Marketing Strategy Selection And Discussion Of Whataburger...

4.2 – Entry Strategy Selection and Discussion Whataburger should adopt the franchising strategy to enter into Canada. This way Whataburger can use their existing business plan to enter into the market. Since it doesn’t stay to far from what other fast food chains exist there (McDonald’s, Wendy’s, AW) Whataburger shouldn’t have a hard time fitting in. But, the restaurant will have to give up some of its â€Å"southern classics† in exchange for more Canadian choices like poutine, to show Canadian customers that they are trying to integrate into the culture and not force their way in. Then once business picks up Whataburger can feature the classics they have in the United States. 5.0 – Whataburger Target Market Analysis Segmentation 5.1 – Target Market Analysis Whataburger’s current target market is families or people looking for a fresh fast food with a value. The company’s advertising definitely leans on the family orientation of the restaurant. It was started by families and makes the restaurant to be a down home family kind of place. Their focus is more so on family and southern hospitality than so value like McDonald’s, so Whataburger may cater to a slightly more sophisticated group. 5.2 – Recommended Target Market Analysis In Canada, Whataburger should target the same group, families, people with a traditional outlook, since Whataburger focuses on family and tradition. And since Canada is a very family oriented traditional country. In addition to this market,Show MoreRelatedRetailing Characteristics of Fast Food Stores and Their Impact on Customer Sales and Satisfaction29639 Words   |  119 Pagessold by supermarkets. While the quantities sold by supermarkets c an be accurately calculated, it is almost impossible in most countries to know the quantities of fruits and vegetables being sold through traditional marketing channels. Supermarket growth around the world has, in part, resulted from the considerable competition between supermarket chains, particularly in the United States and Europe. In the West this competition has led to

Why Is Diotima a Woman Essay - 825 Words

Diotima, Socrates great teacher from the Symposium, a work by Plato was one of the most influential women thinkers of all time, whether she was a real person or a literary fictional character. She related to Socrates the theory of love that he described to the partygoers at Agathons banquet, a celebration of Agathons victory at the competition of Dionysis in Athens and of Eros. Before we search for the idea of why Diotima is a woman, we should first discuss a little about her. We know that, if she were an actual person, she would have been born around 470 BCE and died around 410 BCE. She might have been a priestess from Mantinea. Now if she was a real priestess or poet is uncertain. There is archaeological evidence, plus the fact†¦show more content†¦The first is obvious. Diotima is a woman because she is not a man. If Diotima had been portrayed as a man then Socrates would have been seen as having been initiated into the mysteries of erotic desire by an older and wiser male. This would have inevitably suggested to Platos contemporaries that Socrates owed his deep understanding of the nature of the erotic (Symposium 177.d) to the passionate attention of a former lover. By having a woman educate Socrates in the ways of Eros, Plato avoided the suggestion that the he was Socrates real lover. Plato wanted to rule out that he and Socrates were sexual lovers, rather than just merely platonic lovers. (Gould p.193) Plato strenuously wanted to avoid this, not only because it would have lent the stamp of Socratic approval to a social practice for which Plato himself entertained the liveliest mistrust but, more importantly, because it would have had the effect of valorizing the Athenian institution of paederasty (Sexual relations between a man and a boy (usually anal intercourse with the boy as a passive partner)) on the very grounds on which Platos Pausanias, earlier in the Symposium, had celebrated. (181.c-d3) We can further this by saying that if Pla to had represented Socrates as having benefited from the erotic expertise of a mature male, the principle underlying Socrates later rejection of Alcibiades (Symposium 222.c3) would have been obscured, and Plato would haveShow MoreRelated Why is Diotima a woman? Essay examples805 Words   |  4 Pages Diotima, Socrates great teacher from the Symposium, a work by Plato was one of the most influential women thinkers of all time, whether she was a real person or a literary fictional character. She related to Socrates the theory of love that he described to the partygoers at Agathons banquet, a celebration of Agathons victory at the competition of Dionysis in Athens and of Eros. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Before we search for the idea of why Diotima is a woman, we should first discuss a littleRead MoreSocrates and Love Essay912 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Symposium, written by Plato, Socrates and others engage in a dialogue in the home of Agathon on love. Instead of singing the honours (94) of love like the other participants, Socrates uses a retelling of a discussion that he had with a woman named Diotima to tell the audience of what he perceives to be the truth of love. He first speaks to Agathon in order to be on the same wavelength with him. Socrates asks Agathon a series of questions - which leads to Agathon being thoroughly confusedRead MoreLove in Platos Symposium1227 Words   |  5 Pagespoints on their definitions on love, it is a woman that makes the best definition be known. I will concentrate on the difference between the theory of Common and Heavenly love brought up by Pausanias and the important role that Diotima plays in the symposium. Pausanias brings up an excellent way to think about Love. He explains that love can be broken down into two types, that of Common and Heavenly love. The common love is that when a man and a woman join merely to satisfy their sexual desiresRead MoreIs Diotima A Man Not A Woman?1925 Words   |  8 PagesMost people believe the argument that Diotima is a woman is true solely because she is not a man. However, I find that there are other arguments that are capable of proving that Diotima is indeed a man, not a woman. To be able to explain my theory in an understandable manner, I must clearly illustrate gender roles in Ancient Greece. When it comes to women’s roles in Ancient Greece, it is safe to conclude that they were simply a symbol of inferiority when compared to men. I’ll list a few things womenRead MorePlato s Symposium, By Plato1273 Words   |  6 PagesEryximachus who states that love affects everything in the universe and that it should be protected, next we have Aristophanes, who states that the reason why love is on earth is because god has split humanity in half and that man should fear the gods and should embrace love to feel whole again, and last we have Socrates who suggests what Diotima explains that love is in the middle of two things or objects and has both characteristics. Phaedrus starts off the conversation of love stating how theRead MoreLove Is Characterized By Oedipus The King And Diotima s Definition Of Love1221 Words   |  5 Pagesunderestimated reasons of Love. Despite having different occupations, they all seem to agree on their views of love except for Socrates. Socrates communicates that Love is a god, and then decides to add that he came to his conclusion with the help of a woman named Diotima. Although their views of love are similar, they are also different and can be seen through another philosopher’s stories; Antigone and Oedipus. Socrates’ definition of love is characterized by Oedipus the King and Diotima’s definition of loveRead MoreComparison And Contrast Of The Understanding Of Love1576 Words   |  7 Pagesshe opposes and rebels unlike the other women of the time. In fact, Creon the ruler acknowledges that Antigone is rebellious and says â€Å"We must defend the men who live by law, never let some woman t riumph over us. Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hand of man-never be rated inferior to a woman, never.’’ (Antigone, Pg. 94, 755-760). Antigone is not only madly open about her idiosyncratic beliefs but also takes part in living by those beliefs. This makes her make harsh and confidentRead MoreForms of Love in Platos Symposium Essay2587 Words   |  11 PagesAristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes of Love; Agathon enunciates that the correct way to present an eulogy is first to praise its nature and gifts. As the last speaker, and the most important one, Socrates connects his ideas with Diotima of Mantinea’s story of Love’s origin, nature and purpose. Different from the earlier five speakers who regard Love as an object and praise different sides of it, Socrates, referring to Diotima’s idea, considers Love as a pursuit of beauty graduallyRead MoreSocrates On The Nature Of Death Before His Execution1884 Words   |   8 Pagesspan of eternity. In his fourth argument, Socrates elaborates on the Theory of Forms. A Form is unlike anything seen in the physical world, it is perfect and has no opposite. The Form of Beauty does not contain ugly/not beauty. He says a beautiful woman person could be considered beautiful to other humans, but would not be considered beautiful to a god and is ultimately not perfect (Grube 69). Socrates implies that is is the soul what truly drives us. He suggests that the soul is deeply entwined withRead MoreLove and Beauty1208 Words   |  5 Pagesreproduction these things of beauty are given immortality. Plato reveals Socrates view through a dialogue between Socrates and Diotima: All of us are pregnant, Socrates, both in body and in soul, and, as soon as we come to a certain age, we naturally desire to give birth. Now no one can possibly give birth in anything ugly; only in something beautiful. That s because when a man and a woman come together in order to give birth, this is a godly affair. Pregnancy, reproduction Ââ€" this is an immortal thing for

International Joint Venture on Globalization - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the International Joint Venture on Globalization. Answer: Introduction Globalization in the current time means incorporating the economy of the country with the economy of whole world. Sometimes, for some countries the means of globalization is to open up the economy for the foreign direct investments by providing the opportunities to foreign companies to invest in various fields of country. In simple words, globalization can be described as having the whole world as one market. It is the process of growing the economic interdependence between the countries in all over the world (Gutterman Brown, 2011). The globalization includes cross-border movements of the products and goods, technology, capital, services, information and people along with the economic activities by crossing the national boundaries. It is basically focused on adopting the global position in terms of marketing, human resource management, manufacturing, lancing and other areas of business. There are various modes of entry by which organizations are able to invest in the foreign market such as merger and acquisition, joint venture, strategic alliances, and restructuring etc (Simonet,2012). This report focuses on the successful mode of entry i.e. joint venture and impact of this process on the globalization. The report describes the role and advantage of joint venture in expanding the business across the national boundaries. Along with this, the report discusses the reason of the joint venture done by the organizations at the global level. Joint venture: Definition It can be seen that the competition in the international market is growing continuously and many companies are using various alliances to enter in the new market. For this manner, they learn new skills, share risks, transfer knowledge, resources and competences with other companies. So, use of the joint venture is increasing dramatically in both, domestic as well as international market. By the process of joint venture, companies are able to enhance their competitive advantage by sharing the assets and resources with the local and foreign partners. For understanding the term joint venture, it is important to take a view on the various definitions of joint venture provided by the literatures (Utzon Hede, 2014). There are lots of scholars who have given various concepts from the different aspects. According to the Mariti and Smiley (1983), joint venture is the cooperation agreement between two different companies to form a third independent company for the business operations. Further, Park and Ungson (1989), the term joint venture can be described as the contractual agreement for creating the separate legal entity under which the parent company take ownership with the conditions and provisions by the legal document. So, joint venture among the multinational companies, the foreigner company cooperates with the local companies to form a third company. This third company is helpful to local companies in sharing the risks and improving the competitive advantage in the market. There is the joint control of both partner companies on the third company as it is the combination of different culture and organizational backgrounds (Corri, 2012). Reason to form joint venture It is an important question why one company cooperates with other company or what are the basic objectives behind participating in the joint venture. Generally, by the joint venture, the organizations are able to spread risk among them. Joint venture improves the capacity of the organizations for the capital investment and financial support. Basically, joint venture is the source of the learning for the partners which are involved in the joint venture process. Based on the study, there are some benefits in the joint venture i.e. competitive benefits, strategic benefits and internal benefit. Internal benefit can be described as the internal strengths that cab generated by the company within the joint venture. Those internal strengths include getting managerial knowledge, risk sharing, generating profit, and achieving knowledge and learning. Other one benefit is competitive benefit for the companies in joint venture. The process of joint venture can be effective and powerful tool to enhance competitive strengths of the companies. The competitive benefits for the companies include developing effective competition, response to the impact of globalization and influence over the industry structure. Last benefit is the strategic benefit. In the strategic benefit, joint venture is helpful for the companies to change their strategy at the global level. For instance, one biscuit company can be able to change its original market to producing biscuits to producing all types of breakfast products after cooperating with the business with the food manufacturing company. By this collab oration, the biscuit company can expand its business from domestic market to international market (Jing'an, 2013). So, there are various reasons for the formation of the joint venture between the companies. Joint venture can provide the resources and skills that are not available at any reasonable cost. Along with this, it can also be risky for the companies in terms if ability and willingness. The success of the joint venture depends upon both the partners and their roles in the joint venture. So, before entering in the process of joint venture, companies must understand the reasons for entering in the joint venture. If any company does not have sufficient financial resources for achieving the business objectives then that company can enter in the joint venture process. By the joint venture, company may seek for the partner to share the financial burden and many other risks of the business. A company can establish the joint venture with the foreign partner in the global market and can adopt market penetration in the foreign market. The company seeks to the foreign partner to provide the knowledge of local preferences, government regulations, customs and the advertisements in that country. By the joint venture, the company entering in foreign market is able to satisfy the rules of that country (Stewart Maughn, 2011). If any company wants to access the skills and technical skills of another company then joint venture is the best option for that company. By the joint venture, managers of both the companies would be able to exchange some information related to existing and new technologies. Any company may select the structure of joint venture rather than the network of contractual relationship. To ensure the good position in the market, the process of joint venture is important and effective. By managing research work, distribution, manufacturing and technology, joint venture is the effective alliances for the companies. Companies may use joint venture to decrease the cost incurred in the production or manufacturing of the products. By the joint venture, companies are able to have some control over the quality of the process and technology which can be used to complete the manufacturing activities. Process of international joint venture The process of joint venture can be understood based on various perspectives. According to the Culpan (2002), the process of joint venture can be described as the decision-making process among the partners. There are four various different stages while the organizations establishing joint venture i.e. initial, formation, operation and outcome. In the initial stage of joint venture, the companies decide about talking the step ahead towards the joint venture for achieving specific advantage in the business. If the business benefits are free of risks and costs then the companies decide to take the step further in joint venture process. On the other hand, if there is high risk and cost involved in the process, and then they have to take the step against the joint venture and have to select other options. After the initial stage of the decision, next stage is formation stage that is involved in making different follow-up decisions into place. These types of decisions are based on the selection of right and appropriate business partner and type of the joint venture. The decisions made by the organizations have important value in the whole process of joint venture. High level of failure in the strategic partnership happens due to wrong selection of the partner companies. The process of selecting the partner is very important for the joint venture. According to Culpan, there must be compatibility during the process of joint venture and he suggested that the success of joint venture depends upon the compatibility of the partners. Basically, there are two types of compatibility i.e. resources and cultural compatibility. Further, during the formation stage another decision made by companies is the selection of joint venture. According to the researchers, there are three traditional types of joint ventures based on the ownership patterns. First one is majority equity ownership, second one is equal ownership and last one is minority equity ownership. The type of the ownership or joint venture ultimately impacts the procedures of the joint venture among the companies (Ahmed Pang, 2009). Third stage in the joint venture is the operation stage in which the process of joint venture is analyzed based on the control and performance assessment. The performance of the joint venture can be analyzed based on either assessing the degree of satisfaction level of the partner in joint venture or evaluating the profit or sakes volumes made by the joint venture. Some of the controls can be exercised by the partners based on their stake. One of the most effective and common way to control over the joint venture is to hire expatriate managers. Along with this, company can exert the control by outcome based control in which the partner companies pay attention on the profit and enjoy the autonomy (Forbes, 2013). Last stage in the joint venture is the outcome stage to analyze whether to continue or leave the joint venture in the business operations. This decision is based on the performance of the joint venture for the partners. The partners involved in the joint venture must formulate the exit strategy also if the joint venture does not meet the requirements of the business objectives. The formation stage of joint venture has important strategic value for the success of the joint venture. By implementing this stage, partners are selected by the companies based on the compatibility in terms of culture and resources. Benefits of international joint venture Generally, companies come together to establish the joint venture when they believe that they will not be able to get success on a specific project, business or product. In such situation, companies seek for the partnership with other companies in terms of formation of joint venture. There are some key benefits of formation of joint venture between two companies. By the formation of joint venture, the companies are able to share their tangible and intangible assets for achieving common goals. For instance, two or more companies may collectively own the intellectual property which is required to develop a new technology and product. It is understood that none of the individual company has all the IP rights to complete the projects. Further, in the joint venture, one company may provide the cash and fund and another company may supply the property rights suppliers equipments, and other assets (Lande, 2014). Another key benefit of joint venture is sharing cost between the partners. Joint venture allows the companies to undertake the venture and share each cost equally. Labor and management, research and development, supply and administrative cost, distribution cost can be reduced significantly for each participants. Along with this, economies of scale may also be reduced because of the high level of efficiencies of joint production (Churchwell, 2004). Joint venture allows the companies and participants to share their business risks when creating any new product or service or expanding the business in a new country. There can be various risks while entering in the new market. Companies may not get enough revenue to make development cost so by the joint venture; companies would be able to share the resources and costs to reduce the burden of risks in the business. By the formation of joint venture, companies can share the business experience and expertise, technological capabilities, industry knowledge, and many other expertises which are important for the business. For example, one company may have experience and knowledge of the business for developing a product then that would seek for the joint venture partner which can contribute with the fund or one that has more experience in that specific industry as compared to others (Lupton Beamish, 2009). Joint venture is the key process for the companies to enter in the new market. Joint venture enables the companies to access the high growth market. By this, both the partners may get the access to the customers or suppliers. One of the partners may have the needed intellectual property for the venture and on the other hand, another may have the distribution networks to target the markets and customers. Despite of the advantages and benefits, there are some challenges which have to face by the companies while forming joint venture in the business. While achieving the business objectives, there can be conflicts among the partners due to different culture, background, risks and decision making process. Some of the challenges in the international joint venture are described below: The parent-specific characteristics are important attribute of the company that includes ownership type, reputation, international culture, practices and policies. Sometimes, these policies and practices can be the cause of conflicts in the operations of joint venture as they reflect different methods, requirements, and procedures. Different leadership styles management behaviors and the culture of organizations may create problems and conflicts among the partners and managers (Deloitte, 2010). Issues of different regulations There can be conflicts in the operations of joint venture due to the regulations of the host and home government as the managers in the international joint venture have to act based on the regulations of the government. There can be conflicts due to the rules and policies of two governments on same issue (Zheng, 2010). The host government may have own objectives and concerns and they may use the power by political system, economic resources and various opportunities. There can be conflicts due to some actions of the host government i.e. restrict outbound transfer of fund, restriction on transferring the prices, maximizing tax revenues, pressure on the joint ventures and MNCs to increase the product line etc. There can also be some regulations such as export controls, foreign corrupt practices, antitrust law, tax and accounting, staffing and many others (Hieu, 2013). Final and important reason for the conflict among the partners of joint venture is cross cultural issues. According to the study of various researchers, there are various cultures involved in the international joint venture. Cultural distance can occur between the partners of the joint venture. The cultural distance can lead the communication problem and impact on the organizational learning. Further, cultural differences can increase the managerial conflicts because of the misunderstanding and lead additional costs. Cultural diversity can impact the partner company approaches to conflict resolution that can impact the business operations negatively (Oeve, 2010). Current situation of the globalization suggests that international joint venture is important for the success and survival for the multinational companies. Globalization is one of the big reasons for the organizations to form joint venture for the growth of the business. International joint venture is very common today and it can be seen in one of the good example i.e. Wal-Mart has done successful joint venture with Mexicos Cifra. These types of joint ventures indicate that that domestic company can get benefit by partnering with the foreign companies to get an effective presence in the global market. In the 21st century, international joint venture is helping in facing the new challenges in environment. Joint venture provides various types of support to the companies in business activities. In the time of globalization, every industry is differing from each other because of their structure, core competencies and funding focus. Along with this, joint venture increases the market powe r of the participants in the business activities (Shahzad, 2008). Conclusion From the above analysis, it is observed that in the current time of globalization, joint venture is the strategic alliance which allows the partners to share their business experiences, risks and profits mutually. By the discussion in the report, it can be said by the process of joint venture companies are able to enhance their competitive advantage by sharing the assets and resources with the local and foreign partners. Joint venture can provide the resources and skills that are not available at any reasonable cost. Joint venture improves the capacity of the organizations for the capital investment and financial support. References Ahmed, A. Pang, Z., (2009), CORPORATE CULTURE IN AN INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURE - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2%3A224194/FULLTEXT01.pdf Churchwell, C., (2004), Rethink the Value of Joint Ventures, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/rethink-the-value-of-joint-ventures Corri, C. A., (2012), INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURES, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://www.bmpllp.com/files/joint_ventures_united_states.pdf Deloitte, (2010), A study of Joint Ventures The challenging world of alliances, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/fr/Documents/finance/Publications/Etude_Joint_Venture_juillet%202010.pdf Forbes, (2013), Making Joint Ventures A Strategic Success, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lbsbusinessstrategyreview/2013/11/26/making-joint-ventures-a-strategic-success/#535f620b7d9a Gutterman Brown, (2011), Going Global: A Guide to Building International Business, 31, 31.7 Hieu, D. P., (2013), Problems and Conflicts in ManagingInternational Joint Ventures in Vietnam: Philippine Management Review, 20, 47-64 Jing'an, T., (2013), Joint Venture Formation and Internationalization: A Japanese MNEs' Perspective: Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 14.2, 107-129 Lande, L. K. R., (2014), The Key Benefits Of Forming A Joint Venture, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://www.gibsondunn.com/publications/Documents/La-Lande-Key-Benefits-Joint-Venture.pdf Lupton, N. C., Beamish, P. W., (2009), Managing Joint Ventures, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=B3873C5FE5FBD073410BA50148074489?doi=10.1.1.620.9307rep=rep1type=pdf Oeve, K. F., (2010), Causes of international joint venture instability: An institution-based view: Bachelor Thesis Organization Strategy, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=121697 Shahzad, N., (2008), Expanding Business Opportunities across the Globe, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/role-international-joint-ventures-expanding-business-across-shahzad/ Simonet,D.,(2012),EntrymodesofEuropeanfirmsinVietnam. Emerging Markets Journal, 2,10?29 Stewart, M. R., Maughn, R. D., (2011), INTERNATIONAL JOINT VENTURES, A PRACTICAL APPROACH, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://www.dwt.com/files/Publication/1b841dbe-3453-4983-97cd-d6f5b44e5b2f/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/47d38fc0-1cc3-4c3e-b91f-d8aacd2ce6d1/International%20Joint%20Ventures%20Article_Stewart.pdf Utzon, N., Hede, J., (2014), A study of joint venture performance and institutional distance: Finance Strategic Management, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://studenttheses.cbs.dk/bitstream/handle/10417/4842/jonas_hede_og_nikolai_utzon.pdf?sequence=1 Zheng, Z., (2010), How can national cultural differences among participating companies of a joint venture positively influence on profitability of the joint venture, accessed on 24th September 2017 from https://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=122234

Racism Essays (1979 words) - Racism, Discrimination, Hatred

Racism People see it everyday across America. A group of whites burn down a black church, someone gets hurt or murdered from a racial slur, or fights break out at school or in public. These are the extremes of racism. Racism is definitely not a good thing, it's a power that has taken over through the last two years. In doing research on Racism, I hope that my feelings towards blacks would improve and they have. What will the future bring for Racism? What are the main problems of racism? Can we get a hold on racism throughout America or will we self-destruct in our own hate? Racism is everywhere, as much as today tries to hide it or say that we resolved it forty-to-fifty years ago. Racism is still all over the place. Racism first showed it teeth in America, when the segregation of blacks and whites came along. The segregation shut down all activities or actions from whites and blacks. It absolutely separated whites and blacks from being close to each other in public and blacks having no rights. Then the movement took place when Rosa Parks wouldn't give up her seat to a white man on a bus. At the time she was tired of the treatment her and fellow African-Americans were getting. She said she was tired and on this fateful day she bgan the turning wheels of the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement took place and gave blacks their future as they have now. It gave them the freedom that they deserved and needed. They were given the ability to vote; not having to be separated in such insane ways against whites, as they were. Positive helpers in the r ole of black's rights were Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. King had a dream that little black boys and girls would be able to join hands with little white boys and girls. His dream came true. On April 4th 1968, King was leaving his motel room. When he was shot and killed (Schulke). 2 Everybody knows what racism is, but there are so many other factors that tie in with racism. If someone is a racist they are of course, prejudice. Prejudice is when someone doesn't like someone for the way they look. A big problem with racism is many live in racist conditions and don't even see it. It flies right over their heads. Schools, the workplace, our community, our friend's house, even our homes. We hear a racial slur, oh well, it's just a joke. Hardly. If you think racist joke are harmless than you should take a reality check. Racist jokes are just the start of it. Many people think the jokes are funny. Maybe they are, but they still hurt the people the jokes are about. Some of the worst racists are the ones who think that they are not racist, and they really are. They really have to come to grips with reality. Why are they some the worst racists? They are, because they can't comprehend what is happening. They don't realize what they are saying and doing are racist. Until th ey come to grips with it, there is no problem. No problem, in their minds. They say that they aren't racist, even when they don't hire the East Indian employee who was the most qualified of the candidates. Even when the basketball team that they coach is all white. And even the time when they moved from their seat at the movie theater because of the black person next to them. Well, gee, they could have been a criminal. A robber from "the hood." After all, isn't that what most of "them" are. No one deserves to be prejudged like that. The prejudice of people in the world is disgusting. The worst part of it all is that they don't even know that they are doing it. They think it's normal behavior, it doesn't even phase them when they do it. Born of the civil rights movement three decades ago, affirmative action calls for minorities and women to be given special consideration in employment, education and contracting decisions. In its modern form, affirmative action can call for an admission's officer faced with