Menards E-Business Plan - 3782 Words

Fundamentals of e-Business Menards e-Business Plan Company Description Menards is a chain of home improvement stores in the Midwestern United States. Menards sells building materials, hardware, electrical, wall coverings, plumbing, housewares, floor coverings, cabinets, appliances and much more. Menards is a privately held franchise headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; the company has 252 stores in 12 states: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming. While the company does not release sales figures, it is believed to be the third largest home center chain in the United States behind The Home Depot and Lowes. The trade publication Home Channel News†¦show more content†¦The two most common reasons customers ask for assistance are for help locating a product or for additional information about a product. If these encounters are negative they will no doubt have an adverse impact on company image and bottom line. (www.jdpower.com) Opportunities that Menards have are they have been revamping its old stores to better compete with its rivals. The company is increasing its average store size to more than 220,000 square feet. It opened its largest store in Minnesota and is expanding from 30 to 40 stores in this region. This is larger than an average Home Depot store, which has 102,000 square feet of space. The company has also built two new distribution centers (Howell, 2004). Expansion and remodeling initiatives would improve the company’s competitive position in the home improvement market. Another opportunity for Menards is their testing of an online store for three special order categories: kitchen and bath; lighting and fans; and window treatments. According to CNN Money, online retail spending is up 4.7% from last year. Furthermore, in 2010 71% of online users are likely to shop over the internet as compared to 65% in 2005. Total retail sales will be largely influenced by the internet. The company’s online store would boost revenue growth. (Ellis, 2010) Menards main threat is their intense competition. The US home improvement industry is aShow MoreRelatedEssay on Lowes and Information Technology Management1748 Words   |  7 Pagespaper is to evaluate the information technology management systems used at Lowe’s. It will look at Porter’s Five Force Model, supply chain management; data base management system, five agent-based technologies, e-commerce and system development lifecycle. Furthermore, it will look at business continuity planning, emerging trends and security vulnerabilities relates to the organization to remain competitive. 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The Role of Husbandry in The Health and Well

The Role of Husbandry in The Health and Well-being of Exotic Animals in Captivity According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, animal husbandry is defined as the physiological, biological, psychological and social needs of animals.1 Every zoo that is AZA accredited needs to fulfill these needs correctly for the species and on a regular basis. In the UK, the ‘five freedoms’ are used to determine proper animal husbandry: freedom from injury and disease; freedom from hunger, thirst, and malnutrition; freedom from thermal or physical distress; freedom to express ‘normal’ behaviors; and freedom from fear.4 Other freedoms have been proposed – freedom from boredom and freedom of animal to exert control over it’s quality of life, to name a few – but the five have remained as structure to determine proper animal husbandry.4 Many different employees are needed to fulfill these needs, from animal keepers to curators to veterinarians. Each aspect of animal husbandry, as described by the AZA, will be briefly addressed. We will write a custom essay on The Role of Husbandry in The Health and Well-being of Exotic Animals in Captivity specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Physiological and biological needs are what the animal needs to do in order for its body to function properly. These needs include, but aren’t limited to, breathing, food, water, sleep, excretion and homeostasis. They are the basics for life, and are required for the animal to keep living. In zoo animals, food is a crucial aspect because each animal has a special diet; sometimes, it’s unknown exactly what that diet is because not enough research has been done on that species. Animal keepers notice a problem with the animal by paying attention to the animal’s behavior. Normally, animals that are sick won’t show until there’s advanced disease because if they show they are sick in the wild, they would be easily caught by predators.3 The altered behavior is different for every species, and animal keepers are crucial in noticing the slight differences in their animals.3 Once there’s a behavior change, keepers can notify veterinarians, which will h opefully diagnose and treat the illness (or possible nutritional deficiency) quickly to ensure the animal’s physiological and biological needs are being met. Psychological needs are met when the animal has a healthy well-being. In recent years, research has been done on zoo animals in the area of recognizing cognitive abilities, emotions and feelings.4 Some people think having these views is subjective, sentimental and anthropomorphic, but it has been shown that when psychological needs aren’t met, stress and boredom predominate, which can lead to illness and death.4 When the public sees behavior that they recognize as stress or boredom, the welfare of zoo animals comes into question. To meet these needs, zoos need to understand the psychological needs of each species and individual. As mentioned previously, each species has a specific diet; how this diet is fed may be important for maintaining the psychological needs of a species because of social learning. Naà ¯ve individuals learn specific skills or knowledge from their parents or other group members; this knowledge can be a tradition of a species, and would help us understand how an animal lives in the wild.5 By providing proper psychological needs, scientists can learn more of how an animal behaves and survives in the wild. In addition to feeding, the set-up of the exhibit can provide psychological needs.4 If an animal were normally shy and nocturnal, it would require several hiding places during the day; if an animal lives alone in the wild on rocky terrain, it should have a solitary enclosure that exhibits similar terrain. Recognizing an animal’s individual personality and conforming to adapt to this personality can also meet psychological needs.2 For example, if an animal is normally very curious, giving them new items or toys in their exhibit encourages their well-being. A healthy well-being that includes proper living conditions, recognizing the animal’s personality and preventing boredom or stress is essential to meet the psychological needs of zoo animals. .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 , .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .postImageUrl , .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 , .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0:hover , .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0:visited , .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0:active { border:0!important; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0:active , .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0 .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u3a2a2ee8054c1f253d74ee5075bfd6b0:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Essay about ZoologySocial needs are related to psychological needs because some animals normally exist in groups, herd, packs or colonies, and their well-being is determined by the well-being of the entire group.5 Other animals tend to exist singly or in pairs, so by knowing the social hierarchy of an animal, most of the social, and sometimes psychological, needs can be met. As mentioned previously, some animals need other group members to learn specific behaviors; this is also helpful in the zoo setting when training new animals by having them watch the previous residents perform the desired behavior. 5 By watching another group member perform the behavior, the new animal can learn the behavior faster. Animal husbandry is the maintenance of an animal’s physiological, biological, psychological and social needs to promote quality of life. By ensuring animal husbandry, AZA accredited institutions are able to properly promote conservation and education for the public, and learn more about endangered species. Zoos are critical in promoting conservation so that future generations can experience the wonders of animals. Works Cited 1. Association of Zoos and Aquariums . Silver Spring, MD: The Association; c1997-2009 . Health, Husbandry and Welfare . Available from http://www.aza.org/health-husbandry-and-welfare/ 2. Bergmuller R. Animal Personality and Behavioural Syndromes. In: Kappeler P, editor. Animal Behaviour: Evolution and Mechanisms. Germany: Springer, 2010. p. 587-621. 3. Fowler ME. Behavioral Clues for Detection of Illness in Wild Animals: Models in Camelids and Elephants. In: Miller RE, Fowler ME, editors. Fowler’s Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine Current Therapy, volume 6. St Louis: Elsevier; 2008. p. 33-49. 4. Kagan R, Veasey J. Challenges of Zoo Animal Welfare. In: Kleiman DG, Thompson KV, Baer CK, editors. Wild Mammals in Captivity: Principles and Techniques for Zoo Management, 2nd edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. p. 11-21. 5. van Schaik CP. Social Learning and Culture in Animals. In: Kappeler P, editor. Animal Behaviour: Evolution and Mechanisms. Germany: Springer, 2010. p. 623-53.

Virgin Blue Strategic Competitiveness

Table of Contents Introduction Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness External Environment Internal Environment Business Level Strategies Conclusion Reference List Introduction Strategy is about achieving competitive advantage. A company can achieve this by being different, delivering a unique value addition to the customer and by having a clear and enact-able view of how to position itself uniquely in the industry. This essay uses Virgin Blue as a case study to find out if it has successfully achieved strategic competitiveness in the Australian airline industry. The I/O and the Returns-based models of above average returns are central in classification of external and internal environment elements.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Virgin Blue Strategic Competitiveness specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Strategic management is the systematic analysi s of the external and internal environment to form a basis of re-evaluating the current management practices with the aim of achieving better alignment of corporate policies and strategic priorities. Strategic competitiveness is achievable when a company formulates strategies that give it an edge over its competitors. The strategy formulated should be rare, that current and potential competitors are unable to duplicate because it is costly, and in that way the firm achieves sustainable competitive advantage. The 21st century competitive landscape is rapidly changing because of technology and uncertainty. This means that managers have to adopt new ways of thinking. Managers have to value flexibility, innovation and speed in responding to existing competitors and new entrants to remain in business. These characteristics may have affected the entry and survival of Virgin Blue into the Australian airline industry. In order to enter the market, Virgin Blue had to introduce low cost and t ake measures to keep the costs low and using imaginative tactics of thinking outside the box to remain innovative. External Environment External environment consists of factors outside the control of the firm that affect the ability to meet customer demands and that face the whole industry. These factors based on resource-based model include political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, and legal. They determine the laws to apply in running business, the economic conditions that the firm will have to operate in, the characteristics of the market, and the technology determines the way the product should be (Millmore, 2007). In the case of Virgin Blue, the economic aspect of external environment can be considered to have crucial importance. The rising fuel costs, increasing operating costs, and increasing terminal costs are some of the economic challenges the Virgin Blue faced as it pursued its low cost services strategy. Additionally due to the economic slowdown in 2008, Virgin Blue recorded a loss of $160 for the financial year 2008-2009. This loss must have had a great influence on how the firm was to be run to survive this period until the economic recovery period in 2010 when Virgin reported a profit of $21.3 million.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Internal Environment Internal environment encompasses elements that are specific to a firm and affect its ability to meet customer. Financial resources, organizational resources, physical resources and technological resources are the tangible elements considered to affect the internal environment of a firm in Resource-based model of above average returns. On the other hand, the intangible elements are human resources, innovation resources, and reputational resources (Michael and Hitt, 2010). Virgin Blue being in the service industry depends more on its intangible resources. The friendly crew has b een known to greet passengers as boys and girls, entertain them with rock music on takeoff and landing, make jokes and read horoscopes in-flight. This good customer relation enhances customer loyalty therefore enabling the firm to attract new customers while retaining the current ones. Financially the firm has been able to cut down costs by the improved scheduling system, self check-in kiosk’s, outsourcing of catering, managing catering wastage, maintenance agreements and a fuel efficiency program (Carnal, 2007). Business Level Strategies Business level strategy is the strategy a firm chooses in order to gain competitive advantage in the market or industry it operates. This is critical when a firm operates in an industry with intense competition like the one Virgin Blue operates in. Managers therefore have to formulate a strategy geared towards creating and implementing a strategy that gives it the competitive advantage over the other players in the industry (Christensen, 200 6). There are five business level strategies; cost leadership, focused cost leadership, differentiation and focused differentiation. Firms make a choice whether to be a cost leader which means it will focus on competing for customers based on the pricing while still being able to report more than average returns. Alternatively, a focused cost leader meaning that it will not only compete in terms of price but also will segment it and market its products to a particular market. On the hand, firms have a can differentiate products. Firms choosing just to differentiate by providing unique characteristics and features do so through high quality advanced technological features and customer service. A firm that differentiates and chooses a market segment to provide goods and services uses focused differentiation (Hanson et al. 2011). Virgin Blue evidently from the national point of view has chosen the cost leadership strategy by delivering services that are of acceptable standards to custo mers at a cost considered lowest among the competitors in the Australian market.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Virgin Blue Strategic Competitiveness specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The firm has cut down costs and trimmed unnecessary ones to achieve its strategy. It has done so by paying its staff less than Qantas, all in-flight meals and entertainment are provided at a cost, outsourcing catering, managing catering wastage and using one type of aircraft. A cost leadership strategy helps a firm survive since it is able to remain profitable even in the face of rivalry, new entrants, suppliers’ power, substitute products, and buyers’ power (Bowles, 2011). Conclusion Virgin Blue has successfully achieved strategic competitive in the 8years it has been in the market. It has been able to survive the economic downturn in 2008-2009 and bounce back to reporting profits a year later in 2010 while still ma intaining its cost leadership strategy. Additionally Virgin has introduced competitive moves that include the introduction of a frequent flier program, a member lounge, and strengthening marketing and code sharing alliances with international airlines and by so doing remaining in the market when other airlines like Ansett went under (Beer, 1999). Reference List Beer, M. (1999). Readings in Human Resource Management. New York: Free Press. Bowles, M. (2011) External Environment. The Institute For Working Futures. Web. Available from:  http://www.marcbowles.com/publications.html   . Carnal, C. (2007) Managing Change in Organizations. Essex: Pearson Education. Christensen, R. (2006) Roadmap to Successful Strategic HR Management. New York: American Management Association.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hanson, D. et al. (2011) Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalisation. Southbank, Victoria: Cengage. Michael A. Hitt, R. D. (2010) Strategic Management: Competitive and Globalization , Concepts. London: Wiley. Millmore, M. (2007) Strategic Human Resource Management: Contemporary Issues. Essex: Pearson Education. This report on Virgin Blue Strategic Competitiveness was written and submitted by user Jayla Rich to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How to Keep Fit Public Speaking Essay Example

How to Keep Fit Public Speaking Essay Example How to Keep Fit Public Speaking Essay How to Keep Fit Public Speaking Essay if you want a fit body, you have to Stay motivated, If you dont, youll eventually give up. First, The best way to keep fit should be having Exercise. It is a very important part in keep fit. It help you keeps our blood flowing which keeps your heart beating. If you having free time, you also can go in sports or gyms but If you are busy so can’t go to anywhere, you can do exercise in home also, example push up, sit up, bench and jogging is also a major exercise, you should jog at least 1 kilometer to let that fat off. Here a tips for you, If you are overweight, start with something simple like jogging 5 minutes everyday. The next week, go 10 minutes a day. Continue increasing your output until you establish a solid routine. Next, you should give your body fuel. As you become more active, youll need more food, but not just any food- you need healthy, energy-laden food thatll jump-start the next phase of your day, not weigh it down. Learn how to eat healthfully and drink more water. Normally should drink 8 to 10 glasses of water each day. And remember that you really need to avoid unhealthy snacks. Finally, you have to let your body rest enough. When youre giving your body a run for its money with varied physical activities, you also need to let it recover and renew by getting a sufficient amount of sleep. Determine how many hours of sleep you need in order to feel refreshed in the morning, then discipline yourself to wake up and go to bed at the same times on a daily basis. In conclusion, a Healthy body is very important for us, so that we have to keep our body fit so we can say goodbye to doctor and hospital. I hope you all can get some useful ways to keep body fit from my speech today. Thank you for lending your ears.

Liberal Democracy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Liberal Democracy - Coursework Example Statutory laws and controlled institutions are relied upon to guarantee the liberal and constitutional rights of the citizens (Kukathas 2004, p. 45). According to Held (2006, p.73), liberal democracy is well supported by the political theory of pluralism, which allows individuals and groups reach for their interests in the political process, hence, decisions are arrived at through compromise to accommodate the interests of all stakeholders and interest groups. One of the main elements of a liberal democracy is the constitution. The constitution in liberal democracies starts with the assumption of sovereignty, vesting the ultimate power in the people. The democracy presupposes that people can control their destiny and that they make moral judgments and practical decisions in their daily lives (Wallace 2007 pg. 7). It requires a decision-making system based on majority rule, with the protection of minority rights; seeks to protect in  judgments while controlling the majority (majoritarianism) by trying to face out the practice of majority rule (Dunn 1994, pg 11). The constitutions of liberal democracies mostly uphold the four main concepts of democratic creed namely: individualism, liberty, equality and fraternity. Individualism states that the prime objective of democratic government is to protect citizens so that each individual in the state can achieve the highest level of personal development (Marlman 2009, pg13). Liberty is in essence allowing individuals the highest degree of freedom that is consistent with order and natural justice. Equality states and maintains that all people are equal in creation have equal opportunities and rights (Mueller 2007, p.41).  

The Importance and Challenges of European Ministries of Foreign Research Paper

The Importance and Challenges of European Ministries of Foreign Affairs - Research Paper Example This brings the aspect on which continents diplomacy is very important. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the countries in Europe are viewed as very important and this means that these ministries have an uphill task in their diplomacy towards other countries in the world. This has led to the fact that the European continent has faced many challenges and they are still increasing as the world is undergoing through various changes. There are many aspects under which the challenges are increasing and this calls for more efficient diplomacy tactics to be adopted by entire Europe. It is important to note that Europe is viewed as a motivator for developing countries and this means that it is in a very tricky position and the continent’s foreign policy will need to address some issues that have been rising in recent years around the world. This is the art and practice of accomplishing negotiations and it is done by representatives of an entity, most notably states or groups. It is used mainly in reference to international diplomacy which is concerned with international relations between different countries of the world. One of the key factors of diplomacy is the intercession of professionally trained diplomats who negotiate such aspects as trade, economics, peace-making, war, and culture. In regards to international treaties, diplomats are involved in the negotiations while the politicians of a nation will endorse the treaty. Diplomacy cannot be limited to formal sense and hence in an informal sense or a social sense, diplomacy is seen as the application of tact in order to have an advantage which is deemed advantageous to a group or to somebody. It can also be seen as a means by which different groups come to an agreeable solution to a common problem (Berringe, 2005). There is a notable difference between the real world diplomacy and the intellectual university debates since in a university debate, an argument is decided upon the merits  that the arguments have and the negotiators can split the difference to come to a deal.

Are Same Sex Sexual Relationships Morally Permissible?

Are Same Sex Sexual Relationships Morally Permissible? Homosexuality has been for much of recorded human history a controversial topic, and has become even more so with the advent of religion. Most, if not all religious systems vehemently oppose homosexuality, so far as to condemn homosexuals to everlasting torture in the fires of hell. However, judging the immorality of a deed simply by referring to divine sources is fallacious; it runs contrary to established modern intellectual systems of determining what actions are right and what actions are wrong. In the twentieth century world, reason and well thought out and expressed arguments alone dictate the moral standing of deeds, and any other decision for that matter. The most appropriate method of arguing for or against an ethical issue in the context of its applicability to society is to test it against well-established moral/ethical theories and see how it stacks up. Thus, in this paper I shall argue that homosexuality doesnt contradict the major ethical theories, namely Utilitarianism , Kantian ethics (deontological perspective) followed by a rebuttal of some common arguments against homosexuality. Utilitarianism is a fundamentally consequentialist position, claiming that actions should be judged by their consequences, specifically the level of general happiness they bring about. Hence, in accordance with utilitarianism, one should evaluate the level of general happiness an action brings about versus the amount of pain/suffering it causes. All actions that increase the level of general happiness are morally permissible, and actions that bring about suffering are morally not permissible. To discuss homosexuality on utilitarian grounds, we must therefore first and foremost decide on its consequentialist standing i.e. where it stands on the utilitarian meter of increasing happiness and decreasing pain vs. increasing pain and decreasing pleasure. People who feel that that is what pleases them practice homosexuality. They do so out of personal choice and after much self-deliberation. In fact, since heterosexuality is the norm, converting to homosexuality would be akin to being a mas ochist, i.e. choosing to indulge in that which causes us displeasure in addition to having to face heavy opposition from relatives and society, and those types of homosexuals are beyond the scope of my paper. Hence, if you choose to accept that no individual who prefers a heterosexual lifestyle would adopt a homosexual one, then you agree that those who chose a homosexual lifestyle do so because it is what pleases them. Thus, homosexuality brings about pleasure to homosexuals, and so long as these homosexuals do not attempt to impose their homosexuality on heterosexuals (by harassing or raping them), then the heterosexual population has no right to claim that homosexuality causes them displeasure. For them to claim so, the only means by which homosexuality would have caused them displeasure is by disgusting them i.e. it is distasteful to their senses (since obviously it is not displeasuring them directly, it can only do so then indirectly by being distasteful). Such an argument woul d be fallacious and of the form: P1) All disgusting actions are immoral. P2) Homosexuality is disgusting. C) Homosexuality is immoral. While this argument is valid, it is unsound since the first premise is false. Not all disgusting actions are immoral. For example, collecting the trash is disgusting, does that make it immoral? Homosexuality does not cause any pain or displeasure. Stigmatizing homosexuality on the grounds that it is disgusting is faulty as we argued above. (Common arguments such as homosexual rapists harm children and other victims, homosexuality brings about STDs and so on are irrelevant since they apply to heterosexual acts in the same way they apply to homosexual actions.) Thus, homosexuality does not, and for that matter cannot, harm homosexuals. All it can do is bring pleasure to the people who willfully practice it (because it is what brings them pleasure). On utilitarian grounds, homosexuality increases pleasure (although for a specific part of the population) and does not cause any displeasure or pain. It satisfies the criteria for a moral act as outlined by the Utilitarian ethical system. Kantian ethics is a moral philosophy that is not a consequentialist one. It judges acts not by what their consequences are, but by how they hold under certain imperatives, and maintain the rational and free nature of humans. The principle of universizablity commits us to acting only on those maxims that do not lead to a self-contradictory maxim, and also, when universalized do not undermine the point of the action (class slides.) To test homosexuality against the categorical imperative we begin by formulating our maxim. Note that a common misconception is to formulate the maxim Practice homosexuality or some form of that. This is incorrect as this paper does not seek to argue that all people should be homosexuals, but rather that people that are homosexual are justified in acting homosexually. Let us suppose our maxim is Practice whichever sexual acts that bring you pleasure. Upon consideration, we see that this maxim brings about pleasure to whoever abides by it. Next we generalize this principle to a universal law and see its consequences. Assume a world where people practice whichever sexual acts please them, of course, without imposing their sexual desires on others. Such a world would be very similar to the world in which we live in, which is remarkably pleasant to live in as opposed to one that is a very morally tight society. Moreover, we note that such a maxim, when generalized does not lead to a contradictory world. Furthermore, as we shall see next, homosexuality holds under scrutiny by the principle of humanity. The principle of humanity defines a rightful or moral deed as one that does not use any other person as a mere means, but as an end in themselves. As discussed above, homosexual people choose homosexual acts because it brings them pleasure. Thus, when homosexual people indulge in homosexual activities as consenting adults, they both choose to do so. Since they both chose to indulge in this, and so long as theyre both content with this, then n either is using the other as a mere means, but as an end in themselves. To argue otherwise would be similar to arguing against other heterosexual acts. Other cases where the people do not consent to indulging in the sex are similar to cases of heterosexual people who do not consent to the sex they are having. Finally, we shall consider some common arguments against homosexuality and offer possible response to them in the context of the Utilitarian and Kantian moral theories. To begin with we shall consider the unnaturalness argument and its derivatives. A commonplace argument against homosexuality is that it is a misuse of the bodys organs. Such an argument violates the categorical imperative. To show this, let us attempt to generalize it into a universal law. We begin by formulating a maxim That action which violates the principal use of an organ is immoral. After generalizing this into a universal law, we run into a contradiction, as this yields a world we cannot live in. Consider for example applying this rule to any other body organ. The mouth is primarily for eating, and thus any other action apart from eating is immoral, and hence kissing, speaking, breathing from your mouth and so on would all become immoral. Thus the argument that homosexuality is immoral because it violates the p rincipal use of an organ is not applicable since it violates the categorical imperative. Furthermore, if the misuse of the reproductive organs is immoral because it doesnt lead to procreation, where does that place religious figures that take vows of celibacy? The nonuse of an organ is just as immoral as the misuse of one, since the immorality is based on its failure to result in reproduction. Moreover, another derivative of the unnaturalness of homosexuality argument is that homosexuality is unnatural in that it is not found in nature, i.e. animals do not practice homosexuality. First and foremost, the premise on which this argument rests is invalid, as studies have shown that there are certain animals that practice homosexuality. Moreover, basing our moral standards on the practices of animals is an incredibly fragile argument as one can easily observe that many of human practices are not practiced by animals, such as brushing our teeth, showering and so on. In addition, many prop onents of homosexuality argue that labeling homosexuality as not immoral would lead to the extinction of the human race. This argument is a gross exaggeration. An argument of the form P1) Homosexuals cannot reproduce. P2) If homosexuality were deemed not immoral then many people would become homosexual. C) The human race will eventually become extinct. Such an argument is invalid, and unsound as the second premise is faulty. If homosexuality were not to be frowned upon it does not follow that many people would become homosexuals. No heterosexual person would willfully choose to become a homosexual simply because it is not immoral to do so. This is because one chooses to indulge in homosexuality because it is a sexual preference. Moreover, while not a fundamental argument against the extinction of the human race argument, it would be thoughtful to consider whether a decrease in the rate of human reproduction would not actually be beneficial to the human society given the problems of overpopulation that we suffer from now. In conclusion, homosexuality cannot be deemed immoral as it holds under scrutiny by the major ethical systems: Utilitarianism and Kantian ethics. It increases the happiness of the homosexual community without causing any pain or displeasure to the heterosexual community. This of course is contingent upon the homosexual people not imposing their sexuality on others i.e. rape or harassment. It should be duly noted that even if some homosexuals raped or harassed other individuals, be him/her a homosexual or a heterosexual, this cannot be an argument against homosexuality per se as heterosexuals also rape and harass other heterosexuals. Moreover, it satisfies the categorical imperative in addition to the principle of humanity by not using anyone as a mere means. Homosexuals should not be discriminated against, as their sexual preference is their own personal choice, and solely their business. Given our rights to freedom of choice that we so proudly advocate and vehemently defend, we shou ld extend this right to include the freedom of sexual preference. Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio: Themes and Effects Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio: Themes and Effects Title: Discuss the implications of Sherwood Anderson’s introduction to Winesburg, Ohio: ‘The Book of the Grotesque’. Sherwood Anderson’s post-war ‘novel’ of America in microcosm, Winesburg, Ohio, was first published in 1919. Undoubtedly, the timing of the collection of linked stories all set in Anderson’s fictional ‘Winesburg’ (like Hardy’s Wessex) influenced the critical approbation it received. It represents a dislocated people torn and shattered by war: a ‘wasteland’ such as T.S. Eliot had created in his 1922 poem of that name. Like Joyce’s Dubliners (1914) the sequence of tales is connected by major themes which Anderson sees as either representative of, or a threat to, modern life. He creates a presence from an absence, a connected representative vision from a fragmented centre. Most of the themes, and their implications, on which Anderson focuses are revealed in the introductory story to the collection, ‘The Book of the Grotesque’ which was the original title of the collection. The fact that Anderson wanted to pla ce such emphasis on the ‘grotesque’ is of primary importance when attempting to locate the author’s themes and their implications. For Anderson, like the writer in the first story, ‘salvation’ from immersion into the grotesque comes not merely from the experience of moments of vision but also from the ability to incorporate them within life in order to re-vitalise it. Strikingly, theme and method interweave to create the consciousness of the visionary or surreal within the recognition of the espoused impossibility of completion. Anderson was determined that the real and the imagined should remain separate forces but also that both should maintain importance. Again, like the writer in his tale, he is constantly reminded of the intrusion upon each ‘world’ by the other and the implications of this: The distinction that he is making [†¦] is not between truth and lie, or between fiction and nonfiction, but between separate spheres of reality. Fancy for Anderson suggests imaginative and compassionate understanding of the beauty within the most grotesque of human actions.[1] The writer in the tale might survive becoming a ‘grotesque’ but he also fails to complete his writing and the immense implication of this is that even when the ‘grotesque’ is avoided, it appears inevitable that the intrusions of reality cause humanity’s plans to fail just as they are continuously altered by social, historical and political events. In a country so recently ravaged by war and about to undergo radical social upheaval, the implications of this are clear. Anderson chooses to make this implicit connection by citing the example of a man whose plans to have a carpenter alter his bed irrevocably change his life: The writer, an old man with a white mustache, had some difficulty in getting into bed. The windows of the house in which he lived were high and he wanted to look at the trees when he awoke in the morning. A carpenter came to fix the bed so that it would be on a level with the window. (p. 1). The full importance of this opening statement, with its beautifully simple syntax, does not strike the reader until much later in the story, perhaps not even until the completion of the reading of the stories as a whole. With the benefit of hindsight, the reader sees that Anderson’s theme is manifest from the first: the ‘old man’, physically impeded, desires to see further, to see ‘the trees when he awoke in the morning’, yet, what the subliminal reading invokes is that the desire to see beyond what we realise is not always present in our intentions; indeed, we may not even be aware of them. The ‘awakening’ comes not with the ‘morning’ but with the recognition of the interiorisation of longings influencing the human directive but being constantly obscured. Thus, though the ‘carpenter’ does indeed come to ‘fix the bed’ he does a lot more besides, in which the old man plays no directive part: ‘fo r a time the two men talked of the raising of the bed and then they talked of other things’ (p. 1). The ‘other things’, are what initiate the directive of the tale, as, Anderson seems to imply, they do with life, serendipity playing more of a role than we realize in our lives: Sherwood Anderson [†¦] was and still is a man of his times. His life and his career are a pictorial history of the unique mood of the modern America which produced them and made them possible.[2]. We are told that the carpenter ‘had been a soldier in the Civil War’ (p. 1) and this immediately gifts the narrative with a textual historicity which deepens its resonance (the Civil War is also referred to in another of the tales, ‘Godliness’: Part 1). Many of Anderson’s readers, after all, were within living memory of the war that split the American nation and again, its profound recognition of the nature of war, so fresh in the minds of those of the post World War era, to inflict pain beyond the immediate is recognized as significant: The carpenter had once been a prisoner in Andersonville prison and had lost a brother. The brother had died of starvation, and whenever the carpenter got upon that subject he cried. (p. 1) Again, the simplicity inestimably aids the poignancy of the telling; Anderson has no need to dwell upon the melancholy, it is self-evident. Moreover, the idea that the ‘ordinary man’, which the carpenter represents, has personal experience of the pain of loss in a past which continues to intrude upon the present; he cannot escape. Although Anderson states clearly that ‘the weeping old man with the cigar in his mouth was ludicrous’ (p. 2), avoiding the faux sentimentality of other contemporary writers, nevertheless, the writer’s plans are widely changed by him and the carpenter alters the bed ‘his own way’ (p. 2). The implication is not just that our plans are changed by present and future events but also that the past is never merely a memory but a constantly present inhabitant of life, a ‘reality’ beyond our reach to restrict or deny, and ‘stamped upon much of our contemporary fiction’[3]. Anderson has already l aid the foundation of the interchanging but ostensibly rigid boundaries of the actual and the imagined which are to cause perpetual interplay within the stories and in some sense all the characters and events are connected with himself: Sherwood Anderson is to be grouped among the most subjective of writers. He has created heroes with many different names; but each of them is the same man a projection in one direction or another of Anderson himself.[4]. Anderson begins now to build on these implications by obscuring life’s most basic and fearful boundary, death, by means of the old man’s imaginative sensibility. The carpenter has been instrumental in this, since he has brought into the narrative a death that is real, remembered and imagined; his memory is the conduit for this mutation of time and of feeling. The irony is that the author is haunted by death, yet: ‘ It did not alarm him’ (p.2 ). Death is inverted as a presence which revitalises the old man as ‘a special thing and not easily explained’ (p.2). Moreover, ‘something inside him was altogether young’ (p.2) and extraordinarily that ‘something’ is a ‘woman, young’. Anderson writes of this as like a pregnancy but what he gives birth to is an idea of the ‘grotesques’ of his previous life and relationships. Significantly, the writer switches subtly to address the reader more directly here, emphasising the idea that: It is absurd, you see, to try to tell what was inside the old writer as he lay on his high bed and listened to the fluttering of his heart. The thing to get at is what the writer, or the young thing within the writer, was thinking about. (p. 2) The ambivalent sexuality of the image is one of many which disturbed careful readers of the time, ‘back in 1919 the book was talked about only in whispers’[5].. Yet, its implications for authorship are important since an author is perpetually ‘giving birth’ and the idea of being both mother and father of his creations informs not just the sexual imagery of this story but also of others in the sequence, such as ‘Hands’ where the protagonist is accused of molestation: ‘Anderson sensed a mystery in human sexuality that defies an easy reduction’[6]. This represents a significant challenge to contemporary social attitudes towards sexuality, as women were accorded status principally allied to that of their male partners and sexual preferences were predisposed indisputably towards the heterosexual. As is typical of Anderson, he refuses to adopt or adhere to the rigidity of a society so recently war-torn and about to undergo a momentous per iod in its history from which it would not emerged unscathed or unchanged. By anticipating and pre-empting these changes, Anderson places his writing ahead of its time both in style and socio-political context. The old man in the tale now proceeds to invite into his consciousness the images of past passions, a theme he also alludes to in another of the stories, ‘Mother’. The reader is told that the old man has known people ‘in a peculiar intimate way [†¦] different from the way in which you and I know people’ (p. 3) and subsequently that ‘the writer had a dream that was not a dream’ (p. 3): this dream is the key to the subliminal implications of the tale as it is the precursor of the writing which does and does not take place: You see the interest in all this lies in the figures that went before the eyes of the writer. They were all grotesques. All of the men and women the writer had ever known had become grotesques. (p. 3). The introduction of the ‘grotesques’, not ‘all horrible’, is a pivotal moment in the tale, just as all the grotesques’ lives will be turned by such a moment in time, and the old man/writer’s perception of this is, like the reactions of the grotesques, crucial in their lives. In many ways, it is less significant that the book is not published than that it has been ‘seen’ by the author, who is gripped by ‘one central thought that is very strange and has always remained with [him]’, facilitating, we are encouraged to believe, the writing of his own book: The old man had listed hundreds of the truths in his book. I will not try to tell you of all of them. There was the truth of virginity and the truth of passion, the truth of wealth and of poverty, of thrift and of profligacy, of carelessness and abandon. Hundreds and hundreds were the truths and they were all beautiful. (p. 4) Hence, the imagined and the real feed one another but remain separate, for ‘truths’ are not the same as facts and ‘it was the truths that made the people grotesques’ (p. 5). Moreover, Anderson lays bare, here, the principal informatives of his sequence: The old man had quite an elaborate theory concerning the matter. It was his notion that the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to live his life by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became a falsehood. (p. 5) Anderson concludes his tale by making brief reference to the carpenter, one of ‘what are called the very common people’ (p. 5) yet contradicting this description by making him extraordinary as ‘the nearest thing to what is understandable and lovable of all the grotesques in the writers book’. (p. 5) Certainly, Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio set in ‘the critical decade which followed the world war’[7] can be seen as a groundbreaking novel, both in structure and content and ‘the failure of [Anderson’s] heterosexual relationships has often been cited as the reason for the â€Å"grotesque† nature of several of Winesburgs inhabitants’[8]. The stories confront issues that were to inform American writing and the socio-political post-war infrastructure as well as the realization of Modernist and post-Modernist fiction. A writer ahead of his time, Anderson is clearly shaped by the era in which he lived and was thus representative of the past, present and future as is the sequence of stories in his seminal ‘novel’ of ‘the troubled lives of the small-town individuals’[9]. Sources [1]  Adams, Timothy Dow, Telling Lies in Modern American Autobiography, (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990), p. 44. [2]  Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935), P. 155. [3] Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935), P. 157. [4]  Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967), p. 151. [5]  Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967), p. 157. [6] Ellis, James, ‘Sherwood Andersons Fear of Sexuality: Horses, Men, and Homosexuality’, Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 30, 1993 (Michigan: Gale Group). [7] Van Doren, Carl, The American Novel, 1789-1939, (New York: Macmillan, 1940), p. 334. [8] Whalan, Mark, ‘Dreams of Manhood: Narrative, Gender, and History in Winesburg, Ohio’, Studies in American Fiction, Vol 30, 2002 (Boston: Northeastern University). [9] Thomas, F. Richard, Literary Admirers of Alfred Stieglitz, (Carbondale, IL.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983), p. 65. Bibliography: Adams, Timothy Dow, Telling Lies in Modern American Autobiography, (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990). Anderson, Sherwood, Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life, (New York: Modern Library, 1919). Angoff, Allan, American Writing Today: Its Independence and Vigor, (New York: New York University Press, 1957). Bryer, Jackson R., Sixteen Modern American Authors: A Survey of Research and Criticism, (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1974). Elliott, Emery, ed., The Columbia History of the American Novel, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991). Ellis, James, ‘Sherwood Andersons Fear of Sexuality: Horses, Men, and Homosexuality’, Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 30, 1993 (Michigan: Gale Group). Fiedler, Leslie A., Love and Death in the American Novel, (Stein and Day, 1966). Fisher, Philip, Hard Facts: Setting and Form in the American Novel, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935). Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967). Noe, Marcia, ed., Exploring the Midwestern Literary Imagination: Essays in Honor of David D. Anderson, (Troy, N.Y.: Whitston Publishing Company, 1993). Thomas, F. Richard, Literary Admirers of Alfred Stieglitz, (Carbondale, IL.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983). Wagenknecht, Edward, Cavalcade of the American Novel: From the Birth of the Nation to the Middle of the Twentieth Century, (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1952). Whalan, Mark, ‘Dreams of Manhood: Narrative, Gender, and History in Winesburg, Ohio, Studies in American Fiction, Vol 30, 2002 (Boston: Northeastern University). Van Doren, Carl, The American Novel, 1789-1939, (New York: Macmillan, 1940).