Osim International

Contents 1. Introduction to Osim International4 2. Competitive Strategy4 3. Company value chain4 3. 1Innovation5 3. 2Operations Management5 4. Non-financial analysis5 4. 1Corporate Social Responsibility5 4. 2Consumer Sentiments6 4. 3Corporate Culture6 4. 4Customer Retention and Growth6 5. Global outlook7 6. Industry outlook of healthy lifestyle products7 7. Comparison between Osim and its competitors8 8. Osim Financials8 8. 1Company’s Financial Ratios8 8. 2Market Prospects9 8. 2. 1Osim on its own9 8. 2. 2Osim vs. Selected peers (VGO, Best World, Ogawa, Jacks)9 8. 2. 3Osim vs. STI10 8. 3Projected Performance10 9. Conclusion11 Appendix A12 Appendix B16 Appendix C19 Appendix D24 Appendix E25 Appendix F26 ? 1. Introduction to Osim International Osim International Ltd. (Osim) is a Singapore listed company; a global leader in the healthy lifestyle products industry. It has been led since its inception by CEO Ron Sim, the company’s value driver, instrumental in bringing Osim to where it is today, greatly influencing its vision, mission and values with his personal touch. The company has expanded to more than 1,100 stores in more than 30 countries worldwide. Within the next 3 to 5 years, they plan to open over 50 outlets and further expand their subsidiaries, GNC and RichLife. . Competitive Strategy In view of the current economic situation, Osim seeks to cautiously and optimistically ‘focus on building profitability, positive EBITDA and operating cash flow’ . Even though they have exceeded sales expectations so far this year, this may be challenging given that they operate in a niche market easily affect ed by consumer sentiment and other global events. Osim feels a strong balance sheet is integral to meeting this aim, achievable through enhanced operational efficiency and outlets being leaner and more effective in sales. With Brand Osim, they desire an image that is one with (the) healthy lifestyle’ . This demonstrates their aspiration to not only be the market leader, but to also be the brand with the best recall and association. Furthermore, Osim adopts a two-pronged approach of innovation and growth; creating demand through innovation and development to support the anticipated US market recovery and the Chinese markets’ expansion. There is also focus on their most important resource, employees; training and empowering talents with emphasis on corporate culture alignment. 3. Company value chain Osim’s value chain involves two main processes: Innovation and Operations Management. . 1Innovation Research and development (R&D) is a process given much emphasis as Osim strives to release new and relevant products to create demand and to keep a technological edge above its competition, resulting in products such as the iDesire and iMedic amongst others. This has won consumers and its efforts were rewarded in 2008, voted as Asia’s most preferred brand for massage ch airs . This is also inculcated in their brand image with their desire to include ‘intelligent innovation’ . 3. 2Operations Management Operations management includes Osim’s manufacturing and retail arms. Upon subjecting raw material to their respective manufacturing processes, Osim creates a product that it believes will add value for consumers and entice them to pay a premium to obtain their desired quality of life. Its retail arm works with an aggressive marketing department to promote their products. Whilst costs are high, the perceived product value added is proportionately high. 4. Non-financial analysis 4. 1Corporate Social Responsibility Osim aims to encourage a positive attitude towards healthy lifestyles. Osim Triathlons in various Asian countries , and the Osim Singapore Masters are some sporting events it has sponsored. While Osim promotes itself as a lifestyle brand, for example, through the promotion of the uSqueez leg massager which appeals to triathletes, they have also donated to the Children’s Cancer Foundation and supported an endowment fund with the NUS Business School . Osim has also demonstrated accountability to society by recalling its products twice . The urgency to recall defective products has shown Osim’s commitment to civic responsibility. However, the recall affected Osim’s reputation as customers were put through the hassle of claiming damages. Despite this, Osim’s branding remains strong and is still one of the world’s most reliable providers in its industry. Accountability to investors was also demonstrated when they came in runners-up in the ‘Most Transparent Company Award (Commerce)’ in SIAS Investors’ Choice Award. 4. 2Consumer Sentiments In a 2008 survey by Synovate , Osim attained the ‘No. 1 Healthy Lifestyle Products Brand’ in consumers’ minds across Asia. The findings show Osim’s strong Asian customer base and affirms its effective branding as a leading provider of innovative products with design and quality, performance, and safety standards. Furthermore, massage chair sales in China has maintained good growth with easy-to-buy payment schemes. 4. 3Corporate Culture A strong corporate culture inculcating positive thinking has been used as a tool to survive market movements. This tool is behind the entrance of new innovations and the extension of Osim’s reach into the global market. Besides this, substantial shareholdings by key management ensures management goals are correctly aligned with that of shareholders’ . 4. 4Customer Retention and Growth In 2005, Osim was rated by Nielsen Consumers as the number one brand in seven attributes . Osim is also a member of Superbrands . To date, higher end products are made in Japan, a country recognized for its quality and precision . Mid-tier to lower end products are manufactured in China to reduce costs. Although manufactured in China, Osim ensures reliability and quality of these products. The market share gained from the provision of quality products has been shown in the same Synovate survey as mentioned above. Osim has also invested heavily in marketing, often publishing its advertisements in various media to increase its brand presence. These include centrespreads in major newspapers as well as television commercials, reigning in celebrities such as S. H. E and Fiona Xie. This fortifies their brand’s credibility, with the aim of converting new customers and retaining current ones. In a way, they have already created a strong and secure customer base and exclusive attention can be placed on gaining additional market share within the region and globally. 5. Global outlook Since the global recession, the market has rebounded with the STI currently trading around 2,600 points, a level last seen a year ago . We are currently believed to be in the accumulation phase , with economic growth expected in the coming years. Global markets have stabilized while key export markets such as the US and Europe remain fairly weak . A rapid recovery is in line for Asian economies, but continued soft private demand means that fiscal and monetary measures must be sustained to ensure continued growth. 6. Industry outlook of healthy lifestyle products Osim’s business efforts are concentrated on an increasingly affluent Asia , especially in countries like Singapore and China, where there is greater focus on lifestyle and well-being. Health is a greater concern as busier schedules reduce exercise time. As Asia’s aging population finds new ways to improve their living standards, more may turn to increasingly relevant healthcare products. However, the lifestyle industry is most vulnerable to fluctuations in business cycles. With the downturn, spending is either decreased or cheaper alternatives are sought. 7. Comparison between Osim and its competitors Osim’s main competitors in the health-food industry provide competition to its subsidiary, Global Active Limited. Its main recognized competitors in the massage products markets include OGAWA, OTO Bodycare and Panasonic. Osim thus relies heavily on innovation, aggressive marketing and quality to distinguish its products from its competitors, leveraging on the fact that consumer preferences are easily influenced. Another form of competition comes in the form of imitations and inexpensive Chinese products that respectively devalue Osim’s brand and provide viable substitutes. This forces Osim to differentiate itself as a premium product and introduce a secondary brand, NOVO, to woo consumers with its affordability. With the expected future growth in the healthy lifestyle products industry and Osim’s stronghold on its base consumer markets, we expect Osim to continue outperforming its competitors, especially in its core business function. 8. Osim Financials 8. 1Company’s Financial Ratios Osim’s profitability ratios have been weakening over the last 5 years, with sharp declines from 2006 onwards. Profit margins dropped from the healthy region of 9% to 0. 6% in 2007 and finally into the negative in 2008. Other returns ratios like ROA and ROE have also dropped significantly from 2005 onwards. Osim’s sales fell from a high of S$623million in 2006 to S$457million in 2008. The low profitability ratios suggest that the company is not effectively utilizing its assets and shareholder investments to generate sales and profit, which is a cause for concern for potential investors. Its dwindling sales and profitability can be attributed to fierce competition from imitations, as mentioned above. Also, Osim spent S$149million to acquire 55% of Brookstone Inc. in 2005, which did not work out well, as Brookstone’s losses dragged down Osim’s profitability from 2006 onwards. Osim’s liquidity ratios, despite the poor financial performances in the past few years, have remained relatively stable. Current ratio has stayed consistently above 1, bar 2007, which implies that the Group is able to meet its short term liabilities with its short term assets. Interest coverage has been falling sharply, primarily due to the fall in operating profits. In order to continue its repayment of interest charges, profits have to improve. 8. 2Market Prospects 8. 2. 1Osim on its own Generally, share prices have been on a strong downward trend since 2006, with MACD crossing below zero for most of the period. Osim’s share price plunged 98% from a high of S$2. 06 in 2006 to a low of S$0. 05 in the start of 2009 before showing signs of recovery, rising from below S$0. 10 to the recent stability of around S$0. 45, an increase of more than 400% during the period from March to September 2009. The recent bullish trend has also been reflected in the strong divergence of the MACD over zero. 8. 2. 2Osim vs. Selected peers (VGO, Best World, Ogawa, Jacks) During the last 5 years, Osim fared poorly compared to its industry peers. It was the worst performing stock out of the 5 selected companies over the period from 1Q07 to 1Q09. However, focusing our attention on more recent developments, Osim’s share price has been outdoing that of its competitors significantly, due to its strong recovery since 1Q09. Osim’s stock has risen at a higher rate, and been the best performing in terms of absolute value. Another interesting factor is the recent significant increase in insider trading, with senior management aggressively purchasing the company stock and subscribing to excess shares through the company’s rights issue . Together with the hints of recovery from recent financial figures, the purchase of shares by Osim’s management and confidence shown in the company might just be the confirmatory signal of their turnaround in fortunes. 8. 2. 3Osim vs. STI On a 5-year basis, comparing the performance of Osim’s share price against the STI, we observe that generally, it has been underperforming relative to the STI. The period between mid-2005 and early 2007, which coincided with Osim’s best financial performance, saw the company outperforming the market. Since 1Q07, it has been underperforming by a large margin until the recent superior performance relative to the STI starting from April 2009. 8. 3Projected Performance Judging from the 9 month 2009 figures, sales appear to continue sluggishly and we estimate the total sales for 2009 to be inferior to that of 2008. However, EBITDA has increased by 16% as compared to the same period last year. Having fully written down the investment in Brookstone, future losses need not be accounted for, and Osim’s profit before tax is expected to improve to around S$33million for 2009, a marked improvement from 2007 and 2008. Projected profitability ratios also suggest signs of recovery with ROA and ROE estimated to be around 9. 02% and 21. 36% respectively. Liquidity ratios for the Group remain healthy as well, as at 30 Sept 2009. Post restructuring, Osim has emerged leaner, significantly cutting down expenses over the past 2 years. Hence, if sales pick up in the future, we should see a return of the high profit margins realized in the past. Osim’s current Net Asset Value (NAV) per share is S$0. 14. Compared against the average share price of around S$0. 45 over the past 2 months, the Price-to-book ratio is about 3. times, implying that the stock may be overvalued. However, the general price-to-book ratio for an average company is 7 times , showing that Osim’s share price may still rise in the future. 9. Conclusion With Ron Sim at the helm and the alignment of the senior management with company objectives, Osim stands poised to achieve its goals in the short term with its aggressive marketi ng and focus on a strong balance sheet during this time of economic uncertainty. They have earned the trust of consumers through the provision of quality products and good corporate governance. While they have effectively lowered costs, revenue remains sluggish. They plan to improve this through expansion in emerging markets as well as to take advantage of Brookstone’s strategic positioning in American markets. Whilst having derived ways to compete effectively, and with the industry expected to grow, private consumption will still be depressed amidst this period of economic recovery due to a lag effect. Defining a medium to long term as between two to five years, we thus projected that Osim, on its own will continue to be profitable as a going concern. While we recognise that outside the industry, there are many superior alternatives that have the potential to generate far better returns, which is beyond the scope of this report, we recommend that with regards to an investment solely in Osim or in the Healthy Lifestyle Products industry, Osim is clearly the worthwhile choice to invest in. Appendix A Profitability Ratios 20082007200620052004 Profit Margin (%)-21. 780. 65. 429. 299. 2 ROA (%)-46. 580. 868. 0510. 214. 6 ROE (%)-141. 921. 9619. 8728. 9726. 16 Cash Flow/Operating Revenue (%)-17. 984. 957. 8911. 812. 6 Profit Margin (%)-21. 780. 65. 429. 299. Profitability ratios measure the return earned on a company's capital and the financial cushion relative to each dollar of sales. Osim's low profitability ratios in recent years are a cause for concern. However, much can be attributed to the economic crisis and the write-off of Brookstone in 2008. Liquidity Ratios 20082007200620052004 Current Ratio1. 090. 951. 021. 111. 87 Quick Rat io0. 480. 450. 450. 671. 38 Interest Coverage-19. 052. 067. 751750. 95 Current Ratio1. 090. 951. 021. 111. 87 Generally, despite the poor performance posted in 2007 and 2008, Osim's Liquidity Ratios remained relatively stable. This implies that there are no issues regarding the solvency of the company and resources are available to meet its obligations. 20082007200620052004 P/E Ratio (%)n. a. 103. 6422. 415. 2912. 48 Dividend Payout Ratio (%)0219. 4332. 2315. 3415. 39 P/E ratio is an indicator of perceived value of a stock. Osim's unusually high P/E ratio in 2007 is due to the low EPS resulting from the poor performance posted in that year. Osim has been consistently paying out dividends until 2008. Hence, should performance improves in future, investors should expect to receive dividend payouts. Appendix B Projected Performance -Month Key FinancialsEstimated Figures for 2009 Sales335. 9450 EBITDA33. 845 Profit before Tax24. 533 Net profit16. 121 Full year figures for 2009 determined based on pro-rating 9-month figures to get conservative estimates. (in $millions)9mth 20099mth 2008% change2009 Estimated20082007200620052004 Sales335. 9346. 2-2. 98%450456. 7523. 7622. 9502. 5332. 2 EBITDA33. 829. 116%453935. 476. 754. 545. 4 Profit before Tax24. 5-19. 5225. 64%33-92. 25. 443. 651. 435. 3 Net profit16. 1-26161. 92%21-99. 53. 735. 845. 630. 8 (in $millions)9mth 20099mth 2008% change2009 Estimated20082007200620052004 Sales335. 9346. 2-2. 98%450456. 7523. 7622. 502. 5332. 2 EBITDA33. 829. 116%453935. 476. 754. 545. 4 Estimated Financial Ratios for 2009 (With Balance Sheet as at 30 Sept 2009) Profit Margin (%)4. 67 ROA (%)9. 02 ROE (%)21. 36 Current Ratio at B/S date1. 16 2009 figures suggest Osim is on the road to recovery. Projected Profit before Tax show improvement compared to 2008 and 2007, though not to the extent of 2006's high. Compared to 1st half of 2008, 2009 has shown improvement in EBITDA even though sales continue to be weak. .Charts with Projected 2009 Ratios Appendix C Osim Stock Charts 5-Year 1-Year Comparison against STI 5-Year 1-Year Comparison Competitors 5-Year 1-Year -Year Absolute 1-Year Absolute Appendix D Insider Trades Announcement DateBuyerNumber of Shares (Ã¢â‚¬Ë œ000) 23/2/09Ron Sim2002 13/3/093466 17/3/09953 27/3/0996150 31/3/09200 1/4/09200 6/4/092700 9/4/096500 Subtotal112171 23/2/09Peter Lee320 13/3/09950 31/3/09550 9/10/09270 Subtotal2090 23/2/09Richard Leow300 23/2/09Ong Kian Min1618 24/2/091000 2/4/09752 23/2/09Michael Kan300 2/4/09218 23/2/09Charlie Teo300 27/3/09365 6/4/09100 2/4/09Khor Peng Soon16 Subtotal4969 Total119230 Appendix E ? Appendix F Japan’s quality in manufacturing was taken from Fundamentals of Composites Manufacturing: Materials, Methods, and Applications by A. Brent Strong

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Book Review - Essay Example to the authors, a small group of remarkable leaders and scholars has been changing the world by influencing people’s behavior and they encourage the readers to be influencers. They maintain that it is essential to find vital behaviors as big problems succumb to changes in just few behaviors and that changing behavior requires changing minds. In the second part of the book, the authors deal with the six sources of influence to make change inevitable and they are personal motivation, personal ability, social motivation, social ability, structural motivation, and structural ability. Personal motivation is important to make the undesirables desirable and to overcome reluctance and resistance by connecting to values. Personal ability helps one in surpassing one’s limits and it is important to overinvest in learning how to master skills and emotions, because new behavior requires new skills. Social motivation is another important source of influence as it straps up peer press ures. Another significant factor is social ability which amplifies influence through just-in-time teamwork. Structural motivation and structural ability help one in designing rewards and demanding accountability and changing the environment. â€Å"There is a growing body of knowledge as well as impressive supply of real-life success stories that teach exactly how to change almost any human behavior. Read the scholarly works of Dr. Albert Bandura. Then watch what Dr. Mimi Silbert does at Delancey Street. These two influencers alone demonstrate that, if you know what you’re doing, you can indeed change remarkably resistant behavior.† (Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan and Switzler, 2007, p 253). Therefore, Influencer: The Power to Change Anything is an essential book dealing with the strategies to develop influencers who can replace bad behaviors with powerful new skills, motivate others to change, and make things happen. In a reflective exploration of the book Influencer: The Power to Change

King of Country Music Essay Example for Free

King of Country Music Essay When Strait was a teenager, he began his music by joining a rock and roll garage band. After he graduated high school, he enrolled in college, but soon dropped out and married his high school sweetheart, Norma Voss, in 1971. He later enlisted in the Army. He was stationed in Hawaii and began to play in an army-sponsored band called Rambling Country. On October 6, 1972, while still in Hawaii, George and Norma welcomed their first child, Jenifer. In 1975, Strait was discharged from the Army and soon after returned to Texas. Strait returned to college in San Marcos, where he graduated in 1979 with a degree in agriculture. During college, he joined the country band Stoney Ridge, answering a flyer the band posted around campus looking for a new vocalist. Strait renamed the group the Ace in the Hole and quickly became the lead, they began to perform at different honky tonks and bars around south and central Texas, traveling as far east as Huntsville and Houston. They gained a regional following and opened for national acts such as The Texas Playboys. Soon, his band was given the opportunity to record several Strait-penned singles including That Dont Change The Way I Feel About You, for the Houston-based D label. However, the songs never achieved wide recognition, and Strait continued to manage his family cattle ranch during the day in order to make some extra cash. Strait attempted tried to become famous in Nashville but failed because he lacked any strong business connections. In 1979, he became friends with Erv Woolsey, a Texas club owner who once worked for MCA Records. Woolsey invited several MCA executives to Texas to hear Strait. He did so well on his performance they signed him in 1980. Straits first single was â€Å"Unwound’ in 1981. It made it into the Top 10. Next he released two more songs Down and Out and If Youre Thinking You Want a Stranger (Theres One Coming Home). Both these songs did great on the charts, but it wasnt until 1982 when Straits second album Strait from the heart was released. Then George Strait had his first number one hit Fool Hearted Memory. In the 1980s alone, he reached the top of the chart 18 times with songs such as The Chair, All My Exes Live in Texas, Famous Last Words of a Fool and Baby Blue. In 1985, he won CMA awards for album of the year and male vocalist. In 1986, he repeated his win as male vocalist, but his year was marked by tragedy when his daughter was killed in a car wreck. Baby Blue is said to have been written for his daughter. Strait won CMA entertainer of the year award in 1989 and 1990. In the 1990s, George Strait continued to dominate country music. He released his tenth album, Livin It Up, which featured two number one hits including Love Without End, Amen and Ive Come to Expect It From You. He later released the singles If I Know Me and You Know Me Better Than Thatwhich both were number one hits. In 1992, Strait starred in the movie Pure Country and recorded I Cross My Heart which is still one of his biggest hits today. His song once again reached number one. In 1995, He released a four-CD boxed set, Strait Out of the Box. It had become one of the five biggest-selling boxed sets in music history.

Inform Speech Outline Essay Example for Free

Inform Speech Outline Essay General purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the benefits of mangosteen Central Idea: Mangosteen is a tropical evergreen tree that bears fragrant fruit with a sweet, creamy, citrus-like flavor that has many benefits in our life such as for medical purpose, for health purpose and also for beauty purpose. Introduction: See more: 5 paragraph essay format I. Mangosteen is one of the most popular tropical fruits, which is mainly in humid, hot climates. II. Mangosteen is a small evergreen tree, found in the Pacific Islands, Africa and Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. III. Mangosteen is recognized by other names such as Garcinia Mangostana L, Manggis, Mangosteen or Mangis. IV. Today I would like to inform you about the benefits of mangosteen in our life such as for medical purpose, for health purpose, and also for beauty purpose. (Transition: Now, I have finished with the introduction of mangosteen. Let’s start with the first benefit of mangosteen.) I. The first benefits of mangosteen is for medical purpose. A. Mangosteen fruits are fighting cancer and heart disease. 1. According to the American cancer society, in lab studies mangosteen has slowed down the growth of certain cancer cells. 2. Mangosteen is a strong source of antioxidants and anti-accidents have shown to protect against cancer and heart disease. 3. Lab tests have shown that mangosteen fruit can kill same bacteria and fungi. B. Mangosteen can use for nutritions food. 1. This fruit is very low in calories and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol. 2. Mangosteen also has vitamin c for helps the body develop resistance against flu. C. Mangosteen also can use for medicinal value. 1. The leaf of mangosteen can use for infusion to cure wounds. 2. The rind of mangosteen also can used cure for diarrhea and dysentery, intestinal catarrh and skin infections. (Transition: okay, l has finished about the first benefits of mangosteen. Let’s go to the second benefit of mangosteen.) II. The second benefit of mangosteen is for health purpose. D. It is wise to drink mangosteen juice to get its health benefits. 1. Our body can adsorb mangosteen in a juice from quicker rather than consuming fresh or dried. E. Drinking mangosteen juice regularly also important for our life. 1. Mangosteen juice is made by pulping the whole fruit, which strains it and then pasteurizes the juice because most of the health benefit are available in its hull or rind. 2. In fact, preliminary research has indicated that mangosteen juice can help some ailments, such as fatigue, depression, pain, anxiety and other problem. (Transition: Now I have finished about the second benefits of mangosteen. Let’s go to the last benefit of mangosteen.) III. The last benefit of mangosteen is for beauty purpose. F. The function of an antioxidant in mangosteen. 1. Antioxidants is to fight against the free radicals that cause cellular damage and that have been implicated in the development of heart disease and cancer. G. Antioxidants can use to repair damage to our own cells. 3. Antioxidants are one of the most important substances in foods for our lives 4. Antioxidants are nature’s anti-aging medicine that can help prevent cancer, heart disease and countless other illnesses. (Transition: Okey, I have finished about of the all benefits of mangosteen. Let’s go to the conclusion for today.) Conclusion I. As we have seen, mangosteen has many benefits for the our live. II. Therefore, there have many benefits and function that can use for protecting many diseases in our live. III. Lastly, I hope of the all audiences can understand now what the benefit of mangosteen and like to eat mangosteen in our live. References Mangostana, G. (2006). Practical Manual No. 9: Mangosteen. Southampton: Southampton Centre for Underutillised Crops. Tannis, A. (2009). Feed Tour Skin Starve Your Wrinkles: Eat Your Way to Firmer, More Beautiful Skin with the 100 Best Anti-Aging Foods. Beverly: Quayside Publishing Group. Lucas, S. E. (2009). The Art of Public Speaking: Tenth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.

SWOT Analysis Of Parle Products

SWOT Analysis Of Parle Products The intent of the assignment is to analyse the operation process of manufacturing or service organisation, thriving to achieve the efficiency and productivity in the operations process, through various organisational and operational strategies carried out on a short term or a long term basis. The analysis of the report is based on the various key finding which determines the success of organisation and how company manages between the quality, cost, speed, dependability and flexibility of its products using the key competitive factors such as order winner and order qualifiers to sustain in the market. The process design used by the organisation is to improve competence and effective inventory management style with help of suppliers and distributors; analysing the problems faced by the organisation and solution for the same. INTRODUCTION Parle is one of Indias largest biscuit, confectionery and snacks manufacturer it has been set-upped in vile Parle Mumbai in 1929. As a organized segment of the FMCG (Fast moving consumer goods) industry, FMCG products are generally replaced within a year and include a range of product provided to the consumer that may be Durable e.g. Food, soap, cosmetics, tooth cleaning products, shaving products and detergents and non-durable products such as glassware, bulbs, batteries, paper products, and plastic goods. Babaria, M. and Dharod, M. (2009) Parle Operation Management is to manage of resources and delivery system and the duties entitled to the operation manager control of the cost, monitoring the efficiency of the production and asset management, The viewpoint of Parle Company is to attract as much of youth and grown-ups through its product with the mission to provide happiness among children and adults not only in the metro cities but also tier 2 and tier 3 cities in the country. On a short- term basis the company objective is to create awareness about the products among the youth and on long-term duration is to be the market leader. Major competitors of Parle are the ITC sun-feast ltd, Britannia, Nestle HUL (Hindustan unilever ltd). Parle provides a range of biscuits such as Parle-G, krackjack, Hide and seek, Milano etc. confectionery like melody, mango-bite, orange candy etc. and snacks like Jeffs, cheese ling etc. Parle are market leader and in their category and own 40% share of the biscuit market share and 15% share of the total confectionary market in India, Parle has transformed into a multimillion company over the years. Based on the product variation provided by Parle the customer are not bound by age they can be consumed by people of all age group even the adults or senior citizens. E.g. Parle G is widely excepted product, the customers of Parle are not restricted to the local or regional tier1, 2 3 markets but also on a global scale by implementing top down approach strategy in the organization. (parleproducts., 2012) Macantosh HD:Users:pagdant:Downloads:1.png TRANSFORMATION PROCESS FEEDBACK INPUT TRANSFORMATION PROCESS RAW MATERIAL Wheat flour, sugar, hydrogenate vegetable oil, salt, milk, added flavors PRODUCTS Biscuits, snacks confectioneries OUTPUT Transformation process is activities involving no. Of input, this adds value and transforms into output for customer. (Openlearn.open 2003) Through the transformation process various raw material used at input at Parle, which goes through the transformation process and made into biscuits, snacks confectioneries for the consumers. SWOT ANALYSIS OF PARLE PRODUCTS STRENGTH WEAKNESS Low price Irregular supply Distribution system Dependent on Parle-G brand Wide range Delivery system OPPORTUNITY THREATS Export potential Competitors (Britannia, ITC) Untapped Rural market Substitutions (toast) Retain of loyal customers Bakery products Suppliers. The above analysis reflects strength of the company lies in its low price technique, wide range of products and distribution system of Parle, opportunities prevailing are the export potential, untapped rural market, due to increase in the purchasing power of the consumer retention of loyal customers, Threats faced by Parle are from the competitors, substitutes available in the market and the bakery products whereas the weakness posses are the irregular supply, dependency on the brand Parle-G and weak delivery system to penetrate in rural areas. Babaria, M. and Dharod, M. (2009) STRATEGY Strategy adopted by any organization is develop the capabilities required to reflects the needs of the customers and market, direct how to spend key resources like time and money and to cope up with the greater level of complexity different business units are maintained in the organizations. Different types of strategy used at different levels in the organization. 1. Corporate level strategy is decided by the company where to invest the funds of the organization in order to meet the business demand of todays and the future.eg. E.g. increase in the volume of sales through sales staffing, increase in sales by increasing the number of factory floor. 2. Business unit strategy is implemented by different part of organization to achieve the desire objective in a specific market based on the present and the future market. E.g. marketing, finance, sales and marketing and operations departments. 3. Functional strategy is to maintain the key resources using the strategic and the day-to-day task. E.g. Market requirement and function of operation manger in monitoring the line of production. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) The word strategy signifies direction and how one should implement it. Strategies adopted by Parle are the business unit strategy where range of product is sold to identify group of customers in competitive market and functional strategy where decision of key resources such as the raw material required for the production is done on day to day basis by a operation manager to compete in the market, to expand in the market, to have an insight of the competitors. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011). Macantosh HD:Users:pagdant:Downloads:attachments:2.png Macantosh HD:Users:pagdant:Downloads:attachments:10.png CAUSE EFFECT Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) Process Producing mass product irrespective the taste Diminish of market share of Parle Competitors Due rise in growing Competition. Fluctuating demand Due to high competition the demand for parle product is not constant. Innovation Using same raw material over the Years PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE Performance Objectives are key measures to align the needs of the customer with the desired effectiveness of the overall business. Performance objectives are Quality, Speed, Dependability, Flexibility and Cost. Each of these dimensions adds its twist to the value proposition. Each dimension hypothetically appeals to different customers. Delivery each objective simultaneously at their highest levels of all these product attributes, operations mangers need to organize objectives based on priority, also identify which are an order winners and qualifiers of the targeted critical customers, Operation management (2012). Quality Quality is fitness for consumption in terms of meeting customers needs and desires. Quality can either be an order winner or order qualifier for customer based on the quality maintained. Quality conformance, which means to consistent delivering services based on design specification which, in turn, needs to reflect customer needs. Operation management (2012). To maintain good quality companies like Parle need to maintain and manage quality gaps. Hygiene is the precursor of every process in Parle. Every batch and confectionery is thoroughly checked by an expert staff by adopting Quality conformance level after every stage maintain similar quality throughout all nations neglecting quality control system. Cost Cost is one of the major contributions in business welfare since products that cost less but have good quality attract customers. Operation managers try to reduce costs and also maintain quality so the company profits. Operation management (2012). Parle as a company tends to maintain quality and keep a low purchase cost. Parle follows a policy of Kaizen, which means to produce more and more value with less wastage attaining better environment and developing stable process by standardization. Macantosh HD:Users:pagdant:Downloads:attachments:3.png Buthmann, A. (2010) describes that Quality cost is the Cost caused through producing of defects. Quality cost is most expensive concept used at Parle to cover the good and poor quality cost. Buthmann, A. (2010) describes that External failure is the cost associated to the external deficit of the product received by the consumer at Parle external cost is to maintain the quality cost is spend on the complaints received from consumers through online feedback, losses occurred due to reduction in sales due market acquisition by the competitors and environmental cost. Internal failure occurs before the product is delivered to the customers, not confirming to requirement of customers through the product leading to less satisfied customers, Internal quality Cost at Parle is due to shortage of raw material is due to smaller storage capacity limited to only 3 days. Buthmann, A. (2010). Appraisal cost occur in-order to maintain quality in all stages, conformance to quality standard Through Quality storage condition, maintaining Hygiene and monitoring quality by expert staff adopted at Parle. Buthmann, A. (2010). Prevention quality cost is to prevent poor quality of product is provided to consumer Buthmann, A. (2010). Parle spends in Quality improvement in staff inspection, Quality planning of new product and Quality improvement in team decision. Dependability Dependability is a degree of availability of the product when the customer needs or requires product. Operation management (2012). Parle is a multination company it deals with multiple nations it has a constant management of products regarding demand and supply. To cope with demand Parle produces 13 billion biscuits in a month. Flexibility Operations ability is to respond efficiently to changes in products, processes (including supply chain relationships), and competitive environments. Operation management (2012). Flexibility differs in companies but companies like Parle have a standardized approach and there is less change in the operations of the company. Speed It means by doing things faster to minimize the time between the order and the availability of the product to give a speed advantage to the wholesaler, retailer which ultimate the benefits to the customers. Slack, N. et al. (2004) Parle maintains their speed through their wholesalers who deliver their products to the retailers, which are finally received by the consumers. Parle maintain the speed by keeping a systematic approach to the system. POLAR DIAGRAM The polar radar chart depicts the priority of the performance objectives Slack, N. et al. (2004) in Parle. Parle as a company strives to produce the best material with minimum wastage. After quality Parle looks at customer benefit and cost management. By producing in bulk Parle maintain availability of products increasing dependability. Parle maintains standard procedure to increase operation speed. COMPETITIVE FACTORS Macantosh HD:Users:pagdant:Downloads:attachments:4.png ORDER WINNER Order winners The competitive characteristics possess by Parle are both time-specific and market-specific to Parle product are most economic since their products are starting at a price range of Rs2 Rs 25, Product range of Parle are into 3 categories Biscuits having 18 varieties of biscuit in the Indian market making them the largest biscuit manufacturer in the country. Sweets- Parle has 11 varieties of chocolate and candies in its product line-up. Snacks- fairly new to the market Parle have only 4 varieties of snacks in the market. Product design quality is initiated by Parle product by making use of automated packaging facilities and all the Parle product are manufactured under hygienic condition and maintaining quality standard at each stage of biscuits and confectioneries are thoroughly checked by expert staff using modern equipment at Parle they follow the seven HACCP principles for total quality management. Great care is exercised in the selection and quality control of raw materials; packaging materials and rigid quality standards are ensured at every stage of the manufacturing process (parleproducts, 2012) ORDER QUALIFIER Certain characteristics indicates that certain qualifiers are same for the entire market Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011), which was seen also seen in Parle competitors where delivery speed plays a crucial role in providing the product to its end consumers and packaging of the product is done to attract the customers. LESS IMPORTANT FACTORS There are certain factors at Parle, which does not affect the production of the product irrespective of the located weather it is in tier1, tier2 and tier3. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011), Parle factory situated in teir1 and Promotion activates of Parle is not considered the unique selling point since to create hype in the market its mandatory to use various promotional activities to create awareness among consumers. ORDER WINNER ORDER QUALIFER LESS IMPORTANT FACTORS Order Winner is quality that helps companies win markets. In case of Parle policy is to strive to provide consistently nutritious and quality food products to meet customers satisfaction by using quality material and by adopting appropriate processes. Therefore Quality is an order winner for Parle. While, also producing the finest quality for customers like to sell it at convenient or cheap prices that are affordable by all people. This makes Purchase Price an order winner for Parle also. Whereas the delivery system and packaging is similar as their competitor therefore it is an order qualifier. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011). PEOCESS Macantosh HD:Users:pagdant:Downloads:attachments:6.png Most manufacturing organisations provides standard product in high volumes. The repeat, mass production and standardization of the product indicate a need of process design that would benefit these characteristics. Batch process seems to be feasible choice as it simplifies, automate and reduces manufacturing cost. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011). The designing of batch process can be such that it can be used and reused for manufacturing of range of products, hence enabling companies to reduce cost by investing in equipments. The downside to this process is that for manufacturing each product the process line has to be reset, it is costly and skilled officials can only make changes. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011). At Parle manufacturing is based on batch process to manufacture their products; as mass production is possible without hampering the quality standards of the product. Being cost effective is one of the major criteria at Parle as it uses the same line to manufacture more 33 varieties of products. Parle do not make specialized product, as their main target are the masses. Standard products are expensive and not in mass production by Parle. Mass products are cheap and manufactured in large quantities. VOLUME PRODUCT VARIETY VARI Milano, Hide Seek, Bourbon. STANDARD PRODUCTS None MASS PRODUCT Parle-G, Krack-Jack, Milk Shakti. SPECIAL PRODUCTS Untitled.png Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) argues that volume variety demonstrations relationship between the product categories and volume of the product to be produce at Parle which shows the manufacturing is based on standardize and mass production. LINE OF FIT The above graph depict the line of fit maintain by parle in order to survive in the market through the availability of the products in the range of the line of fit. Kaul, D. (2012) MANUFACTURING FLOW CHART RAW MATERIAL TESTING MIXING MOULDING BAKING COOLING PACKAGING The manufacturing process flow chart illustrates how the production process is carried at Parle, In the initial stage, Testing of raw materials is carried out, which is sent for moulding through the conveyor belt the unfinished product goes through oven for baking and then to cooling of the product and later for packaging through machines like box tapping and sealing machine and forward to dispatched section for the whole sellers to channelize to the retailer for the customers to buy. PACKAGE AND PROCESS Macantosh HD:Users:pagdant:Downloads:attachments:7.png The physical resource used for Packaging of the finished goods at Parle is done through the help of box tapping and sealing machines while facilitating packaged goods and finished product. The activities required during the process is done in front office i.e. administration room coordinating with the back office i.e. the storeroom, dispatch section and production area in addition to the process Parle also provides flow of material, information to the customers with the help of implicit service where visitors are allow to visit the factory by arranging a visit at the production section at the front office. Kaul, D. (2012) LAYOUT Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) argues that process or functional is an arrangement of process and function at a particular area. The layout used at Parle is a process or functional layout reflecting that the layout is made in such a manner that similar operations are used in one areas where large batched of goods are produced. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011). This type of layout is suitable for Parle where large batches of production is done with help of various functions where layout reflects the stages involved in the making of the Parle products that is the product making is started with the testing of the raw material then moulding and mixing machine goes to oven and then for cooling before going to the packaging and then finally as a finished product. Functional layout advantages 1. Wide range of products Parle as brand itself produces around 33 different varieties of products for consumption at its Parle factory at vile-Parle. 2. Lower capital cost -The infrastructure at Parle used for the production i.e. the autonomous machine helps in reduce the capital cost incurred in making of the product. 3. Utilization of processes since all the resource used in the making of the Parle product are group in the factory itself helps in proper utilization of all resources e.g. Equipments and skilled staff. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) Functional layout disadvantages 1. In-process inventories at Parle are the cost of the direct material, direct labour, and factory overhead placed into the products on the factory floor. 2. Material handling can be costly and inefficient handling of inventories at Parle are costlier since storeroom are made to accommodate these inventories in proper conditions, which add to the cost and are inefficient when the sales revenue is not up to projected mark. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) The production process followed at Parle is Repeat (standard) Product where the making of product is done a repetitive basis designed for functional layout where high volume of production is done using batch and mass production. INVENTORY Inventory comprises of the input which is part of the unfinished goods goes through various operational process stages know as work in progress for a desired output in the form of finished products to sold to the customers. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) The inventory type adopted by Parle is the process inventory where the raw material for 3 days is store in the warehouse from where they are sends for testing the raw material weather it is meeting required standards for the production. After testing raw materials are sent for production. Where the raw material goes through various stages of baking and cooling and shifted to the dispatched room where they are stored and delivered to their distributors and the end customers. The raw material used in the product can be stored roughly for 3 days because the plant is designed in such a way that the raw material cannot be stored more than 3 days. INVENTORY FLOW CHART STORE ROOM WORK IN PROGRESS SUPPLIER DISPATCHED SECTION CUSTOMERS The inventory flow chart depicts the form of inventory present throughout the three-process stages i.e. input, operation process and output at Parle. The inventory such as raw material like wheat flour, sugar, hydrogenate vegetable oil, salt, milk and added flavours are stored in the store room from where they used in the process stages for the manufacturing of biscuits, sent to the dispatched section where the packaging takes place and distributed to the wholesaler and then to retailers for the end consumers. Due to limited duration of the storage capacity there are certain issues that have to be dealt such as to meet the global requirement and the diminishing demand for the products from local markets. SUPPLY CHAIN Before maintaining the supply chain has to decide whether to make the raw material or buy the material. Every manufacturing unit has different benefits if they make in-house / outsource. Advantages for making in house are that company has more control over the material it is more flexible and last minute adjustments are possible. The advantages of outsourcing are that cost is easier to manage and increases focus on final product. In case of Parle, raw material is outsourced and the final product is made in house. This is depicted through their supply chain. Supply Chain comprises all the steps required to supply a service or product to a customer. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011). Parle has many products, which have multiple raw material requirements. Multiple suppliers of provide these materials as their tier 1 supplier. Tier 1 supplier such as Godrej, Gurgaon Sugar Mill, Kopoli Flour mill, Wallace Flour Mill and Ahmed Bhai Sugar Mill. Tier 1 Tier 1 Godrej sugar mills Tier 2 Tier 3 Retailor Wholesaler Final Customer Kopoli flourmill INTERNAL OPERATIONS Retailor Wallace Flour mill Wholesaler Ahmedbhai sugar mill WHOLESALER, Retailor CUSTOMER INTERNAL SUPPLY CHAIN PROCESS SUPPLIER Delay in Inventory The above figure reflects how inventory at parle are buffered and maintained at each stage through the gap in the supply chain. But with proper co-ordination with the activities in the supply chain helps parle to build a products design, customer management and final delivery of the product to be consumed. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) Conclusion The report covers Distinctive features of Parle operation process through operation analysis of the organisation by taking an overview on the potency of distribution system and lower price advantage of Parle over it competitors, tremendous measure are taken to maintain quality and at the same time be cost effective, which can be reflected from their quality control methods and the way factory is designed to carry out operations and buffer their inventory through various stages of the operations and maintaining integrated supply chain management with the coordination of their suppliers parle develop a products design, customer management and final delivery of the product to be consumed, with the help of analysis carried out on parle we were able to identify the operational problems and provided with appropriate recommendation, which has assisted our group to know the functioning of an operation management and how the operational surrounding play a vital role in manufacturing of a prod uct or service delivered to a customers, which was the motive of our assignment. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011) RECOMMENDATION TYPE OF PROBLEM RECOMMENDATION A) STRATEGY MARKET SOLUTION Fluctuating in the demand. Rise in competition, Lack of innovative ideas (Same Use of raw material.) Diminish market share of parle. Parle should invest in capacity or inventory for fluctuating demand. Parle can improvement by using passive or proactive approach for better innovation and sustenance against rise in competitions. Parle should Constantly compare their order-losing sensitive qualifiers with their competitors, since a slight change in the environment can cause them to start losing market share. B) PROCESS PERFORMANCE SOLUTION Lack of flexibility Costlier to maintain the equipments Reset of process line. Operation volumes. Quality conformance level after every stage. There should be constant change in operation for better improvements. Equipments, which are not essential should be should out or should be leased rather buying the equipments. Different operation should be maintained line for different range of product instead of reset after the end of the every process. Reduction in depletion and the changeover and set-up times for manufacturing process. To maintain the operation volume labour and material should be properly utilised. Parle should build control system rather than conformance at each stage C) INVENTORY SOLUTION Cost of in-process inventory Handling of inventory Storage capacity Holding of inventory To reduce cost of the inventory Casual analysis should be done and inventory should be group into corporate, decoupling, cycle, pipeline and buffer for better handling and increase in the storage capacity to hold the inventory. D) SUPPLY SOLUTION Fluctuation cost of raw material E.g. sugar. Maintaining loyal suppliers due rise in demand. Slow technological up gradation compared to competitors. Parle should adopt the release cash method where they should delay the payment to suppliers leading to improvisation in operation. Build better relationship for constant supply of raw material, which will help to maintain loyal suppliers. To avoid cost on up-gradation of the technology it should be outsourced. Hill, A. and Hill, T. (2011)

Can Religion Make You Happy? Essay -- Happiness Essays

â€Å"If Religion Makes People Happy, Why Are So Many Dropping Out?† -- Louis Tay and David G. Meyers. Throughout history, religion has helped form the basic fabric of society. From an early age, religion provided the answers to any unexplainable natural phenomena. The question of why the world worked in a particular way was easily answered with â€Å"because [name of deity] made it that way.† Religion was everywhere; everyone had their own ideas about how the world worked and what their role was in the universe. Each likeminded group held that their religious beliefs were the root cause of their happiness and general satisfaction with life. Centuries of religious dominance eventually gave birth to a widespread idea that strong religious beliefs are essential to living a happy and fulfilling life. Even today, in a society dominated by scientific advances, religion finds a niche in catering to people’s spiritual needs. Indeed, despite the societal changes that have occurred in modern times, religion has remained largely unchanged since its early days. The belief t hat religion factors heavily into one’s life satisfaction and happiness has also remained much the same, despite today’s complex and ever-changing society. The problem lies where religion is viewed as a major way to achieve happiness, and this perspective can lead to blind acceptance of religion solely on the basis of its supposed universal benefits. Basically, a new way of looking at religion is needed: seeing it not as the end-all happiness tool, but as a small factor in a complex web of happiness and well-being. Traditionally, organized religion in the Western world encouraged a melancholy outlook on life. Today, however, religion represents an image of happi... ...tz, Hans-Georg; Lewis, Christopher Alan. â€Å"The Relationship Between Religion and Happiness Among German Students.† Pastoral Psychology. 51.4 (2003): 273-281. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 19 June 2015. Madigan, Timothy J. â€Å"Godless Happiness.† Free Inquiry Summer 1998: 32+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 19 June 2015. Moeller, Philip. â€Å"Religion Makes People Happier--But Why?† Chicago Tribune. N.p., 13 Apr. 2012. Web. 15 June 2015. Myers, David G. â€Å"Who’s Happy? Who’s Not?† Christianity Today. 23 Nov. 1992: 23+. Gale Power Search. Web. 19 June 2015. Schumaker, John F. â€Å"Can Religion Make You Happy?† Free Inquiry Summer 1998: 28+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 19 June 2015. Stearns, Peter N. â€Å"The History of Happiness. (Cover Story).† Harvard Business Review 90.1/2 (2012): 104-109. Business Source Complete. Web. 6 June 2015.

Physical Activity and Weight Control :: Health Fitness Weight Loss Essays

Physical Activity and Weight Control Regular physical activity is an important part of effective weight loss and weight maintenance. It also can help prevent several diseases and improve your overall health. It does not matter what type of physical activity you perform--sports, planned exercise, household chores, yard work, or work-related tasks--all are beneficial. Studies show that even the most inactive people can gain significant health benefits if they accumulate 30 minutes or more of physical activity per day. Based on these findings, the U.S. Public Health Service has identified increased physical activity as a priority in Healthy People 2000, our national objectives to improve the health of Americans by the year 2000. Research consistently shows that regular physical activity, combined with healthy eating habits, is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight. Whether you are trying to lose weight or maintain it, you should understand the important role of physical activity and include it in your lifestyle. How Can Physical Activity Help Control My Weight? Physical activity helps to control your weight by using excess calories that otherwise would be stored as fat. Your body weight is regulated by the number of calories you eat and use each day. Everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do uses calories, including sleeping, breathing, and digesting food. Any physical activity in addition to what you normally do will use extra calories. Balancing the calories you use through physical activity with the calories you eat will help you achieve your desired weight. When you eat more calories than you need to perform your day's activities, your body stores the extra calories and you gain weight (a). When you eat fewer calories than you use, your body uses the stored calories and you lose weight (b). When you eat the same amount of calories as your body uses, your weight stays the same (c). Food scales Any type of physical activity you choose to do--strenuous activities such as running or aerobic dancing or moderate-intensity activities such as walking or household work--will increase the number of calories your body uses. The key to successful weight control and improved overall health is making physical activity a part of your daily routine. What Are the Health Benefits of Physical Activity? In addition to helping to control your weight, research shows that regular physical activity can reduce your risk for several diseases and conditions and improve your overall quality of life.

Is Popularization of Science Possible? Essay -- Science Research Paper

Is Popularization of Science Possible? ABSTRACT: If the philosophy of science wants to pass along its views adequately to the public, it is important that the latter have a basic general understanding of science. Only in this way can "popularization of science" be meaningful from a philosophical and educational point of view. Is "good" popularization a possibility or merely a utopian phantasm. I conclude that popularization of science is possible if certain conditions are met. Scientists have to take responsibility and be honest in their efforts, both toward science as well as the public. Introduction Popularization of science is nothing else than an endeavour to image scientific ideas in such a way that everyone (especially non-scientists) can grasp the fundamental concepts and have an idea of what science in essence is. Of course, no one really knows what 'science' is, not even the scientists themselves. Philosophers trying to describe what the scientific method could be and others trying to put down what the scientific method should be, found out (it took them a lot of time) that there is nothing like the 'one and only' scientific approach. The impossibility to give a distinct and unique definition follows. Nevertheless, the phenomenon 'science' and its results do exist. Although nobody can tell exactly what 'science' is all about, everyone should have an idea anyway. The question at stake here is whether this is possible and, if so, to what extent. Mapping Science Let us take the following into consideration. The best map one can make is, evidently, a scale 1:1 parallel projection of the surface one wants to chart. But such a map is clearly lumpish to handle and quite superfluous. In extremis, the most accura... ...lts on the big bang have brought mystery back to the cosmos. Dent, 1992. Gustaaf Cornelis, Popularization of Science. The Democratization of Knowledge in Perspective. Communication and Cognition 29 (2) 1996. Dennis Dieks, "The Quantum Mechanical Worldpicture and Its Popularization" in Cornelis 1996, 153-168. Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time. Bantam Press, 1988/1997. ________, A Brief History of Time. An Interactive Adventure. CD-ROM (created by Jim Mervis and Robit Hairman), Blasterware, 1994. ________ and Roger PENROSE, The Nature of Space and Time. Princeton University Press, 1996. David Lerner, The Big Bang Never Happened. Simon and Schuster, 1991. Ilya Prigogine and Gustaaf Cornelis, "Unity between Science and Culture." In Cornelis 1996, 239-248. Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World. Science as a candle in the dark. Headline, 1996.

Explain the Purpose of Hermeneutics

The primary need of Hermeneutics is to determine and understand the meaning of Biblical text. The purpose of Hermeneutics is to bridge the gap between our minds and the minds of the Biblical writers through a thorough knowledge of the original languages, ancient history and the comparison of Scripture with Scripture. Through Hermeneutics, Biblical Interpretation can be achieved in three ways; historically, the message and the doctrine. The Bible is totally authoritive and inspired by God, however is it propositional or not? To be propositional means that God reveals certain truths at which we respond in accepting these truths. These certain truths may be found in scripture, creeds and or the teachings of the church. Non-propositional approach emphasise God revealing himself at which we respond with faith being a personal belief in God, resulting in us developing specific ideas and or propositions about God. A non-propositional view believes the Bible is a source book of many different accounts of human response to the divine. In Hermeneutics, there are three, among many, significant schools of thought which we are principally concerned; fundamentalism, liberal approach, and traditional interpretations of Scripture. Fundamentalism was first used in the beginning of the 20th century, whose aim was to preserve what they saw as the ‘fundamentals’ of the Christian faith from being eroded by liberal thinking. The fundamentals included the following beliefs; the divinity of Jesus; meaning he was fully God, that God’s ultimate judgement and the existence of heaven and hell and the physical resurrection of Jesus, among others. Fundamentalists believed in the doctrine of plenary verbal inspiration, this is the understanding that, the Bible is the actual word of God to the extent that it was dictated by God, word for word, to the people who wrote it down. To the fundamentals, the Bible is seen as being ‘inspired’ or ‘breathed’ by God in a direct and ‘unmediated’ fashion, meaning the actual writers of the Bible are just conduits and God is the actual author as it is God’s words that they are included, and so God is the words of the writers. Fundamentalists would declare that their view of the Bible can be found in the words of the Bible itself. Similarly Fundamentalists may argue that the Bible itself makes a clear statement of its own dependability. Since the Bible is regarded as being entirely the work of God and that God is the author it is inerrant meaning it can never be changed, questioned or challenged, to do so means you’re challenging God himself. With this idea that the Bible goes without error goes beyond the concept that it is with theological error. Rather the belief of inerrancy includes freedom from geographical, historical and scientific error as well. The second school of interpretation is Liberalism. This grew out of the discussion amongst rationalism and authoritarianism. The Liberal system of Hermeneutics suggests that the modern mentality was to govern someone’s approach to scripture, such as, if anything was not in harmony with ‘educated’ morality, it was rejected, for example Biblical concepts such as hell, sin and depravity as they offend moral sensitivities, and could not believe that their God could punish them in such a way. The Liberal method of Hermeneutics allows the Bible to be open for criticism like any other scripture, for example, miracles are not always to be accepted as they are not of certain truths and are not scientific. Another approach the Liberal system suggest is that the scripture’s text itself could be rearranged, for instance in authoritive order the law comes first however it may be argued that shouldn’t it be ordered by the times in which they were written? The reason behind this approach is that the Liberal method rejects all forms of inspiration. For a Liberal interpreter of the Biblical, the concept of revelation is redefined to mean human insight into religious truth. One of the consequences of the liberal school of interpretation is that the content of doctrinal and theological are not binding, this results to the belief that religious experience is therefore fundamental and that theology is an afterthought. The Liberals believe that the writers of the Bible accommodated their recipients and hence the Bible is not binding on us. Non propositional theology is often favoured by liberal theologians because it places the emphasis on human experience and rationality. The third school of interpretation is Traditionalism. Traditionalists maintain that the Bible is full of truth, God is revealed within the Bible and that it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. One of the key characteristics of their approach to the Bible is its emphasis on the need to understand the nature of the different types of literature within the bible. However, traditionalists would not accept the fundamentalist’s notion of inerrancy as many would acknowledge that there are mistakes in the Bible. These are seen as a reflection of both the historical context in which they are written and the human fallibility f the authors. As with Liberals, traditionalists believe that some aspects of the Bible need to be reinterpreted for today. Traditionalists place a lot of emphasis on the process of exegesis. However, after establishing the intended meaning of the author the next step in the traditional approach is the question of how it should be applied to Christian today. However, whereas fundamentalists believe that the true meaning of a text should be clear to each reader; traditionalists believe that exegesis is more of a complex process. Another characteristic of the traditionalists is that they are open to a range of different forms of scholarship, for instance, open to forms of textual and historical analysis. However unlike the liberal approach such scholarship is generally used to support conservative positions. Unlike fundamentalists, traditional approaches appreciate both the human involvement in the authorship of Biblical books and the historical/literary process through which the books were developed. However, although they acknowledge this human and historical process they do see it also as inspired by God as they recognise that there is something distinct and authoritive about the canon of scripture. Hermeneutics is the science, as it is guided by rules, and the art, the application of these rules, of Biblical interpretation. The description of Hermeneutics as the ‘art of understanding’ comes from a 19th century theologian, Fredrich Schleiermacher. In interpretation, we approach a text, with either, some kind of prior understanding, prejudgement or a pre-conceived idea in order to read out of the text, known as exegesis. Or openly reading the text, to discover something about it which we would not of known before, known as eisegesis. Eisegesis, is most faithful to text, as you have no opinion on the text at hand, however this is also most confusing as it results in a variety of information. One major scholar, as mentioned, is theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, a founder of modern Hermeneutics, which within his work Biblical teachings are emphasized. Schleiermacher was the first person to introduce a philosophical theory of interpretation, which is appropriate to the Bible along with other texts. He emphasized the affective or emotions as a source of religious experience which is ultimately different from the purely rational approach of philosophy. Schleiermacher also argued that what makes Christianity very special is the historical event of Jesus whose life was one of perfect God-consciousness. It is this which the early authors attempted to capture in their writings. Schleiermacher believed that as religious propositions can only be made known through language the role of Hermeneutics is to unlock the original experience. Using Kant, Schleiermacher argued that the mind seeks to organise different experiences, which can be seen in the different categories or styles of literature contained within the Bible. One of the purposes of hermeneutics for Schleiermacher is to therefore ensure that the right literary genre is applied to the text. Another major scholar along with Schleiermacher is Paul Ricoeur a great philosopher of the 20th century. Unlike Schleiermacher Ricoeur argued that the author is not important in interpretation of texts, only the reader as he develops a view of the world which is enriched and enhanced through his engagement with the text. Ricoeur established between semantic meaning, what the text says, that can me verifiable and the symbolic meaning, what the text means. It is this symbolic meaning which is the purpose of hermeneutics, as symbols go beyond language to the world itself and to human truths and human experience. Ricoeur argued that in modernity the message of symbols have been forgotten, so the hermeneutical task is to restore the original meanings to symbols. Hermeneutics is therefore the philosophy of finding meaning in life; language not only conveys meanings but Meaning of existence. The world itself, it can be argued, may be considered a text in which we can find the meaning; however the advantage of a written text is its existence which makes it independent from an author and his culture therefore allows us the freedom to question it but to also be questioned by it. However we do not need to believe in the world that the symbols of the text refer to, but we can participate as we have the imagination to do so. Therefore the goal of hermeneutics is the understanding.

Zoe’s Tale PART I Chapter Six

â€Å"I don't know how you could possibly be bored,† Savitri said to me, leaning on an observation deck rail as we looked out from Phoenix Station to the Magellan. â€Å"This place is great.† I looked over at her with mock suspicion. â€Å"Who are you, and what have you done with Savitri Guntupalli?† â€Å"I don't know what you mean,† Savitri said, blandly. â€Å"The Savitri I know was sarcastic and bitter,† I said. â€Å"You are all gushy, like a schoolgirl. Therefore: You're not Savitri. You are some horrible spunky camouflaged alien thing, and I hate you.† â€Å"Point of order,† Savitri said. â€Å"You're a schoolgirl, and you hardly ever gush. I've known you for years and I don't believe I have ever seen you involved in a gushing incident. You are almost entirely gush-free.† â€Å"Fine, you gush even more than a schoolgirl,† I said. â€Å"Which just makes it worse. I hope you're happy.† â€Å"I am,† Savitri said. â€Å"Thank you for noticing.† â€Å"Hrrrumph,† I said, rolled my eyes for extra effect, and applied myself to the observation deck rail with renewed moodiness. I was not actually irritated with Savitri. She had an excellent reason to be excited; all her life she'd been on Huckleberry and now, finally, she was somewhere else: on Phoenix Station, the space station, the largest single thing humans had ever built, hovering above Phoenix, the home planet of the entire Colonial Union. For as long as I had known her – which was for as long as she had been my dad's assistant, back in New Goa, on Huckleberry – Savitri had cultivated an air of general smart-assery, which is one reason I adored her and looked up to her. One has to have role models, you know. But after we had lifted from Huckleberry her excitement from finally getting to see more of the universe had gotten to her. She'd been unguardedly excited about everything; she even got up early to watch the Magellan, the ship that would take us to Roanoke, dock with Phoenix Station. I was happy for her that she was so excited about everything, and I mocked her mercilessly for it every chance I got. One day, yes, there would be payback – Savitri taught me much of what I know about being a smartass, but not everything she knew about it – but until then it was one of the few things keeping me entertained. Listen: Phoenix Station is huge, it's busy, and unless you have an actual job – or like Savitri are just in from the sticks – there is nothing going on. It's not an amusement park, it's just a big dull combination of government offices, docks and military headquarters, all jammed into space. If it weren't for the fact that stepping outside to get some fresh air would kill you – no fresh air, just lung-popping vacuum – it could be any big, faceless, dead-boring civic center anywhere humans come together to do big, faceless, dead-boring civic things. It is not designed for fun, or at least any sort of fun I was interested in having. I suppose I could have filed something. That would have been a kick. Savitri, in addition to being insensibly excited not to be on Huckleberry, was also being worked like a dog by John and Jane: The three of them had spent nearly all their time since we arrived at Phoenix Station getting up to speed on Roanoke, learning about the colonists who would be with us, and overseeing the loading of supplies and equipment onto the Magellan. This didn't come as news to me, but it did leave me with not a whole lot to do, and no one much to do it with. I couldn't even do much with Hickory, Dickory, or Babar; Dad told Hickory and Dickory to lay low while we were on Phoenix Station, and dogs weren't really allowed the run of the station. We had to lay out paper towels for Babar to do his thing on. The first night I did this and tried to get him to take care of business, he gave me a look that said you have got to be kidding. Sorry, buddy. Now pee, damn it. The only reason I was getting some time with Savitri at all was that through a clever combination of whining and guilt I had convinced her to take her lunch break with me. Even then she had brought her PDA and spent half of lunch going over manifests. She was even excited about that. I told her I thought she might be ill. â€Å"I'm sorry you're bored,† Savitri said, back in the present. â€Å"You might want to hint to your parents.† â€Å"Trust me, I did,† I said. â€Å"Dad actually stepped up, too. He said he's going to take me down to Phoenix. Do some last-minute shopping and other things.† The other things were the main reason for us to go, but I didn't want to bring them up to Savitri; I was moody enough as it was. â€Å"You haven't come across any other colonists your own age yet?† Savitri asked. I shrugged. â€Å"I've seen some of them.† â€Å"But you haven't spoken to any of them,† Savitri said. â€Å"Not really,† I said. â€Å"Because you're shy,† Savitri said. â€Å"Now your sarcasm comes back,† I said. â€Å"I'm sympathetic to your boredom,† Savitri said. â€Å"But less so if you're just marinating in it.† She looked around at the observation desk, which had a few other people in it, sitting or reading or staring out at the ships docked at the station. â€Å"What about her?† she said, pointing to a girl who looked about my age, who was looking out the deck window. I glanced over. â€Å"What about her?† I said. â€Å"She looks about as bored as you,† Savitri said. â€Å"Appearances can be deceiving,† I said. â€Å"Let's check,† Savitri said, and before I could stop her called to the other girl. â€Å"Hey,† Savitri said. â€Å"Yes?† the girl said. â€Å"My friend here thinks she's the most bored teenage girl on the entire station,† Savitri said, pointing at me. I had nowhere to cringe. â€Å"I was wondering if you had anything to say about that.† â€Å"Well,† the girl said, after a minute. â€Å"I don't want to brag, but the quality of my boredom is outstanding.† â€Å"Oh, I like her,† Savitri said to me, and then waved the girl over. â€Å"This is Zoe,† she said, introducing me. â€Å"I can talk,† I said to Savitri. â€Å"Gretchen,† she said, extending her hand to me. â€Å"Hello,† I said, taking it. â€Å"I'm interested in your boredom and would like to hear more,† Gretchen said. Okay, I thought. I like her too. Savitri smiled. â€Å"Well, since you two seem to be equally matched, I have to go,† she said. â€Å"There are containers of soil conditioners that need my attention.† She gave me a peck, waved to Gretchen, and left. â€Å"Soil conditioners?† Gretchen said to me, after she had gone. â€Å"It's a long story,† I said. â€Å"I've got nothing but time,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Savitri is the assistant to my parents, who are heading up a new colony,† I said, and pointed to the Magellan. â€Å"That's the ship we're going on. One of Savitri's jobs is to make sure that everything that's on the manifest list actually gets put on the ship. I guess she's up to soil conditioners.† â€Å"Your parents are John Perry and Jane Sagan,† Gretchen said. I stared at her for a minute. â€Å"Yeah,† I said. â€Å"How do you know?† â€Å"Because my dad talks about them a lot,† she said, and motioned toward the Magellan. â€Å"This colony your parents are leading? It was his idea. He was Erie's representative on the CU legislature, and for years he argued that people from established colonies should be able to colonize, not just people from Earth. Finally the Department of Colonization agreed with him – and then it gave the leadership of the colony to your parents instead of him. They told my dad it was a political compromise.† â€Å"What did your dad think about that?† I asked. â€Å"Well, I just met you,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I don't know what sort of language you can handle.† â€Å"Oh. Well, that's not good,† I said. â€Å"I don't think he hates your parents,† Gretchen said, quickly. â€Å"It's not like that. He just assumed that after everything he did, he'd get to lead the colony. ‘Disappointment' doesn't even begin to cover it. Although I wouldn't say he likes your parents, either. He got a file on them when they were appointed and then spent the day muttering to himself as he read it.† â€Å"I'm sorry he's disappointed,† I said. In my head I was wondering if I needed to write Gretchen off as a possible friend; one of those stupid â€Å"our houses are at war† scenarios. The first person my age I meet, going to Roanoke, and we were already in different camps. But then she said, â€Å"Yeah, well. At a certain point he got a little stupid about it. He was comparing himself to Moses, like, Oh, I've led my people to the promised land but I can't enter myself† – and here she made little hand movements to accentuate the point – â€Å"and that's when I decided he was overreacting. Because we're going, you know. And he's on your parents' advisory council. So I told him to suck it up.† I blinked. â€Å"You actually used those words?† I said. â€Å"Well, no,† Gretchen said. â€Å"What I actually said was I wondered if I kicked a puppy if it would whine more than he did.† She shrugged. â€Å"What can I say. Sometimes he needs to get over himself.† â€Å"You and I are so totally going to be best friends,† I said. â€Å"Are we?† she said, and grinned at me. â€Å"I don't know. What are the hours?† â€Å"The hours are terrible,† I said. â€Å"And the pay is even worse.† â€Å"Will I be treated horribly?† she asked. â€Å"You will cry yourself to sleep on a nightly basis,† I said. â€Å"Fed crusts?† she asked. â€Å"Of course not,† I said. â€Å"We feed the crusts to the dogs.† â€Å"Oh, very nice,† she said. â€Å"Okay, you pass. We can be best friends.† â€Å"Good,† I said. â€Å"Another life decision taken care of.† â€Å"Yes,† she said, and then moved away from the rail. â€Å"Now, come on. No point wasting all this attitude on ourselves. Let's go find something to point and laugh at.† Phoenix Station was a lot more interesting after that.

Frostbite Chapter 15

Fifteen I WAS TRYING TO PAINT my toenails the next morning- not easy with such a god-awful hangover- when I heard a knock at the door. Lissa had been gone when I woke up, so I staggered across the room, trying not to ruin my wet nail polish. Opening up the door, I saw one of the hotel staff standing outside with a large box in both arms. He shifted it slightly so that he could peer around and look at me. â€Å"I'm looking for Rose Hathaway.† â€Å"That's me.† I took the box from him. It was big but not all that heavy. With a quick thank-you, I shut the door, wondering if I should have tipped him. Oh well. I sat on the floor with the box. It had no markings on it and was sealed with packing tape. I found a pen and stabbed at the tape. Once I'd hacked off enough, I opened the box and peered inside. It was filled with perfume. There had to be at least thirty little bottles of perfume packed into the box. Some I'd heard of, some I hadn't. They ranged from crazy expensive, movie-star caliber to cheap kinds I'd seen in drugstores. Eternity. Angel. Vanilla Fields. Jade Blossom. Michael Kors. Poison. Hypnotic Poison. Pure Poison. Happy. Light Blue. J?van Musk. Pink Sugar. Vera Wang. One by one, I picked up the boxes, read the descriptions, and then pulled out the bottles for a sniff. I was about halfway through when reality hit. These had to be from Adrian. I didn't know how he'd managed to get all of these delivered to the hotel in such a short amount of time, but money can make almost anything happen. Still, I didn't need the attention of a rich, spoiled Moroi; apparently he hadn't picked up on my signals. Regretfully, I started to place the perfumes back in the box- then stopped. Of course I'd return them†¦but there was no harm in sniffing the rest before I did. Once more, I started pulling out bottle after bottle. Some I just sniffed the cap of; others I sprayed in the air. Serendipity. Dolce & Gabbana. Shalimar. Daisy. Note after note hit me: rose, violet, sandalwood, orange, vanilla, orchid †¦ By the time I was finished, my nose barely worked anymore. All of these had been designed for humans. They had a weaker sense of smell than vampires and even dhampirs, so these scents were extra strong. I had a new appreciation for what Adrian had meant about only a splash of perfume being necessary. If all these bottles were making me dizzy, I could only imagine what a Moroi would smell. The sensory overload wasn't really helping the headache I'd woken up with either. I packed up the perfume for real this time, stopping only when I came to a certain kind that I really liked. I hesitated, holding the little box in my hand. Then, I took the red bottle out and re-sniffed it. It was a crisp, sweet fragrance. There was some kind of fruit- but not a candied or sugary fruit. I racked my brain for a scent I'd once smelled on a girl I knew in my dorm. She'd told me the name. It was like a cherry†¦but sharper. Currant, that's what it was. And here it was in this perfume, mixed with some florals: lily of the valley and others I couldn't identify. Whatever the blend, something about it appealed to me. Sweet- but not too sweet. I read the box, looking for the name. Amor Amor. â€Å"Fitting,† I muttered, seeing how many love problems I seemed to have lately. But I kept the perfume anyway and repacked the rest. Hoisting the box up in my arms, I took it down to the front desk and acquired some packing tape to reseal it. I also got directions to Adrian's room. Apparently, the Ivashkovs practically had their own wing. It wasn't too far from Tasha's room. Feeling like a delivery girl, I walked down the hall and stopped in front of his door. Before I could manage to knock, it opened up, and Adrian stood before me. He looked as surprised as I felt. â€Å"Little dhampir,† he said cordially. â€Å"Didn't expect to see you here.† â€Å"I'm returning these.† I hoisted the box toward him before he could protest. Clumsily, he caught it, staggering a bit in surprise. Once he had a good grip, he took a few steps back and set it on the floor. â€Å"Didn't you like any of them?† he asked. â€Å"You want me to get you some more?† â€Å"Don't send me any more gifts.† â€Å"It isn't a gift. It's a public service. What woman doesn't own perfume?† â€Å"Don't do it again,† I said firmly. Suddenly, a voice behind him asked, â€Å"Rose? Is that you?† I peered beyond him. Lissa. â€Å"What are you doing here?† Between my headache and what I had assumed was some interlude with Christian, I'd blocked her out as best I could this morning. Normally I would have known the instant I approached that she was inside the room. I opened myself up again, letting her shock run into me. She hadn't expected me to show up here. â€Å"What are you doing here?† she asked. â€Å"Ladies, ladies,† he said teasingly. â€Å"No need to fight over me.† I glared. â€Å"We're not. I just want to know what's going on here.† A breath of aftershave hit me, and then I heard a voice behind me: â€Å"Me too.† I jumped. Spinning around, I saw Dimitri standing in the hallway. I had no clue what he was doing in the Ivashkov wing. On his way to Tasha's room, a voice inside me suggested. Dimitri no doubt always expected me to get into all sorts of trouble, but I think seeing Lissa there caught him off guard. He stepped past me and came into the room, looking between the three of us. â€Å"Male and female students aren't supposed to be in each other's rooms.† I knew pointing out that Adrian wasn't technically a student wasn't going to get us out of trouble here. We weren't supposed to be in any guy's room. â€Å"How do you keep doing this?† I asked Adrian, frustrated. â€Å"Do what?† â€Å"Keep making us look bad!† He chuckled. â€Å"You guys are the ones who came here.† â€Å"You shouldn't have let them in,† scolded Dimitri. â€Å"I'm sure you know the rules at St. Vladimir's.† Adrian shrugged. â€Å"Yeah, but I don't have to follow any school's stupid rules.† â€Å"Perhaps not,† said Dimitri coldly. â€Å"But I would have thought you'd still respect those rules.† Adrian rolled his eyes. â€Å"I'm kind of surprised to find you lecturing about underage girls.† I saw the anger kindle in Dimitri's eyes, and for a moment, I thought I might have seen the loss of control I'd teased him about. But he stayed composed, and only his clenched fists showed how angry he was. â€Å"Besides,† continued Adrian, â€Å"nothing sordid was going on. We were just hanging out.† â€Å"If you want to ‘hang out' with young girls, do it at one of the public areas.† I didn't really like Dimitri calling us ‘young girls,' and I kind of felt like he was overreacting here. I also suspected part of his reaction had to do with the fact that I was here. Adrian laughed just then, a weird kind of laugh that made my skin crawl. â€Å"Young girls? Young girls? Sure. Young and old at the same time. They've barely seen anything in life, yet they've already seen too much. One's marked with life, and one's marked with death†¦but they're the ones you're worried about? Worry about yourself, dhampir. Worry about you, and worry about me. We're the ones who are young.† The rest of us just sort of stared. I don't think anyone had expected Adrian to suddenly take an abrupt trip to Crazyville. Adrian was calm and looked perfectly normal again. He turned away and strolled toward the window, glancing casually back at the rest of us as he pulled out his cigarettes. â€Å"You ladies should probably go. He's right. I am a bad influence.† I exchanged looks with Lissa. Hurriedly, we both left and followed Dimitri down the hall toward the lobby. â€Å"That was†¦strange,† I said a couple of minutes later. It was stating the obvious, but, well, someone had to. â€Å"Very,† said Dimitri. He didn't sound angry so much as puzzled. When we reached the lobby, I started to follow Lissa back toward our room, but Dimitri called to me. â€Å"Rose,† he said. â€Å"Can I talk to you?† I felt a sympathetic rush of feeling from Lissa. I turned toward Dimitri and stepped off to the side of the room, out of the way of those passing through. A party of Moroi in diamonds and fur swept past us, anxious looks on their faces. Bellhops followed with luggage. People were still leaving in search of safer places. The Strigoi paranoia was far from over. Dimitri's voice snapped my attention back to him. â€Å"That's Adrian Ivashkov.† He said the name the same way everyone else did. â€Å"Yeah, I know.† â€Å"This is the second time I've seen you with him.† â€Å"Yeah,† I replied glibly. â€Å"We hang out sometimes.† Dimitri arched an eyebrow, then jerked his head back toward where we'd come from. â€Å"You hang out in his room a lot?† Several retorts popped into my head, and then a golden one took precedence. â€Å"What happens between him and me is none of your business.† I managed a tone very similar to the one he'd used on me when making a similar comment about him and Tasha. â€Å"Actually, as long as you're at the Academy, what you do is my business.† â€Å"Not my personal life. You don't have any say in that.† â€Å"You're not an adult yet.† â€Å"I'm close enough. Besides, it's not like I'll magically become an adult on my eighteenth birthday.† â€Å"Clearly,† he said. I blushed. â€Å"That's not what I meant. I meant- â€Å" â€Å"I know what you meant. And the technicalities don't matter right now. You're an Academy student. I'm your instructor. It's my job to help you and to keep you safe. Being in the bedroom of someone like him †¦ well, that's not safe.† â€Å"I can handle Adrian Ivashkov,† I muttered. â€Å"He's weird- really weird, apparently- but harmless.† I secretly wondered if Dimitri's problem might be that he was jealous. He hadn't pulled Lissa aside to yell at her. The thought made me slightly happy, but then I remembered my earlier curiosity about why Dimitri had even wandered by. â€Å"Speaking of personal lives †¦ I suppose you were off visiting Tasha, huh?† I knew it was petty, and I expected a â€Å"none of your business† response. Instead he replied, â€Å"Actually, I was visiting your mother.† â€Å"You going to hook up with her too?† I knew of course that he wasn't, but the quip seemed too good to pass up. He seemed to know that too and merely gave me a weary glance. â€Å"No, we were looking over some new data about the Strigoi in the Drozdov attack.† My anger and snarkiness dried up. The Drozdovs. The Badicas. Suddenly, everything that had happened this morning seemed incredibly trivial. How could I have stood there arguing with Dimitri about romances that might or might not be happening when he and the other guardians were trying to protect us? â€Å"What'd you find out?† I asked quietly. â€Å"We've managed to track some of the Strigoi,† he said. â€Å"Or at least the humans with them. There were witnesses who lived nearby who spotted a few of the cars the group used. The plates were all from different states- the group appears to have split up, probably to make it harder for us. But one of the witnesses did catch one plate number. It's registered to an address in Spokane.† â€Å"Spokane?† I asked incredulously. â€Å"Spokane, Washington? Who makes Spokane their hideout?† I'd been there once. It was about as boring as every other backwoods northwest city. â€Å"Strigoi, apparently,† he said, deadpan. â€Å"The address was fake, but other evidence shows they really are there. There's a kind of shopping plaza that has some underground tunnels. There've been Strigoi sightings around that area.† â€Å"Then †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I frowned. â€Å"Are you going to go after them? Is somebody going to? I mean, this is what Tasha's been saying all along†¦. If we know where they are †¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"The guardians can't do anything without permission from higher up. That's not going to happen anytime soon.† I sighed. â€Å"Because the Moroi talk too much.† â€Å"They're being cautious,† he said. I felt myself getting worked up again. â€Å"Come on. Even you can't want to be careful on this one. You actually know where Strigoi are hiding out. Strigoi who massacred children. Don't you want to go after them when they don't expect it?† I sounded like Mason now. â€Å"It's not that easy,† he said. â€Å"We answer to the Guardian Council and the Moroi government. We can't just run off and act on impulse. And anyway, we don't know everything yet. You should never walk into any situation without knowing all the details.† â€Å"Zen life lessons again,† I sighed. I ran a hand through my hair, tucking it behind my ears. â€Å"Why'd you tell me this, anyway? This is guardian stuff. Not the kind of thing you let novices in on.† He considered his words, and his expression softened. He always looked amazing, but I liked him best like this. â€Å"I've said a few things†¦the other day and today†¦that I shouldn't have. Things that insulted your age. You're seventeen†¦but you're capable of handling and processing the same things those much older than you do.† My chest grew light and fluttery. â€Å"Really?† He nodded. â€Å"You're still really young in a lot of ways- and act young- but the only way to really change that is to treat you like an adult. I need to do that more. I know you'll take this information and understand how important it is and keep it to yourself.† I didn't love being told I acted young, but I liked the idea that he would talk to me like an equal. â€Å"Dimka,† came a voice. Tasha Ozera walked up to us. She smiled when she saw me. â€Å"Hello, Rose.† There went my mood. â€Å"Hey,† I said flatly. She placed a hand on Dimitri's forearm, sliding her fingers over the leather of his coat. I eyed those fingers angrily. How dare they touch him? â€Å"You've got that look,† she told him. â€Å"What look?† he asked. The stern look he'd worn with me vanished. There was a small, knowing smile on his lips. Almost a playful one. â€Å"That look that says you're going to be on duty all day.† â€Å"Really? I have a look like that?† There was a teasing, mocking tone to his voice. She nodded. â€Å"When does your shift technically end?† Dimitri actually looked- I swear- sheepish. â€Å"An hour ago.† â€Å"You can't keep doing this,† she groaned. â€Å"You need a break.† â€Å"Well †¦ if you consider that I'm always Lissa's guardian†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"For now,† she said knowingly. I felt sicker than I had last night. â€Å"There's a big pool tournament going on upstairs.† â€Å"I can't,† he said, but the smile was still on his face. â€Å"Even though I haven't played in a long time †¦Ã¢â‚¬  What the- ? Dimitri played pool? Suddenly, it didn't matter that we'd just had a discussion about him treating me like an adult. Some small part of me did know what a compliment that was- but the rest of me wanted him to treat me like he did Tasha. Playful. Teasing. Casual. They were so familiar with each other, so completely at ease. â€Å"Come on, then,† she begged. â€Å"Just one round! We could take them all.† â€Å"I can't,† he repeated. He sounded regretful. â€Å"Not with everything going on.† She sobered a little. â€Å"No. I suppose not.† Glancing at me, she said teasingly, â€Å"I hope you realize what a hard-core role model you have here. He's never off duty.† â€Å"Well,† I said, copying her lilting tone from earlier, â€Å"for now, at least.† Tasha looked puzzled. I don't think it occurred to her I'd be making fun of her. Dimitri's dark look told me he knew exactly what I was doing. I immediately realized I'd just killed whatever progress I'd made as an adult. â€Å"We're finished here, Rose. Remember what I said.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said, turning away. I suddenly wanted to go to my room and veg for a while. This day was making me tired already. â€Å"Definitely.† I hadn't gotten far when I ran into Mason. Good God. Men everywhere. â€Å"You're mad,† he said as soon as he looked at my face. He had a knack for discovering my moods. â€Å"What happened?† â€Å"Some †¦ authority problems. It's been a weird morning.† I sighed, unable to get Dimitri off the brain. Looking at Mason, I remembered how I'd been convinced I wanted to get serious with him last night. I was a head case. I couldn't make up my mind about anyone. Deciding the best way to banish one guy was to pay attention to another, I grabbed Mason's hand and steered him away. â€Å"Come on. Wasn't the deal to go somewhere†¦um, private today?† â€Å"I figured you weren't drunk anymore,† he joked. But his eyes looked very, very serious. And interested. â€Å"I assumed it was all off.† â€Å"Hey, I stand by my claims, no matter what.† Opening my mind, I searched for Lissa. She was no longer in our room. She'd gone off to some other royal event, no doubt still practicing for Priscilla Voda's big dinner. â€Å"Come on,† I told Mason. â€Å"We'll go to my room.† Aside from when Dimitri inconveniently happened to be passing by someone's room, nobody was really enforcing the mixed-gender rule. It was practically like being back in my Academy dorms. As Mason and I went upstairs, I related to him what Dimitri had told me about the Strigoi in Spokane. Dimitri had told me to keep it to myself, but I was mad at him again, and I didn't see any harm in telling Mason. I knew he'd be interested in this. I was right. Mason got really worked up. â€Å"What?† he exclaimed as we walked into my room. â€Å"They're not doing anything?† I shrugged and sat on my bed. â€Å"Dimitri said- â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know †¦ I heard you. About being careful and all that.† Mason paced around my room angrily. â€Å"But if those Strigoi go after another Moroi†¦another family†¦damn it! They're going to wish they weren't so careful then.† â€Å"Forget about it,† I said. I felt kind of miffed that me on a bed wasn't enough to deter him from crazy battle plans. â€Å"There's nothing we can do.† He stopped walking. â€Å"We could go.† â€Å"Go where?† I asked stupidly. â€Å"To Spokane. There are buses you can catch in town.† â€Å"I †¦ wait. You want us to go to Spokane and take on Strigoi?† â€Å"Sure. Eddie'd do it too †¦ we could go to that mall. They wouldn't be organized or anything, so we could wait and pick them off one by one †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I could only stare. â€Å"When did you get so dumb?† â€Å"Oh, I see. Thanks for the vote of confidence.† â€Å"It's not about confidence,† I argued, standing up and approaching him. â€Å"You kick major ass. I've seen it. But this †¦ this isn't the way. We can't go get Eddie and take on Strigoi. We need more people. More planning. More information.† I rested my hands on his chest. He placed his over them and smiled. The fire of battle was still in his eyes, but I could tell his mind was shifting to more immediate concerns. Like me. â€Å"I didn't mean to call you dumb,† I told him. â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"You're just saying that now because you want to have your way with me.† â€Å"Of course I am,† I laughed, happy to see him relax. The nature of this conversation reminded me a little of the one Christian and Lissa had had in the chapel. â€Å"Well,† he said, â€Å"I don't think I'm going to be too hard to take advantage of.† â€Å"Good. Because there are lots of things I want to do.† I slid my hands up and around his neck. His skin was warm beneath my fingers, and I remembered how much I'd enjoyed kissing him last night. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he said, â€Å"You really are his student.† â€Å"Whose?† â€Å"Belikov's. I was just thinking about when you mentioned needing more information and stuff. You act just like him. You've gotten all serious since you've been hanging out with him.† â€Å"No, I haven't.† Mason had pulled me closer, but now I suddenly didn't feel so romantic. I'd wanted to make out and forget Dimitri for a while, not have a conversation about him. Where had this come from? Mason was supposed to be distracting me. He didn't notice anything was wrong. â€Å"You've just changed, that's all. It's not bad †¦ just different.† Something about that made me angry, but before I could snap back, his mouth met mine in a kiss. Reasonable discussions sort of vanished. A bit of that dark temper started to rise in me, but I simply channeled that intensity into physicality as Mason and I fell on top of each other. I yanked him down on the bed, managing to do so without stopping the kissing. I was nothing if not a multitasker. I dug my nails into his back while his hands slid up the back of my neck and released the ponytail I'd just made minutes ago. Running his fingers through the unbound hair, he shifted his mouth down and kissed my neck. â€Å"You are †¦ amazing,† he told me. And I could tell that he meant it. His whole face glowed with affection for me. I arched upward, letting his lips press harder against my skin while his hands slipped under the bottom of my shirt. They trailed upward along my stomach, just barely tracing the edge of my bra. Considering we'd just been having an argument a minute ago, I was surprised to see things escalating so quickly. Honestly, though †¦ I didn't mind. This was the way I lived my life. Everything was always fast and intense with me. The night Dimitri and I had fallen victim to Victor Dashkov's lust charm, there'd been some pretty furious passion going on too. Dimitri had controlled it, though, so sometimes we'd taken things slowly†¦and that had been wonderful in its own way. But most of the time, we hadn't been able to hold ourselves back. I could feel it all over again. The ways his hands had run over my body. The deep, powerful kisses. It was then that I realized something. I was kissing Mason, but in my head, I was with Dimitri. And it wasn't like I was simply remembering either. I was actually imagining I was with Dimitri- right now- reliving that night all over again. With my eyes closed, it was easy to pretend. But when I opened them and saw Mason's eyes, I knew he was with me. He adored me and had wanted me for a long time. For me to do this †¦ to be with him and pretend I was with someone else †¦ It wasn't right. I wiggled out of his reach. â€Å"No †¦ don't.† Mason stopped immediately because that's the kind of guy he was. â€Å"Too much?† he asked. I nodded. â€Å"That's okay. We don't have to do that.† He reached for me again, and I moved farther away. â€Å"No, I just don't†¦ I don't know. Let's call it quits, okay?† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He was speechless for a moment. â€Å"What happened to the ‘lots of things' you wanted to do?† Yeah †¦ it looked pretty bad, but what could I say? I can't get physical with you because when I do, I just think about the other guy I actually want. You're just a stand-in. I swallowed, feeling stupid. â€Å"I'm sorry, Mase. I just can't.† He sat up and ran a hand over his hair. â€Å"Okay. All right.† I could hear the hardness in his voice. â€Å"You're mad.† He glanced over at me, a stormy expression on his face. â€Å"I'm just confused. I can't read your signals. One moment you're hot, the next you're cold. You tell me you want me, you tell me you don't. If you picked one, that'd be fine, but you keep making me think one thing and then you end up going in a completely different direction. Not just now- all the time.† It was true. I had gone back and forth with him. Sometimes I was flirty, other times I completely ignored him. â€Å"Is there something you want me to do?† he asked when I didn't say anything. â€Å"Something that'll†¦ I don't know. Make you feel better about me?† â€Å"I don't know,† I said weakly. He sighed. â€Å"Then what do you want in general?† Dimitri, I thought. Instead, I repeated myself. â€Å"I don't know.† With a groan, he stood up and headed for the door. â€Å"Rose, for someone who claims she wants to gather as much information as possible, you really have a lot to learn about yourself.† The door slammed behind him. The noise made me flinch, and as I stared at where Mason had just stood, I realized he was right. I did have a lot to learn.