Maggie and Dee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Maggie and Dee - Essay Example Her dress, in striking shades of yellow and orange and her confident glide of a walk reflect her personality and, along with the gold earrings and bracelets, call out loudly for attention. Her hair, with its’ deliberately accentuated African style, is a defiant statement of identity. Maggie, with her burnt and scarred limbs and thin body is a poor contrast to her attractive sister. She is dressed in a nondescript pink skirt and red blouse. She does not walk, but shuffles, â€Å"chin on chest, eyes on ground.† She has a â€Å"dopey, hang dog look,† which is further accentuated by her use of checkerberry snuff. The sisters’ physical appearances are almost caricatures of their personalities. Dee’s personality exhibits an aggressive confidence and an assertive, individual style. She can â€Å"look anyone in the eye† and not back down. She is resolute, well-spoken and spirited. She adamantly faces life on her own terms. Even her style of reading is pitiless and more of an imposition than a narration. She is as â€Å"sweet as a bird† when she customarily gets her own way. When thwarted, her anger and hatred show through. It is revealing that she has a caustic humor, â€Å"that erupted like bubbles in lye,† and many admirers, but no friends. On the other hand, Maggie’s personality reflects her rather fatalistic acceptance of her inferior standing. Her scars, of which she is ashamed, have further undermined her confidence. She is shy, â€Å"stands hopelessly in corners,† hides behind doors and is nervous of strangers, backing away sweating and trembling in alarm from ‘Asalamalakim.’ When Maggie reads, she â€Å"stumbles along good naturedly†: the sister’s respective reading styles reflect their personalities. Dee’s attitude towards her identity as a black woman is to flaunt it as a badge of defiance to the world. She takes pictures of the house and her family, as if they were curiosities. For all the ostentatious

What is behind Amazon.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

What is behind Amazon.com - Essay Example More and more commercial establishment and marketing institutions are using the web in their businesses. An evolution in the business world occurs with the advancement of the internet technology. Website development was undertaken and become a part of the organisation's activities. From the survey conducted on the several organisations, 34% of them are using the web in their business activities. In the total number of respondents, 27% are using the web in purchasing while 13% are selling their products and the remaining 6% are doing both buying and selling (The Banner Survey, 2000). Companies are maximizing benefits brought about by the internet. Based on studies, the advantageous factors of doing business in the net encourage most businesses to develop their virtual operation. This mainly involves the maintenance of business transactions in the net and developing a virtual interface for the business. The benefits of e-business or business on the web include increased speed of feedback from the consumers. The interaction is in real time wherein the company can immediately answer the questions on the consumers through online information. This is due to the enhancement of technology exchange and improvement in communication which are other benefits of having a business online. This kind of operation decreases the company's operational cost and the requirement for inventory is reduced. The efficiency and productivity of the services were also improved due to standardisation of organisational procedures, thus, improvement in the services offered which ultimately inc reases customers and profits (Henbury, 2001). The Organisation on Focus Amazon.com is a company that operates online business. The ten year old company was developed by Jeff Bezos in July 1994 and was launched on July 1995. More than 9,000 are employed by the company and cater to about 49 million accounts of active consumers. From its main office in Seattle, Washington in the United States, it expanded into different countries worldwide such as United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and China. The company offers products and services online that answers the needs of the consumers (Amazon.com, 2006f). The main business strategy is to introduce the company and the products in the most marketable way possible through the website. It is an online presentation of the objectives of the organisation and services that it provides. The visual presentation of the services offered is organised with certain features such as the 1 click technology for consumers' ease in choosing items and ordering. Every category of products has a link wherein more choices are presented. The consumers can also have their own accounts that can keep tract of the purchases made. Other details such as online payment procedure and shipping are also available, thus, once the consumer is ready, order can be placed and be delivered at a specified date (Amazon.com, 2006b). For a new consumer who is not familiar with the transactions in the net, the Amazon.com website is comprehensible. The site presents the pertinent data needed in purchasing products. When a consumer finds that online purchases are easily done, the benefits can be realized and ultimately become a regular online customer. The Role of the Employees in the Organisation Amazon.com employs around 9,000 people covering the total workforce of all the branches worldwide. The company is divided into different organisational units and this includes the corporate offices, the fulfilment centres, the customer