Short essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Short - Essay Example The third principle of realism is that interest is defined as power being an objective group that is generally legitimate, although it can change its meaning. The fourth is the knowledge of both moral principles of political action and the tension between moral commands and the requirements of successful political action. Additionally, the fifth principle of realism affirms that moral laws governing the world are different from morals of any nation. Finally, the last principle of realism asserts that there is real distinction between political realism and other realisms. The idea of power is broadly defined and there is no distinction between resources giving state power such as military, and the action of one country exercising power over another. It is something that makes someone have authority over the other due to social differences such as violence and psychological ties. Neo-realism Neo-realism ignores the classical realism concept to explain international politics, but develo ps a theory that favors structural constraints on agent’s strategies and motivation. It highlights that international disorder is the main cause of disturbance in global politics. Kant’s three â€Å"definitive articles† that define what is essential for perpetual peace are: Each state has to have a republican constitution The law of nations shall be founded on federation of free states World citizenship Liberal democracies do not go to war against one another because they feel that war is costly and there are no aggressors. However, liberal democracies go to war against non-liberal states so that the big democracies can consolidate power by invoking nationalist rhetoric and stirring up regional hatred. Marxist Theories The instrumental Marxist theory covers the economic structure due to the feeling that the economy determines everything and promotes the high class. Structural Marxism dwells on the thought that law can be changed by other means and it gives hope to the lower class families that they can improve their status regardless of their current social and economic status. The role of state in Marxist theory is maintenance of the necessary general conditions for the reproduction of the wage labor/capital relation which is the heart of bourgeois societies. Marxist theory differs with idealist and realist theory because it provides a framework of analyzing society and acts as the end goal for all thoughts. It also offers practical solution to social and political problems Theotonio Dos Santos defines dependence as a past circumstance that shapes a particular structure of the world economy, so that it favors some countries to the disadvantage of others and restricts the growth prospect of the minor economics. Bipolarity Factors that limited interstate violence, according to Waltz are, economic interdependence, democratic peace theory, rise of international institutions such as NATO, and the US unipolar moment. Waltz believes that a count ry cannot just go to war with a nation that does not pose any threat to it. The second reason why countries cannot go to war is economic interdependency when one state enjoys economic monopoly and the other state depends on it. Additionally, the rise of international institutions serves the interest of most powerful nations and the unipolar moment enjoyed by

Capacity Planning And Timing Strategy Business Essay

Capacity Planning And Timing Strategy Business Essay This report discusses a case study on capacity planning and facility location at Georgia Pacific a company that has undergone growth. The case study illustrate the importance of growth and its linkage to the environment. The report first start with defining the capacity planning and control then looks at capacity-timing strategy Georgia Pacific uses and the factors that influence this strategy. Then looks at major factors that it used to make its capacity expansion decision and what other factors might the company have considered. The report then further explain the technique Georgia Pacific used to make its facility location decision and what other facility factors might the company have considered. Also the report looks at how environmental considerations affect capacity planning and facility location at Georgia Pacific and lastly in my own opinion explain if Georgia pacific has made the correct capacity planning and facility location. Finally the report concludes with Georgia paci fic production style, the manner in which the company operates as a team, its environmental consideration and decision making process. Definition on capacity planning In operations management, capacity is referred as an amount of the input resources available to produce relative output over period of time.(citation) Strategic capacity planning is important in an organisation mainly because its facilitate the organisation to meet its future requirements. Planning guarantee that operation cost are kept at a minimum level without affecting the quality, it also guarantee that organisation remain viable to attain its long-term plan for expansion Capacity planning and timing strategy Long range capacity planning and control primarily depends on a range of factors and some of the factors Georgia-Pacific used base on the on changes in capacity are Market conditions: The timing of the market and making a decision base on the market gives the organisation a competitive edge as well as an increase in market share. Georgia-Pacific have used these strategy to increased its production capacity base on the changes in the market, as the market grew production was increased so as to meet the demand. Technology: The change in the technology means organisation, required fewer resource to operate its production and therefore this means that with the advance technology Georgia-Pacific can increase its production ability with only slight equipment changes. Equipment: So to achieve a large increases in production capacity, Georgia-Pacific use improving the already existing equipment, or set up new equipment, The major factors that influence the buying of sawmill is because of the strategic location of the sawmill and since the capacity of the sawmill was restricted in 1970 when it was first built buying it 1987 and expanding the operation such as adding drying kilns, a planner mill for finishing on site and a warehouse for storing the finish lumber to improved production capacity and the fact that the plant has the basic equipment and the has company owned forests in the area were more economically viable. Factors deciding the expansion The timing in making a decision to expand a business is vital, as you need to carefully study the fiscal benefits of such expansion such as assessing having the cash for the investment to cater for the additional inventory, new facilities or equipment. At Georgia-Pacific the various factors considered in deciding whether to buy and expand the sawmill in Florida for example are Market conditions: Florida has an excellent market condition such as the speedy growth of population and the boom in home construction because of these strategic position of the location of Florida gave Georgia-Pacific an edge over their competitors Raw materials à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Georgia also considered this site because it own forest in the area that also had other position of privately owned timber. Environment- That the other major factors to consider was legislation and government policies regarding the environment Georgia Pacific considered this factor and assessed the environmental regulation of Florida and find out that Florida has more strict environmental regulations that make it hard to build a new plant than to acquire an existing plant. Economics- This is a major factor to considers when planning for capacity expansion as this affect the economic viability of the organization. Georgia pacific has considered this factor by analysing the return on investment when acquiring facilities and found out that acquiring and expanding was much easier and economically viable that building new facilities. Labor à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ The availability of labor both skill and unskilled is very important when considering making a decision for capacity expansion. As for Georgia pacific the nearby facility mean that the sawmill could draw some trained personnel. Equipment à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ As for a long term capacity expansion the availability of equipment to carry the operation is a major factor to consider. For Georgia pacific the already existing sawmill had the vital required equipment and facilities such a functioning road system, a nearby rail road spur, and electricity facilities. Overall at Georgia pacific acquisition of the sawmill offered exceptional potential for capacity expansion and the sawmill was expanded in 1998 hence greatly contributed to the success of the Georgia pacific. What other factors might the company have considered Other factors include Facilities location decision The decision on where to locate facilities is the most important factors in capacity planning and its where the success of the company depends. Facility location involves organisation seeking to locate, relocate or expand their operation, the decision process encompasses the identification, analysis and evaluation of a selection among alternative, Since at Georgia Pacific facility location mostly involves long term commitment of resources the decision on where to locate facilities are mainly affected by several factors such as financial, capacity and technology as well as political, economic and social.. However in the case study at Georgia pacific corp. the main focus of consideration are raw material, market condition labor force, government regulation and policies and finally energy utilities Market condition- Georgia pacific asses the market condition by serving so as know the demand and place the product close to the location. Raw materials- Georgia pacific review the availability of raw so to have adequate supply of locally available raw materials at a low price Government regulation- Georgia pacific choose where the state and local government welcome companies by looking at factors where they have relax tax and environmental policies as well as attitude of the local towards industry such as florida Labor- Georgia pacific have assessed the availability of local work force that can be easily train Utilities- Georgia pacific have considered the availabilities of all utilities necessary such as such as water, electricity and natural gas. Other factors that Georgia pacific could have also consider could be the availability of less expensive land with a bigger space as well as land with quality and efficiency facilities such as such as roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, airport and cargo facilities, energy systems, and telecommunications. Also there other crucial factor that George pacific could consider could be the cost of transportation in terms moving the product as well as the supply cost. For example proximity to supplier can be excellent for JIT production as it improves performance of deliveries and reduces inventory as well as reducing cost. Environmental consideration In general environmental consideration is part of capacity planning and facility location. It was paramount that Georgia Pacific makes itself environmental friendly. Since Georgia pacific depends on timber as a natural resource, they need to assess location where environmental policies are either relax or less strict. For example Georgia Pacific had to buy the sawmill in Florida with strict environmental rules that makes it more difficult to build a new facility. In order to reduce pollution caused by transportation Georgia pacific corp. have considered locating the material close to the site by expanding operation such as adding drying kilns, a planner mill for finishing and a warehouse for storing the finish lumber on site. also choosing municipal sewage disposal system on site at skippers site ,also the skipper was near an excellent timber base and a nearby resin plant that uses the residuals Opinion on Georgia Pacific It is believe that Georgia Pacific has made the correct capacity planning and facility location since all consideration were carefully analyses and decision made base on the out came. The main emphasis was the market condition and the raw materials. The market condition was important because it focuses on the product demand, equally the availability and the location of raw materials so as to reduce the cost of transportation as well and meet the demand of the government or state environmental policy on industries all the factor discuss above were carefully consider by Georgia pacific corp. hence execute a well plan capacity planning and facility location. Conclusion In the case study it looks like at Georgia Pacific the emphasis is on growth, and so capacity increase and acquisition is a way of life. It assesses possible increase of capacity by working as a team to solicit suggestion and obtaining information and use a check list for major factors such as deciding on market demand, technology equipment and labor. Also since the company depends on timber as a natural resource environmental consideration is equally important. All of the above factors are very important part and parceled in decision making on capacity planning and facility location. The factors listed on this report are very crucial when making capacity decisions. Capacity planning is a very important aspect in manufacturing companies, as it to do with meeting the customers demand. They also have a long term impact. Capacity also determines the selection of appropriate technology, type of labour and equipments. The right capacity ensures economically viable business

Bless Me Ultima :: essays research papers

Bless Me Ultima   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children in many cultures are forced into awkward situations, such as they are expected to make life long decision. Some children (usually boys) are forced to chose a bride at the very early ages. Others are to rule kingdoms, and palaces, and some even countries. In the novel Bless Me Ultima, Antonio experiences many difficult situations that are beyond his years and force him to mature much faster then other children his age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For example Antonio is the cause of many of his parents fights that occur. They quarrel over what Antonio would be when he is older. Antonio’s mother wanted Antonio to be extremely intelligent, and she wanted him to grow up to be a priest. His mother once said â€Å"An education will make him a scholar, like–like the old Luna priest.†(54) His mother was not very educated, and tried to live her life through Antonio. She also talked a lot about bringing honor to the family. This is where the priest part comes in. Due to Tony’s mother being very religious she wanted Antonio to become a priest to bring honor to the family, and for him to have more of a relationship with â€Å"god†. Antonio’s father on the other hand did not agree with education, or Antonio becoming a priest. He thinks education is a waste of time and money. Antonio’s father grew up wandering on a horse back threw fields and meadows, never having any for mal education. His fathers dream is to own a vineyard, and to have his sons work on it together, and make it thrive. You did not need an education to juice grapes, and therefore it was not important to him. His father is not religous, and thinks its pointless for him to become a priests. His father did not have respect for priest, due to--------------. Antonio is towrn between his parents and searches for answers. He turns to Ultima for comfort â€Å"She understood that as I grew I would have to chose to be my mothers priest or my fathers son†(41). Although Ultima does not give Antonio straight answers on what he will grow to be she does help him through. Which is what he was longing for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another situation that Antonio was put in, was the witnessing of the many deaths that occurred during the novel and his young life. The first death Antonio witnessed was the death of Lupito.

Coke and Pepsi

Coke and Pepsi in the Twenty-First Century: Threat of Entry:low 1. Economies of scale – High production volume but merit not clear (1st paragraph on page 2) 2. Product differentiation – Brand identification (high advertising expense, Exhibit 2) 3. Capital requirements – CPs: little capital investment (1st paragraph on page 2) – Bottlers: capital intensive (2nd paragraph on page 3) 4. Cost disadvantages independent of size – No 5. Access to distribution channels – Food stores (35%): intense shelf space pressure (2nd paragraph on page 4) – Fountain (23%): CPs dominated first food chain (1st paragraph on page 5) 6.Government policy (N/A) Threat to entry is low because Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Cadbury Schweppes control 90. 1% of the market share; 44. 1%, 31. 4%, and 14. 7% respectively. Although the growth rate of CSD consumptions have been steady at 3% a year, the capital requirement to enter the market is too great of an obstacle. In order to service the entire US, a firm would need $25-50 million to build a plant for concentrate producers, $6 billion ($75 million * 80 plants) to establish bottlers, cost associated to provide and maintain incentives to retailers, and the greatest cost to advertisements.Therefore, firms are deterred from entering the CSD market due to economies of scale couple with brand image that the firm must face. In order provide product differentiation, the entering firm would have to invest heavily to develop a brand image for CSD aside from the three market leaders. Access to distribution channels is intense in CSD industry as bottlers are fighting for shelf spaces in grocery stores. In addition, PepsiCo is in the restaurant business of owning Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut by shutting down any opportunities for other CSD firms to sell fountain drinks in those restaurants.Other CSD firms like Coca-Cola has develop a relationship with remaining market leaders of restauran t for their fountain distribution (i. e. , McDonalds and Burger King). In addition, â€Å"Soft Drink Interbrand Competition Act† in 1980 preserves the rights of Concentrate Producers to grant exclusive territories. Therefore, it would be safe to assume that there are not many competitors in the market vying for a new territory since the existing Concentrate Producers would have driven off competition out of business through their rights of exclusive territories.Cost disadvantages independent of size is high as development brand image will require high investments in advertisement and to develop a new differentiating acquired taste for CSD consumers. Substitutes:low (Non-cola beverage? ) Substitutes of CSD’s include water, juice, milk, and different types of alcohol. However, leading CSD’s have branch out their products to water and juice to capture the market shares of CSD’s substitutes. Other leading substitutes to CSD’s are milk, coffee, and alco hol beverages. These substitutes are generally different complement beverages than the CSD’s.Coffee and alcohol beverages are geared towards adults only and milk is gear towards breakfast meal consumptions with cereal. Complements: Complements to CSD’s are food. CSD firms have made relationships with retailers of food (i. e. , grocery stores, gas stations). In addition, firms have made relationships with restaurants to complement their products with food. Since food is something that everyone consumes several times a day, CSD companies have a great opportunity to maximize their presence in different distribution methods. Buyers:low 1. large volume?Some buyers might buy in large volume but not found in the case 2. standard or undifferentiated? No 3. NA for this case 4. low profits? – Food stores: No, average (5th paragraph on page 4) – Fountains: extremely profitable, 80 cents out of one dollar (1st paragraph on page 5) 5. unimportant? No 6. does not save buyers’ money? (N/A) 7. credible threat? No Buyer groups are not powerful against CPs and bottlers. Therefore, there is no significant bargaining power from buyer side in CSD industry. This situation contributes to maintain high profit of CPs and bottlers. (Reasons) 1.Because there are various retail channels, CPs and bottlers do not face the single retailer with power which purchases in large volume. 2. In general, selling CSDs yields high profit for retailers. (15-20% gross margin for food store, 80 cents out of one dollar for fountain. ) That fact prevents buyers to be price sensitive. 3. In fountain business, CPs and bottlers kept fountain sales profitable and succeeded to avoid cutting price pressure from retailers by paying rebate and investing restaurant retailers. 4. In food store, CSD represented a large percentage of its business (accounting for 3%-4% of food store business).To draw customers to store, it should be necessary for food store to carry the most selling brand in CSD, Coke and Pepsi. This structure weakens food store’s bargaining power. 5. Vending machine is efficient retail channel for keeping price because bottlers can directly control. It also works in the country where Coke and Pepsi do not have distribution channel(ex. Japan). 6. Coke and Pepsi have already established strong brand identification. Some discount retailers have private label CSD but they can not take the place of Coke and Pepsi.Internal Rivalry: high 1. numerous? roughly equal? – numerous: No, oligopoly – roughly equal: Yes – price increase, oligopoly (4th paragraph on page 11) 2. Industry growth – plateau (Exhibit 3) 3. lacks differentiation? – try to differentiate by marketing (5th paragraph on page11) 4. High fixed costs? 5. Capacity augments? Capacity itself not clearly mentioned in the case but; early 1990s: Yes? incurred excess supply? (1st paragraph on page 11, Exhibit 1) late 1990s: 6. High exit barrier? – Yes? capital intensive? 7. rivals diverse in strategies? – No?Coca-Cola and Pepsi’s history of intense rivalry has resulted in the execution of a large number of strategies designed to gain market share and brand recognition. As the industry matures and Coca-Cola and Pepsi learn from past strategies, increased profitability heavily relies on their ability to cut costs, gain fountain contracts, globally expand product mix, and vertically integrate bottler distribution channels. Traditional strategic initiatives such as new product development, advertising, price reduction, and product differentiation will produce minimal results considering Coca-cola and Pepsi are similar in size and power.Coca Cola and Pepsi’s ability to quickly respond to competitor strategies generally lead to industry wars where neither firm is better off then when they started. While it is important to continually maintain brand awareness and pursue various market trends, large gains in prof itability will ensue from strategies that create a sustainable competitive advantage. It is more advantageous for Coca-Cola and Pepsi to invest in strategies that increase the industry demand versus short term profit. Such strategies include but are not limited to, entering developing countries, key acquisitions of growing businesses (i. Yahoo, Diageo, Arista Records, or Starbucks), and increased efforts to vertically integrate bottler distribution channels. Key acquisitions are important in that they can provide the means in which each company can redefine their brand name as more then a â€Å"cola†. Successful examples are Sony, Disney, and GE. Suppliers:low 1. dominated? Metal cans: excess supply (1st paragraph on page 6) 2. unique? not unique 3. obliged to contend? (N/A) 4. credible threats? No 5. important customer? Metal can: largest customer (1st paragraph on page 6) Coke and Pepsi COKE AND PEPSI LEARN TO COMPETE IN INDIABrief Overview:The case of Coke and Pepsi in India is a lesson that all marketers can observe, analyze and learn from, since it involves so many marketing aspects that are essential for all marketers to take into considerationPepsi entered into the Indian beverage market in July 1986 as a joint venture with two local partners, Voltas and Punjab Agro, forming â€Å"Pepsi Foods Ltd. † While Coca-Cola followed suit in 1990 with a joint venture with Britannia Industries India before creating a 100% owned company in 1993 and then ultimately aligning with Parle, the leader in the beverage industry.As both companies would soon discover, â€Å"competing in India requires special knowledge, skills, and local expertise what works here does not always work there. † (Cateora & Graham, 2008, p. 604). In this article, analyze the primary obstacle to Pepsi and Coca-Cola’s success, discuss their strategies to cope with the issue, and ultim ately propose my own suggestions to improvement. Question 1: The political environment in India has proven to be critical to company performance for both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola India. What specific aspects of the political environment have played key roles? Could these effects have been anticipated prior to market entry? If not, could developments in the political arena have been handle better by each company?Indian government viewed as unfriendly to foreign investors. Outside investment had been allowed only in high-tech sectors and was almost entirely prohibited in consumer goods sectors. The â€Å"Principle of indigenous available† If an item could be obtained anywhere else within the country, imports of similar items were forbidden.This made Indian consumers had a little choice of products or brands and no guarantees of quality or reliability.Indian Laws, the government mandated that Pepsi’s products be promoted under the â€Å"Lehar Pepsi† name. For Coca-Cola, they attempted to enter into Indian market by joining with Parle and became â€Å"Coca-Cola India†Yes, it could anticipate the effect prior to market by using information fro m own company research, the business partner in that country, the expertise service, and own experience in near area. They could developments in political arena; Coke could agreed to start new bottling plants instead of buying out Parle, and thus wouldn’t agreed to sell 40% of their equityQuestion 2: Timing of entry into the Indian market brought different results for PepsiCo and Coca-Cola India. What benefits or disadvantages accrued as a result of earlier or later market entry? PepsiCo: Pros: (1) entered the market before Coca-Cola and getting an early entry was able to help Pepsi go so far with Indian market while it was still developing; (2) the fact that company gained 26%market share by 1993 Cons: (1) The government mandated that Pepsi’s product be promoted under the name â€Å"Lehar Pepsi†, because foreign collaboration rules in force at the time prohibited the use of foreign brand names on products intended for sale inside India; (2) Indian Govt limited their soft drink sale no exceed 25% of total sales for the new entrant; (3) Pepsi Foods struggled to fight off local competitions. Coca – Cola: Pros: (1) have ability to align themselves with the market leader. In fact, Parle offered to sell Coca – Cola its bottling plants in four key cities, and (2) Parle also offered to sell its leading brands. (3) Finally, Coca – Cola set up two new ventures with Frooti, Soda, and local product was called â€Å"Britco Foods† Cons: (1) was denied entry until 1993 because Pepsi was already there; (2) It was very difficult for Coca – Cola take market share away from Pepsi and local firms, due to the beverage market was itself growing consistently form year to year; (3) Coca –Cola was not allowed to buy back 40% of equity when the company chose to leave Indian market in 1977 Question 7: What lessons can each company draw from its Indian experience as it contemplates entry into other Big Emerging Markets? PepsiCo:Beneficial to keep with local tasteSignificant to follow market trendsSponsors and Celebrity appeals make more exceptional advertisingIt pays to keep up with emerging trends in the marketCoca – Cola:Pays specific attention to deals made with the governmentEstablish a good business relationship with the governmentInvestment in quality productsAdvertising is essentialBeneficial to follow market trends

Cricket Team and The Indian Woman

Women’s interest in cricket is a sudden development, propelled mostly by the advertisements projecting cricketers as demigods. In the year 2003, model and actress Mandira Bedi became popular for hosting a cricket-discussion program during the World Cup cricket matches. Her immense popularity had little to do with her knowledge about cricket and more with the plunging neckline of her saris and the unavoidable amount of cleavage on exhibit. Today, women are seen cheering for their favourite players on television and attending cricket-celebration parties at pubs and restaurants where they join the men in post-cricket drunken revelry.And these women don’t watch women’s cricket. They do not know about the captain of the Indian women cricket team and they don’t cheer for them at pubs and discos. Advertisers spend lesser money on women’s cricket because most women don’t bother to attend the matches and there has never been a strong demand for women cricket. Fact: Most women don’t know the sport. And their cheering and fan-following has more sexual tones than any proof of their love for the sport. This is perfectly healthy.However, it is a problem if these women start commenting on cricket and assume the role of critics. They are fooling their self and adding to their misery. They may feel left out during cricketing discussions because their knowledge is immature. Women are watching cricket because men watch it a lot. And watching cricket brings attention to women. It is enough for most women to know the names of the players and which player is ‘hot property’. Cricketers parade on ramp shows and women accompany them or foreign models dance around them.These women don’t know the meaning of a reverse-sweep. They don’t know if the batsman’s strength lies in his front-foot strokes or his back foot-drives. They don’t even know the meanings of drives and hooks. They will parade around t he cricketer because he makes lots of money and is seen on television. And standing next to a cricketer would give the models lots of attention. These advertisements tell the women sitting at home that cricketers are successful people because they play cricket; never mind their stature in the sport, their technique or their skills.Advertisers are selling cricket and women are being naive in accepting the advertisement. Not celebrated by Indian women: Jhulan Goswami is recognised as the fastest bowler in women's cricket. She was recently appointed as the captain of the Indian team. Now say the advertisers decide that women ought to be educated about the sport to sustain their interest. They hire models (Ruby Bhatia, Mandira Bedi) to talk about cricket on television. These models are not expected to know much about the sport. They have been hired so that they can make the men talk about the sport.Also note that actual women-cricketers are not asked to do this job, ostensibly because t hey do not project sexiness. Once again, there would be women who wouldn’t watch the cricket chat programs to learn about the sport but would wait for something ‘exciting’ to happen in the sport. This is healthy; the women know what they want from the sport and they are not feigning any extra interest in the sport. But there would be women who would hear opinions about the sport from the models and the experts who talk on television.In recent years there has been a concerted effort from the media and cricket's governing bodies to promote women’s cricket, giving the impression that women playing the game is quite new. But the role of women in cricket has actually been significant since its origins. â€Å" The girls bowled, batted, ran and catched as well as most men could do Women may have actually invented overarm bowling and could be the first cricketers to use a non-red cricket ball, long before the men's game sampled the white balls that we now see in one-day and twenty20 cricket.So what evidence is there to suggest that women were involved in the playing of the game right from the start? The two images below show women playing forms of cricket long before the modern game was formed. The first picture shows a woman about to bowl in a medieval sketch – taken from a comic strip called ‘Focus on fact: Cricket, lovely cricket', that was published in the 1970s and used manuscripts from the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The second appears to show monks and nuns playing a version of cricket together in the fourteenth century.So women may well have played cricket from its very beginning. The first recorded game, however, was in 1745. The Reading Mercury reported: â€Å"Eleven maids of Bramley and eleven maids of Hambleton, dressed all in white, the girls bowled, batted, ran and catched as well as most men could do. † In the years following the women’s game became quite popular. A game in Sussex in 1768 attracted a crowd of 3,000. One of the better known facts about women and cricket is that legendary cricketer W. G.Grace was taught how to play my his mother. Less well known is that women may have invented overarm bowling. It is claimed Christina Willes used to bowled overarm to her brother John, who played cricket for Kent and England in the early nineteenth century, to avoid getting her arm tangled up in her skirts. John then tried out the method at Lord’s, and the rest, as they say, is history. Whether this is true or not may never be known, but women have certainly been at the heart of the game’s development.I was listening to an interview on the MCC audio archive between Ken Medlock, the former chairman of John Wisden & Co, and David Rayvern Allen, the cricket writer and broadcaster. During a section when Medlock is discussing the making of cricket balls, the interviewer Allen suddenly drops in a comment about blue cricket balls being used for the women’s game so la dies wouldn’t be frightened by the red balls! A myth surely? Like piano legs being covered up for decency’s sake in Victorian times. I had to find out – and found evidence that they did exist almost straight away.A ball specially made for women's cricket, weighing 5oz and coloured blue. According to an exhibition catalogue from a 1963 Exhibition of Women’s Cricketana: â€Å"The blue ball made specially by Alfred Reader at the request of Gamages Ltd. in 1897 to ensure that lady cricketers would not swoon at the sight of a red one, did not prove practical as it could not be seen again the background of grass and sky. â€Å"Of interest is the fact that the weight of this ball, of which a limited supply was produced, is 5ozs. , the same as has been used by women cricketers since 1926.The ball on exhibit is the only preserved memento of this curious experiment. † The above blue ball, on loan from the Women's Cricket Association, is part of the MCC Coll ections and is stamped ‘A. W. Gamage Ltd. ;'A. W. G. ‘, Holborn, E. C. ‘. It was commissioned by a department store in central London called Gamages, and made by A. Reader & Co, the famous ball makers from Kent. So there you have it, the evidence to suggest that women may well have introduced overam bowling to cricket and played the first ever cricket game with a non-red ball.