Typically, success and happiness are two concepts that depend on each other. In one of Aesop’s Fables, “The North Wind and the Sun,” the author wants to teach the reader on superiority of persuasion over force. Hundred years ago, the sun and the north wind used to live harmoniously as friends and as siblings. However, the north wind began to feel that the sun was loved by people more than he did prompting them to start having differences. Consequently, they decided to show their prowess. The north wind and the sun place a wager upon which of the two can most easily divest a traveler of his cloak. Although we are all determined to be successful in life, some of our “friends” are determined to see us fail ultimately.
The wind plays an important role in climatology because it determines and controls weather and climate. The sun is a powerful center of consideration since it helps people in their day-to-day activities. It is credited for holding the solar system together; generates space weather; and offers life-giving heat, light, and energy to human beings. People loved the two goddesses because they served to provide to them at the end of the day. However, the two started having differences after the wind realized that the sun was loved by human beings more than him. As a result, he decided to develop strategies that will bring the sun down ultimately. In the story at hand, I will examine what prompted the sun and the wind to bet on showing who was powerful than the other.
The sun had more benefits to the people across the world compared to the wind. This did not only make the wind become arrogant but also to be jealous. As a result, the wind decided to develop strategies to bring down the sun at the end of the day. In other words, he was not happy due to the success of the other goddess. The wind started passing rumors to the people through its waves that the sun was planning to destroy them.
However, the tactic did not work since human beings had already realized that the two had started falling out from each other. Being ashamed of himself for learning that human beings had already noticed their differences, he sets out for a mission of coming up with another strategy that would eventually destroy the sun. The sun had realized the wind’s behavior, but he remained calm because he knew that the people loved him because of his services to them. In other words, he was loved due to his success in delivering what was required from him. Additionally, the sun promised its heart that he would continue helping people in their day-to-day activities. He acknowledged that the descendants could only respect him based on the performance record rather than wasting his time on baseless fights.
One day, the sun and the wind woke up as usual. However, during their regular talks, they argued who was powerful than the other. The wind raised the argument as another strategy of showing people that he was more powerful than the sun. He aimed at using any available mechanism of bringing the sun down and embarrassing him in the eyes of the people. The argument made them bet that they have to find a way of competing to ultimately showcase their prowess. Each one of them believed that he was more potent than the other. However, the sun was not much interested in showing what he was capable of doing, but he decided to take up the challenge and show the planet that he was not a coward at all. In other words, he had to confirm to his descendants that he was not only there to provide essential services to the people, but he was capable of bringing the day-to-day activities to a standstill. It is during their argument that they saw a man passing on the pathway. “Let us agree,” said the Sun, “that he is the stronger who can strip that Traveler of his cloak” (Horikoshi et al., 2018). They decided to base their prowess on the one who will ultimately make the man remove his coat. They agreed to conduct the test by trying each one at a time.
The two agreed that the test would be the solution to their recent differences since the winner will be declared the powerful goddess. The wind was selected to start the trial. He sent strong waves towards the man. Unfortunately, the man held his coat tightly and proceeded with his journey. Although the waves were extreme, he decided to endure them and move towards his destination. The coercive approaches of the North Wind had little success (Horikoshi et al., 2018). The sun sent intense rays towards the man in the quest of showing its prowess. The rays shone on the head of the man, making him not only remove the coat but also find a shelter to allow the sun to set so that he can proceed with his journey. Although the sun was not in a mission to show his prowess to the world, ultimately, making the man remove his coat made him more potent on top of the fame he had gained from people due to the services he had been providing them all along. As a result, the win made him earn more respect from his descendants.
In summing up, the story teaches the reader to appreciate the success of others rather than developing tactics of bringing them down in the end. The sun had earned fame and respect because of his success in delivering essential services to the people. On the other hand, the wind, who was a bit arrogant, decided to come up with ways of bringing the sun down instead of working like him to earn such respect and fame in due course. It shows the reader that kind and gentleness inducement win where bully and force fail.
Work Cited
Horikoshi, Y., Kaneko, T., Morikawa, Y., Isogai, M., Suwa, J., Higuchi, H., … & Ito, K. (2018). The north wind and the sun: pediatric antimicrobial stewardship program combining restrictive and persuasive approaches in hematology-oncology ward and hematopoietic stem cell transplant unit. The Pediatric infectious disease journal, 37(2), 164-168.
The Ordeal Of Women In Conventional Marriage Essay Example For College
In her “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” Adrienne Rich forthrightly expresses the truth of the ordeal faced by women in a conventional marriage. The poem is beautifully written with stunning imagery and an excellent rhyming scheme. The author uses the poem to address the oppression women go through in their day-to-day activities and the requirement of their liberation from a male-dominated society. She uses the 3rd narrative to set herself aside from Aunt Jennifer, the main character in the poem. The central theme of the poem is the oppression of Aunt Jennifer in a traditional marriage. She stands for the sufferings faced by women in their day-to-day activities when it comes to marriage life. In the essay at hand, I will examine the ordeals faced by women in a conventional marriage across the world and their quest to be liberated from a male-dominated society.
In its beginning, Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers are said to be prancing across a screen. They appear to be moving in a fashion that is lovely and maybe in an egotistical way. On top of that, the tigers are described as topaz denizens of a green’s world, most likely to show their impenetrability and strength (Turner 10). The tigers are not afraid of men sitting under a tree, an indication that they are aware of the power they have in due course. Although they appear not to fear the men, the tigers’ movement seems to be restricted to the tree’s top by the presence of men below it.
As Aunt Jennifer focuses on her needlework, her fingers are described as “fluttering” on the wool (Rich 1). “Fluttering” in this context can denote the elegant movement of her fingers because of her stitching work. However, the term can also be expressing the anxiety that was rising in her. Aunt Jennifer thought to appear to be right since she is said to have complexity when pulling the needle as she focuses on her needlework. There are higher chances that the latter’s nervousness is a result of the oppressive behavior of her uncle. Her uncle’s wedding ring gave her “sits heavily upon,” but that cannot be a reason why she has difficulties in her stitching (Rich 1). The imagery of the “wedding ring” makes the poem to appear “poetic”. The ring is used symbolically to express the uncle’s oppressive, violent, demanding, or severe nature towards her. His attitude towards her has a significant impact on Aunt Jennifer’s emotional state, and this is portrayed via distinctive marks of nervousness.
The reader is told that Aunt Jennifer’s “terrified hands” will still be “ringed” with the ordeals she faced in her lifetime (Rich 1). His uncle is the one who made her go through all these sufferings. The latter uses tigers to paint an image of the character she would have wished to be and how a society should be kind to people. The tigers are portrayed as powerful, yet they do not use their power to oppress others like what her uncle made Aunt Jennifer’s life be ultimately (Turner 10). Under normal circumstances, ivory comes from elephants that are usually mastered and even killed by human beings. Aunt Jennifer uses ivory needles to show the sufferings women go through in the hands of men. The needle is used as artistry’s tool that she likes and it exhibits complexity in pulling thus showing weariness. The wedding ring symbolizes the uncle’s oppressive nature, while the use of sheep’s wool is synonymous with another feature of marriage between Aunt Jennifer and her uncle. In this context, sheep are used to symbolize persons who are either conventional or traditional. The latter appears to blame herself for being involved in a marriage because it is formal rather than being a necessity in life.
In summing up, Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger is, without a doubt, a well-created poem. It provides a perfect image of concepts that the writer was preoccupied with. The intention of Rich seems to give the whole society an awakening call with the message of women’s freedom. In other words, women should be allowed to make their choices in life because they end up facing unnecessary suffering at the end of the day. The author seems to express the idea that the days of having a male-dominated society are long gone. She has a great feeling that the liberation of women was significantly beckoning and nothing should come on its way.
Work Cited
Rich, Adrienne. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.” Gilbert and Gubar, Norton Anthology of Literature by Women (1955).
Turner, Samuel. “Subversion and Containment in Adrienne Rich’s” Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.” Criterion: A Journal of Literary Criticism 8.2 (2015): 10.
PWC (UK) Research Report Essay Example
Introduction
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) is a global network of partner firms offering professional services under the PWC brand. PWC (UK) is a global PWC brand subsidiary specializing in offering accounting services to both public and private entities. The UK subsidiary was founded in 2002 and currently employs over 22000 staff spread across its 19 UK offices (PWC, n.d). The UK firm acts as the coordinating center of the global network of partner firms. The company offers summer internships to students from various academic disciplines to give them practical experiences and skills, thus preparing them for work.
Opportunities for Internship
PWC UK offers students a wide range of opportunities to learn and gain on-the-job experience and skills necessary to boost their employability. The available opportunities are in the area of actuarial, audit, consulting, tax, risk management, technology, and operations (PWC, n.d). The company’s summer internships vary from four to six weeks, with interns working alongside staff on client projects. The internship opportunities allow interns to create valuable networks, gain work experience, and participate in corporate social events. The internship program is tailored to offer practical skills to the interns, thus increasing their employability chances. Prospective interns get enrolled into the program by attending regional induction events where they are provided with insights into the program.
Products and Services
The brand offers a wide range of services focused on solving clients’ business solutions. PWC UK offers services in the areas of audit, business restricting, consulting, legal, forensic, deals, economic solutions, risk management, strategy development, private business, people and organization, and tax solution services. The company also offers management consultancy services to both public and private institutions. Although the firm offers diverse services, it is majorly known and identified with audit and tax consulting services.
Key People
PWC UK is headed by Kevin Ellis, who is the chairman of the board and senior partner. Kevin joined PWC in 1984 on a graduate trainee program and became a specialist in crisis management support with over 26 years of experience. He has been leading the UK firm since 2016, having grown through ranks (PWC, n.d). Another key personality is Lucy Stapleton, the head of UK Deals. She is responsible for corporate finance, transaction services, forensics business, and business restricting in her role. She is a chartered accountant and has been a partner at PWC UK since 2006, holding positions such as Chief Operating Officer for Deals, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences Leader, and Transaction Services People Leader.
Size and Structure
PWC global brand has operations in 742 locations spread across 157 countries, employing 284,000 people. In the United Kingdom, PWC has a workforce of 22,000 staff spread across its nineteen offices. In 2021 the PWC UK generated revenues worth 4,447 million Euros, controlling 23% of the UK market share (Javed, 2018). The UK arm of PWC is the coordinating entity for the PWC global activities, making it the major arm of the brands.
Values
PWC UK’s purpose is “to build trust in society and solve important problems for our clients and the communities in which we operate.” To achieve its purpose, the company is driven by values that hold the employees to the highest values possible. The company’s driving values are; care, working together, reimagining the possible, making a difference, and acting with integrity (PWC, n.d). The firm’s employees are expected to act with the utmost integrity and care to make a difference in the lives and businesses of the clients. The employees also strive to work together to reimagine the possible in addressing clients’ problems and issues. The values driving the work culture at PWC UK resonate with my personal values. I highly value and appreciate teamwork, integrity, innovation, and the need to make a difference in the lives of others. The values guiding the firm are not only universal but are a near-perfect replica of my personal values.
Recent Financial Performance
In 2021, PWC UK marked an improvement in its market performance as compared to 2020. The company recorded a 2% increase in revenue in 2021registering £4,447m in revenue compared to £4,380 in 2020. Distributable profit per partner rose by 26.7% to £868,000 from £685,000 in 2020. The company recorded an annual profit of £1,171m in 2021 against £938m in 2020 (PWC, n.d). In 2020, the company was adversely affected by the Covid-19 crisis that affected its performance and overall profitability. The firm struggled to adjust its operations to meet the new challenging work environment. The crisis also affected the company’s clients, thus denying its business as many clients either shut down or scaled down their operations.
However, in 2021 the company adopted a hybrid work model, cut down expenses, postponed and curtailed spending on partner distributions and staff bonuses, and restructured its cost base, thus increasing its financial performance. The declining rate of the Covid crisis and the loosening grip of the containment measures also contributed to the positive variance recorded in 2021. The company expects to maintain its hybrid work model with staff working both in the office and remotely, thus recording positive revenues and financial growth.
Major Competitors
PWC is a global market leader controlling 23% of the UK’s market. It is among the big four accounting firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and KPMG. The four firms audit over 80% of all businesses globally, thus dominating the market. Other than the other members of the big four accounting firms PWC UK also face competition from other industry players specializing in other business lines (White, 2018). Some of the brand’s competitors outside the big four accounting firms include Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company, HighPoint Solutions, and Accenture. Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company are management consultancy firms with a strong presence in the UK and around the world. HighPoint Solutions is a consultancy firm providing healthcare consulting services and strategic planning, while Accenture deals in strategy, interactive technology, consulting, digitized operational services.
Corporate Social Responsibility
In line with the brand’s purpose, PWC UK engages in a number of corporate social responsibility activities. The company empowers communities through sharing of talents and professional skills aimed and improving the communities’ welfare. The company’s corporate social responsibility programs are centered around fundraising, donations and financial contributions, discounted work, and volunteering (Zainee and Puteh, 2020). The company allows its staff to volunteer their skills for up to six days a year and aims at volunteering 50,000 hours annually. PWC has mapped volunteering into its career development framework to encourage staff to volunteer their skills and expertise. The mapping helps staff understand how volunteering contributes to their skill development and has included it in its staff performance appraisal.
Future Strategy
PWC has established itself as a market leader in the UK, offering innovative solutions to the consumers’ problems. The company heavily relies on human capital to run its operations and realize its goals and targets. However, the work environment is tremendously changing, with automation becoming a major trend. The covid-19 crisis also revolutionized the work environment by disrupting workplace arrangements and settings. Companies like PWC had to develop and devise ways of addressing the workplace challenges, and this resulted to a hybrid work model. The company’s future strategy is to retain the hybrid work model where staff will continue working both from the office and remotely. The firm also aims at automating most of its processes to reduce its reliance on human beings and increase effectiveness and efficiency by eliminating human error (Ruggles and LeClair, 2020). PWC is actively exploring artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning to automate its operations and processes.
Conclusion
PWC UK is a market leader controlling 23% of the market share in the United Kingdom. The company offers consultancy services in areas of tax, legal, actuary, management, business restructuring, and auditing, among other areas of business. The company has a well-structured CSR program that is informed by its purpose and the underlying core values. The CSR program is embedded into the company’s performance appraisal giving all staff up to six days of voluntary services. The brand’s purpose is driven by values of integrity, care, reimagination, teamwork, and making a difference. The values form the backbone of the organization’s culture and inform and drive the work relations and employee engagements.
The company has a summer internship program that is four to six weeks long and is designed to offer students an opportunity to develop job skills, build their confidence, and increase their employability. The interns are paired with the staff to work on clients’ projects, thus giving them a real-life experience of the workplace. The internship program begins with prospective interns attending regional induction sessions where they are provided with insights into the company’s operations. With the brand’s values matching with mine and given the great work environment and the career potential offered by the firm, this is the right opportunity for me. I have the right set of skills, attitudes, and values to fit into PWC’s work environment through the internship program.
Reference List
Javed, S., 2018. Does organisation behaviour affect performance of auditing firms. International Journal of Engineering Technologies and Management Research, 5(1), pp.90-98.
Pwc.co.ke, (n.d) PWC. Available at https://www.pwc.co.uk/ (Accessed: 20 March 2022)
Ruggles, A. and LeClair, A., 2020. Automation and Analytics through a Digitally Transformed (and Remote) Workforce. Tax Executive, 72, p.84.
White, J., 2018. Is the UK about to turn against the Big 4?. International Tax Review.
Zainee, I.A. and Puteh, F., 2020. Corporate social responsibility impact on talent retention among Generation Y. Revista de Gestão.