White Oleander :: essays research papers

White Oleander: Book vs. Movie   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like with most books that are made into movies, this was definitely a disappointment. I have always found that books can tell much better stories than what you see on screen, this was no different.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie easily cut out very important parts of the story. The beginning of the book is so important because you really get the feel for the weird mother-daughter relationship between Astrid and her Mother. In the movie you only get to see a small portion of how Astrid’s Mother treats her. Also, in the movie they do not tell the whole story about Astrid’s Mother and the man that she murdered. I could go on and on listing the many things that we left out that are so important to the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The actors in the movie were incredibly in sync with the characters portray ed in the book. They made the perfect matches of the innocent Astrid who has to grow up so quickly. Her Mother who is so beautiful, strong willed, and has such a whimsical, unreal sense to her. When I think of the characters in the book I can definitely picture the actors in the movie.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The hardships that Astrid came upon were in to way reflected as they should have been in the movie. There are so many events and people that influenced Astrid to do the things and make the decisions that she did and they were completely left out of the movie. It is kind of hard to understand why Astrid resents her Mother they way she does if you do not know the whole story of the hardships that her Mother put her through by being selfish and not thinking of what would happen to Astrid if she got caught the way she did.

Edmunds Corrugated Essay

1. Analyze the issues faced by Edmunds and describe what lead the company to this situation. Edmunds Corrugated Parts & Services are a company based in Virginia, U.S. owned by Larry Edmunds; who provided precision machine parts and service for the domestic corrugated box industry. About two years ago, Larry’s grandfather loaned him the money to start the business. It is Larry’s first factory; in a barn on what had been the family’s Shenandoah Valley farm. He operates from a 50,000 square-foot factory located near I-81 just a few miles from that old barn (Daft, R., 2010). However there are some issues that Edmunds has faced with the quarterly earnings. They simply were not as they had been in the past. Firstly, the company was capable of employing about one hundred employees who were mostly neighbors. They were as hard-working and loyal employees. However, many of employees were going to retire. The company was suffering from the issue of replacing the current employees. The other issue the company was holding market share at 75 percent but the market share lately has reduced significantly. It was due to the number of the companies that had appeared manufacturing the same product. This had made it possible for the company to diversify their production with products such as the more flexible plastic films and reusable plastic containers. The last issue faced by Edmunds is losing industries mainly in U.S. due to the consolidation that was done by the paper industry. Some industries that survived opening other branches oversea as joint ventures. This issue had bought Edmunds to the crossroads of what he should do to bring the company revenues back to where they used to be. 2. Create and describe a strategy for addressing the situation at hand. From the issues the company had faced; the competition was changing, external rules and regulations were changing, and suppliers were changing as well. The strategy that worked well in the past is no longer producing the results company would like. Therefore; the company demanded a strategy would make sure it will recover; by way of strategic management, it is efficient to ensure that the company is capable of returning back to the way of its business. The strategic management is the comprehensive collection of ongoing activities and processes that organizations use to systematically coordinate and align resources and actions with mission, vision and strategy throughout an organization (â€Å"Management Study Guide,† 2008). The requirements for an ongoing process in strategic management are environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation and strategy evaluation. The first process of environmental scanning or situation analysis; refers to the process of amassing, studying and providing information for strategic proposes. It would help the company analyze the internal and external factors that impact an organization. The company can define strength and weakness; with these two, they can find future risk and opportunities as well (BE Business Education, 2011). This will show Edmunds the opportunities and threat; for example, the ones that had made most other companies go overseas. The second strategy formulation is the process of designing and selecting the most suitable course of action for the achievement of organization goals and objectives and thereby achieving the organization vision (Bushman, M., 2007). This strategy should ensure the company regains it competitive edge. The third strategy implementation implies making the strategy work as intended or putting the organization’s chosen strategy into action including developing steps, methods and procedures to execute the strategy (Bhasin, H., 2010). The company management should ensure that the implementation of the strategy is cost effective, not disruptive and acceptable by all stakeholders. The final process of strategic management is strategy evaluation. These activities are evaluating internal and external factors that are the root of current strategies, measuring performance, and corrective actions. These processes will give Edmunds some great opportunities; for an example, making quality goods can be used to ensure that they increase their market share and customers will be loyal to their service. 3. Assess which element in the strategy you just described would be the hardest to implement and explain why. The part that would be the most difficult state in strategic management is the strategy implementation. This is because it involves change. It will require the management to fit the resources, the competencies and the opportunities that the company has in the market. The support of employees and managers are needed in order to successfully implement a strategy. When people do not proactively make the changes that are needed to adapt to the strategy, this will be one of the large difficulties. Moreover, if there is no follow-up to the strategy implementation, this will be one of the largest difficulties. The strategy implementation is hard and risky if it does not well carry on. All the resources that have been put in place can be wasted if any hitch happens in the process. It may lead to complete closure of the company as well if they will waste their time. 4. Describe what strategies Edmunds could use in the future to reduce potential crises before they happen. There are different methods that Edmunds could use in the future to ensure that the company does not entangle in the potential crises. The first strategy that the company would use is development of research department that will be looking at innovation for the company to guarantee that it is at a competitive edge at all the time. The second strategy is the training to the employees. This will ensure that the employees have the upcoming technology skills and the productively level will increase as well. The last strategy is the employee recruitment. The company has to make sure the employees are ready and competitive; which means the employees are capable of rising upon all challenges. These will be good methods for the company to ensure that they will not complicate any of the crises that it is in today. References Daft, R.S. (2010). Management. 9th Ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Management Study Guide. (2012). Step in Strategy Formulation Process. Retrieve Feb. 8, 2013, from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/strategy-formulation-process.htm BE Business Education. (2011, September 6). Importance of Environment Scanning. Retrieved Feb. 8, 2013 from http://business.svtuition.org/2011/09/importance-of-environment-scanning.html Bushman, M. (2007, April 7). The Major Elements of the Strategic Management Process. Retrieved Feb. 10, 2013 from

Analysis Of The Movie Pirates Of The Caribbean On...

B-MOVIES: FROM RAGS TO RICHES Hollywood today spends more money on movies than ever before, with an average budget of $140 million per movie. ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’; the most expensive movie ever made; cost approximately $378.5 million and that was five years ago. This isn’t surprising since history is witness to a rising trend in money spent on movies, however, even after adjusting for inflation, their impact on the industry isn’t as large as their budgets. Over the years, lower cost productions like B-Movies have played a major role in carrying the industry forward by keeping it stable, moving and profitable in times of trouble. B-Movies came to be the need of the hour after The Great Depression and World War II. Money was tight everywhere and Hollywood could not continue making extravagant movies therefore they turned to low budget commercial films. These movies not only have an economical significance in Hollywood, they have made more than one contribution to the industry. These low risk movies provided directors, writers and producers with a wide scope for experimentation and led to the creation of many genres and sub-genres. The origins of B-Movies are humble but over the years that they grew in Hollywood, they became more significant and successful, yet their progress from â€Å"Rags to Riches† remains more a behind-the-scenes heroic act than a superhero effort. B-Movies originally came into being to serve the purpose of being the second classShow MoreRelatedThe Assassination Of Jesse James2245 Words   |  9 PagesReview: During the review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the writer of the review has a very in depth understanding of the film. He describes the film as a slow and atmospheric movie. â€Å"Andrew Dominik so clearly draws on the cinematic language†. â€Å"The movie is a melancholy exploration of fame, idol worship, violence, anger, public perception, obsession and more.†Dominik wants the audience to let the film wash over you, affecting you on levels you aren’t entirely awareRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 PagesJamaicans regard as their cultural contribution to the world. Later I will return to these issues and will demonstrate how they contribute to the routinization of Rastafari in Jamaica. The nature of this book dictates a heavy reliance on documentary analysis. My focus is interpretation not ethnography. Therefore, I have not sought to generate primary data on the movement but to analyze and re-analyze the growing body of scholarly and popular literature on the movement, including sociological and anthropologicalRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesof systematic study. Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB. Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB. Identify the challenges and opportunities managers have in applying OB concepts. Compare the three levels of analysis in this book’s OB model. MyManagementLab Access a host of interactive learning aids to help strengthen your understanding of the chapter concepts at www.mymanagementlab.com cott Nicholson sits alone in his parents’ house in suburban Boston