15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Nouns

15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Nouns 15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Nouns 15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Nouns By Mark Nichol To help keep your writing crisp and precise, observe the distinctions between each pair of similar or closely associated words below: 1. admission/admittance: Admission is the act of being admitted, or allowed to join or enter; admittance is almost identical in meaning but is usually associated with permission (or lack thereof). 2. avocation/vocation: An avocation is a hobby or pursuit, as distinct from a vocation job or career. The former is derived from a word with the literal meaning of â€Å"called away,† and the latter is an antonym; it literally means â€Å"calling† and is related to the word voice. 3. bloc/block: Bloc refers to an alliance of people, groups, or countries. It is the French version of block, which may be but seldom is used to refer to the same concept. 4. bonds/bounds: A bond, among other meanings, is a restraint, so it is similar in meaning to bound, which means â€Å"extent, or limit† (as in boundary). But they are complementary, not interchangeable; one is bound with bonds. 5. cement/concrete: Technically, cement is the powder that constitutes the base of concrete, so any mass of material formed from a moistened mixture of cement and other ingredients should be referred to as concrete. 6. crevice/crevasse: A crevice is a narrow crack; crevasse, from the French version of the word, is a specific term for a large fissure in the ground or in ice. 7. dilemma/difficulty: A dilemma is a particular type of problem exacerbated by the fact that no solution is satisfactory. (The etymology of the word assumes only two possibilities, but it can apply to any number.) The term sometimes applies to any difficult decision but like many words is best reserved for a usefully distinct meaning. 8. dogma/doctrine: Dogma is employed as a synonym for doctrine especially in religious contexts, but the definition of the latter is â€Å"a statement or principle,† and the former often has the connotation of repressively authoritarian, rather than authoritative, opinion. (There’s another distinctive pair of words the former meaning â€Å"absolute† and the latter referring to expertise.) 9. ecology/environment: These words are often used interchangeably, but ecology has the more distinct connotation of a system of interrelationship between an environment and the organisms that inhabit it. 10. elegy/eulogy: An elegy is a sorrowful composition, usually for a person or a personification that is literally or figuratively dead. A eulogy, on the other hand, is a statement of praise for a deceased person. 11. empathy/sympathy: Empathy refers to the action of vicariously experiencing the thoughts and emotions of another, and the capacity for doing so, whereas sympathy is the mere act of consolation or feeling compassion. 12. ethics/morals: Ethics are, collectively, the principles of conduct according to a philosophy of moral behavior. The distinction between the two terms is one of theory as opposed to practice. 13. gamut/gauntlet: A gamut is a range. A gauntlet (or gantlet) is a glove. Confusion between the two unrelated words stems from the fact that you can run either one: To run the gamut is to move along a spectrum of choices; to run the gauntlet is to endure the punishment of literally or figuratively passing through a series of ordeals. (Originally, it referred to a double line of soldiers who rained blows on the victim.) 14. review/revue: The latter word is derived from the French form of the former term, but in the sense of a form of entertainment involving songs, skits, and other performances usually commenting on recent publicized events, only it is applicable. A similar production might be termed something like â€Å"The Year in Review,† but a production of musical and/or comical pieces is a revue. 15. tenant/tenet: These terms, unrelated in meaning, do share etymology: Each stems from the Latin word for â€Å"to hold,† the same one that is the root of tenacious. But a tenant is a person or other entity that holds property, and a tenet is an idea held to be true. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Slang Terms for Money5 Lessons for Mixing Past and Present TenseEnglish Grammar 101: Sentences, Clauses and Phrases

This Earth of Mankind Essay Example

This Earth of Mankind Essay Example This Earth of Mankind Paper This Earth of Mankind Paper This report is based on an interview of Pramodeya Ananta Toer which explains the background thought processes of his four book series the â€Å"Buru Quartet† however the references taken shall be based solely on the first book of the quartet â€Å"This Earth of Mankind†. Pramodeya says that the idea for Minke the male protagonist of the quartet was based mostly on â€Å"Willem Wertheim† a Dutch scholar, this seems mostly ironic as one of the main antagonists in the novel happens to be the Dutch government and it is against Dutch colonialism that Minke stands up but as Toer says â€Å"He brought out the characters who had been erased from our history. Not only this but also â€Å"I had students pore over newspaper stories from the period and wove episodes into the plot† thus it cannot be said that the lead character was based solely on one inspiration, however we do see that Minke happens to be more ambitious than his fellow countrymen and also has a more enlightened attitude which does have a European or in this case Dutch in nature and hence could explain Toer saying he was based on Willem. We also notice the similarity of the book with the events at the time when Toer was writing the book such as the power of the ruling government to take over private businesses in order to run them ‘fairly† and act as caretakers as seen in the Dutch taking over the Nyai’s business, and we also see the apparent class system and high level of social segregation which was still present in Toer’s time, it also seems that Pramodeya did have a direct source to base Minke on in the form of the Philippine novelist ‘Jose Rizal’ who was executed by the Spanish in 1896 after three years of imprisonment and torture for championing freedom from colonial rule however he does not mention this. We also see that Minke’s main enemy other than the Dutch was Robert Surhoff a man so confused by his own birth that he develops a superiority complex in order to make himself appear better than his fellow countrymen as can be seen by his calling Minke Indo all the time considering the title ‘Bupati’ beneath him even though it was a position of power more than he could ever have this however was one of the numerous people suffering from similar Psychological problems due to the changing time. The idea as Toer says came from an Eurasian gang organized by the Dutch to terrorize the people of Jakarta and this is also pretty much what Robert Surhoff is also doing, another thing that is also most remarkable is the irony of the situation that the very people they try to imitate and please, by harming their own brethren in order to get their acceptance do not treat them with much respect and also consider them below their level. Which can be seen in the novel that the Dut ch born first son of Mr. Mellema is given preference to the property over Mellema’s half Dutch children this concept is a forerunner to the idea of 2nd class or 3rd class citizenship which is still another form of Racism left over from colonial rule. Pramodeya’s inspiration from other works such as John Steinbeck’s â€Å"Of Mice and Men† and the works of Gorky and Tolstoy are quite evident. Pramodeya integrated the running theme of â€Å"Try to understand each other† from ‘Of Mice and Men’ into his quartet as it seems the only way out of the problem that the colonials and the colonialists are facing is if the two groups try and understand each other and Pramodeya in a way is showing what happens when individuals and communities on a whole do not understand the other persons view point and try to assert that they are right or superior over the other. Other concepts also evidently integrated in the novel taken from Steinbeck’s novel are dreams, loneliness, how mans prosperity achieves cruelty, powerlessness, and uncertainty of the future - or fate. All seen in the life of Minke and how he progresses through out the first novel as not only his rise to fame gain him the enemity of his Rubert Surhoff and Mellema but also that of his brother to an extent and also that he dreams of changing not only his life but also the life of his fellow people however in the face of the unexpected events and ‘fate’ he was helpless/powerless. Also from Gorky’s work we see Pramodeya geting the idea of showing the social fabric of Indonesia in the novel and to show the distinctive charecterists of Indonesian people and to give a psychological aspect to the novel.

Human genome Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human genome - Research Paper Example The codes are used by amino acids in the body to build proteins. When 3 nucleotides come together, it shows one of the possible amino acid. It means that when 3 nucleotides combine together, it develops instruction that the body cells will use to build body proteins. The proteins developed carry out the work of the cells starting from development allover the human life contributing to physical attributes and several other features like behavior and learning (International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium 2004). There exist twenty four different human chromosomes together with sex determining X and Y chromosomes. The genome is divided into two parts, coding and noncoding DNA sequences (Kauffman 1969). Coding DNA are sequences that can be transcribed into mRNA and converted into proteins in the lifetime of a man while noncoding DNA is made up of those sequences that are not used to encode proteins (Kauffman 1969). Noncoding is all the DNA sequences inside the genome which are not found inside the protein coding exons, which means that they are not represented with amino acid proteins. The full protein coding capacity of the genome contained in exome and it has DNA sequences encoded by exons and this can be converted into proteins. Genome contains several regulatory sequences that are important in controlling gene expression, it is approximated that the sequence contain up to 8 percent of the genome. There are some types of non-coding DNA which are genetic and cannot encode proteins but they can regulate when the genes are expressed. 8 percent of the genome is also made up of repetitive DNA sequences, the sequences varies greatly even among people who are closely related. The human genome varies depending on the sequence of DNA from one human being to another; people are unique since their genomes are unique. People who are closely related have their genome more similar. The difference between two people

Ch 40 dis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Ch 40 dis - Essay Example No doubt free market economy reaps free trade benefits, businesses, and consumers the consumers as well. These have been classified into four main areas a) agreements between competitors b) contractual arrangements between sellers and buyers c) maintenance of monopoly power and d) mergers (West’s Encyclopedia of American Law 1997). The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 is the focal point for antitrust law which subsequently followed by the other States of the United States of America. The congress addressed the weaknesses of given acts and amended it accordingly. In this respect, we may refer the acts of Clayton Act of 1914 and the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936. The efforts of the Congress with regard to enforcement of law are highly appreciated. It should be taken into account the ongoing analysis influenced by economic, intellectual, and political changes. The U.S. Supreme Court has had the leading role in shaping up and applying these laws (West’s Encyclopedia of American Law 1997). Since the association of bakeries is responsible for creating monopolistic environment and raising the retail price of bread from 75 cent to 85 cent at their own whims and fancies, hence found violating and negating the antitrust

Essay on Franncisco de Goya Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Essay on Franncisco de Goya - Research Paper Example The first war painting that he created was Los Desastres de la Guerra -The disaster of wars (Castro). Goya produced some of the most disturbing paintings during his last five years. Goya had an ambitious personality (Castro). He was known to be proud and arrogant person. He was a genius artist and over the years the progress in his art can be seen in his works (Castro). By studying Goya work in a chronological order, it is very noticeable, that over the years his worked not only improved but also got stranger. It is said that in the beginning, Goya drew very pessimistic paintings which showed youth and happiness. Goya showed optimism in his initial works. For example, in his paintings ‘The Flower Girls’ and ‘The Little Giants’ he portrays youth and uses a broad color schemes that gives the paintings a certain bliss. These early paintings use bright colors that give an aura of joy to them. However, in 1972, Goya suffered from a serious illness and the age of 47 he had a medical condition due to which he experienced loss of balance, had difficulty in walking with partial blindness and deafness (Emery). Some say that this was caused by a viral disease called Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada syndrome (Emery). Over the years though he recovered from this disease but he became permanently deaf (Emery). This traumatic illness greatly affected the work he produced in later years of his life. The works after this illness shows great pessimism. For example, his painting ‘The Execution on the Third of May’ shows darkness. He has used warm colors like brown, red and yellow and has a very bleak illustration. His work began to show the visions of his minds, visions that were contained the fantastic and ironic images of the world around him. During the period of 1803 – 1805 he painted his two majas ; La maja vestida La and maja desnuda (Castro). The former one shows a clothed women and the later one has the same women but nude. This was another addition to the collection of his peculiar paintings that even got him banned by the Catholic Church and made him face an inquisition (Castro). In1808, when Spain got invaded by Napoleon, Goya became the French court artist (Castro). In 1814 Goya painted his two of his most well known paintings; â€Å"The second of May in 1808† and â€Å"The Third of May in 1808†. These paintings showed the horror of war through which Spain went at the time when Napoleon invaded it. The Spanish civil were dragged and killed due to this invasion and the same has been shown in the paintings. In a way we can say that Goya portrayed reality in his war paintings. These paintings give a strong and brave image of the artist. These paintings also mark the start of the â€Å"19th century realism† (Duthel). The last five years of his life, Goya lived in isolation and during that period he created the most bizarre work of his life called Las Pinturas Negras -the dark paint ings. These are fourteen paintings that he painted on the wall of his house (Castro). According to the critics these painting were so shocking that they were â€Å"only meant for his eyes† (Castro). Out of these fourteen paintings the most disturbing and most famous one was Saturn devouring His Child. In this painting Goya has shown Saturn eating one of his son. Many say that Goya painted these paintings on his house’s wall because he did not want the world to see them. When the Spanish government failed to restore, Goya went on a voluntary exile in France

Analysis of Franchising Strategy

Analysis of Franchising Strategy FreshDirect is the leading online grocer, who serves more than 300 zip codes in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Nassua County, Riverdale, Westchester, Staten Island, New Jersey, and some areas of Connecticut, and they are providing a new way to shop for food. They are based in a 300,000-square-foot production building in Long Island City and they are the largest employers in the city. Joseph Fedele and Jason Ackerman cofounded FreshDirect in July 2001. Before FreshDirect was established, most other online grocery businesses had failed. Even with the demise of online grocery businesses for the previous decade, cofounders strongly believed that they would succeed in their business as their efficient operating strategy was built to provide high quality at lower prices. At first, however, FreshDirect was blamed for the limited service area until it expanded its area slowly. The company started to become popular by providing high quality products, such as locally grown fresh products and organic food at lower prices to local residents and offices. Then a few years later, people could see many refrigerated trucks of FreshDirect all over the Manhattan streets. FreshDirect has proven their efficient operating strategies, and it led to success in the online grocery industry. Since FreshDirect made profits, there has been a movement toward this online grocery industry, and they are facing a few challenges. Today, FreshDirect is facing fierce competition from traditional retail grocery, local restaurants, and other online grocers with delivery services. People have consistently questioned how fresh the products delivered by FreshDirect are because they have a limitation for seeing and feeling the products as an online grocer. According to one article, FreshDirect spent $600,000 for parking tickets as part of their operating expenses (Moskin, 2005). In addition to that, in 2007, the New York City government required a congestion charge for FreshDirect because FreshDirect has contributed to traffic jam, and the increasing gas prices are adding to their delivery expenses. One major challenge for FreshDirect is environmental issues. People complain about their idling delivery trucks which are contributing to additional exhaust fumes and taking parking spaces. Another environmental issue is using too many cardboard boxes. Their choice of which neighborhoods to deliver to is related to accused discrimination, and they have faced union related problems for unfair wages. Analysis SWOT Analysis One analytical framework that can be used for the internal and external environment of FreshDirect is SWOT analysis. The analysis of the FreshDirect issues will be broken down into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner McNamara, 2012). Strengths Their wide choices of products with high-quality information on the foods that were sold Low operating expenses due to not renting expensive retail space. FreshDirects efficient supply chain with no middleman. Low-cost marketing approach Cost-effective operating strategy of FreshDirect for their production facility. Extremely high standards for safety, health, and cleanliness in all areas. Strong partnerships with well-known chefs and restaurants in Manhattan Overall, FreshDirect has lots of strengths that are superior to competitors. They have provided various products to select with high quality at low cost on their well-designed website with high-quality information on the foods which are sold. With no retail location, they have lower operating expenses, resulting in more net revenues relative to traditional retail grocery businesses. Rather than having the middleman, they order all fresh products from individual suppliers and deliver directly to their customers. The less intermediaries between the distribution channel, the less the product costs. This allows FreshDirect to provide their high-quality goods at lower costs. They have adopted a low-cost marketing approach by using a recommendation-based campaign from actual customers, which increases the credibility among new and existing customers. Their production facility is located close to their Manhattan customer base with 12 separate temperature zones and an SAP manufacturing softw are system, which have kept the best condition of their products at the optimal temperature. High standard for cleanliness leads to high quality products. Strong partnershisp have enhanced the quality and taste of the four-minute meal. Weaknesses Limited selection of dry goods and packaged goods High dependence on the sales of perishables Constant change in senior management with short terms Extremely price sensitivity of consumers Using too many non-eco-friendly cardboard boxes with no returning system for recycling. Serving only selected areas around New York with no further market expansion strategy. FreshDirect has many weaknesses where they might be inferior to competitors. FreshDirect has few brands and kinds of dry goods and packaged goods relative to other competitors. For instance, Amazon.com has focused on dry goods and is increasing its market share due to its existing customer base and better customer service. FreshDirect highly depends on the sales of perishables, which leads to high delivery costs and the other operating expenses related to keeping perishables in good condition. Constant change in Senior Management can result in decreasing the firms values because it increases the firms risks. Different CEOs pursued different operating strategies. It will cause investors and customers to fall into confusion for their existing customers. One weakness with FreshDirect is that customers are highly price sensitive when they purchase their products because customers tend to pay no additional fees for online grocers and home delivery services. The more price sensitive their customers are, the more FreshDirect will lose their customers. FreshDirect will have less net revenues as they decided to continue doing their business because they need to cut their prices below to have price competitiveness. As people become more concerned about the environment, the cardboard boxes of FreshDirect become one main weakness. The non-eco-friendly boxes for one-time delivering are too wasteful and there is no return system in FreshDirect for recycling. FreshDirect serves only limited areas with no further market expansion strategy. Other competitors, especially NetGrocer, cover more areas with the same delivery services as FreshDirect provides. Opportunities Market expansion by using their reputable name and image domestically and internationally, such as the firm, Ford and eBay of the previous cases. Diversifying their products into un-perishable products. Developing eco-friendly and safe delivery and packaging ways, or open a return center for the cardboard boxes for recycling. Aggressive merge and acquisition with other global grocery retailers, like eBay did with other top global auction websites. FreshDirect has many opportunities to overcome their weaknesses. Even with bad market conditions when they started doing their business, they succeeded in this industry, and have earned a good reputation and image among their customers and in New York City. By using their reputation and image, they can expand their operation domestically and internationally. European and Asian markets are so broad that they can expand into the market and make more revenues. FreshDirect can compete with their rivals more efficiently if they diversify their delivery products into more un-perishable products. With the increasing environmental concerns, FreshDirect needs to develop eco-friendly delivery methods, or open a return center for the cardboard boxes for recycling. At first, they will be required to spend more, but as they operate further, they would make better image than competitors and finally it would lead to more profts. FreshDirect can consider aggressive mergers and acquisition with other leading global grocery retailers. It would allow FreshDirect to expand and increase their market share in the online grocery industry. Threats Fierce competition in the online grocery industry. Increased cost parking tickets as part of operating expenses, rising cost of fuel, and a congestion charge proposed by New York City government. Labor challenges such as truck drivers joining workers unions due to unfair wages, working overtime, and investigation of immigration status. Today, FreshDirect face threats in the market. Since FreshDirect succeeded in this industry, many rivals came to the market and competed fiercely with each other. For instance, Whole Foods has threatened their market shares in Manhattan with the same focus, organic health food. YourGrocer.com is the most geographical rival in the New York City with a bulk-buying strategy which makes home delivery services. Increased cost parking tickets, rising cost of fuel, and a congestion charge proposed by New York City government all has currently threatened FreshDirect. As mentioned above, FreshDirect spent $600,000 for the parking tickets and additionally, in 2007, New York City government required a congestion charge for FreshDirect, and the increasing gas prices are adding to their delivery expenses. All these condition would not allow them to reach their target profits and market shares. The increasing gas costs are adding to orders and they will lose their price competiveness with other co mpetitors, and also probably could not keep their promise, higher quality at lower prices. Lower wages, high-cost health benefit premiums, and investigation of immigration status led to joining workers union and it has threatened FreshDirect. Further, it mad the negative effects on their image and might result in losing the existing customers to other competitors and making less revenues. Porters Five-Forces Model Analysis This analytical model that will be examined for the external environment of FreshDirect is Porters Five-Forces Model of Industry Competition. ÂÂ  This analysis of the FreshDirect competitive environment and issues will be broken down into the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitute products and services, and the intensity of rivalry among competitors in an industry (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner McNamara, 2012). The threat of new entrants In this FreshDirect case, the threat of new entry is very low. The online grocery industry continues to mature. Maturity stage is characterized by very few prospects and new entrants. One major source of entry barriers, capital requirement, makes it difficult for new entrants to enter this industry. High start-up costs, operating expenses, large financial investment for a state-of-the art production facility, and an efficient manufacturing software system are required in the online grocery retail industry. This overall low entrant threat has positively affected FreshDirects sales. The bargaining power of buyers The bargaining power of buyers is important in analyzing the FreshDirect case. This case states that buyers are very price sensitive, and the prices for most online grocery products are above local market prices. Buyers tend not to pay more costs for home delivery service. A buyer group is powerful in this case because the buyers have few switching costs. For example, if the customer of FreshDirect thinks the price of products offered by them is expensive, the customer can switch to other competitors such as YourGrocer, Peopod, or NetGrocer very easily with no other costs. Therefore, buyers have a powerful ability to force the prices down. This condition has negatively affected the net margins of FreshDirect. The bargaining power of suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is also crucial in evaluating the FreshDirect case. The key for success to FreshDirect in this industry is providing high quality products at lower costs. They are operating under a unique operating strategy in the industry by offering the premium choices and the standardized cuts made by their customers. They eliminated the middleman between suppliers and FreshDirect. All high quality products ordered by their customers are shipped to FreshDirect directly, and this system allows FreshDirect to force down the prices from their suppliers. In this case, the bargaining power of suppliers for FreshDirect is not powerful because their suppliers quality products is important to their business, but there are various of substitutes to switch to with no costs. Therefore, they can provide such high quality items at lower costs, and this has positively affected the net revenues of FreshDirect. The threat of substitute products and services All firms in the same industry have the risk for the threat of substitute products and services. However, the threat of substitute products and services for FreshDirect is so low relative to other industries. FreshDirect have a comparative advantage, offering high quality at lower costs by eliminating the middleman. They provided about 5,000 perishable and organic products from local suppliers. With 12 separate temperature zones and an SAP manufacturing software system, all products are under the best condition. There are no substitutes in the market to offer high-quality of perishable goods with the same level of efficient management system that FreshDirect has used. Customers could not find a substitute for FreshDirect that meets their needs, and could not switch to other products. They have earned good reputation and loyalty from local areas. This limited threat of substitute products and services has affected the earning powers of FreshDirect positively. The intensity of rivalry among competitors in an industry FreshDirect is faced with relatively low intense rivalry among competitors in the industry. Some interacting factors prove this. The online grocery industry makes profits quickly, and Braddock expected that the online grocery sales will increase up to more than 20 percent of total grocery sales within next 10 years (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner McNamara, 2012). This leads to advantages over competitors in the industry. Low exit barriers also show low intense rivalry. The firms with insufficient margins will leave the markets, and it will result in more revenues for the other firms in the markets. This low intense rivalry among competitors in the industry has a positive effect for FreshDirect with more profits. Porters Value-chain analysis This analytical model that will be used for the value-creating activities of FreshDirect is Porters Value Chain Analysis. This analysis will be divided into two different activities, five primary activities and support activities (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner McNamara, 2012). Five primary activities Inbound logistics FreshDirect has the unique and good relationships with their suppliers. The production facility controls efficiently and keeps the high-quality of products in the best conditions. Operations FreshDirect offers about 5,000 perishable items with high quality at lower costs. Their efficient operating system and an SAP manufacturing software system reduce their operating expenses with greater efficiency and no middleman. Outbound logistics FreshDirect deliver their products daily to their customers home or office by FreshDirect trucks. Marketing and sales FreshDirects customers are highly satisfied with their high-quality products with lower costs. Their market strategy for the delivery allows their customers to save their time and shop for better items conveniently. They also employed a low-cost advertising method, which is the testimonial-based campaign from existing customers. Services FreshDirect send their refrigerated trucks to serve suburban customers, and offer delivery service for picnic needs. They provide pick-up service for orders made by their customers from the processing center. They also offer office delivery service to business customers in Manhattan. Support activities Procurement Due to the unique and good relationships with suppliers by employing a make-to-order philosophy, FreshDirect has the ability to reduce the purchase prices and to increase the quality. Technology development FreshDirect have focused on technology development to continue their success and increase their market shares with greater efficiency. They spend lots of money for developing new software and upgrading their website. Their employees are highly recommended to learn the technology operating system. Human resource management FreshDirect have recruited, trained, developed, and compensated their employees well. For instance, they built a state-of-the-art production center with expert personnel. General administration FreshDirect has the superior ability to manage the quality of their products which is a competitive advantage over other competitors. With the expert employees, they are making large profits by taking the competitive advantage. For example, FreshDirect have teamed up with the best restaurants and chefs for the four-minute meal. They also take a competitive advantage of $100 million in financial investment from private investors and the State of New York. Alternatives Alternative 1: Joint ventures FreshDirect has many options to expand into their market which will result in more profits, and market expansion is required when they want to grow further. One of the options is joint ventures with leading online retailers. FreshDirect serves only limited areas, such as Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Nassua County, Riverdale, Westchester, Staten Island, New Jersey, and some areas of Connecticut. Doing a business in small and limited areas can have a comparative advantage that allows FreshDirect to respond the needs of their customers quickly and offer higher quality and better a customer service. However, serving only the limited number of customers also has a side effect. There might be the ceiling where FreshDirect can make profits. Joint ventures can solve this problem. For instance, if FreshDirect forms a joint venture with Amazon, they can make synergy effects to increase their market shares in an online retail industry. Amazon has a number of its existing loyal customer base, an d provides only the selection of nonperishables. FreshDirect has an efficient production facility and software programs, and provides the selection of perishables mostly. A joint venture might enable these two companies to pool their own advantages in order to reduce costs and increase their market shares. The synergy will result in more earnings, and economies of scales will be achieved. Alternative 2: Franchising Another option to expand the profit base of FreshDirect is franchising. Franchising gives many opportunities such as increasing the revenue base, limiting the risk exposure that a franchisee can have in the domestic and international markets, and generating royalty income to FreshDirect. FreshDirect can invest the additional income received by a franchisee in developing efficient software programs and production facilities in order to provide higher-quality of products at lower costs. The advantage of franchising over licensing is monitoring a franchisees operation. FreshDirect can control effectively a franchisee so that they can make better reputation and image in the industry. Alternative 3: Implementing differentiation strategy To compete with other online grocers efficiently, another alternative to FreshDirect is implementing differentiation strategy, which focuses on providing difference in FreshDirects products by making unique products and valued by their existing and prospective customers. FreshDirect has applied the overall cost leadership strategy, which is the strategy using competitive adavantages by providing low cost products in an industry through FreshDirects value chain. With no middleman between suppliers and FreshDirect, they provide high quality perishables at lower costs to their customers. As people become more concerned about their health and healthy food, people tend to pay more for the organic and safe foods. With the needs of customers, who want unique items, FreshDirect needs to implement differentiation strategy in order to satisfy their customers. The senior managers of FreshDirect should carefully analyze what their customers want to purchase even with higher prices. If FreshDirect brings something unique to the industry, it will increase sales volume of FreshDirect and enhance their reputation and image. Recommendation After considering all three alternatives, the second alternative, Franchising is recommended. Franchising will be more appropriate to increase FreshDirects values and market shares with relatively limited risk. The most important business principle is to maximize profits with limited sources. Franchising can reduce the risk to penetrate the new overseas markets. Today, FreshDirect face many challenges and issues. One main disadvantage of FreshDirect is only serving the limited areas. This places a ceiling of which FreshDirect can make profits as well as limiting their potentials to grow. However, FreshDirect can expand their markets with efficiently monitoring and controlling the quality based on their mission statement, High quality and lower price. Also, an investment in developing technology and efficient operating facility can be financed by the additional income from the loyalty fees. FreshDirect has done an incredible business so far and will continue to set the standard in the online grocery industry. ÂÂ  

My Metamorphosis to a Reasonably Confident Adult :: Personal Narrative Writing

My Metamorphosis to a Reasonably Confident Adult In grade school, I can remember being insulted and humiliated because I displayed traits some of my peers thought were feminine. I was informed that I walked, spoke, and generally behaved like a girl. I recall feelings of anger and resentment mixed with shame and self-consciousness. I wondered why I was being singled out. Now I realized that every boy who showed some trace of femininity was singled out, not just me. At the time, of course, I thought I was the only one. I tried to hypothesize about why I was being insulted. Maybe this pink shirt is too girlish, I thought. Maybe my hair is too long. Maybe there is just something wrong with me. As I entered junior high, I began to consciously eliminate any behaviors, mannerisms, etc. that could possibly be perceived as feminine. After all, fitting in with my sexist, homophobic peers was my main objective. I wore "masculine" clothing (dark colors, button-downs, workboots), got a short haircut, and lowered my voice about three octaves when I spoke. Gym class was my worst dread. As Cooper Thompson says, "Competitive activites . . . too easily become a lesson in the need for toughness, invulnerability, and dominance." This was one-hundred percent true in my junior high school. The most violent kids ruled the gym class, and they received the most recognition from the teacher. If one of them made a violent tackle in a football game, for instance, he would be applauded by the teacher, who called such kids "men." Of course, I felt like less than a man, because I couldn't play sports for my life. This horrible truth was exposed every time gym class met, and I was mortified. Frustrated with my ineptitude, I spent hours practicing by myself: shooting baskets, hitting baseballs, anything to gain some physical coordination. In retrospect, I laugh about how much effort I put into impressing my peers in gym class! Eventually, P.E. didn't humiliate me as much, but fear of ridicule prevented me from ever trying out for a team. In high school, I made a few good friends-people who like me for the way I was and didn't care if I was inept at certain things. However, feelings of insecurity still lingered. I was terrified that girls wouldn't like me if I didn't act like a real man (whatever that is).