Analysis of Ebay China’s Failure and Suggestions to Ebay’s...

Analysis of eBay China’s Failure and Suggestions to eBay’s Return Strategy from the Perspective of Cross-cultural Conflicts 1. Introduction Along with the development of global economy, no one is unfamiliar with the word of globalization, and the world is filled with multinational-corporations. In such circumstances, those companies have realized that the necessary way to survive in the global market and maintain the competitive advantages is to enlarge the geographical scope of their business. As a result, the issue of localization strategy is put into the essential agenda of every multinational-corporation’s meeting. Culture, as an invisible hand, leads the multinational-corporations†¦show more content†¦Of course, the problem of cross-cultural conflicts commonly existed in multinational companies. Cross-cultural conflicts stem from the term of â€Å"Culture Shock†, it was first applied by Kalvero Oberg, an American anthropology, in 1960. In his article, Oberg defined Culture Shock as follows: â€Å"Culture Shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our fam iliar signs and symbols of social intercourse. These signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situations of daily life. (Oberg 24)† Oberg refers to the visual aspects of culture like behavior, language, and customs, because in contrast to values and beliefs they can be observed. The fact that people tend to judge visual aspects applying their own values and beliefs is responsible for the anxiety. 2.1 Related Research Results Six years ago, eBay Eachnet’s failure in China was a shock to many multinational-corporations, especially internet companies which were planning to open Chinese market. Before long, Google and Yahoo also left mainland China. At that time, a lot of scholars analyzed the reasons of those big international internet companies’ failure in China from different aspects, while the reason caused by cross-cultural conflicts was an important one. And a numbers of papers were written in this subject. When typing the words of â€Å"eBay China† and â€Å"cross-culturalShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages10.5/12 ITC New Baskerville Std Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on the appropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval

A rose for emily AP response Free Essays

Prancer Town gossip is some of the Juiciest and most important news in a small community, it’s like an invisible hand that gradually shifts public opinions, and usually becomes a unanimous view of the town. William Faulkner creatively uses first person communal view in his short story’A Rose For Emily† to create a tale narrated by the town’s collective opinion. The narration Is told out of chronological order but with a steady flow and quick plot build up giving the story even more of a town gossip feel. We will write a custom essay sample on A rose for emily AP response or any similar topic only for you Order Now Throughout the story the author creates a decaying motif and twists the saying-skeleton in the closest† Into a literal metaphor. The townspeople are onlookers to the decent of another citizen of their town, but they choose to watch her slowly fall and rarely approach her or try to help her. Faulkner’s point of view makes this even more effective since It creates a kind of commentary on Emily’s life. The story opens with the end, Emily Grierson’s funeral. This allows the reader to assume that the remainder of the story will be about her life, when In fact the plot uilds up to the climatic scene after her burial. Faulkner creates this plot sequence with town gossip, all of the townspeople are remembering her life and recalling her downfall. Not only is it a unanimous telling, it may also be assumed that the story is watered down telling and general of what all the townspeople think or feel about Emily. Others may have had more radical or different opinions but the narration typically leaves out these outliers. Through the eyes of the townspeople we get a very brief image of â€Å"Miss Emily’s† life. It seems that not many of them have really even spoken to her, just notice when she is out of the house or when she locks herself back in. The town watches her make an action and then assumes, for instance when she buys arsenic they all make the comment â€Å"‘She will kill herself’ and we said it would be the best thing†. To assume that she will kill herself for buying arsenic would seem to be a cue to help her, instead they almost silently encourage it. The townspeople dont see her as a person; They see her as a source of entertainment, nd they emotionally distance themselves from her. They’re only onlookers to her life, the may offer financial support, like dismissing her taxes, but any other help they offer is superficial and without meaning behind it. Even when the women of the town prepared to â€Å"help† when Emily’s father died they quickly gave up giving her ald when she denied her father’s death. Most of the story she is referred to as â€Å"Miss Emily† and very rarely as a Grierson, only when It’s pertaining to her social standing. Even hough being referred to Miss Emily might be a historical quirk It still distances the townspeople from her. With this communal view Faulkner empathizes the emotional dissonance of the townspeople have toward Emily’s life, but If the story was told from Emllys view the reader might experience a lonely girl with the world around her controlled with criticism at every turn. Faulkner also using a decaying motif throughout the story, applying It to MISS Emily and her environment, which compliments plot since Emily was falling from race. The Imagery is Introduced early In the story, with her body † She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water†¦ † and her house in a slmllar conaltlon â€Å"It smelled 0T oust ana Olsuse-a close, clank smell. â€Å". Even tnougn tne townspeople dont see her often they still mention these details. Faulkner’s communal third person alienates the reader from Emily’s emotions through her life. The townspeople don’t see her as a person, instead they Judge her and rarely offer her companionship or help. How to cite A rose for emily AP response, Papers

Industrial Revolutions Impact on Families - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss aboutthe Industrial Revolutions Impact on Families. Answer: Introduction Technology is upgrading rapidly and this has a great influence on common people in their daily life. This technology has also influenced citizens of a country to purchase their products like groceries, cloths and medicines through online. Online shopping has become popular at present as there are large numbers of available platforms for customers to choose their products. It also helps people to save their time from their busy schedule as they do not need to go to a retail shop. They can easily order their products from anywhere. Hence, it is important to learn business report of an online portal to understand their conditions in market. In this report, Redmart of Singapore is chosen to prepare a business study report. This is also an online supermarket that offers home-delivery of grocery products like fresh vegetables and essential goods through internet shopping. Hence, it is not a traditional retailing shop like others. Moreover, Redmart provides a platform for manufacturers to s ell products directly to their customers instead of depending on retailers. Manufacturers or producers also directly promote their new products through this online portal. Hence, from this online portal, manufacturers can easily analyse data with leading marketing capabilities and can expand their business. Hence, there will be various economic points related to this e-commerce platform, which will be discussed within this report. There will be a description of this business, production costs and scales, macro business environment and sustainability practice of the Redmart. Under those categories, a detail overview and deep analysis of this company will be described. Moreover, after analysing all those points, a conclusion will be drawn to complete this business study report. Description of the Business Redmart Limited runs its business through an online portal of grocery in Singapore. The company was founded in 2011 by Roger Egan, Rajesh Lingappa and Vikram Rupani. It delivers products 7 days a week. This e-commerce company is supported by well-known investors and advisors. Those investors and advisors are Toivo Annus, the co-founder of Skype, Edaurdo Saverin , co-founder of Facebook, Garena. There are also some other wellr-respected advisors and investors like Jason Ackerman, CEO of FreshDirect, SoftBank Ventures and Visionnarie Ventures. Hence it needs its own transport system to deliver door-to-door products. Therefore, Redmart conducts its own transportation business to deliver products directly to their customers house, all over the country. This company allows its customers to purchase fresh foods like dairy, meat and seafood, alcohol, commodities for baby, child, pet and household and so on. Redmart offers those products to its consumers with a standard price. It also allows its customers to choose two-hour delivery windows. Those delivery windows offer consumer benefits, which is supported by the supply-chain management of Redmart. The chief customers of Redmart are common citizens of Singapore. The company also reaches out to its potential customers, like Ntuc Fairprice Co-Operative Ltd. to capture their interests. In Singapore, a large number of customers buy their products through online. Redmart provides more than 25000 products to its customers. Fig1: Customers of Different Age Group Source: (Doan, 2017) It can be seen from the above diagram that, there are large numbers of customers with different age groups, who demand products through online. People, aged 21 to 34, demands 30% products through online. Generation Z, aged between 15 and 20, orders 28% grocery items from internet. Generation X, aged 35 to 49, orders 22% products. Moreover, people above age 50, orders 17% products through online. However, the percentage of demand from senior citizens of above 65 years old, order only 9% products through online. However, the chief customers of Redmart are women, aged between 25 and 44 years. Competitors of Redmart: In Singapore, there are also some other online grocery stores who have become the strong competitors of Redmart. Honestbee is the strongest competitor of Redmart. It is also an online platform that delivers food and grocery items. This online supermarket operates its business with its business to business (B2B) clients. Honestbee covers wide areas to operate their business. These places are Singapore, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Manila and Bangkok. This online platform offers more than 40000 types of products to its customers. This number of different types of products is larger than the number of products that Redmart offers. HappyFresh is also a large competitor of Redmart. HappyFresh and Redmart have competed with each other for a long time. However, the number of competitors has increased over time. There is a strong competition among Redmart, Honestbee and HappyFresh (Abuzahra Imraish, 2017). On the other hand, there are also some other companies which have online p ortals to shop. That delivers fresh vegetables in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. Those online grocery stores are Gofresh and The Fishwives. Gofresh provides its customers fresh foods like crabs, seafood and lobster and so on. Their customers also order their products through this online portal. On the other hand, The Fishwives also try to supply healthy, fresh and clean food to their customers in Singapore. Redmart is trying to maintain and access its own warehouses and logistic system. This can control its customer service cycle. It also helps to expand rapidly into other vertical companies. However, its competitors, HonestBee and HappyFresh, have increased its significant equity finance. They have adopted a model. This model is depended on third-party logistics and delivery services. This model has taken to expand their business across te markets of Southeast Asia. Redmart also tries to adopt a market strategy to compete with some other competitors. These competitors are like Rakuten, Alibaba and Amazon. These e-commerce companies are enjoying a higher level of success in this e-commerce space. General Business Environment: Redmart operates under the e-commerce market environment. In Singapore, this e-commerce market is expanding rapidly (Hoppe, Lamy Cannarsi, 2016). Hence, it is increasing the percentage of retail sales among people. This is because, 83% people use internet connection over there. Singapore is famous as it has the most mature market of e-commerce in Southeast Asia. The country has a very small number of populations compare to other countries. However, it captures 25% online retail value of Southeast Asia in 2013. This value is greater than Indonesia, which has only 20% value (Vaithianathan, Hool, Hurd Rohwedder, 2017). Indonesia is the largest market of Southeast Asia. Citizens of Singapore are turning online to purchase basic needs, like groceries. They generally use mobile internet to order products. Redmart has launched mobile apps. This also helps customers to place their orders. On the other hand, this increasing number of online retail shopping attracts investors to invest more funds for Redmart and Honestbee. Marketing structure of Redmart: Those online portals operate under the perfectly competitive market (Cattani, Porac Thomas, 2017). They sale same types of products to their customers like fresh foods, vegetables and other grocery products. Hence, every e-commerce portal shares a small share of market. Online grocery stores cannot set prices for its products. As Redmart sales necessary goods to its customers, the demand curve of this grocery store is downward slopping and inelastic (Varian, 2014). That means a small increase in price of a product will not decrease the quantity demanded for this product. Cost structures of Redmart are low compare to other cost structures of traditional grocery stores. This means as Redmart improves its business, advertising costs and customer acquisition costs will be decreased compare to its revenue. However, the customers of online grocery stores always try to find out products with lowest price. Hence, for Redmart, it is difficult to sale their products at a lower rate. Moreover, for common people, the cost of products is high. Production Costs and Scales In Redmart, the labour cost is high. This is because; online grocery stores need to hire more labourers to deliver its products door-to-door, all over the Singapore. Hence, this labour cost is huge compare to any other traditional grocery stores. It is the variable cost of Redmart. The online portal can increase or decrease the amount of labour at any point of time, with its requirement. To compete with other grocery stores, Redmart should generate competitive margins. Hence, it is important for Redmart to operate efficiently and should utilise its labour resources as it is the chief factor of their company. Moreover, this online grocery store needs huge number of delivery cars to deliver their products to its customers within time. Hence, the company should invest huge amount of money to purchase delivery cars. Other costs of Redmart are cupboard to pack products, portal maintenance, cold warehouses to store foods and medicines and so on. Costs differentiation between Traditional and Online Grocery Stores: In general, the business margin of grocery is low. If cost structure is compared between traditional grocery store and online grocery store then the first and important point will be delivery and rental cost. Retail store pays huge amount of rent to obtain strategic location in a populated place. This is because; a good location helps those physically existed retail shops to attract their customers. On the other hand, rental charges for a retailing shop are not required for online grocery stores. This online store only needs to bear costs for a warehouse. Online portal bears higher amount of transport costs to deliver products to their customers. However, large retail stores do not bear any kind of transport costs. They only bear distribution costs to distribute their products from warehouse to their customers. The company also has packaging costs. It is important to pack products nicely so that they can deliver to its customers nicely. Redmart is the first, who starts a large online grocery in Singapore. However, at present, there are more than two online grocery stores. They deliver same kinds of products to their customers. Customers can easily switch among those online sites freely. Hence, to run its business with full capacity, Redmart needs to invest money for making its warehouses. By increasing the number of warehouses, Redmart can also expand the scale of their business. This will be the fixed costs of this company. The fixed cost of Redmart is huge compare to its variables costs. As the company is building or hiring warehouses, the cost is very large. Moreover, an electric connection and internet connection is also required with a warehouse. As the demand of grocery products is increasing day by day, the company will expand their firm size. As the costs of Redmart is high compare to its revenue, the firm is currently operating its medium optimal size of production. Macro Business Environment Singapore has the best political environment to operate a business. Hence, the start-up cost of any business is very low in this country. If different factors, relating to a business is considered, then Singapore is one of the best business-friendly countries in the world. These other factors of business are business licensing, credit legal rights, taxes and protections of investors. Investors also have accepted that the level of transparency and reliability for a business in Singapore is very high (Valera, Holmes Hassan, 2017). Economic and regulatory conditions are also very good to conduct a business. The political structure is stable with parliamentary democracy. The judicial system of this democratic country is nicely established. The domestic institutions with a strong corporate governance practices have created a good environment for business for global investors. The economic condition of Singapore is indentified by a high level of openness and extreme financial condition. The economic condition of Singapore is always good. The current balance of payments of this country is always remained in surplus. Moreover, the country has a huge reserve of foreign exchange. Singapore also provides financial help and benefits with a large extent to increase spending on social services to local businesses. The government always gives priority to confirm quality of growth and to create a large inclusive society. To maintain a competitive position rather than increasing wages, government is looking to promote business with higher added value. In 2016, Singapores budget deficit was 1.2% of total GDP. However, in 2017, the government of Singapore recovers its budget deficit. The government also tries to encourage local enterprises to improve their connectivity and to digitalise. The reason behind these initiatives is to improve their level of competition and t o promote innovation. The per capita wealth of Singapore is very high. The country faced a long period of full employment. However, after this phase, the country has facing unemployment due to structural changes within the economy (Xie, Alba Chia, 2017). This situation becomes worst at the time of global economic crisis. However, this situation is currently overcome and the current rate of unemployment is only 2%. Singapore is also facing an increasing level of income inequality and a discontinued society. This is caused by overpopulation and a highly competitive environment of employment and housing. Singapore is the hub of regional commerce. The port of Singapore is one of the important ports, all over the world. This port is dominated by trade, transportation and business services and financial services. The economy of Singapore is highly industrialised. This industrial sector captures one-fourth part of total gross domestic products (GDP) of this country. Inflation in Singapore: The current rate of inflation is low compare to its previous year. This can be shown by a suitable diagram. Fig2: Inflation rate of Singapore compare to previous years Source: (GRAHAM BILGER, 2017) It can be said from the above diagram that inflation rate of Singapore was -0.5% in 2016. With an economic slowdown and the uncertainties of a restricted political environment, the living cost of citizens in Singapore remains relevant. The inflation rate is used sometimes as an indicator of price levels and the living cost of common people. It can be seen that Singapore is experiencing a negative inflation for last two years. The labour demand of Singapore is expecting to improve in the near future. However, Accumulated inefficiency will take time to absorb in the market and wage pressure will increase rapidly. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), domestic cost pressures will be moderated. Moreover, due to some factors like subdued commercial and rentals of retails, this cost pressure will also be increased. The unemployment rate of Singapore was 2.1% in the third quarter (Rouxelin, Wongsunwai Yehuda, 2015). This rate is low compare to the first quarter of this year. Redmart does not export their products till now. Hence, exchange rate of foreign currency does not have any effect on demand for Redmarts products. However, the company is planning to expand their business in other countries. Potentil targets of redmart to expand their business include Jakarta, Hong-Kong and Indonesia. However, the chief aim of this firm is to maintain a market leadership in Singapore. Hence, it can be seen that the economic condition of Singapore is increasing rapidly. This will further help domestic business to grow further. Hence, this condition will be more favourable for Redmart to expand their business in near future. As Redmart chiefly sales normal goods, the demand of those goods will fall during a recession period (Fernald, 2015). The reason behind this outcome is due to decrease of income of common people in Singapore. However, at present, the economy of this country is not facing any recession. Hence, the probability of decreasing demand for products of Redmart is low. If business trend of Redmart is taken to analyse then it can be seen that the company is growing rapidly. It will expand more in near future. Sustainability Practice of the Business: Redmart is an online portal and it does not produce any products. Hence, it does not have any huge amount of negative externalities (Clemons, Dewan, Kauffman Weber, 2017). People can easily buy their products through online. However, there are some factors which can create negative externalities of Redmnart. The first one is use of excessive plastic bags. This e-commerce company delivers its products with plastic bags to its customers (Lin, Wijedasa Chisholm, 2017). The government of Singapore is imposing taxes on some e-commerce companies to restrict the use of plastic bags in an economy. However, the company is using bags to keep its products fresh and unbreakable. Hence, Redmart is using technologically upgraded plastic bags. Conclusion Technological innovation has made online shopping safer and easier for customers to choose and purchase goods and services easily according to their choice. This has excluded consumer doubts and allowed them to accept e-commerce for conducting their daily purchases, especially for grocery shopping. Redmart, the start-up e-commerce company in Singapore is taken the first initiatives to conduct a business through online. It helps customers to order their products easily from anywhere. The selling price of each product is almost same for both online grocery stores and normal retail stores. Hence, it is the basic choice for those customers who want to shop their products from home. This is because this practice helps those customers to receive their products directly to their home. It also helps people to save their time. Moreover, there are many well-known producers, who choose Redmart to launce their new products. Hence, customers can also get new products from here. What Redmart offer s to its customers is quite common in United Kingdom. However, this shopping practice is increasing rapidly, at present, in Singapore. On the other hand, maximum citizens of Singapore use internet connection. Hence, the demand of Redmarts product is increasing rapidly. The economic condition of a start-up business is favourable in Singapore. This environment also helps Redmart to expand their business. Though there are two strong competitors of Redmart in Singapore, its profit is increasing over time. This company is adopting various new business strategies to compete with its competitors, like, HoneyBee. Moreover, it is trying to expand its business on other courtiers. Hence, after analysing all market reports of Redmart and economic condition of Singapore, a conclusion can be drawn. The economic condition of Singapore is perfect to expand a business. As a result, Redmart is expanding its business rapidly. Reference: Abuzahra, N., Imraish, N. (2017). The Industrial Revolution Impact on Families as Seen in Hard Times.Studies in Linguistics and Literature,1(1), 23. Cattani, G., Porac, J. F., Thomas, H. (2017). Categories and competition.Strategic Management Journal,38(1), 64-92. Clemons, E. K., Dewan, R. M., Kauffman, R. J., Weber, T. A. (2017). Understanding the Information-Based Transformation of Strategy and Society.Journal of Management Information Systems,34(2), 425-456. Doan, D. A. (2017, March). 7-ELEVEN SETS TO OPEN STORE IN VIETNAM: WHAT LIES AHEAD?. InProceedings of NIDA International Business Conference 2017Innovative Management: Bridging(p. 368). Fernald, J. G. (2015). Productivity and Potential Output before, during, and after the Great Recession.NBER Macroeconomics Annual,29(1), 1-51. GRAHAM, W. C. K., BILGER, M. (2017). Financing Long?Term Services and Supports: Ideas From Singapore.The Milbank Quarterly,95(2), 358-407. Hoppe, F., Lamy, S., Cannarsi, A. (2016). Can Southeast Asia Live Up to Its E-commerce Potential?.Bain . Lin, Y., Wijedasa, L. S., Chisholm, R. A. (2017). Singapores willingness to pay for mitigation of transboundary forest-fire haze from Indonesia.Environmental Research Letters,12(2), 024017. Rouxelin, F., Wongsunwai, W., Yehuda, N. (2015). Aggregate cost stickiness in GAAP financial statements and future unemployment rate.The Accounting Review. Vaithianathan, R. H. E. M. A., Hool, B. R. Y. C. E., Hurd, M., Rohwedder, S. U. S. A. N. N. (2017).High-Frequency Internet Survey of a Probability Sample of Older Singaporeans: The Singapore Life Panel. CREA working paper. Valera, H. G. A., Holmes, M. J., Hassan, G. M. (2017). How credible is inflation targeting in Asia? A quantile unit root perspective.Economic Modelling,60, 194-210. Varian, H. R. (2014).Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach: Ninth International Student Edition. WW Norton Company. Xie, T., Liu, J., Alba, J. D., Chia, W. M. (2017). Does wage-inflation targeting complement foreign exchange intervention? An evaluation of a multi-target, two-instrument monetary policy framework.Economic Modelling,62, 68-81.

Supreme Court Striking Down Taboos free essay sample

A paper which discusses the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court on two cases dealing with interracial marriage and gay rights. The paper discusses how the U.S. Supreme Court provided tangible direction in 1967s Loving vs. Virginia and in 1986s Bowers vs. Hardwick. The paper shows that by ruling against states rights, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriage in Loving but sided with Georgia in Bowers and ruled that the state statute prohibiting sodomy was constitutional striking gay rights a blow from which they only began to recover in 1996. The paper explores how these two cases had an immense impact on the historical progress of the twentieth century the end of the century concerned itself primarily with equality and equal rights for various groups and these two cases were seminal in determining the course of the twenty-first centurys continuation of the quest for equal rights. We will write a custom essay sample on Supreme Court Striking Down Taboos or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Interracial marriages and gay rights represent much larger issues as if those issues are not large enough. American history since 1789 is one long debate between states rights and federal powers. Those usually willing to effect change in favor of minority groups have clamored for federal powers to refuse states the right to marginalize certain groups. Those who prefer the conservative whether evangelical Christian or not viewpoint call for the federal government to stay out of states regulations pertaining to hotbed issues like race and sexual orientation.

Russo-Japanese War and the Battle of Tsushima

Russo-Japanese War and the Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima was fought  May 27-28, 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and proved a decisive victory for the Japanese. Following the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, Russian fortunes in the Far East began to decline. At sea, Admiral Wilgelm Vitgefts First Pacific Squadron had been blockaded at Port Arthur since the opening action of the conflict while ashore the Japanese had laid siege to Port Arthur. In August, Vitgeft received orders to break out from Port Arthur and join with a cruiser squadron from  Vladivostok. Encountering  Admiral Togo Heihachiros fleet, a chase ensued as the Japanese sought to block the Russians from escaping. In the resulting engagement, Vitgeft was killed and the Russians were forced to return to Port Arthur. Four days later, on August 14, Rear Admiral Karl Jessens Vladivostok Cruiser Squadron met a cruiser force led by Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojo off Ulsan. In the fighting, Jessen lost one ship and was forced to retire. The Russian Response Responding to these reverses and encouraged by his cousin Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Tsar Nicholas II ordered the creation of a Second Pacific Squadron. This would be composed of five divisions from the Russian Baltic Fleet, including 11 battleships. Upon arriving in the Far East, it was hoped that the ships would allow the Russians to regain naval superiority and disrupt Japanese supply lines. Additionally, this force was to aid in breaking the siege of Port Arthur before working to slow the Japanese advance in Manchuria until reinforcements could arrive overland via the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The Baltic Fleet Sails The Second Pacific Squadron sailed from the Baltic on October 15, 1904, with Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky in command. A veteran of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), Rozhestvensky had also served as Chief of the Naval Staff. Steaming south through the North Sea with 11 battleships, 8 cruisers, and 9 destroyers, the Russians were alarmed by rumors of Japanese torpedo boats operating in the area. These led to the Russians accidentally fired on a number of British trawlers fishing near Dogger Bank on October 21/22. This saw the trawler Crane sunk with two killed and four other trawlers damaged. Additionally, seven Russian battleships fired on the cruisers Aurora and Dmitrii Donskoi in the confusion. Further fatalities were only avoided due to the Russians poor marksmanship. The resultant diplomatic incident nearly led Britain to declare war on Russia and the battleships of the Home Fleet were directed to prepare for action. To watch the Russians, the Royal Navy directed cruiser squadrons to shadow the Russian fleet until a resolution was achieved. Route of the Baltic Fleet Prevented from using the Suez Canal by the British as a result of the incident, Rozhestvensky was forced to take the fleet around the Cape of Good Hope. Due to a lack of friendly coaling bases, his ships frequently carried surplus coal stacked on their decks and also met contracted German colliers to refuel. Steaming over 18,000 miles, the Russian fleet reached Cam Ranh Bay in Indochina on April 14, 1905. Here Rozhestvensky rendezvoused with the Third Pacific Squadron and received new orders. As Port Arthur had fallen on January 2, the combined fleet was to make for Vladivostok. Departing Indochina, Rozhestvensky steamed north with the older ships of the Third Pacific Squadron in tow. As his fleet neared Japan, he elected to proceed directly through the Tsushima Strait to reach the Sea of Japan as the other options, La Pà ©rouse (Soya) and Tsugaru, would have required passing to the east of Japan. Admirals Fleets Japanese Admiral Togo HeihachiroPrincipal Ships: 4 battleships, 27 cruisers Russians Admiral Zinovy RozhestvenskyAdmiral Nikolai Nebogatov11 battleships, 8 cruisers The Japanese Plan Alerted to the Russians approach, Togo,  the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, began preparing his fleet for battle. Based at Pusan, Korea, Togos fleet consisted primarily of 4 battleships and 27 cruisers, as well as a large number of destroyers and torpedo boats. Correctly believing that Rozhestvensky would pass through the Tsushima Strait to reach Vladivostok, Togo ordered patrols to watch the area. Flying his flag from the battleship Mikasa, Togo oversaw a largely modern fleet which had been thoroughly drilled and trained. In addition, the Japanese had begun using high explosive shells which tended to inflict more damage than the armor-piercing rounds preferred by the Russians. While Rozhestvensky possessed four of Russias newest Borodino-class battleships, the remainder of his fleet tended to be older and in ill-repair. This was worsened by the low morale and inexperience of his crews. Moving north, Rozhestvensky attempted to slip through the strait on the night of May 26/27, 1905. Detecting the Russians, the picket cruiser Shinano Maru radioed Togo their position around 4:55 AM. The Russians Routed Leading the Japanese fleet to sea, Togo approached from the north with his ships in a line ahead formation. Spotting the Russians at 1:40 PM, the Japanese moved to engage. Aboard his flagship, Knyaz Suvorov, Rozhestvensky pressed on with the fleet sailing in two columns. Crossing in front of the Russian fleet, Togo ordered the fleet to follow him through a large u-turn. This allowed the Japanese to engage Rozhestvenskys port column and block the route to Vladivostok. As both sides opened fire, the superior training of the Japanese soon showed as the Russian battleships were pummeled. Striking from around 6,200 meters, the Japanese hit Knyaz Suvorov, badly damaging the ship and injuring Rozhestvensky. With the ship sinking, Rozhestvensky was transferred to the destroyer Buiny. With the battle raging, the command devolved to Rear Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov. As the firing continued, the new battleships Borodino and Imperator Alexander III were also put out of action and sunk. As the sun began to set, the heart of the Russian fleet had been destroyed with little damage inflicted upon the Japanese in return. After dark, Togo launched a massive attack involving 37 torpedo boats and 21 destroyers. Slashing into the Russian fleet, they relentlessly attacked for over three hours sinking the battleship Navarin and crippling the battleship Sisoy Veliki. Two armored cruisers were also badly damaged, forcing their crews to scuttle them after dawn. The Japanese lost three torpedo boats in the attack. When the sun rose the next morning, Togo moved in to engage the remnants of Nebogatovs fleet. With only six ships left, Nebogatov hoisted the signal to surrender at 10:34 AM. Believing this a ruse, Togo opened fire until the signal was confirmed at 10:53. Throughout the rest of the day, individual Russian ships were hunted and sunk by the Japanese. Aftermath The Battle of Tsushima was the only decisive fleet action fought by steel battleships. In the fighting, the Russian fleet was effectively destroyed with 21 ships sunk and six captured. Of the Russian crews, 4,380 were killed and 5,917 captured. Only three ships escaped to reach Vladivostok, while another six were interned in neutral ports. Japanese losses were a remarkably light 3 torpedo boats as well as 117 killed and 583 wounded. The defeat at Tsushima badly damaged Russias international prestige while signaling Japans ascent as a naval power. In the wake of Tsushima, Russia was forced to sue for peace.

29 Improv Opening Lines to Try

29 Improv Opening Lines to Try Here are 29 opening lines- improv starters- to get two-person improvisations jump-started. Each line is created to give the student actors a sense of the characters and setting for an improvised scene. Directions: Print this page and cut the paper into strips- one line per strip.Put the strips into a â€Å"hat†- a container.Assemble student actors into groups of two scene partners.Explain that one student actor per pair will pick a slip that has an opening line printed on it. That student actor will need to read and memorize the opening line, but will not reveal the line to his or her scene partner- yet. This line will be the first line spoken in the pair’s improv.Have one member of each pair pick a line out of the hat and memorize it.Remind student actors of the classroom improvisation guidelines.Have each pair present their improv.Hold a brief reflection on each improv- â€Å"What can you praise?† â€Å"What might they polish?† Opening Lines Excuse me, ma’am. I need to return this shirt for a refund.Miss, I am afraid I did not order a hot dog for dinner.Look, I know you hate this, but we need at least one good photo of you.So, Jordan, please explain why Paul’s homework was in your backpack.Officer, please, no! Don’t give me a speeding ticket!Do you think Mother would like this crown or the silver one?Oh! It is such an honor to meet you! Could I get your autograph for my daughter?Sir, your suitcase will not fit in the overhead bin.I think our cheer needs a better jump and some words that rhyme with team.Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome today’s guest- Pat Perkins- an expert on how to organize your desk!Look, my muscles are killing me! Can’t we take a break from this workout?Just rip the paper off! I can’t wait for you to see this totally unique gift!Excuse me, ma’am. Is that dinosaur skeleton real or is it just a model?Well, this is what we’ve been training for- t he Olympics! Are you ready to earn that gold medal?I think these shoes make my feet look far too big. Please get me a different pair. Ugh! All the other parents let their kids see PG-13 movies! You’ve just got to let me go!All you have to do is step-kick-step-kick-step-kick. Now try it with me.Behind us is the U.S. Capitol Building, and over there, you’ll see the Washington Monument.It’s just a little tattoo on my arm! Dad has one! I don’t see why you are so upset!Mr. Higgins, please tell our viewers how you plan to spend your lottery winnings!I understand you were an eyewitness to the skateboard theft. Please tell our viewers what you saw.Oh, I am so sorry, but pumpkin spice latte season ended yesterday! What other drink can I get you?Did you honestly think that a trail of breadcrumbs would help us find our way out of the forest and back to our house?Stop right there. You are not leaving this house dressed like that!Halt right there! You are not leaving this palace dressed like that!Your teacher tells me that your classroom behavior is inappropriate. What is your side of the story?I am so sorry, but your credit card has been declined. I’ll need another form of payment. O  woe! O pity! There is no way we shall ever reach the castle by dark!Ew! I thought you said you could cook!

Aspects of Contract & Negligence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Aspects of Contract & Negligence - Assignment Example 1). For example, a contractor agrees to construct a building on a specific site for the site owner within a particular timeframe and pursuant to detailed specifications in consideration of a specific price to paid by the site owner. In ordinary circumstances this would be a gratuitous exchange of promises. However, since the parties (site owner and contractor) intend to create legal relations, the agreement is a contract and therefore the voluntary undertakings and promises become legal obligations under the law (Koffman and MacDonald, p. 1). For instance, if the contractor fails to construct the building within the specific timeframe, the site owner has a right to sue the contractor for a breach of contract and can seek compensatory damages for the same. Likewise, if the contractor lives up to his or her undertakings and promises and the site owner fails to pay the promised price for the same, the contractor can sue the site owner for breach of contract and may seek compensatory dam ages as well. In a typical case, the parties to a contract will expressly state or write out the terms of the contract. In this regard, each of the parties’ undertakings and promises will be articulated. The parties will then have a legal obligation to abide by those express terms (Ashcroft and Ashcroft, p. 50). The express terms of a contract will often have an impact on other persons who are not parties to the contract, although the right to enforce the express terms of a contract will only be applicable to the parties who have formed the contract and negotiated its terms and conditions (Ashcroft and Ashcroft, p. 51). The impact on other parties not parties to the contract can arise in specifically defined circumstances. For example a contract for a contractor to install doors and windows in a dwelling house for a site owner who leases the house to tenants will impact the tenants. In the installation of windows and doors, the tenants will be subjected to disruptions and int erruptions in their daily lives as the construction takes place. Therefore if for some reason either the contractor or the site owner delays the installation of the doors and windows, the tenants will be disadvantaged. Therefore in an action for breach of contract on the part of the contractor, the site owner may be entitled to claim additional damages for having to compensate the tenants either by a reduction in rent or a temporary relocation as a result of the delay. Therefore, although privity of contract only means that only the parties to the contract are bound by the specific terms and conditions in the contract, the impact of breaching those terms and conditions on third parties may increase the obligations of the parties to the contract (Koffman and MacDonald, p. 476). In the example provided (a contract for installing doors and windows), the contractor will also have to rely on other parties to ensure that he or she lives up to her specific terms and conditions. For example , the contractor will have to order doors and windows and will also have to enter into a contract for the delivery of the windows and doors. Therefore, two other contracts will come into play under the main contract and any breaches of these incidental contracts can impact the contractor’s ability to live up to the terms and conditions of the main contract (Koffman and MacDonald, p. 477). Therefore, if the windows and doors are not delivered on time, the contractor may be in breach of the contract with the site owner and in an action