Walmart -Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walmart -Planning - Essay Example Overview of planning Planning is considered to be the first step in doing anything. Planning comprises of a scheduled set of activities and tasks which are pre-defined and resources, cost, material, labor and time is also determined in advance for every activity in the planning process. Without planning, there is no set route to follow and everything goes haywire. Chances of discrepancies, inadequacies, risks and gaps increase in the absence of planning process. Planning can take the form of short or long term planning. In the former case, planning is not much in-depth and focuses on achieving short term monetary benefits. Long term planning is meant to gain strategic advantage because all other elements of managing, controlling and organizing are then aligned with that of strategic planning to fulfill desired goals. Wal-Mart’s vision and mission Wal-Mart’s successful operations are attributed to its cost leadership strategy which has always been focused on its customer (Center for Applied Research 2005). While its vision/mission statement goes as "Wal-Mart’s mission is to help people save money so they can live better†, its stores slogans also compliment its vision and mission statement which run as "Wal-Mart. Always low price. Always." Thus, cost effectiveness and providing products and services at rock bottom prices stand at the core of any planning or managing process at Wal-Mart. Planning at Wal-Mart is a mix of both strategic and day-to-day planning. When we talk of strategic goals, it refer to supplier selection, optimizing on technological inputs, use of automation techniques, software and other decisions which provide a competitive edge to it. Daily routine planning involves inventory control and management, quality control, distribution systems, et cetera (Goodstein, Nolan & Pfeiffer 1993, p.131). Application of planning process within Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is considered as a value driven company and this value addition is attri buted to its strategic planning in operational, tactical and contingency categories. It has always decided in advance where it wants to go, how and which activities to focus upon to achieve desired objectives. Wal-Mart’s planning process spans across all of its functions namely store management, finance, human resources, operations, information technology and strategic management. On tactical front, it has always devised plans and means on how to attract customers and stick to its low cost proposition. This is what gives way to its EDLP (Every Day Low Pricing) strategy. In operations side also, Wal-Mart exercises collaborative planning and forecasting relationship (CPFR) with that of its suppliers as it believes that involvement of suppliers in critical decisions helps reduce costs and improve quality. This way, it is able to extract synergies from that of its partners and develop long term relations with them. From financial perspective, separate committee is formed comprisi ng of 3-4 members who meet regularly and discuss issues pertaining to the capital structure, financial status, global policies, acquisitions, investments and annual financing plans. Within strategic planning, the committee also analyzes the basic goals to be achieved and in this respect, reviews its relations with investors, stakeholders, banks, financial institutions and others. Regular monitoring and check on its dividend policy and annual budgeting process enables undeviated implementation of set plans

State of the World Oceans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

State of the World Oceans - Essay Example This means that the different agencies should work together, new agencies having more effective programs should be created, and redundant agency programs must be removed. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) should be strengthened to allow it to meet many of its ocean-related responsibilities. With this, a streamlined, better and more effective management of ocean resources can be achieved. The second major recommendation was to strengthen the scientific research and better dissemination of results from scientific research. Compared to other countries, scientific researches on the oceans have lagged. The recommendation calls for more research funding, more exploration, technology development, and improved management of information. Scientific findings provide the basis for new policies, and careful and relevant decision-making, and more importantly, educational material. The enhancement of public education on ocean ecosystems is the third major recommendation. With this, the Commission hoped to promote learning and awareness of ocean ecosystems, through formal and informal education, with the final goal of giving even the youth, in particular, a sense of stewardship for this resource. Formal educational systems should introduce students to oceans and their roles in the world’s ecosystems, and provide them the opportunities to decide on careers that involve ocean science and technology. Other recommendations deal with the management of coastal and ocean ecosystems towards better management of natural resources and improved lives of the communities near the ocean. A balance between conservation of the ocean ecosystem and economic opportunities of the local community can be achieved by empowering coastal management. These recommendations hope to achieve better fishery management

Analysis of Martin Luther Kings I Have a Dream Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Martin Luther Kings I Have a Dream Essay The Speech I have chosen to do is â€Å"I have a dream† by Martin Luther King. â€Å"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.† This is a particularly inspirational speech because he was saying exactly what he felt and it came straight from his heart, and it was exactly what the people that were listening were thinking about the how they were being treated. The speech shows how angry he is with all the racism in the United States of America, and he tells everyone how things should be, this worked particularly well because all the black people in America were treated poorer than white people and it summed up all the hatred and anger that was inside them. Martin Luther king used very cleverly thought out sentence structure to make more impact on the listeners. He used the quick and snappy sentences to grab their attention and then he would use the longer sentences to explain his deeper feelings. Luther king also uses the word freedom a lot because it shows that is what they didn’t have, which also again makes the listeners feel that they don’t have a lot of freedom. The definition of inspiration is â€Å"the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.† This is exactly what Dr King got people that listened to his speech to feel, inspired to do something to help themselves. Thank you for listening.

The US Firm Kraft Foods Took Over Cadbury Marketing Essay

The US Firm Kraft Foods Took Over Cadbury Marketing Essay According to the Harvard Business Essential the word strategy originated as a military term, and adopted by businesspeople when refereeing to plans for controlling and utilizing limited resources human, land and capital. In his classic article, Kenneth Andrews (1971) described strategy as the goal of promoting and securing vital interest, whilst M. Porter (1980) re-defined strategy as a broad formula for how a business is going to compete. One of the founders of the renowned Boston Consulting Group, Bruce Henderson linked strategy to competitive advantage. However, being different is not an instant guarantee for business success. According to ORegan Ghobadian (2009) Cadbury is one of the worlds largest confectionary businesses with top ranking in over 20 of the worlds 50 biggest confectionary markets. (See figure 1). It has one of the largest and wide spread markets in emerging countries around the world. Kraft Foods, Inc. is the largest confectionery, food, and beverage corporation whose headquarters is in the United States and the second largest in the world after Nestle. It markets many brands in more than 155 countries. (See figure 2). It is listed as a public company, on the NY Stock Exchange. (Wikipedia, Accessed 02/04/10) The former chief executive of Cadbury, Todd Stitzer launched the Vision in Action program in 2007. At it launch, he said the vision was aimed at driving the companys margin s up by mid-teen by 2011. It hoped to achieve this by focusing on 3 key priorities: Growth, Efficiency and Capacity. (Company Annual Report 2009) And as of the present time, the strong performance continues, edging Cadbury closer to its goal. 2.1.2 Kraft Key Strategy Performance (see Appendix Fig. 4) In an article written by boozco for the Strategy + Business, (Issue No 56, autumn 2009), 11 of Krafts top executives were interviewed about their strategy for the 3 year turnaround and campaign for growth. The interview started with the company CEO Irene Rosenfeld who as at 2005 was in charge of the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo. Thus when she became the chef executive in 2006, she observed that Kraft concentrated its power to its HQ in the US and this was hindering innovation and growth. Thus her first objective was to decentralise Kraft, and re-focus the companys vision to the challenging macro-economic environment. The company went about these changes by introducing what it called Organising for Growth (OFG) which began in 2007. It included review of organisational structure with a 3-year turnaround time, dismantling of existing centralisation of power matrix, clear operational initiatives such as building up sales capabilities etc, and implementing new operating metrics coupled with financial rewards for executive managers. (See figure 5) 3. Market Driven Analysis of Acquisition 3.1 Why Kraft could not resist Cadbury (see Appendix fig.5,8,10,1112) According to Andrew Clark of the Guadian, the attraction of Kraft to Cadbury comes down to brands, sheer scale, geography and distribution channles. Though Kraft has some big brand products such as Maxwell House Coffee and Philadelpha cream cheese, many of these and other products were reported struggled to gain market sector domamnce in spite of the fact that they have been around for many years. (The Guadian, 06/04/10) Predictably, acquiring Cadbury meant addition of brands products such as Cadburys chocolate, confectionary and chewing gum products will increase the comapanys annual revenue from 4% to 5% whilst earnings growth which were lagging between 7% to 9% will now increase to between 9% to 11%. This predictation is based on Cadburys shrewed distribution strategy. For example, it has strong presence within the instant consumption channels such as corner shops and petrol stations where prices can be marked up, whilst relying on people making impluse buying. In comparison, Kraft products are mainly seen in traditional outlets such as supermarket and food stores where profit margins are lower. (The Guadian, 06/04/10) However, the acquistion comes at cost, for example, a cost cut of $675m have been highlighted, this will include effiecency savings of $300m. This amount is as a result of stream lining procurement, RD, and logostics. Futher $250m will come from duplicated adminstrative work which will now be centralised, and a $125m project synergy saving in making biiger bulk deals when buying media adverts. (The Guadian, 06/04/10) 3.2 What next after the takeover? (See Fig. 6,913) The share magnitude of the two companies coming together is enough to give anyone sleepless nights, as there are many strategic risk factors to consider. A winning Kraft/Cadbury strategy that is well implemented might work for a long while, however according to (refà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) no strategy is effective forever. 3.2.1 The Stakeholders (see fig. 7) Figure xxx shows an illustrative mind map of the different group of people that are interested in the financial strength of the two companies. It is worth nothing that whilst the government is interested in Corporation Tax and no breach of legislation especially e.g. National Minimum Wage Act (1998) ref, shareholders are particular about shares especially ROI. Whilst the workforce are interested in job loses, pensions etc. Other points of interests are competition from other competitors. Likewise, the general public wants to be reassured that the acquisition will not led to exploitation of Child labour in other to fight off price war competitions. Hence the strategy to manage these groups of people will be paramount in the coming years 2010 and beyond for the acquisition to be judge successful. 4. Balance Scorecard Introduction The notion of the Balance Scorecard (BSC) was brought into existence in 1992 in a business review article written by David Norton and Steve Kaplan (Kaplan and Norton 1992). The article was born out of the notion that the ability of a company to measure its intangible assets had a direct bearing on company performance and its ability to achieve company strategic objectives. The BSC brings additional value to the traditional measurement of historical financial perspective by including the measurement of internal business processes, innovation and learning and customer perspectives-all key indicators of future successful implementation of company strategy. The BCS is thus seen as a 3-way tool: Measurement System, Strategic Management System, and Communication Tool. See Fig 3 Fig 3 Source: Wiley and Sons (2003) The need to include lag and lead indicators in determining strategic performance is important. Lead indicators are those that affect future performance of Cadbury e.g. increasing market share. Lag indicators are those that indicate what has happened in the past, e.g. financial performance. Whilst lag indicators are important, Cadbury needs to focus on the future indicators of strategic success i.e. customer perspective, business perspective and learning and growth perspective. Cadburys governing objective at the start of 2009 was to deliver superior shareholder returns by realising their strategic vision to be the worlds BIGGEST and BEST confectionary company. (Cadbury Report 2008). Stakeholder theory identifies 5 main groups who have a vested interest in the commercial undertakings of the company.(Kaplan 2010) Cadburys strategic focus placed emphasis, primarily, on one stakeholder group; the shareholders. Fig 4: The strategy map links intangible assets and critical processes to the value proposition and customer and financial outcomes. Fig 4 shows the causal connection between these different metrics and the ultimate strategic aim of delivering shareholder value. The upward flow identifies the cause and effect relationship in the BSC that lead to superior performance. An e.g. is that innovative practices identified by learning and growth lead to more efficient internal business processes which in turn lead to a superior customer experience and eventually long term shareholder value. 4.1 Financial Cadbury continues to increase its profit margin towards its goal in the mid teens. 4.2 Customer Measurement Cadbury creates customer loyalty by identifying the exact amount of pleasure that customers derive from the Cadbury experience. This ensures that customers returned repeatedly and remain loyal. This has been an essential part of the strategic focus ensuring strong performance in 2008. (Cadbury Corporate Brochure 2008) Emerging markets have been identified as part of the overall strategy to reach more people, more quickly. As stated in the Cadbury India report in 2008, the overarching goal is this sector is to have more grams in more mouths. The potential for growth in this segment of the market is significant as the per capita consumption is very low compared to other non-emergent markets.0.03kg compared to 4.3kg in Europe. (Cadburys India Report 2008). The link between Cadburys relationship with Fairtrade is crucial to ensuring that company achieves its strategic objective of sustainability by increasing its supply of raw materials and ensuring the livelihood of the farmers who produce these raw materials.(Cadbury 2008 corporate brochure) 4.3 Innovation and Learning The challenges include managing different pay structures, different ethos, work patterns and hiring methods. The management of all of these aspects will have a significant impact on Krafts ability to successfully integrate Cadbury into its global family and reap the financial rewards that will make the union a profitable one. Successful integration studies have shown that monetary rewards do work, but on their own are not enough to promote a successful collaboration between two different companies engaged in a merger or acquisition. (Montmarquette et all 2004). Krafts pledge is to take the best of both approach to the acquisition. (Kraft Final Offer 2010) Kraft culture is different to Cadburys culture and this will have major implications for the successful synergy of the two companies. Tetenbaum (1999) identifies culture as being at the centre of any successful merger or acquisition. Hofstede (2001) identifies culture as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another 4.4 Internal business processes Innovation and research and development are key aspects of strategic success. Continuous investment in the development of new product ranges, especially in emerging markets, will be necessary to achieve strategic objectives. Cadburys extensive distribution networks ensure products are easily accessible to all consumers, from the large supermarket chains to the small corner kiosk in a remote part of India. The BSC is only as effective as the action taken as a result of the metrics indicated and measured. Leadership is important to ensure that the metric information is followed up and changes made to maximise the impact of these measurements on performance.(Neely 2008). Cadburys developing association with the Fairtrade brand ensures that it is meeting its corporate social responsibility objectives, as well as ensuring a constant supply of raw material for its products, a form of backward integration. Fig 5 4.6 Criticisms of the BSC: The recent global crisis has also highlighted the weakness in current measurement systems as they failed to identify the potential for risk for many companies. Analysis needs to identify, not only the historic performance, but also the potential future risks. Risk assessment and management needs to become an essential part of the any measurement system used in the future. Cadbury/Kraft must now identify, mitigate and manage risk in such a way that it becomes an integral part of their strategic management ethos. Management Control Systems will need to be agile enough to respond to rapid changes in the environment in which they operate in order to achieve their strategic objectives. Simons levers of control present an alternative system of measurement that includes complimentary metrics e.g., belief systems, interactive control systems and boundary systems etc. (Simons 1995). Fig 5 The BSC has been criticised as being too simple as a measurement/control tool. Businesses are more complex than just a few controls or levers. The functioning of the BSC has been compared to a pilot in charge of a flight from A to B. The BSC provides the mechanism for control and guidance in achieving the goal. (Kaplan and Norton 1996). The BSC is seen mainly as a diagnostic tool rather than a tool that aids strategic success. Where is the point of balance in the competing demands of the different measures?. For e.g. Cadburys overarching goal is delivering superior shareholder returns, but this must be balanced against the needs of staff. A trade off must occur at some level. Companies must understand the cause and effect relationship between the metrics in order to make the most appropriate decisions. Timing difficulties in respect of cause and effect relationships mean that the results of measures introduced may take a significant period of time to have an impact on the financial outcomes. It is essential to link the four aspects of the BCS to strategy to ensure its maximum effect on performance. Nair (2007) BSC can be seen as too rigid in its measurement matrices, i.e. just 4 elements and does not include risk, corporate social responsibility or environmental metrics. Need to conduct sensitivity analysis to measure responsiveness of performance to certain scenarios. More research is needed on the cause and effect outcomes for companies that use the BSC. Fig 6 4.7 Potential problems for Cadbury: Staff integration poses a significant challenge to Cadburys governing objectives. This is part of the internal process element of the BSC. This has the potential to derail the recent merger. (Shebioba 2010) Fig 6 shows how Cadbury can translate its mission into desired outcomes. Ensuring that all staff are aware of the new strategic direction that the combined company is now embarking on, and everyone understanding the impact their role has on achieving strategic objectives.(Regan and Ghobadian 2009) Fig 7 shows why companies fail to meet their objectives. Simons levers of control will assist the new Kraft Cadbury combination Fig 7 Source: Kaplan and Norton 1992 In order to successfully achieve its overarching goal of superior shareholder returns, Cadburys must successfully balance the barriers to achievement as identified above. 5. Conclusion Cadburys has now become a part of the Kraft family and there is a strategic focus on Kraft reaping the benefits of Cadburys strengths and position in emerging markets. The combined company will need to focus its attention on achieving new corporate goals and devising a strategy that maximises the synergy of the union between them. The use of the BSC or levers of control will aid management in measuring and achieving strategic objectives. It must be noted that in isolation any system that measures the performance of the company will be meaningless unless it is combined with other systems. There is still room for some work to examine the relationship between cause and effect and the impact this will have on Cadburys strategic performance. This is a crucial part of the integration of Cadbury into the Kraft family. Only time will tell if Kraft will get the sugar rush it envisages from the purchase of Cadbury for  £11.6bn. References: Andrews, K., The Concept of Corporate Strategy (Homewood), IL Richard D. Irwin Inc. 1971 Clark Andrew, Chocolate, chewing gum and coner shops, Why Kraft cant resist Cadbury, The Guadian. Tue 19 Jan 2010. Accessed 06/04/10 22:36 Hofstede, G. (1981) Cultures and Organisations: Software of the Mind, London: Harper Collins Henberson, B., The Origin of Strategy, HBR Nov- Dec 1989 Introduction to the Balance Scorecard. John Wiley . 2003 Inside the Kraft Foods transformation. Introduction by Chairman CEO Irene Rosenfeld, Strategy + Business issue 56, Autumn 2009 reprint number 09207 Kaplan, R. S. and D.P. Norton (1992) The Balance Scorecard: Measures that drive performance, Harvard Business Review, (January- February): 71-79 Kaplan, R.S., and Norton, D.P.(1996). Linking the balanced scorecard to strategy. California Management Review, 39 (1), 53-79 Kraft Final Offer document 2010. Kaplan, R. And Norton, D. (2001). The stratergy Focused Organisation: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Enviroment. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School. Montmarquette C, Rulliere JL, Villeval MC, Zeilger R (2004) Redesigning Teams and Incentives in a Merger: An experiment with Managers and Students Management Science Vol.50, No 10 October 2004, pp. 1379-1389 Nair, B. (2007) Balanced Scorecard Performance Management Systems: Its success and failures- A Literature Review, 1 (3/4) Neely, A. (2008) Does the Balance Scorecard work: An empirical Investigation. Centre for Business Performance School of Management. Research Paper 1/08 OReagan, N., and Ghobadian, A. (2009). Sucessful nstrategic re-orienrtation:lessons from Cadburys experience. Journal of Stratergy and Management. Vol 2(4), 2009, pp. 405-412 Porter M. E., Competitive Strategy (NY: Free Press), 1980, xxiv Pandy, I (2005) Balance Scorecard: Myth and Reality. VILKAPA, 30 (1) Shebioba, J. (2010) International Business Assignment Simons, R. (1995). Levers of control: How Managers Use Innovative Control Systems to Drive Strategic Renewal. Boston: Harvard Business School Press Simons, R. (1995). Levers of control: How Managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. Harvard Business Review ? Strategy: Create and Implement the Best Strategy for your Business, 2005 p(xi) Tetenbaum, T.J. (1999). Beating the Odds of Mergers and Acquisition Failure: Seven Key Practices That Improve the Chance for Expected Integration and Synergies. Organisational Dynamics, Autumn 1999, 25-35.

Identify the constituent parts of a total computer system :: Computer Science

Identify the constituent parts of a total computer system ========================================================= Hardware - input and output units Backup storage; central processing unit; Software - applications package; Operating system; The main function of a computer system is to process data. When data has been processed and output it becomes information. The main stages of this procedure are: 1. The Input Stage - where data is put into the computer. 2. The Processing Stage - where the data is processed. 3. The Output Stage - where the results are displayed. A computer also needs to store data for later use. This is done on a backing storage device. Hardware - input and output units INPUT DEVICES Barcode reader A barcodeBarcodes are different groups of vertical bars that can be read by an optical scanner. Barcodes are printed on nearly every product that you can buy. Shops use barcodes because they are cheap to produce and very durable. Concept keyboard A concept keyboard is a flat board that contains a grid of buttons. Each button can be programmed to follow instructions. An overlay sheet is placed on the grid with an explanation for each button. They are used in primary schools with young children. Many modern fast food restaurants have overlays with either a description or picture of the meals that are available to make ordering easier. Digital camera A digital camera allows you to take pictures and to store a digital photographic image that can be read by a computer. You can then transfer the images directly from your camera on to your computer. Digital cameras are often used by estate agents for producing advertising and sales material. Graphics tablet A graphics tabletA graphics tablet consists of a flat pad (the tablet) on which the user draws with a special pen. As the user draws on the pad the image is created on the screen. Using a graphics tablet a designer can produce very accurate on-screen drawings. MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Reader) Magnetic ink characters are the strange looking numbers that appear at the bottom of cheques. These characters are used because they are very difficult to forge or damage. Banks use MICR to read the numbers from the bottom of cheques to obtain data such as account numbers and bank sort codes. Magnetic strip A magnetic strip on a credit cardMagnetic strips are built into many plastic cards such as cheque guarantee cards, cash-point cards and personal identity cards. The magnetic strip on the back of the card can hold the personal details of the card owner and, with the necessary PIN, will allow access to secure information e.g. bank account details. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) A MIDI system allows you to attach a musical instrument to your

Viet Nam :: essays research papers

The media has made sure that all of us are aware of the Vietnam conflict. Readers and movie goers the world over are now familiar with America's suffering in Vietnam and the problems American veterans have endured as they attempted to adjust to civilian life. Although all life is irreplaceable, the fact remains that the United States lost fewer than a million men in the Vietnam conflict and their social institutions and infrastructure remained relatively intact. The Vietnamese, however, lost two million men and their culture, society, landscape and tradition were literally obliterated. Despite this destruction, their side of this horrendous story has seldom been told. Worse yet, when it is told, they are often portrayed in the most unattractive of all light. Until only a few years ago, the Vietnamese were portrayed by the media as a faceless people with no identity; entities not worth caring about. The turning point came with the publication, in Dutch, of Duong Thu Huong's Blind Paradise in 1994. This landmark book was followed by Bao Ninh's The Sorrow of War. War novels deal, superficially, with war. But underneath all the blood and horror and carnage lie far deeper social and human issues. The best novels of war, such as Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front and Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, as well as Bao Ninh's The Sorrow of War, also deal with the makeup and morality of a culture or a society gone wrong. The protagonist of these books, whether real or fictional, often endures a harrowing personal struggle through both a public and private hell and usually undergoes some sort of redemption, even if that redemption results in death. Born in 1952, Bao Ninh served in the Glorious 27th Youth Brigade during the Vietnam conflict. Of the five hundred youths who went to war with this brigade in 1969, Bao Ninh was one of its ten survivors, so it is not unusual that war should be the subject of his first book, considering the impact it has had on his life. Semi-autobiographical in nature, the protagonist of The Sorrow of War, Kien, is the lone survivor of his brigade and a ten year veteran of the war. As the book opens he is serving as part of an MIA body collection team. It is through his memories that we slowly learn how the war has devastated his youth and the youth of his countrymen.

Oscar Wao: Domincan Irony

Question: The Gangster, unlike many of the men in the book, is friendly, and treats Beli like a woman. However, his action creates an irony in the book. Explain. Answer: Many of the man in the book have been rude toward the girls in the book. They thought that their action is the right thing to do, since they have the Dominican Pride. All they really cared about was their appearance as a muchacha figure, and did not care for the girls’ feeling or needs. When â€Å"gangster† steps in after Beli had a rough time with Jack who used her as nothing but as a toy; Beli starts to feel a feeling of love. Gangster treats her differently, buying her gifts, treating her to nice restaurants, and taking her out to places. He even opens his heart up and tells her, about the hardship and torment he is going through. Due to his actions, she realizes she loves him, since no man has ever appreciated her or opened up so much before in her life. His actions create an irony; and the actions differ from everything we have encountered about the Dominican Culture so far. However, the real irony kicks in as Beli realizes that gangster has a habit of disappearing for days or weeks on end without notice. When he comes back, she persists about where he has been, and about their marriage, however, gangster does not give her any answers back. When Gangster takes Beli out for a trip, to relax, Beli is extremely happy. During the trip, gangster tells Beli that he wants to be free, creating an ironic moment as he goes back and forth between a gentleman, and a muchacha. However, when she returns home she realizes that she is pregnant, and the reader anticipates for the dramatic irony that will be created, as soon as gangster makes his decision about sticking with being a gentleman and staying with Beli, or leave her and the baby, like the other Dominican men.