Catoon Obama Essay Example for Free

Catoon Obama Essay The cartoon shows President Barack Obama who is walking towards the White House. In the foreground there are two African-American which are hiding between the trees and bushes in the garden. Obama stops his march into the White House to look back to the black people and waves. One of them is retuning the gesture. In the garden are three sings. On one of them is the name â€Å"JIM CROW† written, which is a symbol of the race discrimination. He symbolizes the stereotype of a singing, dancing black man, who is satisfied with himself and the world around him, although his intelligence is below the average. On the other sings is â€Å"SEGREGATION† and â€Å"SLAVERY† written. These two words also refer to the history and discrimination of the African-American in the United States. In the left hand corner is a kind of headline which says â€Å"THE FINAL DESTINATION ON THE FREEDOM ROAD †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The cartoon is an exaggerated view on the events which are related to Obama’s presidency and his status as the first African-American President. The White House, which is located in the center of the picture and it’s painted in bright colours. Alpha This results a huge contrast to the dark forest on both edges of the picture. Obama is walking in the opposite way of the direction. This means, that he has overcome the discrimination and has become the first black president. But on his half way he pauses and looks back to the other black people and raises his hand, so that they know that he still knows, that he hadn’t forget them. He symbolizes the opportunities of the black people, and how much they have changed in the past fifty years, so even an African-American man can be in the nation’s highest office and be respected by the most of the American citizens. Obama’s still very popular so he was reelected although he isn’t that superhero figure. He has reached the final destination on the road of the freedom and the equality of the black.

Health and social care Essay Example for Free

Health and social care Essay We are now living in an ageing society and so health and social care will play a part throughout our life course in one way or another. I shall start the main body of my assignment by providing an explanation of what is meant by the life course. I will then move onto my experiences of adulthood and of using health and social care services, showing as I go how block 1 has helped me to critically reflect upon these and the outcome. Critically reflection means that I will analyse, challenge and question within this assignment. I will also show the different methods of reflection to explore my life course and show how important reflection can be in health and social care setting. After reflecting I will discuss other aspects from within the learning guides. I then will come to the end of the assignment with a brief conclusion. The term life course is made up of expected age related events throughout life, that are traditions within a society. These life courses can change in different cultures. These events within a life course can affect how people live which is called life course perspective, by understanding a person’s life course, we can use it to provide appropriate support and provision. In learning guide three, open university, five principles by Bengston et al (2005), occur within the life course perspective; by discussing these we have a better understanding of the life course, ‘It establishes a common field of inquiry by defining a framework that guides research in terms of problem identification and formulation ’, (Bengston et al, 2005, Chapter 1). The first is called linked lives, which is how our lives are affected by others, they have are very influential, especially family. The second is time and place, it discusses how things such as historical events, living in a time of economic decline for example, The Great Depression, can restrict certain opportunities and shape who people are and become. The third is timing, this consists of the timing of specific events within a person’s life that may or may not fit in within society’s norm of when the event should happen such as education and having children. The fourth is make hoices about what to do and have plans, it is about agency, how they plan their life, have influence over it and can continually assess if it is going to plan. However I feel that this can be critiqued as still there are arranged marriages, controlling relationships, forced prostitution, all of these have little agency over their life as well as many other cases. The fifth and final one is life-long, this shows that ageing is not just an older stage of life but is happening to all of us, it is a life-long process and events can determine the outcome of later life. Applying these to health and social care settings can help complete a picture of an individual’s life, I will also apply some of the five aspects to my experience. To critically reflect on my own experiences I had to figure out which parts of my life would be relevant. At the end of my reflection I will show how these examples changed my values and ethics and also now what I expect from health and social care professionals. The three types of reflection by Barker (2010, p. 122) cites (William 2001) within learning guide one, open university, are probably the best method to help reflect on my first experience. The first type of reflection by Barker is content reflection this consists of what happened. What happened is that I had a swift transition from childhood to adulthood as I became a mother at sixteen. The second part of reflection is process reflection which is why it happened. It happened because at the time I felt older than my years and to show my parents and friends how grown up I was, I got pregnant. The third part is called premise or critical reflection which shows why it happened and the judgement for it. As a teenager all I cared about was my feelings and nobody else mattered it was what I wanted and so I made sure it did. I was treated as a social outcast by certain family and was also treated in a very patronising manner by the GP and other health care professionals such as midwives, throughout my pregnancy and early motherhood. By drawing on this as an experience I wanted to show that my values back then were selfish and all about me and becoming a mother this changed my outlook by making my child my priority and I used this as a strength to prove the professionals wrong and that I would make a good mother regardless of my age. I realise now that a lot of judgements were made because this was not classed as society’s norm also shows the second principal of time and place as I was classed as the modern youth culture. I also feel that if the professionals had taken the time to understand my life course as discussed within learning guide three, open university, they would have understood why I had taken this course of action. ‘When people don’t do what seems to be the obvious, sensible, rational thing to promote their own health and wellbeing, it can be tempting to characterise them as ‘awkward’, ‘irrational’, ‘their own worst enemy’ .. (Open University, LG 3. 2). I feel that this sentence sums up how I was treated, and the assumption of me by the health professionals. I chose this to show that I still had the rights to be treated as any other mother to be and not as a social outcast from a modern culture. I wanted also to bring in that this may also be classed as an ethical dilemma for certain members of staff as they may feel uneasy dealing with a teenage mother to be. Ethical dilemmas often arise in health and social care as mentioned in learning guide five. I will be using the three suggested methods of reflection by Rolfe et al (2001), (LG1, open university), for my next experience. The first method is what the situation is, looking into any problems and any feelings about it. This situation is that I was diagnosed with Sero-negative arthritis at 25, I was devastated, I had two children by this point to look after and an abusive partner who was no help. The second method consists of so what, I took this to mean, what was learnt and any thoughts about the situation. At the time I was understandably upset but I had very good family and friends to help, shows the importance of linked lives. I had to very nervous of going back to the judgemental professionals that I’d dealt with earlier, they were not very informative and I was placed on a waiting list to see a specialist. The attitudes of the professionals was that I had been diagnosed, deal with it basically. The third method is now what, what needed to be done, improve my understanding. I researched as much as I could, realised it usually affected people between 40 – 50 so learning this I felt old showing the fifth principle by Bengston et al, that ageing happens to us all, I was suffering from what I thought was an older persons illness. I kept going back to the GP time after time pushing my way up the waiting list, showing them research of what can happen without early treatment to ensure I was seen to as quickly as possible, this caused a little conflict between myself and the GP as I felt I knew more than they did and they did not like that fact. I feel that reflecting back on this again the health professionals and the care I received was poor. I eventually had care by rheumatology staff who looked at my age and would assume that I was not suffering as bad as the others, I was let down by the health service as a whole. I also wanted to show that they were not taking into account my quality of life was going to suffer if I wasn’t treated effectively. Chronic illness is discussed also as a biographical disruption. Biographical disruption is an event outside your expectation of your life course that is unwanted or not expected. Being diagnosed with Sero-negative arthritis definitely fits in with this analogy, in fact a paper was written discussing how chronic illness as biographical disruption, ‘My contention is that illness, and especially chronic illness, is precisely that kind of experience where the structures of everyday life and the forms of knowledge which underpin them are disrupted. , (Bury, Chapter 5, Reader). Using another method of reflection by Schon (1983), (LG1, Open University), I will explore my third and last chosen experience. The first is reflection in action which is how it sounds by using past experience, knowledge to guide you. Although I am now in a happy relationship, I was once in an aggressive and violent relationship for ten years and it affected my every aspect of my life from my confidence to new relationships. By using this type of reflection, although until reading this type of reflection I had not even realised I had done it, I used my previous relationship to ensure that I would be treated like a woman in my new relationship. The second is called reflection on action this is basically thinking back on what actions we took after the event. I had left after an incident which had needed a police visit and so social services had been notified because of the violence to ensure the children had not been involved and I found them very judgemental of the fact I had stayed for so long in an abusive relationship. I showed social services that I had asked for support for me and children by an external organisation as soon as I left and that I was aware we would need it. Social services told me that we would need to work together to ensure that the action I had taken was sufficient and that all the steps necessary to ensure that we were all supported were taken. At first Social Services were quite rude and intrusive by I realised that it was their job to be intrusive and once I let my guard down with them, I actually found that they were there to help. I anted to show this as an experience because I was brought up with strong family values and ethics so I stayed in the relationship because I did not want a broken family for my children even though looking back now I know that it was the wrong thing to do. I also feel it must be hard for social care providers to sometimes understand my reasoning for staying as my family values when their values may have been different causing the initial tension. I realise now that sometimes even though you were raised with certain values and ethics sometimes yours and your families’ welfare takes priority. I also wanted to show that that the fourth principle by Bengston et al is not always possible, throughout this relationship I had no autonomy, in a controlling environment you can only do what you are allowed to do and not everybody has the chance of breaking free. The quality of life, for me and my children was also affected, I have taken an extract to show my point that, ‘There are objective qualities too, and some of these, such as sufficient nutrition, a non-hazardous environment, and a long and healthy life are universally, or virtually universally uncontroversial as components of quality of life. (Phillips, chapter 3, Reader). Within the quote it mentions a non hazardous environment which is the opposite of what we were living in. By reflecting about the above experiences, and others not mentioned, I feel that I have had a difficult life course but because of them I feel I have built up resilience. My experience of adulthood started a lot earlier than was planned, it was not an easy option but I adapted well. Adulthood did not really get easier for me until recently where I found my independence and was safe away from harm. With my experiences of adulthood not being so great, I would say that I feel a lot older than I am, if I bring in positive ageing or successful ageing which was discussed in learning guide two then I would say I definitely do not fit that description the next quote helps explain why. ‘Successful aging is more than the absence of disease, important though that is, and more than the maintenance of functional capacities, important as it is. Both are important components of successful aging, but it is their combination with active engagement with life that represents the concept of successful aging most fully ’, ( Rowe and Kahn, 1997, Open University). I am more aware of my ageing process since being diagnosed at such a young age of sero-negative arthritis but as it is not life threatening I feel I have a long time left yet until the end of my life. I also think that because I made the decision to leave my abusive partner that my quality of life has dramatically improved if I had stayed in that environment I feel that I would not be here now to talk about it. My values and ethics have been influenced by a lot of my experiences over the years and have definitely altered. My values and ethics consist of what is good for me and the children, if I am happy and content then they will benefit it means that I can also now offer a more open, respectful and secure upbringing. I am now going to bring my assignment to an end by summing up my conclusion. With the experiences that I have mentioned within my assignment you can see that my interaction with the world of health and social care has been quite eventful. I have been faced with professionals who have judged me and made assumptions and also who have made me feel inadequate but I was also helped by social services and feel stronger because of that so I am unsure of how to sum up the field of health and social care as it covers such a wide aspect within our life courses. If there was more training provided in understanding life courses and offering person centred care then I feel things would improve but in a time of economic decline I cannot imagine that the funding for this would be available. I do feel that there will always be prejudices within the health and social care profession and that their personal values and ethics may also always play a part in the way they offer support. (

The Theory And Practice Of Financial Liberalization Economics Essay

The Theory And Practice Of Financial Liberalization Economics Essay Government intervention in the determining of the price and allocation of credit was termed as financial repression by McKinnon and Shaw in early 1970s. Interest rates control by government, credit controls, barriers to entry to financial sector, state control of banking sector, government ownership of banks and restrictions on capital flows are six elements of financial repression identified by Williamson and Mahar (1998). Financial liberalization is one of the main reform strategies of developing economies during the globalization process. Proponents of financial liberalization argue that financial repression is the cause for lower growth rates that otherwise would be higher if open market would decide the flow of capital to projects. Assumed costs associated with repression are described as follows (Caprio et al., 2001): (1) deteriorating growth rates for countries with high levels of financial repression; (2) widespread bank insolvencies as the result of low quality lending; (3) limited access to financial resources for individuals and small firms, whereas wealthy elites take advantageous position in financial repressed system; (4) increased dependence on external financing because of negative real interest rates which results in capital flight; (5) Excessive use of capital-intensive production techniques, because artificial low real interest rates makes those projects attractive; (6) reduced monitoring and financial resource allocation functions of financial intermediaries as the result of state allocation of financ ial resources to inefficient state-owned enterprises; (7) increased risk for external crises, as the result of deteriorating fiscal balances, increased external financing or money printing. McKinnon and Shaw argued that low interest rates or negative interest rates have negative effect on savings rates, which leads to lower amount of funds available for investment through financial intermediaries. Additionally, it results in inefficient allocation of resources as low-yielding investment opportunities would be considered as good investment. It was predicted that after capital account liberalization, capital would be allocated efficiently around the world to the investment opportunities that offer highest rate of return, thus increasing global growth rates and growth rates within individual countries. Furthermore, by being able to invest both internally and externally investors were able to diversify their investment, which would result in lower risks. 2. Financial liberalization: from theory to practice Arestis and Demetriades (1999) state that theoretically financial liberalization can promote economic development by increasing savings, investments, and the productivity of capital. However, much of the evidence from financial liberalization episodes from both developing and developed economies points to significant destabilizing consequences, including incidents of severe financial crises. 2.1 Liberalization: interest rates and savings rates Countries that went through liberalization process, after removal of artificial ceilings on interest rates, experienced high rise of real interest rates. While it is broadly accepted that negative real interest rates have negative effect on saving and investment, this does not mean that high real interest rates have positive impact on savings and investment. For poor developing countries regardless of interest rates level, savings rates will be insensitive to changes as major part of the population lives on near subsistence income (Campbell Mankiw, 1990 ?). Reynoso (1989) states that the rate of savings increase as interest rates move from extreme negative rates to slightly less than zero, but as the interest rates become positive saving rates goes down (Williamson and Mahar, 1998). Chapple (1991) finds that savings rates both at individual and corporate level fell after the implementation of financial liberalization. Bayoumi (1993) found the same effect in UK after financial deregulation in the 1980s. Demetriades and Devereux (1992) examine sixty-three countries from 1961 to 1990 and find that real interest rates are negatively correlated with investment. However, Gelb (1989) finds very weak positive relation between real interest rates and investment. Modestly positive real interest rates in middle-income developing countries may be optimal for maximising savings rates; whereas very negative or high real interest rates are associated with lower savings rates for developing countries. 2.2 Liberalization and financial depth Several measures have been proposed to analyze the depth of the financial sector. Mostly those measures focus on ratios of broad money aggregates (M2, M3) to the size of economy such as money/GDP ratio, which measures the level of the monetization in the economy. The broad money measures are used in the studies, because broad money increases in the faster way in the presence of financial deepening, whereas narrow money (M1 i.e. notes and coins) increase at the same rate as the growth of the economy. Williamson and Mahar (1998) in their studies of thirty-four developed and developing countries find that financial depth increased in all developed countries, except of France, after the liberalization process. With the exception of Philippines, Turkey and Venezuela other developing countries which were analysed in their studies also experienced substantial or moderate financial deepening. 2.3 Liberalization and the efficient allocation of domestic financial resources One of the key arguments for proponents of the financial liberalization was that process would lead to more efficient allocation of financial resources on commercial basis to most productive enterprises, which in turn would increase the level of the productivity and growth rate of the economy. The number of country level (?) analysis supports this view. The studies of Indonesia by Siregar (1992) and Ecuador by Jaramillo (1992) find that credit allocation was shifted to more technologically advanced and efficient firms. Number of studies in Korea (Atiyas, 1992), Mexico (Gelos, 1997), Argentina (Morriset, 1993) and Turkey (Pehlivan, 1996) state that financial liberalization led to greater access and improvement of allocation of credit to smaller firms that have been disadvantaged in repressed system. Galindo, Schiantarelli and Weiss (2007) found strong evidence that liberalization in twelve developing countries resulted in an increase in the efficiency of the allocation of resources. 2.4 Liberalization and the efficient allocation of international financial resources It was predicted that as the result of liberalization, there would be reallocation of global funds from developed countries to developing world, because enterprises in developing and emerging economies had a higher potential for growth. 2.5 Liberalization of capital flows Liberalization of capital flows is also one of the topics in the economic literature with greatest disconnection between the economic theory and the empirical cases. Neoclassical theories suggest that free flows of external capital should be equilibrating and help smooth a countrys consumption and production paths. However, in the real world, liberalization of capital flows has constantly been associated with serious economic and financial crises in Asia and Latin America in the 1990s. There is a large body of empirical work presenting the close link between the liberalization of the financial system and economic and financial crises particularly in developing countries. The recent Asian crisis, for example, is an excellent case for examining the role of capital account liberalization in causing or accelerating the regions financial meltdown. In a recent study by Williamson and Drabek (1998), it is indicated that the only difference between the countries that did or did not have econ omic crisis is the status of their capital account. Their finding is also in parallel with Stiglitzs (2000) study concluding that the growth benefits of capital account liberalization are obscured by the costs of associated volatility. It is now well known that, premature financial liberalization seriously contributed to the occurrence and the depth of the crises in countries like Thailand, Korea and Indonesia even if it was not the origin of the crises. On the other side, India and China, two of the economies with controlled capital accounts, managed to avoid the crisis and sustained their economic growth. Theoretically, it is possible that the instability caused by capital account liberalization is more than compensated for by faster long-run economic growth due to greater availability of capital inflows (Fisher 1997; Summers 2000). Although this statement is frequently suggested by the proponents of liberalization reforms, the results of empirical studies on the effects of capital account liberalization on economic growth are mixed. While Edison, Levine, Ricci and Slock (2002) do not find a strong relation between international integration and economic growth, Borensztein, De Gregorio and Lee (1998) find that there is a positive link between FDI and economic growth when the education level is high in the host country. In contrast, Mody and Murshid (2002) find that there is a one-to-one relation between the capital inflows and the domestic investment, but the link becomes weaker over time. 2.6 Liberalization and financial crises Development of the more sophisticated financial sectors by the contribution of foreign banks and investors is expected to lead to a sustainable economic growth in these economies. However, free capital mobility which is another outcome of the financial integration has led to a highly unstable international financial environment leaving the developing economies in deep financial turmoil. Williamson and Mahar (1998) find in their study of thirty-four countries that went through the process of liberalization, that all of them experienced some form of systemic financial crisis during the period of 1980 and 1997. Even though, crises in twenty-one of these countries followed directly after the liberalization process, and while not all of them were caused by liberalization, it seems very likely that substantial proportion certainly was. Research made by Griffith-Jones and Gottschalk (2004) estimated US$ 1.25 trillion loss in eight countries that had suffered financial crisis, which further worsened situation with poverty in those countries. Eichengreen (2004) estimates that as the result of the currency and banking crises levels of developing countries income fell by 25%. Such fact proves again that financial liberalization process should be implemented only after the establishment of strong regulatory and supervisory mechanisms of the financial sector.

Raskolnikovs Crimes Essay -- Literary Analysis Crime Punishment

In every age we live, there is a constant struggle between finding a cure to our neurosis with the advent of urbanization and finding qualities in nature that supersede our abilities in enhancing modern man. With that kind of chaos come various forms of behaviors and actions, most of which stem to arguments of good versus evil. Dostoevsky insists that men have the choice between good and evil every moment of their lives; no matter the circumstance, they have the choice between moral and immoral. Crime and Punishment is a story of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov’s struggle with the ideologies of his time. The young and impoverished law student is torn between unifying and nihilistic cultures afflicting nineteenth-century tsarist Russia. Through a journey of crime, it becomes clear to Raskolnikov that his ultimate failure was caused by his transgression in murdering cold-heartedly, attempting to prove his self-worth by crossing the law. As Raskolnikov’s guilt overwhel ms him and becomes unbearable, his only solace is confession to the crime. Serving his prison term in Siberia, Raskolnikov comes to the realization that reason cannot beat the human conscience. Motive is central to any crime committed. When put on trial, a prosecutor must first prove that the accused acted in the crime, and then he/she must prove the criminal possessed a â€Å"guilty mind.† There is neither doubt nor denial that Raskolnikov murdered the old pawnbroker and her half-sister. As he was approaching the old woman’s house, Raskolnikov protested to himself, â€Å"Can it be, can it be, that I will really take an axe, that I will strike her on the head, split her skull open . . . that I will tread in the sticky warm blood, break the lock, steal and tremble; hide... ...roit: Gale Research Company, 1984. 69. Print. Hackett, Francis. â€Å"Crime and Punishment.† Horizons: A Book of Criticism. New York: B. W. Huebsh, 1918. 178-185. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris and Sheila Fitzgerald. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1984. 74-75. Print. Jones, Malcolm V. Dostoyevsky: The Novel of Discord. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc., 1976. Print. Miller, Robin Feuer. Critical Essays on Dostoevsky. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1986. Print Strakhov, N. â€Å"The Nihilists and Raskolnikov’s New Idea.† â€Å"Crime and Punishment† by Feodor Dostoevsky: A Norton Critical Edition †¦ Essays in Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1975. 485-487. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris and Sheila Fitzgerald. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1984. 69-70. Print.

Frankenstein as Gothic Literature Essay -- Mary Shelleys Frankenstein

In what ways can Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Be considered as a Gothic novel? Can Gothic literature still appeal to us today? Gothic Literature was most popular from about 1764 until 1832, a period of nearly seventy years. At this time there were many successful and famous authors who wrote books which contained a somewhat 'gothic theme'. These include the famous Brontà « Sisters with the novels 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Jane Eyre', both of which can be found on many modern bookshelves of today. As well as the famous sisters, well know authors, of the time, also included Ann Radcliffe with her 'Mysteries of Udolpho' and Horace Walpole's 'The Castle of Otranto'. Amongst the most famous Gothic writers Mary Shelley can also be found with her chilling story of 'Frankenstein'. Each book of this period will have contained some key characteristics to make it distinguishable from other books in history. The characteristics deal with aspects of the story or novel, and are usually very prominent within the book. These include the setting, nature, atmosphere, presence of the supernatural, plot, characters and language of the story. Mary Shelley, when writing 'Frankenstein', may have been influenced by other Gothic writers of her time, as well as ideas and events, which took place around her. At the same time that Shelley wrote 'Frankenstein' there were many new discoveries taking place and scientific research was just reaching a higher level. Shelley had a great understanding of the scientific debates and discoveries of her time and this was due to her inquisitive streak for the new discoveries in chemistry, and the secret life that it might provide. The first stages of the Industrial Revolution were also taking pl... ...periences with a 'creature from another world'. This follows the gothic theme of the supernatural and Stephen King is definitely a very popular author of today and is also well know for his novel 'Carrie', which has also been made into a film. Written in 1974, it is said to be a 'very scary story' where a girl, bullied at school, finds out she has abnormal powers which she uses to seek revenge over her bullies. A typically Gothic theme and yet still very appealing. As well as King there are many other modern Gothic authors including Christine Feeham with her Scarletti Curse (2001), Evelyn Rogers with Devil in the Dark (2001) in addition to The Wolf of Haskell Hall by Colleen Shannon. These are just a few, but in turn they prove that Gothic Literature can still appeal to us today if horror, mystery, supernatural and 'dark' stories are what you like to read.

My Personal Philosophy of Education Essays -- Philosophy of Teaching S

Philosophy of Education Education is the process of learning that can take place anywhere and at any time. I believe that creativity and activity as well as books and lessons are essential to the learning process. As a teacher, I hope to instill in the children a sense of knowledge and self-worth that will remain with them throughout their lives. Education is important not only to maintain daily life, but also to become someone who contributes to society. Without education people have no chance to impact the lives of others in their own community. I want to give the children I teach a chance to give back to their community and society. Although ethics and morals are constantly being reevaluated and argued, I hope to teach a basis of right and wrong that will stand in any religion, belief, and custom in society. While I cannot push my own morals and ethics, I think an understanding of morals allows people to be conscious of others’ feelings and to live more peacefully in society. I believe classroom management should not be strict and starchy where everyone functions like a silent, well-oiled machine. Instead, I would prefer to allow my students to take part in the rule making and decision making processes. I would also like for my students to feel free to ask questions, add to the lesson, and participate in classroom discussions without the fear of ridicule or punishment. I firmly believe in rewarding my ...

Case Study Papa John’s International, Inc. Twenty-First Century Growth Challenges Essay

1) What is your assessment of Papa John’s differentiation strategy? On what bases does the company differentiate? There are a number of bases on which Papa John’s differentiates itself, many of which are interrelated. First and foremost is Papa John’s offering of a higher-quality pizza, which not only allows them to differentiate on the basis of a product feature (i.e. the high quality ingredients used in the pizza), but, even more importantly, on the basis of reputation. While most other pizza chains have their sights set on more of a cost-leader/low-price strategy, and make an less genuine statement of quality, Papa John’s entire organizational culture is focused squarely upon the pursuit of â€Å"better ingredients, better pizza†. This commitment has in turn endeared it to customer base, and has resulted in a long string of high customer satisfaction ratings. Papa John’s early adoption of online and mobile ordering technologies allowed it to differentiate itself on the bases of both timing of introduction and distribution channels. Papa John’s was in fact the very first pizza chain to offer both internet- and text-based ordering, and it was able to generate tremendous revenues as a first-mover in these then-untapped channels. Being that Papa John’s is a part of the larger fast food industry, and consumers seek out fast food in large part on the basis of its convenience, the value of such a distribution system obviously lies in how easily accessible it made Papa John’s products. 2) Is Papa John’s strategy sustainable? What is your assessment based on a VRIO analysis? Obviously the most sustainable base of Papa John’s differentiation strategy is its reputation as a producer of high-quality pizzas. Such has been earned through years of commitment to the goal of producing a â€Å"perfect pizza†, which is an outgrowth of a strong organizational culture and well-communicated vision. The relationship between Papa John’s and its dedicated customer base is socially complex, and these customers could not be taken away overnight by a rival who suddenly began using better ingredients. However, the underpinning of this reputation – the product feature of high quality ingredients – is not nearly as sustainable, as it is not too costly for Papa John’s rivals of comparable size to ultimately imitate. In fact, Domino’s and Pizza Hut have demonstrated a shift towards  higher-quality ingredients in recent years, and so this point of differentiation is no longer as rare as it once was. However, it will take many mo re years of making pizzas of similarly high quality for either to actually cement the same reputation as Papa John’s, and reputation does remain a very sustainable base of differentiation. However, it is worth considering at which price point the value of this reputation begins to diminish, given the nature of the product category itself. Papa John’s is, after all, a fast food pizza chain, and price does play a significant role in the fast food market. Obviously, part of the value of having a differentiated product is the ability to command premium prices for it, and to easily pass increased costs on to a customer base which is relatively price-insensitive. However, the question here is what price ceiling exists on fast food pizza, regardless of its quality. Papa John’s may have a reputation for the highest-quality fast food pizza, and loyal customers may be willing to pay more for this high-quality fast food pizza than a lower-quality fast food pizza, but the price disparity between the two is unlikely to be anywhere near as great as that between, say, a car made by Rolls Royce and one made by Hyundai. Papa John’s may be able to charge a premium, but it must still exist within what is an essentially narrow price range acceptable for fast food. Should Papa John’s prices exceed this reasonable range – perhaps in the event that they cannot continue staving off ingredient cost volatility as well as they have to this point – then even their most loyal customers will turn to other brands or substitute foods of higher quality which warrant a higher price. The essential point is that price still does play a significant role in Papa John’s reputation – sure they make high-quality pizza, and sure it costs a little more than Domino’s, but that price premium is commensurate with its greater quality, and it strikes the right balance between affordability and quality. However, the value this reputation provides in allowing for higher prices – while it does exist, and thus leads one to conclude that reputation is a source of sustained competitive advantage – does indeed have its constraints. It creates value, but only until reaching a price ceiling which is lower for this product category than for premium products in most other product categories. Regarding Papa John’s other, interrelated bases of  differentiation – timing of introduction and distribution channels – it is evident that these were merely temporary sources of competitive advantage along a base which has given way to compe titive parity. Every other pizza chain (and pretty much every restaurant, chain or independent) now offers online and/or mobile ordering, and thus Papa John’s offering of increased convenience is no longer rare. Furthermore, Papa John’s has not been the first to market with any further similar innovations in the years to follow, and its base of differentiation as a pioneer of clever innovations is in many ways currently dormant. This is perhaps owed to a shift in organizational focus away being the first-to-market with novel propositions as Papa John’s looks increasingly to extending the business they have already perfected to foreign markets. 3) What do you recommend Papa John’s do to achieve its growth goals? Papa John’s has encountered challenges in its attempt to balance its focus on producing a higher-quality pizza with expanding its product mix enough to keep up with competitors who offer broader product mixes. Papa John’s does not want to stretch its focus and resources too thin, and consequently dilute the quality of its pizza by shifting attention away from it. However, many of Papa John’s competitors, namely market leaders Domino’s and Pizza Hut, have broadened their product mixes to include items such as pasta dishes, and Papa John’s has in turn been pressured into adopting similar additions to their menu. Because all of these pizza chains have begun matching each other with regard to product mixes, adding menu items is acting more as a base of competitive parity than competitive advantage. However, in expanding its product mix through co-branding strategies, Papa John’s can forge a far more sustainable base of differentiation. Papa John’s has already partnered with Nestle in adding additional dessert items, and such is a strategy they should continue to pursue aggressively, not merely with Nestle but with many other companies. Obviously Papa John’s can free up its resources and attention in partnering with another company to develop and produce menu items for it, and it can focus more on maintaining its high level of pizza quality. More importantly, if Papa John’s could enter into exclusive deals with these other brands and companies, and in turn be the  only one in the industry to offer products by a given brand of high repute (and even possibly a product made exclusively by that brand for Papa John’s), then its competitors will have much more trouble attempting to match the combined brand equity of Papa John’s and its partn ers. In terms of more of a corporate-level strategy, Papa John’s should consider integrating backward into the production of its high quality ingredients. Obviously it has already done this to some extent with BIBP Commodities, Inc. in combatting cheese price volatility, but they should consider going a step further in actually producing cheese and other ingredients themselves. They would be much better poised to insure a steady stream of consistently-priced ingredients in handling production themselves to some extent, and they would also be able to directly maintain the quality of its ingredients. It has already been stated that the product feature of high-quality ingredients is not very sustainable, and that other pizza chains are already moving to match the quality of Papa John’s ingredients. However, should Papa John’s lock in a supply of high quality ingredients at affordable prices whilst others are still encountering significant price volatility, then it will be more costly for Papa John’s competitors to imitate its pizza quality. Additionally, Papa John’s could act as supplier of ingredients to other restaurants (excepting of course its competitors), just as it originally expanded into the printing industry to produce its own print advertisements, but now also provides printing services to other companies. Expanding into the production of ingredients it already uses so heavily and, by nature of its expertise in producing high-quality pizzas, of which it already as a strong understanding makes greater sense than creating a Hispanic restaurant as is suggested in the text, being this such is a specific category of food with which Papa John’s has no prior experience. In entering a restaurant category so dissimilar, Papa John’s will have to spread its attention thin – far thinner than in expanding its product mix – and, in turn, will likely be distracted from its heretofore steadfast pursuit of â€Å"better pizza†, setting in motion an eventual loss of its hardfought reputation. As stated, Papa John’s reputation is its strongest point of differentiation, and, regardless of whatever move it makes next, it must maintain its high level of brand equity.