Is it important for food is organic - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 706 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/07/30 Category Food Essay Level High school Tags: Organic Food Essay Did you like this example? Organic foods avoid the use of pesticides, GMOs and man-made fertilizer for a healthier product and environment. Farms are getting polluted everyday with the use of fertilizer, which in turn pollutes the water system. Organic foods are a step up throughout our society and more people seem to be leaning towards this healthy alternative; however, organic foods might not be as healthy as some believe so some still have their doubts. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Is it important for food is organic?" essay for you Create order In 2009 the FSA (Food Standards Agency) published a report on the benefits of organic and conventional produce, in turn, the report concluded that organic foods did not provide any significant health benefits than non-organic foods, but it did have more vitamins, minerals, and omega 3s. In consideration, Organic is beginning to seem like the better option because of the added nutrients, our improved livestock production and the positive impact on our environment. To begin with, organic foods can provide healthy vitamins and nutrients that you might not find in non-organic foods. Researchers from Stanford University did a decade long study where they concluded that the antioxidant compounds found in organic foods such as flavonoids, and carotenoids can be linked to protecting cells from the effects of aging and damage that can lead to cancer (Charles). This is the difference of finding a big, ripe, red apple compared to a small, ripe, red apple. For example, the more fertilizer used can make foods like produce grow larger. It may dilute some of the nutrients in the process but, appeal more to the heathier consumer, in turn, these findings may be critical when thinking about your health and how aware you are of the nutritional facts on the food that you purchase. Organic production is also one of many options available for livestock producers. There is a little bit more of a clear system in place when it comes to Organic livestock. For example, any livestock labeled organic must originate from an animal that has already been managed under organic operations, in fact, a livestock producer must maintain living conditions that accommodate the natural behavior and health of the animal. In turn, these animals can live out a happier life and more times than not, offer a better tasting experience for the consumer. Organic livestock producers also must maintain and manage manure, so it does not contribute to the contamination of crops, soil, or water. Records of these practices are kept for five years and must maintain compliance with the organic food protection act (FAMU). Lastly, there are many benefits to our environment that come from organic farming. For example, organic farmers are able to produce quality products without the use of damaging pesticides or bad fertilizer that may in turn damage our water system. For example, soil building practices have become essential to organic producing. The length of time that the soil is exposed to erosive forces is decreased, soil biodiversity is increased, and nutrient losses are reduced, helping to maintain and enhance soil productivity (FAO.ORG). Water is also affected using pesticides on non-organic foods that can be damaging when entering our ground water systems. Converting to organic practices can help save the land we walk on and provide healthier quality products without damaging our ecosystem with the use of pesticides and non-organic production practices. In conclusion, some can argue that it really does not matter if their food is organic or not. With a little more research, we all can be more educated and in turn provide ourselves more nutrients that our bodies may be missing. We can also look at the practices of where our livestock comes from to see if we are getting the best product that we need to give our bodies the best nutrient source possible. and also knowing that the records of these organic livestock practices are kept so we can see the facts. Our Environment is suffering more than ever, and it is best we use better judgement, so we can continue to live with healthy soil in the ground and cleaner water to drink. Organic food does seem like the clearer option, but it all depends on who you are asking and how passionate you are with protecting your body, our livestock, and the environment around us.

The Value Of Customer Loyalty - 2911 Words

The Value of Customer Loyalty Introduction The necessity of human is rapidly increasing, from fast food that can be served in less than 10 minutes to services like pet grooming and hotel that are now in demand with the animal lovers. These necessities of humans are allowing more and more business to be opened and would mean economy growth. Since there is a demand of these necessity, there is also demand on business and would mean competition. Marketing the product or services would be difficult to pull-off because of competition and the product and services somehow is identical to each other. The question would be how a business will retain their customer, or how would a costumer make repeat purchases and come back. The cultivation of†¦show more content†¦How can a buyer turn to be a loyal costumer? All of this will be tackled or perhaps will be discussed in the following pages of this paper. Making an Impact Rai Medha (2013), depict the current situation of businesses, the competition and the consumer demands, lessen the defection and building bond of long lasting loyalty with the consumers seem to be the only means of sustained profitability and growth. This era where everyone can now have their own business and unique marketing strategy, the head to head battle of winning the costumer’s heart is by far the most important things that a business could do. The company must make a visible impact not only on the quality of the product that they are selling but also on their customer relation. This movement is identified as service-profit chain where the company not only looks after their product but simultaneously making an impact with their customer relation and ensuring the quality and benefits for their employees. Heskett et al., (1994) talk about in other to establish relationship there must be a service-profit chain, which establishes relationship between the consumer and its employee satisfaction. In the paper Heskett shows how this could be down, Profit and Growth is the result of loyalty, Consumer loyalty develops from satisfaction, Satisfaction is develop by good values of the company shown by the employee who are satisfied in their work. This Service-profit chain is

Computer and Internet Effects on Society Free Essays

In today’s society the world could not function 10 minutes without the technology it has readily available for its inhabitants. The world today is too depended on the convienience that these products of future abilities offer. They make entertainment, work, social networking, education, and communication so much easier. We will write a custom essay sample on Computer and Internet Effects on Society or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, there are some significant negative effects like, eye sight problems, social problems, and general laziness issues. The question is, do computers and internet benefit or devastate society. Computers and internet has advanced humanity in various ways. One way includes typing papers. Before computers were invented people had to use typewriters which were much slower and if the writer made a mistake, he or she would have to cover it up with white ink rather than â€Å"backspacing†. Another example of something that computers and the internet have changed, is the way people are entertained. Not only can a person play games on a computer, but they can also watch movies, socialize, find new people, listen to music, and create extremely awing works of art. Also before computers and the internet, the only way of gaining knowledge was literally through others; speeches or reading articles, books, magazines, or any other printed document. Now, computers and the internet makes all of this incredibly convenient. In today’s society people more than likely could not even function without the internet, let alone gain knowledge because more and more kids are reading less and less books due to the internet. In most ways computers are beneficial to society, one major way is through that of the work force. In general, a computer makes typing, which is needed by nearly every profession in one way or another, easier to do. Computers are much faster than old typewriters and obviously faster than hand writing anything. Another reason why they make typing more convenient is the backspace key. Back when it was the typewriter, if a person made a mistake while typing they had to take out the paper and put white ink over the mistake. Or if it was a giant mistake, the writer would then have to take a completely new piece of paper and start anew. Also, instead of looking up how to spell word in the dictionary or knowing how to spell every word in the English language, if the writer were to misspell a word on the computer, it would show an derror on the scree, therefore reducing mistakes as well. In saying this, computers save a vast amount of paper due to not writing directly on the paper itself. Another way computers benefit the work force is through email. These instant messages go from person to person, or from one person to a quantity of people. This, compared to writing out one letter, or even making multiple letters, saves time and is more convenient. Again this method will save paper which in turn helps save the environment. Yet another great example of how computers and internet benefit the work force is through online communication. A specific example of this is video calls. A person who needs to go across the world to present something to a business partner for example, could easily just setup a video call and presen right from his or her own office to another computer somewhere else. This gaain is convenient in saving traveling time and saving money the person would have to spend to travel to wherever was needed. Furthermore, another benefit is a job itself. With today’s technology people have designing careers that need a computer to make, view, or edit photos and movies. They can take a picture with a camera, upload it to a computer, and begin their own form of artwork on the photo. In general there are countless ways that computers effect the work force. Another major benefit computers have to offer is that they improve everyday normal living. One way they do this is by helping people manage their financials. With a computer, a person can open a spreadsheet, create a budget, and manage that budget over time. This could help a person save money in the long run. Also, computers come with on board calculators so there is no need of getting one yourself. Another way computers make everyday life better is that in all appliances, microwaves, ovens, televisions, washer and dryers etc. , and handheld devices, mp3’s, phones, or any other media device, all have what’s called â€Å"embedded systems† which is like a mini on board computer. Without these systems our laundry would take longer to clean, our food would be harder to prepare, and entertainment like movies, shows, or music, might not even exist. Also, people can go onto the internet to research a product before they buy it. This would save time and money because instead of going to the store to ask customer support about a product, a person can look up online what the product has to offer. Order it if they would like, and someone else can deliver it for them. â€Å"Although these tasks can be done without a computer, the invention makes doing such tasks much easier. An example of this is something previously mentioned, entertainment. People are able to access millions of websites that offer movies, short videos, games, or music. Because these are so easy to get to people can entertain themselves as much as they would by going out to the movies or going to an arcade. Something else that computers make easy is making cards. There are computer programs that hel p a person setup any type of card they need, which would save money rather than going out and buying one from a store. Yet another ability computers make easier is communicating with people. People are able to go online and get on video chat and talk to someone across the world with no problem. If a family member is on vacation and would like to talk with you more than over the phone, he or she could just open up a computer and be face to face with whoever they’d like. Also, online gaming provides a vast opportunity to talk with people. The chat boxes that these games provide hosts hundreds, or even thousands of people at a time, all able to talk with each other. Along these same lines lies online chat rooms. People can get on one of these websites and talk with people from around the world, this function is sometimes used for online dating as well. If these ways of communication are not available then there are always emails. These are like notes passed to one another but instead of across the room, it’s to wherever the sender would like. â€Å"Communication with others is growing as an application of computers by children, particularly as more homes and schools gain access to the internet. † A fourth way computers and internet impact society is through education. Computers are becoming less and less expensive so schools are able to afford more and more of them. Computers can help kids learn by having software that teaches them the needed information for a class. Also, with the internet, kids have millions of sources to gather for any necessary research papers or projects. There are online textbooks, so if a kid forgets his or her book at school, they can access the exact same information online. Another example is that online games that educate are very helpful to learning children. How to cite Computer and Internet Effects on Society, Papers

Expository Narrative on James Moores free essay sample

One difficulty is that along with a policy vacuum there is often a conceptual vacuum. Although a problem in computer ethics may seem clear initially, a little reflection reveals a conceptual muddle. What is needed in such cases is an analysis that provides a coherent conceptual framework within which to formulate a policy for action. (Moor, 1985, 266) Even though today computer ethics is no longer an idea in its infancy, there are many interpretations of ethics in relation to information technology. Today almost all companies use computer and information technology to serve their clients and because of that they have to have strong ethical standards for the conduct of their business. Microsoft Corporations â€Å"Four Pillars of Trustworthy Computing† (Reynolds, 2010) which combine security, privacy, reliability and integrity in a system focused on the aspect of trustworthiness – something Microsoft and other companies see as important. Moors 1985 essay and later work helped lay the groundwork for the development of a policy, thus breaking down the vacuum for ethics in the computer age. He added additional ideas in the 1990s, including the important notion of core human values: According to Moor, human values such as life, health, happiness, security, resources, opportunities, and knowledge, are so important for the survival of a community that all communities do hold them near and dear. Certainly if a community did not value the â€Å"core values†, it would soon cease to exist. It was these human â€Å"core values† that Moor used for examining computer ethics topics like privacy and security (Moor 1997), and to add an account of justice, which he called â€Å"just consequentialism† (Moor, 1999), a theory that combines â€Å"core values† and consequentialism with Bernard Gerts deontological notion of â€Å"moral impartiality† using â€Å"the blindfold of justice† (Gert,1998). In his essay, Moor introduces the â€Å"conceptual vacuum,† which he says is the lack of terminology to define elements in a specific system or model. According to Moor, while it is possible for a conceptual vacuum to be discovered only after the policy vacuum is identified, it is the conceptual vacuum that needs to be addressed first. Only then can the relevant actions and policies be implemented to solve a computer ethics problem. At least a basic understanding of terms and their relationship to one another, or â€Å"coherent conceptual framework,† (Moor, 1985) is necessary otherwise it would be close to impossible to define a computer ethics problem without understanding what a computer actually is and what it can do, and the specific ethical values, unique to computers systems. Conceptual vacuums may still exist in certain fields in which the conceptual framework remains unclear. As an example, today, in the field of advanced genetic engineering, cloning, and stem cell research conceptual vacuums may still exist, since these areas are not fully developed and the related terminologies are still not specifically defined. Since the field of computers itself was not fully understood any actions that were taken would still be subject to a policy vacuum. Moor also talks about logical malleability, which is basically the concept of the computers ability to perform virtually any task, using ideas that can be represented as simple values. Since these values can represent anything, a computer is basically able to perform calculations or logical deductions in any area of work. Logical malleability, then, according to Moor, is the process of computers taking in information as input, processing it with a logical unit, and then producing an output. In this way, computers become very much like human beings, where the central nervous system and the brains higher cognitive functions, processes the sensory input and the resultant thought or action the is output. Moor does say that â€Å"computers manipulate symbols but they dont care what the symbols represent,† it is possible, however, for a user to assign priorities to certain processes or tasks in the form of a hierarchy of importance, the computer thinks a certain task is importance and treats accordingly is because it has been told (programmed) to do so. Moors comparison of the Computer Revolution to the Industrial Revolution is spot on. He forecasts their methodological footsteps and their effects on society to be similar. According to him, In the Industrial Revolution there were two stages; the first was the implementation of technology, and the second was the permeation stage in which the workings of the economy became permeated with technology to the extent that it became inconceivable to imagine any aspect of the economy without technology and there was a transformational effect on the way people lived their lives and what they expected from society. Even though the essay was written in 1985, it seems that the Computer Revolution is still not over, in fact, it may be in a state of perpetual evolution much the same way as we are as human beings. Moore says that as computers become embedded in every aspect of our lives, they will not only alter the way lives are lived but make people question our values. As computerized machines take over craftsmanship, flying skills are automated by computer, and photographs are enhanced by picture enhancing software, some may question the value of the pride and joy of creating a masterpiece or the exhilaration of a perfect takeoff or landing. Moors highlights the element of conceptual vacuum by considering the invisible environment in which computers carry out their functions. He argues that computers are not fool-proof and to base important ethical decisions on outcomes of computer calculations is wrong. As more and more aspects of life are computerized, we are taking the outputs of computers for granted and basing our decisions whether big or small, on those outputs without verifying the methodology behind those invisible processes. He makes the reader think hard about the perceived infallibility of computers by using the example of a nuclear attack: For instance, computers are used by the military in making decisions about launching nuclear weapons. On the one hand, computers are fallible and there may not be time to confirm their assessment of the situation. On the other hand, making decisions about launching nuclear weapons without using computers maybe even more fallible and more dangerous. What should be our policy about trusting invisible calculations? Moore, 1985) Moors 1985 essay was a convincing argument for the consideration of computer ethics as an important and independent field of study. He highlighted some of the ethically questionable issues that may arise due to the use of computers, and illustrated his point with numerous examples. Some of the issues are obviously dated as this essay was written over a quarter century ago and many of the computerized processes now are far more evolved now than t hey were back then, making them more secure, for example, or fool-proof. One of the questions I’d like to ask Mr. Moor is about Internet marriages and divorce, and what his opinion vis-a-vis ethical considerations of divorce is about them. If a divorce can be applied for and granted online, can a marriage also not take place along similar lines and should it be accepted in a court of law, especially if a judge or magistrate is a witness on camera? Another question that I’d like to ask Mr. Moore is based off of his comparison of the Computer Revolution to the Industrial Revolution. I don’t feel that the Computer Revolution can be defined in two stages like he described the Industrial Revolution. While the Industrial Revolution changed the way we lived our lives, computers as they get embedded into every aspect of our daily lives continue to do so every day and this is not something that seems to have an end point. As our values change in step with advances in computers, does he think that at some point we may even question the very notion of computers not being part of a certain aspect of life if it were? Would not our thinking also change and our standards not be based on life without computers to even ask why we depend on computers so much? My last question for Mr.

Three Things I Want To Change This Semester Essays - Education

Three Things I Want To Change This Semester Three Things I Want To Change This Semester I want to do well this semester so I can be proud of what I accomplish and so my mom can be proud too . The problem is just I have to get back into the habit of doing well like doing the things I need to do, such as home work and being organized . That's why I need to change a lot this semester . The first thing I need to change this semester is my organization . I don't put papers and my homework assignments in my folder, I just shove the work I did in my backpack . So when I go to turn it in it's all destroyed from books and folders . To solve this I should take the extra five seconds and put the papers into my folder so that this stops that problem . This will highly help my organization and just about everything else I need to change this semester. My second goal is to get better grades in all of my classes so I don't have to go to summer school because I have better things then to go to school in the summer for messing up on something I could have done right the first time . Right when I get home I should do my homework so I don't have to do it when I get to that class . I should even set a time for me to do my homework so if I don't do my work when I get home I have a deadline for my homework . If I accomplish this goal I can have the whole summer of doing thing I want to do . My third and final goal is to improve my attendance because I had really bad attendance last semester caused me to be disorganized and get bad grades . It really wasn't my fault though because my mom kept dragging me back and forth from Minnesota to California , but I just cant blame my mom because I didn't do some of the work that I could of done . Which in the end may of helped a little . If I hadn't gone to California none of this would have the bad grades would have happened . I know I will get good attendance this semester because I will set a bed time and wake up earlier time so I can make it to school and not miss any work . If I can do this I will be pretty much set. The main problem of this was that if I hadn't gone to California I would have never had to have any stress about grades, organization, or attendance. My family and I have no reason to go back to California because we packed everything that we had, so the only time I might go back is to visit family but that will be two weeks out of the summer . I won't miss any school if I go in the summer. This way I don't have to go trough the stress of worrying about all the make up work I have to do . This way I can stop the cycle of bad grades . I'm glad to be back in school I started to miss school I know I will do better this semester. NO! I WILL DO BETTER THIS SEMESTER AND ACOMPLISH ALL OF MY GOALS! English Essays

The Camper Showroom in Shanghai

The Camper Showroom in Shanghai Introduction Nowadays there are a plenty of materials and technologies allowing making design a masterpiece of art. However, modern design goes beyond the frameworks of the art value.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Camper Showroom in Shanghai specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is also aimed at making the premises useful and appropriate for the modern activities. The Camper Showroom in Shanghai is one of the best examples of the modern design and architecture. The camper showroom in Shanghai The Camper Showroom is Shanghai is the new built showroom and office building located in one of the biggest and most populated cities in the world. The design of the building was created by Neri Hu, talented Chinese designers. The purpose of the new building is to satisfy the needs of the business people. The design of the building is useful as it contains several conference rooms, the premises for presentations and exhibit ions as well as the spaces for offices. In the so fast-growing city as Shanghai, such kind of building is a vital part of the city infrastructure. The design is innovative as it embodies newest decisions in the exterior and interior of the building. The style of the building reminds us of the modern warehouse but with the elements of the old style in design. The long wood piles support the roof. The walls are decorated with the refinement in imitation of brick. There are a lot of wood in the design. Some piles and the ladder steps are colored in the red color which emphasizes the lines in the modern style. â€Å"Reclaimed materials reflect the local colors and textures and are used to build a two-story house within a larger warehouse, creating a series of layers from within and between the spaces† (Neri Hu n.pag.). It can be said that the whole building is divided into cells each of which is connected to the numerous corridors.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another element which deserves attention is the boots and shoes hanging down from the ceiling. There are a lot of light inside the building. â€Å"A mirror runs along one edge, creating the impression of a hinge, while the sliced edges are finished in bright red paint to match the block letters of Campers logo† (â€Å"Camper Shanghai† n.pag.). The building has a two-tier structure. The upper tier is intended to the office premises, whereas the lower tier is aimed at providing spaces for presentations, conferences and some other corporate events. There are a lot of windows separating the premises inside the building. The design gives an impression of structuring and simplicity at the same time. The numerous timbers separate the distinct elements of the building’s structure. â€Å"Constructed from reclaimed wooden frames and grey bricks, the house structure extends out from one wall of the interior† (â€Å"Camper Shanghai† n.pag.). Conclusion In order to summarize all above mentioned, it should be said that The Camper Showroom in Shanghai is one of the brightest example of the contemporary design. The building is designed in the modern style. The creators introduced certain interesting elements in the interior including the red-colored piles and shoes hanging down from the ceiling. The design of the building is useful. It has a two-tier structure. The first tier is for conferences and presentations and the second one is for office premises. Overall, the design is interesting and will catch the eyes of the public. â€Å"Camper Shanghai by Neri Hu†. 4 September 2013. Dezeen.com. Web. â€Å"Neri Hu: Camper Showroom/ Office in Shanghai† 28 October 2013. Designboom.com. Web.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Camper Showroom in Shanghai specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More

HP Distribution Centre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HP Distribution Centre - Essay Example 2. It is misleading to think that the advantages accrued from specialization are lost or diminished when a team is created from specialists in different fields. On the contrary, cross-functional team is an environment where the benefits of specialization can be realized to the greater extent. Members of such a team approach the problem from different perspectives. As a result, working together they can see "big picture" and work out a better solution. Diversity is not a limitation; it is a success factor for a team. 3. In my opinion, Loretta Wilson's team was successful in achieving its objectives. Consolidation, automation of sorting, packing and crating activities, redesign of work stations, and use of modern technologies were "smarter and simpler ways to handle parts fewer times at several points in the distribution channel". Rethinking the way distribution was done allowed the team to fulfill the self-formulated goal and at the same time achieve the initial requirement of four-hour limit for parts delivery. 4. Wilson's team has demonstrated the characteristics of the high performing teams, and text contains explicit and implicit proofs of it. The team had clear goals - "to find smarter and simpler ways to handle parts" and started working quickly and with passion, which requires unified commitment.

The Gaia Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Gaia Theory - Essay Example An example of this is the central belief in Gaia Theory that says the composition of the atmosphere is closely regulated by biological reactions to changes in the atmosphere. For example, an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere should result in a corresponding growth in vegetation that would absorb the additional CO2. In this way, Gaia theorists say that the biological reaction to changes in the atmosphere help keeps the earth in a state of habitable stasis. Some Gaia theorists argue that instead of stasis, the biological changes will actually work to optimize earth’s ability to sustain life. I agree with the criticism leveled against the Gaia Theory. While I find the thoughts and hypothesis generated by this theory, I think the author’s discussion of how historical evidence shows that once earth cools, it actually works to keep itself cool and after it has heated it tends to stay hot is at odds with the theory. The levels of C4 and C2 evidenced in arctic ice core samples seems to show that biological changes cannot counter all changes in the atmosphere to create a situation of stasis or even optimization. Forests affect global climate change in several important ways. The manner that they affect global climate change is different depending on whether the forest is located in a tropical, temperate or sub-arctic region. Tropical forests affect global climate change greatly through high levels of evaporative cooling and carbon sequestration. The humid climate contributes to rapid growth in woody flora of all types. The competing species of trees organize themselves into a climax forest consisting of a deeply shaded floor with low surface temperature with massive amounts of carbon stored in the trunks to the trees. Much study has been made of the clearing of tropical forest for agricultural uses.

According to the BBC, 'Britain is a surveillance society.' To what Essay

According to the BBC, 'Britain is a surveillance society.' To what extent does this compromise and conflict with people's right to privacy An Analysis - Essay Example Many critics were perplexed over the UK government wide usage of CCTV for surveillance as Britons always defending of their privacy at home. CCTV surveillance is concerned with social sorting. The surveillance system receives group and personal data so as to classify populations and people as per varying yardstick, to decide who should be targeted for suspicion, special treatment, inclusion, eligibility, and access etc. Oscar Gandy names it as the â€Å"panoptic sort† which is a discriminatory either fully or not automated technology. (Lyon 2003:20). The deployment of huge number of CCTV in Britain and its effect on civil liberties and on human rights, frequently is being debated across the nation. The main concern is that there exists no proper act or regulation concerning their use .The present UK’s coalition government has assured to initiate steps to address this issue and would look into plugging the existing holes like misuse of CCTV surveillance by authorities and to prevent human right abuses like invasion of individual’s privacy (Rowlinson 2008).... ( Wacks 2010:10). Prior to 1998, there were inconsistent and erratic voluntary Codes of Practices for the regulation of CCTV monitoring in Britain that were hardly adhered with. The legislation that regulates CCTV monitoring is of recent origin in the United Kingdom. The privacy issue was emphasised by the Human Rights Act, 1998. The truth is that there is even now no particular legal regime is existing to regulate CCTV which has probably resulted in the acknowledgement of United Kingdom as a CCTV surveillance hot spot. The only present regulations for regulating CCTV monitoring are to be seen in the common law on privacy, the Data Protection Act, 1998, the laws on criminal evidence which control the admissibility in court of info gathered by CCTV and under the provisions of breach of confidence. During recent times, the Information Commissioner issued both a Data Protection Code on Monitoring at Work and a specific CCTV Code of Practice which pinpoints specifically to the CCTV code and to camera surveillance activities. Recently, there has been an amendment in CCTV Code in the background of decision given in the contentious case namely Durant v. FSA. In this case, the Court of Appeal unpredictably shortened the broad interpretation of â€Å"personal data.† The camera surveillance in U.K had a serious impact due to verdict given in the Durant v. FSA where the Information Commissioner’s CCTV Code of Practice 2000 and the Data Protection Act, 1998 are applicable. Due to verdict given in the Durant case, the Data Protection Act is no more applicable to â€Å" basic CCTV systems† as they are not gathering â€Å" personal data â€Å" as regards to any citizen when they are able to focus on any individual or they are not intended despite images of

Strategic Management Used At General Motors Business Essay

Strategic Management Used At General Motors Business Essay Automotive legend of the last century, GM, is one of the biggest corporations in the world. Although GM had big turmoils in its business, it still operates successfully in all over the universe. The aim of this assignment is to determine the GMs business strategies with rises and falls by looking into their history, having the data of what and how did they do in their businesses and analysing their company activities. Being a leader and pioneer of the automobile industry since this sectors infancy times , General Motors Corporation still keeps its successful place in this competitive business. Since 1908, General Motors Corporation (GM) is one of the largest auto producer in the world as measured by global industry sales, whose headquarters is in United States of America. William C. Durant was the founder of General Motors Company with being an innovator in automobile technology. As being a multinational automobile manaufacturer General Motors employes about 280 million people all around the world with the total assets of 149 billion US Dollars. The company manufacturers the cars and the trucks in 55 different countries (exluding US and Canada). General Motors has sub-brands under its management. Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab, Vauxhall, Holden, Saturn and Wuling are some one the names of General Motors brands. The General Motors Company placed into a global market throughout the 1920s. Meanwhile, the company built itself as a firm which provided prestige, power and the other options. As a competitor, Ford, that focused on lower costs and lower prices, reversely GM targeted customers who had likely money to spend on more featurative products. During the World War II, General Motors Company manufactured armament and military vehicles,both for Allied and Axis forces. GM had improved its business level and becomed the largest corporation in the United States after the world war II. During the 1950s, style, desing, and engineering innovations are applied into the companys production line. In 1960s, GM also focused on insurance, home appliances, financing, electronics, locomotives and banking etc. In request for the smaller cars of European producers , GM introduced Chevrolet Corvair, that was ciriticized for safety issues in following days. In the next decade, oil prices went up and as well as the oil costs , environmental problems are taken into consider at those times. Therefore, there were a shift from huge oil guzzling cars to smaller European cars increased with the first energy crisis. After that , second crisis followed quickly by rising the concern for pollution and controlling of over emission and safety problems resulted GM lose of its market share to more economical and smaller vehicles. Especially between 1980s and 1990s , the Japanese imports rocketed ( See Appendix 1) ,so that, that time of a period was a hardship for GM, which was plagued by high competition with Japanese companies. As a result of this, GM had chenged its strategies like redesingining and reengineering of its car models. However , because of the high production costs , GM had continioued its high losses in the market with huge numbers. In 1990s, General Motors Company had started to close many of its plants and also cut the jobs. With these turmoils among the company, GM followed different strategies ,like buying Saab and Daewoo, and a little portion of Subaru and Suzukis shares, that were sold later for increasing the money. As follows, GM merged with FIAT car company which lasted five years. In the late-1990s, General Motors Company seemed on the way to big recovery, with sales stabilizing and stock increasing. However, end of the 2001 September, the company started to have challenges, and the system was changed again. In the following next few years, General Motors became a survivor in the highly competitive automobile industry with the economic recession in 2008, therefore the company had bailed out by the government for avoiding bankruptcy. (bbc.co.uk, 2010) In the first quarter of 2009, the auto giant posted a 6 billion dollars loss and said that it burned through 10.2 billion dollars of cash in the first three months of the year as revenue plummeted by 20 billion dollars'(about.com, 2010). However, besides these hard circumstances, in the first half of 2010, the General Motors sold more vehicles in China than in the US. (Constantini,2010) 3. STRATEGÄ °C ANALYSÄ °S OF GENERAL MOTORS Analysing the companys internal and external environments, there are many different frameworks and models exist for companies. By having some strategies enables the firms to get better understanding of the critical factors for their future success. Some sof the strategic analysis methods are Dunnings Eclectic Paradigm (Cavusgil et al., 2008), Porters Diamond and Five forces, Directional Policy Matrix, Mintzbergs School of Thoughts (Mintzberg et al., 2003) Value Chain Analysis (Johnson et al., 2008), SWOT analysis (Kotler and Keller, 2009), etc. The suitable frameworks choosing is depends on what the company needs to address and in what circumstances it needs to do so (Johnson et al., 2008). This is because many firms today operate both on a national, regional and global basis and as such need appropriate strategy for each individual environment (Schlie and Yip, 2000). As being a multinational enterprise, GM operates in approximately 57 countries, including Canada and US, and they serve and operate in variety of services from improvement, marketing, manufacturing of cars, trucks to economy and insurance services (Datamonitor, 2009). A potent tool and a flexible framework that could assist in describing and assessing competitive pressures in an industry and industry attractiveness is the Porters five forces (FF) model (Niederhut-Bollmann and Theuvsen, 2008). The model helps a company to decide how and where to make strategic changes for gaining and sustaining competitive advantages over rival firms and thereby generating above-average return on investments (Niederhut-Bollmann and Theuvsen, 2008). Figure 1: Michael Porters Five Forces Source: Michael E. Porter The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy, 2008 In addition, one the school of the Mintzberg Ten School of Thoughts, The Design School, gives us another highly essential analysis for the firms. According to Mintzberg, The Design School sees strategy formation as achieving the essential fit between internal and external aspects'(Mintzberg et al., 2003:p23). Meanwhile, strenghts and weaknesses are given as the internal capabilities, on the other hand, opportunities and threads are seen as the external possibilities. Figure 2: Mintzbergs Design School of Thought Source:http://blogtext.org/russelldavison/article/7281.html Therefore, in this assignment, the General Motors Company will be analysed through company strategies. Firstly competitive advantage and analysis will be done according to Michael Porters five forces. Secondly, internal and external analysis will be given according to Mintzbergs Design School by applying the SWOT analysis. Finally, in the last to secion Value Chain and BCG Matrix Analysis will be examined. 3.1. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ANALYSIS OF GM ACCORDING TO MICHAEL PORTERS FIVE FORCES The competitive analysis of a company is an essential element of identifying components which are a threat to reduce profitability. For assesing over the competitive problems , Michael Porters five forces analysis is the one of the most efficient way. Porter (2004) has brought the light of five such factors: (1) Rivalry between existing competitors, (2) Barriers to entry, (3) Pressure of price from Substitutes/Complementaries, (4) Bargaining power of buyers, (5) Bargaining power of suppliers. Therefore, General Motors Corporations competitive advantage analysis will be done according to Michael Porters five forces . 3.1.1. Rivalry Between Existing Competitors: Rivalry occurs, because one or more competitors either feels the pressure or sees the opportunity to improve position (Porter, 2004 :p.17). Additionally, The strategies pursued by one firm can be successful only to the extent that they provide competitive advantage over the strategies pursued by rival firms. ( David, 2011 :p.107-108). Therefore, if we look at the GM motors in this section, in the 1970s and 1980s, competition in the US automobile industry had become much more strong with the increase of foreign rivals such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan (See Appendix 2). Although GM was a leader of the automobile industry at that period of time, its rivals had started to compete with GM providing some different offers. For example, Toyota started to produce cars with lower price than GM cars , whereas the quality of cars were high. So that, the competitros of GM became well-known brands ,while GM had difficulties with competing with them. 3.1.2. Barriers To Entry: According to Porter, new capacity may be brought to an industry by new entrants. Furthermore, gaining the market share, and getting high proportion of resources can be achieved by new entries. Meanwhile, the presence of of new corporations in an any industry can push the prices down and may decrease the profitability. Although these entries may seem as a threat, those may protect the established companies. During the both world wars, GM made a high profit, and it enlarged its business. Being a leader of the sector and being a well-known brand placed the GMs competitors very difficult positon to entry the industry. Especially for the smaller firms, competing with the GM was very hard. In early 20s, GM invented self-starters by differentiating itself from Ford, later on , in 1970s, Japanese and European companies introduced their fuel-efficient models to the industry. 3.1.3 Pressure of Price From Substitutes/Complementaries : All of the companies are in the competition broadly with the industries manufacturing substitute and complementary products (Porter, 2004). In this highly competitive automobile industry, any change in the prices on complementaries such as gas, tires, could have a important effect on the demand for automobiles. If we look at the GM, recent rising gas prices are highly to get a bigger effect on GM. Because, generally GMs cars are energy inefficient. Therefore, this will have great impact on GM. 3.1.4. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Buyers compete with the industry by forcing down prices, bargaining for higher quality and more services, and playing competitors against each other, all at the expense of industry profitability'(Porter, 2004 p:24). As a result of highly improved information technologies, and as well as with globalization, customers of the GM (like for the other companies) became more aware of the what were they buying and how much were they paying. Furthermore, getting the information the rivals of GM from the internet increased the bargaining power of dealers of GM. 3.1.5. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers of an industry plays a significant role for their businesses. They may reduce the quality of the products, or may raise the prices up. For GM, raw materials and machine parts suppliers threat is very low, because there many suppliers for those sections (Nytimes, 2011). However, the powerful labour union, United Auto Workers (UAW), is a potential threat to GMs economical capability and endurance. For example, the liability of pension and health-care costs acquired an additional 1,400 to the cost of every vehicle comes from GM place compared with competitor products (The Economist, 2008). This is a magnificent amount and GM needs to search ways to cut this liability, therefore, GM may get more economical improvement and the growth of the company. Figure 3: Michael Porters Five Forces adopted to GM Source: Author 3.2. INTERNAL EXTERNAL ANALYSIS OF GM ACCORDING TO MINTZBERGS DESIGN SCHOOL Mintzberg explained The Design School as in the following: The Design School sees strategy formation as achieving the essential fit between internal and external aspects'(Mintzberg et al., 2003:p23). In this definition, internal factors are given as strenghts and weaknesses. Besides this, opportunities and threats are described as external factors. Therefore, for analysing the GENERAL MOTORS external and internal factors we should do a SWOT Analysis with the light of Mintzbergs Design School. 3.2.1. Strenghts: During the 20th century, GM has been the automotive leader in car industry. Although the company had some turmoils, its market share is still very much competitive in the sector. GM is well established not only in US but all around the world. Moreover, GM also have an rising share in the Chinese market (See Appendix 3). If GM takes the right decisions, there will be no reason for GM becoming a boss of the car industry again with. In addition, GM has wide range of brands such as Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Vauxhall. Company operates in more than hundred countries in the world with employing the approximately 250,000 people (gm.com, 2010) . Therefore, General Motors, with its global experience and its huge market share in the world, is still keeps the professional place in the automobile industry. General Motors Corporation uses OnStar Satellite Technology. This technology provides its customers security and safety facilities. For example, in the event of emergency , the system allows the driver to communicate with OnStar personnel just away a button immediately. GM has been controlling the costs by alliance and partnership with corporations like Shanhai Automobile Industry Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Daimler AG. So that, GM improved its cost reduction system by sharing the company costs. 3.2.2. Weaknesses: For analysing the GMs weaknesses, first, we should consider that, this company is an US firm. So that, from its early years until present times, it is still over dependent to US market. The company should take the benefit for expanding globally. According to an article issued by Associated Press (2010), GM had low credit ratio which is determined as junk-credit (BB-). On the other hand, another problem is downsizing. GM put on the market some of its brands and it closed them completely. Additionally, the inactive profitability is the other issue of GM. After the global economic recession in 2008 , companys profit margins and sales went down dramatically. Staying one step behind on alternative energy movement is the biggest weakness for General Motors Company. The competitors of GM like Honda, Toyota, are using fuel efficiently, and also that are producing more ecological and environment friendly vehicles. Therefore, this may led problems such as decrease of market share and loss in company profit. GMs organizational structure is designed vertically. This causes a lack of information between the levels in the company, from bottom to top. So that, many problems can be occur because of the operational and top managerial levels uncommunicative situation. 3.2.3. Opportunities: One of the lightly opportunities of GM is maintaining the Global Expansion . In the last few years, GM achieved a substantial rise in the Chinese market, that made the GM alarm to major on the foreign markets. The other advantage for GM to take is the catching up the hybrid technology cars. Although they had lagged behind the alternative energy, it is not late for the automotive giant becoming again once it was. Recently, GM started to operate Green-Manufacturing systems, such as water-borne technology, reduction goals for hazardous and non-hazardous waste at source ( See Appendix 4). Developing new vehicle models and designs is the big advantage for GM. Because, as we know, what is in today will be out tomorrow. Therefore, focusing on innovations should be the urgent mission through the GM company. 3.2.4. Threats: The threat of the increase in the supply costs is very common in automobile industry like as the other industries. This threat pushes the firms to reduce manufacturing and production costs as much as possible, without carrying away the product quality. For instance, the fluctuation in the steel prices between 2005 and 2010 had a negative impact on GMs production costs, especially as a result of the economic crisis , the rise in 2008, put a negative impcat on GM ( See Appendix 5). The other danger for GM is the increase in fuel prices (See Appendix 6). As same with the rising in the steel prices, after the economic recession in 2008, the sales have plummeted considerably. Therefore, soaring in fuel costs has played a magnificant role in enhancing the advantage for development of hybrid and more fuel efficient vehicles respectively. The increasing competition factor is the another big threat for General Motors. Because, GM is not a leader once it was, currently there are many different brands in the industry, which are working hard for competing with their rivals. Therefore, GM should always keep the innovation on top for competing in the industry. Figure 4: SWOT Analysis of General Motors Source: Author 3.3. VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF GM Value Chain is called to add value to the product and remove excess waste of resource consumption, in other word, to maximize the value of work done by the systematic and asset management. Supplier of products and processes that increase the effectiveness of all stages up to final customers and to maintain, so used to gain competitive advantage. Value Chain   Management focuses on the destruction of waste inside the company and also focuses on the customers satisfaction inside the company . Value Chain assits to the companies to identify activities where it may well apply its presence potentials (Diez-Vial, 2009) and also identify which activities to outsource in order to decrease prices by getting opportunity of country-specific advatages. One of the compenent of manufacturing is outsourcing which is congress the features of GMs activities that needs a much more labour to the other countries where labour costs are cheaper, and this could relieve GM from employment responsibility . Additionally, recently GM could be able to resolve problems with United Automobile Workers. Michael Porter (2004) examined a set of interconnected generic activities common to a variety of companies. According to Porter, Value Chain Analysis is described as below: Figure 5: Value Chain Activities Table Source: http://www.netmba.com/strategy/value-chain/ GM, for instance, gives highly importance on its customer relationships. For the theory part, Service activities are the activities that continue and enhance the products value including customer support, repair services, etc. Meanwhile, for the GM strategy, they are using OnStar Technology which enables the customers get in touch with the call center of GM in an emergency situations. 3.4. BCG MATRIX ANALYSIS OF GM The BCG Matrix method is based on the product life cycle theory that can be used to determine what priorities should be given in the product portfolio of a business unit ( Lancaster and Reynolds, 2004) . To ensure long-term value creation, high-growth products and low-growth products should be undertaken by the companies in need of cash inputs and generate a lot of cash respectively. Figure 6: BCG Matrix adapted for GM Source: (LancasterReynolds, 2004) As I mentioned above, determining the factors of industry and as well as firms businesses is playing an essential role for gaining competitive advantage in the global market. Till before the two decades, oil prices had gone up with high percentages. So that, this and the environmental factors had oushed the automobile sector to the fuel efficiency vehicles. With the consideration of BCG Matrix applied to the GM, GM should pull off the brands like Pontiac, Hummer which are fuel-efficiency and oil-guzzling cars. Furthermore, more investment should put into producing smaller fuel-efficient vehicles, and also HEVs ( Hybrid Electric Vehicles). 4. CONCLUSION In conclusion, analysing the General Motors Corporation is done by using some strategical analysing methods, such as Porters FF, Value Chain, BCG Matrix, and Swot Analysis. Searching and applying the systems into the GM is quite broad because of the companys long time history which is more than a hundred years. In to the this content, the Company is analysed in detail according to factors of competitive advantage, internal and external. Therefore , I reached up a conclusion for GM. Of course, every single company and firm can make mistake in their business life cycle, however, minimizing those mistakes is one of the essential area for the firms. If we turn to GM, they had been really successful in the industry when there were no any other competitors. However, once GMs rivals entered to the business, GM started lose its market share globally. Because they overlooked at them, they didnt do many things until they lose their profits. After that , they changed some system, they started to struggled with their rivals. So that, with consideering all the analysed strategic forces above and the company, some recommendations should be done. For forthcoming improvements, first of all, General Motors should describe possible and suitable sector to serve. And also GM should concern about arrangement application and differentation strategy. For example, Focus strategy may assist GM to enable to reduce the costs as GM diverge from broad-line manufacturer to another varieties. By doing his, GM will be able to differntiate its product from the other rivals , because of focusing on a specific niche market that may perform much more better . The other one is to stay ready for even every hard and difficult circumstances, such as financial crisis. Although , generally it is an unexpected factor, companies, and also GM, should gain their SWOT analysis under the line of Threats. Staying in prepare positon always gives high competitive advantage with the other competitirs in the global industry. Last but not least is maintaining the speed of rivalry environment, GM should enhance and improve its product development. Alongside with the product development, environmental factors should be considered as well for gaining the high quality of business. 5. RECOMMENDATION In my opinion, General Motors should follow some strategies such as restructuring, product development, liquidation and market development. If GM does the product development, this would allow them to sustain the speed of rivalry environment. As a pratic example of this theory is Hybrid SUV vehicles, which matches the GM shape with continuing the portion of SUV, basically that allocate the company to keep on with trend models. My another recommendation for GM is reevaluation of the market. Global market is a market that which changes frequently. First GM vehicles had got tradition style, however, among the changing industry, they started to produce big cars, especially for the US market. One practical example for that case is to produce ultra-modern vehicles. If they manufacture that futuristic cars before the Honda or Toyota Company, they would gain an advantage in competitive industry. Lastly, liquidation is very essential for GM. The reason for that is, its assets are much more than its incomes. If General Motors can get the assests through the cash, therefore, GM could be more available finance. Moreover , when they achieving that process, GM wouldnt have to rely on US market, they could be independent in global industry. 6. APPENDIX Appendix 1 Imported Japanese Cars Develoopment: Source: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956show=htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956show=htmlshow=html Appendix 2 Auto Sales Monthly Change: Source: http://www.wstreet.com/investing/stocks/19359_gms_fire_sale_and_auto_sales_preview.html Appendix 3 -China Car Market Soars: Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/243737-outlook-2011-china-says-no-more-cars-down-goes-auto-industry Appendix 4 Green Manufacturing Processes: Source: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551show=abstractHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551show=abstractshow=abstract Appendix 5 Steel Prices Between 2005 and 2010: Source: : http://www.ttiinc.com/object/ME_Materials_Steel Appendix 6 Rise in Fuel Prices Between 2009 and 2010: Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12098981 7. REFERENCES 1. Associated Press, 2010. General Motors Gets Junk Credit Rating From Fitch. Michigan Live LLC. [Internet] Available at: http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/10general_motors_gets_junk_credit.html [Accessed 28 January 2011] 2. BBC News, 2011. Petrol Duty and VAT Rises To Increase Price Of Fuel. Business. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12098981 [Accessed 28 January 2011] 3. Cavusgil, S. Knight, G., and Riesenberger, R., 2008. International Business, Strategy, Management, and the New Realities. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. 4. Chu, D.L., 2010. China Says No More Cars, Down Goes Auto Industry. Outlook 2011. [Online] Available at: http://seekingalpha.com/article/243737-outlook-2011-china-says-no-more-cars-down-goes-auto-industry [Accessed 31 January 2011] 5. Constantini, F., 2010. General Motors. The New York Times. [internet] . Available at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/general_motors_corporation/index.html [Accessed 10 February 2011] 6. Datamonitor, 2009. General Motors Corporation. Company Profile. [Online] Available at: www.datamonitor.com [Accessed 28 January 2011] 7. David, F.R., 2011. Strategic Management Concepts. 13th edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. 8. Diez-Vial, S., 2009. Firm Size Effects on Vertical Boundaries, Journal of Small Business Management, 47 (2): 137-153. 9.Generals Motors, 2010. Company Profile. [Online] Available at: http://www.gm.com/corporate/about/company.isp [ Accessed 10 February 2011] 10. Hamer, T. Hamer, M., 2010. General Motors-It Wasnt Always This Bad. Learn About Classics. [Online] Available at: http://classiccars.about.com/od/classiccarsaz/a/GM.htm [Accessed 10 February 2011] 11. Johnson, G. Scholes, K. and Whittington, R., 2008. Exploring Corporate Strategy, 8th edn. London: Prentice Hall. 12. Kotler, P. Keller, K. L., 2009. Marketing Management, 13th edn. New Jersey: Pearson Education. 13. Mintzberg, et al., 2003. The Strategy Process: Concepts Cases. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. 14. Niederhut-Bollmann, C. Theuvsen, L., 2008. Strategic Management in Turbulent Markets: The Case of the German and Croatia Brewing Industries. Journal for East European Management Studies, Vol. 13, No.1, pp. 63 88. 15. Nunes, B. Bennett, D., 2010. Green Operations Initiatives in the Automobile Industry: An Enviromental Reports Analysis and Benchmarking Study. An International Journal. [Online] Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551show=abstractHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1863551show=abstractshow=abstract [Accessed 13 February 2011] 16. Nytimes, 2011. United Automobile Workers. Organizations. [Online] Available at: www.nytimes.com [Accessed 31 January 2011] 17. Porter, M.E., 2004. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Indystries and Competitors. New York: Free Press. 18. Seidenfuss, K. Kathawala, Y., 2005. Voluntary Export Restraint (VER) Without Market Restraints?: The Case Study of the Monitoring Agreement (1991-1999) Between the Japanese Car Manufacturers and the European Union. European Business Review. [Online] Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956HYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956show=htmlHYPERLINK http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1501956show=htmlshow=html [Accessed 10 February 2011] 19. Silver, D., 2009. GMs Fire Sale Auto Sales Preview. Wall Street Strategies. [Online] Available at: http://www.wstreet.com/investing/stocks/19359_gms_fire_sale_and_auto_sales_preview.html [Accessed 8 February 2011] 20. Schlie, E. Yip, G., 2000. Regional Follows Global: Strategy Mixes in the World Automotive Industry. 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Macbeth - Characters In The First Three Acts :: essays research papers

Compare and contrast the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the first three Acts of Macbeth. Macbeth, the tragedy, is a penetrating, concentrated, and harrowing study of ambition. The play itself tells the story of a man, urged by his wife and foretold by prophecy, who commits regicide in order to gain power. His ostentatious appetite for domination only leads to his triumphal downfall deeming he and his wife naught but the, "dead butcher and his fiend like queen." However, the final analogy is a product of circumstantial change made evident in the first three acts. Macbeth is a basically good man who is troubled by his conscience and loyalty though at the same time ambitious and murderous. He is led to evil initially by the witches' prophecies, and then by his wife's provocation, which he succumbs to because of the unrequited love he has for her. In retrospect, Lady Macbeth, whilst appearing patronising and manipulative, is in essence, a good wife who loves her husband. She is also ambitious but lacks the morals and integrity her husband posesses. To achieve her ambition, she rids of herself of any kindness that might stand in the way. However, she runs out of energy to supress her conscience and commits suicide. A foundation reputation for Macbeth is fashioned before he comes on to the stage. The Sergeant who has fought on his side harps about Macbeth’s valour in war, "But all’s too weak | For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name"(Act I, scene II). We then hear from Ross, who consistently speaks of Macbeth’s courage in battle, "The Thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict | †¦Point against point, rebellious arm ‘gainst arm | Curbing his lavish spirit: and to conclude | The victory fell on us - "(Act I, scene II). These accounts imply a mighty, patriotic warrior and a loyal subject to the King. As the plot thickens, Macbeth falls short of these expectations, as a cloud of suspicion hangs over his conspicuous relationships with the Three witches. The suspicion grows when he (aside) confesses his "black and deep desires"(Act I, scene IV). Macbeth knows in order to obtain the throne he must kill Duncan yet acutely acknowl edges the duty he owes to Duncan. He knows to kill Duncan would ultimately be an enormous sin, a crime against heaven and therefore Macbeth is restrained.

Using Satire to Create Awareness of Gender Roles: Egalia’s Daughters

Egalia’s Daughters and â€Å"Sultana’s Dream†Egalia’s Daughters and â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† both portray examples of what it would be like to have gender roles reversed in societies. They both criticize gender roles and show people how gender discrimination leaves the submissive gender in suppressed conditions. Poking fun at gender role reversal was one way these books helped in educating the readers. â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† has a time of setting of the early twentieth century. The author of Egalia’s Daughters is Gerd Brantenberg, born on October 27th, 1941 and is presently still alive. She was born in Oslo but grew up in Fredrikstad which is the largest city in Norway. Some of her greatest accomplishments are establishing women’s shelters, working in lesbian movements, in 1978 she created a literary Women’s Forum, her drive being to encourage all women to write and publish, and lastly she has also published ten novels and two plays. In 1983 she was awarded the Mads Wiel Nygaards Endowment. Rokeya Hossain was born in 1880 and died on December 9th, 1932. She was born into a Bengali Muslim upper-class family in the village of Pairaband. Her main accomplishments were establishing the Sakhawat Memorial Girls’ School in 1909, in 1916 she founded the Anjuman-e-Khawatin-e-Islam, and even though English was her 5th language she still wrote a book in English to show her proficiency in English to her husband. In Gerd Brantenberg’s novel she clearly shows that in her society women were put on the back burner just like the men were in her novel. Gerd was born back when women had very little rights. She lived during a time where women were stepping up and rallying against the fact that they were not allowed certain rights that men were allowed and this showed in her book. For example in Egalia’s Daughters the guys or the â€Å"menwim† have the â€Å"burning of the pehos† along with other â€Å"masculist activities. † 1 In Rokeya Hossain’s short story she is trying to relate to her readers about the inequality of her society and the dominance of one gender over another. â€Å"In ladyland men are a part of the society but are shorn of power, as women were in Rokeya’s India. They live in seclusion and look after the house and the children, again, just like the women in Rokeya’s India. † 2 Her society must have had a lot of sins and hatred along with harm because in the short story it says â€Å"this is Ladyland, free from sin and harm. 3 In â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† women became dominant when men failed to win the war against a nearby country. The women then became the dominant gender by using science and advanced technology to then win the war. At first they were taunted for being smart and into science instead of being focused on military strength like the men. In the end it paid off being smart because â€Å"they directed all of the rays of the sunlight and heat toward the enemy. The heat and light were too much for them to bear. They all ran away panic-stricken, not knowing in their bewilderment how to counteract the scorching heat. 4 This was a major turning point in the story because at that moment the men thought that there was no hope for their country which is why they went into the zenanas without protest and were locked in. The men then remained in seclusion and got used to the â€Å"purdah system†. 4 The women then â€Å"rule over the country and controlled all social matters. † 5 Since that point there had been â€Å"no more crime or sin† and that is how it remained. 5 In Egalia’s Daughters women being the dominant gender went a little differently. The women in this novel ruled from the beginning. There was never a time in their culture that males ruled before the females. Spinnerman Owlmoss explained to the boys that â€Å"the menstrual cycle in wom was precisely what bound the huwom race to life, to nature’s own great cycle and to the phases of the moon. By virtue of this endlessly recurring rhythm in her body, she was bound in a very different way, to nature, and this contact with her natural surroundings gave her an inner power and strength, which allowed her to dominate nature and the environment. In the same way that she dominated her own body by releasing an egg once a month. Wim therefore had greater control over everything; over their own bodies, over the cultivation of the soil, and over the world. 6 Therefore, the wim were in charge from the very beginning. In â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† women’s religion was â€Å"based on love and truth. † 7 The women say â€Å"we don’t take pleasure in killing a creature of god, especially a human being. † 7 They believe this works because unlike the men who were violent and fought in the war, they used science to win without hurting anyone. As far as biology goes, basically the women explained their power over the men because of the simple fact that they were smarter and that women’s brains are rather quicker than men’s. They pretty much said men are good for nothing. All of that together was their argument for why they were biologically better. In the novel, Sister Sarah explains why women are smarter than the males. She says â€Å"our good Queen liked science very much. She circulated an order that all the women in her country should be educated. Accordingly a number of girls’ schools were founded and supported by the Government. Education was spread far and wide among women. And early marriage also stopped. † This is her explanation of why the women are so much smarter than men and now are the dominant race. Religion in Egalia’s Daughters is quite different. In this novel, God is a wim instead of a manwim. Donna, who is wim and also God’s daughter who is like Jesus for Egalia, and they are the ones all Egalia are supposed to look up to. The reason wim in Egalia are more biologically dominant is because they bear the children and have the menstrual cycles. For some reason the people of Egalia felt that since they had a monthly natural cycle it connected them to nature and made them powerful, more powerful than any man. This in their thoughts made them the dominant gender as if they were the chosen ones. As far as history goes Spinnerman Owlmoss taught his class the history of the wim. Like we in our society have fore fathers they had a version of those except they were women. Those women created rules and regulations for Egalia that were always followed. In Ladyland the men and the women both had very different jobs. The men â€Å"do no skilled work† and â€Å"they look after the house and children. † 2 They â€Å"mind babies, cook, and do all sorts of domestic work. † 2 The women in Ladyland embroider; engage in scientific researches and garden. Sister Sarah says that â€Å"our noble Queen is exceedingly fond of botany; it is her ambition to convert the whole country into one grand garden. † 5 Therefore, they are never sitting still and constantly gardening and such. In the town of Egalsund, the wim and menwim had very different jobs. The menwim do nothing but sit at home and take care of their children. Once they receive â€Å"fatherhood protection† from the wim, they are to stay home and raise the children while the wim goes to work and does as she pleases. 8 The wim of course, do all the things a man would do in our society now. They were sailors too. Menwim were never sailors and hardly allowed to be either because the wim said â€Å"they’re always trouble! They never leave the us in peace and there’ll be strife and quarrelling and jealousy in the crew. † 9 The wim also hold government positions and hunt as well. In both the short story and novel the women’s jobs were viewed as more important even though staying home and taking care of the kids was a really big and important job as well. It was just not viewed that way by the women. In both Egalia’s Daughters and â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† the women/wim were very happy. They were at the top of the pecking order and they liked it that way. Women/wim ruled and things happened as they wanted it to, not the other way around. On the other hand, the men/menwim were by any means happy with their lives. The men in â€Å"Sultana’s Dream† at first protested. The men wanted to be free, but Her Royal Highness told them if their services were ever needed they would be sent for, so therefore, they should remain where they were. After that they slowly became accustom to the â€Å"purdah system. † 4 In Egalia’s Daughters at first they were accustom to the way things were. Then later on in the book, the menwim began to protest. They give speeches, burn pehos, and strip down at the menstrual games out of chicken costumes as a way of protesting. 10 Women have always been suppressed throughout history, constantly having to fight for their rights. Women in history have always been taken advantage of and also been able to be rough housed a lot easier than men because of their gentle nature. Therefore, these fictional books are related in the sense that in these books, the men’s roles are actually what women’s roles have been all along throughout history. Women are the ones that have always been raped and beaten but in the novel Egalia’s Daughters the boys are actually the ones that are terrorized. Is satire an effective way of drawing attention to gender inequality? Yes, it is because it makes things appear even more ridiculous which in turn makes it more entertaining to read. For example if both books had it where women’s and men’s roles were normal, the books would have been boring and lacked in attention grabbers. But since it was a bizarre setting, it makes you immediately more interested and it puts a twist on things so that it captures your attention. . Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 218. 2. Jahan, Roshan. â€Å"‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 4. 3. Jahan, Roshan. â€Å"‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 8. 4. Jahan, Roshan. â€Å"‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 14. 5. Jahan, Roshan. â€Å"‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 15. 6. Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 168. 7. Jahan, Roshan. ‘Sultana's Dream': Purdah Revisited,† in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones. Edited and translated by Roushan Jahan. (New York: The Feminist Press, 1988), 16. 8. Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 37. 9. Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia' s Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 72. 10. Brantenberg, Gerd. Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes, translated by Louis Mackay. (California: Seal Press, 1977), 251.

Joesph Plum Martin Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier

Revolutionary Soldier During Joseph Martin journey in the revolution war he found himself not agreeing with many of the things the other soldiers were used to doing. The other soldiers were used to always getting what they wanted, when they wanted it. In order to do this, whenever they needed something, such as food they would just barge into nearby homes and demand for what they wanted. Most home owners knew that if they didn't do what the soldiers asked, that things would go very bad quickly. Meaning a large amount of the home owners would just be friendly and give the soldiers what they wanted just to keep the peace.Also some of the home owners enjoyed getting a visit from the soldiers because it made them fell wanted and thankfully to help support a fellow soldier. Martin didn't have the same view as many of the soldiers did on this certain activity. Well he was involved with doing that activity he would feel guilty and wanted to apologize to the family because he didn’t t hink they deserved such a thing. He didn’t enjoy doing it because he believed it was rude and that they were abusing their power of authority. Before he went to war he learned right from wrong and would never imagine doing such a thing to innocent citizens in the area.The only reason that he would participate in this activity was because Soldiers during the war had been doing it prior to when he entered the war and he didn't want to deal with all the others soldiers by telling them his real opinion on it. Also he needed the items the other soldiers were asking for as well but just wanted there to be another way for them to get it. Even though he didn't agree with many of the things he had to do while he was gone at war, going into other people's home uninvited was the thing he disagreed with the most. Even thought he was there for many days, they were a few days that he remembered quite well.One day he remembered was when he was just relaxing at the cabin he was staying at wi th some fellow soldiers, when two lovely women come over to talk to them. They had a great conversion with the ladies, and the ladies ended up inviting them over to their place to visit more. Soon after arriving at the ladies place, the ladies expressed to the soldiers that their closest neighbors weren't very respectful to them. † when the mother observed that it had been quite cross and crying all Martin, â€Å"I have been threatening,† said she, â€Å"to give her to the Yankees. â€Å"Take care,† said the wagoner, â€Å"how you speak of the Yankees, I have one of them here with me. † â€Å"La! † said the woman, â€Å"is he a Yankee? I thought he was a Pennsylvanian;—I I don’t see any difference between him and other people†. The men didn't like that because they believed that all women should be treated with respect. As the soldiers they were, they decided to all march over to the ladies neighbors and demand for food in a vi olent way. At first when the soldiers arrived the man who opened the door wanted to put up a fight and not let the soldiers demand for items they needed just because for who they were.Soon after the man realized he wasn't going to win the fight he let the soldiers come inside his house and told his wife to make some bread. Everything turned out fine, the soldiers got what they wanted and the neighbors didn't get hurt. Although Martin wished they would of aproshed the situation differently and more safely. In most situation Martin at least understand why the soldiers would go to ransoms people house, it was because they had something they needed. But one day was different and Martin really didn't agree with the other soldiers. but when we came to their stables, then look out for the women; take what horse you would, it was one or the others â€Å"pony† and they had no other to ride to church; and when we had got possession of a horse we were sure to have half a dozen or more w omen pressing upon us, until by some means or other, if possible, they would slip the bridle from the horse’s head, and then we might catch him again if we could† On this day they soldiers decided to go into the local village in order to get some items they needed.Well at least that is what Martin thought. After they got there the soldiers were crazy and were taking everything they could even if they didn’t need it in the first place. Like the good man he was, Martin turned out only taking the necessary items he personal needed. By doing that it left the village a mess and all the villagers scared and upset. Also making Martin very unpleased with his fellow soldiers. Even though Martin didn't agree with making innocent citizens in the area give them what they wanted or else.Or messing up a village for items they needed along with unnecessary items. Martin decided early on during this war experience that he was just going to go with the flow of what everyone else was doing. That way he doesn't had to end up telling the soldiers his opinion and deal with any conflict there may be with it. He was afraid of the superiors reaction to what he thought and he didn’t want to be punished for his thoughts.Even though his biggest trouble during the war was taking items from innocent citizens, there were many other circumstances that troubled him as well such as the conditions that he had to work under where horrible and they contributed to many people getting sick. â€Å"I had the small pox favorably as did the rest, generally; we lost none; but it was more by good luck, or rather a kind Providence interfering, than by my good conduct that I escaped with life. † They marched and marched and they would push their bodies to the limit.They fought under tough conditions and through the winter without a reliable way to get warm. Joseph Really did not like this at all he wanted to be warm and be able to stay healthy. Throughout this book Martin had many views on the revolutionary war. Most of them were negative such as he didn’t like taking supplies from the villages. The conditions of the war were really rough and he ended up getting small pox from that. He nearly lost his life from the small pox.His view before he entered the war and his view after were completely different. The war changed him and his view on the whole thing. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Martin, Joesph P. A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier. USA: First Signet Classics Printing, 2001. Print. Ch4 [ 2 ]. Martin, Joesph P. A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier. USA: First Signet Classics Printing, 2001. Print. Ch4 [ 3 ]. Martin, Joesph P. A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier. USA: First Signet Classics Printing, 2001. Print. Ch 3

Sprawl vs. Traditional Neighborhoods

Sprawl vs. Traditional Neighborhoods Free Online Research Papers Sprawl can be defined as the urbanized areas on the edge of a town or city that have developed as a result of unplanned and unchecked expansion. A traditional neighborhood is almost the exact opposite. Traditional neighborhoods are planned around certain aspect of a city. Sprawl neighborhoods and traditional neighborhoods differ in many ways. Sprawl communities display segregated land use, congested roadways, and inefficient resource use. As far as traffic and transportation is concerned. Sprawl neighborhoods are not pedestrian friendly. Most people in sprawl neighborhoods drive because transportation is limited if at all available. Social and civic facilities are an afterthought in sprawl communities. In many cases, neighbors do not communicate and are not as open and friendly. Low Density developments pave over open space and have large infrastructure systems requiring large development blueprints. Traditional neighborhoods have mixed, multi generational, and friendly communities. Social and civic facilities are planned within the town and are designed to encourage walking to reduce car trips. Almost everything in the community is within walking distance to schools and parks; making the community highly pedestrian friendly. Traditional neighborhoods contain smaller neighborhoods making it highly accessible to interact with neighbors and the community. Traditional neighborhoods have efficient, small- scale infrastructure that requires a small urban footprint on the environment and have clustered higher density communities. Research Papers on Sprawl vs. Traditional Neighborhoods19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraOpen Architechture a white paperWhere Wild and West MeetBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfBringing Democracy to AfricaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Spring and AutumnAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into Asia

No topic Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

No topic - Coursework Example The lector also mentions that utilitarianism is very close to hedonism, according to which, getting some pleasure is the main goal of life. Thus, on the other hand utilitarianism is a denial of sublime motives, underestimation of a role of spiritual interests of a person. The theorists of utilitarianism followed the tradition of hedonism in ethics. Utilitarizm results from so-called â€Å"human nature†, from natural aspiration to feel pleasure and to avoid suffering. The choice of behavior is defined by calculation of the benefits and losses, which various acts may result in. Anyway, the concept of utilitarianism means submission of all actions to egoistical calculation, to obtaining benefit, advantage. Thus, utilitarianism has serious limitations. The lector provides an example when a person is accused of committing crime because the greatest number of people will be happy because of that no matter if he is guilty or

The concept of globalisation and assess if globalistion brings Essay

The concept of globalisation and assess if globalistion brings economic success to all countries - Essay Example To underline the influence of the aspect of globalisation, it should be noted that globalisation manifests itself under different dimensions in the economic, cultural, health, social, political, environmental, security, and even in other spheres of the world. Nonetheless, the focus of this expose will discuss globalisation within an economic perspective with globalisation defined as the process of economic integration based on the exchanging of products, worldviews, various aspects of culture, and ideas within an economic perspective (Margalit, 2012). Advancements in technological, transportation, and communication infrastructure have promoted an interconnection between nations in the world. Hence, trade activities have intensified across the world leading to a new phenomenon known as international trade, which is a result of globalisation. International trade underlines a situation whereby various jurisdictions exchange each other in the exchange of services and goods across international territorial boundaries (Ingham, 2004). In this case, international trade has become synonymous with globalisation as nations increasingly engage in business with each other at the international front. Each nation has a unique domestic market. Hence, the effects of globalisation on each market vary due to its uniqueness and various determining factors. Some national markets are filled with products from other countries with domestic products suffering especially in instances whereby the cost of production in a specific country is high. These effects are due to the integration of global markets with each nation’s market incorporating various aspects of the global market with producers focusing not only on the domestic markets, but also expanding their production to reach the global markets (Intriligator, 2003).. Integration of markets within the global economy has occurred through various approaches. Among them, Mussa (2000) identifies interactions between individuals as the

A Worn Path Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A Worn Path - Essay Example The wrinkles on the face are compared to the branching limbs of the tree. Deductive argument- This argument form are truth preserving arguments. The racism explained by the author in the story is that of truth. In American society, the black people are oppressed and suppressed by white men. The character phoenix in the story is threatened by white men. From the story, one can get the real picture of American society. Racism is the bitter reality of American culture. Another argument which can be raised for analysis is that the story reflects the obstacles people face in life. Especially it is the story of a woman who is strong willed. The message in the story is strong and socially informative. The story also is a reflection of the life of an old black woman who can face life with courage and determination. Inductive argument – This argument is one which generalization happens and conclusion is given the story reveals that Phoenix being an African American faced many obstacles in her life. This was mainly due to the oppression the community shows upon black people so we can assume that all black women face difficulties like Phoenix. Defensible argument- It is an argument based on ethics and moral philosophy. In the story, the perseverance and sacrifice of Phoenix shows the responsibility and affection of a grandmother towards her grandson. This shows that she is an honest and true woman with lovable character. The stand of white men portrayed in the story shows that ethical and moral responsibility of American people is not

The car crash Essay Example for Free

The car crash Essay Joni woke remembering that she still needed to get out of the car her last thought before shed fell unconscious, even though the bright lights stung her eyes her headache worse than before. She pushed her self up onto her elbows, groaning quietly at the pain that suddenly shot down her arm in response to this movement, though she couldnt tell whether they were cut or bruised. Trying to open her eyes Joni squinted at the bright strip lights directly above her. A strong antiseptic smell filled her nostrils causing a nauseous feeling to wash over her. A noise that sounded as though it was coming from far in the distance was beeping in a steady rhythm, sounded amplified against the otherwise still silence. Trying to look round the room Jonis eyesight, which was not yet adjusted to the bright light, saw that her surroundings consisted of mainly white. The dark shape of a man sitting by Jonis bed stood out against the whiteness of the room. The man wore casual clothes so he couldnt have been a doctor or nurse, and yet Joni didnt know who this man was or why he was visiting her. Ssshh, lie back down you need your rest now an unfamiliar voice told her, standing up from where he was sitting he looked tall leaning over Jonis bed. But she tried to answer being interrupted not only by the constant throbbing of her head but also the man continuing to speak. Deciding that lying down was a good suggestion Joni did as the man had told her, but was still fighting to keep her usually clear blue eyes open which felt red and sore. Im really sorry there was nothing that I could do, you drove straight into me before swerving off the edge of the road. I just wanted to stay with you at least until your family or someone came, so that you wouldnt be alone when you woke. The man told Joni in a low but concerned tone of voice. Joni relaxed realising that she was now safe in one of the hospital beds not too far from home. She recalled what had happened that had made her end up here. Jonis vision had blurred at the bright headlights approaching from the car  heading towards her. Outside the increasing rain splattered heavily on the roof of Jonis car to the same rhythm of her thumping head. It was only 11.30 when Joni had decided to leave the party early, feeling yet another headache coming on, the one that she was now suffering from. Joni hadnt had anything to drink, partly as she had wanted to drive home but also as she had been topped up with paracetamol for the past few weeks miserably trying to fight of the constant headaches though theyd had little affect. It was mid November; the wipers on Jonis old car, which her Dad had bought her only the year before to make do with until she could afford her own was having difficulty keeping the windscreen, clear of the heavy rain. The car ahead was getting closer and the lights getting brighter, it must now have been about 12.00, as Joni was driving down the sandy cliff edge road about 10 minuets from home. The road had been cut out of the dusty hillside in which Joni lived. The road itself was little more than a dusty track, turning quickly into mud as the rain beat down. One side of the road exceptionally dark with trees thickening into woodland the other a steep drop eventually ending in the distance with another small village embedded amongst the hills which could only be seen due to its thousands of glittering lights. The road didnt have any lights of its own Jonis own car lights and the lights from the car ahead were the only thing illuminating the dark road. Jonis eyes stung transfixed on the road ahead, her head still pounding somewhat worse than they were earlier and then Joni could remember nothing for what could have barely been a minuet. I must have blacked out she told the man in some sort of an explanation. The next thing that she could remember was colliding with the car that had been approaching, in her dazed state of mind Joni then tried to control the car from falling off the edge of the cliff. She felt the tumbling weight of the car, with her in it feeling like a metal ball inside a pinball machine,  only she was being thrown around inside the car. Then silence as the car suddenly sat still knowing that this could only mean that she had finally reached the bottom of the cliff she tried to host herself from the wreckage feeling a warm liquid trickling down her face which could only be blood she fell unconscious. I pulled you from the car as soon as I got down to the bottom of the cliff, it was a pretty steep climb, then called for an ambulance, I didnt think that you was still alive The man explained. Thank you Joni replied, looking at him for the first time noticing that he could be no more than 18. He had dark eyes brown or grey with longish dark which was ruffled and matted with mud and dry blood probably mine Joni thought, his face full of small cuts and bruises defined his boyish features. He shrugged shyly smiling It was nothing

Case of Cu Chi Vietnam

Case of Cu Chi Vietnam Abstract As Pine and Gilmore (1998) coin the concept of a new economic era: the experience economy when customers are looking for exceptional and unforgettable experiences, it is obvious that tourism, like many other industries, is incessantly getting involved in experience economy and must generate more experience products. Many countries throughout the world have targeted tourism as a driving-force for development, and Vietnam is not an exception. However, there is lack of academic research on the relationship of the experience economy and the tourism development in Vietnam. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to study the case of Cu Chi, where experience economy has changed a war-devastated area in Southern Vietnam into a popular tourist destination. Hence, the objective of this paper is twofold: to investigate the affect of experience economy on Cu Chi, and to identify the experience products of this destination. Based on the findings, some practical approaches for tourism sustainable development planning of Cu Chi are then proposed. Introduction In the experience economy, Pine And Gilmore (1998) reveal a new era of economy in which people are attracted by meaningful experiences and intangible things instead of tangibles like years before. This experience economy is growing very fast thanks to the great need of customers for affective memories, sensation and symbolism which combine to create a holistic and long-lasting personal experience. New marketing approaches also shift from product attributes and quality to experiences that dazzle customers senses, engage them personally, touch their hearts and stimulate their minds (e.g. Schmitt, 2003; Gentile, Spiller and Noci, 2007). Therefore, Pine and Gilmore (1998) suggest businesses or destinations should add extra value to their offerings in order to provide unforgettable, satisfactory experiences to their customers. If companies can create personal experiences to customers, they will have sustainable competitive advantage (McCole, 2004; Prahalad and Ramaswany, 2004; Shaw and Iv ens, 2005). The experience economy also employs the concept of the Creative Class, which has been named by Richard Florida in his book The Rise of the Creative Class (2002). The Creative Class are not restricted in any set plan, but they have freedom to perform a more flexible one. This distinction still makes up the core meaning of the experience economy: The industry grows by a flexibility dictated by the interests and curiosity of its customers. Like other countries throughout the world, Vietnam has targeted tourism as the main industry for economy thriving. Across the country, many destinations was renovated and developed in order to attract international and domestic tourists. Cu Chi, a suburban district of Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam, which was well-known for fierce battles between Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communist) guerilla forces and U.S Army during the peak-period of Vietnam War (1961 1972), has become a popular sight-seeing. Cu Chi is a great example about how a ravaged area has been revitalized with strong elements of an experience based industry. Nevertheless, with the rapid growth of tourists coming to this district, it is necessary to apply proper planning for tourism sustainable development in Cu Chi. The Four Dimensions of the Experience Economy and Tourism Tourism industry has come into a new era of high competition and challenge to create distinguishing characteristics of tourist experiences (Perdue, 2002). This industry is an example of the growth of experience economy shown in earlier literatures (Cohen, 1979). What tourists get is experiences characterized by unique, emotionally charged and of high personal value (McIntosh and Siggs, 2005). Sternberg (1997:954) further argued that tourists are tourists because they want to compensate for their secular, disenchanted mundane lives through a temporary exposure to the other to the adventurous, foreign, ancient, or spectacular. Tourism establishments make it their business to shape, package and sell such experiences. Many literatures have tried to identify tourist experiences from a number of perspectives (Jackson, White and Schmierer, 1996; Prentice, Witt and Hamer, 1998; Li, 2000). The personal and affective dimensions of tourists experiences in natural and heritage environments have been revealed in many studies (Schanzel and McIntosh, 2000). Tourists experiences of high-risk adventure and leisure activities have also become the main topic of other researchers (e.g. Arnould and Price, 1993; Celci et al., 1993). These academic works have founded the significance and relation of understanding tourists experiences. There are four dimensions of experience which relate to tourism, which are: Education: Pine and Gilmores (1998) explored that customers are motivated to learn something new because an education experience actively engages their mind and intrigues them. Consumers also take an important part in co-determining their experience. By getting an educational experience, consumers can improve their knowledge and skills. Within tourism context, the desire to self-educate is a key motivating factor to travel (Prentice, 2004). Escapism: Tourism offers abundant chances for escapist experiences. Holidays are ways for escape aids, problem solvers, suppliers of strength, energy, new lifeblood and happiness (Krippendorf, 1987: 17). Tourists can get away from the daily routine of life by travelling (Uriely, 2005). Cohen (1979) also points out travelers are inspired to seek for a self-centre elsewhere away from everyday activities. Therefore, they are in search for satisfying and authentic experiences (Turner, 1973). Entertainment: Entertainment is considered as the basic and traditional form of experience, consumers get involved in entertainment passively. Pine and Gilmore (1998) note that companies are now stages used to delight and entertain patrons. Many tourist destinations are well-known for the level, variety and quality of their offers because entertainment intrinsically remains a fundamental part of the tourism product (Hughes and Benn, 1995). Esthetics: This dimension concerns how consumers interpret the physical environment around them. There are three aspects of physical environment categorized by Bitner (1992): ambient conditions; spatial layout and functionality; and signs, symbols and artifacts. In the literature of tourism and hospitality, Bonn et al., (2007) referred that the physical environment of tourist attractions is the key role in regulating visitors attitudes, future patronage intentions and readiness to recommend. Experience production Events, which are intentionally designed to bring meaningful experiences to the guests spending time there, are means of experience production (Boswijk, Thijssen, Peelen, 2007). In the case of Cu Chi, living underground in the tiny tunnel network or having meals like guerillas, the value of the experience is the essential part. Experiences have gradually become the hottest commodity, and this phenomena takes place in the minds of individuals, not only for rich people, but in various form of consumption and behavior (Boswjik Thijssen, 2007). Since the characteristics of experiences are personal, intangible and continuously ongoing, it is problematic for markets to satisfy those demands (ODell, 2005). There are also debates on in which conditions experiences can occur. Florida (2002:166) argues about the Creative Class lifestyle as a passionate quest for experience (2002: 166), they fill their lives up with intensive, high quality, multidimensional experiences. The Creative Class are keen on active rather than passive experiences, they prefer the consumption of experiences to traditional goods and services (Florida, 2002; George Henthorne, 2007). Due to the appearance and growth of The Creative Class, experience production becomes the main concern of many tourist destinations all over the world. This paper relates to Cu Chi context and describes how experience is produced at this place as well as its influence on the larger settings. Cu Chi in Vietnam War The history of foundation Cu Chi Tunnel is 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City in the Northwest where its earliest tunnels were established in 1948 at two villages Tan Phu Trung and Phuoc Vinh An. In the beginning, they were short and simple complexes for hiding documents, weapons, keeping Viet Cong officers operating in enemy rears. Subsequently, the tunnels were expanded to many neighborhood villages. From 1961 to 1965, the main structure of the tunnel called the Spinal Tunnel was finished in the area within five northern villages of Cu Chi District. Rooted from this frame, branch tunnels connected with the Spinal Tunnel and made them into intercommunicated tunnel systems. In order to facilitate the guerilla war, Cu Chi Tunnel was expanded rapidly to counter attack the invasion of Americans. In the peak period of Vietnam War (1966-1972), America Army performed various strategies by determination to eliminate the revolution forces of Cu Chi: 1. Using water to break down the whole network, 2.Deploying the sewer-rat a rmy to attack the tunnel, 3. Utilizing mechanical vehicles to demolish the structure, 4.Using Becgie dogs to attack guerrilla forces, 5. Seeding grass to destroy terrain. They also deployed the best divisions (Division No. 1, Red Eldest Brother, Division 25 Tropical Light etc) supported by tanks, armored cars, and artillery as well as air forces to wipe out the whole district. However, the American suffered serious damages in Cu Chi and failed to achieve their goals to stop Viet Cong. The tunnel network proved its amazing vitality while its branches stretched to everywhere within area. By 1967, the whole system reached the total lengths over 200 km. Tunnel dredging became a movement of Cu Chi people at that time with the involvement of olds, young, women and men for fighting against America Army. More surprisingly, after the war, there are many documents exploring that Cu Chi people only use primitive equipments such as hoes and bamboo-plaited dustpans to build up a great underground village with hundreds of km of crossing tunnels in earth womb. The whole network was constantly improved under the top-secret circumstances; guerilla forces must carry and hide thousands of soil metric meters to other places. Many methods were applied such as pouring down to flooded bomb holes, embanking into ant hills, pouring to fields and plant above. to clean the tracks th at could lead to the assaults of America army on the tunnel. From the Cu Chi Tunnels, Viet Cong could operate large-scale and sudden counter-attack which became frequent threats to enemies during the war. Tunnels structures The underground network of Cu Chi tunnel is a complex twisted in earth womb withmany long, short branches rooted from the Spinal tunnel and intercommunicated to each terrain. When being attacked, guerilla forces can escape through many outlets of branches leading to Saigon River. There are different layers of tunnels from 03 meter to 06 meter depth which can keep Viet Cong safe from cannons and weights of armored cars, the deepest parts can even stand for small bombs. The height and width of the Cu Chi tunnel is merely 50 cm, therefore, the common way for moving underground is creeping. Entrances and exits of the network are carefully camouflaged where some defense-points established to stop enemies or chemicals sprayed by enemies. For ventilation, air holes are set up to the ground under cover via many secret doors. A deadly ground was settled surrounding the tunnel network; it included antitank mines, traps, platforms for shooting helicopters in order to prevent enemies approaching closed. Between the tunnels, there are compartments for daily activities with storage of weapons, grains, foods, drinking water. People could cook secretly underground by Hoang Cam stoves which were designed for hiding smoke in soil. There are also subterranean medical stations, offices of leader, and meeting rooms for performing music and art. Thanks to its undestroyable system, Cu Chi tunnels could stand until spring 1975, when the country was unified and Vietnam War came to an end. Cu Chi as a tourist attraction After Vietnam War, Cu Chi district is the most devastated area of Southern Vietnam with scattered community; the life quality of Cu Chi people is also much lower in comparison with that of its neighborhood regions. Since the renovation policies of Vietnam government in 1986, Cu Chi has been targeted as the main tourist attraction of Vietnam where unique goods offered to tourists: war experiences. It can be considered as product or service innovations of Cu Chi due to changes directly observed by the customer and regarded as new; either in the sense of never seen before, or new to the particular enterprise or destination (Hjalager, 2010:2). The innovation of the whole area Based on the war remnant of Cu Chi, since 1990 this area has been gradually renovated which is called Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Monument Area. In this process, the authorities have tried their best to keep original actualities in order to offers chances of visiting and researching to international and domestic tourists. The liberty area of Cu Chi, where was once called iron land of guerilla forces in war period, is reappeared while five staged-locations is reinstated to depict Special War and Local War of American Army. Underground, there are 09 tunnel stratum spaces making up the motherland supernatural meditation symbol. To meet the needs of tourists coming to this destination, Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Monument Area has been constantly upgraded and it currently includes two subdivisions: Ben Duoc Tunnels Historical Monument Area: 75 km from Ho Chi Minh center within the total square of 89 hectares of Phu Hiep and Phu My Hung village. The main attractions of this area are: Tunnel area for visiting includes 02 bases with 15 hectares The Martyr Temple of 07 hectares The Liberty Area rebuilt of 50 hectares The National defense sport shooting-gallery of 03 hectares Ben Dinh Tunnels Monument Area: Within the total square of 06 hectares of Ben Dinh and Nhuan Duc Village deployed as follows: Statement hall and operation area of 01 hectare Sport ground, orchard and rest houses of 01 hectare Base for sightseeing tunnels of 03 hectares Rebuilding historical services of 01 hectare Combat villages a special form of tourism The objective of the model of Combat villages is to produce real war experience for tourists. In combat villages, there are typical houses representing daily life in war. All houses are decorated exactly the same way in the past with shelters, traditional furniture such as bamboo table, stone mortar. Statues are designed to rebuild lively sceneries such as secret meeting of guerrillas, teachers giving lectures to children under war conditions etc. In some houses, there are actors and actresses playing activities such as milling flour, making alcohol or baking. Tourists can take part in these actions or stay at houses for lively experiences. The tour guides in guerilla clothes are in charge of interpreting the meaning, history and function of the whole system. After traveling on the ground, tourists continue to collect new experiences by getting in the tunnel. Inside the tunnel, tourists may be impressed on how Cu Chi guerrillas can lived underground for many years and most of travele rs are keen on studying about unique ways for survival in severe conditions of war period. Surroundings the tunnel are plentiful material evidences such as armored tanks, bulldozers, helicopters, canons, bombs and so on collected from America Army. Tourists are embedded in the war experiences as well as having a chance to self-educate about the history of the war and the value of peace. The shooting area offers excited experience to tourists where all kinds of guns used by Cu Chi guerillas in the past are presented. Tourists can try different types of weapon and if they can hit the target, they are awarded special local gifts, for instance, bandanna, broad-brimmed cap The destination also provides abundant tourist services: traditional-cuisine restaurants, accommodation, camping area, conference facilities, boat excursion on Saigon River, electric car services for sightseeing, souvenir shops with gifts made from remaining war scraps, such as cartridge, gun fragment, guerilla uniformsThe whole area is highly-commercialized, and with the number of approximately one million tourist arrivals in 2007, Cu Chi seems to succeed in attracting both international and domestic tourists when presenting such special experiences as Berridge (2007:14) argued: At the root of this point is the idea that an event, for some stakeholders but not all, is an activity that is, at that point, meant to be unique and memorable Suggestions for sustainable tourism development planning in Cu Chi There are obvious evidences showing this long time war-suffered district has been revitalized and rapidly developed thanks to tourism industry. Nevertheless, it is necessary for the management board to apply some practices for sustainable tourism development planning at the destination. The UN report: Managing sustainable tourism development (Commission, 2001: 50) has been referred for proposing the following guidelines: The people of Cu Chi should take the main role in maintaining control over tourism development. At present, this tourist destination is under the management of Ho Chi Minh City Military Headquarters, which are state officials, while the local people get involved trivially in the development process of tourism. I believe that the experience economy can only flourish when there is establishment of functional and professional relationships at several levels in Cu Chi. The benefits must be distributed broadly and equally as well as planning requires local community input. Staff, the community and the tourists need more than Value for money. As many researches have pointed out that the best investment for a sustainable lifestyle of local community is to set up a fair distribution of benefits. This principle is also true for the case of Cu Chi. By giving them better opportunities of employment, education and training, Cu Chi people can enhance their skills and better control over their own lives. From the tourist viewpoint, it is important to bring travelers closer into the local community as well as satisfy their expectations and provide a high quality tourist experience. Currently, there are indications of unsustainable development of Cu Chi, for instance, many local products sold to tourists are wild animals, this kind of goods must be prohibited and the eco-friendly ones should be encouraged. Also, while local businesses try to maximize their pro fit and satisfy the increase of tourists demand, the waste treatment system has still not been established in this area. Marketing for sustainable tourism must be in harmony between the needs of the visitor, the place and the community. Experience economy basing on the tourism industry significantly depends on the choices and decisions of tourist entrepreneurs, the tourists and the authorities. Therefore, the objective of tourism marketing is to improve the process of conceiving and developing those specific tourism products, which better corresponding to different tourist categories needs (Muhcina, 2008). In this sense, Cu chi needs harmonious policies to promote tourism products and to satisfy the actual and future tourists needs, by using the natural environment elements in an equilibrated way. The surrounding region of Cu Chi with great landscape can be a solution for diversifying and offering various potential ecotourism products. Conclusion According to World Travel and Tourism Council in 2007, tourism industry is forecasted to generate double income within the next 15 years. Experience economy born by this industry can bring opportunities to developing countries in the process of development. In the case of Cu Chi, this destination has been surprisingly benefited by its war remnants as many people have said that they even can sell a war. The whole district has been revived and become a competitive destination with growing income and status. Nevertheless, there is a double-affect of this type of destination development. It offers new chances to the local community while simultaneously causing potential risks for the area, its people and resources. Hence, to achieve the objective of sustainable tourism development, Cu Chi must improve the quality and uniqueness of experiences providing for customers along with setting up a plan of development that takes local setting into consideration. This destination should not only s tick to the experience of the past war but also needs to prepare better for the future. 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