Four stories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Four stories - Essay Example Carlson’s stories are from the heart and are peopled with such characters that seem to haunt those who identify with them. â€Å"A Kind of Flying† is vivid and colorful in its portrayal, even while many of them tickle your funny side. A part of his collection deals with the so called middle class lifestyles and the frustrations that goes with it making his audience reflect on their own life by trying to find the right solutions. Each of the following stories â€Å"Max†, â€Å"Hartwell†, â€Å"Keith† and â€Å"The Chromium Hook.† has a different theme. In â€Å"Max† the theme the author used was humor. In this short story Carlson depicts the goings on in a typical middle class family who has a dog called Max who had a peculiar habit of jabbing people in the wrong place. He does this not only to his owners but also to the visitors who come there. Though the story is quite short, yet it makes you laugh each time you think about. The story of â€Å"Hartwell† is one of the most endearing stories that I have read. In this story Carlson makes use of the theme of love, human emotions and feelings. The story that pulls at your heartstrings tells the story of a professor who dressed shabbily and did not have the zest for life. But when Lub blossoms between him and his favorite student Laurie, he becomes rejuvenated by her love and finds the real meaning of love. The success of the story lies in the author’s deft handling of the love theme giving hope to millions of people who encounter the same feelings at some point in their lives. In the short story â€Å"Keith† the author makes use of the same theme of love but in a completely different way. It deals with a â€Å"triangle love† shared by three people – Brian, Barbara Anderson and Keith. Though Barbara was friendly with Brian her boyfriend, yet she somehow falls deeply in love with her lab partner Keith who had cancer. The story ends on a sad note

Describe the particular business and its operations, as well as Essay

Describe the particular business and its operations, as well as industry challenges and opportunities it faces - Essay Example It is one of the largest luxury hotel chain headquartered in Maryland. Hospitality industry is one of the emerging industries around the globe. The hospitality & tourism sector is one of the major global economic growth drivers (Papatheodorou 2006). Company’s product, services and facilities Marriott International has nearly 3,800 properties around the globe. The organization has employed almost 144,000 employees globally. Marriott International is considered as one of the most ethical companies. The organization is recognized as a US based MNC. The organization manages and franchises an extensive portfolio of hotels, resorts and lodging facilities. The organization operates its business practices in more than 74 countries around the globe. Marriott Hotels & Resorts, JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Renaissance Hotels and Gaylord Hotels are the successful and popular properties of Marriott International. All the properties and extended brands provide simple, elegance and inviting atmosphere to its guests. As these are luxurious hotels they provide several premium services to its guests including fine dining, signature service amenities, twice-daily housekeeping, 24-hour room service, business & fitness centers, concierge services and deluxe & suit level of comfort-personal services. JW Marriott is one of the leading and popular brands of Marriott International. The properties of Marriott International are considered as one of the largest accommodator in global luxurious hotel chain industry. Discussion It is clear from the above discussion that the luxury hotel chain has a significant client base. The organization is popular for providing luxurious and premium hospitality services to its customers. Target Market Luxury, comfort and premium customer service are the major business mantras of Marriott International. People of upper income level are the major target customers of Marriott International. They mainly target business executives as their potential c ustomers. In addition to these Marriott International tries to influence several people of middle class income level through select services. Fairfield Inn and Suits is the example of select service lodging group that influence the people of middle class income group to experience the facilities and services of Marriott International (Tranter 74). However, it can be stated that effective product and service differentiation and effective customer satisfaction help Marriott International to achieve a potential competitive edge within hospitality and tourism industry. Effective marketing mix strategy helped Marriott International to reach its chosen target market. Marketing Mix Marketing Mix is one of the important strategic tools that help an organization to develop