Mama Day and Daughters of the Dust :: African American Culture Literature Essays

Mama Day and Daughters of the Dust For emigrants of any country it is difficult to maintain the individual culture of their homeland while assimilating to the ways of the new country they have entered. For slaves of the 19th century, the acculturation process was a necessity. If they did not conform to the Western way of life, they would perish. However for some slaves, their geographic location sequestered them enough from the European worldview that they could continue to practice their own culture and religion. Most of these groups were found off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, the exact location of two important African-American narratives – Daughters of the Dust and Mama Day. Although the islands did not offer complete sanctuary from the harshness of post-colonial American culture, it did afford the Africans living on those islands more latitude to practice their beliefs. Especially for the younger generations, there was a beckoning from the dominant culture to take part in its opportunities and advantages, which created a drawback for Africans still trying to carve their niche in the Western society. Daughters of the Dust and Mama Day are fictional narratives that vividly recount the experiences of the black slave family during the 1800’s. Although they take different narrative forms, the former as a movie and the latter as a book, there are still several important themes concerning the emerging African-American culture – a way of life that incorporates the native African worldview with the newly acquired American lifestyle – that the two stories address. Although there are differences between the two works, they are really struc tural in nature, such as plot and point of view, and are thus not necessary to address currently. Instead, it is important to focus on the values that dominate the African culture and the attitudes that enhance and interfere with their way of life in Western society. The narratives share two main themes of which all other themes can be derived. One is the struggle between the lifestyles and values of the mainland and the islands and the second is a belief in logic and science versus intuition and African folklore. For both stories the island is an integral part of the story, almost becoming a character unto itself. The nature of an island is such that it has its own personality and dynamic, which is appropriate since it is physically dislocated from the mainstream.

Benihana of Tokyo Essay

Benihana of Tokyo has been very successful for the last 40 years since 1964. From a small restaurant, it has developed into a chain of themed restaurants. The success of Benihana has been attributed to the superb total quality management (TQM) process especially in maintaining the overall exotic ambience and the high quality food provided. All these strengths contribute to providing an unforgettable dining experience to its consumers and are reflected in their ability to retain consumers which is shown in exhibit 4 such that 65. % of their customers are return customers. Benihana is able to minimize cost effectively without affecting the quality of food and service provided. From Exhibit 1, total costs of sales are kept to 35-45% of total sales. Their attempt to reduce operating costs is also reflected through a reasonable net profit margin of 0. 5-9% of sales. Benihana made use of floor space efficiently to decrease labor costs and rent. The elimination of the conventional kitchen w ith the hibachi arrangement allows the company to keep labor costs low and at the same time, give huge amount of attentive service. This boosted its dining experience, through constant interaction with consumers. Benihana also focuses on setting up their businesses in areas with high traffic, especially in the business district areas. Rent is usually higher in these areas. By using floor space more efficiently, Benihana is able to serve more consumers during peak period and allow for more sales to cover the higher rental costs. The concept that Benihana adopts is that consumers are served at their tables with freshly prepared food by the chef. By only providing 3 menus to consumers, this reduces food costs and wastage. Benihana’s lower food costs are also reduced through the use of fresh ingredients, where storage is minimized. The main process flow of a Benihana restaurant is different from a typical restaurant. In Benihana, the orders for the soup, salad and beverages taken by the waiter while the order for the main dish is taken directly to the chef. This allows Benihana to quicken the process flow, and make it more efficient, as it eliminated the waiting time in ordering and receiving their orders. As the food is freshly prepared, the production flow is very short as there is limited movement to the food being moved from the storage area to the tables where food is being prepared. As food is being served on the spot after being cooked, this allows Benihana to maintain their quality of the food, and this satisfies consumers as shown in their feedback in Exhibit 4, where food is the main highlight of Benihana restaurants. Benihana is also able to reduce labor costs through the use of a simple management structure in each of their restaurant. In addition, chefs and waiters would clear the dishes and set the table for the next customer, unlike the use of cleaners in typical restaurants. This also reduces labor costs. Benihana success is also attributed to their TQM system where the management also emphasizes the importance of quality control in every employee’s responsibility. They emphasize quality in their inputs like the high quality food provided, and the sources of food are also selected carefully. Benihana also highlight quality in the process of serving their food to their consumers. However, the management of Benihana also faces problems despite their raving success. Their attempts to go into franchising didn’t go as planned as Rocky was unwilling to give up its control, and he felt that these franchisees were not well equipped with the experience and knowledge to run a food business, especially one that relates with Japanese culture. In addition, Bill Susha, the head of Operations for Benihana recognizes that if Benihana wants to continue to expand, it will face higher costs in terms of rental as well as shortage of well trained employees. Although Benihana has been proven that their uniqueness cannot be replicated easily by competitors, critics have been predicting that the uniqueness of Benihana is only a fad and it will not last. As Benihana is providing not only products, but also the service, they should continue to emphasize and improve on their TQM, as in this industry, employees are key input sources and by implementing TQM, there will be positive impacts on the service being delivered.

Cyber Terrorism And Threats Of Information System

Cyber-Terrorism and Threats to Information System National security has been top priority of the United States after World War II. This is due to the fact that the United States before this time was relatively an isolationist country with no influence in the world. As a result national security was not important, this changed post World War II. The United States found themselves among the top, overnight they went from being new and not listened to, to becoming one of the major players in the world. Because of this they began to face new problems. One of those problems is cyber terrorism. This paper will discuss what cyberterrorism is, the effects it has on the public, and the tools in place to combat it. Cyber terrorism has been a rising threat that continues to grow. This is the age of technology where every six months a new cell phone comes out. Technology continues to change and grows this is great for society. But with all these wonderful improvement there is also harm. This is w here cyber terrorism comes into play. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines cyber terrorism as â€Å"the premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs, and data which result in violence against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents† . The age of cyber terrorism changed the way threats were assessed, it was no longer what was visible. It now became the unknown, for that reason the threats becameShow MoreRelatedCyber Terrorism1716 Words   |  7 Pagesof America was the victim of a cyber terrorism attack; although no definitive evidence is available to substantiate that claim.   Cyber terror attacks pose a threat against the national security of the United States. In order to fully comprehend the threat that cyber terrorism poses, it is essential to understand the background, the effects, the reality of the threat and the future of cyber terrorism. 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