Baking an Imaginary Cake

â€Å"Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.†-Walt Disney As a seven year old girl, I was proud to be a â€Å"tomboy†. I never played with dolls, preferring to use the computer as my source of entertainment. In my house, any Barbie dolls were found buried in the corners of the closets rarely seeing the light of day. So when I babysat a little girl ten years later, I was forced into very unfamiliar territory. After her mother left, she immediately ran over to a large toy chest, that was big enough to fit four small children, and dumped its contents all over the floor. â€Å"Here, take this one†¦and this one†¦and†¦this one! He’s my favorite but you can be him today.† She handed me a plastic sheep, a blue bear with a star on its stomach and a doll whose head was bigger than its body. â€Å"And I’ll be Teddy, Honey and Ellie. They’re all sisters and they live together in that pink house over there. OK? Alright, so let’s go!† Immediately, she slipped into the characters of her plastic creatures, doing their voices and personality as naturally as I would brush my teeth. â€Å"Well aren’t you gonna play?† she asked turning to me. I realized I was still standing where she handed me my toys. â€Å"Yeah,† I said with uncertainty, â€Å"Umm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I was stuck. What name and personality could I give to a plastic sheep? ‘Sheepy’ the sheep? Well, it was worth a shot. â€Å"This is ‘Sheepy’† I said slowly, judging her reaction to the predictable name. â€Å"And he umm†¦ likes†¦apples.† That was the best I could come up with? He likes apples? To my surprise, Mary enjoyed it. â€Å"Ha-ha that’s perfect! Honey likes apples too! Her and Sheepy can be friends!† She said smiling. â€Å"We’re going to have a birthday party for Ellie today. Sheepy and Honey can bake her cake okay?† Before I knew it an hour had passed and the toys had to be put away. Secretly, I wanted to play with them some more. Never would I have thought that a seemingly boring plastic sheep could turn into a culinary legend, baking the tastiest birthday cake in the universe. Walt Disney was right. Within a child’s mind the possibilities are endless. Without imagination, the world we know today would not exist. Steve Jobs used his imagination to create Apple just as Walt Disney used his to create America’s beloved cartoon mouse. Even though some people associate imagination with children, it is something that as adults we should embrace as well. From babysitting, I have learned that imagination is a necessary tool to succeed in today’s technology based society. As technology advances, the demand for new ideas will increase dramatically so we can remain competitive. Although I never used it as well as Mary did when I was a kid, I am confident my imagination is something I will need in the future. Who knows, I might even become an Imagineer.

Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police Assignment

Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police - Assignment Example Job security was not guaranteed for anyone as anyone could be at will and a replacement found immediately. Policing was termed as ineffective since communication and transport services were not up to code. Most of the officers engaged in corruption and misconduct and bribes were offered to the public for them not to apply the law. During the political era, location of people complained of difficulty in contacting the police for help. There were constant complaints of police harassment, and they did not enjoy support from the resident. Due to high turnover in the force police had become unpopular in the country (Walker 1977). The reform era of policing was brought about by government reforms and growth of the progressive political establishment which sought to improve the livelihoods of the citizens. The changes made involved removal of police from political control to a more standardized bureaucratic system. The police supervision improved, and no misconduct could pass through the system unnoticed. There was an emphasis on statistics and police effectives was measured on the number of arrests made, number of a tickets issued and other police based activities. Emphasis on quality community relationships was discarded as police had to deal with more pressing matters of narcotic control, increased crime and arrest of criminals. Conversely, special police forces were formed to deal with specialised problems such as SWAT, vice and narcotics. Reforms from the political era helped to eliminate corruption from the police force. The primary reason the police existed was to prevent crime and their efficiency was measured by the absence of criminal activity. The reform era also saw the establishment of police academies where police were trained, and only qualified candidates were recruited to the force (Palmiotto, 1999). The law enforcement academies serve as training grounds for recruits into the police force. They include various background

Marketing Myopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Marketing Myopia - Essay Example This article and its subject matter are very pertinent to the field of marketing because it helps define a path that should be taken by marketers if they intend to avoid very common and just as destructive mistakes. The management of a company may make several errors that are discussed in the paper. Sometimes the company’s scope is incorrectly defined and this creates a restriction for this company which hinders future growth. Furthermore, sometimes the unique selling proposition of the company’s product may become obsolete and since management does not renew nor revive the proposition the customers lose interest in and soon forget about the product. Baseless assumptions and complacency are also two mistakes hinted at by Levitt in his essay. A huge problem may arise if management focuses on supply side policies and overlooks demand side policies and conditions; if a strong and lasting bond with the consumer is not created, it is very likely that the brand/product will n ot be successful. Another failure on the part of the company’s management is when/if they become so singularly focused on the future that they fail to acknowledge the circumstances they face in the present which essentially leaves them nowhere; with no proper strategy to deal with current issues the company will not be left capable to deal with the future issues it was focusing in. In a nutshell, management’s main strategy should be one with a visionary approach and one which simultaneously focuses on the company’s customers as the most important asset of the company. This is the only asset which will function as the company’s life jacket during an economic or financial crisis. A second most critical approach is how the business’s scope is defined; if too restricted and narrow it will hinder and may even halt growth and progress. As a result of a thorough critical analysis of Levitt’s work, some strengths and weaknesses of his work come to light. Levitt’s article has garnered