Murder Rationale in Dostoevskys Crime and Punishment Essay -- Crime P

Murder Rationale in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment Feodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is a murder mystery unlike most murder mysteries. In this novel the reader knows "who done it"; the mystery lies in why the murder is committed. Throughout the story, Raskolnikov gives three main reasons why he kills Alena Ivanovna. Although these reasons seem unrelated on a superficial level, there is truth in all of them. What's more, each one builds on its predecessor. Raskolnikov's first two reasons are scrutinized by Sonya one at a time as his solitary motive for murder. These reasons are then disproved on their own, leaving one ultimate motive that essentially encompasses the other two. As readers, we sometimes tend to want a direct explanation for events that have occurred. Dostoevsky gives us explanations, but they are not direct and can be confusing if we are looking for an obvious cause and effect relationship. Crime and Punishment imitates life in that the happenings do not always fit in nice neat categories. Perhaps this is one of the elements that make it such an intriguing and acclaimed novel. Raskolnikov's first reason for murdering the pawn broker is to help himself. He claims he wanted the money. He states in his confession to Sonya, "It was to rob her" (348). It is obvious that he needed money for school. Also, if he had the money to put himself through school, his mother would not have to scrimp and borrow from others to help her son. Since the death of his father, Raskolnikov's mother and sister are greatly dependent upon him to make something of himself. His mother says in a letter to him, "You are all we have, Dunya and I, you are everything to us, our only hope and trust" (25). In this same letter, his mo... ... commoners. His last reason was accepted as his ultimate motive; "Sonya understood that this gloomy creed had become his faith and his law" (353). Raskolnikov himself does not really know why he is committing murder when the murder is taking place. It is a discovery of self and of a theory that was not yet developed. He uses excuses for his reasoning in the beginning, saying that he needs the money, and, later, that he is performing a service for the greater good. These excuses are necessary and fundamental steps of Raskolnikov's journey into self-discovery. It is human nature to rationalize, which is what he is doing. Ironically, this very need for rationalization and excuse is what fails him in his quest for proof of his superiority. Work Cited Dostoevsky, Feodor. Crime and Punishment. Trans. Jessie Coulson. Ed. Goerge Gibian. New York: Norton, 1989.

Fyffes Case Study

IntroductionFyffes are an Irish company founded in 1888 that specialise in fruit production. The company is said to be â€Å"world famous† according to the Fyffes website, one reason being that their bananas were the first branded fruit in the world (Fyffes, 2013). Fyffes are the oldest fruit brand in the world and are headquartered in Dublin. The company began in London, soon to become the most popular banana brand in the world, the organisation was born into the marketplace devoid of competition.Their â€Å"blue label bananas† allowed them to become unique and furthermore dominators of the fruit market. Today, their main product is the banana, although they also produce other fruits including the Fyffes Gold Pineapples and Fyffes melons. Fyffes currently market their produce in Europe and the United States and are involved in the production, procurement, shipping, ripening, distribution and marketing of bananas, pineapples and melons.SWOT Analysis of Fyffes.StrengthsF yffes have several strengths such as a large brand portfolio that is very well recognized. Furthermore they have a strong brand recognition among both customers and institutions, that allows them to penetrate new markets and also hold a large share in existing markets. They operate a vertically integrated supply chain that allow economies of scale in fruit in both sourcing and distribution. (Fyffes,2013) There strong market position allows them with a lot bargaining power in the market. They have a large number of supply chain activities that include ; Production, procurement, shipping, ripening and the distribution and marketing of bananas but also melons and pineapples.WeaknessesFyffes lack in the scale of operations when compared to their competitors ; Chiquita Brands, Dole foods and Fresh Del Monte produce. They are somewhat dependent on european market, but this has greatly improved since 2008 when  there 51% of their revenue came from the eurozone. There competitors have sig nificantly bigger distribution and marketing channels along with greater financial resources. This can be seen in 2013 revenues were Fyffes is listed fourth behind Dole food, Fresh Del Monte, Chiquita and Total Produce. (Fyffes,2013)OpportunitiesA company acquisition may help enhance pineapple production. This would increase production and supply. Fyffes have identified their weakness of lack of scale and made progress by establishing a network(s) across Germany. This includes both distribution and ripening centres. Fyffes have been paying a tariff on bananas imported in to the european union since 2006 due to the European Union banana import regulation. This has given competitors importing from other regions the upper hand. However the EU have agreed to reduce this tariff on latin american bananas in stages, when this fully implemented this could reduce Fyffes’ operating costs significantly. (ibid)ThreatsFyffes have strong competition across all their product lines, competit ion include global companies as listed previously but also agricultural cooperatives and foreign government sponsored producers. Further to this competitor companies have larger financial resources allowing them more purchasing power along with more capital to expand and improve. (ibid)Target CountryAs the huge demand for bananas and tropical fruits in Europe constantly increases Fyffes have found themselves sourcing throughout The Tropics,Caribbean and countries in Central America for example Costa Rica and Columbia. With the European Union being the largest consumer importer for bananas, it is Fyffes target market. In Britain alone over 5 billion bananas are consumed each year, hence why they are the 4th largest importer bananas in the world and one of Fyffes major target countries. They have a strong competitive advantage as the British market is one they know very well and can use this against other companies such as Chiquita who are a  Latin American company.Another target co untry for Fyffes is Germany being the 2nd largest importer of bananas in the world.Fyffes can easily trade with Germany as it is within the European Union.Although the United States are the number one largest importers for bananas it is unlikely that they would be able to compete with the firms from South America. Companies such as Del Monte,Dole Food Company and Bonita are the largest banana firms in the US and dominate the market.As bananas are only produced in countries with a very specific climate such as The Carribean or The Tropics they’re target countries are the places where the fruit cannot be readily grown and must be imported.â€Å"Bananas and pineapples are grown in countries of the tropics – Africa, Latin America, Caribbean, Pacific etc. Many countries produce bananas as a staple food and only around 20% of all bananas that are produced are actually exported.Most bananas and pineapples sold on the British market are exported from Latin America, and increa singly West Africa, as companies relocate in search of ever ‘cheaper' fruit, pursuing a ‘Race to the Bottom' in terms of social and environmental standards.† (www.Bananalink.org.uk 2013)Products Selected to Go InternationalHeadquartered in Dublin, Fyffes has expanded greatly and is now operating in several different regions including the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, U.S.A. along with Central and South America. With Fyffes being one of the largest fruit companies in the world, their internationally distributed products include bananas, melons, pineapples and the newly added product that is plantains.Fyffes are renowned on a world stage for being the most notable distributor and seller of bananas. Operating in a vast amount of countries in the Caribbean and South America, as of 2012 Fyffes was the â€Å"largest importer of Fairtrade bananas into the European Union† (Fyffes, 2012). These bananas are sourced from countries such Ecuador, Costa Rica, Brazil, P eru and the Ivory Coast. After the bananas have been harvested and washed they are palletised for shipping in temperature controlled holds.Fyffes have marketed their bananas from the standpoint that they are nutritionally beneficial to all. They preach the biological benefits of their products whether it is through their website, general advertising or through they’re labelling etc. They boast the fact that â€Å"bananas are known as the energy fruit because they provide a quick-but-sustained energy boost in a natural, nutritious and easily digestible form† as well as the rather low caloric count of just 95 kcal per banana. Much of the same marketing is used for their pineapples. Fyffes’ ‘Gold Pineapples’ are described as â€Å"Supersweet† (Fyffes.com, 2013) and is sourced mainly from Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica. These are packaged and distributed around the world.The pineapples are shipped in condition controlled vessels to ensure an appr opriate balance of sugar and acidity is maintained. Once again Fyffes market their product based on the nutritional benefits. They declare that their â€Å"Supersweet† pineapples contain â€Å"three times more vitamin C than traditional pineapples† along with their low fat content and the presence of digestive enzymes (Fyffes.com, 2013). Fyffes third main product is their variety of melons. Fyffes’ selection includes a range of both summer and winter melons. The summer melons include galia, watermelons and cantaloupe.The winter melons include watermelons, honeydew and cantaloupe. They are high in vitamins A and C and contain digestive fibre. The countries in which they are in grown in include Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica. As previously mentioned, Fyffes introduced what are known as ‘fruit snacks’ in the form of plantains chips. The plantain is a variation of the banana and is being marketed as a variation to potato chipsEntry Modes UtilisedFyf fes have been exporting to the UK for the last 120 years from its base in Ireland. The first step Fyffes took after exporting to the UK was to export to EU member states. This was a low risk natural progression for Fyffes as the EU operate a free trading policy within member states and many of the original member states have a similar demographic as that of Ireland and the UK.These markets had similar demand as their climates were not susceptible to growing bananas and this proved to be a venture that increased the recognition of the blue label brand and maximised the use of current  resources as well therefore proving highly profitable. In 1995 to expand on its European distribution channels Fyffes entered into a venture with the Windward Island Banana Development and Exporting Company (WIBDECO), and bought out Geest Bananas which were a major competitor in the British market (Bananalink, 2013). In 2005 the company entered into a strategic alliance with the Turbana Corporation in order to expand its market reach and develop its US market share.As Fyffes grows and increases its market share larger economies of scale are allowed for. Fyffes buy most of their fruit from farms in Belize, Panama and Costa Rica, it does however own about 6,000 acres of land in Costa Rica as well as smaller farms in Panama and Belize (Carswell, 2013).The company is hoping that by 2014 they will grow 60 per cent of the pineapples they sell. A recent development in the containers used to keep the fruit fresh while shipping means that the fruit could be kept fresh for 35 days of shipping, far longer than the current 23. Fyffes are hoping this will allow them to export their fruit from their Central American headquarters in Costa Rica to growing markets in Russia and the Middle East.Resource Commitmentâ€Å"Resource commitment refers to the level of dedicated assets – physical or human – that cannot be transferred from one country to another without loss of economic val ue†. An example of this may be that a firm adapt its product and resources to suit the needs of the host importing company (Petersen, 1999). This essentially may result in increased revenue in that specific area but may not help revenue figures as a whole for the firm. Fyffes has continuously shown resource commitment to several different foreign markets.Due to the very nature of the fruit business Fyffes was technically always an import-export business. As an Irish company selling tropical fruit there was always a need for shipping the fruit from the likes of Costa Rica and Panama. Therefore these resources were already owned by the company. In order to grow their exports Fyffes had to expand on these resources. Fyffes were the first company to properly transport their fruit on their ships. They changed from just transporting the fruit in bunches to using proper containers on board, this was key to shipping the fruit further afield.Alasdair MaCleod, head of Fyffes in their Ce ntral American base said that  only once in his 20 years in the business had he lost an entire shipload of fruit as a result of a ripe box of bananas prematurely ripening others on board the ship. As mentioned previously Fyffes hope to further improve their shipping containers and therefore advance into more new markets. This is a resource commitment that is sure to pay off . (Carswell, 2013)Environmental Factors Impacting on InternationalizationThere are four main environmental factors that can impact the internationalization of a company. These are the competitive, legal, political and economic environments. It is imperative that a company must overcome these obstacles in the marketplace in order to establish internationalization of their firm. For fyffes, their competitive environment struck them first in the late 1920s.Their first competitor, Jamaica Bananas Producers Ltd, began to sell their fruit in large amounts to the British market. Fyffes counteracted by branding their f ruit to enable recognition of their bananas. The blue Fyffes label then became iconic, it was their major selling point. Henry Stockery CEO of Fyffes in 1929 said that,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"today people are asking for the ‘Blue Label’ bananas†.The popularity of their ‘blue labeled bananas’ allowed them to dominate the banana market and to wipe out all of their competitors.With regards to the legal, political and economic aspect, according to Fyffes website, it states that,   Ã¢â‚¬Å"fyffes is aware of the social and environmental issues associated with the products that it sources and sells†. (Fyffes, 2013).They follow a strict code of practices in order to produce their product at the highest quality and approved ethical standards. Furthermore, Fyffes is said to be â€Å"pro-active† with matters such as environmental impact and fair labour prices by heavily participating in industry forums on social, ethical, health and safety and environmental is sues.Success (or otherwise) ExperiencedBeing one of the worlds most prominent fruit distributors, Fyffes has enjoyed an overwhelming amount of success since its founding all those years ago in 1888. Not only are they still in existence, but they have still maintained their image as one of the fruit industry’s big guns. A huge contributing factor to their success was tapping into the retail supermarket area and producing at a large scale.â€Å"Our business has evolved to meet the needs of the big retailers and today, 90% of our produce is destined for supermarket.† (Barrett, 2013)Fyffes is Europe’s biggest banana importer with estimated sales of about â‚ ¬1 billion annually, exporting up to 40 million boxes of bananas (roughly 4.5 billion bananas) and 8.5 million boxes of pineapples from farms in Costa Rica, Belize and Panama every year. Ireland accounts for 10 per cent of the company’s exports. They became the first company in their area to place a bra nd on their fruit in 1929. The company’s approach to business in todays market is structured by the same commitment to quality and confidence in the integrity of it’s fruit that prompted the introduction of the pioneering brand label idea.As a company, Fyffes have pledged to carrying out the utmost of fair trade as well as environmentally sustainable production. Innovation is a highly influential factor in relation to Fyffes’ approach carrying out business. â€Å"Fyffes taps container technology to broaden market reach† (Carswell, 2013) This is a recent example of innovation where Fyffes propose the use of a new container system which can preserve fruit for as long as 35 days. This would allow the company to export more produce into Europe, better quality food into Russia and more fruit into the Middle East. Growth in business is something that Fyffes concentrate on every year and they are currently succeeding to do so according to a recent article on the dublin headquartered company.â€Å"The Dublin-headquartered international banana exporter yesterday posted pre-tax profits of â‚ ¬22.2m for the first six months of 2013, a 1.1% increase on the same period last year.† (Percival, 2013) However in 2007, Fyffes suffered an 11% fall in first- half profits because of losses at its melon joint venture in Brazil. This is one of very few examples of occasions of misfired venture for the company, where they suffered a â‚ ¬2.8m loss from their share of a Brazil-based melon producer Nolem. This was an event which was uncharacteristic of the company and it wasn’t ignored, judging by a  statement released at the time. â€Å"Significant internal resources have gone into addressing Nolem’s business in order to deliver an improved result in the forthcoming season† (Guider, 2007).ConclusionFyffes are an excellent example of a public quoted Irish company who have experienced success in international markets. Their innovative use of the blue label way back in 1929 made them the first fruit brand in the market. This was a huge development from Fyffes and has set them up to be the instantly recognisable brand they are today. This is a brand that has loyal customers who associate the Fyffes fruit with reliability, sustainability and most importantly a high quality product. It is this basis that has allowed them to grow into the flourishing business they are today along with their tactful low-risk foreign entry strategy.

Business Rules Essay

Among other things, define what they are, main sources for them, why they are important, and what you would do with them. Include a brief explanation of what your company does and some of its important Business Rules. Business Rules, as defined by our textbook are a description of policies, procedures or principles of an organization written in a simple and concise format. These rules are used to create the necessary structure for which the organization will operate within. They cover every aspect of the Business and define even the most menial tasks. Customer interaction, how employees are hired, how products are developed and how products are shipped are some examples of Business Rules. The Business rules once they are defined are then able to be converted into database entities, attributes, relationships and constraints. These items are then used in the database design for the company. From these entities and attributes relationships are created that correspond to the defined Business rules. Any rules that specifically name a person, place or thing will become attributes or entities in the database. Constraints are placed on the data to maintain the integrity and they are also derived from the Business rules. Examples of these are the days and times that the Business is open and how much an employee is allowed to make in a certain job function. My company, Maquet, is an international medical supply company started in 1853. They began by making operating tables and operating room lamps. Today they make a wide gamut of products from complete operating rooms systems, to balloon pumps and other life-saving equipment. One of our quips is that if you see our equipment, you are really in trouble or you’re a doctor or a nurse. Since we design and manufacture medical supplies, we are regulated by the FDA and are under constant scrutiny and monitoring. Because of this constant monitoring we have to register and address any complaint about our equipment. We have to work on validated systems, our training on clean room access and other safety features are tracked and we keep emails going back to seven years. Some important Business Rules I believe we have are actually many of our constraints. For instance we have clean room training that needs to be completed on a yearly basis. We must complete this training by a certain date to maintain compliance and to be able to enter a clean room and service the computer. We have rules that define how long we can take to respond to a ticket or how long we can keep a ticket open based on a certain status of low, medium or high. These Rules are in place to make sure we don’t contaminate anything when we enter a clean room or we acknowledge and resolve issues in a timely manner. Business rules define the constructs with within an organization operates. They help show the guidelines that employees and managers need to function within to keep the Business successful. Business rules are beneficial to everyone as long as they are properly defined and in the best interest of everyone.

Marketing and Mini Cooper Essay

Abstract My paper will be about how the MINI cooper has been worked on to continue to be reliable to the old customers and new customers. It has been around since the 1950’s and it looks like it will continue to be around. My paper will hit up information about explicit and implicit brand of communication for the MINI cooper. Levi’s positioning 1. How has BMW achieved continuity of brand message without alienating existing customers and encouraging new Mini purchasers? The Mini cooper is a very historical car. The original mini was designed in 1959 by Sir Alec Issagonis. Two years later the Mini took on a more racing and sporty model called the Mini Cooper, named after the racing expert John Cooper. Minis are known to be a smaller, sportier car with maximum interior space for the driver and passengers. In 2001, BMW managed to bring back the retro image of the Mini, while at the same time making it modernized, affordable and safe. The Mini continues to appeal to the younger audience and also the older audience. The company tries to retain an emotional association towards the product. With German engineering and British character, there was now a more European character to the new Mini. That is how is keeping its old customers. 2. What elements of the marketing communications mix have been used to build and/or maintain the Mini brand narrative? According to the book, the marketing communications mix is a subset of the marketing mix, both being the tools which deliver respectively communications and marketing strategies. It provides a mix of communication methods that blend to achieve a message. The marketing communication mix that have been used to build and maintain the Mini brand narrative has been using publicity stunts, advertisement all over the London and also using online communication. There have been many online advertisements that are created to catch attention and encourage website visitors. Use of press and outdoor billboards and posters has installed a since of excitement about the brand. 3. List the ‘explicit’ and ‘implicit’ elements of communication illustrated by the ‘It’s a Mini Adventure’ campaign. The explicit elements of communication illustrated by the â€Å"It’s a Mini Adventure’ campaign is featuring in the product in a music video. There had been many publicity stunts demonstrating spacious feature of the MINI. The implicit elements are illustrated in a serious of MINIs packaged as if they were toys viewed in shopping malls. It ensured high impact and generating a tremendous amount of consumer interest and word of mouth amongst potential buyers. References Dahlen M, Lange F, Smith T. (2010). Marketing Communications A Brand Narrative Approach. The marketing communication mix, (275-277)

Paper 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Paper 1 - Essay Example The following essay looks at Cuneiform scripts, what it says about the culture, how it is important to the culture and its relation to the textbook. The cuneiform scripts were a witness to one of the world’s oldest literate cultures. For over a three millennia period, it was the vehicle of communication in the great Mesopotamia region. The development of cuneiform scripts in the Mesopotamian culture can be traced back to the changes that were taking place during the Uruk period. Such changes led to an increase in the size of cities and towns which led to an increase in population centers around the south of the region. The increase in one region led to massive surpluses in resources that led to the need for a centralized government to organize labor and manage the surpluses in resources. The form of authority recognized at that particular period included temple that began to appear. There was a considerable development increase in temple sizes highlighting the resources that were in surplus supply (Tignor et al. 52). The temples increased in both number and size in towns with high population sizes to signify a centralized form of authority. The rise of the economic status in terms of wealth and personal property of the population in the Mesopotamia region led to a stratified society. The nature is shown by the bevel-rimmed bowls which were produced in mass. The ownership of cylinder seals indicated not only wealth, but they also acted as a symbol of authority (Tignor et al. 55). The cylinders contained various markings and, therefore, this led to the development of writing in pictograms. As the pictograms continue, scripts were developing, and its use evolves. Through the Mesopotamian evolving lifestyle, economic status, the need for a centralized authority, cuneiform form of writing and the script develops. The cuneiform, therefore, shows an increasingly rich population, a culture in need of

Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Research Paper

Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents - Research Paper Example Gender identity disorders are often neglected by the parents and even by some doctors. In some cases, the pediatrician may advise the parents that the gender identity problems may vanish at some point of time and nothing to worry in that. It is a totally wrong conception. Like all the other physical and psychological problems gender identity disorders also should be treated. Some of the common symptoms of gender identity problems are cross dressing, cross gender play lack of same sex friends etc. In other words, a boy with gender identity problem may like dress like females whereas a girl with gender identity problem might dress like boys. Same way the boy with gender identity problem might play with girls and he likes the company of the girls very much. On the other hand, the girls with the above problem may play with boys and will try to make more friends from the boy community. In most of the cases, the children or adolescents with gender identity problem might have the realization that they are actually boys or girls and their desire to achieve the company of the opposite sex is not a socially accepted thing. Because of the clashes between their psychological need and social need, children with gender identity problem might be unhappy and depressed. If they engage in homosexual activity as adolescents, they are more likely than boys who do not to be involved in drug and alcohol abuse or prostitution; to attempt suicide; or to contract a sexually transmitted disease, such as HIV/AIDS.

Empirical analysis of relationship between land prices and housing Research Proposal

Empirical analysis of relationship between land prices and housing prices in Shanghai - Research Proposal Example This study is therefore a relevant on study that will aim to bridge the gap in literature on the seemingly lack of empirical research on the relationship between land prices and housing prices in Shanghai. Where there is a correlation, the research will take the position that since land is non-expenditure consuming product, real estate companies can focus on reducing prices of land so that accessibility to housing can improve. Once this is done, there will be a two-way benefit whereby both housing providers and consumers will benefit because supply will increase with increasing demand. The proposed study aims to collect very credible first hand data about the relationship between land prices and prices of houses in Shanghai. In order to ensure that the data presented in the data are not merely based on speculation, a lot of emphasis will be placed on primary data collection, which will be conducted by the use of the case study research design. This means that the proposed methodology will be a quantitative research that identifies a unique case when a research setting, which will be critically studied through the collection of primary data from associated respondents. As part of the research topic, the case that will be studied during the primary data collection is the empirical relationship between prices of land and the prices of houses. The research setting shall be the Shanghai Real Estate Agency. The fact that the study will be a case study means that the data collection approach will be focused specifically on the research setting, which is real estate in Sh anghai rather than generalising data for the larger industry of real estate. Statistics from the Office of National Statistics indicates that there are over 500 registered real estate agencies in Shanghai (Eppen and Hanson, 2011). The population of the study shall however focus on the marketing officers of these estate agencies alone. But as indicated by Evan and Stabler (2005),