Economies of Scope and the Modern Technology

Introduction: Economies of Scope as an Object of the Research The role of economics of scope has increased considerably since recently, which presupposes that the changes occurred in the given sphere should be considered closer and analyzed to understand the methods that enhanced the growing development of the given economics.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Economies of Scope and the Modern Technology specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, the elements that economies of scope are comprised of, as well as the effects that the recent surge of technological development, as well as the numerous technological innovations, had on the given entrepreneurship is of major importance. It is necessary to mark that the phenomenon of economics of scope must not be confused with the one of the economies of scale. Since the two phenomena concern the same sphere yet are composed of different elements, it is required to dra w the line between the two. According to the description provided by Parkin, Powell and Matthew (2007), â€Å"a firm experiences economics of scale when an increase in its output of a good or service brings a decrease in the average total cost of producing it† (227). However, the authors mark that both the economics of scale and of scope â€Å"can lead to natural monopoly† (Parkin, Powell and Matthew 2007, p.227). It is worth marking that Parkin, Powell and Matthew (2007) emphasize the importance of technological innovations for the economies of scale: â€Å"In a period of rapid and far-reaching technological change, such as that of the information revolution of the 1990ies, firms become extremely optimistic about profits and investment booms (p.546).† Hence, the recent changes in the sphere of economies of scale are to be observed.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF L earn More The Existing Companies: The Opportunities and Examples In the given paper, such economics of scope are considered as the Xerox Company, the U.S. Telecommunications Industry, as well as the local exchange company and local operating company are considered. With the help of the analysis of their peculiarities and development, one can come to the conclusion concerning the companies’ strategic operations, their tactics and the way the given economies have utilized the new technologies that were at their disposal. However, it is important to mark the opportunities that each company had before the implementation of the technological changes. It is worth marking that Xerox Co. is one of the businesses that is developing rapidly and, hence, requires expanding, creating affiliates and managing them successfully. Speaking of the other sphere of economies of scope that are considered in the given paper, the one concerning the telecommunication issues, it is necessary to expl ain that in the given sphere, â€Å"the existence of economies of scope remains an important but ambiguous issue† (Banker et al 1998, p.254). Therefore, differences in the development of the given companies predetermine the complexity of the analysis, making the latter considerably objective, though. Tracking the Progress: The Role of the Technologies It is worth mentioning that in the companies under the considerations, the technological, innovations introduced have played quite different roles despite such common feature as the fact that the companies in question both belong to the economies of scope and, hence, are supposed to develop according to a certain pattern.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Economies of Scope and the Modern Technology specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that in the sphere of the U.S. telecommunications, the economies of scope are closely interc onnected with the rapid progress of the U.S. telecommunications, yet there is no tangible connection between the two; as the authors claim, the given elements impact the same sphere of financial issues, yet the connection between the two is quite vague: â€Å"Moreover,†¦ the evidence cannot adequately disentangle the effects of two factors that both reduce unit costs – economies of scale and technological advance† (p.256). In contrast to the given phenomenon, the economy of scale that Xerox Co. represents offers rather substantial reasons for implementing the strategy that economy of scale presupposes. Grounding their ideas and suggestions on the current state of the company’s affairs, the managers come to the conclusion that the technological innovations that have been implemented so far require the change of the company course of n economy of scope, marking that the old model of operating the company does not suit the innovations in the sphere of technolo gies: â€Å"In other cases, though, such a business model will not fit the circumstances of the technological or market opportunity† (p.2). Concerning the Course of Actions: Strategic Implications Analyzing the specific strategies that the given economies of scope utilize to achieve the maximum efficiency and decrease the costs that they suffer, one must mark that each of the given entrepreneurships has chosen it sown pace and model of development, which calls for another comparison on the efficiency of the given approaches. Nevertheless, it is necessary to comment on the strategic implications themselves first. Observing the specifics of the strategic implications that the economies of scale presuppose for the given companies, one can come to the conclusion that with the help of the strategies chosen by the companies, a rapid increase in the revenues is about to occur.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Because of the improvement of the technological issues, the companies in question are able to process the queries and complete the tasks several times faster; in addition, the surge of the income and the decrease of the raw materials used for the production of the goods of the given companies allows the latter to develop further, thus, creating sufficient grounds for the future expansion, the international partnership and even the â€Å"evolution of future industry structure†(Banker et al 1998, p.254). The Related Concepts: Discussing the Commercial Integrity Obviously, the issue of economies of scope and the technological innovations tat trigger the latter cannot be considered alone, since there is a number of factors dependent on the aforementioned economies, and, vice versa, the given corporations depend considerably on the issues intertwined with the problem of providing innovations in the sphere of economic and business. Crating the specific environment for the developme nt of the given ventures, one can claim with certainty that the success of the entrepreneurship follows immediately, which means that the elements of the environment that the companies in question operate in must be considered thoroughly. Introducing the peculiar details, one will be able to see the related concepts that contribute to building a successful business. Among the concepts of the kind, the commercial integrity takes the first place. As Chesbrough and Rosembloom (2002) say, â€Å"some scholars conclude that firms may indeed develop the ability to manage new technological opportunities effectively if they invest in integrative capabilities†¦, ambidextrous internal processes†¦, or complementary assets† (p.5), hence, emphasizing the necessity to create the commercial integrity of the economies in question. Hence, the integrity of the U.S. telecommunication companies cannot be doubted at the moment, which obviously leads to the prosperity of the latter, where as Xerox Corporation seems to have problems concerning the integrity of the company (Banker et al 1998), which triggers certain concerns for the company future. Hence, the integrity of the economies of scope is essential for the well-being of the latter. Conclusions: Economies of Scope: The Importance of Technologies Development Judging from the research conducted and the data obtained, one can come to the conclusion that in most cases, the transition to the development of economies of scope is predetermined by the necessity to implement certain technological changes and offer various innovations into the company. Therefore, the transition to the strategies of economies of scope can be considered a natural course of events for major companies like Xerox or the U.S. Telecommunications. With the help of the strategies that the acceptance of the economies of scope presupposes, Xerox and the U.S. Telecommunications can develop into larger corporations, keeping their integrity and creati ng the environment auspicious for further improvements and progress. Executive Summary In the modern world of economics, the aspect of technological innovations plays one of the major roles. Providing an efficient operation of companies, facilitating the work of the employees and simplifying the working process in general and certain operations in particular, the technological aspect is one of the prior issues in the sphere of economies of scope. Hence, the scale of the recent technological innovations, as well as their impact on the modern economies of scope, is to be considered. In addition, the general features of the modern examples of economies of scope are to be observed as well. Narrowing the research to featuring the peculiarities of several entrepreneurships, the strategies chosen by them, the tactics the businesses in question implement and the goals that they pursue, as well as analyzing the commercial integrity within the companies in question, one can come to certain co nclusions concerning the methods in which the modern economies of scope are operated and the issues that arise on certain stages of the development of the given economies. Hence, the general assessment of the current situation in the sphere of economies of scope can be conducted. With the help of the specific methods of research, precise data can be obtained, a thorough analysis can be conducted, and cohesive conclusions can be made. In the given paper, several companies that represent the economies of scope and utilize the correspondent elements their corporation strategy are going to be considered, their recent technological innovations are going to be enumerated, and the changes that have occurred in the given companies are going to be analyzed. It is important to mark that the given research focuses on the technological innovations used in the process of operating the economies of scope, and argues that for the economies of scope, the recent technological innovations can be cons idered as an efficient means of tackling certain entrepreneurship issues, namely, the ones concerning the efficiency of the company, the quality of the products and the efficiency of the staff. Therefore, the given paper claims that the current technologies are to be incorporated for an efficient implementation of the strategies of the economies of scope. In addition, the issues concerning the technological sphere are to be considered in the paper. Moreover, the social complexities are to be taken into account. Conducting an extensive observation of the given entrepreneurships, the paper offers profound conclusions. Bibliography Banker, D.R., Chang, H.-H., and Majumdar, S.K. 1998, â€Å"Economies of Scope in the U.S. Telecommunications History†, Information, Economics and Policy, vol.10, pp.253-272. Chesbrough, H., and Rosembloom, R.S. 2002, The Role of Business Model in  Capturing Value from Information: Evidence from Xerox Corporation’s Technology Spinoff Companies , Harvard Business School, Boston, MA. Parkin, M., Powell, M., and Matthews, K. 2007, Economics, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ. This report on Economies of Scope and the Modern Technology was written and submitted by user Anna Q. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

s In The Closet.

Free Essays on Skeleton\'s In The Closet. Skeletons in the closet It is the year 2112 and the incurable ‘kills all’ disease plagues the world. The disease attacks all forms of life and has spread at such a fast rate that nobody has been able to find a cure. Scientists attempting to find a cure for the disease are more susceptible to catching the disease; this has caused mass hysteria, especially in what remains of the United States of America. People are confined to sealed buildings and old bomb shelters, as the disease has not yet been reported to pass through solid walls. The disease however can pass through cracks in walls having a devastating effect, as it wipes out the large numbers of people that have packed into the building or shelter in a matter of minutes. Human, animal and plant numbers as halved since the outbreak a few days ago, and it seems that even if people keep hiding they will be avoiding the inevitable as at this rate the disease will wipe out human food resources in a matter of days. The wacky President of what was left of the United States of America, George Bush VIII, in light of the crisis promises a large reward to anyone who would free the world from this plague. As nobody can get near to finding a cure before meeting their untimely death since the President’s announcement, President George Bush VIII upped the stakes. The President announced that he would grant the Nobel Peace Prize, fame, fortune and marriage to Super-Galactic-Model Neptula Smith, (who had volunteered for the cause as part of her Charity for the Galaxy Appeal) to the person who would rid the world of the ‘kills all’ disease. Two brothers, Fred and Bob Jones, in the ruined state of Tennessee caught word of the rewards offered for the cure to the ‘kills all’ disease and decided, seeing as they were MAD scientists to start work on the project despite the daunting fact that there was a great possibility that they would die, as had other great scientists of the day. Fre...

Report from a show in TV channel (U.S.) such as Oparah, and make an Essay

Report from a show in TV channel (U.S.) such as Oparah, and make an introduction about the show and drop down all the commercials and count for the minutes - Essay Example A prize that began at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which steadily increases as the couples show how much they know each other. For examples, the wives we given ten changes, and for every change the husband noticed, a thousand dollars was added to the pot of money. By the end of each episode, one couple is voted off with the mandated tearful goodbye and the original seven couples continually dwindle until one will obtain a nest egg to kick-start their lives. For an hour-long reality show there were a total of seven commercials that lasted a total of sixteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds. The first commercial was from Sprint advertising their new Palm Centro, for two minutes and ten seconds, where a older gentleman discussed how life went to fast and there was no time for communication, while couples were shown in the background using the phone, smiling faces on all. Next was an advertisement from Epsilon discussing their groundbreaking printer, which is presented by a young couple who had just gone to an electronics store in search of a printer given theirs was not producing quality photographs while they were scrap booking.

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 39

Reading response - Essay Example Bridal understands that respect is invaluable and someone who wants to succeed must accept the consequences of disrespect. She tells Fragrance, â€Å"A tutor for a day is a father for a lifetime† (Mair 226). This shows how much she believes and respects Ch’en. It is not always wrong to question authority or do things differently. Bridal presents to Ch’en a set of stationery that Ch’en had never seen and a portrait with weeping eyes (Mair 225). When Ch’en dismisses them, Bridal accepts it and uses what Ch’en approves. As a result of following her tutor’s instructions, she become so good at writing that Ch’en admitted that he had never seen such good writing. I personally believe that taking corrections positively is one way of progressing in life. This scene thus corresponds with my belief. The schoolroom scene is very entertaining. There is adequate use of stylistic devices such as rhyme that give it a poetic feel (Mair 223). In addition, it emphasizes the need for mutual a working relationship between people in authority and those under them, based on trust and

Neo-Liberalism and Global Environmental Governance Essay

Neo-Liberalism and Global Environmental Governance - Essay Example Human activities whether political, economic, or social have to be managed as subsets of ecosystems and the environment. Environmental governance involves the government, business society, and the civil society and necessitates the incorporation of alternative governing systems such as the watershed based management (Kutting, 2004). The global community has proven incapable of meeting these requirements, which has led to environmental degradation and the emergence of new environmental problems. The international community is experiencing several problems due to globalization. Globalization has led to the improvement of the logistic systems, changes in business and demographic trends and rapid technological progress. This process, however, has led to social and environmental marginalization, widening the gap between the rich and the poor, and increasing the gap between information and technology in the rich and poor countries and social groups. Sustainable development calls for the go vernance of globalization by applying international laws, civil sector domain, and the private sector. The global community has participated in several summits for sustainable development in order to address these issues. ... Resource depletion and environmental degradation could undermine the economy and have to be addressed by all sector actors. Neoliberal institutions argue that international institutions have considerable power to mobilize policymaking towards sustainable environmental governance. Some actors argue that a body high up in the UN hierarchy has to be established in to deal with global environmental and developmental problems. This body would have a mandate and funds to coordinate and centralize environmental and developmental problems within the UN. Economic governance was developed by the UN to promote economic prosperity. The World Bank was established to lend capital to governments for development and poverty alleviation. The GATT agreement promoted global prosperity through the establishment of free markets. The World Bank together with donor governments promoted the idea of liberal market themes, which would also govern resource allocation. UNEP has enacted several laws in the areas of marine pollution, disposal of hazardous wastes, and depletion of the ozone layer. This body linked development and environmental depletion, which forced developed nations to reduce its budgetary allocation. The developed framework has established several institutions in various countries that deal with environmental issues. Developed nations have in the past used environmental laws to limit innovation, intellectual property protection, and macroeconomic management in developing countries. Several developing countries have acquired development loans from the World Bank and other developed nations. These loans have increased the national debt of these countries, making poverty levels unmanageable. These governments spend most

Impact of Stereotypes in McQueens 12 Years a Slave

Impact of Stereotypes in McQueens 12 Years a Slave Introduction Stereotypes are a piece of our ordinary life. We hear Stereotypes consistently and all around. In some cases we can end up in a circumstance where we make Stereotypes for a vast gathering of individuals. Each individual, youthful or old, is named with either positive or negative Stereotypes. Every gathering is called by name, which does not so much fit to everybody in that particular gathering. Stereotypes influence individuals social lives, feelings, and how individuals interface with their surroundings. There are times that you are not all that open to the thought of meeting new individuals, and making new companions. You would prefer not to go outside, in light of the fact that we have put our own particular set of tenets in this world. We realize that we get censured about what we wear each and every day! We are scrutinized in which music we listen to, how we look like, how we act, and who we hang out with. We are likewise reprimanded on every other individual characteristic and blemish we have. We have put the bar far up high, perhaps excessively high for our possibilities. 12 Years a Slave Summary Steve McQueens 12 Years a Slave stars Chiwetel Ejifor as Solomon Northup, a free dark man in 1840s America. He makes his living as a fiddle player, and his wife is an educator. He is shanghaied by a couple of evil white men, and soon ends up on a boat headed to New Orleans where he is educated he will be called Platt and is sold into bondage by a deceitful agent (Paul Giamatti). As he works away for the charitable yet clashed estate holder Mr. Passage (Benedict Cumberbatch), who perceives that Platt is both taught and a craftsman, he butts head with Fords subordinates, particularly the calmly pitiless Tibeats (Paul Dano). After they have a fierce quarrel, Ford fears for his slaves life and offers him to Mr. Epps (Michael Fassbender), a dipsomaniac cruel person who claims a cotton estate. Despite the fact that Epps peruses from the scripture to his property, as he often alludes to his slaves, he is himself not resistant to sins of the flesh. He has taken the youthful Patsey (Lupita Ny ongo) his best cotton picker as his significant other, and this doesnt sit well at all with his serious wife (Sarah Paulson), whose specific scorn for blacks and her envy energizes her numerous corrupting activities to Patsey. Solomon awaits his chance, endeavors to protect a pinch of self-confidence, and sits tight for the opportunity to recover his legitimate name and additionally his crew. Perry Seibert, Rovi. Stereotype in 12 Years a Slave You dont require $20 million and 134 minutes to say something that everybody knows and concedes to so absolutely that you cant even have a level headed discussion on it any longer, in particular, bondage is awful. English producer Steve McQueens 12 Years A Slave, which discharged in India a week ago, doesnt simply show that subjection is terrible and merciless and grisly and malicious however goes ahead to exhibit, on the off chance that you missed it the first run through, or the second time or the third or fourth or fifth time, that subjugation is awful and ruthless and abhorrent and fiendish and arent we happy that this is all over and we are such decent individuals on the grounds that we have the benevolence of heart and affectability of soul to be moved and bothered by the graphically delineated torment and enduring of estate slaves in pre-civil War America. 12 Years a Slave is not a simple motion picture to be discriminating about. Its got so huge numbers of the more evident th ings right that it’s hard to wrap your head around the not really clear ways it happened. The cinematography is incredible, the acting is extraordinary, the altering is tight, and the music is more than skillful. At the same time this specialized virtuosity winds up adjusting an aesthetic extend whose fakeness is surpassed just by its clichà © both covered sublimely by the alluring appeal of the medium. The fakeness and clichà ©, as is common of such endeavors, are halfway apparent in the films steadfast generation of each Hollywood stereotype about bigotry and subjugation: Black individuals enduring – tick; psycho-cruel person slave manager – tick; gut-agitating brutality – tick; white supporter – tick. Anyhow the stereotypes alone dont clarify the lacking honesty of this great motion picture, for Django Unchained (2012), an alternate film around a slave set in before the war America, ticks off all these account buzzwords but delivers the goods as a far prevalent film. Not at all like 12 years a Slave, Quentin Tarantinos Django Unchained has a point: to excite the viewer with a basic story of retribution. In the event that Tarantinos characters are highly contrasting, it is on account of satisfying sensational necessity of the story that needs personifications to capacity. McQueens film, then again, dazed on the virtue and honorability of its imaginative mission and the ethical certitude of its topic, sways from one scene of anguish and remorselessness to an alternate from a lynching to a whipping, from a beating to a wounding, from a slapping to a hanging to a lashing to an assaulting. The cam separates the last ounce of tasteful result for each second of cam time contributed, which is not through and through amazing given that McQueen comes to silver screen from workmanship school, having been a feature establishment craftsman before turning to filmmaking. Anyhow it is stunning that McQueens characters are as one-dimensional as Tarantinos, despite the fact that 12 Years a Slave, not at all like Django Unchained, is purportedly a genuine, straight, unfazed take a gander at bondage and slave-owning America. Stereotype in Today’s Society I for one disdain stereotypes. I aversion the way that individuals think I ought to act one route due to my sex, identity, or nationality. I detest that individuals think I ought to like games on the grounds that I am a man. I loathe that individuals think I ought to be cleric in light of my identity. I detest the greater part of this on the grounds that individuals are making an idea of me situated in what they see, yet not in who I truly am. Stereotypes are an enormous issue in our general public. It puts marks about how an individual ought to act or live as per their sex, race, identity, and different actualities. This could influence people who maybe like distinctive things or do diverse exercises, however feel embarrassed about doing as such due to stereotypes. Stereotypes like all men like games or ladies are not as solid as men, are among the most well-known in our general public. Stereotypes have made a twisting of how every individual ought to be. We as a feature of the era Y ought to know how these stereotypes could influence us as people. We ought to learn not to judge and prejudge about individuals due to what we think they ought to be similar to, and ought to change our perspective about the stereotypes that are profoundly established in our general public. The negatives impacts that stereotyping causes in individuals are numerous. A percentage of the negatives impacts are mischief, poor execution in distinctive exercises, and even wellbeing issues. As per the article Long Time Effects of Stereotyping distributed in psychcentral.com, Rick Nauert contends how individuals can be influenced by stereotypes even in the wake of being presented to them. Nauert built his contentions based with respect to an investigation of the University of Toronto that demonstrates how individuals get hurt on account of stereotypes, and how it could influence their execution in distinctive undertaking. Individuals are more inclined to be forceful after theyve confronted partiality in a given circumstance. They are more inclined to show an absence of restraint. They experience difficulty making great, reasonable choices. Whats more they are more inclined to over-enjoy on undesirable sustenances says Michael Inzlicht, who drove the examination. This shows how p eople are influenced in a contrary manner due to antagonistic stereotypes. In any case not just awful stereotypes reason negative impacts in people. Great stereotypes can likewise be destructive and cause new issues. They are far more atrocious in light of the fact that individuals are not mindful they are bringing about mischief. In the article Why stereotypes are terrible actually when theyre great', distributed in the site guardian.co.uk, Oliver Burkeman clarify how great stereotypes could make an alternate issues, for example, sexism and bigotry. This can be unsafe to numerous people. Burkeman contention is situated in a study by the Duke University that found that constructive stereotypes can be destructive in diverse circumstances without individuals acknowledging they are doing as such. In this study the members were presented to fake articles identified with dark individuals. The primary article was certain and demonstrated that dark individuals are better at games. In this first article the members didnt understand this was a stereotype. Next the members were presented to an antagonistic article about that dark individuals are more inclined to brutality. At the point when asked to gauge the likelihood that a theoretical arrangement of individuals with ordinarily African-American names may carry out a wrongdoing, individuals presented to the positive stereotype appraised that probability as higher than did those presented to a negative one. The constructive stereotype (great at games) evidently prompted stronger pessimistic convictions about dark individuals than the negative one (inclined to viciousness) (Burkeman). This shows how great and terrible stereotypes are just as awful on the grounds that it causes prejudgment and prompts more concerning issues. Book: Native Son by Richard Wright All through the novel, Wright delineates the routes in which white prejudice strengths blacks into an influenced and accordingly perilous perspective. Blacks are plagued with the hardship of monetary abuse and compelled to act subserviently before their oppressors, while the media reliably depicts them as bestial beasts. Given such conditions, as Max contends, it gets to be inexorable that blacks, for example, Bigger will respond with brutality and contempt. Nonetheless, Wright accentuates the horrible twofold edged impact of prejudice: however Bigger’s viciousness originates from racial scorn, it just builds the bigotry in American culture, as it affirms bigot whites essential apprehensions about blacks. In Wrights depiction, whites successfully change blacks into their own particular negative stereotypes of darkness. Only when Bigger meets Max and starts to see whites as people does Wright offer any expectation for a method for breaking this circle of bigotry. Just when thou ghtful comprehension exists in the middle of blacks and whites will they have the capacity to see one another as people, not only as stereotypes.

Report from an Interview with a Muslim-American Woman

Oftentimes, personal narratives can become the grounding point for theoretical research. Experiences reflect the social tendencies of an individual or a community. Here social tendencies deal about the overall capacity of an individual or group to adapt to the social environment. It also includes the ability to maintain beliefs (or ideologies) and protect personal or group aspirations. Thus, a thorough study of social tendencies may provide the researcher knowledge about the nature of a given individual or community. Although the individual is an entity by itself; that is, it have an existence independent of a given group, the cultural values of such an individual usually reflect the cultural values of the community he/she originated. Thus, it can be said that personal values are often influenced by collective values. The tendency of an individual to move in certain manners is in part influenced by his/her capacity to incorporate societal values and practices. Thus, inference becomes a tool for extracting genuine data. Although uncertainties may be present (as to the reliability of the data procured), we may also assume that such uncertainties were borne out of pre-judged propositions. Remember that in the real world, propositions have no truth values unless tested by empirical research. In my case, I chose to study Muslim American communities in order to examine the conditions of this particular ethnic group in the United States. I really want to examine the specific problems, aspirations, social and economic conditions of this group of people. Rather than providing a lengthy description of the chosen community, I chose to interview an individual from that community. My best choice for the interview was an 80-year old woman who called himself Tiger Lily and usually wore huge, flamboyant hats every day. She often danced around the senior center with a wooden marionette from the center’s thrift shop just for the laughs she got. For a stranger, she may be labeled a crazy old lady (an eccentric individual who wants all the attention of people focused to her), but for the community (Muslim-American) she was the joy of the community. Her cheerfulness often got into the lives of every person in the community. Certainly, this person would be the most viable person for an interview. The range of data I could procure from her is very big. Thus, I began constructing an interview outline which would be used in the interview. I came into the house of the old lady and asked her permission for an interview. She asked me the purpose of the interview. I told her that the interview was part of the course requirements. Added to that, the interview would serve as the parting point for describing Muslim-American communities (in the United States). She told me to come back to the next day. She promised that she would prepare a delicious launch for both of us. I came back to the house of Tiger Lily. I got a little nervous and excited. I felt a little disoriented because I might offend the old lady from the questions that I would be asking in the interview. â€Å"The bitter pill is necessary† was the thought running in my mind. So when the old lady asked me to sit down, I willingly obeyed. For Muslim-Americans, respect for individual dignity is one of the greatest virtues. I thanked the old lady for approving the interview. She said that it was her duty to share her knowledge of the community to students like me. What she did not know that the interview was not about the community per se. It was about her in relation to the community. Her personal narrative would serve as the grounding point for a deeper analysis of her community. I did not show any sign of faltering. For me, an interview is not just a question and answer procedure. It is the blood life of a qualitative research. Without further ad due, I began the interview. The first part of the interview dealt with the social life of Tiger Lily. Here are some transcripts of the interview: Question: People usually call you Tiger Lily. What does Tiger Lily stands for? Are they connected with your personal attributes? Tiger Lily: I really do not know why people call me Tiger Lily. Probably because most of the people in the community perceive me as a person who could get along with everybody. Personally, I view myself as a strong woman who possesses the qualities of a fine lady. Well, that’s Tiger and Lily for sure. Question: Do you consider yourself a liberated woman; that is, a modern woman? Tiger Lily: I don’t know if I can classify myself as a modern woman. There are some things in this country I find really intriguing. There are also some things I find fine. However, I am generally conservative in worldview. Family life, the community, and of course my personal views are the finest things in life. Maybe, that’s a conservative outlook. Question: Does your religion (Islam) affect your way of life, your approach to people? Tiger Lily: There is so much in my religion that affects (sic) my way of life. In our community, everybody is expecting from everybody. Solidarity is the most cherished values for Muslims like us. One should not be detached from the community. Doing so, would give one a headache. Islam is a way of life. It is life connected and governed by the laws of Allah, the One-God. In any case, I am bound by my religion to stick to the beliefs of my community. There is no alternative but obedience. Living outside the community for a Muslim is like living in a dark cave. You have the impression that you are different. Question: Are you aware that people perceive you as different? Tiger Lily: That’s their view. I find interacting with people a lot beneficial than isolating myself in my house. For us Muslims, interaction is the key to a fulfilling life. As what I have (sic) earlier, there is no alternative. Maybe, my way of interacting with other people is different. The purpose is the same though. The second part dealt with Tiger Lily’s perception of the community she belongs (and some of the problem the community encounter).   Here are some transcripts of the interview. Question: What is your perception of your community? Tiger Lily: One, happy big family. We usually celebrate birthdays and holidays with the members of the community. Even though those nasty white policemen always suspect one of our fellows in various crimes, we console each other. That’s one way of showing respect and dignity to our fellows. Question: What are some of the problems your community is currently facing? Tiger Lily: Maybe unemployment is the most pervasive problem in our community. Most of the young adults here are facing the difficulty of finding jobs because they are Muslims. After the 9/11 attack, many of the companies here are afraid of hiring Muslims even though they are also American citizens. I am really saddened by this instance. We also find it very difficult to interact with other people outside our community. Once they know that you are a Muslim, they turn their backs and refuse further correspondence. It’s really hard for us. What we can derive from this interview can be summed up in the following statements. Tiger Lily is a conservative folk who clings to the values of her community. The problems of the community are reflected on her personal narrative. She shows magnanimity and respect for the community because she believes in the efficacy of her religion (who greatly influences her life). Work Cited Interview with Tiger Lily (transcript). (2007). Conducted on 31 October 2007 with the consent of the interviewee.