McDonald's No Longer the 'Great American Meal' Case Study

McDonald's No Longer the 'Great American Meal' - Case Study Example The company's rapid expansion (in the 1990s, McDonald's opened a new restaurant every eight hours) affected its food and service quality although these were supposed to be the McDonalds' selling points. In the 1990s, while competitors were coming up with new and healthier food options, McDonald's was still unable to produce truly innovative products as they were still thinking about how to sell more products rather than what they could sell to their customers. The lack in product innovation that did not help with marketing efforts, the company's franchisees sales were also affected as they could not keep up competitor offerings and the establishment of the Consortium hurt the dynamics of the franchise model. One area the increased fast food competition in the fast food industry affected McDonald's was through the company's price-based strategy. By marketing products below the cost to prepare the item, the company cannot sustain this tactical campaign for long if the competitors have a cost advantage. For marketing purposes, instead of promoting McDonald's new locations, the focus could be on customer demographics. For example, Burger King pursues promotional partnerships with Universal Studios and other production companies like AOL Time Warner and Dream Works because their core demographic includes young adults who enjoy movies and the entertainment industry.

What is the role of Owen in Translations? :: English Literature

What is the role of Owen in Translations? One of the first things Owen says on returning to Baile Beg is â€Å"I can’t believe it. I come back after six years and everything’s just as it was! Nothing’s changed!† It is really Owen who has changed into a different person after his time away from Baile Beg. His primary role in the play is that of a translator for the visiting English, but within his role of translator he is also vital to the play as his presence allows relationships between the characters and the plot to develop. Owen provides many contrasting point of views due to the fact that he is working for the English but also a Baile Beg resident. He is a representative of the more forward - thinking Irish, such as himself and Maire. He and Maire realise that for the natural progression of the Irish society they need to work with the English and not against them. Owen has passed the cultural divide that exists between the Irish and English because he can communicate with them and understand their point of view. He has also progressed as an individual through knowledge and understanding. This could be Friel’s way of saying that progress can only come after understanding. Manus can also speak English but chooses not to, this shows the importance of communication to progression. He prefers to use a language, which is becoming less widely used, this may be a symbol of the backwardness of his homeland. The most significant enemy in the re-naming of the places is that the Irish believe it to be a removal of their heritage and tradition, as Manus says, â€Å"What’s incorrect about the place names we have here?† Owens’s view on the idea of preservation of tradition is very questionable. For example when he and Yolland are discussing what to call Tobair Vree he asks, â€Å"do we keep piety with a man long dead, long forgotten, his name eroded beyond recognition, whose trivial little story nobody else in the parish remembers?† Here Owen points to the Irish people’s almost instinctive fear of change. He thinks that tradition is silly and just an excuse to hide from progression. Owen is the neutral and less passionate character in the play; therefore the audience find it easier to relate with Owen. In fact it is possible to call Owen the chief narrator. Although Owen is the translator in the play he acts as more of a barrier of understanding because when translating for Yolland and Lancey he omits details and changes meanings for words. A good example for this would be when he changes Maire’s sentence of â€Å"Has he

Charles Dickens Essay

Great Expectations, written by Charles Dickens, is one of the most popular classics of our time. Dickens novel was, some may say the work of a genius. The tale is of a boy who starts from humble beginnings and whom the story follows through to young adulthood each entering a new experience for the boy. Charles Dickens wrote the novel in 1860-61. He was born into a respected middle class family, in Charlton. He incorporated local features and happenings into his books when he could. His father went into debt and then prison after his finances collapsed. The rest of the family had to go to, so Charles spent time in prison. This is where Charles Dickens got some of his inspiration for his book. He eventually died at the age of fifty-eight from a stroke and was buried in his local churchyard. Chapter eight is an essential part of the book because it conveys a clear image of the characters personality and is a key part for the rest of the story. I will look in Chapter 8, where Pip goes to see Miss Havishams house for the first time, for a number of different techniques and devices which the writer uses to make us feel sympathy for Pip. Charles Dickens starts making the reader feel sorry for Pip when he and Mr Pumblechoke arrive at the gates, and Estella greets them. They completely over look Pip. This shows that Pip is unessential and insignificant. â€Å"This†, said Mrs Pumblechoke, â€Å"is Pip† â€Å"This is Pip, is it? † returned the young lady â€Å"come in† â€Å"Oh she says, â€Å"you wish to see Miss Havisham? † â€Å"If Miss Havisham wishes to se me. † Returned Mr Pumblechoke. As you can see, from this initial conversation, Pip does not have the opportunity to introduce himself. This shows that he is considered to be insignificant, even though it was he who Miss Havisham had sent to see. This makes the reader feel condolence for Pip because it is as if people don’t care about him. After the initial conversation, when Pip was marched inside with Estella, Estella starts to patronise Pip, which makes us feel sorry for him. â€Å"But don’t loiter, boy† Though she called me â€Å"boy† so often, and with a carelessness that was far from complimentary, she was about my own age. She seemed much older than, of course, being a girl, and a beautiful and self-possessed; and she was as scornful of me as if she had been one and twenty, and a queen† This paragraph shows us that Pip is already feeling downhearted about Estella constantly making him feel bad. Even though Estella was about the same age as Pip, she considers herself to be wiser, more mature and generally above Pips level. This is showed in the film by Estella being taller than Pip and looking down on him making her think herself bigger than him. This makes the reader feel sympathetic towards Pip because it is his first visit to Miss Havishams. He is evidently nervous and anxious, and having someone of his own age being scornful towards him, his self-confidence just breaks. The third time in chapter eight that the reader is made to feel sorry for Pip is when Pip was left in the hallway on his own with no light. â€Å"Scornfully walked away, and – what was worse – took the candle with her. This was very uncomfortable and I was half afraid† This makes the reader feel sympathetic for Pip because he is portrayed as being vulnerable. Estella leads Pip into the house and to a door, and was proclaimed by Estella to go in. Pip declines and returns with â€Å"after you miss†. Estella telling him not to be so stupid and scornfully walks off with the light. You would think that now Estella had gone, his situation would have improved but this is not the case. He is about to embark on his first meeting with Miss Havisham, making him hesitant and nervous. His confidence is not helped by standing outside the door in darkness, with no candle. Pip is now viewed as being vulnerable. Soon after Pip swallows his pride and opens the withered and wrecked door handle. â€Å"No glimpse of daylight was to be seen in it. It was a dressing room, as I supposed from the furniture, though much of it was of forms and uses quite unknown of to me† Pip enters through the door and is met by a milky white room. Although well lit by candle. There is antiqued furniture, all of which added to the mood, as if nobody had lived there for quite some time. The clocks had also stopped at twenty minutes to nine. The reader then feels sympathetic towards Pip because of his already nervous state being placed in an eerie, scary atmosphere, which seems unnatural to the poor boy. The reader once again feels sorry for Pip when he is ordered to play cards with Estella, for Miss Havishams viewing. Estella once again starts to be obnoxious towards Pip.

The Rights And Duties Of A Sovereign Monarch - 1655 Words

By the 1640s the population of Europe was divided in a civil war on the power and rights of monarchs in their countries. Many thought that a sovereign king had absolute power that was bestowed upon them by the will of God and should not be overthrown no matter the condition or injustices they had committed against their people. Others thought that an unjust king is not sovereign and goes against the will of God and must be overthrown in such a situation. During this civil war philosophers, Thomas Hobbes, Jean Bodin, and John Locke wrote articles that covered the rights and duties of a sovereign monarch, why a sovereign monarch is needed and how the rights of the sovereign is absolute. Why is a government needed in order to ensure people within a commonwealth are protected? In this paper, I will argue that the need for a government and a sovereign ruler was to protect people not only from foreign invaders and enemies, but from their own human-ness. â€Å"Two Treatises on Governmentâ €  written by John Locke starts off by referring to paternal power. More closely, what power parents have over their children and which parent has that power. He states that both parents have equal power over their children not just the father. But this power that parents possess over their children in limited, up until they grow up and can govern themselves. In this we see Locke beginning to argue against the fact that â€Å"fatherhood† begets authority. Locke proposes the idea that the paternal authorityShow MoreRelated The State of Nature and its Implications for Civilization in Hobbes and Rousseau1639 Words   |  7 Pagesup certain rights so that the violent nature of the human animal can be subdued. 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