Describe the main duties of an Accountable Manager. How does the Coursework - 1

Describe the main duties of an Accountable Manager. How does the holder of this position relate to the financial management - Coursework Example The accountable manager is usually considered to have some position in the Board of directors or other equivalent body of the company. This allows him a more close connection with the owners of the company. So, the objectives set by the Board of Directors contain an opinion on his part. It also assists him further to understand the objectives fully and other underlying requirements of these objectives. The presence of a person in setting objectives makes such manager more accountable as the objectives are set with full collaboration of such manager. However, larger organizations usually consist of more than one units who either dependent of each other or independently work to achieve the desired results and objectives. The regulations for each of these units are also different. So, different accountable managers are appointed for all these units who supervise the work of these units. These managers are accountable to their respective Regulatory body. Usually, accountable managers are solely responsible for the accomplishment of desired objectives. However, the tasks are not carried out by them alone. A large number of subordinates are involved and it is inevitable for the accountable manager to rely upon the work of subordinate managers. However, these subordinates are responsible to report to the accountable manager about their work. The Accountable manager is after all responsible for their own work s well as the work of their subordinates. Because of such greater responsibility, the accountable managers are not given any other task which they are capable of carrying out. The reason is that the focus is not diverted to any other work which is less important than the primary job of such manager. In case of companies which carry out air operations, the accountable manager is responsible to the regulatory body, either within or outside the company, for all the operations which are

Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Marketing Essay

Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Marketing Essay The driving forces behind the urgency to have quality marketing research and marketing information are hinged on the two factors. The continued decline in the unit cost of computer hardware and steady improvement in the flexibility and power of computer software, (Vitale, Ives, and Beath, 1989) and the quick pace in which environment changes, (Miles and Snow, 1987). The purpose of marketing research is to assist and improve marketing decision. Market research narrows the gap between producer and consumer, and increase the chance of successful decisions. In any field, the basis of decision making is having effective information available and using it. Processed, analysed and correctly used, market information can reduce risk, time and waste by providing the best basis for decision, (Tinniswood, 1986). Naturally, it seems, this leads to well defined marketing strategy. However, (Assad, 1990) posited marketing research must be conducted vigorously and systematically to fulfil its intended role, which is only vigorously when data collected are valid, reliable and representative. 2.0 The Quality of Marketing Research and Marketing Information What is Quality Marketing Research and Marketing Information? We will tackle this question by first collecting related framework, model and system and then discuss the issues of accuracy, reliability, amount of information required and data analysis complication that affect the quality of marketing research and marketing information. Mcdonalds Marketing Intelligence System Dr. Malcolm Mcdonalds concept of marketing intelligence system is depicted in fig. 1. As explained by Mcdonald, marketing research and marketing information are inseparable and hence synergistically entwined to effect a good marketing strategy. From the above, data from the market through marketing research are processed and analysed to form relevant marketing information which forms intelligence (knowledge) to make quality decision focuses on key determinants for example, the significance of market share or correct service levels for profitable growth. In marketing, these can be realised with a shrewd marketing mix (i.e. the 7 Ps). Hattons Information Priority Framework Marketing research is just one source of information available to the business planner. Also, the collection of new data can be very expensive. It is therefore imperative for the marketer to go through the process of identifying the priority for information need as in fig 2. The easy and hard can be defined by either time or cost. Weicks Theory of Marketing Research Limits On the same vein, (Weick, 1984) felt similar concern espoused a model with three criteria , (fig 3) to keep within the research limits i.e. generality, accuracy and simplicity. He provokes the thought of tradeoff among the three components. In reality, he stress that no all can be met at the same time but rather at most, any theory can meet two of these criteria. General accurate theories are complex, general simple theories are inaccurate, and simple accurate theories have no generality. The strategic implication of McDonald, Hatton and Weicks theory is that marketing researcher and the marketing manager have to work hand in hand to define problem correctly in the first place, prioritising information required and subtract, simplify, distil, (The Sunday Times, 18th May 1997) marketing information. This could improve the quality of information at optinium time and cost. All these certainly give us an indication of the complexity of the real world and management judgement is required. Lunns Database Marketing (DBM) Technology can increases the ease of data collection and provides new form of data analysis (Stone and Shaw, 1987). (Lunn, 1986)s thorough and ingenious DBM is a cut across functional boundaries system which can be a benchmarking tool to to information system designer. It helps in the linking of data collection to alternative marketing scenario which could lead to quality marketing strategies as depicted in fig 4. This system embraces organisational and cognitive process reliant on a solid IT foundation. 2.1 Accuracy of Marketing Research Most market research information does not have to totally accurate. For example, if a firm wants to know its market share, it will not matter whether the figure is 26 per cent or 27 per cent, but it will be important to discover whether it is 26 per cent or 50 per cent. Suppose a firm wants to know what portion of 10,000 person in a specific target group used their brand. They discover this information by asking everyone in the group. This is both expensive and time consuming Alternatively, they could take a proportion of the sample which should reflect the group. However, it is possible that the sample is not true reflection of the group and representative enough. The key to quality information is to have just enough information. Weicks theory come handy in this process. 2.3 Is there a need for more information? Elaborating on the above, it is easy to forget that market research is not usually needed for it own sake. In fact marketing research is not providing a direct recommendation about the correct decision to be taken. It usually provides indirect information about the environment, customers behaviour and attitude and so forth. In short, it will provide information which has to be combined with a mass of other already existed information before a final decision can be made. This indirectness can represent a potential problem. A question will arise is the present data not good enough? It is much more difficult to judge whether the information is really worth the cost and delayed involved, (Barron, and Targett, 1985). Although, the value of information can be calculated by comparing the profit available with and without the marketing research and its processed marketing information, for example, decision tree technique, it is unfortunately complicated and not reliable as the value will var y from situation to situation. One further problem is the calculations involve issues of probability and uncertainty which many people find difficult. An illustration of a survey on the likelihood of different sales level with three columns : sales, original probability estimate %, and revised probability estimate % as show in table 1 and could not find any change in it principle in making decision. For example for both estimates, the high portion of sales still fall in the region of  £40m  £50m. The revised probabilities make the decision process easier (is this quality enhancement ?), but they did not change the principle. Thus the important question is whether the revised odds would result in final decision. If not, the forecast is worthless. Hattons priority framework can provides a good guide to this consideration. 2.4 Data Analysis Accurate marketing research data needs not necessarily and automatically provides quality marketing information. Data have to be analysed. Most market researchers have learnt the art of data collection but there is certain room for improvement in the science of data analysis. (Drucker, 1992) also strongly advocates executives have become computer literate but data illiterate. As such, market reseachers should be urged to co-ordinate with the marketing manager and master the skill of interpreting data and re-look at the use of basic inferential procedures as an extra area to marketing decision making. It should use multivariate methods based on matching the technique to problem rather than the problem to the technique. The key issue here is not only to focus excessively on forecast accuracy but instead decision usefulness. For example building a consumer profile enables the firm to make quality and informed decisions. Thus, reducing the risk of making wrong decision on how to distribu te, promote and price its products. Lunns DBM model should be considered for overcoming some the above problems. Cost Issues Once data is collected and processed, the information must be distributed to the decision-makers. Its availability at the right time, right cost and its delivery in a user-friendly format will be critical to its usefulness and value. 3.0 Marketing Strategy and the Innovative use of Marketing Information (Bonoma, 1985) defines marketing strategy as the analysis of alternatives opportunities and risks to the firms, informed by environmental (e.g. competitive, social) and internal (e.g. production or people abilities) information, which leads management to choose a particular set of market, product, and customer goal. This administrative approaches carry the underlying assumptions that strategic marketing decisions are well understood and widely agreed upon within organisation (Skivimgton and Daft, 1991). At this junction we accept this unconditionally although many marketing experts discover inherent inadequacies of this nostrum, (Hamrick 1983, Mintzberg and McHugh 1985). This view holds that strategy drives structure, a strategic direction require the development of new market structure, effort and administrative mechanisms. Fig. 5 shows the corporate management spells out the mission and goals in which marketing strategy and plan are formulated after carefully evaluates the external and internal factors. Relatively, the quality of marketing strategy is definitely dependent of the marketing audit, in this case we can take as marketing research/marketing information sandwiched between the corporate mission and marketing strategy. Sharing the same view, (McDonald, 1995)s marketing planning process depicts below: According to him, marketing strategy is about the manipulation of 4 Ps Product, Price, Promotion and Place based on marketing theory (Structure, framework, models, etc.). These could include market research, market segmentation studies, response elasticities and the budgeting of resource allocation decision which may includes the distribution of people and money need to put marketing strategy into effect. (Lunn, 1986)s approach to database marketing (DBM) which allows market research data to be blended with the system database (derived from previous internal and external market research data) to enhance marketing information for predictive decision marketing by combining marketing managers intuitive skills. This would allows marketer to test the effect of difference marketing mixes on specific segments. In another words, positioning by creating an USP for target market defined by research. His marketing modelling is useful for the presentation of marketing research/marketing information defining the marketing strategy. One of the many such example is the success of General Motors innovative rebate programme which became an eye opener for company like Ford, Apple Computer, who follow similar program. Synthesising the concept of relationship marketing and the segmentation technique, General Motor groups customer by their purchasing level. Loyal, heavy and creditworthy users are being rewarded with free gifts, upgrades and allows accumulating rebates toward the purchase of new vehicles by tracking the researched database. The quality of this type of marketing information was confirmed with the result of 12 millions cards, (Berry, 1994) being issued in the United States. The strategic implicati on to this is the accuracy of GMs targeting which enables quality marketing strategy. Such are not possible without a quality marketing research, database system and the innovative use of interpreted information. 4.0 Power, politics and the dissemination of information There are many literatures elaborating power, politics and the dissemination of information which is centred to the quality of marketing strategy. However, what seems to be obscuring is its specific co-relation relative to marketing strategy. Let digress slightly to discuss these issues. Knowledge, derived from organised information, which in turn is interpreted from raw data, is power, (Francis Bacon, 1957). Building on this ground, (Emerson, 1962) espoused the beholder of knowledge is a powerful figure within the organisation. Further, (Piercy, 1985) argued and introduced the information-structure-power theory of marketing emphasising on the political aspect of information in the marketing environment. Such a view is compatible with (Bonoma, 1985)s claim that it is naÃÆ' ¯ve to belief that data, especially numerical data, are science-associated and therefore somehow purer than intuitions or qualitative statements. Adding he reiterated that there is nothing so politicised in management as the collection and use of quantitative information. Data or information in management, as in science is politicised, tortured, bent, and occasionally broken in the service of vested interests in the marketing organisation. For example, in my corporation, sales expense reports are put on hold by manager until call report are turned in at the end of every month. This is to use as a punitive mean to red-line salesmans moonlighting rather than use as a base for customer research or marketing intelligence gathering. There are also numerous cases, where divisional managers are under pressure to increase market share. These sales executives came up with a manipulated pricing plan of 30% increment in vo lume, supported by dressed marketing research information. What went conveniently unreported, however, was that the current fleet of equipment would be obsolete in a few month time; much earlier, because of the forced increased in capacity. One can imagine the future repercussion of having to fund the purchase of the new equipment which the top management is unaware of. In consistent with this, (Piercy, 1984) co-relates power and politics of marketing with marketing information seamlessly. He focuses on the implications for the management of marketing in organisations, where a political analysis suggests that the management of marketing should concentrate not only on techniques of marketing research or of rational, scientific decision making but also on structure and process, i.e on power and political systems, to influence and control outcomes. His works provide the empirical support that structures and decision making processes are frequently political in nature. Piercy builds on (Velasques and Cavanagh, 1983)s defense that politics in organisations are in someway bad in themselves, but in reality power goes to the politically able rather than others with more legitimate claims. This is due to organisational situation of high ambiguity relative to structure and process, as in the case of information gathering in strategic problem formulation, (L yles and Mitroff, 1984). For example, in the allocation of fund to even within the marketing department, top management may favours the lower level executives request for his endeavour due to him being a politically competent manager as against the request of the most effective superior with better marketing information supporting him. This is in reality possible as the strategic decision are often unstructured and broad in nature, (Hayes, 1984). With the awareness of the above, quality of marketing strategy is not narrow down to only quality information. What seems to define quality marketing strategy is the interconnectedness of power, politics which are structure and process related. 5.0 Quality Marketing Strategy and Corporate Strategy We have discussed marketing strategy with some reservations in section 3 on this paper. To further demonstrate the true meaning of quality marketing strategy we continue to elaborate more. (Levitt, 1960)s Marketing Myopia adds favour to it by arguing that customers buy solution to their needs, not products. A domestic example is our home grown Creativity Technology, a PC sound card maker is introducing new kit by solving customers upgrading problem by providing the next generation DVD solution, (Strait Times, 30th July 1997). Having all said and done about marketing strategy, then precisely what is quality marketing strategy? Robet Pirsigs Zen in his art of Motorcycle Maintenance provokes some unusual thinking. He do not use the term productivity in connection with marketing activities but prefers to use phrase like peace of mind and feeling good about the marketing actions undertaken. Pirsig would say that we move from being uncomfortably involved with what is going on to more comfort with events, people, and things by our acts. As we do this, we move toward Quality. In this view Quality is bred of caring, not just technical skill, and is the brother of involvement. Another school of thought came from (Gilbert,1978), who related quality with worthy performance, which he suggested, is associated with doing the most difficult thing best with the least effort. This, he said is measurable against the behaviour aspect which is difficult to qualify. (Bonoma, 1985) merges both concepts by using coping behaviour skill as a measure of output that meets Gilberts performance yardstick. Marketing effectiveness is then about managements coping quality and can be defined by referring to a comparison of achieved output with intended goals. We call this comparison satisfaction which is similar to Pirsig peace of mind and feel good about. Putting all these together, quality marketing strategy is about the triple interface of company, customer and trade. It is only achieved with satisfaction created with the least effort using coping skill to realise the intended goal. This leads us to (Skinner, 1969)s missing link which he suggests a kind of top-down approach, starting with the company and its competitive strategy, and its goal is to define tactical task (i.e marketing strategy) in support of the corporate strategy. In short, if marketing strategy defers from corporate strategy, it is not quality marketing strategy as it is not the intended goal of the corporation. We have discussed intensely that quality marketing strategy is not only about quality information as the latter is one of the many components that assist marketing decision-maker to be more effective. 6.0 Shortcomings of Marketing Research/Marketing Information On balance, not all marketing research/marketing information can help to define quality marketing strategy. These can be illustrated in the real-life examples that follows: In the early 1990s, American Express, decided to launch their resolving credit card, the Optima to compete with Visa and Master Card. In theory, the modelling of consumer profiles and credit histories from marketing research and datebase confirmed opportunities for new product line. It was a total failure with bad debts and American Express had to abandon this endeavour after 2 years. A postmortem analysis reveals (a case of reliable information yet inappropriate) although from same individuals, the various data was taken from the American Express card for corporate business travel expenses which are reclaimed or paid directly; whereas the Optima Card was used for personal expenses. Timely information is important in the defining of marketing strategy. (Stalk and Hout, 1990), in their espoused time to market strategy argues the reduction of time to gain significant competitive advantage. Collecting data requires time and too much of it may be resulted in redundancy and misinformation system, (Ackoff, 1967). This may also renders the firm to miss their market opportunity. A case in point is Levers introduction of Signal mouthwash. Signal was in the test markets for so long that it gave Scope a chance to emphasis the same benefit in a national advertising campaign and launch the new product successfully ahead of the originator. The starting point of the marketing research is to define the problem that researcher can help to solve. If the problem is defined wrongly, the result of the marketing research not only define sub-optimal marketing strategy but also lose the firms brand image which may takes years to recover or not at all. A classic example is that of Coca-Cola who focuses the wrong problem as the sweetness of Pepsi-Cola instead of the quantity. The ideal research should instead focus on the positioning of size rather than taste. This case illustrates how experienced marketer can overlook vital consumer behaviour and that the perception is stronger than reality Original Coke is the real thing. How can anything taste better than the real thing? In cases where requirement is to be entrepreneurial in nature, innovation, gut feeling and decisiveness (Drucker, 1986) may also has competitive advantage, without the need for marketing research. An example of the victory which does not belong to the side that does a better job of marketing research is American Motors. The company ignores customer needs develops the Jeep, a product borrowed from the military. No focus group is likely to have conjunct up that idea, nor is the identifying of customer need is going to have any co-relation with it, but it is a winner. 7.0 Conclusion A quality marketing research/marketing information involves the accuracy, relevancy, reliability, its time delaying elements and its cost attached with it. As traditional costing is about economic cost, a new look into the future (Farlan, 1984), involves the concern of forward looking marketing opportunity rather the present. This assignment has demonstrated other means of innovative concept such as strategic management cost encompassing the value chain analysis, cost driver analysis and competitive analysis as a better alternative evaluation of marketing research/marketing information investment. Concerns of quality marketing information is in the area of data analysis, data interpretation and decision usefulness to provide solution rather than the research and information per see. There are also two missing links from the input of marketing research to the output of quality marketing strategy. On one hand, the problem of information dissemination involving the power structure organisation. On the other, the alignment and co-ordination of corporate strategy and operations strategy (Skinner, 1969), in which marketing strategy and information system strategy becomes more blurry, (Earl, 1989, Ward, 1996). To a certain extent, technology can improve data analysis and assist the clumsiness of co-ordinating organisation, inter-organisation and external differences, but it is the innovative use of information (Keen, 1993) that put forward the marketing edge. Examples and solution to the opportunities and concerns are discussed and illustrated. In sum, strategically, in the context of marketing management, the quality of market research/marketing information related to marketing strategy narrowed to the outcome of new opportunities derived from fulfilling the perceived unfilled needs or problems of the customer. This should be done by offering creative product based on the researched information to provide benefit and solution to the end-user, the so-called marketing myopia by (Levitt, 1960) in their relationship with the market place and the relative worthiness involves the cost- and profit myopia, (Piercy, N., 1982) of the investment in their goal setting and strategic decision marking; to achieve what is required, they must also be wary of the missing links and political myopia; in implementing marketing strategies with regard to alignments and co-ordinations of the corporate strategy and the timely disseminating of information.

Cultural Values in The Left Hand of Darkness, The Fellowship of the Rin

Shaping of Cultural Values Through Environment in The Left Hand of Darkness, The Fellowship of the Ring, and Dune      Ã‚   Ursuala K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness was written after J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring and Frank Herbert's Dune. One of the most interesting comparisons between the three novels is how the authors treat the issue of cross-cultural misunderstandings. All three works contain many incidents where people of one race or planet encounter people of a different race or from a different planet. Tolkien treats this issue in a 'specisitc' or physiological manner. The cultural misunderstandings and clashes that arise in The Fellowship of the Ring are due to the differing physiology of the characters. Herbert deals with cultural misunderstandings in an environmental manner. In Herbert's world, cultural values depend less on which species a character belong to (because all characters seem to be "roughly" human) and instead depend on environmental variables. In The Left Hand of Darkness, LeGuin combines both approaches. The cultural misunderstandings betwe en Genly Ai and Gethenians are due both to difference in physiology and different cultural values imprinted by environmental factors .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tolkien's physiological approach is best seen by examining the hobbits attitude towards the outside world. The hobbits are suspicious of, and generally do not understand, non-Hobbits. This can be seen by the Shire's constant suspicion of Bilbo's past adventures. The miller Sandyman comments on Bilbo's adventures: "Elves and Dragons! I says to him. Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you. Don't go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or you'll land in trouble too... ...iologically different from the Gethenians and comes from a planet with a totally different environment. Both of these factors lead to numerous misunderstandings in LeGuin's novel. The difference in the three authors approaches may be seen in the debate between genetics and environment may be the broader issue. Tolkien seems to take the genetics side, Herbert takes the environmental side, and LeGuin, being the daughter of an anthropologist, realizes that both genetics and environment determine cultural values. These values often come into conflict, and when they do, misconceptions and misunderstandings are almost inevitable.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited Herbert, Frank. Dune: 1984, Chilton Book Company LeGuin, Ursula L. The Left Hand of Darkness: 1969, Ace Book Company Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring: 1993, Houghton Mifflin Company  Ã‚  Ã‚  

DISC Platinum Rule Personality Assessment

A good listener, a great companion, trustworthy, and the facility to finish what one started – these are the adjectives used to describe people who characterize the personality of the Steadiness Style. These words describe the strengths of the Steadiness Styles, and depict what characteristics help them in order to accomplish their life goals. If we talk about social interaction and relationships, the Steadiness Styles lead all the other personality styles. They are open to intermingling with other people, most often influenced by their being open communicators and sociability.Although they may not appear to be the life of the party like the Interactive Styles, the Steadiness Styles draw attention from people just the same because they are good listeners. In addition, when they talk with other people, they always make sure that they express support and are able to understand the situation and emotions of the people they are in contact with. Their image of dependability and tru stworthiness draw other people to open their hearts to the Steadiness Styles.In some instances, the Steadiness Styles appear to be passive and round about, allowing other individuals to see them as obedient and yielding. This kind of attitude allows them to draw other people who are willing to also listen to them and be trustworthy like the Steadiness Styles. In short, their goodness when it comes to listening and being trustworthy comes back to them as expressed by the people with the same attitude who will also listen to and support them willingly. The purpose of the Steadiness Styles in their daily living activities is to soothe them and find comfort in stability.As the name of the style expresses, steadiness is what they seek. They find solace in a well-adjusted life, and because of this, they tend to take life easy by going about it as leisurely as possible. The Steadiness Styles are careful enough not to do things or make decisions that would disrupt the stability of their lif e. Among the four personality styles mentioned in the DISC Platinum Rule Assessment, the Steadiness Styles are said to be slower-paced than usual. They take life one step at a time by thinking and rethinking their lives, decisions, actions over time and again.When it is time to make a decision, the Steadiness Styles depend on other people to help them make the right choices. This is brought about by their need to interact with people and gain their appreciation. The Steadiness Styles ask for opinions from other people and they think about all the options that are available before finally choosing one absolute path to take. When it is time to act out the decision, they still need to ask the impression of other people about the decision that she is about to make.In this attribute of the Steadiness Style, we can observe that they are overly dependent on other people, and they are constantly searching for social interaction, relationships, and involvement from other individuals. The ass essment amusingly expressed that if we look at the work space of an individual who is a Steadiness Style, we would often see pictures of them with other people which greatly shows how they are attached to everyone they have encountered in their lives.Furthermore, this attachment to other people is manifested by their avoidance of disagreements. For the Steadiness Styles, they are most likely to live within a situation or an environment which is unpleasant to them, rather than be in a conflict with other people. As a result, the Steadiness Styles tend to say the things that other people want to hear or would agree with than express a genuine remark which they know would cause trouble between them and the people surrounding them.These desirable characters all in all will get them jobs that are appropriate to their attitudes such as a financial advisor, an insurance agent, a counselor, a teacher or a social worker, doctor or nurse, personal assistance, a customer service representative s, and the likes (as cited in the DISC Platinum Assessment report. Another aspect described by the report includes how the Steadiness Styles act in the work place. For these styles, they display desirable work characteristics and ethics because they courteous by showing respect to their superiors and colleagues, approachable, and responsible.We should remember that the Steadiness Styles are people-oriented; therefore, they are also good team players. They share tasks when asked to work with a team making them a valuable employee and colleague. As to the Steadiness Styles’ weaknesses, they are oversensitive and emotional, too submissive, slow-paced, and are unskilled in goal setting. For the Steadiness Styles to be able to counter their weaknesses and allow for improvement and development, the DISC Platinum Assessment report mentioned some pointers on how they may be able to continue improving their character.The Steadiness Styles should see to it that they are able to handle change in an accepting manner. Since their goal in life is to achieve steadiness, they are often shaken up by change causing them to be unsettled and unproductive. Change is a natural process that individuals cannot avoid; therefore, it is about time that the Steadiness Styles train themselves to handle change better. At some points in their lives, especially in the work place, everyone will be tasked to handle a leadership or managerial position.This would hurt the career of the Steadiness Styles if they are unable to pick themselves up and act accordingly to the changes that are required of them. In short, they should be able to handle stress and pressure that sudden changes eventually bring to them. The Steadiness Styles are also described as action-oriented. They are focused on doing and accomplishing things through action that they seem to lack in their logical thinking and analytical skills. It would help them a great deal if they learn how to think and analyze things by tappi ng into their creativity and innovativeness.They need to motivate themselves go beyond what they already know and discover a whole lot of unexplored ideas and thoughts that would contribute to their knowledge and experience, adding to their character and sense of being. When it comes to their interest in getting involved with other people and building relationships, they should keep in mind that they have their own identity and not depend so much on other people. As mentioned above in their characteristics, they avoid conflicts with other people by being passive and obedient.This is a weakness that should be changed in order to achieve greater potential. They should be comfortable with who they are, what they think, what they want to do, and what they want to say, even if it means that other people will not agree with them. This will help in self-empowerment and also strengthening their relationship with other people by being true with themselves and their family, friends, and colle agues. I do not entirely agree with results of this assessment because there are other characteristics in the report which I do not observe to be doing in my everyday life.I agree with the report because I actually do love company and I love meeting other people because I am interested to know who they are. However, I am more likely to express my opinion with other people even if I know they will not agree with me. Perhaps, I have surpassed my passiveness. In line with the issue though, I remember when I was younger, I would act passively with other people. I will not air comments or any other opinions, but rather, I listen to the remarks of other people. Now that I am older, I guess I have conquered that fear of rejection.I also agree with the report because I always see to it that everything in my life is in place. I do not like chaos, especially when I look at my life. I always want stability that is why I go to great lengths in order to achieve it. Overall, the DISC Platinum Ass essment activity has been engaging because it mirrors, although not entirely, who I am, and it gives suggestions on how I should change myself in order to become a better person and in turn, achieve my life goals straightforwardly.

Succubus Shadows Chapter 5

I stared at him, and the world stood still for a moment. â€Å"Wait†¦Seth was meeting Simone there?† Roman shook his head. â€Å"I wouldn't say that exactly. It was more like she sought him out. He looked like he'd been working there for a while when she showed up.† â€Å"And then?† My voice was very small. â€Å"Then, she walked over to him and shyly introduced herself as a fan, saying she recognized him from his website. Picture perfect demure coquette.† â€Å"And then?† â€Å"She said she wished she had a book with her to sign and asked if he'd sign a piece of paper instead. He said he would, and then she sat down, all apologetic for bothering him. She said she had a couple questions and hoped he wouldn't mind if she stayed for a few moments.† I noticed then that I was clenching my fists. With a deep breath, I released them. â€Å"Seth wouldn't strike up a conversation with a stranger like that. Not without being horribly uncomfortable.† â€Å"Yeah,† Roman agreed. â€Å"He definitely had some of that social awkwardness.† There was a wry note in Roman's voice that I didn't like. The two men had once been rivals for my affection, and apparently, Roman was still holding on to some bitterness – and a feeling of superiority. Roman could be quite charismatic when he wanted. â€Å"But she did a pretty good job at playing just as shy and nervous. I think it made him feel better.† â€Å"So she did sit down?† â€Å"Yup†¦and stayed for about a half-hour.† â€Å"What?† I exclaimed. My volume made Godiva jerk her head up from a nap. â€Å"Did she try to seduce him?† Roman's expression turned considering. â€Å"Not in the usual way. I mean, she wasn't as boring as usual. But she put him at ease enough that he relaxed and seemed to like talking to her. She wasn't overtly sexual, and he didn't look like he wanted to jump her. It was just†¦I don't know. A nice conversation. Although, it had a few of those annoying facts she likes to drop.† He paused. â€Å"Oh, and she went brunette.† That bothered me more than it probably should have. â€Å"But he sent her away, right?† â€Å"No, Maddie showed up, and he left with her – after telling Simone it was nice to meet her.† Oh, irony. Never, never would I have imagined I'd be so relieved to have Maddie show up and take Seth home. I also never thought I'd be glad his devotion to her would keep him from falling prey to another woman's charms. I took a step toward Roman, my fists clenching again. I didn't blame him as messenger; I was simply driven by my own fury. â€Å"What the hell?† I demanded. â€Å"What fucking game is she playing?† He sighed. â€Å"I don't know. Maybe no game at all. She likes coffee. I've certainly seen her buy it before. She could have ended up there by coincidence and thought he looked like a good catch. God only knows why.† I ignored the barb. â€Å"Oh, come on, Roman. You're not that stupid. Do you honestly think that in a city like Seattle, out of all the men here, it's a coincidence that she shows up and starts hitting on my ex? You know as well as I do that there aren't many coincidences in our world.† â€Å"True,† he admitted, setting the remnants of his dinner on the coffee table. The cats went for it. â€Å"Will you stop doing that?† I demanded. â€Å"They're not supposed to be eating that kind of stuff.† â€Å"Don't take your bitchy attitude out on me.† But he stood up and took the plate to the kitchen. When he returned, he crossed his arms over his chest and stood in front of me. â€Å"Look, you're right to a certain extent about coincidences. It is weird that she would hit on Seth. But think about this too: don't you think there are a few things around here a little more important than your ex-boyfriend? Jerome's theory makes the most sense, you know. Hell let him keep his job, but that doesn't mean they're letting the whole incident go. They're the ultimate grudge-holders. They'd want to assess the situation. That's why she's here.† â€Å"Except that she's not assessing anything! Unless you consider my friends' Pictionary skills.† â€Å"You should have seen them play Jenga.† â€Å"This isn't a joke. I need to figure out what her game is. You have to take me with you when you spy on her again.† He raised an eyebrow. â€Å"I think that's a terrible idea.† â€Å"I can go invisible.† â€Å"She'll still sense you.† â€Å"You can hide my signature. You told me before that you could. Was that a lie?† Roman grimaced. Just before things had literally blown up between us, he'd asked me to run away with him, promising he could conceal me from the greater immortals. â€Å"I can,† he admitted. â€Å"But I just think you're asking for trouble.† â€Å"What am I risking?† â€Å"A lot. Whether it's Seth or Jerome, there's obviously something going on. Get tangled up in that, and you could be risking your life. I won't let that happen to you.† â€Å"Since when do you care what happens to me?† I asked incredulously. â€Å"Since you became my ticket to rent-free living.† And with that, he turned invisible, hiding his signature as well. â€Å"Coward!† I cried. My only answer was the front door opening and then shutting. He was lost to me, and I realized I'd again missed my chance to bring up my weird encounters from these last couple days. I tossed and turned again that night, but it had nothing to do with my fear of walking off the balcony or into Puget Sound. I was filled with rage, both at Simone for making the moves on Seth and at Roman for abandoning me. When I woke up in the morning, I took comfort in knowing I didn't need Roman to confront Simone. I could do that on my own. Of course, there were a few complications there, the first being I didn't know where Simone was. Her hotel was probably the logical place to start, though most succubi – even a bland one like her – wouldn't spend a lot of time hanging out there. Well, unless she had company – and I didn't really want to walk into anything like that. And anyway, I had one tiny commitment to attend to before I could go bitch-hunting. Maddie. I'd regretted my decision to go shopping with her the moment the words had left my mouth. Yet, somehow, I'd totally blocked out those feelings yesterday when I'd been sitting with Seth. A brief thought about the wedding had flitted through my mind†¦and then it had been gone. I'd spent the rest of the time laughing and talking with him as though there was no Maddie in the world. But as I headed over to the bookstore, where she and I had agreed to meet, I had to accept reality once more. Seth was no longer mine. He also wasn't Simone's. But I'd deal with that later. Maddie was waiting for me downstairs, but I used the excuse of needing coffee before we left, in order to dash up to the caf? ¦. I wanted to see if Simone was lurking. No matter her shape, I'd know if she was there. Yet, as I casually waited in line for my white chocolate mocha, I sensed nothing immortal. Seth was there, engrossed in his work, and never even saw me. Apparently, his muse was still going strong. I let him be and joined Maddie downstairs again. She had a list of eight store names and addresses. Most were dress shops, and I was skeptical that we could make them all before we were due into work. She was more optimistic, but then, that was typical of her. â€Å"No point in worrying right now,† she said. â€Å"We'll just do them one at a time and see where that gets us. Besides, the last few are bakeries, and we wouldn't want to eat a bunch of cake before trying on dresses.† â€Å"Speak for yourself,† I said, sliding into her passenger seat. â€Å"I'm not trying anything on.† She gave me a wry smile. â€Å"Aren't you? You're my bridesmaid, remember? We talked about it at the party.† â€Å"No,† I said swiftly. â€Å"I said and did all sorts of crazy stuff that night, but I never agreed to it. That I do remember.† Maddie's expression was still light, but I thought I heard a little hurt in her voice when she spoke next. â€Å"What's the big deal? Why don't you want to be one? You know I'd never dress you in anything horrible.† Why? I pondered the answer as she pulled into traffic. Because I'm in love with your future husband. I could hardly tell her that, of course. As it was, I could see my continuing silence was making her feel worse. She was reading it as a slight to our friendship. â€Å"I just†¦I just don't like all the, uh, fanfare that goes with weddings. There's so much planning and stressing about little details. I'd rather just sit back in the audience and watch you go down the aisle.† Well, actually, that was one of the last things I wanted to do. â€Å"Really?† Maddie frowned, but thankfully, it was more out of surprise than disappointment. â€Å"You're always so good at planning and little details. I thought you were into that.† That was a fair point. It was why I made such a good manager. â€Å"Yeah, kind of†¦but I mean, at the receptions, drunk guys always hit on the bridesmaids, you know? They think we're desperate because we're the ones not getting married.† Also not entirely far from the truth in my case. Maddie's smile returned. â€Å"Those are some pretty lame excuses.† They were indeed, but she said nothing more as we drove. After Maddie's initial failure with picking flattering wedding dresses, she now threw her faith completely into me to lead her to fashion success. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and I found myself slipping into style-advisor role pretty easily. In fact, if I was able to preoccupy myself with the objective parts of this process – flattering fit, color, etc. – it was easy to block out the big picture of her and Seth. The saleswomen working at the stores soon learned who was in charge here and backed off with their recommendations, simply fetching the dresses I indictated. I studied each one Maddie tried on, keeping my standards high. With so many stores to choose from, we could afford to be picky. â€Å"That one's good,† I said at our third store. It was corseted, narrowing her waist, and had a skirt that didn't flare. Those puffy ones always made the hips look bigger, though no one ever seemed to realize that. You had to be tall and thin to get away with that, not short and buxom like Maddie. She admired herself in the mirror, a look of pleasant surprise on her face. She was still drawn to ones that I didn't think were good choices, and this was the first of my picks that she really liked. The eager saleswoman jotted down the style number, and then Maddie started to turn around and try on the rest waiting in her dressing room. As she did, a dress on a mannequin caught her eye. â€Å"Oh, Georgina, I know what you said, but you have to try that on,† Maddie begged. I followed her gaze. The dress was slinky and sexy, floor-length violet charmeuse with straps that tied around the neck. You were wearing that color the first time we met. I averted my eyes. â€Å"Not ugly enough to be a bridesmaid dress.† â€Å"It'd look great on you. Everything looks great on you,† she added with a shake of her head. â€Å"Besides, you could wear that to other things. Parties and stuff.† It was true. It didn't scream bridesmaid. Not taffeta or bright orange. Before I could protest further, the saleswoman had already fetched one from the rack, guessing my size with that uncanny ability her kind had. So, reluctantly, I tried the dress on while Maddie went to her next option. The size wasn't perfect, but a little shape-shifting neatened it up where it needed to be. Maddie was right. It did look good on me, and when I stepped out, she took it as a done deal that I'd buy it – no, she offered to buy it – and would be in her wedding. The saleswoman, seeing an opportunity, and possibly getting back at me for my tyrannical attitude, had â€Å"helpfully† fetched two more dresses for me to try while I waited for Maddie. Maddie claimed she couldn't stand the thought of me waiting around with nothing to do, so I reluctantly took them into the dressing room. They too looked good, but not as good as the violet. I was returning them to the saleswoman when my eye caught something. It was a bridal dress. It was made of ivory duchess satin, the fabric wrapping around the waist and halter top. The skirt was draped, pulled into little tiers. I stared. It would have been a disaster on Maddie, but on me†¦ â€Å"Want to try it?† asked the saleswoman slyly. Something told me that bridesmaids covertly trying on brides' dresses wasn't a rare phenomenon around here. The desperate and mournful not-getting-married attitude in action. Before I knew it, I was back in the dressing room, wearing the ivory dress. You were wearing that color the first time we met. Seth had been wrong about that and corrected himself, but for some reason, the words came to me yet again. And the dress looked great. Really great. I wasn't overly tall but was slim enough that it didn't matter – and I filled out the top beautifully. I stared at myself in a way I hadn't with the other dresses, trying to imagine myself as a bride. There was something about brides and weddings that instinctively spoke to so many women, and I shared the impulse as well, jaded succubus or no. The grim statistics didn't matter: the divorce rates, the infidelity I'd witnessed so often†¦ Yes, there was something magical about brides, an image fixed into the collective subconscious. I could see myself with flowers in my hands and a veil on my head. There'd be well-wishers and joy, the giddy faith and hope of a beautiful life together. I'd been a bride once, so long ago. I'd had those dreams, and they'd blown away. I sighed and took the dress off, afraid I might start crying. There would be no wedding for me. No bridal hopes. Not with Seth, not with anyone. Those things were lost to me forever. There was only an eternity alone, no lifelong lovers, only those I shared a night with†¦. Unsurprisingly, I was kind of depressed for the rest of the day. Maddie bought the violet dress for me, and I was too glum to protest – which she read as acceptance of my bridesmaid fate. We made it through the rest of our dress stops but didn't get to the bakeries. By the end of it all, we had four candidates for her dress, which I regarded as good progress. My mood didn't abate at work. I holed up in my office as much as I could, seeking solitude and my own dark thoughts. When I finally made it home after that eternity-long day, I found the condo empty and was astonished at how much that hurt me. I wished with all my heart that Roman was around, and it wasn't even to talk about Simone or other immortal mysteries. I just wanted his company. I just wanted to talk to him and not be alone. He was an infuriating part of my life, but he was also turning into a fixed infuriating part of my life. With a gloomy eternity ahead, that meant something. I knew better than to wait up for him†¦but found myself doing it anyway. I lounged on the couch with Grey Goose and the cats, taking some small sweetness from those warm, furry creatures that loved me. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was on, which didn't cheer me up any. Like the masochist I was, I watched it anyway. At least, I thought I was. Because suddenly, the loud shriek of a car horn blasted into my ears. I blinked and jerked my head around. I wasn't on the couch. There were no cats, no vodka. I sat on the railing of my balcony, precariously positioned. The horn had come from below, on the street. One car had nearly swiped another, and the near-victim had honked in his outrage. I didn't exactly remember the trip out here. I did, however, remember the force that had drawn me – largely because it was still there. The light and the music – that feeling of comfort and rightness that was so hard to articulate hovered before me, off in the air. It was like a tunnel. No, it was like an embrace, arms waiting to welcome me home. Come here, come here. Everything will be all right. You are safe. You are loved. In spite of myself, one of my legs shifted on the railing. How easy would it be to step over, to walk into that sweet comfort? Would I fall? Would I simply hit the hard sidewalk below? It wouldn't kill me if I did. But maybe I wouldn't fall. Maybe I'd step into that light, into the bliss that could block out the pain that always seemed to surround me lately†¦. â€Å"Are you out of your fucking mind?† The driver that had nearly been hit had gotten out of his car and was yelling at the other. That driver got out and returned the insults, and a loud tirade began. One of my neighbors on the floor below opened his patio and shouted for them all to shut up. The argument, that jarring noise, brought me back to myself. Once more, the siren song faded away, and for the first time, I almost felt†¦regret. Carefully, I climbed off the rail and back to the solidity of the balcony. A fall might not kill me, but good God, it would hurt. I walked back into the condo, finding everything exactly as I'd left it. Even the cats hadn't moved, though they looked up at my arrival. I sat between them, absentmindedly petting Aubrey. I was scared again, scared and eerily attracted to what had just happened – and that scared me more. Despite the vodka tonight, my last encounter had proven alcohol wasn't to blame. No connection. Yet†¦it occurred to me there had been a common link all three times. My mood. Each time, I'd been down†¦sad about my lot in life, seeking reassurance that wasn't to be found. And that's when this phenomenon would happen, offering a solution and the comfort I thought was beyond me. That was bad news for me. Because if this thing was drawn to woe and unhappiness, I had plenty of it to go around.