Faded Walls

Michael was apprehensive as he approached his dorm. The scratched paintwork and the incomplete door number seemed so much more intriguing than usual. As he stared at the space where the eight should be he drifted into thinking about the argument last night with his long-term girlfriend Zara. They had been together for as long as he could remember (well, three years to be exact), and last night was the first major argument they'd had. It all started when Zara bought fish and chips. Michael had never received his favourite take-out meal from her once, in the three years they'd been together, and that brought up considerable questioning in itself. Anyway Michael was halfway through his plaice when it came, â€Å"Michael, I've been accepted.† The silence that followed was deadly. To a person outside this relationship it would seem ridiculous but Michael knew what she meant. In November, after successful results in the deciding mid-term Zara had applied for a job as a reporter on the Seattle Express, a well-acknowledged paper in the state and a job, which could set Zara in the path for success. He had heard nothing more of it and with relief he had let the subject slip from his mind. But now it was back and Michael was furious! His outrage was not so much in terms of what Zara herself had done but at the terrible timing of the paper. They had just set-up arrangements for the future, which suited him fine and now this was happening. â€Å"How can you do this? I have stuck with you through everything and now you're doing this to me.† It was strange but while Michael poured his heart out the only thing he could see in the front of his mind was how did the wallpaper get in such a bad state and why was this new colour emerging out of the marigold that was once there. â€Å"You selfish creep! I have worked so hard for this and now all you can think about is yourself.† â€Å"Alright, alright just calm down for a second and we'll work through this.† â€Å"I'm sorry Michael but there's nothing to work through. I must take this opportunity no matter what I have to leave behind, it's the only way I can get ahead in life, look after myself, you see?† Michael was left speechless and disgusted, firstly at how she could disgard him as something to leave behind and even more revolting the tone of pity that crept into her voice as she realised the context of what she was actually saying. With that Michael stormed out! Furious, but with a blank mind as to where to go. The first place that came to him was Johnny's. He arrived at 486 some ten minutes later and came up with a valid excuse as to why he was there. As soon as he walked through the door two things immediately struck him. Firstly there was a girl sprawled amorphously across the sofa, which may not appear to be an odd thing, for a nearly twenty year-old male to have a girl of the same age in his room, but this was Johnny he was talking about, the same man who had seemed to repel the opposite sex in any shape, size or form for the whole three years he had known him. Then there was the chair. Sunk in the far left corner of the room was the oldest, grottiest, most repulsive chair he had ever seen. This disgusting obtrusion had been cut to bits through the ages to leave it looking like a sort of scratching post for cats and to add insult to what looked like very painful injury someone had had the decency to spill what looked like some type of jam down it. If he had to take a guess it would be blueberry. The hours didn't sail by unfortunately for Michael, who was left in the sitting room thinking about Zara and the fact that he knew (but was determined not to admit) that he would end up having to apologise for whatever was said the night before, regardless of who said what, for there to be any hope in hell of Zara staying. At approximately ten past one in the morning Michael fell asleep after hours of thinking and repeating the fact that he did love her and he supposed anyone you loved was worth fighting for. It was ten past ten and Michael had overslept. Remembering the hours he spent last night trying to save his relationship, he thought he might as well put this time to use and change his thoughts into action. He hurried out of the cluttered room and, after realising he was not yet dressed, just had time to grab the door which was swinging madly back into place after. Correcting his actions Michael dressed scruffily into some Levi's, second-day underwear and a crinkled Gap t-shirt and left 486 for his own dorm. After tracing the space where the six used to be for the infinite time he thought that there would be no way that this door will open of its own accord. He thought he would gently help it in its way, slowly turning the scratched doorknob as if it would break at the slightest extra movement, he cautiously moved the door forward and in less time than he would've preferred he was in. He thought about running straight back out again but the only way he could've done that is if he was ten years younger and the room he was entering was that of his older sister and not that of his girlfriend. So he was stuck. Then something so out of the ordinary happened that put Michael into a state of shock for the next few seconds. It was Zara, and she was actually running towards him. The wind was knocked out of him as she wrapped her arms tighter and tighter around him, pressing her body forcefully up against his own. â€Å"Oh god. I've been thinking about you all night. How can I have been so stupid, to throw away what we have for this†, waving the ticket to America in the air. â€Å"Ohhhhhh†, Michael sighed, his heartbeat racing at the thought of what she just said. Thinking of some carefully worded, beautiful and meaningful thing to say, what came out was, â€Å"I really do love you†. What happened next was; in the space of just under an hour two bedsprings were broken, as were many foreign laws and for some reason there was a pack of cards strewn across the floor. At the end of it Zara felt closer to Michael than she ever had and the wallpaper didn't seem so much of an issue any more in his mind. â€Å"Oh crap!† Zara blurted out. â€Å"What?† Michael was really hoping there wasn't anything negative that would ruin this moment. â€Å"The dance†, Zara had been planning the end-of-semester dance all year and wasn't going to waste all this now they were back together again. â€Å"Can't we just forget about it?† â€Å"Oh please Michael. This is my one chance to see everyone before we leave† Michael seeing the need in her expression admitted to himself that this was a thing he had to do and was sure he could get through it easily if only for her sake, so of course, he said he'd go. After the third call into the bedroom where Zara was getting changed he realised why she took the trouble of two and a half hours preparing. Zara looked stunning. There was no other word for it, as Michael thought to himself that maybe deciding on coming was the right decision for his sake as well. They arrived the breathtaking couple she had dreamed about all through the semester, and took to the dance floor straight away to a Westlife number. It was getting late now as the crowd on the floor slowly started to thin and Zara whispered in Michaels ear before heading off to the toilet. Michael was left standing against the wall slightly annoyed at Zara's timing as the slow song played its first chords, something by Duran Duran, a tasteless track in Michael's mind. Just then he saw a figure slowly move through the crowd in his direction. It was Jessica Lees from his biology class, a geeky, awkward girl who still had braces at the age of nineteen (which disturbed Michael more than he would consciously admit). She was obviously drunk as she pressed her hands against his chest. â€Å"You're very sexy Michael King, do you know that?† This was a situation Michael really did not want to be in and just as he tried to politely leave she had him pushed up against the wall and in the next second brought her chapped lips up against his. The worst thing was the braces; grating and grating his gums he finally pushed her away after the worst experience of his life. He searched the hall until there were only a dozen people left, the last couples determined not to leave until the tape had played out. He thought she must have just gone back to the dorm for some urgent reason; he put it down to some womanly thing. However he couldn't for the life of him think what. He returned back to the dorm, repeating his past performance of slowly opening the door at a speed which no other person could manage, thinking Zara would by now be asleep so it would be best not to wake her. Opening the door he could see the room fully now and to his surprise it was spotless, which it had never been before. It was then he noticed two other things, far more disturbing than the last: a folded piece of A4 paper and marigold wallpaper where Zara once kept her bags.

Conflict Resolution Essay

As a manager, I think the best strategy for relaying the company’s decision to downsize would be by oral communication having a formal meeting with the whole team. I believe this is the best method because it keeps morale up and structure within the business. The team will appreciate honesty, and while they still have some concerns, they feel confident that you have their backs – even if things do not work out. (Breaking the News). The lines of communications between upper management and employees become open so each part has time to explain their side and also answer any questions. In a managerial position, it is difficult to explain to employees that the company is thinking about downsizing. In reference to the story #2 Breaking the News A â€Å"Tell Your Team About Downsizing† Adventure the company told management that downsizing was going to happen across the business affecting 100 employees. Employees affected by the downsizing are most of the sandwich devel opment department and brine recycling & traditional print marketing department. The online marketing teams will not be affected , and no more downsizing will occur the rest of the year. Management should hold a face to face meeting with all employees. The best way to handle gossip is by avoiding small talk, management should clearly explain the current situation without being too dramatic and be prepared to answer questions. Avoid beating around the bush. It is extremely important to explain details to all employee. Work place gossip can cause a great deal of harm to an organization. There are several ways in which gossip can hurt a business. The ways are listed as follows: Lost productivity and wasted time, morale and trust can no longer exist, increased anxiety among employees as rumors circulate without any clear information as to what is fact and what is not, divisiveness tends to grow among employees as people may take a side, and employees feelings and reputations are hurt, sometimes causing severe damage. Address the online marketing team who will not be affected by the downsizing by hold a face to face oral meeting as well. Management that the company is trying to make the business more efficient as we become more profitable and that is why the downsizing is occurring. Be up front and  honest letting the team know that they are not being affected. This approach reassures to the team that management has their back and really cares about them. It also calms office rumors and puts everyone on the â€Å"same page†. A personal work experience similar to the scenario in Story #2 Breaking the News A â€Å"Tell Your Team About Downsizing† Adventure would be when I sold cars for a small family owned car lot in Houston who laid me off without notice. I had been hearing rumors that the company was not making a lot of money, but I brushed it to the side. My sales team received our pay checks for the week and went to our respective banks and found out they were all declined. I went back to the car lot to tell the owner that all the payroll checks were declined , and he said, â€Å"We should go to hi s bank to cash them†. Two weeks later we were all laid off , and the car lot was eventually closed. If I were the owner of the car dealership I would have been up front and honest with the employees letting them know that the business was just opening , and that decisions were being made to build profit and sell cars. I believe the owner had an opportunity when the payroll checks were declined to tell his employees details of the business.

VOIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

VOIP - Essay Example However, it is as well a tool that makes things simpler and rationalizes a broad variety of business applications. Telephony is one of the most useful inventions. Moreover, VoIP is also the base for modern integrated communications applications such as Web and video conferencing that can change the way people conduct businesses (Cisco, 2011). Additionally, VoIP offers a lot of benefits over customary phone system. This is the major reason that more and more people are particularly turning to VoIP communication technology. One of the major benefits of VoIP is its less cost. VoIP is recognized to be inexpensive even a lot of people utilize it for free. If anybody has a computer, a microphone and speakers along with a high-quality Internet link, they can communicate through VoIP for free (Unuth, 2011). In addition, VoIP telephone calls can be done either to some other VoIP systems and devices, or to usual telephones on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). In this scenario, the calls from a VoIP device to a PSTN device are normally acknowledged as "PC-to-Phone" communication calls, however VoIP device may not be a PC. Additionally, calls from a VoIP system to another VoIP device are usually acknowledged as "PC-to-PC" calls, even neither device may be a PC (Tech-Faq, 2011). Moreover, the primary idea to switch to VoIP technology for telephone service is cost reduction. VoIP is becoming more and more famous for the reason that of price benefit to customers over customary telephone networks. In fact, VoIP cuts monthly phone bill with a whopping 50%. In addition, it allows less costly worldwide or long distance call rates that are normally one-tenth of what is charged by customary phone businesses. Thus, these attributes make it an extremely high-quality alternative and one could avoid costly hotel phone charges as well as cell phone roaming cost. Though, what one needs is immediately a superior speed of

English school, Marxism, Neo Marxism ( short answers) Essay

English school, Marxism, Neo Marxism ( short answers) - Essay Example that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the working of common institutions.† (Bull 1977, 13). He defines system as being an arena which has interaction between communities and no shared rules or institutions. The distinction between international system and international society helps the English School scholars in addressing the question how far international society extends. Significantly, â€Å"by looking at the formation of the system it is possible to discern mechanisms which shape and shove international and world societies...† and â€Å"the category of the system can usefully be used to capture the basic material forces in world politics - flows of information and trade, levels of destructive capability, capacities of actors to affect their environment.† (Dunne 2007, P. 138). There is an essential distinction between the dependency theorists and the realist theorists on the nature of the international system – or more accurately, an inter-state system. The English School scholars were interested in the system basically for what it tells about the history of international society. â€Å"If one takes Bulls developmental insight into the relationship between system and society, then it is clear that the existence of a society presupposes the existence of a system... It is also important to realize that systemic interactions remain a possible future arrangement if the dominant actors in international society cease to comply with the rules and act in ways which undermine the international security.† (Dunne 2007, P. 139). The nature of the international system according the dependency theorists is less convincing than that of the realism. One of the essential considerations in the International Relations is that there is an important distinction between problem solving and critical theories. It was Robert Cox who distinguished between problem solving and critical theories in

Henri Fayol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Henri Fayol - Essay Example Organizing is the next step of management after planning. The materials or resources required for the project must identified at the planning stage itself which should be arranged at the organizing stage. The next step is to co-ordinate between different players of the project. For example, different types of works may be required for a project which may be done partly at different places. There should be a co-ordination between the members of the project in order to ensure the success of the project. The manager must act as a link in the co-ordination process. Commanding and controlling are the last step in management action. If the project is done partly at different places, nobody, except the manger knows about the final outcome of the project. So commanding and controlling of the project must be done by the manager. For example, in tire manufacturing industry, various parts of the tire, tread, beads, plies, etc. are manufacturing at different places of the plant. These parts have different specifications for different types of tires like car tire truck tire etc. The manager is the only person who has better idea about which tire should be manufactured with priority and for that purpose which parts need to be manufactured at other locations. Based on that, he has to advice the workers at different sections like bead section, tread section, and ply section. â€Å"Henri Fayol, an advocate of the experimental method, built his administrative theory from his experiences† (Wren). Today’s managers heavily depend on academic credentials for solving problems. They are totally wrong. They must realize that as in the case of every other segment of life, practice makes a person perfect. No academy or institution can give us readymade solutions for everyday problems face by the mangers. Education can only guide a manager to arrive at conclusions rather than taking decisions. Decisions of managers must be custom made for the organization he is working

Leonardo Da Vinci Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leonardo Da Vinci - Research Paper Example Verrocchio was the name of his teacher who trained Da Vinci in a Florentine studio until he began his art career. Leonardo was 14 years during his apprenticeship. He spent the following years in mastering what the world would later love and remember him. It is significant to mention that the establishment of Leonardo Da Vinci personal workshop at 20 years was commendable1. During his career, Leonardo Da Vinci experienced both pleasant moments in which many people admired him. However, throughout his art existence, Da Vinci equally experienced low moments in which his works were criticized2. For instance, Leonardo Da Vinci was lucky to get numerous rich clients because of the perfection of his works. Leonardo died, 67, as a vegetarian after a life of painting using most inspirations from his life. Leonardo Da Vinci’s highlight was when Lorenzo de Medici, an Italian rich man asked him to design a silver piece of art. The silver lyre which he initiated made him get more orders fr om this rich Italian man. Leonardo’s life focused on respect for nature because of his continuous habit to free birds in to their natural homes. Finally, Leonardo Da Vinci’s life had most celebrations because up to date people still have T-shirts and other sales materials, which have his paintings. Most Famous Paintings Evidently, â€Å"Vitruvian Man, The Last Supper and Mona Lisa â€Å"are the most popular paintings of Da Vinci. In particular, The Last Supper (painted on a rectory wall) began to deteriorate following its creation because Da Vinci did not use the tempera on panel technique. 3The creation of the Last Supper was instantly when Jesus indicated that a disciple would be disloyal to Him. It is unfortunate that a majority of Leonardo Da Vinci works do not survive because of his deep sense of adventure with new technologies. However, even if the painting flaked, there was a recent remodeling of the same in order for people to enjoy viewing it. Moreover, The Mona Lisa is called half a smile because of Leonardo Da Vinci’s unique use of lightning in most of his paintings. In addition, Leonardo kept on postponing the completion of some of his pieces. Therefore, the available work could be perfect if he had more focus. It is also imperative to mention that his early work was called â€Å"The Baptism of Christ†, which he created with Verrocchio. All Leonardo Da Vinci’s renowned paintings display diverse aspects of movement unlike the remaining painters. Characteristics of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Art It is noteworthy to mention that Da Vinci’s works borrow a great deal of the human anatomy. Originally, The Mona Lisa was meant to be a private piece which took two years for the completion of its creation. This Mona Lisa painting is set on a significant light, which enables people to notice the uniqueness of the painting. The most obvious special characteristic about The Mona Lisa is Leonardo’s use of the sm oke technique. Further, this smoke technique makes it hard for anyone to notice the difference between darkness and lightness in the picture. The liquid paint, which Leonardo uses, depicts his understanding of the world to be always in movement4. Additionally, the painting of Mona Lisa is unique because of the unique half smile presented by Leonardo. The face of the woman in the painting is straight to the viewer. However, the rest of her body faces the direct opposite from

E-Logistics Ning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

E-Logistics Ning - Essay Example In practice, it has been proved that the actual benefits and drawbacks of each organizational strategy take a long time to appear; this is a problem when the change on a firm’s traditional policies is attempted since the value of the proposed strategies is difficult to be proved in advance or even in the short term. However, the elements of this strategy and its expected performance – as it can be measured using figures related to the firm’s performance within a particular period of time – can be important indicators regarding the potential value of a strategy in case that it is established in a particular organization. Current paper aims to explore the benefits and drawbacks of the global supply chain strategies of VF Brands, a firm well known in the global Apparel industry. Particular reference is made to the firm’s new global supply chain strategy, the Third Way, and its potential contribution in the improvement of the firm’s relationship with its global suppliers, thus its growth in the global market. 2. Global Supply Chain strategy in VF Brands – critical analysis and evaluation 2.1 Global supply chain strategy in the literature The literature developed in the specific field is based on a wide range of criteria; there are views, which promote a narrow perspective of supply chain management – in terms of the potentials of the specific organizational sector to be changed following the differentiations in the market trends. Moreover, different perceptions seem to exist regarding the elements of a successful supply chain management strategy: in accordance with Mangan et al. (2008) the criterion on which the value of a supply chain management strategy is decided is the level at which this strategy promotes the use of knowledge related to all organizational activities. However, Branch (2008) notes that key priority of supply chain management in modern market is the identification of practices that will mini mize the cost of production. It is further noted that in the context of the global market, the challenges for supply chain are significantly increased; global supply chain management strategies need to address all issues related to a firm’s production needs in the global market – a fact that results necessarily to the increase of complexity of the particular strategies (Branch 2008). Under these terms, the criteria on which the choice of a supplier in the global market will be based cannot be standardized; usually, ‘the differentiation from other players in the marketplace and the existence of a separate identity’ (Branch 2008, p.13) are used as criteria for choosing a supplier in the international market. However, other criteria can be also set in accordance with the needs of each organization and its potentials to respond to the demands of each supplier – demand for specific price, location, time for producing a specific volume of products with â €˜pre-arranged’ characteristics. Also, the level at which a firm accepts its potential dependency on another firm – in the context of the supply chain – can be differentiated. Supply chain, which has been defined as ‘