Autobiography of a Classroom Essay Example for Free

Autobiography of a Classroom Essay I am a very big classroom in a well-known public school. I cater to needs of the kindergarten class of the school, accommodating I think about eighty five children, a big number isn’t it? I understand that I am the best looking room in the school as, the very small children study here. I am very attractively decorated so that the little ones like to come here every day. The room that is me – is decorated with beautiful coloured pictures. The walls are a blend of some colours I do not know the names of. The furniture that is placed in the length and breadth of the room consists of small round tables to seat four children on each table, and the chairs are also tiny. That is not all, all the furniture is a mixture of many colours. When the children come inside the class they almost fight to sit on certain chairs. That makes me understand that they like the colours and fight for their favourite colours to sit on. At the top two ends of the length of the classroom there are two bigger tables and full size chairs for the teachers to sit. Since there are so many children there are two teachers while in other classes there is only one each. I am a treat for everyone to see. My pleasure knows no bounds when everyone who comes inside the class, admires me, appreciates my get up and the colours that don me. I have the twin advantage of being the most beautiful room in the school and also having the cutest of children coming to spend their time with me. Thus, my life is full of beauty, colour, noise and laughter and at times of course also crying and howling of the children. At times some new entrants to the school come to me with their mothers and, cry as if they had come to the slaughter house to be butchered. At such moments even by heart cries for the little ones and I wonder why man makes these little children come to study if they do not want to. I of course do not know how important studies are for human children, I only feel sad seeing the children cry. My life is full of a very busy schedule though very interesting. The routine of my daily life is so busy that, I do not get any relief for quite long hours. In the morning as early as 6 a. m.two sweepers come open the lock of my room or rather me, and off they start working on me. They sweep my floor, squab it, dust each and every piece of the furniture in me. Thus, I get alerted as soon the room is unlocked. It is not even 8 a. m. when the little brats start pouring inside my body’s doors. At times they enter with so much noise that my whole body feels the rattle of it all. Their movements are so loud that now, I cannot even think of any rest. School bags get flung, tiffin boxes are strewn all about, water bottles are kept just anywhere and there is a lot of commotion all over. Soon the maid enters the room and keeps everything in order and my appearance at once improves and I look tidy and well kept. For these small ones the school hours are just three from, 8 a. m. to 11 a. m. These three hours is my duty time, and just is the time when I also get the day’s entertainment. Being a classroom for the Kindergarten children I get a great chance of hearing conversations between the teachers and the parents. Since this is the first time their children have entered school, parents devote a lot of time to talking about the school and its standards. At times I find that some parents are just too critical and, inspite of getting all the best in this school they always seem to be unhappy and dissatisfied with something or the other in the school. Such parents keep lecturing about things missing in the classroom, the school or even in the playground. When I hear such complaints, my heart sinks and I wonder if they will allow or not allow their children to come to me any more,. For such conversations I have understood that, these days parents pamper the children too much, and it seems that they can never yes, never be satisfied. I am quite surprised to see the vast difference in opinions. While on the one hand I, and also many parents think that I am very beautiful, well kept, and decorated, others of the same clan are always complaining of many defects in my appearance. This gives me a feeling of depression and I do wonder if I can do anything in the matter. After some thinking bouts, I realize that, I can do nothing to satisfy these unhappy parents. I am just here in the hands of the school authorities and stand here as and how they keep me. My working hours are just six, from 6 a. m. when sweepers enter to say 12 noon when I am locked after all children go. After my duty hours I just relax but also feel lonely. No matter what is said about me, I am thoroughly enjoying my life in the cute company of little children. Their company makes me also feel young though now I am quite old. Every summer vacation I am painted afresh, my furniture is painted, and, I am ready to welcome my little friends, new and old with a new look, new enthusiasm and renewed vigour. I pray that my life is forever allowed to remain so interesting and so relaxed. I just love all the children and teachers who come here to me, to work and play in the restricted area within my four walls.

The Lottery :: essays research papers

'The Lottery,'; written by Shirley Jackson is a story that takes place in a small town of approximately three hundred residents. Every year on June 27th the townspeople congregate in a giant mass in the middle of town, where the 'lottery'; takes place. This lottery is a ceremony in which each family throughout the town is represented by a tiny white piece of paper. The family representatives, who are the heads of the household, take turns drawing from a box that contains these three hundred pieces of papers. On one of the pieces of paper there is located a black dot, marked the previous night by Mr. Summers. This black dot indicates the 'winner'; of the lottery. The lottery is a ritual that has been around for years and years and it has developed into a way of life for the people of the town. When June comes rolling along everyone is anticipating the lottery. Kids fill their pockets full of rocks and plans are discussed about making a new box. They can not wait to attend and finally get it over with. This drawing seems to transform the people. Tension builds before the lottery occurs, but the townspeople are still able to joke with one another. Tension increases in the story when the author, Shirley Jackson, implies to the reader that Mr. Hutchinson has drawn the marked paper. We assume he does because he walks up on to the stage with his family and they are then made to draw again from the worn out black box. Mr. Hutchinson reaches his hand in and grabs out a piece with his children and his wife following in succession. The one that holds the winning ticket is Mrs. Hutchinson. We learn throughout the story that the power and traditional aspect of the lottery has slowly diminished. In the case of Mrs. Hutchinson, '';Clean forgot what day it was.''; The lottery had been present within the neighboring towns; however, the lottery had been ended. The people of the town believed that the box represented tradition and therefore were reluctant to make another one. This box is representative of the lottery in that they have both worn down and are in need of change.

EBay Inc. and Amazon.com Essay

EBay, Inc. and Amazon.com Introduction Problem definition and historical context            In broad spectrum, the case of eBay and Amazon explores the strategic interaction between the two organizations as they embrace different business models. This case considers how competitors in the market can successfully challenge the rival in highly competitive market where business is defined by strong network effects and fluctuating costs. The audiences in this case are given a chance to assess the merits and the demerits of the business platform utilized by eBay in contrast to Amazon’s online based retail model (Harvard business school, 2012). In addition, the case allows those interested to evaluate business performance in the event of looping value because of the indirect interactions in the two industries. The case offers a vivid exploration and analysis of how Amazon expanded its business in the competitive environment as well as discussing how eBay responded and the strategies they can adopt to lower the difference in earnings between the two. All this is done through an in-depth analysis of acquisition of GSI commerce by eBay in 2011. Briefly, business competition is the main issue in this case. Case research            Business competition between the two corporations rapidly grew in 2011, ten years after a story by â€Å"Businessweek’ labeled eBay vs. Amazon was released. The publication by Businessweek clearly depicted that between the two, the company that would win the biggest market share would probably dominate the future of internet-based business. By the time of this publication, Amazon was leading in all aspects of online transactions. Inherently, the history of the two corporations is based on Royal battle. The rivalry between the two companies is very high. Actually, Amazon and eBay are the biggest firms in online business. They are competitors of each other. Despite being in the same business, the two corporations have been operating by taking different business approaches. In terms of financial growth, Amazon had established itself as the market leader. Its financial aspects had grown by 37% as compared to eBay’s 6% (Harvard business school, 2012). Mor eover, eBay specializes in focusing on being a facilitator in internet business while Amazon focuses on becoming a one-stop platform. It is in the is respect that the case establishes that Amazon in the long-run will outrun eBay in the online stage. The two companies expand their markets by merging with other related companies. Industry/Goal/Product            EBay Company offers a market place where both retailers and buyers interact. The company aims at enabling both buyers and sellers to agree at a neutral price that can be referred to as action price. Similar to Amazon, e bay offers its clients with variety of products where they can choose on what to buy or sell. Both companies deal with used good but strictly dealing with e commerce as mode of payment. Generic Strategies Grid (2 char. per axis) 291909541338500 The generic strategies are mostly applied in analyzing competitive advantage of the business environment of both companies. Cost leadership Differentiation 147637518796000 Cost focus Differentiation focus This chart articulates ways how e Bay company can gain competitive advantage over the other viable competitors. Five Forces Model            In business context, Five Forces Model is paramount as they help then businesses analyze their competitive advantage. It is paramount to understand both internal and external business environment so in order to develop viable strategies to remain in the competitive edge. In reference to the case study, the Five Forces Model will greatly help to analyze the intense competition between Amazon.com and e Bay. More importantly, Five Forces Model is a viable tool to help both companies to plan in ways such as coming up with new products needed by the customers. Supplier Power is the first element that deals with suppliers and prices of the commodities (Harvard business school, 2012). With the intense competition as witnessed in the case study, each company is striving with best ways how they can demand the prices of commodities to lower. Indeed, E bay has collaborated with many suppliers by offering clients with variety of products ranging from different prices.            Buyer Power is the second element in the Five Forces Model. Ultimately, this element is concerned on how best the buyers can bring down prices of commodities. Quite different from Amazon, E bay has offered their customers with a direct linkage with their suppliers with an urge to bring down cost of goods. Competitive Rivalry is another model vital to understand all potential competitors around the business. As noted in the case study, potential competitors in this industry include newspapers cites, music or video shops and personal homepages among others. Threat of Substitution is less as both companies have a strong CRM hence making it difficult for other companies to displace them in the market. Lastly, the companies face intense competion from Threat of New Entry companies such as yahoo among others. Strategic analysis Value chain analysis            Value chain analysis entails analysis of the manner in which companies ensure value creation to their customers with the use of their resources and strategies. In relation to eBay, the company ensures value creation to their customers through price cutting, enhancing its customer search capabilities and ensuring its new business model. The company’s inbound logistics are well-built. EBay is tight-lipped in regard to their approach to payment processing, communications, website operations and more importantly customer support. With respect to its operations, the company does not restrict the maintenance of a marketplace and this resulted to it entering new markets outside U.S.A in 2011 (Harvard business school, 2012). Evidently, eBay unlike Amazon is depicted a powerful in relation to its operations. With the introduction of its core business segments, that is communications, payments and marketplaces, eBay aimed to maintain the trust and opportunity by devel oping new business communities globally with the help of e- business. In this case, the company compared to Amazon generated much revenue and increased its popularity around the world. Project risk model            Project risk management aims to measure the company’s capabilities and risks and the most effective measures it adopts to prevent various risks as it conducts business. With respect to project risk model, eBay is depicted as one with clear project risk management process. On the other hand, Amazon also has a well established project risk model to address company’s capabilities and risks. Model justification            The business model assumed by eBay that is auctions marketplace is depicted by the article and paramount in ensuring the success of the company especially in the competitive business environment. The model provides effective and efficient means of payments, communication and means of entering new markets. Based on the article, the business model assumed by the company connects buyers and sellers in such a way that it ensures value creation. The model is also portrayed as effective as it improved the revenue of the company in the year in 1999 (Harvard business school, 2012). Alternatives flow from strategic models            To ensure its competitive, eBay according to the article used groundbreaking business platforms and models to attract more customers globally. However, the article depicts that the company should also focus on expanding and transforming its business and project risk models in areas such as marketing and services to its customers. In this case, the company should be in a position to compete with competitors such as Amazon. Technology and costs            Technological changes are occurring drastically hence citing the need why the companies should be at par with these innovations. The technology used by both companies is effective to enhance the search catalog and ability to retrieve information at ease hence cutting operational cost. Use of AWS has huge benefits, as it is not only reliable but also secure. Another advantage of this technology in relation to cost is that it is simple in scalability. Use of superior technology such as AWS, S3, catalogue and EC2 enhances the company to reduce fixed prices of commodities (Harvard business school, 2012). Recommendation            Competition between the two corporations is high and specifically eBay should adopt several strategies to minimize the available gap. For instance, eBay should embrace better advertisement strategies and search for better advertisement partners. This will help attract some of the Amazons customers to their side. Secondly, to ensure that they stand a chance to reduce the business gap, eBay should focus on its strengths. Getting into the digital media sales should be another area to strategize on. In terms of internet technology, eBay should ensure better internet search as well ensuring improved tagging approaches. Lastly, it is of importance for eBay to reduce the PayPal fees to entice and attract more clients. On the other hand, Amazon should materialize on making their products better besides competing with their close competitor on price. Reference Harvard business school.(2012). Bay, Inc. and Amazon.com (A) and (B). Source document

The Downfall Of Greece And The Rise Of Rome - 1659 Words

The Downfall of Greece and the Rise of Rome: How Odysseus and Aeneas Reflect History More often than not, it is the direction of a great leader that is responsible for shaping the ideals of the culture which is being led. In ancient history, these admirable leaders rose to power through their success as war heroes. A war hero is many great things: courageous, selfless, and loyal. It is often a hero who is responsible for the fate of their country. Odysseus of The Odyssey by Homer and Aeneas of The Aeneid by Virgil are no different. They each epitomize the ideals of their individual cultures and serve as role models for future leaders. However, it can be only minor details that truly impact the end result for a country. A war hero tends to go one of two ways: They allow their pride to get the best of them, or they are so driven and focused that their small successes add up to the targeted big success. Although they each embody the heroic ideals of their respective cultures and are therefore representative of their cultures, Odysseus’ and Aeneas’ actions actually serve to reflect the opposite fates of ancient Greece and Rome. In Ancient Greece, being a hero meant abundant spoils, huge influence in the politics of the entire country, and eternal fame: Being recognized as a hero was as close as a mortal could get to being an everlasting god. To earn his title, Odysseus of The Odyssey by Homer had to meet specific guidelines. For example, he was required to be physicallyShow MoreRelatedHomosexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome Essay example1353 Words   |  6 PagesHomosexuality in ancient Greece and Rome Americans endlessly recycle the old conflicts: first we fought about slavery, then segregation, then gender, and now sexual orientation-(Anon). Homosexuality is an on-going conflict in America, as well as other countries. 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