Religion an Example by

Religion The concept of religion has been on trial frequently within world history. The establishment of conflicting religions based on geographical and cultural roots has led to conflicts on the world stage over our supernatural beliefs. Although the question of how religion has affected our lives is one that is posed by cultural, social and media outlets on a daily basis, the question of how and why our own unique human experiences has shaped and molded religion is seldom asked. The inception of religion in civilization is highly developed however, the influence of human experience on the formation of supernatural gods is undeniable. The primordial development of religion based on natural elements such as water, fire, and air are common themes among all religions. Therefore to insinuate that human experience is one of the crucial elements that delineate how a religious belief is developed is neither far fetched nor improbable. This paper will attempt to assess the extent of the role that hu man experience has played within the development of religious beliefs. Through a careful analysis of human experience in the historical past and the relationship between deity and humans themselves, we will establish how the human experience plays a crucial role in the formation of religious beliefs. Need essay sample on "Religion" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Students Frequently Tell EssayLab support: How much do I have to pay someone to write my essay in time? Professional writers propose: Academic Papers For Students Human experience had a substantial effect on the religious beliefs of early civilizations. The deities of early civilizations were primarily reliant on their relationship to the major elements. In Egyptian religion, one of the first discovered forms of organized religion, the primary deity was Ra, the Sun God (Hawking, 13). The elevation of a god of the elements exhibits the connections that early civilizations made between nature and the supernatural. The creation of the deity Ra strongly relates to the Egyptians experiences within the desert, where the Sun is the powerful force that drives the desert life. By deifying the sun as a God, the Egyptian people relied on their experience within the natural elements and elevated its status to deity. The importance of this realization is that the earlier civilizations deified particular elements that had a significant impact on their lives. Elements like the sun, the moon, the stars, and other natural elements became important deities base d on their relative importance in the lives of the citizens within the civilization. These particular polytheistic religions use deities to explain the concepts of nature that they did not have the capacity to understand at the time. Professor William James, an expert on Egyptian deities explains, The early Egyptians created Ra and his counter parts to explain the cycles of the sun and the odd behavior of the weather. By casting the elements they did not understand into the supernatural realm lent them a sense of comfort. The creation of early Egyptian deities assuaged the fear of the people and provided a procedure to assuage the Gods and change the path of natural elements (James, 231). Harts observation that religion lends humanity the vehicle to change natural elements is extremely crucial. Early civilizations such as the Egyptians lacked the ability to control neither natural elements nor the advanced understanding of geology and biology to understand how they occur. Without th is knowledge, many lived in constant terror of the unknown. Religion provided these people with an explanation for the natural disasters that occurred each season, and it provided them an outlet and procedure to deal with their fears. Religion therefore, served as a vehicle to reduce psychological fear. The deification of important resources reveals the role of human experience on developing religions. Early civilization religions often included deities for the elements of water, fire, air, earth. These elements are viewed as the most basic ingredients for life and therefore as the foundation of every civilization. For these early civilizations, the elevation of important elements into deity status allowed them to formalize an oral tradition of history. Without the ability to create new deities to explain the past, civilizations lack the sense of identity that bonds them together. Through the creation of elemental deities, civilizations capitalized on their understanding that their need for basic elements must be controlled by the supernatural. Michael Molloy argues, The conversion of the elements into Gods exhibits the human characteristic of explaining the unknown through mysticism. The evolution of human society and its progress in knowledge slowly eliminates primordial Gods as t heir mysticism vanishes (Molloy, 212). Human understanding has contributed greatly to the reduction of deities, the once polytheistic religions of the past have been supplemented by monotheisms. This change has largely been due to the increase in human understanding as our knowledge and science progress. By understanding the development of weather patterns, astronomy and other aspects of the world are natural parts of a balanced biological system, we take away the mysticism associated with it. Through this process, humanity no longer relies on religion to explain these phenomena and the deities associated with them quickly crumbles. Therefore, human experience is extremely influential on the development of religion because humanity uses religion as a tool for greater understanding. As civilization develops to the stage where it has only a shallow understanding of the natural world, the citizens create deities to fill the knowledge gaps that are missing within the civilizations understanding. When time passes and the biolo gical and physiological growth of the civilization expands, deities that once appeared mystical are cast off. Human experience contributes to both the creation of deities and the destruction of deities, as both are related to the gathering of knowledge and understanding. An anthropological examination of religion reveals that it approaches the subject of human experiences influence on religion as quite different. Religion can be viewed as a proto-science in the sense that it serves as a, primitive attempt to explain and predict phenomena in the natural world, analogous to modern science (Kirkpatrick, 31). Although this viewpoint has been hotly contested, the basic precept that religion is interpreted the through the social context as the actions of the believers themselves is still universally accepted. The implication is that religion rather than being valuable in and of itself, serves as the mechanism that individuals use to interpret their moral, ethical and political reasoning. While human experiences affect the development and creation of deities within religion, it also has a significant impact on the creation of scripture and codes. The creation of religious text is the fundamental step to establishing the practicing beliefs and rules of the particular religion. These moral codes provoke greater belief by creating common bonds among believers and form the important basis for unity within organized religion. These codes are created through the context of human experience by encoding instructions or habits that are useful to human survival. Thus religious codes such as the prohibition against violence are codified instructions to prevent the destruction of social order and to promote internal harmony. Therefore the importance of these particular codes of conduct is created to further the welfare of the community. The Dogma Selection Model shows that religions promote instructions that caters to human survival instincts and as a result mutates periodically to cater to the growth of social codes and situations (Kirkpatrick, 21). The creation of scriptures and religious documents are all representatives of the creation of rules to restrict the actions of believers in order to benefit the community as a whole. These codes of conduct are all based upon human experience within the social setting as they use their social experience to mold religious codes to reflect the beliefs of non aggression and harmony that many religions promote. Within the modern context, the development of human experience has had a profound effect on the interpretation and codification of religion. Since the original creation of religions is created from the foundation of mysticism and ill conceived notions of the world, religion has had to evolve with the changing human experience and understanding. This perhaps the biggest indicator of how human experience impacts religious development. The process of scientific achievement is a major indicator of the growth within religion. Within the dominating Christian religion, the belief in an earth center universe was strongly impressed upon believers through interpretations of the Holy Scripture, the bible. However, the development of evidence in the period between the 13th and the 16th century definitively showed that the universe is indeed heliocentric. The evolution of the concepts of science and the progression of knowledge has forced religion to shift its interpretation of their scripture an d the reevaluation of their role within society. As evolutionary theory has shown, the development of counter religious scientific evidence does not destroy religion but rather changes the interpretation and the nature of faith within the religion. Human experience is also crucial in deciding the role that religion plays within society. Historically speaking, the development of religion has seen a parallel to the development of political and social power. While early civilizations elevated the priesthood and religion in general to the elite status of political power, the shifting demand of societal change has slowly taken away the political power of religion. As the development of society matures into more structured environment, Religion begins to take a backseat to political and socially implemented codes of conduct. The nature of religion is that its influence constricts as its believers begin to recognize the limitations of religious doctrine. Therefore the nature of religion is to adjust itself to occupy its established role by its believers (Hocking, 21). As the progression of human society moves towards more unified communal rules and regulations, the role of religion begins to change into a purely spiritual role rather than the original code of ethics that it represents. Religion is seen as an extremely flexible tool, while it can be seen as a mechanism for advancing social and political aims, as our modern society moves towards greater social regulation, religion can also become a tool for purely spiritual regulation. The existence of religion within the social context takes the role of both art and creativity. Religion becomes an avenue for individuals to explore their artistic and spiritual roots. As Professor Molloy points out, Human beings have a need to see out and create artistic forms of expression. Religion helps stimulate art, music and dance and it has been the inspirational source of some of the most imaginative buildings in the world (Molloy 3). Molloy argues that the role of religion in our lives is to inspire, and art work is a recreation and interpretation of religion. Therefore, as human experience through artwork grows so does the spiritual progression and the power of religion expand. The intertwining influence once again exhibits how religion is used as a tool to encourage aesthetic appreciation. Through the promotion of art and spirituality, religion allows humanity to become inspired by causes rather and through the process of human creations, religion encompasses a bigger par t of our lives because they are the inspiration for the creations themselves. In effect, religion and human experience in relation to art and creativity becomes a symbiotic relationship, as religion influences artistic creativity and in turn the art influences the spiritual belief and the interpretation of religion. Therefore the human response to its innate desire to create art is the formation of complicated religious landscapes in which only the artistic realm can interpret. Religion from early civilizations has been affected by cave paintings to the construction of Mayan temples, and through these art mediums, we have come to understand and appreciate the pagan religions of the past. The construction of human religion has also deep ties with the human fear of mortality. Human experience through suffering and death has a strong influence on the development of religion and its expansion. When individuals see their kin die, the fear of mortality instills in them the desire and need to create a heathen and afterlife. When humanity has to inevitably face the pain of death, the questions that arise such as the existence of a soul, afterlife, or rebirth can only be answered through an interpretation of religion. Molloy furthers, Religion can help us cope with death, and religious rituals can offer us comfort (Molloy 3). The importance of religion is that it allows humanity to create a protective weave around them to shield them against the reality learned from human experience. The problems that are too difficult to cope with such as mortality are masked through devotion to religion. Without a means to initiate change in early civilizations, religion became the created vehicle to achieve higher enlightenment and to change current hardships into bounty. Therefore, religion gains its main audience from those who have experienced too much pain and fear. The human experience increases the value of having a psychological protection against the unknowable, by swearing allegiance to religion; individuals receive the psychological equivalent of a rock to hang onto in times of extreme fear and doubt. Religion provides the outlet for humanitys despair and as a consequence is deeply influenced by what and how humanity experiences certain issues dealing with our mortality. Religion has changed drastically over the course of human history. From its initial roots within primordial creationism, and early civilizations to the current state of mass media religion and evangelical marathons on television, religion has become deeply cemented into our cultural understanding of the world. The influence of human experiences on the growth and development of religion has truly been profound. Religion was created as the basis for explaining the wonders of the world that were unexplainable. It allowed early civilizations and modern generations to answer questions unknown about the cosmos and our own unique creation. Religion serves as a device to answer the basic questions of, Who we are, where we come from, and where we are going (Molloy 3). Its unique place within our culture as a device for creating fundamental understandings of the world is greatly influenced by human experience. The human experience forces us into difficult questions, and our general curiosity a bout the nature and wonder of life asserts itself in the creation of religion. Religion provides us a common grounds to identify ourselves, it creates a common bond and its scriptures applies as devices to enhance the nature of how we view the world and see ourselves within the limitations of our culture and society. Religion has become an integral part of our lives because it creates the illusion of security and provides answers to the dark places within our understandings. As each new piece of information reaches us, the questions that were purely religious begins to demystify. The process of expanding and compressing religion within world history is the ultimate proof of the influence of human experience upon religious growth and development. Religion grows and shrinks based on our willingness to believe its tenants. As our cultural and scientific understanding grows the role that religion formerly encompasses will decrease significantly. Therefore the concept of religion itself is malleable, and its basis is humanitys growing understanding of the world, and the shifting role that religion plays within that understanding. References Hocking, William Ernest. Meaning of God in Human Experience: A Philosophic Study of Religion. Boston: Kessinger Publishing, 2003. James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature Being the Gifford Lectures... New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2002. Kirkpatrick, Lee A. Attachment, Evolution, And The Psychology Of Religion. Seattle: Guilford Press, 2004. Molloy, M. Experiencing the Worlds Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. Boston: McGraw Hill Publications, 2005.

Free Essays on The Future “class Of 2005“

Summer time is almost here when schools out the students cheer no teachers or tests and 3 months of fun nothing but spending all day in the sun laying out and swimming all day this is the life of a kid after may staying out and sleeping in late is something that no children hate hanging out with friends and parties at the fair come if you want stay if you dare graduation parties time for the seniors to go on to college for them they will be missed you know but in august we will be the "big cheese" and make all the underclassman drop to their knees super class day we can hardly wait finally its out turn to win as if the day was fate one more year and we will be done and then ites nothing but fun no school forever we make the choices no parents or teachers with their nagging voices were almost done it will go fast then all we have to hold on to is the past all of us our college bound leaving this town ourselves will be found hopefully we will stay in touch life wouldnt be the same and everybody would be missed much... Free Essays on The Future â€Å"class Of 2005â€Å" Free Essays on The Future â€Å"class Of 2005â€Å" Summer time is almost here when schools out the students cheer no teachers or tests and 3 months of fun nothing but spending all day in the sun laying out and swimming all day this is the life of a kid after may staying out and sleeping in late is something that no children hate hanging out with friends and parties at the fair come if you want stay if you dare graduation parties time for the seniors to go on to college for them they will be missed you know but in august we will be the "big cheese" and make all the underclassman drop to their knees super class day we can hardly wait finally its out turn to win as if the day was fate one more year and we will be done and then ites nothing but fun no school forever we make the choices no parents or teachers with their nagging voices were almost done it will go fast then all we have to hold on to is the past all of us our college bound leaving this town ourselves will be found hopefully we will stay in touch life wouldnt be the same and everybody would be missed much...

Did the Framers of the constitution intend that a corporation be Research Paper

Did the Framers of the constitution intend that a corporation be classified as a person for the purpose of being sued and suing - Research Paper Example 208). Persons, according to Roman law, do not have any kind of existence outside that of the legal sphere, and the law recognizes entities, regardless of whether or not they have a biological status. This view is called the â€Å"fiction theory† – this means that the personality of a corporation is a fiction, and that the corporation owes its very existence to the state (French, 1979, p. 208). Rivaling this theory in American jurisprudence is that of the â€Å"Legal Aggregate Theory of the Corporation† – this means that the corporate body is a shield or an umbrella for the individual persons that make up that corporation. In this theory, biological status is what matters, and has legal priority. In this theory, the corporation is synonymous with the board of directors and other leaders of the companies, while employees are generally ignored (French, 1979, p. 209). Another competing theory is that of the Germans, who regard corporations as having a de jarte personality, â€Å"which the law only declares to be a judicial fact† (French, 1979, p. 209). ... What is needed is a Reality Theory that identifies a de facto metaphysical person not just a sociological entity† (French, 1979, p. 210) While these are the popular theories about corporate personhood, the focus of this paper is whether or not the Framers meant for a corporation to be considered a person for the purposes of suing and being sued is a question that has a confused answer. The answer is confused because Supreme Court decisions have contradictory analysis on whether or not a corporation is considered to be a person under the Constitution as written. One case indicated that a corporation can sue in its own name, but that the corporation itself is not a citizen, but, rather, is composed of individual citizens, and that these individual citizens are what a court must look to when deciding if a court has jurisdiction over corporation lawsuits. Another case says, no, a corporation is an entity of its own, and the individual members of the corporation are not what matters – what matters is the corporation itself. The differences between these two cases is that the former was a case involving corporate lawsuits and the latter involved a corporation’s ability to make contracts. Then along came a case whose dicta established that a corporation is a person, but did not give any kind of reasoning behind why it believes this to be so. Nevertheless, this is considered to be a landmark case in that the case affirmatively established that a corporation is indeed a person. But, since the reasoning behind this is unclear, it is likewise unclear as to whether this court decided that the Framers intended this to be so. In other words, the Supreme Court cases that have dealt with the issue of corporate personhood,

Project Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Project Proposal - Essay Example To help strengthen the players in the banking sector in Nigeria and to ensure longevity and shareholders’ returns in the long run, the consolidation of banks was enforced by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The banks would either have to raise their capital base to N25 billion or face liquidation and quit the industry (Upaka, Akpata & Olasope, 2005). The purpose of the reforms was to reduce poverty and generate employment while leading to wealth creation. This was expected to lead to GDP growth over a period of time. Many of the small banks were plagued with low capital base and weak corporate governance. Consolidation of the banking system was to ensure a diversified, strong and reliable banking sector, ensure safety of depositor’s money, play active developmental roles in the country’s economy and make Nigerian banks competent and competitive players in the global financial system (Poyi, 2006). This would lead to diversification and emergence of specialized banks. The lending rates of the banks were very high and lending was concentrated in the short term due to lack of long term savings. The impact of the consolidation of the banks was felt in different sectors but there is not much literature available on the after-effects. The aim of this research is: Theory suggests that consolidation of banks could potentially increase the bank size which could in turn increase the bank returns through revenue and cost efficiency gains (Ajayi, 2005). It could also reduce industry risks through elimination of weak banks. This helps to eliminate the weak banks. The top ten banks account for nearly and account for more than 50% of the total assets. The small banking sector suffers from concentration of risks. They can provide fewer services and the costs for providing such services are high. Because of lack of effective competition, they are unable to exploit economies of scale. Consolidation became essential because there was over

Walden and Transcendentalism Essay Example for Free

Walden and Transcendentalism Essay Henry Thoreau’s masterpiece, Walden or a Life in the Woods, shows the impact transcendentalism had on Thoreau’s worldview. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that asserts the primacy of the spiritual over the material. Transcendentalism puts the emphasis on spiritual growth and understanding as opposed to worldly pleasures. Thoreau’s idea of transcendentalism stressed the importance of nature and being close to nature. He believed that nature was a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment. A walk in the woods therefore was a search for spiritual enlightenment. One should look ‘through’ nature, not merely ‘at’ her. In Walden, Thoreau’s idea of transcendentalism is broken into three areas. The first is the importance of the spiritual world as opposed to material wants. He accentuates this idea by explaining how the physical world only exists so that souls can experience life to the fullest. Thoreau speaks a great deal about physical property in the first chapter, entitled â€Å"Economy†. He keeps a detailed record of the economic cost of his venture into the woods and explains to his readers his pity for the people who have numerous material possessions. Thoreau states, â€Å"When I have met an immigrant tottering under a bundle which contained his all†¦I have pitied him, not because that was his all, but because he had all that to carry. †[1] The second transcendentalism theme is the idea of individuality- the idea that an individual is unique and should act according to his personality and ideals. Individuality is a basic idea of the transcendentalists and they firmly believed that one should search for ‘self-discovery’. Thoreau observed, â€Å"Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. †[2] He emphasized the â€Å"style† as an individual style, one that was distinctive to each person. He even told his readers in Walden that he went into the woods to search for knowledge and truth. Self-discovery and individuality were also attributed to any other characters in Walden that were mentioned. Thoreau takes great pains to describe each character, even down to the farmer’s â€Å"wrinkled, sibyl-like, cone-headed†[3] infant in chapter 10, â€Å"Baker Farm†. He makes sure his readers understand the unique attributes of each individual in his experiences. As Thoreau once said, â€Å"It is what a man thinks of himself that really determines his fate. † The final prominent transcendentalism theme expressed in Walden is the importance of experiences. Transcendentalists believed personal experience is how one learned. Literally, people learned everything the hard way. Thoreau demonstrated this clearly in the experiment of living in the woods for two years. He explains in Walden that he wanted to experience living simply for an extended period of time. Notice that Thoreau did not speculate, draw conclusions, or even ask someone who had tried it. The only way, in his mind, that he was going to learn about living simply was to undergo it personally. In speaking about life in the chapter, â€Å"Where I lived and What I Lived For†, Thoreau said,â€Å"†¦if [life] proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. †[4] He emphasized living and feeling everything to be able to understand life and its meaning. Walden is often viewed as simply a proponent of environmental care and nature. However, it persuades the reader to do much more than take care of nature. In fact, nature is not even the most prominent ideal in Thoreau’s writings. The thesis of Walden is clearly stated in the first few pages of the book. Thoreau writes, â€Å"With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meager life than the poor†¦None can be an impartial or wise observer of human life but from the vantage ground of what we should call voluntary poverty. †[5] The entirety of the â€Å"Economy† chapter is devoted to material possessions and Thoreau’s idea that the physical pleasures exist only to help the soul endure. Very little time is spent on the goodness of nature. When it is mentioned, it is shown, as was stated above, that nature serves as a sort of looking glass to spiritual ideals. Because this book was quoted often by radical groups in 1960-70, Walden became a sign of disobedience and rebellion to the conservative community. However, there are a few ideas of which Christians can approve. The first is non-materialism. Thoreau quotes Matthew 6:19 saying, â€Å"By a seeming fate, commonly called necessity, they are employed, as it says in an old book, laying up treasures which moth and rust will corrupt and thieves break through and steal. It is a fool’s life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not before. †[6] He takes great pains throughout the entire book to make sure his readers understand that material possessions should not be the only thing in which people place all of their happiness. The second idea Christians can applaud is the idea of individuality. As was mentioned above, Thoreau kept the Transcendentalist idea of a person’s individual worth in his writings. Because of this belief, he was one of the most outspoken human rights activists in his lifetime. He wrote A Plea for Captain John Brown supporting John Brown’s efforts to end slavery. Thoreau said, â€Å"I do not believe in erecting statues to those who still live in our hearts, whose bones have not yet crumbled in the earth around us, but I would rather see the statue of Captain Brown in the Massachusetts State-House yard, than that of any other man whom I know. I rejoice that I live in this age, that I am his contemporary. †[7] His belief in the basic human rights of every man stemmed from his support of individuality and the unique worth of every person on this planet. Even though there are a few ideas that Christians can applaud in Walden, there is one of which they should be wary. This idea is the idea that rebellion and disobedience towards government is acceptable if one believes the government is wrong. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his eulogy for Thoreau, articulated this idea, saying that Thoreau opposed the government. Thoreau disrespected government officials by refusing to obey tax laws and paid for it by spending a brief time in jail. However, many people, instead of realizing the negative influence Thoreau was creating, idealized him for his ‘patriotic’ stance. Thoreau says in Walden, â€Å"One afternoon, near the end of the first summer†¦I was seized and put into jail, because, as I have elsewhere related I did not pay a tax to, or recognize the authority of, the state which buys and sells men, women, and children, like cattle at the door of its senate-house. †[8] He did not recognize the authority of the government because of the slavery in the country. Even though slavery is immoral, Romans 13:1 clearly states, â€Å"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. †[9] The Bible articulates that Christians must be subject to those whom God has placed into authority. Thoreau discourages this idea and instead institutes an attitude of rebellion. Christians should be cautious of this attitude and worldview. Very few instances occur in which Christians should rebel against authority. The only instance where they should rebel is under a government which demands that its citizens disobey God’s orders. Walden was written many years ago and yet, society can still learn from the author’s words. Whether the ideas are detrimental or helpful, everyone can agree that Thoreau was a strong Transcendentalist with a distinct mindset. This mindset affects everyone who reads his works. Emerson once articulated that Thoreau inspired many around him through his idealistic thinking. Thoreau has inspired, and will continue to inspire, numerous people through his book, Walden or a Life in the Woods. [1] Henry David Thoreau, Walden ; and Civil Disobedience (New York: Barnes and Nobles Classics, 2003), 56. [2] Henry David Thoreau, Walden ; and Civil Disobedience (New York: Barnes and Nobles Classics, 2003), 175. [3] Henry David Thoreau, Walden ; and Civil Disobedience (New York: Barnes and Nobles Classics, 2003), 161 [4] Henry David Thoreau, Walden ; and Civil Disobedience (New York: Barnes and Nobles Classics, 2003), 74 (brackets added) [5] Henry David Thoreau, Walden ; and Civil Disobedience (New York: Barnes and Nobles Classics, 2003), 16 [6] Henry David Thoreau, Walden ; and Civil Disobedience (New York: Barnes and Nobles Classics, 2003), 9 [7] ThoreauOn John Brown, Virginia Commonwealth University, http://www.vcu. edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/johnbrown. html (accessed September 15, 2010). [8] Henry David Thoreau, Walden ; and Civil Disobedience (New York: Barnes and Nobles Classics, 2003), 137 [9] Passage: Romans 13:1 (ESV Bible Online), Good News / Crossway Home Christian Books, Gospel Tracts, and the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible, http://www. gnpcb. org/esv/search/? q=Romans 13:1 (accessed September 15, 2010).

Invisible Man :: essays research papers

Invisible Man Books related to Invisible Man Although most ethnic groups do not like to be thought of as different, they do come to enjoy the benefits that come with being labeled as a minority. Affirmative action is a program initiated to try and bridge the gap between white Americans and the minorities that reside in America. In addition, bilingual education is constantly an issue in Southern California, especially when choosing political candidates. In the two books I will be examining, Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, both characters in the stories are criticized by their own ethnic groups for not following the path that their parents have laid out for them. Protag, the main character in Invisible Man, chooses to join an organization called the Brotherhood, instead of a similar organization which is made up of all black men. Rodriguez decides to take a stand against affirmative action and bilingual education, two issues which Hispanics have almost always been in favor of. However, th e decisions by these two characters to go against the values widely held by members of their ethnic groups causes a great deal of tension. People want to question how devoted the characters are to the cause. Both characters went against the norm and made choices which brought criticism from members of their ethnic groups, but their choices ultimately led to the strengthening of their groups culture in society. First we will look at what may have influenced the character’s choices, followed by the designation of being labeled a scholarship boy may have played in their decisions. Finally we will look at what exactly they did for their ethnic group and some of the differences that exist between the two characters. Upon his arrival in Harlem after his dismissal from college, Protag became aware of the two groups that were concerned with changing the social conditions in New York City. The first group was led by Ras the Exhorter and was a much more radical group. One woman was quotes as saying, "His hoodlums would attack and denounce the white meat of a roasted chicken" (Ellison 35). The other group in New York City was known as the Brotherhood and was a much less radical organization which was predominately by white men. These two groups often found themselves in the midst of controversy, both in the public eye and between each other.

Precise Software Case Analysis

PRECISE SOFTWARE CASE ANALYSIS Problem: When and how to introduce an end-to-end new product to the market? Issues: 1. Should we (Precise) introduce a new product in Open World conference 2000? What could be the impact if we delay to offer an end-to-end solution in the performance management space? 2. What is the best selling strategy for the new product? 3. What is the best pricing strategy for the new product? 4. Should we maintain a single sale force or separate sale force dedicated to the new product? What kind of commissions and how much authority should we set up for the sales force regarding to the new product? 5.How can we deliver the value of the new product to meet our customer expectation and solve our customer problems? 6. How to grow and compete in order to be a leader in the market on a much broader level? Industry/Market Analysis: Database management software referred as performance management market where efficiency and effectiveness are really important. There are a l ot of opportunities due to the need of IT system from the companies. Nearly every company in the industrialized world spent a significant amount of money every year on software purchases ranged from $99 to $10million. The software market estimated to be $4. billion in 2003 compare with $2. 4billion in 1999. However, the market was fragmented. Products were differentiated principally in two ways. On one hand, products differed widely in terms of underlying resources and platforms with they are associated. On the other hand, available products also differed in terms of the functionality they offered. There are few major competitors in this market and the industry need high intensive labor cost. It usually takes long time to develop new product in this industry. Effective advanced technology and product, which can solve the problem for the companies, are very important to success in the industry.Time is another important key to determine whether business will success or fail. Companies in this industry should improve their technology quickly to catch up the ever-changing information technology trend as well as dig the problems of the companies to present the right problem-solve products. One of the largest segments of the market was for software to manage the performance of Oracle databases. A true end-to-end market seemed to be quite large and there was no current direct competition because none of the companies offered an end-to-end solution yet. Consumer Analysis:Database administrators (DBA) are the main targets for Precise. The former usually are well trained thus capable of recognizing the products value. Many DBA’s were authorized to purchase a product range under $25,000. Precise looked for companies had sales of at least 100million and had a business model that required database-intensive applications. DBA need to report to the CIO and need to improve the job performance in order to make performance application efficiently as well as satisfy the b usiness unit head. They are usually budget-limited when they purchase the product.IT Reliability and effectiveness are the other main factors to concern for users. Regarding to the end-to-end management tool service, business firms using enterprise-wide applications have a desired demand. They require the enterprise applications such as ERP and CRM, which were 10million and above. The applications were distributed across many locations and highly data intensive. Firms depended critically on the ability to deliver information quickly, will be the main targets for the new end-to-end product. Competitor Analysis: The three biggest competitors in the software market were Oracle, BMC Software, and Quest Software.Oracle is provides â€Å"Oracle Optimizer† as a part of its basic database package helped to execute SQL statement it received in the most efficient fashion and also offer an add-on package to help measure efficiency. BMC Software has a large range of products. Its revenue grew rapidly since 1998 and Patrol Product line, which target on performance management and availability market, provided timely and accurate data. Quest Software offered around 25 different products, with some of the functions offering products relevant to Precise. Marketing Mix Analysis: A) Product Analysis:Precise offered the software that helped its clients to manage the performance of their information technology (IT) systems. Precise is in the performance management and availability market. Its products are designed to manage the performance applications utilizing Oracle database. The company had focus on a small range of core products but provided users high quality that promised. Precise offered the software license and services. The main products were insight products, SQL and Presto. Precise/SQL accounted for 86% of all Precise’s software licensing fees.The company has strong trained account reps with very strong relationships with key clients. End-to-end response time is extremely important to ensure the system ran efficiently and effectively. All of the available products focused on the performance of each of the components of the system. The sales cycle is 6 to 12 months on average. Precise realized from the feedback of its consumers that they should provide right solutions to its clients rather than the products. However, a full-functionality end-to-end performance tool needs a long time to be developed.It’s going to take six and nine months to get a basic product with purely monitoring only. The fully functional product will accomplish in 2 years. B) Price Analysis: It has one-time license fee with annual maintains and service contracts, priced 15%-20% of the one-time licensing fee. Average price of Precise /SQL had been between $15,000 and $25,000. Precise often offered discounts around 25% which allowed sales force to sell the product easier as well as DBAs can make their decision easily to purchase without approve by the CIO. I n addition, price can be varied greatly depending on the customers and other factors.They charged more for higher-powered computing environments, which means the price is based on the value that the customers receive from the performance management. C) Distribution Analysis: There are three common channels for distributing commercial software applications such as direct sales, value-added resellers (VCRs), and systems integrators. VCRs and systems integrators earned a margin of about 30-35% on the software sales. And original equipment manufacture (OEM) agreement is popular in smaller niche areas. Precise sells its products through a duel-channel distribution system.Internationally, the company sells through both VARs and system integrators in most countries. 17 account executives are hired to do direct sell and also sell through distributors in most countries, and each is paid a salary of $75,000 and a 5%-9% rate high commission. The average sale of each rep is $800,000 annually an d earned $300,000 for the highest. Therefore, the operating expenses are extremely high (sales and marketing is 35% of the total operating expense) and made the operating loss since 1996. About 55% of its revenue comes from the direct channel and 45% come from the resellers.Precise had a client list of about 400 companies and each sale rep was well trained to sell the products. D) Promotion/ Advertising Analysis: Reps in Precise are the main factor in selling the products. Precise purchase industry lists with the names and phone numbers of key contacts in the target firms and give it to reps. Reps can call the main clients and meet them and try to keep a good relationship with the people who make decisions. Reps are high motivated and professional to sell the products because of related training and high commission strategy.They have an effective sales tool that reps can offer to put the product on the potential buyer client’s system to demonstrate what the product would do. In addition, Precise conducted a survey of ten Precise/SQL clients drawn from a range of different business to find main benefits of their products and able to generate an expected ROI for the purchase. Options: A) To launch a new product in 2000 ROI Analysis Pros: – To be the first one get into the end-to-end market and to be able to announce the new product in the conference with many motivated and qualified prospects gathered in the room at one time. Precise will become a much broader level brand. – Gain more revenue at the beginning with no competition so far in the market. Cons: – New products will attract competitors to get in the market. – There is not enough time for reps to be trained properly to sell the products. – If the new product cannot satisfy the clients, it will destroy the brand image as well as make competitors catch up and run over the Precise. – The new product can only be â€Å"generally available† at this time. There will be much more problem and risks.B) To launch after fully-functional Pros: – Have much more possibility to satisfy customers with fully functional product in term of effectively and efficiency – Its reps will be fully trained to get ready to contribute in selling the new products – If consumers satisfied with the products, Precise will be a leader in the market and increase its profits in the long-term. Cons: – Competitors may launch a similar new product in this market before Precise. – A small range of the products may slow down Precise to be a real broader level brand