬â¢ to hint to us that his heart has taken its own choice and decided not to go back for her.
Conagra Foods Essay
ConAgra Foods Inc. is one of the largest food companies in the United States operating in such segments as Consumer Foods (66%) and Commercial Foods (34%) which are divided into three significant business operations segments ââ¬â agricultural products, packaged foods and refrigerated foods (Table 1). Table 1. Net sales (in millions USD) 20102009%increase/decrease Consumer Foods 8,002 7,979-%. Commercial Foods 4,077 4,447(8)% Total12,07912,426(3)% Source: Annual Report 2010 Consumer Foods The Consumer Foods segment includes branded, private label and customized food products, which are sold in various retail and foodservice channels. The products include a variety of categories, such as meals, entrees, condiments, sides, snacks, and desserts across frozen, refrigerated and shelf-stable temperature classes. The Companyââ¬â¢s major brands include Alexia, ACT II, Banquet, Blue Bonnet, Chef Boyardee, DAVID, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Huntââ¬â¢s, Marie Callenderââ¬â¢s, Orville Redenbacherââ¬â¢s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, Van Campââ¬â¢s and Wesson. As of July 22, 2010, it had 39 domestic manufacturing facilities in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin. As of July 22, 2010, it also had four international manufacturing facilities in Canada and Mexico (one 50% owned) and one in Arroyo Dulce, Argentina. Commercial Foods The Commercial Foods segment supplies frozen potato, sweet potato and other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. The products are sold under brands, such as ConAgra Mills, Lamb Weston, and Spicetec Flavors & Seasoning. As of July 22, 2010, it had 41 domestic production facilities in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington; one international production facility in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and Qingdao, China; one manufacturing facility in Taber, Canada; one 50% owned manufacturing facility in each of Colorado, Minnesota, Washington and the United Kingdom; one 67% owned manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico, and three 50% owned manufacturing facilities in the Netherlands. Company is mainly engaged in operations in the United States which count for more than 90% of total income (Table 2). ConAgra Foods Inc. owns approximately 50 brands (Table 3). Table 2. Pre-tax income from continuing operations (in millions USD) 201020092008 United States1,040. 3872. 1631. 9 Foreign 66. 6 64. 3 69. 6 Total1,106. 9936. 4701. 5 Source: Annual Report 2010 Vision and mission The vision of the company set by current CEO Gary Rodkin is: ââ¬Å"One company. One goal. Making the food you love. â⬠It reflects the overall companyââ¬â¢s strategy to make ââ¬Å"food people want in their lives every dayâ⬠. The mission is reflected in companyââ¬â¢s profile: ââ¬Å"Preparing great food, being a strong partner to our customers and thinking about all of the people who enjoy our food and the difference it makes in their lives fuels our passion: making the food you love. â⬠Goals Like every public-held company listed on NYSE (ConAgra Foods Inc. has ticker CAG) ConAgra Foods Inc. aims to increase earnings per share. The goal of the company is to achieve long-term growth through supply chain productivity, operational efficiency, innovation, selling, marketing and sustainability of great brands . Increase in supply chain productivity and operational efficiency lets the company to reduce its manufacturing, finance, administrative, transportation costs. Innovation and marketing orientation enhances the business processes and expands profit margins. Figure 1. Formula for growth Source: Annual Report 2010 ConAgra Foods Inc.operates under three principles while achieving its strategic goal: simplicity, collaboration and accountability. Using their resources rationally, nourishing employees and creating positive image within the community are the objectives which lead the company to be ââ¬Å"good for you, good for the community, good for the peopleâ⬠. Strategic priorities The company focuses on the following business product groups. In each strategic group ConAgra Foods Inc. possesses significant manufacturing and innovation capabilities. Figure 2. Strategic priorities. Source: Annual Report 2010 Strategy ââ¬Å"ConAgra Foods is focused on growing sales, expanding profit margins, and improving returns on capital over time. To that end, the company has significantly changed its portfolio of businesses over a number of years, focusing on branded, value-added opportunities, while divesting commodity-based and lower-margin businesses. â⬠Acquisitions Company was founded in 1919 as Nebraska Consolidated Mills and in 2000 changed its name to ConAgra Foods Inc. Acquisitions are the major part of ConAgraââ¬â¢s strategy. The company implemented horizontal and vertical integration strategy after sustaining solid background in flour-milling operations and feed and poultry segment. The time and the trends in the food industry were crucial to the strategic acquisitions of the company. In 1970-1980s when home and industrial refrigerators became available for the consumers and packing techniques developed , which meant that now meat and vegetables will not spoil, ConAgra entered the frozen foods market with the acquisition of Banquet Foods in 1980 and other companies in the meat and poultry segment (Armour Foods, Beatrice Foods, Hebrew National Foods, etc.). In 1980-1990s when the welfare of American citizens began to improve and people began to value time the food that was easy to cook (which means basically just heat and serve) was highly demanded and ConAgraââ¬â¢s strategic move was highly appreciated by the investors in the stock market. The stock price of CAG tripled from 10$ in 1990 to 30$ in 1998. The total amount of acquired brands approximated 30 by the year 2000 (Huntââ¬â¢s, La Choy, Wesson, ACT II, Chef Boyardee, etc. ) and company changed its name to ConAgra Foods Inc.to reflect its growing role as a food products manufacturer rather than just the food ingredients supplier. In the beginning of the twenty first century and nowadays when the society became more concerned about their health ConAgra Foods Inc. implemented several strategic acquisitions of such companies as Alexia Foods Inc. (natural and organic foods company) in 2007, Elan Nutrition in 2010 and others. The purchases that company makes ââ¬Å"â⬠¦reflect [our] acquisition strategyââ¬âfind businesses that are great fits and enable [us] to grow by filling a need within [our] portfolio or giving [us] an adjacent category expansionâ⬠¦. â⬠Figure 3. The acquisitions strategy helped ConAgra Foods Inc. to: ConAgra Foods Inc. divests the businesses which are either too complex to integrate with the core businesses or did not achieve a profit margin greater than the benchmark margin rate. In 2009 the company sold Pemmican (beef jerky business), in 2008 it sold ââ¬Å"Knottââ¬â¢s Berry Farmâ⬠operations and others. Mostly, the divestitures are low-margin (commodity-based) businesses. Marketing and distribution Almost every American household has a number of ConAgra Foods brand-named products in their refrigerators. The ability to acquire well-known and customer-loved brands had secured for ConAgra beneficial position. Some of the acquired brands such as Peter Pan and Chef Boyardee had longer history than ConAgra and were so much identifiable in the consumer market that it makes no sense to advance the brand of ConAgra. Even though the company has so many brands in their ââ¬Å"arsenalâ⬠many people donââ¬â¢t know what ConAgra does. And many consumers donââ¬â¢t identify ConAgra as the owner of the brand-named products that they buy. ConAgra is aimed to the better understanding needs of their customers. The health-conscious consumers (whose number is growing) chose nutritious and low-fat food. For increasing nutrition in its products company launched the program on sodium reduction and positions itself as a ââ¬Å"safe food manufacturerâ⬠. In 2008 the company launched the program online startmakingchoices. com for people who are concerned with the healthy way of life. The website has several tests and tips on how to keep your life healthier. Also company designs packaging with the full information to help consumers improve their diet. ââ¬Å"Taste, health, nutrition, convenience, sustainability and, of course, value are just some of the issues American shoppers are now faced with every time they go to a supermarket ââ¬â and theyââ¬â¢re demanding to know more. â⬠For the purpose of better serving its customers and help consumers with their choice ConAgra Foods Inc. launched ââ¬Å"Food News Todayâ⬠with Phil Lempert, a ââ¬Å"leading consumer trend analyst and Supermarket Guruâ⬠. ConAgra Foods Inc. aimed to develop and improve their private labeling strategy. One of the most successful brands that company has, Healthy Choice, has retail sales of about 1 billion dollars. This label is licensed to other companies for use on their products. Company announced the Gold Store initiative in 2006, which focuses on driving growth by optimizing in-store conditions in three fundamental areas: distribution, shelving, and placement next to the companion products. As part of a plan ConAgraââ¬â¢s sales efforts are shifting from a strategy that relied heavily on short-term price discounts and couponing in order to push out sales volume to consumers to a strategy that relies more on ways to draw in consumers. The new strategy hopes to provide a more balanced mix of trade spending, consumer advertising, and product innovation than the company had in the past. Even though ConAgra Foods Inc. owns distribution and transportation businesses like J. M. Swank, most of companyââ¬â¢s transportation equipment, distribution centers and storage facilities are being run by third parties. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and its affiliates, accounted for approximately 18% of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2010 . ConAgra combines hard data from retailers with its own qualitative research. ââ¬Å"Gary Rodkin is on a quest to find what he calls ââ¬Å"the big, singular insight that will drive behavior change. ââ¬Å"â⬠¦. He is using theories about buying habitsââ¬âbacked by $399 million a year in advertising, marketing and in-store promotionsââ¬âto convince grocery stores to provide ample shelves for its 45 consumer brandsâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦Ã¢â¬ Leadership. Charles M. Harper The ââ¬Å"wizardâ⬠Charles M. Harper who led the company from 1974 to 1993 is well-known for launching acquisitions strategy and founding Healthy Choice brand. During his tenure at ConAgra, the company expanded its business operations from flour-milling business to frozen foods, poultry, prepared seafood, fertilizers and the sales rose from $636 million in 1974 to $9 billion in 1987. The main reason for making decisions on acquisitions strategy were cyclical profits that company faced in agricultural segment. Mike Harper decided to diversify the company from basic products to packaged goods. His main priority was to acquire companies while they were in their down cycle and he restructured the companies and refocused their marketing strategies. He reintroduced the brands which were highly recognizable by consumers and refocused the product lines. In 1988 Harper boasted that ConAgra was probably the only food products company to ââ¬Å"participate across the entire food chain. â⬠In the early 1990s ConAgra expanded at a rate of about 3-5 acquisitions and joint ventures a year, becoming the leader in the frozen goods industry . During his tenure the P/E ratio of the company was at all times high which means: the price of stock was rising faster than the earnings per share or in other words, the investors were overoptimistic about the future of the company. (Figure 4) Figure 4. P/E ratio of ConAgra Foods Inc. Bruce Rhode In 1998 Bruce Rhode was named a CEO of ConAgra and his first steps were to reduce costs by large amount. He instituted ââ¬Å"Operation Overdriveâ⬠restructuring program, closing several production plants and storage facilities and cutting the workforce by seven thousand employees. The estimated savings from ââ¬Å"Operation Overdriveâ⬠were approximately $600 million a year . The other problem that Bruce Rhode faced was strong decentralization of the company. Some of the food-processing and meat-packing companies, which operated under one brand name of ConAgra, purchased the products from the competitors rather than other ConAgraââ¬â¢s branches. The same uncoordinated actions were in marketing when ââ¬Å"representatives from several ConAgra divisions, all selling similar products, visited the same restaurants and groceriesâ⬠. Bruce Rhode emphasized team-approach to solve these problems. At the beginning of 2000s many retail grocery stores would like to promote their own brands in foods processing and packaging segment and that was another problem for Bruce Rhode to solve. He concentrated on product development and marketing, working closely with grocery stores to create displays of ConAgra products. Bruce Rhode continued acquisitions strategy of his predecessors acquiring more brand names in packaged food segment (International Home Foods in 2000) to increase gross sales of the company and he divided company into ten principal operating units: ConAgra Foodservice Company; ConAgra Grocery Products Companies; ConAgra Frozen Prepared Foods; ConAgra Dairy Case Companies; ConAgra Refrigerated Prepared Foods; ConAgra Meat Companies; ConAgra Poultry Company; ConAgra Food Ingredients; United Agri Products Companies; ConAgra Trade Group. The early years of his tenure coincided with the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998 when the investors were cautious about the US domestic markets and the stock price fell significantly (Figure 4). Figure 4. Daily stock prices for ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG) since 1978 to 2010. Source: google. com/finance Gary Rodkin Gary Rodkin, the former CEO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods of North America division, replaced Bruce Rhode as CEO of ConAgra Foods Inc. in 2005 and began reorganization trying to create one centralized consolidated company that consists of more than 500 subdivisions. As a result of refocusing its portfolio of businesses ConAgra Foods Inc. divested Butterball, Armour, Eckrich and others. Gary Rodkin, while continuing acquisitions strategy, transformed the company into a ââ¬Å"more unified operating companyâ⬠. With the changes of the new CEO many analysts were concerned that he would try to create ConAgra brand instead of coordinating many different brands. However, during his interview to SmartMoney (Wall Street Journal) in 2010 he said: ââ¬Å"â⬠¦. There is no product named ConAgra. So instead, we say, consumers make the brands relevant. We do need investors to better understand this company. But on the consumer side, we really donââ¬â¢t think the juice is worth the squeeze. â⬠Performance Internal organization ConAgra Foods Inc. operates in a low-margin industry thus effectively managing its costs is the priority in achieving strategic competitiveness (Figure 6). Focusing on cost reduction the company could save 1. 1 billion USD through supply chain rationalization initiatives, the relocation of a divisional headquarters from Irvine, California to Naperville, Illinois, the centralization of shared services, salaried headcount reductions and other cost-reduction initiatives . Figure 6. Hereââ¬â¢s how the $4. 19 you pay for a frozen dinner like one from Healthy Choice breaks down. ConAgra makes 55 cents. Source: Forbes. com . Shopping Cart Psychology by Helen Coster. 08. 19. 09 For the fiscal 2010 year ConAgra Foods Inc. announced net sales of 12,079 million USD with the operating profit of 1,652 USD (Table 4). Table 4. Financial Highlights for the fiscal 2010 year Source: Annual Report 2010 ââ¬Å"â⬠¦.. Heightened competition, weak demand and inflation hampered food processor ConAgraââ¬â¢s fiscal first quarter, leading it to cut its outlook, though the maker of Healthy Choice and Orville Redenbacherââ¬â¢s brand foods increased its dividendâ⬠¦.. â⬠. The company also decreased its earnings per share outlook from 8-10% growth to 5-7%. External environment ConAgra Foods Inc. is focused on value-added brand companies and private labeling in the food industry where it competes with such giants as Kraft Foods, Heinz, Nestle, etc. ââ¬Å"â⬠¦.. We experience intense competition for sales of our principal products in our major markets. Our products compete with widely advertised, well-known, branded products, as well as private label and customized products. Some of our competitors are larger and have greater resources than we have. We compete primarily on the basis of quality, value, customer service, brand recognition, and brand loyaltyâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ ¦. â⬠From the next figure it can be inferred that even though ConAgra Foods, Inc. operates better than overall US industries, it still underperforms the leading companies in food sector. Figure 5. 10-year comparison of ConAgra Foods Inc. , S&P 500, S&P 500 Packaged Foods Index. Source: Annual Report 2010 In the Processed and Packaged Goods industry companies operate under very narrow margins (Figure 6) and for that reason severe price competition after the financial crisis influences heavily the profits of ConAgra Foods Inc. Also, the retailers implement backward integration strategy and take away profits from famous brand companies since the consumers are losing interest in the brand-named products. Even though the there are some good news about the industry that the consumers are very conscious about the money and they eat-out less than before the crisis the competition in the industry makes it difficult for analysts to predict bright future for the food companies. In the Figure we can see that the general projections for the industry are either ââ¬Å"buyâ⬠or ââ¬Å"holdâ⬠rather than ââ¬Å"strong buyâ⬠. Figure 7. Analysts recommendation about the industry and ConAgra Foods Inc. Source: wikinvest. com Zacks Investment Research, November 24, 2010. Bibliographies 1. Amanda Quick, ââ¬Å"Company profiles for studentsâ⬠, (Thomson Gale, 1999) 2. bigcharts. com 3. ConAgra Foods Inc. Annual Report 2010 4. ConAgra Foods Inc. Corporate Responsibility Report 2010 5. conagrafoods. com 6. forbes. com 7. google. com/finance 8. http://www. hbs. edu 9. referenceforbusiness. com 10. wikinvest. com 11. wsj. com.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
The Pluralism Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
The Pluralism Project - Essay Example Therefore, from her article she summarizes that pluralism is like an engagement. It helps in bringing a common society from different diversity together. It is considered to be among the possible responses to the new diversity. Pluralism in our society is not welcomed fully, some look at it with extreme hostility while others feel threatened by it. Other people in our society are looking forward to the days when the differences seen in our society will fade away into the predominantly Christian culture landscape. These voices of the past are now being echoed in the current Americaââ¬â¢s religious and cultural discussions. The diversity has produced fault lines in Americaââ¬â¢s religions, and these lines of weakness indicate how American society is with huge cracks of separation. Ecks sees the pluralism alone is not the cause of Americas diversity hut it plays an active engagement role in diversity. It is more than just tolerating the religious differences in our society, what pluralism requires is knowledge for one to understand it and fully appreciate it. It is an act of individuals respecting what others believe in pertaining a given religion. It is also used to refer to different beliefs that are held by more religious views to be acceptable by the beliefs or appear equally valid. Religious pluralism is considered an expression that tries to accept any religion that is in existing or that relates to each in certain ways. It is more than just mere tolerance of other views that are being put forth by other religions (Chaves and Gorski, pg. 261). Pluralism in religion tends to admit the fact that the name put forth by the various religious views throughout the world is not regarded as the ultimate and exclusive source of truth. What this tries to portray is that some elements of truth do exist in religion as much as it exists in
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Literature review of Chinese culture Research Paper - 1
Literature review of Chinese culture - Research Paper Example However, with the coming of the white missionaries, the idea of professional nursing came to bear and nursing as a career emerged and flourished by combining both western and eastern techniques. Nursing Education in China was based on the medical model and majority of the nurse trainees attended around two to four years of formal training, however, elements of Chinese culture significantly influenced the practice. In a study carried out in Hong Kong to determine the extent to which nurses used Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 80% of them admitted to having used at some point while over 90 said they had confidence in it. The endorsement of nurses proves beyond doubt that TCM is still relevant and practical; in fact, in some instances it can prove to be more effective and progressive than conventional modern practices (Charlie et al., 2008). Among the most popular were, massage therapy, herbal medicine bone setting and aromatherapy, majority of registered nurses recommended the use of acupuncture or acupressure for patients who suffered from musculoskeletal disorders. According to Chinese beliefs, illness is caused by disharmony and imbalance within the patient and between them and the environment, thus the restoration of balance is a major concern of Chinese medical and nursing practice. This is different from many of the western practices, where nursing as concerned with curing the apparent symptoms as opposed to the inner and outer factors that are indirectly contributive. Over the years, their medical practices have evolved and they are practiced alongside modern medicine, such include acupuncture, auriculotherapy, herbal medicine, cupping, guasha, moxibusti and other therapies intended to help the body relax and reconnect with nature and the natural environment (Lih-Mih, 2008). Majority of the principles in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
No Child Left Behind Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
No Child Left Behind - Essay Example Next is the improvement of flexibility and local control. It also provides an increased number of options for parents. Lastly it stresses on proven teaching techniques. The phrase, "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) has become a slogan for the federal scheme to increase "accountability" in American education. But despite the fact that NCLB is a federal plan, it will be up to the individual countries to make the plans and procedures that accomplish NCLB requirements. NCLB does not provide the new mandate with adequate funds. Thus this has an effect on opinions of many schools and parents. Many states have implemented this policy by now, but this has an impact on the parents and schools as they had to face many difficulties while coping up with the policy. This article further describes the effect, changes and pros and cons of the policy in regard to its laws.(Edwards & Perry 2004) This act generally stresses on developing American schools to a standard in which all students are given equal opportunities. As in the act it states "close the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers." This clearly reflects that NCLB aims to offer reasonable and equivalent opportunities to the students so that they can attain education of high standards. One of the most important terms of NCLB is the obligation that the states should set values in the field of education and should perform yearly evaluation of schools to check the progress of the school and analyze if the schools have been successful in improving the student's educational achievements. NCLB gives funds for the training of teachers; it provides special support to students who face difficulties with reading and supports immigrants and homeless students. Overa ll NCLB holds the states, districts and the schools to take accountability of the student's achievements. States are entitled to report the progress of students who suffer from problems like reading and writing. They are also directed to report about the students who are from different ethnic groups and who belong to families of low income. On the contrary NCLB has passed laws which act as a barrier for admission in kindergarten. Thus this proves to be a setback for the youth in their future. This youth may suffer from problems like aging, race difference and other physical and mental differences. A child cannot get admission in a kindergarten or a primary school if he has not cleared certain eligibility criterion (Panzica 2008). The laws implemented in the United States of America are prohibiting the children from early entries into kindergarten and primary schools. This can immensely affect the future of the children as it may determine the age of the child when he finishes his high school. There is a certain age limit for any child who needs admission in the kindergarten. If one is not able to comply with the age limits then they possibly will not get an admission into the school. The Act has made the school authorities more accountable for the results of the students and this has therefore made the authorities more conscious when giving admission to a child of less capabilities. The age criterion is so strict that the schools have a certain date setup (usually in September or December) at which the child should be of the
Monday, August 26, 2019
Poetry books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Poetry books - Essay Example The ââ¬Å"Short Charter of Christâ⬠employs a number of imageries which centrally focus on the development of the grand-imagery of crucified Christ. This imagery of the crucified body of Christ further conveys a holistic abstraction of Christââ¬â¢s physical sufferings in exchange for the salvation of humanity. On the contrary, the image of the charter visualizes this grand metaphor through the triadic relationship among ââ¬Å"signsâ⬠, ââ¬Å"interpretersâ⬠and ââ¬Å"ideasâ⬠which those signs are intended to convey to the audiences or readers. The scribe of this image has effectively employed a number of signs of physical sufferings such as five wounds, the nails, the ââ¬Å"scourges of his attackersâ⬠, stains of blood, bones and skulls, etc. to conjure up Christââ¬â¢s sufferings and to convey his pains to the readers. Through these symbols, he has attempted to visualize spatiotemporal settings of Jesusââ¬â¢ crucifixion in the mage, while the poem uses various imageries develop the traditional Christian concepts of humankindââ¬â¢s salvation and liberation through Christââ¬â¢s suffering on the Holy Cross. Indeed, during the medieval period, it was a literary tradition of referring to Christââ¬â¢s Last Will in Manuscripts. But some of the charters of Christ had been produced in the form of legal documents. In these charters, the scribes would make sincere effort to convey a sense of legality of the documents to the readers. Therefore, the scribes had to apply a number of techniques in this regard. These techniques include literary-visual binary techniques of presentation of the theme. While presenting the theme of the documents they would attempt to instill the spatiotemporal dimension of their subject matter. Necessarily, they had to assume the persona of Christ in their manuscripts. While Christââ¬â¢s persona was worked out through linguistic strategy of using the first person perspective in the presentation of th e literary content, images were used to illustrate and visualize Christââ¬â¢s figure. These pictorial presentations of Christ would more or less commonly uphold him in the posture of delivering sermon to his disciples. In this regard, it can be said that the pictorial presentation of Christââ¬â¢s persona in the ââ¬Å"Short Charter of Christâ⬠is somewhat different from this tradition. Instead, the scribe of the ââ¬Å"Short Charterâ⬠has adapted and elaborated the image of crucified Christ to visualize the theme of the poem. The ââ¬Å"Short Charter of Christâ⬠, had been written as a legal document in which Christ grants humankind the liberation and redemption from sins. This charter has a root in the medieval practice of writing religious documents in parchments. More specifically, this is the imitation of Christââ¬â¢s Last Will and Testament. In order to work out the spatiotemporal dimension of Christââ¬â¢s physical sufferings, the scribe has endeavored to convey the sense of Christââ¬â¢s physical sufferings through the images of the cross, crucified Christ and other elements needed in the process of crucifixion. These symbols and images of crucified Christ nailed on the cross are sufficient enough to work out the realities which Christ himself faced. But in order to validate the legal dimension of the texts, those medieval script-writers would manipulate the imagery of Christââ¬â¢s skin extended to serve as a parchment on which Christââ¬â¢
Sunday, August 25, 2019
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Essay - 1
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - Essay Example The author tells how the researchers managed to discover a number of vaccines that they used to treat different diseases including polio, cancer, and other chronic diseases. In fact, the researchers are making billions of dollars from the sale of the vaccines. Nevertheless, even as the scientists make billions of dollars from the research, they do not inform Lacks that the cancer cell used in the research was taken from her body. Neither do they inform her that it is because of the cell taken from her that they are making billions of dollars. In fact, the researchers kept the secrecy of the origin of the cancer cell by adopting the name "Hela" to ensure that the poor Lacks does not know that it was her cancer cell. Finally, Lacks dies of cancer for lack of enough money to receive medical attention. In this regard, Skloot is trying to tell readers how merciless and unjust the society can be (Skloot, 2011). Ethically, the scientists would be expected to obtain the informed consent of Lacks before going ahead to use her cancer cell in the research. Additionally, morally speaking, the researchers would be expected to use the money derived from the sale of the vaccines and drugs to help Lacks manage her health condition. Unfortunately, because the researchers are greedy and selfish, their main interest is to benefit from the business by making billions of dollars. The issue of gender also comes in as the researchers appear to ignore Lacks merely because she is a poor woman without a voice. In this regard, they knew that Lacks would not to do anything about her cell because she is not only poor, but also a woman. Additionally, the issue of race comes into focus as all the researchers who use Lacks cancer cell without permission are whites while Lacks is an African American woman (Skloot,
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