Analysis of Crooks – Of Mice and Men

Crooks is a lively, sharp-witted, black stable-hand, who takes his name from his crooked back. Like most of the characters in the story, he admits that he is extremely lonely. When Lennie visits him in his room, his reaction reveals this fact. At first, he turns Lennie away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in white men’s houses, then whites are not allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him. Like Curley’s wife, Crooks is a disempowered character who turns his vulnerability into a weapon to attack those who are even weaker.He plays a cruel game with Lennie, suggesting to him that George is gone for good. Only when Lennie threatens him with physical violence does he relent. Crooks exhibits the corrosive effects that loneliness can have on a person; his character evokes sympathy as the origins of his cruel behavior are made evident. Perhaps what Crooks wants more than anything else is a sense of belonging—to enjoy simple pleasures such as the right to enter the bunkhouse or to play cards with the other men.This desire would explain why, even though he has reason to doubt George and Lennie’s talk about the farm that they want to own, Crooks cannot help but ask if there might be room for him to come along and hoe in the garden. Candy One of the book’s major themes and several of its dominant symbols revolve around Candy. The old handyman, aging and left with only one hand as the result of an accident, worries that the boss will soon declare him useless and demand that he leave the ranch.Of course, life on the ranch—especially Candy’s dog, once an impressive sheep herder but now toothless, foul-smelling, and brittle with age—supports Candy’s fears. Past accomplishments and current emotional ties matter little, as Carson makes clear when he insists that Candy let him put the dog out of its misery. In such a world, Candy’s dog serves as a harsh reminder of the fate that awaits anyone who outlives his usefulness. For a brief time, however, the dream of living out his days with George and Lennie on their dream farm distracts Candy from this harsh reality.He deems the few acres of land they describe worthy of his hard-earned life’s savings, which testifies to his desperate need to believe in a world kinder than the one in which he lives. Like George, Candy clings to the idea of having the freedom to take up or set aside work as he chooses. So strong is his devotion to this idea that, even after he discovers that Lennie has killed Curley’s wife, he pleads for himself and George to go ahead and buy the farm as planned.

American Anti Slavery

As we saw In the previous lecture, many Americans In the nineteenth century believed that slavery was justified by the Bible. Explain how The American Anti- Slavery Almanac, a well-known abolitionist publication whose authors attacked slavery, tried to discredit the notion that Christianity Justified slavery. | 200 words I 50 points. Throughout The American Anti-Slavery Almanac, abolitionists wrote that the Christians did many anti-slavery acts.On of the biggest arguments was the â€Å"negro seat† found In churches. On page 21, It states that churches â€Å"publicly deride and blasphemously criticize† this idea of the â€Å"negro seat† in churches. It also states that â€Å"Every church that has a â€Å"negro seat† keeps posted upon its walls a standing criticism on God's workmanship, a public proclamation of their contempt for It. † The church finds it wrong that many churches have designated seats for negros. â€Å"Why single out certain seats fo r them and make them sit in them? On page 37, it states â€Å"According to the Bible, oppression maketh a man mad; but according to the objector, top oppressing him and yon make him madder! That inflicting wrongs upon a person is calculated to exasperate him against the inflictor, everyone one knows,: and that the way to soothe his exasperation, make him forget his wrongs, and fill him with kind feelings towards you. † This explains that the wrong doings to a slave is against the Bible. God looks at everyone as his brothers and sisters.On Page 38, â€Å"Since robbing a man of his liberty and earnings, makes him your enemy, the first step to be aken in making him your friends, is to stop doing that which made him your enemy. The Bible gives this commonsense direction to all who wish to make others their friends. † 2. As we saw in the previous lecture, many Americans in the nineteenth century believed that slavery was an economic necessity. They argued that Its abolishin g would ruin the country's economy. Explain how The American Anti-Slavery Almanac tried to discredit this notion. 200 words | 50 points. Throughout The American Ann-slavery Almanac, abolitionists explained how they iscredited the idea that abolishing slavery would ruin the countrys economy. The abolitionists explained that getting rid of slavery would stop the theft that was going on between slaves and slaveholders and actually increase profit, which would help the economy. On page 44 it is explains that cotton is a major product that slaveholders have slaves working on. The slaves would steal a lot of this cotton causing loss of money.On page 36, it explains that getting rid of slavery would force he slaves to now work for their own money and benefits, which would open up more lobs and more spending, which all helps the economy. And lastly one other argument that was made throughout The American Anti-Slavery Almanac was that slaveholders would no longer have to pay their slaves and could now make and sell more products. All of these arguments come to one conclusion, which is that the abolitionists stressed tnat wltn tne a 01 t D I Ion 0T slavery wlll orlnga netter economy Tor Dotn tn slaveholders and slaves. American Anti Slavery As we saw in the previous lecture, many Americans in the nineteenth century believed that slavery was justified by the Bible. Explain how The American Anti-Slavery Almanac, a well-known abolitionist publication whose authors attacked slavery, tried to discredit the notion that Christianity justified slavery. | 200 words | 50 points. Throughout The American Anti-Slavery Almanac, abolitionists wrote that the Christians did many anti-slavery acts. On of the biggest arguments was the â€Å"negro seat† found in churches.On page 21, it states that churches â€Å"publicly deride and blasphemously criticize† this idea of the â€Å"negro seat† in churches. It also states that â€Å"Every church that has a â€Å"negro seat† keeps posted upon its walls a standing criticism on God’s workmanship, a public proclamation of their contempt for it. † The church finds it wrong that many churches have designated seats for negros. â€Å"Why single out certain se ats for them and make them sit in them?†On page 37, it states â€Å"According to the Bible, oppression maketh a man mad; but according to the objector, stop oppressing him and yon make him madder! That inflicting wrongs upon a person is calculated to exasperate him against the inflictor, everyone one knows,: and that the way to soothe his exasperation, make him forget his wrongs, and fill him with kind feelings towards you. † This explains that the wrong doings to a slave is against the Bible. God looks at everyone as his brothers and sisters.On Page 38, â€Å"Since robbing a man of his liberty and earnings, makes him your enemy, the first step to be taken in making him your friends, is to stop doing that which made him your enemy. The Bible gives this commonsense direction to all who wish to make others their friends. † As we saw in the previous lecture, many Americans in the nineteenth century believed that slavery was an economic necessity. They argued that it s abolishing would ruin the country’s economy. Explain how The American Anti-Slavery Almanac tried to discredit this notion.Throughout The American Anti-Slavery Almanac, abolitionists explained how they discredited the idea that abolishing slavery would ruin the country’s economy. The abolitionists explained that getting rid of slavery would stop the theft that was going on between slaves and slaveholders and actually increase profit, which would help the economy. On page 44 it is explains that cotton is a major product that slaveholders have slaves working on. The slaves would steal a lot of this cotton causing loss of money.On page 36, it explains that getting rid of slavery would force the slaves to now work for their own money and benefits, which would open up more jobs and more spending, which all helps the economy. And lastly one other argument that was made throughout The American Anti-Slavery Almanac was that slaveholders would no longer have to pay their slave s and could now make and sell more products. All of these arguments come to one conclusion, which is that the abolitionists stressed that with the abolition of slavery will bring a better economy for both the slaveholders and slaves.

Conclusion of Logoplaste's Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conclusion of Logoplaste's Business Plan - Essay Example T analysis to analyse the micro and macroeconomic environment of the Logoplaste company with a view to determining the strategic option which can help secure the near and longterm future of the company. Logoplaste should direct its efforts at increasing its growth rate. This can be achieved by targeting local firms functioning in the current markets more aggressively and by securing the growth through propagation into new markets. Different measures are needed to be taken to put these actions into practice. These actions include but are not limited to conducting regular workshops and meetings to gain the perspectives and opinions of the staff members, contemplation of a growth strategy, conducting market analysis in the foreign economies where the company intends to expand, and investing in new technologies. Taking the proposed measures would help Logoplaste achieve the desired change in the long-term. Nevertheless, the company needs to conduct a thorough risk analysis before expanding internationally to maximize its chances of success. Earlier identification and targeting of the risks and taking appropriate measures to mitigate them is fundamental to successful expansion in foreign countries where the company has not done business before. In conclusion, Logoplaste is a very successful company and has all the potential and resources to grow internationally. In this age of globalization, a company cannot gain global recognition without expanding internationally and enlarging its consumer base across nations and geographic boundaries. It is anticipated that if Logoplaste places emphasis on the aforementioned actions in the report, it would not take the company long to position itself among the most successful global corporations and take its profitability to new

Counseling Psychology - Proxemics and Haptics and the Impact of Essay

Counseling Psychology - Proxemics and Haptics and the Impact of Culture and Ethnicity - Essay Example Smiling, and, rocking and nodding heads are the two common aspects of interpersonal communication prevalent in this culture. Both these gestures help to create a friendly, warm atmosphere, formal enough to be suitable for any common interpersonal communication situation. Also, there are certain proxemic and haptic rules embedded in the unconscious mind of an Indian, which differ, based on gender as well as age. Respecting the elderly is a part of Indian culture. Keeping a ‘decent’ physical distance from women is also part of this culture. Hargie (p.344) has observed that â€Å"Indian culture places a very high value on acceptance, self-suppression and concern for the feelings of others.† In India, touch between a man and a woman who are not married is most often highly improper. Same sex touching is common among Muslims whereas this is not so common among Hindus (Krueger, 2008, p.6). But in this culture, even a mother will not usually embrace her adult son. And pu blic display of affection (PDA) is very minimal.

THE GENERAL ELECTRIC AND THE HEWLETT PACKARD (HP) Essay

THE GENERAL ELECTRIC AND THE HEWLETT PACKARD (HP) - Essay Example The competitive advantage refers to an advantage gained over competitors either by providing greater value to consumers, by lowering the prices, or by offering more benefits and service which justifies the higher price. Corporate strategies are the central point of achieving the competitive advantage by making assumptions on an organization’s external environment and its resources, and by creating policies on how the organization should operate. General Electric and Hewlett Packard are the two most influential companies in the technology market. A comparative study of the strategies used by GE and HP reveals that both have formulated analogous strategies in the various aspects of their business operation. ----------------- Introduction The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly known as the HP, is a well established and very large global firm founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard and headquartered in California, United States. Their products focus mainly on technology li ke computer, printing, digital imaging, and also software services. General Electric (GE) is the producer of diversified technology, media, and services, and was incorporated in 1892. It offers products and services ranging from aircrafts engines, power generation, technology in medical imaging, business and consumer financing, and many more over 100 countries. The GE has a long history of success in their technological trade and their achievements prove the value of their view, â€Å"why predict the future when you can create it?† (Our history). The Economical Environment The economical environment of the business consists of four elements, they are Political, Economic, Social, and technological. The economic environment today is moving through vibrant and unstable phases due to globalization and increasingly competitive markets. However, the Hewlett Packard Company takes advantage of exploiting new markets all around the world, engaging with other multinational corporations . A big advantage to the company is their product diversity which helps them to survive the recession. At the same time, the GE is faced with many social issues regarding environmental pollutions. It has become a topic for controversies with regards to the immense ownership and control over the media sources. The company has been alleged for spending millions of dollars on commercial ads and television program sponsorships to ensure its environmental friendly image. The General Electric Company performs its functions in micro and macro environment. The micro-environment consists with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders of the business. The GE treats its customers as an integral part of the company in the successful running of the business. The GE has taken higher efforts to integrate the company’s view with the customers’ view rather than considering them as mere investors. As customer service has been considered as the vital part of the performance, it mainta ins three crucial components regarding the quality offered to customers; the employees, the process, and the customers themselves. On the other hand, the organizational culture of HP is built up progressively over a time, which helps the employees to define how they feel about their job. The HP has succeeded in creating a positive influence of the culture on their employees. A positive culture helps to stimulate commitment towards the job and to achieve the proposed goals. Decision Making The General Electric Company employs some basic strategies in their decision making. One among them is to invest and tap the internal market within the reach of the company. This strategy seems to have utilized the principle that ‘a business must be employee-oriented if it wishes to be customer-oriented’

The New Economics of the Music Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

The New Economics of the Music Industry - Essay Example The technological boom has ushered countless innovations in almost all the sectors in the global economy. These advances have facilitated the spillover of positive and negative externalities in various industries facilitating the emergence of new trends that disrupt and refine the current economic equilibrium. Along with other sectors, the global music industry had been significantly altered by this technological boom notably, the internet and associated technologies. These innovations have revolutionized the market structure and value chain of the music industry through the alteration of the intermediation processes. These new technologies allowed the faster mobility of goods from the artist to the costumers as other processes in the value chain are eradicated. Aside from these obvious developments, technological changes have many other considerable implications for the music industry. ... Having a strong foothold on the entire music industry, these companies command high level of bargaining power among other important players as they have are involved in all the processes in the value chain. Figure 1. Market Share of the Big Five (2001) Source: Hannaford, 2005 However, the dominance of these companies is largely felt in America and Europe while the Asia Pacific market is mainly controlled by independents [3]. In this region independent record labels hold almost 40% of the entire market share. In this case, we can see a duopolistic competition where the Big Five abound together with a local competitive fringe. III. Traditional Market Structure Record label plays various roles in the operation of the music industry. It can be noted that these companies are almost always present in the entire traditional value chain. The value chain of the music industry begins with the acquisition of content which typically involves the contract signing between artists and the company to formalize the production of an album. The record label will then start the production of the album by allocating fund in order to cover the costs of providing a producer and engineers or subcontracting with an artist's own team. After the record is produced, discs are manufactured which is typically simultaneous with the launching of aggressive marketing efforts to promote the album [4]. Distribution of the album is usually done by the marketing arm of the record label. Artists heavily rely in the name and reputation of the label for their releases to succeed. The strong marketing muscle of the company has a large influence for different media in the promotion of an artist's music. Record label and music

Design slow sand filtration unit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Design slow sand filtration unit - Assignment Example Disinfection It is any process that deactivates, removes contaminants or kills pathogens that may be present in water. It is usually the last step in the household water treatment process and comes after sedimentation and filtration. Effective size This refers to the size opening read from the grain size distribution graph that will only pass 10% of the sand. Hygiene Various practices, for example hand washing, which help ensure both cleanliness and good health. Filtration It is the process of allowing water to flow (pass) through the layers of a porous material, such as sand, with the aim of removing pathogens and any suspended solids. It is carried out as the second step in the household water disinfection and treatment process and comes after sedimentation and before the disinfection process. Flow rate It is the time taken to fill a certain container of water, most often a one litre container. It is measured once the slow sand filter is fully filled with water. Nutrient This refer s to any that is used by microorganisms for both survival and growth. Although this term is applied to refer to phosphorous and nitrogen in contaminated water, it can also be used to describe other chemicals. Pathogen This term refers to any disease causing living organism. The pathogens that are most commonly found in water are protozoa, bacteria, viruses and helminthes. Pores These are the small spaces between the grains of sand that allow water to pass through them. Sanitation It is maintaining clean and hygienic conditions that ensure prevention of diseases through services like garbage collection and proper waste disposal. Sedimentation It is the process used in settling out solids and particles that are suspended in water under the influence of gravity. Suspended solids These are small solid particles that fall in water and thereby causing turbidity. They are removed through the sedimentation or filtration process. Turbidity Turbidity is caused by the suspended solids that flo at in water such as sand, clay and silt. It is used to refer to the quantity of light that is reflected off these particles suspended in the water and which make the water look dirty or cloudy. It is measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). Uniformity coefficient It is a measure of how poorly or well sorted the sand is. It is the size of opening that is read from the grain size distribution graph that will allow pass of 60% of the sand divided by the size opening that will allow passing of 10% of the sand. Water quality Refers to the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics of water. The level of the quality of the water to be used varies depending on the purpose for which it is intended. Wet harrowing This is a technique used in cleaning slow sand water filters whereby the sand surface is agitated gently in order to stir up the bio layer. The cloudy water is then drained off and then afterwards, the filter is allowed to operate for a number of days in order to re-establish the bio layer. Abstract Also known as a bio sand filter, slow sand filters have been used as a technique of water filtration since the nineteenth century. The most widely used version of slow sand filters used is constructed using concrete and has a height of 95 cm and a width of 36 cm and with a flow rate of 20-40 liters per hour. There are over 80, 000 filters used in 36 countries. There are various modifications which

To what extent do you agree with free market economics being more Essay

To what extent do you agree with free market economics being more effective than a mixed economy - Essay Example The government apart from refraining from regulating the market also does not provide any services and leaves this to the private sector. This kind of market has received both positive argument and negative ones (Hodgson, 2006). Those who do not feel that this kind of market economy can be efficient argue for a mixed market economy which includes the role of the government both as a regulator as well as a player in the production of goods and services. This mixed market is also called Keynesian economics, named after the famous English economist who helped in the rebuilding of the American economy during the great economic recession of the 1930s in the United States of America. The mixed market system features the government as a referee and prefect in the economy, providing for regulation and control as much as is needed. It also features the government as the provider of the most crucial and basic needs and services to the public. This is done to make sure that these are not capita lized. These services include education especially at elementally level, health and security. In a mixed market economy, the private sector is involved in the greater part of the production, but under the watch of the government. There are a number of advantages with regard to the mixed market. To begin with, the fact that the government is involved in the production of essential services is important in order to provide for the protection of those who may not afford to get these services from the capitalist market. The mixed market also regulates the private sector for the purposes of protecting consumers against unfair exploitation. Those who argue in favor of the mixed market argue that the belief by free-markets enthusiasts that the market has its own way of regulating itself through the laws of demand and supply (competition) are fundamentally wrong. This argument against the efficacy and

Ceo Fiat & Chrysler Analysis Essay Example for Free

Ceo Fiat Chrysler Analysis Essay Sergio Marchionne is well known for taking over struggling car companies and turning them around. His most recent endeavor was becoming the CEO of Fiat and Chrysler. His business idol, Steve Jobs, who much like himself, took a struggling computer company and turned it into a company that continues to change the way we live and communicate today. It is no surprise that Sergio’s idol is a transformational leader who had similar goals and charisma. Micromanagement One of Sergio’s early efforts was to transform the company from one that made large gas guzzling vehicles to one that made more energy efficient ones. He wanted to work closely with the engineers and managers that made the operational decisions and organizational design issues (DubBrin, 2013). Someone at his level typically makes more of the strategic decisions and relies more upon his management staff to handle the day-to-day operations and direct them as needed. Many managers aren’t able to easily let go of how they used to operate (Ashkenas, 2012). It seems that Sergio is trying to stay connected with the decisions and the people in his new role in a similar many he would have if he was still and manager and not the CEO. It also appears that he is afraid of losing touch with the operations of the organization. Ashkenas says that many in his position feel that they become more isolated in their higher up position so they compensate and satisfy their anxiety by attempting to stay as connected as much as possible (Ashkenas, 2012). When Sergio’s need for more direct contact and interaction unites with his old tendenci es to manage, then he becomes more of a micromanager whether he realizes it or not. Sergio is a very task oriented leader. DuBrin lists out 2 characteristics of a task oriented leader that fit Sergio well. Sergio is good at setting the direction of Fiat and Chrysler new mission to make more fuel efficient cars. He also provides a lot of hands-on guidance and feedback. When Sergio said that he wanted to work closely with the people making the day-to-day decisions, one of his executives was quoted saying â€Å"it shows me that he is going to be very hands-on† (DuBrin, 2013). His desire to remain in close contact with the operations can help enhance his technical knowledge, which Dubrin says is a very important leadership characteristic, however too much guidance and closely tied decision making is a sign of micromanagement. Concerns with door handle Sergio was very concerned about the door handle that was not water-tight. Some leaders wouldn’t want to waste time and money trying to fix something that could be easily ignored. In the early part of his career, Sergio said that this issue â€Å"would have probably been swept under the carpet,† but not anymore (DuBrin, 2013). Take a minute to think about Sergio’s idol, Steve Jobs. What made his company and his legacy into something that will be talked about and studied for years? It was not only his charisma and vision, but his attention to detail and his unwillingness to compromise until his products reached perfection. Jobs was quoted in a Smithsonian Magazine article saying â€Å"it takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions,† (Isaacson, 2012). It makes sense that Sergio would be as concerned about the door handle as he was. His idol was someone who wouldn’t stop until perfection was reached and it seemed like he tried to emulate Job’s management style. This may solidify as discussed above that he is more of a micromanager than he realizes. Looking at all of the history and success that Job’s brought to Apple, which almost went bankrupt (Shontell, 2011), how could you blame Sergio for being so concerned with Fiat’s and Chrysler’s design? Dual Citizenship As the CEO of 2 companies in 2 different countries, being a dual citizen of both countries has its benefits. By being a citizen of Italy Sergio has a unique opportunity as a businessman. He has better access to financial and investment opportunities in Italy that may benefit both countries which would otherwise be difficult to get for non-citizens. By being a citizen of a European Union country, Sergio is able to work or live anywhere in the European Union which expands his options when it comes to doing business and possibly trying to grow his business (italiandualcitizenship.com, 2013). He can travel between Canada and Italy with ease without having to get a work visa, so if a need arises where he need to quickly travel to either company, he can do so without any issues. As a citizen of each country, Sergio can identify himself with the people of Canada and Italy and be better able to fit in with the culture. Levi talks about a one key thing about teams that relates well with Sergio’s situation, group norms. Group norms help establish the group’s values, establish a common ground for operating, define appropriate behavior and create a distinct identity (Levi, 2011). Think of each country and business as a team or group. As a member of each group, Sergio would most likely have a better understanding of each country’s and businesses norms so he could better fit in as part of the team rather than an outsider. He may better be able to motivate his teams differently since they’re each part of different countries and get more productivity out of them. Conclusion Sergio has a unique opportunity by being the CEO of 2 different companies in 2 different countries. He invests much of himself in both Chrysler and Fiat. He is so concerned with his company’s day-to-day operations that he may miss out on most effectively managing the strategic initiatives between both companies. He is also concerned with both company’s products and performance the way his business idol was, Steve Jobs, that he risks being seen by many as a micromanager or micro-CEO which may be counter-productive. As a citizen of both Canada and Italy where both companies are located, Sergio is better able to take advantage of the ease of travel between counties, and has better access to financing and investment opportunities in each country that could benefit both Chrysler and Fiat. His dual citizenship may also give him a better understanding of the social norms in both countries so he can better manage and fit in within each company or team. Sergio has a lot of good qualities that benefit his position as CEO of 2 different companies. While he cares a lot about the product, quality and day-to-day operations, he needs to focus more on the strategic initiatives especially if he plans on integrating business operations between Fiat and Chrysler. He also has the benefit of being a citizen of both Italy and Canada so he can understand and fit in with the norms of each country, but being seen as a micromanager could hinder productivity and respect from his teams. Overall Sergio has great qualities and is positioned well to run both companies. As long as he doesn’t lose sight of the bigger picture, he will probably achieve what he set out to achieve. References DuBrin, A. (2013). Leadership research, findings, practice, and skills. (7th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Levi, D. (2011). Group dynamics for teams. U.S.A: Sage Publications Inc. Ashkenas, R. (2012, 11 19). Why no one admits to micromanaging. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ronashkenas/2012/11/19/why-no-one-admits-to-micro-managing/ Isaacson, W. (2012, September). How Steve Jobs love of simplicity fueled a design revolution . Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/How-Steve-Jobs-Love-of-Simplicity-Fueled-A-Design-Revolution-166251016.html Shontell, A. (2011, January 19). The amazing story of how Steve Jobs took apple from near bankruptcy to billions in 13 years . Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-steve-jobs-took-apple-from-near-bankruptcy-to-billions-in-13-years-2011-1 Italian American Citizenship. (2013). Italian dual citizenship. Retrieved from http://www.italianamericancitizenship.com/Benefits.html http://www.italiandualcitizenship.com/id50.htm

Designers Portfolio Essay Example for Free

Designers Portfolio Essay 1. A brief summary of the play Two tramps named Estragon and Vladimir meet on the road, beside a sick looking tree. They are happy because they didnt see each other for a long time. Estragon has a sore foot and is having troubles taking his boot off. The two men remember that they are supposed to wait for a man named Godot. In the play it shows that they do not remember the man named Godot really well, but they think he is going to give them an answer. But they cannot remember the questions. While they are waiting, estragon falls asleep. Vladimir suddenly fells lonely, so he wakes Estragon up. Tired of going nothing, they begin to talk about the tree and the wait. And they talk about their condition- homeless and lack of money. After a while, a master with his slave appears whose names are Pozzo and Lucky. Pozzo sits on a stool, relaxes a little and enjoys some chicken and wine. He is really rude to his servant. Eventually Lucky dozes off to sleep, but is weakened by jerks on the rope from his master. The master then tell the tramps that Lucky is pitiful and old, and he would like to get rid of him soon. On hearing all of these words, Lucky cries. Estragon tries to comfort him, but Lucky gives him a hard kick in the leg in return. Later, the master and slave leave the tramps, and they continue their wait of Godot. A litter later, a young boy brings in a message that Godot might seem them the nest day, at the same time and the same place. Meanwhile, night falls and the tramps decide to leave and come back the next day. Instead, they remain. The act ends. The next act begins in exactly the same set as the first one: the two tramps meet on the road beside a sick looking tree. Nothing has changed except that the bare tree has five or six leaves. Vladimir is singing a song about a dog that has been beaten. Estragon reveals that he has been beaten as well. They keep waiting for Godot, though Estragon seems to have forgotten the events of the day before. Vladimir tries to remind him about something happened yesterday. But Estragons only memory is about the bone that he was given to chew. Bored with waiting, Vladimir spots Luckys hat, and the tramps begin to play with it. But they still feel bored, they discuss suicide again, call each other names, and wait for Godot. After some time, Pozzo and Lucky appear again. Buut this time, Pozzo is blind and being led by lucky. They are still bound up by a rope. Pozzo falls to the ground and cannot get up. In the process of helping him, Estragon and Vladimir also fall to the ground. Finally they are able to get up. The suns sets and the moon rises. The same boy shows up with the same message that Godot will not come today but the day after. He leaves the two men again contemplate suicide. Later, they decide to come back tomorrow with a rope, and if Godot does not arrive, they will hang themselves. They decide to move on, but as in the previous act, they stay where they are and the act ends. The setting and the overall mood in the play. In this play, the setting actually is really simple. A country and a sick looking tree. No visible horizon exists. The setting is constant. The time frame is most likely two days. The only visible reference to the passage of time occurs at the end of Act II when the sun sets and the moon rises. After reading the play, we can feel that there is no horizon, no sign of civilization. For a moment, this play might be considered comic. But as the story unfolds and a mood of despair appears on the stage. Characters are beaten, cursed, and wondered-all without any sign of relief. But as we know that the tramps do not see the man that they are waiting for, it shows the eternal hopelessness of life. Based on the reasons, actually this play can be considered as a tragedy. 2. A serious of quotations that comments directly on the aspects of the design. 1) The play opens on a totally surreal note, with a tramp trying to pull off his boot on a lonely road under a leafless tree. ( From- Sam I Am Becketts private purgatories by Benjamin Kunkel in The New Yorker) 2) But yesterday evening it was all black and bare. And now its covered with leaves. (From- the play Waiting for Godot Act II, line 1, by Samuel Beckett) 3) A country road. A tree. Evening. Estragon, sitting on a low mound, is trying to take off his boot. He pulls at it with both hands, panting. (By Samuel Beckett at the beginning of Act I) 4) A terrible cry, close at hand. Estragon drops the carrot. They remain motionless, and then together make a sudden rush towards the wings. Estragon stops halfway, runs back, picks up the carrot, stuffs it in his pocket, runs to rejoin Vladimir who is waiting for him, stops again, runs back, picks up his boot, runs to rejoin Vladimir. Huddled together, shoulders hunched, cringing away from the menace, they (By Samuel Beckett, Act I, line 359) 5) Next day. Same time. Same place. Estragons boots front center, heels together, toes splayed. ( By Samuel Beckett, the beginning of Act II) 6) Luckys hat at same place. The tree has four or five leaves. Enter Vladimir agitatedly. He halts and looks long at the tree, then suddenly begins to move feverishly about the stage. He halts before the boots, picks one up, examines it, sniffs it, manifests disgust, puts it back carefully. Comes and goes. Halts extreme right and gazes into distance off, shading his eyes with his hand. Comes and goes. Halts extreme left, as before. Comes and goes. Halts suddenly and begins to sing loudly. (By Samuel Beckett, Act II, line 5) 3. Props in the play 1) a sick looking tree 2) a pair of boots 3) a stool 4) a hat 5) a rope 4. A color scheme for the play Main colors used in the play 1. Grey In the play, we know that the tramps are waiting for Godot, but he never shows up. Grey in some point can represent their feelings. They keep waiting, but they cannot see the people they are waiting to see. They might be in great sorrow. It seems hopeless for them to see Godot. 2. Brown It is the color appeared in many settings in the play. Say, for instant, the road, the tree. Other colors used in the play 1. Dark blue and black These two colors represent day and night. From the two colors, we can have a clearly view in the changing of time. And for black, it also can represent the fact that the act of waiting is never over, and there is little hope that people can get. 2. Dark green It is the color of the leaves in the tree appeared in Act II. 3. Sienna It is the color of a stool that Pozzo used. 5. A visual collage for the play Explanations: 1. Wood The tree and the stool appeared in the play are both belonging to wood. 2. Wool The blanket that the two tramps used is made of thin wool. 3. Canvas The two tramps clothes are made from the canvas. In other ways, it shows the characteristics of tramps- homeless and lack of money, have to travel to many places, cannot settle down. 4. Hemp The rope that used in this play is made of hemp. 6. Photographs for the play 1. A circle When I finish reading this play, a circle suddenly appeared in my mind. As we know in the play, the act is never over, and yet it mysteriously starts again each day. But no one knows when the waiting is end. The action, in the same way, describes a circle. Each day is the return to the beginning. Nothing is completed because nothing can be completed. 2. A long road that you can never see the end The road belongs to the setting part of the play. The reason that I think the road is associated with the play is because it represent one of the themes of the play. In the play, we know that it talks about two tramps are waiting for man named Godot, but he never comes. No one knows whether he will come or not. All they can do is keeping waiting. Think deeper about the waiting; I think the play want to show us the two men are waiting for hope. Godot is symbolic. Back to the road, we can see from the picture the characteristic of the road is long and you can never see the end. It reflects on the play about waiting for hope. All they can do is waiting, but no one knows whether there is hope or the future is hopeless. The future is unknown. 3. A bright moon The concept of the passage of time leads to an irony. Each minute spent waiting brings death one step closer to the character s and makes the arrival of Godot lees likely. The moon in some point, actually represent the changing of time. When the moon comes up, it means one day is finished. And another is coming. But there is no sign of hope appeared for the two tramps. When you see them standing in the moon, a really sad and hopeless feeling will naturally comes out from my mind.

Marketing Analysis of the NHS

Marketing Analysis of the NHS NHS Resource Profile The essence of developing a marketing strategy for a company is to ensure that the companys capabilities are matched to the competitive market environment in which it operates, notjust for today, but into the foreseeable future. At the heart of strategy liesthe need to assess critically both the organisations resource profile (often referred to as its strengths and weaknesses) and the environment it faces (Hooley, Saunders and Piercy, (2004).) With reference to academicliterature and to the National Health Service as an organisation, criticallyevaluate the mechanisms available to management by which it can assess: The organisations resource profile and The marketing environment it faces. Background to the NHS The NHS was set up on 5thJuly 1948 to provide healthcare for all citizens, based on need, not theability to pay. (www.nhs.uk) Prior to this date access to treatment depended oneither the ability to pay, or the goodwill of doctors in hospitals funded bycharitable donations. The latter was a very strained resource and often it wasonly the working parent, usually the man, who was able to access suchtreatment, which he often paid for by way of deductions from salary to schemessuch as the Hospital Saving Association ( www.hsa.co.uk ). Today the healthservice is formed of many trusts, reporting into the department of health,consisting of community services Trusts, Ambulance Trusts to Hospital Trusts.Care is made available for all who need it. Current government statedpriorities, as quoted on www.nhs.uk are given in National Service Frameworks are Cancer Paediatric Intensive Care Mental Health Coronary Heart Disease Older People Diabetes Renal services Childrens services Long Term Conditions The launch of the health servicewas very high profile (www.bbc.co.uk) and still often shown within healthcaretelevision coverage today. Over the last fifty years, many changes have beenmade to the service (www.nhs.uk/history) to enhance itsofferings to the public, yet today the NHS is often in the news for negative reasons. Despite the obvious good work that the NHS does, it is the longwaiting lists, MRSA and occasional health problems that come to the forefrontin the eyes of the media. Again, marketing can play a big part in theperception of the service in the eyes of the public. Organisations resource profile At the heart of strategy lies theneed to assess critically both the organisations resource profile (oftenreferred to as its strengths and weaknesses) and the environment it faces(Hooley, Saunders and Piercy).) In the 1990s the inside-out approach tomarketing, the resource based view (RBV) became popular with strategists suchas Grant, for its new approach which looked inside the firm to assess itscore competencies and to determine which competencies should be used for competitiveadvantage. A neo-classical approach, the resource view was that the externalenvironment was constantly changing and that it would be difficult forcompanies to keep changing with it, rather they ought to stick with what theyknow best and concentrate on their core offerings. The value chain approachoffered by Michael Porter, reaffirmed by Johnson and Scholes, also emphasisedthe importance of understanding how the internal organisational factors addvalue to and impact on the external environmental influences affe cting thefirm. The value chain activities are split into primary activities (inboundand outbound logistics, operations, marketing, sales and customer service) andsecondary activities (infrastructure, human resource management, technologydevelopment and procurement). All of the above chain linkages will need tobe assessed for the NHS in trying to ascertain the organisations resourceprofile. Taking the Value Chain approachand applying it to the NHS The value chain will now be takenand applied to what is known about the NHS in the public domain. (newspapers,media and www.nhs.co.uk) Primary activities Inbound and outbound logisticsrelate to the receiving and distribution of goods and services. Within the NHSlogistics would consist of the following Patients, who would either be transported by their own methods or by ambulances in order to receive the treatment. Drugs, dressings and other pharmaceutical supplies Staff who may travel to and from hospitals, to and from other medical establishments and from either of the former to a patients home/ destination and so on Medical equipment, such as surgical instruments and monitors Non medical equipment such as beds, linen, catering requirements, cleaning equipment and stationary Warehousing of goods From the above, it is noticeablethat there are a range of logistical activities, notably many of these aremanaged by different departments and others outsourced, such as catering andcleaning. Obviously where outsourcing has taken place, NHS Managers have takenthe decision that such services do not come under its core competencies andplaced the management of such activities in external hands. Non the less,outsourced activities are still very much an integral part of a companys valuechain, but where control of activities is outsourced there is a chance of aweak link (Porter) and notably much of the bad publicity (regularly referencedon national and regional news) surrounding the hospitals is indeed as a resultof questionable cleanliness (such as MRSA) and poor quality nutrition. Poorpublicity has an impact on public perception of service quality and the waythat the NHS counteracts this by efficient use of marketing is of importance. Operations transforms these variousinputs into the final product or service (Johnson and Scholes) by pulling allthe operational activities together, be they controlled directly oroutsourced. It is therefore a key link in the chain to ensure servicedelivery. The marketing and sales activitiesare responsible for raising awareness of the services provided by the NHS andthe perception of the quality of service it supplies to the public. Doctorswaiting rooms are full of adverts for services to prolong life, enhance healthand therefore use the service less such as those that target smokers to stop,heart disease campaigns to encourage the public to eat 5 or more portions offruit and vegetables per day, well man and well woman clinics and so on. Manyof these adverts run into national advertising, such as the daily newspaper,whilst local initiatives are often mentioned on the regional news. In additionthe NHS has an informative website www.nhs.uk which gives advice offeringa section on your health (to include self help guidance) and information oncurrent national health campaigns such as help a heart week and everymanmale cancer campaign. Just how much the website is referenced is unknown andone must question whether indeed the public even know of its existence. But marketing is not all aboutadvertising campaigns, especially within the not for profit sector where thereis a reliance on key relationships and networks (Caeson, Cromie, McGowan,Hill). Whilst logistics partners have already been referenced, a goodrelationship between the NHS marketing departments and the outsourced companiesis very important to ensure consistency of message on joint issues, such as thecleaning contractors approach to cleanliness and the rise of MRSA. Within thenot for profit sector there is a reliance on corporate support, national andlocal government support and the goodwill of the public, some of whom areinvolved in management committees (positions are advertised within the localpress). With the NHS being split into multiple trusts, some with differingspecialisms inter trust relationships are key to the treatment of certainpatients, thus creating more linkages in the chain and more marketingrelationships required. All of the above impact on bothinternal and external customer service and perception of service. Secondary activities Secondary activities are sometimescalled support activities as they support the primary activities mentionedabove. Procurement is the processes foracquiring the various resource inputs to the primary activitiesoccurs in manyparts of the organisation. (Johnson and Scholes). Within a complexorganisation, such as a trust, there are many ways to procure goods andservices from both the physical approach to the electronic methods. Technology development ranges fromthe hospital Consultants know how, to computer systems used for medicalrecords, to pharmacy systems linked to drugs. All of these will be managed byhuman resources some directly employed by the trust, some contracted to thetrust and some working for contract companies contracted to the trust. Allstaff will report directly to their line manager, and ultimately they to thetrust manager, advised by a committee, and that manager to the Secretary ofState for Health. Non-the-less, each member of staff employed by or within atrust is an internal marketer (Gummesson) and who they interact with bothinside and outside of the trust gains an impression of the trust by associationwith them. This is all held together by thefirms infrastructure, the systems of planning, finance, quality control,information management (Johnson and Scholes). Marketing environment facing theNHS Successfulcompanies take an outside-inside view of their business. They recognise thatthe marketing environment is constantly spinning new opportunities and threatsand understand the importance of continuously monitoring and adapting to thechanging environment. (Kotler) Analysing theenvironment for any organisation will involve a review of the political,economic, social and technical (PEST) environment it is in or faces. For theNHS, it is a UK based healthcare provider for the public, funded bycontributions made from taxes distributed by the government to each of thetrusts. It operates within a politically stable economy with funds pledged byboth the current and previous governments to the service for improvements inhealthcare and salaries for staff. The economic environment facing the NHS isa growing economy with a rising elderly population and less working people tosupport them. In addition, it has become increasingly difficult to recruitmedical staff (national press) and shortages have often been counteracted byemploying staff from other EU countries, which in turn increases the populationwithin the UK. This again has been a subject of press attention, againnegative for the NHS. The social/ cultural environment shapes beliefs, valuesand norms (Ko tler). Belief in the core values of the health service and theservices it offers was high on the publics list of concerns during the lastgeneral election, as if the NHS is an integral part of the UK and its culture. The technological environment is moving fast within the health caresector, as well as drugs being continually developed, techniques for operationsare being advanced and the use of technologies for both medical andadministrative procedures. Such are rarely mentioned in the press. Traditionally,before formulating a marketing strategy a company would usually undertake aSWOT analysis, that is to understand its strengths and weaknesses and realiseopportunities and steer clear of known and potential threats. The keyelements, in the authors opinion are listed below. Strengths Although not a monopoly, there is no real competitor for the NHS. Whilst private hospitals are available throughout the UK, the Accident and Emergency service is unique to the NHS. The fact that there is continual monitoring of waiting lists is proof that the demand outstrips supply The NHS has been established since 1948 and continues to grow and expand upon its services. Weaknesses Unable to cope with the demand due to the increasing population Possibly the management of the linkages of the chain, per the resource analysis Opportunities To use marketing strategies to raise the profile of the NHS Increase of private investment Threats Image of the NHS being affected by the work of contractors Staff turnover high Of course, theabove SWOT is written down by the author with no first hand working knowing ofthe NHS trusts. As with most SWOTs, the above is based on perception which,in turn, is based on the interpretation of information in the public domain,based on regular articles in the media. So in effect, marketing has alreadyhad an impact on this view. It is likely that many people will all havedifferent perceptions of the NHS, depending on their outlook and any personalexperience they may have. However, given the number of NHS trusts in operationand the number of different operating units even an employee working for onebusiness unit is likely to have a different perception to another. Another tool toassess the NHS would be to undertake a marketing audit, a comprehensive,systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a companys marketingenvironment.with a view to determining problem areas and opportunities(Kotler) . This would indeed be a complex affair. Each trust is strategicallyresponsible for itself, so it may be presumed that it is responsible for itsmarketing activity, but with one NHS website indications are that it iscentrally controlled. Included within the audit would need to be an audit ofthe outsourced companies and their way of representing the NHS. With differentcompanies and indeed trusts operational throughout the UK there are bound to be different corporate cultures and core values which would need tobe considered and addressed if possible. Resource basedview resume v marketing based strategies recommendations From theresource based critique, it was seen that marketing affects every part of theNHS. Having evaluated the NHS against the resource based view, using thevalue chain model; it can be observed that the NHS is indeed a complex organisation.Over the years, it has gone from being a totally autonomous organisation whichdoes everything for itself, to one that now out sources various functions suchas technology, hygiene, and distribution and so on. Of course it hasrecognised that its core competencies lie within the medical services itprovides to its customers, patients, and has concentrated on this side.However, despite the obvious good work it undertakes and millions of livestreated, there is not much awareness made of this important achievement in thenational press, rather it is the down side that is much advertised, much ofwhich is as a result of losing control by outsourcing activities such ashygiene. The NHS does not appear to use marketing as a way of counter attackingsuch reports with headlines such as Doctor saves x many lives in one year.. The resource based view takes very much the relational approach of the notfor profit sector, relying on goodwill, government interaction, committees,initiatives and letting the public know via a website. Probably the marketingfunction is not prominent within the NHS Trust. Whilst the traditional 4Ps (price,product, place, promotion) approach to marketing may not necessarily be thebest approach for the NHS Trust, given its unique prominence in healthcarewithin the UK, there is a definite need to promote the success stories, ofwhich there are most likely to be numerous. Key recommendations for futuremarketing and development are to Place marketing at the centre of the management function Enhance PR activities to both feed positive information into the government as well as out to the various publics in the country. Appoint marketing oriented representatives on each of the trusts managing committees. Internally market successes to staff and try and retain staff for longer. (A separate exit interview exercise will need to be taken for this) Encourage more private investment to grow the service and its core staff. Bibliography Brassington, F, Pettitt, S (2000) Principles of Marketing (2nd Edition) (Essex,Pearson Education Limited: 2000) Caeson, D., Cromie, S., McGowan,P., Hill, J. (1995) Marketing and entrepreneurship inSMEs: An Innovative Approach (Harlow: Financial Times, Prentice Hall) Donaldson, B (1995) Customer Service as a Competitive Strategy Journal ofStrategic Marketing, Vol.3 No.2: June 1995 Doyle, P (1998) Marketing Management and Strategy (2nd Edition)(Hemel Hempstead, Prentice Hall: 1998) Drummond, G, Ensor, J, Ashford, R (2003) Strategic Marketing: Planning and Control (2ndEdition) (Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann: 2003) Egan, C (1997) Creating Organisational Advantage (3rd Edition)(Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann: 1997) Grant, R (1992) Contemporary Strategy Analysis (2nd Edition)(Cambridge Massachusetts, Blackwell Publishers: 1992) Gummesson, E (1998) Implementation Requires a Relationship Marketing ParadigmJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Vol.26, No.3, pages 242 249 Johnson, G. Scholes, K (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy (6th edition) (Harlow, Financial Times, Prentice Hall: 2002) Kotler, P (1997) Marketing Management Analysis, Planning, Implementationand Control) (9th Edition) (New Jersey, Prentice Hall: 1997) Lynch, R (2003) Corporate Strategy 3rd edition. (London, Financial Times Pitman: 2003) Porter, M (1985) Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (New York, Free Press: 1985) Whittington, R (1997) What is Strategy and does it Matter? (London, InternationalThompson Business Press: 1997) www.bbc.co.uk www.hsa.co.uk www.nhs.uk

Why the Labour Party Won the Election in 1945 Essays -- Papers

Why the Labour Party Won the Election in 1945 The Labour Party won the general election in 1945, with Clement Attlee returning as Prime Minister. The state of play was that Labour has won 314 seats, the Conservatives 294. Socialism was not widely recognised until 1945. The majority of people were almost frightened by it. This was because Russia was a socialist state, promoting communism. When Russia proved to be a reliable alley during the war, socialism became less strange and was more approved of. The middle class citizens now started to vote socialism, they saw it as respectable. This therefore increased to amount of votes for labour. After the war, there was a mood for social change. This was because soldiers who came home from serving in the War came back to unemployment. They were promised a land fit for hero’s but instead came back to a depression. The 1930’s depression caused poverty in Britain and many citizens lost their job and became unemployed, the British public did not want to have go through this again. This caused for a change in government to see what a different party would offer the nation, to improve its chances of recovering now the war was over. The labour slogan was â€Å"Let us face to the future†, this slogan prompted forward thinking. Labour promoted the welfare state; this was made by written in the Beveridge report and labour made it specific in its manifesto. This meant families could receive the Allowances Act which would provide a regular sum for second and subsequent children to be paid to the mother. The National Health Service Act in order to provide a free and fully comprehensive health se... ...o† in power. This was the internal security police of Nazi Germany. The Nazis established the Gestapo in order to monitor and stamp out any political opposition to the Hitler regime. Under Heinrich Himmler, the Gestapo's powers became brutal and far-reaching in ferreting out Jews, Marxists, and even moderate critics of the regime. By referring the labour party to such a brutal regime it was not approved upon and lost creditability for the conservatives. Overall the actions of Winston Churchill and his decisions through the campaign cost them to loose the election to Labour. I believe that the conservative’s ways of campaigning and relying on gratitude from the British public for winning the war, lost them votes. I also believe that by trying to discredit the Labour party also lost them respect, which lost them votes.

Nine Stages of Divine Vision :: essays research papers

Nine Stages of Divine Vision   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nine stages of life are formed by nine crises that shape our awareness and the way we envision and experience the divine in both our cultural and isolated lives. Out vision of the divine is determined by the unique forms and forces in each stage of our lives. The first stage is the unborn stage of the womb. The first part of the first stage is the unborn womb. Since the womb is almost perfect for our prenatal needs, there is an incomparable experience of Kinesthetic euphoria which is the ideal condition for the realization of bliss. The womb provides for the need before it even suffers the need. The bliss is the idea that self-sufficient awareness that precedes desire and satisfaction, and still haunts after birth has broken the primal serenity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second part of the first stage is the Lakshm and Vishnu within the comic serpent. The unborn bliss is the first taste of paradise, which we all seek to recover. Each succeeding stage builds upon this infinite awareness adding its own images and forms to its evolving biological, social and psychological experience. Buddha and Jesus both include this idea in their teachings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next stage is the baby stage of the divine mother. The first part of this stage is the Venus of Laussel. There are many images of her floating around that she is over 20,000 years old. She ruled over human awareness. Her predecessors thought it was simple: just as the human mother creates human life, so the Great Mother of the creation creates all life: plants and animals. By her breasts she nourishes her whole creation. She is the universe. The sun and moon are her eyes. The Milky Way are her breasts. And the earth is her body. Maybe she is still with us when we speak of Mother Nature. Mother Goddess is the first personification of the divine in human form.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second part of the second stage is the Madonna of Mercy. This Divine Goddess can resolve our problems and be with us all the time. She can also satisfy our deepest needs and open us to the heavenly gate of eternal and immortal life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The youth stage of the divine father is the next stage. He is the supreme deity of the Romans, named Jupiter. When man seizes the divine power for himself and expels the women from the dignity they hold for millennia as the divine mother.

Death and Afterlife Beliefs Essay

There remains no scientific evidence or facts which can prove the existence of the after life. Such concepts like reincarnation, salvation, and near-death experiences have been very controversial topics of debate over the years. However, different religions, philosophies and spiritual beliefs from different cultures amazingly provide very detailed and meticulous explanation about the concept of death and the afterlife. These explanations vary as their core of ideologies and philosophies vary as well. The Mesopotamian civilization has been known for its very rich culture and tradition. During the reign of the civilization, a lot of discoveries and inventions have been made which eventually led to some modern advancement as well. In addition to this, the Mesopotamian culture also had a very interesting view of death and eternal life. According to the ancient Mesopotamian belief, the world can be divided into three different layers: these are the heaven, the netherworld and the living world (Cornell University [CU] academic site, 2004). The divine beings or the gods and goddesses are believed to reside the heavens. This place is said to be exclusive for these holy beings. The netherworld on the other hand was believed to be the â€Å"imprisoning† place after death which is also described as the house of darkness and a place, where no one, to any further extent, can escape. According to Mesopotamian myths in relation to King Gilgamesh’s adventures and stories about Ishtar, the descent to the netherworld is really frightening but inevitable, and that in fact, even Gilgamesh himself went on his adventures in trying to escape this place. Lastly, the living world was described to be the world where all living beings reside and survive the days with their humane and worldly needs. Although this culture recognizes the existence of death and afterlife in the netherworld, Mesopotamians believed that a man can still escape the course of death and the dark netherworld by being righteous and trying to connect and have an intimate relationship with God. The Egyptian tradition and beliefs of death and the afterlife on the other hand, can also be considered one of the most culturally rich traditions in the world. Deaths of Egyptians are rather commemorated and venerated than mourned. They were more focused on the preservation of the body as a positive ritual in giving the dead a pleasant afterlife state. Ancient Egyptians would also design the tombs of the dead with scriptures, holy verses, poems, and beautiful sculptures of scenes of the afterlife in the hope that the spirit of the dead will be at a peace and be granted prosperity in the afterlife. The tomb of the dead is also packed with necessities that the owner might need or want to bring with him/her in the afterlife. The afterlife in Egyptian culture was described as a place where there are beautiful canals, dams, and farms where the yield of the fruit-bearing trees and crops is never-ending (Williams, 2008). Life in ancient Egypt in general has been blessed being resided along the banks of the Nile River where people always have sufficient resources. This somehow explains why Egyptians also looks forward to a blessed afterlife. They have been used to living life bountiful with resources that is why they would always hope to find the same bountiful afterlife like the life of the living. On the other hand, the culture of the Greeks and the Romans (Greco-Romans) was rather more personified and mythical. Concepts of death and afterlife were incorporated with very detailed descriptions of gods and goddesses. The life of ancient Greeks was always bounded and guided by these gods and goddesses who were believed to have the ability to talk and live with them. According to the ancient Greek mythology, as a person dies, his/her psyche or soul is being release through a puff or breath of wind (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Death in ancient Greek tradition also had very elaborate rituals that were divided into three parts: the prothesis, ekphora and the internment. During the prothesis, relatives and loved ones of the dead come and pay respect. And during the ekphora, the dead shall be brought to the cemetery through a procession which happens before dawn. And then finally, the deceased will come to its final rest through the internment. The concept of afterlife for the Greeks was clearly described through the stories of the Iliad and Odyssey which was able to write a very detailed account of the Greek mythology. Homer noted in the Odyssey the early description of the underworld where the dead people all go. The place was described as a place underneath the earth where Hades, the brother of Zeus and Poseidon reigns. A person who enters the underworld can never go back. However, there were also stories told about great people who were able to go to the underworld to talk to their deceased loved ones and were able to go back to the world of the living. But the success of these people required trickery and deception of the king of the underworld, Hades. Hercules was one of the great Greek characters, who was able to return from the underworld. But knowing that Hercules was half-immortal, it was also understandable that he could do such a thing. And because the life of the Greeks has been closely guided by several gods and goddesses, it was also believed that a person can possibly escape the deep and frightening walls of the underworld by having a close and intimate relationship with the gods. Through this, people to whom gods and goddesses are mostly pleased are sometimes brought to the heavens (Olympus) to live an immortal life with them. The most popular story about death and afterlife in Christianity is probably that of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Christians, it was taught that Christ died on the cross, then after three days he rose from the dead and eventually rose up to the heavens, body and soul. This story has been the inspiration for the spiritual lives of all Christians. The resurrection of Christ from the dead has been the greatest affirmation to Christians that there really is life after death. And from this story, a lot have already been told in Christian bible about the life after death. This concept has been argued by the apostle Paul to the disbelievers, he said: â€Å"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. † (1Corinthians 15. 12-14 qtd. in Houben). For Christian believers, every person has a soul (dualism) and that soul is what lives after the person dies. The soul can either rest in heaven or continuously suffer in hell depending on how s/he was able to live his/her life. These concepts of heaven and hell have been the guiding idea of the Christians to how they live their lives. According to teachings, one shall be accepted in heaven if s/he was able to follow the commandments of the Lord, and if s/he was able to be righteous in his life in accordance to the word of the Lord. On the other hand, one shall suffer the pains of hell if s/he did bad things in considerably most of his/her life and s/he chose to live against the will of the Lord and his teachings. Over the years, this has been the main teaching to Christians about heaven and hell. Christians would describe the heaven as the place where there are golden roads and castles. A place where there are bountiful trees and crops that never runs out of yield, and also, a place where there is no more suffering. The heaven was indeed taught as a paradise after death, where hell on the other hand was described as the complete contrary and was further depicted as the worse place one can ever be in. The burial and commemoration rights for the dead among Christians are also somewhat detailed. They would lament and pay respect to the dead for a couple of days, gathering the family, and offering flowers and prayers to the dead and to the family. During these gatherings, the dead is often remembered and prayed for. The prayers were believed to help the soul of the departed reach to the heavens easily. After the lamentation, the dead shall now be brought to its last venue where flowers and significant items to the dead are being buried with it into the grave. And the commemoration of the dead does not end there because Christians celebrate the life of the dead on the same day of their deaths every year which is called their death anniversary. Looking at these different perspectives about death and the afterlife, we can observe that there are several similarities and differences among the religions or spiritual beliefs discussed. The Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman and Christian cultures all believe in the concept of heaven or paradise and hell or underworld after death. This concept of a very beautiful and peaceful place after death has been evident in the teachings of the three cultures. All of them also taught that only righteous people can ascend to the heavens and be with the gods. The Mesopotamian and Greco-Roman cultures similarly described the underworld as the place where the dead inevitably go. These two cultures also described the underworld as place where people cannot escape anymore once they are there. While the Christians believed in the concept of hell as a frightful place where people who chose to be bad shall go after they die. The Egyptian culture also shared that similarity with that of the Christians and the Greco-Romans in terms of lamentation and burial rights. All these three cultures lament or commemorate the death of their loved ones in belief that this would please the dead. These cultures also practice very detailed burial rights in order to give the dead a peaceful cross over. There may be similarities in the practices of these religions or cultures; however their core beliefs are completely different from each other. Over the years, we have relied on spiritual and religious teachings to find hope and explanation if there really is life after we die. We as human beings have that natural urge to find out what can possibly happen to us after death, but even how different or similar religious teachings might explain death and afterlife; we must understand that the answer will always depend on what specific religious belief we stick to and what beliefs we have about life itself. These religions or spiritual beliefs may vary in explaining the concepts of death and afterlife, but these differences come from the differences they have with their ideologies.

Building Brand Community Essay

1.HOG has been phenomenally successful at attracting members and chapters. From nothing in 1983 it has grown to half a million members in 1,160 chapters. This is the core of Harley-Davidson’s market and it is easily reachable through Hog Tales magazine. This is particularly important for Harley given that its customers are so varied making it hard to reach them through traditional marketing methods. HOG overcomes the wide differences in its membership by focusing on their common passion, motorcycle riding. While members get to meet fellow enthusiasts, Harley gets to keep their attention on Harley. As it cannot compete with Japanese imports on price, and perhaps quality, Harley has to focus on its brand. HOG builds brand community and dispels the old image of Harley owners as Hell’s Angels gangs. In fact, Harley has been so successful in building its brand that BusinessWeek ranks it as the 44th most valuable in the world. Retaining Harley owners is clearly lucrative; Harley estimates that active HOG members spend an extra $850 a year with the company. This translated into over $140 million, money that can easily be spent elsewhere by less loyal customers. 2.Given that HOG serves to retain and reach customers by building a brand community, the Posse Rides serve to create a brand within the brand. Lisa Laundry describes Harley as â€Å"a mystique, a lifestyle as opposed to a brand.†Ã‚  This kind of awe is mixed with a cultist sense of community, a dollop of patriotism and Americana, and commitment to riding to create your average Harley rally pilgrim. The Posse Rides focus on the latter part of that physiological make-up, on the hard-core riders. It allows these people to differentiate themselves from the larger group of Harley owners. The first Posse Ride was a big success, giving participants bragging rights that they promptly exercised on return to their HOG chapters. This word of mouth raised expectations for the sequel which, like many sequels, it failed to live up to. Participants expected their T-shirts stop after stop, and they expected to mingle with management to share their views. The results of the pre and post-ride surveys (see Exhibit 1) show high satisfaction with their bikes and the ride itself, but much lower satisfaction with HOG and Harley as a company, particularly afterwards. This is dangerous as it undermines brands loyalty. Barbara Hammet is right when she says â€Å"Harley certainly has enough money that if they have to eat a shirt or two, it shouldn’t matter.† Given the importance of T-shirts as souvenirs, or markers, to participants there is no excuse for not having enough on hand. If management had been paying attention on the 1st Posse they should know this. One has to ask why the mangers ride together at all? They can meet at the office, or have their own intra-office Posse. They should be seen to be part of the larger group. 400 people over ten days is not many people to ‘meet and greet’ for say, four managers. Mike Keefe defends management by saying â€Å"What they don’t see is the research that occurs unobtrusively†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The end of his sentence is unimportant because if they do not see it, or more importantly feel it, it is worthless. The old axiom, ‘If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right’, applies here. Harley should spend more time and resources doing so. 3.That the Posse Rides are worth doing should not be doubted. They are part of the brand image; a two-mile long rolling billboard for Harley. Seeing old and young, male and female Posse Riders traveling together projects an open, inclusive image for Harley. The Posses are advertising for Harley and its dealers and Harley should exploit this more. It should encourage, even subsidize, dealers to build on the Posse Rides in ways such as the dealer in  Duluth did on the 1st Posse. Coordination with local TV and radio should be used to raise awareness and crowds. The dealer network should also be used by the Posse Rides to solve logistical problems such as the T-shirts fiasco. Given that Posse Rides have different routes, most dealers will be able to participate over time. 4. While the visual promotional effect of the Posse Rides should be exploited as much as possible, commercializing them should be avoided. Participants are Harley’s best customers and it should take the opportunity to reward them, not exploit them. These people are not stupid and will soon notice if Harley tries to squeeze out every last cent from them. The indirect benefits, such as building brand awareness and loyalty, are much more important than short-term sales. If participants want to shop at every dealer, great, but their direct costs should be kept as low as possible. Given their wide differences in income, raising prices will simply drive off working class participants that blow their annual wad on one rally. This would change the nature of the Posse from an open, inclusive group to a rich, closed one. Over time, as Posse Rides become a feature of Harley’s brand, it would depreciate the brand. Posse Rides will also have to maintain their exclusivity if they are to be continually successful. If everyone can get a Posse T-shirt because of merchandizing they will not be worth having to real Posse Riders. Keeping the number of participants small also adds to the feeling of exclusivity, as does not running the Posse Rides more than biannually. This should also help to maintain a feeling of spontaneity that is missing from regularly scheduled, annual events. Exhibit 1 1.I will definitely sign up for another long distance HOG rally 2. If I were to replace my motorcycle I would buy another Harley 3. I would recommend this ride to a friend 4. I feel a sense of kinship with other Harley owners 5. I have made lifelong friends because of my Harley 6. My Harley says a lot about the kind of person I am 7. I really understand what Harley is all about 8. No one but Harley-Davidson could put on an event like this 9. Harley-Davidson really understands what riding a bike is all about 10. I am satisfied with HOG 11. Harley-Davidson really cares about me as a customer 12. Harley really understands my needs 13. My Harley is an integral part of my daily life

Competitive advantage Sony Essay

1 Introduction Nowadays it has become more and more important for organizations, such as Sony, to differentiate themselves from their competitors by enhancing the way their customers perceive and experience their brand and products. This has become more crucial for the success of Sony due to the fact that the demands and expectations of customers have changed. Today’s market is not only looking at the direct benefits of purchasing a product but also at the added benefits that come with it. More and more competitors of Sony have  changed the way they interact with their customers in order to gain and maintain competitive advantage (Sony, n.d.). This paper will explore the possibilities for Sony to increase sales by drawing attention to the experience of customers using their products. 2 Research problem statement In order to stay competitive, Sony needs to find new ways to enhance customer experience of their products. This entails emphasizing on the whole offering of the organization including, of course, the quality of customer care and product features, but also creative advertising, packaging, ease of use, and reliability (Meyer & Schwager, 2007). At the moment, Sony is facing heavy competition in all their market segments. According to Gianforte (2012), nowadays an organization cannot only successfully compete based on their products/services and price alone. Customer experience has become the new critical differentiator that a successful business should be based up on. This customer experience can have an influence on the buying intention through the following process: Satisfaction Howard (1977, 1983, in: Fornell & Johnson, 1991) found that a positive customer experience leads to high levels of customer satisfaction. According to Olsen, Wilcox & Olsson (2005), consumer satisfaction is a global evaluation or a state of feeling towards a product or service. According to Giese and Cote (2000), satisfaction consists of three general components, namely: – The consumer satisfaction is an emotional or cognitive response. – The response is associated with a particular focus, expectations, product and consumption experience. – The response happens in a particular time Trust With regard to satisfaction brand trust plays an important role in satisfaction in developing a customer base committed to the brand. Trust is a key variable in the development of an enduring desire to maintain a relationship in the long term (Morgan and Hunt, 1994, in: Delgado-Balester, Munuera-Alà ©man). Seybold (2001) adds that trust grows from every experience customers have with a product and service. Bowers, Richardson & Swan (1998) agree with the statement that a positive customer experience can be created  by building trust with them. Brand trust can be created by sending out credible and expert messages. Also, adding a trust appeal to messages (for example â€Å"You can trust on the fact that we do our job well†) increases brand reliability, leads to a more positive attitude towards the brand and increases purchasing intention (Hornikx, 2002). Paul, Schneider and White (1998) found that when customers are satisfied thus have positive perceptions of an organization, they are likely to remain a customer of that organization. In line with this statement Espejel, Fandos & Flavian (2004) and Howard (1977, in: Fornell & Johnson, 1991) found that a higher satisfaction leads to greater levels of loyalty and buying intention of the service or product. This is also confirmed by Gentile et al. (2007) who state that when customers have a positive customer experience, an emotional tie will be created between a firm’s brand and its customers, which in turn enhances customer loyalty. Loyalty European researchers studying during the 1970s business-to-business marketing discovered that suppliers who formed close working relationships with their customers tended to have better customers. Better refers to the fact that the customers were more loyal to the organization. Also, the customers evaluated the suppliers higher. Subsequent research found that loyal customers are more profitable to a firm. The profitability is thought to be generated by reduced servicing costs, less price sensitivity, increased spending, and the recommendations passed on to other potential customers. To strengthen relationships with their customers, and bond them to an organization, most organizations are interested in loyalty programs (Dowling & Uncles, 1997). Buying intention Loyalty is a crucial factor when it comes to buying intention. Light (1994, in: Palumbo & Herbig, 2000) states that building brand loyalty will endure profitable growth as well as sales volume. The positive effect of loyalty on sales is also emphasized by Bowen and Chen (2001). Their research shows that loyal customers increase sales by purchasing a wider variety of the products and by making more frequent purchases. Relation between customer experience and buying intention When taking an overview at the literature mentioned above, a relation between the several factors can be noticed. Literature teaches that a positive customer experience leads to a higher satisfaction. This in turn increases the brand trust. This trust simultaneously affects the loyalty of customers in a brand. In the end this loyalty results in an increase in buying intention. 2.1 Purpose of research Based on the importance of the customer experience and its influence on the buying intention the general purpose of this research is to get an insight in the important determinants of this experience. In order to investigate what determinants Sony should particularly focus on, in the following sections the main research question and the sub-questions are defined. After the questions there will be a review of the relevant literature on the topic of customer experience. Thereafter an explanation of the methods used will be given, followed by the analysis and the conclusion. Based on these conclusion there will be given an advice to the management. 3 Research question Based on the problem statement, the following main research question is proposed: In what way can Sony adjust their communication strategy to improve the costumer experience in order to increase sales? The main question can be answered due answering the following sub-questions: What is meant by â€Å"customer experience† and what are its determinants? Which determinants are of most importance determining the costumer experience? 4 Proposed literature In order to answer the main research question it is of importance for Sony to exactly know what is meant by â€Å"customer experience† and what the determinants of the experience are. This can be found through a literature study. After that they can investigate which determinants are of most importance according to the customers of Sony. In literature several definitions on the concept of ‘customer experience’ have been mentioned. According to Berry, Carbone and Haekel (2002) customers always have an experience whenever they purchase a product or service from a company. Meyer and Schwager (2007) state that customer experience is â€Å"the internal and subjective response customers have to any direct or indirect contact with a company. Direct contact generally occurs in the course of purchase, use, and service and is usually initiated by the customer. Indirect contact most often involves unplanned encounters with representatives of a company’s products, services or brands and takes the form of word-of-mouth recommendations or criticisms, advertising, news reports, reviews and so forth†(in: Verhoef, Lemon, Parasuraman, Roggeveen, Tsiros & Schlesinger, 2009, p. 32). Gentile, Spiller and Noci (2007) on the other hand, use a different definition of customer experience, namely: customer experience â€Å"originates from a set of interactions between a customer and a product, a company, or part of its organization, which provoke a reaction†. This experience is strictly personal and implies customer’s involvement at different levels; on a rational, emotional, sensorial, physical or spiritual level. Verhoef et al. (2009) also state that the experience factor plays an increasingly important role in determining the success of a company’s offering because of the competition in the global. Therefore, organizations need to manage the customer experience in order to improve the company’s success. In order to aggregate a positive customer experience, it is crucial that Sony is aware of the influences on this experience. When looking at determinants of customer experience in literature, the conceptual model by Verhoef et. al (2009) provides an overview of all the factors that have an influence on one’s customer experience. The model can be found in appendix A. Based on the abovementioned model the determinants of costumer experience are: social environment, service interface, retail atmosphere, assortment, price, customer experiences in alternative channels, retail brand, past customer experience. Current research will focus on these determinants and therefore the constructs will represent these determinants. These constructs  can be found in appendix B. Situation moderators and consumer moderators will not be included, because the organization can not influence these factors. 5 Methods and techniques In order to answer the main research question a complete overview of the most important determinants of costumer experience by the Dutch Sony customers is needed. This overview will be accomplished by a thorough questionnaire amongst the Dutch customers. Based on the answers of this questionnaire a focus group will follow in order to indicate the factors which can be improved so a higher customer experience is created. Questionnaire The constructs of the questionnaire are based on the determinants of customer experience by Verhoef et al. (2009), the constructs can be found in appendix A. They are used because their causal effect on customer experience is proven in literature. The questionnaire will be sent to Sony customers as well as non-Sony costumers (details see appendix C). Appendix D shows the questionnaire sent to the respondents. The questions of the questionnaire are linked to the constructs, this linkage can be found in appendix E. After receiving the answers the questionnaire will be analyzed, this process can be found in appendix C. The results of these questionnaire indicate which determinants have the most influence on the consumer experience of the Dutch (Sony) customers. Focus groups The focus groups with a number of twelve respondents per group will consist of six Sony costumers and six non Sony costumers. A detailed overview of the target group and focus groups can be found in appendix C. The content of the sessions will be based on the results of the questionnaire, which will show the determinants that have the most influence on customer experience. The group of people will discuss what they find convenient subjects with regard to these constructs. Based on these subject there can be analyzed which things Sony has to adjust within its communication strategy so the strategy will match the customer’s optimal customer experience. 6 Analysis In order to answer the main research question one must first answer the second sub-question. This question covers the determinants that are of most importance concerning the customer experience. The answers to the questionnaire will provide the information for answering the sub-question. Questionnaire The first analysis is oriented at determining the average scores of each question and eventually for each construct. Appendices F till L show the average score of every question, displayed per construct. These scores are distracted from the scale, reaching from 1 till 5, with 2.5 as the mean of the scale. Questions concerning the social environment show above mean scores, with a 3.6 as the minimum. This means that the social environment is a very important determinant of customer experience. Service interface also has very high scores. With an average of 4.3 the highest scored question of this construct states that customers agree with the fact the co-customization adds value to products. The role of the retail atmosphere seems to be of less influence on the customer experience. The average scores of these question are significantly lower, with 5 out of 10 questions scoring below the mean of the scale. Questions within the assortment and past experiences construct have a score far above the mean. While the questions concerning both retail brand and price mostly score below mean. Next to the average scores of the questions appendix M shows the average score per construct. One can see from the bar chart there are four out of seven constructs that score far above the mean, and three constructs that score about the mean. Therefore there will be concluded that these four constructs (social environment, service interface, assortment and past experiences) are the determinants that are of most importance determining the costumer experience. Focus groups Following to the questionnaire are the focus groups. During these sessions the customers discussed about each of the highly important constructs: social environment, service interface, assortment and past experiences. Certain subjects came up during these discussions, these subjects were labeled, see appendix N. During the focus groups it was found that the past experience mostly concerned the service interface (e.g. the service  personnel) and the assortment (e.g. quality of the product). An important label that was mentioned was the trust that derives from positive past experience, which makes them willing to buy more of Sony. Besides the service interface and the assortment the customers within the focus groups also discussed about the social environment. Reviews and the opinions of other with regard to the experience of a product are seen as important influencers. 7 Conclusion and advice to the management This research is conducted in order to investigate in what way Sony can adjust their communication strategy to improve the costumer experience in order to increase sales. Therefore there is already stated what the definition of customer experience is and what its determinants are. The results of the questionnaire and focus groups show that there are four determinants that are of most influence with regard to the customer experience. Two of these components can be influenced by Sony, namely the service interface and the assortment. The other two constructs, social environment and past experience, are in turn influenced by these components and can not be directly influenced. With regard to the service interface it is of importance that the personnel of Sony meets the requirements that the customers find of importance: kind, helpful, advising and knowledge. These characteristics are perceived to be very important when it comes to a pleasant experience within the store. In addition to the social experience, logically another important factor is the assortment of Sony. The quality and the variety of this assortment is of great importance. The social experience, through service interface, and the practical experience, through the assortment, are both constructs that can be influenced by Sony. The construct past experience can not be influenced by Sony, because of the fact that the experience is already in the past, nevertheless Sony can improve their current service interface and assortment. In that way customers’ past experiences for the future will be positive. In line with  Morgan and Hunt (1994) and Seybold (2001) there was found that positive experiences with the brand creates trust with the customer. These positive past experience will therefore create trust in Sony, which will lead to remaining buying intentions. With regard to social environment the importance of the experience of others and online reviews was noted. Sony can only influence these factors by providing good services (service interface) and products (assortment), so people will evaluate these products and services positive. Based on these conclusions the advices for the management are: Develop a training program for all of the employees: they have to meet certain requirements with regard their knowledge about the products of Sony and to the way they provide their services. After implementing the program make sure that the customers also know of the training, so they know they can trust the advice of the skilled personnel within the store. This can be mentioned at posters, commercials etc. (e.g. on a poster: â€Å"Feel free to visit our store for questions or advice, we keep ourselves up-to-date especially for you!†) Make sure that all the communication expressions emphasize the quality of the products and to enhance the quality of these products customers can be asked to give their opinion about the product on the Sony website. Through this system the chance will increase that a big part of the online reviews will be given at the Sony site. In this situation the communication department of Sony can quickly detect negative reactions on which they can respond to solve the problem. All the visitors of the review will so experience the involvement of Sony, which creates sympathy. Send good quality products to influential people that make movies on YouTube and ask them to review the product. Make clear that you want them to give their honest opinion, and that they also mention that to their viewers. 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