UK Micro Environment Factors for a Tobacco Company Essay

UK Micro Environment Factors for a Tobacco Company - Essay Example [2] These variables affect the business and its operations to the core and a proper understanding of these is a necessary step to expand the product in a particular market. According to porter, there are 5 forces that act on a business in the Micro Environment. These five variables along with others variables proposed by different authors can be broken down as. [5] Cigarette is an additive product and that is a favorable point for the company as far its sales are concerned. Buyers are hooked to the brand of cigarette usually from the start so there is little bargaining that the customers can do. The buyers are also brand conscious and they don not change their brands rapidly and specially in UK. Even if the prices of the cigarette increases, the customers will continue to buy it because of its addictive nature. Retailers get a nominal amount on retailing the cigarette however they are in much demand so they keep it. Also the retailers usually get branded settings and are paid extra to keep shelf space for a brand. As substitutes for the products exist, retailers have a bit of power over the companies There are high barriers to entry. ... People trying to leave this habit usually revert to nicotine gum, counseling, or behavior modification. In extreme cases acupuncture needles are stuck in the bodies or the nicotine-averse images implanted in their minds however these are not that successful. Competitive Rivalry Among the four top brands of cigarettes in UK, Imperial Tobacco Group is the market leader. However, this has created intense rivalry amongst all the competitors. This is not a good sign for the company since this much competition can make it harder for the rest to come to the standard of these leading companies. Stakeholders The stakeholders such as the government, the media and the society play a major role in the business. Since smoking is considered a social evil, the society usually shuns the smokers. Laws, and deals such as the 'tobacco resolution' are the results of the anti-smoking society. The increase in taxes makes it harder for the company to sell their products. The UK tobacco sector is one of the most heavily taxed in the world, and UK cigarette prices are the highest in the EU, with taxes accounting for around 84.5 percent of the retail cost of a typical packet of cigarettes. [3] [4] Conclusion - Changes to the Company's Strategy and its Impact Micro environmental factors play as much a vital role in a business as other macro does. Maybe these are even more important since these factors are hard to investigate as they work on a hidden level. From the information gathered, it has been found out that a few dramatic changes to the company's strategy must be brought. First the company must be perceived as a "green company". Since awareness of the harms of cigarette smoking is increasing, the company must promote itself as a

Blake v DPP, a summary of criminal case law

Blake v DPP, a summary of criminal case law Introduction In addition to the general defences seen in criminal law (duress, coercion, diminished responsibility etc) the offence of criminal damage has a number of specific defences which are found in the Criminal Damage Act 1971. In particular section 5 (2) states that a defendant has a lawful excuse, if: He believed that the person whom he believed entitled to consent to the destruction or damage of the property would have consented, had he known of the circumstances; or he acted ‘in order to protect’ the property of himself of another, or a right or interest in property that the property, right, or interest was in immediate need of protection, and the means adopted were reasonable, having regard to all the circumstances. This defence has been used in a number of cases that will be dealt with below. The leading authority on the defence is Blake v DPP[1]. However, one must look at the law prior to this judgement and after it. Prior to Blake In R v Ashford[2] it was held not top be a lawful excuse for the defendants to cut the wire at an airforce base in order protest against the use of nuclear weapons even if they subjectively believed that they had a lawful excuse to act. Michael Jefferson states that the ‘defendants argued that the reduction of the risk of the use of nuclear weapons would protect property in England because the risk of retaliation would be reduced.’[3] It was an already viewed as an objective test that the courts employed. R v Hill[4] involved the defendants cutting a wire fence in order to prevent nuclear war. The Court of Appeal held that the act of cutting was too remote from the prevention of nuclear war and they confirmed that it was an objective test rather than a subjective test. Jefferson notes that the property was not in ‘immediate need of protection’ and so it did not matter that the defendants believed they were acting to protect ‘property belonging to another’. Blake v DPP The defence would apply if the defendant honestly believes X is the owner and consents, even though X is not the owner. However in Blake v DPP, the Divisional Court rejected the defendant vicar’s argument that he believed that God owned the property and had consented to the damage. The court acknowledged that his belief was sincere it was however impossible to produce any evidence other than the defendant’s own belief that the command was in fact given. If this defence was indeed accepted then the defence could be raised regarding murder where the accused could simply claim he was carrying out the intentions of God. His marker pen graffiti on the Houses of Parliament in protest against the Gulf war was held to be unlawful. The defendant also claimed that he had a lawful excuse under section 5 (2) (b) as he damaged the pillar in order to protect property in the Gulf States. The Divisional Court held that, even if the defendant had believed that he had a lawful excuse, the court needed to adopt an objective view, if on the facts believed by the defendant, what was done by him protected, or was capable of protecting property. Richard Card states that the offence was to protect the property in the Gulf States; as such protection was too remote from his conduct[5]. Card states that this objective requirement read into s 5 (2) (b) is not easily reconcilable with the words of the statute, which seem to be a clear expression of a test that is solely subjective. Post Blake The case of Chamberlain v Lindon[6] showed that the defence has some success. This case deals with a ‘right of way’ as the accused was held to be protecting it when he demolished a wall. This was held to be in an ‘immediate need of protection’ as it was being obstructed and it would continue until litigation resolved the case. R v Kelleher[7] involved a defendant who knocked the head off a statue of Baroness Thatcher in a protest regarding the policies of democratic governments (UK and USA). The defendant believed that these policies made the world a more dangerous place to live in and would lead to the destruction of the world. The defendant was convicted but then appealed on two grounds. First, he stated that the ruling of the judge that the defence of ‘lawful excuse’ was not available was wrong. Secondly, the judge wrongly directed the jury to return a verdict of guilty. Regarding the first issue, the court held that the trial judge was correct in deeming the defence of lawful excuse as unavailable to the defendant. Regarding the second ground for appeal, William Priestley states that as the jury was invited to retire after the judge’s direction, this showed that the jury had in fact acted independently as they then returned and delivered a verdict of guilty.[8] In Jones v Gloucestershire Crown Prosecution Service[9] the defendants relied on section 5 (2) (b) as they damaged property at RAF Fairford in order to protest at illegality of the war in Iraq. These acts were done in order to preserve the homes of their family and friends. It was held that none of the defendants could reasonably believe that their actions of cutting wire around an RAF base would protect their homes. Conclusion As we have seen the defence of s 5 (2) has been used by a number of defendants. Its use has been primarily used by individuals protesting against the policies of the government. With the Human Rights Act 1998 cementing the European Convention of Human Rights into the UK legal system, Article 10 and 12 will be relied on in order to give individuals the right of assembly and free speech. This right however does not extend to criminal acts of damage against property. The objectivity that surrounds s (5) (2) shows that defendants will find it increasingly difficult to rely on this defence however compelling and sincere these subjective thoughts may well be. Bibliography Books Ashworth, A. Principles of Criminal Law 5th ed. 2006. Oxford Card, R. Criminal Law 16th ed. 2004. Lexis Nexis. London Herring, J. Criminal Law: Text, Cases and Materials 3rd ed. 2008. Oxford. Jefferson, M. Criminal Law 8th ed. 2007. Lexis Nexis. London. Journals The Police Journal. Vol.76 (4) 2003 Footnotes [1] [1992] 93 Cr App R 169 [2] [1988] Crim LR 682 (CA) [3] Jefferson, M. Criminal Law 8th Ed. 2007.p.707 [4] [1989] 89 Cr App R 74 [5] Richard Card. Criminal Law 16th Ed, 2004. [6] [1998] 2 All ER 538 [7] [2003] EWCA Crim 2846 [8] Priestley, W. Lawful Excuse to the Offence of Criminal Damage. Police Journal vol.76 2003. [9] [2005] QB 259

Skylake :: Personal Narrative Writing

Skylake I think I learned how to swim before I learned how to walk. My family and I moved to Miami, Florida from Long Island, New York when I had just turned 4 years old. According to my mother, it was just too cold for her up north. We moved into a comfortable home, the same house we now live in fifteen years later. The house is on a lake, along with about sixty-five other homes. My brothers say that when we first moved in, I used to go down to the lake and just sit and stare at it for hours on end. My first girlfriend lived on my lake. Her name was Anat. I would take my paddleboat over to her house and then go around the lake with her for hours. It was easier to walk to her house, but more impressive to swing by on a boat. I had just turned twelve, and spent the summer with her on the lake. Our relationship came to an abrupt stop after six weeks. Apparently I was not spending enough time with her, and too much time with the fish. A year after we moved in, my father's best friends, Joe Haimson and his wife Bernice, came to visit us for a week or two. The two of them were pretty devoted fishermen. They went out and bought a couple of basic fishing rods and reels and taught my brothers and I how to fish. My brothers were not nearly as enchanted by fishing as I was. Their interest in it fizzled out shortly thereafter. Mine had just begun. I remember when I was about five or six. sitting at my dock, usually alone, putting little breadballs about the size of a marble on the hook, making short casts, and catching one bluegill after another. They weren't big fish, maybe a quarter to a half a pound, at the most. Not a real anglers trophy, but to me they were the most mesmerizing things I had ever seen, each one more beautiful than the next. On Friday evenings, when I was about nine or ten, I used to sit on my dock with my grandfather, Max, before Sabbath dinner. He used to love it when I pulled those things out o f the water.

Oedipus: Aristotelian or Formalist Theory Essay

Teiresias’s speech at the end of scene one of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex is fairly short but it is in this encounter between Oedipus and Teiresias where the main conflict of the story begins to unfold. This is a pivotal speech in the play as it helps to develop some of the major themes in the play as well as begin to build up the tragic irony at the center of the story. When this speech is analyzed using either Aristotelian or Formalist theory key elements can be found that are effective in increasing the drama in the play and in tying together one of the play’s central theme. In the Poetics Aristotle outlines his vision of a successful tragedy and states that plot and character are the first two principle features of tragedy. Teiresias’s final speech helps to develop both of these key components of tragedy in Oedipus Rex successfully. During his conversation with the king Teiresias introduces the first source of conflict into the play as Oedipus tries to convince the old man to reveal what he knows about Laios’s murder. Aristotle termed this moment of the plot the â€Å"desis† which in modern literary terms is known as the complication which serves to build up the drama of a story towards the climax, and Teiresias’s speech here achieves that purpose. There is also an effective use of foreshadowing in Teiresias’s speech in which he reveals to the audience the twist of fate that Oedipus will experience even though the king at this point is unaware of Teiresias’s true meaning. The reversal of fortune and recognition contained in Oedipus Rex are praised by Aristotle as being characteristics of an ideal plot and the foreshadowing found in Teiresias’s speech help to build up the anticipation towards the revelation of Oedipus’s identity. In the perfect tragedy Aristotle stated that character should support the plot and Teiresias’s final speech was indirectly very effective in building Oedipus’s character. Until his meeting with Teiresias Oedipus was seen a considerate king looking out for the interest of his people in trying to discover Laios’s killer. In his conversation with Teiresias the audience gets its first glimpse of Oedipus’s anger and can begin to see him as capable of being the murderer they are searching for. Teiresias’s final speech also reveals to the audience Oedipus’s â€Å"tragic flaw† of not knowing who he truly is, which will eventually be his downfall. In revealing Oedipus’s genuine ignorance to his true identity through this speech the audience feels more pity for the king when the revelation occurs and this heightens the tragedy of the play. From a Formalist theory perspective of Teiresias’s speech two literary devices are used that effectively increase the drama of the play and tie in a central theme and those are symbolism and tone. Symbolism in Teiresias’s speech begins to build the tragic irony of the play and to establish one of the themes of the play of sight versus knowledge. Teiresias describes the killer as â€Å"a blind man, Who has his eyes now†, but he is also referring to Oedipus’s inability to see the truth (Sophocles 720). Teiresias himself is a powerful symbol as well in the play as he is blind but he can see the truth of better than Oedipus despite the king’s attempts to discover the truth so vigorously. In the end of the play when Oedipus blinds himself upon finally learning the truth he completes the imagery that was begun in Teiresias’s final speech. The tone of Teiresias’s speech is ominous and foreboding and it serves to change the tone of the entire play. At this point the audience is becoming aware that things will not end well for Oedipus and his valiant quest to find Laios’s killer is going to result in dire consequences. The graphic imagery in the line â€Å"Who came to his father’s bed, wet with his father’s blood† helped establish this ominous tone that serves to build the tension through the rest of the play (Sophocles 720). After his encounter with Teiresias Oedipus becomes increasing confrontational with other characters in the play and the tone set by Teiresias’s speech helps to establish much of that conflict. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is such a well-rounded piece of literature that regardless of what literary approach is used to analyze it the play will provide an endless vehicle for discovery. There are so many complex images, themes, and symbols weaved together that it is an ideal story to study.

Bangle Sellers

The poem â€Å"Bangle Sellers† was first published in the year 1912 by Sarojini Naidu in her collection of poems called â€Å"The Bird of Time. † A group of bangle sellers is on its way to the temple fair to sell their bangles. One of them is the narrator of this poem. They are an impoverished and marginalized group of people whose income from the sales of their bangles is at the best of times uncertain and very meagre. However the bangles they sell are of religious and symbolic importance: no Indian widow is permitted to wear bangles. Hence the wearing of bangles is considered to be very auspicious and of symbolic value bordering on the religious. What is of great significance in the poem is that the bangle seller does not say a word about his/her poverty, nor does he/she say anything about the profit that he/she intends to make by selling his/her bangles at the temple fair where he/she will certainly do roaring sales. On the contrary he/she only concentrates on the human element of the product he/she is going to sell at the temple fair: Who will buy these delicate, bright Rainbow-tinted circles of light? Lustrous tokens of radiant lives, For happy daughters and happy wives. Sarojini Naidu has foregrounded the auspiciousness and the symbolic value of the custom of wearing bangles by repeating â€Å"happy. † The ‘happy' daughters look forward to their marital bliss while the ‘happy' wives are content and glory in the fulfillment which is a result of their marital status. Each of the next three stanzas deal with the three stages in the life of of an average Indian woman – a virgin maiden, an expectant bride and finally a mature matriarch. The bangles are of many colors. However, each stage in an Indian woman's life s described lyrically and appropriately according to the colour of the bangle suitable to that stage:for the maiden virgin who is always dreaming of a happily married life it is a misty silver and blue, for the expectant and passionate bride it is a golden yellow, and for the mature matriarch it is a â€Å"purple and gold flecked grey. † Simil arly Sarojini Naidu very poetically describes the longings of an Indian woman according to each stage of her life: the virgin maiden is carrying in her heart countless dreams of her future married life and she is compared to a â€Å"bud that dreams. The young bride is described as brimming over with passionate desire although she is nervous about what the future holds for her as she leaves her parental home – â€Å"bridal laughter and bridal tear. † Finally, she describes the proud and faithful matriarch who has attained fulfillment by successfully rearing her sons – â€Å"serves her house in fruitful pride -† and hence is permitted to take her rightful place by the side of her husband in all the domestic religious rituals.