Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 21~22

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE I Lick the Body Electric The Maui sunset had set the sky on fire and everything in the bungalow had taken on the glowing pink tone of paradise – or hell, depending on where you were standing. Clay dismembered the bird and put the severed pieces on a platter to transport them to the grill. â€Å"You'll need something to bring those in on,† Clair said. Her dress was a purple hibiscus-flower print, and the orchid she wore in her hair looked like lavender dragonflies humping. She was dicing pickles into the macaroni salad. â€Å"What's wrong with this?† Clay held up the plate with the raw chicken. â€Å"You can't use the same plate. You'll get salmonella.† â€Å"Fine, fuck it,† Clay said, tossing the plate into the yard. The chicken parts bounced nicely, breading themselves with a light coating of sand, ants, and dried grass. â€Å"When did chicken become like plutonium anyway, for Christ's sake? You can't let it touch you or it's certain fucking death. And eggs and hamburgers kill you unless you cook them to the consistency of limestone! And if you turn on your fucking cell phone, the plane is going to plunge out of the sky in a ball of flames? And kids can't take a dump anymore but they have to have a helmet and pads on make them look like the Road Warrior. Right? Right? What the fuck happened to the world? When did everything get so goddamn deadly? Huh? I've been going to sea for thirty damned years, and nothing's killed me. I've swum with everything that can bite, sting, or eat you, and I've done every stupid thing at depth that any human can – and I'm still alive. Fuck, Clair, I was unconscious for an hour underwa ter less than a week ago, and it didn't kill me. Now you're going to tell me that I'm going to get whacked by a fucking chicken leg? Well, just fuck it then!† He didn't know where to go, so he came back in and slammed the screen door behind him, then opened it and slammed it again. â€Å"Goddamn it!† And he stood there, breathing hard. Not really looking at anything. Clair put down her knife and pickle, then wiped her hands. As she came toward Clay she pulled a large bobby pin from the back of her hair, and her long, thick locks cascaded down her back. She took Clay's right hand and kissed each of his fingertips, licked his thumb, then took his index finger in her mouth and made a show of removing it slowly and with maximum moisture. Clay looked at the floor, shaking. â€Å"Baby,† she said as she placed the bobby pin firmly between Clay's wet thumb and index finger, â€Å"I need you to go over to that wall and take this bobby pin and insert it ever so firmly into that electrical outlet over there.† Clay looked up at her at last. â€Å"Because,† she continued, â€Å"I know that you aren't mad at me and that you're just grieving for your friends, but I think you need to be reminded that you aren't invulnerable and that you can hurt even more than you do now. And I think it would be better if you did it yourself, because otherwise I'll have to brain you with your own iron skillet.† â€Å"That would be wrong,† Clay said. â€Å"It is a cruel world, baby.† Clay took her in his arms and buried his face in her hair and just stood there in the doorway for a long time. Amy had been missing for thirty-two hours. That morning a fisherman had found her kayak washing against some rocks on Molokai and had called the rental company in Maui. A life jacket was still strapped on the front of the boat, he said. The Coast Guard had stopped looking already. â€Å"Now, let me go,† Clair said. â€Å"I have to get that chicken out of the yard and rinse it off.† â€Å"I don't think we should eat that.† â€Å"Please. I'm going to cook it up for Kona. You're taking me out.† â€Å"I am?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"After I stick this in the outlet, right?† â€Å"You can grieve, Clay – that's as it should be – but you can't feel guilty for being alive.† â€Å"So, I don't have to stick this in the outlet?† â€Å"You used foul language at me, baby. I don't see any way around it.† â€Å"Oh, well, that's true. You go get Kona's chicken out of the yard. I'll do this.† On the second morning after Amy was lost at sea, Clay walked to the seaside, a rocky beach between some condos north of Lahaina – too short for morning runners, too shallow for a bathing crowd. He stood on an outcropping of rocks with the waves crashing around him and tried to let pure hatred run out of his heart. Clay Demodocus was a guy who liked things, and among the things he had liked the most was the sea, but this morning he held nothing but disdain for his old friend. The sapphire blue was indifferent, the waves elitist. She'd kill you without even learning your name. â€Å"You bitch,† Clay said, loud enough for the sea to hear. He spit into her face and walked back home. That old trickster Maui had been sitting on a rock nearby watching, and he laughed at Clay's hubris. Maui admired a man with more balls than brains, even a haole. He cast a small blessing at the photographer – just a trinket for the laugh, a trifling little mango of magic – and then he headed off to the great banyan tree to fog the film of Japanese tourists. Back in what was now only his office, Clay dug Amy's resume out of his files and made the call. He braced himself, trying to figure out how, exactly, he was going to tell these strangers that their daughter was missing and assumed to have drowned. He felt sad and alone, and his elbow hurt from the jolt of electricity he'd taken the night before. He didn't want to do this. He reached for the phone, then stopped and closed his eyes, as if he could make the whole thing go away, but on the back of his eyelids he saw the face of his mother as he had last seen her, looking up at him out of her barrel of brine, â€Å"Make the call, you pussy. If anyone knows how not to get bad news, it's you. Part of loyalty is following up, you sniveling coward. Don't be like your brothers.† Ah, sweet Mama, Clay thought. He dialed the phone – a number with a 716 area code, Tonawanda, New York. It rang three times, and the recorded operator came on, saying that the number he'd reached was not in service at this time. He checked it, then dialed the next number down, which also turned out not to be working. He called Tonawanda information for Amy's parents, and the operator told him there was no such listing. At a loss, he called Woods Hole Oceanographic Center, where Amy had gotten her master's. Clay knew one of her advisers, Marcus Loughten, an irascible Brit who had worked at Woods Hole for twenty years and was famous in the field for his work in underwater acoustics. Loughten answered on the third ring. â€Å"Loughten,† Loughten said.: â€Å"Marcus, this is Clay Demodocus. We worked together on –  » â€Å"Yes, Clay, I bloody know who you are. Calling from Hawaii, are you?† â€Å"Well, yes, I – ; â€Å"Probably, what, seventy-eight degrees with a breeze? It's seven below zero Fahrenheit here. I'm out installing bloody sound buoys in a monthlong blizzard to keep right whales from getting run over by supertankers.† â€Å"Right, the sound buoys. How are those working out?† â€Å"They're not.† â€Å"No? Why not?† â€Å"Well, right whales are stupid as shit, aren't they? It's not like a supertanker is quiet. If sound was going to deter them, then they'd be bloody well deterred by the engine noise, wouldn't they? They don't make the connection. Stupid shits.† â€Å"Oh, sorry to hear that. Uh, why keep doing it then?† â€Å"We have funding.† â€Å"Right. Look, Marcus, I need some information on one of your students who came out here to work with us. Amy Earhart? Would have been with you guys until fall of last year.† â€Å"No, I don't know that name.† â€Å"Sure you do, five-five, thin, pale, dark hair with kind of unnatural blue highlights, smart as a whip.† â€Å"Sorry, Clay. That doesn't fit any of my students.† Clay took a deep breath and trudged on. Biologists were notorious for treating their grad students as subhuman, but Clay was surprised that Loughten didn't remember Amy. She was cute, and if Clay could judge from a night of drinking he'd done with Loughten at a marine mammal conference in France, the Brit was more than a bit of a horndog. â€Å"Great ass, Marcus. You'd remember.† â€Å"I'm sure I would, but I don't.† Clay studied the resume. â€Å"What about Peter? Would he –  » â€Å"No, Clay, I know all of Peter's grad students as well. Did you call to confirm her references when you took her on?† â€Å"Well, no.† â€Å"Good work, then. Abscond with your Nikons, did she?† â€Å"No, she's missing at sea. I'm trying to contact her family.† â€Å"Sorry. Wish I could be of help. I'll check the records, just to be sure – in case I've had a ministroke that killed the part of the brain that remembers fine bottoms.† â€Å"Thanks.† â€Å"Good luck, Clay. My best to Quinn.† Clay cringed. It turned out he really wasn't up for bearing bad news. â€Å"Will do, Marcus. Good-bye.† Clay hung up and resumed staring at the phone. Well, he thought, I knew absolutely nothing about this woman that I thought I knew. Libby Quinn had already called (sobbing) to say that they should have some kind of joint service at the sanctuary for Nate and Amy, and that Clay should speak. What was he going to say about Amy? Dearly beloved, I think we all knew Amy as scientist, a colleague, a friend, a woman who showed up out of nowhere with a completely manufactured history, but I think, because she saved my life, that I came to know her better than anyone here, and I can tell you unequivocally, she was a smart aleck with a cute butt. Yeah, he'd need to work on that. Damn it, he missed them both. Clay decided to kill the day by editing video: time-eating busywork that supplied at least an imaginary escape from the real world. The afternoon found him going through the rebreather footage he'd taken on the day the whale had conked him, for the first time going past the point where he was unconscious, just to see if the camera picked up anything usable. Clay let the video run: minutes of blue water, the camera tossing around at the end of the wrist lanyard, then Amy's leg as she comes down to stop his descent. He cranked the audio. Hiss of ambient noise, then the bubbles from Amy's regulator, the slow hiss of his own breathing through the rebreather. As Amy starts to swim to the surface, the camera catches his fins hanging limply against a field of blue, then Amy's fins kicking in and out of the frame. Both their breathing is steady on the audio track. Clay looked at the time signature of the video. Fifteen minutes when the motion stops. Amy making her first decompression stop. On the audio he hears the chorus of distant singing humpbacks, a boat motor not too far off, and Amy's steady bubbles. Then the bubbles stop. The camera settles against his thigh and drifts, the lens up, catches light from the surface, then Amy's hand holding on to his buoyancy vest, reading the data off his dive computer. Her regulator is out of her mouth. On the audio there's only his breathing. The camera swings away. Ten minutes more pass. Clay listens for Amy's breathing to resume. The motion from her hooking into the rescue tank on the rebreather should move the camera, but there's just the same gentle drift. They move up. Clay guesses maybe to seventy-five feet. Amy is doing another decompression stop, doing it by the book, despite the emergency. Except he still can hear only one person breathing. She pulls him to more shallow depth. The frame lightens up, and the camera swings around, the wide angle showing Clay's unconscious form and Amy kicking, the regulator out of her mouth, looking at the surface. She hasn't used the bail-out tank on Clay's rebreather, and she hasn't taken a breath for, as far as Clay can tell, forty minutes. This can't be right. He listens, watching until the time signature shows sixty and the tape ends – the entire thing having been dubbed to the hard drive. He rewinds it on-screen, slowing down when the camera shows anything but blue, listening again. â€Å"No fucking way.† Clay backed away from the monitor, watching as the video ran out again and froze on the image of Amy holding him steady at twenty or so feet down, no regulator in her mouth. He ran out the door, calling, â€Å"Kona! Kona!† The surfer came shuffling out of his bungalow in a cloud of smoke. â€Å"Just tracking down navy spies, boss.† â€Å"Where did you guys put the rebreather? The day they took me to the hospital?† â€Å"She's in the storage shed.† Clay made a beeline for the bungalow they used to store dive and boat equipment. He waved Kona after him. â€Å"Come.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"Did you guys refill the oxygen or the bail-out tanks?† â€Å"We just rinsed it and put it in the case.† Clay pulled the big Pelican case off a stack of scuba tanks and popped the latches. The rebreather was snug in the foam padding. Clay wrenched it out onto the wooden floor and turned on the computer that was an integral part of it. He hit buttons on the display console and watched the gray liquid-crystal display cycle through the numbers. The last dive: Downtime had been seventy-five minutes, forty-three seconds. The oxygen cylinder was nearly full. The bail-out air supply was full. Full. It hadn't been touched. Somehow Amy had stayed underwater for an hour without an air supply. Clay turned to the surfer. â€Å"Do you remember anything that Nate showed you about what he was working on? I need details – I know in general.† Clay wasn't sure what he was looking for, but this had to mean something, and all he had to fall back on was Nate's research. The surfer scratched the dreadless side of his head. â€Å"Something about the whales singing binary.† â€Å"Come show me.† Clay stormed through the door and back to the office. â€Å"What you looking for?† â€Å"I don't know. Clues. Mysteries. Meaning.† â€Å"You gone lolo, you know?† CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Deep Below, Bernard Stirs About the time that Nathan Quinn had started to master his nausea in the whale ship's constant motion (four days on board), another force started working on his body. He felt an uneasiness come over him in waves, and for twenty or so seconds he would feel as if he needed to crawl out of his skin. Then it would pass and leave him feeling a little numb for a few seconds, only to start up again. Poynter and Poe were moving around the small cabin looking at different gobs and bumps of bioluminescence as if they were gleaning some meaning from them, but, try as he might, Nate couldn't figure out what they were monitoring. It would have helped to be able to get out of the seat and take a closer look, but Poynter had ordered him strapped in after he made his first break for the back orifice. He'd nearly made it, too. Had dived at it just like he'd seen the whaley boys do, except that only one arm had gone through, and he ended up stuck to the floor of the whale, his face against the rubbery skin, his hand trailing out in the cold ocean. â€Å"Well, that was phenomenally stupid,† said Poynter. â€Å"I think I've dislocated my shoulder,† Nate said. â€Å"I should leave you there. Maybe a remora or two will latch on to your hand and teach you a lesson.† â€Å"Or a cookie-cutter shark,† said Poe. â€Å"Nasty bastards.† The whaley boys turned in their seats and snickered, bobbing their heads and blowing the occasional raspberry, which could inflict considerable moisture off a four-inch-wide tongue. Evidently Quinn was a cetacean laugh riot. He'd always suspected that, actually. Poynter got down on his hands and knees and looked Nate in the eye. â€Å"While you're down there, I'd like you to think on what might have happened if you'd been successful at launching yourself through that orifice. First, we're at – Skippy, what's the depth?† Skippy chirped and clicked a number of times. â€Å"A hundred and fifty feet. Beyond the fact that you'd probably have blown out your eardrums almost immediately, you might think on how you were going to get to the surface on one breath of air. And should you have gotten to the surface, what were you going to do then? We're five hundred miles from the nearest land.† â€Å"I hadn't worked out the whole plan,† Nate said. â€Å"So, actually, I might be looking at success, right? You just wanted to test the outside water temperature?† â€Å"Sure,† said Nate, thinking it might be best to stay agreeable. â€Å"Can you feel your hand?† â€Å"It's a little chilly, but, yes.† â€Å"Oh, good.† And so they'd left him there a couple of hours, his hand and about six inches of his arm hanging out in the open sea as the whale ship swam along, and when they finally pulled him up, they put him in his seat and kept him restrained except to eat and go to the bathroom. He'd tried to relax and observe – learn what he could – but then a few minutes ago these waves of uneasiness had started hitting him. â€Å"He's got the sonic willies,† said Poe. Poynter looked away from Skippy's console. â€Å"It's the subsonics, Doc. You're feeling the sound waves even though you can't hear them. We've been communicating with the blue for about ten minutes now.† â€Å"You might have said something.† â€Å"I just did.† â€Å"Couple of hours you'll be in the blue, Doc. You can stand up again, walk around a little. Have some privacy.† â€Å"So you're communicating with it in low-frequency sound?† â€Å"Yep. Just like you thought, Doc, there was meaning in the call.† â€Å"Yeah, but I didn't think this, that there were guys, and guylike things, riding about inside whales. How in the hell can this be happening? How can I not know about this?† â€Å"So you're giving up on the being-dead strategy?† asked Poe. â€Å"What is it? Space aliens?† Poynter unbuttoned his shirt and showed some chest hair. â€Å"Do I look like a space alien?† â€Å"Well, no, but them.† Nate nodded toward the whaley boys. They looked at each other and snickered, a sort of wheezing laughter coming from their blowholes, paused, looked back at Nate, then snickered some more. â€Å"Maybe on their planet sentient life evolved from whales rather than apes,† Quinn continued. â€Å"I can see how they might have landed here, deployed these whale ships, and kept under the radar of human detection while they looked around. I mean, man obviously isn't the most peaceful of creatures.† â€Å"That work for you, Doc?† asked Poynter. â€Å"On their planet they developed an organically based technology, rather than one based on combustion and manipulation of minerals like ours.† â€Å"Oh, that is good,† said Poe. â€Å"He's on a roll,† said Poynter. â€Å"Unraveling the mystery, he is.† Skippy and Scooter nodded to each other and grinned. â€Å"So that's it? This ship is extraterrestrial?† Quinn felt the small victory rush that one gets from proving a hypothesis – even one as bizarre as space aliens riding in whale ships. â€Å"Sure,† said Poe, â€Å"that works for me. You, Cap?† â€Å"Yeah, moon men, that's what you guys are,† Poynter said to the whaley boys. â€Å"Meep,† said Scooter. And in a high, squeaky, little-girl voice, Skippy croaked, â€Å"Phone home.† The whaley boys gave each other a high four and collapsed into fits of hysterical wheezing. â€Å"What did he say?† Nate nearly snapped his neck trying to turn around against the restraints. â€Å"They can talk?† â€Å"Well, I guess, if you call that talking,† Poe said. He exchanged high fives with Poynter at the expense of the whaley boys, who paused in their own laughter to roll the whale ship in three quick spirals, which tossed the unsecured Poe and Poynter around the soft cabin like a couple of rag dolls. Poynter came up with a bloody lip from connecting with his own knee. Poe had barked his shin on one of the whaley boys' heads as he went over. Strapped in, Nate concentrated on not watching a rerun of his lunch of raw tuna and water. â€Å"Bastards!† said Poe. â€Å"That what you expected in your race of super-intelligent, space-faring extraterrestrials, Nate?† Poynter wiped blood from his lower lip and flung it at Scooter. Carl Linnaeus, an eighteenth-century Swedish doctor who specialized in the treatment of syphilis, is credited with inventing the modern system that is used for classifying plants and animals. Linnaeus is responsible for naming the humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae, or â€Å"big wings of New England,† and later naming the blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, or â€Å"little mouse†: at 110 feet long, over a hundred tons, an animal whose tongue alone is larger than a full-grown African elephant – the largest animal to ever live on the planet. â€Å"Little mouse†? Some speculated that this ironic misnomer was perpetrated entirely to confuse Linnaeus's lab assistants, as in Run out and bring me back a â€Å"little mouse,† Sven. Others think that the pox had gone to Carl's head. Quinn was crouched over the back orifice, Skippy and Scooter holding him by either arm, Poynter and Poe crouched before him, saluting. He could feel the texture of the opening under his bare feet, like wet tire tread. â€Å"It's been a pleasure, Doc,† Poynter said. â€Å"Have a great trip.† â€Å"We'll see you back at base,† said Poe. â€Å"Now, just relax. You're barely going to contact water. Hold your nose and blow.† Quinn did. Poynter counted, â€Å"One, two –  » â€Å"Meep.† Nate was sucked out the orifice, felt a brief chill and some pressure pushing back against his ears, and found himself in a chamber only a little taller than that in the humpback, with a fairly amused woman. â€Å"You can stop blowing now,† she said. â€Å"Yet another phrase I didn't think I'd be hearing in this lifetime,† Nate said. He let go of his nostrils and took a deep breath. The air seemed fresher than in the humpback. â€Å"Welcome to my blue, Dr. Quinn, I'm Cielle Nu;ez. How do you feel?† â€Å"Pooped.† Quinn grinned. She was about his age, Hispanic with short dark hair peppered gray and wide brown eyes that caught the bioluminescence off the walls and reflected what looked like laughter. She was barefoot and wearing generic khakis like Poynter and Poe. He shook her hand. â€Å"Cute,† she said. â€Å"Come forward with me, Doctor. I'm sure it's been a while since you were able to stand up straight.† She led him down the corridor, which reminded Nate of when, as kids, he and his buddies had explored storm drains in Vancouver. It was tall enough to walk in, but not tall enough to stand in comfortably. â€Å"Actually, Cielle, I'm not a doctor. I have a Ph.D., but the doctor thing –  » â€Å"I understand. I'm captain of this rig, but if you call me ‘Captain, I'll ignore you.† â€Å"I wanted to hear the humpback sing before I left. You know, from the inside.† â€Å"You will. There'll be time.† The corridor started to widen as they moved forward, and Nate was actually able to walk normally, or as normally as one can walk when barefoot on whaleskin. This skin had a mottled appearance, whereas on the humpback it had been nearly solid gray. He noticed that on this ship there were wide veins of bioluminescence on the floor, casting a yellow light up upward that gave everything a sinister green glow. Nuà ±ez paused by what appeared to be portals on either side of them. â€Å"This is as good a place as any,† she said. â€Å"Now, turn sideways and take my hand.† Quinn did as he was asked. Her hand felt warm but dry. She was a small woman, but powerfully built, he could feel the strength in her grip. â€Å"Now, we're just going to walk as the ship moves. Don't stop until I say, or you'll fall on your ass.† â€Å"WHAT?† â€Å"Okay, Scooter, roll it.† â€Å"Scooter?† â€Å"All pilots are called Scooter or Skippy. They didn't tell you?† â€Å"They weren't very forthcoming with information.† â€Å"Humpback crews are a bunch of yahoos.† Nuà ±ez smiled. â€Å"You know the type, like navy fighter pilots topside? All ego and testosterone.† â€Å"I got more cretin than yahoo,† Nate said. â€Å"Well, with that particular bunch, yes.† The whole corridor started to move. â€Å"Here we go, step, step, step, that's good.† They were walking across the walls as the ship rolled. When they were standing on the ceiling, the roll stopped. â€Å"Nice, Scooter,† Nuà ±ez said, obviously communicating through some sort of hidden intercom. Then, to Nate, â€Å"He's so good.† â€Å"We were upside down to make the transfer?† â€Å"Exactly. You're a smart guy. Look, these are cabins. She touched a lighted node on the wall, and a skin portal folded back on itself. Again Nate was put in mind of the blowhole of a toothed whale, but it was so big, nearly four feet across, it was just†¦ unnatural. Lines of light pumped to life past the portal to reveal a small cabin, a bed – apparently made of the same skin as the rest of the interior – but also a table and a chair. Nate couldn't make out what material they might be made of, but it looked like plastic. â€Å"Bone,† Nu;ez said, noticing him noticing. â€Å"They're as much a part of the ship as the walls. All living tissue. There are shelves and cubbyholes for your stuff in the bulkheads, closed now. Obviously everything has to be stowed for little maneuvers like the one we just performed. The motion isn't as bad as on the humpbacks. You'll find you'll get used to it, and then you can move about just as if you were on land.† â€Å"You're right. I didn't even notice we were moving.† â€Å"That would be because we're not,† said Nu;ez. The sound of whaley-boy snickering wheezed down the corridor toward them. â€Å"You guys are supposed to be working,† Nu;ez said to the air. â€Å"Prepare to get under way.† She turned to Quinn. â€Å"Can I buy you a cup of joe? Maybe answer some of your questions?† â€Å"You're offering?† Quinn felt his heart jump with excitement. Information, without Poynter and Poe's goofing obfuscation? He was thrilled. â€Å"That would be fantastic.† â€Å"Don't pee all over yourself, Quinn. It's just coffee.† The corridor opened up into a large bridge. The head of the blue was huge compared to the humpback's. On either side of the entry a whaley boy stood grinning at them as they passed. They were both taller than Quinn, and unlike the Scooter and Skippy of the humpback, their skin was mottled and lighter in color. Nate paused and grinned back at them. â€Å"Let me guess – Skippy and Scooter?† â€Å"Actually, Bernard and Emily 7,† said Nu;ez. â€Å"You said they all were –  » â€Å"I said all pilots were named Skippy and Scooter.† She gestured to the front of the bridge, where two whaley boys sitting at control consoles were turning in their seats and grinning. Maybe, thought Nate, they always appeared to be grinning, much like dolphins. He'd made an amateur mistake, assuming that their facial expressions were the analog of human expressions. People often did that with dolphins, even though the animals had no facial muscles to facilitate expression. Even sad dolphins appeared to be smiling. â€Å"What are you two grinning at?† asked Nuà ±ez. â€Å"Let's get on the way.† The pilots frowned and turned back to their consoles. â€Å"Well, crap,† Nate said. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Nothing, just another theory shot in the ass.† â€Å"Yeah, this operation does that, doesn't it?† Nate felt something stirring in his back pocket and spun around to see a thin, fourteen-inch-long pink penis that was protruding from Bernard's genital slit. It waved at him. â€Å"Holy moly!† â€Å"Bernard!† Nuà ±ez snapped. â€Å"Put that away. That is not procedure.† Bernard's unit drooped noticeably from the scolding. He looked at it and chirped contritely. â€Å"Away!† Nuà ±ez barked. Bernard's willy snapped back up into his genital slit. â€Å"Sorry about that,† Nuà ±ez said to Nate. â€Å"I've never gotten used to that. It's really disconcerting when you're working with one of them and you ask them to hand you a screwdriver or something and his hands are already full. Coffee?† She led him to a small white table around which four bone chairs protruded from the floor. They looked like old-style Greek saddle chairs – no backs, organic curves, and the high gloss of living bone – but more Gaudi than Flintstone. Quinn sat while Nuà ±ez touched a node on the wall that opened a meter-wide portal that had concealed a sink, several canisters, and what looked like a percolator. Nate wondered about the electricity but forced himself to wait before asking. While Nuà ±ez prepared the coffee, Quinn looked around. The bridge was easily four times the size of the entire cabin in the humpback. Instead of riding in a minivan, it was like being in a good-size motor home – a very curvy, dimly lit motor home, but about that size. Blue light filtered in through the eyes, illuminating the pilots' faces, which shone like patent leather. Nate was starting to realize that even though everything was organic, living, the whale ship had the same sort of efficiency found on any nautical vessel: every spaced used, everything stowed against movement, everything functional. â€Å"If you need to use the head, it's back down the corridor, fourth hatch on the right.† Emily 7 clicked and squealed, and Nu;ez laughed. She had a warm laugh, not forced; it just rolled out of her smooth and easy. â€Å"Emily says it seems as if it would be more logical for the head to be in the head, but there goes logic.† â€Å"I gave up logic a few days ago.† â€Å"You don't have to give it up, just adjust. Anyway, facilities in the head are like everything on the ship – living – but I think you'll figure out the analogs pretty quickly. It's less complicated than an airliner bathroom.† Scooter chirped, and the great ship started to move, first in a fairly radical wave of motion, then smoothing out to a gentle roll. It was like being on a large sailing ship in medium seas. â€Å"Hey, a little more warning, Scooter, huh?† said Nu;ez. â€Å"I nearly dumped Nathan's coffee. Okay if I call you Nathan?† â€Å"Nate's good.† Moving with the roll of the ship, she made it back to the table and put down the two steaming mugs of coffee, then went back for a sugar bowl, spoons, and a can of condensed milk. Nate picked up the can and studied it. â€Å"This is the first thing from the outside that I've seen.† â€Å"Yeah, well, that's special request. You don't want to try whale milk in your coffee. It's like krill-flavored spray cheese.† â€Å"Yuck.† â€Å"That's what I'm saying.† â€Å"Cielle, if you don't mind my saying, you don't seem very military.† â€Å"Me? No, I wasn't. My husband and I had a sixty-foot sailboat. We got caught in a hurricane off of Costa Rica and sank. That's when they took me. My husband didn't make it.† â€Å"I'm sorry.† â€Å"It's okay. It was a long time ago. But, no, I've never been in the military.† â€Å"But the way you order the whaley boys around –  » â€Å"First, we need to clear up a misconception that you are obviously forming, Nate. I – we, the human beings on these ships – are not in charge. We're just – I don't know, like ambassadors or something. We sound like commanders because these guys would just goof off all day without someone telling them what to do, but we have no real authority. The Colonel gives the orders, and the whaley boys run the show.† Scooter and Skippy snickered like their counterparts on the humpback ship, Bernard and Emily 7 joined them – Bernard extending his prehensile willy like a party horn. â€Å"And whaley girls?† Nate nodded toward Emily 7, who grinned – it was a very big, very toothy grin, but a little coquettish in the way one might expect from, say, an ingenue with a bite that could sever an arm. â€Å"Just whaley boys. It's like the term ‘mankind, you know – alienate the female part of the race at all costs. It's the same here. Old-timers gave them the name.† â€Å"Who's the Colonel?† â€Å"He's in charge. We don't see him.† â€Å"Human, though?† â€Å"I'm told.† â€Å"You said you'd been here a long time. How long?† â€Å"Let me get you another cup, and I'll tell you what I can.† She turned. â€Å"Bernard, get that thing out of the coffeepot!†

Figaro Coffee Essay

* We will be the preferred brand of specialty coffee of the international business traveler. Our products and unique style of service will leave a lasting impression among our customers. * We will be the investment of choice in the countries where our brand is represented thereby providing attractive returns to all our shareholders. * We will be a model employer that inspires its stakeholders to be better than its leaders because the opportunities for career and personal growth will drive them to excel. * We will be the most admired training facilities for coffee education making us the best training ground for those who want to establish a career or business on coffee and†¦ * We will be remembered as a committed advocate of corporate social responsibility by championing the cause of coffee to help farmers live a better life. * To cater to the different taste preferences, Figaro offers a wide selection of hot or cold coffee and tea concoctions, accompanying pastries and savory meals. * We recommend you try them all to encounter the unique delight each has to offer. Corporate Mission * We provide excellent coffee and gracious service creating a memorable experience for people who appreciate high quality coffee and demand for exceptional service. * Figaro’s distinctive store design, unique ambiance and style of service satisfy the global customer. * Figaro creates long-term value for its owners and business partners through profitable operations and business sustainability and dignity of life for its employees. * We will always practice good governance and actively pursue the cause of socio-cultural and environmental concerns. * We will always give you quality service, quality products & value for your money. SECTION 3 PRODUCT/SERVICE 3. 1 ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THE PRODUCT The Figaro Coffee Company is a popular specialty coffee store in the Philippines that is 100 percent Filipino-owned. Established in 1993, it is based on the concept of a complete store where â€Å"Filipinos can get the perfect coffee and all the necessary accoutrements for coffee making† that can compete internationally. From only two employees, a managing partner and a kiosk in the Makati Mall of the Ayala Centre, the company now has 64 outlets encompassing kiosks and cafes (including international branches). The company’s product line includes specialty roasted coffees and various coffee-related paraphernalia sold at retail. Aside from the superior-tasting coffee that a customer can enjoy in the Figaro Cafes, the company also offers a host of freshly roasted beans on retail. Among the selection is Barako and from the time it was introduced in 1999, Figaro Barako has become a bestseller. The ‘Save the Barako’ cause has somehow given the coffee added value as a portion of the bean sales is channelled back to into a project to promote the revival of the Barako. The project encompasses awareness programs, new plantings, research, and targeted marketing, and is coordinated with the Figaro Coffee Foundation. Meanwhile, as the consumption of Barako increases, a greater need arises to keep the production going which gives all the more reason why Barako needs to be saved from extinction. The continued increased demand for Barako on the other hand allows the advantage of bringing the price of Barako to a viable level that benefits both the farmer and the retailer. Through Figaro’s customer-loyalty scheme called Coffee Club, the company organizes farm tours twice a year wherein coffee enthusiasts show the process of coffee harvesting and planting. Since the company is primarily a coffee distributor and coffee shop operator, it did not have prior experience in actually growing coffee for commercial production. 3. 2 PRODUCT’S UNIQUE FEAUTURES Our Passion for Coffee. Our Beans are Always Freshly Roasted. Coffee beans need to be roasted to bring out their irresistible flavor and aromatics. The sooner a roasted bean gets into a cup, the better the flavor. Freshness is very important to us. We roast our beans in world class quality roasters, carefully watched over by roasting experts who make sure each bean is done perfectly. Once roasted, the beans are packed and sent to the stores immediately to ensure freshness. We make sure that every cup of coffee our customers enjoy is made of the best quality, perfectly roasted beans. After all, you deserve only the best from Figaro. Share our Passion Today, Figaro boasts 64 cafes in the Philippines. It is one of the fastest-growing coffee chains, in just over 17 years of experience in the art and business of coffee. We believe in catering to upscale coffee lovers, offering coffees expertly roasted and brewed according to the standards of French and Italian cafes. Figaro offers an ideal business opportunity that assures superior returns compared to an independent business of similar scope. After penetrating the international market, we are now keeping a critical eye on expanding in our home-market, which will zero in mostly on business districts around the country as we want more and more people to experience the sophisticated European coffee culture through our local barako coffee. 3. 3 STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT As the company started to get recognition as a major coffee chain, especially with the arrival in the country of international coffee brands such as Starbucks, Figaro was in search of the popular Barako coffee. Quite serendipitously, Figaro’s CEO Pacita Juan met Father Roger Bagao, a coffee farmer/priest in Tagaytay City who headed a farmer’s coffee cooperative. Father Roger hailed from the southern province of Bohol and has made coffee his life. A member of the Divine Word Seminary (SVD) in Tagaytay, Father Roger chose to live among the coffee-farming people. He knew that to assist them to attain spiritual awakening or enrichment, he first had to learn what crops they grew, how they made their livelihood. This meant first helping them to fill their stomachs, and later reaching their souls. So COFFEE was it. He organized a farmers’ cooperative that ran a coffee mill known as SMSK. Pacita Juan met Father Roger and asked him to show Figaro the other side of coffee – farmers, different varieties and where they grew, coffee in the south, coffee in the mountains. When Pacita was looking for the native Barako, Father Roger could only tell her that this variety or species was no longer profitable as their yields were low and Nescafe (the biggest processor) would have no need for the Barako. This saddened Figaro, as Barako is an important part of Philippine coffee history. â€Å"How do we change the tide? † she asked Father Roger. â€Å"Can we start planting Barako? How do we tell people about this sad fate of this species that is so popular among our people? † These questions made Figaro, with the help of Father Roger, establish a foundation to address the needs of the Philippines Coffee Industry – now known as the Figaro Foundation Corporation. The first project of the foundation was general coffee awareness-driven: The Coffee Farm Tour is now held every January in Cavite or Batangas, two provinces appropriate for a day trip. The second project is Barako awareness-driven. The Barako is slowly being cut down due to its ‘low’ demand among big processors. However, there is growing demand for Barako from specialty roast and ground processors in the Philippines, and for export to the Middle East. A related foundation project is called ‘Barako Tree Planting’. Launched in 2000, this project is run every July or August. The key challenges facing the tree-planting project are where to get seedlings and where to get land. Luckily, Father Roger found land during 2000 and 2001. After 2001, however, the foundation met with some problems regarding land ownership and could no longer access the first plantings to check on progress. In the same year, Father Roger introduced Cavite State University (CaVSU) and its research head, Dr. Andy Mojica to the Figaro Foundation. Dr. Mojica would be one of the keys to Barako seedling propagation, and he would also be a major part of the Presidential Task Force on Coffee Rehabilitation prompted by Figaro’s persistent invitation. In January 2002, Figaro (now working with Dr. Mojica’s group) began to visit CaVSU for its Annual Farm Tour and also to work with them on Barako seedling supply, a task that used to be performed by Father Roger. Meanwhile, Father Roger went on a sabbatical in 2002 and Figaro was subsequently invited to be a member of the Presidential Task Force on Coffee Rehabilitation (see below). In this same period, the coffee town of Amadeo was visited by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the first-ever Pahimis festival to signal the start of today’s Filipino coffee revolution – a peaceful revolution of going back to coffee farms to increase production to turn the country from being a net coffee importer to a net exporter as it was until 1990. In Amadeo, Figaro met Mayor O. J. Ambagan who gladly offered his land for the next Figaro Tree Planting activity. In the same year, Leisure Farms, a first class farm community invited the Figaro Foundation to undertake another tree planting activity in Lemery, Batangas which would be provided with irrigation and all the care needed for a first class farm. These efforts have now grown into a series of projects with the local government of Amadeo such as the ‘Adopt-a-farm’ program, coffee farm tours, and the organization of a coffee cooperative to promote ‘Cafe Amadeo’ – a ‘monobranding’ exercise to promote Amadeo’s coffee roasters who used to sell under different brand names. More than just to sustain its core product or core business, Figaro has become the trailblazer on how ‘out of the box’ ideas can be used to encourage farmers to plant the Barako again, motivate local governments to do their part and get cooperatives working toward one goal. Through its partnership with the municipality of Amadeo, Figaro will be able to plant around 30,000 Barako trees in and around the Amadeo town providing farmers with a niche product that can be their ticket to higher selling prices and export potential of a value-added product branded with the Figaro name. 3. 4TRADEMARKS. 3. 5PRODUCT There are five commercially known coffee bean varieties worldwide: Arabica, Robusta, Excelsa, Stenophylla and Liberica. The most popular beans in use all over the world are Arabica and Robusta. The former has a more subtle and distinct flavour and is usually used for gourmet coffees. However, due to weather conditions, it cannot be natively grown in the Philippines except in some mountain areas, and therefore is mostly imported. Robusta on the other hand is grown in many parts of the country. Due to its more full-bodied flavour, Robusta is used mostly for instant coffee. The Excelsa and Stenophylla varieties are not cultivated commercially in the Philippines. Liberica is known to be an indigenous product in only three Asian countries, including the Philippines, making the bean a very unique and potentially lucrative product. The term ‘Barako’ in the Philippines has become a generic name for the coffee grown and roasted in the Batangas region (just north of Manila). In truth, Barako is the Philippine Liberica bean known for â€Å"its particularly strong taste, powerful body and a distinctly pungent odour. † Because of its homespun image, domestic demand for Barako had slacked off in favour of imported international Arabica and large-scale production of Robusta by and for large corporations. Saudi Arabia has been the only known export market for Barako. As a result, the Barako is now in danger of extinction. In addition to the decline in Barako production, prevailing low world prices for coffee have meant that many Filipino coffee farmers have begun to shift to other crops and some have chosen to sell their land. 3. 6 FACILITIES (PLANT LOCATION) 3. 7SUPPLIERS A. RAW MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES Figaro buys Filipino coffee from communities and farmers nationwide at an average of 39 tons or 39,000 kgs of coffee every year: THUS BENEFITTING†¦ * 57 farmers and their families or approximately 688 persons benefit YEARLY * Coffee harvested from nearly 115 hectares of coffee farms are sold YEARLY * An estimated amount of P 4 million pesos is generated from the purchase of coffee from farmers YEARLY * More children are sent to school, more families are enabled to buy food, medicines, and earn more savings. Farmers from Kalinga, Ifugao, Benguet, Batangas, Cavite, Negros, Davao, Sulu and Basilan are integrated into the supply chain of Figaro. WITH MORE FARMERS HARVESTING COFFEE, MORE FIGARO PATRONS CONTINUE TO ENJOY CUPS OF FIGARO COFFEE. B. TOOLS, MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT The company does not own roasting facilities, but employs the facilities of a sister company, Boyd’s Coffee Company. Today, Boyd Coffee Co. (Phils. ) Inc. has established its significant presence in the Philippine coffee industry. Capitalizing on its unique qualities as a trendsetter and an expert, Boyd Coffee continues its tradition of providing Fresh Roasted Coffee and Total Coffee Solutions designed specifically for each client’s needs. C. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS The waning supply of Barako beans prompted the company to be more aggressive in securing supplies. The ‘Save the Barako’ campaign is its showpiece effort, and has earned the company a reputation as a company that cares for the coffee farmer. Figaro took up the cause of the Barako when everybody else thought it an Impossible task. But because of its belief in the cause, Figaro enjoined small groups who equally believed in the integrity of the cause and subsequently slowly built awareness towards a greater mass. Today, Barako has gained many supporters and made a dream a possibility, further proof that an inspired vision that is led by a credible company to sustain its own industry is the heart of corporate social responsibility. Ultimately, ‘Save the Barako’ has moved even the simplest coffee customer to help sustain this once-threatened variety – that is reward in itself. SECTION 4 MARKETING PLAN 4. 1 INDUSTRY PROFILE. Worth of the entire coffee industry in the Philippines : P21 Billion* Worth of gourmet coffee industry in the Philippines : 2. 1 Billion* Number of stores in the Philippines : STARBUCKS – 150 Figaro – 64 Bo’s Coffee – 40 Gloria Jeans- 38 Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf- 33 Seattle’s Best – 14 Number of coffee chain outlets – 400+ Growth rate of entire coffee industry : 7% annually Growth rate of gourmet coffee industry : 20% annually The amount needed by the government to sustain coffee industry : P200 million Total Coffee Demands: 65,000 tons, 2009;70,350 tons 2012,75,000 tons by 2015. Total Coffee Production : 30,000 tons Coffee Producing Provinces : 22 Coffee Varieties in the Philippines: Liberica, Robusta, Arabica and Excelsa Coffee has been around for more than 1,000 years. During that time, coffee has been considered a food, a medicine, an aphrodisiac, and even a wine. Today, however, coffee is known as a beverage to be savored and enjoyed. Such has coffee’s popularity grown through the centuries. Today, it can be safely assumed someone, somewhere is savoring a cup, a mug or any of coffee’s delightful and delicious preparations at almost every hour of the day. From sun up to sun down, its coffee time! All commercial varieties of coffee are available in the Philippines – Robusta accounting for 70% of the country’s total production, and Arabica with about 5-10%. Other varieties such as Excelsa and Liberica also thrives in the country and accounts for 15-20% of the total. Robusta is the chief source of the base for blending coffee and is important in the manufacture of soluble or instant coffee. Arabica remains the sole source of fine coffee. The Philippines produces approximately 1.3 percent of the total global coffee production. In our country, no morning is complete without coffee. We have our own Batangas barako to be proud of. Instant coffee then came into the scene, and lately, gourmet and specialty coffee with the introduction of foreign cafes such as Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and the like. Coffee drinking has now become more than just a way to wake up one’s nerves, it has become a trend. * First, the world’s coffee shops make up the fastest growing part of the restaurant business, checking in with a 7% annual growth rate. * Second, that the world coffee production is estimated at 110 – 120 million bags per year. * Third, that 14 billion espresso coffees are consumed each year in Italy, reaching over 200,000 coffee bars, and still growing. * Fourth, that Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day, or equivalent 146,000,000,000 (146 Billion) cups per year; making the United States the leading consumer of coffee in the world. * Fifth, that Japan ranks number 3 in the world for coffee consumption. * Sixth, that coffee represents 75% of all the caffeine consumed in the United States. * And seventh, that cafe bars have total average sales that reach 230 cups a day. * It is now an accepted fact that majority of Filipinos take to coffee like they take to rice, and beer. * Take â€Å"BARAKO† for example, this native-grown coffee bean for example, this native-grown coffee bean is not only famous for its strong aroma, as pinoy coffee lovers would atleast. * Although not a common coffee variety, â€Å"BARAKO† is abundant in Southeast Asia, especially in the Philippines. * Believe it or not, it has the largest beans of all the coffee varieties in the world. Its taste is said to be superior to that of Robusta, and some Filipino coffee lovers prefer Barako to Arabica 4. 2 COMPETITION PROFILE Major Players in the Industry of coffee: Starbucks strength rested on four factors: retail expansion, product and service innovation, having an observed clean store, and being a brand associated with the specialty/gourmet coffee niche. The strongest attribute that consumers associate with the Starbucks brand is its being known for specialty/gourmet coffee. Starbucks is a widely-recognized brand. Its top-of-mind recall is high. It is both a household name and a buzzword. Seattle’s Best Coffee LLC has been roasting premium coffee since 1970 and today roasts more than 20 million pounds of coffee every year and millions of cups of our coffee are served every day. Seattle’s Best Coffee is a featured brand within Starbucks Corporation. The smooth taste of Seattle’s Best Coffee has appealed to Filipino taste buds. Their smooth and flavor-filled coffees are often partnered with equally sumptuous meals that engage the taste buds. Their pastries and pasta are equally delicious and keeps customers coming back for more. The UCC started as a store under the name of â€Å"Ueshima Tadao Shoten† in 1933. It became limited partnership in 1940 and on 1951, became â€Å"Ueshima Coffee Co. , Ltd. â€Å". The company introduced the world’s first canned coffee, â€Å"UCC Coffee with Milk†on April 1969 starting the trend for Japanese Canned Coffee. The Euro-Japanese fused food, free wi-fi internet, and various cafe concepts makes the UCC Cafe a very trusty hangout place for Filipinos. They have several branches in the country and eight other Asian countries. They have a very simple layout but favorable quality. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is an American coffee chain, owned and operated by International Coffee & Tea, LLC, which has its corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, California. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has a very clean ambience, innovative coffee mixes and really good customer service. This makes them one of the frequented places for coffee and chilling out. Flavorful, reasonably priced and scenic, the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf stores continue to draw in the coffee-loving crowds. Gloria Jean’s Coffees an Australian owned global specialty coffee company, and is a brand synonymous with coffee quality and leading franchise systems. Personalized service, fun coffee flavors and strategic locations (as one of the awarded foreign franchises in the country) make Gloria Jean’s stay at the top of its game as one of the country’s best coffee shops. The store atmosphere is also excellent and they maintain a loyal following. The Chocolate Macadamia Coffee is a local favorite. â€Å"Bo’s Coffee† is a registered trademark of the business name of a chain of specialty coffee shops that serves espresso beverages, specialty coffee beverages and others, in an ambiance that has been created to cater to a lifestyle market with discriminating taste. Bo’s Coffee Club is very high end coffee shop that has services and product tailored to suit the needs of high society coffee drinkers. They maintain excellent service and product done in good taste, literally and figuratively 4. 3 CUSTOMER PROFILE The typical and most committed coffee drinkers are 25 to 45 year old, affluent, educated adults. While baby boomers have driven the success of coffee shops, specialty coffee appeals to a diverse adult demographic, including college students and young adults. Larger companies may also sell coffee beans wholesale to commercial customers, such as grocery stores and restaurants. SIZE AND GROWTH 1. Do you drink coffee? All of our respondents said that they drink coffee. Reason why they drink coffee 40% of our respondents said that they drink coffee because of coffee’s stimulating properties and benefits that help them in everyday work, 28% Said that its taste, 18% to fit in with others while 14% said that it’s out of habit. 2. When do you prefer to drink coffee? Most of our respondents said that they drink coffee anytime. 3. Do you go to coffee shops? 78% of our respondents said they go to coffee shops to drink coffee and have pastime activities. Reason why yes? 30% of our respondents said that they like the coffee that the coffee shop serves, 25% said that to relax and have pass time their, 15% said that to fit in with others, 10% said that they like the products they sell. Reason why no? 20% of the respondents said that it’s out of their budget and 80% said that it’s just a waste of money. 4. What coffee shops you usually go? 76% of our respondents said they go to Starbucks, 12% go to Kopiroti, and 6% each for Seattle’s Best and Figaro. 5. Do you know Figaro? Majority of our respondents said they know Figaro. How they know Figaro? Most of our respondents said that they saw Figaro branches around the cities and some are word of mouth from friends. 3. How much you are willing to spend in a coffee shop? 52% of our respondents are willing to spend if the price of the coffee will range from P100-P150 4. What do you expect from a coffee shop? Everyone expects a great tasting coffee, clean environment, good service and because of the technology everyone wants a free WI-FI 5. What food you want a coffee shop to serve? Most respondents want bread as a partner to coffee because they only want to ear light foods in coffee shops. 4. 4. TARGET MARKET PROFILE Primary Target Market Our target market is the business executives and young professionals because they hold a big part of the market share in the coffee industry. They are the people that have the habit in drinking coffee and they are the ones who frequently go to coffee shops and for them that is their third home. Usually this people do meetings in coffee shops and conference because of the good ambiance and good surrounding. They choose coffee shops as their third home because they can concentrate in their meeting or business affair especially because of the minimal noise in the coffee shops. They want to hang up in coffee shops because of the comfortable environment and it is affordable. Secondary Target Market Our secondary target market is the class B and C. In the generation today students and foreigners usually go to coffee shops because for them they can study in coffee shops and they can relax and do pass time works. They prefer to study in coffee shops instead in their homes because they can study here for hours without being disturbed and they also choose it as their secondary relaxations place. 4. 5 PRICING PROFILE FIGARO| STARBUCKS| SEATTLE’S BEST| GLORIA JEANS| HOT DRINKSMacchiato85. 00Espresso85. 00 – 109. 00Cappuccino95. 00 – 119. 00Cafe Mocha105. 00 -135. 00White Chocolate Mocha115. 00Cafe Latte95. 00 – 119. 00Cafe Au Lait95. 00 – 119. 00Americano85. 00 – 119. 00Brewed Coffee85. 00 – 119. 00Chocolate Cookie Latte120. 00Caramel Cappuccino Light115. 00Butterscotch Vanilla Latte115. 00 8oz. Peach Latte120. 00 8oz. Strawberry Latte20. 00 8oz. Creme Brulee Latte120. 00Raspberry Mint Latte110. 00Other Hot DrinksHot Tea 85. 00 – 115. 00Hot Chocolate85. 00 – 105. 00Cafe Mocha Light115. 00Steamed Milk85. 00 – 105. 00Blueberry Muffin65. 00Cheese Muffin65. 00Chocolate Muffin65. 00Asado Pie59. 00Tuna Pie59. 00Carrot Loaf69. 00Pudding with Vanilla Sauce69. 00Food for the God’s59. 00Heavenly Cheese Roll59. 00OatmeaL Chocolate Chevvy55. 00Chocolate Cake119. 00My Little Oscar119. 00Dark Chocolate Raspberry Symphony130. 00Strawberry Cheesecake135. 00Chocolate Chip Cookie59. 00Oatmeal Raisin Cookie59. 00English Matrimonial Bar59. 00Banana Hazelnut Turnover79. 00Marble Cream Cheese Brownie70. 00Chocolate Eclair75. 00Tiramisu Eclair75. 00Pepperoni Calzone95. 00Supreme Calzone95. 00Blueberry Cheesecake Lite130. 00Blueberry Almond Puff79. 00| COFEE, TEA AND CLASSICSHot Brewed Coffee80. 00 – 120. 00Hot Brewed Tea90. 00 – 105. 00Iced Tea90. 00 – 120. 00Signature Hot Chocolate105. 00 – 140. 00Caffe Latte90. 00 – 130. 00Cappuccino90. 00 – 130. 00Caffe Mocha100. 00 – 145. 00White Chocolate Mocha115. 00 – 160. 00Caramel Macchiato115. 00 – 160. 00Blended CoffeeMocha125. 00 – 150. 00Caramel125. 00 – 150. 00Dark Mocha155. 00 – 180. 00Coffee Jelly145. 00 – 170. 00Java Chip145. 00 – 170. 00Mint Java ChipvariesHazelnut MochaVariesCreme Brulee FrappuccinovariesChai Frappuccino with Coffee JellyvariesBlack SesameGreen TeavariesBlended CreamCaramel Cream125. 00- 150. 00Chocolate Cream 120. 00 – 145. 00Strawberries and Cream145. 00 – 170. 00Chocolate Cream Chip120. 00 – 145. 00Blended Juice DrinkMango Passion Fruit 125. 00 – 150. 00Raspberry Black Currant 125. 00 – 150. 00Honey Glazed Doughnut40. 00Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookie50. 00Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookie50. 00Double Chocolate Walnut Brownie50. 00Butterscotch Fudge Bar 50. 00Cinnamon Roll/ Swirl55. 00Ensaymada65. 00Danish65. 00Tuna, Corned Beef and ChickenPandesal55. 00Pork Adobo Roll70. 00Cheese Croissant70. 00Sausage Roll75. 00Italian Pocket95. 00Banoffee Pie105. 00Banana Loaf50. 00| THE PERFresh Brewed Coffee80. 00 – 105. 00Americano Perfect85. 00 – 110. 00Cappuccino95. 00 – 120. 00Breve105. 00 – 130. 00Chai Tea Latte 115. 00 -145. 00Hot Tea95. 00Ice Blended and DeliciousMocha125. 00 – 150. 00JavaChip145. 00 Double Chocolate Mint 135. 00 – 160. 00Chai Tea145. 00 – 170. 00Java Jelly145. 00 – 170. 00Classic Iced Tea90. 00 – 120. 00Naughty Toddy90. 00 – 110. 00Classic American Latte 100. 00 – 130. 00Americano95. 00 – 125. 00World’s Best Coffee MilkshakeClassic Javanilla Shake155. 00Milkshakes155. 00HOT, HSeattle’s Best Coffee LattesHot Classic American Latte90. 00 – 115. 00Caramel Latte110. 00 – 130. 00Vanilla Latte110. 00 – 130. 00Hazelnut Latte 110. 00 – 130. 00Almond Latte 110. 00 – 130. 00Raspberry Latte 110. 00 – 130. 00Seattle’s Best Coffee MochasClassic Mocha100. 00White Chocolate Mocha 120. 00 – 150. 00Raspberry Mocha Kiss120. 00 – 150. 00Almond Mocha Joy120. 00 – 150. 00| Espresso ClassicsCappuccino85. 00 – 110. 00Caffe Latte85. 00 – 110. 00Caffe Mocha95. 00 – 125. 00Espresso80. 00 – 125. 00Machiatto80. 00 – 125. 00Americano80. 00 – 105. 00Filtered Coffee of the Day75. 00 – 100. 00Espresso ExpressionsCaramelae110. 00 – 145. 00Mocha Caramelatte110. 00 – 145. 00White Chocolate Mocha110. 00 – 145. 00Chocolate Macadamia Latte110. 00 – 145. 00Irish Nut Creme110. 00 – 145. 00Very Vanilla Latte110. 00 – 145. 00Tea & ChocolateChai Tea Latte95. 00 – 125. 00Hot Tea85. 00 – 110. 00HotChocolate& Marshmallows115. 00 – 140. 00COLD DRINKSVery Vanilla Chiller135. 00 – 165. 00Creme Brulee135. 00 – 165. 00Cookies ‘n Cream125. 00 -150. 00Mint Chocolate Bomb125. 00 – 150. 00Cappuccino ChillersVanilla Caramel135. 00 – 165. 00Chocolate Macadami140. 00 – 170. 00Gourmet Iced ChocolatesStrawberries n’ Cream130. 00 – 155. 00Iced Chocolate130. 00 – 155. 00Over IceCappuccino Chiller115. 00 – 155. 00Iced Mocha115. 00 – 155. 00Iced Latte100. 00 – 125. 00Strawberry Smoothie135. 00 – 165. 00Mixed Berry Smoothie135. 00 – 165. 00Mango Smoothie135. 00 – 165. 00Tropical Coconut135. 00 – 165. 00Fruit ChillersStrawberry130. 00 – 150. 00Mango Chillers130. 00 – 150. 00| 6 4. 6 ADVERTISEMENT AND PROMOTIONS Marketing Tools| Program Activities| Expansion of Coffee Shop Branches| Figaro will expand its selected coffee shop branches by adding a â€Å"conference section†. Additional space needed will be rented and additional chairs, tables and conference room equipments such as projectors will be provided. Conference Section will be used by business executives and the like, on a rental per hour basis. These spaces will form part of the general area if not rented. Figaro will implement this plan on business cities like Makati, Ortigas and some parts of Quezon City. | Television for Entertainment| There will be Televisions on every branches of Figaro nationwide. This is to entertain customers through movies, basketball games etc. | Customer Advantage CardMagazine Advertisements| For every purchase a customer will earn points that can be converted to freebies like free tickets to movie houses upon reaching a certain point. Figaro will have a picture advertisement in Entrepreneur Magazine and other business magazines, advertising the â€Å"Conference Section† of Figaro. We will advertise on Lifestyle Magazines as well. | Newspaper Advertisements| Newspaper Advertisements in the form of pictures will also be provided in the leading newspapers in the Philippines during Sundays on Manila Bulletin and Philippine Star. We will also make press releases on these newspapers. | TV Show Segment Promotion| Figaro, after the successful implementation of the proposed expansion, will be featured in a TV Show where it can showcase it’s being â€Å"Second Comfort Zone†. | Social Networking Sites| Improvements to the official Facebook page will be made. Designs will be added based on the season- for example: Valentines, Summer, Christmas etc. Links to the official company website, official twitter account and to Figaro’s press releases will be provided. This page will also serve as a place where customers can post their comments and reviews. A twitter account will also be established. These networking sites will keep the online community informed regarding the improvements. | Leaflets| Leaflets will be made available on Figaro branches nationwide. | SECTION 5 OPERATING AND CONTROL SYSTEMS Figaro Support System From helping you secure your site to the thorough training of your employees, Figaro Coffee Company has a strong support system to aid you in the opening and ongoing operation of your business. a. Initial site assessment. b. Training in the Figaro System for the franchisee and the Initial branch staff. c. Site design and construction assistance. d. Comprehensive Store Operations Manual. e. An opening team assigned for the branch’s first month of operations. f. Continuous research and improvement of the Figaro product line. g. Regular field visits by the Figaro Operations Team to give in-site assistance.h. Continuous training programs. i. A network of regular communications with franchises. Pre-qualification The qualities we look for in a franchise include: 1. A passion for coffee and enthusiasm for the business. 2. A strict adherence to Franchise Standards, and a commitment of time and resources to the Figaro System. 3. A desire for a mutually beneficial business relationship. 4. The resources to invest a minimum of ? 5 to 7 million, depending on the business model most suitable to the site chosen by the franchise applicant. Application Process To get your own Figaro franchise system started: 1. E-mail a Letter of Intent containing name of interested party, expressing interest in a franchise and proposed site and location (if any) to Franchise Relations Manager: franchise@figarocoffee. com 2. Upon receipt of the Letter of Intent, we will schedule a Franchise Orientation Meeting with you to discuss the detailed procedures on how to secure a franchise. 3. Fill out the Franchise Qualification Form. 4. If qualified, you will be required to conduct a feasibility study of the selected site using our Market Study form.

Aa meeting

At the Delta club, otherwise known as Alcoholics Anonymous, the first thing the people there offered me a book to read and study. I held the book open at the first page while we waited for a girl named Amy; I guess she’s the one who starts the meeting all the time. A tall white man in his fifties walked to me and asked me â€Å"first time here? †; â€Å"yes† I said. â€Å"don’t worry; this meeting helped me a lot. I am father of 16-years-old son, I hide and drink and I am mean to my wife,† the man said.â€Å"wow, hope you get better, I said with a surprised voice. I sat in the back on a creamy plastic chair looking around at what kind of posters they had in the room, an interesting poster said â€Å"IAM RESPONSIBLE†, and another big long post was titled THE TWELVE CONCEPTS FOR WORLD SERVICE. At 6:30 pm Amy walked into the room everyone said â€Å"HI AMY†, â€Å"how’s everyone, glad yall made it† Amy said. Here I notice the meeting started everyone sat down and read IAM RESPONSIBLE all together in one voice. Wow! It looks like these people come here a lot they know what to do. â€Å"Iam responsible† post was about words put together to cheer everyone in room to feel that they can be responsible to change for better life. Next they read THE TWELVE CONCEPETS post, they twelve rules are about how to work on changing inside them and working on their problems. â€Å"hmm, very interesting† I said, people keep coming in to join the group there were around 30 persons, age between 25-60, all kind of people male and female, Black, white, Asian, Latin all kind of people. Around 6:50pm group of bikers entered the room all sat next to each other wearing-same jackets, around five guys in their fifties. A white girl in her twenties entered after them with a child and joined the meeting, too. Amy said; â€Å"who’s here for the first time†, everyone turned and looked at me and I thought, â€Å"no way to hide. † I raised my hand kind of shyly. â€Å"Welcome, introduce yourself please† Amy said. â€Å"hi, I am Angelica, and I am here to help my husband stop drinking† I said. Yes I lied about my name and-reason I am there, but that’s what came in my mind when she asked me.â€Å"do you think he’s an alcoholic† Amy asked. â€Å"Hmm, I am not sure but he seems to be drinking a lot these days which is not usual† I said. â€Å"Well, welcome, I hope you find your answers† Amy said. â€Å"Welcome Angelica† everyone said. I sat in back and I listened to everyone talking about their days and lives, families, and people they care about. To start talking in meeting they raised their hand and said their name and â€Å"I am alcoholic,† just like â€Å"hello all I am Angelica and I am an alcoholic.† They start talking about what they want to share with-others. I saw the hope in everyone’s eyes in that room and excitement, talking about pass? And how they had changed. I sat listening to their stories and watching people talking I was all quiet and didn’t say a word. Some of them were calm talking about their family and how happy they were able to take care of them and how this meeting helping them to realize how bad they? Once felt how much their family’s needs them a- father or mother, wife and husband. Some other people were telling their stories with anger and tension about how bad they were, and what they would do to have alcohol. Meeting was one hour. After I sat there and listened to all these stories I felt very sad, and wondered how someone could get to this point, just like drugs. After hour meeting over, everyone returned the book they had and organized the room, and stand together talking about how good it was to see each other, they were all friends, family, not just a group that had come over here to do what they had to do. This was awesome I walked out and said â€Å"thank you, I enjoyed the meeting was good to meet yall. † They answered â€Å"thank you for coming hopefully we helped you a little; enjoy the rest of your day. † That was nice and sweet from them they were very friendly. When I got in-car I knew I will never go back again but it was a different experience. I learned from it: no matter what, people can change if they decide to.

Law of Health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law of Health - Essay Example It is the duty of health care providers to give information to their patients when obtaining consent and also warn them of any possible risks that are likely to be encountered during the treatment or medical procedure. But on the other hand, the quantity of information to disclose, and the truthfulness of that information is also a factor to consider as much as a health care provider is required to give out information to patients. The statement under scrutiny in this paper can be dissected in a myriad of ways. It is imperative to point out that in relation to the law in England and Wales; it is the duty of health care providers to care for their patients. This was clearly stated by the House of Lords by Lord Diplock in the Sidaway v Bethlem Royal Hospital case of 1985. According to Lord Diplock, â€Å"A single comprehensive duty covering all the ways in which you are called on to exercise skill and judgment in the improvement of the physical and mental condition of the patient. â€Å"(Sidaway v Bethlem Royal Hospital 1985)’. The law in England and Wales also clearly stipulates that it is the duty of the health care provider, while caring for a patient, to clearly advice a patient and disclose all pertinent information that will permit the patient to come up with good decisions based on the nature of care being given (Hills v Potter 1983). However, the law is not quite clear on the distinction that sh ould exist between therapeutic and non-therapeutic contexts. Most of the famous cases that are related to the topic in question reveal just how difficult it is for one to know just how much information to reveal to a patient. This difficulty arises from the fact that it is not very clear whether very inquisitive and curious patients should be told more than needs to be told. Another issue that causes this difficulty lies in the fact that the law is not comprehensible on whether the health care provider has the discretion to distort or withhold information.  

Comic Books in America and Japan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Comic Books in America and Japan - Case Study Example However, children are also the most sensitive group within the society because they are at a developmental stage that is highly susceptible to influence. Moreover, children are also the most active in leisure activities because they require socialisation to develop intellectually. The development of children is dependent on the presented values within the family and the environment in which they live, with different societies presenting different traditions. The group relations and activities that children engage in during their leisure time are particularly influential on their developmental attributes (Turow 2011, p. 162). An excellent example of this is the influence of comic books. Comic books are either locally created or imported and often follow a similar fictional plot that children can identify with easily. Comic book popularity has recently been boosted by advances in technology, as children can now access comic plots through the internet on their computers and/or mobile ph ones. In both America and Japan, the increased trend of comic books use in children is obvious, although the regions depict a variation in child behaviour in response to comic books. Thus, this paper will present a discussion of the phenomena in both countries, and offer some comparison to show how comic books affect children intellectual development as well as on aspects pertaining to their social behaviours. Japanese Manga and American Comics Overview Since the Second World War, America and Japan have experienced similar developments, and have participated in a great deal of cultural exchange. For the purpose of this paper, the common prevalence of the comic book in the two countries will be addressed. In America, the term is ‘comic books’, and in Japan, it is ‘manga’ (Burton, 2008, p. 3). Comics were developed in America in the thirties, at which time the super hero aspect gained popularity. Since then, comics have influenced the creation of Japanese man ga, which has borrowed heavily from such super hero fictions as Batman and Superman. In both countries, the fictional worlds created have offered entertainment to an increasingly broad audience of children. Indeed, both comics and manga are significant to the publication industry (Bresler & Thompson 2002, p. 51). Japanese production of manga has been larger as compared to the American comic industry, occupying forty per cent of total publication production in Japan (Schodt, 1996, p. 19). This is because the composition of manga is dynamic and has grown to cover an increased scope as compared to comics. Interest has therefore increased among consumers, who have incorporated Japanese manga into their entertainment. This has prompted the publishers of American comic books to seek developments in plot that increase the creativity and involvement of the youth and children. However, Japanese manga continues to have a greater influence as compared to comic books because, unlike their comic s, the target audience is much wider. Considering these differences in audience reach, despite the similarities of the manga and comic book genres, the influence on children in Japan as compared to in America has been recorded to vary. This may be related to differences in plot development in the stories and the reflections they offer of societal norms (Burton, 2008, p. 3; Schodt 1996, p. 20-22). Comics among American Children In the 1930s, when

Weighing the Evidence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Weighing the Evidence - Research Paper Example After comparing all the findings of all the articles, the researchers found out that the frequency of the study concepts is directly proportional to the strength of the study evidence. This is means that if the frequency with which a concept is studied is low, the resulting strength also becomes low especially when one focuses on the quality of outcomes of the weighing process. This was discovered after the researchers compared the checklist appraisal results with the expert judgment made. The researchers used transparency as the reasoning process that allowed them to draw their conclusion. They concluded that the use of checklist appraisal in weighing the study evidence is better than using expert judgment. This is because checklist appraisal is transparent and can easily be discussed by the team members or other people. This conclusion was weak because the researchers focused on a single aspect: transparency. The researchers concluded that checklist appraisals are better than the e xpert judgment because they are transparency.However, additional research is necessary to strengthen the findings. For example, the researcher should conduct research to investigate the effects of the frequency of the study themes on the two methods used in weighing the strength of the study results. Additionally, the reliability of the weighing scale used in the study is not determined making it crucial for the researchers to conduct an additional study to evaluate the validity and reliability of the weighing scale .

Legal Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legal Environment - Essay Example When multinational companies operate in countries that do not have high standards, they may be in conflict with both the laws of the host and those applied at home, albeit unnoticed. International operations involve objectives to set high standards of services or goods produced while maintaining corporate responsibility. However, conflicts usually arise, as no clear balance can be arrived at. For instance, US companies such as Pepsi, American Standard and Nestle were punished din China for discharging substandard wastewater into rivers in China (Simone, 2000). This is in spite of their knowledge the US law which strictly condemns such acts (Simone, 2000). It can be said that the human resource manager of the companies involved did not measure up to the task of corporate responsibility. Nevertheless, most US companies attract Americans to work in their foreign subsidiaries, which is in line with the Employment laws the US. This is point however deserves some criticism in that the local people of the countries in which US companies operate are denied employment opportunities. From the two points of view above, one can surmise that US multinational corporations enforce US laws when doing is for their benefit. On the other hand, there is a tendency to violate the US laws if it is evident that the host country is not in a position to raise a red flag. Multinational corporations have to deal with th... If the laws are in dissonance then it becomes difficult for a company to have a clear direction on which ones to adopt. It is interesting that most international investments are usually done in developing countries where competition is law and resources are in plenty. However, such countries usually lack unclear laws standards, which make it difficult for them to appraise activities of the companies. The large companies therefore develop a "big boy" syndrome and use their resources to influence the host counties. On the other hand, if the country that the multinational corporation operates in is of equal or near equal status, the conflicts are solved based on sound judgment. For instance, the UK rejected Dasani, a brand of mineral water produced by a US company, coca cola after it was found to contain bromate, a possible carcinogen (LOHAS Journal Weekly). The allegation forced Coca cola to withdraw the brand from UK. Such a conflict illustrates how some countries all over the world may be ignorantly accepting fake or sub standard products. Nevertheless, it is evident that divergence between country laws should not be so wide since some laws are actually modifications of others. In a case such as the one mentioned above, the multinational corporation has no option but to conform to the laws of the country in which it operates. To summarize it all foreign companies have to submit to the laws of the local country or withdraw their operations. My opinion is that a foreign company should not impose new laws to the country in which it operates. Therefore, such conflicts are justified since they aim at maintaining good standards of products, whether produced by local companies or multinational

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 14

ART - Essay Example Her serene expressions depict her inner tranquillity or it could be a sign of melancholy. The Lady in the portrait has alluring lush dark-long hair; her skin tone is fairly light brown, her body is shapely and subtle. Hence, she fulfils all the terms of being an aesthetic beauty, who is out in the nature to be noticed by the artist. Her noticeable ornaments are a finger ring, two bangles in her wrist and a shoulder band tightly enclosed around her upper arm. Ornaments like finger rings either portray commitment or are a sign of wealth. In this portrait, the woman is dominated by blue colour and has beauty all around her in the form of flowers and crystal blue water, but she has tightly closed her eyes either due to serenity or despair. Hence, the portrait leaves one a bit perplexed, the expression spread across her face depict self-possession or serenity, but the element of bliss cannot be suggested for it. Thus, one concludes that the lady in blue is either feeling grey, blue or

Marketing Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Marketing Research - Essay Example The marketing strategy depends a good deal on the research which has come about with the passage of time. The marketing research realms find out the exact dynamics of the market and then study the basis of how products and services would be targeted to the relevant market domains. The last part signifies the real role of the marketing strategy and how it has been instrumental at shaping up actions and behaviors by the people who matter the most within any marketing scenario. Organizations conduct marketing research so that they could know what kinds of preferences are being followed by the people who fall under the category of the target audience1 (Fahy, 1996). These elements are severely important because these emphasize the need for getting the act together to make the marketing strategy a success in the long run. However, if the marketing research realms are not properly worked upon, there would be serious predicaments within the understanding that is reached upon within the ranks of the marketing strategy that has been drawn up. There is a dire need to set things right within the marketing research dynamics so that the organization grows as a whole, and the business practices are given the required room and expertise through the proper inputs of the people who matter the most, and their preferences which remain quintessential on any given day. Marketing research is the amalgamation of data that has been taken over a period of time within the reins of business realms. It takes into account the qualitative as well as the quantitative details which are pursued for a particular area of study and hence the results are envisaged only after the research has been completed. Marketing research is a fact finding exercise and it requires extensive planning and allocation of much needed resources on the part of the researching party. The purpose of marketing research is to seek for answers that are raised in the wake of different queries and questions, all of which for m the vital part in the implementation of the marketing strategy for an organization. There are two different marketing research methodologies – the primary research and the secondary research, both of which require extensive finding of data and knowledge on the organization’s part. The primary research methods include sampling through questionnaires, survey methods and one-on-one interviews. The questionnaires could be open ended where there is room for respondents to spell out as much information as needed or these could be close ended where the respondents are tied to certain answers from which they need to choose. These could also be mixed ended – having a combination of open ended and close ended questions and queries. The survey could be through interviews and questionnaires. This is basically a case of quantitative research where quantities and figures could be tabulated rather than quality which is judged through the use of secondary research methods. Th e secondary research methods include the usage of books, journals, websites, encyclopedia and other related information and knowledge which have already been sorted out and has been documented for pretty much the same purposes. Moving ahead further, a marketing strategy is a long term end point where the business organization wants to see itself in a particular duration of time. It indeed is the end goal where it wants to reach before it draws up another vision statement.

The Art of Delegation Essay Example for Free

The Art of Delegation Essay The Art of Delegation: Five Behaviors of Effective Delegators Managers of companies of all varying sizes often will have multiple tasks to perform. Good managers need to decide which tasks they will perform themselves and which tasks will be delegated to others. When managers delegate assignments they must be aware of the five behaviors used by effective delegators. These behaviors are as follows: 1. Clarify the assignment 2. Specify the employee’s range of discretion 3. Allow employees to participate 4. Inform others that delegation has occurred 5. Establish feedback controls This discussion will analyze the five individual delegation behaviors and how they apply to the scenario at the end of chapter 10. Scenario: Ricky Lee, who is a manager of a contract group of a large regional office supply distributor, is given a project from his boss Anne to develop the department’s new procedures manual. This manual will outline the steps followed in the company’s negotiating contracts with vendors. Anne’s requirements are for the project to be completed by the end of the month. Ricky Lee informs Anne that he is currently working on another major project and asks Anne if he can delegate this project to Bill. Anne agrees to the delegation as long as Bill is aware of the parameters and expectations for the completion of the project. Ricky Lee must be aware of the following behaviors regarding delegation when delegating this project to Bill. Clarify the Assignment Bill has worked for three year in the contracts department, and Ricky Lee has determined that Bill is the most qualified person to do the job. Ricky Lee had deemed that Bill has the right motivation, experience, and drive to complete the project successfully. Ricky Lee must clarify the assignment to Bill, laying out responsibilities of the project, expected results, any confidential natures, and performance expectations. Because the project needs to be completed by the end of the month, Ricky Lee needs to make sure Bill understands the time constraints. The clarification of the project should be done in person, through a meeting with all the stakeholders, and followed up with an e-mail that summarizes the meeting. Specify the range of discretion Ricky Lee needs to communicate to Bill what his authoritative constraints are regarding this project. Ricky Lee must also determine if Bill should have the authority to delegate part of this project to others. Questions and clarifications regarding the project should be addressed directly to Bill, but ultimately, Ricky Lee and Anne will review, and make the final decisions. Ultimately, Bill must have enough authority to complete this project effectively, but enough constraints should be put in place to monitor Bill, so that he does not exceed his authority. Allow all employees to participate Ricky Lee should allow Bill and any other employees involved in this project to make suggestions regarding how to complete the procedures manual. Ricky Lee must be aware of Bill’s own self-interests and biases, and use this knowledge to evaluate how Bill and other employees involved in the project, create the manual. Allowing Bill and other employees to participate in how to complete this project will empower and motivate them; leaving everyone believing that they are part of the process, instead of another cog in the wheel. Inform others that delegation has occurred It is imperative that Ricky Lee informs both internal and external stakeholders of the delegation of this project to Bill. Additionally, Ricky Lee should make sure everyone is aware of Bill’s authorities. Some internal stakeholders who should be aware of the delegation are other employees whose jobs may be affected by the delegation, other managers who would be affected by the delegation, and Ricky Lee’s boss Anne. The external stakeholders may include software vendors as well as other consultants/contractors that Ricky Lee’s company has contracted to assist with this project. Establish feedback channels Establishing feedback channels will enable Ricky Lee to identify any problems regarding completing the task on time and with the correct specifications. These controls will also identify if correct policies and procedures are followed. Setting these controls will allow Ricky Lee to get status checks on the project and will enable him to ensure that Bill is not abusing his authority. Without out setting these controls, Ricky Lee runs the chance of major problems arising. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is important for managers to understand the five behaviors of delegation, so that any issues involving the project will be resolved quickly and effectively. Effective delegation means possessing good communication skills. Managers must have good communication skills so that all parties involved know what their assignment is and understand everyone’s authoritative discretion. Finally, establishing feedback channels are necessary to ensure all aspects of the project run smoothly.

Exploring the aims of the Mercantile System

Exploring the aims of the Mercantile System Mercantilism is the main economic system, which is used within the 16th to 18th centuries. Its main goal is to increase the wealth of the country through imposing governmental regulation concerning all of the commercial interests in the nation. It was argued that national strength can be maximized through limiting the amount of imports via tariffs and raising the amount of exports. It discusses that the economic strength of every country is related mainly to the repair of positive trade balance. It aims at the idea of making every country use export techniques more than import techniques as a way to remain in an economic and political viable position. So, positive trade balance upon the mercantilist thought concludes in a way of using gold in the practice of countrys treasury (Mark Blaug). The Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790) was the man who was responsible for the term mercantile system. So, mercantilism was in a contrary side of Smiths ideas of free enterprise, free trade, and the free move of people and goods. One of the main assertions of mercantilism is the national wealth that will appear through the accumulation and import of gold or any other precious metals, like silver (Paul Johnson). Being an economic system, mercantilism leads to make foreign competition and discouragement of direct foreign investment. This term supposes  that the wealth of any nation will primarily depend on the ownership of precious metals as silver and gold, but this system cannot be achieved forever, because the universal economy would be stagnant when all countries wanted to make exports without imports. After a  very short time,  a lot of people started to act against the mercantilism idea and stressed the very bad need of free trade. The continuous pressure result was found in the implementation of laissez faire economics in the 19th century (Lars Magnusson). Mercantilism, being a historical period, had been associated with the increase of a particular structure of capitalism in Europe which referred to it to be merchant capitalism. It was a doctrine developed by different economic writers in this period that call for the powerful alliance among the monarchial system and merchants. Nowadays, the mercantilism term is used to view the protectionist trade policies when combined with other governmental policies, directly or indirectly in particular industries to acquire the regional or national trade advantage. Mercantilism has associated with the nationalistic economic policies shunned by free trade and advocates that argue for minimum state interference in the international and domestic marketplace (Henry William Spiegel). The mercantile system stated different policies of nationalistic trade thought to acquire the wealth of the nation. It can be achieved via five basic elements of mercantilism, as indicated by David L. Sills: The first one is nationalism and policy start together with all possible policy directed towards the nationalism. The second element is foreign trade that should always be thought of in light of its effects on the states stock of owning precious metals. The third one is lacking domestic mines of gold or silver; the precious metals should be collected by excess the exports over the imports. The forth element is governmental trade authorities that should strive to limit imports and give encouragement to exports. The last element is the economic and political foreign policy that should be coordinated in order for the achievement of these goals (Mark Blaug). While most of them closely associated with 18th century in Europe, the mercantilism term has been used in order to refer to the aggrandizements general principle of state authority for the economic benefit of the capitalist class through controlling and manipulating trade. For example, during the colonial times it took the shape of military control on trade routes and large tariffs imposed on imported goods in general and manufactured products in particular (Lars Magnusson). The mercantilist practices rationale, upon the imperatives of colonial conquest and empire, had been reflected in the eighteenth century concepts of the profits origin and the exchange nature. While being the goal of for-profit entity, the mercantilists managed to apply this opinion to the whole nation. This is in contrary to the belief of the ideology of marketplace done by classical economists. This exchange should be done on the aspect of equivalents. Moreover, mercantilists believed that the seller can gain via the loss of the buyer. Therefore, the nation will become richer when it sells or exports more than it buys or imports. Gold or any other money sources will be amassed to benefit the state. The opinion related to the surplus or profit happened in the unequal exchange in commodities was perfectly cope with the mercantilist policy in controlling the trade terms (Paul Johnson). Mercantilism had played an important role but not a dominant role in the transition period from feudalism to the industrial capitalism. However, mercantilism did benefit greatly large merchant companies to ship home goods through trade routes maintained and protected by the country. Foreign trade was the necessary thought to be done for gold accumulation because the domestic trade cannot generate a net profit or surplus. Struggling by this view of the profits origin, merchants used exports as a necessary means of acquiring surplus profits. The merchants, such as all better policy makers, argued that using this policy would benefit in turn the whole state Henry William Spiegel). These policies in order to achieve these goals involving state subsidies of the export industries, high tariff was used to encourage home production in the prohibition on the gold sale to foreigners, the subsidization of basic industries when necessary, the control over certain kinds of capital, and the relentless gold import and the raw materials from different colonies. The most of these policies contained strict control in trade routes and the prices stabilization in state currency (Steele G. R.). Throughout the mercantilist period, the merchants had controlled the trading system, but not the production of services and goods. Before the start of industrial capitalism, the production was on the line of crafts system that embodied remnants of the very old feudal arrangement. In addition, the industrial capitalism emerged the merchants power. They would come to see them taking over or being involved in the production means that would enhance their profits through giving them the control over the labor productivity. However, the merchants cannot control the production means, as the primary concern lies on selling and buying. The policies of mercantilists encouraged the imports of raw materials that in turn can be manufactured to make different products. The finished goods can be sold and exported subsequently in high price in comparison with the original cost. So, it found its way to the treasury of the nation (Mark Blaug). The foundation of the mercantile system started with the beginnings of the capitalism in sixteenth and seventeenth century in Europe. At this time France, Spain, and some of the Low Countries as Holland and Belgium were transformed into economies in merchant-dominated. So, the modern states were emerging of being as a political complement in the merchant economy. This system indicated that it was regulated by the competitive labor market. It led to the formation of a new class of people that found them being free from feudal system to the land to be only forced to sell the labor to ensure subsistence. The emerging was also a class of manufacturing and industrial entrepreneurs recruited from the declining merchant class (Lars Magnusson). The merchant class paved the way of losing control over the new economic system to the forces of the capitalist competition when profits and price were regulated through the accumulation and production of capital. When trading was essential for the emerging of industrial capitalist system, the transactions were viewed as a sharing out in the total of selling price among the purchasers and buyers, including the merchant. The concept of mercantile idea, which trade led to the profits in the whole system, paved the way to the opinion of the classical economist that the production and reinvestment of profit was the actual source of the wealth of countries (Paul Johnson). When the general perception of the term of mercantilism being one of a very long era in the history of economic thought, the mercantilist authors were business and professional people that wrote and made known of their thoughts in a long time before economics came to be a separate academic discipline. Many representative of the mercantilist writings were English and French writers of the 17th century. These practical thinkers sought the protection, order, and stability essential for the expansion of their activities. This in turn will benefit the state. In exchange for the military protection of the trading routes, they succeeded in acquiring the monopolistic subsidization from crown when the country extends its material means for the colonization. Wealth found to both the merchant elite and the state in form of gold and different raw materials to add its value, and then exported in form of the finished goods. Mercantilists saw production to be very important because it only led to t he surplus of exports (Mark Blaug). When the merchant class had been far from cohesive, the disagreements about policy in the merchant class were different to the aims of a common goal of expanding the extent of trade surplus. The mercantilists encouraged exports, except the machinery, plant and equipment, which might help foreign competitors. They discouraged imports, except in raw materials and precious metals. The colonies, including the Americas, had served as a primary export market and the tax revenue source, military bases, and a source of silver, gold, and raw materials. The strong navy and the military war machine were vital to the maintenance and implementation of these policies (Lars Magnusson). As production became more important, the capitalists realized that in controlling production, this would be possible to decrease costs, increase productivity, and undercut the competitors by lowering prices. The line of thinking led economists like Adam Smith to oppose the idea that gold constituted wealth. In the powerful critique of mercantilists, Adam Smith had pointed out that money reflected the wealth produced while expressing the value of goods and services that offered in the marketplace. Moreover, struggles among merchants in trade monopolies and prices made conflict to all the detriment concerned. Many criticisms of mercantilism had culminated in a devastating critique that is known as the specie flow mechanism. The Scottish philosopher and political economist called David Hume (1711-1776) had pointed out that the very success of a nations mercantilist policies will set in motion forces, which would tend to reverse trade surplus, through the normal operation in markets. All owing in the money free flow, at this time especially gold, it was discussed that would tend to result in balance of trade equilibrium (Lars Magnusson). While the specie-flow mechanism of Hume is the most known critique of the mercantilist thought, his opposition to mercantilist thinking started as early as the late 17th century. The main idea was that the success of mercantilist policies will trigger unintended consequences. So, the positive trade balance refers to money positive net flow, because a lot of money is coming in rather than going out. This situation would evolve where too much amounts of money is chasing few goods, where the system is operating in full capacity, money is not hoarded but kept in circulation. The only logical effect is to raise prices. As opposed to the countries mercantilist surplus, money is flowing out that result in the fall of prices. The deficit countries will become more competitive in time. Trade will shift their thinking resulting in trade equilibrium. That doctrine will later become known as the quantity theory of money (Mark Blaug). In light of historical influence, mercantilist policy expanded the decrease of the feudal economy and the system of guild crafts of production. The state policy and merchant system complemented each other. The main objective was to indicate growth of foreign trade while encouraging the inflow of the precious metals and the raw materials to which the value could be added for exports. So, mercantilism served to rapid the transition of Europe from the land-based economy to the monetary economy. Though pure mercantilism is considered a dead economic issue, but vestiges of it remain (Henry William Spiegel). Mercantilism, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many European countries believed that the world wealth was finite and limited. Whatever one of the countries gained, the another one lost. In order to ensure their own share, those countries issued an economic policy calling it mercantilism. Because England had followed mercantilism, this policy affected profoundly the American colonies in the years that precede independence. The cornerstone of mercantilism is that the country supply of silver and gold reflected its wealth and its economic strength. In addition, the gold enabled countries to acquire military arms. The Countries worked in many ways to raise their silver and gold stores, but the foreign trade became the basic avenue. When exporting more goods than imported, the mercantile countries could demand the difference in gold which is the principal international currency of those times (Lars Magnusson). The trading countries such as England saw their colonies to be useful players in the mercantile game. It looked to its colonies for getting raw materials that could be obtained at low cost. So, colonies became markets for the English exports. By mercantilism, England had forged the early weaknesses and strengths of the young American economy. Starting from the first of the Navigation Acts in 1660, the laws passed during the 17th and 18th centuries tightened England control of the American trade and economy. For example, when requiring the colonies to trade through the British Empire, England had limited any trade competition might be presented by its colonies. The laws against manufacturing also forced the colonies to import manufactured goods from the mother country. The products manufactured were routed within England, and shipping was only limited to English or colonial carriers (Steele, G. R.). Mercantilism is economic nationalism for the purpose of building a wealthy and powerful state. Being an economic system, mercantilism leads to make foreign competition and discouragement of direct foreign investment. This term supposes  that the wealth of any nation will primarily depend on the ownership of precious metals as silver and gold, but this system cannot be achieved forever, because the universal economy would be stagnant when all countries wanted to make exports without imports. After a  very short time,  a lot of people started to act against the mercantilism idea and stressed the very bad need of free trade. The continuous pressure result was found in the implementation of laissez faire economics in the  19th century (Lars Magnusson). The most important economic rationale for mercantilism in the 16th century was the consolidation of the centers of regional power of the feudal era through large competitive nation-states. Other contributing factors were in the establishment of colonies out of Europe, the growth of commerce and industry in Europe relative to agriculture, and the increase in the breadth and volume of trade, and the increase in using metallic monetary systems, particularly silver and gold, relative to barter transactions. Within the mercantilist period, the military conflict among states was both more extensive and more frequent than at any time in history. The navies and armies of the main protagonists were not temporary forces raised to specify a specific threat or objective, but they were professional forces. The primary economic objective of the government was to command sufficient quantity of the hard currency to support the military that would deter attacks by other countries and help its own ter ritorial expansion. The policies took so many forms. Governments may provide capital to new industries, exempt new industries from guild rules and taxes, establish monopolies over local and colonial markets, and grant titles and pensions to successful producers. In trade policy the government assisted local industry by imposing tariffs, quotas, and prohibitions on imports of goods that competed with local manufacturers. Governments also prohibited the export of tools and capital equipment and the emigration of skilled labor that would allow foreign countries, and even the colonies of the home country, to compete in the production of manufactured goods. At the same time, diplomats encouraged foreign manufacturers to move to the diplomats own countries (Lars Magnusson). Shipping was particularly important during the mercantile period. With the growth of colonies and the shipment of gold from the New World into Spain and Portugal, control of the oceans was considered vitally important to national power. Because ships could be used for merchant or military purposes, the governments of the era developed strong merchant marines. In France Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the minister of finance under Louis XIV from 1661 to 1683, increased port duties on foreign vessels entering French ports and provided bounties to French shipbuilders (Steele, G. R.). In England the Navigation Laws of 1650 and 1651 prohibited foreign vessels from engaging in coastal trade in England and required that all goods imported from the continent of Europe be carried on either an English vessel or a vessel registered in the country of origin of the goods. Finally, all trade between England and her colonies had to be carried in either English or colonial vessels. The Staple Act of 1663 extended the Navigation Act by requiring that all colonial exports to Europe be landed through an English port before being reexported to Europe. Navigation policies by France, England, and other powers were directed primarily against the Dutch, who dominated commercial marine activity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Steele, G. R.). During the mercantilist era it was often suggested, if not actually believed, that the principal benefit of foreign trade was the importation of gold and silver. According to this view the benefits to one nation were matched by costs to the other countries that exported gold and silver, and there were no net gains from trade. For countries almost constantly on the verge of war, draining one another of valuable silver and gold was thought to be almost as desirable as the direct benefits of trade (Geoffrey Parker). Adam Smith refuted the idea that the wealth of a nation is measured by the size of the treasury in his famous treatise, The Wealth of Countries, a book rightly considered to be the foundation of modern economic theory. Smith made a number of important criticisms of mercantilist made a number of important criticisms of mercantilist doctrine. First, he demonstrated that trade, when freely initiated, benefits both parties. In modern jargon it is a positive-sum game. Second, he argued that specialization in production allows for economies of scale, which improves efficiency and growth. Finally, Smith argued that the collusive relationship between government and industry was harmful to the general population. While the mercantilist policies were designed to benefit the government and the commercial class, the doctrines of laissez-faire, or free markets, which originated with Smith, interpreted economic welfare in a far wider sense of encompassing the entire population (Lars Magnusson). While The Wealth of Nations is generally considered to mark the end of the mercantilist era, the laissez-faire doctrines of free-market economics also reflect a general disenchantment with the imperialist policies of nation states. The Napoleonic Wars in Europe and the Revolutionary War in the United States heralded the end of the period of military confrontation in Europe and the mercantilist policies that supported it. Despite these policies and the wars that they are associated with, the mercantilist period was one of generally rapid growth, particularly in England. This is partly because the governments were not very effective in enforcing the policies that they espoused. While the government could prohibit imports, for example, it lacked the resources to stop the smuggling that the prohibition would create. In addition, the variety of new products that were created during the industrial revolution made it difficult to enforce the industrial policies that were associated with mercantilist doctrine. By 1860 England had removed the last vestiges of the mercantile era. Industrial regulations, monopolies, and tariffs were abolished, and emigration and machinery exports were freed. In large part because of her free trade policies, England became the dominant economic power in Europe. Englands success as a manufacturing and financial power, coupled with the United States as an emerging agricultural pow erhouse, led to the resumption of protectionist pressures in Europe and the arms race between Germany, France, and England, which ultimately resulted in World War I (Geoffrey Parker). Protectionism remained important in the interwar period. World War I had destroyed the international monetary system based upon the gold standard. After the war manipulation of the exchange rate was added to the governments list of trade weapons. A country could simultaneously lower the international prices of its exports and increase the local currency price of its imports by devaluing its currency against the currencies of its trading partners. This competitive devaluation was practiced by many countries during the Great Depression of the thirties and led to a sharp reduction in world trade (Steele, G. R.). A number of factors led to the reemergence of mercantilist policies after World War II. The Great Depression created doubts about the efficacy and stability of free-market economies, and an emerging body of economic thought ranging from Keynesian countercyclical policies to Marxist centrally planned systems created a new role for governments in the control of economic affairs. In addition, the wartime partnership between government and industry in the United States created a relationship-the military-industrial complex, in Eisenhowers words-that also encouraged activist government policies. In Europe the shortage of dollars after the war induced governments to restrict imports and negotiate bilateral trading agreements to economize on scarce foreign exchange resources. These policies severely restricted the volume of intra-Europe trade and impeded the recovery process in Europe in the immediate postwar period (Geoffrey Parker). The economic strength of the United States, however, provided the stability that permitted the world to emerge out of the postwar chaos into a new era of prosperity and growth. The Marshall Plan provided American resources that overcame the most acute dollar shortages. The Bretton Woods agreement established a new system of relatively stable exchange rates that encouraged the free flow of goods and capital. Finally, the signing of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) in 1947 marked the official recognition of the need to establish an international order of multilateral free trade (Lars Magnusson). The mercantilist era has passed. Modern economists accept Adam Smiths insight that free trade leads to international specialization of labor and, usually, to greater economic well-being for all countries. But some mercantilist policies continue to exist. Indeed, the surge of protectionist sentiment that began with the oil crisis in the midseventies and expanded with the global recession of the early eighties has led some economists to label the modern pro-export, anti-import attitude as neomercantilism. (Steele, G. R.) Although several rounds of multilateral trade negotiations have succeeded in reducing tariffs on most industrial goods to less than 5 percent, trade in agricultural goods remains heavily protected though tariffs or subsidies in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Countries have also responded to GATT by erecting different nontariff barriers to trade. The Long Term Arrangement on Cotton Textiles (1962) was the first major departure from the key GATT rule of nondiscrimination. Discriminatory nontariff barriers are typically used by industrialized countries to protect mature industries from competition from Japan and newly industrialized countries like Brazil, Korea, and Taiwan. These nontariff barriers include voluntary export restraints, orderly marketing arrangements, health and safety codes, and licensing requirements. And the U.S. Jones Act, which prohibits shipment of goods between U.S. ports on foreign ships, is the modern counterpart of Englands Navigation Laws (Lars Magnusson ). Modern mercantilist practices arise from the same source as the mercantilist policies in the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. Groups with political power use that power to secure government intervention to protect their interests, while claiming to seek benefits for the nation as a whole. Of the false tenants of mercantilism that remain today, the most pernicious is the idea that imports reduce domestic employment. This argument is most often made by American automobile manufacturers in their claim for protection against Japanese imports. But the revenue that the exporter receives must be ultimately spent on American exports, either immediately or subsequently when American investments are liquidated. Another mercantilist view that persists today is that a current account deficit is bad. When a country runs a current account deficit, it is borrowing capital from the rest of the world in order to purchase more goods and services than it sells. But this policy promotes economic wea lth if the return on the capital borrowed exceeds the cost of borrowing. Many developing countries with high internal returns on capital have run current account deficits for extremely long periods, while enjoying rapid growth and solvency (Geoffrey Parker).