Chili’s Bar Essay Example for Free

Chili’s Bar Essay In the decision making process, it helps to look at all the information. This SWOT is comparing Chili’s restaurant to two of its competitors, Ruby Tuesday’s and Applebee’s. Company History Chili’s restaurants are part of the company, Brinker International Corporation. Chili’s Bar Grill is a casual dining restaurant that was founded in 1975 and has expanded to include 1,200 restaurants located domestically and internationally. There menu consists of fresh and healthy American dishes and limited amount of southwestern style Mexican dishes. In the last 30 years, Chili’s has created an identifiable, recognizable brand name, just think of the commercials. Chili’s Strengths Chili’s is the one of the largest full service restaurant chains with over 1,200 stores, second only to Applebee’s which has about 1,900 stores. Their competitor Ruby Tuesday has less than 900 stores with many of those franchises. Chili’s is part of Brinker Intl. , which is world’s second largest casual dining restaurant operator, the first being Darden restaurants. This allows them to offer affordable prices, because they can negotiate product rates for all of their stores, unlike a smaller company. They have also expanded their company to include Chili’s Too, Small Town Chili’s, and offer catering services. They update their menu one to two times a year, unlike Ruby Tuesday’s which updates their menu every three to four months. Chili’s has a popular menu that keeps people coming back, so they tweak it a bit to keep up with trends, but keep their core items. At this time they serve the same menu in every store, which allows for consistency throughout the company. They have a very broad market with a recognizable brand name and they focus on customer satisfaction. The restaurant business can be very competitive, but they have unusually high management retention and that may be in part to extremely competitive starting salaries and excellent benefit packages. Their competitor, Ruby Tuesday, has franchised many of its stores, creating varied salaries, salary caps, and benefits, when going from a franchise to a corporate store, which can make it difficult to retain managers. When Chili’s is looking for hourly employees, it offers several opportunities to them. They can apply and interview online, receive benefits and have the opportunity to grow with the company. Their hourly employee turnover rate is also lower than the industry average. Chili’s Weaknesses Even though the Chili’s brand is recognizable, it doesn’t appeal to the upper class. The casual dining concept, no matter how different, is still the same. They receive much of their food frozen, unlike Ruby Tuesday which receives all of their meat and produce fresh, making some items not the best of quality. During the busy times, servers are pressured to decrease their table turn time, the time from when a guest sits at the table until they leave and the table is ready for another guest, which can make it difficult to build a rapport with their guests, but at the same time they want their PPA (per person average) to be higher. Many of their restaurants are focused around the bar, which segregates some consumers that do not want to be in that environment. It also makes their seating area than some of their competitors. Chili’s Opportunities There are several things Chili’s can do to remain competitive in the casual dining industry. They can continue to expand internationally, beyond the 20 countries they are already in. Their competitors have yet to exceed that with Ruby Tuesday’s being in about twelve countries and Applebee’s is in almost twenty. They have a very well known brand which will allow them to continue expansion at a rapid rate with the backing of their parent company, Brinker Intl. They are launching a program to try international cuisines at some of their foreign locations. If consumers react positively this could be a great growth opportunity, if it is not taken to, it could be a threat to their international stores if they continue it. They can enlarge their restaurants or configure different models, based on the demographics of the area, to include more seating for guests and not just the bar area. They can continue to expand their brand recognition apparel and glassware. Chili’s Threats The largest threat to the Chili’s brand is the competition of casual dining restaurants, which are easy to duplicate. Applebee’s and Ruby Tuesday’s both had higher 1-year sales growths, with 10% and 17. %, respectively, compared to Chili’s at 6. 1%. Chili’s saturated some U. S. markets and has no where else to expand in those areas. They need to keep up with current trends and eating habits, because they change often, to stay current with the market. Summary Chili’s has managed to saturate the US and foreign markets better than its competitors. Their sales are higher and they retain their employees longer. They need to look at a few things like following eating trends and standing out from the competition a bit more, but they are a highly competitive company that keeps people coming back.

Do not go gentle into that good night :: Analysis, Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas' poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" is about a son’s bereavement and the acceptance of his father dying. Thomas knows death is inevitable, therefore, he uses persuasion to get his father to "rage, rage against the dying of the light† (Line 3). Villanelle poems require two repeating rhyme schemes. Thomas helps the reader visualize dark and light. : â€Å"Wise men†¦ know dark is right† (4). â€Å"Wild men†¦ sang the sun in flight/do not go gentle into that good night† (10,12). â€Å"Eyes†¦blaze like meteors† (14). Thomas uses examples of different characters, and how they, too, find ways to keep fighting the oncoming of death. Anger and frustration sets the tone of Thomas, for he wants his father to live and not give up on life. Additionally, Thomas is fearful on how he is dealing with his father’s inescapable demise. While men of differences men may learn too late, and lament their lack of foresight, even they â€Å"do not go gently into the night,† instead they â€Å"rage, rage against the dying of the light† (18, 19). Through, Thomas’ use of building blocks like form and symbol he creates an observation of one man’s last resort to begging his father to not give into death. True, Thomas is angry, but no child wants to lose a parent. Emotion is not an easy task for men, in general. More over, crying is a sign of weakness. Thomas’ father is dying and naturally, Thomas is having a tough time accepting his father’s death. Thomas wants his father to understand that even his â€Å"old age should burn and rage at close of day† (2). Meaning, he should not give up without a fight. During the first stanza, Thomas is speaking directly to his father. While, Thomas’ tone is tender toward his father, but in reality, it is a plea that he â€Å"not go gentle into that good night† (1). Next, Thomas creates the picture using of scenarios using men of different characters to show his father he, too, can find a reason not to give up. Thomas’ two interchangeable rhyming sentences, necessary for this villanelle poem, ending with night and light show the reader â€Å"Wise men†¦ know dark is right† (4). Yet, as death approaches â€Å"their words had forked no lightning† (5). Therefore, just as they know death is a part of life and they accept this, when it is their turn they choose to put up a fight.

Play It Again Sam Analysis Essay

Sam is an excellent production, by far one of Woody Allen’s best movies. It tells the story of Allan Felix, a neurotic New York film critic who is left by his wife, since according to her he is an ‘observer, not a doer’. This devastating event makes him fall into a deep depression; consequentially, he gets corporal aid from his married friends, Linda and Dick. However, this help appears not to be enough, Allan’s love life seems going nowhere until he creates a special connection with Linda, which leads him into her arms. My opinion about this movie being excellent is based on several facts, which can be easily appreciated when watching this extremely controversial film. The word ‘controversial’ should be emphasized when analyzing this movie, considering that the topics discussed in it were not commonly discussed or confronted in the mid nineties, time in which this film was released. This movie is considered polemic due to the obvious critiques towards the American’s daily life, which is achieved by mentioning different subjects such as, dependence. This theme is represented in a different way depending on the character we focus; with Allan, this topic is represented by the deep depression he falls into, which follows him though all the film. When focusing in another character, Linda in this case, her dependence is shown by her pill addiction. Finally Dick, he is a workaholic, his dependence takes him to the point when he starts comparing his love to his wife with an ‘economical investment’. These characters decide to depend on something so it is easier for them to be secure and comfortable, ignoring the problems surrounding them and escaping from reality. Stereotyping is another main theme in this movie. When Dick asks Allan how he liked women, he describes a model type ‘Skinny, blond, good breasts’. This stereotype of perfect women is a consequence of the idol worshiping so characteristic of us, human beings. We all have someone we follow. An actress, singer, model, etc. someone we relate ourselves with or because we want to overcome something we don’t like about ourselves, we always use someone as a reference and Allan is not the exception. Allan’s character is a Humphrey Bogart-obsessed film writer that has abundant imagination. Bogart himself appears as an apparition to give Allen advices. Allan: I can’t do it. How does it look? I invite her over and then come on like a sex degenerate. What am I, a rapist? Bogart: You’re getting carried away. You think too much. Just do it. Allan: We’re platonic friends. I can’t spoil that by coming on. She’ll slap my face. Bogart: Oh, I’ve had my face slapped plenty of times. Allan: Yeah, but your glasses don’t go flying across the room. The reason why Woody Allen sets the title ‘Play it again, Sam’ is because it is originally a quote from the film Casablanca, and as I already said before the main character is obsessed over this movie (Casablanca) and the main character of it. Not only the apparitions of imaginary characters and dependence on drugs and self unconformity but how music is applied to the film shows how Allan is trying to escape from reality and place himself in a romantic Bogart movie. Every time he has a date, he turns on the music volume really loud so that the atmosphere is more movies like or factionary. We can appreciate this all over the movie and mostly at the end when he quotes the ending of Casablanca. Finally, trying too hard is the last main topic. Allan is always trying too hard for everything, making things tougher for himself and being clumsy. This is a quote from the movie demonstrating what I just stated, Allan: What are you doing Saturday night? Woman: Committing Suicide. Allan: What about Friday night? This character is always trying to fit in, we can appreciate in a scene on the movie the night after his wife leaves him that he goes to a pub and takes a drink but he doesn’t really likes it, he is juts doing what most of the men do trying to be normal. In conclusion, I believe this is a great movie, considering that it is not only hilarious; but it is fascinating how the different elements used by the film director Herbert Ross such as, music, effects, lights and place set; creates a perfect atmosphere for each of the scenes. Also, the actors chosen were all brilliant choices and how every character has its own meaning, contributing a special and unique theme to this classical film. This movie is one of my favorite oldies.

Tips for Writing an Art History Paper

You have been assigned an art history paper to write. You would like to finish your assignment on time with a minimum of stress, and your instructor fervently hopes to read an engaging, well-written paper. Here are some dos and donts to guide you, written by an art history professor who has graded thousands of these papers ranging from the superlative to the good, the bad and the phenomenally ugly. Choose a Topic You Love Look through an art history book, slowly and leisurely.Look through our list of art history topics for ideas. Good starting points are our lists of movements, artists bios, and image galleries.Pick a topic based on eye appeal and compelling personal interest. Fill Your Brain with Information Remember: a car works on gas, a brain works on info. Empty brain, empty writing.Research your topic using websites, books, and articles.Read the footnotes in the books and articles - they can lead to creative thinking. Be an Active Reader Ask yourself questions while you read and look up what you cant find or dont understand on the page.Take notes.Search the internet with the words, names, titles you learn.Write down interesting facts and thoughts that come to mind while you read. Writing Your Introduction Compose a thesis statement. Declare that you have noticed something about the art, building, artist, architect, critic, patron, or whatever your focus is for your analysis.Then, frame your thesis. Tell your reader about discovering information that can help us understand the work of art/building better. (For example, the French artist Paul Gauguin moved to Tahiti late in life. Your thesis analyzes his late paintings in terms of his Tahiti lifestyle. Youve read his biography, Noa, Noa and other sources for ideas to support your thesis.)If you are focusing on artworks, remember to put the artists name/artists names, the title(s) of the work(s) and the date (s) in the first paragraph. You can refer to the title(s) alone thereafter. Describe and Point Out What You Want the Reader to Notice If you are going to include the artists/architects biography, begin with a short summary. Unless your paper is a biography of the person, most of your paper should be about art, not life.Make sure your arguments are constructed in a parallel fashion: Establish a sequence of information.Consider the paragraph a unit of information. Each paragraph should discuss one topic within the quantity of information you plan to cover.Ideas for units of information or topics: appearance, medium and technique, narrative, iconography, history, artists biography, patronage, etc. - whatever will help you support your thesis.Iconography might require more than one paragraph, especially if your whole paper is about analyzing the iconography of a work of art.Write about the connections between what you described in these analyses and what you declared in the thesis statementFollow the same sequence of ideas for the second artwork, building, artist, architect, critic, patron, etc.Follow the same sequence for the third artwork, building, artist, architect, etc.When you have analyzed all the examples, synthesize: compare and contrast.Comparison: Dedicate one paragraph to discussing what is the same about the artworks, the building, the architects, the artists, the critics, the patrons, etc.Contrast: Dedicate one paragraph to discussing what is different about the artworks, the building, the architects, the artists, the critics, the patrons, etc. What Do You Want Your Reader to Learn from Your Essay? Reiterate the thesis.Remind your reader about your findings in a summary sentence or two.Persuade the reader that you have demonstrated that your thesis is soundly based on your findings.Optional: state that your analysis is important in terms of understanding a larger picture (but not too large). For examples, the artists other work from that period, the artists work all together, the artworks relationship to the movement or the artworks relationship to that moment in history. The connection should not open a new topic, but simply offer the reader food for thought and then declare this investigation is beyond the scope of your paper. (It demonstrates that you thought of it, but youre not going to go there.)DO NOT write that art history is wonderful and youve learned a lot. You are writing to your teacher, and s/he is tired of reading that sentence for the umpteenth time. Leave a good impression and avoid being trite. Editing Be sure to footnote/cite your sources in the body of the paper when you use information or an opinion from a book, article, website, etc.Make a list of your sources at the end of the paper. Follow your teachers instructions and/or visit a website on citation style or bibliography style. Ask the teacher which citation style s/he prefers.Check for the following:Titles for works of art should be in italics: The Birth of VenusFirst and last names begin with a capital letter. Exceptions include place and familial indicators including da, del, de, den and van, among others, unless the last name begins the sentence. (Van Gogh lived in Paris.)Months and days of the week begin with a capital letter.Language, nationalities and country names begin with a capital letter.Leonardo is not called da Vinci. Above All Do not wait until the last minute to begin your essay.Start your research after midterms.Start to write at least one week before the paper is due.Take the time to EDIT, EDIT, EDIT - be concise and clear.Ask your professor for help and advice as you write your paper - s/he will enjoy discussing the topic with you.