LOreal Strategic Management Change

LOreal Strategic Management Change 1. INTRODUCTION. During the last years the organizations have been going through a process of expanding their barriers to reach new markets across the globe, this process in known as globalization, this describes the process by which societies, cultures, and economies happen to be integrated creating a massive market all over the world in which different companies can be part of. The following report was made upon LOreal analyzing how every acquisition made by the company was a fundamental part to become the leader and biggest cosmetic company in the beauty industry, how did they enter the US market by acquiring the main US brands at that particular time, and finally it will analyze their implemented strategies and market challenges showing how new strategic partners can make possible growth through globalization. The centre of attention of the report will be focused on the internal and external influences to LOreal, and how globalization could affect policies and decisions made by the company. LOreal was created by Eugene Schueller in France 1907 and named after his first product LAureole, the aim of this French chemist was to create the first synthetic hair-color product ever made and then start selling it within France and perhaps some parts of Europe, however, as the time goes by, LOreal positioned as the leader in European hair color market and skin care, but this wasnt good enough for them, as they wanted to reach new markets as the American, and Asian, therefore, LOreal made certain acquisitions, as well as the implementation of new market strategies and corporate strategies to successfully reach their goals. 1.1 SWOT ANALYSIS THEORY. Now the first part of the report will be focused on the primary internal and external influences that the company is subject to, to be able to analyze this influences, I would like to use the SWOT analysis which is a strategic planning method to identify the internal and external factors that are contributing or retaining the company to achieve their goals, The strengths and weaknesses refer to the company and its products whereas the opportunities and threats are usually taken to be external factors over which the company has no control. SWOT analysis involves understanding and analysing the strengths and weaknesses and identifying threats to the business as well as opportunities in the marketplace. Once that is done, we can then attempt to exploit strengths, overcome the weaknesses, grasp the opportunities and defend the organization against threats. This is one of the most important parts of the planning process. SWOT analysis asks the questions that will enable you to decide whet her your company and the product will really be able to fulfil your plan and what the constraints will be.[1] 1.2 STRENGTHS. LOreal has gone through different types of management from their creator, to the CEO Owen Jones, Jones management style has brought to the company a revolution from a French based cosmetic company to a world leader in the cosmetic industry, LOreal main ability is to acquire local cosmetic brands (Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Helena Rubinstein)[2] re-arrange their operational strategy and finally place them in a better location among the competitors, their brand management has been a massive tool to position LOreal in the place they are, as every single product and brand they manage is aiming to an specific segment of the different markets, rather than placing their products indiscriminately as every market has a different demand to be supplied. Another strength of LOreal that can be clearly identified is their patent desire to invest in Research and Development, with this we can assure that LOreal is an organization that is looking forward to implement the latest technology in all their products so that they can efficiently satisfy all their customer needs. They spent and average of 3% of their revenue in R D, when the average of the industry is less than 2%[3], LOreal is aware that in the days we live in, any advance in technology represents a competitive advantage and subsequently thats the best manner to own a market. LOreal has also shown their strength when it gets to marketing campaigns as they know that in order to be successful internationally you must be flexible and able to adapt to new environments, and to be more specific you must e able to produce exactly what a customer is demanding, which is the case of Savannah-Based Carson, which had a 35% share of the US ethnic hair care market and established presence in South Africa, this market has an estimated value of 1 billion dollars, according to LOreals product manager â€Å"You cant pretend to be No 1 in the world and forget about 1 billion consumers of African origin†[4] 1.3 WEAKNESSES. Now to look at the weaknesses of the company, even with the success of the globalization impact, LOreal havent done so much to diversify their products, rather than that, they have focused all their efforts in developing products for the main areas the work on (hair, skin, make up, and perfume). With the US brands acquisition, LOreal split into 3 main product divisions, consumer, professional, and luxury, in his objective to be the world leader in the beauty industry, CEO Jones has focused his efforts on the consumer brands as they are easier to retail, and relatively less expensive therefore is not that hard to build up a reliable data base, however the other 2 areas are very important as well an eventually if they focused their efforts on improving either one or even both of them the response may be positive and subsequently they will be able to reach a bigger portion of the market.[5] Another weakness of the company, and is commonly seen in this kind of organizations is the decentralized organizational structure, with this I am referring to the flow of information and control of the company due to many subdivision, this could affect the production level of the company because of the need of giving reference the other members of the board and directors of the company. 1.4 OPORTUNYTIES. Due to the good performance of LOreal, they have had certain opportunities which they knew how to use, for example the market in Africa, as they had the vision to recognize the enormous potential of this market, now LOreal is the leader of this segment, which wasnt very attractive to the competitors, at the first stage because they didnt know that people in Africa may be interested in this sort of products which lead them to lose interest for this segment and as a consequence LOreal settle down as the leader of the industry by implementing their acquiring strategy along with specific marketing strategies, basically, LOreal realized that the main thing to take over Africa was to develop a product which completely satisfy the population , due to this, LOreal invest in a multi million dollar research and development facility in Chicago to focus exclusively on the hair and skin needs of the people of African-American descent.[6] As stated before another big opportunity for LOreal to grow is to focus more on their line of dermocosmetics (anti-aging), as this area has a very small portion of the revenue and considering the research network they have, it would be interesting if the focused their efforts to create a new anti-aging product at affordable price and distributed through their channels to reach a bigger population. LOreal being the world leader of the beauty industry could diversify trying to enter new markets such like the clothing taking advantage of their well known name as they already have a strong influence over the new trends of fashion in terms of make up, hair and skin care. 1.5 THREATS. In relation to the threats and challenges, even that LOreal is the market world leader; there are some competitors in the industry and competitors for every single product division of LOreal (consumer professional luxury), competitors like Estee Lauder, Proctor Gamble, Revlon, and Max Factor, specially for the Japan market, which is the market that LOreal is aiming to control. LOreal is the world leader in the industry, however their competitors have been able to strategic place some of their products in the actual market, reason why LOreal is considering acquiring an other brand (Nivea) so that they can gain a better position in the European market. 1.6 SWOT MATRIX STRENGTHS * The ability to acquire new brands and transform then into new market leaders WEAKNESSES * Lack of diversity on their product catalogue OPPORTUNITIES * As they have all the knowledge and capacity they are able to explode new markets such like the African market THREATS * Some other competitors in the industry that currently are stronger in some other segments of the market like in Asia Now that the SWOT analysis has been done, its clear that the reason of success of LOreal is the focus they have implemented on their strategies, as they have been able to identify internal and external influences that gives them a competitive advantage over the rest of the competitors in the industry, as they know exactly where do they want to be, how are the going to achieve their goals, and what is the best way to get to that desire success. Profit margins are easily destroyed when companies focus on internal issues versus the external conditions that affect customers. Revenue comes from the outside, from customers buying products or services, not from implementing new technology, re-engineering business processes or building great teams. Focusing on external forces increases the bottom line. In fact, by shifting to an external focus, companies can often increase profits from 5 to 10 percent. An external focus, however, means more than just gathering competitive and market intelligence. It takes more than empty customer-centred rhetoric. It starts with the CEO and requires core behaviours to focus on where the money comes from.[7] 2. GLOBALIZATION. The second part of this report will be analyzing the following topics: * The impact of globalization in the organization. * How does it affect their policies and decision making, * How effective has LOreal been according to this new situation. 2.1 CONCEPT OF GLOBALIZATION As stated in Time International (1999), globalization means that countries, economies, companies or people in general are coming closer together. This is not because they are forced to do so, but because they want to do so. In fact they want so much to come closer to others that they cannot help themselves. As worldwide communications get better, information, technology, people and financial flows move faster. The cultural assumptions and premises of democracy and free markets spread and become more readily accepted. This very attractive and almost irresistible globalization process becomes more widespread[8]. Friedman (2000) states that the driving force behind globalization is free market capitalism, which uses free trade and competition to create virtual rulers of the world markets. These very powerful capitalists make economies to increase and be efficient. With the opening up of world markets, globalization has become a major force shaping both management theory and practice. Forces of globalization have been accelerating and, as such, are shaping policies and behaviours of nation states as well as corporate entities all over the world.[9] 2.2 How did LOreal become the biggest beauty company? The acquisition strategy implemented by LOreal guide them to be the world leader company in the beauty industry; all these US acquisition they made created a sub division within their products catalogue, consumer, professional, and luxury, LOreals success is a clear example of how to implement a corporate strategy and manage a brand internationally to achieve a massive growth even when the market they sell their products in isnt very steady, the key was to understand and successfully satisfy the needs of every customer through its products like they did with the Wet Lipstick in Japan, or the Research and Development process they carry out to satisfy the afro-American customer needs. LOreal has the capacity to reach more people across the world than any other beauty company thanks to their distribution channels and also is able to generate a bigger income rather than other companies due to their big products catalogue. 2.3 The Acquisition process. As stated in the case, the success of LOreal was achieved thanks to all the acquisitions made through out the world and especially in the US, all the process began by acquiring Ralph Lauren, and Helena Rubinstein which was a cosmetic maker with international distribution, after five years of negotiating process LOreal took full ownership of both companies. The next acquisition of the company was Redken in 1994 however the new products launched under LOreals ownership werent successful so they decide to rename the company to Redken 5th Avenue NY. Following their process the next company to be acquired was Maybelline which was the third largest company completely based in the US and it was very attractive due to their anti-aging line that was very eye-catching to young population, in the market this is very representative for LOreal as this will bring a new image to the company renewing the old French fashion, turning it into a fresh young image. Soft Sheen and Carson was a key element in the acquisition process as they brought a whole new market to the company that hasnt been taken care of because the current competitors didnt realize that that segment of the population may be interested in this sort of products, and in addition LOreal invested 3% of their revenues in research and development to create a new product specially for them. In the 2000 LOreal bought Matrix focusing on their professional line supplying the need of hairdressers and beauty saloons with a high quality standart. The most important acquisition made by LOreal was made in the 2000, they bought Kielhs after a three year countership, the owners finally agreed to sell their company after they realize that they couldnt meet the demand, however some of the employees werent very happy about the new acquisition as they thought that the company wont have any independence left after LOreals take over, this new acquisition was very important for the company as Kielhs could bring a better position related to the store high-end segment of the business. 2.4 WHAT WAS THE ROLE OF ACQUISITIONS IN THIS GROWTH? The prospect of increasing profitability and market share by acquisitions continues to exercise a more seductive and immediate appeal to business leaders than a reliance on growth alone. There has always been a substratum of mergers, acquisitions and, indeed, divestments in all developed economies. However, the extent of this depends on the buoyancy of the economy. The periodic rise and fall of such activity has heightened debate among managers, academics, politicians, and regulators about acquisition activity and their benefits, as well as ethical considerations (Vinten, 1992). Mergers and acquisitions (MA) have a unique potential to transform firms, and to contribute to corporate renewal (Angwin, 2001). They can help a firm renew its market position at a speed not achievable through internal development (Haspeslagh and Jemison, 1991; Harrison, 2002). [10] Value creation is the important objective in successful acquisitions. Yet, empirical and other studies continue to highlight the low success rates associated with acquisitions. No matter how attractive is the business opportunity associated with an acquisition process, value is not created until capabilities are transferred, and people from both organisations collaborate in order to create the expected benefits and the unpredicted opportunities. This collaboration relies on the will and ability of managers from both organisations to work together towards a new future. The key to integration is to obtain the participation of the people involved without compromising the strategic task. Finding similar organisational cultures and management styles has become a common panacea for avoiding employee dissatisfaction that could undermine MA performance. Different authors agree that it is important to consider cultural compatibility as a criterion for screening potential candidates for MA. On the other hand, managing the cultural differences has been proved as a more realistic and successful strategy in integration processes than finding the ideal culture fit. Buono and Bowditch consider that successful integration can be achieved even between diversified organisational cultures. This viewpoint is adopted in this exploratory study. It examines the strategies being used by executives that encourage employees diversity tolerance while allowing for learning to occur within parent and acquired firm. It looks at the strategies the firms implemented to facilitate the units to work together, and integrative practices involving firms within the same industry but from different countries and contrasting corporate values. In bringing together firms with different skills and knowledge bases, acquisitions create unique learning opportunities for the partner firms. As recently argued by management researchers, knowledge and the capacity to create, transfer, transform and utilise it are the most important sources of a firms sustainable competitive advantage[11]. Acquisitions have played a very important role in LOreals growth, particularly in their expansion through out the world, the more companies the acquire the bigger LOreal was getting as well as their profit, in 1996 they bought Maybelline for $758 million dollars and began a complete restructuration of the brand, starting from moving the headquarters within the USA. With all the restructuration LOreals CEO Owen Jones successfully achieved to reach from 3% to 15% on the nail market, they have also raise their sales in nearly a 100% and positioned Maybelline in over 70 countries. Globalization has had a very positive impact over LOreal as due to this they had the need to reorganize their company making some sort of decisions like relocating their headquarter for the USA operations in Chicago so that they can have control of all the operations taking place in America in a central place where they can keep track of all their progress, this has also brought another issue related to globalization which is the technology, LOreal has invested 3% of their revenue in developing new products where the average of investment in this field in the industry is around 2%, technology has also brought new channels of communication where they can easily be in touch within the company and also they have been able to use cost-efficient distribution channels thanks to their acquisition of Soft sheen-Carson as they had developed cheap delivery systems. 2.5 LOREAL EFFECTIVENESS LOreal has been going through a massive change since their beginning as they started their business creating a synthetic hair-color product to be sold in France and probably around Europe, the response of the people to the product was so good that the company decided to enter the beauty market, diversifying their product catalogue not only to hair care but to skin care as well, with the result of being the market leader. However the effectiveness of the company is not very clear at this stage as the product by itself cant guarantee the success of the company, instead of that, a good strategic management along with a visionary CEO can bring a major strength to the organization and will build confidence within the company to achieve their goals as they stated at the beginning, well, this is the case we are analyzing, as previously stated, CEO Owen Jones had the vision to expand the boundaries of the company by acquiring strategic partners that can contribute to a massive growth for LOr eal, his leadership enables him to see and opportunity of expansion taking advantage of the globalization boom and his vision of opportunities where the competitors didnt see anything was a key to succeed in some parts of the world, LOreal was bright enough to understand that the needs or likes of the people in America were not the same as the people in Asia or in Africa reason why they decided to create products for every single market and this gave them the opportunity to be the world leaders in the market. After all this facts it is clear that LOreal has had a very effective response to the new changing environment as they are prepared to adapt to new situations and is a company willing to deal with organizational change, this is a enormous benefit for the company as they can easily gain competitive advantage at a low cost of opportunity. 2.6 IMPROVEMENT AREAS. LOreal is the world leader company in the beauty industry thanks to their brilliant management and their products; however there is always a little extra that can be done to reach that additional little piece of the market. In my point of view I would suggest that the company hire an Asian Marketing Manager hopefully with a strong Japanese background in order to be able to completely take over this market as this market has a huge potential which was proved with the Wet Lipstick, perhaps if they invest some part of their revenue in research and development as the did with the African market, they might get a very good response as all the markets should be kept in mind as a big opportunity. LOreal could also consider expanding to the Latin American market and specially the South American, now that they control the US market (North America), they can implement their expansion strategy to take over central and south America which is a market that havent been explode yet or not as much as they could. LOreal could implement the same strategy implemented by Dell in Brazil, as they decided to relocate their plant in South America (Brazil) in order to manage all the market from there, taking advantage of the Mercosul market which enables the company to save on taxes within the continent. And finally LOreal should consider to extent their products catalogue to clothing and accessories as this may give them a competitive advantage over the rest of the companies in the same industry, it is very important to try to be always one step ahead of the company and be visionary in order to predict what the market wants and how to supply that demand. 2.7 CONCLUSION. After analyzing this case it is clear how important is to have a good strategic management and understand how the environment can affect every organization from the most insignificant change to any huge change that may involve any of the decisions of the company, its understandable that the vision of the CEO of the company can bring success to the organization and build a good know how that will enable the company to enter new markets. 2.8 REFERENCES. [1] Westwood, John. How to Write a Marketing Plan (3rd Edition).London, GBR: Kogan Page, Limited, 2006. p 27. [2] LOreal and the globalization of American beauty, Page 5. [3] LOreal and the globalization of American beauty, Page 15. [4] LOreal and the globalization of American beauty, Page 9. [5] LOreal and the globalization of American beauty, Page 2. [6] LOreal and the globalization of American beauty, Page 9. [7] Emerald Insight Staff (CB). Change Strategies.Bradford, GBR: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2004. p 4. [8] Samli, A. Coskun. In Search of an Equitable, Sustainable Globalization: The Bittersweet Dilemma. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated, 2002. p 21. [9] Samli, A. Coskun. In Search of an Equitable, Sustainable Globalization: The Bittersweet Dilemma. Westport, CT, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated, 2002. p 34. [10] Emerald Insight Staff (CB). Mergers and Acquisitions. Bradford, , GBR: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2005. p 4. [11] Emerald Insight Staff (CB). Mergers and Acquisitions. Bradford, , GBR: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2005. p 5.

Albergo Diffuso: An Alternative Form of Hospitality Essay -- Tourism

The defining features of the albergo diffuso. â€Å"Like a holiday apartment, an albergo diffuso allows travellers to join in village life, but the bonus is that it offers the basic services of a hotel† (Williams, 2010). In order to gain a full comprehension of the new concept, some of the salient features of this phenomenon must first be discussed. To be able to earn its name, an albergo diffuso hotel is required to meet several criteria. First, the initiative should come from within the community and a hotel must use existing buildings and local workforce. Second, the minimum number of rooms required is seven; they all should be located within 200 meters from each other. Third, the area must have some minimum services offered, such as a restaurant, a grocery store, a pharmacy. Last, local residents should be part of the experience: it's their open and welcoming attitude that makes a guest's stay memorable (Dichter). In addition, an albergo diffuso hotel must retain unique local touch to differentiate itself from uniform accommodations. Dall'Ara insisted on recovering the origins of a local culture and preserving a strong sense of place. Being a part of the historic centre, abandoned buildings gain new life and naturally stand out from traditional and boring style of cookie cutter structures (Fortney-Schneider, 2011). For example, the countryside in the Marche region offers the traditional Italian village lodging, while the town of Matera features unique grottoes-type hotel rooms with atmosphere of a typical twentieth century cave dwelling. The renovations in each village carefully preserved detailed period decor to ensure the guests have a truly authentic experience and enjoy the sense of ease and tranquility of the bygone times (... ...â€Å"Saving Towns by Filling Rooms† by Gizela Williams that appeared in the May 2010 issue of The New York Times (New York Edition). A featured article from blog community insidersabroad.com. Valerie Fortney-Schneider More Than a Mere Hotel: Albergo Diffuso is a Welcome Alternative October 2011 the brochure The innovation â€Å"Albergo Diffuso Developing Tourism Through Innovation and Tradition†. IDEASS Italy www.ideassonline.org by Giordano Dichter a research paper â€Å"Albergo diffuso† concept as a new offer in rural area. Pavlo Ruzic, Marinela Dropulic. Institute of Agriculture and Tourism, Porec a case study â€Å"A typical Italian phenomenon: The â€Å"albergo diffuso† Marco Confalonieri, Inoversita Cattolica del Sacro 2010 Tourism Management database a January 2012 article by Amà ©lie Racine titled â€Å"Albergo Diffuso: An alternative form of hospitality† from tourismintelligencego.

Matriarchal Figures in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde a

Matriarchal Figures in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Persuasion by Jane Austen ‘A dominant female member of the family’[1] is often described as a matriarch. Lady Bracknell in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and Lady Russell in ‘Persuasion’ fulfill this role therefore can be described as matriarchs, and as such they play vital roles. They affect the lives of Gwendolen and Anne, by imposing their beliefs on them. Although Lady Russell is not related to any of the characters in ‘Persuasion’, after Anne’s mother died Lady Russell took on the role of her mother. Lady Russell has some control over Anne, as Anne ‘had always loved and relied on’ her and cannot believe she would ‘be continually advising her in vain’. The matriarchs are pivotal as they are the prime reasons for the plots’ complications; Lady Bracknell tries to prevent two potential marriages between Jack and Gwendolen, and Algernon and Cecily, and she is the reason Jack finds out about his family connections. Lady Russell persuades Anne not to marry Wentworth causing eight years of heartache and misery, as she was wrongly persuaded. She induces further complications by trying to persuade Anne to marry William Walter Elliot, when Anne and Wentworth meet again. Lady Bracknell’s importance is enhanced because she overshadows her husband, which is true to her matriarch ways, and he occupies a subordinate position. Lady Bracknell has taken the opposite role to that which society accepted in the 1890’s, her husband stays at home, while she goes to social gatherings. Her husband’s role is summed up in Gwendolen’s speech to Cecily about her father. ‘The home seems to be the proper sphere for the man. And certainly, once a m... ...y say that Anne should marry for money ‘she deprecated the connexion [to Wentworth] in every light’, and only approves of alliances with men with money, such as Charles Musgrove and William Walter Elliot. The matriarchs actions and advice to women would be ‘don’t marry for money, but go where money is’[8]. [1] The Pocket Oxford Dictionary [2] York Advanced Notes ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ [3] Richard Foster , Wilde as Parodist: A Second Look at The Importance of Being Earnest [4] Inside the House of Fiction, ‘Jane Austen’s Cover Story’ [5] Dan Rebellato, Drama Classics Series, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ [6] York Notes Advanced – ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ [7] Richard Foster , Wilde as Parodist: A Second Look at The Importance of Being Earnest [8] Juliet McMaster , Alfred Lord Tennyson as quoted in ‘Class’

Bad Medicine :: Essays Papers

Bad Medicine Before the age of television shows, movies, and the Internet people entertained one another with vibrant and exaggerated tales. Geoffrey Chaucer’s, The Canterbury Tales, is a good example of this form of entertainment. The novel details the journey of a band of pilgrims, who engaged in a storytelling competition, as they travel toward the shrine of Thomas à   Becket. These Middle Age storytellers varied as much as the stories, and consisted of a knight, physician, monk, and many more. In â€Å"the Prologue† the Physician is revealed as a con artist who cares more about himself than his patients. The Physician was a medical doctor, who was responsible for taking care of the ill and disease stricken. â€Å"No one alive could talk as well as he did / On points of medicine and surgery†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Chaucer 30). He was part of the rising middle class society and his garments that were â€Å"lined with taffeta† (Chaucer 31) made this assumption apparent. During the Middle Ages taffeta was a material like silk, which was very expensive, so only the wealthy could afford it. To many he seemed to be a productive member of society, but appearances can be deceiving. People of the medical profession were looked upon with a certain respect; so many patients did not question what was prescribed. The Physician misused his title to take advantage of his patients’ faith. He was revealed as a liar and a cheat. He was a partner with the druggist, to help each other build their wealth. The reader can draw the appearance of his deceit in the following quote, â€Å"He gave the man his medicine then and there. / All his apothecaries in a tribe / Were ready with the drugs he would prescribe / And each made money from the other’s guile; / They had been friendly for a goodish while† (Chaucer 30). Chaucer describes these habits of the physician in order to allow the reader to paint a mental picture of his morals and character. Chaucer also brings the readers attention to the fact that the Physician â€Å"did not read the Bible very much† (31). Chaucer implies that the Physician is a sinner, who did not see an error in his dishonesty. Many analysts believe that Chaucer was trying to portray certain qualities through the vivid descriptions of the characters’, such as in the following quote describing the physician; â€Å"In blood-red garments, slashed with bluish grey / And lined with taffeta †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Chaucer 31).

My Life in the Light of the Rule of Benedict

We live in a time impatiently dashing towards the next. Ours is a society plagued by the need to move on without resolving issues of the here and now. We readily throw objects for the latest, and within the same breath complain that things are not the way they used to be. We so willingly burn bridges, and under the same lifetime demand for meaningful and lasting connections. Our lives are imbalanced and devoid of meaning because we are so caught up in the demands that society imposes upon us. And at the end of each day we feel so empty and restless, longing for something more. The good news is that meaning and purpose can be found for those who truly want it in their lives and are willing to do what it takes to find it and keep it. The book of St. Benedict was written some 15 centuries ago. But it finds place even in modern times. The precepts that it gives are enduring for those who want to find a semblance of spiritual peace in our chaotic and often uncertain world. The book is mainly about how man can strike a balance between his work and his spiritual life of prayer and meditation. This work of St. Benedict, which was written in the Middle Ages, became the foundations of the monastic life, where men of God were men of the world as well, doing menial jobs even as they tend to their spiritual lives. St. Benedict’s philosophy revolved around three main concepts: peace, pray and work. That in spite of the daily grind and drudgeries of our existence, we can all strive to find peace in our lives through finding time to pray and sanctify all our daily activities. He believes that the men of God should never turn their backs to the world and their responsibilities to their communities because a life of prayer without the actual good work that benefits other people is useless. Our duty as Christian is two-fold, the daily worship of God and the daily service to mankind. In every aspect of living, there is a way to find balance and address these two things at the same time. The wonderful thing about The Book of Benedict is that while it deals with profound issue of faith and grace, it also has practical advices on how to observe them in the real world. Balance and moderation is the key to a peaceful and content life. We must never be tempted to excesses and overindulgence. In food, two of a kind is sufficient so that if a person does not eat one, then there is always a second option. In my life I make it a point to enjoy my food, the key to feeling food is to savor every bite and celebrate the blessings that it represents. There are some cases when celebrating through food is well-deserved, but still, it should be taken in moderation. As St. Benedict said, â€Å"For nothing is so contrary to Christians as excess, as our Lord saith: ‘See that your hearts be not overcharged with surfeiting’ (Lk 21:34).† I have realized that food, to be truly enjoyed need not be taken in excessive amounts. The secret is in learning how to delight in and appreciate each small bite of food. In terms of clothing and other possessions, the same principle of moderation and appropriateness should apply. The clothing that we buy should be suitable to its use and to the climate of the place that we live in. Circumstances and not wants should dictate our choice of the clothes to buy. Of course every article of clothing should be tasteful in design, never ostentatious and ornamental, but tasteful and practical. And for those who have too much should give them away to the less privileged so that other people can find use for them. Looking at St. Benedict’s philosophies of moderation and appropriateness, I have realized that the tendency to hoard and acquire more material belongings is at the very heart of the loneliness that afflicts most of us. We are never happy with what we have, always wanting more in an effort to cover up the emptiness that we feel. The sad truth is that most of us look outside ourselves for answers, when all that we could ever need has been laid out in front of us. All that is needed is that we spend the time to look at all the blessings that we have and give thanks for them. My life is dictated by duties and responsibilities. But I know the value of prayers in my life. I make the time to attend to matters of my soul, even as I try to fulfill my duties to my family and my community. I have realized that I have everything I need to have a happy and full life. It is just a matter of changing how we look at our lives. If we continue to define our lives by what we do not have, then we shall never be content even while we are drowning in material possessions. The grace to have a grateful heart can only be achieved through constant prayer, and while my day is filled with things to do, I make it a point to make prayer a necessary habit. Indeed the secret to a happy life is no longer a secret. St. Benedict has long given us the power to define our own lives. Our lives may be filled with the realities of work and responsibilities, but in prayer we find a safe haven where we can find peace and the strength to carry on with what needs to be done for the day.

An Autobiography of Moon

I know you are very curious to know about me. I have often noticed you looking at me with eager eyes. Now listen to my life story. I belong to a very large family, the solar family. My grandfather is called the Sun and he has nine daughters. My mother is the Earth. I am her darling as I am her only child. Imagine my aunt Uranus has fifteen children! I am so found of my mother that I always go around her day and night. I am 4600 million years old. Yet the bond between me and my mother continues without any change. Whenever I look at you human beings, I am very happy. I know that you praise me as a beauty. You compose a lot of poems and songs in praise of me. You are scared of my grandfather but are fond of me. However, I too have my problems. A lot of stones from the space fall on me and cause injuries to my body. Moreover, my health also fluctuates. Today as you see me I am very bright. I grow weaker and weaker. But there is no consolation! For the next fourteen days I will gather my brightness and glow. You know what my most memorable day is my life was? It was July 21st of year 1967. On that day. I remember, I was just getting out of my bed and I found something tickling my face. I looked at it. Oh! It was a human being. You know how happy I was then. I did not disturb him. Thereafter, more than twenty human beings landed on me. I wish thousand and thousands of you come to me and play in my garden. Then I shall not feel lonely, you know.

Death of a Salesman Essay

‘Death of a Salesman’ tells us a lot about the ideology of the author, Arthur Miller. His main character Willy is a normal man who feels he is a failure because he doesn’t average ‘a hundred and seventy dollars a week’ which causes him to become suicidal. Miller is trying to tell the audience that ambitions and dreams can take over our lives and destroy them in the process. Biff says ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to want’ as if there was one dream to fulfil otherwise you have failed. The pressure surrounding dreams is far too great and sometimes we have to come to terms with the fact they cannot be accomplished. Arthur Miller is also exploring the fact that success doesn’t only involve career, money and popularity. Happy has his ‘own apartment, a car and plenty of women’ but comes to realise that he still not satisfied. He tells Biff that ‘I’m lonely. ‘ Money may make you financially successful but it does not secure your happiness. Willy is only preoccupied with living up to his idol, Dave Singleman. Dave Singleman is a salesman who ‘drummed merchandise in thirty-one states’ and could just ‘pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four, he made his living. ‘ This is Willy’s ultimate fantasy, to make his name known and to be able to work from home. Hundreds of salesman and buyers were at Dave Singleman’s funeral, Willy believes that this greatest sign of popularity and honour. Arthur Miller creates one of the most heart-wrenching scenes in the Requiem when no one shows up at Willy’s funeral other than his family and neighbour. Not only does ‘Death of a Salesman’ inform the audience about Arthur Miller’s opinions on success, failure and dreams, it tells them what he thinks of his own country. This play is set in America, Miller’s home country, in the 1940s. It is a vigorous attack on American values. He disapproves of the belief that money and public esteem are signs of excellence. Willy Loman is a victim of this system. This becomes evident when he does not believe that Bernard will not be successful because he is not ‘well-liked. ‘ The American Dream is the concept that through hard work and dedication, anyone can be successful. Through Willy’s character, Arthur Miller shows us that he disagrees with this belief. The theme of The American Dream runs through the entire play, Willy is a firm believer in it. At first, this concept seems to be inspirational and advantageous but it is the very thing that kills Willy. This play shows the audience that The American Dream encourages superficial prejudice against those who do not achieve it. This causes pressure and insecurity for those who are not ‘rich’ and ‘well-liked. ‘ It examines the cost of blind faith in the American Dream. Despite being written over fifty years ago, this play is still important and relevant today. The play is a tragedy and many people can empathize with Willy’s character. Willy is not superhuman, he is just a man. Moreover, The American Dream is still very much alive today. People flood over from all over the world to come to America to search for fame and fortune, only a few ever achieve it. In conclusion, Arthur Miller allows the audience to see the inside of Willy’s by Time-switches and expressing his ideology and beliefs on success, failure, dreams and America. ‘Death of a Salesman’ addresses the painful conflicts within one family, but it also tackles larger issues regarding American national values. A half century after it was written, this play remains a powerful drama. It is even more relevant today in a world where materialism is such a major problem. There is a part of everyone in the character Willy Loman. Written by Emily Kho – 1 – Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.