Answer

1. Fictional Essay

   Contrasting “The Destructor’s” and “The Lottery”

   It is common for writers to develop stories addressing prevalent situations in their societies. This is the case for Shirley Jackson in her book “The Lottery” and “The Destructor’s” by Graham Greene. This essay will show that both of these stories depict that random violence always has adverse effects. 

   “The Lottery”

   Plot Summary

   The Lottery” was written by Shirley Jackson. Jackson tells of a story set in a small village with annual celebrations. On the 27th of June that year, children of the town playfully collect stones and gather them at the town square (Jackson 674). The men and women also gather at the square as they all anticipate the annual event called “The Lottery.” Mr. Summers leads the event since he has much time on his hand. He carries the lottery box^[1] to the town square. The Lottery soon begins with Mr. Summers mixing the paper slips. These slips contained names of all family members in the village. One of the villagers, Tessie Hutchinson, joins the crowd later than the rest of the members and receives ridicule for her tardiness. According to tradition, Jackson (676) writes that Mr. Summers calls out for any absentees, and Mr. Dunbar is reported to be missing^[2]. In turn, Mr. Summers asks the Watson boy to draw on behalf of Dunbar.

   The names are read, and each person would go forth and draw a slip from the lottery box. After everyone has a slip of paper, they open them, and Bill Hutchinson receives the winning paper. Mrs. Hutchinson protests the results claiming that her husband had little time to choose the paper. The process is repeated once more, and this time, Tessie picks the winning slip. Villagers and her family members pick stones initially gathered by the children and begin to throw them at her^[3]. Tessie protests the cruel act, but her cries remain unheard of. In the end, Tessie gets killed. 

   Theme

   The prevalent theme, as portrayed by Jackson, is the dangers associated with casual persecution. In the story, the Lottery is an annual event where villagers get to choose an individual whom they persecute. In most cases, the victim lacks prior mistakes or transgressions, as in the case of Tessie. In essence, the victims are persecuted because of their ill luck in choosing the winning slip. Arguably, the event is a ritual that members of the village are adamant about holding on to. At the same time, everyone is obligated to participate in the ritual, even the family of the victim. The final result is the casual death of the victim. 

   “The Destructor’s”

   Plot Summary

   Graham Greene sets this story in the London ruins after WWII. The story focuses on a group of teenage boys who pass the time in the summer by doing different kinds of mischief. The boys come from Wormsley Common, located among the poorest neighborhoods in London. The boys frequently meet in a common parking lot, adjacent to an old house^[4]. The gang’s leader, Blackie, is challenged by the newest member of the group, T^[5]. T introduces diabolic plans to the group, far better than Blackie had conceived in the past. T discovers that the house next to the parking lot was constructed by the greatest architect from Great Britain, Christopher Wren. The same architect also designed and constructed Saint Paul’s Cathedral. The house is owned and inhabited by an elderly man, Mr. Thomas, popularly referred to as Old Misery by the boys. T became fixated in the house, innocently asking Mr. Thomas for a tour of the house.

   During the tour, a two-hundred-year-old staircase like a corkscrew, held up by nothing caught the eye of T. When Mr. Thomas goes on a trip, T suggests that the gang secretly enters the house and destroy the staircase^[6]. The plan seemed scary and daring to the boys. Eventually, the gang partakes in the task, destroying it with hammers, saws, and other tools. Mr. Thomas unexpectedly returns, but T lures him to the outdoor washrooms where he locks him up. Finishing their job, the boys tied a rope around the building’s struts to the ends of a truck. As a routine, the truck’s driver gets in his truck and drives away without checking. The building collapses with a loud crash. Mr. Thomas is freed from the lavatory and is shocked by the state of his former standing house. 

   Theme

   A prevalent theme in the book is that of innocence. The boys are innocently playing in the common parking lot without portraying any sense of dangerous activity. However, as the story develops, this innocence is soon replaced by the boys’ rebellious, cynic, and selfish nature. Since the boys grew up in a violent environment, it is understandable that they only understood violence and destruction. However, for Mr. Thomas, his loss only reflected the dangers that the innocent boys posed to those unaffected by the war. 

    

    

    

   [1] The Lottery box is a small box used annually for holding the paper slips for each village member. Despite it being old and worn, the villagers refuse it to be changed.

   [2] Everyone was obligated to participate in the event. Hence, all absentees needed to be identified, and their slots filled.

   [3] The tradition of the Lottery dictated that the chosen individual would get stoned to death.

   [4] The old house remained unharmed despite the area being attacked by bombs during the war.

   [5] Hitherto, T’s only contribution to the gang was “Yes” or “no” replies to the questions asked in the group.

   [6] T’s compelling personality coerced the boys to go along with his plan.

    

Answer

Assessing Risk and Reward

The Nissan Motor Company is one of the leading automobile makers in the world. The Japanese carmaker has primarily enjoyed a successful run, allowing it to enter various regional and international markets such as the United States. However, the changing business environment was not favorable to the company in 2019. Notably, the cooperation recorded losses amounting to 7.8%. The experience pushed the management into making tough decisions, requiring almost all of its North American workforce to go for unpaid leaves.

In late 2019, the company announced that the decline in sales necessitated a two-day unpaid leave for the North American workers. The stated days for the vacation were January 2 and 3^rd    (Chicago Tribune, 2019).  Notably, this move was a crucial decision for the company because of its conflicting impacts. Whereas on the positive side, it could help the firm minimize expenses, it threatened to affect the public perception of the company regarding employee welfare.

The rewards for the decision involved cutting expenses by not paying the workers on leave, which eventually would translate into reduced expenses. Another reward was that the decision could allow the company to optimize performance by evaluating employee performances then developing new milestones. However, on the low side, the company risked affecting its public image and brand name, especially in the North American market. As per Chakravorti (2010), the way an organization treats its employees influences the firm’s public perception. Thus, Nissan risked eliciting a negative public perception. With a distorted public image, the company could fail to revive its declining sales.

I would have advised the management of Nissan to utilize the Predictive Analytic perspective in determining the right decision to take. Ideally, the approach tries to predict what might happen in the future if particular decisions or actions are undertaken at the moment (Traymbak & Aggarwal, 2019). Looking at the situation at Nissan, the company needed to develop a goal such as increasing sales. After that, they would have made decisions aimed at realizing the set goal. In this regard, the predicted outcome could give the management an overview of whether more risks existed or significant rewards could be realized.

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