Key Words in Marketing (Customer Relationship Management) Essay

Key Words in Marketing (Customer Relationship Management) - Essay Example In the discussion section of the essay, the way how CRM evolved in the marketing and benefits of this mechanism in the marketing field have been explained. Customer Relationship Management The marketing concept of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) implies an unconventional strategic initiative to align organisational goals with the customers’ expectations and preferences. With the adoption of this process, the companies tend to improve their transparency commitment towards the customers and attain substantial competitive advantages through their understanding of customer likings accurately. With the collection of data, the companies can also design better strategies for developing the consumer behaviour and therefore, stimulating a change in the overall marketing trend. Today, when the market diversity has become a major challenge owing to globalisation effects and technology advancements have made communication processes more effective as well as complex, understanding t he various segments in the market and serving the customer effectively has become a major factor of concern for modern day companies. It is in this context that the concept of CRM has gained considerable importance among modern business firms that binds all the aforementioned factors in a strategically oriented and objective-driven manner (Kamakura et al., 2005). The major benefit that a company can derive from the adoption of CRM is the analysis of the long term relation to be developed with the present and probable customers and also move ahead with an intention for increasing the profit margin and sales of the company. CRM also helps to increase their value towards the shareholders by conducting various marketing activities targeted towards the development and maintenance of the relationship persisting amid the customers and the company (Kamakura et al., 2005). Thus, CRM facilitates in the overall development of an organisation, maintaining a deeper association with the customers ’ expectations and thereby, ensuring a more sustainable growth altogether. Literature Review In the recent years, it has been observed that the concept of CRM has received an increased significance in the business and marketing contexts of organisational management. According to Parvatiyar & Sheth (2002), CRM, as an unconventional marketing management framework, implies a broader attention of the modern companies for understanding the various needs of the customers and also incorporating their knowledge of customer preferences to align the strategic operations accordingly. The significance of practicing the CRM concept can also be argued with respect to the companies’ need for obtaining accurate understanding of customers’ preferences and expectations to be incorporated in their marketing strategies with the intention of improving the cooperative relations with their customers and increase the sales and profitability in a sustainable manner therefore. According to Tadajewski & Saren (2009), in marketing, the terms, ‘relationship marketing’ and ‘CRM’ are used as an alternative to each other. Both of these terms are used for forecasting a wide range of perceptions observable amid the targeted customers that further influence the market trends to a substantial extent. Among these perceptions, few of them provide a very narrow explanation of the functional marketing whereas few of them determine the broader framework of the marketing

Memo about (Absolute Zero - The Conquest of Cold ) Essay

Memo about (Absolute Zero - The Conquest of Cold ) - Essay Example In addition, the theory also emphasized that heat could neither be â€Å"destroyed† or â€Å"created.† Entrepreneurs like Frederick Jude and Henry Feroe, who started a company that offered shipment services that were preserved by ice which he got from around his place. He knew that ice (cold) could be used as a preservative and hence commercialized its use. The idea became more popular as the world got into the industrial revolution. If not for Joule, the concept of energy conversion from mechanical to heat energy could not have been utilized. Joule demonstrated through his experiment of the possibility of converting Mechanical energy into heat. It is by the help of Thompson that he improved on Joules theory and came up with the Laws of Thermodynamics. The first Law of thermodynamic stated that energy can always be converted from form to form, but cannot be destroyed or created. The second Law of Thermodynamics stated that heat cannot move from a cool surface to a hot s urface. The first substance to be used in artificial refrigerators as working liquid was ammonia liquid. It is evident from the documentary that the invention of the refrigeration system took a very long time as it entailed a cocktail of a number of theories before it was actualized. After the first artificial prototype was made, several attempts to come with a good refrigeration system was put in place and several companies ventured into its production becoming a commercial product. In the documentary, I found it interesting how the refrigerator came to be made. As we live in today’s world, one cannot always appreciate some of the inventions unless they look back into the history involved in its making. It is a fact that the making of the first artificial refrigeration system took many decades before it came in place as it entailed a number of theories and facts before any agreement could be made regarding how it should work. Eventually, through the discovery of the law of conservation

Plow and Cyrus Essay Example for Free

Plow and Cyrus Essay John Deere’s Steel-Tipped Plow and Cyrus McCormicks’s Mechanical Reaper – Deere invented a steel-tipped plow that halved the labor to clear acres to till. Timber for housing and fencing was available in nearby woods, and settlements spread rapidly. McCormick developed the mechanical reaper which harvested grain seven times faster than traditional methods with half the work force and guaranteed that wheat would dominate the Midwestern prairies. American System of Manufacturing, or Interchangeable Parts – Europeans had started to refer to manufacture by interchangeable parts as the â€Å"American System of Manufacturing. The system had many advantages. Traditionally, damage to any part of something ruined the whole thing and no new part would fit. With interchangeable parts, however, replacement parts could be obtained and mass production also occurred. Samuel F. B. Morse – Morse was an American inventor. He contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph system bases on European telegraphs. He was also co-inventor of the Morse code, and also an accomplished painter. Catharine Beecher, A Treatise on Domestic Economy – In her widely popular Treatise on Domestic Economy, Beecher told women that technological advances made it their duty to make every house a â€Å"glorious temple† by utilizing space more efficiently. Contagion Theory versus Miasma Theory – The inability of physicians to explain the diseases led to these theories. No one understood that bacteria cause cholera and yellow fever. The contagion theory was that epidemic diseases were spread by touch, whereas the miasmas theory was it resulted from air carried gases from rotten vegetation or dead animals. But neither theory worked. Crawford Long and William T. G. Morton – Long employed sulfuric ether during a surgical operation. Long failed to follow up on his discovery, but four years later, Morton, a dentist, successfully employed sulfuric ether during an operation at MA General Hospital in Boston. Within a few years, ether came into wide use in American surgery. Hydropathy – Hydropathy was known as the â€Å"water cure,† which filtered into the United States from Europe. By the mid-1850s the United States had twenty-seven hydropathic sanatoriums, which used cold baths and wet packs. It helped relieve the pain associated with childbirth and menstruation. Sylvester Graham – Graham propounded a health system that anyone could adopt. Alarmed by the cholera epidemic, Graham counseled changes in dies and regimen as well as total abstinence from alcohol. Soon, he added sexual â€Å"excess† to his list of forbidden indulgences. Phrenology – The belief that each person was master of his or her own destiny underlay not only evangelical religion and popular health movements but also the most popular of the antebellum scientific fads: phrenology. It rested on the idea that the human mind comprised thirty-seven distinct organs, each located in the different part of the brain. James Gordon Bennett, the New York Herald, and the Penny Press – Bennett applied new technology to introduce the penny press. Newspapers could now rely on vast circulations rather than on political subsidies to turn a profit. The New York Sun became America’s first penny newspaper, and Bennett’s New York Herald followed in 1835. Horace Greeley and the New York Tribune Greeley’s New York Tribune pioneered modern financial and political reporting. The relentless snooping of the Tribune’s Washington reporters outrages politicians. In 1848, Tribune correspondents were temporarily barred from the House floor for reporting about Representative Sawyer of Ohio. Astor Place Riot – In 1849, a long-running feud between the leading American actor, Edwin Forrest, and popular British actor William Macready ended with the Astor Place riot in New York City, which left twenty-two people dead. This riot demonstrated the broad popularity of the theater. Minstrel Shows – These shows arose in northern cities when white men in blackface took to the stage to present and evening of songs, dances, and humorous sketches. Minstrelsy borrowed some authentic elements of African-American culture, especially dances. P. T. Barnum and the American Museum – Barnum purchased a run-down museum in NYC, rechristened it the American Museum, and opened a new chapter in the history of popular entertainment. The founders of earlier museums had educational purposes. Barnum, in contrast, made pricking public curiosity the main goal. Washington Irving – When British questioned â€Å"Who ever reads an American book? ,† Americans responded by pointing to Irving, whose Sketch Book contained two famous stories, â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† and â€Å"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. † Naming hotels and steamboats after Irving, Americans soaked him in applause, but they had to concede that Irving had done much of his best writing while living in England. James Fenimore Cooper – Cooper was the first important figure in this literary upsurge. His most significant innovation was to introduce a distinctively American fictional character, the frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Edgar Allan Poe – Poe wrote both fictional and poetry and was a major contributor to the American Renaissance. He set several of his short stories in Europe; as one critic has noted, â€Å"His art could have been produced as easily had he been born in Europe. † American Renaissance – The Renaissance was a flowering of literature. In 1800, American authors accounted for a negligible proportion of the output of American publishers. By 1830, 40 percent of the books published in the United States were written by Americans; by 1850 this had increased to 75 percent. Not only were Americans writing more books; increasingly, they sought to depict the features of their nation in literature and art. Henry David Thoreau – Thoreau was representative of the younger Emersonians. He was more of a doer and was adventurous in action. At one point, he went to jail rather than to pay his poll tax. This revenue, he knew, would support the war in Mexico, which he viewed as part of a southern conspiracy to extend slavery. The experience led Thoreau to write â€Å"Civil Disobedience† in which he defended a citizen’s right to disobey unjust laws. Ralph Waldo Emerson and â€Å"The American Scholar† – Emerson emerged in the late 1830s as the most influential spokesman for American literary nationalism. He announced his address â€Å"The American Scholar. † The time had come for Americans to trust themselves. Let â€Å"the single man plant himself indomitably on his instincts and there abide,† he proclaimed. Transcendentalism – It’s a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest to the general state of culture and society. Among their core beliefs was the inherent goodness of both man and nature. They believed that society and its institutions ultimately corrupted the purity of the individual. Margaret Fuller – Her status as an intellectual woman distanced her from conventional society. Disappointed that his first child was not a boy, her Harvard educated father determined to give Margaret the sort of education young men would have acquired at Harvard. Fuller turned transcendentalism into an occupation of sorts. Nathaniel Hawthorne – Hawthorne was a major contributor to the American Renaissance. He wrote the famous novel, The Scarlett Letter along with The House of the Seven Gables and The Marble Faun in Rome. He ignored Emerson’s call to write about everyday experiences of their fellow Americans. Ironically, their conviction that the lives of ordinary Americans provided inadequate materials for fiction led them to create a uniquely American fiction marked less by the description of the complex social relationships of ordinary life than by the analysis or moral dilemmas and psychological states. Walt Whitman – Self-taught and in love with virtually everything about America except slavery, Whitman left school at eleven and became a printer’s apprentice and later a journalist and editor for various newspapers in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Orleans. A familiar figure at Democratic Party functions, he marched in party parades and put his pen to the service of its antislavery wing. Herman Melville – Melville was another key contributor to the American Renaissance who primarily wrote fiction. He did draw materials and themes from his own experiences as a sailor and from the lore of the New England whaling industry, but for his novels, be picked the exotic setting of islands in the South Seas. He wrote the famous Moby-Dick. Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, Frederic Church, and the Hudson River School – The Hudson River School flourished from the 1820s to the 1870s. Cole, Durand, and Church best represented more than fifty painters. They painted scenes of the region around the Hudson River, a waterway that Americans compared in majesty to the Rhine. Lyceums – This is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux – In 1858, New York City chose a plan drawn by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux for its proposed Central Park. Olmstead eventually became the park’s chief architect. They both wanted the park to look as much like the countryside as possible, showing nothing of the surrounding city.

Strategic Management at News Company

Strategic Management at News Company The performance of different companies has been affected by internal and external factors. These environmental factors specifically affect or impact management functions. One of the approaches that the management should consider is the implementation of strategic or effective management function. Primarily, the main goal of this paper is to analyse The News Corporation through the given case study. Herein, the Paper will provide information about the strategic position of News Corporation through the use of SWOT analysis. Furthermore, this paper will also evaluate the rational and motivation behind the News Corporation strategy of diversifying into satellite broadcasting and evaluate the advantage and disadvantage of acquisition as method of development with particular reference to the acquisition undertaken by The News Corporation. Lastly, this paper aims on providing a recommendation for a strategic development plan for TNC from 2006 to onwards. Overview of the Company Accordingly, News Corporation is a publicly traded media corporation that provides media services all over the world. The company is originally an Australian corporation but when they have reincorporated in 2004, News Corporation moves its headquarters from Adelaide, Australia to New York City of the United States. After the reincorporation, the corporation has been able to add to the SP Index in later part of 2004 and have been able to generate about 75% of its revenues as well as its profits in the United States. The companys business portfolio includes television programming, motion picture production, TV, cable and satellite broadcasting, publishing of newspaper, book and magazine as well as the distribution and promotion of advertising campaign materials and services. The major shareholder of the corporation is the family of its founder which is Chairman Rupert Murdoch who has been able to spend his 50 years with the company. Murdochs family controls 30% share of the company. Murdoch has been able to build a media empire starting with his ownership of the Adelaide news, which his father has established. In 1964, he founded The Australian which is the first national daily newspaper and then acquired British and American media properties to expand his business portfolio. The subsidiaries of the News Corporation include Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Entertainment group movie studio. In addition, the corporation has also 34% stake in the DIRECTV Group and also have the ownership of over 30 American television stations, Boston Herald and New York Post newspapers and various Britain largest ciculation newspapers which include The News of the World, The Sun and The Times. Moreover, the corporation has the extensive business operations across Europe, Aust ralia, Asia and Latin America. News Corporation also brought Intermix Media Inc in July 2005 which is the owner of the largest social networking portal in the World Wide Web MySpace.com and about 30 other websites. It is said that with this approach and with the formation of the Fox Interactive Media, the acquisition of Intermix underscores the companys commitment to expand their business operations in the internet. In the latter part of 2007, the company has been able to acquire Dow Jones Company which is the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and other companies in news and information. In 2006, the News Corporation revenue was reported to be $25.3 billion in 2006 (Murdoch, 2008). Strategy Options The most dominant strategic or effective management paradigm in recent years is known as the strategies model (David, 2001). Porter (1998) claims that the intensity of competition in an industry is neither a matter of coincidence or bad luck. Rather, competition in any business industry is rooted in its underlying economic structure and goes well beyond the behaviour of current rival companies. In general, strategy refers to the long-term plan of actions which is established to enable companies to achieve their organizational goal. It is the basis which will serve as a standard for the company to efficiently achieve their goal. Based on the give case, it can be said that the main strategic approach of the company is with regards to their ability to transform the entire corporation into a company that provides the latest in the media corporations accordingly, the main goal of News Corporation is to create an industry which is unified, logical and creative. The goal of the management is to build an industry with the agility and alertness to find strategic opportunities when they arise, with the notion to anticipate and intervene challenges through the use of conventional wisdom. With the mission of the company to provide the highest quality content through the most convenient of distribution channels among various customers, the company has been able to provide quality and state of the arts media services and productions that suits the needs of the people in the global market. Theoretical Framework This part of the paper will analyse News Corporation through the use of Business model and Analytical tools. The business model to be considered is the strategic option to diversification and the analytical tools will be the use of SWOT analysis. Business Model (Motivation for Diversification to Satellite Broadcasting) Accordingly, Strategic or effective management is known as the process of formulating, implementing and assessing cross-functional decisions which enables different firms to achieve their organizational objective (Drejer, 2002). With this definition, strategic or effective management is said to give focus on integrating marketing, management, finance, research and development production/operations and computer information system to sustain competitive advantages. This definition is said to be in the contemporary business, however, in line with the perspective of the top management, strategic or effective management is the ability of the firm to choose the markets in which the companys distinctive capabilities gain competitive position. In addition, the management views strategic or effective management as the one which is adaptive and incremental in nature and aims on fulfilling the expectation of the stakeholders. Accordingly, stakeholders are composed of the management of the compa ny, the employees and staff the customers, communities and other shareholders and rivals. The management aims on having a strategy which enables them to provide the needs of these stakeholders (Campbell, 2002). In doing so, the management is trying to find ways to meet the needs of the stakeholders and this is done through constant communication. By means of communication, the management has been able to clearly relay the purpose of the company to sustain competitive advantage. It has been also believed that key to having strategic or effective management is through empowering their stakeholders, allowing them to be part of the decision making process and enabling them to be part of the business operations (David, 2001). The management perspective of strategic or effective management is to deliver superior stakeholder experience through direct, comprehensive stakeholder relationship and support programs tailored to satisfy stakeholders need. In the case of The News Corporation, it can be said that the company has been able to use a strategic business model to be able to stay in their competitive position and to be able to provide quality services to their target audiences. One of the business models used by the company is the diversification of their business portfolio into satellite broadcasting. Accordingly, the main goal of the News Corporation to diversify is to cater to the emerging needs of the market. In this regard, the News Corporation has been able to launch the UK Sky Television on February 5, 1989. The Sky television is a direct-to-home satellite broadcasting. The main motivation of News Corporation to diversify is to anticipate the intensifying communication in terms of communications satellite broadcasting services. In addition, News Corporation also diversify to become more innovative in providing their services and media coverage to their target audience in terms of switching from analogue to digital and to consider multichannel broadcasting. Furthermore, another motivation of the News Corporation to diversify into Satellite broadcasting is to provide a new strategy in terms of programme material distribution. Through this diversification the company has been able to provide opportunities for any broadcaster to increase their channel distribution which allows the distribution of different programmes to different countries. Analytical Tool This part of the paper will analyse the strategic position of News Corporation through the use of SWOT analysis. Based on the given case, the strategic position of the News Corporation specifically their BSkyBs position has been challenged because of the changing situations of the media market. Rival industries of the company has been able to announced the establishment of the first quadruple play media company in the global market which offers television, broadband, fixed line and mobile communications. The announcement of this company affects the strategic position of the entire News Corporation. In order to make sure that the company will not be left behind, News Corporation has been able to involve themselves into the expansion to technological developments. Through the use of SWOT analysis, the strategic position of News Corporation in 2006 will be analysed. Strengths. As a competitive and globally recognised media corporation, News Corporation has been able to have strategic position in the global market. In fact, when News Corporation streamlined in 2003 to 2006, it already had the advantage of size. With several consecutive years of multibillion profits, the company has outshined its major rival companies to become a model firm. Also, News Corporations decision to focus on diversified market and by considering satellite broadcasting and entering the internet market through MySpace.com was a courageous one, but it has led to its current position as one of the top global brands. The firm has likewise been characterised by many analysts to have an ability to adapt to changing market conditions in order to maximise profit. Listening to and identifying with consumers has allowed News Corporation to construct a corporate culture that bears little resemblance to the News Corporation of the past. The ability to continuously renew and improve their service in the media, internet and communication while effectively managing the needs of their target audience is the key to maintaining News Corporations leader status and the key for succeeding in having strategic position. Weaknesses. Not all of diversification and approach have been successful and this can be considered as one of the flaws or weaknesses of the company. Analysts have accused the company of focusing too much on their high-end acquisitions and diversification in spite of the risky effects of such decisions. Opportunities. The basis for long-term competitiveness is the ability to develop continuously new generations of more advanced media products and services. Therefore one of the companys opportunities is to tap into more markets as a result of the innovations being introduced in the media and television and internet industry Localised capabilities enabling or even enhancing such co-operation will always make a difference when it comes to first-mover advantages. The opportunity to penetrate new growth markets where internet media adoption still has room to go, Leveraging News Corporations infrastructure business to get first choice and stronger position against rivals is also an opportunity. They also have the opportunity to get ahead of their rival companies, and this should be the case, since the said market is a potential sizeable source of income. The trend of considering the internet market also show cases new opportunities for the company specifically with their acquisition of th e MySpace.com Threats. Rival companies are major threats to the business. News Corporation, in contrast, started out in other lines of business and entered broadcast and media capabilities of the company. The firms inability to keep up with innovations, or recognise its demand, creates a threat for them, a risk that they could be displaced by other industry leaders. The legal and political environment in the countries where they operate in could potentially affect the business negatively. Their apparent complacence could be used by their rival companies to their advantage, and take News Corporation by surprise, with the latter realising too late that they are not the industry leader anymore. Application (Advantages and Disadvantages of Acquisition Method) With regards to the largest media deals from 1981 to 2002, The News Corporation has been involved in one of these media deals. The company has been able to acquire Gemstar-TV Guide and TNC also acquire DirecTV and also brought small stakes of 20th century fox and other local TV stations. In addition, the company started a satellite TV system for their UK subscribers and also invested in another TV system in Asia which is Star and has their cable Fox News Network. The latest acquisition of the News Corporation is their acquisition of MySpace.com which is the largest social networking website in the World Wide Web. Primarily, the acquisition approach of News Corporation has taken some advantages and disadvantages to the overall performance and strategic position of the company. Accordingly, there are two basic models of acquisition, one is through cash and the other is through the stock swap. Based on the given case, one of the advantages of acquisition in News Corporation is in terms of market growth. With the acquired company, News Corporation has been able to diversify their products and business portfolio and meet the needs and demands of their target audience. In addition, through the acquisition, the company has also been able to see their potentials in different market including the internet market. The management has also been able to grow in terms of investment and grow in terms of market shares. The company has more opportunities to provide the latest products or services in the interactive media which may lead to further success of the company. Although the company has some advantages with their acquisition, News Corporation also faced some disadvantages. One of this is the threat of not fulfilling the needs of the acquired company which results in major downturn or bankruptcy of the entire industry. In addition, with so much company at stake, the management is being challenged to be able to meet all the needs of each of the company acquire to stay competitive in the market position. The acquisition entails large values of financial resources involved and if the company would not be able to manage the acquired industries strategically, all their hard work will end to major fallback for the entire industry. In order to maximize the advantage and minimize or eliminate the disadvantages, the company must be able to use strategic management approach to handle all their subsidiaries and acquired industries. Analysis Based on the given analysis, it can be shown that with the management approach of the News Corporation, the company has been able to grow in the media market efficiently and successfully. With the ability of the management to visualize what is needed to grow in the media and broadcasting market, the management considered different approaches and business models such as diversification and acquisition approach. Analysis also shows that with the aim of the company to stay in the competitive and strategic position, they are able to anticipate major challenges and maximize their strategic abilities to meet the needs of their target audience and outgrow rival industries in the global market. Findings Based on the findings, the following are the strategic development plan for the company from 2006 onwards. Strategic Planning is part of the marketing approach wherein the management team determines ways and techniques to initiate the corporate discount in a corporate unit. Strategic planning can be used in when an organisation intends to instigate or initiate a certain marketing decisions that will enhance the competitiveness of the organisation (Elkin, 1998). With proper implementation of such plan and with the strong commitment of the management as well as the employees with this plan, growth, stability and competitive advantage will be achieved by the corporation. For this strategic development plan, it is recommended that the management of News Corporation should focus on managing all the conglomerate and subsidiaries of the company. In addition, to be able to maximize their advantage in acquiring MySpace.com, the management should be able to manage this strategically. In line with the marketing development, the company should maximize the use of their financial resources in the latest trends in the market environment. They also need financial resources, to sustain their strategic development in considering employee trainings to ensure that the changes in line with their interactive media planning sill be successful. In this strategic development, it can be said that the commonness of the two is the initiation of the strategic planning. Accordingly, strategic Planning is part of the strategic development wherein the management team identifies ways and techniques to initiate the development or execute their objectives. Strategic planning can be utilised when an organisation intends to instigate or initiate a certain project, in this case the News Corporation information technology development and interactive media development and the marketing strategy development that will enhance the competitiveness of the organisation (Elkin, 1998). The strategic plan for each development, specifically in terms of their resource planning, assures that the company only utilised a strategic planning approach that will benefit the company to achieve its goal. In this manner, the management of News Corporation should be able to incorporate strategic planning and implementation in line with its resources for both strategic developments. Conclusion It can be concluded that the management must be able to know what is happening in the internal and external environment of the business. This is also done to know if changes are needed to meet the needs of these factors and to avoid problems in terms of the four management functions. Hence, strategic management through proper planning, organizing, leading, and controlling is needed. Through this, the management will also be able to counter the negative impact of globalization, technology, innovation, diversity and ethics.

Woman Warrior Essay -- essays research papers

A Warrior’s Triumph   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston presents the story of a girl trapped between the cultures of her surrounding environment and that which her mother and family have forced upon her. Knowing only the Chinese way of life, this girl’s mother attempts to familiarize her daughter, whom is also the narrator, with the history of their family. The mother shares this heritage through the use of stories in hopes the narrator will be prepared for her ultimate return to China, which is a life completely foreign to her own. Through these stories and the strong influence of the surrounding American culture, the narrator’s life and imagination spin off in a new direction. She is confronted by many obstacles, which cause problems with not only her mother, but also with her attempt to discover her personal identity. Although the narrator’s assimilation to the American culture causes numerous conflicts with her mother, she is able to overcome adversity and come of age as a Chinese-American with the help of her mother’s stories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Kingston’s first story, â€Å"No Name Woman,† the reader is first introduced to the stories of the narrator’s mother. This particular tale involves an aunt that the narrator never knew, who was shunned from her family for having an affair. It was through this story that the narrator learned how careful a young woman must be when growing up in the Chinese culture. Years after hearing of her aunt’s misfortune, the narrator realizes that she has carried on this ostracism and is equally as guilty as the others who participated in this punishment of silence. However, the narrator feels an intense connection with the outcast of her family. â€Å"My aunt haunts me—her ghost drawn to me because now, after fifty years of neglect, I alone devote pages of paper to her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (16). Perhaps the narrator feels this bond because she herself feels completely alienated from the family and could never be fully connected to her Chinese h eritage. Although she is angry for the terrible punishment inflicted on her aunt, she feels remorse for â€Å"telling on her† (16). This shows that the narrator does not only disapprove of the Chinese culture, but also feels sorry for those who must suffer in an eternity of exile.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"White Tigers† brings readers into the creative imaginatio... ... seems to plague the narrator endlessly. She knows she can never break away from one culture without having to completely abandon the other. In the end, however, she realizes that she must leave home if she is ever to discover her purpose in the world, be it in China or America. The harsh criticisms and endless disapproval causes detrimental effects to the narrator, while at the same time giving her strength to overcome this lifelong struggle by facing her mother. Although the stories of her mother’s Chinese experiences and the insistence on her daughter living there push the narrator further away, it eventually causes an interest to discover what is really true. â€Å"Soon I want to go to China and find out who’s lying†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (205). Though some can constantly feel sorry for the narrator, we can also feel sorry for her mother not knowing any better. This is what ultimately caused the nonexistent relationship between the two. Through this complicated life, th e narrator gained the strength, intelligence, and experience that allowed her to overcome numerous obstacles. Contrary to the belief of some, I feel she has her mother to thank for these gains, and that may have made all the difference.

Oedipus The King Sophocles :: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles

THE GREEK THEATRE 2) Is Oedipus a Tragic Hero? Answer this question demonstrating specific understandings of the concepts of Tragedy and the Tragic Hero. In the Greek play, â€Å"King Oedipus† written by Sophocles, certain characteristics, which determine the traits of a tragic hero, reveal themselves as the play unfolds. These traits enable readers to enjoy a more enhanced reading of the play and also serve to evoke a particular response from the reader. Readers acknowledge that King Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is he is an important and influential man. He isn’t just looked up to because he’s the king; he is genuinely admired and respected from the people of Thebes who come to seek comfort and advice from Oedipus, the â€Å"wisest in the ways of the gods.† This is demonstrated in the opening of the play when King Oedipus appears and is concerned about what ‘his’ people are worried about. Readers acknowledge King Oedipus’ wisdom and love; â€Å"I would willingly do anything to help you.† Through this quote readers respond favorably towards this character as readers are aware that King Oedipus actually genuinely cares about his people and Thebes as he steps down from the throne and makes the effort to correspond with the people and get to the bottom of the dilemma. King Oedipus can also be classified as a tragic hero because he is not perfect but most certainly has tragic flaws, one of them being excessive hubris and self- righteousness and he refuses to believe anyone who doesn’t agree with himself. This is evident in the beginning of the play when Teiresias and Oedipus are debating about who killed Laios. Hence readers are aware through the following quote, â€Å"Do you think you can say such things with impunity?† that King Oedipus has a strong passion for the truth and high moral standards. As the play progresses further, King Oedipus’ hubris becomes more prominent as he is determined to find out about his birth no matter what the cost is. Oedipus’ search for the truth leads him to the discovery that he isn’t a â€Å"child of luck† but, â€Å"a man of misfortune† which of course horrifies him as he learns that at birth he was nailed to the top of a mountain top and was considered to be of low standing social class. King Oedipus’ pride seems to be more injured as he went to such great depths to discover the truth – only to discover that he was born of low class.

Assess the part played by socialisation in the development of gender roles and identities

My scorn-bound edition of Chambers Concise defines socialisation as â€Å"the act or process of socialising: the process by which infants and young children become aware of society and their relationship with others1† Haralambos and Holborn2 are more comprehensive in their definition: socialisation applies to individuals and is a collection of lifelong actions and changes. Social studies of socialisation's impact upon gender roles and identities have been carried out in the modern western world3 and amongst the less densely populated and differing culture of the tribespeople of New Guinea4. The purchasing of toys, clothes, linguistic application and the direction to specified acts of play have been interpreted by Ann Oakley as culturally produced. Margaret Mead concluded from the behaviour of the three tribes she studied, that cultural choice was the driving factor with reference to adoption of gender-active norms and values. This social construct is proceeded by physical construction: obligatory nine month stay in the womb, gene-penning and receiving delivery of testosterone or oestrogen. Goldberg5 and Wilson are proponents of the view that biological determinism has a part to play, with relation to chemical influence on passive/aggressive behavioural development, and on the varying abilities of the sexes. Genetic instruction Wilson types, means men are more promiscuous due to evolutionary related urges and that women are more involved in child-care. 6 Those social scientists putting forward the importance of the ‘nature' perspective in this area are of number and both Talcott Parsons and John Bowlby have put forward sensible arguments. In this spaces, I hope to communicate my fine understanding of gender roles, identities and the evolution of, rather than biology, present here only because of the enhanced visibility of the matter. Ann Oakley3 whom I mentioned earlier based her findings on a study by Ruth Hartley around infants in a contemporary trading communities. Oakley wrote that at a young age, children's self-concept was affected through a childwear fashion manipulation. This adherence to bigger cultural norms is further expanded upon with the over-suggested direction in relation to playthings and the passive/aggressive (or submissive/dominant) images they bring. This closure of activity choice leads to a path of exposure to activity, one that is pre-defined according to stereotypes with a cautious ward glance according to gender identify. With mother and father is another primary socialiser – a black box window which brings sounds and pictures from the world around. â€Å"Television: comforter, nurturer, provider7† D. M. Meehan's study of shows like Dynasty and Dallas detected ten female character types, divided into roles that were good (submissive, sensitive and domesticated) or bad (rebellious, independent and selfish). This content analysis study of fiction serials8 brings to light the low-brow targeting of the shows, the addictive nature of the message (as the ‘soap opera/drama' form intends) is one of stagnation, gender identity is enforced by advice of repetition to the same message. In the real world, bra-burning doesn't exist as part of Women's Liberation, rape is treated sensationally and given too much word count : one wonders of the extent to which the media folk set the agenda, correlating improvement in purchases of automobiles. Women's media too, deals with ‘soft news' (such as family and fashion). This most public of images is the ideology the child finds in doctor's waiting rooms when out of comic books or toys to play with, and their views of the world are further preformed. Not that comicbooklets are much better with reference to representation. Alan Moores semiological analysis9 has findings in common with Meehans. In US comicbooklets, male characters are often ubermensch, attention centre and the only purpose of a woman in a comic is to be ‘rescued': a convenient plot device, they constantly divert the superheroes attention from worthier matters. Female characters who are strong (as with younger characters) are mere appendixes to their male counterparts- in the days of Moore's study Batwoman, Batgirl, Spiderwoman, Supergirl, WonderWoman and She-Hulk were most devoid of any personality that singled them out as fully constructed characters. A study of the teenage girls magazine ‘Jackie' found results which Angela McRobbie refers to as ‘the ideology of romance'10 : connotive and denotive casting spells of a restricted house based future, moving to marriage and child bearing and rearing. The quest for (wealthy pop media idol) boys paints on a culture of feminity to which digression is prevented and reinforced by labelling. Oakley's findings are backed up by two major studies of comprehensive school age. Sharpe11 found priorities and concerns relating to matters of â€Å"love, marriage, husbands, children, jobs and careers, more or less in that order†. A similar study ten years later, of roughly a hundred 15-16 year olds from a bigger variation of class and ethnicity got a somewhat similar result12. Hartnett, although not scribing specifically of teenage years puts forward the idea of a system whereby gender roles are shared out as sex-roles. Gender divisions are created by the assignment of quite opposite personality traits, uneven distribution of activity and social value, which accompanies this. 13 A hundred years ago, Engels14 observed many disturbing elements of the ‘traditional' family life which in the past number of decades those of the Marxist-Feminist Perspective have found recurring. The connections between patriarchy and the labour system are too pervading during the attempt to form gender norms and values. The impact of domestic labour on capitalist economy shows the girls the map to the kitchen while the ideological role family provides society, conditions the lads off to the factory15. The development of these gender roles and identities is as the marker is no doubt aware, annoyingly pessimistic, in as far as the bulk of the writings. Many of the studies on these matters are by women and the imbalance is. Anna Pollert's report on working classes is a far more encouraging scales balance. Pollert print is of the transit of women to manual labour, â€Å"immediately painfully aware of the dehumanisation, the mind-destroying emptiness of their jobs†16 Pollert states that chaps readily embrace employment, and are by default blind to this effect. Returning to biological relativity (for the time of a paragraph) and the impact of gender based identity adoption, Seligman stalks the passive and submissive element to find out that they have ‘learnt helplessness'. Seligman attempts a through connection that implies the encouragement of acts of dependency are appropriate values for a women. That women are culturally prepared to diffuse stress through the act of sharing is backed up by cultural-behavioural analyses and gender differentials in mortality and morbidity. 17 The dull, tedious nature of housework is also often fulfilling, and Oakley comments upon how there is little prestige to the work and role and a lack of bargaining power, Many married woman would agree with Oakley18 although views are constantly changing19 as the years do. The conclusion of symmetrical role balance20 (and thus symmetrical role identity) is one which Oakley solidly opposes, mostly on the grounds of it's financial intimations. The labour-family issue is riddled with colourful concepts, valid and imaginative. J. Stacey's postmodernist approach is favoured by this author, family and marriage based on relationship needs21. Views are valid regarding individual selection. Social action, social positivism. The power of suggestion. Few community analysts are absolute in their judgements, open to questioning their own theories, findings and interpretations. Critics are never rare. There are a number of challengers to these documentations of gender identity. The area of ‘Masculinity' is of primary interest as it is one that suffers from overlook in the social studies foremost represented. I've already covered men's identities as boys in earlier pages of this assignment, so I'll proceed directly to the part of education, central to the role of socialisation as it is. Marsha Jones in Sociology Review a few years back noted that equal opportunities have been so implemented that researcher concerns now focus upon the lack of educational achievement amongst boys. Jones findings are based on a statistical analysis: recent GCSE results and she goes on to comment on an increase in truancy amongst working class boys22. With regards to the tertiary socialiser (the mass media), Moore and his colleague, the unique Dave Sim23 have often noted that male entertainment media teaches that ‘character only comes through conflict'. With a patriarchy n place and males behind the camera and in front of it, this quote from W. Farrell's ‘The Myth of Male Power' could as easily apply, â€Å"It has been mainly men who have died for their country – and they have had little choice in the matter. Men do the worst jobs: they dies sooner: their lives are given less value (women and children come first): they suffer legal discrimination (eg. Custody of children): their traditional role of breadwinner is misleadingly called ‘power' (power is about the ability to control one's life, not the obligation to earn money)> Men have been opposed and damaged by gender roles. The wound that unifies all men is their disposability: as soldiers, workers, fathers. â€Å"24 As women are encouraged to go from education to domestic life quickly, men are expected to go from secondary level education to work just as fast. With regards to family, modern scientific revelations in the media, have built a social construct that whispers to man that biologically they are becoming obsolete, as sperm donators. Rising divorce rates and separation rates have meant lone parents. Rising divorce rates and separation rates have meant lone parents and absentee fathers , hardly cause for surprise when traditional roles are weighed up. ‘Feckless Fathers' who refuse to pay child support, adherents to the New Right policies police them as demons for the binding. 25 At the workplace, there is a decline of manual labour and the consequent increase in unemployment for working class men. Perhaps this is a result of women's greater visibility there, coupled with man's desire to make more of his short life, were he is expected to remain silent about his problems. â€Å"What? † I whisperscreamed in a public restaurant today, reading of D. Thomas â€Å"Not Guilty†26. In Britain in 1991, 3,007 men committed suicide (compared with 886 women, if comparison matters). Thomas goes onto calculate that males live lives 7% shorter than those of women. I find that bloody scary. Looking back to thirty years ago, the following attitudes were on that basis much more bleeding scarier and very very ugly. S. Brownmiller writing in 1975 finds â€Å"a pattern of coercive sexuality† were rape is a conscious conspiracy on the part of the male collective to keep all women in a state of fear27. Although statistical figures back up findings of domestic violence, such radical feminist outlooks in the seventies depicted men as a sex as monsters or oppressors. (Radical as Radical-militant-extremist). Around this time, Tolson identifies a ‘crisis of masculinity', with males uncertain relating to their roles, and their cause containing ‘contradictions and turmoils28'. A. Dworkin in her study of porn found that it reinforced the ‘myth' that women like to be dominated by men. There are however feminists who have taken different positions and advocate the pleasure gained from pornography and too, erotic displays. Dworkin attempts to form a causal link with domestic violence. Sadly plausible I guess estimate, but her statement that porn's social impact desensitises men is valid though somewhat one-sided29. The following year, saw two more important commentaries and studies, which seem to indicate both genders advocating a wiser and stronger approach. Coote and Campbell30 addressed feminist calls to embrace ‘heterosexual chauvinism' or ‘separatism' by pointing out that those roles were as trappings. The aim of a ‘self-determining sexuality' was given, with sexual preference and lifestyle down to individual choice. Goode31 states that most men were genuinely surprised by the discontent of women and slowly started adjusting to changing gender roles. Margaret Thatcher, the most powerful visible female role model in the UK had at this point begun to hint at her own secret agendas, lunacie, and sent masses of male troops off to the Falkland Islands to die. The final decade of the eighties saw sociological theory based on good research get into the intricacies of observing and observable gender norms and values. Carrigan et al32 identify hegemonic and subordinate masculine image in dominance. Wolf exposes the false ideology that is the beauty myth and it's damaging effects such as the creation of inferiority complexes among older women. With the 1990s only recently ended, I am unable to form quite as crystallised a picture of gender socialisation developing as the years prior. At this point, I have no new studies to mention that haven't already been mentioned in this chronology of gender norms and values. However, Farrell in his 1992 work suggests that that the world is both patriarchal and matriarchal and I quote a weighty note of advanced healthier optimism, â€Å"What we need is not a women's movement or a men's movement but a gender transition movement† As strong a signalling for positive socialisation if ever I've read one.