Karsanbhai Patel Essay Example

Karsanbhai Patel Essay Entrepreneurship Development- assignment 2013 Entrepreneur Profile-Mr. Karsanbhai Patel NIRMA- From Rags to Riches -Gitika Kolli(1225112321) -MBA-C-GIM Gitam institute of management(2012-2014) Introduction: Nirma is one of the few names – which is instantly recognized as a true Indian brand, which took on mighty multinationals and rewrote the marketing rules to win the heart of princess, i. e. the consumer. Nirma, the proverbial ‘Rags to Riches’ saga of Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, is a classic example of the success of Indian entrepreneurship in the face of stiff competition. Starting as a one-man operation in 1969, today, it has about 14, 000 employee-base and annual turnover is above Rs. 25, 00 crores. Way back- Nirma and its existence: India is a one of the largest consumer economy, with burgeoning middle class pie. In such a widespread, diverse marketplace, Nirma aptly concentrated all its efforts towards creating and building a strong consumer preference towards its ‘value-for-money’ products. Innovation, Creation and Foundation: It was way back in ‘60s and ‘70s, where the domestic detergent market had only premium segment, with very few players and was dominated by MNCs. It was 1969, when Karsanbhai Patel started door-to-door selling of his detergent powder, priced at an astonishing Rs. 3 per kg, when the available cheapest brand in the market was Rs. 13 per kg. It was really an innovative, quality product – with indigenous process, packaging and low-profiled marketing, which changed the habit of Indian housewives’ for washing their clothes. In a short span, Nirma created an entirely new market segment in domestic marketplace, which is, eventually the largest consumer pocket and quickly emerged as dominating market player – a position it has never since relinquished. We will write a custom essay sample on Karsanbhai Patel specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Karsanbhai Patel specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Karsanbhai Patel specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Rewriting the marketing rules, Nirma became a one of the widely discussed success stories between the four-walls of the B-school classroom across the world. Marketing Miracle: The performance of Nirma during the decade of 1980s has been labelled as ‘Marketing Miracle’ of an era. During this period, the brand surged well ahead its nearest rival – Surf, which was well-established detergent product by Hindustan Lever. It was a severing battering for MNC as it recorded a sharp drop in its market share. Nirma literally captured the market share by offering value-based marketing mix of four P’s, i. e. perfect match of product, price, place and promotion. The year 2004 sees Nirma’s annual sales touch 800,000 tones, making it one of the largest volume sales with a single brand name in the world. Looking at the FMCG synergies, Nirma stepped into toilet soaps relatively late in 1990 but this did not deter it to achieve a volume of 100,000 per annum. This makes Nirma the largest detergent and the second largest toilet soap brand in India with market share of 38% and 20% respectively. Strategies: It has been persistent effort of Nirma to make consumer products available to masses at an affordable price. Hence, it takes utmost care to provide finest products at the most affordable prices. To leverage this effort, Nirma has gone for massive backward integration along with expansion and modernization of the manufacturing facilities. The focal objective behind modernisation plan is of up gradation with resource-savvy technology to optimise capabilities. Nirma’s six production facilities, located at different places, are well equipped with state-of-art technologies. To ensure regular supply of major raw materials, Nirma had opted for backward integration strategies. These strategic moves allowed Nirma to manage effective and efficient supply-chain. Nirma has always been practiced ‘value-for-money’ plank. Nirma plans to extend the same philosophy in categories as commodity food products, personal care products and packaged food. Distinct market vision and robust infrastructure allowed Nirma to have cost leadership. Apart from this, lean distribution network, umbrella branding and low profile media promotions allowed it to offer quality products, at affordable prices. Organisation Structure: In present scenario, an inspiring 59-year-old persona, Dr. Karsanbhai K. Patel, leads Nirma, playing role of key strategic decision-maker, whereas his next generation has already skilled management capabilities. Shri Rakesh K Patel – a qualified management graduate, is spearheading the procurement, production and logistic functions, whereas Shri Hiren K Patel – a qualified Chemical engineer and management graduate, heads the marketing and finance functions of the organisation. Shri Kalpesh Patel, Executive Director, leads the professional organisational structure. Awards and Accolades: The man behind the success of Nirma phenomenon – Dr. Karsanbhai Patel is a recipient of various awards and accolades. He has been bestowed with various awards like†¦ * Udyog Ratna by Federation of Association of Small-Scale Industries of Gujarat, New Delhi. * Outstanding Industrialist of Eighties by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahmedabad (in 1990). * Gujarat Businessman Award in 1998 by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ahmedabad. * Excellence in Corporate Governance Award by Rotary International District 2000. * AM Hall of Fame, _______. Shri Karsanbhai has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Florida Atlantic University, Florida, USA in the year 2001 in recognition of his exceptional accomplishments as a philanthropist and businessman. This world has also recognised his ability, acumen and wisdom and in recognition of the services rendered by him in his various capacities. Dr. Karsanbhai Patel has also served as a Chairman for two terms to the Government of India’s Development Council for soaps and detergents, as a Member of Bureau of Indian Standards Committee for Soaps and Detergent Industries and President of Gujarat Detergent Manufacturers Association. Conclusion: Karsanbhai Patel stands to be a source of inspiration and provides insights in setting up an industry with the spirit of self-confidence and fulfilling the criterion of a budding entrepreneur in evolving his conceptual knowledge into a practical approach by using creativity and innovation, which has accolades of praises in due for him. REFERENCES: http://www. nirma. co. in/genesis. htm http://www. slideshare. net http://www. iloveindia. com/indian-heroes/karsanbhai-patel. html http://toostep. com/insight/success-story-of-nirma http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Karsanbhai_Patel

abstract

abstract -ROC greater than zero implies an increase in upward momentum.-ROC less than zero implies a decrease in downward momentum.-Divergence indicates a sharp decline if ROC is sloping downwards.-ROC expands into positive territory as an advance accelerates.-ROC dives deeper into negative territory as a decline accelerates.-An upward surge in the Rate-of-Change reflects a sharp price advance.-A downward plunge indicates a steep price decline.-Oversold Rate-of-Change: This scan reveals stocks with a positive 125-day Rate-of-Change and an oversold 21-day Rate-of-Change (below -8%). Once these criteria are met, a bullish signal is triggered when the stock closes above the 20-day SMA.-Overbought Rate-of-Change: This scan reveals stocks with a negative 125-day Rate-of-Change and an overbought 21-day Rate-of-Change (above 8%). Once these criteria are met, a bearish signal is triggered when the stock closes below the 20-day SMA.-ROC greater than zero implies an increase in upward momentum.Crip han dsign.Gangs may or may not be facilitated in a branch of higher and lower members, mimicking a military model. Gangs often have a loosely defined set of goals, and are often involved in delinquent activities.A socially approved form of a gang is a club. Americans generally view clubs as character building leadership opportunities; whereas, individuals typecast into gangs are persecuted as criminals. Clubs are formed with constructive goals in mind, such as making it easier for its members to find parts for a particular brand of automobile. Socioeconomic class, academic achievement, or perceived roles in society for its members all play a part in the preferential treatment given to a group which a society deems a club rather than a gang. For instance, parts of the public anticipated that motorcycle riders would cause a massive...

High Level ETL and Data Mining Requirements Research Paper

High Level ETL and Data Mining Requirements - Research Paper Example It is important to evaluate the project keenly. Many people go for the expensive products without considering whether using a low-end or hand coding tool would be easy, fast or cost-effective. When buying an ETL product, especially a more complex ETL, it will still be essential to train the project personnel. Training is more expensive than buying ETL for a project and should be considered when comparing the buying and development costs. Business requirements are the functional requirements needed. They describe the needed solution in business terms. Gathering of information includes requirement interviews, workshop and enterprise objectives. The future comes with questions as to how much is to be charged for products when combined with other suppliers products. During the initial load improvement steps, all foreign key constraints are removed before executing the ETL stored procedure. The ETL stored procedure is called with a procedure that is truncated. ETL can be used to convert the data into a layout suitable for use in the new software. The initial load occurs in the analysis phase of the project. The timing to replace the tactical design choices is dependent on time on hand and the  business requirements. Successful implementation starts with asking questions as to whether it is worth building the software, while it can be bought and used diversely in different applications. If there is evident justification, then it is now appropriate to by the software. The company should buy the tool because it is fast and the tool can be reused in other projects. The amount of ETL development time will be significantly reduced. The tools will be of a wide range and can be reused for future projects. It is the practice of analyzing information from different dimensions and simplifying it in meaningful information (Clifton, 2010). It allows its users to examine data from many different proportions gives a summary of the

Gucci case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gucci case - Essay Example To enable Gucci regain its position in the market, Domencio De Sole – Gucci’s president and CEO lead and Tom Ford – Gucci’s creative director combined their individual talents. Eventually, the company started selling its shares to the public market. Since Gucci was financially performing well at the time the company announced its initial public offering; well-known companies such as: LVMH and PPR were fighting over who gets the biggest share in Gucci. The problem with selling the company’s shares to the public market is the fact that shareholders who have the highest percentage of Another problem with going into public market is related to its vulnerability to the U.S. economic performance including financial crisis that may occur around the world. Once the economy becomes unstable, there is a huge possibility that the stock value of company shares will go down. Throughout Gucci’s success in the global market, the company heavily relied on Ford without training other designers with regards to Gucci’s fashion ideas and its target market. The absence of having well-trained and competitive designers could place the company in danger as soon as Ford decided to leave the company. Aggressively selling Gucci’s shares in the stock market without controlling the number of shares issued in the public market may cause the company-owner(s) to lose their power to manage the business operations of the company. In order to become a conglomerate multi-branded global company, Gucci should have entered into a business partnership or joint-venture with other related company instead of heavily relying on the selling of the company’s shares. competitive young designers. Through this type of competition, the company can identify the unique talents of each young designer. To win a long-term commitment from selected designers, Gucci could negotiate the packages and benefits which will be given to them in exchange for their service. With

Police High Speed Pursuits and Responses Research Paper

Police High Speed Pursuits and Responses - Research Paper Example 3). Latest court rulings, including a United States Supreme Court ruling given five years back, put off it to the enforcing officer to take the decision in high speed pursuits. As a plaintiff’s responsibility of providing evidence may be higher, such cases still carry the risk. It proves the need of a well established policy over police pursuit. A well written high-speed pursuit policy stipulates guidelines explaining what elements are critical and what are ignorable. Rules are given in written form in pursuit policies to help chasing officers to organize or quit the chase by adhering to the rules (AMIC 2-3). Recurrent fatalities in road accidents from police vehicles form the biggest single entity of deaths resulting from police action, thus, a major number of cases are referred to the IPCC in the UK. Although there has been much discussion among the surrounding communities and the police over chase incidents but level of awareness is still low to arouse debate on the issue. An analysis of the cases referred to IPCC has helped in rectifying the mistakes at policy and practice level (IPCC 1). Civilian fatalities following police related road traffic incidents - England & Wales Financial Year Pursuit related ?Emergency response 'Other incidents' ? Total fatalities ? ?2004/05 ?23 ?6 ?15 ?44 ?2005/06 ?32 ?4 ?12 ?48 ?2006/07 ?19 ?3 ?14 ?36 ?2007/08 ?17 ?2 ?5 ?24 ?2008/09 ?22 ?6 ?12 ?40 ?2009/10 ?19 3 7 29 ?2010/11 ?13 ?4 ?9 ?26 Source: Statistics for England and Wales annual reports At higher administrative level, need to revise the driver training parameters have been felt to bring down the number of road hits and injuries from accidents. Comparing the number of accidents by the public and the policemen in Britain, nothing can be said for sure, as the data in the above table indicates but subsequent improvement in controlling pursuit related accidents has been accomplished but the number of injuries to the policemen while on the roads can be critically deci sive to their performance. Adequate training to the police drivers can further control the rise in accidents, as after-effects on the health of police officers themselves could be harsh in physical terms (Fletcher 1). The aim of this research is to prove whether it is advisable to take the risks of high-speed police pursuits relatively to the rewards from them. Such pursuits are dangerous and life threatening for all concerned, and even not-aware citizens becoming sudden victims. Policies are required to be changed to control possible pursuits and the parameters employed to decide or terminate such pursuits (Player 2). High Speed Pursuit Policy The high-speed pursuit policy should help policemen in decision-making while considering various elements, such as: (a) the category of the offense; (b) the strategy of the offender's running; (c) the limit of recognizing the offender; (d) prior hints of the offender's lead direction; (e) the current expertise of other officers to nab the off ender; (f) idea of past activities of the offender; (g) the possibility that the offender is carrying weapons or may use force to escape; (h) the possibility of material loss to individuals or property caused from the pursuit; (i) the fitness of the police vehicle; consideration of the

Teaching Status Report :: JPE Education Teaching Teachers Essays

Teaching Status Report A lot has changed since my last status report. I have essentially been teaching math lessons on my own since October 11th. It feels really good to have so much responsibility and to become an accepted part of the classroom. I am also realizing how lucky I am to have a cooperating teacher who I am so compatible with. In reference to classroom management and discipline, my cooperating teacher and I have become a team. When he is teaching I serve as another source of discipline, I can talk to students one-on-one who are causing trouble and I can provide help to students so my teacher can continue with the lesson. Furthermore, because I am still working on my authoritative side, when the class gets really out of control my cooperating teacher serves as a reminder that although I may be a student teacher I should be respected like the other teachers. In reference to my authoritative side, it is still a work in progress. I definitely have developed an ability to raise my voice and correct a student when they are misbehaving. However, I still have trouble when the entire class gets out of control and starts talking. Halloween definitely revealed this weakness, the Friday before this holiday was especially stressful because the students were so excited about their plans and had already began eating candy so they were very noisy and they did not want to learn. I tried my best to correct them but my cooperating teacher had to step in. Although I wish I could have handled the situation myself I know this skill of correcting the entire class will come with time and experience. My students’ behaviors and learning abilities are both disappointing and exciting to talk about. It amazes me that some students have the ability to work hard, regardless of their personal lives, and truly want to learn. However, there are some students who have absolutely no desire to be in school. My teacher is still working with the guidance office to see which students have IEPs and should not be in this classroom. I am really frustrated that no action has been taken yet, the school year is quickly going by and it is clear that some of these students need more help than my cooperating teacher and I can provide. Another interesting detail about this problem is that most of the IEPs are behavior related.

Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 9

Mary-Lynnette's hearing had gone funny. Sheheard Kestrel's words like a character remembering a phrase In a bad movie. Kill them, kill them, kill them. Mark laughed In a very strange way. This is going to be really rotten for him, MaryLynnette thought, curiously dispassionate. I mean, if we were going tolive through this, which we're not, it would be really rotten for him. He was already afraidof girls, and sort of pessimistic about life in general â€Å"Why don't we all sit down?† Rowan said with astifled sigh. â€Å"We've got to figure this out.† Mark threw back his head and gave another shortbark of a laugh. â€Å"Why not?† he said. â€Å"Let's all sit down, why not?† They're fast as whippets, Mary-Lynnette thought.If we run now, they'll catch us. But If we sit, and they get comfortable, and I distract them-or hitthem with something†¦ â€Å"Sitl† she ordered Mark briskly. Rowan and Kestrel moved away from the deer and sat. Jade stood with her hands on her hips for a moment, then sat,too. Sitting, Mark was still acting punch-drunk. Hewaved the flashlight around. â€Å"You girls aresomethingelse. You girls are really-â€Å" â€Å"We're vampires,† Jade said sharply. â€Å"Yeah.† Mark laughed quietly to himself. â€Å"Yeah,† he said again. Mary-Lynnette took the flashlight away from him. She wanted control of it. And it was heavy plastic and metal. It was a weapon. And while one layer of her mind was thinking:Shine the light in their eyesat just the rightmoment andthen hit oneof them; another part was thinking:Shemeans they'repeoplewhothinkthey're vampires;peoplewith that weird disease that makes them anemic; and one final part was saying:Youmight as well faceit;they're real. Mary-Lynnette's world view had been knocked rightout of the ballpark. â€Å"Don't you justhate that,† Mark was saying. â€Å"You meet a girl and she seems pretty nice and you tell all your friends and then before you know it she turnsout to be avampire.Don't you just hate it when that happens?† Oh. God, he's hysterical, Mary-Lynnette realized. She grabbed his shoulder and hissed in his ear, â€Å"Get a grip, now.†, â€Å"I don't see what the point is in talking to them,Rowan,† Kestrel was saying. â€Å"You know what wehave to do.† And Rowan was rubbing her forehead. â€Å"I was thinkingwe might influence them,† she said in an undertone. â€Å"You know why that won't work.† Kestrel's voice was soft and flat. â€Å"Why?† Jade said sharply. â€Å"They followed us for a reason,† Rowan saidtiredly. She nodded toward the hole. â€Å"So they've been suspicious for a while-for how long?† She looked at Mary-Lynnette. â€Å"I saw you dig the hole Tuesday night,† MaryLynnette said. She nodded toward the hole. â€Å"Is that your aunt in there?† There was a brief silence and Rowan looked selfconscious. Then she inclined her head slightly. Gracefully. â€Å"Oh, hell,† Mark said. His eyes were shut and his head was rolling on his neck. â€Å"Oh,hell. They've got Mrs. B. in a bag.† â€Å"Two days,† Rowan said to Jade. â€Å"They've suspected for two whole days. And we can't remove memories that are interlaced with other things for that long. We'd never know if we got them all.† â€Å"Well, we could just takeeverything for the last two days,† Jade said. Kestrel snorted. â€Å"And have two more people wandering around with lost time?† Mary-Lynnette's mind went click. â€Å"Todd Akers andVic Kimble,† she said. â€Å"You did something to give them amnesia.I knew there had to be a connection.† â€Å"There's no other choice for us,† Kestrel said quietly to Rowan. â€Å"And you know it as well as I do.† She's not being malicious, Mary-Lynnette realized.Just practical. If a lioness or a wolf or a falcon could talk, it would say the same thing. â€Å"We have to either kill or die; it's as simple as that.† Despite herself, Mary-Lynnette felt something like fascination-and respect. Mark had his eyes open now. And Rowan was looking sad, so sad. It's awful, her expression said, but somebody here is going to have to get hurt. Rowan bowed her head, then lifted it to face MaryLynnette directly. Their eyes met, held. After a moment Rowan's face changed slightly and she nodded. Mary-Lynnette knew that in that instant they werecommunicating without words. Each recognizing the other as an alpha female who was willing to fightand die for her kin. Meaning they were both big sisters. Yes, somebody's going to get hurt, Mary-Lynnette thought. You threaten myfamily,I fight back. She knew Rowan understood. Rowan was going to really hate killing her†¦. â€Å"No,† a voice said passionately, and MaryLynnette realized it was Jade. And the next second Jade was on her feet, hands clenched, words erupting like a steam boiler exploding. â€Å"No, youcan'tkill Mark. I won'tletyou.† Rowan said, â€Å"Jade, I know this is hard-â€Å"Kestrel said, â€Å"Jade, don't be a wimp-â€Å" Jade was trembling, body tensed like a cat ready to fight. Her voice was louder than either of them. â€Å"You just can't do itl I think -Ithink-† â€Å"Jade-â€Å" â€Å"I thinkhe's my soulmate!† Dead silence. Then Rowan groaned. â€Å"Oh, dear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Kestrel said, â€Å"Oh,sure.† They were both looking at Jade. Focused on her. Mary-Lynnette thought, now. She swung the flashlight viciously at Kestrel, wanting to take her out first, betting that Rowan would stay behind if Kestrel were hurt. But the swing never connected, Mark threw himself in front of her, slamming into her arm. â€Å"Don't hurt Jade!† Then everything was just a mad tangle. Arms, legs,grasping fingers, kicking feet. Jade and Mark both yelling for it to stop. Mary-Lynnette felt the flashlight wrenched out of her hand. She found long hair, got hold of it, yanked. Someone kicked her, and pain blossomed in her ribs. Then she felt herself being dragged backward Mark was holding her, pulling her away from thefight. Jade was lying on top of Kestrel and clutching at Rowan. Everybody was panting. Mark was almost crying. â€Å"We just can't do this,† he said. â€Å"This is terrible.This is all wrong.† Meanwhile Jade was snarling, â€Å"He's my soulmate,okay?Okay? I can't do anything with himdead!† â€Å"He's not your soulmate, idiot,† Kestrel said in a somewhat muffled voice. She was facedown on the carpet of needles. â€Å"When you're soulmates, it hits you like lightning, and you know that's the one person in the world you were meant to be with. Youdon'tthink you're soulmates; you just know it's your destiny whether you like it or not.† Somewhere, deep in Mary-Lynnette's brain, something stirred in alarm. But she had more urgentthings to worry about. â€Å"Mark, get out of here,† she said breathlessly. ?Run!? Mark didn't even ease his grip. â€Å"Why do we have to be enemies?† â€Å"Mark, they're killers .You can't justify that. They killed their own aunt.† Three faces turned toward her, startled. A half-fullmoon had risen above the trees, and Mary-Lynnette could see them clearly. â€Å"We didnot!† Jade said indignantly. â€Å"What made you think that?† Rowan asked.Mary-Lynnette felt her mouth hang open. â€Å"Be cause you buried her, for God's sakel† â€Å"Yes, but we found her dead.† â€Å"Somebody staked her,† Kestrel said, brushingpine needles out of her golden hair. â€Å"Probably a vampire hunter. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that.† Mark gulped. â€Å"Staked her-with a stake?† â€Å"Well, with a picket from the fence,† Kestrel said. â€Å"She was already dead?† Mary-Lynnette said toRowan. â€Å"But then why on earth did you bury her in the backyard?† â€Å"It would have been disrespectful to leave her in the cellar.† ‘But why didn't you have her taken to a cemetery?†Rowan looked dismayed. Jade said, â€Å"Um, you haven't seen Aunt Opal.† â€Å"She's not looking so good,† Kestrel said. â€Å"Kind ofhard and stiff. You might say mummified.† â€Å"It's what happens to us,† Rowan said almostapologetically. Mary-Lynnette slumped back against Mark, trying to get her new world view into place. Everything was whirling. â€Å"So†¦ you were just trying to hide her. But †¦ you did do something to Todd Akers and Vic Kim-â€Å" â€Å"Theyattackedus,† Jade interrupted. â€Å"They were thinking very bad things and they pinched our arms.† â€Å"They-?† Mary-Lynnette sat up suddenly. All at once she understood. â€Å"Oh, my God. Those jerks!† Why hadn't she thought of that? Todd and Vielast year there bad been rumors about them jumping some girl from Westgrove. So they'd tried it on these girls, and †¦ Mary-Lynnette gasped and then snorted with half inhaled laughter. â€Å"Oh, no. Oh, I hope you got them good â€Å"We just bit them a little,† Rowan said. â€Å"I wish I'd been there tosee it.† She was laughing. Rowan was smiling. Kestrel was grinning barbarically. And suddenly Mary-Lynnette knew that they weren't going to fight anymore. Everybody took a deep breath and sat back and looked at one another. They do look different from normal humans, Mary-Lynnette thought, staring at them in the moonlight. It's so obvious once you know. They wereinhumanly beautiful, of course. Rowanwith her soft chestnut hair and sweet face; Kestrelwith her feral sleekness and golden eyes; Jade with her delicate features and her hair like starshine. Likethe Three Graces, only fiercer. â€Å"Okay,† Rowan said softly. â€Å"We seem to have asituation here. Now we've got to figure somethingout.† â€Å"We won't tell on you,† Mark said. He and Jadewere gazing at each other. â€Å"We've got Romeo and Juliet on our hands here is what we've got,† Mary-Lynnette said to Rowan. But Kestrel was speaking to Rowan, too. â€Å"No matterwhatthey promise, how do we know we can be lieve them?† Rowan considered, eyes roving around the clearing. Then she let out a long breath and nodded. â€Å"There's only one way,† she said. â€Å"Blood-tie.† Kestrel's eyebrowsflew up. â€Å"Oh, really?† â€Å"What is it?† Mary-Lynnette asked. â€Å"A blood-tie?† Rowan looked helpless. â€Å"Well, it's akinship ceremony, you know.† When Mary-Lynnette just looked at her, she went on: â€Å"It makes our families related. It's like, one of our ancestors did it with a family of witches.:' Witches, Mary-Lynnette thought. Oh †¦gosh. Sowitches are real, too. I wonder how many other things are real that I don't know about? â€Å"Vampires don't usually get along with witches,† Rowan was saying. â€Å"And HunterRedfern-that's our ancestor-had a real blood feud going with themback in the sixteen hundreds.† â€Å"But then he couldn't have kids,† Jade said gleefully. â€Å"And he needed a witch to help or the wholeRedfern familywould end with him. So he had to apologize and do a kinship ceremony. And then he had all daughters.Ha ha.† Mary-Lynnette blinked. Ha ha? â€Å"So, you see, we're part witch. All the Redfern are,† Rowan was explaining in her gentle teachingvoice. â€Å"Our father used to say that's why we're so disobedient,† Jade said. â€Å"Because it's in our genes . Because in witchfamilies, womenare in charge.† Mary-Lynnette began to like witches. â€Å"Ha ha,† shesaid. Mark gave her a skittish sideways look. â€Å"The point is that we could do a ceremony like that now,† Rowan said. â€Å"It would make us family forever. We couldn't betray each other.† â€Å"No problem,† Mark said, still looking at Jade. â€Å"Fine with me,†Jade said, and gave him a quick, fierce smile. But Mary-Lynnette was thinking. It was a serious thing Rowan was talking about. You couldn't do something like this on a whim. It was worse than adopting a puppy; it was more like getting married. It was a lifetimeresponsibility. And even if these girls didn't kill humans, they killed animals. With their teeth. But so did people. And not always for food. Wasit worse to drink deer blood than to make baby cows into boots? Besides, strange as it seemed, she felt dose to the three sisters already. In the last couple of minutesshe'd established more of a relationship with Rowanthan she ever had with any girl at school. Fascination and respect had turned into a weird kind of instinctive trust. And besidethat, what other real choice was there? Mary-Lynnette looked at mark, and then atRowan. She nodded slowly. â€Å"Okay.† Rowan turned to Kestrel. â€Å"So I'm supposed to decide, am I?† Kestrel said.†We can't do it without you,† Rowan said. â€Å"You know that.† Kestrel looked away. Her golden eyes were narrowed. In the moonlight her profile was absolutely perfect against the darkness of trees. â€Å"It would mean we could never go home again. Make ourselves kin to vermin? That's what they'dsay.† â€Å"Who's vermin?† Mark said, jolted out of his communion with Jade. Nobody answered. Jade said, with odd dignity, â€Å"Ican't go home, anyway. I'm in love with an Outsider. And I'm going to tell him about the Night World. SoI'm dead no matter what.† Mark was opening his mouth-to protest that Jade shouldn't take such arisk forhim,Mary-Lynnette thought-when Jade added absently, â€Å"And so is he, of course.† Mark shut his mouth. Rowan said â€Å"Kestrel, we've come too far to go back.† Kestrel stared at the forest for another minute orso. Then suddenly she turned back to the others, laughing. There was something wild in her eyes. â€Å"All right, let's go the whole way,† she said. â€Å"Tell them everything. Break every rule. We might as well.† Mary-Lynnette felt a twinge. She hoped she wasn'tgoing to regret this. But what she said was â€Å"Just how do we do this-ceremony?† â€Å"Exchange blood. I've never done it before, but it's simple.† â€Å"It might be a little bit strange, though,† Jade said â€Å"because you'll be a little bit vampires afterward.† â€Å"A little bit what?† Mary-Lynnette said, her voice rising in spite of her. â€Å"Just a little bit.† Jade was measuring out tiny bitsof air between her index finger and thumb. â€Å"A drop.† Kestrel cast a look skyward. â€Å"It'll go away in a few days,† she said heavily, which was what MaryLynnette wanted to know. â€Å"As long as you don't get yourself bitten by a vampire again in the meanwhile,† Rowan added. â€Å"Otherwise, it's perfectly safe. Honestly.† Mary-Lynnette and Mark exchanged glances. Not to discuss things, they'd gone beyond that now. Just to brace themselves. Then Mary-Lynnette took a deep breath and flicked a bit of fern off her knee. â€Å"Okay,† she said, feeling lightheaded but determined. â€Å"We're ready.†