Saturday, November 30, 2019
Salomé by Oscar Wilde Essay Example
Salomà © by Oscar Wilde Essay The works of Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) played a prominent part in the complex and contradictory literary life of Britain at the end of the 19th century. Wilde proclaimed that dreary reality should not become the subject of Art. Consequently, he tended to enrich his own delicate, though cold poetry with references to ancient myths.Thus, the legend of Salomà © has its beginnings in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (Matthew 14: 3–11, Mark 6: 17–28). There is no doubt that Oscar Wilde was familiar with numerous treatments of Salomà © such as â€Å"Hà ©rodias†by Gustave Flaubert, the unfinished poem by Mallarme â€Å"Hà ©rodiade†and the paintings of Gustave Moreau. Heather Marcovitch states in the article â€Å"The Princess, Persona, and Subjective Desire: A Reading of Oscar Wildes Salome†states that â€Å"Wilde planned to distinguish his portrayal of Salome from those of the writers and painters before him.†(88)Indeed, The Salome of Wilde differs from her previous literary incarnations. â€Å"In Flauberts story, for instance, Herodias is the instigator of both Salomes dance and request for John the Baptists head. Salome is merely a pawn in Herodiass struggle for power with Herod in Flauberts story. Wilde, by giving Salome her own motive for dancing before Herod, gives back to the princess a measure of subjectivity that had been denied her since the Bible omitted her name from its tale of John the Baptists beheading.†(Marcovitch 88)Two other sources for Wildes treatment of the Salome legend deserve to be mentioned. Heinrich Heine, in his 1843 epic Atta Troll, invents a fantastic setting of the story: during the vision of a witches wild chase, the narrator describes how Herodias, laughing madly with desire, kisses the head of John. She had loved him, Heine continues, and had demanded his head in the heat of passion for, he asks, why would a woman want the head of any man she did not love?  This setti ng incorporates elements of the Biblical legend, but is one of the first to attribute Johns decapitation to a sexual desire on the part of the woman. Surely, this was an important forerunner of Wilde; nonetheless, as Ellmann points out, Wildes Salome is not merely a retelling of Heines tale, since the German version makes the shocking kiss into the punishment of Herodias after, not before, her death. Importantly, too, Heines ever-present irony is nowhere to be found in Wilde: Heines tone of caricature is quite unlike that of perverted horror which Wilde evokes. (Thuleen)Perhaps the most direct and at the same time least famous setting of the Salome legend comes from an American author, a contemporary of Wilde named J.C. Heywood. A young Harvard graduate, his dramatic poem Salome was published in Massachusetts in 1862, and reprinted in London throughout the 1880s. Wilde reviewed the piece in 1888, and seems to have drawn on it for some inspiration: Heywoods setting is full of erotic nuances, and has a climactic scene of Herodias kissing Johns head following his execution. Nonetheless, as Ellmann stresses, Heywoods setting of the legend pales in comparison to Wilde: to read Heywood is to come to a greater admiration for Wildes ingenuity. (Thuleen)It is important to note that Wildean charecters of Salome and Herodias are extremely vivid and very distinct while the roles of these two women are often confused in other legends.â€Å"Wilde appears to have written the bulk of Salomà © while he was in Paris, late in 1891. He completed work on it in early 1892†(Gillespie 135) â€Å"Oscar Wilde began to write Salome still enjoying, but being frustrated by, the critical attention given to his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.†(Marcovitch, 88) â€Å"Wilde saw Salome as the representation of all the unspoken impulses and desires in Dorian Gray. Yet Wilde takes his character of Salome further than he does Dorian. Not only does his Salome articulate the mot ivations that are kept concealed in Dorian Gray, but Wilde gives her a justification for her actions that he deliberately keeps ambiguous with Dorian.†(Marcovitch 89)Significantly, Wilde composed Salome, from the very beginning, in French. Some critics postulate that this fact may account for the simplistic, phrase-book language of the play; others vehemently defend Wildes fluency in his adopted tongue and prefer to see a Maeterlinck influence. The English edition of Salome was translated by Lord Alfred Douglas in 1893, although there was some contention at the time, as Wilde objected to the schoolboy faults of Douglas attempt.â€Å"Wildes choice of French places him in the interesting company of Beckford and Samuel Beckett, and in all three cases there is a correspondence between renunciation of the native language and the artists subject All three write in French because to do so is to enlist the aid of language against nature Style becomes its own subject.†(Thule en)The character of Salome is central in the play. The action develops around her: â€Å"But Salome is far more than a mere character in this play: she has become, for Wilde as for Moreau and Huysmans, an incarnation of seductive purity and power. She, like Moreaus painting, blurs the line between creation and creator, between form and content, between image and word. She exists in legend far beyond the confines of drama or poetry, and in art beyond the borders of the stage. Her ability to create, in words, a painting of Jokanaans body is but one example of the power of her speech and of her being.†(Thuleen)                             â€Å"Like Dorian, Salome is trapped in her personaan aestheticized image of herself that she projects to the publicas an object of desire. Because Salome, like Dorian, can only function as an object of desire, she is afforded no psychic space to develop subjective desire. †¦In Salome, Wilde gives us direct access to the princesss perverted desire. (And this intimate view of Salome paradoxically makes her less attractive than Dorian Gray but slightly more sympathetic.)†(Marcovitch 30)                                                                                                              Already in the openning lines of the play we see a power of contrast. Wildes language, however childish and simplistic, is metaphoric and full of opposition, attempts to negate and to recreate, to prohibit and to encourage. The quiet, dream-like statements of Narraboth, countered by the urgency of the Pages replies, are contrasted with the loud and rough jokes of soldiers, just as Salomes high-pitched, passionate entreaties to Jokanaan meet with his solemn and deep rebukes. The entirety of sounds, of language as well as intonations, calls to mind a musical performance. (Thuleen)â€Å"The Symbolist nature of Salome is an issue that sharply divides literary critics, leading to some rather polemical debates. A number of writers claim that Wilde was genuinely convinced of these poetic ideals, and that Salome is therefore a faithful symbolist drama Quigley remarks, for example, on how Wilde seems interested in exploring the outer margins of human experience, the margins at which the continuum of human experience makes contact at one end with religious transcendence and at the other with raw animality. Other critics find that the tone and plot of the play undercut the symbolism, leading to the conclusion that Salome is a brilliant pastiche of turn-of-the-century Decadent art, or that, in a nother analysis, the drama displays a humour which one can with difficulty believe to be unintentional, so much does Wildes play resemble a parody of the whole of the material used by the Decadents and of the stammering mannerism of Maeterlincks dramas. (Thuleen)I am inclined to consider the play to have symbolist nature. Here is a brief analysis of some symbols used in the play. Thus, the moon is a recurring leitmotif in the tragedy, and one of the most important symbolical referents for Wilde, and for the characters themselves. In the opening scene, the Page of Herodias and the Young Syrian discuss its appearance in metaphorical, symbolic language: the Page, in an ominous anticipation of events to come, fears that the moon seems like a woman rising from a tomb, like a dead woman looking for dead things, while the Young Syrian, ever captivated by Salome, sees the moon instead as a little princess who wears a yellow veil, and whose feet are of silver. Upon her entrance, Salome is r elieved to see the serene night and the moon, which she describes as cold and chaste.Then Herod, in yet another premonition of disaster, is distressed by the moons appearance and claims that she is like a mad woman .. seeking everywhere for lovers she reels through the clouds like a drunken woman. All of these metaphorical descriptions serve to suggest, in images as well as in words, the emotional state of each character, but they also reinforce the power of symbolism, its ability to connect and link the varied elements of the play. (Marcovitch 92) Salome can be considered as an incarnation of art. Born as she was out of a mixture of painting and literature, she incarnates the essence of art, and proves this on several occasions in the drama. When she dances and removes the seven veils, she is left not naked, but bejewelled, her body turning into a living work of art. Herods gaze is that of the spectator, the audience for whom she then dances and performs. Her ambiguity, her placem ent between eroticism and chastity, is that of the artwork itself: lifeless, yet infused with an artificial sensuality.She is, as we have seen, an artist as well: she creates and destroys, but is in the end herself a creation who meets with destruction. Salome’s dance, too, becomes a symbolic representation of her power to seduce, a fascinating blend of chastity and erotic manipulation. (Thuleen)                                                                                                         â€Å"Salomes death, noted tersely in the play as a stage direction, ultimately points to the ambivalent light in which Wilde depicts her. Wilde portrays Salome as unco ntrollable desire while also giving her motivation for such desire. In light of this ambivalence, Salomes death appears to be less a punishment for her actions than the inevitable consequence of them. Salome dies because, like Dorian Gray, a persona left unchecked cannot be sustained.And, as Dorians final hypocritical gesture towards Hetty seals his corrupt behavior, Salomes final monologue brings the expression of her desire to completion. Yet, like Dorian, Salome realizes that unbounded desire literally means that it will never be satisfied. She concedes, Neither the floods nor the great waters can quench my passion.†(Marcovitch 97)                           Many critics considered Salomà © to be nothing but plagiarism. To my mind, Oscar Wilde rethought numerous legends, poems and paintings and managed to create brilliant, unforgettable characters of his plays. Numerous critic works only str ess the genius of Wilde.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Walt Whitman Essays - Literature, Poetry, Poetic Rhythm, Rhyme
Walt Whitman Essays - Literature, Poetry, Poetic Rhythm, Rhyme Walt Whitman In my opinion the poet which best exemplifies modernism is Walt Whitman. Walt Whitmans stylistic preference is not exactly mine, but it is definitely a good example of modern poetry. He has broken down many walls of traditional poetry, using the style of long, free verse prose. In which he praises everything. It is impossible to talk about modern poetry without making any references to traditional poetry. It is not enough to say that Walt Whitman is a pioneer in modern poetry. We must explain what walls he and other poets have broken. When I speak of traditional poetry one name always comes to mind, that name is William Shakespeare. When I study Shakespeares work, especially his sonnets I see exactly what traditional poetry is. It is exact and precise in its rhyme scheme, meter, and length. All of Shakespeares sonnets are fourteen lines long, with an ABAB (CDCD EFEF GG) rhyme scheme. The syllables in each verse of the poem are exact and in a pattern. Traditional poets thinks of life occurrences are dictated by fate, taking the control away from the people. Modern day poets try to break down these stylistic restrictions by using different types of rhyme, meter and length or sometimes none at all. Walt Whitman has definitely cut the red tape in poetry. Every restriction I have mentioned he has changed and disregarded. For instance, Whitman does not believe in pre-destination or fate. In essence he believes that the world is what you make of it. He also finds good in everything. To him death is as good as life. Taking a shower is equally as good as smelling horribly. He saw nothing wrong with anything yet he celebrated everything around him. I myself am a fan of Shakespeare and Whitmans train of thought is bogus to me. But these are the examples of how he has broken away from the styles of the old. To express his ideas he does not use the typical short-rhyme scheme but uses instead very lengthy verses that do not rhyme. A poem by Walt Whitman, which is a perfect example of this rebellion towards the traditional styles of poetry, is Song of Myself. Whitman lovers regard this poem as one of the best. It is also one of his most anthologized pieces. The reason for this is probably because it is a perfect example of modern poetry. It is a poem that spans over one thousand three hundred forty five lines of free-verse prose. In the poem Whitman addresses many topics and confronts them with the same attitude, everything is all good. He speaks of life, death, religion, sex and himself. I personally dont understand how Walt Whitman found good in all things without finding anything bad. In my view of life, I cant find one without the other. In conclusion, by the reason stated, I believe that Walt Whitman is the epidemy of modern poetry. He is one of the founding fathers of this relatively new style of writing poetry and is one of the respecting leaders of the art form. Assignment #2 Option #3
Friday, November 22, 2019
Marketing Plan Assignment Sample
Marketing Plan Assignment Sample Marketing Plan Assignment Sample Marketing plan assignment sample is worked out to provide an example of the plan that will help to define the further directions of the company and identify its primary needs to achieve the stated aims. Marketing plan consists of the particular sections that include: market research (gathering and classifying the current data about the market of the the organization as well as its dynamics, customers, competition, and the current sales volume for the industry as a whole), market plan strategies (include advertising, direct marketing, training programs, trade shows, website), marketing plan budget (means that top managers need to review their current financial situation), and marketing goals (monitoring of the marketing plan results). Besides, the organization needs to identify the strategies that are working and those that are not working. Before performing the marketing analysis, an understanding of the core term has to be achieved. Thus, market research means gathering and classifying the current data about the market of the organization. Besides, a short introduction to the company itself has to be performed. The company PeopleAhead works with the improvement of the career advancement. Particularly, it provides a basis for the potential employees to find, advance, and develop the careers they already have by sharing their aims, holding conversations on their professional opportunities and development plans, and communication with other professionals in the related areas. On the basis of the examining of the market dynamics, customers, and the current sales volume for the industry as a whole, it has been revealed that the company currently helps people with the career advancement and improve the human capital in the organizations. The website of the company acts as a networking platform for the professionals and career matching. The market dynamics is reported to be positive. Besides, the company has its constant customers and productive sales. The examining of the competition will be focused on the small and medium businesses as these entities are underserved by the great competitors in the online recruitment market. Simultaneously, such choice stems from the fact that this demographic has a less effective recruitment procedure that would cause advantages mostly from the services of PeopleAhead. Within this segment, the HR managers are responsible for the sourcing of the applicants. The market plan strategies are the following: the company will become the leader of the career advancement online service where people would create a history and establish the connections in the place that would make the company a staple among the chosen websites. The company will deliver the professional development and the career opportunities to provide people with the opportunity to create the professional records and useful career advancement instruments. The marketing plan budget is the following: the overall cost structure would include the administrative and general operating expenses, the sales agent salaries, and marketing. The first year, marketing monthly costs are considered to be $6,250. Monthly overhead is expecting to achieve $24,750 and be constant. The marketing goals are: to use the brand matching technology; to establish a critical mass of the customers; to drive the traffic to the site through the marketing blitzes; and to start using the word-of-mouth advertising from the satisfied customers. Monitoring of the marketing plan results has to be performed as well. At you can buy a custom marketing plan online. All you need is to fill in the order form at your site.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Literary analysis of The Darling written by Anton Chekhov Research Paper
Literary analysis of The Darling written by Anton Chekhov - Research Paper Example On receiving the telegram informing her of his death, Olga is devastated. For some time she is lonely and heart-broken. She then meets Pustovalov, a timber merchant who helps Olga to get over the loss of Kukin. She begins to like him and marries him. Once again Olga adopts his beliefs and opinions as she did when she was married to Kukin. She finds happiness for the second time. But a tragedy strikes again as Pustovalov is struck by illness, from which he never recovers. After Pustovalov’s death, Olga has an affair with Smirnin, a veterinary surgeon. Smirnin who is separated from his wife has a son. This time too Olgas views are the views of Smirnin. Meanwhile Smirnin gets relocated, and Olga again is alone. She stays alone for many years and continues to have no views or opinions of her own. Few years later, Smirnin returns with his wife and son and looks for a place to stay. Olga offers them her place. She begins to love Smirnins son, Sasha, as her own child. Once again, Olg a finds someone to love, and gets a chance to share views and opinions. However Sasha feels suffocated by her excessive love. At the end of the story we find that Olga has no intellectual life that she can call her own. She is always agreeing and following the opinions and views of the persons she loves. She does not have any personality of her own and finds happiness in reflecting the beliefs of her husbands or lovers. Olga is shown as trying to fill her empty life with the love, thoughts, views opinions of others. So it can be said that the story is a negative commentary on the life of a woman who has no identity of her own but only reflects the beliefs and opinions of others. Chekhov’s short stories and plays usually do not have strong plots and focus more on characterization than action. Olga is the protagonist of the story. She is attractive, compassionate and eager to help people. She cannot make up her mind on any
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Living With Dementia in Nursing Home Dissertation
Living With Dementia in Nursing Home - Dissertation Example ENGDAHL (2013) explains dementia as a kind of illness that is caused by brain disorder. It is caused by failure of some parts of the brain to function properly. The actual cause of failure of the brain functioning is not yet established by the scientists. There is not specific cure of dementia, while its severity intensifies with age. Victims of dementia have problems with thinking and remembering things clearly. Communicating and day to day chores among the victims is also a problem. As elaborated by ELSEVIER (2015) in the book - Confusion and dementia, people living with dementia are also prone to depression, mood swings and cases of aggressiveness. Due to the aspect of forgetting, people suffering from dementia may easily get lost or forget direction, hence going wandering. Over the years, scientists have been studying on the actual cause of the disease, but all in vain. Lack of the appropriate cure of dementia has been a major challenge in the health sectors. However, nursing department has created hope to the issue. The home nursing department has come up with various ways that can be implemented to mitigate the effects of dementia to the victims. These can be summed as living well with dementia in nursing home (CLARKE 2011). The nursing department explains how these patients worsen with age, and the need for personal care and close monitoring of the victims to ensure that their lives are not endangered.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Cultural Dimensions Essay Example for Free
Cultural Dimensions Essay Culture is one of those terms that have no specific definition because of its diverse nature. It can be looked at from any point of view. However, a basic definition that includes all the important aspects of a culture is ‘the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations’ (Webster, 2008). Culture is very important if one wants to study a society. It can tell a lot about different aspects of the society and this is the reason why different countries deal with issues differently. This paper will outline and discuss the cultures of China, Saudi Arabia and United States of America and will show how, because of differences in cultures, issues like strategy, team communications, influence tactics, conflict management etc are dealt differently in these countries. Towards the end, recommendations to avoid cross cultural differences will be outlined. United States of America The population of United States of America is very diverse. It has people from many backgrounds. However in general, the American culture is said to be one of the most individualistic culture in the world. This means that people are less integrated in forms of groups. They do not depend on each other and are more concerned about themselves than about others. The country also has a higher than world average score for masculinity. This means that there is differentiation between genders to some extent in the American culture. On the other hand, the score in power distance dimension shows that there are not many differences in societal levels. This can be seen in organizational, family or governmental settings. People expect that power will be distributed equally to a greater extent even if someone is lower in the level of hierarchy. Besides this, the score on uncertainty avoidance is also lower than the world average. This means that people are tolerant to uncertainty and there are few rules and regulation present to control results (Hofstede, 2003). One important characteristic about the work culture in United States is that hard work and integrity is appreciated and also, punctuality is valued. Both mean and women are expected to dress according to the surroundings, situation and weather. The culture does not promote or support gift giving in business as it may be considered as bribe (International Business Center, 2003). As mentioned above, because of the cultures individualistic nature, privacy is valued. The lifestyle in general is causal and informal. Americans believe in voicing their opinions and although this direct speaking is sometimes considered as rude in other cultures, it is totally normal among Americans (American Graduate Education, 2007). From the above details, we can tell a lot about how issues like strategy, team communications, influence tactics and conflict management get affected. Since people believe in voicing their opinions, the strategy is usually bold. In addition to this, since any kind of strategy requires its actors to put in all the effort they can possible put in. Be it in an organization, government or even in one’s personal life. The team communication is very effective because of the low power distance characteristic and informal nature of the American culture. The belief that the power distributed to everyone is equal and the informal nature in groups inhibits any kind of barrier in effective teamwork. Gift giving or anything close to bribery is considered very insulting and inappropriate therefore this approach is not widely used in influence tactics. Conflict management is usually done openly without an arbitrator or a third party (American Graduate Education, 2007). As mentioned above, Americans believe in voicing their opinions so this plays a major role in conflict management strategies used nationwide. In order to remove the communication barriers, in my opinion, one would not have to change much about himself because of the presence of a diverse cultures in the population. However, it is suggested that English is used to communicate any kind of verbal information as this is understood and accepted by almost everyone (American Graduate Education, 2007). Regarding dressing, one is suggested to dress appropriately considering the time of the day, weather, occasion and gathering. China Now we come to the Chinese culture. The culture of the people of China is very different from the American culture just discussed above and it is said to be the exact opposite of the America culture. In fact, the Chinese culture is very different, unique and peculiar if one compares it with the rest of the cultures in the world. It is difficult to understand for those who are not a part of it however one does not need to completely understand it before blending in (Think Quest, 1998). We will now look into this in detail. We can prove the above hypothesis correct by comparing the individualism dimension of the American and Chinese cultures. Unlike the America culture, the people of china are very collectivistic. They are integrated tightly, they look after each other and they are highly dependable on the people around them. This can be seen in their family structures and organization values etc. Both the Chinese and American cultures are similar when it comes to the Masculinity dimension. They both score approximately 68 on a scale of 1 to 100. This again is higher than the world average which means that there are slightly more differences between genders in the Chinese culture compared to the rest of the world. The uncertainty avoidance is slightly higher than United States which means people are more tolerable to not have complete information as compare to the American culture. The fourth dimension of Power Distance is also quite higher than the United States meaning that people expect more differences in organizational hierarchies. The American score on Power distance was 45 while the Chinese score is 85 therefore one can imagine the amount of differences in the structures of organizations, governmental institutions and families etc. One major difference is in the long term orientation dimension of the two cultures. While the American culture was more on the lower side of this dimension, the Chinese culture is known to have the highest ranking factor when it comes to long term orientation. These means that people tend to overcome obstacles with time and not with will and strength (Hofstede, 2003). Some other important details of the Chinese culture include being used to the communist form of government. The Chinese culture is very hospitable and accepts people from all backgrounds. Since there is no one particular religion that is followed in the country, anyone can adjust easily (International Business Center, 2003). All these cultural characteristics largely influence many issues in business. For instance any strategy usually requires everyone to stick together and work collectively because of the collectivistic nature of the culture and also teamwork is very effective as people realize that they are dependent on each other. However, because of high power distance, both strategy and team communication is affected. Communication within team becomes more broken as it has to be passed through several levels of hierarchy. The cultural values are imbedded in the he influence tactics. For example these tactics project the idea of togetherness as it is evident from their advertisements that promote family ties and bonds etc (Lin, 2001). The approach to conflict management is including a third party to settle issues. In order to remove the communication barriers, a few things need to be kept in mind. Firstly, it is suggested to not use too much of hand movements as this distracts the audience. Besides this, there are other non verbal gestures that must be avoided. For instance pointing finger may be considered rude therefore such things must be kept in mind in order to ensure effective communication. English is understood widely in the corporate world therefore this is preferred after Chinese of course (International Business Center, 2003). Saudi Arabia Now we will start discussion on the culture of the last country of the paper. This country has also been selected to be studied because of its different and unique culture. The Chinese and Arabian Cultures are similar in the power distance dimension of their cultures. Unlike the American Cultures, the high power distance ranking indicates the inequality of wealth throughout the Arab world. Because of this, the rich of course have more power than the poor. The uncertainty avoidance dimension of the Arabian culture is also very different from the Chinese and the American cultures. While the Chinese and Americans ranked lower than world average on the uncertainty avoidance ranking, the Arabian culture has a higher score in this dimension. Meaning that people do not tolerate uncertainty at all and this can be the reason why there are so many rules, policies and regulations are implemented in the country. Surprising as it may sound, the Arabian culture scored low on the masculinity dimension considering all the restrictions on the Arabian women etc. The score was 52 which is only slightly higher than the world average. The reason for low masculinity ranking could be that all the restrictions on the women of the country are because of the religion and not the culture. The Arabian culture, like the Chinese culture, is more collectivistic. It had an average ranking of 38 which is way lower than that of the American culture and also the world average for that matter. This means people prefer to stick together and remain integrated (Hofstede, 2003). The Arabic culture is largely shaped by its history and religion (Saudi Embassy, 2006). Therefore history, religion and language are valued the most in the Arabian culture. These cultural characteristics affect many practical issues. The strategy devised by Arabs in any situation usually calls for people to remain cohesive. Also because of high uncertainty avoidance, there are many rules, regulations and policies that must be followed. Because of high power distance, like the Chinese culture, effective team communication is affected. But on the other hand, this is compensated for because of collective nature of the culture. The influence tactics are devised keeping the religion in mind. Anything such as bribery or use of women models in advertisements are avoided because this is against Islam. Conflicts are also managed according to the rules of Shari’ah which is the Islamic or Sacred Law (Hooker, 1996). Also, because of the collectivistic nature of the culture a third party is often included in managing conflicts. There are many cultural traits that must be kept in mind in order to improve communication. Firstly, one must keep in mind that during communication, anything he says or does not offend or insult Islam. The people are very sensitive when it comes to the religion therefore one must dress, talk and behave appropriately. There are certain non verbal gestures that are considered offensive such as the thumbs up sign and crossing of legs etc. Therefore one should avoid these. Arabic is preferred by the people there therefore it is preferred is one communicates or at least uses some words from Arabic. One must not ask too many questions are the inquisitive one is considered as the most unimportant and lastly, if an Arab offers a gift, not accepting it may be considered offensive (International Business Center, 2003). References American Graduate Education (2007) U. S. American Culture Values. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from American Graduate Education. Web site: http://www. americangraduateeducation. com/folder2/subfolder2/americanculture. htm Hofstede, G. (2003). China- Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Geert Hofstede. Web site: http://www. geert-hofstede. com/hofstede_china. shtml Hofstede, G. (2003). United States of America- Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Geert Hofstede. Web site: http://www. geert-hofstede. com/hofstede_united_states. shtml Hofstede, G. (2003). Arab World- Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Geert Hofstede. Web site: http://www. geert-hofstede. com/hofstede_arab_world. shtml Hooker, R. (1996) Shariah- Sacred law. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Washington State University. Web site: http://www. wsu. edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/SHARIA. HTM International Business Center. (2003). China. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Cybor Link. Web site: http://www. cyborlink. com/besite/china. htm International Business Center. (2003). United States of America. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Cybor Link. Web site: http://www. cyborlink. com/besite/us. htm International Business Center. (2003). Saudi Arabia. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Cybor Link. Web site: http://www. cyborlink. com/besite/saudi-arabia. htm Lin, C, A. (2001) Cultural values reflected in Chinese and American television advertising. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from All Business. Web site: http://www. allbusiness. com/professional-scientific/advertising-related-services/836806-1. html Merriam Webster (2008) Culture. Retrieved 1 Oct, 2008, from Merriam Webster. Web site: http://www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/culture%5B1%5D Saudi Embassy. (2006) Culture. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Saudi Embassy. Web site: http://www. saudiembassy. net/Country/Culture/Cul. asp Think Quest (1998) Destiny, the Culture of China. Retrieved Oct 1, 2008, from Think Quest. Web site: http://library. thinkquest. org/20443/living. html
Thursday, November 14, 2019
School, Education, Wisdom and My Life :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay
School, Education, Wisdom and My Life One day in class, I was asked what I "know about", and how what I "know about", relates to me today, in my life, as I am living it. Well, this is an account of whether or not I know anything at all. If I do know something, I'll make clear of how it is connected with me. If I come to the conclusion that I don't know anything at all, then I'll write about something else, if I know what I'm writing about. I shall base this narrative around me, starting from birth, and concluding it with the now and present. This I know I'll do because I have told you I will. And I try not to lie. On an early evening of October the fifth, 1978, I, John Moren was born to an average, eight pound, five ounce body. How do I know this? First, I have hospital records to prove it, and second, I do not believe my parents would lie to me about something so monumental, such as my birth. At this time in my life, if someone were to ask me if I knew anything, I wouldn't know who they were, who I was, where I was, or what that gibberish was that was coming out of that hole in their face. I also wouldn’t know what a face or hole was. Starting off well, wouldn't you say? I was then transported off somewhere with some people, but I was happy because whatever it was that I was wearing stank of something ripe and everyone kept making funny faces. After countless hours of repetition, I finally came to realization that one of these huge beasts was mama, and the other was dada. The next couple of years, I am told, were spent learning how to walk, learning how to talk, learning how to peeâ₠¬ ¦. Well, I always knew how to pee, but it was always in my pants. Among these amazing astonishment’s, I learned how to get into trouble, and get out of it with my charming eyes and goo-goo ga-ga’s. So at this point in my life, I knew a couple of things, but I didn’t know why I knew them. It just helped out. I soon started hearing things about school and was told I'd be there for a Long time. YA HOO! In my mind, I was thinking of a place where they sent all kids to be branded and molded into something suitable for the real world.
Monday, November 11, 2019
Kodak Company Essay
Eastman Kodak Company, commonly known as Kodak is an American multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquartered in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1889. Kodak is best known for photographic film products. During most of the 20th century Kodak held a dominant position in this sector. In fact, Eastman Kodak Co. is one of the dominant market share holders within the camera and other photography-related industries. Kodak pioneered amateur photography and is often credited for the invention of roll film and the first camera. The markets for color film and color photofinishing in 1954 were controlled by Kodak. It had over 90% of the amateur color negative film market. In 1994, Kodak appeals to court to terminate 1921 and 1954 decrees that restrict pricing policies. Moreover, fifteen years ago, Kodak was the fourth most valuable brand in the world after Disney, Coca-Cola and Microsoft, but today, the company has totally sunk. Indeed, on January 19, 2012, the company filed for bankruptcy. We will first discuss about the termination of the 2 decrees and then, try to find out what went wrong in the company that lead to bankruptcy. Finally, we will discuss about the changes I would have made if I was the CEO of Kodak in order to avoid such an end. Question 1: What are the decrees affecting Kodak’s actions? Why were they put into place? Two decrees affecting Kodak’s actions had been put into place, in 1921and then in 1954. According to the first decree, Kodak had to stop imposing different forms of dealing contracts on retailers, divest all of the acquired firms, license its photofinishing processes and technically assist anybody willing to start a photofinishing business. The decree’s main goal was to provide better conditions for healthy competition in the photo industry. With the development of the color film market, Kodak became its unique leader. The company sold its color film only as a package together with processing. Thus, by bundling the cost of film and processing, Kodak effectively monopolized the photofinishing industry. This resulted in the second decree which placed a permanent restriction on Kodak from bundling the sale of its color films to the photofinishing process. It also required Kodak to divest itself of some of its photo labs. Thus, the decrees of 1921 and 1954 had facilitated the development of a competitive market for the sale of films as well as processing. The decrees against Kodak aimed to limit its market power and prevent monopolization of the photographic industry. Question 2: Who are the competitors for Kodak? What market share does Kodak have compared to its rivals? What competitive advantages does Kodak have? Kodak’s competitors are as follow: Fuji, Konica, Agfa and 3M. These are the four firms manufacturing and selling camera film in the US. However, despite a subtle difference in the quality of film, Kodak’s sales considerably exceed the ones of its competitors even though the prices charged by the company are generally higher. According to court, Kodak’s sales in dollar terms constitute about 75% of all the film sales in the US. About 241,000 major retailers provide Kodak film, while only about 71,000 provide its nearest rival, Fuji, even though its prices are reported to be 10% lower. As for the other competitors, their market share is relatively small: Konica accounts for only 4% of sales, Agfa for 3% and 3M for 8%. Kodak’s market share also increased thanks to several acquisitions it made; the most important one was the acquisition of Qualex in 1994 that currently accounts for 70% of all the wholesale macro lab photofinishing market in the US. The main co mpetitive advantage that Kodak has is the consumers ’trust and loyalty: despite much higher prices, 50% of consumers will only buy Kodak film, while 40% will prefer to purchase Kodak products. Moreover, the company also provides various incentives to those retailers who sell extra or only Kodak film. Question 3: What is the relevant geographic product market for film? According to the definition, a relevant product market includes â€Å"all those products which are regarded as interchangeable or substitutable by the consumer by reason of the products characteristics, their prices and their intended use†. We can presume that the relevant market for film includes all of the five firms: Kodak, Fuji, Konica, Agfa and 3M. However, not all of these firms’ products are viewed as fully interchangeable and substitutable by the consumer as stated in the definition. According to statistics, about 50% of consumers will only buy Kodak film despite of substantial price increases. This phenomenon indicates the consumers’ adamant belief in the superior quality of Kodak film. There were two different viewpoints on the relevant geographic product market for film discussed in the case. According to the district court, the relevant geographic market for film is worldwide, since foreign manufactures sell considerable amounts of film in the United States and Kodak’s market share is only 36% globally. However, the government argues that this determination is wrong and that the relevant geographic market in this case should be limited to the United States. The main explanation here is that a relevant geographic market comprises an area where the firm can exercise the market power. Taking into consideration the fact that Kodak charges much higher prices in the US comparing to other countries, the relevant geographic market for this case can be identified as the United States. Question 4: What evidence does the government provide that Kodak still maintains significant market power in the United States ? First of all, according to the government, Kodak had engaged in geographical price discrimination against its United States customers. The evidence shows that Kodak charges a higher price for its film in the United States than it charges for the same film in other parts of the world. The prices that Kodak sets within the US are normally above the competitive levels. This, as the government states, is one of the proofs that Kodak exercises market power in the United States. Another important thing is the US customers’ strong preference for Kodak film and the resulting premium price that Kodak is able to obtain for its film in this country. Despite the price disparity, Kodak still continues to maintain 67%-75% share in the US. However, the evidence shows that the quality of Kodak film is not better than its rivals’ film quality. The last item evidence relied upon by the government to support a finding that Kodak has market power within the United States is the fact that Kodak’s own elasticity of demand is two. According to the government, an own elasticity of two indicates that Kodak is earning excessive profits from its film. This, as the government states, is strong evidence that Kodak exercises market power in the United States. The significance of an own elasticity of two, in the government’s view, is that it indicates that the sales price of Kodak film is twice the short-run marginal cost. Thus, from Kodak’s own elasticity of two, the government concludes that Kodak is exercising significant market power in the United States. Question 5: What risks are associated with terminating the decrees? More specifically, what actions might Kodak take that would hurt competition or unfairly hurt competitors? Terminating the decrees will definitely have some negative impacts and can seriously hurt the competition. It will provide Kodak with many relatively cheap ways to exclude competitors, such as introducing various price reductions and discounts, which the company can afford due to high sales volumes and profit margins. However, the same offers will be too expensive for the rivals, which might drive some of them out of business and only increase Kodak’s market share. Termination of the 1954 decree will again allow Kodak to bundle the sale of its film to photofinishing, as it did before and will involve some serious risks as well. As it has been admitted by the company, one of its main goals is improving its bargaining position with retailers. Since Kodak already enjoys market power over the film it sells to retailers, the termination of the decree will only strengthen its film monopoly and make it even more challenging for the rivals to compete. Thus, it is unlikely that termina ting the decrees and allowing bundles will benefit the competition in any way. Question 6: It was reported that Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection on January 2012. Please provide your comments on the failure of Kodak. If you were CEO of this company, what would you transform and reorganize in the company in the past decade? On January 19, 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection. The company was doing very well since its beginning in 1889, it was number one and above all, the consumers liked this brand. So, what exactly went wrong? What exactly lead a leader company in digital imaging and photography to bankruptcy? According to many people, economists, businessmen or just consumers, Kodak was killed by one thing, which is the digital camera revolution and an incompetent management that avoided embracing the innovations and changes to their market. In fact, rather than diversifying their product portfolio, they got stuck in cameras and printing and even then, did a poor job of innovating in both fronts. For most of the 20th century, Kodak was one of the largest producers of film for both still and motion picture cameras and it stuck with that business model even after the advent of digital cameras made its films, chemicals and papers obsolete. Kodak watched the market for amateur photography shrink for 30 years ; yet, management consistently made decisions trying to defend and extend the historical market rather than move the company into faster growing, more profitable opportunities. The irony of Kodak’s decline, however, lies in the fact that the company’s own researchers had invented the first digital camera way back in 1976. That should have put Kodak in a position to dominate the industry with a stream of new products such as cameras, printers, printer papers and inks, just as it had in the old days. But it never happened. Despite the fact that Kodak invented much of the technology for digital photography, its leaders chose to license it to others rather than develop the market because they feared cannibalizing existing sales. Indeed, why would they risk reducing their high sales volume, their sales revenue or market share by introducing new products when the business is going perfectly? But they were wrong to think like that because it led them to their end. Kodak had been such a beloved brand for so long that its executives thought Americans would never desert it. By the time they woke up to the fact that film sales were dropping precipitously, it was already too late because the digital revolution was in full swing. There again, Kodak found itself behind the curve after its executives failed to anticipate how rapidly and completely the new devices would transform the photography market. Thus, the Kodak problem is that it did not move into the digital world well enough and fast enough. The former  « king of photography  » failed to reinvent itself in the digital age. So, Kodak’s failure was entirely due to strategic decisions either avoided or made poorly. As a result, from 2003 to 2010, Kodak reduced its workforce by 50,000 employees and closed 13 of its 15 film plants and 130 photo labs. By the end of 2011 it was rapidly running out of cash, its market share had plunged and its stock was selling for just 54 cents a share. The company found itself reduced to selling off its patents simply in order to stay afloat. In this kind of business, I think that the success is related to one simple thing which is innovation. As a CEO, the most important thing is to know when and how to do some changes in the business ; so, first of all, if I was the CEO, I would have changed the management team and hired people who were more open to innovation and who did not fear changes and were ready to take risks in order to achieve a better position and at the same time increase sales, revenue and market share. Then, the company was already leading since its foundation so if I was the CEO back then, in order to keep that high position in the photography and digital imaging sector, I would have always sought new technologies and innovations to always be one step ahead of competition. Even if sometimes innovating can be a failure it will never be worse than getting stuck with the same products for ages. Innovation is the key to success, but in order to make the innovation a success, it is essential to know the customers’ expectations and adapt the products to their need. By better meeting consumers demand, the innovation of new products is unlikely to fail. Furthermore, Kodak already had the consumer’s trust and loyalty which was a plus to its success. If we took into consideration the fact that photography became part of the daily life because of the phones; that half of the camera users did not know anything about photography; that printing pictures became less and less common because of social medias; that thanks to digital cameras, people took unlimited amount of pictures and most of those pictures went directly into social medias such as Facebook, Twitter†¦ It would have been intelligent and profitable to produce new products facilitating a ll of the previously mentioned elements years ago before bankruptcy and before competitors.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Background of Daoism and Confucianism in China and its Influences
Confucianism has been very essential in the preservation of the Chinese civilization. It is embodied by the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, supported by the followers until the modern ages. The Neo-Confucianists of the Sung and the Ming periods instilled some teachings of Daoism’s naturalism (Wen-shun, p. 123) Confucianism shaped the national character of what we know as the China of today. It has also permeated the aspect of the society which involves family, arts and literature, and all the virtues of human relationship.All that embraces the Confucian teachings worked in two ways. It affected the ideologies and way of thinking of the writers who still follow the tradition, and even those who are not into it. Daoism took over the disordered state of the country, where there is man’s disappointments in his personal life, which can be associated to worldliness. On the other hand, Confucianism came victorious in times of tranquility and success (Wu-Chi, 1990, p. 4) Th e western beliefs contribute to the deviation of the anti-Confucian literary artists who influence a lot the people of China.Even the normal people of the modern times instill to them the reasons of not inclining themselves anymore on the Confucian dogma. Because of these western influences, the influence exerted by Confucianism in modern China has gone lower dramatically. The promotion of science in modernization, together with the growth of democratic thoughts made Confucianism unsuitable to modern China (Wen-Shun, 1992, p. 200). Still, many political thinkers agree, like for example, Ch’en, that dealing with modernization does not require involvement of the western or any foreign ideas.China’s modern world has increasing debates whether the influence of Confucianism has a negative impact on the country’s economic development. Confucianism teaches that the profit orientation of a government or a society negates virtue, which is emphasized by capitalism. Confuc ius continues in his articulation against the capitalistic China that he would not engage himself on such wrongdoings even if it is for the betterment of the society (Killion, 2006, p. 32). Daoism thrives on achievement of perfection against the politics of imperial administration (Woodhead, 2001, p.93).Perfection is equated to immortality; the ‘dao’ or ‘The Way’ being the force of the universe where people are inclined to be one to it. Dao is a metaphysical, at the same time, philosophical conception, which is synonymous to the ‘nature’ being used by the Greeks. The meaning creates thinking about generation and regeneration which controls the existence of things in the moral influence. In Confucianism, the principle of the ‘heavenly order’ is emphasized, while in Daoism, it is only ‘The Way’ itself.Daoism created a number of hermetic traditions. In addition to it, the traditions of the lay liturgy have also been influ enced. The highlight of their teachings is on the exorcism and healing. Under the emperors, these teachings were approved, and have turned from a heart of texts to a canon law. The presence of Daoism in the China today does not articulate optimistic speculation that the age-old Daoism has come back in the modern China. They have no doubt that it is still the Daoism in the past that revolves around China in the modern times.There is a struggle against the anti-religious policies and government officials who create misinterpretations of the Daoism dogma. The Chinese local culture has been influenced by Daoism, that it lives in every home. The negative aspect is that the local policies and the openness of controlling these local policies control the balance regarding the religion’s existence. Even so, Daoism influence the school systems and the medical systems in China that leads them to the road of modernization (Pui-tak, 2006, p. 47). It still lives in the rural areas of China , although many Daoists are being oppressed by the government.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
What to do about the drunk driver. essays
What to do about the drunk driver. essays We are not going to stop people from drinking, so the goal is to stop those that have been, from driving. The most effective means of accomplishing this is to create a negative public perception of the act as being socially unacceptable, much as has occurred with cigarette smoking over the past ten years or so. We need to concentrate on educating our youth to the dangers of drinking and driving, and make the completion of such education a stringent requirement of obtaining a drivers license. This emphasis on prevention of the problem by changing attitudes would yield the greatest long-term results. I believe the existing laws are sufficiently clear and fair enough to effectively address the issue from a legal standpoint. There should, however be some modification of the existing enforcement and penalties in order to strengthen their deterrent effect. The severity of punishment should be to the extent that non alcohol-dependent individuals would not be willing to take the risk, and in fact take precautionary actions to avoid the possibility. After the first offense, a comprehensive evaluation should be made of each person convicted of DUI, as to whether they fit pre established criteria that indicate a probability they are alcohol or drug dependent. I dont think the thought of potential consequences has much effect on an alcohol-dependent person, and any person identified as such should not be allowed to regain a drivers license without substantive evidence of successful abstinence and recovery. The burden of proof should rest on the offender, in order for them to ever regain a license. An individual deemed non alcohol-dependent would have their license suspended for a specific period. Both categories would also face jail time and fines. Conviction of a second offense would carry an automatic assumption that the person wa ...
Monday, November 4, 2019
Business Essays – Commercial Domestic Cleaning
Business Essays Commercial Domestic Cleaning Commercial Domestic Cleaning Business Description This is the perfect time to starting this new venture after patiently searching for nine months for the perfect location, finally we realise we could use our own house as an office. Our business is locate in Gateshead and our cleaning contractors cover Gateshead, Newcastle and Sunderland. The demand from the owners clients as well as the ambitions of the owner to one day start his own business will make this business to be one of greatest and potencial business in the region. Business Idea Avelino Family Commercial Domestic Cleaning and Ironing Service is a full cleaning service dedicated to consistently providing high customer satisfaction by providing the best possible highest standards office, domestic cleaning and ironing service at an acceptable price and value relationship. We also will maintain a friendly, fair, and good working environment which respects, ideas and hard work. The key to success in archiving our busine ss goal are: Genuine client care Attention to detail Commitment to our work and customers Providing an environment conducive to giving relaxing and professional service We are dedicated not just to meeting our customer’s expectation, but rather exceeding them. AFCD cleaning service has the Experience, Expertise and Resources to provide the best value contract cleaning service. Management Bedrooms – hoover and wipe the floors, clean door, light switches and skirting boards, clean mirrors, dust all surfaces, wash windows inside; Living room – dust and polish all surfaces, clean windows inside, mirrors and pictures, wipe skirting boards, light switches and door frame, hoover and mop the floor; Bathrooms – scrub and discalce bath and showers, sinks, shower doors and tiles, wipe all surfaces, clean mirrors, wash inside windows, scrub and disinfect toilets, hoover and wash floors; Entrance area and stairs – hoover and wash (if necessary) floor and stairs, wipe skirting boards, entrance door and light switches. Offices – cleaning all desks, hoover and mop the floor. Unique Features A a sole trader I will run my business, with a good eye for detail, that as got the experience of years in the business and knowing what my customers needs are. The AFCD cleaning service staff are highly trained in all aspects of cleaning to a very high standard, and are fully vetted, honest, reliable, friendly, uniformed staff so if customers are tied of housework or to busy with work! want their evenings and weekends back, well let AFCD cleaning service take the work out of housework, so they can relax of an evening, or just enjoy they weekends having fun, while we leave they home spick n span.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Project Part 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Project Part 3 - Assignment Example The purpose of this paper is to present all the text content that will be used in Anna Bridal boutique website and to highlight the web pages that will be needed to implement the site. This web page will provide an outline of the benefits that accrue to a site visitor who opts to register or create an account with the website. Moreover, it will include a link to a user registration page for visitors who wish to create accounts. This page will highlight and provide links leading to different pages like web forum, catalogue or reservations. Forums page will provide visitors with a means to hold online discussions pertaining to various issues like fashion trends. Catalogue page Allows customers to search for and accumulate a list of items for purchase and place orders. Reservations page will contain an online form to be filled by visitors who have intentions of visiting the premises of Anna Bridal boutique as a strategy to help the management to curb overcrowding at the shop. This page will have links to newsletters, promotions and previews pages of the site. Newsletters page will display a form prompting users to provide their email addresses so as to receive regular newsletters via the supplied addresses. Promotions page will display items that are under promotion please a detailed description of what the promotions entails. Previews section will provide a preview of the stocked items specifically item name, price and availability. This page will contain links to FAQ, search and sitemap pages. FAQ page will enlist all frequently asked questions posted by visitors to the site. Search page will provide a search form for a visitor to enter a search term if interested in getting specific items. Sitemap page will enlist all pages of the Anna Bridal boutique website which are accessible to website users and
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