Monday, December 30, 2019

The Career Life Balance And Family Life - 1277 Words

The career-life balance and family life in Brazil has changed dramatically in the later half of the 20th century, primarily due to globalization, rapid urbanization, and Brazil’s transition into democracy. These drastic changes have caused Brazilians to make alternations their traditional lifestyle, including their family structure, home-life, work-life, and values to become more similar to the westernized world. Alterations to the family structure will likely continue as more Brazilians enter the job market, pursuing higher education and professional careers, and becoming more competitive with other nations. 2 Traditional Brazilian Families Brazilians have traditionally modeled their social and value structures around family, both†¦show more content†¦Large families of six or more children were common, and men being the single breadwinner of the family led and made decisions for the family group. 3 Brazil’s Modern Workforce Fast-forward to modern day Brazil and this structure has transformed to follow that of the western world. Today Brazil’s birth rate has dramatically decreased from the average of six children per woman in the 1960’s to around 1.9, even lower that the current U.S. birth rate. This drastic change is primarily due to the change of role that women now play in Brazilian society and their entrance into the workforce. As more women enter the workforce the traditional roles have changed to allow more equal distribution of household chores and child raising between men and women. Also, a lesser emphasis on the Catholic Church and its preaching’s (including the church becoming more lenient on once taboo topics) has allowed women to partake in contraception methods to prevent and control pregnancy. In modern Brazil, approximately 80% of women within childbearing age use contraception. Women are also perusing higher education at a rate that has now exceeded men, with 62.9% of degrees in Brazil going to women, again another force that has pushed women into the workforce and into professional careers. Although there has been a large emergence of women within the workforce

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Essay on Made to Order Hero - 1594 Words

Made to Order Hero nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Many times in life we encounter an individual that touches us in some profound way. The relation of this individual to the person they are influencing is as diverse as the personal experiences that causes this admiration. This individual, or hero, can impact and totally change the direction of someones life. A hero can be anyone, from a professional athlete, to a public service figure, to a relative or parent. Each hero is defined by an individuals definition of what a hero is and should be. The definition of a hero has not always been this liberal. As time and the world have progressed so has the definition of the word hero. The poems Beowulf and Sir Gawin and the Green Knight are†¦show more content†¦Beowulf followed what he believed was right, helping out a friend in need and keeping his word. Gawain searches out the Green Knight and fulfills his commitment because it was how he was raised; it was the thing the law said was right. â€Å"†¦Th ere were penalties for violation of the spoken bond in medieval society, related legality to Christian morality-violation of contracts with man to breaking faith with God† (Vantuono XXVI). Gawain keeps his word in order to stay right with the Lord God, whereas Beowulf does not appear to be influenced by God, only by himself and his belief that he should help out others whom had previously aided he and his family. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Perhaps the story within the Poem of Gawain and the Green Knight provides us with the best possible view of the Christian influence on the heroic code. The story itself seems to somewhat parallel the Biblical story of the life of Jesus Christ. Gawain steps forward and takes on the Green Knight for King Arthur, knowing full well that in one year and a day the Green Knight was to repay Gawain with the same action. This is very similar to the idea that Christ came to earth to take on the sins of His people, knowing full well that the result would be His death instead of ours. Later Gawain must fend off the temptations offered by others to flee and not keep his word. Gawain speaksShow MoreRelatedThe Hero With A Thousand Faces1540 Words   |  7 PagesCampbell â€Å"The Hero With A Thousand Faces† and The Movie â€Å"Alien† A hero is â€Å"a man (or occasionally a woman) of superhuman strength, courage, or ability, favored by the gods.† Based on this quote, found on â€Å"The Oxford English Dictionary Online,† one can assume that the hero would be a man based on the terms that are used. People often associate a man as being the almighty power in a situation. They are referred to as the hero. One does not often find a movie about superheroes with the hero being a womanRead MoreA Hero Can Have a Flaw707 Words   |  3 PagesWhat makes a hero? Most people will immediately imagine a superhero, unbeatable athlete or noble warrior. Despite their superhuman achievements, they all have something in common with even the meekest people-- a flaw.These flaws give us a chance of becoming heroes ourselves. We are all humans and make mistakes, so their are no chances of a perfect hero. However, if a perfect hero does exist, his or her good qualities may become a flaw in a certain situation. Like a pers on who sees all good in peopleRead MoreThe Hero With A Thousand Faces1524 Words   |  7 PagesRevised Draft A hero is â€Å"a man (or occasionally a woman) of superhuman strength, courage, or ability, favored by the gods.† Based on this quote, found on â€Å"The Oxford English Dictionary Online,† one can assume that the hero would be a man based on the terms that are used. People often associate a man as being the almighty power in a situation. They are referred to as the hero. One does not often find a movie about superheroes with the hero being a woman. Gender should not define who is the betterRead MoreWhat s A True Hero?856 Words   |  4 PagesWhat s a True Hero is? A true hero is someone with courage and bravely to go beyond in order to help someone, because as a child to an adult it’s a very different view point and Joseph Campbell help us understand what it takes to be a true hero. For many years, many people have used the word hero for many situations that doesn t particularly consider being a hero. If we Google the definition for the word hero; A man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualitiesRead MoreSimilarities Between European And Asian Films1163 Words   |  5 Pages The Grittier Hero The Western has traditionally been thought of as an American entity. Forging the west and its frontier is what the nation sees as its identity. There are other versions of the this traditionally American story. Countries outside the nation intrigued by the genre have taken the Western to other levels and depicted the characters in a different light. European and Asian films have a divergent perspective of the traditional lone man that comes to save the day. Films such as TheRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s The Lord Of The Flies913 Words   |  4 Pagesbe a friend but turns around and stabs the hero in the back. But it can go the other way as well. Someone that the hero thought was an enemy could end up being a great ally. The shapeshifter can be identified this way by the actions of the character or how the hero views the character. The guardian in the story is the character that tries to get the hero to abandon the quest. The character shows up at any part of the quest and blocks or prevents the hero from the next part of the story. SometimesRead MoreHamlet As A Tragic Hero850 Words   |  4 Pagesthey would be perceived as a hero if they revenge? Well In the novel Hamlet the author, William Shakespeare creates tragic events where his main character Hamlet has to overcome to achieve his goal of killing his evil uncle Claudius. â€Å"In life one has to do bad thing in order to be a hero,the hero also has to make sacrifices in order to be successful† (John Barrowman). In Shakespeare Hamlet, should hamlet be considered a tragic hero judging by him following the hero steps. Shakespeare proves thatRead MoreThe Importance Of Heroism854 Words   |  4 PagesSpiderman or whomever. But not many people stop and think about the real heroes in the real world, such as policeman, firefighters, doctors etc. Heroism is a lot more than some ink on a comic book page. It is the reward of being, helping, or becoming a hero. Heroes get to inspire the next generation to take their place. Heroism involves inspiring because heroes need the courage to face a challenge and to overcome that challenge without being cowardly. Heroism is supposed to inspire other people to takeRead MoreEssay about Heracles: From the Myth to a Disney Movie1627 Words   |  7 Pagesgenerations. Some of these presented adaptations of mythological stories have significantly been modified in order to be deemed entertaining by audiences in a pop culture generation. Thus, my study will seek to compare mythological heros during their time to how they have been depicted in modern day. Moreover, my study will analyze the similarities and differences between the Greek hero Heracles and his replica character, Hercules, depicted in Disneys adaptation of this myth. Although there areRead MoreThe Tragic Hero Of Sophocles Antigone876 Words   |  4 PagesAbraham Lincoln. While Abraham Lincoln may not be considered a tragic hero he is similar to Antigone because both were fulfilling a divine order. Antigone is the title character of Sophocles’ Antigone. She is the daughter of Oedipus, who coupled with his mother and murdered his father. As a result of her father’s fate she is a victim of circumstance. She is also considered a tragic hero. Aristotle s definition of a tragic hero is someone who starts out in a high position or in good standing with

Friday, December 13, 2019

The Education System of Today Free Essays

Testing today has taken over schools. The pressure of society for a person to strive to reach the best schools and therefore the best education, to do this your test scores have to be the best. This brings up the question on weather or not the highest test scores show who the smartest people really are? These high test scores raise the question, does the school you go to have an influence on how you do on your tests. We will write a custom essay sample on The Education System of Today or any similar topic only for you Order Now If it does make a difference does the money involved create a preddjudicous. Also should someone use all their powers available to find get into the best schools? Society is leaning more towards Machiavelli†s view where the ends justify the means. This also brings morals into the situation. The education system of today has used testing as an easer way to show how smart someone is. Teachers use tests to see how well students understand what they have taught. This has a positive effect making the students learn the material that the teacher wants them to learn, however the student ends up just learning it because they have to. In order to become educated someone has to want to learn something. That is the only way that they would truly push themselves to further their knowledge. The only thing that pushes students to learn today is the pressure that society makes. These pressures consist of anything from parents pushing the child to go to college, to business that will not hire anyone without a college degree. Parents want to see their child succeed more then the child wants too. The child wants to succeed too because no one wants to grow up only to be able to work in a minim wage job. Without the benefits of a college degree a person is limited as to what positions are available in today†s workplace. The better the college that the person got the degree from the better chance they have at the job. This leads into the whole network of schooling involved to get the best jobs available. In order to get into the best college to get the best job one has to go to the best high school, which takes the best lower school, and to get into that lower school one has to get into the best preschool. This path is not an exact one but there is a quality of school that has to be kept up with. At the young age where this cycle is started the child has no say in any of it. The parents are left to put their child in the best school they can. Most parents will go threw many lengths to give their children the best possible start into the world. They will spend all of their precious money and they will use all of their contacts to get their child into the best schools they can. This however is an unfair system. Not everyone can afford the best schools because they usually end up being the most expensive. Like wise not everyone has an aunt to get them into the collage that they otherwise would not have been able to get into. This raises the question do the ends justify the means like in Machiavelli’s peace â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince†. The system that he suggests a prince should govern under is not the ideal system but in the end it makes the best prince. The system that someone uses to get threw schools using all available resources may not be the fairest but in the end they will get the best education possible. I believe in using all available resources to give yourself a leg up on others. Sure it is not an ideal way to run the education system. It is not fair to everyone that dose not have the same resources, but it is a dog –eat-dog world and you have to do what you can to make it. In order to make education less of a social and financial thing standardized testing was invented. These tests were and still are supposed to be a way that gives everyone, no matter what connections or how much money they have, the equal chance. This in theory would be perfect but it dose not work that way. The tests can only test on so much material, and who says that the material is the most important. These tests did lessen the gap between schools. Someone that went to a private school with the best teachers had just as a student that was home taught. It tested on the same material and it gave everyone the chance to show their knowledge. There are many nitpicky things that come up about the unfair ness of tests like the SAT. It is impossible to make questions that equally apply to everyone. As an example a question about sailing would be a lot harder for someone that did not live near water then it would be for someone that grew up on a sailboat. The only major problem with tests like the SATs, is that it dose not take into account the people that are smart and know just as much as the next guy but just doesn†t do as well on tests. Tests only show you so much of a person. The problem of a test is in its inability to show the person. Sure it shows how well that person knows the material he or she is tested on, but it dose not show that person. What if the student dose poorly on the SAT, but ends up having the best management skills. He won†t get into the best collage and there fore the biggest companies will not look at him and he will end up getting a lesser job. It also has the opposite possibility. If someone dose amassing one these tests and gets hired by a big aw firm but this person cannot get along with anyone, it turns out just as bad. This too can be argued by the fact that many of these business hiring these people, that do amassing on these test, are looking for they type of person that is known to test well. There is an endless list of prows and cons for testing. Some of them are so nitpicky they are laughed at, but in the hole I believe that tests are good. They are only good for finding someone†s intelligence if they are used along with other methods. There is no one way that is good for everyone. If every person was the same and knew the same things then you could fined one way to see who was smarter, but people are different. Some people excel in English and some excel in math but how do you judge who is smarter. They do not have a common area to be tested in. The editoral by David Ignatius points out all the wrongs with today†s education system, but it dose not give a realistic solution. Sure it would be nice to encourage people to go to collage just to learn more and farther their knowledge, but most students go to school now because it is the only way to keep their options in life open. I personally came to college to learn how to become an engineer. I am very interested in this field and am doing well. In the beginning of the year I started taking psychology, which I fined very interesting. I had to drop the class. In order to excel in my required core sources I needed more time and therefore had to drop psychology. This was a very hypocritical move on my part. I wanted to farther my knowledge in other subjects that interest me but I gave in to the pressures to succeed instead of learn. School is not ideal and the education systems are not completely focused on learning, but that is the way it is now so as a student I have to deal with this and make the best out of what I am given. Every advantage that is possible should be taken, like when Machiavelli pointed out the methods for becoming the best prince, not the best methods for becoming a prince. They were not always the ideal way of dealing with situations but it was the most effective. Just like testing and using connections is not the best method for getting an education but they will give you the best shot at excelling at it. How to cite The Education System of Today, Essay examples The Education System of Today Free Essays Testing today has taken over schools. The pressure of society for a person to strive to reach the best schools and therefore the best education, to do this your test scores have to be the best. This brings up the question on weather or not the highest test scores show who the smartest people really are? These high test scores raise the question, does the school you go to have an influence on how you do on your tests. We will write a custom essay sample on The Education System of Today or any similar topic only for you Order Now If it does make a difference does the money involved create a preddjudicous. Also should someone use all their powers available to find get into the best schools? Society is leaning more towards Machiavelli†s view where the ends justify the means. This also brings morals into the situation. The education system of today has used testing as an easer way to show how smart someone is. Teachers use tests to see how well students understand what they have taught. This has a positive effect making the students learn the material that the teacher wants them to learn, however the student ends up just learning it because they have to. In order to become educated someone has to want to learn something. That is the only way that they would truly push themselves to further their knowledge. The only thing that pushes students to learn today is the pressure that society makes. These pressures consist of anything from parents pushing the child to go to college, to business that will not hire anyone without a college degree. Parents want to see their child succeed more then the child wants too. The child wants to succeed too because no one wants to grow up only to be able to work in a minim wage job. Without the benefits of a college degree a person is limited as to what positions are available in today†s workplace. The better the college that the person got the degree from the better chance they have at the job. This leads into the whole network of schooling involved to get the best jobs available. In order to get into the best college to get the best job one has to go to the best high school, which takes the best lower school, and to get into that lower school one has to get into the best preschool. This path is not an exact one but there is a quality of school that has to be kept up with. At the young age where this cycle is started the child has no say in any of it. The parents are left to put their child in the best school they can. Most parents will go threw many lengths to give their children the best possible start into the world. They will spend all of their precious money and they will use all of their contacts to get their child into the best schools they can. This however is an unfair system. Not everyone can afford the best schools because they usually end up being the most expensive. Like wise not everyone has an aunt to get them into the collage that they otherwise would not have been able to get into. This raises the question do the ends justify the means like in Machiavelli’s peace â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince†. The system that he suggests a prince should govern under is not the ideal system but in the end it makes the best prince. The system that someone uses to get threw schools using all available resources may not be the fairest but in the end they will get the best education possible. I believe in using all available resources to give yourself a leg up on others. Sure it is not an ideal way to run the education system. It is not fair to everyone that dose not have the same resources, but it is a dog –eat-dog world and you have to do what you can to make it. In order to make education less of a social and financial thing standardized testing was invented. These tests were and still are supposed to be a way that gives everyone, no matter what connections or how much money they have, the equal chance. This in theory would be perfect but it dose not work that way. The tests can only test on so much material, and who says that the material is the most important. These tests did lessen the gap between schools. Someone that went to a private school with the best teachers had just as a student that was home taught. It tested on the same material and it gave everyone the chance to show their knowledge. There are many nitpicky things that come up about the unfair ness of tests like the SAT. It is impossible to make questions that equally apply to everyone. As an example a question about sailing would be a lot harder for someone that did not live near water then it would be for someone that grew up on a sailboat. The only major problem with tests like the SATs, is that it dose not take into account the people that are smart and know just as much as the next guy but just doesn†t do as well on tests. Tests only show you so much of a person. The problem of a test is in its inability to show the person. Sure it shows how well that person knows the material he or she is tested on, but it dose not show that person. What if the student dose poorly on the SAT, but ends up having the best management skills. He won†t get into the best collage and there fore the biggest companies will not look at him and he will end up getting a lesser job. It also has the opposite possibility. If someone dose amassing one these tests and gets hired by a big aw firm but this person cannot get along with anyone, it turns out just as bad. This too can be argued by the fact that many of these business hiring these people, that do amassing on these test, are looking for they type of person that is known to test well. There is an endless list of prows and cons for testing. Some of them are so nitpicky they are laughed at, but in the hole I believe that tests are good. They are only good for finding someone†s intelligence if they are used along with other methods. There is no one way that is good for everyone. If every person was the same and knew the same things then you could fined one way to see who was smarter, but people are different. Some people excel in English and some excel in math but how do you judge who is smarter. They do not have a common area to be tested in. The editoral by David Ignatius points out all the wrongs with today†s education system, but it dose not give a realistic solution. Sure it would be nice to encourage people to go to collage just to learn more and farther their knowledge, but most students go to school now because it is the only way to keep their options in life open. I personally came to college to learn how to become an engineer. I am very interested in this field and am doing well. In the beginning of the year I started taking psychology, which I fined very interesting. I had to drop the class. In order to excel in my required core sources I needed more time and therefore had to drop psychology. This was a very hypocritical move on my part. I wanted to farther my knowledge in other subjects that interest me but I gave in to the pressures to succeed instead of learn. School is not ideal and the education systems are not completely focused on learning, but that is the way it is now so as a student I have to deal with this and make the best out of what I am given. Every advantage that is possible should be taken, like when Machiavelli pointed out the methods for becoming the best prince, not the best methods for becoming a prince. They were not always the ideal way of dealing with situations but it was the most effective. Just like testing and using connections is not the best method for getting an education but they will give you the best shot at excelling at it. How to cite The Education System of Today, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Body Shop free essay sample

She had never had a holiday as a child and so, with the tax-free money she earned in Geneva, she decided to spend a year travelling around the world. She visited Polynesia, New Caledonia, Australia and Africa where her interest in the use of natural ingredients for cosmetic purposes was aroused. In Tahiti she saw local women plastering themselves with cocoa butter. Half the bean was used for chocolate and the other half was used as a cosmetic. In Morocco she saw women washing their hair in mud. Returning to England, she met Gordon Roddick, a graduate of the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester. He had farmed overseas and in the UK before settling in Littlehampton. They married in 1970. Originally they planned to travel overland to Australia and buy a pineapple plantation, but the arrival of first one and then two children made them change their plans. Instead they bought and ran a restaurant and later a small hotel in Littlehampton. in 1976 Anita opened the first Body Shop in a back street in Brighton in 1976. The roof leaked and the ugly unpainted walls were covered with green garden lattice primarily because it was cheap. The shop sold only about a dozen inexpensive ‘natural’ cosmetics, all herbal creams and shampoos, all in simple packaging. Pot plants were placed between the products to fill the space. Anita thought these products would only appeal to a small number of customers that shared her values. Her husband, Gordon, even went off to ride a horse across the Americas about a month after it opened. I know everyone wants to think that it is like an act of God – that you sit down and have a brilliant idea. Well, when you start your own business it does not work like that. I remember walking through Littlehampton with the kids, one in a pushchair and one walking beside me. We went into the sweet shop, then into the greengrocer and then to Boots. In both the sweet shop and the greengrocers I had choice. I could buy as much, or as little, as I wanted. I could buy hal f a pound of gob-stoppers or a kilo of apples, the quantities were up to me. In Boots I suddenly thought ‘What a shame that I can’t buy as little as I like here too. Why am I stuck with only big sizes to choose from? If I’m trying something out and don’t like it, I am too intimidated to return it, so I’m stuck with it. ’ That one thought, that single reaction, was me voicing a need, a disappointment with things as they were. But if that’s a need I have, lots of other women must have the same need, I thought. Why can’t we buy smaller sizes – like in the greengrocers? ’   However, Anita was wrong. It proved to be a huge success. nevertheless whilst this idea was novel at the time it was easily copiable. The firm’s initial roll-out owes much to the clear focus Anita and Gordon Roddick had on where their competitive advantage lay. They realised that the idea they had could be easily copied and success would only come from developing the brand and a rapid expansion. Unfortunately they had little cash to do either. It was Gordon who had the idea of a franchise, which meant that franchisees paid to become part of Body Shop and * managed the shop themselves. * Franchisees pay an initial fee plus an annual operating charge for a fixed term, enewable franchise. Franchisees buy a ‘turn-key’ system with a tightly controlled retail format providing shop fitting and layout, staff training, financial and stock control systems and even help with site identification. Body Shop can also help arrange finance to purchase the franchise. Body Shop also, of course, makes a margin on the products it sells to the franchisees.Franchisees receive regular visits from company representativ es who provide   assistance with display, sales promotion and training. Information packs, newsletters, videos and free promotional material are made available and franchisees have to return a monthly report on their sales. This enables the company to monitor both trading results and the local sales performance of individual products. The company closely monitors the use of The Body Shop trade mark in all franchisees’ literature, advertising and other uses. Franchisees are selected partly upon their ‘fit’ with Body Shop ideals. Employees receive regular newsletters and videos concentrating on Body Shop campaigns and achievements. In 1995 the firm introduced in-store satellite transmitted radio. Body Shop takes every opportunity to put forward its values and beliefs which it believes sets it out as distinctive and different to its high street competitors. It also believes that the company brings together like-minded people and motivate staff in what otherwise is a sector with high staff turnover. The franchisees generated sufficient cash to finance early expansion until 1984 when the company went to the stock market, although it still maintained the franchise model. Overseas expansion followed the same model as in the UK. In most countries a head franchisee was granted exclusive rights as user of the trade mark, distributor and, after an initial trial of running a few shops themselves, the right to sub-franchise. In this way the firm built upon local market knowledge and minimised its risks. This model was not always followed because of the quality of the head franchisee. For example, the firm took back control of the franchise. Body Shop remains an international franchise chain of shops. The Roddicks initially decided not to manufacture their products or even invest in a distribution system, but rather to concentrate on getting the franchise formula right, developing the brand and protecting it from imitators. In the 1980s Body Shop reversed its decision and started its own warehousing and distribution network, based upon a sophisticated stock control system, and built up a substantial fleet of lorries. Products could typically be delivered within 24 hours. It also started manufacturing many of its cosmetics mainly in the UK, although many of the ingredients came from overseas under its ‘trade-not-aid’ policy. These two elements of strategy initially worked well for it and generated substantial sales and profit growth but the manufacturing policy was reviewed in the late 1990s. In the early years Body Shop could not afford to advertise. Developing the brand was heavily reliant upon the personality of Anita and her ability to get free PR for the environmental causes associated with the firm. Indeed, advertising would have been very much against the firm’s image. In those early days her outspoken, controversial views – concerning just about anything – guaranteed her media coverage and helped her win the Businesswoman of the Year award just before the stock market launch. Even today the Body Shop brand is inexorably linked with its culture, which in turn is based firmly in its ethical and environmental beliefs and values. Based very much around the charismatic Anita Roddick’s views that business can be a vehicle for social and environmental change, the firm has championed numerous causes. These not only show themselves in window displays and PR activities, they also underscore everything the company does. Employees are given time off to work on local social projects. Body Shop takes every opportunity to put forward its values and beliefs which it believes sets it out as distinctive and different to its high street competition. Body Shop is now a global brand, but what does it stand for and what are customers buying? Even Anita Roddick admitted they were not just buying cosmetics – ‘oil and water will not make their hearts sing’. The marketing mix comprises cosmetics made from high quality, natural ingredients which do not involve cruelty to animals. They can be bought in a range of refillable containers, including trial sizes, that are plain and simple with clear factual sta tements about their ingredients. Tester bottles are freely available in shops and staff are trained not to sell products ‘hard’ and to respond to questions honestly, if necessary going to the Product Information Manual. The company does not advertise, relying instead on PR and their prime-site shop windows that often promote environmental issues rather than products. The green shop decor with its ambience of a sweet shop reinforces the environmental, no-frills image. Staff receive regular training, not only on business but also on environmental issues. Unlike other cosmetics companies, Body Shop is selling a feel-good factor of a different sort, with a strong ethical dimension. It campaigns on behalf of many environmental issues such as the destruction of the Brazilian rain forests, ‘trade, not aid’, recycling and, famously, animal testing of cosmetics. The Body Shop brand is deeply emotional, based upon a marketing mix that reinforces the ‘save the planet’ image and really does ‘make the heart sing’. The company’s values and mission reflect this (see page 227). In 1996 an attempted re-privatisation was abandoned because of the gearing implications. After that the Roddicks increasingly took a back seat. In 1998 a new Chief Executive was recruited with the Roddicks becoming co-chairmen. Over the last decade Body Shop has been attracting more competition from both newcomers and established retailers introducing ‘natural’ products. Because of the emergence of an aggressive US competitor called Bath and Body Works, Body Shop was forced into even more rapid expansion with a unfortunate effect on costs and profitability. Profits and share price subsequently recovered.