Balance Scorecard for Air India

Balance Scorecard for Air India Introduction Air India is the prime and oldest Airline of India. It is the State carrier which currently connects to rest of the world such as the Americas, Asia, Europe, etc. It is headquartered at Nariman Point, Mumbai in the Air India Building. It is the 16th largest Airline in Asia serves out of two major Domestic hubs in India at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi CST Terminal, Mumbai. The airline started its journey with the Maiden flight from Karachi Airport to Mumbai Airport via Ahmedabad in July 1932. It was founded by JRD Tata and later on acquired by the State. Air India has two subsidiaries and two affiliated carries. Together Air India, Air India Cargo, Air India Express, Indian and Air India Regional form the National Aviation Company of India Limited. It currently serves 11 countries across the globe apart from the various domestic destinations. Air India Cargo It serves as the cargo operator for the airline serving in conjunction with on ground truck-transportation systems and achieving synergies to increase returns. The carrier also is allowed to carry dangerous (hazardous cargo) animals under IATA rules. Air India Regional The airline previously known as alliance air serves the interior small airports domestically to serve the needs of such regions with smaller aircrafts. The hub for this is at the IGI airport in Delhi. Indian It focuses on the domestic touch points for the airline. It serves various destinations in the country with two major hubs at Delhi Mumbai. Air India Express The airline subsidiary was formed in 2005 to serve the low cost space in the South east Asia and the Gulf region. This is a no frills airline which focuses on the low cost travel mind space for its consumers. Tangible Assets Fleet and Material Resources Air India has continuously being trying to improve its Aircraft fleets. It has recently added 17 new aircrafts which include B777s- Long range aircrafts and it has also procured some 15 new airbus aircrafts to serve its domestic destinations. Currently the Air India fleet stands at a strong 136 aircrafts. Air India serves various international destinations such as in the USA which includes Newark, JFK Chicago with its non-stop Boeing Long range aircrafts. The detailed aircraft distribution is as given in the table below: Network Air India operates from various cities across India like Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Jaipur, Varanasi, Tiruchirapalli, Gaya and Thiruvananthapuram in totality 16 cities for its international location flights. The need of boarding flights from metros for international locations has thus ceased thus providing better opportunities to other cities to develop economically and aid in the countrys growth story. The various requirements in terms of customs, etc. are directly done in these cities. Air India also has code sharing agreements with various airlines across the world providing better accessibility to other locations. International Hub: Air India has established its international hub at Frankfurt for better transfers and code shares across the world. It has forged partnerships with Lufthansa and is currently vying for being a part of the Star Alliance. These alliances has strengthened AIs network in the US and Europe to a large extent. Indian Hub: Air India has its domestic hubs in Delhi IGI Airport and Mumbai CST Airport. The firm services 64 Indian cities domestically from these locations. Out of these locations seventeen service to International flights too thereby providing seamless connectivity. The domestic locations are service by Airbus A321 aircrafts with all world class services. Star Alliance Air India is currently in the process for vying to become a part of the International Alliance which will connect it to 916 cities in the world and have code share agreements with 17000 daily routes across the world. Air India club members can enjoy the benefits of International lounges, code shares, loyalty programmes, etc across all the 21 top airlines across the world increasing the service levels to a new height. The alliance is pending at March, 2011. Human Resources Air India has a large base of human resources which makes it one of the poorest in terms of the Human resources quality and performance. The airline pays around 17 per cent of its expenditures as salaries which is much higher than the global average of around 10 per cent. There are around 31000 employees which are serviced by around 14 unions in Air India which creates a huge scope of non-improvement of its current strength of employees. Post the merger the unions have introduced their intent of cooperating with NACIL towards achieving a better way ahead for the airline however issues pertaining to retrenchment and privatization are still serious concerns which the unions take very seriously and are averse to compromise on. The SBU structure which has been brought about in the organization further increases the woes of the Airline as well as the management. The organization has been split into smaller units which are responsible for better management of resources. However the reporting structure is a big catch. A Mumbai Airport Manager is reviewed by the ED of west zone but reports to his SBU head which is in no way related to his performance appraisals. The award of International postings is carried out by a third party who in no way is related to the current chain of reporting and is a commercial director who sits in the HO at Mumbai. Such an organizational structure calls for low performance and lack of accountability from the employees which will lead to non-performance from the organization in the long term. IT Technology resources IT is one of the most critical resources for the success of organizations in the modern times. The merger synergies would have IT as a critical input. One of the major exercises is to have a common airline code which would also help in the eligibility to the Star Alliance. As a measure the airline has contracted the IT serviceability to SITA (Society International Telecommunications Aeronautics) which has had more than 50 years of experience with the airline systems in Air India. The deal worth 845 crores is for a period of 10 years and is aimed at establishing network connectivity at all domestic and international locations for Air India, fare management, baggage tracing and reconciliation system, online booking engines, automated boarding control systems, check-in, air to ground communications, etc. SITA will also provide its horizontal passenger service system. Currently SITA provides its facilities to 140 airlines all over the world serving over 120 million passengers across the world to provide seamless connectivity to Air India to International routes and carriers. It would help to strengthen strategic partnerships for AI across the globe. Air India has also been invited to participate in the SITAs horizon board in India which is a partnership between SITA and airlines to develop the next generation passenger service systems across the globe. All these developments would help AI to establish itself as a brand in the PSS system delivery across the globe. SITA in India works with its strategic partners Mindtree NIIT to implement its technological systems and has a workforce of more than one lac employees. Low Cost Resources Livery The new livery which was launched after the merger has characteristics of both the descendants namely AI and IA both. The livery consists of the flying swan and the Konark chakra placed inside it. The Air India brand is mentioned on the tail of the Aircraft in hindi proudly depicting Indias national language. The aircraft colour is ivory with streaks of red retaining Air Indias colour. Also the red and orange streaks presence on doors signifies the merger of the two giants into one single entity. Maharajah Maharaja is the most reminiscent figure which is associated with the airline. It was designed by the duo of Bobby Kooka, AIs Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, J.Walter Thompson Ltd. Way back in 1946 primarily as a memo symbol; however it has translated into much more than that over the years. The maharajah has won various awards around the globe for its uniqueness and antics. The first word customers associate with AI is the puns and antics of the Maharajah. The maharajah is a unique brand proposition created by the Airline which has served it as a brand ambassador across the world. In- Flight Entertainment Air India has a variety of channels which cater to both the audio and video entertainment of its passengers. The customers have a variety of Indian channels such as popular music, ghazals, bhajans, etc. There is also a variety of English music channels having various genres like rock, pop, jazz, alternative rock , classical , etc. There are also a variety of regional channels available in Indian regional languages such as Malayalam, Tamil, etc. and also movies in similar languages are available for flights connecting the South Indian regions to the Gulf and South East Asia. On Ground Facilities Air India has its own exclusive lounges at Delhi, London, Hong Kong and New York in addition to the one in Mumbai. At other international airports, Air India has tie-ups with other international airlines or local Airports Authorities for lounge facility. There is a lounge for unaccompanied minors as well. Online Booking The quick, easy and convenient way to book AI tickets online through the Air India website. An e ticket will be generated and the details with the e ticket link will be emailed to the passenger. Air India has extensive facilities for Web check in and Tele check in for its passengers to provide ease of facilities. Dining Air India has a variety of menus to cater to a variety of tastes for its passengers. There is a choice of Indian, Continental, Western and Asian cuisines. There are certain special cuisines available on some routes like Japanese cuisine on the Tokyo route, etc. The special requirements of certain passengers also met with a variety of more than twenty six dishes available. There is a large assortment of wines and drinks to choose from giving the passenger a world class dining experience. Balance Scorecard at Air India The balanced scorecard is a holistic design of looking at an organization. It helps align the activities of the business to the vision, mission and the strategy of the organization. It helps improve communication, both internally and externally as well as measure the performance against said goals using proper metrics. Balanced Scorecard concept was started by Dr. Kaplan and David Norton as a means of measuring performances of organization. It was a measurement framework, which for the first time added non-financial metrics along with the traditional metrics that gave managers a better view of the performance of the organization. Over the years, balanced scorecards were refined to become a complete planning and management system for strategy. It helps operationalize vision and mission documents; progress on which can be monitored daily. The airline industry is cyclical in nature. Demand fluctuates seasonally; while planning for capacity and investments have to be done long term. This means that airlines usually go through sessions when they are operating in the red financially. Hence, it makes perfect sense to use a Balanced Scorecard to evaluate the performance of the organization. It gives a better indication of the health of the organization as well as helps create proper milestones for evaluating the progress towards strategic goals. Air India has been facing turbulent times recently. A lot of reorganization, restructuring with regards to the organization, finances and fleet have taken place. The company is deep in the red and there have been calls to divest this white elephant. As Air India struggles through this mess, using a balanced scorecard will give clarity to their goals and help them focus their efforts in achieving the said goals. Balanced scorecard has been implemented in several airlines, the most documented one being the Balanced scorecard implementation at Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airline is a USA based low-cost airline company and is also the worlds largest no-frills airline. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Southwest has among the largest fleet of passenger aircraft among all of the worlds commercial airlines, operating more than 3200 flights daily. Southwest is also a very profitable airline, having posted profits for 37 consecutive years. The balanced scorecard implementation at Southwest airlines has gone through a series of iterations and they are currently in their 3rd generation. We suggest a similar balanced scorecard for Air India. For the balanced scorecard we must have: Vision Mission Core Goal Activities and Outcomes Vision statement is the picture of your company in the future. It forms the lynchpin around which strategy formation takes place. Mission statement is the fundamental purpose of the existence of the company. It clarifies Why do we exist? Core Goal is the goal that is to be achieved by the balanced scorecard. Activities refer to processes that take place inside the organization, that lead to desired outcomes. Activities consists of Internal Processes Learning and Development Outcomes consists of Financial Performance Customer Satisfaction Activities are internal to the organization, while the outcomes in terms of financial outcomes and customer outcomes are visible outside the organization. Also internal processes, Learning and Development are long-term goals while financial and customer outcomes are more short-term goals. However they act as leading indicators of the changes happening in internal processes and Learning and Development. These show that the activities that were internal to the organization has reached a point of maturity that they have started impacting the customer and financial outcomes. As shown in the balanced scorecard given below, activities and outcomes interact with other activities and outcomes and hence no item can be looked at in isolation. The interactions between the strategic goals in each of these four divisions (2 activities and 2 outcomes) have been identified and dwelled upon in the balanced scorecard. The internal processes which must be measured for the scorecard that we identified were: Faster Turnaround of flights Increased Utilization of fleet Adherence to Schedule These will help rationalize workforce, fleets and bring in incremental improvements in operational efficiencies, bringing down costs and making Air India more competitive vis-Ã  -vis low cost carriers. Adherence to Schedule will help Air India rebuild customer confidence in the ability of the Airline to perform. The Learning and Development initiatives that need to be taken up and measured are: Alignment of employees with company goals Cross Functional Training Team work Cross functional Training and teams will increase the efficiency of the organization allowing it to make decisions faster and hence respond more quickly to changes. This is very important for Air-India as the general perception is that the company is slow to change and lethargic in decision making. The financial outcomes from these activities are: Profitability Lower Costs Increased Revenue Fewer Planes The customer outcomes are: Lower Prices On-Time flights Frequent flights Friendly Service Given below is the pictorial depiction of the balanced scorecard for Air India. Resource Based Turnaround Strategy for Air India This part of the report deals with understanding the reasons for the near collapse of Air India and proposing a turnaround strategy for the airline. Since its establishment by the Tata Group and the subsequent takeover by the Indian Government, Air India has seen a lot of issues emerging and changes in the competitive environment in which it operates. These issues and changes have been intensified by uncertain economic conditions, various crises and subsequent recoveries in the European and Asian economies, and a general lack of confidence in professional fields. This has led to a general reduction in the average time available to the organization which seeks to affect a successful turnaround. Also, the rising competition in the field it operates has compounded the problems by making Air India fight for limited resources with players which quite often have people with greater conviction at the top and therefore can allocate a greater part of important resources to the firms operation s. This challenge is primarily faced by organizations which operate in industries that have high technology orientation and companies which typically have high gestation periods where an investment made in any particular area or domain impacts the companys bottom line for a long period. Airlines business being one that is fairly high technology is characterized by factors that include product and/or process sophistication, research and development (RD) intensity, and a large population of technical employees. High-tech firms often encounter rapid changes in technology, demand, and a competition which is overlaid by sharp and unpredictable change. Thus, the AI management must be equipped for change management in line with the changes in the airlines industry environment. Unless this happens it will continue to struggle to remain profitable. This is precisely what has been encountered in the case of Air India. Within this high-velocity context, any turnaround strategy is faced with unique challenges. These have been depicted in the figure below. Business Decline The framework that the group uses in analysing the reasons for Air Indias failure and proposing the turnaround takes a new view of turnarounds by integrating constructs drawn from existing turnaround literature with others from the resource-based view of the firm. It proposes that efficient business operations are based on a combination of factors like key resource availability, germane strategy, and appropriate implementation of that strategy through adequate resource leveraging. In this case the financial and human resource would be the resources AI must look to leverage. Important resources within an enterprise can also act as the base for a turnaround strategy which would foster sustainable competitive advantage. Such resources are often the products of historical strategy and environmental action and are invariably capable to withstand rigorous tests of quality. A list of the key attributes of these resources is provided below: (Refer High-Velocity Environment Trims Time to Act Creating a Framework for High-Tech Turnarounds by Rolph N.S. Balgobin, Naresh Pandit; Nov 1, 2002) Turnaround Strategy Turnaround attempts are often the result of existence-threatening decline, there exists a lot of uncertainty with the origin of the points of change intervention and the role of the new top management. Frequently, a turnaround attempt is initiated after pressure from a significant stakeholder, such as a parent company or strong shareholder group. Air India has witnessed this quite a few times as with the ascent of every new government at the center of Power in New Delhi, the attitude towards the airline has changed. Hence pressure often came from the private players whose bids to take over the airline provided the fillip to the management of the airline to change the scheme of things at Air India. In most cases, the need for the change happens internally, usually started by the management who sees the signals of an impending decline. Also in new age high-technology firms, turnaround need not always be a management driven effort. However, the attitude of managers is just as necessary as having new leadership in getting the turnaround efforts going. The success of turnaround recovery plans are different from the unsuccessful ones in many ways (refer to the points mentioned below). In the cases of turnarounds that are successful, analysis-led understanding of the dynamics of the business is done using a diagnostic review. This provides a clear indication of the turnaround opportunities that are available. These opportunities have to be pursued with the goal of creating a sustainable competitive position in the market. Successful turnaround Plan characteristics Result from a diagnostic review (inductive rather than prescriptive) Profitability is explicitly set as an objective A single turnaround plan rather than competing initiatives or no plan at all Communication with stakeholders to ensure alignment A turnaround team develops and implements the plan Causes of decline are appropriately addressed The Process of Turnaround The frameworks used to portray turnaround are often depicted as a sequential process, which starts with the management initiating the attempt, then retrenchment, consolidating and then returning to a growth stage. But in high tech turnaround process there are four distinct stages crisis development, management change, transformation and stabilization, and return to growth. In the case of Air India, the Crisis Development phase started in the year 2008-2009 when the airline reported financial losses of 5000 crores. Due to this, the airline couldnt pay the salaries of its employees leading to a massive announced by the employees in the summer of 2009. This was one of the biggest human resource crises in the history of Indian business with nearly 30000 Air India employees going on strike. Immediately following this, the disastrous incident of the crash of Air India Express Flight 812 leading to the death of 158 people, happened. The change phase, unlike in the more traditional sectors, change happens not at the top as turnaround starts happening. There is often a change of problematic management, mostly purporting the point of view that a CEOs knowledge and relationships are crucial to a successful recovery. The same happened in the case of Air India. The entire top management of Air India was recast in a period of 30 days by the then aviation minister Mr. Praful Patel. As part of the shakeup, several old time directors were asked to leave and a Professional Chief Operating Officer was appointed under the CMD, Mr. Arvind Jadhav. In the third phase, a lot of actions happen simultaneously; these include cost rationalization, asset rationalization, revenue creation and product and market reorganization. In turnarounds that are successful, organizations should be careful not to lose resources that may be useful to recovery. This happens when they concentrate on surviving rather than on competitive leadership. Reflex cutbacks should not result in loss of key resources in firms successful in turning around their organizations. Instead, the focus should be on reducing costs. Also Air India disinvested some of the less efficient parts of its operations, while retaining the more important and useful ones. After an early emphasis on cost reduction, the focus of Air India then shifted to Structural alterations, joint-venture participation, investment, and the introduction of new products. There is a significant deviation in the experience of firms operations in more stable industries, which suggests that it is the high-competitive environment that demand that the changes occur simultaneously rather than sequentially. But as the transformation takes place, the turnaround of the firm goes through an inflection point that causes a shift in focus from cost and asset reduction to growth of the firm. In the case of Air India this has been characterized by the commitment of the top management to the growth of top line and sales and a conscious effort on the part of the airline to drive up volumes and occupancies of the airlines. The airline plans to reduce its price up to 23% by the end of this year. Industry experts see this as a clear sign of conscious effort on the part of the airline to drive up its volumes and occupancy rates. The last phase of the turnaround is punctuated by the assumption that for survival the focus has to be on growth and acquisition. In high competitive industries, this phase does not usually require that the CEO change or that the management change. Our group expects the same to happen by the end of the nest fiscal year when the economy would have recovered and new opportunities would arrive at the horizon for the troubled airline. Influencing Factors Literature study says that significant differences exist between successful and not so successful cases when they are compared in terms of their contextual and situational factors of turnaround attempts. Factors related to macroeconomic improvement and market growth appear to be assisting turnaround attempts. Though, it also has been seen that these environmental changes are not deterministic. With each organization being a unique collection of resources, external events do not seem to be having a uniform impact. Thus, a rising tide seems to lift only the seaworthy boats. External influencing factors include: Macroeconomic Improvement Market Growth Stakeholders attitude. Interaction of an organization with stakeholders such buyers, employees, suppliers, unions, bankers, the government and the community play a major role in determining the success of the turnaround efforts. When important stakeholders hold an active interest in the business viability of the firm, the chances of success appear to be greater. Internal Influencing factors include: Mission institutionalization Availability of financial resources Power concentration, and Perception of the permanence and controllability of decline. Mission institutionalization, primarily driven by the internal and external expectations of the businesses the firm should be in, can be a major abettor or inhibitor of positive change demanded by an intended turnaround. In cases where the changes required put the firm in a new strategic domain (say that of the low cost carriers), mission institutionalization can often hinder efforts of a swift shift in strategy if a firms constituents instinctively negate or refute out courses of action that are seen to be inconsistent with the vision and mission of the firm or its founders. This in Air Indias case can be explained by the reluctance of the airlines part to move into low cost carriers strategic domain. While this remains a possible strategic domain for the future, the airline showed remarkable reluctance in adopting this as a possible strategy. Maybe the Maharaja cant fly cheap after all. Available financial resources are one of the important requirements for a turnaround attempt, especially if the firm has considerable cash demands. Even then, availability of funds has still not been found to be one of the deciding factors in the outcome of a full-fledged turnaround effort. This is a significant finding as it often is suggested that firms in stress require only a steady input of cash until their products or services regain market acceptance. Also in the case of Air India with the airline being heavily government funded, the opportunity to save money and possible publicize it makes a great political success story and a PR opportunity. Of greater impact on the success of a turnaround attempt is the concentration of power within the organization. Firms with higher levels of power concentration are a lot freer to strategize, develop and also implement successful turnaround plans, while the cases that fail are often constrained or reined in by parent companies, powerful stakeholders like political parties, or internal politics. In non-turnaround cases, the management appears to have far less power relative to that owned by the stakeholders. In the case of Air India, with the creation of a new position of power of CEO, can potentially dilute the power vested in the top management. Yet considerations of operational efficiencies far outweigh the concern for power dilution. Similarly, with the entire airline industry showing signs of recovery with the economy firmly on the path of recovery, the perception of the permanence and controllability of decline is that of impermanent and one that can be managed by suitable strategy implementation. Strategy Implementation Successful firms reduce their resource base in those areas which are no longer core activities. Failed firms are more far likely to dispose or sell off on otherwise lose valuable resources than those that might support a recovery attempt. In the successful cases, the remaining resources are often realigned and augmented with the resources which are borrowed through joint ventures, development agreements, or outright acquisitions. This is depicted in the diagram as shown below. Resource Leveraging diagram As a rule, the successful turnaround cases concentrate a majority of their critical resources on a single and consistent turnaround plan, emphasize on a few improvement areas at a time, and focus on a few critical performance levers. They have a strong feedback mechanism to instill new learning deep into the organization. In the case of Air India it would be taking the voice of customers very seriously and trying to create a culture which cares for the people the firm serves. Firms which go through very successful turnarounds are also in a position to blend and balance resources to bring in products and services into the market, while unsuccessful firms often have seem to have an imbalance of skills, which neutralizes capabilities that exist elsewhere in the organization. Finally, parsimonious and frugal resource use and the useful ability to implement turnaround plans quickly also form one of the chief characteristics of successful recoveries. Thus, this is the comprehensive resource based turnaround strategy that we propose for Air India.

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 4

At that moment Thea almost hated her cousin. But there was no choice. Four pairs of eyes were watching her: Blaise's gray eyes, Vivienne's emerald green, Selene's dear blue, and Dani's velvety dark ones. They were waiting. Thea got up and began the long walk across the patio. She felt as if everyone was watching her. She tried to keep her steps measured and confident, her face serene. It wasn't easy. The closer she got to that sandy hair, the more she wanted to turn and run. She had tunnel vision now: everything on the sides was a blur; the only clear thing was Eric's profile. Just as she got within earshot, he glanced up and saw her coming. He looked startled. For a moment his eyes met hers: a deeper green than Vivienne's, more intense and more innocent. Then, without a word, he turned away and walked quickly down a path between two buildings. He was gone before Thea knew what was happening. She stood rooted to the ground. There was a huge amount of empty space inside her, with only her uncomfortably pounding heart trying to fill it. Okay; he hates me. I don't blame him. Maybe it's good; maybe Blaise will say we can all forget him now. But when she went back to the shady table, Blaise was frowning thoughtfully. â€Å"You just don't have the technique yet,† she said. â€Å"Never mind. I can coach you.† â€Å"Viv and I can help, too,† Selene murmured. â€Å"You'll learn fast.† â€Å"No-thank you,† Thea said. Her pride was hurt and her cheeks were on fire. â€Å"I can do it myself. Tomorrow. I have a plan already.† Dani squeezed her hand under the table. â€Å"You'll do fine.† Blaise said, â€Å"Just make sure it's tomorrow. Or I might think you don't really want him.† And then, to Thea's immense relief, the bell rang. â€Å"Hawthorne, yarrow, angelica†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Thea peered through the thick blue glass of an unlabeled jar. â€Å"Some kind of nasty powder†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She was in the front room of her grandmother's shop, deserted now because it was closed for the evening. Just being with all these herbs and gems and amulets gave her a feeling of comfort. Of control. I love this place, she thought, looking around at the floor-to-ceiling shelves of bottles and boxes and dusty vials. One whole wall was devoted to trays of stones-unpolished and polished, rare and semiprecious, some with symbols or words of power engraved on them, some dirty and fresh from the earth. Thea liked putting her hands in them and murmuring their names: tourmaline, amethyst, honey topaz, white jade. And then there were the good-smelling herbs: everything you needed to cure indigestion or to call a lover; to soothe arthritis or to curse your landlord. Some of these-the simples-worked whether you were a witch or not. They were just natural remedies, and Gran even sold them to humans. But the real spells required both arcane knowledge and psychic power, and no human could make them active. Thea was whipping up a real spell. First, heartsease. That was good for any love charm. Thea opened a canister and fingered the dried purple and yellow flowers gently. Then she dropped a handful of them into a fine mesh bag. What else? Rose petals were a given. She unstopped a large ceramic jar and got a whiff of sweetness as she sprinkled them in. Chamomile, yes. Rosemary, yes. Lavender†¦ she twisted the cork out of a small vial of lavender essence. She could use some of that right this minute. She mixed it in her palm with a teaspoon of jojoba oil then dabbed the fragrant liquid on her temples and at the back of her neck. Blood, flow! Headache, go! The tension in her neck started to ease almost instantly. She took a long breath and looked around. Some bones of the earth would help. Rose quartz carved in the shape of a heart for attraction. A lump of raw amber for charm. Oh, and throw in a lode-stone for magnetism and a couple of small garnets for fire. It was done. Tomorrow morning she'd take a bath, letting this giant tea bag infuse the water while she burned a circle of red candles. She'd soak in the potent mixture, letting the smell of it, the essence of it, seep into her skin. And when she got out, she'd be irresistible. She was about to walk away when a leather pouch caught her eye. No. Not that, she told herself. You've got a mixture here to promote interest and affection. It's plenty strong enough just to get him to listen to you. You don't want anything stronger. But she found herself picking up the soft pouch anyway. Opening it, just to look inside. It was full of reddish-brown chips, each about the size of a thumbnail with a woody, aromatic smell. Yemonja root. Guaranteed to draw an unwilling heart. But usually forbidden to maidens. Recklessly, not letting herself think about it, Thea transferred half a dozen chips to her mesh bag. Then she put the worn leather pouch back on its shelf. â€Å"Figured it out yet?† a voice behind her said. Thea whirled. Gran was standing at the foot of the narrow stairway that led to the apartment above the store. â€Å"Uh-what?† She held the mesh bag behind her back. â€Å"Your specialty. Herbs, stones, amulets†¦ I hope you're not going to be one of those chanting girls. I hate that whiny music.† Thea loved the music. In fact, she loved all the things Gran had mentioned-but she loved animals even better. And there wasn't much of a place for animals in witch life, not since familiars had been outlawed during the Burning Times. You could use bits of animals, sure. Lizard foot and nightingale tongue. Blaise was always trying to get hold of Thea's animals for just that purpose, and Thea was always fighting her off. â€Å"I don't know. Gran,† she said. â€Å"I'm still thinking.† â€Å"Well, you've got time-but not too much,† her grandmother said, walking slowly toward her. Edgith Harman's face was a mass of creases, she hunched, and she used two canes-but that wasn't bad for a woman over a hundred who ran her own business and tyrannized every witch in the country. â€Å"Remember, you've got some decisions to make when you hit eighteen. You and Blaise are the last of our line. The last two direct descendants of Hellewise. That means you have a responsibility-you have to set an example.† â€Å"I know.† At eighteen, she would have to decide not just her specialty, but which Circle she would join for life: Twilight or Midnight. â€Å"I'll think about it, Gran,† she promised, putting her free arm around the old woman. â€Å"I've still got six months.† Gran stroked Thea's hair with a veined, gentle hand. It chased the last of Thea's headache away. Still holding the mesh bag behind her back, she said, â€Å"Gran? Are you really mad about having us here for the school year?† â€Å"Well, you eat too much and you leave hair in the shower†¦ but I guess I can stand it.† Gran smiled, then frowned. â€Å"Just as long as you stay in line until the end of the month.† There it was again. â€Å"But what's happening at the end of the month?† Gran gave her a look. â€Å"Samhain, of course! All Hallow's Eve.† â€Å"I know that,† Thea said. Even the humans celebrated Halloween. She wondered if Gran was having one of her vague spells. â€Å"Samhain-and the Inner Circle,† Gran said abruptly. â€Å"They've picked the desert for their ceremony this year.† â€Å"The desert-you mean here? The Inner Circle is coming here? Mother Cybele and Aradia and all of them?† â€Å"All of them,† Gran said. Suddenly her wrinkles looked grim. â€Å"And by Air and Fire, I'm not having them come here just to see you girls screw up-1 have a reputation, you know.† Thea nodded a little dazedly. â€Å"I-welt no wonder you were worried. We won't embarrass you. I promise.† â€Å"Good.† As Thea discreetly tucked the mesh bag under her arm and started for the stairs, the old woman added. â€Å"You'd better toss some plantain into that mix to bind it all together.† Thea felt herself blushing furiously. â€Å"Uh†¦ thanks, Gran,† she said, and went to look for plantain. Above the shop were two tiny bedrooms and a kitchenette. Grandma had one bedroom and Thea and Blaise shared the other. Tobias, Gran's apprentice, had been bumped to the workshop downstairs. Blaise was lying on her bed, reading a thick book with a red cover. Poetry. Despite her frivolous act, she wasn't stupid. â€Å"Guess what,† Thea said, and without waiting for Blaise to guess, told her about the Inner Circle coining. She watched to see if the news would scare Blaise-or at least alarm her into good intentions. But Blaise just yawned and stretched like a well-fed cat. â€Å"Good. Maybe we can watch how they summon the ancestors again.† She raised her eyebrows at Thea meaningfully. Two years ago in Vermont, while the human world was trick-or-treating, they'd hidden behind maple trees and spied on the Samhain summoning. They'd seen the elders use the magic of Hecate, the most ancient witch of all, the goddess of moon and night and sorcery, to bring spirits across the veil. For Thea it had been scary but exciting, for Blaise just exciting. Thea gave up on trying to alarm Blaise. Thea looked at the three star-shaped blue flowers lying on her palm. Then, one by one, she ate them. â€Å"Now say ‘Ego borago guadia semper ago,' † Selene instructed. â€Å"It means, ‘I, borage, always bring courage.' Old Roman spell.† Thea muttered the words. For the second day in a row, she was on the patio looking at a sandy head across the room. â€Å"Go get ‘im, tiger,† Blaise said. Vivienne and Dani nodded encouragingly. Thea squared her shoulders and started across the room. As soon as Eric saw her coming he went down the side path. You idiot, Thea thought. You don't know what's good for you. Maybe I should just let Blaise have you. But she followed him. He was standing just beyond the buildings, staring into the distance. She could only see his profile, which was nice-clean and somehow lonely. Thea swallowed, tasting a lingering sweetness from the borage flowers. What to say? She wasn't used to talking to humans-especially human boys. I'll just say â€Å"What's up?† and be casual she thought. But when she opened her mouth, what came out was, â€Å"I'm sorry.† He turned immediately. He looked startled. â€Å"You're sorry?† â€Å"Yes. I'm sorry I was so mean. What do you think I was following you for?† Eric blinked-and Thea thought his cheeks colored under his tan. â€Å"I thought you were mad because I kept staring at you. I was trying not to get you madder.† â€Å"You were staring at me?† Thea felt a little flushed herself. As if the herbs from her bath were steaming fragrantly out of her skin. â€Å"Well-I kept trying not to. I think I've got it down to one look every thirty seconds now.† He said it seriously. Thea wanted to laugh. â€Å"It's okay. I don't mind,† she said. Yes, she could definitely smell the love potion now. The heady floral scent of rose and heartsease, plus the spice of yemonja root. Eric seemed to take her at her word. He was definitely staring. â€Å"I'm sorry I acted like such a jerk before. With the snake, I mean. I really wasn't trying to feed you a line.† Alarm whispered through Thea. She didn't want to think about what had happened in the desert. â€Å"Yes, okay, I know,† she said. He was watching her so intently, his eyes such a deep green. â€Å"Well- you see, the reason I wanted to talk to you was†¦ you know, there's the Homecoming dance this Saturday. So I thought we could maybe go together.† She remembered at the last instant that in human society boys frequently asked girls to dances. Maybe she'd been too direct. But he looked-well, extremely pleased. â€Å"You're kidding! You're serious? You'd go with me?† Thea just nodded. â€Å"But that's terrific. I mean-thanks.† He was as excited as a kid at Beltane. Then his face clouded over. â€Å"I forgot, though. I promised Dr. Salinger-that's my boss at the pet hospital-that I'd spend the night there Saturday. Midnight to eight a.m. Somebody needs to watch the animals that stay overnight, and Dr. Salinger's going to a conference out of town.† â€Å"It doesn't matter,† Thea said. â€Å"We'll just go to the dance before midnight.† She was relieved. It meant less time play-acting in front of Blaise. â€Å"It's a date, then.† He still looked so happy. â€Å"And, Thea?† He said the name shyly, as if almost afraid to use it. â€Å"Maybe-maybe we could do something else sometime. I mean, we could go out, or you could come over to my house†¦.† â€Å"Uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The yemonja smell was really making her dizzy. â€Å"Uh†¦ well, this week-I'm trying to get adjusted to the new school and all. But maybe later.† â€Å"Okay. Later.† His smile was unexpected, astonishing. It transformed his face, turning the sweet, serious shyness into charismatic radiance. â€Å"If there's any way I can help, just ask.† Why, he's handsome, Thea thought. She felt a sort of tug at her insides, like a bird being charmed out of a tree. She hadn't realized how attractive he was, or how the gray flecks in his eyes seemed to catch sunlight†¦. Stop that! she told herself abruptly. This is business, and he's vermin. She felt a flush of shame at using the word, even in thought. But she had to do something. Without meaning to, she'd moved closer to him, so she was looking up into his face. Now they were only inches apart and she was feeling distinctly giddy. â€Å"I have to go-wow. I'll see you later,† she murmured, and made herself back up. â€Å"Later,† he said. He was still glowing. Thea fled. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, she tried to ignore him. Avoided him in the halls, acting as busy as possible. He seemed to understand, and didn't chase her down. She just wished he wouldn't look so dreamy and happy all the time. And then there was Blaise. Blaise already had a couple of husky football players who followed her everywhere, Buck and Duane-but neither of them was invited to the dance. Blaise had a unique method of choosing a partner. She told them all to go away. â€Å"You don't want me,† she said to a gorgeous Asian-American guy with one earring. It was lunch break on Thursday, and the witches had a whole table to themselves: Vivienne and Selene with Blaise on one side; Dani with Thea on the other. The gorgeous guy had one knee on a chair and was looking very nervous. â€Å"You can't afford me, Kevin. I'll ruin you. Better get out of here,† Blaise said, all the while looking up with sleeping fire in her gray eyes. Kevin shifted. â€Å"But I'm rich.† He said it simply, without affectation. â€Å"I'm not talking about money,† Blaise said. She gave a deprecating smile. â€Å"And anyway, I don't think you're really interested.† â€Å"Are you kidding? I'm crazy about you. Every time I see you†¦ I don't know; it just makes me crazy.† He glanced at the other girls and Thea knew he was uncomfortable at having an audience. But not uncomfortable enough to stop talking. â€Å"I'd do anything for you.† â€Å"No, I don't think so.† Blaise was toying with a ring on her left index finger. â€Å"What's that?† Vivienne interjected nonchalantly. â€Å"Hm? Oh, just a little diamond,† Blaise said. She held out her hand and light scintillated. â€Å"Stuart Mac-Ready gave it to me this morning.† Kevin shifted again. â€Å"I can buy you dozens of rings.† Thea felt sorry for him. He seemed like an okay guy, and she'd heard him talk about wanting to be a musician. But she knew from long experience that it wouldn't do any good to tell him to get out of here. It would only make him more stubborn. â€Å"But I wouldn't want a ring from you,† Blaise was saying in a soft, chiding voice. â€Å"Stuart gave this to me because it was the only memento he had of his mom. It meant everything to him-so he wanted me to have it.† â€Å"I'd do the same thing,† Kevin said. Blaise just shook her head. â€Å"I don't think so.† â€Å"Yes, I would.† â€Å"No. The thing that means the most to you is your car, and you'd never give that up.† Thea had seen the car. It was a silver-gray Porsche. Kevin lovingly touched it up with a chamois in the school parking lot every morning. Now Kevin looked confused. â€Å"But-that car's not really mine. It belongs to my parents. They just let me use it.† Blaise nodded understanding. â€Å"You see? I told you that you wouldn't. Now, why don't you go away like a good boy?† Kevin seemed to collapse internally. He stared at Blaise pleadingly, not making a move to go away. At last, Blaise tilted her head at the football flunkies. â€Å"C'mon, man,† one flunky-Thea thought it was Duane-said. They took Kevin by the shoulders and propelled him away. Kevin kept looking back. Blaise dusted her fingers off briskly. Selene pushed back pale hair and drawled, â€Å"Think he'll cough up the car?† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Blaise smiled. â€Å"Let's just say I think I'll have transportation to the dance. Of course, I'm still not sure who I'm taking†¦.† Thea got up. Dani had sat silently through lunch, and now she was watching Blaise, her velvety dark eyes half horrified and half admiring. â€Å"I'm getting out of here,† Thea said significantly, and was relieved when Dani stopped staring at Blaise and stood up. â€Å"Oh, by the way,† Blaise said, picking up her backpack, â€Å"I forgot to give you this.† She handed Thea a small vial, the size that perfume samples came in. â€Å"What's it for?† â€Å"For the dance. You know, to put the boys' blood in.†

A analysis of Google quit Chinese market

Fourthly, the conflict between Google and Chinese government had upgrade to diplomatic emissions, the wise was both of two government solve this problem in intellect way. 2. 0 The company profile of Google Google is an American multinational corporation, which is worked on Internet service including search, cloud computing software and online advertising. The mission and vision of Google is to organize the world's Information and make it universally accessible and useful. As the culture of Google, they hire smart and determined people.Its employees share common goals and vision, but they hire people from all over the world. When they are not work, the offices environment like home and It Is leased. They have open culture, make every contributor feel comfortable. (Google, 2014) 2. 1 The introduction of Google's problem encountered in China The most of obvious problem is Google have conflict with Chinese government. At the beginning, Google was not obeyed Chinese Internet Censored regu lation. But under the pressure of Chinese government, Google tried to cooperate that is not approved by Chinese government, but it did arouse against in the rest of world.A internal problem from Google is they did not understand Chinese culture and language which make search engine Inefficiency. Google's business had been taking from Its competitor?Bald. According to high level report (San, 2007, p. 6) 3. 0 Evaluation of the Inter personal relationships affects the corporation's profit in China Interpersonal relationship means a strong, deep, or close association between two or more people. The interpersonal relationships are formed in the context of social, cultural, traditional and other elements.For most of people, they are likely to feel non-treatable with foreigners, which is hurting international business. Such as Google, it entered China as foreigners, it hard or Google to open Chinese market. Therefore, inter personal relationships allow build trust or even friendship, which is beneficial to corporation's business. Furthermore, Inter personal relationships allow International corporation know the local culture, which Is good for communication. Inter personal relationships can eliminate the barrier In communication, and offer high efficiency and unblocked communication and in respect way.Google do not know the Chinese culture and instead of English. Google did not realize it, its functions of mandarin is weak, so seers cannot get satisfy answer by Google search engine. Interpersonal relationship is based on culture, it is seemingly more vital in China than any rest of countries. The inter personal had been becoming indispensable social element which ensures social function operation, since thousands years ago, inter personal tradition had formed. The foreign corporation effort to enter China market, it is important to learn this culture.Apparently, Google did not figure out this issue, they did not understand culture, and try to use their successful exp erience in America to open Chinese market. They make their business operation too professionals and cool, which betrayed Chinese culture. Because the misunderstanding Chinese situation, they are not favorable for Chinese net citizens. Compare with national brand Baud, the local business are deeper understanding Chinese situation, Baud occupies more market than Google. For example, Baud has many functions which is understanding Chinese culture.Such as Baud Zooidal, it provides a platform to let Internet citizen ask question and answer. And Baud Tibet is very suitable to Chinese Internet citizens, they can communicate on the Tibet. Agreeably, it gathers the people who have common point. Furthermore, Baud search engine understands Chinese language, so user are easy to access what they want, but Google not. (Edward, 2010) Not only the Chinese business men work rely on inter personal relationships, but also are international corporations necessary have good relation with government and a uthorities.The good relation with government official provides the good communication that make international corporations deeper understand local regulations. It is helpful to international corporations which is not adopted Chinese environment to change and transform. However, Google are too late to realize this, they had been trying to work on Internet freedom and try to build this as brand image in first several years entered China market. The brand image was not successful as they expected. With the Baud's rise, Google had been losing market share, and having trouble with Chinese government.According high level report (John 2011, p 1) Hence, it is easier for Google to operate it businesses, if they have good inter personal relationships network as international corporations. It can allow the opportunities and bring profit. Without inter personal relationship is hard to move on in China, but friends can impart experience and help. As long as international corporation build good i nter personal relationship, they are likely to access success and harmony cooperation relations. According high level report (David, p 3) 4. Chinese Internet Management Begun in 2003, Chinese government built the Great Firewall, it can block some foreign websites and surveillance of the network. Any uncensored Internet information is found that will be immediately deleted or shielded. Strength of monitoring program A, Contain the Internet violence B, Contain the Internet rumor C, Keep harmful content away from child A, It impose restriction on Google information B, It hurt human rights and make Google be debatable. 4. 1 The strength of monitoring program In China, the Internet violence has been overflow, which can be controlled by program.A behavior called â€Å"Human flesh search† This action allows net citizens to dig up another net citizens' private information including real name, address, hand phone number, his employer and so on. The Chinese official and social expertis e judge this behavior is Internet violence and guilty. Hence, they persisted monitoring program which contained this behavior. â€Å"Human flesh search† did hurt huge number of people. Some person had action which is unaccepted to other net citizens. The latter would use â€Å"Human flesh search† dig up their information, and abuse, threaten the victims.And it also infringes upon citizen's legal rights, such as right to privacy. Meanwhile, the Great Firewall can intercept dirty language, personal abuse. In some degree, it does refine the Internet environment. The circumstance can be controlled by government. Google is so powerful and it search engine can be this crime's accessory. It is refine the environment of Google. So, for Google, this monitoring can help Google find the crime information, it is good for Google development. (ROB, 2012) The Internet rumor has been overflow, which also has been keeping down by the program.In China, the Internet rumor is seemingly wo rse than any rest of countries. Rumor disrupts normal social order and brings about panic, riot, which is immorality. The government has duty to crackdown on online rumors to give citizen a truth. The radical content can be kept away from children. Some information is ultra, which s full of violence, pornographic, and poison. The child can easily access that information. The appropriate management is benefit to child. The parents are not worry about that children read bad information. (Shannon, 2013) 4. The weakness of Internet management The monitoring system is so strong that cover whole Internet, it can surveillance privacy, stop information, shield search engine. Chinese government use it prohibit many things. It is violate human rights. In China, it is hard to separate the politically- motivated Internet management and protecting legitimate citizen's interest. The overspent takes advantage of the monitoring system to achieve political motivation. The content harmful government but it is truth can be intercepted. It is good for government to shield and cover truth.The research engine cannot provide information to Chinese citizens without government censored. Google is an organization which believes the Internet information freedom, it provide some information which can be harmful to Chinese government. The government use law And it is ruining Google's reputation. (Suburban, 2013) Google cannot provide some websites which are not allowed to access in China, such s Faceable and Youth. Chinese governments and authorities stop these websites from citizens. It does puzzle citizens to use Internet.On another hand, the pirate and tort information is full of Internet in China, the monitoring system like blind and no operation to this crime. Google pay attention on copyrights, but its competitor is not at all. In China, Baud which is the biggest competitor have been offering pirate and tort information under the monitoring system. The authorities are conniving nati onal corporation Baud and cause problem with Google that reduce its competitiveness. And net citizens are prefer Baud in China. According to high level report Anyone, 2011,p. 12) The censored system is so restrict that many useful information had been deleted.Google provides some acknowledge and ideology which also are prohibited, such as some chemistry principle, explode principle, and firearms acknowledge. The Chinese officials believe it can ensure society stabilization. â€Å"There are no explode, because no one can make it† It does puzzle learners have right purpose. Not only it violates human rights, but also does it perplexes Google operation. Google as requested to upgrade system to manage information and corporate the Great Firewall. Liking other Internet Corporation in China, Google had to invest huge sums on develop its monitoring systems.It wastes money and time, it reduces the corporation competitiveness. Furthermore, when the Great Firewall updating, these corpo ration business including Google can be affect. The condition of Internet become Jam and slow. (ROB, 2012) 5. 0 The importance of CAR in maintaining corporation international The CAR means the relationship between global corporations, government of countries, and individual people. The relationship between local society and corporation also is important. And the relationship between corporations with its stakeholders also cannot be forgotten.The stakeholders mean those effect corporation police and practices. Sustainability, the resource on the earth is limited, and corporations are the part of society. Hence, it is concerned that corporation how to use resource. As an international corporation, it behavior would be concerned, and public concerned its use of resource. It more likes morality restraint. And corporations pay attention on resource utilized which is responsible to society. Furthermore, sustainability not only about means resource, but also carrying capacity of the ecosys tem. Global corporations should concerned developing with care protection of ecosystem.They are powerful and taking more responsibility. The society is sustainability development and they can sustainability development. According to David (2008, app) concerned CAR is apparently important. The good action can build good brand awareness, such as charity. The media will help to advertise these beneficial actions, which is more worth that advertisement and promotion. (Craig, 2003, p. 21) For example, in China, Struck donates 1. 5 million US Dollar for training west rural teachers in poor areas, furthermore, this program also support poor students to finish their college study.Moreover, Struck are working on Education in China and Struck are the partner with women's Development Federation and Water and Sanitation Education Project. So, it is the reason of Struck is welcome in China. (Struck, 2006) 5. 1 The advice to Google Google have the privacy issues. As a global corporation, this pro blem had been across many countries. Marc believes that Google violate the global privacy tankards, and those issues are becoming as amusing as serious. Hence, the advice is respected the people's privacy right.It is important to build brand image to public, if Google hurt customer's privacy, which one are likely to use Google. And the different areas have different regulations of privacy, as a globe corporation, it is important to follow those different rules. Internal Google, they can set up a program to check any content that violent privacy. It is too late if external point out this behavior, which can quickly spread to world by media and bring harmful effect. According to high level report Anyone, 2006, p. ) The second advice is keeping away from China. It has a big share of search, in China.Chinese government insisted to censoring search content. Google had been agreeing with this censoring, but it against by rest of world. They believe the monitoring had violated the human ri ght. And the Chinese government still believed Google against the law under the cooperation. The censoring was betrayed Google's principle that respects Internet freedom and reality. Keeping cooperation would arouse the more oppose, including, Human right organization, reporter without burden and so on. In 006, some of demonstrator had the activity called â€Å"Mass Breakup with Google†.This activity protests the Google's cooperation with Chinese government. And demonstrators believe that Google break own principle of â€Å"Don't be evil†. Away from China, and refuse cooperation can build good brand image to rest of world, and the operation still work in Hong Kong. According high level report (Bassoon, 2007, p 10-15) 6. 0 The suggestion to lessen the political vulnerability between the government of USA and China There are many, complex, and rottenness conflicts between two countries. The deepest conflict is in ideology. China is governed by the communist party which b elieves the socialism with Chinese characteristics.Obviously, United States of America is the leader of capitalist countries. Both of two have so much difference in belief. Hence, it related and cause the specific conflicts. The biggest answers were requested censored by Chinese government. The international social believe it betray the principle of freedom of Internet, in further, it violates human rights. Although, Google effort to cooperate with Chinese government, the latter still believe Google default and provide porn information. In the Google sides, they assert hey suffer from Chinese hacker Internet attack.USA government requires Chinese government to protect the rights of Google. Yahoo can work in China, because it respects the Chinese regulation. Yahoo has totally legal operation in China. Yahoo is taking responsibility of CAR. Both of China and USA better keep calm. In front of the conflicts, both of two governments better keep restrain action and speech. Between two lar ge countries, they have to think about the long-term benefit and cooperation. Impulsion and extreme action will hurt long-term cooperation relations. As Google's issue, it is a commercial issue. The suggestion is keeping it to commerce problem.The public social can query Chinese government's strategy of treat Internet information. But, it is not smart for USA, as a government to interfere China internal affairs. It is not smart way to upgrade this issue to political problem that is making problem more complex. The deep communication and understand the culture and custom. Through the communication, both of sides can solve this issue in negotiations and dialogue. USA government can understand Chinese conditions and troubles. There are reasons for censored Internet information. USA government can figure out these reasons before action.Meanwhile, it is important to protect Google's right. Chinese government should investigate Internet attacks. Such as Yahoo, it also has business in Chin a, and it can have a good relation with Chinese government. Yahoo respects Chinese regulation, and the government has no issue with Yahoo. The communication is important to understand the policy of government. 7. 0 Conclusion For many reasons, Google had quite China in 2011. Corporation put website into Hong Kong, which is last part business in China. The biggest reason is Google misunderstanding of China situation.Without consider inter personal relationships, the wrong evaluation was hurt Google in China. The shortage of understanding language make search engine work inefficiency. The market share was declined in big degree. The conflicts with Chinese government were upgrading. The cooperation with Chinese government was suffering against with rest of world. In awkward situation, quite might be the best choose, it still can be helpful to build brand awareness to rest of world. As the conflicts had been caused the diplomatic tensions, the suggestion was that both of governments sol ved this issue, which better noninsured the long-term interest.

The Death Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh - 889 Words

The idea of death is prominent in all cultures. Everyone who has ever lived has died; it is a fact of life and nature. Though death is a natural assurance people, still have an uneasy relationship with the idea. Many people question what happens after death and from this people fear the unknown qualities behind it. This leads them to search for a way to change the inevitability of death. The story of Gilgamesh is a classic example of how far people will go for their fear of death. The first half of Gilgamesh’s story does not exactly delve into the main theme of death but help sets up the situation that the latter half uses to expand upon. The story of Gilgamesh starts out explaining the might and power of this king. Proclaiming Gilgamesh’s demi- god status as a â€Å"perfect† being the gods created by imbuing him with mighty strength and powers. One would assume him to be above mortal limits being two parts god and one part man. Therein lies the problem, since one third of him is human, he is affected by the all-encompassing factor humankind faces, which is death. At first Gilgamesh knows he is not meant to live forever but his name will live on though the stories his people pass down. As a king, he is privileged to this certain life legacy. Gilgamesh is, at first, content with letting his name be remembered, far after he has passed on. This is a form of memorial immortality is one that few are able to achieve, he knows this and takes it in with honor. In order to makeShow MoreRelatedGilgamesh s Death Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh1536 Words   |  7 PagesMesopotamia. As seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the main character Gilgamesh wants to become more godlike as to escape death. Already two-thirds god, Gilgamesh wishes to eliminate the part of him that forces him to face death. Death becomes a large issue for Gilgamesh, one that cannot be overcome or avoided due to the fact that while he is part god he is also human, and as part human he must succumb to the fatal flaw of all humans, death. However Gilgamesh s fear of death does not surface until heRead More Death and Immortality in The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay1366 Words   |  6 PagesDeath and Immortality in The Epic of Gilgamesh The search for immortality has been a major concern for many men and women all throughout history. True love and immortality in life would be a dream come true to many. To spend time with a special someone, the person one feels closest to, and never have to say good-bye would greatly appeal to most people. But when death steps into the picture, even with all the pain and devastation, one starts to re-evaluate themselvesRead More Struggling with Death in The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay561 Words   |  3 PagesStruggling with Death in The Epic of Gilgamesh In the ?Epic of Gilgamesh,? Gilgamesh deals with an issue that nearly destroyed him. He sought after immortality so much that he put his own life on the edge. Centuries later, this quest unites our high tech, fast paced culture with the remote and different culture of Gilgamesh. Humanity has yet to find the secret of letting go of the idea of everlasting life. Many people today hold on to the topic of immortality because they find itRead MoreGilgamesh : The Epic Of Gilgamesh909 Words   |  4 Pages â€Å"The Epic of Gilgamesh† is a didactic story set out to expose the inevitability of death. The true meaning of this story is sometimes overlooked because the story is told in heighten language not easily understood. The epic hero in this story is Gilgamesh; he undertakes a quest for knowledge which is overshadowed by his ignorance. The tragic death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s trusted companion forces the epic hero to change his perception of death. To overcome great obstacles one must be willing to putRead More The Epic of Gilgamesh is Truely an Epic Essay1690 Words   |  7 PagesThe Epic of Gilgamesh is Truely an Epic An epic is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.  Ã‚   The main characteristics of an epic as a literary genre is that it is a long poem that tells a story, it contains an epic hero, its hero searches for immortality (but doesnt find it physically, only through fame), gods or other supernatural beings are interested and involved, and it delivers an historical message.  Read MoreAthanasia: Human Impermanence and the Journey for Eternal Life in the Epic of Gilgamesh1740 Words   |  7 PagesAthanasia: Human Impermanence and the Journey for Eternal Life in the Epic of Gilgamesh â€Å"Will you too die as Enkidu did? Will grief become your food? Will we both fear the lonely hills, so vacant? I now race from place to place, dissatisfied with whereever I am and turn my step toward Utnapishtim, godchild of Ubaratutu† (Jackson â€Å"Gilgamesh Tablet IX† 4-9) Gilgamesh so much feared death that he threw away his honor as a warrior in order to obtain immortality. For centuries there have existed individualsRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh And Analysis1436 Words   |  6 Pages The Epic of Gilgamesh –Summary and analysis Introduction The Epic of Gilgamesh is an excerpt of the original text of the Epic listed in the Sources of the Western Tradition, 5th edition, by Perry, Peden and Von Laue (2003). The Epic of Gilgamesh is the story of King Gilgamesh who is the powerful king of Uruk, the incidents in his life, the associations he makes, the encounters he has, and the transition that occurs in his life in relation to his gainingRead MoreThe Search for Immortality in the Epic of Gilgamesh Essay1500 Words   |  6 Pages The fear of death and the search for eternal life is a cultural universal. The ideology surrounding immortality transcends time and a plethora of cultures. The theme, immortality appears in stories from the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was composed by ancient Sumerians roughly around 600 B.C., to present day works of fiction in the twenty first century. Gilgamesh, a figure of celestial stature, allows his mortal side to whittle away his power after the death of Enkidu. 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In column VI, having just defeated the guard, Enkidu then finds himself in a similar situation to Gilgamesh, whereby he doubts their ability to defeat Humbaba, and it comes down to Gilgamesh, and his leadership