H Entering Australia

Executive Summary Table of Contents Introduction – Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) was first established in 1947 and have since expanded internationally and currently operate in 34 countries (H&M, 2009). As H&M continues to expand every year, the following report has chosen Australia as the new market, where analysis has been conducted to provide H&M with recommendations of which market entry method they should adopt and the threats and issues they must overcome to be able to succeed. 1. 0 – Country Analysis – Australia For the purpose of this report H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) has chosen Australia as the foreign country in which they wish to enter and introduce their products. Australia is the largest island, however, is also the smallest continent in the world which is situated below South East Asia (Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2009). Being the sixth largest nation on earth it also consists of six states and two territories with the lowest population density per square metre (REFERENCE). As it is practically impossible for H&M to enter the whole Australian market simultaneously, H&M has, therefore, chosen Melbourne as the first Australian state they wish to enter. There are many reasons for choosing Australia and Melbourne in particular including: †¢Melbourne is the second largest capital city in Australia with a population of 3,634,200 (REFERENCE). †¢Melbourne is renowned as the fashion capital of Australia, where the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (MSFW) is one of the largest and most popular consumer fashion events in Australia (City of Melbourne, 2009). This may then make it easier for H&M to launch their products and also obtain brand awareness, as Melbournians are relatively ‘fashion conscious’. †¢New business opportunity, since 2006 there has been a 15% growth in the segment where young female consumers are demanding for low priced yet high quality and fashionable apparel (Euromonitor, 2009). †¢Australia has a similar country profile as previous countries H&M has successfully entered and launched its product. Hence, H&M appears to have prior knowledge and experience in expanding internationally into a Western country. 1. 0Product Analysis – Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) was founded by Erling Persson in Vasteras, Sweden, in 1947. It was initially known as Hennes, which is the Swedish word for â€Å"hers†, as the company only sold women clothing. Persson purchased Mauritz Widforss a small sporting apparel company and since then formed Hennes and Mauritz (REFERENCE). The company now operates in 34 countries including Germany, France, Hong Kong, USA and the UK. H&M continues to expand internationally where they expanded into the Japanese market in 2008 and will further expand into Russia and Lebanon by the end of 2009 and Israel and South Korea in 2010 (H&M, 2009). The core concept of H&M is to provide fashionable products at the lowest price possible, to compete with expensive department stores. H&M has 6 main product lines which include: †¢Women – diverse range of apparel spanning from basic sportswear to corporate and party garments. †¢Men – includes tailored garments such as jackets to fashionable apparel that reflect the latest trends. †¢Children – is divided into three categories – babies, children and H&M Young which is aimed at children up to the age of 14. Divided – targeted at teenagers and young adult, which offers fashion with a young look with creative designs that reflect those of the latest trends. †¢&denim Jeans – provides both traditional five-pocket jeans to the trendiest cuts. †¢Accessories – H&M also produces its own footwear, handbags, jewellery and even cosmetics. It should also be noted that H&M does not own manufacture any products, instead they re ly on over 700 independent suppliers primarily in Asia and Europe which enables them to select the best supplier (H&M, 2008). 3. 0 – Market Segments With the diverse range of product lines, it appears that H&M has the ability to target different market segments simultaneously, this is reasonably difficult to achieve. Therefore, for the purpose of this report, two specific market segments have been selected and profiled to provide an overview of which segments H&M should specially target when launching in Melbourne. 3. 1 – Profile One – Women's outwear segment The foremost market segment that H should target would be the women's outerwear segment which includes all garments from tops to blouses to jackets (REFERENCE). Main reason being, this market segment is reasonably profitable with a Retail Value of over $3000 million (Refer to figure XX), where women have traditionally been the dominate consumer in the clothing and footwear industry (REFERENCE). However, there appears to be a new social trend where men are becoming more fashion-minded and are also looking for cheaper options (REFERENCE). In recent times, there has been a change in preference for young women, where they do not only demand for high quality yet fashionable products, it must also be low priced (REFERENCE). H&M should then be able to target this segment, as the company's core concept coincides with this new trend. Where H's women's clothing are designed for women of all ages who are fashion minded, where its product line includes â€Å"everything from modern basics to tailored classics, sportswear, maternity clothes and cutting-edge fashion. † (H, 2008, pg. 17). However, for the purpose of this report and to make it easier to target, the primary segment will be young women aged 18 to 24, while the secondary segment will be women aged 25 to 40. . 2 – Profile Two – Childrenswear The second market that H should consider targeting once the women’s outerwear market has been successfully targeted would be Childrenswear in Australia, as figure XX illustrates the steady increase in the market share of childrenswear in Australia (REFERENCE). There are many reasons to the growth of the childrenwears market share; this may be because Australians are choosing to have few er children (REFERENCE). In addition, household isposable incomes have increased providing, the key buyer generally mothers, will be more willing to purchase good quality childrenwears at a low price. Therefore, H intensive range of children clothing which caters from infants to children aged up to 14, should be able to target the childrenwears market in Australia. Where the concepts for the children’s clothing are made to be fashionable, practical and hard-wearing (H, 2009). 4. 0 – Culture – Home Country, Foreign Country and Company Culture Each and every country, city and company will have its own distinct culture. There are many definitions of culture where Fletcher and Brown, 2009 has defined culture as â€Å"†¦prescriptive of behaviour that are acceptable to people in a specific community†¦learned†¦people are born into a culture†¦dynamic because†¦our behaviour influences the culture and culture is subjective† (Fletcher and Brown, 2009, pg. 76). It is crucial for H to have understandings of the culture of the home country, foreign country and also the company’s culture. Main reason being, cultural differences play an important role in launching and establishing H as competent competitor in the Australian market. . 1 – Swedish Culture The Swedish culture is typically perceived as egalitarian, simple and open to international influences (REFERENCE). This may be caused due to the predominance of the Social Democratic Party where it promotes the culture of equality, pluralism and individual freedom (REFERENCE). As the Swedish culture is relatively sim ilar to the Scandinavian, it can be assumed as a low context cultural country in contrast to Australia. Low context culture can be classified as â€Å"†¦ messages are mostly explicit and the words covey most of the meaning in the communication†¦ (Fletcher and Brown, 2009, pg. 88). Meaning in Sweden people mainly communicates through words and do not place emphasis on non-verbal cues. Therefore, this culture may affect business negotiations between Sweden and Australians, due to the differences in cultural context, where Australians rely more on body language and facial expressions (REFERENCE). In regards to the fashion culture, Sweden is greatly influenced by European fashion, where there is a strong ‘dressed up’ working man’s culture (REFERENCE). 4. 2 – Australian Culture It is relatively difficult to identify and analyse Australian culture, in comparisons to other countries, as Australia is newly formed country and is a predominantly multicultural society where it consists of different races and ethnic groups (Live in Victoria, 2009). However, there are gradual changes to social trends which may become part of the Australian culture (REFERENCE). Similar to Sweden, Australia also has a low cultural context, yet in contrast, Australians appear to place more emphasis on non-verbal cues. Relating this to the Australian clothing culture, Australians generally dress in business attire during business hours. Though outside of working hours, Australians tend to choose clothing that is comfortable such as track suit pants and a loose fitted t-shirt, in comparison to a pair of jeans and jacket (Department of Immigration and Citizenship). This is an important factor; H must take into consideration, as this will directly affect the products and marketing strategies used to target the market segments. For instance, as Australia appears to have a ‘laidback’ culture, it would probably suit the market more if H was able to launch products that suited the Australian culture and preferences. . 3 – H Culture Company culture can be defined as â€Å"a system of values and beliefs shared by people in an organisation – the company’s collective identity and meaning† (Fletcher and Brown, 2009, pg. 334). As stated on the official H website, the company believes its employees, teamwork, working at a face past and constantly improving (H, 2009). This suggests that H a ppears to have a relatively open, carefree and energetic company culture, where it strongly promotes open communication between managers and their employees (H, 2009). In addition, H is a firm believer of non-discrimination where all qualified applicants are given equal opportunities regardless of any characteristics including, race, religion, sexual orientation, sex, age marital status or disability. The company culture of H should not cause any implications when entering the Australian market. However, it may cause implications when international marketing strategies does not coincide with the company’s culture, as strategies are designed to accommodate the company’s culture and not vice versa (REFERENCE). 5. – Economic Factor The Australian economy has recently experienced a market downturn where economic factors such as consumer confidence and disposable income will have a direct and indirect impact on the market entry and success of H in the Australian market. ?Gross Domestic Production (GDP) The GDP for Australia has been relatively flat in 2009, where there is no significant growth, however, there is an anticipated growt h of 0. 5% in 2010 and with the recession ceasing there should be gradual growth of 3. 25% in 2011 (ANZ, 2009). ?Interest Rates In recent times, the interest rate has continued to drop, where in 2009, the nominal interest rate had dropped by 3% (Refer to Figure 2. 0 in Appendix). As interest rates are low Australians are discouraged from depositing money in the banks as it does not generate interest. ?Household Income From figure XX and XX the equivalised disposable household income for Australians appears to have gradually increased. For instance in 1995-96 there were 11% of total income categorised as being low income, however, in 2007-08, this had decreased to 10. 1%. While there has been a significant increase of high income earners, from 37. % in 1994-95 and 40. 5% in 2007-08 (ABS, 2009). Overall, the Australian economy appears to be reasonably attractive as both GDP and equivalent disposable household income have increased, which suggests that consumers have more money and are more likely to spend and purchase consumer goods which include clothing and footwear. Therefore, H should take advantage of this consumer confidence and enter the Australian market rapidly as consumer currently have the ability to purchase more consumer goods that are not considered to be a necessity. 6. 0 – Competitors Analysis Even though the clothing and footwear industry in Australia is viewed to be an attractive market to enter, there does appear to have intense competition (REFERENCE – competitive). Referring to figure XX, there is no dominant market leader in the Australian market; however, there are a number of brands who have gained substantial brand share, such as Just Jeans (1. 9%) and Jays Jays (2%) respectively (REFERENCE). All brands operating in the clothing and footwear industry could be considered as H competitor, however, Just Jeans and Jay Jays are the two most similar brands compared to H. Where they have also identified the demand for fashionable yet low priced products, therefore, all three companies have similar product offerings and also customer profiles. Hence, to successfully enter and establish H in the Australian market, it would be essential to have sound knowledge of competitors and develop core competencies such as designs that are exclusion and is able to differentiate H from other similar brands (REFERENCE). 7. 0 – Social Trends – Sizes Overall, both Australian men and women’s body weight has gradually increased in recent times. However, as the primary segment for H are young women aged between 18 to 24, only the body weight of women will be discussed. From previous surveys conducted there appears to be a steady increase of the average weight of women from 62. 6kg in 1989-90 to 67. 7kg in 2004-05 (ABS, 2009). From figure XX there also appears to be considerable increase in the Body Mass Index (BMI), where there are less women classified as being normal weight, while there are more women who are overweight and obese. As a result of this increase in body weight, the dress size as also increased from size 12 to size 14. Hence, to accommodate to this increase in weight, most clothing brands have now introduced larger sizes for instance, Portmans now has size 16 as part of their standard dress size (REFERENCE). Therefore, to ensure that H is able to compete with other competitors it would be essential for them to manufacture products that are the suitable size for Australian women. 8. 0 – Conclusion In conclusion, this report has thoroughly analysed a variety of factors to identify the attributes and threats of the Australian market in relation to the launch of H. Taken as a whole Australia appears to be an attractive market which consists of a stable economy and high consumer confidence. Where H is able to use these attributes to help them better penetrate and expand in the Australian market. In contrast, many threats were also identified including cultural differences, changes in social trends and also intense competition. It is absolutely essential for H to gain thorough understanding of the threats and furthermore the business and social environment of the Australian market. Main reason being, H will then be able to develop specific marketing strategies to address and overcome these issues to successfully enter and become a market leader of the women’s outerwear segment in the Australian clothing and footwear industry. 9. 0 – Recommendations. From previous analysis Australia and the city of Melbourne in particular appears to be a possible market for H to enter and expand into. Therefore, the following recommendations are written in correspondent to the threats and issues identified in the conclusion and throughout the report. †¢Market Entry Option – Direct Exporting It is suggested that H adopts a direct exporting method to enter the Australian market. Direct exporting can be identified as â€Å"†¦ the firm itself contacts the buyers overseas and either sells direct to the end-user† (Fletcher and Brown, 2009, pg. 290). Mainly because this is the market entry option H are experienced in using and is also one of the most commonly used method. As it is relatively simple to operate and provides the company with more control over the operation of the business. †¢Adapting to Australian fashion culture – Style and Size For H to succeed and be able to obtain market share, the company must adapt to the Australian fashion culture and the physical body size of Australians. Therefore, H is recommended to use product development strategies where they manufactured products that suit the Australian market. †¢Suitable store location – Chadstone Shopping Centre Finding a suitable store location also plays an important role to the launch of H in Melbourne. Therefore, Chadstone Shopping Centre is suggested as a suitable store location for the first H store to be established. Main reason being, the shopping centre is well-known and has a solid customer base, which makes obtaining brand awareness easier.

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If you could host a dinner party and invite any four people either living or dead, whom would you invite and what would the five of you discuss together? If I am to invite any four people for a dinner party, it would be my pleasure to have the following present: First of all, I would be happy to dine with the chairman and chief architect of the world wide leader in software services and solutions, Microsoft Corporation. The guy considered to be the richest man on earth, no other than William “Bill” Gates. Another visitor whom I would like to join us would be one of the top businessmen in South Africa, the Chairman of Harmony Gold Mining Company Ltd., Mr. Patrice Motsepe. My third guest passed away last June 25, 1997. He was known for his invention of the underwater camera and underwater TV processes as well as numerous undersea expeditions and TV specials made useful up to the present. I would be glad if he could join us from the world of the unknown Ââ€" Mr. Jacques-Yves Co usteau. And finally my last but definitely not the least visitor would be the 43rd President of the United States, Mr. George Walker Bush. Our discussion would center on modern inventions for the global market and its impacts on the business world. We would specifically deal on Bill GatesÂ’ vision for 2005 Ââ€" the digital lifestyle. First of all, our top businessman Mr. Motsepe will discuss to us the current trend of the world market and the pressing technological needs faced by the business world. We would like to know what sort of difficulties if there are any, are faced by the mining industry, and how technology can play a part in solving these issues. In addition, President Bush will also share to us the present problems faced by his administration and the implications of these in the business community. We also would like the president to tell us his thoughts on the role of technology in decreasing these problems and gearing forward to its solutions. Moreover, we would like to hear suggestions from Mr. Gates on how technology can play a vital role in addressing the problems faced in this era and possible innovations that will be created to improve the quality of business and governance. It is imperative that he would work hand in hand with our representatives from business and from the government to create technological solutions to our issues. Furthermore, I would like Gates to share to us the different innovations from Microsoft that we would expect to  emerge in the year 2005 and the usefulness of these innovations in peopleÂ’s lives particularly in the corporate setting. Here, Mr. Jacques-Yves Cousteau would be helpful to tell us all about his underwater television and how this can be improved by GatesÂ’ digital means. We also would like him to share to us some ideas that could lead to further inventions and technologies that can be used underwater. Finally, the presidentÂ’s presence is very important since we would need his support not only for the spread of the new technological innovations but also for its use in the business world. It would be very fantastic if the government will also benefit from the modern innovations and processes used in the business community.

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I have read a lot about the cultural differences between Asia and the United States. I have talked to some of my Asian acquaintances here in Okinawa. There are quite a few cultural differences in the business worlds in Hong Kong and the States. In the states, employees have stronger feelings about and opinions of the intrinsic contracts of a business. The employees’ inner images come into play with these feelings because they feel that if they have a good and strong inner image then the outer image will automatically be a good one. They feel that extrinsic contracts are not as important, but still an issue when it comes to business. Employees in the United States are not as respectful to management and will even argue if they feel they have a strong point. In some cases this may be a good thing. In the United States we tend to be more aggressive and have strong opinions rather than suggestions. In Hong Kong, they believe that extrinsic contracts are everything. They believe as long as they have a strong front and image then there business will succeed. This is a good thing when it comes to public images because if you look like you have a strong business then the public will not know any different. Intrinsic contracts are not a main concern in Hong Kong. They are pushed to the side until they have a strong front and then it may be worked on.

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Role of the Early Years Worker - Essay Example   In recent years there has been an increase in the reporting of child abuse. (Susan Creighton, â€Å"Understanding Child Abuse†, page 7) If a child, is abused in any way, whether physically, emotionally or sexually, then it has a very great impact on the rest of the child’s life, as he moves into adolescence, and then later into adulthood. According to Helga Hanks and Peter Stratton, â€Å"they consider children as active and self conscious actors rather than passive recipients of abuse†¦.† (Hanks, Stratton, Chap. 5, page 8) Those children who have become victims of it are affected not only physically but also mentally and psychologically.Neglect of Child Abuse is one of the main causes of death in young children in the UK, â€Å"with parents and relatives being responsible for three quarters of the deaths†. (Central Statistical Office, 1994) This results in these children being mentally scarred for life.The Government Role in â€Å"Child Abuseâ⠂¬ :The Government plays a major role in dealing with Child Abuse by brining out new policies safe guarding both children and adolescents and making out new strategies helping them to cope with the problems facing them. The Government is determined to make the world a better and a safer place for children, especially those children who are vulnerable. The cabinet has come out with what is called â€Å"Green Paper† for the â€Å"Children at Risk†. (The Children Act Report, 2002) This Report is based on the latest research and findings, with information from statistical returns.

Operations Management in Manchester Airport Essay - 1

Operations Management in Manchester Airport - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the prices for durations of parking are advertised on a large bulletin board and thus, no delays due to bill problems for passengers. The parking time at Manchester airport takes approximately 20. There is a large parking area and thus it is uncommon to miss parking space. Security inspection- with the 9/11 attacks, security in airports have been beefed up. Manchester airport is no different and it security operations through. The security procedures take about 3minutes. The delay however is worthwhile. The procedures involve a pat down and screening by X-ray machines for dangerous equipments. Those with dangerous weapons are arrested by the standby police and taken to the nearby Manchester Airport police station. The above security check is for entrance to the airport and not for boarding flights. Queuing- queuing is a security procedure as well as a measure to maintain order. Those in the queue are closely monitored by CCTV cameras whi le they line up to go and purchase or confirm tickets. This is a fundamental operation activity as it helps maintain order in the airport. The time taken in the queue depends on the number of passengers in the airport. But approximately staying in the Queue cannot take more than 10 minutes. The number of teller stations to which passengers buy or confirm tickets are many and thus efficient operation. Ticket buying and confirmation- The airport has a self check-in ticket kiosk which allows one to insert an id and credit card for validation. The boarding pass then prints itself automatically; this reduces the queues at the counters. They also allow one to view the itinerary and select seats. The process takes approximately 5 minutes. According to McGregor theory of operation management, time is an essential factor, all operations are supposed to be time inclusive. The introduction of self-check-in tickets in the airport is thus in line with the McGregor theory. Document Verification- In an international airport such as Manchester, the human traffic is unimaginable. The logistics therefore in of ensuring that everyone is he/she claims to be is thus a nightmare. This operation is both complex and time consuming. It should thus be handled carefully because if handled wrongly could increase the occurrence of a security breach. The counters in Manchester airport are up to the task. The airport has 30 counters for verifying travel documents and thus reduce the delays at this operational stage. Because of the many counters this process takes approximately two minutes. Waiting bay- The passengers then have to wait for approximately 20 minutes in the waiting bay, this is where the non passengers are left. The ticket is used to ensure only those travelling enter into the next section. The time taken here is because of saying goodbyes. The passengers enter into the center of the airport or the terminuses, while those coming to wave the goodbye go out through another sectio n. Those going out get out through n exit door to avoid confusion. This is operation is helpful as it enables security to monitor movements. Eating/feeding- Tax free hotels inside the hotels ensure that those travelling eat what they want. The hotels offer all types of food. The area is a wireless networking gateway. The food is necessary for long distance travelers who do not want to take food in the plane.

The Watergate Scandal and Its Aftermath Essay Example for Free

The Watergate Scandal and Its Aftermath Essay On January 21, 1969, Richard Milhous Nixon was inaugurated as the 37th President of the United States and re-elected in January 3, 1973. On August 8, 1974, Nixon became the first US President to resign after impeachment proceedings were initiated against him over what has become known as â€Å"The Watergate Scandal.† (Watergate Chronology) The term Watergate has become synonymous with political cover-up, lies, crime skullduggery and scandal in the United States and worldwide.   The fact that a simple botched burglary opened a prodigious can of worms makes it all the more mind-boggling. As people began to realize that they were in the midst of a conspiracy that reached all the way to the top, they began to wonder just how deep, and how widespread, the rot went. Nixon himself has denied any complicity in the matter, until evidence that this was not so become too compelling to ignore, hence the subsequent impeachment articles and resignation. However, his motivations, aside from the mandatory â€Å"for the good of the nation†, was never satisfactorily explained. Regardless of the why, the effect of Watergate on the political status of Nixon is unexpected. It, of course, killed his Presidency, and although successor President Gerald Ford extended him a full pardon and he did not go to jail, many believed that he embodied the essence of all that was wrong in American politics of that era. Watergate colors any good he may have done during his term of office. However, he was far from quietly fading into the good night. After his resignation and pardon, Nixon proceeded to quietly regain respectability in the eye of the American public.   By the time of his death, he had managed to author nine books and served as adviser to US Presidents Bush Senior and Reagan. Whenever he spoke about American foreign policy before a crowd, people listened because he had made it his business to travel and get a political feel of the various countries he toured and the mindset of the political leaders he visited. In fact, his last book, Beyond Peace, was a less than flattering summation of American foreign policy that was timely in the face of the political crises such as in Bosnia and Korea after the Cold War. (Stacks, 1994) Nixon failed in the midst of his success, and succeeded in the midst of his failure. Ruthless in his pursuit and determined in his endeavors, he managed to rise above the ashes of the Watergate Scandal that destroyed the careers of at least 30 of the most prominent men of his time and died in 1997 regarded by many as an elderly statesman. What of the country he had, as many people still firmly believe, betrayed to further his own interests and control? What has his abuse of power done to affect American policy? The Watergate incident succeeded in opening an Aegean stables of graft and corruption, throwing into sharp relief the special interest groups that had bought their way into favor and prompted a US President to stake all.   The cleansing tide of public opinion and media criticism enabled the disheveled American government to rally around and expose the core of the problem. But the aftermath was more complicated than what was anticipated. People started to lose confidence in their political leaders, seeing them as untrustworthy and vulnerable to large corporations with deep pockets. Conspiracy theories cropped up that seemed increasingly probable, and suspicion of the â€Å"men in black† such as the FBI, CIA etc., agencies that served the will of people in power and not the American people increased. This may have been due to the fact of the FBI’s involvement in the attempted cover-up. (Watergate) The belt was tightening around campaign finance, and at first the measures were stringent. Campaign contributions could neither be from questionable sources nor more than $1,000.00. A federal commission on elections was formed to watch over the general election between Ford and Jimmy Carter. However, these measures could not last with clever politicians and court interpretations of the law backing the claim that campaign contributions were covered under the First Amendment. (Jackson, 1999) Soon, the amount of contributions from special interest groups and large corporations to both the Democratic and Republican parties reached epic proportions, undreamed off during Nixon’s time. Tighter media vigilance also succeeded in promoting transparency and accountability among the politicians. However, the unfailing skepticism of the spoken and written word became an integral part of this vigilance, lending material for many a stand-up comedy act that nevertheless undermine the efforts of politicians and statesmen to effect positive and progressive change in American policies, never mind if they be honest and morally upright. The media coverage of the Watergate hearings became the focal point of interest for at least 85% of the population at any given time in the initial proceedings, at one time dominating airtime with 13 hours of coverage in the six days following the first hearing on July 24, 1974. (Garay) While this kept people informed of what was happening, a change in the American psyche also resulted. The people post-Watergate lost their confidence in their elected officials and had adopted a passive, if not overtly hostile, attitude towards the whole process. This has filtered down to later generations and now less than 50% of the voting population actually bothers to vote. The general opinion is that all politicians and people in power are liars, or are not telling the whole truth, in pursuit of their own advancement and self-interests. This belief has translated into an overzealous, almost paranoid, eye for political corruption. Ethics committees and procedures, independent counsel law, public integrity sections and other such agencies are devoted solely to having a weather eye cocked for the smallest misstep. What was once acceptable political give-and-take, such as free football tickets, is looked at askance as a symptom of much bigger largesse. (Jackson, 1999) This has not stopped any chicanery, however. There are many ways around a committee, and around the law, if one has enough resources to pull it off. Many use this vigilance to discredit a rival or to gain favor in the public eye, most probably while doing the same thing or something else equally or more unethical or even illegal. The important thing is, from a political point of view, is not to get caught, as Nixon so very openly was. All this reform, disclosure and transparency has given way to two very significant results: One, those in politics bent on serving their own interests has become very good at fooling the watch dogs down paths that they want to expose while covering their own tracks; and two, those who have the nation’s interest at heart has an uphill climb in gaining the trust and confidence of the people. And what of the media? Many forget that the media is also a special interest group, but instead of currying favor from politicians to get special treatment by giving campaign contributions and other donations, the media uses politics and politicians to exploit whatever the issue of the moment is and sell. While many are legitimate publications with reliable sources or well-formed opinions, the great influence they have on public opinion are not always used judiciously. Their motivation is to sell. The bigger the scandal, the better, never mind if it is not always in the public interest to know all. Bad news sells better than good news, and many times the public focuses only on who’s doing what to whom rather than what good some have been doing, or trying to do. In the case of Watergate, media fed on the thirst of the public to know, but failed to provide a complete picture of what actually happened that 30 years down the line has provided to some extent. The damage has been done, the people no longer trust government, and are ready to believe the worst without giving benefit to doubt. What was most interesting to those who analyze the raison d’etre of the scandal was that it seemed almost pointless, as Nixon at the time was at the top of his form, having just been re-elected with a landslide victory, and popular with the nation. Many asked what could be his reason for wanting to bug the offices of the Democratic Party’s National Committee, housed then at the plush Watergate Hotel. Political spying and sabotage seemed to be the most obvious reason, as FBI investigators established in 1972, and it appeared reasonable what with the coming elections. However, the popularity he had gathered with his delivery of the â€Å"Silent Majority† speech on the Vietnam War seemed to make these efforts superfluous. (Watergate.info) To this day there has been no satisfactory answer as to the why as many closely involved with the scandal have died, and have taken the mystery with them. What is not a mystery today is the ripple-effect of Watergate on American politics and policy, and the establishment of Richard Nixon as a public figure. Political bashing and mud-slinging has become the order of the day, and the media has run true to form in exploiting the dollar value of a good scandal. Campaign financing has become big business, reaching astronomic levels, with the added bonus of being legitimate, thanks to slick interpretation and manipulation of the law by clever legal counsels. Political ingenuity has plotted an indictment-free zone so that money can talk in government policy. And despite skepticism, the American public relies heavily on the media to form their opinion regarding whom and what to believe, especially since Watergate when there were no holds barred as to what the media could put out.   People believe that the printed and televised words is inviolate, but more often than not the voices of the ones who have truly pure motives get drowned out with all the noise the ones with the deep pockets make. And where is Nixon in all this, that focus of Watergate? He lives on in the memory of the Americans as the President who authored the mother of all scandals (and was unfortunate enough to get caught) and the man who afterwards stood back up and brushed himself off to exert his influence in the political arena in spite of it. As he reportedly put to Russian Vice President Alexander Rutskoi following Rutskoi’s release from prison after his failed takeover against Boris Yeltsin, â€Å"that, for some, there can be life after hell.† (Stacks, 1994) References Watergate Chronology Washington Post retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/watergate/chronology.htm Watergate: The Scandal That Brought Down Richard Nixon Watergate.info retrieved December 28, 2006 from   http://www.watergate.info/ Garay, R. WATERGATE   The Museum of Broadcast Communications retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/W/htmlW/watergate/watergate.htm Jackson, B. 1999. A Watergate Legacy: More Public Skepticism, Ambivalence All Politics: CNN Time retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/watergate/watergate.jackson/index.alt.html Stacks, J. 1994. Victory in Defeat All Politics: CNN Time retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/watergate/watergate.stacks/index.alt.html Watergate Case Closed retrieved December 28, 2006 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/caseclosed/watergate.shtml

Opportunities for Company Essay Example for Free

Opportunities for Company Essay Opportunities for Company Q to lead in the area of social responsibility Company Q’s attitude towards social responsibility appears to be nonexistent, possibly through ignorance or disconcert. Either way the lack of social responsibility affects their business and community’s perception of their business. It appears that the company management has never developed and ethics program that clearly defines the corporate culture including provisions for social responsibility. Profits, or at least a lack of losses appears to be a primary motivating factor for company Qs management’s decisions. Company Q has been attempting to cut losses by closing stores that were losing money instead of finding innovative ways to increase revenues and profitability for the stores. Based on the known information, Company Q still has ample opportunity to build a socially responsible reputation within the community it serves and at the same time create profits for its shareholders. Simple and cost-effective changes could be implemented in a relatively short amount of time and the benefits to the community, employees and the company itself could be realized within a reasonable amount of time. There are at least three ways that Company Q can make a positive affect within the community that it serves while increasing revenues and profitability for shareholders. First area of improvement: Take those previous customer requests for health conscience and organic products and turn them into reality within their stores. For many years, Company Qs customers have been requesting health conscience and organic products sold at Company Q’s stores. The companys efforts to provide this for its customers have been weak at best. The companys management has the ethical duty to be positively reactive to its customers requests, so long as those requests are not illegal, immoral, irresponsible or unethical. Since requests are for products that benefit the health of customers, company Q needs to act to deliver those requested products in a manner that is consistent with its goals of profitability. In this case, the company has the ability to show social responsibility in bringing healthier products into its stores and have the added benefit that these items are high-margin, delivering profit opportunities to company shareholders. Because the items are high-margin, the costs of purchasing a reasonable supply and variety of items is relatively low as compared to lower margin items that are most  likely currently stocked in each store. The company even has an opportunity to reduce costs in the stores purchases by eliminating similar products that are lower in margin to the ones that they will be bringing in based on customer requests. Promotion of the social responsibility plan is important. With no additional cost in advertising, company Q can promote these new healthy products in its ad vertising. Doing so can bring back some of their lost business as well as bring in new customers to the stores. This situation is a win not only for Company Q but is also a win for customers and employees. The additional profits from higher-margin items will assist the company in creating wages that are appropriate for each position and opportunities for advancement in pay and position for its employees. This can help create an atmosphere that retains employees and reduces turnover, consequently, reducing the costs of obtaining and training new employees on a regular basis. Second area of improvement: Donations to local food banks, shelters and other charities Company Q experiences a direct loss of not only the potential profit from but the actual cost of day-old items that are thrown away. In doing so, the company experiences these costs with no benefit to the company. This method of handling the old items not only costs the company dollars in loss but also does not allow the company to reap the benefits of a socially responsible positive image to its customers and employees. Company Q’s management has taken the approach that by donating the day-old items it leaves the possibility for employees to steal from the company. A thorough plan of documentation for the donation process will help in ensuring that the donations go where they are intended and minimize risk of employee theft. One part of this plan would be to have the food bank pick up the donated items on a daily or weekly basis. As part of the donation process the food bank employee and the store employee would sign an inventory of the items picked up. This inventory tracking could be used by the stores as proof for prospective tax deductible donation on federal and/or state taxes. Any legal reductions in tax liability, improves profitability for the company. Company Q can benefit with a more socially responsible image to its customers and employees each time the food bank truck pulls up to the store and is being loaded with donated food. Food banks are not the only opportunity to show company philanthropy to the community. Making donations and collecting donations from the community for  homeless shelters and other worthy charitable organizations is yet another avenue to show the community that Company Q is active in social responsibility. Shelters and other charitable organizations are in need of items that the stores may not be able to sell to their customers for donation, but when customers and employees bring in donated items such as clothing, personal appliances and possibly furniture, these items could be collected at or near the store and be picked up by these charitable organizations. This gives the store an opportunity to receive business from those that are dropping off donations, by going in to the store and purchasing items that they may need for themselves and do it in one simple trip. These type of donation events can be listed in their existing advertising and give customers another reason to come by the store. Third area of improvement: Create opportunities for employees as well as customers to share in the charitable activities that promote social responsibility. As part of its change in being more socially responsible, Company Q could directly involve its customers by making donation bins available in stores for customers to purchase items and donate to the food bank. Advertising this in the store is good, but including it in their existing ad campaign could bring in customers that appreciate socially responsible businesses. Not only is this the sale of the items additional revenue for Company Q, but it allows customers to be directly involved in donation, which in turn creates even more goodwill for Company Q. In addition to customer involvement, employees can be directly involved in developing a socially responsible image of the company. Company Q could organize and promote employees assisting at food bank locations. These employees could go in for one day each month or each quarter and work within the food bank in one of many areas that the food bank needs physical labor for. Company Q could pay the employees their regular wages and be may able to take tax deductions for the wages paid to employees while assisting the food bank. This approach is another win for all parties involved. The food bank wins with donated labor, the employees win by being paid for the time worked at the food bank and Company Q wins by showing social responsibility in its community and gaining goodwill for itself in the process. In conclusion, Company Q can develop an ethics program and implement a plan for social responsibility that helps those within its community and increase its revenue and profits  in doing so.

Anthropology Concepts Derived from Functionalism and Culture

Anthropology Concepts Derived from Functionalism and Culture Malinowski: His approach to anthropology was based on functionalism and culture. Functionalism ascribes meaning, function, and purpose to the elements within a whole. Culture defines that whole, and it constitutes the entity in which the various functional elements act and are interdependent. Malinowskis understanding of functionalism was in large part derived from a system of balanced reciprocity that he observed while conducting fieldwork. This system is known as the Kula Ring and involves annual inter-island visits between trading partners who exchange highly valued shell ornaments. The goods used in Kula exchanges consist of two types: necklaces (soulava) and armbands (mwali). Neither trade item is particularly well made or crafted of rare materials. He inferred that the principal motivation for the enormous expenditure of time and effort involved in Kula expeditions to be non-utilitarian. In the system, each participant is linked to two partners. One partner trades a necklace in return for an armband of equivalent value. The other makes a reverse exchange of an armband for a necklace. While each Kula partner is tied to only two other partners, each contact has an additional connection on either end of the distribution chain. This eventually forms the Kula Ring and this links more than a dozen islands over hundreds of miles of ocean. Malinowski reasoned that the expense and preoccupation with Kula trade must be functional in nature and most likely served to solve fundamental spatial problems in the Islanders lives. He argued that Kula Ring served three functions in Trobriand society. First, it serves to establish friendly relations among the inhabitants of different islands and maintain a pattern of peaceful contact and communication over great distances with trading partners who might or might not speak the same language. It provides the occasion for the inter-island exchange of utilitarian items. These utilitarian items are shipped back and forth in the course of Kula expeditions. Finally, they reinforce status, since the hereditary chiefs own the most important shell valuables and it is their responsibility for directing ocean voyages. Sahlin Second, symbolic objects and gifts have long been recognized as a form of interartion that can create meaning for group memebers, especially in terms of fostering connection among group memebers or between groups. Polanyi (1944) and Sahlin (1972) showed how, until very recently in human history, was not about gaining profit but about forging and maintaining group solidarity. Marcel mauss: To give, to accept, and to reciprocate. Door Janet T. Landa Malinowski rejected the notion that Kula gift exchanges were motivated by economic considerations. Rather, Malinowksi emphasized that the motives were social and psychological. Thus began a long debate among anthropologists attempting to to unravel the puizzle of the Kula ring. As a result of subsequent work by anthropologists, a view began to crystallize that the instrumental function of the Kula Ring was the creation op political order via the creation of networks of alliances among stateless societeies so as to facilitate commercial trade. This view, implicitly or explicitly, attributed an underlying economic function to Kula gift exchanges and did much to explain a major puzzle of the Kula ring. The anthropological viewpoint – that the Kula gift exchange system creates primitive laws and order in a stateless societies – is consistent with modern PR PC theory, which emphasizeds the importance of institustions in facilitating exchange. Richard Posner (1980) in his ins ightful paper on the economic functions of institutions of primitive societeies, explains the Kula ringa as an institution that facilitated trade. Quoting Belshaw (1965), Posner says: â€Å" The Kula itself wsa not oriented to mindividual trade in ints ceremonial activities. But alonghside the kula persons visiting theru partners took advantage of the oppurtunities to engage in trade. Malinoswki makes point that kula partners would exchange gifts of a trade character in addition to vaygu ‘s (the ornamental objects exchanged in the kula ring), and the szecurity afforded by the partenership would make it possible for the visitor to make contact with other persons in the village and trade with them. An explanation of the Kula ring in terms of its role in facilitating trade, while explaining the major puzzle of the kula ring, leaves unanswered tow other major puzzles of the kula ring – not explained by anthropologist or anyone else. The two puzzled, which this paper will attempt to explain, are 1. Why is the Kula trade organized in the form of a ring of connected partners? and 2. why in the kula ring are there two different ceremonial goods circulating in opposite directions perceptually around the ring? In this chapter we on PR-PC theory of the economics od signaling to develop a theory of the Kula ring that will unravel the Kula puzzles. Fundamental to our theory of the Kula ring is the assumption that transaction costs are positive. The emphasis on the importance of the foundations of modern PR-PC theory and modern monetary theory. Recdently, the insoight that â€Å"institutions matter† in a world with positive transactin costst has been extended to explain certain institutions of primitive societies. The theory of the kula ring presented in this chapter is consisten with the transaction costst approach to intitutions in emphasizing that the kula ring is an institutional arrangement that emerged primarily in orde to economize on transaction costs of intertribal commercial exchange in stateless societies. WAY OF GIVE AND TAKE IN KULA A visiting Kula partner arrives with a â€Å"solicitary gift† (e.g. food) and is given an â€Å"opening gift†, say a necklace, from his host Kula partner, the must be reciprocated woth a counter-gift, an armshell, of equivalent value at a future date. It should be noted that no kula valuables are carried on overseas kula expeditions; the visiting kula partner visits his host partner in order to receive gifts and not to give them. Between any two kula partners, the is an institutionalized delayed reciprocity, involving two opposite kinds of objects. But at the same time, each of these two objects must be passed on in one direction only so that a chain of unidirectional trading kula partners is built up in the kula ring. The global structure of the kula exchange is one that is characterized by cyclical, indirect reciprocation between connected pairs of partners (levi-strauss 1969). Furthermore, a time limit is also prescribed for a recipient of a gift to pass it on to one of his partners: A man who is in the kula, never keeps any article for longer thas, say, a year or tweo. Even this exposes him to the reproach of being â€Å"niggardly† and certain districts have the bad reputationj of being â€Å"slow† and â€Å"hard† in the kula†¦ (Malinowski, 1961). In this Kula gift exchange the equivalence of the closing gift is left to the giver. What are the mechanisms for ensuring that the partners will honor the obligation to reciprocate? Four mechanisms can be identified. 1. Role of â€Å"intermediary gifts†: if a kula partner cannot repay his partner when the latter visits him, he must reciprocate the opening gift with a smaller gift, and â€Å"intermediary gift†, given in token of good faith, which itself must be reciprocated by his partner. Thus the time interval between receiving the opening gift and reciprocating the closing gift is bridged by a series of smaller gift exchanges between Kula partners. 2. Role of reputation: A kula partner who does not repay a gift will eventually lose his reputation and Kula partners. 3. Role of â€Å"give and take† moral code in which the wealthy man is obligated to share wealth: the higher the rank the greater the obligation 4. Role of public magical rites and ceremonial acts: magical rites and public ceremonial acts always accompany an overseas Kula expedition; these rites and ceremonies â€Å"act indirectly on the mind of ones partner and make him soft, insteady in mind and eager to give kula gifts†. Malinowski also suggested the use of sorcery by a kula trader against the defaulting partner. A third set of rules governs membership in the kula ring. Kula exchange is not free exchange between anonymous parties whenever the opportunity arises. Strict rules govern who can enter the Kula ring. To enter the ring, a man must inherit a kula object and magic from his father or mothers brother. Once he obtains a kula object, he can initiate a kula partnership with his fathers or mothers brothers partners or other partners in the kula ring. Once a kula partnership is established, it is a lifelong partnership and is passed on from generation to generation: â€Å" Once in the kula, always in the kula.† Not all East Papuo-Melanasionans in massim, however, can participate in the Kula ring. For example, ceratin â€Å"inferior† sub-clans in Kiriwana are excluded. A man can have few or many partners depending on his rank. A commoner in the trobriands would have a few partners who lived in nearby islands, whereas a chief would have hundreds of partners distributed over several islands. But there is a geographic limit beyond which no kula traders, not even the most influential chief, has any partnerd and the furthest limits of kula partnership are the same for all the memebers of the kula community. Thus, for example, no man in SIneketa has any partners in Kitiva, and no man in S.E. Dobu or Dobu island has Kila partners in Sineketa. Beyond the geographic limit , however, a kula trader still know the mnames of his indirect partners, i.e. the partnersfo his partners.. Participants of the kula ring regard the kula trade as acircular system (Damon 1983). The pattern of kula exchange is ver comples. The simplest structure of exchange would be one in which: If we were to imagin that in the kkula ring, there are many peopke who have only one partern at each side, the the ring would consist of a lartge number of closed circuits, on each of which the same article swould constantly pass. However, the actual structure of the kula exchange is much more complex since Every small kula man , as a a rule, has on one side or the other, the big one, that is a chief. And every chief plays the part of a shunting –station for kula objects. Having so many partners on each side, he constantly transfers an object from one strand to another. EIGEN TEKST (uit boven staande site ge parafraseert) Structure of intertribal commercial trade Anthropologists that studied Malinowskis account of the Kula ring (Campbell 1983; Dalton 1978); Mauss 1979; Sahlins 1969; Uberoi 1971) , feel that Malinowski underestimated the importance of the economical function of the Kula ring, and the way in which it made commercial exchange much easier. Looking closer at the trade process, it is noted that there is a division and specialization of work. Different parties have different specialties for which they are known (e.g. yams, wooden bowls, pots, sago, canoes, etc.), and there is a certain pattern in the different kinds of those finest products that are exchanged between islands in the Kula ring (e.g. yams from the Trobriands against pots from the Amphletts). MAIN POINTS ACCORDING TO MS KOMTER Its all about relationships, social capital. Kula the ring of power, identity/status Identity confirmed by what you receive Will the kula survive ïÆ'   essay question Right of passage Obligations (inner) Generosity ïÆ'   exoectations of return Magic Role of taking risks ïÆ'   negative more important than positive experiences, dare to be courageous. Going through all shit makes you a man. Classical anthropologists and ethnologists like Malinowski, Mauss and Là ©vi-Strauss studied the origins of social order by focusing at a very concrete habit that appears to be wide-spread in archaic society: the exchange of gifts. The principle of give-and-take, or reciprocity, proves to be the main underlying rule, and it is this principle that fulfills a crucial role in creating social ties, trust and community. The exchange of gifts makes possible other types of exchange: of material and nonmaterial goods, services, help and information. These anthropologists not only described the practices of gift giving in great detail but also pointed to their manifold – social, religious, psychological, esthetical, juridical – functions. The functionalist approach exemplified in the work of Malinowski is echoed in Durkheims views on the functions of mechanical and organic solidarity. From the anthropological studies a greater range of possible motives for solidarity can be dis tilled compared to the studies by sociologists. GOOD QUOTES Levi-Strauss: Goods are not only economic commodities but vehicles and instruments for realities of another order: influence, power, sympathy, status, emotion; and the skillful game of exchange consists of a complex totality of maneuvers, conscious or unconscious, in order to gain security and to fortify ones self against risks incurred through alliances and rivalry. Radin 1971: There is no such thing as a free gift Levi-strauss 1969: Exchanges are peacefully resolved wars and wars are the result of unsuccessful transactions.

Democracy Rising? Essay -- International Politics

Since America's tragedy on September 11, 2001 the Middle East has been the epicenter of international attention. Cries for democracy and freedom in the region have permeated the western media. When Iraq was found to be devoid of the Weapons of Mass Destruction, bringing democracy to the country became the new reason for the war. Nearly every first world country in the world is a democracy if not in name then in practice. It would be forgivable to think that democracy is the cause of wealth, civil liberties, and all the things associated with first world countries, for there is almost no wealthy nation today that is not a de facto democracy. However while democracy is undoubtedly a tremendous invention of mankind and works well in many nations that, does not mean it is universally correct and should be applied to every nation in the world. For if democracy were forced upon many Middle Eastern nations it would not be a harbinger of increased civil liberties, wealth, and peace, b ut a step towards secular extremist regimes, far less friendly to each other and the west than their moderate authoritarian predecessors. In the early nineteenth century after world war one, the Ottoman Empire collapsed. It encompassed much of the middle east and Arab world, the League of Nations, a group of imperialist western nations which had fought on the winning allied side during the war had grand intentions of preventing future wars. However some of their actions are credited with directly leading to the second world war. One of their mandates that would have grim consequences for future generations was ratified in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, this treaty effectively divvied up the middle east into new colonies for the victorious Eu... ...rative Political Studies 43.11 (2010): 1442-1470. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. Falk, Richard. "America's Pro-Iraqi Neutrality." Nation 231.13 (1980): 398-401. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. Guida, Michelangelo. "The New Islamists' Understanding of Democracy in Turkey: The Examples of Ali Bulac and Hayreddin Karaman." Turkish Studies 11.3 (2010): 347-370. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. Tibi, Bassam. "Islamism and Democracy: On the Compatibility of Institutional Islamism and the Political Culture of Democracy." Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions 10.2 (June 2009): 135-64. Print. Weiffen, Brigitte. "The Cultural-Economic Syndrome: Impediments to Democracy in the Middle East."Comparative Sociology 3.3/4 (2004): 353-375. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Dec. 2010.

Hotel Opening Human Resources Case Study Essay -- Business Management

A. Tall Pines Corporate Strategy and Human Resource Management Strategy mutually interact through direct influences on each other and both are subject to effects of the economic conditions within their environments. Major economic conditions that exist in favor of Tall Pines are the growth in population and local government programs. The local population is at 1.9 million which is forecasted to steadily increase for the next fifteen years. Riverton has also put an Economic Development Committee into action which is highly supportive of the Tall Pines Center, especially considering the tax revenue they will be giving the city and the state. Other aspects of corporate strategy that may interact with HR strategy are Industry Structure, Distinctive Competence, Competitive Advantage, and Product/Market Scope. HR strategies that may interact with Corporate Strategy along with Economic Conditions are Skills and Values, Culture, and Labor Markets. B. "Any hotel is only as good as its personnel." This statement made by Gordon McGregor, the hotel manager, clearly portrays Corporate Strategy influencing HR policies and procedures. When Natalie Sharp the Director of Personnel, Gordon and the Supervisory Staff adjourned their meeting on contemplating how they might develop a good HR strategy to attract good work candidates, and fill the remaining available positions at the hotel. Another way corporate strategy influences HR strategy is through Distinctive Competence. Gordon has 15 years experience with this chain and for the last two years he has been highly involved in the planning of Tall Pines Center. Natalie has worked with 2 other hotel chains and helped open a new 100-room motel in the southwest recently. Their experience combined wi... ... portrayed to the work force. For this reason it is imperative for employees to understand the HR motto that "a hotel is only as good as its staff." The third stage is the evaluation stage, in which the workers training results are measured and compared with criteria. In the future Tall Pines should plan weekly staff development meetings, and problem solving conferences to help workers get used to common and not so common problems that may occur at Tall Pines. Help workers develop problem-solving skills, develop a mentor program that can discuss employee concerns and also be great feedback to the training program. Adding a training professional to the Tall Pines staff would be a huge benefit to all involved management and workers. This would highly benefit future training programs by learning from past mistakes and help in perfecting future training programs.

Oscar Wilde Essay -- essays research papers

Oscar Wilde was one of the most prominent Irish born playwrights. He was a major player in the aesthetic movement, which was based on art for art’s sake. Wilde was also a novelist, playwright, poet, and critic. He was born Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wilson Wilde on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. Wilde came from a rather large family. William Wilde, his father, had three illegitimate children previous to his marriage. They were Henry Wilson in 1838, Emily in 1847, and Mary in 1849. William provided financially for all of them. Henry studied medicine and later assisted his father at St. Mark’s Hospital. William’s brother raised Emily and Mary but both died in a fire at the ages of 24 and 22. Oscar’s mother had three children, William Charles Kingsbury in 1852, Oscar in 1854, and Isola Emily Franscesca in 1857. Isola died ten years later in 1857 from a sudden fever. Oscar was profoundly affected by this and kept a lock of her hair sealed in a decorated envelope until the day he died. Oscar’s father, William Wilde, graduated as a doctor, completed voyages to North Africa and the Middle East, studied at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, written two books, and been appointed medical advisor to the Irish Census of 1841 all by the time he was 28. He later became Assistant Commissioner to the 1851 Census and was knighted for his work in 1864 at the age of 49. Oscar’s mother, Jane Francesca Elgee, wrote revolutionary poems for an Irish weekly newspaper called The Nation in 18...

Poetry Questions Essay

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s work, â€Å"Nature†, the speaker forces the reader to analyze their core beliefs and values. The speaker asks, â€Å"why should we grope among the dry bones of the past, or put the living generation into masquerade out of its faded wardrobe? The sun shines today also†. By asking this simple question, the speaker is essentially asking the audience why they should accept the beliefs and traditions handed down to them through their ancestors instead of creating their own. This question is furthered when the speaker states, â€Å"There are new lands, new men, new thoughts. Let us demand our own works and laws and worship†. The speaker is making a call to his readers for a change in society. Rather than blindly accept the laws and beliefs from long gone ancestors, the speaker is challenging his audience to be independent thinkers, and follow their own path of discovery, rather than continue to be force fed hundred year old traditions. In the poem, â€Å"Apparently With No Surprise†, the speaker is admiring a flower and suddenly it dies. Through the language in the poem, it seems as though the speaker is questioning whether God oversees life and death within nature. In this poem, nature is portrayed as a brutal assassin, taking the life from an innocent and blooming flower. The Frost is named the murderer, but the speaker says that it has done so in â€Å"accidental power† while at play. The speaker proceeds to question whether there is a God that controls nature’s violent tendancies. In the last few lines of the poem, the speaker answers her own questions, by noting that God is approving of nature’s order, which is reflected in the line that reads, â€Å"The Sun proceeds unmoved to measure off another Day for an Approving God†. The tone of the poem suggests that the speaker things that God is just as malevolent as nature for allowing nature to take its course. 3. The most important characteristic of the landscape in â€Å"Desert Places† is the snow. Frost notes that the ground is â€Å"almost covered smooth in snow†, which gives the reader a sense of coldness and expansive nothingness in an environment that is typically warm and inviting. It seems as though Frost is comparing this desert to himself. By stating that the desert is a â€Å"blanker whiteness of benighted snow with no expression†, Frost gives the reader a sense of emptiness that not only is a characteristic of the snow, but also of how empty and emotionless he feels. Frost ties together the desert and his own emotions in the last few lines of the poem. Frost ties the description of a vast and barren desert with the feelings of emptiness and lack of emotion that he feels about his own life. By ending the poem with the line, â€Å"to scare myself with my own desert places†, Frost displays his fear at his absolute lack of emotion and emptiness. â€Å"Kitchenette Building† uses many terms to explain how life in this urban society feels. Gwendolyn Brooks uses the term â€Å"involuntary plan† to describe the situation that the black speaker is currently in. The â€Å"involuntary plan† describes shady real estate deals that created small, cramped apartments for black tenants from what were previously spacious apartments in white neighborhoods. The speaker is showing the reader how the slum lords have exploited the black tenants in this urban society. The speaker makes reference to the â€Å"garbage ripening in the hall†, which is another way in which the exploitation of the black tenant is made apparent – the simple maintenance of disposing of the trash is ignored by these shady landlords. The speaker also notes that â€Å"we wonder. But not well! Not for a minute!†, which indicates that she doesn’t have the time or the energy to meditate on the problem of exploitation, or any wa y to attempt to change it. As soon as the fifth member of the family emerges from the bathroom, her thoughts shift to more practical things, such as a warm bath. 5. In Allen Ginsberg’s work, â€Å"Howl†, he makes reference to Moloch in an attempt to criticize the society of 1950s America. Moloch refers to a biblical idol to which sacrifices of children were brought. By comparing 1950s American society to this bloodthirsty idol, Ginsberg is painting a clear picture of his view of the era that America had entered into at that time. Ginsberg paints prisons, apartments, and industries as all that is evil with society with the line that reads, â€Å"Moloch! Moloch! Robot apartments! invisible suburbs! skeleton treasuries! blind capitals! Demonic industries!†   Ginsberg is making the point that with the new industrialization of society, the forgotten artists, musicians, and creative thoughts are forgotten, and even given a negative connotation. Ginsberg makes it clear that he believes that the industry with their factories and warehouses only create more of a diversion from the artistic world of colors and music. This point is made though the line that reads, â€Å"Moloch whose factories dream and croak in the fog! Moloch whose smokestacks and antennae crown the cities!† As an artist himself, Ginsberg is forcing society to recognize the apparent evils of the industrialization of his society.6. In Sarah Orne Jewett’s work, â€Å"A White Heron†, the main character, Sylvia is a young girl, who has a love for animals. She is befriended by a hunter, who is tracking a white heron that he intends to kill and add to his collection of stuffed birds. Sylvia perches in a giant pine tree very early in the morning, searching for the heron to make her new friend happy. Sylvia finds the bird nested on a branch not far from where she sits. The bird flies away and Sylvia runs home to tell the hunter where the bird is. Upon returning to her house, however, she has a change of heart and realizes that she cannot tell the hunter where the heron has gone. Though Sylvia obviously has a crush on the hunter, she allows him to go on his way without giving him the location of the heron. Though she is only a child, Sylvia has made a very adult-like choice by electing to save the life of the white heron, and not allowing herself to be coerced into confessing the bird’s whereabouts to the attractive man. Even though the hunter offered Sylvia a $10.00 reward for helping him find the heron, she still chooses to keep silent about the heron’s location. Sylvia realizes that she values life more than any reward she could receive. In William Cullen Bryant’s work, â€Å"To A Waterfowl†, the speaker views a bird in flight and seems to feel an almost spiritual connection with the bird. The speaker admires the bird’s ability to continue on its way, day or night, even with the threat of being hunted by man. The speaker says that, â€Å"All day thy wings have fann’d at that far height, the cold thin atmosphere: Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, though the dark night is near†. In this line, that speaker is almost admiring the bird’s dedication to continuing on its path until it reaches its destination, without stopping because it is tired. This gives the speaker a sense of pushing forward even when things seem hard or one is weary. The speaker watches the bird and imagines it reaching its destination and finding a â€Å"summer home, and rest†, which is the bird’s reward for its dedication. The bird disappears into the sky, and the speaker feels that the bird has been cared for by God. This thought makes the speaker realize that if God can care and provide for a bird, God can certainly guide the path of the speaker.

Lyndon Baines Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the United States (1963–69), was born in a farmhouse on the Pedernales River near Johnson City, Texas[i]. Johnson grew up amidst poverty. On both sides of his family he had a political heritage mingled with a Baptist background of preachers and teachers. He graduated (1930) from Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Southwest Texas State Univ.), in San Marcos. He taught in a Houston high school before becoming (1932) secretary to a Texas Congressman. In 1934 he married Claudia Alta Taylor and they had two daughters, Lynda Bird and Luci Baines. A staunch New Dealer, Johnson gained the friendship of the influential Sam Rayburn, at whose behest President Franklin D. Roosevelt made him (1935) director in Texas of the National Youth Administration. In 1937, Johnson won election to a vacant congressional seat, and he was consistently re-elected through 1946. Despite Roosevelt's support, however, he was defeated in a special election to the Senate in 1941. He served (1941–42) in the navy. In 1948, Johnson was elected U.S. Senator from Texas after winning the Democratic primary by a mere 87 votes. A strong advocate of military preparedness, he persuaded the Armed Services Committee to set up (1950) the Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee. Rising rapidly in the Senate hierarchy, Johnson became (1951) Democratic whip and then (1953) floor leader. As majority leader after the 1954 elections he wielded great power, exhibiting unusual skill in marshalling support for President Eisenhower’s programs. He suffered a serious heart attack in 1955 but recovered to continue his senatorial command. Johnson lost the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination to John F. Kennedy, but accepted Kennedy's offer of the vice-presidential position. Elected with Kennedy, he energetically supported the President's programs, serving as an American emissary to nations throughout the world and as chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council and of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities. After Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, Johnson was sworn in as president and announced that he would strive to carry through Kennedy's programs. Congress responded to Johnson's skilful prodding by enacting an $11 billion tax cut (Jan., 1964) and a sweeping Civil Rights Act (July, 1964). With Johnson's insistent backing, Congress finally adopted a far-reaching civil-rights bill, a voting-rights bill, a Medicare program for the aged, and measures to improve education and conservation. Elected (Nov., 1964) for a full term in a landslide over Senator Barry Goldwater, he pushed hard for his domestic program. The 89th Congress (1965–66) produced more major legislative action than any since the New Deal. During the Johnson Presidency, Medicare and Medicaid were established to provide medical insurance for those over 65 and those too poor to pay. During the Johnson Administration, the first environmental legislation was passed. A bill providing free medical care (Medicare) to the aged under Social Security was enacted, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided new safeguards for African-American voters, and more money went to antipoverty programs. The departments of Transportation and of Housing and Urban Development were added to the Cabinet. Johnson's domestic achievements were soon obscured by foreign affairs. Johnson's actions (Feb., 1965) of bombing on North Vietnam aroused widespread opposition in Congress and among the public and developed vigorous antiwar movement. As the cost of the war shot up, Congress scuttled many of Johnson's domestic programs. After Senators Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy began campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination, Johnson announced (Mar., 1968) that he would not run for reelection. When Johnson retired from office (Jan., 1969), he left the nation bitterly divided by the war. He retired to Texas, where he died [ii]. In 1964 the American people seemed to give overwhelming endorsement to his achievements. His reelection was followed by the notable series of legislative victories establishing the Great Society–the most visionary domestic program in American history. Conventional wisdom suggests that President Lyndon Baines Johnson pushed each Congress to the limit to obtain a maximum number of controversial legislative victories. Consequently, slim margins were often expected and indeed planned for. A key Johnson legislative aide, Henry Hall Wilson, made this point explicitly, â€Å"When we have a fat Congress as we did in the Eighty-ninth, then we can hike up our demands to fit the situation. When votes are not razor thin in either case, then we are not doing a good job[iii]. Johnson used just about everything in his extensive repertory to get Congress moving and excelled. According to Hugh Sidey, â€Å"During 1965, Johnson would zero in on a congress- man or a senator and get what he wanted, a good deal. He would lie, beg, cheat, steal a little, threaten, intimidate. But he never lost sight of that ultimate goal, his idea of the Great Society[iv]. Substantial preparation was required to identify that the linchpin of the whole system was â€Å"the treatment,† Johnson's personal techniques of political persuasion and political skill[v]. â€Å"A Great Society† for the American people and their fellow men elsewhere was the vision of Lyndon B. Johnson. In his first years of office he obtained passage of one of the most extensive legislative programs in the Nation's history. During World War II he served briefly in the Navy as a lieutenant commander, winning a Silver Star in the South Pacific. After six terms in the House, Johnson was elected to the Senate in 1948. In 1953, he became the youngest Minority Leader in Senate history, and the following year, when the Democrats won control, Majority Leader. With rare skill he obtained passage of a number of key Eisenhower measures. Johnson's Great Society program was designed to fight poverty in the United States. It consisted of a series of legislation, which included the Job Corps, to provide vocational training for disadvantaged youth; Volunteers in Service of America (VISTA) – a domestic Peace Corps; Head Start, to instruct disadvantaged preschoolers, among other programs. The other part of the Great Society program was the passage of civil rights legislation proposed by the Kennedy Administration. In the 1960 campaign, Johnson, as John F. Kennedy's running mate, was elected Vice President. First he obtained enactment of the measures President Kennedy had been urging at the time of his death–a new civil rights bill and a tax cut. Next he urged the Nation â€Å"to build a great society, a place where the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor.† In 1964, Johnson won the Presidency with 61 percent of the vote and had the widest popular margin in American history–more than 15,000,000 votes. The Great Society program became Johnson's agenda for Congress in January 1965, an aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, a wide-scale fight against poverty, control and prevention of crime and delinquency, removal of obstacles to the right to vote. Lyndon Johnson faced the toughest transition after Kennedy's death[vi]. Johnson had to confront the grief and despair many people felt over the loss of a beloved leader and their antagonism toward someone who, however much he identified with JFK, seemed like a usurper, an unelected, untested replacement for the man the country now more than ever saw as more suitable for the job. Johnson understood the essential need for continuity, for reassuring people at home and abroad that the new President would be faithful to the previous administration. The death of a President was trauma enough, but Kennedy's assassination made his passing a national crisis in self-confidence, a time of doubt about the durability of the country's democratic system and its tradition of non-violent political change. Despite his private fears, Johnson was an inspiration to the country. His public appearances, his use of language, his management of the press promoted feelings of continuity and unity[vii]. The hallmark of his Great Society social reform program, the War on Poverty strove to achieve what LBJ's mentor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, could not, an end to the nation's most distressing social ills and recognition that racism still divided the nation into distinct economic and social groups. For American Jews, LBJ's reformulation of New Deal liberalism into a group-based, race-sensitive political philosophy challenged long-held assumptions about the role of the state and pressed the community's organized leadership into the forefront of national public policy debate. Millions of Democratic voters registered their disapproval of LBJ by abandoning their long-time political home and bolting to the Republican Party[viii]. Johnson's cynical idealism and the unmanageable mysteries of the times converged into the early-American, frontier-style presidency that finally forced us to begin to redefine our nationhood. Lyndon Johnson was rude, intelligent, shrewd, charming, compassionate, vindictive, maudlin, selfish, passionate, volcanic and cold, vicious and generous. He played every part, he left out no emotion; in him one saw one's self and all the others. He was not an idealist, but he served ideals when it suited and pleased him. He was not a reactionary, but he fanned reaction when it helped him advance himself. He was tireless and diligent, but he was also narrowly political, and he was suspicious of new ideas. He berated intellectuals because he envied them. He was as personally responsible for American history since 1950 as any other man of his time. Throughout his career he was consolidating his private wealth by a calculating use of public power, and there is an affinity between this squalid side of his success and the corruptive commercialism in the national ethos[ix]. President Johnson's Presidency will be remembered for the â€Å"Great Society† programs for which he wanted to be remembered, and for the Vietnam War, which eventually forced his resignation. [i] On both sides of his family he had a political heritage mingled with a Baptist background of preachers and teachers [ii] Encyclopedia Article Title: Johnson, Lyndon Baines. Encyclopedia Title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Publisher: Columbia University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2004. [iii]   Doris Kearns, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream ( New York: New American Library, 1976. [iv] Merle Miller, Lyndon New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1980. [v] Bernard J. Firestone.1988.Lyndon Baines Johnson and the Uses of Power. Editor, Robert C. Vogt Publisher: Greenwood Press. Place of Publication: New York;Page Number: 7. [vi] At the height of his power as Senate leader, Johnson sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1960. When he lost to John F. Kennedy, he surprised even some of his closest associates by accepting second place on the ticket. [vii] Robert Dallek .2004.Lyndon B. Johnson: Portrait of a President. Publisher: Oxford University Press. Place of Publication: New York; Page Number: 227. [viii] ) Marc Dollinger .2001.The Other War: American Jews, Lyndon Johnson, and the Great Society. Contributors: – author. Journal Title: American Jewish History. Volume: 89. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2001. Page Number: 437+ [ix] Ronnie Dugger .1982.The Politician: The Life and Times of Lyndon Johnson the Drive for Power, from the Frontier to Master of the Senate. Publisher: W. W. Norton. Place of Publication: New York; Page Number: 13.