PESTLE Analysis of Sweden

PESTLE Analysis of Sweden Sweden, which possesses the eastern piece of the Scandinavian Peninsula, is the fourth-biggest nation in Europe and is one-tenth bigger than California. The nation inclines eastbound and southward from the Kjã ³len Mountains along the Norwegian outskirt, where the pinnacle height is Kebnekaise at 6,965 ft (2,123 m) in Lapland. In the north are mountains and numerous lakes. Toward the south and east are focal marshes and south of them are prolific zones of timberland, valley, and plain. Along Swedens rough coast, hacked up by sounds and gulfs, are numerous islands, the biggest of which are Gotland and Oland. This nation is having the region of 449964 sq km marginally bigger than California. STOCKHOLM is the capital.They are having the Constitutional government kind of government and furthermore have parliamentary majority rule government. PESTEL ANALYSIS OF THE SWEDEN: As in this nation the administration is having the sacred government and has parliamentary vote based system. In the economy of the there is a major trade after 1991. This economy is improved by the wellsprings of the clock, hydropower and iron mineral. POLITICAL ANALYSIS: Standard general decisions to the Swedish Parliament are held each fourth year on the third Sunday in September. Region board and city gathering decisions occur simultaneously. A gathering must get at any rate 4% of the votes in the whole nation or 12% in a solitary discretionary locale to fit the bill for any seats in Parliament.Sweden is an established government wherein King Karl XVI Gustaf is fundamental leader of the state. Sweden is the unitary state presently separated into the 21 countries.Each nation has a nation managerial board, which is an administration selected board. Its drove by a representative designated for time of six years. The principle duties of the County Administrative Board are to facilitate the advancement of the district in accordance with objectives set in national legislative issues. In every area there is additionally a County Council or landsting which is an arrangement making gathering chose by the occupants of the region. Intrinsically, the 349-part Riksdag (Parliament) holds incomparable expert in present day Sweden. The Riksdag is answerable for picking the leader, who at that point names the legislature (the priests). The authoritative force is just practiced by the Riksdag. Enactment might be started by the bureau or by individuals from Parliament. Individuals are chosen based on corresponding portrayal for a four-year term. The Constitution of Sweden can be adjusted by the Riksdag, which requires a straightforward however supreme greater part and two choices with general decisions in the middle. Sweden has three other established laws: The Act of Royal Succession, The Freedom of Press Act and The Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression. Financial ANALYSIS: Gross domestic product (2010 est., ostensible): $438.8 billion. Gross domestic product (2010 est., per capita buying power equality): $37,032. GNI (2009, per capita buying power equality): $38,560. Yearly GDP development rate (2010 est.): 4.5%. Swapping scale (September 2010): Swedish kronor (SEK) per U.S. dollar = 7.073. Swapping scale (January-September 2010 avg.): Swedish kronor (SEK) per U.S. dollar = 7.3475. Swelling rate (2010 est.): 1.4%. Normal assets: Forests, hydroelectric force, iron mineral, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, wood. Industry (2010): Approximately 26.6% of GDP. TYPES: hardware/metal items (iron and steel), electrical gear, airplane, paper items, exactness gear (direction, radio and phone parts, deadly implements), wood mash and paper items, prepared nourishments. Administrations (2010): Approximately 71.8% of GDP. Typestelecommunications, PC gear, biotech. Exchange: Fares (2010)SEK 728.2 billion (U.S. $102.9 billion). Significant exchanging accomplices, sends out (2010)- Germany, Norway, U.K., U.S., Denmark, Finland, France, Netherlands, China. Imports (2010)SEK 687.6 billion (U.S. $97.2 billion). Typesmachinery and transport hardware, 41.8%; food, dress, materials and furniture, 19.6%; mineral powers and electric flow, 13.5%; synthetics and elastic items, 12.8%; minerals, 9.2%; wood and paper items, 3.1%. Significant exchanging accomplices, imports (2010)- Germany, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, U.K., Finland, Russia, France, Belgium, China. The run of the mill laborer gets 40% of his salary after the assessment wedge. The gradually declining generally speaking tax collection, 51.1% of GDP in 2007, is still about twofold of that in the United States or Ireland. The portion of business financed by means of assessment salary adds up to 33% of Swedish workforce, a generously higher extent than in most different nations. Genuine GDP GROWTH IN SWEDEN IN BETWEEN 1996-2006 SOCIAL ANALYSIS: Sweden has one of the most profoundly created government assistance states on the planet. The nation has a more significant level of social spending to GDP than some other country. Also it gives equivalent just as extensive access to instruction and human services. Sweden offered strong help with the expectation of complimentary exchange (aside from agribusiness) and for the most part generally solid and stable property rights (both private and open), however a few financial specialists have called attention to that Sweden advanced enterprises with levies and utilized freely sponsored RD during the countrys early basic long stretches of industrialization. From the 1970s and onwards Swedens GDP development fell behind other industrialized nations and the countrys per capita positioning tumbled from the fourth to fourteenth spot in a couple of decades. Sweden embraced neo-liberal agrarian strategies in 1990. Since the 1930s, the agrarian segment had been liable to value controls. In June 1990, the Parliament decided in favor of another horticultural arrangement denoting a critical move away from value controls. Thus, food costs fell to some degree. Be that as it may, the advancements before long became debatable in light of the fact that EU agrarian controls happened. Starting at 2007, all out duty income was 47.8% of GDP, the second most noteworthy taxation rate among created nations, down from 49.1% 2006. Swedens rearranged charge wedge the sum setting off to the administration laborers wallet is roughly 15% contrasted with 10% in Belgium, 30% in Ireland, and half in United States. Open segment spending adds up to 53% of the GDP. State and city representatives aggregate around 33% of the workforce, considerably more than in most Western nations. Just Denmark has a bigger open area (38% of Danish workforce). Spending on moves is additionally high. Mechanical ANALYSIS: The conventional building industry is as yet a significant wellspring of Swedish creations, yet pharmaceuticals, gadgets and other innovative enterprises are making strides. Tetra was a development for putting away fluid nourishments, concocted by Erik Wallenberg. Losec, a ulcer medication, was the universes top of the line tranquilize during the 1990s and was created by AstraZeneca. All the more as of late Hakan Lans concocted the Automatic Identification System, an overall standard for delivery and common flying route. Swedish innovators hold a sum of 33,523 licenses in the United States starting at 2007, as indicated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As a country, just ten different nations hold a greater number of licenses than Sweden. In 1991 the administration declared it would start taking applications from private TV organizations wishing to communicate on the earthly system. TV4, which had recently been communicating by means of satellite, was allowed a grant and started its earthly communicates in 1992, turning into the primary private station to communicate TV content from inside the nation. Around a large portion of the populaces are associated with satellite TV. Advanced earthbound TV began in 1999 and the last simple earthbound communicates were ended in 2007. Swedens vitality is to a great extent privatized. The Nordic vitality advertise is one of the first changed vitality showcases in Europe. The customary building industry is as yet a significant wellspring of Swedish innovations, however pharmaceuticals, hardware and other cutting edge enterprises are making progress. Tetra Pak was an innovation for putting away fluid nourishments, imagined by Erik Wallenberg. Losec, a ulcer medication, was the universes top rated tranquilize during the 1990s and was created by AstraZeneca. All the more as of late Hakan Lans designed the Automatic Identification System, an overall standard for delivery and common aeronautics route. An enormous bit of the Swedish economy is right up 'til the present time dependent on the fare of specialized creations, and numerous huge worldwide companies from Sweden have their inceptions in the inventiveness of Swedish creators. Legitimate ANALYSIS: The incomparable court of Sweden is the last advance for all respectful and criminal cases. The Supreme Court comprise of 16 councilors of equity which were named by government, yet the court as a foundation is free and the legislature can't meddle in the choices of the court. The Swedish police administration is government organization worried about police matters. All the issues are comprehended by the national police as there is city police. The whole police is under national government from 1 January 1965. Here courts are separated in 2 equal courts General court-for criminal and common case General managerial court-for regulatory cases. Primarily the judges for these courts are selected by government. Natural ANALYSIS: Natural security laws: These are for the most part moved up to have authority over the earth from various elements. Removal of squanders in a legitimate and determined way. SOURCES OR POTENTIAL SOURCES OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR SWEDEN BY USING PORTER DIAMOND MODEL: The potential sources are connected with the upper hand for the different nations on the planet. Doorman precious stone model (1990) shows direct connection of the development of the various economies of the world. POTERS DIAMOND-THE DETERMINANTS OF THE NATIONAL ADVANTAGE: As the market in Sweden is developing at a stale development. The economy is fastly developing in specialized area, for example, in PC types of gear, biotech and te

Electrical Appliances Good Retail Marketing Essay

Electrical Appliances Good Retail Marketing Essay Goa is Indias littlest state by zone and the fourth littlest by populace. Situated on the west bank of India in the locale known as the Konkan, it is limited by the territory of Maharashtra toward the north and by Karnataka toward the east and south, while the Arabian Sea frames its western coast. For what reason TO ESTABLISH A RETAIL STORE IN GOA Goas net state household item for 2007 is assessed at $3 billion in current costs. Goa is one of Indias most extravagant states with the most elevated GDP per capita and over multiple times that of the nation in general, and one of its quickest development rates: 8.23% (yearly normal 1990-2000) The travel industry is Goas essential industry: it handles 1 of all outside visitor appearances in India. Goa has two fundamental visitor seasons: winter and summer. In the winter time, visitors from abroad (predominantly Europe) come to Goa to appreciate the impressive atmosphere. In the mid year (which, in Goa, is the blustery season), visitors from across India come to spend the special seasons. The travel industry is commonly centered around the seaside zones of Goa, with diminished vacationer action inland. In 2004, there were in excess of 2 million sightseers answered to have visited Goa, 400,000 of which were from abroad. ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES GOOD, RETAIL LIVE WELL My research project is to open up the retail location of the electrical apparatuses. The name of my store is LIVE WELL.This store to be contain the quantity of assortment and collection of the electrical products. My retail location LIVE WELL to be contain the CFL tubes ,Usha fans , Bajaj fans , Philips tubes , Sylvania tubes , a wide range of circuits , Crompton fans and White cylinders and so forth . Business MissionVision LIVE WELL statement of purpose is to concentrate on bringing top notch electrical merchandise and enterprises to the market at the most minimal potential costs each day. The statement of purpose is surely known all through the association. LIVE WELL offers their clients with low costs on chosen private and a constrained determination of broadly marked items in a wide scope of product classes. Quick stock turnover, high deals volume per distribution center, utilizing a proficient working structure, diminished treatment of product, and making themselves the minimal effort administrator in retail is all key components that make the retail location so fruitful. LIVE WELL characterizes its business regarding profiting their clients. Notwithstanding offering low costs on top-quality products and an assortment of advantageous administrations Sort of retail configuration and possession (Variety and combination choices in regards to items or administrations to be offered);I am opening these electrical merchandise retail, all alone ,i.e Partnership business Electrical Goods Store Product administrations. Cylinders Fundamentally the best quality cylinders are Philips , Crompton , Surya . All these various brands are kept in my store . Essentially 40 walt tubes are requested by the clients and extremely less amount of 20 walt tubes are requested by the clients . So these specific brands are kept in my store . FANS Fans are required in the mid year season. There are various brands of fans . Be that as it may, most well known brands are Khaitan , Bajaj , Usha and so on . The nature of these brands is excellent. There is not really any protest with respect to these brands. BULBS Today individuals dont like yellow lights . At present individuals like white lights . The best quality brand for white light is Crompton . Crompton gives multi year ensure. The light of Crompton bulbs is awesome . Around evening time individuals like hued zero walt bulbs . SWITCHES The best quality in switches is grapple and Havell. There are different assortments in switches. Like two pin plugs, three pin plugs , bed switches , multi-plugs , expansion . Extravagant LIGHTS Today individuals like to have extravagant lights in there houses . They utilize distinctive extravagant lights for beautifying their homes. Various sorts of lighting stands are there. WIRES Wires OF Havel are kept in the store. Warmers Warmers are required in the winter season . Usha and Apsara are two significant brands. Advertising PLAN:- MULTI CHANNEL DECISIONS LIVE WELL retail ELECTRICAL retail to utilize the multi-channel these channel were utilized for selling the electrical great. By utilizing a mix of channels to be given one of a kind advantages to my electrical retail location by draw in and fulfill more clients. My electrical retail utilizes every one of the three channels to communicate with its clients. These are following STORE CHANNEL It is give the perusing to the clients before buying of items It is additionally given contacting and feeling items chance to the client store channel to given bit of leeway for the client to get the item following they get it. Inventory Our electrical retail is additionally given the Catalog channel; offer the comfort of taking a gander at item and putting in a request on any day whenever from anyplace. We are likewise given the photos of electrical products in indexes, while not as valuable as in store introductions, are better than the visual data that can be shown on a CRT screen. Web CHANNEL Our electrical retail gives the data to client about which the electrical great are accessible in our retail location. These Internet channels likewise contain the all data about electrical great cost. The advantage of Internet channel as contrasted and the other two channels is the huge number of customers to buy the item without any problem. Retail showcase technique to be followed and readiness of Strategic Retail arranging; Retail showcase technique is an announcement distinguishing The retailers target showcase The configuration the retailer intends to use to fulfill the objective markets need The containers whereupon the retailer intends to construct a manageable upper hand. Our electrical retail will contain the solid brand electrical item for the clients. It will be growing clear and value situating systems and making a passionate connection with clients through dedication programs. We likewise will utilize the retail blend to make a picture of the retailer in the clients mind comparative with its rivals. Stores will offer fine quality electrical products at serious costs Retail advertise technique to be followed and arrangement of Strategic Retail arranging. RETAIL FORMAT In which I have incorporated the various systems which lead our business and utilized distinctive serious special arranged which make our retail location appealing and successful. Furthermore, these ought to be finished by these focuses; Nature of product and administrations offered Pricing approach Advertising and advancement programs Store plan and visual marketing Customer administrations. Area Area of retail location is significant angle as client perspective since area is the basic factor in buyer choice of store and at whatever point we opened a retail location than we have accepted the distinctive factor which demonstrated our retail location highlights like as: Demographic features(to think about the potential client around there, metropolitan factual zone) Competition(to think about the contenders and how they a long way from my retail location) Vital fit(to must think about the way of life of potential client) Working cost(different region have diverse expense) No. of little shops around there Economy of scale We are setting up our ELECTRICAL BUSINESS LIVE WELL in the state GOA,near Dabolim airport.while building up a business in GOA some specific prerequisites ought to be contemplated :- TRFFIC This allude to both ordinary and person on foot traffic as GOA being a principle Center of traveler industry so there will be a high traffic in GOA.The traffic that passes the site is a significant determinant of the potential deals that can be produced from that store. Anyway it is basic that the traffic is appropriate to the sort of items to be retailed in the store. ACCESIBILITY TO MARKET Openness of market as far as accessibility of open vehicle in GOA is fundamental while deciding the site of retail location .Public vehicle alludes to methods for energizing the market the recurrence of transport/train administrations and network to various pieces of the city. THE NUMBER OF STORE AND TYPE OF STORE IN THAT AREA In the event that there are huge number of stores in showcase, at that point there an ever increasing number of clients will come .The kind of store exist in the zone is additionally significant .The sort of rivalry likewise be contemplated while choosing the site Comforts AVAILABLE Contingent on the sort of market to be retailed offices like free and amplex stopping become significant. This is a factor that has picked up significance. OPERATIONAL PLAN. The operational arrangement is a basic part of our retail settled in GOA store and it tells the analyst how you will get your item out to advertise. That is the means by which you will get your item out of creation stage to the doorstep of the objective à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ Who is doing what? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ What are the everyday exercises? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ How will the providers and sellers be utilized? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ Who are the providers? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ What are the work necessities? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ What are the wellsprings of crude materials? Essentially, you need to clarify that how you will convey your item. What are you as well as your representatives going to do every day from the time you open up to time you close. This is the thing that your peruser needs to know. A few issues regularly tended to in an operational arrangement include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ Production or assembling à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ Facilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ Inventory à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ Distribution à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢ ¢ Maintenance and administration Order satisfaction and client assistance Creation or Manufacturing Each assembling business has a creation procedure, and in my retail location of LIVE WELL ELECTRICALS there is a sure creation or assembling office who fabricates the item. The manner in which it approaches manufacturing a crude or compon

Whats This Mystery Hunt Thing

What’s This Mystery Hunt Thing Sotheres this Mystery Hunt thingyou might have heard of it. Its awesome. Its lots of fun. You should do it when you get here. Or keep working on those puzzles that Snively and Brian postedâ€"we still dont have right answers to those! Anyway, Im only posting just now, because Ive been Operating. Death From Above is a HUGE team (our mailing list tells me that there are 115 people!), and probably 1/4 or 1/3 of those are hunting remotely, instead of from on campus. Smaller teams can coordinate by just yelling across the room. Since we cant really get away with that, we have an Operator (inspired by the Matrix). Its the Operators job to keep track of whos working on which puzzle, where they are, how theyre doing, whether theyve slept, and when theyre hitting their heads against the wall so hard their brains are going to fall out. In addition, the Operator is responsible for calling in answers. When you think you have an answer to a puzzle, you fill out a little form on the official Hunt website, and they call you to check your answer. As the operator, I take other peoples answers and call them in, so I also get to enjoy all of the excitement when we get an answer right (which happens pretty rarely, for the recordâ€"were averaging less than one an hour). So Ive got this awesome little command and control center in the corner of our headquarters. Theres my laptop in the middle, where I watch what answers have been submitted, an extra computer on the left, where I have Skype, AIM, and Jabber open to talk to remoters, and the VOIP phone on the right that we borrowed from IST (because cell reception here is practically non-existent). I realized last year that Im a lot better at trying to organize people than I am at actually solving puzzles, so Ive been focusing on doing that. Every day since Friday, Ive shown up at noon, sat behind the desk for about 14-16 hours (with occasional interruptions to run over to the other rooms), and then gone home and slept for a few hours. It can be boring, but it gets really exciting every few hours because youre talking with 5 or 6 remoters, and trying to handle 3 different people who all have answers at the same time, and the phone just starts ringing off the hook, andits just awesome. So much fun. Anyway, thats my Mystery Hunt story. Anyway, back to the phonesâ€"while I was writing this, we just solved 3 more puzzles! (although were still at less than 1 per hour) Post Tagged #Mystery Hunt

Whats This Mystery Hunt Thing

What’s This Mystery Hunt Thing Sotheres this Mystery Hunt thingyou might have heard of it. Its awesome. Its lots of fun. You should do it when you get here. Or keep working on those puzzles that Snively and Brian postedâ€"we still dont have right answers to those! Anyway, Im only posting just now, because Ive been Operating. Death From Above is a HUGE team (our mailing list tells me that there are 115 people!), and probably 1/4 or 1/3 of those are hunting remotely, instead of from on campus. Smaller teams can coordinate by just yelling across the room. Since we cant really get away with that, we have an Operator (inspired by the Matrix). Its the Operators job to keep track of whos working on which puzzle, where they are, how theyre doing, whether theyve slept, and when theyre hitting their heads against the wall so hard their brains are going to fall out. In addition, the Operator is responsible for calling in answers. When you think you have an answer to a puzzle, you fill out a little form on the official Hunt website, and they call you to check your answer. As the operator, I take other peoples answers and call them in, so I also get to enjoy all of the excitement when we get an answer right (which happens pretty rarely, for the recordâ€"were averaging less than one an hour). So Ive got this awesome little command and control center in the corner of our headquarters. Theres my laptop in the middle, where I watch what answers have been submitted, an extra computer on the left, where I have Skype, AIM, and Jabber open to talk to remoters, and the VOIP phone on the right that we borrowed from IST (because cell reception here is practically non-existent). I realized last year that Im a lot better at trying to organize people than I am at actually solving puzzles, so Ive been focusing on doing that. Every day since Friday, Ive shown up at noon, sat behind the desk for about 14-16 hours (with occasional interruptions to run over to the other rooms), and then gone home and slept for a few hours. It can be boring, but it gets really exciting every few hours because youre talking with 5 or 6 remoters, and trying to handle 3 different people who all have answers at the same time, and the phone just starts ringing off the hook, andits just awesome. So much fun. Anyway, thats my Mystery Hunt story. Anyway, back to the phonesâ€"while I was writing this, we just solved 3 more puzzles! (although were still at less than 1 per hour) Post Tagged #Mystery Hunt

EGT1 Task 4 China Essay - 2188 Words

There are many advantages to expanding your business to China. Not only is China considered one of the largest economies in the world, it also has a vast emerging market that is still growing (Startup Overseas). Although China has embraced many Western Business ethics and practices, there are still numerous cross-cultural differences that can make it difficult to succeed without sufficient research and knowledge of the culture. Examples of these cross cultural differences include the Chinese’ attitude toward work and workplace, the labor laws, and how Chinese businesses collaborate with other organizations. More differences include how we market and sell a product, and how pricing differs between our two countries. Perhaps the most†¦show more content†¦For example, gifts must be nicely wrapped and may not be opened right away unless prompted to do so. Also, do not give any gifts such as clocks, flowers, or cutting instruments as it is considered disrespectful. Negotiation style is a major difference between the United States and China. In China, social context, personal relations, and non-verbal behavior are very important in negotiation. There are usually many people from the company who attend the meeting to discuss any topics that need negotiation. Americans value legal contracts and documents over personal relationships, and do not put as much stock in body language. American businesses usually only send one or two people do the negotiating on behalf of the entire company. For the purposes of this paper, let us assume that an American Company has seen great success with its toy product. This company is looking to expand its business to China. There is usually a demand for toys in any country and in China, 17.1% (roughly 223 million) of the nation’s population is under 14 years old (Central Intelligence Agency). Research also shows that the total retail sales of toys in China have increased by 14.2% since 2010 (HKTDC Research, 2014). The Design of this toy would have to be carefully rethought, particularly if it is a doll or Barbie type toy. The doll would have to beShow MoreRelatedEgt1 Task 4 Essay2596 Words   |  11 PagesEveringham EGT1 Task 4 In a time of global commerce, new business ventures can take on many forms. What used to be local or even national companies have become world-wide. International growth of a business can be extremely beneficial but is not without its challenges. Different countries have different peoples and different cultures - different ways of doing business altogether. If a venture is to be successful, these differences must be well understood. Let us consider China for our example

3 Stoic Strategies For Becoming Happier

Stoicism was one of the most important philosophical schools in ancient Greece and Rome.   It has also been one of the most influential.   The writings of Stoic thinkers like Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius have been read and taken to be heart by scholars and statesman for two thousand years. In his short but extremely readable book A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy (Oxford University Press, 2009), William Irvine argues that Stoicism is a admirable and coherent philosophy of life.  Ã‚   He also claims that many of us would be happier if we became Stoics.   This is a remarkable claim.   How can the theory and practice of a philosophical school founded fifteen hundred years before the industrial revolution have anything relevant to say to us today, living in our constantly changing, technology dominated world? Irvine has many things to say in response to that question.   But the most interesting part of his answer is his account of specific strategies that the Stoics recommend we all use on a daily basis.   Three of these in particular are especially important: negative visualization; internalization of goals; and regular self-denial. Negative visualization Epictetus recommends that when parents kiss a child goodnight, they consider the possibility that the child might die during the night.   And when you say goodbye to a friend, say the Stoics, remind yourself that you perhaps you will never meet again. Along the same lines, you might imagine the home you live being destroyed by fire or by a tornado, the job you rely on being eliminated, or the beautiful car you have just bought being crushed by a runaway truck. Why entertain these unpleasant thought?   What good can come from this practice of what Irvine calls â€Å"negative visualization†?   Well, here are a few possible benefits of imagining the worst that can happen: Anticipating misfortunes can lead you to take preventative measures.   E.g. Imagining your family dying of carbon monoxide poisoning may prompt to you install a carbon monoxide detector.If you have already imagined how something awful might happen, if it does occur you will less shocked.   We are all familiar with this on a mundane level.   Many people, if they take an exam, imagine or even convince themselves that they have done badly so that if it turns out that this is the truth, they will be less disappointed.   Negative visualization, here and elsewhere, prepares us mentally and emotionally to deal with unpleasant experiences when they arrive–as they inevitably will.Contemplating the loss of something helps us to appreciate it more fully.   We are all familiar with the way we have a tendency to take things for granted.   When we first buy a new house, car, guitar, smart phone, shirt, or whatever, we think it’s wonderful.   But within a fairly short ti me the novelty wears off and we no longer find it exciting, or even interesting.   Psychologists call this â€Å"hedonic adaptation.† But imagining the loss of the thing in question is a way of refreshing our appreciation of it.   It’s a technique that help us to follow Epictetus’ advice and learn to want what we already have. Of these arguments for practicing negative visualization, the third is probably the most important and the most convincing.   And it goes well beyond such things as newly purchased technology. There is so much in life to be grateful for, yet we often find ourselves complaining that things aren’t perfect.   But anyone reading this article is probably living the sort of life that most people through history would have viewed as inconceivably pleasant.   Little need to worry about famine, plague, war, or brutal oppression.   Anesthetics; antibiotics; modern medicine; instant communication with anyone anywhere; the ability to get to just about anywhere   in the world in a few hours; a vast amount of great art, literature, music, and science available through the internet at the touch a of key.   The list of things to be grateful for is almost infinite.   Negative visualization reminds us that we are â€Å"living the dream.† Internalization of goals We live in a culture that puts tremendous value of worldly success.   So people strive to get into elite universities, to make lost of money, to create a successful business, to become famous, to achieve high status in their work, to win prizes, and so on.   The problem with all these goals, though, is that whether or not one succeeds depends in large part on factors outside one’s control. Suppose your goal is to win an Olympic medal.   You can commit yourself to this goal entirely, and if you have enough natural ability you may make yourself one of the best athletes in the world.   But whether or not you win a medal depends on many things, including who you are competing with.   If you happen to be competing against athletes who have certain natural advantages over you–e.g. physiques and physiologies better suited to your sport–then a medal may simply be beyond you.   The same goes for other goals, too.   If you want to become famous as a musician, it isn’t enough just to make great music.   Your music has to reach the ears of millions of people; and they have to like it.   These are not matters you can easily control. For this reason the Stoics advise us to carefully distinguish between things that lie within our control and things that lie beyond our control.   Their view is that we should focus entirely on the former.   Thus, we should concern ourselves with what we choose to strive for, with being the kind of person we want to be, and with living according to sound values.   These are all goals that depend entirely on us, not on how the world is or how it treats us. Thus, if I’m a musician, my goal shouldn’t be to have a number one hit, or to sell a million records, to play at Carnegie Hall or to perform at the Super Bowl.   Instead, my goal should just be to make the best music I can within my chosen genre.   Of course, if I try to do this I will increase my chances of public recognition and worldly success.   But if these don’t come my way, I won’t have failed, and I shouldn’t feel especially disappointed.   For I will still have achieved the goal I set myself. Practicing self-denial The Stoics argue that sometimes we should deliberately deprive ourselves of certain pleasures.   For example, if we usually have dessert after a meal, we might forego this once every few days; we might even once in a while substitute bread, cheese and water for our normal, more interesting dinners.   The Stoics even advocate subjecting oneself to voluntary discomfort.   One might, for instance, not eat for a day, underdress during cold weather, try sleeping on the floor, or take the occasional cold shower. What is the point of this kind of self-denial?   Why do such things?   The reasons are actually similar to the reasons for practicing negative visualization.   Self-denial toughens us up, so that if we have to deal with involuntary hardship or discomfort we will be able to do so.   There is really a very familiar idea.   It is why the army makes boot camp so hard.   The thinking is that if soldiers become accustomed to hardship on a regular basis, they will cope better with it when being able to do so really matters.   And this sort of thinking by military leaders goes back at least to ancient Sparta.   Indeed, the militaristic Spartans were so convinced that depriving men of luxuries made them better soldiers that this sort of denial came to be integral to their whole way of life.   Even today, the word â€Å"Spartan† means lacking luxuries.Self-denial helps us to appreciate the pleasures, comforts and conveniences that we enjoy all the time and are in danger of taking for granted.   Most of will probably agree with this–in theory!   But the problem with putting the theory into practice, of course, is that the experience of voluntary discomfort is––uncomfortable.   Still, perhaps some awareness of the value of self-denial is part of the reason why people choose to go camping, or backpacking. But are the Stoics right? The arguments for practicing these Stoic strategies sound very plausible.   But should they be believed?   Will negative visualization, internalizing goals, and practicing self-denial really help us to be happier?   The most likely answer is that it depends to some extent on the individual.   Negative visualization may help some people to appreciate more fully the things they presently enjoy.   But it could lead to others becoming increasingly anxious over the prospect of losing what they love.   Shakespeare, in Sonnet 64, after describing several examples of Time’s destructiveness, concludes: Time hath taught me thus to ruminateThat Time will come and take my love away.This thought is as a death, which cannot chooseBut weep to have that which it fears to lose. It seems that for the poet negative visualization is not a strategy for happiness; on the contrary, it causes anxiety and leads him to be even more attached to that which he will one day lose. The internalization of goals seems very reasonable on the face of it: do your best, and accept the fact that objective success depends on factors you can’t control.   Yet surely, the prospect of objective success–an Olympic medal; making   money; having a hit record; winning a prestigious prize–can be tremendously motivating.   Perhaps there are some people who care nothing for such external markers of success; but most of us do.   And it’s surely true that many wonderful human achievements have been fueled, at least in part, by the desire for them. Self-denial is not especially appealing to most people.   Yet there is som reason to suppose that it really does do us the sort of good that the Stoics claimed for it.   A well-known experiment done by Stanford psychologists in the 1970s involved having young children see how long they could hold off eating a marshmallow for the sake of getting an additional reward (such as a cookie in addition to the marshmallow).   The surprising upshot of the research was that those individuals who were best able to delay gratification did better in later life on a number of measures such as educational achievement and general health.   This seems to bear out will power is   like a muscle, and that exercising the muscle through self-denial builds self-control, a key ingredient of a happy life.

A Good Woman is Hard to Find Essay - 565 Words

Characterization Essay A Good Woman is Hard To Find In the story A Good Man is Hard to Find the grandmother displays several qualities that make her a villain. Throughout the story the author Flannery OConnor gives details of the grandmothers imperfections. OConnor describes many different aspects of the lifestyle that this family lives portrayed by the life of the wicked grandmother, giving numerous examples of her bad character. In the story the grandmother clearly states that she does not want to go to Florida, but to East Tennessee where her other family lives. Also, she mentions that they might run into the Misfit who has escaped from the Federal Penitentiary, headed towards Florida. Once again the grandmother shows†¦show more content†¦Being that the grandmother is so open the idea of running into this criminal, it is not a shock when they actually do meet the Misfit. Subsequently, on the trip the grandmother gets the children excited by telling them of an old home that has a secret panel inside it. This makes the grand children beg to see it, and the son of the grandmother, Bailey, reluctantly agrees. Pulling off the main highway and on to a dirt road, they travel anxiously to the supposed house. Along this road they get into an accident and wreck their car. After this the grandmother remembered that the house was not in Georgia, but in Tennessee. They were not only in the wrong state, but also on the wrong dirt road. After getting out and realizing that no one is badly hurt they try to find someone to help them. This is where the story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, takes a bizarre twist. As a result of going off the road they find that there is a car slowly driving up the road. Thinking that this car will help them in their dilemma they flag down the driver. The car, which the author described as a big, black, hearse-like automobile, stops to assist. Three men get out of the automobile, and one of the men has a gun. The Misfit, who the grandmother calmly identifies, which is the man with the gun, patiently talks with the family. The loudmouthed grandmother tells the Misfit that she knows that he has good blood and that he is a good man. Hearing theShow MoreRelatedA Good Man Is Hard To Find Analysis743 Words   |  3 PagesIn the Flannery O’Connor’s short story, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† we find out that the title indicates of what the story is about. The title actually came from the lyrics of a song written by Eddie Green in 1918. The title of â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Conner is quite ironic rea lly. The reader expects to eventually find a good man in the story, but is quite surprised at the ending of the story. The title A Good Man is Hard to Find is expressed clearly in this story by introducingRead MoreEssay on A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor1564 Words   |  7 PagesA Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor A Good Man is Hard to Find is an extremely powerful commentary that elucidates Flannery OConnors opinions about religion and society. Like the majority of her other works, A Good Man is Hard to Find has attracted many interpretations based on Christian dogma (Bandy 1). These Christian explications are justified because Miss OConnor is notorious for expressing Catholic doctrines through her fiction. Once she even remarked I see fromRead MoreTheme Of The Story A Good Man Is Hard To Find1097 Words   |  5 Pagesstory, â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† a grandmother goes on vacation in Florida with her son and his family. She is wary of an escaped criminal who may possibly be there, but no one takes her worry into consideration. The family eventually comes face to face with the criminal and lose their lives because of it. In â€Å"A Worn Path,† an elderly woman begins a long and tiresome journey in an effort to reach a town to acquire medicine for her sick grandson. The stories â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard to Find,† writtenRead MoreA Good Man Is Hard And Find By Flannery O Connor824 Words   |  4 Pageshow he/she wrestles with this dilemma beyond what is obvious in the plot. What literary elements draw out this conflict? When reading, A good man is hard to find by Flannery O Connor, the question intrigues the reader to read further, about the infamous Villian, The Misfit. The grandmother is the other key character in this short story. The older woman is overpowered by temptation, regardless of what her family requests. Bailey, her son is another character than seems to resent the mother sRead MoreMain Themes In Good Country People970 Words   |  4 PagesO’Connor is an American short story writer and her short story â€Å"Good Country People† depicts Hulga, a highly educated woman and has a PhD, is being jerked around by an immoral bible salesman. â€Å"A good man is hard to find†, also written by O’Connor, is a short story of a grandmother and her family murdered by a horrible man who called â€Å"the misfit† during the road trip to Florida. Although â€Å"Good country people† and â€Å"a good man is hard to find† are written by the same author, man y elements in those two storiesRead MoreThemes Of Good Country People769 Words   |  4 Pages Flannery O’Connor’s short story â€Å"Good Country People† depicts Hulga, a highly educated woman and has a PhD, is being jerked around by an immoral bible salesman. â€Å"A good man is hard to find† is a story of a grandmother and her family murdered by a horrible man who called â€Å"the misfit† during the road trip. Although â€Å"Good country people† and â€Å"a good man is hard to find† are written by the same author, many elements in those two stories cause them have similar themes in religion, misplace trust andRead MoreThe Spiritual Awakening1265 Words   |  5 Pagesevery individual. Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Good Country People† and â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† demonstrates how a person can be brought to their redemption by unlikely characters. Hulga, from â€Å"Good Country People,† goes from being a woman who states to believe in nothing, to a woman who loses everything and is left at a place of confusion. The grandmother from â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is similar to Hulga in that she also loses everything in order to find her faith. Although both Hulga and theRead MoreFlannery O’Connor’s short stories â€Å"A good man is hard to find† and â€Å"Revelation† share many700 Words   |  3 Pagesstories â€Å"A good man is hard to find† and â€Å"Revelation† share many similarities. While â€Å"A good man is hard to find† is about a family that goes on a vacation that ultimately results in all of their deaths. â€Å"Revelation† is about a woman who is very judgmental and looks down on people. In the end both characters have revelations that contrast with who they are and how they portray themselves to the world. The protagonist in ‘Revelation† is Mrs. Turpin, and she depicts herself as a woman who is classyRead MoreQuestions On Finding A Perfect Woman779 Words   |  4 PagesFinding A Perfect Woman Every man can quickly find a woman to date if they lower their standards. But, it’s not the way to find the perfect woman and a long-lasting relationship. If you want to find love that stands the test of time, it will be some work – BUT it will be worth it. True love makes you feel great about yourself and your life, and it improves your health and happiness and motivates you to strive towards more success. So, how can you find a woman that’s really a good match for you?Read MoreGood Man Is Hard And Find And Everything That Rises Must Converge By Flannery O Connor926 Words   |  4 Pagesnot define them, you define yourself† Earl Nightingale. The stories â€Å"Good Man Is Hard to Find† and â€Å"Everything That Rises Must Converge† both stories written by the author Flannery, O’Connor are stories that implies how the morality and immorality affects the social lives. The story â€Å"Good Man Is Hard to Find† by Flannery O’Connor is a story that define what the word â€Å"Good† is, but everybody has a personal opinion of what’s good or not. In contrast, the other story by Flannery O’Connor â€Å"Everything