Management Principles & Practice Essay

A group of twelve lifelong friends put together $1,200,000 of their own funds and built a $6,000,000, 48-lane bowling alley, near Norfolk, Virginia. Two of the investors became employees of the corporation. Ned Flanders works full-time as General Manager and James Ahmad, a licensed CPA, serves as Controller on a part-time basis. The beautiful, modern-day facility features a multilevel spacious interior with three rows of 16 lanes on two separate levels of the building, a full-service bar, a small restaurant, a game room (pool, videogames, pinball),and two locker rooms. The facility sits on a spacious lot with plenty of parking and room to grow. The bowling center is located in the small blue-collar town of Wallingford. There is no direct competition within the town. The surrounding communities include a wide-ranging mix of ethnic groups, professionals, middle- to upper-middle-class private homes, and apartment and condominium complexes ranging from singles to young married couples to senior citizen retirement units. Nearly 200,000 people live within 15 miles of Wallingford. The bowling center is open 24 hours per day and has a staff of 27 part- and full-time employees. After four years of operation, the partners find themselves frustrated with the low profit performance of the business. While sales are covering expenses, the partners are not happy with the end-of-year profit-sharing pool. The bowling center operates at 100 percent capacity on Sunday through Thursday nights from 6:00 P.M. until midnight. Two sets of men’s leagues come and go on each of those nights, occupying each lane with mostly five-person teams. Bowlers from each league consistently spend money at both the bar and restaurant. In fact, the men’s leagues combine to generate about 60 percent of total current sales. The bowling center operates at about 50 percent capacity on Friday and Saturday nights and on Saturday morning. The Friday and Saturday â€Å"open bowling† nights include mostly teenagers, young couples, and league members who come to practice in groups of two or three. The Saturday morning group is a kid’s league, ages 10 through 14. There are four ladies leagues that bowl on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Business is extremely slow at the bowling center on Monday through Friday and Sunday mornings, and on the afternoons of Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It is not uncommon to have just three or four lanes in operation during those time periods. The owners have taken a close look at the cost side of their business as a way to improve profitability. They concluded that while the total operating expense of $1,466,000 might appear to be high, there was in fact little room for expense cutting. At a recent meeting of the partners, James Ahmad reported on the results of his three-month-long investigation into the operating cost side of other bowling alleys and discovered that the Wallingford Bowling Center was very much in keeping with their industry. James went on to report that bowling alleys were considered to be â€Å"heavy fixed cost operations† and that the key to success and profitability lies in maximizing capacity and sales dollars . QUESTIONS 1. Apply the decision-making process described in the chapter to this case. What is the major problem facing Wallingford? List five specific alternative solutions that could be implemented to solve that major problem. 2. As general manager of this company, how could you utilize and manage the group decision-making process and technique to improve company profits? Which employees would you include in the group?

“Dawn is at Hand” by Kath Walker Essay

In the poem ‘Dawn is at Hand’ by Kath Walker, the author attempts to change people’s thinking about aboriginal people. The poem talks about a better future for all aboriginal people and letting go of their past. The author uses many poetic devices such as theme, repetitions and metaphor to enhance her message and inspire the audience. The main theme of this poem is that aboriginals will be discriminated no more, and they will be equal to white Australians. In the mainstream Australian society Aboriginals are ofter looked down upon, discriminated against and marginalised. This poem is trying to change the attitudes of both Aborigines and the white people of Australia. At the beginning of the poem the author addresses her people as the ‘Dark brothers first Australian race’ she talks about their struggle for justice and when all hope for a brighter future seemed ‘folly’. The author changes the tone of the poem and talks about a brighter future for all of them. She talks about her vision of a future Australia where ‘dark and white upon common ground’ describing equal standing for both black and white Australians. The poems message is a hopeful one for a better future for all aboriginals. The author tells her aboriginals people it is time to leave their shameful past and enter this ‘brand new day’ where they will be welcomed mate ship wise in industry and enterprise. They will stand a better chance in accomplishing their dreams because they will ‘feel a friendly land’ and will receive a ‘grip of the hand’ which emphasise on the fact that the future Australian society will learn to be more accepting of the aboriginals and will learn to treat them with equal respect. ‘The grip of the hand’ is a metaphor that signifies that the hand shake between the white Australians and aboriginals will be powerful, stronger and meaning full. It won’t just be a split second touch between the two hands, as proven in line ‘fringe dwellers no more.’ The author often repeats the line ‘fringe dwellers no more,’ by this she means the aboriginals will no longer be outcasts of society left to themselves and ignored. As the first line of the poem states ‘first Australian race’ the aboriginals are the original people of Australia, but  yet they feel outcast in their own land. The author repeats this line to emphasise their rightful belonging and their move to mainstream everyday Australians. The author even repeats this is line as the last line of her poem to show all Aboriginals and white Australians that Aboriginals will be a part of the new and better Australia. Therefore author Kath Walker’s aim was to change people’s thinking about Aboriginals people through the use of poetic devices such as theme, repetition and metaphors. She made a clear statement that the future Australian society will not be the same shameful past, and Aboriginals will be just as important as the white Australians.

Intellectual Property Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Intellectual Property Rights - Essay Example In some jurisdictions, copyright, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and industrial design rights are also considered as common intellectual properties. The extent of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights largely varies from country to country. Both common law and statute play a significant role in the IP law relating to the creation and protection of intellectual property. Since trademarks, patents, and copyrights are under private ownership for a restricted period of time, specific statues are concerned with the creation and serving of such concepts. US Constitution and Congressional legislature is the major institution responsible for the governance of copyrights and patents whereas state and federal laws are concerned with trademarks and unfair competition disputes. Since patent law is a very complicated and broad one, several adjustments are made to patent law according the nature of breach of contract. 2. In Japan, works created by an individual under his own name or a known pseudonym are legally protected for fifty years after the individual’s death. ... According to the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998, copyright would last for the life of the author plus 70 years under normal case while the copyright may last for 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation in the case of corporate authorship works. Hence, if the author dies tonight after he created some music or sculpture in the morning, the copyright for his work will expire after 70 years. 6. When an individual works for a software company, he may own the software he created and it will be protected by copyright even if he has not formed a written agreement with the company. In the absence of a written agreement, creations of a salaried individual belong to his employer’s property. In order to apply for a software patent, it is necessary to provide the current state of the art, usefulness of the invention, software invention steps, and related flow diagrams and system diagrams. 7. An individual or group of individuals who have created a unique, origin al, and creative work of expression is given copyright. ‘Gone With The Wind’ (the book and film) and ‘System of A Down’ are some of the examples of copyright works. In addition, literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pantomimes and choreographic works, and computer databases are some other examples that qualify for copyright protection. Likewise, the right to show the name of the performer, right to control the reproduction of transmitted programs, and the right to control the broadcasting of live performances represent the examples of neighboring rights. 8. Secondary copyright deals with the manufacture and distribution of infringing copies. For instance, the trader who unintentionally sells or stores the infringed copies may be

Understanding of Organizational behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Understanding of Organizational behavior - Essay Example al psychology studies behavior within the organization covered by psychology and its subfields, organizational behavior can include those that are within the areas of sociology and economics, among others. The first top issue in organizational behavior today is the manner by which woman still encounter the glass ceiling in their career path. This is true in the case of Wal-mart employees. When women are prevented to advance on account of their gender and that it is a conventional practice of an organization, it is a discriminatory behavior. It can be addressed using frameworks available that have been developed as a result of extensive studies done on similar organizational behavior theme in the past. The fact that it still persists speaks volumes about the attitude and policies of organizations and policymakers in business today. Secondly, there is the case of equitability of wages. Executive officers tend to get higher percentage of pay raises in comparison with the rank and file employees. This is what is happening at Hostess, for example. The dynamics by which organizations dispensed with this policy deserves attention especially that many believe it as valid, cost-effective and e fficient. An in-depth analysis of this issue in the context of organizational behavior could lead to viable models that would achieve organizational efficiency and profitability while implementing income equitability. Finally, I would like to cite the case of the corporate greed. Decision makers are hard-pressed to deliver the maximum profit to its shareholders. Hence, all other considerations such as social responsibility and ethics are never prioritized, if at all. The dynamics of the interaction between profit and policies, shareholders and managers, and, organization and society are covered by organizational behavior and could similarly be addressed within its framework in instances severe corporate greed. In my fathers appliance repair business one of the major roles I play is

Research and summary art history Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Research and summary art history - Assignment Example By the 1480s, he was already studying many different fields. When he was working on the preparations for the Sforza monument, he started to study the human body, anatomy and physiology. These studies were often dismissed by his contemporaries as artistically unproductive whims of a mind that is restless. However, they have been acknowledged since the 19th century as forerunners in empirical science, showing accurate observation of natural phenomena. In his studies of the human body and anatomical studies, he was way ahead of his contemporaries. Not long after 1489, he began compiling a systematic record of measurements of several young men. He recorded their measurements from the tips of the toes to the top of their heads in notes and sketches. He was also taking measurements of the horses he owned during the same period as argued by Leonardo et al (45). After months of taking measurements he arrived at a nearly complete overview of human proportions. He then began to look at them while sitting and kneeling. Eventually, he compared the results with the find outs on the Vitruvian man. Leonardo mad several observations on human proportion. He worked with Luca Pacioli, a mathematician to consider the proportional theories of Vitruvius as presented in his treatise De architecture (Leonardo, Richter, and Bell 45). They imposed the principles of geometry on the configuration of the human body to demonstrate that the ideal proportion of the human figure corresponds with the forms of the circle and the square. His illustration demonstrated that when a man places his feet firmly on the ground and stretches his arms out, he can be contained within a square, but when stretched in a spread angle way, he can be inscribed in a circle. The Vitruvian man shows an example of the blend of art and science during the Renaissance and gives an example of his keen interest in proportion

Self-Reliance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self-Reliance - Essay Example Conformity, consistency, and regret are three of the barriers to self-reliance (â€Å"Self-Reliance†). People tend to conform to societal expectations and in an attempt of doing so, lose track of their personal goals and desires. Consistency is stated as a barrier to self-reliance because it deprives an individual of the opportunity to experience new things in life, challenge the beliefs inculcated into him/her by others which is required to make informed decisions, and develop more skills. Consistency is repetition and it is a barrier to creativity and innovation, hence also a barrier to self-reliance. Regret is a barrier to self-reliance because it is regressive in effect and does not make any valuable contribution to an individual’s life. It is good to regret but only to the extent that the individual realizes where he/she has done the mistake so that it can be corrected in the future. Regretting about things that the individual cannot do anything about is not produc tive. I can relate to Emerson’s viewpoint on the barriers to self-reliance. I love meat but in an attempt to conform to the expectations of most members of my family who are true vegetarians and consider it ethically unjustified to eat meat, I have remained a vegetarian going against my nature for a long time. I do physical workout quite often. I have noticed that I need to keep changing the ways I do physical workout in order to maintain my interest in the exercise. The same kind of exercise done repeatedly becomes boring. Likewise, consistency in anything creates the room for boredom. My grandfather died a few years ago. I often regret not having spent much time talking to him while he was alive. This regret and realization has made me more caring and loving toward the elderly. I have used my regret in a constructive way to achieve self-reliance rather than letting it become a barrier to that. Steps I can take to achieve self-reliance include taking measures to remove the barriers to

A research paper on the burial and ceremonial traditions of egypt

A on the burial and ceremonial traditions of egypt compared to the romans and how it influenced america today - Research Paper Example Study of their beliefs and practices show that there existed a communication or interaction between the cultures of these two different continents, but any solid proof is still lacking. Later on, as believed, it is the influence of Christianity and that of Pilgrim Fathers led to the development of significant differences in the beliefs and practices of American cultures. In the case of Egypt, there was significant influence from Roman and Greek cultures. Thus, as time passed, there arose considerable differences among the cultures. A look into historical evidence proves that the practices related to the dead vary among various civilizations. However, it seems that all the civilizations share certain degree of similarity too. To illustrate, the Romans, Egyptians, and the ancient American civilizations like Mayan and Inca held the belief that the dead deserve some sort of rituals and planning. In addition, history proves that in societies the practices and beliefs undergo changes as ti me passes, and as civilizations decline. This work intends to look into the burial practices that existed among the ancient Egyptians and Romans, and it analyses if they had any influence on the American cultures. ... Consequently, their treatment of the dead varied accordingly. Ancient Egyptians buried their wealthy in expensive tombs which were filled with artifacts and wall paintings depicting families during their everyday lives. However, one can see that as time progresses, the positive outlook of the Egyptians about the afterlife changes significantly; the afterlife began to be considered as a place of fear; filled with evil spirits. As a result, they began to bury their dead with ‘The Book of Dead’ that contained spells that help the dead navigate in the afterlife. According to Davies (29), it is wrong to use the term ‘resurrection’ when one talks about the Egyptian belief because the Egyptians believed in the four stages of life starting from birth, life, death, and rebirth where death is an opportunity for fulfillment, not a matter of negation. Consequently, for them, death rituals were meant to ensure easy transcending of the dead to afterlife. In fact, the beli efs of the Egyptians regarding death and after life were based on the cult of Isis that had its birth around fourth millennium BCE. According to the belief, death is followed by a long journey through a number of tests and trials. The ones who pass the tests are sure to enjoy eternal life. In fact, the Egyptians were optimists about afterlife. Now, a look into the Roman burial customs proves that though they shared certain similarities in burial practices, their basic ideology was entirely different from that of Egyptians in the beginning. The first point of difference is the fact that while Egyptians believed in an exquisite afterlife, there was no such doctrine among Romans that taught there is an afterlife for which the present body is to be preserved. So, for them, the dead

Charles Schwab, Company Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Charles Schwab, Company Summary - Essay Example Appendix A shows a graph that illustrates the price movement of the stock during the past year. The stock a year ago was price at $13.86. The price of the firm climbed for six months and then it started a downward spiral to reach the current price of $11.54. The graph that illustrates the movement of the SCHW common stock looks similar to the graph of the normal distribution function. The founder and chairman of the company is Charles Schwab. Walt Bettinger is the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. The enterprise has 13,200 employees worldwide. The corporate headquarters of the company are located in San Francisco. â€Å"Schwab also operates 302 domestic branch offices in  45 states, one branch in  Puerto Rico and one branch in London. Hong Kong clients are served through a Schwab subsidiary† (Aboutschwab). The quality of the human resources of the firm has been a critical success factor that has helped the company achieved tremendous growth during the past 40 y ears. The mission statement of Charles Schwab is to empower individual investors to take control of their financial lives free form the high costs and conflict of traditional brokerage firms (Blogspot). The financial service industry is a multi-trillion dollar industry. The top three stock exchanges in the United States: NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ moved 3899 million shares in 2010 (Plunkett Research). Charles Schwab is a major player in the brokerage industry. The company generated $4.2 billion in revenues in fiscal year 2010. The revenues of the company were 1% higher than in 2009. The firm has a total of 8 million client accounts. The client accounts of Charles Schwab have grown by 14.28% in comparison with 2007. The net income of the firm was $454 million. The net margin of the firm was 10.80%. The net margin is the firm was better than the industry average. The industry standard net margin is 5.8% (Dun & Bradstreet). The earnings per share (EPS) of Charles Schwab in 2010 was $0.38. The EPS is a metric that tends to influence the market price of the common stock. The return on assets (ROA) of the firm was 0.49%. The ROA industry average is 1.7% (Dun & Bradstreet). Return on assets measures how effective a company has been at generating net profits with its assets. The ROA of Charles Schwab in 2010 was 1.2% below the industry average. The return on equity (ROE) metric measures how effective a company has been at generating profits from its equity. The ROE of the company was 7.29%. The industry standard ROE is 12.3% (Dun & Bradstreet). The price earnings ratio (P/E) of the company on December 30, 2010 was 45.13. The P/E ratio is calculated by dividing the market share price by the earnings per share. The price earnings ratio shows whether a stock is relatively cheap or relatively expensive in comparison to its current earnings. There are several competitors that compete directly with Charles Schwab. Five of the top competitors Schwab faces in the marketplace are Merrill Lynch, Scottrade, Morgan Stanley, Ameritrade and ING. One of the things that set apart Charles Schwab from the competition is its brand value. The tremendous brand value of the firm has helped the company maintain high gross margins by charging $29.95 per trade. A lot of online traders receive revenues below $10 a trade. For instance Scottrade charges its customers $7 a trade. Charles Schwab i

Improving ones own performance Essay Example for Free

Improving ones own performance Essay Every fortnight on a Friday morning my line manager and I have a meeting to discuss my progress. This meeting is also for her feed back so she can see if there is anything I am struggling with, anything I need help with or I am not happy about. To the right is a picture of the scheduled meetings. This is on our Microsoft outlook account. The reason for this is so that if there are areas I am slipping with, for example my time keeping, we can discuss these issues comfortably and resolve them before they become an occurring issue. The need for these meetings is very important. They help monitor my progress by reflecting to my manager what I’ve been working on and how fast/slow I’ve been completing them. By doing these meetings it improves my performance by clearly showing my improvements giving me job satisfaction. I can also gain benefits from theses meetings too as I am improving my performance I may be more likely to be put forwards for a promotion because when my manager sees my hard work, she will inform the managing director and update him upon my progress. She gives me feedback on how I’ve been working and encourages me to do the same as without this I wouldn’t know what to improve or keep the same. Its adds value to my work as I am continuously improving, it also strengthens our relationship as I know what to do next time. During these meeting I have been asked to keep a record of achievement. I have also been asked to evaluate my own performance with a SWOT analysis every six months, so we can compare if there are any changes or areas of improvement. At times she suggest ways of possibly improving my work this helps me greatly as I may not have thought of the idea myself or even have tried it as I am not used to the method. It sometimes saves me a lot of time; this benefits my team and I as I can take on new tasks as I have spare time. Throughout my work I am constantly improving as I am learning new things all the time. As discussed by my manager and me, I have picked up a lot of important information just being in the office. When I am continuously learning it is helping me as when I learn something new I can apply it to situations, where needed. When I am enhancing my skills this helps me too as I know and understand more making my more aware. With my knowledge that has grown I will, in the future, apply it to other companies/organisations. This will benefit my career as I will know crucial information needed, not only to help me with an interview but help me secure another job. In my later life I would like to either study more business administration at university or possibly stay in the world of work and work my way up to become a manager in an office environment. At the end of my contract with Medilink I hope they would keep me on as I could grow my skills to adapt to learning about the other opportunities such as finance or even international work. Throughout my working life I use a PDP to show my achievement that aren’t actually a credited for. This adds great value to me as when I am going for an interview I can show this to my possible new employer. When Sarah and I have our fortnightly meeting I ask for feedback and on the occasion I write this down in my note book as I can reflect on it at a later date. This is because I won’t forget what she has said. I accept it with open arms as this will help me and is not said in a spiteful manor to upset me. It is constructive criticism, this is being assertive. If she wasn’t being assertive then it wouldn’t be good within our working environment. The benefit to this is that she can put her point across without sounding nasty and putting her point across in a respectful manor. I myself also have to be assertive too, for example if I get given a task and I have too much on I simply have say no as I would miss my deadline from taking over someone else job. I will offer an alternative if I can help as we work as a team and if I can save time for someone else I will. Plus when someone one is helping me and I do not agree with a certain way I voice my opinion and suggest to improve their performance, like when Tina was helping me with finding contacts on our database I suggested to sure the search bar rather than looking under the subheadings and finding them by trial and error. When having this meeting sometimes my manager, Sarah and I discus targets for when work needs to be completed. The reason for this is so that I get used to deadlines and can work to realistic target as my input is as important in these discussions as hers. It benefits me as I know I can structure myself to meet these target and they are within my reach. For example: I was given a task to go through the international managers, charlottes, mailing list in correspond to the members list, and our data base to update all three and ensure they are all up to date. We decided because there was 217 contacts on charlottes list that I would be given 22 working days to complete as this allows me to complete 10 a day so I could pick it up and put down the task in hand here and there amongst other tasks. With these discussions about targets we also discus the quality of my work. I set high standards as there are always room for improvements and if I am constantly aiming for the highest possible standard then overtime I should up the bar of my skills. This resulting in be being more knowledgeable. During day to day work there are setbacks that I may come across to overcome these and move forwards I first must accept these otherwise I can’t overcome them. When dealing with them there is one major benefit, it makes me a stronger worker as I know how to tackle them if they occur in the future. Everyday at work there are new challenges and the reason why I adapt the taking them on is because it will be a learning curve and will benefit my future. By adapting to change I grow my personality and move with the time, I am constantly growing my knowledge base and understanding what I need to take in. Treating others with respect honesty and consideration add to the business environment it ensure that the atmosphere we working in is enjoyable. When it is comfortable it promotes more effective working. When helping and supporting others at work, it saves them time as they don’t need to look for the answers and it add to the relationship within the working environment. To do this it is useful and very helpful. To show my targets in order of priority for my own work; is attached a sheet, listed in a random order but there is a coloured key to follow on the back. As you can see I have highlighted them corresponding to the coloured priority. In one of our meetings with Sarah I renegotiated the dead line of the previously mentioned task, the mailing list for Charlotte, in conjunction with the members list and our database. The reason for this was because we had a lot on for the awards event and I slipped behind due to bad time management therefore not being able to complete my task. On a weekly basis I like to achieve the highest possible outcome I can, to do this I set myself high standards. Such as: exceeding my targets. When helping Paul with his signs I completed them up to a brilliant aesthetic look and before my deadline. I laminated each one and got them all ready before he needed them. I was so committed that I stayed behind on one of the days to finish them off before my deadline. This demonstrated my passion for my work. I use my own needs to complete a task and it is my own right to use my own time during work to finish what I have been given. Like last week for example, I used my time during work to start a task I have been given by one of our members of the PR team, Martin. I treat all of my colleagues with respect, as I speak to them all with the right tone. Like in our weekly team briefing, I talk with politeness and do not use harsh tones.

Platos’ Lysis or Friendship Essay Example for Free

Platos’ Lysis or Friendship Essay Socrates advised Hippothales that the latter should not be so generous with his praises for the person he admires and loves because it would only make the beloved egoistic and vain.   Socrates believed that Hippothales will end up losing him that way.   Hippothales adored Lysis and Socrates likened his pursuit to a hunter scaring his prey away. Socrates asked to meet Lysis and with Menexenus engaged in philosophical discussions of love, friendship, desires, good and evil.   Following were the thoughts of Plato through Socrates: One is not truly happy if he is not at liberty to do the things he wants. I disagree on this.   Given an unlimited freedom to do as he pleases may not necessarily make a man happy in the end.   If a person without money chose to rob a bank instead of finding a decent job, the consequences of his action will make him miserable. People love those whom they find useful and who serve certain ends to them. I agree.   They value those who have done them a favor, those who cared and nurtured them, and those whom they depend upon.   Children love their parents for feeding and clothing them when they were young to do those things for themselves.   Parents love their children for the joys they bring.   Patients love their doctors for treating them of their illness and nursing them back to health. These things can not be said of others who have never been a part of their life. Those who still need a teacher are without knowledge or wisdom and therefore have  nothing to be arrogant about. I disagree on two counts.   First, knowledge and wisdom do not always come from the confines of a classroom. Like they say, experience is a great teacher. We learn from everyday encounters.   How we handle what life throws our way is knowledge nobody can teach us.   Second, good deeds and honest life do not require exceptional knowledge or wisdom.   These are enough reasons for a simple man to be proud of. Do not put your beloved in an exalted position by singing praises and feeding his ego  unceasingly.   It would be best to have him see himself as he is. Agree.   Love is real and true if one tries to see the beloved for what he is and not make someone out of him that he is not him at all.   This is to say that the lover must not be blind to the faults and imperfections of the beloved. Love is not always reciprocated, the lover loves the beloved and the beloved may not  love him back, at worst even hate him. Disagree.   I would say that they become true lovers only at the time when they had both seen the virtues and accepted the flaws of each other. They would commit to a relationship only when they are able to find comfort in their love for each other. Men are hated by people they love and loved by people they hate. Slightly agree.   Yes, people may hate those they love but only for reasons that may not necessarily cause them to love less.   They may just be minor irritants, like the wife hating the husband for always being late for dinner.   Ã‚  On the other hand, loving those they hate is the superficial love of the voters to a president who despite his personal indiscretions have done wonders for the economy. A man may be his friend’s enemy and his enemy’s friend. Agree.   A friend is one’s moral guardian.   A friend would not hesitate to stop a man from committing sin or what might cause him pain later.   The friend might not take it well at first and such might cause them misunderstanding, at which point they become enemies.   On the other hand, if his enemy’s life is at stake and it is only the man who can save him and he does, then they at that instant become friends. Like attracts like. Disagree.   It is not always the case.   It is more common to find opposites that attract.   People have always gone for the excitement of others completely different from them.   New ideas and novel ways of doing things that may complement his own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Plato, through Socrates, defended his philosophies with clarity and profundity that left Menexenus and Lysis in awe and admiration. References Stevenson, Daniel C. (1994-2000).   Lysis or Friendship by Platos.   Web Atomics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved April 29, 2008, from http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/lysis.1b.txt