Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example Should business take a cut in their profit margins in order to employ the jobless people or take part in environmental conservation practises? The answer to this question can be answered by analysing the long run effects of such a move to the business. When a business entity takes a cut in order to participate in corporate social responsibility, the earnings of the owners are reduced, this may have the effect of dampening their interests on the business or they may pressurize the chief executive officer of the business to make more profits for them. In turn, this would have the effect of increasing the prices of the goods and services that the company produces therefore a negative effect to the consumers, which the company was trying by getting involved in corporate social responsibility activities. Corporate social responsibility among business entities means that the business is getting money from consumers of their products and other stakeholders and spending it on their choice pr oject without necessarily consulting the financiers of the whole project since the decision of the project lies wholly on the chief executive officer and the board of directors. ... Financial fraud has been with us for a relatively long period of time where corporates have been tampering with their financial information to lie about their financial position in order to attract investors or to keep investors from investing in other rival firms. This has the effect of making investors lose billion of money when these companies collapse. For instance, Enron, Tyco, Worldcom and Adelphia have been involved in financial scandals involving manipulating of their financial information. Another form of financial fraud involves employees who are torn between pursuing their own selfish interests or the interests of their clients. For instance, brokers in insurance of money market are usually faced with the dilemma of pursuing their own selfish gains at the expense of the client’s interests although the law requires them to pursue their clients’ interests before their own. This trend is caused by the commission remuneration system that is used to pay brokers ba sed on the volume of business that they transact. Consumers are also involved in fraud, which cost the United States economy billions of dollars in revenue. The fraud from consumers is spread across almost all sectors of the economy, however the most hit sector is the insurance sector, which is reported to have lost about 10 per cent of the total claims to fraud, this includes claims on items that are not lost or damaged and treatment that is not offered. The clothing sector is another worst hit by fraud with estimates showing that about 16 billion dollars may have been lost in 2002 due to ‘wardrobing’ which is the returning of old clothes. Another area

Organization Development Survey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organization Development Survey - Essay Example The advantages of survey questionnaires are discussed below:Standardized Way:The data collection goes in a standardized way, so the questionnaires are highly preferred as compared to any other data collection method.The questions in questionnaires are more specific and while they are prepared, the objective of conducting the survey is being kept in mind, so the questions help in achieving the objective.Relatively Fast Method of Collection of Data:This is the relatively fast method to collect the data in survey; however, it may take long to prepare and analyze. It needs a lot of time and effort to prepare questionnaires, to analyze the questionnaires, to make the specific questions so that the object is achieved, but then, at the end, it requires minimum time to conduct it. In comparison with other methods, data collection in survey questionnaires is relatively fast.High Rate of Returns:The return rates of questionnaires survey are high. Questionnaires are easy to answer. It takes a m inimum of five minutes to fill the whole questionnaire. For this reason, people usually do not argue in filling questionnaires. Other methods such as interviews take a lot of time of the respondents, so people usually argue on it. Survey questionnaires can easily be distributed to a large number of audiences. It enables to gather many different points.The questionnaires cover almost every part of research unlike interviews. Questionnaires are designed in a way so that every aspect is covered.... Other methods such as interviews take a lot of time of the respondents, so people usually argue on it. Survey questionnaires can easily be distributed to a large number of audiences. It enables to gather many different point of views (Zikmund and Babin, 2009, p. 7). Covers every Aspect: The questionnaires cover almost every part of research unlike interviews. Questionnaires are designed in a way so that every aspect is covered. It consists of accurate questions of which it requires accurate answers. It can have many questions to cover every aspect of the respective topic. Leads in the Formation of Theories: Many of the positivists â€Å"believe that quantitative data can be used to create new theories and / or test existing hypotheses† (Koneru, 2008, pp. 218–220). The questionnaires enable to gather quantitative data. It allows the respondent to give direct answers, i.e. yes or no, which makes the data accurate. These accurate data lead to the formation of theories or e xisting hypothesis. Cost Effective One of the main benefits of survey questionnaire is that it does not require a high rate of investment. The cost involved in distributing the questionnaires is negligible as compared with the other methods of data collection (Koneru, 2008, p. 221). Disadvantages Truthfulness: It is hard to find out truthfulness of respondents in a questionnaire survey. Usually respondents fill the questionnaires randomly, so honest opinions and accurate information are not gathered. This is a big drawback of questionnaires because this can adversely affect the result of the survey and in this way, improper predictions will be made. Misinterpretation: There is a possibility that the respondent may interpret the questions in a different way. This difference in the interpretation

Micro And Macro Environment Analysis Of Disneyland Tourism Essay

Micro And Macro Environment Analysis Of Disneyland Tourism Essay Upon review the Disneyland operation in different regions that appear many opportunities and challenges, which are facing to Disneyland. Since the major challenge is cultural crash in different areas that vary from region to region, which together with the problems of Disneylands standardization structure. In the past, Disneyland has difficulty when dealing with the employees in 2006 of Hong Kong Disney that led to high level of anger among dissatisfied. The top management in Disneyland tries to cope with cultural in overseas to solve the problems of conflicts between the employers and employees towards. On the other hand, Disneyland tries every mean to adapt more to the local environment in order to facilitate the local customers needs and wants. The Walt Disney Company is in the entertainment industry that is tending to spread more globally throughout the world. History and Company Background of Disneyland The Walt Disney Theme Park was founded over 80 years that the first Disneyland is lunched in USA, which is going to expand to new territories that go further to market globalization in universal. There is total 11 theme park in worldwide that contain Paris, Tokyo, Honk Kong and Shanghai in future. (DISNEY, 2010) Mission of Disneyland That is to deliver quality entertainment experience to all ages with the messages Dream come true and focus on the Imagineering that focus to provide and create magic hours to all guests and visitors. Context Analysis This will go on to analysis the marketing environment that consists of micro-environment and macro-environment. The micro-environment concerns the internal factors affecting The Walt Disney Company whereas the macro-environment concerns the external factors that can affect the micro-environment (Kolter, Bowen Makens, 2006). SWOT Analysis of Walt Disney Company There are four things an organization should consider and analyze during various stages throughout the fiscal year that are crucial to keeping up with the competition and giving a relatively accurate perspective on positioning. The SWOT analysis helps an organization understand the current and potential environment for their particular product and service (Hair, Lamb McDaniel, 2008) which allow adjusting the marketing tactics in order to help focus the strategies. That is going to analysis and recognizes the strengths and weaknesses are internal reflections, whereas the opportunities and threats are external reflections. Strengths Walt Disney Company has developed established and well known brand name and image over many years in the entertainment industry, which has long history and tradition that can facilitate traditional values (Datamonitor, 2007). In addition, Disneyland has many unique roles of characters and each of it has specific and attractive fairy tales hus, Disneyland are well equipping with broad product portfolio that consist of media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment and consumer products as different business segments with Imagineering section. Weaknesses Walt Disney Company is frequent change in top management level that let to miscommunication and a high chance for a bureaucracy between employers and employees, which cause of high turnover rate. Furthermore, Disneyland is mainly focus on standardization that each of the theme parks in different region is similar except the one in Tokyo. Since 1997 decreasing revenues and strong degreasing operating income no profitable unit Opportunities The markets of today are becoming more versatile to outsourcing and globalization. The trend towards globalization is not immune to the entertainment business and The Walt Disney Company is revealing this by expanding outside of the United States and offering theme parks in France, Japan and China. Threats Threats that are more prevalent in the era of globalization are the laws and regulations of other countries. There is a need for constant monitoring of the differences in the laws of other countries and the United States when organizations are outsourcing. Moreover, the theme parks must meet the safety regulations of the countries in which they operate in order to stay in business and maintain their international status. Furthermore, since the culture difference is vary from region to region that is hard to predict the right social development or interests of the target customers. As with any business a main aspect of the threat analysis is the competition. The Walt Disney Company and the theme park industry are many competitors like Universal Studios. In addition, there are many other less visible competitors that one might not naturally think of when assessing the competitive market in which Disney deals. For instance, there are various country parks like water parks that can also be considered as cheaper or more valuable competition for Disney. Competition, in any form, can diminish Disneys market share in the entertainment industry (Datamonitor, 2007 After analysis the external and internal environment of Walt Disney Company that has been figure out some of the problems should be aware afterwards. Key Issues The major existing problems facing by The Walt Disney Company that is highlighted the theme parks in Paris and Hong Kong. For the Disney of Paris has faulty or misguided during the planning of basic assumptions and forecasts. Disney failed to anticipate the major change of economy that European Recession during the Disney opened. Europe was in the middle of an economic slump with financial problem. Thus, this reduced the purchasing power at this time. The graph below illustrates the downturn in Frances GDP during this period (1992-1994), resulting in a reduction in disposable income among the French population. Moreover, Disney did not anticipate the culture differences of Europeans that incorporate with the language and eating habits, initially, banned alcohol in the park of the worlds largest wine consumption country. The cultural miscalculations with incorrect marketing plan of cross-cultural blunders occurred and were widely, even gleefully as the American cultural imperialism. Many additional internal and external factors contributed to the initial failure of Euro Disney, which are communication gaps, increasing interest rates, reduction in the real estate market, operational errors, and high labor costs all contributed to the $1 billion USD total loss. However, many of these factors have been thoroughly analyzed throughout the years. Fortunately for Disney, many of these factors were corrected. By 2008, Euro Disney was able to make a profit of $19 million HKD. Besides, Hong Kong Disney fails to reach target numbers of guest arrivals and fails to gain competitive advantages that due to poor management that fail to embrace the importance of corporate social responsibility planning in building up customer loyalty. Although Disney learned lessons and tried to avoid the same mistakes of cultural differences, the management has only focused on risk patterns rather than appraisal and learning about potential chance and risk. Disney had attempted entry into the growing Chinese market prior opening in china (Kolter Armstrong, 2006). Since the publication of fairy tales story books in Mandarin and creation of Disney character based on the Chinese traditional legend Mulan. Thus, Hong Kong Disneyland took the steps to avoid the cultural crashes which happened in France, by preparing the population for the entry of Disney and enabling the identification with Disney character and concepts (Jobber D., 2007). However, Hong Kong Disneyland admitted that the park had only attended around 4.5 million visitors in 2008 and so on in 2009. Apart from this, there are losing money according to the revenue and expenses that shown at the bellowing (HKDL, 2010). On the other hand, Tokyo Disney regarded as a great success with combined annual attendance and operating income, which is a joint venture operation model operated by Japanese. That successful reason is not only rely on à ¦- ¥Ãƒ ¦Ã…“ ¬Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ºÃƒ ¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¥Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ±manageà §Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚ ªÃ†â€™Ã‚   no cultural crash that can à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. As the Japanese had a great interest in Western cultural and do love of fantasy and costume that main visitors of this theme park are the local residents of Japan in fact. Despite Japan is facing the problem of aging population, the management had set the slight on the growing elderly population as marketing strategy to deal with the problem of aging population. Tokyo Disneyland offers a cut-rate annual pass for visitor who aged 60 or above. This action arise the discussion that Disneyland is icons of entertainment for children, no matter this is the first time a special annual pass for seniors has been available, it also successes to take measure and addressed to the senior. (THINGSASIAN, 2008) http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/29639 After the wavering beginnings of Euro Disney, management quickly learned many valuable lessons about international expansion and acted on these lessons to develop culturally accepted and profitable theme park. To prevent the consequences of the failure that is needed learn from the pervious experiences and clarify clearly about the key successful factors of managing global marketing strategies. Q1. The critical success factors in managing a global marketing strategy Business consultants thus contend that the key to successful international marketing for any business-whether a multinational corporation or a small entrepreneurial venture-is the ability to adapt, manage, and coordinate an intelligent plan in an unfamiliar (and sometimes unstable) foreign environment.

Essay --

Electrical stimulation (ES) therapy involves the transfer of electrical current across wound tissue through the two electrodes and uses three types of currents: AC, DC and Pulse DC. According to various studies, electrical stimulation therapy has shown to reduce inflammation, edema, improve wound appearance, cause a faster reduction in wound size by helping to kick start the wound healing process and is cost effective for many patients. It has generated a positive impact on patient’s comfort and convenience. Electrical stimulation therapy has provided numerous beneficial effects in wound healing demonstrated by various studies, however; further research trials are needed in order to prove the effectiveness and benefits of electrical stimulation therapy as it relates to wound healing (Cutting, 2006). Background: The clinical application of ES can be dated as far back as 1812 when Hartshorne used electricity to promote bone healing in a patient suffering a tibial nonunion, later described in an 1841 publication (Wienke & Dayton, 2011). Research stayed in focus with bone stimulation via ES therapy for many years leading to the US Food and Drug Administration approved labeling electromagnetic devices for treatment of nonunion and delayed union fractures. ES therapy in chronic wound healing became a major research trend in the mid 1960s with a multitude of successful clinical trials to follow (Isseroff & Dahle, 2012). Eventually ES use in treating chronic soft tissue wounds became widely accepted and in 2002 the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services approved ES treatment in a clinical setting for certain types of chronic wounds and pressure ulcers. Until 2003, research focus stayed with ES therapy on pressure ulcers but later ... ...rocess and is cost effective for many patients. It has also generated a positive impact on patient’s comfort and convenience. Yet still, the selection of an optimal modality remains amongst the scientific and medical communities. Further research and clinical trials to support these positive effects on wound healing may help generate that consensus and help ES therapy gain full support in the US. In reviewing the above studies the evidence of the numerous beneficial effects ES therapy has are clear, however, the evidence that the lack of consensus on standardization of parameters to devise systematic protocols for its use and the lack of uniformity in reports on ES dosages, application modes and waveforms is also clear. Further research trials are needed in order to prove the effectiveness and benefits of electrical stimulation therapy as it relates to wound healing

The Educational and Race Issue on Everyday Use

Final Semester Take Home Test : Everyday Use Auliya Atika F. Auliya Atika F. Mr. Gindho Rizano M. Hum Prose II May 24, 2012 Final Task Examination The Educational and Race Issue in Everyday Use Everyday Use is a part of the short story collection In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Woman (1973) by Alice Walker (Wikipedia). Alice Walker is an African – American blooded who often made issues about African – American itself mostly in her works . Everyday Use is one of her outstanding work which got many appreciation from literary’s devotees.This story itself is telling about an unlucky family who consist of Mama and her two daughters, where is a quarrel between Mama and her oldest daughter and also how her youngest daughter who have a very self low-esteem perceive any conflicts at their home. For this chance, I want to discuss the related topic which prominent enough to this stories, there are two things I want to discuss, the first is the educational issues betwe en the characters, especially about the contrary among Mama and Maggie with Dee.And the second is race issues which contain in some parts of this story. The characters of Mama and Maggie in this story described is not get a good education facilities because of some unexperctable problem: â€Å"I never had an education myself. After second grade the school was closed down† (page 3). Although she and her youngest sister just couldn’t reach the proper education, her oldest sister, Dee could enjoy school until college now and she even studied in a prestigious boarding Final Semester Take Home Test : Everyday Use Auliya Atika F. school at other city.Dee at her sixteen age already have her own unique style, from head to toe, so bright and colorful, and ever her hairstyle which Mama can’t tolerance it anymore from the bottom of her heart: â€Å"A dress down to the ground, in this hot weather. A dress so loud it hurts my eyes †¦. I feel my whole face warming from the heat waves it throws out† (page 4). Mama actually hopes by sending Dee to the highest level of education, she could get into the moment to share any knowledge as large as Dee got from school: â€Å"†¦we raised the money, the church and me, to send her to Augusta to school. † (page 2).And the best point of expentacy of Mama sending her to school is in order to Dee more appreciate her in any things. Mama hopes Dee could appreciate Mama’s large and manly body, Mama’s dark skin, and how Mama acted like a strong man and she loves it a lots. It is a very simple hope from a mother to a daughter actually, but Dee definitely couldn’t make it at all. Dee just come back home after a long time since the last time she came with her more arrogant style towards her own family. She even greet Mama with the strange greetings language â€Å"Wa-su-zo Tean-o,†, which actually an African language.She comes to home with a strange boy who she introduced to Mama as her boyfriend. Her lofty style towards Mama, and how she threats Mama and Maggie bad, as she’s much better on any points than both of them are the result of what we get from studied on years. She’s just alienated herself and make her own arrogant cogitation about her life. Ironically Maggie who just never left home and having a traumatic problems because of she almost burned of fire at her home in the past. Her body just shuffled when she walks and her chin always bend down. She’s kind of a very nervous girl and just taking anything given to her.She’s very unconfindent with her lack of education and very suffered of her serious shyness towards society out there. Eventhough Mama always says to her that someday she will marry John Thomas and sooner after then will gain her self confident and could be a stronger woman. We can see the ironic contradiction between those two siblings and how education and the lack of it could give them dangerous impact s to their each other life. Final Semester Take Home Test : Everyday Use Auliya Atika F. The race issue also coloring this story in some aspects.Alice Walker itself actually is African-American and like to mold the topic about race on her works. The stories in the collection book where this short stories published is taking the setting place around Walker’s home where contains of cultural mixing between the modern New York City and the East Africa Nation Uganda (Sparknotes). And also the characters in this story possibly reflected the author’s family. Walker is the youngest child of eight children in her family. Shes growing up during 1960’s-1970’s, and during that time she must to do a lot of work in her young age.Woman in this era still expected to do the house works stuff, such cooked, cleaned the house, etc. But it is actually is quite different with this story, because Mama ever tell about how she is doing some works which man used to do it, and in t he actual African-American tradition, it is not suitable for woman who doing the man’s work: I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. . . . I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill a hog as mercilessly as a man. My fat keeps me hot in zero weather.I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing; I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog. One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledge hammer and had the meat hung up to chill before nightfall. (page 1). We can observe the racism elements in this story firstly through Mama’s character. How she described her own appearance and and her life background and also how people think of her: â€Å"Who ever knew a Johnson with a quick tongue? Who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? (page 2). Another point which indicate the race element in this story is how Mama is comparing the skin color between she and her daughters: â€Å"Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure. † (page 2). The African traditional culture in this stories also could be seen in the last part which Mama is arguing with Dee concerning the quilts, as their family heritage. Dee is really wanting the quilts, but Mama keep insistent to grant the grandmother’s command to give them to Maggie, it is a culture or that she keeps Final Semester Take Home Test : Everyday Use Auliya Atika F. n and don’t want to break it: â€Å"I†¦snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (page 9). The quilts itself used to wear and as a piece of uniforms that Dee’s grandfather wore during the civil war, it could be a symbolizes about Black-American suffering experiences. We could also observe the race issue through Dee’s character. The change of Dee’s n ame into an African name â€Å"Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo† actually because she wants to protest being named after the people who have oppressed her: â€Å"I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me† (Page 4)..By changing her name, she seemed doesn’t want to be associated with her family’s culture and she feels freedom after her name have changed. And although her new name is African name, but she doesn’t related it at all into her family. After being a more educational and smart woman who studied until the high level, Dee even felt ashamed with her family reality life: â€Å"She wrote me once that no matter where we â€Å"choose† to live, she will manage to come see us. But she will never bring her friends. † (page 3). She is even unaware to comprehend herself to learn making quilts, a traditional heritage from her family.She just looked the quilts through the material value, not from heritage va lue. Heritage or generation, it is not a symbolize of her family traditions, she just wear it without any meaning at all. Dee’s view on the value of family culture and tradition value seemed very contrast with Mama and her sister, Maggie. Mama and Maggie think that traditions are something eternal and no longer definited as an â€Å"Everyday Use†, it is always planted in their heart and mind as an admiration to their ancestors who have built these traditions since a very long time ago.As in the beginning of the story, Mama as a narrator proudly introduced herself as a strong African-American woman. Obviously we can conclude that the both issues I discuss this time is very related to each other in this story. The first is the educational issue that happened among the main characters, Mama and Maggie with Dee. Mama and Maggie who forced to give up their school since the beginner grade is very contrary with Dee who could continue her study until the high level, college. B ut the high education that Dee could Final Semester Take Home Test : Everyday UseAuliya Atika F. reach apparently couldn’t shape her become into a polite woman and a good children. She’s become arrogant with her high intellectual level, she unaware with her family cultural and traditions and even more underestimate her mother. And although Mama and Maggie are low in educational, but they have a highly appreciation to their own culture and tradition. So, the second issue which is about race could joint to the previous issue, the educational issue. Alice Walker is very famous to drop the race issue in her mostly works.In this story the race issues could we find out through the characteristics of especially Mama and Dee. Dee who have been in the year of college, but her appreciation to their family tradition is become weaker and make her be arrogant and underestimating her own family. Her intellect maybe has been killed her respect. So the education couldn’t determ ine someone become also better in her mindset and behavior. Works Cited Walker, Alice. Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Woman: Everyday Use. 1973 Klarer, Mario. An Introduction to Literary Studies (Second Edition). (London: Routledge, 2004) 103-115. www. wikipedia. org/Everyday_Use

The Vampire Diaries: The Fury Chapter Five

Dr. Feinberg, Elena thought wildly, trying to twist around to look and simultaneously press herself into the shadows. But it wasn't the small, hawk-nosed visage of the doctor that met her eyes. It was a face with features as fine as those on a Roman coin or medallion, and haunted green eyes. Time caught for a moment, and then Elena was in his arms. â€Å"Oh, Stefan. Stefan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She felt his body go still with shock. He was holding her mechanically, lightly, as if she were a stranger who'd mistaken him for someone else. â€Å"Stefan,† she said desperately, burrowing her face into his shoulder, trying to get some response. She couldn't bear it if he rejected her; if he hated her now she would die†¦ With a moan, she tried to get even closer to him, wanting to merge with him completely, to disappear inside him. Oh, please, she thought, oh, please, oh, please †¦ â€Å"Elena. Elena, it's all right; I've got you.† He went on talking to her, repeating silly nonsense meant to soothe, stroking her hair. And she could feel the change as his arms tightened around her. He knew who he was holding now. For the first time since she'd awakened that day, she felt safe. Still, it was a long while before she could relax her grip on him even slightly. She wasn't crying; she was gasping in panic. At last she felt the world start to settle into place around her. She didn't let go, though, not yet. She simply stood for endless minutes with her head on his shoulder, drinking in the comfort and security of his nearness. Then she raised her head to look into his eyes. When she'd thought of Stefan earlier that day, she'd thought of how he might help her. She'd meant to ask him, to beg him, to save her from this nightmare, to make her the way she had been before. But now, as she looked at him, she felt a strange despairing resignation flow through her. â€Å"There's nothing to be done about it, is there?† she said very softly. He didn't pretend to misunderstand. â€Å"No,† he said, equally soft. Elena felt as if she had taken some final step over an invisible line and that there was no returning. When she could speak again, she said, â€Å"I'm sorry for the way I acted toward you in the woods. I don't know why I did those things. I remember doing them, but I can't remember why.† â€Å"You're sorry?† His voice shook. â€Å"Elena, after all I've done to you, all that's happened to you because of me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He couldn't finish, and they clung to each other. â€Å"Very touching,† said a voice from the stairway. â€Å"Do you want me to imitate a violin?† â€Å"How did you get here?† said Stefan. â€Å"The same way you did, I presume. Attracted by the blazing beacon of the fair Elena's distress.† Damon was really angry; Elena could tell. Not just annoyed or discommoded but in a white heat of rage and hostility. But he'd been decent to her when she'd been confused and irrational. He'd taken her to shelter; he'd kept her safe. And he hadn't kissed her while she'd been in that horrifyingly vulnerable state. He'd been†¦ kind to her. â€Å"Incidentally, there's something going on down there,† Damon said. â€Å"I know; it's Bonnie again,† said Elena, releasing Stefan and moving back. â€Å"That's not what I meant. This is outside.† Startled, Elena followed him down to the first bend in the stairs, where there was a window overlooking the parking lot. She felt Stefan behind her as she looked down at the scene below. A crowd of people had come out of the church, but they were standing in a solid phalanx at the edge of the lot, not going any farther. Opposite them, in the parking lot itself, was an equally large assembly of dogs. It looked like two armies facing each other. What was eerie, though, was that both groups were absolutely motionless. The people seemed to be paralyzed by uneasiness, and the dogs seemed to be waiting for something. Elena saw the dogs first as different breeds. There were small dogs like sharp-faced corgis and brown-and-black silky terriers and a Lhasa apso with long golden hair. There were medium-sized dogs like springer spaniels and Airedales and one beautiful snow white Samoyed. And there were the big dogs: a barrel-chested rottweiler with a cropped tail, a panting gray wolfhound, and a giant schnauzer, pure black. Then Elena began to recognize individuals. â€Å"That's Mr. Grunbaum's boxer and the Sullivans' German shepherd. But what's going on with them?† The people, originally uneasy, now looked frightened. They stood shoulder to shoulder, no one wanting to break out of the front line and move any closer to the animals. And yet the dogs weren't doing anything, just sitting or standing, some with their tongues lolling gently out. Strange, though, how still they were, Elena thought. Every tiny motion, such as the slightest twitch of tail or ears, seemed vastly exaggerated. And there were no wagging tails, no signs of friendliness. Just†¦ waiting. Robert was toward the back of the crowd. Elena was surprised at seeing him, but for a moment she couldn't think of why. Then she realized it was because he hadn't been in the church. As she watched, he drew farther apart from the group, disappearing under the overhang below Elena. Someone had moved out of the front line at last. It was Douglas Carson, Elena realized, Sue Carson's married older brother. He'd stepped into the no-man's-land between the dogs and the people, one hand slightly extended. A springer spaniel with long ears like brown satin turned her head. Her white stump of a tail quivered slightly, questioningly, and her brown-and-white muzzle lifted. But she didn't come to the young man. Doug Carson took another step. â€Å"Chelsea†¦ good girl. Come here, Chelsea. Come!† He snapped his fingers. â€Å"What do you sense from those dogs down there?† Damon murmured. Stefan shook his head without looking away from the window. â€Å"Nothing,† he said shortly. â€Å"Neither do I.† Damon's eyes were narrowed, his head tilted back appraisingly, but his slightly bared teeth reminded Elena of the wolfhound. â€Å"But we should be able to, you know. They ought to have some emotions we can pick up on. Instead, every time I try to probe them it's like running into a blank white wall.† Elena wished she knew what they were talking about. â€Å"What do you mean ‘probe them'?† she said. â€Å"They're animals.† â€Å"Appearances can be deceiving,† Damon said ironically, and Elena thought about the rainbow lights in the feathers of the crow that had followed her since the first day of school. If she looked closely, she could see those same rainbow lights in Damon's silky hair. â€Å"But animals have emotions, in any case. If your Powers are strong enough, you can examine their minds.† And my Powers aren't, thought Elena. She was startled by the twinge of envy that went through her. Just a few minutes ago she'd been clinging to Stefan, frantic to get rid of any Powers she had, to change herself back. And now, she wished she were stronger. Damon always had an odd effect on her. â€Å"I may not be able to probe Chelsea, but I don't think Doug should go any closer,† she said aloud. Stefan had been staring fixedly out the window, his eyebrows drawn together. Now he nodded fractionally, but with a sudden sense of urgency. â€Å"I don't either,† he said. â€Å"C'mon, Chelsea, be a good girl. Come here.† Doug Carson had almost reached the first row of dogs. All eyes, human and canine, were fixed on him, and even such tiny movements as twitches had stopped. If Elena hadn't seen the sides of one or two dogs hollow and fill with their breathing, she might have thought the whole group was some giant museum display. Doug had come to a halt. Chelsea was watching him from behind the corgi and the Samoyed. Doug clucked his tongue. He stretched out his hand, hesitated, and then stretched it out farther. â€Å"Yes.† She could see his gaze unfocus with concentration; then, he shook his head, exhaling like a person who's tried to lift some-thing too heavy. â€Å"It's no good; I'm burnt out. I can't do it from here.† Below, Chelsea's lips skinned back from her teeth. The red-gold Airedale rose to her feet in one beautifully smooth movement, as if pulled by strings. The hindquarters of the rottweiler bunched. And then they sprang. Elena couldn't see which of the dogs was the first; they seemed to move together like a great wave. Half a dozen hit Doug Carson with enough force to knock him backward, and he disappeared under their massed bodies. The air was full of hellish noise, from a metallic baying that set the church rafters ringing and gave Elena an instant headache, to a deep-throated continuous growl that she felt rather than heard. Dogs were tearing at clothing, snarling, lunging, while the crowd scattered and screamed. Elena caught sight of Alaric Saltzman at the edge of the parking lot, the only one who wasn't running. He was standing stiffly, and she thought she could see his lips moving, and his hands. Everywhere else was pandemonium. Someone had gotten a hose and was turning it into the thick of the pack, but it was having no effect. The dogs seemed to have gone mad. When Chelsea raised her brown-and-white muzzle from her master's body, it was tinged with red. Elena's heart was pounding so that she could barely breathe. â€Å"They need help!† she said, just as Stefan broke away from the window and went down the stairs, taking them two and three at a time. Elena was halfway down the stairs herself when she realized two things: Damon wasn't following her, and she couldn't let herself be seen. She couldn't. The hysteria it would cause, the questions, the fear and hatred once the questions were answered. Something that ran deeper than compassion or sympathy or the need to help wrenched her back, flattening her against the wall. In the dim, cool interior of the church, she glimpsed a boiling pocket of activity. People were dashing back and forth, shouting. Dr. Feinberg, Mr. McCullough, Reverend Bethea. The still point of the circle was Bonnie lying on a pew with Meredith and Aunt Judith and Mrs. McCullough bent over her. â€Å"Something evil,† she was moaning, and then Aunt Judith's head came up, turning in Elena's direction. Elena scuttled up the stairs as quickly as she could, praying Aunt Judith hadn't seen her. Damon was at the window. â€Å"I can't go down there. They think I'm dead!† â€Å"Oh, you've remembered that. Good for you.† â€Å"He'll think you're an interesting specimen, all right.† â€Å"Then I can't go. But you can. Why don't you do something?† Damon continued to look out the window, eyebrows hiking up. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Why?† Elena's alarm and overexcitement reached flash point and she almost slapped him. â€Å"Because they need help! Because you can help. Don't you care about anything besides yourself?† Damon was wearing his most impenetrable mask, the expression of polite inquiry he'd worn when he invited himself to her house for dinner. But she knew that beneath it he was angry, angry at finding her and Stefan together. He was baiting her on purpose and with savage enjoyment. And she couldn't help her reaction, her frustrated, impotent rage. She started for him, and he caught her wrists and held her off, his eyes boring into hers. She was startled to hear the sound that came from her lips then; it was a hiss that sounded more feline than human. She realized her fingers were hooked into claws. What am I doing? Attacking him because he won't defend people against the dogs that are attacking them? What kind of sense does that make? Breathing hard, she relaxed her hands and wet her lips. She stepped back and he let her. There was a long moment while they stared at each other. â€Å"I'm going down,† Elena said quietly and turned. â€Å"No.† â€Å"They need help.† â€Å"All right, then, damn you.† She'd never heard Damon's voice so low, or so furious. â€Å"I'll-† he broke off and Elena, turning back quickly, saw him slam a fist into the window-sill, rattling the glass. But his attention was outside and his voice perfectly composed again when he said dryly, â€Å"Help has arrived.† It was the fire department. Their hoses were much more powerful than the garden hose, and the jet streams of water drove the lunging dogs off with sheer force. Elena saw a sheriff with a gun and bit the inside of her cheek as he aimed and sighted. There was a crack, and the giant schnauzer went down. The sheriff aimed again. It ended quickly after that. Several dogs were already running from the barrage of water, and with the second crack of the pistol more broke from the pack and headed for the edges of the parking lot. It was as if the purpose that had driven them had released them all at once. Elena felt a rush of relief as she saw Stefan standing unharmed in the middle of the rout, shoving a dazed-looking golden retriever away from Doug Carson's form. Chelsea took a skulking step toward her master and looked into his face, head and tail drooping. â€Å"It's all over,† Damon said. He sounded only mildly interested, but Elena glanced at him sharply. All right then, damn you, I'll what? she thought. What had he been about to say? He wasn't in any mood to tell her, but she was in a mood to push. â€Å"It's all over,† Damon said. He sounded only mildly interested, but Elena glanced at him sharply. All right then, damn you, I'll what? she thought. What had he been about to say? He wasn't in any mood to tell her, but she was in a mood to push. He stiffened, then turned. â€Å"Well?† For a second they stood looking at each other, and then there was a step on the stair. Stefan had returned. â€Å"Stefan†¦ you're hurt,† she said, blinking, suddenly disoriented. â€Å"I'm all right.† He wiped blood off his cheek with a tattered sleeve. â€Å"What about Doug?† Elena asked, swallowing. â€Å"I don't know. He is hurt. A lot of people are. That was the strangest thing I've ever seen.† Elena moved away from Damon, up the stairs into the choir loft. She felt that she had to think, but her head was pounding. The strangest thing Stefan had ever seen†¦ that was saying a lot. Something strange in Fell's Church. She reached the wall behind the last row of seats and put a hand against it, sliding down to sit on the floor. Things seemed at once confused and frighteningly clear. Something strange in Fell's Church. The day of the founders' celebration she would have sworn she didn't care anything about Fell's Church or the people in it. But now she knew differently. Looking down on the memorial service, she had begun to think perhaps she did care. And then, when the dogs had attacked outside, she'd known it. She felt somehow responsible for the town, in a way she had never felt before. Her earlier sense of desolation and loneliness had been pushed aside for the moment. There was something more important than her own problems now. And she clung to that something, because the truth was that she really couldn't deal with her own situation, no, she really, really couldn't†¦ She heard the gasping half sob she gave then and looked up to see both Stefan and Damon in the choir loft, looking at her. She shook her head slightly, putting a hand to it, feeling as if she were coming out of a dream. â€Å"Elena†¦ ?† It was Stefan who spoke, but Elena addressed herself to the other one. â€Å"Damon,† she said shakily, â€Å"if I ask you something, will you tell me the truth? I know you didn't chase me off Wickery Bridge. I could feel whatever it was, and it was different. But I want to ask you this: was it you who dumped Stefan in the old Francher well a month ago?† â€Å"In a well?† Damon leaned back against the opposite wall, arms crossed over his chest. He looked politely incredulous. â€Å"On Halloween night, the night Mr. Tanner was killed. After you showed yourself for the first time to Stefan in the woods. He told me he left you in the clearing and started to walk to his car but that someone attacked him before he reached it. When he woke up, he was trapped in the well, and he would have died there if Bonnie hadn't led us to him. I always assumed you were the one who attacked him. He always assumed you were the one. But were you?† â€Å"As a matter of fact, no,† he said. Elena let out her breath. â€Å"You can't believe that!† Stefan exploded. â€Å"You can't believe anything he says.† â€Å"Why should I lie?† Damon returned, clearly enjoying Stefan's loss of control. â€Å"I admit freely to killing Tanner. I drank his blood until he shriveled like a prune. And I wouldn't mind doing the same thing to you, brother. But a well? It's hardly my style.† â€Å"I believe you,† Elena said. Her mind was rushing ahead. She turned to Stefan. â€Å"Don't you feel it? There's something else here in Fell's Church, something that may not even be human-may never have been human, I mean. Something that chased me, forced my car off the bridge. Something that made those dogs attack people. Some terrible force that's here, something evil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her voice trailed off, and she looked over toward the interior of the church where she had seen Bonnie lying. â€Å"Something evil†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she repeated softly. A cold wind seemed to blow inside her, and she huddled into herself, feeling vulnerable and alone. â€Å"If you're looking for evil,† Stefan said harshly, â€Å"you don't have to look far.† â€Å"Don't be any more stupid than you can help,† said Damon. â€Å"I told you four days ago that someone else had killed Elena. And I said that I was going to find that someone and deal with him. And I am.† He uncrossed his arms and straightened up. â€Å"You two can continue that private conversation you were having when I interrupted.† â€Å"Damon, wait.† Elena hadn't been able to help the shudder that tore through her when he said killed. I can't have been killed; I'm still here, she thought wildly, feeling panic swell up in her again. But now she pushed the panic aside to speak to Damon. â€Å"Whatever this thing is, it's strong,† she said. â€Å"I felt it when it was after me, and it seemed to fill the whole sky. I don't think any of us would stand a chance against it alone.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena hadn't had time to gather her thoughts this far. She was running purely on instinct, on intuition. And intuition told her not to let Damon go. â€Å"So†¦ I think we three ought to stick together. I think we have a much better chance of finding it and dealing with it together than separately. And maybe we can stop it before it hurts or-or kills-anyone else.† Elena stared at him. Of course it wasn't her choice, if he meant romantically. She was wearing the ring Stefan had given her; she and Stefan belonged together. But then she remembered something else, just a flash: looking up at Damon's face in the woods and feeling such-such excitement, such affinity with him. As if he understood the flame that burned inside her as nobody else ever could. As if together they could do anything they liked, conquer the world or destroy it; as if they were better than anyone else who had ever lived. I was out of my mind, irrational, she told herself, but that little flash of memory wouldn't go away. And then she remembered something else: how Damon had acted later that night, how he'd kept her safe, even been gentle with her. Stefan was looking at her, and his expression had changed from belligerence to bitter anger and fear. Part of her wanted to reassure him completely, to throw her arms around him and tell him that she was his and always would be and that nothing else mattered. Not the town, not Damon, not anything. But she wasn't doing it. Because another part of her was saying that the town did matter. And because still another part was just terribly, terribly confused. So confused†¦ She felt a trembling begin deep inside her, and then she found she couldn't make it stop. Emotional overload, she thought, and put her head in her hands.