Bible vs. Native American Creation Stories from the Southwestern United States Essay

Bible vs. Native American Creation Stories from the Southwestern United States Human curiosity is shared between both the Biblical creation story and the Native American myths . Both the Bibles account of creation and the Native American myths tell about an intelligent creator that created complicated beings. Creators in both of the stories have a dwelling in the sky. In Genesis, the creator God dwells in heaven. In Native American stories, the creator lives in the sky and is known as the Sky God. However much these two stories have in common, their differences are considerably stronger. One story places human above nature, while the other place animals above humans. The creation of humans is different, and the worlds in which human life began are unalike. The Bible and the Native Americans both value the importance of human life inversely. In the Bible, it is understood that God places the humans above nature,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (53). The Native American myths say that the animals ruled over the humans, because in each myth the animals were the ones that could talk and reason and think for themselves. In the intro to the Native American Stories, it is stated, â€Å"Generally, these creation myths hold that life began below ground and that the first creatures were prehumen, insect-like beings. They developed physically and socially into recognizable ancestors†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (90). The Bible states the importance of human authority, while Native American myths find more intelligent life elsewhere. Additional information that shows how unlike these stories are is how the human form looked when first created. The Native American myths tell of humans that were first created in a form/shape other than what anyone today would expect. The Zuni Emergence Myth says, â€Å"Their hands and feet were webbed and they had tails and no mouths or exits† (93). However, when God created humans he created them in his own image. In Genesis, Chapter one; verse 26, it says, â€Å"Then God said, â€Å"Let us make man in our image† (53). When God created humans, they needed no adjustments. In the myths of the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo, the humans had to be cut in certain places and certain ways so that they could eat, work, and carry out daily tasks. The prime distinction in the story from the Bible and the myths of the Native Americans is where humans began their existence. In the Bible, God speaks of only one world which is earth. The Bible says, â€Å"God call the dry land Earth. †(52). With the Native American creation myths, all forms of humans began in the first of four worlds. In the Zuni Emergence Myth, â€Å"They were living in the fourth world. † (91). The Hopi Creation Story is similar as well. â€Å"†¦ The Hopi Creation Story represents the first creatures as passing through four worlds†¦ † (94). The Navajo Creation Story is like these two as well, only they fly instead of climbing through the four worlds. It is stated in the Navajo Creation Story, â€Å"Rather than climbing, as in the Zuni story, the Navajo Air-Spirit People fly† (95). When God created humans, they began life in the only one world, while Native American myths have humans go through extensive searches in other worlds before they come to the one they are to live in. The Bible creation story and the Native American myths both give credit to a higher being for their creation. This is probably as close to similar as these two stories come. However much these two stories have in common, the differences are stronger. One story places human above nature, while the other place animals above humans. The creation of humans is different, and the worlds in which human life began are unalike. They follow the same paths just different journeys.

Yves Saint Laurent

After a thorough study of your company and a meticulous analysis the information you have given me, I have concluded that if Yves Saint Laurent changes from a differentiation strategy to a differentiation focus strategy, it is possible for YSL to double its profit within three years. The upsides of the change are a 150-percent increase in profit and strong brand awareness in a niche segment whose profile will be described in details hereafter. On the other hand, there are downside risks, including high possibility that Louis Vuitton, Tods and Bulgari will attempt to replicate YSL products since they are close to the targeted positioning as well (See Appendix A). The specific goals for YSL in the next 3 years include focusing on a specific segment of the fashion industry. YSL’s current operations and net sales of $145 million are small, compared to Gucci and even YSL Beaute but they make differentiation focus strategy a suitable and viable option. Furthermore, the prospect of targeting a niche market also arises from YSL’s prominent image as sophisticated sexy and European-chic. Hence, I recommend that YSL develops a focus on men and women who are â€Å"thirty and thriving†. These clienteles are those who are beautiful and sophisticated with a promising career. They are quite successful for their age and seem to â€Å"have, but still want it all† such as young successful entrepreneurs or middle-management investment bankers. The benefits of focusing on clientele who are in their 30s are the solidity of their earnings which will drive stable sales and their tendency toward elegance and departing from pure chic and hip. The other goals that coupled with a targeted niche segment are improving operating margin and sales. With the declining trend in royalties, I recommend that YSL should discount them and focus mainly on operating margin excluding royalties. The milestones are 20% in the 2004, 24% in 2008 and 28% in 2005 which will bring YSL’s operating margin to Vuitton’s vicinity. However, increasing volume in sales should increase as in well in order to gain a more critical mass. The milestones are set as followed: at least $200, 300 and $400 in the first, second and third year respectively. These targets will uniquely reposition YSL since it has a higher operating margin than Hermes and its sales target is much lower than Vuitton which signifies its exclusivity (See Appendix B). Product: There are two products offering options that I would consider: ready-to-wear clothes or leather bags. Both products are desirable in the chosen niche market. Louis Vuitton has a leather-dominant product mix while Hermes would be a more appropriate competitor for read-to-make apparel. It is important that YSL only choose one product on which it can focus because a diverse product mix when implement a differentiation-focus strategy runs a dilution risk. The durability of leather is an advantage with lower product line turnover than apparel. Bags are often viewed as more versatile as a fashionable statement compared to the constantly changing trends in apparel. However, the habit of buying clothes when new season comes around can drive higher sales. In the case that clothing is chosen, it is recommended that the sizes should range from 0-2 and the fit should enunciate our clienteles’ confident figures. These factors contribute to the exclusivity. Also, there are a lot of opportunities for synergies in production. YSL can have production in Italy with the help of Gucci’s excellent suppliers relationship and expertise as well as its own factories in Paris. Price: In order to meet the targeted sales of $400 million after 3 years, if each item is has a premium price of $3000, YSL is aiming to sell 134,000 items in 2005. It is a reasonable estimate considering that after the acquisition of Mendes, YSL will have the capacity to produce and sell at such volume. However, it is recommended that YSL open additional stores (See Place/Distribution Channel). When buying raw materials from suppliers, YSL and Gucci need to collaborate to ask for better discounts. YSL should also sell off any unnecessary factories bought from Mendes in France if it is more economical to produce in Italy with Gucci. Place/Distribution Channels: Gucci and YSl can also share facilities including warehouses in Italy and factories in France. Another recommendation is that YSL should purchase all its licensees, sever contracts with other distributors and wholesale businesses even if they are bringing in earnings. YSL needs an exclusive distribution channel to match the nature of its products. YSL should only sell its products through directly operated stores. YSL need to work with Gucci’s recent revamp team in order to change their store layouts to have a lounge ambience, fitting with the sophisticated 30s. YSL also needs to ask Gucci to pick 15 new locations in Italy for additional stores. There should only be stores in Italy and France to preserve the European charm which is a big part of its brand image and identity. It must close down the distributor in Japan so it can have a complete control over what the stores look like, how the sales representatives dress and behave. Another distribution channel that YSL should explore is the budding e-commerce culture but YSL should retain exclusivity by restricting access unless existing customers have a code authorized by YSL to log in. Promotion: â€Å"A luxurious brand for the most fortunately beautiful people on earth† The phrase should be the tagline for any YSL advertisement and a benchmark to assessing the brand performance. Also, it is important to reiterate the â€Å"fortunately beautiful† in marketing campaign as to reinforcing the exclusivity of the clientele and to anchoring the brand with such clientele. Even the buying experience is unique. It is a negotiation between the salesperson and the customers to determine each other’s fit. Salespeople should be told not to rush a sale and customers are encouraged to make multiple visits to the store before purchasing. In addition, if Gucci has Tom Ford, YSL needs to use Yves’s revered figure in marketing. An image of the young Yves will add to the mystique of the brand and a linkage to a rich history. I hope these recommendations are helpful and I am looking forward to working with you.

Live Face Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Live Face - Assignment Example Discovery process entails gathering information about perspectives and experiences about the brand by the internal and external customers of the organization. Additionally, a company can improve its brand dynamics by looking at its historical information on branding as part of the discovery stage. The outcome of the discovery process is referred to as a core brand analysis which enables the entity to know what the brand symbolizes and the intended audience (Gregory, 2004). The Blue Team Focus Company should as a next step develops a strategy to communicate what the brand intends to achieve, express brand personality and stakeholder expectations about the company. For Blue Team Focus, a brand strategy should emphasize the expected customer experience through interaction with the company from using the Live Face product. After developing the brand strategy, Blue Team Focus should engage in corporate brand communication which involves marketing, promotion, and advertising and creating awareness about the brand through public relations. Given that Blue Team Company has an already established customer base through Sony and Verizon FIOS; it has a less job to do in terms of brand communication. Finally, Blue Team should invest in brand management that involves keeping the brand alive and ensuring its growth using the appropriate company resources (Gregory, 2004). According to Westwood (2002), contingency planning is done through a SWOT analysis when all information and opinions are collected from marketing research. Blue Team Focus Company should evaluate its strengths in relation to its weaknesses considering available opportunities and potential threats in the marketplace. The company shall leverage its strengths from advantages related to proprietary technology mainly from Sony and Verizon FIOS.  

Eastern Religion thought Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Eastern Religion thought - Assignment Example The creation of movements brought together charismatic leaders as well as supernatural techniques with a sense of approaching new age (Catherine Albanese 230). Religions of the Nearer, Middle, and Further East show the increase of religions to quite a large number and thus the expansion of the religious culture. At the same time, these religions point to the counter-energy that leads people, within the religions, to merge their worlds and contract. Religious combination is the critical issue realized from the tendencies, expansion and contraction. A union of an atheistic person with a theosophical individual and others from the catholic religion or the Protestants expressed an expansive Universalist creed and an ethical code. Additionally, the contemporary new age has contributed to the culture of expansion through the new technology whereby channels like radio and televisions help to spread spiritualism (Catherine Albanese 232). Ritual work in the new age stresses the material world by stimulating the forces of mind and imagination so as to have control over matter. The Christian rights movement created from the combination of religions i s an evidence of the religious culture of contraction. It has a strong tradition of religious privatism whose concern was to mobilize a segment of the population who were never concerned with the public life. The movement developed a sense of togetherness and support for a world looking inward and not outward (Catherine Albanese

Statistics Review Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Statistics Review Questions - Essay Example Correlation is a method to measure the association in between two variables. When we compare the correlating scores of two variables, we are trying to determine whether the variables are related to each other or not. The purpose of doing correlations is to allow us to make a prediction about one variable based on what we know about another variable.  Ã‚  Ã‚   A frequency distribution is the tabulation of raw data obtained by dividing it into  classes  of some size and computing the number of data elements (or their fraction out of the total) falling within each pair of  class boundaries. A frequency distribution can be modeled as a  histogram  or  as a pie chart (Frequency Distribution). A pie chart shows the differences between two separate variables or subjects. A pie chart is a graph that is in the shape of a circle which represents a total of 100%. Other variables or subjects are shown on the chart with respect to their relative percentages to the whole. The different subjects are shown in different colors and the size of each subject in the pie is proportional to the percentage of the subject. A bar graph shows raw data and it is designed to show different values of two or more subjects but instead of using the pie to represent data it uses horizontal and vertical bars that represent a different value. The bar graph has numbers along the side of the bars to indicate the value of the variable and there are scales which show what variable is being measured. The difference between the pie chart and the bar graph is that a bar graph is capable of showing change over time. While a single pie chart cannot show changes over time by itself, it can only represent the given percentages at a fixed point in time. A graphical display of a  frequency table is called a frequency polygon. The X-axis has the intervals shown on it while the number of scores in each interval is represented by the height of a point located above the middle of the

Allocating Fixed Costs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Allocating Fixed Costs - Essay Example Activity Based Management is basically the use of such ABC system towards improving strategic decisions and efficiency. It further uses the ABC information to choose between products and analyze the activities that need to be employed in order to get those products manufactured. The focus is mainly towards identifying using those activities which add value. DHL is one of the earliest implementer of the ABC and the ABM system. DHL is a German logistics company known for its expertise in providing international express mail services. It is considered to be a World market leader in providing such mail services both via sea and air. The company is also popular for its mailing services with respect to heavy weight goods delivery. DHL, in 1990s, applied the ABC and the ABM model to identify non-value activities because as it was experiencing falling margins. DHL discovered that the main cause of the de-escalating margins were mainly because of the product, destination and the customer mixes. Following the implementation of the ABC and the ABM technique, which helped the company understand the margins, DHL designed a new pricing strategy which was globally accredited and adopted by various companies (Hilton, 2007). Just-in-time (JIT) is a technique initially employed by the Japanese in order to gain efficiency within the production by minimizing the storage costs of the inventory needed for the production of the goods. The main benefit of implementing the JIT system is that it helps in reducing the costs of production for a company and hence a company gains huge margins by saving from the inventory costs that are not incurred. The basic feature of TQM is to prevent errors before they actually appear and avoid any wastage. Besides this, the focus is towards the continual improvement of the organization rather than just implementing the

Financial Statement Ratio Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Financial Statement Ratio Analysis - Essay Example (basic raw material) plus an oven to bake the cookies (plant and machinery), and also a place to keep the oven (premises). Plus, not to forget, skilled labor (You've got to know how to make cookies OR hire someone who can.). Last but not the least, your have to find a way to sell the cookies - either hire a salesman with a fixed pay or hire an agent with a fixed share in profits (Selling and distribution overhead). All these factors would sum up to be the 'Cost' incurred on making the cookies. Based on this cost, you may decide your expected 'Selling Price' and thus the 'Contribution' per unit. (Activity Ratios) Also, to keep things going, you would need enough money readily available for your short term requirements (like buying more raw materials, paying rent, electricity bills, wages to employees, etc.) as well as for long term requirements (paying off debts, more money for further expansion, etc.). Also, you very well know that your creditors will supply you material on credit only if you are worthy of it. i.e. you are able to pay them in time. (Liquidity Ratios) In both the cases, money doesn't come free of cost. Business should be profitable enough. Both the parties would again, check your credibility as well as the worthiness of the business. In the first case, you would be liable to pay a fixed interest to your bank, regardless of what you make. In the second, you've got to make enough money so that you and your friend are glad that you invested in the business. Therefore, to be sure of what you are doing, at every moment you would be analyzing your 'profitability ratios', like you would constantly be calculating your earnings as against your investments (EPS) and comparing it with what ever was the next best use of your money (opportunity cost). Further, you could even decide your debt-equity ratio - how much share in the profit should be sacrificed for funds and how much should you borrow from the bank. And if you make handsome profits, how much of it should be invested back in the business (retained earnings). Or maybe you have better uses for your money and decide to take a further loan against your business from the bank so as to free your capital and maximize your returns on investment (leverages). Thus, organizing your 'Capital Structure' is a very basic and important decision. The point behind this entire example is that the smallest of small business would require analyzing their basic ratios to know how well they are doing. Without comparing various financial figures (ratios) we cannot make an informed decision. Without these, you will never know what can go wrong with your business. Before staring any business you must know in advance what you may expect from the business and what you should be expecting in return for your time, effort and investment. At any stage of the business you must know how much have you given to the business and how much the business can return back and what is the present condition as well