Zappos Organizational Structure Chart Marketing Essay

Zappos Organizational Structure Chart Marketing Essay All the organizations which meets up with there goals and reach greater heights are because they make there costumers satisfied and do not hang back to fulfill the needs of the costumers. Zappos is one of the upcoming e-commerce web site, which is reaching to greater heights of the success very quickly. It is one of the co-operations that deal in shoes and now expanding towards electronics, fashion and many more products. This company start up was in 1999 and less than 10 years it became a billon dollar co-operation. The question which arises here is that how does Zappos manage to hold their clients for a long run. The trust, honesty and clientage, which Zappos develop in a costumer, is the reason for the same. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT History, origins, structure, activities (Anna Levina) The history of founding company Zappos began in 1999 with Nick Swinmurn who was working at that time as a Webmaster for Silicon Graphics. Nick was walking around a mall in San- Francisco. He wanted to buy a special pair of shoes with a special colour, style, brand and size. After long searching he was not able to find a pair of specific shoes and came back to home. At home he tried to find online a nice pair of boot, but again he was unsuccessful. At that time there were online stores with selling shoes, but there was no online retailer who focused primarily on selling shoes. He thought why not to be first online shoes retailer. With $150,000, Swinmurn started his online shop Shoesite.com in June of 1999 in San Francisco. Later on Shoesite.com has been renamed to Zappos.com (the name came from Spanish word zapatos which means shoes). In 2000 Tony Hsieh (24) jointed to Zappos.com. At the beginning to fulfil orders that were placed online Zappos redirected orders to major shoes distributors to deliver shoes to customers. In 2000 company already had 30 employees and gross sales of $1.6 million. As Zappos rapidly grew, order fulfilment became a challenge. Zappos could not always guarantee the timeliness of supplier drop shipments to individual customers. To meet the expectations of its online retail customers, Zappos acquired its own warehouse and fulfilment centre in Kentucky. In 2003 gross sales of Zappos rose to $70 million. In 2004 they moved head office from San- Francisco to Las Vegas (Nevada). In the end of 2005 the annual revenue at Zappos.com reached $370 million. By 2006, Zappos.com revenue was $597 million. Since 2007 Zappos extended its product categories with including eyewear, handbags, clothing, watches and kids goods. Ebags.coms footwear and accessories e-tailer 6pm.com is acquired by Zappos.Gross sales at Zappos hit $840 million. Online shop had over 1200 brands and 200,000 different styles (P. Robbins, 2009). In 2008 Zappos Insights is launched to help leaders, managers, and employees from other businesses to learn success of Zappos. Gross sales at Zappos hit $1 billion. In 2009 Amazon purchases Zappos.com for $1.2 billion (Zappos Tony Hsieh Delivers Happiness Through Service and Innovation, 2011, para 17). In 2009 Zappos.com was ranked # 23 Fortunes Top 100 Companies to Work For, 2010- # 15, 2011- # 6, 2012- went down # 11. (100 Best Companies To Work For, 2011-2012) The company has an informal organisation structure. The company represents 10 departments, which include; Zappos.com, Inc. implies Facilities- including the responsibilities of food and vending for Zappos and also shipping and receiving, office supplies and equipment, maintenance, cleaning in Las-Vegas, Henderson. Finance  Treasury And Accounting Help Desk- includes scheduling, travel, shuttle services and the last one organizing events. Human Resources- members contacts, benefits, recruiting. IT- it can help a company to keep systems up and working efficiently. Legal- legal requirements to safe and prevent risks for Zappos Family of Companies. Pipeline Team- The aim is to support growth and learning which involves all system of training (4 week), where teachers teach new workers about Zappos Family Culture and how to amaze customers. As well as they teach management classes like Microsoft Office. Zappos IP, Inc. which is included; Development (Software) Project Management Team Zappos Development, Inc. Content Team- these team are responsible for writing the product descriptions Creative Services drafting WEB design CS creates the look and feel of the site Marketing. The User Experience Humans- Their aim is to always improve the quality of online website with utilization of interface, organization of figures, interactive design, where clients could find everything what they need. Zappos Merchandising, Inc. is included developing relation with vendors and purchasing the products. Zappos Fulfilment Centres, Inc. contains storeroom, logistics and delivery of the products. Warehouse around 80,000 sq.m Conveyors length -280m Zappos CLT, Inc. calls, live chats and emails. Online shop customer service works 24 hours, seven day per week. Zappos Insights, Inc. Culture Training, Customer Service Training. Zappos Gift Cards, Inc. They only can sell gift cards. Zappos Retail, Inc. online store on Zappos.com 6pm.com, LLC -online seller on 6pm.com Unlike other shoe companies, Zappos.com became the first company in the world by free shipping on the next day and return the product 365 days per year (The Zappos phenomenon, 2012). ZAPPOS Organizational Structure Chart Customer Customer Focused Team Customer Focused Team Customer Focused Team Customer Focused Team Professional services Marketing QA / Support System OPS Sales Finance Admin HR Product Chief Operating Officer VP Operations Chief Financial Officer Chief Executive Officer Culture of the company (Paula Prieto Cisneros) That sounds like a Cinderella story and from afar one could see it that way. But there were no guarantees it would work and Zappos could have crashed and burned a few times. Tony summed up the company perfectly when he said Back in 2003, we thought of ourselves as a shoe company that offered great service. Today, we really think of the Zappos brand as about great service and we just happen to sell shoes. (A Lesson from Zappos , 2011) Zappos as an individual company has their own unique culture, which is based in the Zappos Family Core Values. Zappos has grown a lot as a company and it became more important expressing the essential values from which Zappos development three of their most important things inside of the company: culture, product and industry strategies. Zappos company has ten values but the ones that are related to the employees and the actions that happen inside if the company are: Pursue Growth and Learning, which means that employees need to grow in two areas: personality and professionally. Yet no matter how much better we get, well always have hard work to do, well never be done, and well never get it right. (Zappos.com) Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit. This is one of the most important aspects of their culture inasmuch as they place a lot of emphasis on it. Zappos family believes in while employees work well in their own, they need to be able to work better with people from the company and also with each other outside the office atmosphere. Be humble: as the word humble says, Zappos are always concerned that doesnt matter if they have grown quickly and with success, they will always have challenges to overcome. Furthermore, they have a sentence that says that no matter what kind of challenges they have because they need to be considerate with their co-workers. Another of their values in their inimitable culture is what they call do more with less. This means that their tasks are never complete or fixed and employees need to do as much as they can with big labours. Furthermore, those operations have to be done seriously. And while the company tries to become the best company worldwide, they want their employees to be the best. The last value that affect the internal environment of the company is what they call be passionate and determined, which means that workers need to be positive and optimistic in order to become a better company. This is reflected in the position of Zappos corporation. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Paula Prieto Cisneros: Historical and social perspective of Zappos Zappos website had made a huge progress in the past few weeks- Nick said. Zappos was getting $2000 worth of orders a week and the number of clients was growing. First of all, Zappos was not making money because when a command was ordered, the owner ran to the resident shoe shop, purchase the product and then transport it to the costumer. After that, the owner (Nick) decided to start a website to demonstrate that costumers would be enthusiastic to buy their shoes on the Internet, therefore Zappos corporation would take commands from clients online, then transfer the order to the creator of the different brands and styles, which would send the product directly to the clients of Zappos. This was what they called drop ship relationship, which existed in many businesses dedicated to other fields. However, they were the first shoe company. Furthermore, drop shipping was one of the most important causes that made costumers buy Zappos products. (Hsieh, 2010) According to the social perspective of Zappos, the owner of the company wanted employees to use the social networking sites and the internet to create a real relation with costumers in order to overcome one their core values, which is called build open and honest relationships with communication. Hence, Zappos employees Hence, Zappos workers have presence in different social sites such as: The first one is Twitter, as we know nowadays Twitter is the second social networking site worldwide, after Facebook. Zappos corporation has its own Twitter account with five hundred worker recorded. Furthermore, the owner of the company is one of the most followed people on Twitter, with 1.85 million of followers. The aim of this, apart of creating relation with costumers, is the employees to use their accounts in order to have a spontaneous communication instead of the classic communication such as promotions or advertisings. (Kelly, 2011) Another social site that Zappos use is YouTube. As a modern company, it has subjects in it, which complements their other nets. In their YouTube account, Zappos can post videos, which show their culture, family and the company itself. Furthermore, they also post clips, employees interests, experiences, etc. Zappos has an account in the first social networking site worldwide called Facebook. They use it, apart of promote their business, to discuss with costumers about the outcomes of their corporation, in an effectively and realistic manner. The last social site that Zappos use are blogs. Nowadays, many companies use them in order to have a closer relation with the clients. Zappos use them to discuss with their costumers about different topics. Some examples of Zappos blogs are: CEO blog, Fashion Culture, etc. Cultural, geographical and financial perspectives (Sajal Garg) What is culture? Cultural in a business considering external environment can be defined as the relationship between the consumer and the service provider. Zappos has a great relation with their customers. They provide a WOW service to them, which is entirely a different way, which can even, be beyond ones imagination. The service department works on innovative and unconventional ideas for the same. The current director of the company also mentioned that WOW service is something, which is not related to the money directly. This kind of service is good for the companys status and customers attraction for the long run. All the customers are treated in the same way and in a better way. There are 24*7 hot line services, which provide one to one live chat service. Zappos build a strong, positive and honest relation with the customers, which normally lacks in many of the service providers working in the same field. This is one of the reasons why Zappos is growing on a faster pace. They want every customer to be emotionally attached to them and provide the kind-hearted, welcoming, loyal treatment. This accomplishes the hardest task of the company, which is to build trust between the consumer and Zappos. The communication between the buyer and the seller should be true and Zappos follow the same policy and is honest with their customers which is effective and open too. Good communication always reaches a mile more than a normal communication. (Zappos Family Core Values, 2010) Geographic or location is one of the key factors of any organization. Zappos has a number of corporate offices, workshops and head quarters all over the world. But the most recent and fascinating on is in Las Vegas, Nevada USA. Which is recently built on a large track of land, approximately consisting of more than 150,000 sq. ft. The developer of Las Vegas, Mr. Liberman supports and explains how has the city grown in past few years. When Zappos wanted to shift the headquarters to Las Vegas the council of the city asked the company to make use of the City Hall Building which is the part of the governing body. After spending the amount of $65 million finishes the renovation, the company will hire 1200 new employees and provide them accommodation to almost 2000 employees. (Dodds, 2011) Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has a sharp brain of marketing. He started sponsoring events like start up businesses, first Friday, etc. The repositioning of Zappos headquarter will generate an atmosphere for more people to set up business and will also give motivation to people to life in the city. Zappos employees are happy working in that company and the prove of the same is when a survey tell that Zappos stand at fourth position amongst top 100 best companies to work for. The improvement in the building is not cheap; the expense for the same is $40 million. And during this recreation of the building there will be more than 100 construction job done. This is not finished yet, the businesses which will gain profit because of Zappos plan of shifting the headquarter are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Food services and drinking places à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Real estate establishments à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Physicians, dentists and other health care providers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Employment services à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Couriers and messengers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Private hospitals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Private household operations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Retail Stores Food and beverage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Retail Stores General merchandise (Riggleman, 2012) The tense attention to the costumer and then type of honest service provided to the costumers have helped Zappos to reach to a level of being a billion dollar company per year in less than a span of 10 years. Being the sole proprietor of making and selling a million pair of shoes, not the company is moving to words making more products like electronic products, fashion products and many more. Hsieh also adds that he would enhance the customer experience as it generates customer repetition. Zappos will also spend a small amount of money in advertising as they did last year, which was $18 million. The reputation build of this company is because of the services like free delivery overseas, promotional upgrades, 365 days exchange policy and most importantly 24*7-customer care service. (Borden, 2012) Conclusion Concluding this whole report about Zappos, we can say that Zappos is a company that came up to the greater heights in the shoe market and enhanced their financial and economical position really well in a short span of time. According to the history of the company, Zappos started up the business in 1999 and from 2000 to 2003 the company touched the greater heights of sky and success, which is an impressive progress for a company as in order to grow, expand and be a billion dollar company in a short period of time. Furthermore, the culture followed by Zappos makes it unique, as they always targeted to have a big family (inside of the company with more employees) while having the best communication with the costumers, according to the 10 core values. The most exclusive and matchless service provided by Zappos to their costumers is the WOW service, in which the costumer is being satisfied beyond his or her imagination. Moreover, the owner and the CEO of the company have incredible power of judging a business outcomes and new areas where he could put his feet in, which is seen through the accomplishment of it. In addition to this, the company has a very optimistic, hospitable and a true relation with the cli ents, which makes the working scenario creative, attractive and open to any ideas of suggestions from employees and clients. Adding to Zappos never advertised before but started it few years before and spent a small amount of money ($18 million) on the same in 2010. According to the activities that Zappos perform, the main part is to manufacture and do the marketing for shoes but from 2007 they started mounting their business into fashion industry making different types of products such as bags, sunglasses, clothing, electronic products, etc. One the most important actions that made costumers buy Zappos products was the drop ship, which was a totally new strategy never done before. Furthermore, serving the costumers by 24*7 through a service hotline and live chats, which builds honest relation between clients and Zappos family. We think that this type of service is lacking in most of the companies who are dealing in this business environment. As Zappos decided to shift the headquart er to Las Vegas, promising the government to give employment and use the RGS building, which will benefit the government through taxes and revenues. In contrast to this, businesses like food services, real estate, health care centres, private house holdings, retail stores and many more businesses, were benefited in a positive manner. As this is not the end of Zappos history until now and we live in a modern world, which has a lot of resources and opportunities, Zappos company will keep growing and expanding their business to different countries, and maybe to other continents.

Anne Bradstreet vs Jonathan Edwards Essays and Term Papers

Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards Throughout the time, there has always been a debate regarding the hypothetical issue that deals with the existence of god and his role in mankind. Some believe that god has power to manipulate human fate, and consequences of their actions which mean if you do well, god will send you to heaven, if not to hell. Meanwhile, other opines that god does not decide the consequence of those actions. Whether you do well or bad, god will always be there with you.After reading and analyzing poems by Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards, although it is quite clear that they have many similar religious beliefs and similar base, Puritanism, it is obvious that there is a huge gap in belief between the two authors. Edward's writing takes Puritanism to its extremities whereas Bradstreet's works show a conventional view in the religion while still staying true to it. Born in Northhampton, England, in 1612, Anne Bradstreet grew up in a Puritan society, where women we re considered their husband’s property limited inside the household serving their husbands.Marriage was a significant role to women among Puritans. People believed that marriage was a gift by god. The Puritan religion and their society believed that the women’s place in society should be limited to a wife and a mother. Being a part of such society, Anna believed that God would be there for you, even during bad times. She had good faith in god. She never gave up her faith, even though times were not good. Although Anne did not ignore her Puritan role or duties, she did receive harsh criticism for her works.During this time, women were judged intellectually inferior to men, yet Anne had become one of the greatest, influential writers of her time. Similarly, talking about Jonathan Edward, he was born into a Puritan evangelical household on October 5, 1703, in East Windsor, Connecticut. He was America’s most important philosophical theologian and greatest intellectu als. He was a theologian best known for his role in the first great awakening. He spoke quietly and softly in most of his sermons, drawing his audiences to conclusion with his emotional appeals.His words painted a graphic picture that was very fear provoking and meant to awaken his audience. He believed that if you were bad, you went hell; if you were reborn you went hell. He believes that we have to do, what god wants us to do. He is the master and we are all substantially bad. He also believes god is the only thing keeping people from hell, and he is angry because people would not thank him for his miraculous works. Bradstreet was bothered by the gender bias that prevailed during her time; the belief was that a woman's place was in the home, attending to the family and fulfilling her husband's needs.Women were often considered intellectually inferiors, which made the critics believed that Bradstreet stole her ideas for her poems from men. Her writing was severely criticized becaus e it was that of a woman, receiving a different kind of criticism than that of her male counterparts. Similarly, public also showed harsh reaction to Bradstreet's role as a female writer. When her first publication of â€Å"The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America† was released, the idea that she was a virtuous women had to be stressed.Another theme in Bradstreet's works was her religious experiences. In her writing, Bradstreet gives an insight of Puritan views of salvation and redemption. She writes about how she feels that God has punished her through sicknesses and domestic problems. The Puritans believed that suffering was god's approach of preparing the human heart for accepting his grace. This idea inundated Bradstreet, and she wrote about how she struggled to do everything that she could to give into her will, in order to save her wandering soul.However, she thought that God was so hard on her because her soul was so much in love with the world. She doubted godâ€⠄¢s existence bothered by scriptures miracles. Anne’s faith came through her experience in life. She believes god gives you a chance at everything you have. She also wrote some poems, where she asked God to watch over her children and husband. â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God† conveys a very extreme viewpoint of God, that of Jonathan Edwards. According to Edwards, humanity is naturally plagued with sin, despite our ongoing efforts to overcome it.Throughout his sermon, Edwards goes on endlessly about how God shows such mercy in not throwing all of humanity to the deepest depths of hell by the very earth itself. Edwards said in the sermon, â€Å"You hang by slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it as under, and you have no interest in any mediator, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing to lay hold off to same yourself, nothing that you have done, nothing you can do, to induce god to spare you one moment. Edwards decided to present a highly devout system of worshipping god, whereas Bradstreet went with a conventional approach and simply restated the traditional beliefs of the puritan society and how it held up in her life. She does not reiterate in her poems that god will condemn humanity unless they show piousness. Bradstreet views God as â€Å"that mighty architect† and conveys him as a merciful creator. In direct contrast to that Edward’s view god shows him as the merciless ruler† and that god is poised to â€Å"destroy the sinner†.These contrasting points of view help distinguish each author’s religious beliefs. As a conclusion, by reading the works of Bradstreet and Edwards, we see the differences and similarities formed in their beliefs. Their difference is Edwards preaches the word in a harsh format that makes people come to Christ because Jonathan scares them into Religion. Bradstreet is in belief that god will bl ess you as long as your obedient in his words.If people disobey in god’s word, then god can take many of your wonderful blessings away. Edwards views God as hating us, being repulsed by us, and having all the desire and ability required to kill us. Anne Bradstreet views God much less harshly. Their similarities are their beliefs in Christ and how to be obedient in him. They were both American writers with a common characteristic in their writings. Both of these puritan writers have strong thoughts about religion and did not hold back those thoughts in their writings.

Doungy by James Moloney Essay

On the exterior it seems that Dougy, the book, is all about racism. However when you delve further into Dougy, many other strong messages come across. Some that stand out are finding yourself, appreciating what we have and, most strongly, having an open mind. At the beginning Dougy, the boy, is timid, unsure of his life and seems to be in everyone’s shadow. Whilst being trapped in the hall with the floodwaters rising- Dougy comes out of his shell and comes to the rescue. His brave efforts probably save the lives of Gracey and Raymond. These events bring out the best in Dougy and he gains confidence in being able to achieve his dreams. He did, indeed, find himself and this made him, â€Å"bloody lucky.† Do you take things for granted? Dougy showed us that there are so many people out there, to who a new car sparks a cry of delight. Yet do we even blink an eyelid, when we see a new Commodore drive past? Oh no, it’s just another car. These feelings don’t just apply to cars, too- but too everything. We really need to appreciate what we have, not be greedy and just be happy with what we have- so many others aren’t as fortunate as you or me. This message comes out clearly, especially when the family goes to Brisbane. A lot of trouble brews in Dougy from not having an open mind and accepting the opinions and views of others. As you read the book, you will also see the influence that others can have on our feelings. Pay attention to the changed attitudes of the children to Gracey, after their parents have talked to them. James Moloney puts very different personalities into his characters and shows us the different types of people in this world. There are the understanding people, who will listen to both sides of an argument and follow their hearts and minds- shown by Brett. Then there are the obstinate people, who’s views will never change and they will keep on hurting people- shown by Cooper and Co. There are the people who really believe in themselves and won’t let other people get to them- shown by Gracey. There are those who don’t care what others think and can be kind of scary- like Dougy’s Mum. And then there are those people who need something to wake them up to their lives and give  them a little push; to realise their potential and to work towards their dreams- this is just like Dougy. James Moloney gives us so much to think about in such a little book. Dougy will give you plenty to think about, but you need to read between the lines to grasp all the hidden messages. James gives us a lot to think about and reading Dougy should really make you think about your life. Chapter 3 Summary-  · Family travels to Brisbane by train (pretty boring!)  · Dougy is touched by a field of sunflowers  · Pulling into Brisbane was really exciting for them (like the new Commodore)  · They were the only black people in the crowd  · They feel very different and they stand out  · Meet very prejudiced taxi driver who thinks they don’t have the money to pay him  · They are surprised that a black person owns the hotel because in their town there are only white bosses  · Gracey has first training session, but Raymond doesn’t want to go- instead he, Steve (guy from hotel) and Dougy go to see something Raymond really wants to see  · Steve takes them to Lang Park- the home of State Origin games  · The guard doesn’t want to let them in at first, but when he realizes  they’re from the country and harmless- he relents and lets them look around  · Being there means a lot to Raymond  · Raymond says he will play there one day and Dougy doesn’t laugh unlike the other guys  · Another guard comes along, makes them leave, says they’ll probably steal something and he isn’t nice to them  · Dougy isn’t sure what he wants to do in life, but he is scared of becoming like his Dad (just wandering around with no home) Commentary- The author, using something simple and part of Mother Nature- the field of sunflowers, shows that Dougy’s family live in a way out town. It also seems like a rally small town. Dougy also probably hasn’t been anywhere else because he says, â€Å"I think, maybe, there are hundreds of other fantastic things in the rest of the world that I’ll never know about.† This point is also shown by how excited they are when the train pulls into Brisbane. The author shows that things are different in towns and cities (well they were at the time). People in the country aren’t really educated about what life is like in the city. This is shown by Dougy’s uncomfortableness with being the only blacks in the crowd. He thought that it would be just like at home- equal numbers of blacks and whites in the streets. Being uneducated is also shown by the comment that Dougy makes that Steve couldn’t be the manager of the hotel because in their town only white people are own businesses. Dougy and his family thought things would be the same in Brisbane and on some matters, they were caught unawares. Chapter 3 also shows that in a small town people have to stick together no matter what their skin colour- there may be prejudice, but it has to be overcome to get things done. In the city prejudice can be rampant (more of  it), without that much of an effect. James Moloney shows that many people stereotype against Aborigines. They may hear bad stories about them or have one bad experience and then they think that every single Aborigine is the same. It hurts people’s feelings when you stereotype like that- for example the taxi driver thought Dougy and his family wouldn’t pay, just because others hadn’t paid him. (Another example of this is saying that all blondes are dumb.) The scene at Lang Park shows that the littlest things mean a great deal to some people and can really inspire them. Just being at Lang Park and touching the grass inspires Raymond to say that he would play there one day and Dougy knew he wasn’t joking. The very end of chapter 3 shows that if we don’t believe in each other and ourselves- we won’t have the courage or the confidence to do after our dreams. Chapter 7 Summary- A number of things happen in chapter 7. It has been decided that Gracey will go to school in Brisbane. It is the summer holidays, it’s hot and the town is expecting a storm. Melissa Brodie is back in town (to stay) and has found a new pastime, in the form of motorbike riding. Melissa’s Dad has warned all the young blokes not to let Melissa borrow their bikes- or else! However Melissa continues to ride- she borrows Tiny’s bike in secret. Two weeks before Gracey was to leave for Brisbane, her Mum decides they should celebrate- with the whole town. She sets of the hire the hall across the road, which happens to be a big no-no for blacks. The owner of the hall, Mrs England, nearly dies when Gracey’s Mum goes to hire it. Unable to stop her, however, she gives in and the hall is hired. Meanwhile a storm starts brewing up north and the whole town starts preparing for a flood. This is what they were doing when Melissa Brodie is found unconscious in the  sandhills. Not knowing the full story, people start to blame Johnny Warren and trouble brews! Commentary- The beginning of the chapter shows the different attitudes towards the weather and crops, of the people. The white people are constantly worrying that there’ll be no rain, whereas the black people don’t worry so much- this shows that they have faith in the land and this is they way that they are brought up- to have faith in the land. The fact that Melissa borrows Tiny’s bike in secret (after her Dad warned all the other blokes), is really important later on in the story because this unknown fact causes misunderstandings and, really, the whole war. Melissa being able to talk her way into borrowing a bike and also ‘bad-mouthing’ the town without any consequences, show how some people’s attitudes are warped. They will listen to a good-looking and skinny girl and agree and grin, but if a fat and not so nice looking person says something they just look at him or her funny and laugh or tease them. This shown by Tiny- he said he wanted to be a mechanic and people said, â€Å"Fat chance† because he is fat. The little episode in booking the hall shows that some people will never change and they don’t want to, either. However, no matter what stands in our way we need to be determined and believe in ourselves. While Dougy was helping fill sandbags and a guy said, â€Å"Typical, lazy black bastards.† This shows again that our society is affected by stereotypes. That man didn’t notice Dougy’s black hands on the bag, however. So this shows that there may be many stereotypes out there, but they, nearly always, mean nothing. You have to get to know a person before you can really say what they are like- you can’t just look at their skin or hair colour. Chapter seven contains many messages for us to remember. Chapter 11 Summary- At the beginning of chapter 11, Luke doesn’t feel like shooting anymore and his Dad decides to head home. Luke arrives at his grandparents’ house early Friday morning and sleeps till his Aunt calls that his Mum is going home from the hospital. As his aunt talks to him, Luke begins to feel guilty for not visiting his Mum. Therefore he decides to be a good boy and care to the household duties, while his Mum rests. When Alison first wakes, Luke has to lie his way out of the room- about the shooting trip. The next Monday Luke and Alison confront each other. The communication barriers are broken as Luke asks about his Mum’s school life. But these are soon put again as his Mum starts to say what he should and shouldn’t do. Luke gets very upset, storms out of the house, gets on his bike and rides away. Commentary- At the beginning of the chapter, it seems that Luke is growing up and he doesn’t want to shoot anymore. This shows that people can change, as they see the light of a situation. When Luke lies to his Mum, he doesn’t feel comfortable, which shows that lying isn’t a human tendency- unless you let it become that and you make it a habit. The point that Luke doesn’t want to hang around his friends is unusual and can show that he feels uncomfortable with being suspended. From this we can gather that it’s in us to want to do our best. When we fail ourselves, we do feel disappointed. The funny atmosphere between Luke and his Mum is the same in many families today- parents and children aren’t very close due to poor communication. When they start talking its like floodwaters, but this flood of communication soon slows to a trickle, as Alison starts acting like a teacher- according to Luke. What he doesn’t realize is that Alison just  wants what is best for him. Instead Luke runs out and may get into trouble again. This little episode shows us that talking to each other is needed for a stable family. What family members need to realize is that they can’t push their opinions down people’s throats, that they need to be reasonable and willing to compromise. It’s also really important to look out for each other.

Meaning of the French Word Flâner

The French word flà ¢ner, pronounced flah-nay, means  to stroll, hang around, or dawdle. Examples Jaime bien flà ¢ner dans la ville le matin.I really like strolling around town in the morning.Va chercher ton frà ¨re, et sans flà ¢ner!Go get your brother, and dont dawdle! Related Words la flà ¢nerie - stroll, strollingun flà ¢neur - person who strolls