Plan to Improve Organizational Sturcture and Recapture Market Share Essay Example for Free

Plan to Improve Organizational Sturcture and Recapture Market Share Essay Over the past few years, WordPlay Greetings has experienced a sharp decline in market share as well has extremely high turnover of sales staff. The first major challenge discussed was the limited supply of items that are also sold to other national retailers and create competition against Word Plays smaller company owned and franchised stores. The second issue highlighted in our discussion was that operations have been inefficient which also leads to decline of profitability. WordPlay Management was fearful that high turnover of sales staff was a major cause of inefficient operations and stressed the importance of addressing this issue. Technological advances are certainly an issue that every industry must consider when trying to keep with or beat competitors. Online options for the greeting card industry have greatly advanced over the past few years offering ways to send expressions electronically and even customize them with photos and voices without having to leave home. It is critical revive WordPlays website and make stores more appealing to visit with new product lines and customization options that will attract customers and keep them coming back and telling others. Hiring and retaining talented and caring staff is goes hand in hand with keeping up with technology. Knowledgeable and caring sales people are just as important as the product. Developing an organizational culture that inspires and motivates will help spark new creative designs and product offerings for WordPlay Greetings. Bryce Dancetty has performed industry research, employee and market surveys, leading to job redesign, development of new marketing and product design teams, and improved organizational reward programs that aim at reducing turnover for WordPlay Greetings and getting them back on a path to profits. Introduction Bryce Dancetty Consulting has been working with WordPlay Greetings over the past several months to analyze their business, develop plans to reduce sales staff turnover, revive its product line, improve its organizational culture, and implement new programs that will motivate employees and enrich jobs and career paths. In this report we will review the methods used to collect data and form plans for change. Causes of Business Downturn WordPlay Greetings market share has seen sharp declines over the past few years. Company leaders concluded that causes for this problem stemmed from the limited supply of items that are also sold to other national retailers and create competition against Word Plays smaller company owned and franchised stores. An additional contributor to their decline was believed to be high turnover with in their sales division. WordPlay leaders agreed to work with Bryce Dancetty Consulting to look deeper in to these issues and how they could be resolved to help them regain market share and do better at hiring and retaining a highly skilled and motivated sales team. Bryce Dancetty Consulting employed the DECIDE Model which is based on statistical science to examine all aspects of the WordPlay business and its environment. The Decide Model allowed us to define the problem(s) and/or opportunities, along with objectives and constraints. Next, the possible decision factors that make up the alternative courses of action (controllable uncontrollable) are enumerated (given numeric values). Then, relevant information on the alternatives and possible outcomes is collected. The next step is to identify and select the best alternative based on chosen criteria or measures of success. Then a detailed plan to develop and implement the alternative selected is created and put in to effect. Last, the outcome of the decision process itself is evaluated. We addressed issues by performing a market research and analysis that focuses on the following questions: †¢How can Word Play develop products that are exclusive, unique and will help recapture a higher market share? †¢Can store hours be adjusted based on traffic flow and peak sales times in order to reduce labor costs and increase profitability? Are there colleges in the area that may have marketing and/or design students that would be willing to intern and help bring new/fresh product designs to Word Play Greetings? Research was done and information was gathered via surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups that Bryce Dancetty designed and assembled. Surveys and questionnaires provided a wealth of information quickly in a non-threatening manner. Most were completely anonymous and done at a very minimal cost. They were administered via mail as well as online. Feedback received via surveys concluded that Wordplay Greeting Cards current product line was being described as â€Å"stale† by former customers. This perception must be changed in order for the company to regain and increase its market share going forward. Focus Groups were utilized to explore topics related to operational efficiency, product design, marketing strategies, and common complaints regarding products to gain a more in-depth perspective on the best ways to increase market share and profitability. Focus groups yielded results that supported job redesign for the sales division, developing new product design and marketing teams, and creating an organizational culture that motivates and inspires. Sales Division and Sales Clerk Turnover Interviews of corporate employees as well as store staff were performed to better understand their impressions of the current state of the company, their experiences, and their ideas for improvement. From the information gathered, Bryce Dancetty provided a revised job description which is attached in the appendix for review. In addition to revising the job description for sales clerks, Bryce Dancetty made several recommendations that do not involve compensation adjustments that can also increase retention of sales staff for Wordplay Greetings. There is a significant need for WordPlay to increase feelings of participation within the organization. While allowing sales associates greater freedom in creating store displays, it is recommended that contests be incorporated to help motivate employees to put forth their best efforts. Allowing sales associates to take responsibility for deciding on how to put together displays is an example of vertically loading the job. Their autonomy increases and they feel more personal accountability for the outcome of their efforts (Hodgetts Heger 2008, pg. 306). Involvement in new product selections through the creation of employee focus groups is also highly recommended. The focus groups will be allowed to participate on conference calls and in web training to assist with selection of new products that will be carried in the stores and also learn how these choices impact the company financially. This feeds an employee’s desire to learn and grow in their career, knowledge, and skill (Heathfield 2012). A recent McKinsey Quarterly survey underscores this type of opportunity. Respondents felt that the chance to lead projects or task forces were often more effective at motivating than financial increases (McKinsey Quarterly 2009). Another way to build a connection within an organization and increase the sense of belonging that employees feel is to create a company newsletter. Newsletters helps share what is happening on a higher level by sharing hot company news being discussed by executives, sharing status on company goals, and stock standings. When there are multiple locations, newsletters help to share what is happening elsewhere and are a great way to share creative ideas, contest winners, and announce new contests. Employee Profiles can be included to highlight accomplishments both inside and outside of the company. The newsletter is also a great way to share benefit information, deadlines, health tips, and volunteer opportunities. Lastly, increased communication between employees and local as well as corporate management will be a key to retention of sales staff. Well-designed jobs anticipate the need for communication. Most employees want to know what is expected of them in the job, how they are doing, how they can improve, what latitude they have in changing how they do their tasks, what should be discussed with a supervisor and when the discussion should occur. Employees rarely complain about too much communication with their supervisor. They often want more communication (Hodgetts Heger 2008, pg. 306). The implementation of a regular newsletter as mentioned above will help with communication, however we are also strongly urging WordPlay Greeting Cards to provide a stronger line of communication via email that will allow employees to contact corporate offices more efficiently for feedback if they have concerns that are not being addressed at a local level and/or ideas that they want to share for improvement. Bryce Dancetty Consulting is confident that the revision of the sales clerk job description which increases responsibility and sense of participation will not only attract more applicants but also encourage company loyalty and lead to retention of a high quality sales staff that can be promoted in to management positions as the business grows. Job Enrichment Job enrichment is a way to motivate employees by giving them increased responsibility and variety in their jobs. Our plans for job enrichment will focus on allowing employees to have more control in planning their work and deciding how the work should be accomplished. Job enrichment efforts will include adding and clarifying: Skill Variety – the number of different types of skills used to do a job. This is important because using only one skill to do the same task repeatedly can get very boring. When employees get bored productivity decreases over time. Task Identity – A matter of realizing a visible outcome from performing a task. Being able to see the end result of the work they do is an important motivator for employees. This can be accomplished through Job Enlargement. WordPlay will move towards this goal by adding more tasks and responsibilities to existing jobs. To illustrate this concept – a customer service representative will follow a client’s issue from start to finish (phone inquiry through problem resolution). Customer service reps will be given greater access and authority to make account/claim adjustments so that fewer inquiries need to be escalated. They will be able to take pride in knowing they solved a problem themselves and customer satisfaction is also sure to increase. Task Significance – How a job impacts others in the organization. If this is clearly defined, employees will make greater efforts to do their best.

The Informal And Formal Carers Health And Social Care Essay

The Informal And Formal Carers Health And Social Care Essay Caring means looking after someone who is old, young or ill. The degree of care differs depending on whether one is young, old or ill but also depends on the individual and his or her requirements. The type of care given may include direct service provision, financial assistance, bureaucratic mediation and emotional support. The difference between Informal and formal care is distinguished by how the above acts of care occur. Informal care is usually voluntary and is offered by the family, neighbors or friends. The carer may be living with the care receiver and hence providing care 24 hours. It can also occur from outside the house hold whereby the carer lives outside the house hold and comes to visit the care-receiver often and complete the tasks assigned like cooking and other house work chores. The informal carers do not receive any financial payments from the care they give and hence are believed to have some kind of employment apart from their caring duties, either part time, ful l time or self employed. It involves support, social interaction and protective supervision. Formal carers act in an agency-client relationship and are paid for the services rendered. They are usually trained and there is an assessment procedure that determines the kind and amount of care that the client will receive from the carer. This is the prime difference between informal and formal care. There is a great need of incorporating informal and formal sectors in the future. This need has been brought about by the fact that studies have shown that informal carers provide 77% of all the care that has enabled people with disabilities and the old to remain at home. (Bittman et al, 2007). Impact of partnership Partnership between the informal and formal carer can occur whereby the home aides provide physical care like dressing, feeding, bathing and taking to the toilet the older people and a visiting nurse from a Medicare-funded home provide medically oriented care. These nurses may also be involved in other activities like teaching the family members on ways of providing the same treatment and care. The Family members may then be involved ion giving oral medicines and injections and caring for the wounds in between the nurse visits. Also the therapists either physical or speech therapists initiate rehabilitation programs for the care receiver and consequently teach the family members how to implement and provide it to the care receiver. Very few studies have been carried out to determine the effects of health of both types of care. Informal care has been examined on the basis of social, psychological and economic effects on the old people and on the family members giving the care. In essence it has been difficult to prove that formal home care services improve the functional status of the people who receive it But there have been recent studies which have shown that informal care given in the household improves the functional status for those being given the care The study carried out was meant to examine the functional status outcomes for care receivers discharged from the hospital with Medicare home healthcare and those discharged without Medicare home healthcare. The study showed that there is an overall deterioration six weeks later between those patients with Medicare home health care and those without. Other studies have shown that patients in fee-for service plans received more home healthcare and had more fu nctional status outcomes than the Medicare patients in HMOs. The conclusion that was suggested was that the higher intensity of home healthcare that those in fee-for -service plans received was what caused the good functional outcome. Nursing services compared to those services given by the home health aides and homemakers are more likely to reduce the likelihood of one being admitted to a nursing home. This therefore reflects nursing as an intensive intervention compared to other services. Caring and Mental health well being to Children Caring is very important and influential in the psychological development of a person. This occurs especially to newborn. Research has shown that major brain development in a child occurs in the first three years of the Childs life. In this period, there is formation of neural networks and hence a one year old child has the maximum number of brain cells that the brain can ever have in the life time of a human being. Hence there is need of caring for the infants to enable maximum and positive development of the brain. A child brain is very sensitive and is influenced by sensory stimulations e.g. listening to conversations, watching, colors, and emotional stimulation e.g. hugging. These factors can change the development of the childs brain. It is therefore important for the adult carers to stimulate the brains of the infant in various playful ways in order to bring the maximum physiological, emotional, social and mental development of the brain of the infant. By having a playful metho d of teaching, the child has a chance of discovering his or her own strengths, the body and the environment. It is imperative for the carer to allow the child to experience by experimenting. This is because lack of playful teaching methods may prevent creativity and the healthy development of the child. The carer should ensure that he or she does not use the instructional teaching method to the young child. This is the kind of method whereby the child is directed or instructed to do things. This method usually makes the child lack self confidence and he may become less clever. This is because the child may take him or herself as incapable, foolish and stupid and will always require the instructional carer to teach him or her all the time. But when the child is allowed by the carer to do and learn things by experiencing, he or she develops a heart full of self confident and he also becomes very knowledgeable. The carer should be one that encourages the child to participate in various activities that will help in the development of childs motor skills and body awareness. These activities may include those that aim at helping the child walk, climb, kick, jump, climb and catch. By doing this the child will have developed better and higher control of the smaller body muscles that coordinate finer movements. Also the carer should encourage the child to participate in other mind involving activities like sketching, painting, sculpting etc The carer should also allow for free reign to fantasy and wild imagination in order to encourage the development of the mind in terms of innovation and creativity. The carer should allow the child to make his or her own story that best suits their personal desires and they should avoid putting more pressure on the child to win any competition or contest. The carer should also not judge the child harshly as this may lead to low self esteem in the child. The child should also be given a chance to narrate his or her own story by the carer. In doing this, the child will be learning creative arts and will also learn how to express him or her self. He or she will also be developing courage of speaking to people. This will also build the confidence level of the child (Simi A., 2010). Caring and Mental health well being of the old The old are very prone to diseases like Schizophrenia. The characteristics of this disease may lead to increased mortality rates and high rates of other medical complications like respiratory and circulatory diseases. There is need to care for the old people because schizophrenia if accompanied with undiagnosed illnesses, lack of access to adequate medical care can lead to inadequate adherence to therapy. Caring for the mentally ill. Caring is important for the mentally sick. There are two kinds of treatment to mental disorders.ie Somatic and psychotherapeutic. Somatic treatment involves the drug and electroconvulsive therapy while psychotherapeutic. Include the treatment that is offered by an individual, a group or a family member. This is the kind of treatment that involves the carer. The carer has the responsibility of ensuring that the sick person gets well through offering him or her Psychotherapy. This is refereed to as talk therapy in that the cure of the person lies within himself. In such a case the carer has the key to the persons health and well being. This is because the cure for such a person can only be facilitated through creating an emphatic and acceptable atmosphere and through this the carer can help the person identify the source of the problem and can now consider the alternatives of dealing with them. The insight and emotional awareness that is gained through the carers talk therapy can lead to the change in attitude and behavior of the person and this can help the person to live a healthier, long and more satisfying life. The carer has a responsibility of creating a relationship that is empathetic and supportive between the care receiver and him or her. This relationship can lead to more open and courageous expression of feelings and hence the carer can be able to help the sick person to healthy living. The relationship that the carer establishes with the sick person is the key to the recovery. Curing of mental illnesses. There are a number of methods that are used to cure mental illness and these include methods like Drug and Electroconvulsive Therapy. There are a number of drugs as well that are used and they are highly effective in treating mental illnesses. These drugs are often prescribed and they are usually categorized in accordance to the disorder e.g. for depression, antidepressants are used. Electroconvulsive therapy is whereby electrodes are used and these are attached to the head and the sick person is sedated. Electrical shocks are delivered into the brain and this induces a brief seizure. This method has been proved the best for treatment of severe depression. After this exposure, the patient usually experiences a temporary memory loss but the method is safe and does not cause other side effects or complications (Carney, 2007). Conclusion Caring is a very important aspect in our society. This is because a lot of people are getting old while others are being born and hence these two groups of people need care. Both informal and formal caring should be partnered to ensure effective service delivery to the patients. The use of psychotherapy is common even to people who do not suffer from mental illnesses. It has been used in a number of conditions even top those people who do not suffer from mental conditions. It has been found to be useful in helping people cope with problems of unemployment, bereavement, marriage problems and chronic illnesses. Both psychotherapy and drug therapy should be used for the treatment of mental illnesses as no one method is effective on its own.

The Devil in Young Goodman Brown And Rappaccinis Daughter :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Devil in Young Goodman Brown And Rappacini's Daughter In Puritan Massachusetts the key word was suspicion. In order to be accepted, by the community, you had to be a member of the "elect," destined for a spot in the eternity of heaven. In order to be member of this elite group of "selected" individuals you had to be free of sin and evil. It goes without saying, that you could never be caught conjuring the devil, as is illustrated by the horrors of the infamous Salem witch trials. In Young Goodman Brown, and Rappacini's Daughter Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays two different ways of soliciting or being solicited by the devil. The final scenes in both of these stories although similar in nature, are actually conflicting in essence, and show the two adverse ways in which people and evil can become one. In Young Goodman Brown, the protagonist, Goodman Brown goes off on a typical search for the devil. The devil is associated with darkness and terror, a creature only to be sought after while enveloped in the darkness of the night. As Goodman Brown himself replies to Faith's longing for him to wait until morning to embark on his journey, "My journey needst be done twixt now and sunrise" (611). Goodman Brown knows exactly what he is going to look for, he is searching for evil. He goes to the forest to do his deed and "he had taken a dreary road darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest" to get there(611). Goodman Brown is willingly seeking the devil, and Hawthorne is throwing in all the stereotypes. This entire search for the devil is portrayed as being very ugly. What then is pretty? In Young Goodman Brown beauty equals inherent goodness, or Faith. Young Goodman Brown separates from this righteousness, for evil. From the beginning, he was leaving, at least for the time being, Faith behind. "And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the soft ribbons of her cap" (610). The beauty of faith and her pink ribbons are left behind, his intentions are obvious. In Rappacini's Daughter Giovanni does none of this. He never went out searching

Camel Advertisements :: essays research papers

Camel Advertisements   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It’s no big secret, the producers of the Jerry Springer talk show knew exactly what would happen when they put the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Panther Party on the same stage. The two groups started fighting and much of the nation tuned in to watch it. In the same manner, Camel Cigarettes Company released an advertisement that parodied that kind of TV program. The advertisement, titled â€Å"Bizarre Bigfoot Love Triangle,† shows the kind of scene that would be typical in a Jerry Springer episode. The characters consist of Bigfoot in the middle, two women fighting with bouncers attempting to hold them back, a host who pretends to look confused, and a cheering audience. â€Å"viewer discretion advised† label that is put on Camel advertisements. This is also a parody in itself of the new rating system that has evolved for TV, movies, and music recently. One of the abbreviations listed is BR which stands for â€Å"Big Ratings,† another comme nt that applies to Jerry Springer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anybody who has seen â€Å"Jerry Springer† knows the true reaction of most of the audience. Many people think that the show is funny, outrageous, and sometimes obscene. Sometimes, it is even considered comical, and that is what this ad is doing; it is appealing to people who are familiar with Jerry Springer and his show. When people see this ad they immediately think about the show, and that is what makes it work. It has little to do with the cigarettes; and except for the fact that Sasquatch is smoking one, there is no relation between the Jerry Springer show and the experience of smoking Camel cigarettes. There just isn’t a correlation. One thing it could be implying, however, is that if one smokes Camel cigarettes, that person will have scantily clad women fighting over him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As for the target audience, it is directed primarily at men who like to watch or see stuff like the Jerry Springer show. In reality, this includes the age group that are younger than 18. In fact, this age group is indeed a big part of the target audience whether or not cigarette companies would like to admit. Many teens like Springer’s show and since this ad is similar to that, it causes the reader to be amused. In a way, this amusement causes the reader to not think about all the negative aspects of smoking.

American Culture Essay -- Sports Baseball Cultural Essays

American Culture It’s game six of the American League Championship Series. I’m sitting in front of a bunch of baseball-crazed fanatics wetting their pants, because the Red Sox have just pulled ahead nine to six in the ninth inning. â€Å"Go Sox!† â€Å"Yankees suck!† â€Å"Dude, toss me another brewskie.† Americans are fans at heart. We root for the home team, wear their colors, jump up and down following a great play, and threaten the television after an absurd call. Sports have proven to be an integral part in the creation of community identity throughout the last half of the century. Furthermore, American sports both reflect and shape our cultural ideas. They are rarely considered â€Å"just a game.† Sports are packed with several meanings: they are displays of patriotism, consumer spectacles and even morality lessons. By observing sports and their impact on American society, we can learn much about consumerism, political developments (both domestic and in ternational), racial relations, social classes, equality for women, and of course, community identity, including the condition of our cities. Since the 1950s, American sports are one of the most important institutions for us to raise and work through questions of race, gender, and class. The corporations who control the media coverage of sports tailor their coverage to Joe Six-Pack; and thus there is a lack of coverage of elitist sports such as water polo, tennis and sailing. Because of the media's target population, we are besieged with commercials for beer, automobiles, athletic shoes and deodorant. Our hard-earned dollars are rarely tempted to go towards healthy food items or prudent savings (light beer is not a healthy food). Gas-guzzling SUVs, beer, chips and dip are the consumables t... ... in your backyard or in the street, you can play hoops at any public school yard, you can bat a ball in any sandlot, but where do young people get experience in a pool or on a tennis court? Who can afford a round of golf? Tiger Woods is an enigma in a world of wealthy country clubs and green jackets. Indeed, American sports are a metaphor for American culture. When viewed through the lens of peanuts and beer, one gets a gooey, nostalgic, "take me out to the ball game" sensation. But you only need look below the surface to get a more disturbing view of some of our culture's most serious ills. Corporate control and gender, race and economic bias run rampant in our beloved sports arenas. And the latest barometer that measures the health of our sports culture is the fact that our heroes hit the front page not for their abilities, but for their sexual indiscretions.

Think negative experiences

As a child, Josh Mahayana grew up in a poor family (and having total of 8 billings) all the way in Gambling, Subway and came face-to-face with poverty at a very young age. He began to realize this while as he was walking everyday seeing his neighbors watch televisions and listening to the radio, thinking to himself why his family did not do the same things other people did. But this did not hinder him from doing what a normal child should do. â€Å"Maharani nag Kim. Insist OK an gung Hindi aka mage-oral at massaging, wall tale Kong page-as an abashing nag Kinshasa OK. , he proclaimed. In fact, growing up, his mindset was focused on graduating, and he did, despite he 10-kilometer walk that took him at least 2 hours everyday to go to school. It became a constant reminder to him to hold on to his dreams and education. In elementary, he only put his school supplies in a plastic bag. He would go around knocking on different sari-sari stores everyday asking for a new plastic bag because h is plastic bag would rip off due to his pencils. He even mentioned that there were times that he did not even get the chance to eat nor was given allowance.He thought it was a blessing for him to be able to listen in his classes and walk going to school despite the lack of food in his yester. He was indeed very determined to learn and to finish his studies as his parents would always tell him that they never got the opportunity to study like he did. He finally graduated, even as the Valedictorian of his batch. It was a great feeling for him and his parents to be able to graduate, even as Valedictorian, despite the status of their family. But then, going to college was quite a struggle for him.Having a total of 8 siblings, it is very common in the Filipino culture to have the oldest to be sent to college first before the others. But then again, Josh found a way to send himself to college. In that summer, he worked in a mining place and used his salary to travel to Swamis City. It was a blessing for him to graduate as Valedictorian, but even more of a blessing to be offered a scholarship in Misaims University and did not have to pay for his tuition. He had dreams of becoming a lawyer and also an executive in a building in Magmata. Taking chances and exploring possibilities, after graduating, he traveled to Manila at 19 years old.A generous individual gave him 10,000 pesos from his college that believed he deserved the life he dreamt of living; which was to help others, especially his family. He then rented a small place in Cuba, having only one set of old business attire, looking for a job. He even experienced being holdup, having taken his wallet and cellophane. Luckily enough, he was ranked 3rd from all the applicants that applied to the job that he did. He knew that he did not pass all the qualities that the job was searching for but this did not hinder him from taking a chance.He studied law and after happily and thankful working for that company for 3 years , he traveled to the United States. He knew he had to work hard because his siblings and family were not earning enough to supply hat they needed and his mom sick as well. 250,000 pesos were lent to him to have the opportunity to travel to the U. S. He worked, as a cleaner for 3 years, cleaning 15 rooms a day, and a room was limited to be cleaned in a span of 30 minutes. Paying a visit to the Philippines after 3 years, he did not know that one simple thing would change his life plans.He saw a little boy walking in the rice field of his province, and it reminded him of what he was before. He was once that kid. That encounter made him realize that it was a sign from God. â€Å"l was once that kid. My life story is not just about a kid overcoming poverty but I realized that the story of my life was about the concept and mindset of poverty in the Philippines. The problem about poverty in our country is not poverty itself, but the mindset that it cannot be changed. And if I saw that cha nge in education and effort in myself, it is possible to happen to other poor children in this country. He flew back to the U. S and eventually sold all the things that he did not usually use. He also passed by Vietnam because he was interested on the manufacturing. He met a woman that helped him pursue the business that he anted to put up in the near future. The woman was generous enough to help him and lent him money from the company. Bringing home a total of 200 bags back home to the Philippines and sold it only in a span of 2 weeks. According to him, a bag is very symbolic. It stands for education. And this is how Bag was formed.Not only Bag by the object itself but also by the acronym Be A Giver. Instead of having a buy 1, take 1 promo, instead was a buy 1 , give 1 promo. Each bag you buy, a bag is given to the needy. It is a project that is very close to his heart because he claimed that if he wanted to ruse something, he wanted it to also be relevant to him and the bag was th e perfect representation of it. â€Å"l think it is amazing that while a Bag giver uses his bag every day, he knows that a kid somewhere in the Philippines carries a bag, too, that he gave, trying to accomplish his dreams.In the same way, that while a kid strives every day to go to school in pursuit of education and his dreams, he knows that somebody out there actually cared and thought about him. † Josh claims, â€Å"Every time I hand over a bag to a kid now, I am actually handing over a bag to myself. I want them to feel the inspiration and encouragement felt when a distant relative gave me a bag when was in Grade 4. The simple act of giving propelled me to dream the same kind of dreams my classmate had, or even bigger. He eventually stopped manufacturing in Vietnam and was inspired by a public official to start manufacturing here due to the fact that it would be proudly made in the Philippines, would create local jobs and have an easier quality tracking. The generous indi vidual that lent him 10,000 pesos now works hand in hand with Josh and is an operations manager at Bag. She claims that it is an amazing feeling to not only work because of needing a job but the Overwhelming feeling of giving to those who are in need each time someone purchases one bag.As of 2014, there are about 3,000 bags that have been made by this company in the Philippines. They give out bags to different chosen public schools. This serves as a motivation for them that in spite of their hard status in life, they have that little hope to hold on to. The most heart-warming part of the interview was seeing how Josh's project made an impact to the children in need as they thanked him for the bag and owe it motivates them to be exactly like him. And yet again another project called The Yellow Boat of Hope (HOB) movement led by Dry.Anton Limit as Josh's giving partner. This project started from the discovery of seeing children in Gambling City literally swimming their way to school. It was a very heartbreaking fact for them to know that some kids still do not have an easy access to education. HOB provides boats for children in order for him to go to school and not having to swim anymore. Now, they expanded their projects to include livelihood for the parents as well as the building of lassoers, dormitories and even bridges. â€Å"What I am doing right now is a product of what people did for me. FL am able to give, it is because I had been given. It is the right thing to do. † Josh even said that he does not need to be bayed for what he does, because the overwhelming feeling of seeing kids happy is enough for him. Remember my grandmother once telling me that should always be humble. In whatever I do, humility is a virtue should always retain. Should always be generous and always be kind, for whatever I give, will be given back to me. Not always by material objects, but by kindness and generosity as well. I've stood by that saying for almost how many years now.My grandmother will always be someone I will look up to because she has gone through many challenges to be who she is now. She may not always have it all together in her career, but she is always happy full of content. Not only she is happy, she shares that happiness to the family and to others. She is the best grandmother anybody could possibly have and I am blessed that she is mine. She is beautiful, she is smart and she is generous. She started off just like Josh, in a poor state. With 7 siblings, and her as an only girl.Education will always be a priority in our family because my grandparents know how important education is in one's life. My grandmother worked hard to reach her dreams. She married my grandfather and became successful in life. Not only successful but, happily successful. She never forgot where she came from and now helps also the students in need for an education by giving them jobs. I remember one of the working students sending her a text message saying â €Å"one day, I will give you anything you want just to repay you for your kindness† and my grandmother replied with finishing your education will be enough†.She will tell that to my siblings and me as well. She still has dreams on putting up a school and a home for children in need. She will always inspire me in whatever I do. I really do believe that we should never be selfish with what we have. And I also believe that success will always depend on you, yourself. The success of Bag would have never been possible if Josh decided to be one of those kids that just stayed at home and did not push himself to study. Think that if everyone has a mindset like him, poverty would lessen in this country. Because what you dwell on is whatnot become.How you see things will always affect the things that you do and the decisions you make. Nowadays, I think it is so hard to stumble upon humble people like Josh. People usually do not realize the fact that they are very much blessed. Jo sh was blessed with generous people to help him achieve success along the way. Think negative experiences in your life can determine what kind of a person you are: that is if you are a person to give up or the person that stands back up and try again. Content. This is what this interview is also trying to point out. Contentment.

Philippine Art Movement Essay

Sabel and the Dreamer Mark Justani created an oil painting entitled Abot Tanaw last 1997. In this painting, there’s a flying white kite and a floating person trying to reach for some sort of star in the night sky. The first thing that I noticed was the star the subject was trying to reach. It was quite noticeable because of the use of very bright colors on top of a dark night sky as background. The night sky was painted dark with highlights on the clouds. The subject was painted using bright colors as well. Shapes and lines were not very evident, though. There were no visible outlines on the subject. The only apparent shape was the diamond-shaped kite while the only evident lines were the stripes on the subject’s shirt. The dominant textures in the painting were soft ones, seen on the clouds, clothes and the skin of the subject. These elements of art give the feeling of being in a dream-like state. In the year 2002, Benedicto Reyes Cabrera, also known as Ben Cab, painted Homage to Sabel using acrylic paint on canvas. The name speaks of the subject, Sabel, a woman living in the streets. In this painting, she wears some sort of plastic material covering her body. Her face and hair was painted with brown and black colors respectively and white and grey for the covering on her body. I did not notice any shapes on the painting, yet I saw lines which were the apparent brushstrokes in every part of the subject. She smiles in the painting, drawing my eyes to her face. It was probably day time when this was rendered for the plastic seemed to be reflecting a lot of light. With the bright plastic and bright smile, the painting seemed to impart a warm, happy feeling. The colors used in the painting, Abot Tanaw, were well blended, making it look soft, giving the impression of a vague dream. Using bright colors on the subject made it stand out from the dark background. The absence of strong outlines and the use of light and shadow made the painting look 3 dimensional or realistic. The shadows show the contours of the body parts of the subject, adding to the realism of the subject. The presence of the flying kite on the night sky gives the impression of ironic events that usually happens in dreams since people don’t usually fly kites during the night. Meanwhile, Ben Cab used apparent brushstrokes for his painting of Sable, making it look rough, adding to the character of Sabel, a woman living in the streets. Sabel’s face was painted dark on top of a light background, also lifting it from the background, such as the subject of Abot Tanaw. Her plastic covering had a very apparent reflective texture because of the contrast between the shadows and lit areas, showing some bulkier areas. The covering also had stiff and flowing areas, like folded plastic, shown by both rigid brush lines and curved brush lines. The white plastic stands out from the red background as well. Abot Tanaw whispers â€Å"Dream.† I think what Mark Justani was trying to say that dreaming is the first and biggest step to achieving our goals, hence the nearness of the boy’s hand to the star. Without dreams, we cannot think of the possibilities we want to create for our lives. And to achieve our goals, we must believe in ourselves, as the subject believes that he can float and reach the star. The artwork speaks to me, telling me to believe in myself that I can be as great of an artist as Mark Justani is. I constantly bring myself down when I make mistakes or create a â€Å"bad† artwork because others bring me down as well. They constantly criticize my artworks: â€Å"where’s the other foot,† â€Å"she’s too fat,† and countless more. But, it is because of these critiques that I pursued to become better. The star is our goal, and the floating boy is each and every one of us. Mark Justani made this for us to see that he has reached hi s goal. He wants us to reach for ours too by believing in ourselves. Ben Cab oversteps the boundaries of classical or romantic art, whose subjects are usually beautiful women. He chose a very different muse, a woman living in the streets, using plastic or scraps of waste for clothes. Yet he was able to paint Sabel as real as she can be. Muses don’t have to be beautiful, nude ladies or women of high status. Society always dictates what is right or wrong, beautiful or ugly. I have found myself following these dictations, in art and in myself. I am used to following classical teachings regarding art. My subjects are usually people and animals, and I perfect them according to their anatomy, according to what I see with my eyes. I also dress myself according to what recent fashion magazines tell what is in. I perfect my artwork and myself according to what others see as beautiful. One thing that captivated me was Sabel’s smile. She smiles even though she has nothing. The painting imparts that we can be whoever we are and still be beautiful an d happy, paint whatever we want, see it beautiful and be happy about it. The boy in Mark Justani’s artwork looks a bit unappealing to me because, as I have mentioned, I grew up appreciating classical and romantic artworks. The face in not â€Å"ideal,† as classicists would say, yet I was able to appreciate its very Filipino rendering for it conveys an important message for us Filipinos that we can dream and try to reach for the stars. Sabel’s beauty portrayed by Ben Cab also changed my perception of beauty and happiness. Though I have the feeling that most people would not understand the portrait the way I have seen it, and think of it only as a portrait, it does not lack anything. Even though the subject is a repulsive person in real life, she is still meaningful. Society cannot tell us what we should dream of, how to be beautiful or how to be happy.