Greek and Roman Sculptures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Greek and Roman Sculptures - Essay Example This activity provided steady employment for many architects and sculptors who organized leading workshops in Greece, revolutionizing Greek classical art and architecture. The Parthenon, built by Menesicles and Ictinus, along with the Propylaea (the gateway with the finest paintings and sculpture of the Classical age) crowned the Athenian Acropolis. Other prominent works included The Panhellenic shrines, Delphi (oracle of Apollo) and Olympia (the shrine of Zeus). Delphi (460 BC) is the athlete offering libation of oil from patera (sacrificial bowl) in thanks for victory1. Roman art and architecture was founded on a different principle than their Greek counterparts. The Romans believed that for the continuity of the Roman Empire, they could only do so only through art. Since an emperor could not be omnipresent, it was necessary to set up the statue of the emperor in law courts, market places, public assemblies, and theatres. This policy led to the sculpture of a large number of the imperial effigies to adorn prominent buildings in Rome2. Since its discovery in 1963, the sculpture of Augustus of Prima Porta has been the subject of much scholarly discussion. The marble sculpture is probably a copy of a now-lost bronze statue which was made shortly after 22 BC. Augustus was lionized by the Roman people, he promoted conservative Republican values. He tried to restore faith in the Roman state by equating his role as Pontifex Maximus (Head Priest) with religious and moral values. Augustus used religion to reorganize state and to establish his own rule. He also promoted the cult of emperor as divine by building a temple to the Divine Julius 2.0 Augustus of Prima Porta (Roman Sculpture) Photo of Augustus of Prima Porta (Courtesy: Late Antiquity: Imperial Image) In Augustus of Prima Porta, Augustus is portrayed as a general, draped in a cuirass (breastplate) richly embellished with reliefs. The waist is draped in a paludamentum or officer's cloak. The upraised arms of the figure are an interpretation of ad locutio, a gesture conveying the power of speech in Roman art. It gives a visual demonstration of the emperor's power. Augustus saw himself as the Principate of Rome. Augustus of Prima Porta is one of the earliest examples of imperial portraiture used for political propaganda; the statue's purpose was to identify the state with a well-meaning and enlightened Augustus. The sculpture of Augustus of Prima Porta is a Greco-Roman example of exquisite craftsmanship of the Roman period. The sculpture has the power of expression in its god-like appearance. Practices of deifying rulers and erecting temples in their honor began in Rome as early as the reign of Augustus. Augustus of Prima Porta is the type of statue that stood in such a temple. It adapted an orator's gesture, combined with the pose and body proportions, as prescribed by the Greek Polykleitos and exemplified by the Spear Bearer, Doryphoros. Bare feet suggest that the work may have been posthumous and signified his apotheosis, or elevation to divine status. Carved on the cuirass are scenes, recounting outstanding achievements of Augustus' reign and pictures of the gods and goddesses. The Greek influence can be seen in the depictions of divine figures. The depiction of a Parthian giving back the

Human Resource Planning Paper Assignment Animation Essay

Human Resource Planning Paper Assignment Animation Essay Human Resource planning is a process of developing the strategies of skills of the employees to reach the organizational needs. The role of the Human Resource Planning in a organization is to recruit the right person for right work, and work to meet organizational objectives and make the employees to respond to changes that made in the organization as well as changes made in the outside of the organization. Training and retraining strategies are also including in the Human Resource Planning Process. Most of the organization wants Human Resource Planning Systems which is simple to understand, where the assumptions that can modified, also which are not take long time. To run such systems organization needs good monitoring action processes, approximate demand models, and an understanding how the resource that works in that organization. Human Resource Activities: Staffing: Attract the best Professional and Technical talents which are really organization needs to reach the organization Objectives. Compensation: To attract that needed talent they should set and give the good salary that will meet or some extra of market rates. Training and Development: This is the important activity of the Human Resource Team. HR activity is to tell employees about the skill requirements that needed to reach the organization goals and start giving the training needed to improve the skills of the employees in their particular fields. Employee Relation: Maintaining the good relation between the all employees is very important and to maintain that relation HR has to set Some Basic Employee relation Rules of organization. I have chosen Vodafone Company to Discuss about Human Resource Planning In this paper. The Role of the Human Resource Planning Team is to create a plan of action to supply the demand. The main 4 steps of the Human Resource Planning Team is to Set Objectives Generate Alternatives Assess Alternatives Choose Alternative ABOUT VODAFONE Vodafone is one of the worlds leading company in mobile telecommunication, with a great presence in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Vodafone is an truly international mobile network company with having more than 260 million customers across the 2 markets and also partner networks in 42 more countries. In the United States this group operates as Verizon Wireless. Vodafone is 1st in UK and 11th globally in the Brands most powerful brands ranking. VODAFONE OVER THE YEARS Vodafone was started in 1984 under the name of Racal Electronics Plc. After in September 1991 it is demerged from the Racal Electronics Plc and changed the name to Vodafone Group Plc. Again after merging with the AirTouch Communications, Inc., Vodafone Changed its name to Vodafone AirTouch Plc on 29 June 1999. On 28 July 2000 it changed to the former name Vodafone Group Plc. KEY MILESTONES OF VODAFONE In January 2007 Vodafone reaches their number of customers to 200 million. In March 2006 Vodafone customers with 3G is reached to 10 million. In 2004 Vodafone launches their first 3G service in Europe. In 2002 Vodafone starts global mobile payment in Germany. This helps customers to buy goods by using the Vodafone mobile. Also in 2002 only Vodafone Starts the GPRS roaming Service, it helps customers to access e-mails on their phone. In 2001 Vodafone Introduces SMS. Vodafone makes the first 3G roaming call in world in between Japan and Spain. The role of the mobile phone in the society has changed tremendously over the years. Vodafone is having 1,150 directly owned stores, which sell services to new customers upgrade or renew for existing customers and also Vodafone having 6,500 branded stores, which sell Vodafones products and services exclusively. And also Vodafone is planning to open 90 more stores in Spain and 21 more stores in Romania during this year. Mission Statement/Statement of Values Vision and Values Our Vision and Values guide the way we act. Our Vision To be the worlds mobile communication leader enriching our customers lives through the unique power of mobile communications. Our Values Our Values are about the way we do things. They describe the way Vodafone people are expected to behave within the business, to help turn our vision to reality. Passion for customers: Our customers have chosen to trust us. In return, we must strive to anticipate and understand their needs and delight them with our service. Passion for our people: Outstanding people working together make Vodafone exceptionally successful. Passion for results: We are action-oriented and driven by a desire to be the best. Passion for the world around us: We will help the people of the world to have fuller lives both through the services we provide and through the impact we have on the world around us (csr globe). In Vodafone they are providing very good training for their employees to reach their Goals. The few tasks of the HR Training Developer in Vodafone are: Perform development, of training materials and user documentation within HR Perform delivery of super user/train the trainer/end user sessions Produce training needs analysis as required for HR Owner of the Finance element of the core training library Liaison with transformation, and the transition team (vodafone careers). For the Excellent HR Initiative Award Vodafone Malta has been selected by the Foundation for Human Resources Development. This award tells that the companys encouragement for employees towards their career growth and as well as companys growth. And it tells about the good training that Vodafone is providing to their employees to reach the organization goals. Vodafone conducts the Performance Management Process to rate the employees. Calibration is an important step in the Performance Management Process to rate the employees in a fair throughout the organization. Martin Gregory, Vodafone Malta Head of Human Resources, said: Our people have a big impact on how we perform as a business and on our success. We are proud to be recognized by the Foundation for Human Resources Development for our accomplishments in this area. Matthew Brearley, Director of HR, Comms Property for Vodafone Ltd talks about building staff momentum and leading through budget cuts in this most modern of giants. Matthew Brearley was appointed UK HR Director at Vodafone in 2006 having previously worked at British Foods, BQ and Marks and Spencer. At MS Matthew Brearleys role involved overseeing the People Strategy and transformation of HR for a workforce of 57,000 employees across 320 stores.Matthew is currently applying his skills and experience to drive performance and efficiencies at Vodafone. Matthew Brearley holds a key role on the UK board working closely with Vodafones UK CEO Nick Read. Matthew Brearleyis truly focussed on HR at the heart of business, how Vodafone must drive through change in an increasingly tight economy, and the critical role of leaders (meettheboss, 2009). The purpose of the HR function in Vodafone is they take the real company strategy and its bring into the live organization to the people to build the capabilities and creating the environment and culture. The main Steps in the Human Resource Planning are Forecasting, Inventory, and audit. Short-Term Human Resource Planning Many I/O psychologists work on activities related to designing and implementing programs (e.g., recruitment, selection systems, and training programs) to meet shortterm organizational needs. Such activities generally involve an element of planning in that they are future-oriented to some extent. Even projects for which objectives are expected to be achieved in as little time as a few months have, ideally, been designed with an understanding of how the short-term objectives are linked to the achievement of longer term objectives. For example, an aeronautics company engaged in a recruitment campaign to hire 100 engineers should have a clear understanding of how this hiring goal will help the company achieve long-term goals such as becoming the worlds most innovative company in that industry. This hypothetical company also might have a college recruiting drive designed to find 75 college graduates to enter a trainingprogram in recognition of the fact that a growing company needs to prepare for the middle managers it will need 5 to 7 years hence, as well as the top level managers it will need in 10 to 15 years. As this hypothetical example highlights, in order for a clear linkage to exist between human resource planning and strategic business planning, it is essential that an organizations top executives have a fully articulated vision for the future, which has been communicated and accepted by managers throughout the organization. Long-Term Human Resource Planning: Increasingly, long-term human resource planning (for beyond three years) is becoming critical to the effective functioning of organizations. The rapidly changing and highly competitive worldwide marketplace is causing firms to turn to their human resources for survival and competitiveness. Because there is a greater understanding that an organizations work force cannot be turned around on a dime, long-term human resource planning is gaining currency. It is an activity that demands integration of the skills and knowledge of the human resource planner and all the other executives responsible for strategic planning. Although there are many types of long-term planning efforts, we use succession planning as our primary example of the process (HRPlanning pdf).

Developement Of Europe Essay -- essays research papers

Development of Europe   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The notions of â€Å"modernity,† â€Å"modernization,† and â€Å"modernism† play an important role in better understanding the development of Europe. These three concepts can be applied to a range of transformations in the areas of politics, socio-economics, and culture respectively. The three concepts are connected, yet each has its own unique qualities that are useful in understanding the changes across Europe in this period. These ideas are crucial to the better comprehension of the creation of the Europe of today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To understand the significance of the terms, it is important to first understand the terms themselves. â€Å"Modernity† was a term used around the French Revolution as a term of abuse. However, in the later part of the nineteenth century and in the twentieth century it became associated more with improvement and advancement. â€Å"Modernization† refers to the processes political, economic, and social that made a society modern. An example of this would be industrialization. Finally, â€Å"modernism† is a reference to a high cultural movement and was used to relate to changing attitudes. It is basically a celebration of the notion of progress.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Modernity† during the French Revolution was used as a term of abuse. At this time, during the Reign of Terror in particular, France was moving toward a more republican form of government. During their attempt at the Republic of Virtue Catholicism was a focal point of attack. These attacks ended up fueling divisions that in the end proved to be fatal for the republican government. What some people saw as the future, others disliked and associated it with â€Å"modernity.† Hence, the concept of â€Å"modernity’s† use as an abusive phrase. However, at the close of the French Revolution, â€Å"modernity† took on a new use. In the nineteenth century and beyond, â€Å"modernity† became a term associated with good things.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unlike â€Å"modernity,† â€Å"modernization† has always been a fairly neutral term. It has always described the processes that actually made the society modern. As mentioned before, a perfect example of this would be industrialization. The best place to see â€Å"modernization† is England during the Industrial Revolution. In England during the nineteenth century, industrialization began with the movement from agrar... ...form. The NEP substituted a fixed tax on production for requisitions of grain. This policy encouraged people to produce, sell, and make money. People did get rich, but many more stayed impoverished. This belied the Bolshevik credo of a classless utopia. Furthermore, it was basically only a compromise with capitalist methods. It also lead to opposition from within the party. The Worker Opposition protested Bolshevik usurpation of economic control. They pointed out that the NEP was an agrarian program and not a proletarian one.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Zero Hour is a term that came into being at the end of World War II. It originated in Germany and was used as a way of saying that the slate was wiped clean. The Germans that survived the war did not want to be associated with the Holocaust and a war the took millions of lives. Zero hour was their way of saying they wanted to start over. Eventually, however, zero hour became a term for all of Europe. After the destruction of World War II many Europeans and the nations wanted a new start. Not only were most of the major cities flattened, but the people themselves did not want to be associated with the death and fascism of the war.

Comparative Criticism of Two Museums

Mark Moran Prof. Elizabeth Marlowe Masterpieces of Western Art November 8, 1999 Formal Comparison of Two Museums The Frick Collection and The Guggenheim Museum are both museums on 5th  Avenue in New York’s Upper East Side neighborhood, and they are both named for famous American tycoons from the early 20thcentury. But their similarities pretty much end there. The Frick Collection is the former residence of steel baron Henry Clay Frick who spent forty years assembling a large collection of artwork for his personal enjoyment.The Guggenheim Museum, on the other hand, was always intended as a public museum to display various art exhibits. These fundamental differences are most evident in the architectural design of the buildings themselves: the Frick building is a calm, warm house built for a family to live in while the Guggenheim building is a cold, public hall built to accommodate hundreds of art enthusiasts at a time. The styles of the architecture are quite different, and th ey reflect the very different styles of artwork inside.Furthermore, the shapes and layout of the buildings lend themselves to quite different viewing experiences for the visitor. From the outside, the only things the two buildings have in common is that they both dominate an entire block of 5th  Avenue and they are both white. The Frick building, designed by architect Thomas Hastings, was built from 1913-1914 in the neo-classical style prevalent in New York at the time. Classical arches, ionic columns, and outdoor gardens and fountains remind the viewer of an ancient Roman villa, much like fellow baron and art collector J. P.Getty’s museum in Malibu, CA. Elaborate decoration over the doorways and columns as well as ornamented atriums and statue niches further enhance the classic design and tranquil setting. The building is relatively horizontal, primarily one story that sprawls out much lower than the towering buildings which surround it. The Guggenheim building is just the opposite. Built in 1956 from architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s design, it is as much a vision of the future as Frick’s house is an homage to antiquity. The Guggenheim is a giant concrete and glass spiral designed with mathematical curves and no right ngles. The surfaces are all completely smooth and there is no decoration or ornamentation inside or out. The bizarre structure conjures up images of alien civilizations and challenges the viewer with its unusual shape. The Guggenheim resembles and upside-down wedding cake, which gives it a much more vertical feeling than the Frick, even though it is also shorter than the surrounding buildings. There are no living areas inside the Guggenheim, just one huge chamber with a long spiral that visitors are intended to wind down and view all the artwork from.Artwork is primarily installed along the large spiral, although there are also small rooms which come off the spiral ramp. Because visitors take the elevator to the top, they ha ve nowhere to go but to follow the spiral down. This ensures that they see the artwork in a specific order and provides the satisfying feeling that the viewer has seen all there is to see. The Frick, however, has no set order. Even though some modifications were made by architect John Russell Pope in the 1930’s to convert it for public use, the building largely retains the feeling of a house.Just as one would expect of a house, it is a mixture or narrow hallways, living areas, large banquet rooms, and outdoor courtyards which sprawl out in various directions from the entryway. The rooms are designed for comfort and practical living, not for efficiently taking a tour. Visitors are encouraged to wander through the rooms in any particular order without guidebooks, simply enjoying the pieces as Frick himself did. This provides a relaxing and laid back setting for viewing the assorted artwork inside, but also leaves the visitor unsure of when he has finished seeing the entire coll ection.Since the collection doesn’t change much, seeing it all is not the point. Relaxing in the setting is. This very different interior designs demonstrate the different priorities of the museums. The Frick Collection is primarily static; that is, it is almost entirely the varied artwork collected by Frick himself (although there is a small area in the basement for temporary exhibits). There is no unifying theme of the pieces inside and Japanese vases sit right beside European paintings. Frick’s goal was to collect pieces of art that he found pleasant to live with, regardless of their genre or origin.For this reason, he had a house built to hold his artwork rather than a museum, even though he always intended to eventually bequeath it as a public collection. The Guggenheim, on the other hand, transforms itself every several months as it rotates in a new exhibit. One month it may be almost entirely 20th  century French paintings and the next month mostly Harley-Davi dson motorcycles. That permanent collection of the Guggenheim is relatively small and not its main focus. The main focus of the Guggenheim is to show off a particular theme or genre of artwork assembled by professional museum curators.Since the exhibits only last a few months, the museum encourages repeat viewers who benefit from the spiral design that allows them to efficiently see the entire new show. What is consistent about that Guggenheim’s exhibits is that they are generally modern and challenging, just like the building. The design of the Frick residence is to inspire tranquility. The painting, sculpture, furniture, and pottery range from the Renaissance to the late 19th  century, and there are no violent or startling works in the collection.The building’s layout, from the peaceful fountains to the elegant columns and niches all enforce a feeling of serenity inside the building and out in its gardens. The constantly changing Guggenheim strives to do just the o pposite. It’s goal is to be thought-provoking and shocking which is emphasized by its strange structure and lack of benches and resting areas, which are abundant in the Frick. Because Frick’s artwork is pre-20thcentury and somewhat traditional by today’s standards, the mansion built to house the works was designed to be as classical as possible.The building itself is a classically inspired artwork. Likewise, the Guggenheim building is an abstract, thought-provoking piece of 20th  century artwork. The Guggenheim Museum and the Frick Collection are two of New York’s most famous museums. They have fundamentally different architectural designs, both inside and out, that reflect and enhance the different goals of the museums. And yet, they both interact with their environments in a similar manner. Neither building is a large rectangle like the apartment buildings and consulate offices that tower over them.Their unusual designs which dominate entire blocks in stead suggest buildings that are open to the public, just as libraries or churches do. Neither of them blends in with the surrounding buildings, and yet each one elegantly faces Central Park and adds to the neighborhood’s overall harmony. The unique shapes of these museums invite passersby to marvel at them and perhaps to come in and admire the artwork, or at least browse through the gift shops. In this sense, the different architecture of these buildings, one classical and one futuristic, produce a similar emotion in the viewer and thus achieve the same goal.

American History 1941 to Present Mormon Fundamentalists

The Mormon presence in America has been historically influential to the nation, but is often overlooked or understated in non-Mormon institutions despite the fact their existence dates back to 1823. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer is a non-fiction historical account of the Mormon religion, from its birth under the prophet Joseph Smith, to present times with the polygamy practicing fundamentalists and the milder mainstream Latter Day Saint church existing with identical core beliefs, but on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of practices.The section of the book regarding the extreme fundamentalists, their history, and their current practices was an interesting look into a very different way of life. The split in the Mormon Church presented itself when the principle of polygamy was retracted by the prophet Wilford Woodruff. Those that accepted this revelation are the mass that is now called The Church of Latter Day Saints.Those that felt the ch urch only banned polygamy to try and gain acceptance by the United States government still felt that it was a divine principle necessary for getting into heaven, and scattered to secluded areas across the North American continent to practice their lifestyle. Several factions of Mormon extremists exist in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The primary reason that so many factions exist is based on one of the basic building blocks of the church. All Mormons followers have a close relationship with God and are able to speak with him.The laws of the church can change as the prophets receive their revelations. Essentially, anyone can declare themselves a prophet, and anyone can receive a revelation. As self proclaimed prophets received divine revelations they would take a group of followers and establish their own settlement to reproduce more members. The most well known of these factions if the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) with approximately 10,000 members located in Colo rado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. The FLDS territory, formerly known as Short Creek, was founded by John Y.Barlow to preserve the sanctity of polygamy. After Barlow’s death Joseph Musser was the next prophet in line of succession. He presided over the sect during the Short Creek Raid of 1953 when Arizona state police officers and the National Guard invaded the compound and arrested every member of the church, regardless of age or gender. Leroy Johnson, or â€Å"Uncle Roy† as he was affectionately called, led the sect from 1954 to 1986. After the death of Johnson in 1986 Rulon Jeffs, also called â€Å"Uncle Rulon† took over as prophet.Uncle Rulon was thought to be â€Å"the one mighty and strong† that would live forever, rule at the end of days, and carry the church to eternal salvation as stated by the book of Mormon. This considered it was a shock to the FLDS community when Uncle Rulon died in 2002 at the age of 92. Warren Jeffs, one of Rulon’ s sons out of an estimated 60-65 children fathered by the late prophet, assumed leadership after his father’s death. He ruled by fear and tyranny. Under his term, the number of young boys thrown out of the church for minor infractions increased exponentially.These â€Å"Lost Boys† would be kicked out for violations such as having a crush on a girl, or wearing a shirt with sleeves that were too short, or if the prophet just decided to deem them unworthy. A church member then drives the teenage boys out of town and dumps them off at the side of the road with no food, money, or place to go. Jeffs started kicking out boys in droves so that he could assign more young girls in the community to middle aged men, including him. He decided that all pets and animals in the compound should be killed, banned children from going to public school, and forbade medical treatment to ailing church members.The FLDS is currently under the leadership of an unknown prophet after Jeffs was se ntenced on November 20, 2007 to 10 years to life in the Utah State Prison on charges of sexual conduct with minors and rape as an accomplice. To this day in Colorado City it is common for cousins, stepfathers and stepdaughters, non-biological uncles and nieces, or fathers and adopted children to marry. Incestuous relationships have caused an unusually high rate of birth defects. Three wives is the minimum for a man to receive the highest level of salvation in the afterlife.The first marriage is considered legal by law. All marriages after are â€Å"celestial marriages† only recognized by the FLDS. The women bound to men by celestial marriage are able to collect welfare for all of their kids because they are single parents. This practice is called â€Å"bleeding the beast† and is encouraged among members. The rules of dress are strictly adhered to: men wear long sleeved shirts and pants in all seasons and women wear ankle length long sleeved dresses. Both sexes clothing is very plain and they must wear long underwear at all times.Under the Banner of Heaven was unbiased and fact based. Krakauer included personal accounts of stories of the religious fanaticism that has led to practices in the FLDS that range from horrifying to intriguing. It was difficult to imagine the level of strength and conviction that motivates members to live out their everyday lives in this community. Krakauer was able to deliver these stories and the historical statistics behind them in a non-judgmental or opinionated manner, which gives the book a genuine and legitimate base.He does not come off as a religion hater or Mormon racist that is condemning the choices made by the prophets or the people. The historical account of the Mormon religion as a whole was detailed and deliberate, which was helpful in understanding how one religion ended up existing in such a multitude of diverse sects. It was an experience to be introduced to a different view of American history; one tha t is definitely not discussed in the standard textbooks. References Krakauer, Jon (2004). Under the Banner of Heaven, A Story of Violent Faith. New York: Random House, Inc..

Free Essays on 7 Wonders

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD In the ancient world there were seven great man-made structures for travelers to see on a world tour. Lists of the so-called seven wonders of the world sometimes varied. The following list, dating from about the 6th century AD, was a commonly used and standard one: (1) the pyramids of Egypt; (2) the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; (3) the statue of Zeus at Olympia; (4) the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; (5) the temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus; (6) the Colossus of Rhodes; and (7) the Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria. Greek colonists at Ephesus, in Asia Minor, built the famous temple of Artemis. The early settlers found the Asian inhabitants worshiping a many-breasted nature goddess whom they identified with their Artemis (called Diana by the Romans). They raised a shrine to her, which was rebuilt and enlarged from time to time. The fourth temple was the one regarded as the wonder of the world. Dedicated about 430 BC, it is said to have been built by contributions from all the great cities of Asia and to have taken 120 years to complete. This great temple was set on fire in 356 BC on the night Alexander the Great was born, according to tradition. The crime was committed by one Herostratus merely that his name might be remembered in after ages. The statue of Olympian Zeus was erected at Olympia, in the Peloponnesus of Greece, by the great sculptor Phidias in the 5th century BC. It was a towering structure of ivory and gold, 40 feet high, majestic and beautiful. After about 10 centuries of existence the statue was destroyed. Our only idea of it is gained from coins of Elis, which are thought to bear copies of the original. The Colossus of Rhodes was a great bronze statue, erected in about 280 BC by the citizens of Rhodes, capital of the Greek island of the same name. It represented their sun-god Helios and was said to be 105 feet high. According to legend, it straddled the harbor entrance, b... Free Essays on 7 Wonders Free Essays on 7 Wonders SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD In the ancient world there were seven great man-made structures for travelers to see on a world tour. Lists of the so-called seven wonders of the world sometimes varied. The following list, dating from about the 6th century AD, was a commonly used and standard one: (1) the pyramids of Egypt; (2) the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; (3) the statue of Zeus at Olympia; (4) the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; (5) the temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus; (6) the Colossus of Rhodes; and (7) the Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria. Greek colonists at Ephesus, in Asia Minor, built the famous temple of Artemis. The early settlers found the Asian inhabitants worshiping a many-breasted nature goddess whom they identified with their Artemis (called Diana by the Romans). They raised a shrine to her, which was rebuilt and enlarged from time to time. The fourth temple was the one regarded as the wonder of the world. Dedicated about 430 BC, it is said to have been built by contributions from all the great cities of Asia and to have taken 120 years to complete. This great temple was set on fire in 356 BC on the night Alexander the Great was born, according to tradition. The crime was committed by one Herostratus merely that his name might be remembered in after ages. The statue of Olympian Zeus was erected at Olympia, in the Peloponnesus of Greece, by the great sculptor Phidias in the 5th century BC. It was a towering structure of ivory and gold, 40 feet high, majestic and beautiful. After about 10 centuries of existence the statue was destroyed. Our only idea of it is gained from coins of Elis, which are thought to bear copies of the original. The Colossus of Rhodes was a great bronze statue, erected in about 280 BC by the citizens of Rhodes, capital of the Greek island of the same name. It represented their sun-god Helios and was said to be 105 feet high. According to legend, it straddled the harbor entrance, b... Free Essays on 7 Wonders 1. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon – Located approximately 50km south of Baghdad, Iraq on the east bank of the Euphrates River. King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC), grandson of the famous King Hammurabi, is credited to have commissioned the construction of the gardens. Although no tablets were found in Babylon referring to the Gardens, accountings from the ancient Greek historian, Strabo, state that the â€Å"The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checkered cube-like foundations.. The ascent of the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway..† 2. The Great Pyramid of Giza – The only one of the Seven Wonders still left standing to this day, it is also the oldest of the 7 Ancient Wonders. Located in the city Giza, a necropolis of ancient Memphis, which is now part of Cairo, Egypt. This impressive monument was commissioned by Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around 2560 BC, to serve as his final resting place. The great pyramid was 145.75 meters tall when constructed, but over the course of time has lost nearly 10 meters. The entrance is located on the North side of the pyramid, and once inside there is a series of passageways and galleries that lead to the Kings burial chamber. The structure is comprised of some 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than 2 tons, with the King’s burial chamber and sarcophagus made out of red granite. 3. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia – The god of gods to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. It was located in the ancient town of Olympia, about 150 km west of Athens, in Greece. The original temple housing the massive statue was constructed around 450 BC, designed by architect Libon. The statue itself was created by the Athenian sculptor Pheidias. Constructed out of ivory sections, the massive statue was 45 feet tall, holding victory in his right hand, and his sceptor in his left. Closed by the Roman...

Only the second part of the assignment needs to be done which is the final individual share portfolio review. The company is Tesco. The WritePass Journal

Only the second part of the assignment needs to be done which is the final individual share portfolio review. The company is Tesco. Introduction Only the second part of the assignment needs to be done which is the final individual share portfolio review. The company is Tesco. Christmas trading. Furthermore, the above could dampen CAPEX plans for the coming years. Rise of Discounters As mentioned, the recent Kantar Worlpanel (2014) report cemented the rise of Aldi and Lidl; however recent reports from Tesco have attempted to downplay the threat, with little success. The CEO referred to them as ‘niche’ players, (Tesco, 2013). However, these players control 45% of the affluent German market and are market leaders in several other large countries. We would not compare the effectiveness and the threat posed by Aldi in 2014 with that posed by Kwik Safe (disappeared) in the 1990s. It is not an informative chart in our view. CAPEX remains strong CAPEX guidance was cut to a maximum of  £2.5bn per annum, in line with market expectations. Tesco plans to cut new space additions in the UK to 700,000 sq ft in 2014/15 from 1.4mn in 2013/14. CAPEX is shifting from new space to maintenance. Having invested  £400mn in the UK Refresh programme in 2013/14, the company plans to invest  £500mn per annum in each of the next three years. This is close to  £2bn in total to complete the programme. The priority for next year is re-modelling the Extra format where the sales performance is the weakest, (Tesco, 2013). Online growth Mixed A lot of focus, as expected, has been put on the increasing movement online. With Morrison’s considering and online platform, while Waitrose moves in with more products and free delivery. Tesco announced it will reduce the fee it charges for home delivery and click collect. While it is good that the company aims to be competitive, excessive cuts in the delivery charge would reduce margins and also incentivise the customer to order smaller quantities more frequently, making the economics a lot less attractive. The delivery charge is a tool used to distribute demand among the different time slots and days of the week. Tesco unveiled  £127Million of trading profit from online grocery ( £2.5bn sales), (Tesco, 2013), suggesting a 5% margin. According to the company, all direct costs are fully charged, that is the cost of the pickers and the delivery, (Tesco, 2013). This would not include things such as store depreciation, store energy costs, rates etc. Given this, on estimated 25Million annual orders of  £100 each, the delivery fee ( £4-5 per order) would account for the great majority of profit. If this delivery fee is substantially cut, so will the profit obtained. Share Performance Graph – Share Price Performance of Selected Companies – 6-Month. Data obtained from Bloomberg (2014) [Online]. Focusing on share performance (Graph 1), over the previous 6-months, Tesco Plc is down by 18.3%, however performance is still between than W.M. Morrison and J Sainsbury, whose shares have fell by 24.2% and 19.9% respectively. Given this; the grocery sector has been a weak performer on the market, given that the FTSE 100 has risen by 2% over the same period. Weakness in the sector was seen on the 12th March (circled), after the market release from Kantar Worldpanel (2014). According to Kantar Worldpanel (2014), Tescos market share dropped to 28.7% in the 12 weeks ended March 2. That compares to 29.6% a year ago and is the lowest level since late 2004. Adding to the company’s woes, Tescos sales were down 0.6 percent in the three-month period. The main issue for investors was the movement of these sales to discounters Aldi and Lidl, plus upmarket grocer Waitrose. Morrison’s also loosened further to a share of 11.1% from 11.8% a year earlier, while ASDA, a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores eased to 17.5%, a 0.3 point fall Y-O-Y. Sainsbury’s was the only grocer among Britains ‘big four’ to hold on to its market share in the period, reaming at 17%, (Kantar Worldpanel, 2014). The report noted that the big-four where competing more for a shrinking ‘middle-ground’ as consumers move to either discounters or upmarket retailers – over the past 3-years, Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl have taken a combined 3.5 points from competition, equating to  £4.4Billion in sales per year, (Kantar Worldpanel, 2014). Taking an international look, while Wal-Mart did record a small drop on the 12th March, over the 6-month period its shares are up 3%, given its exposure to the U.S economy, which has been performing strongly, supported by consumer spending. Summary While the recovery in the UK economy will present opportunities for Tesco Plc, given its exposure to consumer spending through an extensive product offering, major headwinds remain as the continued expansion of discounters pose a real threat, contrary to the thoughts of Tesco management. Furthermore the price-wars between major retailers commence once again for the shrinking middle-ground of the market, margins are expected to be hit. This has the potential to derail Tesco’s expansion plans, which will impact on future performance given aggressive competition. References BBC Business (2014) [Online]: Morrison’s restructuring sparks fears of new price war, UK, BBC News. Bloomberg (2014) [Online]: Share Price Data, Available at bloomberg.com/markets/, Accessed 27/03/2014. Financial Times (2014) [Online]: Tesco Plc, Available at http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Summary?s=TSCO:LSE, Accessed 27/03/2014. Fitch Rating (2014): Morrison’s price cuts to pressure Tesco; margins at risk, UK, Fitch Ratings Agency. Kantar Worldpanel (2014): Unprecedented change in grocery retailing, UK, Kantar Worldpanel. Tesco (2013): Annual Review 2013, UK, Tesco Plc.