English coursework (Oscar Wilde) Essay Example for Free

English coursework (Oscar Wilde) Essay In an essay of 3-4 pages discuss how Oscar Wilde uses stereotypes and concepts from traditional fairy-tales and in invert them in his short stories. In the majority of Oscar Wildes fairytales there are numerous stereotypical characters and concepts. In an exemplary fairytale there is the philanthropic character, who is very important to the format of fairytale, for instance a Prince or King, This individual usually, forms an advantageous partnership with a bi-character such as Princess, Queen, Frog, or a Wizard, this may work in reverse in some fairy tales where e. g. the Princess is the leading character and the King is the sub-role. The enemy of the protagonist is called as a villain whose only existence in a fairytale is to try and prevent the leading character and his/hers acquaintances from saving the day or more importantly the world. The evil being is primarily associated with negative images for example bad manners, ruthless personality, or the trademark evil express of amusement. In contrast the valiant hero/heroine is linked with a clean depiction. Witches, Dragons, and Wolves are more often than not portrayed as Villains. Fairy-tale writers use techniques in which they lead the reader to believe that the hero/heroine will prevail in the battle against evil, because the story gives the impression that the villain is superior to the central character. Almost ever fairy-tale begins with the opening phrase Once Upon a Time and end with and they live happily ever after. Use of these phrases result in the reader instantaneously recognises that it is a fairy-tale. Castles are prominent buildings in fairytales because most of fairy-tales were written in medieval-times where castles were the biggest buildings you would see, and they are also related to Kings and Queens. Wilde makes extensive use of traditional fairy-tale characters, which do not exist in real life, in his stories such as ogres, giants and talking birds. I think Wilde choose to do this because he knew bizarre creatures put the message of his choice across much easier to the readers, children in particular. I know this from The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant where the winter season is given human characteristics and actually given a voice to speak: He is too selfish. What separates Oscar Wilde from other writers in Victorian times is that he uses traditional fairy-tale characters to address contemporary issues to express his opinion. In The Happy Prince Wilde embarks upon the difficulty of poverty and privilege, which were disregarded subjects in that era. When the Prince was alive he lived in the palace of San-Souci, here he wasnt allowed to see the outside world, that didnt bother the Prince because there he had everything he wanted and needed. He was very happy this led to people naming him the Happy Prince: My courtiers called me The Happy Prince, and happy I was indeed, if pleasure be happiness. In the Palace no grief would enter, his courtiers fearing the happy prince would see true misery and sadness. The Prince lived a very luxurious and rich life and was easily pleased with his wealth. When he died they made a statue of him and placed high above the city. From this position he had a respectable view of everything. This meant that he was able to life outside the Palace: Beggars starving, children being abused, poverty all this made the Happy Prince grieve because he was powerless to stop any of this as he was a statue. Here Wilde makes a direct comparison between the rich and the poor. Wilde does this to make the reader sympathise with the poor people: When the Swallow flies over the city he sees rich people sitting in the warmth of their expensive residences and beggars sitting outside of their gates. The Swallow also spots to children hungry and cold lying in each others arms for warmth under a bridge to seek shelter from the heavy rain, but they are told to leave by the watchman, and they walk back out into the rain. Incidents like this make the Happy Prince cry every single day as he sits and watches the wretchedness of the city. Wilde sends the message that human fickleness is a weakness in The Happy Prince. As a statue the Happy Prince was very beautiful and expensive. His body was covered in leaves of fine gold, he has two bright sapphires as eyes and a large red ruby encrusted in his sword-hilt. The Happy Prince was admired by many people in the city as a consequence of this awe-inspiring appearance. A mother says to her child: Why cant you be like the Happy Prince She uses the Happy Prince as a role model for her son, little does know of the Happy Prince but him being a very expensive statue. This show how people judge based on small assumptions of physical appearance only. Eventually the Happy Prince loses all his fine possessions, as he has given them away to those whose needs are greater, and two townsfolk spot the statue. They decide to take it down; they compare its value to that of beggars: As he is no longer beautiful he is no longer useful. The Arts Professor believes that without beauty the statue is useless. This indicates that they didnt place the statue above the city as a symbol representing something with a deep philosophical intent, but merely as an appealing decoration for the city. Wilde also shows some fickleness and its consequences in The Nightingale and the Rose where the nightingale observes a young student who is in love with his teachers daughter. He wants to give her a rose which symbolises his love for her, but cannot afford one. The nightingale sympathises for the young student, he decides to go through agony and in the end sacrifice his life to get that rose for him. The student receives the rose, and goes to the professors daughter to ask her if she will accept his rose, but she frowns and says that she has been given far better gifts from another man. The student walks away in disgust and throws the rose into the gutter where gets flattened by a cart-wheel. The nightingales sacrifice was in vein. The student decides to exclude himself from ever loving again and he dedicates the rest of his life to studying philosophy. This tale has had an important morale stressed by Oscar Wilde. He uses a dramatic ending to emphasise his point. He undoubtedly show s the destructiveness of a fickle nature. The fairytale The Selfish Giant explores selfishness and ignorance by portraying the stereotypical character of a giant as a ruthless monster in some part of the story. Wilde uses little children to contrast the enormous giants dominance. When the giant arrives at his castle he finds children playing innocent games in his garden. The giant furiously chases them away and builds a high wall around his garden. As a result of this no seasons but winter enters his doomed garden. As summer, autumn and spring comes and goes one constant climate remains in the giants garden and his only. Wilde uses the endless winter a metaphor for the ongoing sentence of the giants misery, that winter has sentenced him for being selfish and cruel to the children. The giant soon realises his that all that time he was away, the little children had been preserving his garden and now that they were away it was winter forever. He figures this out when he sees one of his trees blossoming because a group of children climbed upon it. The giant apologises to the children and breaks down the stone fence: and my garden shall be the childrens playground for ever and ever. The giants change of heart causes his garden to blossom and allow the other seasons to enter accordingly. When the giant dies, he goes to paradise. Wilde does this to stress the storys morale and message by showing that if you stop being selfish you will be rewarded. Wilde does use many traditional fairytale conventions but still his stories are different from the tradition in a variety of ways. Traditionally the good triumph when they have made a noble sacrifice. Wilde doesnt necessarily do this. In fact he tends to not do it at all. This is evident in The Nightingale and the Rose where a nightingale unselfishly sacrifices his life for something as minor as getting a red rose to a student who is in love. In the end the student is rejected by the girls he loves, and the nightingales sacrifice was in vein. This story shows that Oscar Wilde will write sorrowful endings if he has to emphasise his point. A reasonable amount of Wildes tales do not introduce the story with the phrase Once upon a time and conclude it with And they all lived happily ever after. Wilde is very attentive in the ways in which he opens a fairy tale, but when it comes to ending one he usually goes with a harsh approach, and does not include psychological twists. In a world of magic and wonder Wilde does not exclude the use of religious imagery, this is hardly ever done in fairy tale. For example; when the Happy Prince and his little assistant the swallow both die doing their heroic deeds. God orders an angel to bring Him the two best things in the city the angel chooses the Happy Prince and the Swallow, because they were recognised for doing good deeds and therefore rewarded with an entry to Gods paradise. In the Selfish Giant we also see Wildes strong belief in God, when the giant dies and allowed entry in Paradise by God, because the giant has become a better individual. I think Wilde does this because he himself believes that good things come to those who deserve it, and he wants to encourage the readers to believe in that too. This is especially aimed at younger readers. Though Wildes stories are fairy tales they bare a resemblance to modern day life. In the beginning of storytelling fairy tales were used as a form of entertainment and written for that purpose as well. Where Wildes tales differ is when the tales carry a message hidden behind a great storyline, this not only done to give the reader a good read but also to teach and educate things that they perhaps didnt know or had a different perspective of. Nowadays stories always have these messages in them, but Oscar Wilde was one of the first to introduce this style of story-formatting, as readers crave for more than just a good story. The drama and intensity was also quite unusual elements Wilde added in his tales. These days drama is an essential ingredient to almost every genre of literature, Wilde was one of the first to discover this, which is one of many reasons why his tales are still loved and admired across the world to this day.

Impact of leadership quality on employee retention

Impact of leadership quality on employee retention Leadership and relationships play a key role in organizational success. The approach of superior to subordinates determines the quality of relationship. This tone of relationship between them either positive or negative has a strong say in the success or failure of the organization. Though the objective of either, on organizational and employee view is common, yet the human approach from the top determines the retention of employees apart from other essential needs as mentioned by Maslow. The style adopted by managers in organizations is likely to have impact with the performance of employees. In the present days were the quality of workforce has improved manifold, the practice of Authoritative or Autocratic style would result in retreat and not in progress. It would lead to stress and result in burnout in employees perspective and to employer poor quality production or less production leads to attrition of experienced employees. Leadership is the capability of a person to lead and influence others. A leader is a person who has leadership qualities, or the one who leads. Robert Tannebaum therefore, defined leadership as interpersonal influence exercised in a situation and directed through the communication process, towards the attainment of a specialized goal or goals. The behaviour or the leadership style, a superior adopts may considerably determine the orientation of the subordinates. As, how a manager has expectations of his subordinates, so too the subordinates expect their superior to behave in certain manner. It is necessary for every manager to fit his behavior within the expectation level of his subordinates and superiors for a healthy balanced relationship. Today the scarcity is not on the efficiency but on how well one is able to influence others in getting the quality work done. Failing which, will cause non-co-operation resulting sabotage, hardwork or unidentification results in lack of interest and losing interest results low production, turning the organization sick and leads to higher attrition rate. Therefore, the manager is a person who embarks on the importance of human values and emotions. His importance in the organization does not merely lies on the implementation of the policies of the management but inturn should understand the employees acceptance for their comfortable work environment. Not considering the importance on employee retention will leave the organization in holding employees of only routine skills and lose people with talents. Managers could improve retention rates by creating amiable work environment for the motivating employees. The skill sets of employees in the recent days are very significant. To how best these skill sets could be utilized from the employees for the benefit of the organizations growth is quite a challenging task for the manager. There are instances where the employees prove themselves to be more efficient than the manager. Therefore charting the target and implementing the work towards the target, from the employees perview is not at all a difficult task. As a manager, the responsibilities relies in identifying the employees and delegating the work based on the skill sets and making them feel at ease in the work environment. With this initiation it is necessary for him to navigate, if the channel of work is soothing and human values are connected in a healthy way. The inculcation of organizational values and trustworthiness is predominant as a leader manager. An employee in an organization is not an investor of finance but of efficiency. Employees comprise the most vital assets of the company. He expects compensation for his contribution and not a profit share. His satisfaction on compensation and viable work environment is a motivating factor for the organizational growth. The managers intervention during the time of inconveniences would make them feel identified and feel their presence wanting to the organization. This attitude of, willing employees would make the work environment positive towards the development of the organization. This concept of willing employee and comfortable leader is the days demand in every organization. For availability of unbounded resources and innovation, the driving operational force is the magical wand of the positive social approach by the managers. The changes in the willingness to exist with the industry and comfort ability of the managers would result in retention. Willing Employee and uncomfortable Leader Distance Avoidance Leads to lack of work update Inspite of hardwork effort unrecognized, feel isolated and lose faith Resources never revealed work planning impossible Lacks involvement timely work suffers Wrong interpretation by peers hatred towards the employee Employee Burn Out loss of positive resources Unwilling employee and Uncomfortable leader Manipulate makes use of negatives in an unhealthy way for the org.growth Less productive remain unnoticed Creates groupism try to win over the majority in hiding the flaws Organizational conflict question of industrys existence Need for Organisational change and development in both aspects. Unwilling employee and comfortable leader Manipulate finds cause and try to rectify action Less productive motivate by training and development to become more productive Creates groupism understand the cause for groupism and calls forth for the Employee redressal forum Organizational conflict identify the required interventions for finding a solution Willing employee and comfortable leader High values respect High quality motivation Needs fulfilled ensures organisational long term growth Increased production with less appraisal rejection Approachable any inconveniences learnt and jointly finds ways and means for rectification Positive attitude added responsibility to support the group effectively Better relationship among employees work planned easily and target fixed with practical possibility Innovative organizational growth expansion In a work place where employees are not able to use their full potential and not heard and valued, they are likely to leave because of stress and frustration whereas in a transparent environment the employees get a sense of achievement and belongingness from a healthy work environment by which , the company is benefited with a stronger, reliable work-force, harboring bright new ideas for its growth. Leadership Makes a Difference The style followed by every manager encompass the employees on various aspects like job satisfaction, high production, quality , achieving the target, less rejection, job involvement. It is understood from the earlier studies that the leadership style matters for job retention. à ¢- ª After 20 years of research and 60,000 exit interviews, the Saratoga Institute reports that 80% of turnover is directly related to unsatisfactory relationships with ones boss. à ¢- ª According to a recent Gallup Organization study of approximately 1 million workers, the number one reason people leave their jobs is because of bad bosses. à ¢- ª Another recent Gallup study found poorly managed workgroups are an average of 50 percent less productive and 44 percent less profitable than well-managed groups. à ¢- ª.A conclusion reached by Roger Herman is that 3/4 of people voluntarily leaving jobs dont quit their jobs; they quit their bosses. (Herman, Roger. Winning the War for Talent. The ASTD Trends Watch: The Forces That Shape Workplace Performance and Improvement. American Society for Training And Development, pp. 23-32, 1999, p. 28) Blake moutons managerial grid theory determines a managers leadersipstyle on two behavioural aspects, i.e., on its concern for people and concern for production. The former builds better harmony in work environment while the latter work towards the organizational goal. In his leadership style of Team Management he emphasizes the leader to have concern for high production and high people concern. According to him, these leaders stress production needs and the needs of the people equally highly. The premise here is that employees are involved in understanding organizational purpose and determining production needs. When employees are committed to, and have a stake in the organizations success, their needs and production needs coincide. This creates a team environment based on trust and respect, which leads to high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production. The satisfaction level of employees determines the agreement/disagreement with their leader based on his style and approach. This approach has a strong say in rating the level of employee retention. The leader plays a key role in employee retention and retention management. The leader is the main factor in what motivates peoples decision to stay or leave. For organizations to keep its key employees their number one priority should be to look at their management, because people leave managers and not companies. Characteristics in a leader that are of prime importance are trust builder, esteem builder, communicator, talent developer and coach, and talent finder. The leaders relation to the employees plays a central role in retaining employees. Building rich retention starts from the first day of employment. Organisationss outlook: Ensuring right job to a right person. The necessity of the job, designing the tasks, responsibilities, and expectation from the job and position. Orientation on organisations goals and values. Making the physical and social environment feel comfortable by introduction, support and training programmes. Clarity of job. Any job should be a part of the whole. The support to be saught for the completion of the task and the support to be given to the carryover of the task. Being open to suggestions and giving feedback. Timely appreciations and corrections will build better rapport on work and social behaviour. Clarity on compensation , its revision scale schedule and periodical performance appraisal. Greivance redressal forum Considering the welfare of the employees, who in turn will value the organizations welfare. Clear communication on organizational expectations and its policies is important. Managers outlook: A person, approachable with passion. Be a role model of integrity. Uniform approach to his people irrespective of the positions held. No favoritism. Good and unbiased listener. Analysed decision making. Tough situations to be dealt from solution point of view rather than treating as problem. Look for increasing managerial skills in winning people who do their work with duty conscious. Attending leadership training programmes will help to focus on the employees retention. Giving values to the employees say. Setting procedures Non egoistic Knowledgeable person With these outlook an employee would work to the expectations of the management. Some people work for love; others work for personal fulfillment. Others like to accomplish goals and feel as if they are contributing to something larger than themselves, something important. Some people have personal missions they accomplish through meaningful work. Others truly love what they do or the clients they serve. Some like the camaraderie and interaction with customers and coworkers. Other people like to fill their time with activity. Some workers like change, challenge, and diverse problems to solve. What so ever may be, the ultimate expected reward is the monetary benefit. Fair benefits and pay are the cornerstone of a successful company that recruits and retains committed workers. If you provide a living wage for your employees, you can then work on additional motivation issues. Without the fair, living wage, however, you risk losing your best people to a better-paying employer. Mandatory Disclosure Date:22.10.10 To,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Concept and Creative Head   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yukthi10   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   National Conference on Business Strategies for Sustainable Growth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Department of Management Studies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Karpagam College of Engineering   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Othakkalmandapam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Coimbatore 641032 I solemnly certify that the paper titled Impact of leadership quality on employee retention authored by Dr./Prof./Mr./Ms._Sudharani.S has not been published or accepted for publication elsewhere or currently under any other review  Ã‚   Signature of the Author:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Name :  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sudharani.s  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Designation : Placement Liaison Officer  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Name of the Institution :   Avinashilingam  Ã‚  Ã‚  School of Management Technology Avinashilingam Deemed University for Women Coimbatore   Department of Management Studies, Karpagam College of Engineering, Myleripalayam Village, Othakkalmandapam Post, Coimbatore-641 032. 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Y2K Bug :: essays research papers fc

Computers have become the backbone of the world today. Is there a time bomb slowly ticking down inside of the computers that run everything from your laundry machine to Wall Street? "The year 2000 bug is a flaw in the programming of embedded chips in most electronic devices"(Outsmarting 2). These chips only calculate the date in the ending 2 digits of the year. For instance, the date 1-1-1999 in the computer comes out 1-1-99. "When the year 2000 comes around, the computers will think that it is the year 1900"(2). Any program or system that relies on dates to perform certain functions, such as calculating ages, time periods, or payrolls is at risk of crashing on the stroke of midnight. Programmers in the 1970's were saving a lot of space in programming by only using the last 2 digits of the year. They had no insight into the problem they were creating by cutting this programming corner. The justification for cutting this corner was two fold. First, think of all of the coding and coding time they saved if the date is calculated over 1 million times in a single computation. Second, in those early years, disk storage space was at a premium and severely limited by today's standards. It was important to make the best available use of storage space. For this reason that they entered only the last 2 digits of the year in the old programming. Because only date sensitive programming is at risk, however if or when the Y2K bug hits, the damage will be minimal at most. For those people who plan to move to the country and sell all of their possessions in order to get away from the effect, do not leave just yet. The year 2000 bug will not be the end of the world. Many think that they will start a rural community and it will be their little Garden of Eden. If the year 2000 bug strikes, it will strike everything everywhere, even in rural Montana. The problems will be universal. People believe that they can rely on insurance to cover their assets are facing another problem created by the year 2000 bug. Insurance companies are calling all of their current clients informing them that their coverage does not include losses due to the year 2000 bug. However, lawyers and law firms are gearing up for what they believe will be a windfall, based on millennium bug claims

Out-Out by Robert Frost and Mid Term Break by Seamus Heaney Essay

Analyse the two poems Out-Out by Robert Frost and Mid Term Break by Seamus Heaney by paying particular attention to the similarities between the two poems 'Out-Out' was written by Robert Frost who was an American poet born in 1874. He moved to the New Englandfarm country, where most of his poems were inspired. 'Mid Term Break' was written by Seamus Heaney, who was born on a farm in county Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The two poems are very similar and are both about the deaths of a young child, one about a boy who loses his hand whilst using a buzz saw; unfortunately, he also loses his life. In Mid Term Break the boy loses his life in a car accident. He was only left with "A poppy bruise on his left temple" There are also lots of differences between the two poems. In Out-Out the young boy was from quite a poor working class background in my opinion, which meant that the young boy had to work for the day in order to help the family. However the boy in Mid-Term Break was from a higher class family and seemed to be in quite a posh school. "College sick bay" This could mean it is a boarding school because it has its own sick-bay. The similarities between the poems are that both of the deaths were accidents and were also quite brutal. Out-Out is a poem of 34 lines of just one stanza. The poem is written in the 3rd person by somebody that is narrating the story, and that has no connections with the happenings of the poem. The way the poem is written also makes it less tragic, as every line flows to the next without giving much time to think about what has happened. The rhyming also hides some of the sadness in the poem. One point to consider is the shape of the poem, as it vaguely resemble... ...fer to catholic beliefs as in the religion they light candles to remember peoples lives, and to send them to heaven. Unlike Out-Out the ending is far more dramatic and depressing rather then the fading away from the story as happened In Out-Out, as you didn't even know how old the boy was until the very last line. This makes it seem very sad. "wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple, he lay in the four foot box as in his cot. No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear. A four foot box, a foot for every year." This is very effective because it explained everything that happened, as we didn't know the story until the end. I think that makes the poem much more emotional, not knowing what to think. I believe Mid Term Break is more effective because of the was the poet has described the death, and it seems much more emotional that Out-Out.

Darren Aronofskys Requiem for a Dream Essay -- essays research papers

Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream Requiem for a Dream is a movie that was directed by Darren Aronofsky. It's a story about the decent in to the hell and torment of drug addiction; however, Aronofsky sets out to demonstrate both the seductive ecstasy of a high and the shattering anguish of addiction. Character development is the main focus of Requiem, which is shown through creative camera angles, precise editing, and brilliant acting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This movie blew my mind away, actually I found it difficult to sit through the entire movie without taking a break to go outside just to make sure that reality wasn't as bad as the movie made it seem. Aronofsky did a mind-boggling job of exploring the pleasures, and horrors of drug use. However, he did it in a way that I had never seen before, his camera work and editing were so creative I couldn't help but repeatedly think "Wow, I've never seen anything like that before." In a movie review of Requiem Arthur Lazere states "Technique is important here because Aronofsky's films are both manneristic and expressionistic in spirit and style, exaggerating and distorting images for dramatic effect. He uses split screens, fast motion, fades to white, body-mounted cameras, repeated sequences, exaggerated sound effects somewhat self-conscious methods that quite deliberately keep the viewer always aware of the filmmaker and what he is up to, much the same way some painters u se a think impasto"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "I'm somebody now, Harry! Everybody likes...

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Well, it worked, I finally got the angel to leave the room. It went like this: Raziel called down to the front desk and asked him to send Jesus up. A few minutes later our Latin pal stood at attention at the foot of the angel's bed. Raziel said, â€Å"Tell him I need a Soap Opera Digest.† In Spanish, I said, â€Å"Good afternoon, Jesus. How are you today?† â€Å"I am well, sir, and you?† â€Å"As good as can be expected, considering this man is holding me prisoner.† â€Å"Tell him to hurry,† said Raziel. â€Å"He doesn't understand Spanish?† Jesus asked. â€Å"Not a word of it, but don't start speaking Hebrew or I'm sunk.† â€Å"Are you really a prisoner? I wondered why you two never left the room. Should I call the police?† â€Å"No, that won't be necessary, but please shake your head and look apologetic.† â€Å"What is taking so long?† Raziel said. â€Å"Give him the money and tell him to go.† â€Å"He said he is not allowed to buy publications for you, but he can direct you to a place where you can purchase them yourself.† â€Å"That's ridiculous, he's a servant, isn't he? He will do as I ask.† â€Å"Oh my, Jesus, he has asked if you would like to feel the power of his manly nakedness.† â€Å"Is he crazy? I have a wife and two children.† â€Å"Sadly, yes. Please show him that you are offended by his offer by spitting on him and storming out of the room.† â€Å"I don't know, sir, spitting on a guest†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I handed him a handful of the bills that he'd taught me were appropriate gratuities. â€Å"Please, it will be good for him.† â€Å"Very well, Mister Biff.† He produced an impressive loogie and launched it at the front of the angel's robe, where it splatted and ran. Raziel leapt to his feet. â€Å"Well done, Jesus, now curse.† â€Å"You fuckstick!† â€Å"In Spanish.† â€Å"Sorry, I was showing off my English. I know many swear words.† â€Å"Well done. Spanish please.† â€Å"Pendejo!† â€Å"Splendid, now storm out.† Jesus turned on his heel and left the room, slamming the door behind him. â€Å"He spit on me?† Raziel said, still not believing it. â€Å"An angel of the Lord, and he spit on me.† â€Å"Yes, you offended him.† â€Å"He called me a fuckstick. I heard him.† â€Å"In his culture, it is an affront to ask another man to buy a Soap Opera Digest for you. We'll be lucky if he ever brings us a pizza again.† â€Å"But I want a Soap Opera Digest.† â€Å"He said you can buy one just down the street, I will be happy to go get one for you.† â€Å"Not so fast, Apostle, none of your tricks. I'll get it myself, you stay here.† â€Å"You'll need money.† I handed him some bills. â€Å"If you leave the room I will find you in an instant, you know that?† â€Å"Absolutely.† â€Å"You cannot hide from me.† â€Å"Wouldn't dream of it. Hurry now.† He sort of shuffled sideways toward the door. â€Å"Don't try to lock me out, I'm taking a key with me. Not that I need it or anything, being an angel of the Lord.† â€Å"Not to mention a fuckstick.† â€Å"I don't even know what that means.† â€Å"Go, go, go.† I shooed him through the door. â€Å"Godspeed, Raziel.† â€Å"Work on your Gospel while I'm gone.† â€Å"Right.† I slammed the door in his face and threw the safety lock. Raziel has now watched hundreds of hours of American television, you'd think he would have noticed that people wear shoes when they go outside. The book is exactly as I suspected, a Bible, but written in a flowery version of this English I've been writing in. The translation of the Torah and the prophets from the Hebrew is muddled sometimes, but the first part seems to be our Bible. This language is amazing – so many words. In my time we had very few words, perhaps a hundred that we used all the time, and thirty of them were synonyms for guilt. In this language you can curse for an hour and never use the same word twice. Flocks and schools and herds of words, that's why I'm supposed to use this language to tell Joshua's story. I've hidden the book in the bathroom, so I can sneak in and read it while the angel is in the room. I didn't have time to actually read much of the part of the book they call the New Testament, but it's obvious that it is the story of Joshua's life. Or parts of it, anyway. I'll study it later, but now I should go on with the real story. I suppose I should have considered the exact nature of what we were doing before I invited Maggie to join us. I mean, there is some difference between the circumcision of an eight-day-old baby boy, which she had seen before, and the same operation on the ten-foot statue of a Greek god. â€Å"My goodness, that is, uh, impressive,† Maggie said, staring up at the marble member. â€Å"Graven image,† Joshua said under his breath. Even in the moonlight I could tell he was blushing. â€Å"Let's do it.† I pulled a small iron chisel from my pouch. Joshua was wrapping the head of his mallet with leather to deaden its sound. Sepphoris slept around us, the silence broken only by the occasional bleat of a sheep. The evening cook fires had long since gone to coals, the dust cloud that stirred through the city during the day had settled, and the night air was clean and still. From time to time I would catch a sweet whiff of sandalwood coming from Maggie and I would lose my train of thought. Funny the things you remember. We found a bucket and turned it upside down for Joshua to stand on while he worked. He set the tip of my chisel on Apollo's foreskin and ventured a light tap with the mallet. A tiny fragment of marble flaked away. â€Å"Give it a good whack,† I said. â€Å"I can't, it will make too much noise.† â€Å"No, it won't, the leather will cover it.† â€Å"But I might take the whole end of it off.† â€Å"He can spare it,† Maggie said, and we both turned to her with our mouths hanging open. â€Å"Probably,† she added quickly. â€Å"I'm only guessing. What do I know, I'm just a girl. Do you guys smell something?† We smelled the Roman before we heard him, heard him before we saw him. The Romans covered themselves with olive oil before they bathed, so if the wind was right or if it was an especially hot day you could smell a Roman coming at thirty paces. Between the olive oil they bathed with and the garlic and dried paste of anchovies they ate with their barley, when the legions marched into battle it must have smelled like an invasion of pizza people. If they'd had pizzas back then, which they didn't. Joshua took a quick swipe with the mallet and the chisel slipped, neatly severing Apollo's unit, which fell to the dirt with a dull thud. â€Å"Whoops,† said the Savior. â€Å"Shhhhhhhh,† I shushed. We heard the hobnails of the Roman's boots scraping on stone. Joshua jumped down from the bucket and looked frantically for a place to hide. The walls of the Greek's bathhouse were almost completed around the statue, so really, except for the entrance where the Roman was coming, there was no place to run. â€Å"Hey, what are you doing there?† We stood as still as the statue. I could see that it was the legionnaire that had been with Justus our first day in Sepphoris. â€Å"Sir, it's us, Biff and Joshua. Remember? The kid from the bread?† The soldier moved closer, his hand on the haft of his half-drawn short sword. When he saw Joshua he relaxed a bit. â€Å"What are you doing here so early? No one is to be about at this hour.† Suddenly, the soldier was yanked backward off of his feet and a dark figure fell on him, thrusting a blade into his chest over and over. Maggie screamed and the figure turned to us. I started to run. â€Å"Stop,† the murderer hissed. I froze. Maggie threw her arms around me and hid her face in my shirt as I trembled. A gurgling sound came from the soldier, but he lay still. Joshua made to step toward the murderer and I threw an arm across his chest to stop him. â€Å"That was wrong,† Joshua said, almost in tears. â€Å"You are wrong to kill that man.† The murderer held his bloody blade up by his face and grinned at us. â€Å"Is it not written that Moses became a prophet only after killing an Egyptian slave driver? No master but God!† â€Å"Sicarii,† I said. â€Å"Yes boy, Sicarii. Only when the Romans are dead will the Messiah come to set us free. I serve God by killing this tyrant.† â€Å"You serve evil,† Joshua said. â€Å"The Messiah didn't call for the blood of this Roman.† The assassin raised his blade and came at Joshua. Maggie and I leapt back, but Joshua stood his ground. The assassin grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him close. â€Å"What do you know of it, boy?† We could clearly see the murderer's face in the moonlight. Maggie gasped, â€Å"Jeremiah.† His eyes went wide, with fear or recognition, I don't know which. He released Joshua and made as if to grab Maggie. I pulled her away. â€Å"Mary?† The anger had left his voice. â€Å"Little Mary?† Maggie said nothing, but I could feel her shoulders heave as she began to sob. â€Å"Tell no one of this,† the murderer said, now talking as if he were in a trance. He backed away and stood beside the dead soldier. â€Å"No master but God,† he said, then he turned and ran into the night. Joshua put his hand on Maggie's head and she immediately stopped crying. â€Å"Jeremiah is my father's brother,† she said. Before I go on you should know about the Sicarii, and to know about them, you have to know about the Herods. So here you go. About the time that Joshua and I were meeting for the first time, King Herod the Great died after ruling Israel (under the Romans) for over forty years. It was, in fact, the death of Herod that prompted Joseph to bring his family back to Nazareth from Egypt, but that's another story. Now you need to know about Herod. Herod wasn't called â€Å"the Great† because he was a beloved ruler. Herod the Great, was, in fact, a fat, paranoid, pox-ridden tyrant who murdered thousands of Jews, including his own wife and many of his sons. Herod was called â€Å"the Great† because he built things. Amazing things: fortresses, palaces, theaters, harbors – a whole city, Caesarea, modeled on the Roman ideal of what a city should be. The one thing he did for the Jewish people, who hated him, was to rebuild the Temple of Solomon on Mount Moriah, the center of our faith. When H. the G. died, Rome divided his kingdom among three of his sons, Archelaus, Herod Philip, and Herod Antipas. It was Antipas who ultimately passed sentence on John the Baptist and gave Joshua over to Pilate. Antipas, you sniveling fuckstick (if only we'd had the word back then). It was Antipas whose toady pandering to the Romans caused bands of Jewish rebels to rise up in the hills by the hundreds. The Romans called all of th ese rebels Zealots, as if they were all united in method as well as cause, but, in fact, they were as fragmented as Jews of the villages. One of the bands that rose in Galilee called themselves the Sicarii. They showed their disapproval of Roman rule by the assassination of Roman soldiers and officials. Although certainly not the largest group of Zealots by number, they were the most conspicuous by their actions. No one knew where they came from, and no one knew where they went to after they killed, but every time they struck, the Romans did their best to make our lives hell to get us to give the killers up. And when the Romans caught a Zealot, they didn't just crucify the leader of the band, they crucified the whole band, their families, and anyone suspected of helping them. More than once we saw the road out of Sepphoris lined with crosses and corpses. My people. We ran through the sleeping city, stopping only after we had passed through the Venus Gate, where we fell in a heap on the ground, gasping. â€Å"We have to take Maggie home and get back here for work,† Joshua said. â€Å"You can stay here,† Maggie said. â€Å"I can go by myself.† â€Å"No, we have to go.† Joshua held his arms out to his sides and we saw the bloody handprints the killer had left on his shirt. â€Å"I have to clean this before someone sees it.† â€Å"Can't you just make it go away?† Maggie asked. â€Å"It's just a stain. I'd think the Messiah could get a stain out.† â€Å"Be nice,† I said. â€Å"He's not that good at Messiah stuff yet. It was your uncle, after all†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Maggie jumped to her feet. â€Å"You were the one who wanted to do this stupid thing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Stop!† Joshua said, holding his hand up as if he were sprinkling us with silence. â€Å"If Maggie hadn't been with us, we might be dead now. We may still not be safe when the Sicarii realize that three witnesses live.† An hour later Maggie was home safe and Joshua emerged from the ritual bath outside the synagogue, his clothes soaked and rivulets running out of his hair. (Many of us had these mikvehs outside of our homes – and there were hundreds outside the Temple in Jerusalem – stone pits with steps leading down both sides into the water so one might walk in over one's head on one side, then out on the other after the ritual cleansing was done. According to the Law, any contact with blood called for a cleansing. Joshua thought it would be a good opportunity to scrub the stain out of his shirt as well.) â€Å"Cold.† Joshua was shivering and hopping from foot to foot as if on hot coals. â€Å"Very cold.† (There was a small stone hut built over the baths so they never got the direct light of the sun, consequently they never warmed up. Evaporation in the dry Galilee air chilled the water even more.) â€Å"Maybe you should come to my house. My mother will have a breakfast fire going by now, you can warm yourself.† He wrung out the tail of his shirt and water cascaded down his legs. â€Å"And how would I explain this?† â€Å"Uh, you sinned, had an emergency cleansing to do.† â€Å"Sinned? At dawn? What sin could I have done before dawn?† â€Å"Sin of Onan?† I said. Joshua's eyes went wide. â€Å"Have you committed the sin of Onan?† â€Å"No, but I'm looking forward to it.† â€Å"I can't tell your mother that I've committed the sin of Onan. I haven't.† â€Å"You could if you're fast.† â€Å"I'll suffer the cold,† Joshua said. The good old sin of Onan. That brings back memories. The sin of Onan. Spilling the old seed on the ground. Cuffing the camel. Dusting the donkey. Flogging the Pharisee. Onanism, a sin that requires hundreds of hours of practice to get right, or at least that's what I told myself. God slew Onan for spilling his seed on the ground (Onan's seed, not God's. God's seed turned out to be my best pal. Imagine the trouble you'd be in if you actually spilled God's seed. Try explaining that). According to the Law, if you had any contact with â€Å"nocturnal emissions† (which are not what come out of your tailpipe at night – we didn't have cars then), you had to purify yourself by baptism and you weren't allowed to be around people until the next day. Around the age of thirteen I spent a lot of time in and out of our mikveh, but I fudged on the solitary part of penance. I mean, it's not like that was going to help the problem. Many a morning I was still dripping and shivering from the bath when I met Joshua to go to work. â€Å"Spilled your seed upon the ground again?† he'd ask. â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"You're unclean, you know?† â€Å"Yeah, I'm getting all wrinkly from purifying myself.† â€Å"You could stop.† â€Å"I tried. I think I'm being vexed by a demon.† â€Å"I could try to heal you.† â€Å"No way, Josh, I'm having enough trouble with laying on of my own hands.† â€Å"You don't want me to cast out your demon?† â€Å"I thought I'd try to exhaust him first.† â€Å"I could tell the scribes and they would have you stoned.† (Always trying to be helpful, Josh was.) â€Å"That would probably work, but it is written that ‘when the oil of the lamp is used up, the wanker shall light his own way to salvation.'† â€Å"That is not written.† â€Å"It is too. In, uh, Isaiah.† â€Å"Is not.† â€Å"You need to study your Prophets, Josh. How are you going to be the Messiah if you don't know your Prophets?† Joshua hung his head. â€Å"You are right, of course.† I clapped him on the shoulder. â€Å"You'll have time to learn the Prophets. Let's cut through the square and see if there are any girls gathering water.† Of course it was Maggie I was looking for. It was always Maggie. By the time we got back to Sepphoris the sun was well up, but the stream of merchants and farmers that normally poured through the Venus Gate was not there. Roman soldiers were stopping and searching everyone who was trying to leave the city, sending them back the way they came. A group of men and women were waiting outside the gate to go in, my father and some of his helpers among them. â€Å"Levi!† my father called. He ran to us and herded us to the side of the road. â€Å"What's going on?† I asked, trying to look innocent. â€Å"A Roman soldier was murdered last night. There will be no work today, now you both go home and stay there. Tell your mothers to keep the children in today. If the Romans don't find the killer there'll be soldiers in Nazareth before noon.† â€Å"Where is Joseph?† Joshua asked. My father put his arm around Joshua's shoulder. â€Å"He's been arrested. He must have come to work very early. They found him at first light, near the body of the dead soldier. I only know what has been shouted from inside the gate, the Romans aren't letting anyone in or out of the city. Joshua, tell your mother not to worry. Joseph is a good man, the Lord will protect him. Besides, if the Romans thought he was the killer he would have been tried already.† Joshua backed away from my father in stiff, stumbling steps. He stared straight ahead, but obviously saw nothing. â€Å"Take him home, Biff. I'll be along as soon as I can. I'm going to try to find out what they've done with Joseph.† I nodded and led Joshua away by the shoulders. When we were a few steps down the road, he said, â€Å"Joseph came looking for me. He was working on the other side of the city. The only reason he was near the Greek's house is that he was looking for me.† â€Å"We'll tell the centurion we saw who killed the soldier. He'll believe us.† â€Å"And if he believes us, believes it was Sicarii, what will happen to Maggie and her family?† I didn't know what to say. Joshua was right and my father was wrong, Joseph was not fine. The Romans would be questioning him right now, maybe torturing him to find out who his accomplices were. That he didn't know anything would not save him. And a testimony from his son not only wouldn't save him, but would send more people to the cross to join him. Jewish blood was going to be spilled one way or the other over this. Joshua shook off my hands and ran off the road into an olive grove. I started to follow, but he suddenly spun on me and the fury of his gaze stopped me in midstride. â€Å"Wait,† he said. â€Å"I need to talk to my father.† I waited by the road for nearly an hour. When Joshua walked out of the olive grove he looked as if a shadow had fallen permanently on his face. â€Å"I am lost,† he said. I pointed over my shoulder. â€Å"Nazareth that way, Sepphoris the other way. You're in the middle. Feel better?† â€Å"You know what I mean.† â€Å"No help from your father, then?† I always felt strange asking about Joshua's prayers. You had to see him pray, especially in those days, before we had traveled. There was a lot of strain and trembling, like someone trying to force a fever to break by sheer will. There was no peace in it. â€Å"I am alone,† Joshua said. I punched him in the arm, hard. â€Å"Then you didn't feel that.† â€Å"Ouch. What'd you do that for?† â€Å"Sorry, no one around to answer you. You're soooooooo alone.† â€Å"I am alone!† I wound up for a full-body-powered roundhouse punch. â€Å"Then you won't mind if I smite the bejeezus out of you.† He threw up his hands and jumped back. â€Å"No, don't.† â€Å"So you're not alone?† â€Å"I guess not.† â€Å"Good, then wait here. I'm going to go talk to your father myself.† I tramped off into the olive grove. â€Å"You don't have to go in there to talk to him. He is everywhere.† â€Å"Yeah, right, like you know. If he's everywhere then how are you alone?† â€Å"Good point.† I left Joshua standing by the road and went off to pray. And thus did I pray: â€Å"Heavenly Father, God of my father and my father's father, God of Abraham and Isaac, God of Moses, who did lead our people out of Egypt, God of David and Solomon – well, you know who you are. Heavenly Father, far be it from me to question your judgment, being as you are all powerful and the God of Moses and all of the above, but what exactly are you trying to do to this poor kid? I mean, he's your son, right? He's the Messiah, right? Are you pulling one of those Abraham faith-test things on him? In case you didn't notice, he's in quite a pickle here, having witnessed a murder and his stepfather under arrest by the Romans, and in all likelihood, a lot of our people, who you have mentioned on more than one occasion are your favorites and the chosen (and of which I am one, by the way) are going to be tortured and killed unless we – I mean he – does something. So, what I'm saying here is, could you, much as you did with Samson when he was backed into a corner w eaponless against the Philistines, throw the kid a bone here? â€Å"With all due respect. Your friend, Biff. Amen.† I was never very good at prayer. Storytelling, I'm fine with. I, in fact, am the originator of a universal story that I know has survived to this time because I have heard it on TV. It begins: â€Å"Two Jews go into a bar†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Those two Jews? Me and Josh. No kidding. Anyway, I'm not good at prayer, but before you think I was a little rough on God, there's another thing you need to know about my people. Our relationship with God was different from other people and their Gods. Sure there was fear and sacrifice and all, but essentially, we didn't go to him, he came to us. He told us we were the chosen, he told us he would help us to multiply to the ends of the earth, he told us he would give us a land of milk and honey. We didn't go to him. We didn't ask. And since he came to us, we figure we can hold him responsible for what he does and what happens to us. For it is written that â€Å"he who can walk away, controls the deal.† And if there's anything you learn from reading the Bible, it's that my people walked away a lot. You couldn't turn around that we weren't off in Babylon worshiping false gods, building false altars, or sleeping with unsuitable women. (Although the latter may be more of a guy thing than a Jewish thing.) And God pretty mu ch didn't mind throwing us into slavery or simply massacring us when we did that. We have that kind of relationship with God. We're family. So I'm not a prayer-master, so to speak, but that particular prayer couldn't have been that bad, because God answered. Well, he left me a message, anyway. As I emerged from the olive grove, Joshua held out his hand and said, â€Å"God left a message.† â€Å"It's a lizard,† I said. It was. Joshua was holding a small lizard in his outstretched hand. â€Å"Yes, that's the message, don't you see?† How was I to know what was going on? Joshua had never lied to me, never. So if he said that this lizard was a message from God, who was I to dispute him? I fell to my knees and bowed my head under Josh's outstretched hand. â€Å"Lord have mercy on me, I was expecting a burning bush or something. Sorry. Really.† Then to Josh, I said, â€Å"I'm not so sure you should take that seriously, Josh. Reptiles don't tend to have a great record for getting the message right. Like for instance, oh, let's see, that Adam and Eve thing.† â€Å"It's not that kind of message, Biff. My father hasn't spoken in words, but this message is as clear as if his voice had come down from the heavens.† â€Å"I knew that.† I stood up. â€Å"And the message is?† â€Å"In my mind. When you had been gone only a few minutes this lizard ran up my leg and perched on my hand. I realized that it was my father giving me the solution to our problem.† â€Å"And the message is?† â€Å"You remember when we were little, the game we used to play with the lizards?† â€Å"Sure I do. But the message is?† â€Å"You remember how I was able to bring them back to life.† â€Å"A great trick, Josh. But getting back to the message†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Don't you see? If the soldier isn't dead, then there was no murder. If there was no murder, then there is no reason for the Romans to harm Joseph. So all we have to do is see that the soldier is not dead. Simple.† â€Å"Of course, simple.† I studied the lizard for a minute, looking at it from a number of different angles. It was brownish green and seemed quite content to sit there on Joshua's palm. â€Å"Ask him what we're supposed to do now.†

Inventory management

Do they ever face the problem of receiving orders for an item that their vendor is not able to fulfill because it is out-of-stock (over-ordering or running out of stock)? I. If no, can this be a problem they might have in the future? 1. If no, why not? N. If yes, how does the vendor handle it? 1. Cancels Order a. Does canceling order affect your relationship with the customer? B. Does canceling order affect the customer reputation for the vendor? C. Are there any other issues associated with canceling an order? 2. Purchases from another vendor to fulfill order a.Does it affect their profit margin? B. Are there any other Issues associated with purchasing from another vendor? . Vendor will manufacture additional products to fulfill order a. Does this affect the delivery time? I. If yes 1 . Is changing delivery time okay with you? 2. Is changing delivery time okay with the customer? B. Are there any other Issues associated with manufacturing product after an online order has been receiv ed? 4. Is there another way to handle this Issue apart from canceling and order / Purchasing from another vendor / manufacturing additional products? Iii.Would it help your vendors to have a tool that allows them to manage inventory across multiple online marketplaces? 1 . If yes a. Would your vendors be willing to pay for such a tool? B. Does your marketplace allow for a software to connect to your online marketplace using a Website API to allow l. Product uploads Inventory updates iii. Orders v. Viewing competitors asking prices c. Would you be willing to help us market such a tool? 2. If no, why not? V. Do you encourage your vendors to view their competitors pricing and price their products accordingly? 1 . If yes, would It help your vendors to have a tool that allows Inventory Management Purpose of research A study of inventory management is undertaken in order to know the inventory performance and position of selected companies and to know the strength and weakness and to assess the profitability of the companies. Inventories constitute most significant part of assets of large majority of the companies in India. Inventory a double edged sword is usually an asset of an organization, if not used properly it will become liability. It is therefore absolutely very important to manage inventories efficiently and effectively in order to overcome unnecessary investment.Excessive stock, or excess inventory, is the result of bad management of stock demand or of material flow in process management. Excessive stock is also associated with loss of revenue owing to additional capital bound with the purchase or simply storage space taken. Shortage of stocks leads to loss of business, hence inventory management plays a key role. Literature review: †¢Article on inventory manage ment by weilege †¢Case study on coco-cola bottling inventory management by S. L Adyemi †¢Article on inventory management by James H Aim: â€Å"To identify the problems/challenges involved in the Inventory Management process†Objectives: 1. To study the inventory control measures and methods of valuation of inventory of selected companies in India of manufacturing industry 2. To identify problems related to inventory management specific to manufacturing industry of selected companies 3. To make a comparative study of inventory management of selected companies under manufacturing industries and to offer suggestions for effective inventory management Hypothesis: Research hypothesis: â€Å"Optimum inventory management leads to profitability of companies† Research methodology: a)Primary data:The primary data will be collected by personal interviews with officials. b) Secondary data Files, annual reports, periodicals, manuals and text book. Which have already been p assed through the statistical process are the secondary data used. Scope of the study: †¢ This study is to find the facts and opinions of inventory management and control of selected companies under manufacturing industries. †¢ In accordance with the present trends it aims mainly at finding out the inventory control procedures. Limitation of the study †¢ The study is related to only specific or selected companies in India of manufacturing industries.Proposed content of the dissertation: 1. Chapter 1: introduction 2. Chapter 2: literature review 3. Chapter 3: data collection and research methodology 4. Chapter 4: analysis and data interpretations 5. Chapter 5: findings and recommendations 6. Chapter 6: Conclusion 7. Bibliography 8. Annexure Work plan: First two weeks : literature review next two weeks: data collection for the project next four weeks: analysis and interpretation of data next two weeks: Findings and suggestions or recommendations next two weeks: compilin g of project report last few weeks : correction of report and final report preparation. Inventory Management Purpose of research A study of inventory management is undertaken in order to know the inventory performance and position of selected companies and to know the strength and weakness and to assess the profitability of the companies. Inventories constitute most significant part of assets of large majority of the companies in India. Inventory a double edged sword is usually an asset of an organization, if not used properly it will become liability. It is therefore absolutely very important to manage inventories efficiently and effectively in order to overcome unnecessary investment.Excessive stock, or excess inventory, is the result of bad management of stock demand or of material flow in process management. Excessive stock is also associated with loss of revenue owing to additional capital bound with the purchase or simply storage space taken. Shortage of stocks leads to loss of business, hence inventory management plays a key role. Literature review: †¢Article on inventory manage ment by weilege †¢Case study on coco-cola bottling inventory management by S. L Adyemi †¢Article on inventory management by James H Aim: â€Å"To identify the problems/challenges involved in the Inventory Management process†Objectives: 1. To study the inventory control measures and methods of valuation of inventory of selected companies in India of manufacturing industry 2. To identify problems related to inventory management specific to manufacturing industry of selected companies 3. To make a comparative study of inventory management of selected companies under manufacturing industries and to offer suggestions for effective inventory management Hypothesis: Research hypothesis: â€Å"Optimum inventory management leads to profitability of companies† Research methodology: a)Primary data:The primary data will be collected by personal interviews with officials. b) Secondary data Files, annual reports, periodicals, manuals and text book. Which have already been p assed through the statistical process are the secondary data used. Scope of the study: †¢ This study is to find the facts and opinions of inventory management and control of selected companies under manufacturing industries. †¢ In accordance with the present trends it aims mainly at finding out the inventory control procedures. Limitation of the study †¢ The study is related to only specific or selected companies in India of manufacturing industries.Proposed content of the dissertation: 1. Chapter 1: introduction 2. Chapter 2: literature review 3. Chapter 3: data collection and research methodology 4. Chapter 4: analysis and data interpretations 5. Chapter 5: findings and recommendations 6. Chapter 6: Conclusion 7. Bibliography 8. Annexure Work plan: First two weeks : literature review next two weeks: data collection for the project next four weeks: analysis and interpretation of data next two weeks: Findings and suggestions or recommendations next two weeks: compilin g of project report last few weeks : correction of report and final report preparation.