Case Study Assignment (Zara Case) in Europe, Asia, North America and Essay

Case Study Assignment (Zara Case) in Europe, Asia, North America and Middle East - Essay Example Moreover, the wider scope in the fashion industry has provided the company with certain significant opportunities. On the other hand, it has been ascertained that value chain system of the company has been one crucial factor contributing towards its success and growth. Moreover, in the recent times, the company has also been impacted by few challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which has forced the company to undertake a few vital changes in over strategic implementation. Thus, the paper emphasized on identifying the factors that have influenced the strategies of the company as well as this paper comprises vital suggestions for its strategic improvement. From the findings of the study, it has been ascertained that the company has determined to achieve significant milestones. In this course, it has made certain vital plans and has further formulated strategies to successfully accomplish the benefits. Contextually, the company has significantly involved in strengthening i ts brand image through its involvement in the CSR activities and other promotional activities. Finally, it was concluded that the company should take certain vital precautions while implementing strategies for accomplishing the potential opportunities. It was suggested that company should not implement its strategies at single point of time rather it should priorities them according to its needs and market demands for reaping the best possible benefits in the current and future context. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Zara is one of the leading apparel and fashion brands, which operates under the flagship of Inditiex Group of Spain. The company has its operations spread in Europe, Asia, North America and Middle East. Zara is known for offering quality apparels at affordable prices. Over the years, the company has attained significant growth. Its strategies have enabled the company to gain substantial competitive advantages over its competitors. Nonetheless, the company is sign ificantly influenced by few prominent external factors as well as few internal factors. Moreover, the wider scope in the fashion industry has provided the company with certain significant opportunities. On the other hand, it has been ascertained that value chain system of the company has been one crucial factor contributing towards its success and growth. Moreover, in the recent times, the company has also been impacted by few challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which has forced the company to undertake a few vital changes in over strategic implementation. Thus, the paper emphasized on identifying the factors that have influenced the strategies of the company as well as this paper comprises vital suggestions for its strategic improvement. 2 Table of Contents 3 1. Introduction 5 2. External Environment 5 2.1 PESTEL Analysis 5 2.1.1 Political Factors 5 2.1.2 Economic Factors 6 2.1.3 Social Factors 6 2.1.4 Technological Factors 7 2.1.5 Environmental Factors 7 2.1.6 Lega l Factors 7 2.2 Five Forces Analysis 8 2.2.1 Threat of Substitutes 8 2.2.2 Threat of New Entry 8 2.2.3 Bargaining Power of Buyers 9 2.2.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 9 2.2.5 Competitive Rivalry 9 3. Internal Environment 9 3.1 SWOT Analysis 10 3.1.1 Strengths 10 3.1.2 Weaknesses 10 3.1.3 Opportunities 11 3.1.4 Threats 11 3.2 Resource Based View of the Company 11 3.3. Value Chain Analysis 12 3.3.1 Primary Activities 12 3.3.2 Secondary Activities 14 4. Corporate Social

Chief information officer Essay Example for Free

Chief information officer Essay Knowledge management at Accenture Richard Ivey School of Business 20090770 †¢2. Accenture A well known global firm that became a public company with a successful initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2001. Great revenue increment in 2001, 2004(two digit increment) Embarked upon a new strategy †High Performance Delivered† Substantially increase company’s focus on outsourcing Oriented to improving shareholder value for its clients Emphasizing the creation and application of intellectual and technological assets to apply in work with clients organizational structure also evolved 5 operating groups 18 industry groups which made up the five operating groups, eight capability groups †¢3. Knowledge Management In 90s Adopted a knowledge-oriented strategy: build a knowledge management organization under the chief information officer By the mid-1990s, the firm built thousands of knowledge repositories on the Lotus Notes platform: Knowledge Exchange From 2000 to 2002 Responsibility for KM was shifted from CIO to the training and learning organization at Accenture Learning knowledge management were combined into a single new group called capability development in 2001 In 2002, the toughening fiscal conditions, training budgets had been cut substantially for Accenture employees †¢4. Knowledge Management Substantial budget pressures on both the training and knowledge management groups Several of the most senior knowledge managers left Accenture 30% of all the knowledge managers left or were laid off Cost reduction by moving knowledge management functions â€Å"offshore† Capability Development organization had developed a KM staffing model in which decentralized groups would employ a few â€Å" onshore† knowledge managers with high domain expertise and a high need for contact with their internal client; the rest would move offshore Although the learning and KM activities remained largely separate and decentralized within Accenture’s business units, there were some joint initiatives. Developed a personalized learning management system called â€Å"myLearning† As the content of KM proliferate, information finding problems happened Accenture employees dedicated to developing new content often remarked that they found it more and more difficult to get the attention of partners and employees . KNOLEDGE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY The problems for managing existing KM system The KM system was being replaced or augmented with Web-based portals Most major Accenture groups had their own portals Despite one central â€Å"Accenture Portal† that contained links to many decentralized portals, it could be confusing to find the information one needed Duplication of documents throughout the organization was very high The local optimization done by each local company, didn’t seem to work well It was very important that there be a clear governance structure for the new Knowledge Exchange to improve the consistency of the experience Target for the new KM system Barfield who was in charge of KM strategy, decided to develop a governance structure that incorporated senior representatives from each part of the organization †¢6. The new knowledge exchange Accenture changed the foundation of the Knowledge Exchange, from Lotus Notes to Microsoft’s Sharepoint Design of the new Knowledge Exchange were to leverage existing and packaged software to extend SharePoint only to support critical requirements The solution was designed to be simple, cost efficient and effective without an attempt to recreate all existing Lotus Notes functionality to contain all high-value content Opposed to trying to get everything working from the beginning from an end-user perspective user Internal Content Accenture Portal: Knowledge Resources Search (find.accenture.com) Job Aid / Topic page/ Community of Practice Collaboration: Submit question to experts/CoP’s Direct link via browser favorite Contributions/Accenture developed content Accenture purchased content(Research) Browse to other topic pages/COP myLearning courses method Answer from Accenture experts Accenture Discussions †¢7. The new knowledge exchange(cont’d) The strategy identified key insights that drove the overall design: Search quality is the most important aspect of the infrastructure Topic pages are very important for providing context to users who do not immediately find what they need or who are seeking a broader range of content about a subject While collaboration capabilities are not as widely used, this is a required capability for those who can’t find what they need or are working in an area that requires expertise †¢8. LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Training is an investment, not a cost: Vanthourrnout(later Chief Learning Officer) Training function at Accenture was revitalized Accenture employees were again rating training as one of the areas that most drove their satisfaction on the company’s annual employee satisfaction survey †¢9. STRATEGY SESSION 20 people critical to the delivery of Accenture’s KM capability came together to meet and discuss the future direction of KM There was a general feeling that the new Knowledge Exchange would provide a strong technical foundation for a renewed contribution from KM to Accenture’s corporate goals Knowledge Management Mission Drive value from knowledge to enhance revenue, reduce cost and foster innovation Knowledge Management Vision To create a world class knowledge-sharing culture and environment that contributes to Accenture’s success †¢10. Issues The way in which content was added to the system had to be designed Using SharePoint templates An initial typology for documents had been developed Focused on business processes, so that it was easy for people to find relevant documents Users be represented properly in the management and future development of the Knowledge Exchange KM would support, as completely as possible, the entire business cycle within Accenture from initial sales proposal to final client delivery Document obsolescence How can integrate learning and knowledge management? Too tightly integrating them might focus knowledge management on reuse and training and reduce its impact on innovation and collaboration 11. Knowledge Management Vision(cont’d) Five critical goals for KM Fostering and sustaining a knowledge sharing culture Improving the time to competency for new hires Enabling and enhancing Accenture’s sales capability Ensuring and improving the ROI for KM Improving margins and delivered quality on client engagements such as outsourcing and large consulting commitments through speed to capability, use of best practices, etc. †¢12. Five forces Making the knowledge available to the employees Accenture can make entrance barriers high Can analyze customers based on the customer information in KM system Can acquire the experts’ techniques to customers Can help delivery(finding the information of suppliers can be a help) There are plenty of information of substitution of products/services

Persuation Paper -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When watching college athletes participating in their sports, does it ever cross one’s mind that the athletes getting paid? â€Å"The NCAA establishes rules and regulations for universities to follow and one of the most important rules is that student athletes should not receive any money with the exception of scholarships towards their tuition and housing† (Winn). In 1999, the Chronicle of Higher Education surveyed atheletes’ statistics on â€Å"graduation rates for scholarship college athletes in the NCAA’s top Division I.† Fifty-one percent of football players and 41 percent of male basketball players graduated in six years (Meggyesy). NCAA Chief Operating Officer Dan Boggan stated; â€Å"before the eligibility standards, some student-athletes including minority student-athletes, were brought onto campuses solely for their athletics ability, with little chance for them to graduate† (quoted in Reith).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This makes me really disappointed that some schools take sports to be more serious than academics. The schools are willing to dish out a couple of hundred dollars to get the best athletes so that they can get a championship victory at their schools. That is just not right.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another thing that makes me very angry is that the media and fans want basketball and football players to leave school early because they have the talent to go straight to the pros. But when they do choose to do so, the media has s...

Culture Clashes in Multi-Cultures Essay

In 21st century the most visible fact about society is that they comprise too many types of culture in it together. This is due to the cultural and physical wars which have existed for million years between big communities and also every single little one included in them. This multi-cultural structures societies are usually the return of the colonialism. Big and strong communities having the little and weak ones as colonies enforce them to live with each other who have different types of cultures and traditions.On the other hand multi-cultured societies also are consisting of different types of people who chose to live in the same area because of being suitable for life, having many chances for jobs and prosperious consumption and manifacturing. Sometimes this groups of people adapt to the situation but sometimes they create contrariness and clashes. Kofi Annan, who is the Former Secretary-General of the United Nations uttered that in closly interconnected peoples the inter-cultural dialogue and respect for diversity form the principals of them. His point of view explains that if people strive to understand each other, listen each other and don’t refuse before hearing their beliefs, traditions and protocols, respect other’s thoughts and accept that everyone can have different characteristics and beliefs make closly interconnected groups more comfortable and peaceful. If people don’t obey and accept this respectance then it is definite that clashes will occur in the society. Because human nature is prone to be conqueror in all of the conflicts and struggles. Because we love to win, be justified and prepondarent. When everyone thinks that they are right then a clash occurs because people tend to close their ears to hear all of the other different point of views and thoughts. Because of misunderstandings and dis agreement between the cultures a terrific drama is observed. The political scientist Samuel Huntington thinks that people’s cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post Cold-war world. This shows even the science took culture clashes as a notion and this highlights the severity of it, and what it can bring. In my opinion these clashes are caused by the narrow-minded people. In the past, way before the french and industrial revolution it is so hard to see people who think logically and open-minded. After the efficient developments people changed and improved art, philosophy, psychology and science. Unfortunately these improvements couldn’t and still can’t affect some group of people especially the uneducated population. Because of this group having limited point of view they reject the diversity of people and cultures. And results can be both national and universal. After the struggles between the groups in the same society rebellion can be occur and convulse the government’s discipline. And also because of the idea that wants everyone same as themselves creates the ambition of enforcing other’s to be like them sometimes by wars and sometimes by financial strength. In my opinion the best way to resolve culture clashes is to educate public more and instruct them to be open-minded and respected toward new ideas, beliefs.

Gun Control Research Essay

ProCon. org recently featured an article that studied gun control. â€Å"Stricter state gun laws associated with fewer gun deaths, study finds. † The article discussed gun control laws in states with stricter laws tend to have lower rates of gun related homicides, and a suicide (ProCon para. 1) Gun control in the United States is becoming a wide spread issue and is becoming a problem everywhere. Although I am living in a city with uprising crime that has been skyrocketing over the years, I wasn’t aware of this being an issue all over the United States.I decided to do some research to find out whether I am in favor of Gun control laws or not. After reviewing many articles for and against gun control, I found out that I do in fact agree with gun control laws. It became difficult to determine my side of the controversy due to there being a lot of negative and positive opinions about the issue. I feel like gun laws should be in place to restore our countries gun related cri me rates in the U. S. The ProCon article argues that states with the strictest gun control laws have lower rates of gun related homicides and suicides.The argument for gun control laws revolve around the statistics of gun control laws being stricter in certain states verses states with not so strict gun control laws. According to ProCon, â€Å"the most restrictive gun control laws have an average of 6. 64 fewer deaths per 100,000 people per year than those with the least restrictive laws† (ProConpara. 1). ProCon continues on to discuss the study â€Å"Firearm Legislation and Firearm Related Fatalities in the United States,† that was studied by different researchers that measured the association between the â€Å"legislative strength of state gun control policies† (ProCon para.1). The researchers then began to study the five categories used to create the legislative strength score which included laws designed to: curb firearm trafficking; strengthen background ch ecks on purchasers of firearms beyond those required by Brandy Handgun Violence Prevention Act; ensure child safety; ban military style assault weapons; and restrict guns in public places (ProCon para. 1). The researchers then ranked all 50 states from 0 to 28 based on their score (ProCon para. 2). â€Å"The higher the score, the more restrictive the gun lawsin that state,† stated the researchers (ProCon para. 2). â€Å"This study is a very important addition to our understanding of the connection between gun control and gun violence,† said John Roman, a PhD, senior fellow. â€Å"In addition to the general relationship between gun safety laws firearm deaths, also suggests that increasing the number of gun safety laws increases the reductions in firearm related deaths. So the benefits just get bigger with more laws† (ProCon para. 3). After reading the ProCon article, I found myself agreeing with the researchers.I can see different levels of gun related crimes all over the United States. Just by living in Fort Wayne, IN where there has been a peak in gun related crimes and deaths gives me proof that their study was indeed accurate. If more states had stricter gun control laws they would start to have lower rates of gun related homicides and suicides. Next, I went to an article by Chuck Baldwin, an American Politician, who disagreed with gun control laws: â€Å"Here we go again. We have another mass shooting at yet another â€Å"gun free† zone.Not only was the location a â€Å"gun free zone, it was located inside the nation’s capital, which has some of the strictest gun-control laws in the entire country,† Stated Chuck Baldwin, (Baldwin para. 1). Mr. Baldwin clearly has a strong disagreement about gun control laws in the United States. In the title of the article, he stated, â€Å"Guns don’t kill people; gun control laws kill people† (Baldwin para. 1). Mr. Baldwin then proceeds to talk about people basicall y abusing gun control laws and that they are useless because people are still using guns in â€Å"gun free† zones. Mr.Baldwin argued, â€Å"I thought gun-control laws and â€Å"gun-free† zones were supposed to protect people from gun violence† (Baldwin para. 1). Mr. Baldwin proceeded to argue that â€Å"Gun-Free† zones are actually â€Å"Free Killing† zones (Baldwin para. 1). He then went on to explain how â€Å"This is the second time in recent memory when some wacko shoots up a military installation† (Baldwin para. 2). I feel like Mr. Baldwin’s logic behind gun control laws is kind of persuasive because even though there are gun control laws, and â€Å"gun free† zones, doesn’t mean that people are going to stop committing gun related crimes in places where there are laws in place.I expected that I might be swayed by Mr. Baldwin’s information, but I was not. I am definitely in favor of gun control laws. I also th ink that Mr. Baldwin’s argument was kind of true and he had a lot of good reasoning, but I still think that by enforcing gun control laws helps a lot of states to lower their gun related crimes. However, I did not see anything on Chuck Baldwin’s article that proved gun control laws were good or bad. The final article that convinced me of my position came from the Congressional Digest.The article, â€Å"Prevalence of Gun Use and the Regulatory Response† doesn’t focus on one side of the issue. Instead, it focuses on the different reasons gun control laws could or could not be effective. Some argue that the low violent crime rates of other countries have nothing to do with gun control, maintaining instead that multiple cultural differences are responsible (Gun para. 1). â€Å"Through the years, legislative proposals to restrict the availability of firearms to the public have raised the following questions: â€Å"What restrictions on firearms are permissibl e under the Constitution?Does gun control constitute crime control? Can the Nation’s rates of homicide, robbery, and assault be reduced by the stricter regulation of firearms commerce or ownership? Would restrictions stop attacks on public figures or thwart deranged persons and terrorists? Would household, street corner, and schoolyard disputes are less lethal if firearms were more difficult and expensive to acquire? Would more restrictive gun control policies have the unintended effect of impairing citizens’ means of self-defense? † (Gun para.2) This article provided a lot of questions that I asked myself and I answered â€Å"yes† to more than half of the previous questions. I had not considered these questions until I read the Congressional Digest. I think that if the government really cracked down on gun control laws, people would actually see a change in gun related crimes. I feel like yes, more restrictive gun control policies have unintended effect o f impairing citizens’, and yes different cultural differences have nothing to do with gun control issues.After reading these articles on gun control laws, I am now more informed and can still say that gun control laws still should be enforced. I am surprised at the different views this issue has received. I found out that I do in fact agree with gun control laws. It became difficult to determine my side of the controversy due to there being a lot of negative and positive opinions about the issue. I feel like gun laws should be in place to restore our countries gun related crime rates and fatalities in the U. S.

Final Paper Juvenile Justice Essays

Final Paper Juvenile Justice Essays Final Paper Juvenile Justice Essay Final Paper Juvenile Justice Essay Final Paper Juvenile Justice BY SGreene93 Stephen Greene 12/03/2013 qc-113-001 Final Paper There are currently two programs specifically in Henderson County which I am writing this paper about. One of the programs is the local Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County and the D. A. R. E. Program of Henderson County. I decided to write about local programs because it would give me the opportunity to learn more about juvenile delinquency prevention programs within my own community. Both programs are a huge staple within Henderson County and are two of the most important uvenile delinquency prevention programs within Henderson County. First I will report about the local Boys and Girls Club within Henderson County. On November 1st 1993 The Boys Girls Club of Henderson Co. opened its doors to 150 youth in the Green Meadows Community Center. (This 2000-sq. -ft. room now houses the Clubs game-room and a kitchen. ) (3). In 1995 The Club obtained two adjacent houses†one eventually renovated into a teen center (1250 sq. t. ), and one renovated into a classroom facility and counseling center (1200 sq. ft. ) (3). In February 1996 The Club pened a 12,000-square-foot addition of classrooms, lobby, office space and a large gymnasium to serve the expanding membership (3). Between the years of 1998 and 1999 The Club operated a satellite unit in an old school annex building in East Flat Rock, expanding the Clubs reach into other parts of Henderson County (3). On January 1st, 2000 The Club opened its doors to a 3,000-square-foot Center for the Arts. : Divided into a visual arts space and a performing arts space, the building also houses the largest kitchen on campus. This expansion of the main campus allowed he organization to merge the East Flat Rock unit into the Green Meadows facility. Annual membership surged to more than 500, with a uniquely balanced distribution of African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Caucasian and Native American youth (3). Currently in the Henderson County branch of the Boys and Girls Club attendance is well over 1000 children, which is simply amazing. The mission of the Boys and Girls club is simple, to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens (1). The second rogram I am going to talk about is the Henderson County D. A. R. E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. The D. A. R. E. program started in 1983 in Los Angeles, California as a partnership between parents, schools and law enforcement to educate children on the consequences of drug abuse and teaching good decision making skills to enable them to live productive drug and violence-free lives (2). The Henderson County branch started in 1985 in several schools in Henderson County as a pilot program for North Carolina and was implemented in 1987 in all the elementary schools locally (2). DARE has continued in the classroom since that time with well-trained, dedicated officers making a difference in childrens lives. The DARE Curriculum is focused at the 5th grade level, but has lessons available for all grades. There is also a D. A. R. E. amp in Henderson County, which is a summer program that children can attend that goes into even more detail than Just the course they are required to take in school. It is an amazing opportunity for the children as well as their mentors. DARE Camp has grown from a day camp with 35 campers to an overnight camp with approximately 220 campers each year (2). Activities include: archery, swimming, first aide, zip line, the blob, fishing, canoeing, crafts, team challenges, singing, devotions, skit night, campfire, DARE Dance, self-defense, kayaking, K -9 demonstration, speakers, lots of good food and fun (2). Campers learn to do new things, build friendships and more than anything learn that you can have an extraordinary amount of fun without drugs. Overall I feel like both of the local juvenile delinquency prevention programs within Henderson County are successful. With the Henderson County Boys and Girls Club I feel the way they attract the hildren into the program and once the children are accepted into the program they have peers around them that share a lot of similar traits and make the child feel comfortable. It is a great prevention method by putting trouble children with friends who will support them and mentors that will teach them how to live and have a successful life. The Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County will ultimately be successful in the long run. My definition of ultimately successful is helping any amount of children become more successful in life and divert them from making the rong choices, which is exactly what the Boys and Girls Club is accomplishing with their programs all around the world including Henderson County. The local D. A. R. E. program in Henderson County is another great program offered by Henderson County. I agree with making the D. A. R. E. program mandatory in elementary schools, if you target the children at a young age it accomplishes more before they get into drugs. The D. A. R. E program is not only in North Carolina, when I was in 5th grade I went through it in Florida where I went to elementary school, I now it affected me in a positive way by making drugs bad and promoting other things like friends and finding other hobbies that you can enjoy. Just like the Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County I feel that the D. A. R. E. program within Henderson County will be ultimately successful. I say this for the same exact reason as the last one, helping any amount of children become more successful in life and divert them from making the wrong choices is what is ultimately successful in my book. References: (1). N. p.. web. 1 Dec 2013.. (2). N. p.. web. 1 Dec 2013.. (3). N. p.. web. 1 Dec 2013..

Free Essays on Legality Of Same Sex Marriages

Legality of Same-Sex Marriages The proposed legalization of same-sex marriage is one of the most significant issues in contemporary American family law. Presently, it is one of the most vigorously advocated reforms discussed in law reviews, one of the most explosive political questions facing lawmakers, and one of the most provocative issues emerging before American courts. If same-sex marriage is legalized, it could be one of the most revolutionary policy decisions in the history of American family law. The potential consequences, positive or negative, for children, parents, same-sex couples, families, social structure public health, and the status of women are enormous. Given the importance of the issue, the value of comprehensive debate of the reasons for and against legalizing same-sex marriage should be obvious. Marriage is much more than merely a commitment to love one another. Aside from societal and religious conventions, marriage entails legally imposed financial responsibility and legally authori zed financial benefits. Marriage provides automatic legal protections for the spouse, including medical visitation,succession of a deceased spouse's property, as well as pension and other rights. When two adults desire to "contract" in the eyes of the law, as well a perhaps promise in the eyes of the Lord and their friends and family, to be responsible for the obligations of marriage as well as to enjoy its benefits, should the law prohibit their request merely because they are of the same gender? I intend to prove that because of Article IV of the United States Constitution, there is no reason why the federal government nor any state government should restrict marriage to a predefined heterosexual relationship. Marriage has changed throughout the years. In Western law, wives are now equal rather than subordinate partners; interracial marriage is now widely accepted, both in statute and in society; and marital failure i... Free Essays on Legality Of Same Sex Marriages Free Essays on Legality Of Same Sex Marriages Legality of Same-Sex Marriages The proposed legalization of same-sex marriage is one of the most significant issues in contemporary American family law. Presently, it is one of the most vigorously advocated reforms discussed in law reviews, one of the most explosive political questions facing lawmakers, and one of the most provocative issues emerging before American courts. If same-sex marriage is legalized, it could be one of the most revolutionary policy decisions in the history of American family law. The potential consequences, positive or negative, for children, parents, same-sex couples, families, social structure public health, and the status of women are enormous. Given the importance of the issue, the value of comprehensive debate of the reasons for and against legalizing same-sex marriage should be obvious. Marriage is much more than merely a commitment to love one another. Aside from societal and religious conventions, marriage entails legally imposed financial responsibility and legally authori zed financial benefits. Marriage provides automatic legal protections for the spouse, including medical visitation,succession of a deceased spouse's property, as well as pension and other rights. When two adults desire to "contract" in the eyes of the law, as well a perhaps promise in the eyes of the Lord and their friends and family, to be responsible for the obligations of marriage as well as to enjoy its benefits, should the law prohibit their request merely because they are of the same gender? I intend to prove that because of Article IV of the United States Constitution, there is no reason why the federal government nor any state government should restrict marriage to a predefined heterosexual relationship. Marriage has changed throughout the years. In Western law, wives are now equal rather than subordinate partners; interracial marriage is now widely accepted, both in statute and in society; and marital failure i...