Impact of culture on globalization strategies Essay - 1

Impact of culture on globalization strategies - Essay Example Accordingly, Manrodt & Vitasek (2004, 3) averred that â€Å"the literature is clear that global and transnational firms can benefit from a coordinated and integrated management of their key processes.† The complexity of managing global processes on a wider scale is eminent taking into account obstacles including â€Å"language, customs, current standards, education levels, and government regulations. Increased competition, demanding customers, and constantly changing business environments have forced management to seek radically different ways for their companies to succeed in the marketplace.† (Manrodt & Vitasek, 2004, 3) The authors opted to utilize two methods in to achieve their objective. The first method is the use of comprehensive literature on the subject of global process standardization. The second method comprised of an in-depth case study of an actual organization, the Modus Media International, Inc. (Modus) identified as a â€Å"leader linking metrics from strategy to the plant level across its 23 manufacturing/distribution facilities.† (Manrodt & Vitasek, 2004, 4) The study that was conducted interviewed senior management to line managers using structured standardized questions on Modus’s process management standardization practices. Manrodt & Vitasek formulated a framework for standardizing global processes enumerating six critical steps, to wit: articulate a strategy; adopt a process review of logistics; identification of key segments, processes and process attributes; determination of impact to customers; selection of improvement of key segments; and identification and training of the global segment owner. A background on the company and the case was initially provided. A supply chain conditioning maturity profile was designed to indicate each of the processes which had several attributes that helped employees determine their level

Executive Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Executive Summary - Essay Example This makes it a highly decentralized entity. This necessitates an internal communication arrangement that can successfully deliver information to its internal audience working in diverse regions (Gillis & IABC, 2011). Using a centralized communication structure facilitates effectiveness in delivering information to relevant people. The structure requires several experts that enhance diverse communication functions with the massive marketplace. This is through initiating information delivery relationships. Furthermore, the organization contains an aspect of dual reporting that facilitates the harmonization of internal information (Gillis & IABC, 2011). Utilizing decentralized communication structure escalates the consistency of relayed information to the inside audience. It also enhances reserve exploitation in executing HP programs. The company’s delivery of information to the outside audience occurs through corporate communication where decided ideas are relayed to the public. The corporate communication office embraces the centralized message delivery tactics (Gillis & IABC, 2011). The ideas that emerge from centralized decision-making are transferred to the outside audience through the media. The notable method entails press releases from the communication office to clients. Communicating information intended for the global audience takes place through writing the message in multiple languages (Gillis & IABC, 2011). This ensures that international clients comprehend the information when it is released in their language. In summary, organizational communication entails offering information to both the workforce and the public. A centralized internal communication structure escalates the efficiency of relaying messages to the workforce. External communications use a corporate approach where decided info rmation is offered through press releases in multiple languages for global client

Traditional Chinese Culture And Chinese Marriage Theology Religion Essay

Traditional Chinese Culture And Chinese Marriage Theology Religion Essay Marriage is an important part of life. Different cultures have their own tradition to celebrate this big event. Through understanding the traditional customs of marriage, we could learn more about the nations culture and values. In this essay, features of traditional Chinese marriage will be introduced and we will look at how Chinese Culture and traditional values are involved and influence the traditional Chinese marriage culture. Introduction First of all, we should have some brief understanding on some basic traditional values about families and the ancient Chinese society. In traditional Chinese culture, the family units are the basic units of the society which forms the nation. When the family units are well-ordered, the society will then become well-organized and eventually form a harmonious nation. And for thousand years, Confucianism has a very deep influence to Chinese culture and has significant impact in different aspects of the Chinese society. Confucianism is a philosophy which emphasizes on the moral ethics of peoples behaviours in daily life. It is a set of moral and ethical rules or ideas that dictate how a person should behave. It plays a key role in forming the social norms of the Chinese society (Yu 69). Patriarchal Society and values Traditional Chinese families are clan and patriarchal based. A clan is composed by descendants of the same ancestors and families which inherit the same surname. A clan emphasis greatly on kinship and blood relationship, they are regarded as an extension and the continuity of the family. Traditional family always put the clans interests above personal interests and personal honor as the clans honor and shame are closely related to one self. These values play a significant role in traditional Chinese marriage culture. Marriage in WuLun (à ¤Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ «) In Confucianism, one of ethical and moral rules on the individuals and social interaction is WuLun (à ¤Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ «) . WuLun indicates the five major relationships within a society. The Five Relationships are King to subject, Father to son, Husband to wife, Elder brother to younger brother and Friend to friend (Yu 94). Maintaining good relationships will stability and prosperity of the society and embrace the whole nation to live in harmony. One of the relationships which I would like to mention is Husband to wife, in other words, it is about marriage. To the Confucians, marriage is important to both the clan and the society. The marriage not only symbolizes the joining of two individuals but also the joining of two families with different surnames. Therefore, marriage can act as a medium to connect different families and clans to form a society and even nations. To certain extent, a good relationship of marriage is believed to bring harmony to the society and the whol e world is a big family. Arranged Marriage and matching For traditional Chinese marriage, lots of constraints were also attached with. First of all, a marriage is always pre-arranged by parents, but not based on the couples love and own choice. One of the reasons is that the marriages are usually associated with political reasons and benefits. But the most important one is that the marriage is a major family event and it is a matter of the clan, therefore the marriage must be decided by the parents and individuals must subject to eldership. Brides and grooms will only see or know each other until the wedding day comes ( Gu 137). Moreover, as the Chinese said, Bamboo door to bamboos one, wood door to woods one. To choose an ideal partner, the wealth and social status of the family must also take into consideration. To the male side, the marriage is directly affecting the prosperity and the reputation of their family in the future. The fame of the family and social status of the family is extremely important in traditional Chinese value. People would tend to look for potential families who had similar or same social status as they were to marry with. Therefore a boy who comes from a wealthy family will never be permitted by his parents to marry a girl from a poor family. Confucians emphasize on Li à §Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ® Li, or the rites, are the guidelines for people to behave properly. It emphasizes respect to others and surroundings through rules and ceremonies. The ideas of Li are closely related to ethics, human nature and social order in society. Li is essential and favourable to society because it encourages and reminds people to aware and fulfills their responsibilities towards others. Three Letters Six etiquettes à ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ¸Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ­Ãƒ §Ã‚ ¦Ã‚ ® Marriage also has guidelines and rites to follow and procedures are written down in the Book of Rites. Each of the complex procedures has its own symbolic meaning and part of the essential processes in traditional Chinese wedding are the Three Letters Six etiquettes. The Three Letters are the betrothal letter, gift letter and the wedding letter. These letters are the formal documents with the meaning of engagement, gift and confirmation of the marriage. The Six etiquettes are proposal, assessing birth date, presenting betrothal gifts, presenting wedding gifts, setting a wedding date, and finally the wedding ceremony (Chinese Social Customs). Proposal: After the parents of the male side choose a girl, they would then find a matchmaker and her role is to propose and present the male familys request to the girls family and parents. Birth date assessment: If the brides parents did not oppose to the marriage, the matchmaker would ask the birth date and hour of the bride to ensure the couples compatibility. If there were signs of conflicts between the numbers, which is believed to bring disasters to both families, then the proposed marriage will abandoned immediately. Presenting betrothal gifts: After both of the birth dates and hours were approved, the bridegrooms family would ask the matchmaker to arrange and present betrothal gifts to the brides family along with the betrothal letter. Presenting wedding gifts: The bridegrooms family would send wedding gifts formally to the brides family. Gifts usually include tea, beans, oranges, pomegranates, bridal cakes, coconuts, wine, red hair braids, lilies and many other delicacies, each with symbolic meaning in the wedding and the gifts can also show the familys wealth Setting a wedding date: An auspicious date is select for the wedding ceremony. Ceremony: On that day, the bridegroom departs his own home and play loud and cheerful music along the way to the brides home. During the wedding ceremony, both bride and groom have to stand side by side and make three bows. Three bows is the most important rites in the ceremony. The first bow is made to the Heaven and Earth and ancestors. The second bow is to parents and the third one is to each other. (Chinese Wedding traditions) From the above wedding procedures Three Letters Six etiquettes, two main traditional Chinese values can be observed. First, under the Confucian worldview, Chinese believe that the world is structured by sancai (Heaven, Earth and Human) and they all share the same nature and this nature is characterized by harmony. Confucian considers people and nature as a whole and any confrontation with the nature will destroy the harmony. Therefore, assessing birth dates and hours for choosing the correct bride and setting an appropriate wedding date is to avoid any confrontation between the nature and human. Choosing the right bride and right date can avoid any disasters from happening and prevent bad luck, and the marriage is then considered as auspicious, which brings good fortune. Second, the ceremonies show the significance of filial piety. Amongst the 100 virtues, filial piety come first. Filial piety can be referring to full respect and unquestioning obedience to parents. But it is more than that. Confucians consider filial piety as the most important virtue and must be shown not only towards to parents and elders, but also the dead. Reverence for ancestors and worship them is also part of the filial piety. People believe that the ancestor in heaven will bring peace and happiness to the clan descendants. Filial piety, by extension, is showing respect to the past and to the whole nation. We could see this virtue easily from the Three Bows in the wedding ceremony. The wedding ceremony takes place at the family hall because it is an important event for the family, the clan and ancestors. The three bows first shows great respect to the nature and then show filial piety to ancestor and parents. And in another ceremony, tea ceremony, the new couples have to kneel down while serving tea to parents and elder in order to show filial piety to them (Katie). Male superiority in Chinese traditional family As mentioned earlier, the traditional Chinese adopted Patriarchy. It is a social system that male is central to both family and society, and where men hold authority and power over children and women. It shows the higher status of male than female, in terms of power and marriage. In traditional Chinese society, men were thought to be the one to continue on with the family line. For this reason, men had a higher status than women in both family and society, as they were the powerful ones who could lead and organize the whole family, even to sustain the continuity of the family (Lan, Peng, Mei 126 ) For women, they were only being characterized as assisting men in traditional family; they had relatively low social status by then. The saying A woman lacking in talent and learning is virtuous shows the difference between men and women, which womens role would only be a stay-home mother who takes care of the rest and breed. Inheritance of the family line is the most important Under the influence of patriarchy, another reason for having marriage is to give birth to the next generation, as the major role of women back then. In order to successfully give birth to a boy, men would get married with more than one wife, which were allowed in the traditional society. It was not being seen as problematic because having children and sustaining a family was vital for all in the old times. In the other hand, this also shows the low status of women in traditional Chinese society. The seven reasons for divorce can best illustrate the phenomenon. The seven reasons is a list of behaviors for which a man would be justified in divorcing his wife. The most concerned one criterion in relation to the continuity of family would be the third one a woman could be divorced if she did not bear a child. People see family as the most important element in society. Although womens social status was relatively low, they had played an important role in giving birth to children. This was also their mainly function in a marriage life. That is why if a woman is incapable of carrying a child, the meaning to the marriage to her husband would be gone. So men could use such reason to marry another wife or divorce the wife who couldnt give birth to a child. Conclusion Lots of Chinese traditional culture and values are found in the culture of Chinese marriage. For traditional Chinese marriage, the benefits of families were always more important than individuals. The traditional Chinese marriage was pre-arranged between parents of two families. And traditional Chinese marriage involves lots of complex procedures. Among them, they shows the great emphasis on rites (Li) in Chinese traditional culture and among the rites and the rules, we could easily observe one of the most important virtues filial piety. Children should always respect parents and ancestors. Traditional Chinese people also emphasis on maintain harmony with the nature, they believed that human and nature were united, that is why the new couples have to bow to the Heaven and Earth first during the Three Bows. In Patriarchal society, male are superior to female and the inheritance of the family line is significantly important. To do so, male can get married with multiple wives and divorc e any wife that couldnt give birth to child. (Word Count:2020)

The Evolution of Corporate Welfare and Inequality in America since 197

Over the last forty years many people have claimed that the level of equality has risen to an all time high. The evolution of corporate welfare in the United States, aided by the spread of globalization has put a huge burden on many lower class Americans. Race is still an issue we face everyday, as many minority groups are in the lowest percentile of salary or are living in extreme poverty, in addition, residential racial segregation furthers the disenfranchisement of minorities due to the lack of opportunities available in areas with a concentration of poverty. American politics as a whole contributes to all of these factors that engender hardships in everyday American life. In reality, over the last forty years we have seen a great increase in both scope and depth of inequality based around the role of race, globalization and corporate welfare supported by corporate sponsored American policymaking. The main factor contributing to the rise of inequality over the past forty years is corporate welfare. A term used to analogize welfare payments to corporate subsidies. Between 1990 and 1993, the federal government spent one hundred and seventy billion dollars on corporate subsidies. Medicaid, the federal government’s most expensive social program costs thirty billion a year. This is almost half of what the corporations receive in tax breaks, grants and other government subsidies. The fact that corporations get more tax breaks than American citizens get in healthcare is preposterous. Possibly the best example of frustration with corporate welfare in recent years is the Occupy Wall Street protest, which embodied the frustration of working American people who had seen their jobs, savings and in some cases homes disappear due to the irr... ...Geography - Volume 26, Number 8 / November 16-December 31, 2005 - Bellwether Publishing, Ltd. Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 8 Oct. 2007. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. . Grimaldi, James V., and Carol D. Leonnig. "Former Aide to Ex-Congressman Ney Pleads Guilty in Abramoff Case." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2007. Web. 7 Nov. 2013. . Smith, Jeffery. "DeLay Airfare Was Charged To Lobbyist's Credit Card." Washington Post. The Washington Posy, 24 Apr. 2005. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. . Weinberg, Daniel H. "A Brief Look at Postwar U.S. Income Inequality." Census.Gov. Current Population Reports, n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2013.

Understanding Self and Others

After watching the movie crash a couple of times, I decided to mainly focus on Anthony who is played by Ludacris, who is an African American car thief. I felt that Anthony was a good character to choose for this character analysis because in my opinion he is the one character who had one view at the beginning of the movie, and by the end his views seemed to totally turn around. He was a very stereotypical man. Anthony’s view of people from another colour, race, gender or economic class was strongly offensive, he assumed that â€Å"white people† were always racist towards blacks. Did you see any white people waiting an hour and a half for spagagetti†(Haggis, 2004) Anthony was under the impression that although the waitress was black, she saw that they were black and were not going to tip. Anthony’s views of any other race they his own, is very negative, but in his eyes African American people should all stick together, and never go against each other.  "Bias is not a bad word. Biases is an attitude or belief- it’s not until we act it out in behaviour that our bias affects someone else- it may advantage or disadvantage an individual or a group†( Valenti, 2011).I felt that Anthony was very bias to cultures outside of his own, he was very stereotypical, with that being said, I would consider him to have a very negative attitude towards others with a different racial background. â€Å"She got colder as soon as she saw us† (Haggis, 2004), this was said by Anthony after noticing that Jean linked arms with her husband. Anthony just jumped to a conclusion that just because she was a â€Å"white† girl, she grabbed her husband’s arm to protect her from the â€Å"black† men. I think he is very self conscious and thinks that everyone has racial Character Analysis 3 iscrimination towards him. â€Å" this white women sees two black guys who look like ucla students strolling down the sidewalk and her rea ction is blind fear†( Haggis, 2004). He is very bias, because if instead of it having been Jean and her husband walking down the street, if it was Christine and her husband, I am highly sure that he would not of made those comments that he did, after all that being said, he decided to steal they’re truck anyways, just because they were white, and assumed racial discrimination.When Anthony communicated with others he was the one being racist, and he assumed people made decisions based on their race. A perfect example of that is when he was talking to his friend Peter who is black, but is not African American like himself. Anthony: No, no, no, take that voodoo-ass thing off of there right now! Peter: I know you just didn't call St. Christopher voodoo. Man's the patron saint of travelers, dog. Anthony: You had a conversation with God, huh? What did God say? Go forth, my son, and leave big slobbery suction rings on every dashboard you find? Why the hell do you do that?Peter : Look at the way your crazy ass drive, then ask me that again! (IMDB, 1990) Although throughout the whole movie Peter was Anthony’s best buddy, and he was always with him, he still did not believe in what Peter believed in, he made fun of Peter because he wanted to put a statue of a Saint on the dashboard of the truck that was STOLEN, from the married couple. Anthony talks to others as if they are always incorrect or stupid. Anthony: That waitress sized us up in two seconds. We're black and black people don't Character Analysis 4 tip. So she wasn't gonna waste her time.Now somebody like that? Nothing you can do to change their mind. Peter: So, uh†¦ how much did you leave? Anthony: You expect me to pay for that kind of service? (IMDB,1990). This is another good example of how he interacts with others, he thinks everyone looks down to him, at the beginning of the movie he stated that all black people stick together, but after going to a restaurant and getting this poor se rvice from a black waitress, he still finds away to turn it around as if people were hating on him because he is black, and took it into his own hands and decided to walk out without paying.He made it seem like he got poor service because he did not tip, but maybe the waitress was the only one working and was extremely busy? , No according to Anthony everyone he interacts with his racist. In the beginning of the movie Anthony came out as a stuck up black man that was always right, and never wrong. He lived by the motto â€Å"Black people stick with they’re own kind† . His friend on the other hand took into consideration of others, and tried to help Anthony understand but he was too stubborn.In the beginning of the movie, Peter and Anthony had no way of getting around so Peter waved down the bus, for them to take Anthony was shook by the fact and said â€Å"you have no idea why they put them big windows on sides of buses do you? † Peter was curious was to why Ant hony thought they put big windows on buses, any other person would just know they are there just to let some natural lighting in the bus, and to open windows on warm days, but Anthony stated â€Å"One reason only, to humiliate the people of colour who are reduced to riding on them. Anthony again assuming that only coloured people are meant to ride the bus and the Character Analysis 5 reason windows are on buses is so that people could look inside and laugh at them. Later on in the movie Peter and Anthony ran over a â€Å"china man† and Anthony wanted to ditch the Chinese man, and drive away. Peter then explained to Anthony how if they left him laying on the ground there was a high possibility that he would die. Anthony then began to understand, so they provided him for him and pulled him out from under the truck. Later on in the movie, Anthony was then seen riding on the bus.It goes to show that his attitudes in the beginning of the movie did not reflect who is was near the end. He slowly began to realize that not everybody was against him because he was black. A specific scene that really caught my attention is when Anthony took the Chinese man’s truck and brought it to the shop to get cleaned up, and then realized there were a bunch of Asians in the back of the truck that had been locked up for only God knows how long, The man at the shop offered Anthony 500$ a body, and he decided to turn down the offer, and bring them into the city. He then gave money to one of them to go buy everybody chop suey.I found that very positive of him to do, which really showed that there was a turning point from him, and he started to see situations in a more mature manner. I think the character that I feel I can relate to best is Jean Cabot. I think that I relate to her most is because when I was young, I was at my grandmothers house who lives in Jane and Finch, where the majority of the population is coloured people, and I heard a bang and just assumed it was a bang from a gun, and I went crazy and blamed it all on â€Å"black people† because they all have guns. I was then freaking out and made my grandmother ock all the doors, and whenever I seen a black person I would hide in fear. The scene where Jean was still in shock from her truck being stolen, and Daniel the Character Analysis 6 Latino was changing her lock, she freaked out on her husband because of his appearance, and assumed that he was a gang member, when really he was an innocent guy who changes locks for a living. I feel that I relate a lot to her also because, I have had many people turn their backs on me when I need them most, and the one person you never thought you would rely on turns out to be your greatest friend ever.Me and Jean seem to judge a book by its cover, when it is not the cover that is important, it’s the information written in the book that is important. A few scenes that had a strong reaction from me was right in the beginning of the movie, wh en Jean and her husband were so innocent walking down the sidewalk, not causing any harm and Anthony and Peter noticed Jean link arms with her husband and they just assumed they did that because they were black, so they then decided to steal their truck for absolutely no reason.It is so scary to think that black people think like that, it makes me wonder, if I am ever in public and I decide to hold on to my boyfriends arm, and a black person seems to notice, does that mean my life is in danger? Another scene from the movie that evoked a strong reaction from me was when Officer Ryan pulled over Christine and her African husband for literally nothing, and he disgustingly physically put his hands on her in ways an officer should never even think of.This scene had me worried and disgusted at the same time, it also worries me because if I was ever put in a situation like that I am not sure as to what I would exactly do, would I open my mouth to him knowing he has a gun attached to his be lt? or would I just accept the fact that a dirty pig just offended me physically. When Daniel was trying to fix the store owners lock, he tried to explain to him in Character Analysis 7 a calm manner that in order to fix the lock he needed to change the door, and the store owner didn’t believe him, he was constantly calling Daniel a liar nd a cheater, and was saying that Daniel was trying to steal his money. It made me upset because Farhad was only saying that he was a cheater and a liar because of his appearance, when really Daniel is an innocent guy who works hard for his money, and just because he has tattoos people get the wrong impression. I was so upset at the scene where the store owner showed up at Daniel’s house with the intention to shoot him without even confronting him of the situation, but when his daughter Laura ran out to save her daddy, Farhad then decided to shoot, with the impression that he shot the little girl it got my eyes to water.I was then reli eved that the gun had blank bullets and did not harm either of them. The scene that I felt very offended by was when the man in the shop offered Anthony 500$ a person for the innocent Asians that were found at the back of the truck, why would this man want innocent Asians for, I am so proud of Anthony that he realized that money was not the only thing in the world, and he allowed the Asians to experience life outside of the truck that they probably thought they would never see again.This movie has changed my perceptive of others because of the fact that in this movie there were so many different stereotypes and so many people being judge because of their race. I was never really aware of the types of discrimination that went on in the world until actually watching this movie, it really opened up my eyes. It is not fair to be treated based on your race, everybody was put on this earth to do the same thing, there is no reason that someone should be discriminated.It really broke my hea rt at some of the Character Analysis 8 situations that occurred in the movie, I almost couldn’t handle them. Sometimes we are to blind to see how a silly little comment can affect somebody so much, and really hurt they’re feelings. This movie really changed my look on other cultures, I realize that everyone is equally the same. I am happy that Anthony realized that not only coloured people take the bus and he put his pride aside and actually rode the bus, because in eality the bus is for anybody, there is no such thing as â€Å"he does this because he is black† or â€Å"she is only good at doing that because she is Spanish. † It is very important to keep in mind other peoples feelings, imagine being the only white person in a class of majority colour people, would you want to be treated like the outsider? Or did you want to be treated the exact same way as the other 23 people in the classroom.

It was the worst thunderstorm in 36 years

Wednesday night, 9th October 2002. It was the worst thunderstorm in 36 years. The rain was like stones hammering onto you from the pitch-black sky. Long streaks of bright lightning were jumping from the sky. A few seconds after each bright light there was a gigantic roar, like a furious lion. The weather was wet, cold, dull, dark and miserable with horrendous winds, travelling at the speed of a cheetah. There were two boys. Andy was quite tall and skinny with short blonde hair. He had legs like long twigs and hands the size of a giants, but very brittle. The other boy, Paul, was big and obese. He was built like a tank. His fists were like big balls of steel. But he was very shy. Andy and Paul were walking home through the fields. It was dark and windy. Paul pulled out a torch. He turned it on, but all it gave out was a dull light that kept flashing on and off every time lightning strikes. Andy started to get scared and he walked faster and faster. Paul was dragging his big heavy feet though the wet muddy grass. Andy started to run but they were getting no where. Paul was dragging behind and was having problems keeping up with Paul. Andy looked behind him and saw Paul in the distance. So Andy shouted â€Å"hurry up Paul, we gotta get outa here†. So Andy slowed down and waited until Paul caught up with him. Then continued running. Andy shouts, â€Å"I can see a house†. So they both started to run towards the house. They both stop. Every thing is silent. Paul and Andy walk towards the front door. Paul nocks on the door and it opened. Nobody was in the house. Andy said, â€Å"is any body in†. Nobody answered so they both carefully walk in the house. There was not a bit of dust in the house. Paul and Andy hung up there soaking wet coats on a hanger and closed the door. The house was bright and warm. The two boys walked into the living room, which was straight in front of them. In the living room the fire was lit and there was stuffed animals every where. There was a huge old wooden staircase. They decided to sit down on the big black leather sofa. They sat down for a while. Paul quietly said, â€Å"let's go up stairs†. So they both went up stairs. They got to the top of the stairs and went to open one of the doors in front of them. The lights started flicking on and off. Andy started shaking. All of a sudden the house went cold. Paul opened the door. A body fell from behind the door. Both of the boys jumped back. The front door creaked open and then slammed closed. A deep mans voice yelled up the stairs, â€Å"who the hell is in my house†. The man ran up stairs with a dead squirrel in one hand and an axe in the other. The boys were so scared that they could not move.