Personal Narrative- Most Memorable Christmas :: Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Most Memorable Christmas Ever since I could remember, I have spent Christmas at my grandmother’s house, a house which is full of comfort, warmth, and happiness. At Christmas, I have always been able to escape the cold and dark real world allowing myself to truly enjoy just several moments in time. These moments have left impressionable memories from my childhood making Christmas a holiday that is special to me and my family. It is a time for my family to get together, share stories, laugh, and even cry. My most memorable Christmas is one from my past. I was about six years old. I clearly remember sitting in class on the last day of school before Christmas vacation anticipating the bell to ring and signify that the classes were finally over. As the bell rang, I ran out of that class, and once I got home I was ready in an instant to leave for my grandmother’s where I would spend my holidays. It was a two hour drive to my grandmother’s house. I was very impatient throughout the entire drive. I couldn’t wait to see my grandma, my cousin, and my aunts. To make things better, however, snow started to fall filling me with hopes of a snowball fight the next day. Finally, we arrived at our destination. I left the car leaving my parents and little brother behind and ran up the steps to my grandma’s house. I just had to be the first one to knock on her door, so I did. She opened the door for me, and I went inside parting with the bitter cold and darkness surrounding me. Inside the house I was immediately encircled with the aromas of her Christmas cooking and baking. A real fresh Christmas tree which was already beautifully adorned with old family ornaments perforated the air with more holiday aromas. I went into the kitchen with my mom, and together we helped my grandma finish preparing the Christmas Eve dinner. Soon, we all sat around the dinner table enjoying my grandma’s culinary specialties. There was one dish that had stuck in my mind though, possibly because it was the last dish served that night.

The Sun Never Sets on the English Language Essay -- Language

English has evolved in the last hundred years from being a fragment of the old Latin world to being widely spoken around the new world. Despite living in America, we see international meetings where leaders of many countries all speak English to communicate with each other. Is it possible that English has become the lingua franca and will continue into the future to be the global language? There are many sources that indicate that future can only hold English as its selected language. In the future we will have a variety of â€Å"Englishes† that will dominate global communication, and this will occur because the dominance of English is believed to be ‘inevitable’, practical to foreign nations, and finally it appeals to a multicultural perspective for a cosmopolitan society. Everywhere you look around the world you can find the English language. In The Mother Tongue: English & How it got that Way, Bill Bryson explains, â€Å"In Yugoslavia they speak five languages. In not one of them does the word stop exist, yet every stop sign in the country says just that† (Bryson 179). Around the world we see examples of countries that don’t natively speak English but use English as a marketing scheme. Further Bryson mentions, â€Å"†¦On the bottom of the eraser is a further message: ‘We are ecologically minded. This package will self-destruct in Mother Earth’. It is a product that was made in Japan solely for Japanese consumers, yet there is not a word of Japanese on it† (Bryson 180). We can see the rise in world distributors producing ‘English’ products as the world looking for a common language; it’s seen as trendy, and obviously something that the people want. With the history of English starting at relat ively the same time as the romance languages, it’s ... ... at Essex Conference." Essex Chronicle [Chelmsford] 15 Mar. 2012, News sec.: 34. Proquest. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. http://search.proquest.com.accarcproxy.mnpals.net/docview/928036123/1359728E7DD36B71E65/5?accountid=48834 Liston, Enjoli. "Say Hello to a New Language." The Independent [London] 18 Jan. 2012: 40. Proquest. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. http://search.proquest.com.accarcproxy.mnpals.net/docview/916426138/13597240297686A7755/5?accountid=48834 Zhang, Xiaohong, and Margaret Zeegers. "Redefining The Role Of English As A Foreign Language In The Curriculum In The Global Context." Changing English: Studies In Culture & Education 17.2 (2010): 177-187. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. http://web.ebscohost.com.accarcproxy.mnpals.net/ehost/detail?sid=9cea4021-16db-43c9-96b8-6c68973bc7ad%40sessionmgr14&vid=1&hid=18&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=51624034

Technology And Your Right To Privacy :: essays research papers

Technology and the invasion of privacy and its effects onthe criminal justice system over the last 100 years Will searching the internet for more than 5 hours on this topic I found a quote that is very appropriate it says; Subtler and more far-reaching means of invading privacy have become available to the government. Discovery and invention have made it possible for the government, by means far more effective than stretching upon the rack, to obtain disclosure in court of what is whispered in the closet. US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandies, 1928 If Justice Brandeis could see the advances in technology, he would realize just how prophetic his statement is. He would also be appalled by the new surveillance technologies that go far beyond his wildest dreams. Now that the cold war is over, bureaucracy has little do but track us from the cradle to the grave, from your bank accounts to the bedroom. Several of the technologies created by the defense dept. have begun to creep into law enforcement, various civilian agencies and private companies. The laws on the books are old in comparison and unable to protect us from violation of our rights. I the old west there was no system to keep track of criminals. If someone was wanted he picture was posted with a reward. If convicted he was sentenced to what the judge felt was appropriate. In the early 60's surveillance and tracking was a slow tidious process of manual and/or clerical work. To trace a person's activities you had to physically follow them, or search through volumes of card files. It was necessary to contact every one your suspect came in contact with. to learn his habits. Electronic surveillance was on a one to one basis if your dept was lucky enough to have it. As an example, it took 500,000 east German secret informers and 10,000 transcribers just to listen in on it's citizens conversations. Computers capable of storing large amounts of data have revolutionized the world of surveillance. The law enforcement benefits are enormous, and government bureaucracies have been able to expand their reach and efficiency. Will technology was expanding private business was also researching it's uses. Huge companies offering credit cards, telephone service, banking and many other consumer services began to use computers with massive storage capacity. In this day and age information on every person in the developed world is computerized and stored in several if not hundreds of computers. Your information is collected, analyzed and disseminated to..... With computer net works, the net and links, it is possible now to track everyone with a single identification number, your social security number. With your specific identifier everything about you can be instantly available. Because medical, dental, financial and general information is stored in the data

The Dark Side of Customer Analytics

HBR CASE STUDY AND COMMENTARYHow can these companies leverage the customer data responsibly? The Dark Side of Customer Analytics Four commentators offer expert advice. by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris Reprint R0705A An insurance company finds some intriguing patterns in the loyalty card data it bought from a grocery chain—the correlation between condom sales and HIV-related claims, for instance. How can both companies leverage the data responsibly? HBR CASE STUDY The Dark Side of Customer Analytics COPYRIGHT  © 2007 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. by Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris Laura Brickman was glad she was almost done grocery shopping. The lines at the local ShopSense supermarket were especially long for a Tuesday evening. Her cart was nearly over? owing in preparation for several days away from her family, and she still had packing to do at home. Just a few more items to go: â€Å"A dozen eggs, a half gallon of orange juice, and—a box of Dip & Dunk cereal? † Her sixyear-old daughter, Maryellen, had obviously used the step stool to get at the list on the counter and had scrawled her high-fructose emand at the bottom of the paper in brightorange marker. Laura made a mental note to speak with Miss Maryellen about what sugary cereals do to kids’ teeth (and to their parents’ wallets). Taking care not to crack any of the eggs, she squeezed the remaining items into the cart. She wheeled past the ShopSense Summer Fun displays. â€Å"Do we need more sunscreen? † L aura wondered for a moment, before deciding to go without. She got to the checkout area and waited. As regional manager for West Coast operations of IFA, one of the largest sellers of life and health insurance in the United States, Laura ormally might not have paid much attention to Shop-Sense’s checkout procedures—except maybe to monitor how accurately her purchases were being rung up. But now that her company’s fate was intertwined with that of the Dallas-based national grocery chain, she had less motivation to peruse the magazine racks and more incentive to evaluate the scanning and tallying going on ahead of her. Some 14 months earlier, IFA and ShopSense had joined forces in an intriguing venture. Laura for years had been interested in the idea of looking beyond the traditional sources of customer data that insurers ypically used to set their premiums and develop their products. She’d read every article, book, and Web site she HBR’s cases, whic h are ? ctional, present common managerial dilemmas and offer concrete solutions from experts. harvard business review †¢ may 2007 page 1 H BR C A SE S T UDY †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ †¢T he Dark Side of Customer Analytics Thomas H. Davenport ([email  protected] babson. edu) is the President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and the director of research for Babson Executive Education. Jeanne G. Harris (jeanne. g. [email  protected] com) is an executive research fellow and a director of research at the Accenture Institute for High-Performance Business. She is based in Chicago. Davenport and Harris are the coauthors of Competing on Analytics (Harvard Business School Press, 2007). page 2 could ? nd on customer analytics, seeking to learn more about how organizations in other industries were wringing every last drop of value from their products and processes. Casinos, credit card companies, even s taid old insurance ? rms were joining airlines, hotels, and other service-oriented businesses in gathering nd analyzing speci? c details about their customers. And, according to recent studies, more and more of those organizations were sharing their data with business partners. Laura had read a pro? le of ShopSense in a business publication and learned that it was one of only a handful of retailers to conduct its analytics in-house. As a result, the grocery chain possessed sophisticated data-analysis methods and a particularly deep trove of information about its customers. In the article, analytics chief Steve Worthington described how the organization employed a pattern-based approach to issuing coupons. The marketing department understood, for instance, that after three months of purchasing nothing but WayLess bars and shakes, a shopper wasn’t susceptible to discounts on a rival brand of diet aids. Instead, she’d probably respond to an offer of a free doughnut or pastry with the purchase of a coffee. The company had even been experimenting in a few markets with what it called Good-Sense messages—bits of useful health information printed on the backs of receipts, based partly on customers’ current and previous buying patterns. Nutritional analyses of some customers’ most recent purchases were eing printed on receipts in a few of the test markets as well. Shortly after reading that article, Laura had invited Steve to her of? ce in San Francisco. The two met several times, and, after some fevered discussions with her bosses in Ohio, Laura made the ShopSense executive an offer. The insurer wanted to buy a small sample of the grocer’s customer lo yalty card data to determine its quality and reliability; IFA wanted to and out if the ShopSense information would be meaningful when stacked up against its own claims information. With top management’s blessing, Steve and his team had agreed to provide IFA with ten ears’ worth of loyalty card data for customers in southern Michigan, where ShopSense had a high share of wallet—that is, the supermarkets weren’t located within ? ve miles of a â€Å"club† store or other major rival. Several months after receiving the tapes, analysts at IFA ended up ?nding some fairly strong correlations between purchases of unhealthy products (highsodium, high-cholesterol foods) and medical claims. In response, Laura and her actuarial and sales teams conceived an offering called Smart Choice, a low-premium insurance plan aimed at IFA customers who didn’t indulge. Laura was ? ing the next day to IFA’s headquarters in Cincinnati to meet with members of the senior team. She would be seeking their approval to buy more of the ShopSense data; she wanted to continue mining the information and re? ning IFA’s pricing and marketing efforts. Laura understood it might be a tough sell. After all, her industry wasn’t exactly known for embracing radical change—even with proof in hand that change could work. The make-or-break issue, she thought, would be the reliability and richness of the data. â€Å"Your CEO needs to hear only one thing,† Steve had told her several days earlier, while they were comparing notes. Exclusive rights to our data will give you information that your competitors won’t be able to match. No one else has the historical data we have or as many customers nationwide. † He was right, of course. Laura also knew that if IFA decided not to buy the grocer’s data, some other insurer would. â€Å"Paper or plastic? † a young boy was asking. Laura had ? nally made it to front of the line. â€Å"Oh, paper, please,† she replied. The cashier scanned in the groceries and waited while Laura swiped her card and signed the touch screen. Once the register printer had stopped chattering, the cashier curled the long strip of aper into a thick wad and handed it to Laura. â€Å"Have a nice night,† she said mechanically. Before wheeling her cart out of the store into the slightly cool evening, Laura brie? y checked the total on the receipt and the information on the back: coupons for sunblock and a reminder about the importance of UVA and UVB protection. Tell It to Your Analyst â€Å"No data set is perfect, but based on what we’ve seen already, the ShopSense info could be a pretty rich source of insight for us,† Archie Stetter told the handful of executives seated around a table in one of IFA’s recently renovated conference rooms. Laura nodded in agreement, silently cheering on the insurance harvard business review †¢ may 2007 T he Dark Side of Customer Analytics †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ †¢H BR C A SE S T UDY company’s uberanalyst. Archie had been invaluable in guiding the pilot project. Laura had ? own in two days ahead of the meeting and had sat down with the chatty statistics expert and some members of his team, going over results and gauging their support for continuing the relationship with ShopSense. â€Å"Trans fats and heart disease—no surprise there, I guess,† Archie said, using a laser pointer to direct the managers’ attention to a PowerPoint slide projected on the wall. How about this, though: Households that purchase both bananas and cashews at least quarterly seem to show only a negligible risk of developing Parkinson’s and MS. † Archie had at ? rst been skeptical about the quality of the grocery chain’s data, but ShopSense’s well of informati on was deeper than he’d imagined. Frankly, he’d been having a blast slicing and dicing. Enjoying his moment in the spotlight, Archie went on a bit longer than he’d intended, talking about typical patterns in the purchase of certain over-the-counter medications, potential leading indicators for diabetes, and other statistical curiosities. Laura noted that as Archie’s presentation wore on, CEO Jason Walter was jotting down notes. O. Z. Cooper, IFA’s general counsel, began to clear his throat over the speakerphone. Laura was about to rein in her stats guy when Rusty Ware, IFA’s chief actuary, addressed the group. â€Å"You know, this deal isn’t really as much of a stretch as you might think. † He pointed out that the company had for years been buying from information brokers lists of customers who purchased speci? c drugs and products. And IFA was among the best in the industry at evaluating external sources of data (credit histories, demographic studies, analyses f socioeconomic status, and so on) to predict depression, back pain, and other expensive chronic conditions. Prospective IFA customers were required to disclose existing medical conditions and information about their personal habits—drinking, smoking, and other high-risk activities—the actuary reminded the group . The CEO, meanwhile, felt that Rusty was overlooking an important point. â€Å"But if we’re ?nding patterns where our rivals aren’t even looking, if we’re coming up with proprietary health indicators—well, that would be a huge hurdle for everyone else to get over,† Jason noted. arvard business review †¢ may 2007 Laura was keeping an eye on the clock; there were several themes she still wanted to hammer on. Before she could follow up on Jason’s comments, though, Geneva Hendrickson, IFA’s senior vice president for ethics and corporate responsibility, posed a blue-sky question to the group: â€Å"Take the fruit-and-nut stat Archie cited. Wouldn’t we have to share that kind of information? As a bene? t to society? † Several managers at the table began talking over one another in an attempt to respond. â€Å"Correlations, no matter how interesting, aren’t conclusive evidence of causality,† someone said. Ev en if a correlation doesn’t hold up in the medical community, that doesn’t mean it’s not useful to us,† someone else suggested. Laura saw her opening; she wanted to get back to Jason’s point about competitive advantage. â€Å"Look at Progressive Insurance,† she began. It was able to steal a march on its rivals simply by recognizing that not all motorcycle owners are created equal. Some ride hard (young bikers), and some hardly ride (older, middle-class, midlife crisis riders). â€Å"By putting these guys into different risk pools, Progressive has gotten the rates right,† she said. â€Å"It wins all the business with the safe set by offering low remiums, and it doesn’t lose its shirt on the more dangerous set. † Then O. Z. Cooper broke in over the speakerphone. Maybe the company should formally position Smart Choice and other products and marketing programs developed using the Shop-Sense data as opt in, he wondered. A lot of people signed up when Progressive gave discounts to customers who agreed to put devices in their cars that would monitor their driving habits. â€Å"Of course, those customers realized later they might pay a higher premium when the company found out they routinely exceeded the speed limit—but that’s not a legal problem,† O. Z. noted. None of the states that IFA did business in had laws prohibiting the sort of data exchange ShopSense and the insurer were proposing. It would be a different story, however, if the company wanted to do more business overseas. At that point, Archie begged to show the group one more slide: sales of prophylactics versus HIV-related claims. The executives continued taking notes. Laura glanced again at the clock. No one seemed to care that they were going a little over. â€Å"Exclusive rights to our data will give you information that your competitors won’t be able to match. No one else has the historical data we have. † page 3 H BR C A SE S T UDY †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ †¢T he Dark Side of Customer Analytics Data Decorum â€Å"Customers find out, they stop using their cards, and we stop getting the information that drives this whole train. † page 4 Rain was in the forecast that afternoon for Dallas, so Steve Worthington decided to drive rather than ride his bike the nine and a half miles from his home to ShopSense’s corporate of? ces in the Hightower Complex. Of course, the gridlock made him a few minutes late for the early morning meeting with ShopSense’s executive team. Lucky for him, others had been held up by the traf? c as well. The group gradually came together in a lightly cluttered room off the main hallway on the 18th ? oor. One corner of the space was being used to store prototypes of regional instore displays featuring several members of the Houston Astros’ pitching staff. â€Å"I don’t know whether to grab a cup of coffee or a bat,† Steve joked to the other s, gesturing at the life-size cardboard cutouts and settling into his seat. Steve was hoping to persuade CEO Donna Greer and other members of the senior team to approve the terms of the data sale to IFA. He was pretty con? dent he had majority support; he had already spoken individually with many of the top executives. In those one-onone conversations, only Alan Atkins, the grocery chain’s chief operations of? cer, had raised any signi? cant issues, and Steve had dealt patiently with each of them. Or so he thought. At the start of the meeting, Alan admitted he still had some concerns about selling data to IFA at all. Mainly, he was worried that all the hard work the organization had done building up its loyalty program, honing its analytical chops, and maintaining deep customer relationships could be undone in one fell swoop. â€Å"Customers ? nd out, they stop using their cards, and we stop getting the information that rives this whole train,† he said. Steve reminded Alan that IFA had no interest in revealing its relationship with the grocer to customers. There was always the chance an employee would let something slip, but even if that happened, Steve doubted anyone would be shocked. â€Å"I haven’t heard of anybody canceling based on any of our other card-driven marketing p rograms,† he said. â€Å"That’s because what we’re doing isn’t visible to our customers—or at least it wasn’t until your recent comments in the press,† Alan grumbled. There had been some tension within the group about Steve’s contribution to everal widely disseminated articles about ShopSense’s embrace of customer analytics. â€Å"Point taken,† Steve replied, although he knew that Alan was aware of how much positive attention those articles had garnered for the company. Many of its card-driven marketing programs had since been deemed cuttingedge by others in and outside the industry. Steve had hoped to move on to the ? nancial bene? ts of the arrangement, but Denise Baldwin, ShopSense’s head of human resources, still seemed concerned about how IFA would use the data. Speci? cally, she wondered, would it identify individual consumers as employees of particular companies? She reminded the group that some big insurers had gotten into serious trouble because of their pro? ling practices. IFA had been looking at this relationship only in the context of individual insurance customers, Steve explained, not of group plans. â€Å"Besides, it’s not like we’d be directly drawing the risk pools,† he said. Then Steve began distributing copies of the spreadsheets outlining the ? ve-year returns ShopSense could realize from the deal. â€Å"‘Directly’ being the operative word here,† Denise noted wryly, as she took her copy and passed the rest around. Parsing the Information It was 6:50 pm, and Jason Walters had canceled his session with his personal trainer— again—to stay late at the of? ce. Sammy will understand, the CEO told himself as he sank deeper into the love seat in his of? ce, a yellow legal pad on his lap and a pen and cup of espresso balanced on the arm of the couch. It was several days after the review of the ShopSense pilot, and Jason was still weighing the risks and bene? ts of taking this business relationship to the next stage. He hated to admit how giddy he was— almost as gleeful as Archie Stetter had been— about the number of meaningful correlations the analysts had turned up. Imagine what that guy could do with an even larger data set,† O. Z. Cooper had commented to Jason after the meeting. Exclusive access to ShopSense’s data would give IFA a leg up on competitors, Jason knew. It could also provide the insurer with proprietary insights into the food-related drivers of disease. The deal was cer tainly legal. And even in the court of public opinion, people understood that insurers had to perform risk analyses. It wasn’t the same as when that harvard business review †¢ may 2007 T he Dark Side of Customer Analytics †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ †¢H BR C A SE S T UDY online bookseller got into trouble for charging ustomers differently based on their shopping histories. But Jason also saw dark clouds on the horizon: What if IFA took the pilot to the next level and found out something that maybe it was better off not knowing? As he watched the minute hand sweep on his wall clock, Jason wondered what risks he might be taking without even realizing it. †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Donna Greer gently swirled the wine in her glass and clinked the stemware against her husband’s. The two were attending a wine tasting hosted by a friend. The focus was on varieties from Chile and other Latin American countries, and Donna and Peter had yet to ? nd a sample they didn’t like. But despite the lively patter of the event and the plentiful food. Donna couldn’t keep her mind off the IFA deal. â€Å"The big question is, Should we be charging more? † she mused to her husband. ShopSense was already selling its scanner data to syndicators, and, as her CFO had reminded her, the company currently made more money from selling information than from selling meat. Going forward, all ShopSense would have to do was send IFA some tapes each month and collect a million dollars annually harvard business review †¢ may 2007 of pure pro? t. Still, the deal wasn’t without risks: By selling the information to IFA, it ight end up diluting or destroying valuable and hard-won customer relationships. Donna could see the headline now: â€Å"Big Brother in Aisle Four. † All the more reason to make it worth our while, she thought to herself. Peter urged Donna to drop the issue for a bit, as he scribbled his comments about the wine they’d just samp led on a rating sheet. â€Å"But I’ll go on record as being against the whole thing,† he said. â€Å"Some poor soul puts potato chips in the cart instead of celery, and look what happens. † â€Å"But what about the poor soul who buys the celery and still has to pay a fortune for medical overage,† Donna argued, â€Å"because the premiums are set based on the people who can’t eat just one? † â€Å"Isn’t that the whole point of insurance? † Peter teased. The CEO shot her husband a playfully peeved look—and reminded herself to send an e-mail to Steve when they got home. What if IFA took the pilot to the next level and found out something that maybe it was better off not knowing? How can these companies leverage the customer data responsibly? †¢ Four commentators offer expert advice. See Case Commentary page 5 T he Dark Side of Customer Analytics †¢ H BR C A SE S T UDY C ase Commentary by George L. Jones How can these companies leverage the customer data responsibly? The message coming from both IFA and ShopSense is that any marketing opportunity is valid—as long as they can get away with it. page 6 Sure, a customer database has value, and a company can maximize that value in any number of ways—growing the database, mining it, monetizing it. Marketers can be tempted, despite pledges about privacy, to use collected information in ways that seem attractive but may ultimately damage relationships with customers. The arrangement proposed in this case study seems shortsighted to me. Neither company seems to particularly care about its customers. Instead, the message coming from the senior teams at both IFA and ShopSense is that any marketing opportunity is valid—as long as they can get away with it legally and customers don’t ? gure out what they’re doing. In my company, this pilot would never have gotten off the ground. The culture at Borders is such that the managers involved would have just assumed we wouldn’t do something like that. Like most successful retail companies, our organization is customer focused; we’re always trying to see a store or an offer or a transaction through the customer’s eyes. It was the same way at both Saks and Target when I was with those companies. At Borders, we’ve built up a signi? cant database through our Borders Rewards program, which in the past year and a half has grown to 17 million members. The data we’re getting are hugely important as a basis for serving customers more effectively (based on their purchase patterns) and as a source of competitive advantage. For instance, we know that if somebody buys a travel guide to France, that person might also be interested in reading Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence. But we assure our customers up front that their information will be handled with the utmost respect. We carefully control the content and frequency of even our own ommunications with Rewards members. We don’t want any offers we present to have negative connotations—for instance, we avoid bombarding people with e-mails about a product they may have absolutely no interest in. I honestly don’t think these companies have hit upon a responsible formula for mining and sharing cust omer data. If ShopSense retained control of its data to some degree—that is, if the grocer and IFA marketed the Smart Choice program jointly, and if any offers came from ShopSense (the partner the customer has built up trust with) rather than the insurance company (a stranger, so to speak)—the relationship could work. Instead of ceding complete control to IFA, ShopSense could be somewhat selective and send offers to all, some, or none of its loyalty card members, depending on how relevant the grocer believed the insurance offer would be to a particular set of customers. A big hole in these data, though, is that people buy food for others besides themselves. I rarely eat at home, but I still buy tons of groceries—some healthy, some not so healthy— for my kids and their friends. If you looked at a breakdown of purchases for my household, you’d say â€Å"Wow, they’re consuming a lot. † But the truth is, I hardly ever eat a bite. That may e an extreme example, but it suggests that IFA’s correlations may be ? awed. Both CEOs are subjecting their organizations to a possible public relations backlash, and not just from the ShopSense customers whose data have been dealt away to IFA. Every ShopSense customer who hears about the deal, loyalty card member or not, is going to lose trust in the company. IFA’s customers might also think twice about their relationship with the insurer. And what about the employees in each company who may be uncomfortable with what the companies are trying to pull off? The corporate cultures suffer. What the companies are proposing here is ery dangerous—especially in the world of retail, where loyalty is so hard to win. Customers’ information needs to be protected. George L. Jones is the president and chief executive officer of Borders Group, a global retailer of books, music, and movies based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. harvard business review †¢ may 2007 T he Dark Side of Customer Analytics †¢ H BR C A SE S T UDY C ase Commentary by Katherine N. Lemon How can these companies leverage the customer data responsibly? Customer analytics are effective precisely because firms do not violate customer trust. harvard business review †¢ may 2007 As the case study illustrates, companies will o on be able to create fairly exhaustive, highly accurate pro? les of customers without having had any direct interaction with them. They’ll be able to get to know you intimately without your knowledge. From the consumer’s perspective, this trend raises several big concerns. In this ? ctional account, for instance, a shopper’s grocery purchases may directly in? uence the availability or price of her life or health insurance products—and not necessarily in a good way. Although the customer, at least tacitly, consented to the collection, use, and transfer of her purchase data, the real issue here is the nintended and uncontemplated use of the information (from the customer’s point of view). Most customers would probably be quite surprised to learn that their personal information could be used by companies in a wholly unrelated industry and in other ways that aren’t readily foreseeable. If consumers lose trust in ? rms that collect, analyze, and utilize their information, they will opt out of loyalty and other data-driven marketing programs, and we may see more regulations and limitations on data collection. Customer analytics are effective precisely because ? rms do not violate customer trust. People believe that retail and other organizations will use their data wisely to enhance their experiences, not to harm them. Angry customers will certainly speak with their wallets if that trust is violated. Decisions that might be made on the basis of the shared data represent another hazard for consumers—and for organizations. Take the insurance company’s use of the grocer’s loyalty card data. This is limited information at best and inaccurate at worst. The ShopSense data re? ect food bought but not necessarily consumed, and individuals buy food at many stores, not just one. IFA might end up drawing rroneous conclusions—and exacting unfair rate increases. The insurer’s general counsel should investigate this deal. Another concern for consumers is what I call â€Å"battered customer syndrome. † Market analytics allow companies to identify their best and worst customers and, consequently, to pay special attention to those deemed to be the mo st valuable. Looked at another way, analytics enable ? rms to understand how poorly they can treat individual or groups of customers before those people stop doing business with them. Unless you are in the top echelon of customers— those with the highest lifetime value, say—you ay pay higher prices, get fewer special offers, or receive less service than other consumers. Despite the fact that alienating 75% to 90% of customers may not be the best idea in the long run, many retailers have adopted this â€Å"top tier† approach to managing customer relationships. And many customers seem to be willing to live with it—perhaps with the unrealistic hope that they may reach the upper echelon and reap the ensuing bene? ts. Little research has been done on the negative consequences of using marketing approaches that discriminate against customer segments. Inevitably, however, customers will ecome savvier about analytics. They may become less tolerant and take their business (and information) elsewhere. If access to and use of customer data are to remain viable, organizations must come up with ways to address customers’ concerns about privacy. What, then, should IFA and ShopSense do? First and foremost, they need to let customers opt in to their data-sharing arrangement. This would address the â€Å"unintended use of data† problem; customers would understand exactly what was being done with their information. Even better, both ? rms would be engaging in trust-building—versus trust-eroding—activities with customers. The esult: improvement in the bottom line and in the customer experience. Katherine N. Lemon (kay. [email  protected] edu) is an associate professor of marketing at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. Her expertise is in the areas of customer equity, customer management, and customer-based marketing strategy. page 7 T he Dark Side of Customer Analytics †¢ H BR C A SE S T UDY C ase Commentary by David Norton How can these companies leverage the customer data responsibly? Would customers feel comfortable with the data-sharing arrangement if they knew about it? page 8 Transparency is a critical component of any loyalty card program. The value proposition must be clear; customers must know what they’ll get for allowing their purchase behavior to be monitored. So the question for the CEOs of ShopSense and IFA is, Would customers feel comfortable with the data-sharing arrangement if they knew about it? ShopSense’s loyalty card data are at the center of this venture, but the grocer’s goal here is not to increase customer loyalty. The value of its relationship with IFA is solely ? nancial. The company should explore whether there are some customer data it should exclude from the transfer—information that could be perceived as exceedingly sensitive, such as pharmacy and lcohol purchases. It should also consider doing market research and risk modeling to evaluate customers’ potential reaction to the data sharing and the possible downstream effect of the deal. The risk of consumer backlash is lower for IFA than for ShopSense, given the information the insurance company already purchase s. IFA could even put a positive spin on the creation of new insurance products based on the ShopSense data. For instance, so-called healthy purchases might earn customers a discount on their standard insurance policies. The challenge for the insurer, however, is that there is no proven correlation between the urchase of certain foods and fewer health problems. IFA should continue experimenting with the data to determine their richness and predictive value. Some companies have more leeway than others to sell or trade customer lists. At Harrah’s, we have less than most because our customers may not want others to know about their gaming and leisure activities. We don’t sell information, and we don’t buy a lot of external data. Occasionally, we’ll buy demographic data to ? ne-tune our marketing messages (to some customers, an offer of tickets to a live performance might be more interesting than a dining discount, for example). But we think the internal transactional data are much more important. We do rely on analytics and models to help us understand existing customers and to encourage them to stick with us. About ten years ago, we created our Total Rewards program. Guests at our hotels and casinos register for a loyalty card by sharing the information on their driver’s license, such as their name, address, and date of birth. Each time they visit one of our 39 properties and use their card, they earn credits that can be used for food and merchandise. They also earn Tier Credits that give them higher status in the program and ake them eligible for differentiated service. With every visit, we get a read on our customers’ preferences—the types of games they play, the hotels and amenities they favor, and so on. Those details are stored in a central database. The company sets rules for what can be done with the information. For instance, managers at any one of our properties can execute th eir own marketing lists and programs, but they can target only customers who have visited their properties. If they want to dip into the overall customer base, they have to go through the central relationship-marketing group. Some of the information captured in ur online joint promotions is accessible to both Harrah’s and its business partners, but the promotions are clearly positioned as opt in. We tell customers the value proposition up front: Let us track your play at our properties, and we can help you enjoy the experience better with richer rewards and improved service. They understand exactly what we’re capturing, the rewards they’ll get, and what the company will do with the information. It’s a win-win for the company and for the customer. Companies engaging in customer analytics and related marketing initiatives need to keep â€Å"win-win† in mind when collecting and andling customer data. It’s not just about what the information can do for you; it’s about what you can do for the customer with the information. David Norton ([email  protected] com) is the senior vice president of relationship marketing at Harrah’s Entertainment, based in Las Vegas. harvard business review †¢ may 2007 T he Dark Side of Customer Analytics †¢ H BR C A SE S T UDY C ase Commentary by Michael B. McCallister How can these companies leverage the customer data responsibly? When the tougher, grayarea decisions need to be made, each person has to have the company’s core principles and values in ind. harvard business review †¢ may 2007 Companies that can capitalize on the information they get from their customers hold an advantage over rivals. But as the ? rms in the case study are realizing, there are also plenty of risks involved with using these data. Instead of pulling back the reins, organizations should be nudging customer analytics forward, keeping in mind one critical point: Any collection, anal ysis, and sharing of data must be conducted in a protected, permission-based environment. Humana provides health bene? t plans and related health services to more than 11 million embers nationwide. We use proprietary datamining and analytical capabilities to help guide consumers through the health maze. Like IFA, we ask our customers to share their personal and medical histories with us (the risky behaviors as well as the good habits) so we can acquaint them with programs and preventive services geared to their health status. Customer data come to us in many different ways. For instance, we offer complimentary health assessments in which plan members can take an interactive online survey designed to measure how well they’re taking care of themselves. We then suggest ways they can reduce their health risks or treat their existing conditions more effectively. We closely monitor our claims information and use it to reach out to people. In our Personal Nurse program, for example, we’ll have a registered nurse follow up with a member who has ? led, say, a diabetes-related claim. Through phone conversations and e-mails, the RN can help the plan member institute changes to improve his or her quality of life. All our programs require members to opt in if the data are going to be used in any way that would single a person out. Regardless of your industry, you have to start with that. One of the biggest problems in U. S. health care today is obesity. So would it be useful for our company to look at grocery-purchasing patterns, as the insurance company in the case study does? It might be. I could see the upside of using a grocer’s loyalty card data to develop a wellness-based incentive program for insurance customers. (We would try to ? nd a way to build positives into it, however, so customers would look at the interchange and say â€Å"That’s in my best interest; thank you. †) But Humana certainly wouldn’t enter into any kind of datatransfer arrangement without ensuring that our customers’ personal information and the ntegrity of our relationship with them would be properly protected. In health care, especially, this has to be the chief concern—above and beyond any patterns that might be revealed and the sort of competitive edge they might provide. We use a range of industry standard security measures, including encryptio n and ? rewalls, to protect our members’ privacy and medical information. Ethical behavior starts with the CEO, but it clearly can’t be managed by just one person. It’s important that everyone be reminded often about the principles and values that guide the organization. When business opportunities come along, they’ll be screened according to those standards—and the decisions will land right side up every time. I can’t tell people how to run their meetings or who should be at the table when the tougher, grayarea decisions need to be made, but whoever is there has to have those core principles and values in mind. The CEOs in the case study need to take the â€Å"front page† test: If the headline on the front page of the newspaper were reporting abuse of customer data (yours included), how would you react? If you wouldn’t want your personal data used in a certain way, chances are your customers wouldn’t, either. Michael B. McCallister ([email  protected] com) is the president and CEO of Humana, a health benefits company based in Louisville, Kentucky. Reprint R0705A Case only R0705X Commentary only R0705Z To order, call 800-988-0886 or 617-783-7500 or go to www. hbrreprints. org page 9 To Order For Harvard Business Review reprints and subscriptions, call 800-988-0886 or 617-783-7500. Go to www. hbrreprints. org For customized and quantity orders of Harvard Business Review article reprints, call 617-783-7626, or e-mail [email  protected] harvard. edu www. hbrreprints. org U. S. and Canada 800-988-0886 617-783-7500 617-783-7555 fax

Success of a Paint Company: Berger Paints

In 1971 Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited has started its journey in Bangladesh. The shareholders were Jenson & Nicholson (J & N), Duncan Macneil & Co. Limited and Dada Group. Duncan Macneil subsequently sold their shares to the majority shareholder J & N Group. The Dada Group’s share ultimately vested with the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh after the independence of the country in 1971. The name of the company was changed from J & N (Bangladesh) Limited to Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited on January 1, 1980. Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited (BPBL) is stated to be the market leader in Bangladesh and has a wide range of products such as Decorative Paints, Industrial Paints, Marine Paints, Color Bank, Textured Coatings, Heat Resistant Paints, Roofing Compounds, Wood Solutions, and Wood Adhesives. It gives a comprehensive and sustainable painting solution and providing the best customer service through Home Decor. BPBL’s corporate strategy is to build larger market share through providing quality and speedy service. It’s primary focus is to strengthen its current position by providing value added customer service. BPBL is committed to get highest consumer satisfaction. The main objective of this report is to gain overall practical knowledge about the internal communication techniques of Berger Paint Bangladesh Ltd. and corporate success evaluation and also recommend on the basis of business communication. Aim and Rational of the project: The objective of this project is to gain overall practical knowledge about the organization and analyze the communication techniques developed by the company. To be more specific, this project contains the following subjects: †¢Historical background of Berger Paint Bangladesh Ltd.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Organizational structure †¢BPBL’s internal communication structure †¢Tools used in the existing communication system †¢Positive aspects of the system being used and recommendations for improvement Significance of the Study: The significance of the study can be explained in many ways. From this project we will learn about the business communication practices followed by Berger Paint Bangladesh Ltd, the market leader in paint industry of Bangladesh. It will help us to enhance our knowledge about the relationship between different departments, how they communicate with each other and organizational environment. Methodology: The report will be based on both primary and secondary data. †¢Primary Data: It is obvious that the research will require a lot of primary data. Face-to-face interviews will be conducted with the manager of the BPBL. We have planed to supply them questionnaire to be filled out as well as read them out whenever needed and explain if any clarification is required. †¢Secondary Data: For secondary resources, we will use the web site of BPBL, product profile, and relevant journals by Berger Paint Bangladesh Ltd. For the organization part of the report, a lot of secondary resources will also be used. †¢Data Collection Method: We have decided to conduct personal interviews as data collection method. The questionnaire will be structured and includes both open and close-ended questions. †¢Questionnaire: For the survey purpose, we will prepare questionnaire which meet the objective of the project. It will include different issues and important factors regarding internal communication techniques. For the questionnaire we will use simple, direct and familiar words, so that the respondents understand it easily. †¢Data collection: We will conduct Face-to-face interviews with the manager of BPBL to collect the data. We will also collect the necessary data from company website, magazine etc. †¢Report Format: The report will contain mainly two parts. The organizational part shall give the idea about Berger Paint Bangladesh Ltd.’s historical background and Organizational structure. And the project part shall contain BPBL’s internal communication structure, tools used in the existing communication system, positive aspects of the system being used and recommendations for improvement and conclusion. Limitation of the Study: The collection of primary data is always a difficult thing because it is hard to ensure the authenticity of the data. Managers of the company may hide some information for the confidentiality. Time is also a limitation as we have to interview the manager, analyze the data and prepare project at a very short time. Despite of these limitations we will try our best to collect accurate and useful data through the survey so that we can generate quality results from the data analysis and give recommendation where it is necessary.

The Killer Angels

â€Å"The Killer Angels† written by Michael Shaara in 1974, published by Ballantine Books, is a story showing the courage and heroism of people involved in the Battle of Gettysburg that took place in 1863. The novel presents the battle in an objective manner, and does not take sides when displaying the position of the two armies on the subject of slavery. It is an outstanding book and is worth reading due to the presence of real characters. In other words, the characters have been brought to life and the audience not only gets to learn about the battle itself, but also about the views and opinions of the participants.One of the most interesting methods is how Shaara presents the narrative through the viewpoints of army personnel, which makes the events come to life. The results are well rounded characters, detailed imagery, and an objectivity that didn’t label either side as the hero. Michael Shaara first developed a passion for writing when he was in grade school. Afte r graduation, Shaara joined the armed forces where he served as a paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne Division, a seaman, and police officer.In 1951, he graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree and continued his educational process by engaging in some graduate work at Columbia University and the University of Vermont. After publishing many science fiction novels Shaara begin to take on larger project such as writing war novels. In The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, vivid imagery, details, and insightful character development reveal the differences between the Union army and the Confederacy. These two armies have different causes for fighting, but the main cause for the war is slavery.This key issue sparked the war. The Confederacy is fighting for independence from the North, yet the Union is fighting for freedom and an end to slavery. The thesis of this novel in my opinion reads as, although we are soldiers that are highly trained and motivated war still is a const ant struggle in our everyday lives and the lives of our families. War is never easy and we engage in this job for the loyalty, courage, selfless service, duty, honor, integrity and personal courage to stand and protect this place we call home.The main point isn’t primarily focused on displaying the soldiers’ reasons for fighting the war, but Shaara wants to focus on the soldiers as individuals and how they cope with the stress of being in a war zone. At times, history books show the impact from such an objective point of view that the experience itself isn’t made easily understood by students or readers. Shaara gives life to the events and allows the audience to emotionally engage with individuals  involved in it by the arrangement of his powerful words.Providing us with a more personalized understanding of a war from which we are otherwise removed. The main values that Shaara personally incorporated was Selfless Service he took it upon himself to write at boo k specifically detailed to highlight a soldier’s point of view. Honor is another value outlined by Shaara the way that he states how the officers talk to the soldiers and explain how they can make a difference not only in the community that they live but in the world shows that both parties exhibit honor to be viewed as soldier whether union or confederate.Personally, I agree with the thesis outlined by this author because you never read in the history books or gain an understanding of the aspects of the soldier, the strain that they undergo or the risks that they take that can impact their lives. They do all of this not by placing self first, but the welfare of you the people. I understand because being a soldier is not easy you not only impact your self but the love ones around you, it really does take one dedicated individual to engage in this job as a soldier.

In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien: Theme Analysis

Tim O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods is centered around the mysterious disappearance of Kathy Wade. Mysterious is the key word, as throughout the novel O’Brien plays with the fine line between ambiguity and reality. Kathy’s husband John Wade, the main character, is a Vietnam veteran and former politician whose participation in the infamous Mai Lai Massacre caused his fall from grace. Following a landslide defeat in the congressional elections, Kathy and John retreat to solitude in an isolated cabin in the Minnesota woods. Here, O’Brien highlights the stress that secrecy has had on their relationship. During their retreat, Kathy disappears in the middle of the night. Their boat is missing, but there are no other clues. O’Brien does not reveal the truth behind Kathy’s disappearance; instead, throughout the novel, in several chapters entitled â€Å"Hypothesis,† he proposes potential solutions. O’Brien suggests that Kathy drowned in the lake, or John murdered her, or that she got lost on a deserted island. In the final hypothesis, which is both the most unsuspected and the most supported by the end of the novel, Kathy plans her disappearance. Weeks later, John too goes missing, and he and Kathy are together once again in an isolated world. While he leaves does not offer a conclusive verdict, O’Brien does support each theory with both evidence from John’s past and police evidence from Kathy’s disappearance. The basis of In the Lake of the Woods is the burden of secrecy and the effects of truth. Mysteries are plentiful, including John’s obsession with magic as a young boy, the hiding of the Mai Lai massacre, the deceit of politics, and the central mystery of Kathy’s disappearance. The connecting theme between all of these mysteries is that secrecy was a convenient way for John and Kathy to avoid facing the facts, but the burden of hiding the truth eventually proved to be too much. In the end, while the truth is ugly, it does manage to liberate John and Kathy. To highlight this theme, O’Brien constantly uses light imagery, namely the presence or absence of sunlight to differentiate between truth and mystery. O’Brien highlights several aspects of John Wade’s childhood to trace the mysteries that surround John back to his roots. As a child, John took an obsessive interest in magic, making frequent trips to â€Å"Karra’s Studio of Magic† to buy tricks, or illusions, as he called them. John used magic to escape from the verbal abuse of his drunken father, Paul, who frequently teased John for his weight. â€Å"After school, and on most weekends, he spent his free time down in the basement, all alone, no teasing or distractions, just perfecting his magic. There was something peaceful about it, something firm and orderly. (208) For John, magic was a way to avoid facing his problems with his father. To further avoid dealing with the alcoholism, John even tried to get rid of the liquor by replacing it with water. â€Å"Another little trick,† he said. (209) Both this trick and his magic tricks did nothing but increase the secrecy surrounding John’s turbulent childhood. When he was sober, Paul was a loving father, which is what John feverishly tried to imagine him as. O’Brien highlighted the difference between the sober Paul and the drunk Paul through the use of light imagery. John’s mother, Eleanor, said, â€Å"He’d just point those incredible blue eyes at you and you’d feel like you were under a big hot sun or something†¦Except then he’d go back to the booze and it was like the sun burned itself out. † (195) The presence of sunlight when Paul was sober and a loving father proves that that was the image that John chose to believe. On the other hand, Eleanor said the sun burned out when Paul drank. This was because John ignored this side of his father, instead opting to cover it up with magic and secrecy. In fact, John kept pictures of his father, his father’s empty vodka bottles and his father’s neckties alongside his magic equipment in his â€Å"box of tricks,† demonstrating that he had conceived an completely unrealistic relationship with his father in which magic and trickery acted as a facade to hide the drinking and verbal abuse. John was terrified of discovering the truth about his father. O’Brien explained that for John, â€Å"[Knowing] is to be disappointed. To understand is to be betrayed. † (242) While hiding the truth was convenient for John, the secrets piled up and ultimately proved to be too much of a burden. For as hard as John tried to cover up the truth, he always knew about his father’s drinking. â€Å"That was the worst part. The secret drinking that wasn’t secret,† O’Brien explained. (66) When Paul hanged himself, however, John was finally able to face the truth. He was still a child, and at the funeral he continually screamed in front of the entire procession, finally relieving himself of the burden of years of secrecy. While the truth of Paul’s alcoholism was not pretty, and was certainly less convenient to face than simply ignoring it, it was a significant relief for John. His mother explained: â€Å"I hate to say it, but it was a relief to have him out of the house. John and I, we both adored the man, but suddenly all the tension was gone and we could have supper without sitting there on the edge of our seats. † (97) Throughout the rest of John’s life, a similar process of hiding the truth and ultimately accepting it would repeat. As he progressed to the next stage of his life, as a young adult serving in the Vietnam War, John would bear a secret much heavier than his father’s alcoholism. While serving in the U. S. army, John’s battalion partook in the gruesome Mai Lai Massacre. An entire village, including hundreds of women and children, was wiped out with its inhabitants all murdered and buried in mass graves. Many victims were raped or tortured. In every reference to the massacre in In the Lake of the Woods, O’Brien purposefully describes the bright sunlight that shone over Mai Lai on that day. â€Å"In the sunlight, which shifted from pink to purple, people were shot dead and carved up with knives and raped and sodomized and bayoneted and blown into scraps. † (200) Here, O’Brien reveals the brutal truth, which is fittingly accompanied with sunlight. John, however, being quite the Houdini, would of course try to avoid the truth. John’s interest in magic continued into his adulthood. At night, obviously when the sun was down, he would perform magic tricks for his fellow soldiers, who called him â€Å"Sorcerer. † In fact, very few of them actually knew his real name. Even though John was more of a bystander than a participant in the massacre, he still refused to face the truth, even when one of his friends in the war tries to convince him that they can tell their story without repercussions. John was horrified by the massacre, and once again the terror of discovery caused him to turn to secrecy even though he obviously knew the truth. â€Å"Pure wrongness, [John] knew. He could taste the sunlight. It had a rusty, metallic flavor, like nails on his tongue. † By describing the unfavorable taste of the sunlight, O’Brien demonstrates John’s negative view of the ugly truth. Thus, similar to his use of magic to avoid facing his father’s alcoholism, John kept the massacre a secret. He was able to keep it a mystery to everyone around him until he became a politician, which fit in perfectly with the theme of In the Lake of the Woods. Like many politicians, John was an expert at manipulation, especially manipulation of the truth. He explained that, â€Å"Politics was manipulation. Like a magic show: invisible wires and secret trapdoors. † (35) But as he rose in status and ran for a seat in the Senate, it became harder to keep the secret. Much to the dismay of his campaign manager, Tony Carbo, John never even told him about the massacre. â€Å"Doesn’t say anything about the Vietnam shit—not to his wife or me or anybody†¦The guy was a magic man, keeping that stuff locked up inside, it must’ve driven him crazy sometimes. (196) Carbo was certainly correct, as the burden of keeping the massacre a secret became even worse than the truth. It affected his relationship with Kathy, who described a new darkness in his eye. When John ran for a Senate seat, the press discovered the truth about the Mai Lai Massacre. While it was horribly embarrassing for John and Kathy, they actually achieved peace with themselves. Patricia Hood, Kathy’s sister, explained Kathy’s cheerfulness during their last conversation before she disappeared. â€Å"She seemed so happy. Like she could finally relax and get on with her life. (182) John’s mood also lightened after news of the massacre broke, and he and Kathy took a vacation to the lake house where Kathy would soon disappear from. In the six days they had there before she vanished, John and Kathy were relieved and isolated from the rest of society. Throughout the novel, John and Kathy’s relationship is plagued by John’s tendency to hide the truth. Kathy is truly in love with him, but she struggles to deal with the constant lying. Early on in their relationship, in fact, John constantly spied on Kathy. He was completely obsessed with manipulating their relationship. As he rationalized it, â€Å"He was Sorcerer, after all, and what was love without a little mystery? † (45) This mystery took a toll on his relationship with Kathy, however. Kathy felt urges to leave John, as she grew tired of the constant secrecy and spying. She had a loveless affair with her dentist, Harmon, and in a typical nature, John chose to pretend like he was not aware that she was cheating on him. Kathy was both desperate for the truth and apprehensive about receiving the truth. To show this, O’Brien used light and dark imagery. In the middle of the night, Kathy had a â€Å"huge and desperate wanting in her heart. † (253) This desire is to end the lies that her relationship is based on, such as the spying, and the desire to stop John’s constant manipulation in politics. She frequently wakes up in the middle of the night because of the burden placed upon her by John’s lies, but she always feels more relaxed during the day. â€Å"It was just after six o’clock [in the morning]. Flakes of speckled light filled the kitchen. ‘Well, that’s better,’ she said. (14) At the same time, however, Kathy was still hesitant to leave the convenience of secrecy. While she was desperate to put an end to the lying, she worried that doing so would put an end to their relationship. John, however, was comfortable living in secrecy, or in the dark. â€Å"Wade lay back in the shade†¦Pleasant memories came to mind. Kathy’s laughter. The way she slept on her side, thumb up against her sleeve. He remembered the times back in college when they’d gone dancing, how she’d look at him in a way that made him queasy with joy. (183) Ultimately, John’s secrecy affected him, as it caused Kathy’s affair with Harmon. The lies finally came to fruition when the Mai Lai Massacre was unveiled and John’s career unraveled. John was able to accept Kathy’s unfaithfulness and he stopped spying on her. With the truth finally out, John and Kathy were relieved of the pressures on their relationship and they moved on. By going to the lake house in the woods, they were able to start anew with a relationship free from secrecy and manipulation. Soon after, however, they would be separated again. The central mystery of In the Lake of the Woods is Kathy’s disappearance. She left her bed in the middle of the night and took their boat out onto the lake. Fittingly, it is completely dark when she disappears, as once again the truth is unknown without sunlight. After weeks of searching, no one found her. Throughout the novel, O’Brien proposes four solutions to the mystery, all in chapters entitled, â€Å"Hypothesis. † The first three are the most plausible. Perhaps Kathy drowned in the lake, or was stranded on a small island, or perhaps she was even murdered by John. The police suspect the latter, since John is seemingly unaffected by Kathy’s disappearance. But in the final chapter, O’Brien proposes the idea that in one last magic trick, John and Kathy planned her disappearance, with John joining her later on. Bethany Kee, Kathy’s coworker, supported this theory. â€Å"Maybe they decided†¦Hard to say. But I know this much. She had the guts. And she wanted changes. † (297) Ironically, this â€Å"magic trick† would be the only secret that resulted positively. Having disappeared together, Kathy and John have faced the truth and are now at peace, even when the sun is down. And so one chilly evening he might have joined her on the shore of Oak Island, or Massacre Island, or Buckete Island. Maybe she scolded him for being late. All around them there was only wilderness, dark and silent, which was what they had come for. They needed the solitude†¦Maybe they spent the night huddled at a small fire, celebrating, thinking up names for the children they wanted—funny names, sometimes, so they could laugh—and then later they would’ve planned the furnishings for their new house. (300) Even though O’Brien never reveals what actually happened, this hypothesis is supported by the fact that John, who was madly in love with Kathy, was not fazed by disappearance. Out of all the hypotheses, it serves the central theme the best, as John and Kathy have been liberated by truth. In the Lake of the Woods is an excellently written book. O’Brien is ingenious, and he is always one step ahead of the reader. By leaving the ending inconclusive, O’Brien adds to the mystery of the book. While this could leave readers unsatisfied, it was the only way O’Brien could feasibly end the story. John Wade is an incredibly intriguing and dynamic character whose different sides show throughout various parts of the novel. O’Brien brilliantly intertwines elements of John’s childhood, time in Vietnam, time as a politician, and the present day. Every piece is connected, molding together into one, profound message. Sunlight imagery perfectly serves this message, and its subtle inclusion is well-used. In the Lake of the Woods is not the most satisfying book to read, but it is certainly a thrilling and thought-provoking work of high literary quality.