Toyota (target costing)

Toyota Motor Corporation started as a subsidiary of the Toyota Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. It was founded in 1937 as the Toyota Motor Company, Ltd. It changed its name to the Toyota Motor Corporation in 1982 when the parent company merged with Toyota Sales Company, Ltd. In 1 993, Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) was Japan's largest automobile company. It controlled approximately 45% of the domestic market. Its next largest Japanese competitor was Ionians, with approximately 25% market share, followed by Honda and Mazda, which together represented about another 20%.The remaining 10% of the domestic automobile market was made up of several domestic manufacturers, including Issue, and several foreign competitors, such as Mercedes Benz and the â€Å"big three† American firms: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The domestic and world automobile markets were characterized by Intense competition. Models were brought out rapidly despite their high development costs. Fractions of a pe rcentage of market share were often viewed as representing the difference between success and failure.No Globalization Over the years, Toyota had evolved into a global firm. In 1993, a considerable part of the firm's overseas markets were serviced by local subsidiaries that frequently designed and manufactured automobiles for local markets. For example, local plants produced almost one-third of the vehicles sold in the North American market. These vehicles were produced in three plants, one in Kentucky, another in Ontario, Canada, and the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (MINIMUM) Joint venture plant with General Motors.These plants produced approximately 400,000 vehicles per annum, including 220,000 Camera, 170,000 Corollas, and the remainder being pickup trucks. Production volumes for pickup trucks were expected to increase to approximately 100,000 in the next Professor Robin Cooper of the Peter F. Trucker Graduate Management Center at The Claremont Graduate School and Professo r Take Tanana of Tokyo Aziza University prepared this case as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.Copyright 1997 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685 or write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means-?electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise-?without the permission of Harvard Business School. This document is authorized for use only by Lingua Wang at Chinese University of Hong Kong until May 2013.Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [email  protected] Harvard. Du or 617. 783. 7860. 197-031 few years. In 1994, the firm expected to begin exporting vehicles from North America to markets such as Japan and Taiwan. In addition to automobiles, the firm also manufactured and sold forklifts. Toyota controlled 70% of the forklift market in the United States. The same commitment to local manufacture and control was apparent in Toast's other major overseas markets. In Europe, two new UK plants began producing to reach 100,000 by 1995 and 200,000 units before the end of the century.Altogether, Toyota vehicles were either manufactured or assembled in more than 20 nations. These local manufacturing facilities provided Jobs for nationals and business for local supplier firms. The relative importance of the international supplier business to Toyota was increasing. In 1992, for example, Toyota purchased locally approximately 70% of its parts requirements (or $5 billion) for its North American operations. The other 30% was imported from Japan, but this percentage was expected to decrease over time. By 1994, Toyota expected to purchase $6. Billion of parts from local suppliers worldwide and import $2. 9 bi llion for domestic use. Supplier Relationships Product design was also international in scope. Salty Research, Inc. , a Toyota subsidiary formed in California in October 1973, was responsible for the body styling ND interiors of new models scheduled for production in North America. The design styling for European markets was coordinated from the firm's design and technical centers located in Brussels. Third-party suppliers were responsible for approximately 70% of Toast's parts and materials.In particular, the cost and quality of third-party supplied parts was considered critical to the firm's success. In recent years, Toast's expansion into international production had required increased interaction with non-Japanese suppliers to raise their efficiency and quality to the same level as that of Toast's Japanese suppliers. Etc To help non-Japanese supplier firms manufacture acceptable parts, Toyota had developed programs to transfer Japanese manufacturing techniques. At the heart of t hese so-called design-in programs was Joint work by suppliers and Toyota engineers on new components.This Joint work began in the early stages of the vehicle- development process, because prospective suppliers cited a lack of involvement in the early stages of vehicle design as an obstacle to winning business in highballs components. In a typical design-in program, several designers competed for a part interact; the firms were evaluated on the prices bid, the technology applied, and their performance. The winning firm was granted a contract for the life of the model. When the next model was developed the contract was once again thrown open for bidding.By 1993, more than 120 U. S. Suppliers had participated in design-in programs and firms were involved in such programs but had yet to sign contracts for parts. A similar program was in place in Europe. Toyota engineers also helped its overseas suppliers to adopt the Toyota Production System. Many Toyota overseas suppliers had now succe ssfully implemented modified erosion of the Toyota Production System. The system contained four key elements: just-in-time production, Kanata, total quality management, and multi-functional work teams.Just-in-time production avoided the build up of excessive work-in-process inventories and increased the firm's ability to respond quickly to customer demands. Kanata was the driving force behind KIT, tying production closely to customer demand. Total quality management ensured high-quality products and minimized the risk that the reduced levels of inventories would lead to stock-outs because of poor-quality components. Finally, multi-functional workers, capable of performing several tasks, dealt with the increased complexity of the production process. 2 Cost Planning Cost planning at Toyota worked to reduce product costs at the design stage.Toyota first set its cost planning goals and then set out to achieve those goals through aggressive design changes. To correctly assess the gains m ade, the exact amount of cost reduction achieved through design changes was estimated after excluding all other factors that affected costs, such as increases in material and labor prices. The measurement process started with cost tables that helped engineers estimate he current cost of existing models. These cost tables were kept up-to-date for changes in material prices, labor rates, and production volume levels.The updated production volumes helped determine both depreciation and overhead charges that would be allocated to the new model. Comparison of this estimated cost to the vehicle's target cost gave the desired level of savings, or cost-planning goal, as it was called. At the profit-estimation stage, also referred to as the â€Å"target cost-setting stage,† Toyota calculated the differences between the costs of the new and current models, strutted the appropriate portion of the cost-reduction goal to the design divisions, and then assessed the results.Profit targets f or the life of the new model were also calculated as differences between estimates and targets. This process constituted the essence of budget control at Toyota. Toyota clearly specified cost reduction goals for each control unit to ensure that the company's overall goals were attained. Target Costing Toyota invented its target costing approach in 1959. Although many major manufacturers in Japan use target costing, Toast's system is the oldest and insider by many the most technically advanced.While the idea of systematic cost reduction had existed at Toyota since it was founded, the process was first codified in the mid-sass, when the firm set itself the objective of producing a $1,000 car. Existing cost estimation played a role in target costing, but there are differences between the two. First, cost estimates relied upon existing standards while target costs were adjusted for any future savings due to design changes. Second, cost estimates had a horizon of six months while the hor izon for target costs was the time engaging until the launch of the new product.Target costing brought the target cost and the estimated cost of a product into line by better specification and design. Toast's target costing system was designed not simply to estimate the cost of new products but to enable a product to attain its profit targets throughout its life. Product Planning Toyota used two broad categories of product development, one for completely new types of automobiles and the other for changes to existing models. The development of an entirely new model, such as the Lexus, was relatively unusual.Most of the reduce development projects focused on modifications to existing models. Japanese passenger cars usually underwent major model changes every four years. However, recent industry trends suggested that the period between full model changes may The firm used target costing primarily to support model changes, though the same general cost control procedures were applied to the design of entirely new vehicles. Cost estimates for new vehicles involved a greater degree of uncertainty than for model changes. 3 A model change began with a proposal from chief engineers for development of a new model.The proposal usually included: Specifications such as size (length, width, wheelbase, and interior space), weight, mileage, engine (type, displacement, and maximum power), transmission (gear and moderation ratios), chassis (suspension and brake types), and body components; Development budget; Development schedule; and Retail price and sales targets. New models basically maintained the same product concept as their predecessors. Styling was not specified at this stage; usually no more than a vague image was mentioned. Most of the cost incurred in any model change was for prototyping. Retail Prices and Sales Targets oodles.The retail price remained the same unless a change in function or performance altered the perceived value of the vehicle in the eyes of the cus tomer. In theory, therefore, prices changed as the perceived value of the vehicle changed. Formula for List Price of a New Model The selling price of a new car model was composed of the selling price of the equivalent existing model plus any incremental value due to improved functionality. For example, adding air conditioning to the standard version of a model would increase its price by the value of air conditioning as perceived by customers.The incremental value of a new model was determined by analyzing market conditions. Because the automotive industry was mature, most new features already existed in some form on other models. For example, if air conditioning was to be included in the standard version, its added value was determined using the list price of optional air conditioners for other models. In the unlikely event that no equivalent option existed, then the firm's design engineers and market specialists would estimate how much customers were willing to pay for the added f eature.The price increase for an added function did not always equal its selling price as a attendant option. The incremental price for an increase in functionality might be lowered because of the firm's strategy for the vehicle and because of competitors' pricing strategies. As functions were added to the standard version, Toyota increased the selling price until it reached the upper limit for that class of vehicle. When this limit was reached, the only potential benefit from adding functionality was increased sales.Because new models were introduced some four years after the design project began, Toyota delayed setting the functionality of the standard version as long as possible. Therefore, the target price and margin for a new model, and thus the associated target unit price, were set quite some time before product launch. The exact functionality of the standard version was set only when factors such as competitive offerings, foreign exchange rates, and user demand were better u nderstood. Changing the functionality of the standard version increased the probability that the new model would achieve its 4 desired level of profitability.Similarly, the actual selling price was not fixed until Just before product launch. Delaying these two critical decisions reduced significantly the uncertainty faced by the firm. For example, suppose the incremental value assigned to an air bag in the US market was $450 but the competition had set it at $700. In this case, Toyota might increase its price by the difference. Similarly, if the competitive prices were lower, Toyota would drop its prices to match. The sales division proposed anticipated production volumes based upon past sales levels, market trends, and competitors' product offerings.The sales division typically proposed a figure that was considered safe (I. E. , achievable), based upon the model's current sales level. Optimism was restrained in favor of realistic goals. Development Plan Assisted by engineers in the design, test-production, and technical divisions, a chief engineer drafted the development plan for the new model and then led the development project. Well over a hundred engineers from the various divisions worked with a chief engineer on a typical project, but since they belonged to different divisions, probably only about a dozen people reported directly to the chief engineer.In this sense, the chief engineer was more a project leader than a supervisor of product development. The chief engineer coordinated the design process at the design divisions, which were relatively autonomous; the chief engineer was expected to develop a â€Å"concept† for the new vehicle that spanned multiple design divisions. Toyota considered the tensions created by this matrix approach beneficial to the creative design process and worth any conflict that might arise. Toyota set the cost-planning goal based upon the product plan and the targets for the product's retail price and production volum e.Because an estimated price had the expected profit from product sales over its production life (usually, four years). The product's target cost was the unit cost upon which the profit target was based. Calculating Target Profit and Target Cost Toyota calculated the lifetime target profit for a product, such as the Celiac, by multiplying the target sales volume by the model's return on sales (or, as it was known at Toyota, profit ratio of sales). Toyota set the sales profit ratio with reference to the corporation's long-term target profit ratio.Estimated cost was determined from the firm's cost tables. Estimated profit was calculated using this figure. Estimated profit was less than the target profit because the target cost included the estimated cost savings due to value engineering and other cost reduction activities. The difference between target and estimated profit was the amount to be cut from costs through cost planning. The cost-planning goal was obtained by subtracting the estimated total profits from the target profits.The goal of cost planning was to determine the unit profit needed to achieve the profit target, and thus the amount to be trimmed from the new product's cost through cost planning activities. Estimated profit equaled the retail price minus the estimated cost per unit times the production volume. As cost reduction activities were implemented, the product's estimated costs decreased. If the goal was achieved, the target cost and expected cost became equal, as did the expected and target profits. Estimating Difference Costs Rather than adding together all of the costs for a new model, Toyota added the determined at the major function level. Thus, cost planning could begin even before blueprints for the first test model were drawn. Also, estimating the total difference instead of the total cost tended to be more accurate because the typical new model was heavily based upon existing designs. Trying to estimate the cost of a new vehicle fro m scratch would, in management's opinion, introduce more errors than using existing data and modifying it accordingly. And it helped the related divisions understand cost fluctuations. The approach was more helpful to the design divisions because it highlighted the areas of the new model that were different from existing designs. New designs required most of the work in the design divisions. Thus, the estimated cost of a new model was the cost of the current model plus the cost of any design change. Thus, for every increment in the functionality of a new del there was an estimated incremental price and cost.This approach allowed the firm to measure the incremental profitability of each new function it built into a new model. A full model change required many design modifications. Consequently, the cost of the design change was broken out into the costs of a number of different design modifications. The design team analyzed each modification and assigned it an estimated cost. The sum of these cost estimates had to equal the cost planning goals for the new model. Estimating differences helped clarify the cost-planning goal and wowed accurately how much was accomplished through cost planning.Cost planning focused on new model design. Its effectiveness was measured as the amount of cost reduction achieved through design. Therefore, other factors that affected cost, including wages and fluctuations in indirect costs incurred by related divisions, had to be eliminated from overall cost reduction in order to identify the portion due to cost planning. By fixing the cost of the current model and calculating the differences between the current and new models, Toast's system dealt only with cost changes resulting from changes in design and production volume.Without actual drawings for the new model, the estimate often began with Just an idea. Since rough sketches provided by the design division were often the only sources of information, estimates were made under the gui dance of the cost planning division rather than the accounting division. Toast's 20 design divisions designed each major function of the new vehicle, including the engine, transmission, air conditioner, and audio system Because the people at the design and cost planning divisions had the latest in-house

Melina Marchetta’s “Looking for Alibrandi” Essay

In Melina Marchetta’s novel, â€Å"Looking for Alibrandi†, the theme of identity is a process of discovery along a journey for most of the characters. Although John Barton’s journey is short by the end, he knew what he wanted and he made sure that no one was hurt more than necessary when he achieved it. Josephine Alibrandi discovers her identity after many developments in her life, many of which include Jacob Coote, John Barton and Katia Alibrandi. Katia Alibrandi, Josie’s grandmother, (nonna) has experienced a lot in her time but still needs Josie’s help to let go of her past. Jacob Coote went along with what everyone expected of him until he met Josie. She helps him to reopen the door to his journey of identity. Melina Marchetta has provided a text with the identity issues that many face and she has provided her readers with outcomes that prove to be perfect examples of the outcomes of discovery of identity. John Barton does not know what he wants in life but he knows what he does not want. He does not want to follow in his father’s footsteps; to â€Å"make promises I can’t keep†¦I don’t want a lot of responsibilities in life†¦I don’t want to climb to the top† (pg 47). As John Barton continues to discover his identity, he dislikes it more and more. He convinces himself that he does not want to live anymore. It is a fact that many teenagers face and Marchetta portrays it extremely well though John Barton. When John First tells Josie that he does not want to live anymore, she, like many teenage friends, did not fully understand. â€Å"At first I didn’t understand†¦ watching those vacant eyes I realised he meant no other life† (pg 134). Many songs portray the feelings that John Barton fells, an excellent example being the chorus of Simple Plan’s Welcome to my Life: â€Å"To be hurt To fell lost To be left out in the dark To be kicked When you’re down To feel like you’ve been pushed around To be on the edge of breaking down And no ones there to save you No, you don’t know what its like Welcome to my life† The next time that Josie and John are alone together, he seemed fine, â€Å"there was a euphoria about him that was catching,† (pg 228). Marchetta foreshadows John Barton’s future with the link of â€Å"I don’t think I want to live this life anymore,† (pg 134) and â€Å"I’ve got my whole future planned out the way I want it and there is nothing anyone can do to take that away from me,† (pg 229). The journey of John Barton may have been short, but that just made it all the more necessary to understand. Josephine Alibrandi is a senior student, at St Martha’s College, who is confused with her social and cultural status. Josie considers herself to be stuck between two cultures, Australian and Italian. â€Å"As far as the Italians are concerned we weren’t completely one of them. Yet because my grandparents were born in Italy we weren’t completely Australian,† (pg 7) Josie also feels that she does not fit in at school. â€Å"The ones like me didn’t belong in the eastern and northern suburbs,† (pg 8). Josie hated Ivy Lloyd, yet envied her social status and desperately wanted to belong to her world. â€Å"No matter how much I hate Poison Ivy, I want to belong to her world†¦a world where I can be accepted,† (pg 32). All she wants more than anything is to â€Å"be free and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as an Italian and not as an in between,† (back cover). It was not until after Josie left the walk-a-thon that she realised, with Sister Louise’s help, that she and her friends were not as socially out of it as they thought. â€Å"Socially we weren’t as shitty as we thought we were,† (pg 184). With the mixture of John  Barton’s death and Jacob Coote, breaking up with her Josie realised that she wouldn’t wake up one day and everything would feel liberated. It had taken her a year to become so. â€Å"I just sat there thinking back on the year and I realised that I was emancipated long ago. It wasn’t one particular point either it was several,† (pg 258). The walk-a-thon was one of those points, â€Å"I remember feeling socially out of it at St Martha’s, yet when the fiasco of the walk-a-thon happened, I realised I wasn’t,† (pg 258), after Nonna telling her about Marcus Sandford she realised that her illegitimacy â€Å"had never been my cross. I had only made it mine,† (pg 258) and with her culture she realises that she is not where the people have placed her but â€Å"an Australian with Italian blood flowing rapidly through her veins,à ¢â‚¬  (pg 259). Josie realises that no matter how perfect she is people will still talk. She realises that it only matters â€Å"who I feel like I am – and I feel like Michael and Christina’s daughter; Sera, Anna and Lee’s friend and Roberts’s cousin,† (pg 261). Katia Alibrandi, nonna, is always fighting with her daughter, Christina Alibrandi, and her granddaughter, Josephine Alibrandi. Josie thinks that it is because her grandmother loves to meddle and is forever worrying about what people think and talk about. â€Å"She tends to forget that all she does to mama when they’re together is nag her about the way she’s bringing me up,† (pg 34). Melina Marchetta foreshadows a hint of secrecy and betrayal in Nonna Katia’s past with â€Å"I understand, Christina, more than you think I do,† (pg 97) when they are fighting about her going out on a date. It was not until Josie gave in to the urge to ask about the photos in Katia’s house that Katia told anyone about the mysterious Marcus Sandford, even if it was only a fraction of the whole story. She told Josie about her life in a country where no one could understand her. â€Å"You do not know how much I hated Australia for the first year. No friends. No people who spoke the same language as me,† (pg 114) Melina Marchetta foreshadows the same hint of secrecy and betrayal with another clue; â€Å"Francesco couldn’t afford to come home and then go away again†¦I was†¦alone for Christmas,† (pg 200). Then when Josie was at her Mother’s birthday party it was said â€Å"conceived a week before which was Christmas day,† (pg 215) Josie was furious at her Nonna because she had been such a hypocrite, and it took her a week to realise  that she did not care. Katia told Josie all about the affair with Marcus Sandford and Josie realised Nonna â€Å"hadn’t live the life the way I though†¦hadn’t worried about what other people thought. She had taken chances. Broken rules,† (pg 226). Katia Alibrandi, by discussing her j ourney of identity with her granddaughter, has re-established the relationship with her daughter and granddaughter. Everyone expects Jacob Coote amount to nothing and he would be more than happy to prove them right, he was proud of getting bad marks and thought that it did not matter because he was going to be a mechanic. Right from the beginning he had decided what he was going to be because it was easy and no one expected more from him. That was until he met Josephine Alibrandi. She was smart, and he did not think he was. â€Å"You’re intellectual. I’m an idiot,† (pg 249). When the started going out he started to change, â€Å"I think that during that year Jacob got a bit more ambitious than he used to be,† (pg 260). He did not want to be a mechanic that worked all day and complained about house payments and petrol prices, he wanted to be a mechanic that has a variety of options, and he wants to discover his identity. â€Å"Because you opened me up to this whole new world out there. I don’t want to become a mechanic and work all day long and then at night go to the pub and marry someone just like me and have two children and whinge about housing payments and petrol prices and the economy†¦ But this year I realised, because of you, that there is more to life†¦ I want to step outside my circle and look at other options. I don’t want to be stereotyped because of the school I attend or the suburb I live in,† (pg 251) Melina Marchetta has written a novel, Looking of Alibrandi, which shows the youth of today that in order to discover your identity you need to have travelled the journey of life, however short that may be. She uses John Barton, Josephine Alibrandi, Katia Alibrandi and Jacob Coote to show that no matter how old or how bad you think you life is you can still make the decisions to make it better or worse. She cleverly states that when you no longer have the ability to dream you have nothing left to hope for. â€Å"And to be that smart means you know the answers and when you know all the answers  there’s no room for dreaming.†

The Judgment by Fraz Kafka Essays

The Judgment by Fraz Kafka Essays The Judgment by Fraz Kafka Paper The Judgment by Fraz Kafka Paper The story The Judgment, written by Franz Kafka was said to be one of his breakthrough stories that sparked his story writing career. While most of Kafka’s stories were thought to be closely related to certain aspects of his life, The Judgment is thought to closely represent the conflicting relationship between Kafka and his father and the turmoil that Kafka experienced growing up as a result of his crude-minded father. This relationship that Kafka had with his own father is reflected in The Judgment, a story between a young man named Georg Bendemann and his father Bendemann senior. Bendemann senior appears to be a very controlling and business orientated person who has spent most of his life working to build his business and taking care of his wife and son. After the death of his wife, Bendemann senior admits that things are not the same as they use to be. His health is deteriorating and he has left his business, which he was highly devoted to before to his son Georg Bendemann. George is a young middle aged man who is in the midsts of taking over his father’s business and has taken to watching over his father because of his deteriorating health. While Georg has plenty to look forward to; a booming business, a new fiance and moving into a new home, a strange feeling comes over him when he is writing to announce his engagement to a long time friend who has moved to St. Petersburg Russia. This uncanny feeling that presides over him is one that he is unsure of how to go about, thus he goes to his father for advice on what to say to his friend who has not been doing as well as Georg has. The scene that occurs in Bendemann’s senior’s room on a random Sunday morning is reflective of the relationship that Georg and his father have created since childhood . Depending how interpreted- either from the father’s side or the son’s side- can help understand what influenced Georg’s actions after his father condemns him to death. The reactions from both the father and son and the conflict between the two is a result of an inferiority complex Georg has attained as a result of the way Bendemann senior has treated Georg from a young age. The ultimate affect that this father and son have on each other are exposed on that day, which ends in George committing suicide The specific instances that occur when Georg goes to see his father in his dark room can be seen as a power struggle between father and son. When Georg first enters his father’s room he tells his father that he has written a letter to announce his engagement to his friend in St. Petersburg but is unsure of whether or not he will send it to his friend in consideration for his feelings. Bendemann senior becomes frustrated and tells Georg that since his mother’s death things have not been the same, and then goes on to criticize Georg in many aspects of his life. From his choice in bride to how he been a coward towards his friend in Russia and not kept him updated about what is going on in his life, admitting that he has been writing to his friend to keep him updated. From Bendmanns seniors point of view Georg has never fully be able to grow up and make decisions on his own, hence why he comes to his father for his approval before he sends the letter. Further supporting Bendmann senior’s perception of his son is the fact that he has been keeping in touch with his friend from Russia. Writing him letters and keeping him up to date about matters at home, knowing or rather believing that his son is incapable of doing so. Throughout this whole scene Georg is trying his best to comply and deal with his aging father. When Georg tries to tuck his father into bed he resists and says that he is trying to smother him. When looking at this situation from Bendemanns senior’s point of view it is as if he believes his son has not grown into an adult and has escaped from the reality of growing up, claiming that â€Å"How long you hesitated before your time was ripe. Mother has to die; she couldn’t love until that happy day! † (Pg 9). He believes his son is incapable of taking over his business that he worked so hard to build, further criticizing his choice in his fiance calling her a floozy. An explanation for Bendmenns senior’s reactions could be one of two things. Either Georg’s father is having a hard time accepting the fact that his son is growing up and essentially taking over his business and the position that he once had. Or that he has always been resentful towards Georg since childhood, treating him poorly and when his wife passes it is even more apparent. Either explanation would do justice when understanding how Bendemenn senior has affected Georg’s development and how his treatment of his son throughout his how life has manifested into a negative, almost weak aspect of Georg’s personality when he is an adult. The relationship that Georg and his father have is an interesting relationship because of the affect that the two have on each other. While Georg highly aggravates his father, because of his belief that his son being incapable of doing the right thing, this in turn creates a sense of guilt in Georg. A sense of guilt which surfaces later in his life when he is trying to become a man, get married, and have business. Georg’s feelings manifest later in life though suffering, insecurity, and eventually death. What Georg should do is grow up and stand firm to his father that he is taking over the business and that he needs to stay out of his relationship with his friend in Russia and keeps his opinions about his wife to himself. Unfortunately certain aspects of this father son relationship have developed into Georg’s feelings of inferiority, which have been this way for a while make it difficult for Georg to stand up to his father let alone talk to him. Those who experience feelings of inferiority are believe that it can sometimes start from childhood, weather they were not loved enough or were always degraded from their parental figures growing up. As a result Georg feels the need to seek his father’s approval in menial matters such as whether or not he should send this letter. It is interesting how Georg reacts to his father who constantly believes he is incapable of making his own decisions. From Georg’s point of view he believes that he must help his aging father, take over the business and have a wife because that is what is expected from him. Georg is kind to his father, tucks him in, asks for his opinion on matters he sees important and was even willing to let him move in with them after his marriage. Although his actions are subconscious to Georg himself, these actions are coming from a place where Georg feels the need to gain approval from his father. These feelings of approval steam from his father’s treatment of him as a child. Another result of this complex would be the need to overcompensate which he is doing so by taking care of his sick father and putting up with his aggressive and hurtful words. Georg is even going as far as letting his father live with him and his fiance so he is not alone. The fact that Georg has taken to not being honest with his â€Å"good friend† in St. Petersburg further supports how his feelings of inadequacy have caused him to retreat from reality and display almost anti social behaviors. Although the Judgment is a short story a lot can be implied from this psychological mind-twister. The relationship between Georg and Bendemann senior is a complex one which reaches its peak on that Sunday afternoon in his father’s room. When interpreting the story from Georg’s side he is trying to spare the feelings of his friend in Russia, which is why he doesn’t keep him completely up to date. He appears to care for his father and take care of him and over the business in a time of his ailing health. Looking at this story from the father’s side, he believes his son to be immature and incapable of growing up and making the right choices. He believes that Georg just wants to take over the business and is around just because he is still alive. Interestingly how these two act towards each other is a result of the relationship that they have developed since Georg’s youth. Bendemenns senior’s treatment of his son; harsh criticism and constantly degrading his worth have manifested into Georg’s personality and certain motivations in life. His feelings of insecurity and his constant struggle to gain approval from his father has resulted in him feeling inferior to his father, thus taking everything he says literal. When Georg’s father condemns him to death, he utters â€Å"I have always loved you† before jumping off the bridge. As a result of his feelings of inferiority and never being able to satisfy or prove his father right, he says I have always loved you because even though it did not appear that way because his father made it difficult for him to prove it, he still loved his father. The extent of power that this father and son have on each other is displayed through Bendemann senior’s aggressiveness and belief that his son is inadequate. In turn this has had a negative effect on the development of Georg’s personality and his life as an adult. Georg finally takes his father’s words literally and kills himself as a result of the suffering and torment his father has instilled in him throughout the years. References Franz Kafka: The Metamorphosis and other stories. (Mineola, N. Y. Dover Publications. 1996)

Black Solidarity essays

Black Solidarity essays " I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" This quote above probably touches the entire part of both of the essay's that we will be discussing about, it is not just a quote but a prophesy that was fulfilled and a dream that came to be true for Dr king and for the African American society in the north American continent. Throughout time human civilization have battled each other due to the cause of differences in color and culture. it's still exists within our time, mankind has not found a solution to this problem but who knows this is just my opinion, although situation certainly have improved due to the course of time because the world as we know it was different in those days. The previous world has adjusted into a new world. where we have the privilege to make our choice on what we should do for our own choices on what we should do for our own as it suits us. In the old days when there was not muc h of civilization and the people restricted themselves to their own kind and also due to many other factors, it will not be an exaggeration to say that multi-culturalism and mixture of different race in America was unimaginable to some scholars. But it turned out very differently and later on race being a subject of debate whether it is genetic or social, let me give an example of a social activity that affects and shapes identity in the course of our daily life, I was raised in a very religious family, since my parents were Christians; the same belief was passed on to me and other cultural activities as well. In the essay race, culture, identity: misunderstood connections by Kwame Anthony Appiah and social identity and group solidarity by Tommie Shelby discusses on the issue both relat...

What Romeo and Juliet Laws Mean for Teens

What Romeo and Juliet Laws Mean for Teens When Shakespeare brought Romeo and Juliet to life, he was intentional in choosing two young characters as his protagonists. Then as now, two teenagers having consensual sex is perfectly understandable. On the other hand, an adult molesting a child is reprehensible. The difference between the two situations would seem obvious. But in many states across America, from a legal standpoint, there’s little distinction between Romeo and Juliets mutual decision and the abusive actions of a child molester. An older teen who has sex with his younger girlfriend can be arrested, prosecuted, and jailed for the act. Even worse, they may carry the stigma of being labeled a sex offender for the rest of their life. The problem typically arises when the male is 18 or 19, the female is between 14 and 16, and the parent of the younger teen presses charges. (Even Romeo would be labeled a sex offender today, as he was believed to be 16 and Juliet 13 when their relationship began.) Consent and Advice Though the age of consent (i.e. the age at which an individual can legally agree to have sex) varies from state to state- and often splits along gender lines- it is definitive in one aspect: it refers to sexual acts between heterosexuals. In over half the states, sex between homosexuals is either not addressed by existing laws or is considered a crime. Recent changes in the laws governing consensual sex between minors or an adult 18 years of age and a minor 14-16 years of age have acknowledged that this intimacy is not the same as molestation. The new laws, named â€Å"Romeo and Juliet laws† after Shakespeare’s tragic teenage lovers, attempt to correct overly harsh penalties and prison terms meted out over the years. In 2007, these laws went into effect in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, and Texas. Several other states have followed, with about half the states currently having some form of Romeo and Juliet law. Accidental Sex Offender In Florida, a 28-year-old man who’d been placed on the state’s sex offender registry was able to remove his name after the passage of Florida’s Romeo and Juliet law in July 2007. At age 17, Anthony Croce began having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend; when he turned 18, the girl’s disapproving mother pressed charges and Croce pleaded no contest. He was then legally compelled to register as a sex offender. Florida’s new law still regards underage sex as a crime, but a judge may now determine whether to strike the sex offender designation from those previously convicted. Cases that may lead to an overturned designation would involve a victim who is age 14–17 and has agreed to consensual sex; the offender would have to be no more than four years older than the victim and have no other sex crimes on their record. Gay Bias in Rulings For teenagers who are gay or lesbian and engage in consensual sex, the laws are much tougher. A 2004 case heard by the Kansas Supreme Court had civil libertarians and gay rights groups protesting the existence of a double standard. Matthew Limon was a mentally disabled 17-year-old when he had consensual sex with a 14-year-old boy. Under the Romeo and Juliet law enacted in Kansas in 1999, Limon would have been sentenced to 15 months in prison if the boy had been a girl. But because the law states that partners must be members of the opposite sex, ​Limon was given a 17-year sentence. California state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced a bill in 2019 to add same-sex relationships to the states Romeo and Juliet law. The law seeks only to bring equality to gay and lesbian offenders and still would bring sex-offender status for adults to have sex with underage teens of the same sex or for a teen to have sex with anyone of the same sex under 14. Papa Dont Preach and Dont Press Charges The Romeo and Juliet laws are frequently enforced unfairly says Mark Chaffin, a researcher with the University of Oklahoma-based National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth. In many cases, they are enforced largely by how angry the parents of the younger party are. 2-Year Difference 10-Year Sentence One well-publicized case demonstrating the need for Romeo and Juliet legislation is that of Genarlow Wilson, a 17-year-old who was imprisoned for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old female. An athlete and honor student, Wilson was videotaped at a New Year’s Eve celebration engaging in oral sex and was sentenced to 10 years for aggravated child molestation. After serving jail time from 2003–07, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Wilson should be released; and this decision was followed by a change in state law that reduced consensual sex between teenagers to a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of one year. Sources Man shed sex offender status under new Romeo and Juliet law. Associated Press. Aug. 6, 2007.New Laws Take Romeo Into Account https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2007/07/16/new-laws-take-romeo-into-accountReynolds, Dave. Court to Decide on Discriminatory ‘Sodomy’ Law. The New Standard. Sept. 1, 2004.Why Is Gay Underage Sex Criminalized When Straight Sex Is Not? https://www.advocate.com/crime/2019/1/23/why-gay-underage-sex-criminalized-when-straight-sex-not

The Differences between Secondary and Primary Sources Assignment

The Differences between Secondary and Primary Sources - Assignment Example According to her, the secondary sources are the scholarly books that are based on primary sources data but are analyzed, criticized and interpreted and thus restructured. She presents the case of diary entries by Annie Frank from the time she was 13 where Anne discusses her everyday thoughts in details. When they are just extracted but not edited, primary sources can also be used as secondary sources. Secondary sources comprise of publications like books, magazines, and manuscripts. Secondary sources are open to problems generated by translation, misinterpretation, and massive editing of the data while the primary sources are more prone to feelings of the writer. For example, where paintings and exist in good conditions, it would be pointless to edit them for research or historical purposes. That a historian uses primary or secondary sources will greatly influence the credibility of their work. This is because, with primary sources, there is a greater benefit of the doubt as it is in its raw form compared to secondary sources which are heavily adapted. The problems faced by historians during the research are subjectivity, the immense of the work under study, authenticity, the choice of subject to study and problem of historical knowledge. According to Adeoti and Adeyeri, the problem of the choice of study is more menacing. Consider a person interested in studying the evolution of man. The historian has to ask and answer questions such as; does the historical evidence exist? Which part of that has not been possibly covered before?. When the evidence exists, they may be inaccessible to the historian due to bureaucratic and logistical difficulties such as traveling and forgeries.

CHAPTER 9 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CHAPTER 9 - Coursework Example Prior to the First World War, the Jewish immigrants and Palestinians coexisted peacefully despite the confusion created by Jewish inhabitation of the area. However, the events of the First World War resulted into a protracted religious and nationalistic conflict that persists to date (White 258-286). The British wanted to win the war against the Germans. Therefore, it fuelled Arab’s hostility against the Turks with the promise of establishing a united Arab country at the end of the way. Instead of establishing a united Arab country as it had promised, the British divided the region into territories governed by families. There territories rivaled each other leading to eventual emergence of independent states such as Syria, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Gulf States. The British also promised the Jews that it will create a Jewish nation in Palestine. Creation of the state of Israel increased tension in the region which resulted into repeated wars between the Arabs and the Israel. Israel defeated the Arabs in each of these wars forcing the Arabs to turn to terrorism. Change of international policies can prevent future occurrence of the conflict. The international community should play a key role in demarcating the boundaries separating the countries. In addition, the countries should recognize each other as a sovereign state and also respect their religious