Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Reconstituting Local Manufacturing Essay

Is it possible to reconstitute local manufacturing and local food markets, or has Globalization ultimately made this impossible? The global economy and marketplace have impacted local industry and local manufacturing harshly. With consumers having choices from international companies able to import their products, a common market pool for the whole world, it has become more difficult for the local merchants to thrive. Also, many Western companies have established themselves in developing countries, such as McDonalds and Starbucks, with over 31,000 and 18,000 locations operating worldwide respectively. While the influx of multi national corporations has created economic opportunities for many in the communities that they operate within. However, with this prosperity has come the evaporation of local industries. What are some of the factors that could help or inhibit the reconstitution of local manufacturing and local food markets. One enormous problem could be the price of doing business and the amount of capital it takes to operate in these markets. These international companies have vast reserves of capital to fund their operations in various countries, even buying up local enterprises to reduce their competition. These corporations also spend an enormous amount of cash on advertising. Thus they are able to extend their brand recognition into their new destinations. This is the formula that has also worked well in American cities. Companies are able to buy out their competition with less expensive production costs or less overhead. These companies can operate on a smaller margin than the local merchants, who do not have the benefit of mass produced overseas inventory. (Kantor, 2002). On a political scale, globalization has had an effect on the policies put into place by local entities that have an impact on the local manufacturing and food market. Through the increased surge in international competition, national policies that are aimed at preserving the structure of local communities and upholding social equality have dwindled and been phased out. Looking to nurture economic growth, many local governments invite foreign investments (Held & McGrew, 2012). While these foreign investors infuse  currency into the local economies, the toll they take on the local markets, may not be worth the tradeoff. Could the local governments be taking or mismanaging the funds? Perhaps the cash infusion could be put to better use to help stabilize or revitalize the local manufacturing and markets. The case could also be made that the concessions that the local governments make to entice international companies into their country make it difficult for or at the least do not address the local manufacturing companies and their concerns. Because of the problems caused for the local manufacturing and food markets, wages and income for the local population also suffers, which influences their purchasing power. This creates a circular effect because without purchasing power the local community cannot support more local manufacturing. This is certainly a way in which globalization has hindered local manufacturing and will make it difficult to reconstitute it in the future. Some of the ideals championed by those who favor globalization will naturally work against the reconstitution of local manufacturing and food markets. For example, the principle of economic advantage commonly referred to as the iron law, demands that the best of the countries that initiate competitive strategies is deemed to outdo other competitors from the market. Put simply, if a particular foreign country grows a particular local product more efficiently, then there would be no need to grow the product locally (Davis, 2012). This would force the importation of the product from a foreign country which would obviously hamper the ability of local establishments to be able to compete in that market. In fact, some experts think that because of globalization, in the future all food consumed in America will be imported from elsewhere. It has become financially beneficial to import food instead of growing it locally. This change in economic patterns in response to globalization has hampered the growth of the local industry (Obstfeld, 2000). And functioning in this way will certainly hamper the local manufacturing and food markets to be reestablished and flourish. Another factor of globalization that is well documented is that of outsourcing jobs to developing countries with a cheaper labor force. Much of  this outsourcing has come in the manufacturing sector with many American workers losing their jobs to countries such as China and India. This outsourcing has a great negative impact on the local industry as it deprives it of a reliable workforce (Kantor, 2012). Without stemming the flow of such work overseas, it would make it very difficult to reconstitute the local manufacturing. For those countries that receive these workers however, there is an enormous benefit to their manufacturing sector. The influx of capital from foreign companies investing in their country and the employment opportunities they provide for the workforce give a boost to the local economy. With continued investments coming in and plenty of jobs for their workforce, globalization has actually strengthened the local manufacturing of many foreign countries. Thom Hartman makes some interesting points in his Huffington Post article. Mr. Hartman describes how globalization is destroying the United States’ wealth through multinational corporations transferring all of their manufacturing overseas. He points out that in the late 1940’s and 1950’s manufacturing accounted for 28 percent of the United States total gross domestic product. Even during the Reagan administration is was at 20 percent. However, today it is about ten percent of our GDP (Hartmann, 2010). By shipping so much of our manufacturing overseas, the US is no longer self sufficient and able to create much wealth. By not generating wealth, but rather spending it on all of the foreign manufactured goods, there has been a slow degrading of the nation’s middle class. Of course, we as consumers love the idea of paying less for our goods, but it has to be realized that it comes at a cost. Many companies have cut jobs or reduced salaries, so those â€Å"cheap† goods are not such a bargain anymore. For this trend to stop and be reversed, nations such as the United States must rebuild their manufacturing base and become locally self-sufficient again (Hartmann, 2010). The idea would be for the country’s consumers to buy products manufactured by their own workers. While no answers or even ideas for reversing the problem globalization has caused were offered, it paints a clear picture that something needs to be done quickly. References Kantor Paul, (2002). Cities in the International Marketplace: The Political Economy of Urban Development in North America and Western Europe. Princeton University Press Hartmann, Thom, (2010). Globalization Is Killing The Globe: Return to Local Economies. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thom-hartmann/globalization-is-killing_b_454091.html Held, D. & McGrew, A. (2012) Globalization Theory: Approaches and Controversies. (2012), Cambridge. Davis, C. L.(2012). Why Adjudicate? Enforcing Trade Rules in the WTO. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved January 30, 2015, from Project MUSE database. Obstfeld, Maurice (2000). The Global Capital Market: Benefactor or Menace? The Journal of Economic Perspectives , Vol. 12, No. 4., pp. 9-30.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Examine the Argument That Neighbourly Relations Essay

Neighbourly relations can be ordered and defined in a number of ways whether it is through certain identities or virtual social rules, created, maintained and repaired by people in groups with a situation in common or a relationship to act out in their everyday lives. This essay examines the relations, conflicts and differences that come with neighbourhood life both in the Uk and other countries where contradictions and the limits between what is seen as friendly and where invasive behaviour starts are an important part of ordinary, daily life. Last of all it will show how these relations can easily break down due to tensions caused by conflicts over noise and space where the division between private and public life is hard to define. When we speak about local residents we see them as having a collective or group identity with a particular situation in common, but they also have relational identities as neighbours with conflicting feelings of trust and suspiciousness. In addition people seem to behave in certain ways when they are part of a group as many researchers have discovered through studies on identity, one of these Tajfel cited in Taylor, 2009, p. 170, from his study found that if you tell people that they are part of a group this automatically influences the way they act. We often behave in ways which tell others who we are or how we want to be seen, a little like play acting, our daily lives become a stage on which we perform and relate to our public in social situations, as Ervin Goffman cited in Taylor, 2009, p. 72, found from his study in 1959 on everyday lives, society is a moving picture and identities are understood by looking at what people do rather than who they are. Furthermore a social identity is created through connections with others in different situations or places as we can find in neighbourhoods, by looking at the way people interact with each other and the sort of virtual, unwritten rules regarding privacy and friendsh ip that people abide by everyday. Stephanie Taylor, 2009, on pg. 173) seems to sum all this interaction up in just one short sentence; â€Å"social life proceeds rather like an endless slow dance†, and if we look at the discursive psychological approach that Jovan Byford (2009) uses to analyse a conversation he had with his neighbour, a perfect example of this dance is the way his neighbour tries to maintain a pattern of identity and typical behaviour of a how a ‘good’ neighbour should act. These patterns of behaviour and uses of identity are an essential part of maintaining and repairing order within certain groups or in society in general something which we have heard an example of in ‘Studying Identities’, 2009, track 1, when Professor Margaret Wetherall speaks about the studies carried out on conflicts of a segregated society in Ireland. She explains that the segregated groups had a stronger sense of community with less elaborate identities and social networks, but that this had a great impact on the levels of prejudice towards other groups. Neighbourly relations can be complicated and contradictive as there are two contrasting sides to this type of relationship, the first being that neighbours need to live together happily, be helpful and always be there when needed and the other is that they need to respect a person’s privacy and mind their own business. This is when the dancing partners need to keep an adequate distance from each other trying not to step on each other’s toes, and as (Jovan Byford, 2009, pg. 251) says â€Å"good fences make good neighbours†. This is particularly so with regards to the UK, Anthropologist Stanley Brandes cited in Byford, 2009, p. 59, from his study on social order in Becedas, Spain found the same kind of strong contradictions in rural life, but with a difference in how they acted and danced in their every day lives. He compared neighbourly relationships to the family and found that they feared privacy and saw it as being rude something which could be seen as a breath of fresh air from an English point of view, but these neighbours needed each other to survive and this closeness was seen as a form of surveillance and the necessity to lean on each other brought with it great suspicion, vulnerability and distrust. However there can be tensions in neighbourly relations causing them to break down, this can be for a series of reasons but mostly regarding space and noise when we talk about neighbourhoods. Disputes can arise through people stepping over unwritten, social or group boundaries and if the two sides are unable to repair or settle their dispute then a mediator is often introduced to try and stop the case getting out of control and ending up in court. Elizabeth Stokoe, cited in Byford, 2009, p. 264, in 2006 examined cases of complaints about sexual intercourse and found that people didn’t really want to complain as they were afraid of invading a person’s private life, but at the same time they believed that private activities should be kept private. Another example of tensions between neighbours is a study done by Joanna Bourke, cited in Byford, 2009, p. 66, in 1994 on the noise in overcrowded working-class housing in the 1940/50s, and here too we can see that residents took measures to distance themselves from their neighbours like placing their bed on the other side of the room to try and resolve and repair the conflict that could or had already arisen. In conclusion we can say that the fine line between what is seen as a friendly or intrusive neighbour is very difficult to decipher, and we are continuously dancing with each other throughout life to find the right balance, so finally we can say that neighbourly rel ations are definitely characterized by a friendly distance.

Monday, July 29, 2019

A Silver Dish

Add one extra variable Into the equation, and the entire solution has hanged, Just as well If you were to take one variable out. In this essay, I will be using the butterfly effect theory to explain how events will be altered when one characteristic Is taken out of the main character, after first identifying four of his characteristics and showing how it supports the development of the story as well as his character. What does it mean to have responsibilities and what is its importance in life? Responsibility consists of the duty or obligation that one owes to another or oneself.One can direct the responsibility towards family, friends, and even God. Responsibility results in a positive character trait that shows a high degree of unselfishness. It teaches each person that there will always be something beyond themselves to care about. Responsibility can consist of moral, legal, mental or physical obligations. Woody, a businessman in Chicago, has an endless amount of responsibility. à ¢â‚¬Å"He [father] came to Woody In the backyard one spring day and said, ‘From now on you're the man of the house' â€Å"(Bellow 543).At the age of fourteen, Wood's father had abandoned him, leaving Woody the responsibility of taking care of his mother and two younger sisters. He cares for his mother and his two sisters who are all mature adults. He also cares for his father and his father's wife, though he shares no blood with his stepmother. † Since his wife, after fifteen years of separation had not learned to take care of herself, Woody did her shopping on Fridays, filled her freezer. He had to take her this week to buy shoes. Also, Friday night he spent with Helen- his wife De facto.Saturday he did his big weekly shopping. Saturday night he devoted to Mom and his sisters. He was too busy to attend to his own feelings†(Bellow 541 Wood's countless obligations to his family UT him in a position of the dominant male, the caretaker. â€Å"Mother and the girls tur ned into welfare personalities and lost their individual outlines. Ah, the poor things, they became dependents and cranks. In the meantime, Woody, the sinful man, was their dutiful and loving son and 561). How would the story have changed If Woody had no sense of responsibility?As a child, Woody had no choice but to take full responsibility over his family, seeing as nobody else would. During these hard times for Woody, his selfless acts were the glue that held his broken family intact. If Woody were to exile all selfless feelings from his body and replace it with pure selfish thoughts, only the worst would be in store for his family. â€Å"Woody, who took full responsibility for them all, occasionally had to put one of the girls (they had become sick) In a mental 541). If Woody had Ignored shadows, known only as the crazy women you tell your children to avoid.The narrator went on to say that, † he paid for heat and light and food, and dressed them all out of Sears, Roebuck a nd Webfoot's, and bought them a TV, which they watched as devoutly as they prayed†(Bellow 561). With his mother in the hospital religiously, his sister checked into a mental institution, and his other sister unable to stabilize herself or her career, Woody had no choice but to take responsibility. If he hadn't done so, knowing that his father would never step up to his responsibilities, his family would have indefinitely perished to the harsh reality of poverty.Woody had shown signs of true loyalty to his family, loyalty that will always be in existence, even for his father. Some people believe that loyalty makes one predictable. Others may say that being loyal means being unable to think for oneself. And some may even indemnify loyalty as a weakness. Loyalty is the willingness to make an investment or personal sacrifice to strengthen a relationship. Though it is rare to find, a loyal person is a valuable asset to anyone. Loyalty involves obedience, sacrifice, and compassion, a mix that is not easy to find.Family requires undoubted loyalty from family members as well as friendships require friends to convey the meaning of loyalty to strengthen a bond between one and another. A loyal man can be described as a man who sacrifices his life for his family, his friends, and even his country. In his case, loyalty will be described as Woodsy endless devotion to his father. Woodsy father had, on every occasion, let Woody down, yet he has always stood behind his father. Mimi got to lend me money to buy gasoline- the caddie money you saved†(Bellow 543).The only money Woody had been able to save up working a side job, Woodsy father had taken it as getaway cash. Woody had not hesitated upon giving his father what he had asked for, even though this meant Woody was an enabler for his father's wishes upon deserting his family. â€Å"Why had he let Pop have his way? Why did he agree to meet him that day, in the dim rear of the lorry? â€Å"(Bellow 549). Woodsy fa ther had return for one purpose, he needed money. Woody had decided to take him to Ms.Skulled, the woman who out of good faith, paid for Woodsy college tuition for two years to become a minister. Woody had taken a risk by bringing his father to the only person who supports him in life. What he did not expect is that his father was planning on stealing her personal belongings for extra cash. Even when his father had done so, Woody had stood by him and said, â€Å"He denied that he or Pop had touched Ms. Shouldn't property. The missing object- e didn't even know what it was- had probably been misplaced, and they would be very sorry on the day it turned up†(Bellow 559).By staying loyal to his father, an admirable and rare trait, he had in fact proved himself to be deceitful and therefore disloyal to those who had supported him as he was growing up. Take one variable out of an equation, and the answer will be entirely different. Just as an equation, remove a character trait from Woodsy character, and the entire story will differ from the original. If woody had not been so loyal to his father, many things would have been different. To start, if Woody had not given his father the money to escape, His father could have never returned, believing that there was no warming welcome to accept.If he had indeed returned though, and asked Woody once more for money, I believe that Woody would have turned him down. Woody was well off in his life, entity from himself. When his father returned again, if Woody had thought in more of a selfish manner, he would have turned his father down, and would not have dealt with the pain of his supporters giving up on him. By being more selfish, Woody would have been seen as a more respectable character, without weakness for the man who mined his life. Woodsy loyalty to his father had been the variable in his life that continuously forced a downfall in his life.Loyalty is comprised of many things, but one thing loyalty does require is honesty. Honesty is another quality that is rare to find in this world, a quality that should be treasured. Honesty is the ability of being sincere, truthful, trustworthy, honorable, and fair. When you look at being honest and telling the truth it would seem as a simple task to practice. Being honest means keeping a friends secret unknown, admitting to your mistakes, and telling the truth despite the consequences. When you make a statement, make a truthful one. However, it seems that being entirely honest can be more difficult than one may perceive it to be. Woody was moved when things were honest. Bearing beams were honest, undisguised concrete pillars inside high-rise apartments were honest. It was bad to cover anything. He hated faking†(Bellow 542). Everything in his life that Woody had been able to appreciate had been honest. Woody had tried to learn from his father's mistakes, and instead being an honest man. After bringing his father to the house of the woman who could possibly help Woody and his father with their money issue at hand, Woody witnessed his father stealing a silver dish from the kind lady. ‘Before they come down, pop, will you dig that dish out of your long Johns. ‘ Pop turned stiff on him. He became absolutely military. He said, ‘Look, I order you! ‘ Before he knew it, Woody had Jumped his father and begun to wrestle with him†(Bellow 556) Being an honest man, Woody must go against his loyalty for his father and stop him from committing theft towards the one person who can help them. Woody does his best to be honest with everybody around him, but to be honest with one may result n dishonesty towards another. Dishonesty is a word used to describe the absence of honesty.If Woody would have been known as a man with the absence of honesty, the Woodsy life may have been altered entirely. If he had allowed his father to continue on with his theft, he would not only have felt guilty for allowing the terrible de ed to continue, he would have been an accomplice. He must have to choose a side, to stand behind his father or against him. By standing with him, it could have ignited a spark within Woody, causing him to follow in his father's footsteps as a kleptomaniac. He old have gone on to lead a life of crime, forgetting his mother and two sisters at home to starve.Truth and honesty are not easy qualities to come by, yet truth can always be found in religion. Religion can be defined as a system of beliefs, symbols, and values that provide a group of people with the solution of the question of the ultimate meaning. Religion is a way to acquire a higher feeling of self-importance. Man unites himself with the Infinite and feels ennobled. Through religion, men and woman are able to give their lives purpose. Religion is the central element in the life of civilization. Woody, immersed in Christianity, is known to be a man deeply connected to his religious roots.Woodsy religion is what put him on th e path for a new life, a path opposite of his fathers. Religion is the one source of comfort that Woody is able to find in his life. It gives to get up and tell a church full of Scandinavians that he, a Jewish lad, accepted Jesus Christ†(Bellow 545). Woody testified of his faith to Christianity and went on to say that, † he moved his own heart when he speak up about faith†(551). Woody had been known to the general public as a faithful Christian boy, servant to none except God. Although Woody had studied for two years in a seminary, preparing to be a minister.Two years of college during the Depression was more than most high-school graduates could afford†(Bellow 539). Without his father in his early years of life to show him the way, religion introduced him to the right path. Religion is what paid for his college tuition, taught him the meaning of honesty and how to take responsibility. Just like the rest of the character traits, take religion out of Woodsy ch aracter and the story will drastically change. Ms Skulled, out of good faith, had paid for his auction for two years in hopes of Woody becoming a minister.If Woody had chosen to be a nonbeliever, he would have undoubtedly lost his opportunity to go to college. By doing so, he could have lost his future opportunities to be able to support his mother and two sisters, as well as his father and his fathers spouse, Haling. Without religion, Woody might have not been able to find truth in the world, and therefore have no reason to be an honest, truthful person. If he had chosen the path to be free of religion, he might have not cared for being a sinner and in fact turned into his father, a gambling, stealing, irresponsible man.In conclusion, there had been many attributes that describes Woodsy character. The four character traits that I had chosen to talk about were his responsibility to his family, loyalty to his father, honesty in life, and faith in his religion. All of these characteri stics help develop their story in their own way, and I have proved this using the theory known as the butterfly effect. Change one detail in the past, and entirely alter the outcome of the future. Each characteristic helps develop the story in its own way, each critically changing the story when it had been removed from the list of his character traits.

Common Themes Paper and Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Common Themes Paper and Presentation - Essay Example Throughout history there have been many famous artists. Famous artist produce a type of art that is respected and often replicated. Having a piece of art replicated long after the art has been created shows how a piece can easily become timeless. Examples of how three forms of art share a common theme would be the Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the David Statue that was created by Michelangelo. Each piece is timeless and one of the most famous pieces created by the artist. Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh was created while the artist was in a sanitarium. The artist used the view from his sanitarium window and his own feelings to express what he seen as a Starry Night. A sub theme for this piece is similar to the others as it reflects the real world. The sub themes for this piece are also very different as they contain a fantasy like world. Since the artist was locked away in a sanitarium, the artist was unable to view the world underneath his window as

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The Value of Jackson Pollock's Painting Assignment

The Value of Jackson Pollock's Painting - Assignment Example The paper "The Value of Jackson Pollock's Painting" concerns the paintings of Jackson Pollock. Jackson Pollock’s painting can be sold for millions dollars because the artist is generally identified as a self created legend, is related to the innovative painting technique of drip painting within Abstract Expressionism genre, his artworks are renowned for spontaneity, his artistic career is interconnected with the development of mass media, and his artworks are symbolic of Americanism with immense artistic and economic value. One can see that fame and success within the scenario of art cannot be attained without any individual effort. Harold Rosenberg stated that, â€Å"The act on the canvas springs from an attempt to resurrect the saving moment in his â€Å"story† when the painter first felt himself released from Value-myth of past self-recognition†. For instance, the popularity of the artworks by Jackson Pollock is interconnected with the artist’s effort t o go beyond the limits of traditional mode of painting. To be specific, the artist did not try to follow the painters who adopted traditional methods in painting. Instead, he chose his own way and method within art. Besides, he knew that traditionalistic approach towards art, especially in painting, cannot help him to attain the status of a legend. But one must not misunderstand that his aim was to acclaim fame because he believed in individual freedom of artists. Similarly, Jackson Pollock was deeply interested in experimenting with different types of paints.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Challenges of ERP adoptions and critical success factors Essay

Challenges of ERP adoptions and critical success factors - Essay Example ber of factors such as enhancing the ability so as to compete on the global platform, excessive pressure from increased competition so as to become the low cost producer and increasing expectations in terms of revenue growth. In today’s scenario of implementation as well as management of enterprise resource planning the most important aspect is that of critical success factors or CSF. There lies a strong correlation between the challenges or issues that are witnessed with the adoption of ERP technology with these critical success factors. The critical success factors can be stated as exemplars that enable the process improvement boundaries to be extended and even can be considered to be valuable if it is taken into consideration in each of the stages of the overall implementation process. The adoption of ERP into the system is dependent upon various critical success factors that are grouped into two major parts that are strategic and tactical factor. The support from the top management is very essential when the issue about the implementation of ERP system is taken into account. In any organization the rules and regulation are set forth by the top management of the system and the software adoption as well as execution is majorly dependent on the extended support that is provided by the top management. The critical success factors that are strategic by nature is related to the mission of the project, support given by the top management and in case of project scheduling it can be associated with outlining various actio n steps for individual in order to implement the project (Ziemba & Obłąk, 2013, pp. 4-9). The tactical issues are needed to be considered when the next phase of project implementation takes place that is related to communicating with different users, adopting the necessary technology so as to support the system and hiring of business and technical professionals who would carry forward the implementation process. The critical success factors of ERP

Friday, July 26, 2019

Nationalized Health Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nationalized Health Insurance - Essay Example hree major areas of concern: loss of health decision choices and lack of privacy, a decline in the quality of health care and the creation of new inequalities. Proponents of nationalized health insurance focus predominately on the issue of monetary savings. They claim that the cost of consumer products is reduced when health insurance is nationalized because savings made by employers who are no longer liable for their employees health insurance are passed on to consumers. In turn, this lowering of the cost of products ensures more local jobs for employees because companies are more able to compete in global trade. Supporters of nationalized health insurance also maintain that employees are more mobile because they are more confident and thus more able to change employment if they are no longer happy with one employer; they are also less hesitant in setting up their own business or company without the anxiety of losing their health insurance. In reality however, while these arguments may be acceptable in terms of monetary savings and mobility, other costs are heavier. Canada and Britain both have nationalized health insurance but with differences. Britain employs a ‘single-payer system’ and people are unable to avoid the system and use private insurers. The government covers all health care costs, with money coming from tax incomes. Patients are not required to pay for any services other than some small amounts towards optical and dental care and treatments bought on prescription. Most doctors and nurses are direct employees of the government and thus paid by the government (Tanner, 2008, p.31). Canada’s system is different to Britain’s in that responsibility is divided between ten provinces and two territories. In other words, the federal government and provinces cover all costs but medical staff are not direct employees of the government. Federal taxes pay for around sixteen percent of health care costs with the remainder covered by provincial taxes.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Risk Management - Essay Example Previously, the safety culture at BP had presented a cause for concern with the Texas City Refinery explosion and other events presenting an adverse image. Toney Hayward, the former CEO of BP, had tried to enhance safety at BP when he took office at a time when BP faced three criminal investigations. However, it would appear that the managerial decision-making processes at BP remained flawed as managers continued to take risks in efforts directed towards trying to manage costs and delays while neglecting safety. Although it is likely that a blowout preventer with a flawed design contributed to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the managerial emphasis on costs and delays caused BP subcontractors to become negligent. BP managers refused Halliburton recommendations to use twenty-one centralisers and proceeded to cement the well using only six centralisers. Halliburton used cement that did not pass its own laboratory tests to cement the well and this contributed to the flow of hydrocarb ons into the well. Transocean crew did not take adequate notice of the kick in the well that pointed to a loss of well control and proceeded to release gases from the well on to the rig through the mud gas separator instead of diverting the gas away from the rig. In addition, inadequate maintenance of the blowout preventer was to contribute to events. Because bonuses presented to BP project managers depended on completing projects close to budgeted costs and schedule, the wrong emphasis had persisted. It is likely that independent verification of managerial decision-making emphasising safety from a command that is distinct from the project management command at BP under a Chief Safety Officer reporting directly to the CEO at BP will help present the correct emphasis. BP did have a safety director at the time of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, but it will appear that this safety director lacked powers, a separate chain of command and a capacity for working effectively to give effe ct to his mandate. The new CEO at BP has promised to create a safety division at BP with sweeping powers. BP project managers should now receive bonuses that emphasise correctness of their managerial decision-making for a project instead of receiving rewards for trying to complete a job within budget and schedule while taking risks with safety. In addition, it will make sense for BP to try to contribute towards helping to improve the design and reliability of superior technology for offshore operations, including subsea blowout preventers. Contents Introduction 1 What Went Wrong? An Analysis of BP’s Approach to Risk Management that Influenced the BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster 3 A Reasoned Discussion about How BP Should Progress in the Future with Regard to Risk Management 15 Conclusion 19 Bibliography / References 22 List of Figures Figure 1: Typical Subsea Blowout Preventer Stack 7 Figure 2: Deepwater Drilling with Subsea Blowout Preventer 8 (This page intentionally left bla nk) Introduction The word â€Å"risk† refers to the possibility of loss, injury or harm, and it is unfortunately true that it is not possible to assign absolute certainty to the occurrence of any one event because there will always be some level of uncertainty associated with the outcome of events (Bonham, 2008, Pp. 183 –

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Trafficking and Prostitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Trafficking and Prostitution - Essay Example Slogans like â€Å"personal or political† not only helped in showing expression about women inequality in daily experiences but such analysis opened the entirety of personal life to a political analysis, so that, logically, major emphases within feminism were issues of sexuality and intimate relationships. (Irvine, 1990, p. 136) Despite over two decades of an international women’s movement, feminist debates upon prostitutes never end. Though feminists have been successful in providing an account of this dilemma that has categorized the debate in two broad categories, ‘free sex’ and ‘forced sex’ but how such an all-purpose dilemma which is problematic at every instance can fulfil the deviant that is played in many societies? The outcome of such ‘feminist’ perspective is nothing but that the end of the moral career being subjected to extraordinary public regulations. Situations aftermath end up in ghettoization, arrest, jail or prison sentencing, fines, ridicule, shaming, shunning, and deportation. Additionally, prostitutes are frequently the victims of violent crime raped and beaten by clients or pimps and murdered by unknown serial killers. Feminist philosophy is a subject which has acquired much attention in the past decades regarding speculative arguments and practical politics. It is us who create and visualize differences, differences based upon characters and differences that emerge as if woman is entitled to a separate class. Despite these differences, feminist philosophers are able to gather and unite woman in a single perspective which in the vision of a philosophical mind is free of the misogyny and male bias that have characterized so much of Western philosophical tradition. Feminist philosophy’s challenge to this tradition has been the challenge of repairing the distortions, centring the marginalization, and valorizing what were once considered the trivial, if not invisible, facets of

Organisations and behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Organisations and behaviour - Essay Example Traffic lights are manufactures by Siemens and doctors in hospitals have MRI lifesaving scanning facilities made up of Siemens under the flied of advanced medical scanning technology. For instance, if we compare the organizational culture and structure of Siemens with Samsung, it will be apparent that there business structure is based on family linkages and centralization (Unisg.ch, 2013). There organizational culture is inherited by their predecessors (Dinitzen, 2010). It is also important to understand that the culture of a firm is the common way of carrying out Fof a company develops gradually. It is made by the employees that work for the company—its supervisors and staff. What the company stands for, its norms, values and motives that it seeks to acquire (its vision), are underlying aspects in establishing a dynamic culture. An effective cultural performance exists when people in the organization accepts the same belief and where they rely and value everyone’s cont ribution. Siemens’ activities are based on effective teamwork culture. This focus on the team has been well integrated by the international CEO of the company, Klaus Kleinfeld. Working in team work can significantly impact the organizational performance and this has been well understood by Siemens. The quality of its people and their teams is the most valuable asset, specifically in today’s scenario where the flow of knowledge round the world is happening with lightening pace. Unlike Samsung where the most important component of their success is innovation and procedures which they carry out to bring new products for their consumers (Forbes.com, 2013). Thus, organizational structure and culture adopted in Siemens have been a major factor in its success and is a differentiation among other multinationals. Impact of organizational culture and structure on the performance of Siemens Successful management of human resources department in the businesses is a major concern f or both the HR managers and other policy makers of the company. To gain a satisfied, committed, and well performing human resource for a business, managers must have persistency among the organizational system, structure, culture along with an appropriate strategy. Siemens strives to make all of it employees to be completely motivated and engaged in the organization and to feel themselves an important part of company success. People therefore need to know their important in the business. Keeping this notion in mind, Siemens develops precise expectations. Every employee plays a crucial role in acquiring results (Dinitzen, 2010). According to Siemens, their business effectiveness relies on the performance of each and every employee, their teams and the whole organization. Organizational structure, managerial practices, leadership and the process of decision making intervened by organizational culture, effective managerial style constructively influence employee performance. On the con trary, centralization, inadequate participation of employees in decision making, lack improvement, formalization and extreme specialization impacts the motivation of employees negatively (Macdonald, 2013). Expert guidance, decentralization, structure, adaptive culture, management activities, employee participation, collaborative management, work autonomy, safety and well-being, employee growth, and opportunities for employee development within organizational cu

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

CUSTOMER CARE AND ROLE OF THE OVERSEAS REPRESENTIVE Essay

CUSTOMER CARE AND ROLE OF THE OVERSEAS REPRESENTIVE - Essay Example Large organisations are observed to be expanding their businesses globally in order to maintain their competitive position amid their competitors by offering an assortment products based on the local needs and preferences (Blaxter & et. al., 2001). However, it has often been viewed that the aim of expanding is considered to be one of the major tasks which at times results in negligence in the way customer satisfaction should be taken care of. With the changing demand in the preference of goods amid people, it has become vital for every organisation to implement new steps that would help them to fulfil the rising demands of their customers. Today’s tourism industry is recognised as one of the growing global industries. It has been measured that today many students selects travel and tourism as their field of study and chose to select it as the way of earning their livelihood. Additionally, tourism industry is viewed to provide challenging and exciting working environment which is attracting more people towards it. Overseas representatives are essentially organisational members who represent themselves as an authorised person to act as an official delegate or agent. The role of overseas representatives in a tourism industry is essential as they are responsible to look after all the requirements of their customers, which in turn helps in building better customer relationship with the organisation. Although tourism is considered to be a growing industry, it has been viewed that minimum research has been conducted to study the importance of overseas representatives in tourism industry and their role to maintain good customer care. In this regard, organisations or people who mainly aim to study the role of overseas representatives in tourism industry and their role in maintaining good customer care level would be attracted towards this research as it would aid them to understand the various factors associated with the job role and the importance of overseas re presentatives in tourism industry (Dale & Oliver, 2005). The Research Questions Based on the selected research topic, the two research questions that would be addressed in the proposed study are â€Å"what are the roles of overseas representative to establish better customer car

Monday, July 22, 2019

The Leadership Challenge Essay Example for Free

The Leadership Challenge Essay Challenges are what this book expands on, most especially, challenges pertaining to traditions and myths about leadership. Kouzes and Posner look at the issue of leadership and ask, What’s new, and what’s different? Through their research they conclude that even if the context has changed, the real meat of leadership remains the same. In their book The Leadership Challenge, the authors provide real examples of what true leaders really are and suggest that anyone can do the same and practice these principles so that they shine as leaders in their own spheres of work or activity. Written in 1987, many thought it would be one of those books on leadership but since it comes at a time when the world is undergoing a lot of changes and there is a big demand on excellence. The newest edition emphasize once again that the fundamentals of leadership, the very essence of what it means to be a good leader is the same today as it was two decades ago. Thus, they posit that â€Å"Leaders do exhibit certain distinct practices when they are doing their best. Good leadership is not only an understandable but also a universal process†¦and Leadership is not a private reserve of a few charismatic men and women. It is a process ordinary managers use when they are bringing forth the best from themselves and others.† Perhaps this is what makes the book a hit. The authors are able to hit the weak spot of readers as the challenge is brought out to everyone to do their best because being a true leader requires the very same characteristics that one may already be doing in his own field of work, yet just needs some honing. Thus, the context may change – like there are many modern things that had been changing globally, and in this aspect, leadership has changed dramatically; yet the very essence of leadership is still the same, such as the values and virtues that one cultivates in ordinary life. The book is divided into seven parts with thirteen (13) chapters. It helps that the authors are real leaders themselves. Consider this: Jim Kouzes is Chairman Emeritus of the Tom Peters Company and an Executive Fellow at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. Meanwhile, co-author Barry Posner is Dean of the Leavey School of Business and Professor of Leadership at Santa Clara University. They come up with a Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) and other publications have made them the authors to beat. Part One of the book establishes the background of what leadership is all about. They challenge readers on how people can be made to follow leadership—that is, by free choice. Thus, they were able to identify five common practices common to most extraordinary leadership. They maintain that leaders do their best when they challenge, inspire, enable, model and encourage. Leaders interact well with their followers. Right from the start they provide real life examples such as that Tom Melohn who in a period of eight years increased the sales of the North American Tool and Die (NATD) by a factor of 5, increasing its pretax profits by 750 percent, and decreasing annual turnover from 27 percent to 4 percent. By year eight, NATD was ready to open a new plant which Melohn calls â€Å"Plant 20† receiving its ninth â€Å"vendor of the year† award. From there the authors analyze how Melohn did it considering that he could not even hammer a nail or screw the license plates onto his car, claiming he has never read a book on business since his studies focused on history. He was merely a peddler of packaged goods. He attributes his success because: â€Å"We set three objectives for NATD. First, we planned to from the company profitably. Second, to share the wealth among employees. And third, and equally critical, it was important to have fun—not just the two owners, but all our employees.† From this the authors dissect Melohn’s leadership capabilities within the company. It is in these examples, peppered all throughout the book, which makes The Leadership Challenge a great read. Readers are able to identify with the true-to-life examples of ordinary men and women who did their best to make their lives and those of others memorable. The quality and type of leadership depends, in part, on the attitude or stance of the organizational head. The general outlook of companies with regards to community service and mitigation of negative externalities may have originated from its founder. Leadership is a primary aspect of management, and an effective leader is someone who knows how to motivate the colleagues to act for the attainment of goals. Good leadership will empower employees to become collaborators in the programs. A holistic organizational participation thus dispels the notion that innovations of management are just personal whims of the managers. Good leadership is a response to the changing attitude and values of the clients and the society, and to get obstinately stuck in the old notion of sheer profit-making is placing one’s self under the risks of being static. Thus, the authors explain that once successful companies are no longer successful because they have become static along the way when they failed to change and adapt. The authors also underscore that successful leaders have well-designed strategy for planned change. Good leaders also possess well-planned out strategies which are major courses of action adhered to by an organization in order to meet its goals. They are the company’s methods of responding to threat and opportunities. Their philosophies, programs, practices and decisions, must be in line with the other systems and activities of the organization. Good leaders possess good business ethics, in that it is the ultimate act of deviating from the former exploitative system of capitalism and industrialization. Balancing between strategic logic and social involvement with tangible projects may actually be an implementation of ethic’s moral rights model. Yet the authors provide readers with excellent examples of a leadership model which is not based on power. Rather, it is based on the tools that leaders use to encourage people to be involved in accomplishing the company’s goals by making â€Å"extraordinary things happen,† as the authors refer to. Prominent in each chapter are examples of leaders who were able to overcome crisis situations. The authors maintain that knowledge is not the sole capability of the leaders. They argue that knowledge is distributed in all levels of the organization and that in order for the organization to benefit from the knowledge of the other men and women in it, they must be empowered well. Thus they state that it is not a matter of making people feel that they are part of the company. Rather it is a matter of making people part of it. Thus, it is not based on feeling. There is more a reaching out of leaders to these employees such that they are encouraged to be true followers pursuing the goals of the organization. Finally, the authors argue that empowerment of all members is very important in making changes more effective. The more involved people are in the process of change, the more effective the change will be and the more lasting it will be for the company Good leaders today enhance their ability to influence their subordinates in order to facilitate efficient decision making process within the organization. This means enhanced strategies in motivating and influencing employees to achieve their tasks. The core need for good leaders is to have the ability to communicate well with employees their roles in the accomplishment of organizational goals and targets. There are lots of valuable leadership forms in the book which many leaders could use. They represent the most effective and the least effective leadership strategy. The issues of motivation are also delved into in the book and this is the prime mover for many workers. Workers need affirmation that what they are doing is correct and exceptional. The inability of the leader to convey the message that job is well done only demoralizes them. This invokes feelings of uselessness and diminishing self-worth eventually giving no incentive to perform a good job anymore. To be extremely coercive is not an effective communication tool for workers would not be able to confirm their role in the over-all design to achieve the goals. The authors end the book with the Leadership Practices Inventory which was developed to empirically measure the conceptual framework developed in the case studies of managers’ personal best experiences as leaders. This puts a nail in the many concepts that they posit in the entire book. Today, there are researches that investigate how the inventory is related to other independent measures of managerial effectiveness.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Marketing Strategy Of Titan Watches

Marketing Strategy Of Titan Watches Today, a wristwatch is considered as much of a status symbol as a device to tell time. The watches and jewellery has not been immune to the economic climate and the whole industry suffered in late 2008 and in 2009 as consumer confidence fell and people became more cautious about their spending. The overall jewellery and watches market grew by 10% since 2005 to reach  £4.8 billion in 2010 and Mintel forecasts 11% growth for the jewellery and watches market over next five years. 2011 is also going to be the year to invest in mens jewellery. Stephen Webster presented a strong case for mens jewellery at IJL in September 2010, and assuming male customer only want watches and the odd signet or chain could lead to missing out on a potential wealth of customer. Its not that male customers dont want it: they just dont know they want it. Men arent like women and theyre not used to thinking about what to wear, explain Webster. But once a man is bejewelled, theres no looking back. They also dont wait for special occasions like woman do, and they can go from zero to jewellery enthusiast in no time. Market research company Mintels September 2010 report Watches and Jewellery Retailing UK found that 20% of male respondent said they like receiving jewellery as a gift, and 12% said that they had purchased all of their own jewellery. So the market is clearly there to be exploited. http://www.retail-jeweller.com/trends/in-with-the-new-2011-trends/5020089.article Rocketing gold prices and recession have led many consumers to buy silver jewellery instead of gold, with almost one in five people wearing more silver jewellery than gold, rising to nearly three in ten women; particularly young people aged 15 24. The affordability and disposability of many costume jewellery items means that customers are more willing to experiment and try new looks without denting their bank balances Young men aged under- 35 are more open to paying higher amounts for a watch as they typically do not wear jewellery to express their individuality or consumer spending power. Some 86% of consumers wear a watch, but nearly 40% only a new one when their old one is broken. Converging the watchs main function with health benefits would be one way of helping create new reasons for purchase. http://oxygen.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen/display/id=479809 Executive Summary: https://www.keynote.co.uk/market-intelligence/view/product/10331/chapter/0 Many Brands and companies are constantly reinvigorating their businesses and positioning them for growth. There is a constant need to innovate, reinvigorate, update, recalibrate, or just simply fend off the competition in an effort to better explain ,why buy me. In the market for the brand and product offerings is created by positioning. It reaches a certain type of consumers and delivers benefits that meet the needs of several key target groups and users. Actual Approach of a company or brands positioning in the marketplace depends on how it communicates the benefits and product attributes to consumers and users. As a result positioning of a company and/or product seeks to further distance itself from competitors based on a host of items, but most notably on five key issues: Price, Quality, Product Attributes, Distribution, and Usage Occasions. In recent times, consumerism has undergone a sea change. Consumers today are well informed about the products, as compared to earlier times. Hence, the market has become customer centric. Recognizing the importance of the customer is business structure; companies have started effecting brand repositioning exercise on regular basis. In the recent times, a major brand repositioning exercise has been planned by Titian Industries Ltd in order to provide more to its customers. The company has its new position. This study will help to understand the revived positioning strategies of TITAN watches. An analysis of repositioning strategies of Titan also forms of the study. Firstly it is important to understand the overall wrist watch industry in UK. Secondly to study the brand positioning and re-positioning strategy of Titan wrist watches and to find out whether the loyal consumers of TITAN watches aware of the new positioning strategies of the company and how they perceive them. To study primary and secondary data have been used. Analysis UK wrist watch industry and brand repositioning strategies of TITAN Company has been analysed and completed on the basis of secondary data. Internet, journals, books and magazines have been used for this purpose. Project comprises conducting a questionnaire survey. (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() Introduction: 1.1 Theory and concepts: A business has two and only two basic functions: marketing and innovation Peter Drucker To maintain business relevance and market position, it is important to continuously innovate and invent brand image in the market to pace with change and intense competitive pressure in the marketplace. In this context, brand repositioning and other revitalization strategies have become a business imperative for battling brand erosion. The appeal of brand repositioning is further heightened by the rising costs and high risk associated with launching a new brand. Increase in the cost and high risk related with launching a new brand that is a part of brand reposition.Brand reposition has received very importance in the marketing literature and mostly been treated as a variation of brand positioning. Reposition can be required as the market changes and new opportunities occur. In order to reach the customer which was never targeted at first can also be targeted with brand reposition. In order to change its image in the market it is important to focus towards brand repositioning, although it is one of the toughest and hardest actions in marketing to reposition a familiar brand. According to Solomon, position strategy is an essential part in the marketing efforts because companies have to use the elements in the marketing mix to influence the customers understanding the position. There has to be several choices to be, so to as to be in more attractive and relevant position. It is important for the person who is reposition for the reposition to know and understand why reposition is necessary and its need, and if the offer is the one that will change or just the brand name. While repositioning it is important to undertake and understand all the risk factors that is likely to affect it in the market. A company risks its credibility and reliability more while repositioning its brand in the market and the need for a thorough strategy is very important to avoid any occurrence. Some analyst argues that to successfully reposition a established brand name is almost impossible because repositioning of a brand can make the most loyal customer to switch brand. If the brand is eroded then brand reposition becomes important. Numerous attempts to reposition brand in the market may fail which is testified by many company for example while soft drink has successfully been able to connect with the youth though they exist for 40 years in the market but at the same Levis, jeans has been losing its market share to newcomers such as The Gap despite numerous campaigns designed to reposition the brand trend. 1.2 Literature Review: The reposition strategy is defined into three stages that is: Introductory Elaboration Fortification This involves the introduction of a new or a repositioned brand, seeking underline the brands value over others, and to broaden the brand position. It is truly hard to change the customers perceived attitude towards a brand, and therefore the risk is great that the attempt to repositioning might fail. After rolling out the strategy, it is time to modify the proposition through update of the personality and through repositioning. There pros and cons with both of this segments and it is great significance that they are truly calculate when deciding the next step in the process. To understand it more deeply http://htmlimg4.scribdassets.com/55f3acalz4nfgla/images/10-81b5e3fa9c/000.jpg Figure 1: Stages in brand strategy development. When a company modifies or change something that is already there in the market established in the mind of the customer that is called as repositioning. Different profession and individuals have different meaning and understanding towards Repositioning. There are few different definitions and greater understanding about this concept: Repositioning is a change, principally about triggering the vision, mission and value in a new direction that is more suited f or the brand in the future- Brand manager consultant. Principally, reposition concerns changing the consumers perception of the brand PR consultant. Repositioning is built upon the change of unique and differentiated associations with the brand in some kind of direction; it is about having a balance between the category party and differentiation when using reposition strategies (Leading Brand strategies) From these definitions, it is obvious that reposition is about moving something to more attractive and relevant position. Reposition direction is often decided as to what a company wants to achieve. There is also a visible relation between price and quantity aspects. When a company perceives the market as a demand curve, the purpose is to down stretch or upward curve. When moving up and there is a need for reaching the premium segment and expand up wards. Figure: The principle of reposition. When striving towards a new position in the market, it is important to understand those consumers are limited. Peoples minds select what to remember and it is important to convince the consumers with greater arguments. The market always strive for change which is rapid and therefore repositioning can be necessary to meet these demands, newer and stronger arguments have to be established to convinced them to stay as loyal customers. As repositioning is a very complicated matter and therefore there are no detailed theories or models. Aim for repositioning is different for different person, and the only connection between all the different theories is that repositioning is moving something from somewhere towards a greater position at the market. Corstjens and Doyle (1989) identified three types of repositioning strategies: Zero repositioning, which is not a repositioning at all since the firm maintains its initial strategy in the face of a changing environment. Gradual repositioning, where the firm performs incremental, continuous adjustments to its positioning strategy to reflect the evolution of its environment; and Radical repositioning that corresponds to a discontinuous shift towards a new target market and /or a new competitive advantage. After learning the repositioning of several brands from the UK market, the following 8 types of repositioning have been identified. These are: Increasing relevance to the consumer Increasing occasions for use Making the brand serious Falling sales Bringing in new customers Making the rand contemporary Differentiate from other brands Changed market conditions A four phased brand repositioning approach can be followed to achieve the intended benfits- Phase I. Determining the current status of the brand Phase II. What does the brand stand for today? Phase III. Developing the brand positioning platforms Phase IV. Refining the brand Positioning and Management Presentation The advantages that can be derived from brand repositioning exercises can be summarized as: Value over others Updated personality Relevant position The risks associated with such strategies are: Loss of focus Neglecting original customers Losing credibility for the brand Confusing the brand Therefore, brand repositioning is more difficult than initially positioning a brand because one must first help the customer UNLEARN the current brand positioning This can be done by: Carefully crafted communication New products, packaging Associations with other brands ( co- branding, co- marketing, ingredient branding, strategic alliances, etc) that reinforce the new brand positioning. This exercise is so critical to an organizations success that the organizations and its marketing/brand management leader should develop it, preferably with the help and facilitation of an outside brand positioning expert. Research Methodology: 2.1 Objectives To study the current scenario of UK wrist watch industry. To review the brand positioning strategies of different sub-brands of watches. To analyze the brand repositioning strategies of watches. To study consumer awareness and perception about the brand repositioning strategies of watches. This study will help to understand the gap in its communication strategy regarding brand repositioning exercises and the further measures to be taken for effective marketing communications. 2.2 Limitations: The study is confined to London area only There is possibility of sampling errors in the study The responses of the consumers may not be genuine Questionnaire may not be comprehensive 2.3 Sources of Data Collection: The relevant data was collected from both primary sources and secondary sources. The starting point of my information gathering has been the secondary sources such as internet, books, and journals and so on. Firstly, brand positioning and repositioning strategies of Titan, secondary sources such as internet, insurance magazines, and journals and so on. Then I conducted a consumer awareness survey on brand repositioning strategies undertaken by Titan watches in recent times. 2.4 Sampling: To conduct sampling of 50 loyal consumers of Titan and in the age group of 20 30 years for this study. Since Titan has taken up brand repositioning strategies since January 2011, consumers who have seen the previous and new campaigns have been targeted. 2.5 Primary data: Data was collected through an interview schedule, consisting of both open ended and closed ended questions. It consisted of the parameters like reasons consumers brand preference, recollection of earlier tagline and advertisement, brand ambassador of Titan awareness of new tagline and campaign featuring sportsmen and actors from International body and so on. The data was collected through e-mails, telephone contacts and one to one personal interviews. Industry Overview UK Watch industry: Market report examines the UK jewellery and watches market, total sales of jewellery and watches in the UK fluctuated between 2004 and 2008, and fell by 2.8% in the latter year to finish the review period at  £4.33 billion. The declining sales in 2008 can be largely attributed to the global economic downturn and UK recession, which have had a negative impact on nearly all industries. Initially, the luxury end of the market was relatively unaffected by the downturn, but by the end of 2008 and 2009, it had begun to take effect. The jewellery and Watches market has become increasingly competitive in recent years. Although the industry has always been fragmented with a wide range of suppliers and retailers, developments in online retailing have contributed to it becoming increasingly transparent for information on pricing and availability. This has been a positive trend, especially for many smaller brands that previously were not able to deal directly with consumers. Some larger retailers, as well as a few independents, have also developed transactional sites to deal with this demand. With around a third of the UK population owning a piece of precious jewellery and nearly in ten owning a watch, products have a high rate of consumer penetration. The downturn in the UK economy is unlikely to show reversal in 2009, and this will continue to affect all areas of consumer spending. It seems the concepts of a wrist watch have become that of a status symbol rather than a practical chronometer. According to a survey that suggest one in seven people in the UK has no need for watch, apart from as a fashion accessory. Gadgets such as iPods, laptops and mobile phone, represent threat to the watch industry, survey conducted by Mintel. Even in the age of iPhones, people spend huge amount of money on a quality time piece, with high-end brands such as Rolex and Tag Heuer adorning blinged up wrist of rappers, bankers and fashionistas alike. http://www.wharf.co.uk/2010/11/why-wrist-watches-are-dialling.html SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE UK WATCH INDUSTRY: Strengths: Watch industry is growing industry which faster rate As the population is rising, the watch market is also expanding Customers are not very price sensitive as far as quality watch is concerned Weakness: There is not much advertising done by watch industry No innovation in products There are few number of exclusive showrooms that reduces the consumers accessibility to the product There are few marketers, who are concentrated only upon a particular niche segment (Tag Heuer ) Opportunities: There is more need of fashionable luxury watch and fine luxury watch brands that can be targeted in UK, as customers are more like trendsetter and fashionable. UK especially London is a metropolitan city which makes it more attractive for the new company. Youth are more brand conscious than their predecessors. That leads to the expansion of the market for branded watches. Threats: There are many foreign players entering in the race Too many players will dilute the market and the profit margin. Mobile phones acting as substitutes of the watches. The Indian watch industry began in the year 1961 with the commissioning of the watch division of Titan. The first watch model manufactured by HMT was the Janata model in the year 1962. HMT was the leader in the watch market till the Tatas formed Titan watches in association with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation in the year 1987. They took a major strategy decision, which later changed the face of the Indian watch market to manufacture only quartz watches. Liberalisation in 1992 and removal of quantitative restrictions due to WTO has opened the doors for many the Indian market viz. Tissot, Swatch, Omega, Rado, TAGHeuer. The import duties on watches are falling which makes the Indian market look attractive for the global majors like Casio, Swatch and Citizen. Company Profile: Overview Titan is the largest watch company in India and the sixth largest in the world. Titan manufactures over 7 million watches per annum and has a customer base over 65 million. An industry was established in 1984 as a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. The company brought the shift in the Indian watch market, offering quartz technology with International styling, manufactured in a state-of-the art factory at Hosur, Tamil Nadu. Leveraging its understanding of different segments in the watch market, the company launched a second independent watch brand Sonata, as a value brand to those seeking buy functionally styled watches at affordable prices. In addition it focused on the youth with its third brand fastrack. In two decades the company has built an impressive watch business to become Indias largest manufacturer and the worlds sixth manufacturer of watches. This has mainly been achieved by developing a formidable distribution network. The company has amongst the worlds largest retail chain of exclusive retail showrooms for watches called The world of Titan spread over 100 towns. It also has multi brand outlets named Time Zone, service centers and dealer outlets. Globally Titan has a presence in over 30 countries through its marketing subsidiaries. The company has watch assembly plants at Dehradun (UP) and Baddi ( Himachal Pradesh) and a plant manufacturing electronic circuit boards in Goa. The majority stake in the company is held by the promoters, with Tidco having 28 percent of the shares and Tata Group companies owning 25 percent of the shares. Public holding in the company is around 28 per cent. The rest of the stake is held by foreign institutions, non resident Indians, mutual funds and other institutions. It has also premium fashion watches by acquiring a license for global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, while. It has also in its portfolio its first Swiss Made watch brand Xylys. 1995, the company diversified into jewellery under the brand Tanishq to capitalize on fragmented market operating with no brands in urban cities. In 2005, the launched its second Jewellery brand, GoldPlus, for capitalizing on the opportunity in small towns and rural India. The company has now diversified into fashion Eyewear by launching Fastrack Eye-Gear sunglasses, as well as Prescription Eyewear. TITAN WATCHES: BRAND POSITIONING STRATEGIES Overall strategies: Since its introduction, Titan has been positioned as a premium brand, providing high quality products. Titan is struggling to have a strong brand image in UK market due to its numerous sub-brands that caters to different segments in India. It follows different positioning strategies; these strategies can also be analyzed as given below: Attribute Positioning: When the company launched its products, it was the first to bring quartz watches to Indian market. The company successfully leveraged this to penetrate the market. Raga, Classique and Regalia come under this strategy. Classique positioned as elegant corporate wear that leaves a quiet, but definite impression and fusion of function and sophistication. Regalia ranger represents the elegant-wear. Raga has been differentiate and positioned as exclusive watch. The Raga and Silver Raga collection is elegant, delicate and feminine with each piece truly unique. User Positioning: Titan caters to several user groups children (the Dash), sportspersons and adventurers. The fastrack range is seen as being contemporary, reliable and sturdy. The advertising, packaging and merchandising of this range is young, cool and vibrant. Benefit Positioning: Titan seeks to differentiate its offering on the basis of superior style and attractiveness which is offered by fastrack Digital range. Competitors Positioning: With the entry of several foreign watchmakers into the market, Titan had to encounter the threat. Most the entrants are catering to the upper end of the market Omega, Cartier etc. Quality or Price Positioning: In the overseas market, especially in Europe where it is competing with Swiss and Japanese watches, it is positioning itself as value-for-money (less than Swiss watches and higher than Japanese), attractively styled and of good quality. TITAN WATCHES: BRAND RE-POSITIONING STRATEGIES FOR GLOBALISATION Titan has managed to get fair market in Middle East and Africa but its failure in Europe was a downturn for the Company as the return was not as good as investment made for the expansion. Titan has decided to revamp its flagship watch brand in Europe mainly in UK. Titan wants to reposition it more youthful and relevant to the changing times. Titan has entered the International markets in 1989 through the export of watch movements. Titans first global footprint was placed in the UAE the largest market in the Middle East then it moved towards Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and few markets in Africa. Though it faced strong competition, it reached the sales of 100,000 watches within a year of its launch. It started to move globally and moves towards Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal. After its extensive survey, it concluded that it needs good reason to stock the brand. Titan needs to re-position its brand image in the UK market. And so Titan decided to against soft option of driving its globalization through private label exports. It would launch its product under its own brand with market positioning Therefore Titan found a massive advertising campaign to create brand awareness. It also participated in the fair which showcases the worlds biggest watch brand in the world. http://www.moodiereport.com/images/luxury_watch_tables_jan10_04.jpg http://www.moodiereport.com/images/luxury_watch_tables_jan10_05.jpg CONCLUSION: The suggestions to improve consumer awareness about brand repositioning strategy of Titan are as follows: To increase its visibility, Titan Company can sponsor events similar to fashion shows which all latest designs launched are displayed. This is important as it has a great effect on different segments of the customers in different ways. It is important to have Tie up with radio channels and television to broadcast and telecast its advertisement about various sales promotion from time to time. RD needs more investment as customer expectations are changing rapidly. It should focus more on introducing more varieties and luxury items in the market at regular interval. Introduce exclusive collection for working women which is more contemporary and complements any fashion styles. Tie up with international watch brands to make the product stronger in the market. To use internet to spread awareness among consumer about the brand. (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })()

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Ascension Of Jesus Christ Theology Religion Essay

Ascension Of Jesus Christ Theology Religion Essay The resurrection and ascension of Jesus has remained a mystery to my belief. There has never been a reoccurrence in my life time and throughout history. People tend to wonder how a man who was really dead and was buried can come back to life. The burials that take place in our communities result in the decomposition of the body. In areas, like Malawi villages, where technology is not advanced burials are immediate. A delay in burial for about two to three days in a village set up without the cooling system makes the body starts to decay. Therefore, it is a hard thing to believe that a person came back to life on a third day. The idea is even complicated when it is said that the resurrected person went up to heaven. In secondary school we learn the laws of gravity. If you throw something up it falls back. It is a fact that people do not fly because they have no wings. This paper wishes to establish why Christians believe in the physical resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Establishin g the reality of resurrection and ascension of Jesus will strength believe and resolve the mystery. Summary of Grudems Views Grudem (2000) asserted that when Jesus came back to life from the dead his body was in physical form. He stated that Jesus experience was different from that of Lazarus as it is recorded in the book of John. He affirmed that Lazarus resurrection was subject of physical developments which lead to aging and death. According to him Jesus resurrection is not subject of biological development, (Grudem, 2000). Contrary to Harris views (as cited by Grudem 2000) Grudem (2000) refuted the fact that Jesus resurrected body had spiritual aspects which enabled him not to observe physical laws. Harris argued that Jesus spiritual body enabled him to pass through the wall and perform instant appearances and disappearances. Grudem affirmed that the New Testament does not seem to assert that. He argued that when Jesus resurrected his body was physical because he could eat, prepare breakfast and be seen. He quoted Jesus himself in Luke 24:39 confirming his physical being by telling his disciples, see my hands and my feet that it is I myself; handle me and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see I have,(Grudem, 2000, p. 613). Grudem (2000) insisted that Jesus could not have deceived the disciples. He stated that if Jesus had wanted to prove that he had a spiritual body he could have clearly demonstrated it to his followers. In line with this, he stated that the disciples could have clearly recorded it to give evidence for his spiritual body. He also argued that when Jesus ascended to heaven the angels confirmed about his physical state by telling those who witnessed his departure that he will come back in the same physical state he went to heaven. He stated that Jesus resurrected body set precedence to the kind of state which people would acquire in the next life, (Grudem, 2000). Grudem (2000) stated that the resurrection empowered the believers of Jesus. He pointed out that Jesus promised his followers the power of the Holy Spirit only after the resurrection. He argued that the believers were given the ability to overcome sin in their lives and effectively serve him. He made reference to Pauls message that God made us right with him through the resurrection, (2000). In regard to the ascension of Jesus Grudem (2000) affirmed that it is an indication that he went somewhere to a place. He argued that there should be a place called heaven where Jesus went in his physical body. He stated that even though we do not see where he went it does not nullify the fact that there is heaven. He said that just as angels are invisible although they are around us so too is heaven. He cites an example of Elisha as recorded in the Old Testament that when God sent him the chariots of soldiers his servant could not see them. He said that our eyes cannot locate heaven but Jesus went up and Elijah too went there. He considers Jesus ascension vital because it is a sign that we too shall ascend to heaven. He confirmed this with Jesuss promise that there is a lot of place in heaven and we too shall go where he has gone, (Grudem, 2000). Leading Views In his book The Case for Christ: A Journalists Personal Investigation of the Evidence to Jesus, Strobel (1998) supported the reality of Jesus death and resurrection based on interviews with experts in medicine and history. He established that Jesus really died according to the doctor. The doctor said that Jesus could not have survived the trauma and the harsh treatment. He argued that the high degree of stress that Jesus experienced made his body tender. He added that in this state when he was subjected to severe Roman whipping his body had severe tears and loss of blood. He stated that this disapproved those who claim that the resurrection was just resuscitation. In his interview the historian argued that there was no way the soldiers could have walked free without punishment. He argued that considering the kind of punishment which was in practice for such an office what the high priests and the Roman officials did revealed a foul play. He confirmed it with reliable documentary that Jesus resurrected. He stated that Jesus showed himself too at different times to many people and the largest group was 5000 people, (Strobel, 1998). Mcdowell (1981) and Lutzer (1994) supported the historical resurrection of Jesus. They argued that historical evidence like the Dead Sea scrolls and history from historians like Josephus proved that Jesus really resurrected. They said these validate the historical reliability of the New Testament which also has the shortest gap between its copies and the originals. They highlighted the reluctance showed by the high priests and the Roman officials to punish the tomb guards. They said that the guards action to have supposedly allowed the escape of criminal or robbery of the body was a serious case punishable by death. (Mcdowell, 1981 and Lutzer, 1994). Interestingly enough, Mcdowell (1981) in agreement with Grudem, reported that Jesus resurrection was physical not spiritual. He refuted the claim that Jesus body decayed and came back to life a spiritual being. He argued that Jesus physically appeared before many people both hostile and friendly. He affirmed that these could have refuted the reports as they were written while most of them were still alive. He stated that both hostile and supporting community validated the accuracy of the New Testament report, (Mcdowell, 1981). Alternative Views Humel (1975) and Kaufman (1968) argued that Jesus did not resurrect but the disciples had visions and hallucinations. Hemel stated that the disciples experienced the aftermaths of the dilemma of losing Jesus. He argued that they resolved the dilemma by the imagination of a ghost so they hallucinated due to their memories of Jesus. While Kaufman argued that the disciples experienced public visions about Jesus in his Jesus came back to life in a spiritual body. They both argued that the resurrection was the explanation of the believers experiences not the reality of events, (Humel, 1975 and Kaufman, 1968). Harris (1990) partially agreed with them as he argued that Jesus rose into a spiritual body that could materialize for some time to be seen. He stated that Jesus body did not observe the physical barriers like walls for a building. He concluded that the fact that Jesus could be found standing instantly amidst the people it indicated that he was a spirit (Harris, 1990). Crossam (as recorded by Boyd, 1984) asserted that as Jesus was killed like a criminal he was buried in a shallow mass grave according to the custom of the day. He argued that wild dogs usually ate the bodies so Jesus body was also eaten. He stated that Jesus followers had no idea where he was buried and what came of his body. He concluded that since Jesus was their hero they decided to portray a victorious end of his life by inventing characters life Joseph of Arimathea and the resurrection, (Boyd, 1984). Personal Views Jesus really resurrected into a physical body as verified by scriptures. I agree with the views of physical resurrection because of the reliability of scripture. The scripture recorded Jesus himself in Luke 24:39 saying see my hands and my feet that it is I myself; handle me and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see I have. Therefore, if Jesus himself confirmed his physical resurrection and the scripture recorded it then it is historically validated that he had physical resurrection. The fact that Jesus appeared to a large numbers of people verifies his physical body. I disagree with Humel (1975) and Kaufman (1968) who argues that the followers of Jesus either saw visions or hallucinated respectively. It is difficult to believe if visions or hallucinations can be experienced by a group at the same time about the same thing. This is impossible. Spiritual experiences are personal. As a result there was no way for instance, the 11 disciples or the 5000 people could see the vision or hallucinate about Jesus at the same time. The gospels recorded that the ascension took place in the presence of his disciples and other people. In line with this, it can be argued that Jesus was physically present with them on the day of the ascension. Acts 1:11recorded the two angels message to those who witnessed the ascension. They said that Jesus will come back from heaven the way he has gone. I agree with Strobel (1998) who is a journalist by profession. His interview with the medical personnel revealed how impossible it was for Jesus to fake his death as some claim. The spear through his heart could definitely finish him if he had faked it or just fainted. Strobel gives us a scientific explanation of the reality about the death of Jesus. For those who rely on history he also verified Jesus death, resurrection and ascension based on the historical events. Therefore, even if one does not believe in the bible he can base his trust on the evidence of the medical and historical information available. These experts help us to clear the doubt whether Jesus died and resurrected or he just fainted and was resuscitated. It has to be noted that the community in which Jesus lived not everyone agreed or supported him. There were other people who wanted his down fall. These people could have really tried to refute the substantial claims made by his followers. The silence of the then hostile community reveals the validity of the claims of the believers. In support of Mcdowells (1981) and Lutzers (1994) suspicion I agree with them. If a very serious crime is committed no one is willing to cover it unless there is some benefit in doing so. Therefore, it puzzles me too to hear that in such a serious and sensitive mistake made by the guards the high priests who were the interested party never reacted. The Roman officials too decided to overlook their laws. It is surprising that somebody would chose to cover up an enemy. This clearly shows that Jesus was raised. They could not disprove it by producing a body. I understand that they could afford to fabricate a lie. Conclusion The resurrection of Jesus is the essence of the Christian faith while ascension gives us hope. If there would have been no resurrection there would have been no basis for Christianity. In line with this those who are hostile to Christianity will always try to find something to fault Christianity. Opposition will always be there but a Christian should have a reason for his or her belief. If someone tells you that Jesus body was rotten or eaten by wild dogs there should be an explanation to your stand. As our teacher Professor Stauffcher always say that we should have a reason why we believe what we believe so that we can answer when critics confront us. Ascension gives us hope for the promised heaven. In John 14:1-4 Jesus said that there are many rooms in heaven. He tells us that if there was no place he would not have bothered to tell us. Therefore, ascension gives us hope that one day we will also ascend to heaven and be with Jesus and the Father.

Being a Good Leader Essay -- leader, leadership

Leadership is a term on which no one can develop a mutual consensus as it carries a different meaning for ach individual. Some people may consider a person as their leader who is capable of taking them away from hardships, some people may consider the one as their leader who is quite charismatic and can show them dreams of a bright future or some people may consider that man as a leader who can make them progress by devising wise strategies for them etc. There is, somehow, something very common in all the perspectives that are the philosophy behind the definition, which is related to choosing a best of the best person as their leader. Nobody wants to have a person as his leader who doesn’t have knowledge of the needs and aspirations of his people or who is not blessed with a certain temperament foe bearing hardships for the nation etc. But there is something on which all of us would agree that it is a philosophy or an attitude that helps the people in achieving a common goal or destination by having a guide who can give directions to his people. In other words, a leader is a person who is having enough authority to drive others on his commands and directions. It is also be said that leader is the person having its followership because if there is no one who is following a person, the person cannot be granted the status of a leader in spite of all of his leadership qualities (Peter F Drucker; as cited in Mahatma Gandhi, 1982, p.1). Similarly, Warren Bennis has also defined a leadership as quality of knowing one’s own self along with having a vision for the sake of taking the people forward. Interestingly, he doesn’t consider it enough to have a vision but believes in its effective communication to the people to make them convin... ....org/history/gandhi/autobiography.pdf House, R. J. "A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness". Administrative Science Quarterly Vol.16: (1971) 321-339 Keshvan Nair. The code of silence. 1996. P. 35. Maury Jim. Thoughts on Leadership, from Warren Bennis. Leader Values. Optimal Solutions International. Web. 27 May 2015. http://www.leadervalues.com/Content/detail.asp?ContentDetailID=298 Mosby. Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. 2009. Elsevie Parel, A. J. Gandhi, M.K. Hind swaraj and other writings. 1997. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Richard Attenborough. Leadership: Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi – Father of the Nation. Mahatma Gandhi. p.1. 1982. Web. February 07, 2011 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/27495243/Gandhi. Weber, M. ‘The Theory of Social and Economic Organization’. 1947. Glencoe: TheFree Press and the Falcon's Bring Press.

Friday, July 19, 2019

The Web Unwoven :: Expository History Interenet Essays

Introduction The WWW and the Internet are joined at the hip. The two are not separate—at least today. (Galbreath, 1977).(1) Most graduate students today, especially those of us majoring in Instructional Technology (IT), use the World Wide Web (WWW or Web) and the Internet (Net) for research. However many students do not know exactly how the Web came about nor do they understand its relationship to the Internet. Students, along with the general public, often consider the words Web and Internet interchangeable, meaning one and the same thing, primarily for the reason that Galbreath mentions above—the two seem joined at the hip today. The purpose of this paper is to provide a synopsis of the historical evolution of the Internet, to distinguish between it and the Web, and to present a glimpse of the Internet's future. History J.C.R. Licklider of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recorded the first conceptual description of computer networked social interactions in August 1962. His Galactic Network concept essentially described, in spirit, the Internet of today. It involved computers interconnected around the globe through which we could quickly access data and programs from any site. He convinced several of his colleagues of the importance of this networking concept. (2) Evidently, computer networking research work at MIT (1961-1967), the RAND Corporation (1962-1965), and at NPL in the UK (1964-1967) all proceeded in parallel without any of the researchers knowing of the other's work. (For a complete timeline of Internet developments visit Hobbes Timeline.) (3) For instance, in July 1961, Leonard Kleinrock at MIT published the first paper on packet switching theory and later in 1964 he published the first book on the subject. Meanwhile, in 1962, The RAND Corporation published Paul Baran's report On Distributed Communications Networks. The report was funded by a US Air Force contract to explore how the US military could protect its communications systems from hostile attack. In this and his subsequent reports, Baran recommended a national public utility to transmit digital data among a large set of subscribers. With his proposed packet switching system, messages are divided into packets, which are separately addressed and separately transmitted. Each packet is passed from node to node on the network. Although each packet may follow different paths, when it ends up in it's proper destination, all the packets are then reassembled into a complete message.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Streetcar named desire: reality

A Streetcar Named Desire: Illusion Replacing Reality â€Å"Human kind cannot bear much reality' (Eliot 14). Tennessee Williams' â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† is an artistic demonstration of T. S. Eliot's observation. In Streetcar, Blanche, a woman in crisis, visits her sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley in New Orleans. Blanche is from an upper-class background but has fallen on hard times, both economically and emotionally. Stanley is from a lower-class background with a cruel streak a mile wide. What ensues is a conflict of epic proportions between Stanley and Blanche, with Stella torn between the two.Each character operates ithin his or her own alternate reality. Through Stella, Stanley and Blanche's self- deception within this conflict, Williams demonstrates how and to what extent individuals create their own realities in order to maintain the fapde of an existence they deem acceptable. Blanche, more so that any of character demonstrates an individual's ability to live in an alternate reality. Blanche creates an illusion that helps her cope with the type of person she has become because of tragedy she experiences.Blanche's husband commits suicide after she makes a cruel statement to him when she discovers his affair with a man. Blanche deals with her guilt and loneliness with destructive behavior: she drinks excessively and engages in sexually promiscuous behavior. Ultimately, Blanche is run out of town and comes to live with Stella with nowhere else to go. The facts behind Blanche's story are sordid. But she does not acknowledge them or even live in a reality where they exist. â€Å"After all, a woman's charm is fifty percent illusion† (2. 29). Blanche creates an illusion where she remains a proper Southern lady who is wanted by rich gentlemen. She arrives at Stella's house wearing pearls, white gloves and a hat, â€Å"looking as if she were arriving t a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district† (1. 14). She clings t o her Southern aristocratic roots and labels Stanley a â€Å"brute† because of his social status (4. 2). She will not acknowledge that she has fallen on hard times, but instead adopts a reality as it â€Å"ought to be† (9. 43).She strives to convince others to adopt her reality to reinforce her fantasy world (â€Å"l misrepresent things to them. I don't tell the truth, I tell what ought to be truth†) (9. 43). For Blanche, an alternate reality is not Just desirable or more acceptable, it is necessary. Blanche needs the illusion because she annot exist without it. She cannot see herself as she truly is and go on. When Stanley shatters the illusion, Blanche is destroyed along with it. Like Blanche, Stella also creates a false reality to make her existence acceptable.Stella's alternate reality does not permeate her life like Blanche's. But, it is equally destructive. Stella creates an illusion of Stanley as a loving husband to maintain her illusion that everything i s fine in her marriage. Stella's illusion of Stanley is evident on two occasions†when she returns to Stanley after he beats her and when she refuses to believe that Stanley has raped Blanche. When Stanley beats Stella, Stella's self-deception becomes evident. It is clear at that point that Stanleys cruelty extends to Stella in their marriage.Blanche tries to convince Stella to leave Stanley. Ironically, Blanche, who clings to illusion herself, tells Stella that she must, â€Å"Pull (her)self together and face the facts† (4. 48). Stella, however, opts for her illusion. She returns to Stanley and maintains the illusion ot ner nappy marriage. Stella again opts tor ner alternate reality when she refuses to believe that Stanley raped Blanche. Stella recognizes that he cannot maintain the illusion of what her marriage is if she believes Blanche. So, she makes a conscious decision to reject Blanche's story and maintain her illusion.At the end of the play, Stella explains her d ecision to her friend Eunice: â€Å"l couldn't believe her story and go on living with Stanley† (1 1. 40). In reply, Eunice states, â€Å"Don't ever believe it. Life has got to go on. No matter what happens, you've got to keep going. † (1 1. 41). Eunice's reply suggests that she recognizes that Stella is deceiving herself about Stanley in order to maintain the illusion of her marriage. Stella's statement also suggests a degree of awareness that the illusion of her marriage would be destroyed if she accepted Blanche's story.Stella is only able to maintain her false reality by rejecting the truth about a brutal rape against her sister. Through Stella actions, Williams demonstrates the extent that an individual will go to in order to maintain an illusion. Both Stella and Blanche's lives are mired in illusion. Williams suggests that perhaps Stanleys is as well toa lesser degree. Williams betrays Stanley as a forthright man who speaks truthfully and plainly. From the time e meets Blanche, Stanley is obsessed with revealing Blanche's lies and deceptions.But, ironically, even Stanley creates an alternate reality that he is better able to accept. After he has driven Blanche insane by his brutal rape, Stanley goes to his family and presents the image of a loving husband and father as Blanche is taken away. Stanleys alternate reality mirrors the one that Stella has created. In his illusion he is a loving father and husband rather than a cruel bully. So, through Stanley, Williams demonstrates that even those who are firmly seated in reality engage in self-deception to maintain an acceptable fapde.Williams' message in Streetcar seems to be that humans tend to make their own reality when the real one is not to their liking. Blanche, Stella and even Stanley toa lesser degree create false realities. Their illusions cloak actual realities which they are unable or unwilling to bear. The illusions they create allow them to adopt an existence that is acceptable to them†one that is in no way similar to the truth of their lives. Works Cited Eliot, T. S. â€Å"Burnt Norton. † Four Quartets. New York: Mariner Books, 1968. 14. Print. Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Signet, 1974. Print.