Monday, December 23, 2019

Ronald Reagan And The Fall Of An Empire - 3332 Words

Ronald Reagan and the Fall of an Empire With the dust settling after the end of the Second World War two supers started to emerge. In the Western side of the globe with the power of industry, manufacturing and a free market, capitalist society the United States was growing at the fastest rate in modern times. As a polar opposite to the United States and their form or government almost as if suited for a fiction novel The Soviet Union with the power of a Communist Iron Fist Government was too emerging. Both wielding the power and never seen before destructive power of the atomic bomb squared off in a worldwide chess match using the globe and neighboring countries as their board game and pawns. Both countries tried to spread their form of†¦show more content†¦It was the only thing he really thought about in depth.’ (Mann 51) For Reagan this was the reason he was put into office and he wanted to make sure that during his presidency he would fight each day to end form of government that immoral and evil. Regan upon his inauguration started to make a change in policy that have been left over from previous administration of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. The first among them was â€Å"Dà ©tente.† This is defined as easing of hostility or strained relations, especially between countries. Reagan did not believe this tactic worked in the past or was even possible of working the future. â€Å"Well, so far dà ©tente’s been a one-way street that the Soviet Union has used to pursue its own aims. I don’t have to think of an answer to what I think their intentions are; they have repeated it. I know of no leader of the Soviet Union since the revolution, and including the present leadership, that has not more than once repeated in the various Communist congress they hold their determination that their goal must be the promotion of the world revolution and a one-world Socialist or Communist state, whichever work you want to use. (Reagan, 1981) This believe and stance that the S oviet Union will not negotiate has led him to follow one path. A path that leads to the defeat of the Soviet Union. Reagan started to implement many policies and strategies to achieve his goals in the

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Best Mom Free Essays

Best mom essay Hello my name is Cassandra and I Will Be talking about my mom and why she should become one of the best moms in San Diego. I believe that my mom has done many things to receive this kind of award and I think that she is one of the greatest moms. There are many reasons that I say why she should become on of the best moms in SanDiego. We will write a custom essay sample on Best Mom or any similar topic only for you Order Now Some of the reasons that she should become one of the greatest moms in San Diego are because she has volunteered at my school and she has sacrificed many things for me and my siblings and she is also a good role model. These are only some traits if my mom and in the rest of this essay I will be elaborating on these 3 traits of my mother. My mom should be one of the greatest moms in San Diego because she did volunteer at our school and help out. My school has a mandatory of 15 hours that the parents of a student have to volunteer at the school in a year. My mom has volunteered at the school for not only 15 hours. She was done with her volunteer hours around the 3rd moth of school and yet she still volunteers even though it isn’t mandatory after that. At a school program called Acess we do a lot of community services like helping g in beach clean up, doing volunteer at the Ronald MacDonald house and helping kids with autism. Over all we have done more that 20 community services within my years there and my mom has volunteered in almost all of them and helped manage the kids. That is one of the reasons that I believe that my mom should be one of the greatest moms in San Diego. The second reason that my mom should be nominated as one of the greatest is because she has taught me many lessons and many things that will help me in life. Some of the things that my mom has taught me are Responsibility, Organization, respect, Honor, and honesty. All these things are lessons that will help me in school middle school, high school, college, and even after I get out of school just in life. I believe that because I learned many things from my mother that she should be named one of the greatest moms in San Diego. Another reason that I think my mom should be named best mom would be because she is a great role model. My mother is a very good role model to me and my siblings. My mother is a person who puts all her effort to raising us good and she is a hard worker and that motivates us to do a good job and work hard in school and that is one reason I think my mom is a great mother. In conclusion I believe that my mom is a great mother and she should be named one of the greatest moms in San Diego. t as told above the reason I think this is because she volunteers at our school even after finishing the mandatory hours and she has taught me some of the important lesson that help me in the future and she is a great role model. How to cite Best Mom, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Digital Transformation Physical Retailing â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Digital Transformation Physical Retailing? Answer: Introduction Retail Sector is now going through digital reinvention and renewal. Consumers are considering shopping as an important experience. This expectation of simple, easy and convenient purchasing experience remains same through online, physical stores, mobile application, and website or through other digital media. In this overall concept, consumer behaviour is changing and it is impacting the process of transformation in retail landscape. The shopping is now all about experience regardless of channels. The journey of consumer is more dynamic, continuous and complex in digital era. Retailers may add more value to consumers shopping experience through integration of retail channels, digital distribution channels and extensive sharing power of social media (Turow, 2014). Marks Spencer Retail Digital Disruption Marks Spencer is a British multinational retailer dealing in clothing business from a long time. From a strong dependency on physical mode of doing business, now it has felt that there is need of transformation from physical to digital. This company is now much more focused to bring digital culture which will support their online as well as multi-channel strategy. It has considered digital transformation as core part of their business. This company has understood the potential of adopting digital and forecasted digital adoption as critical to their business success. The best thing about their digital culture adoption is that the adoption has been advocated and supported by strong top management recommendations and well thought strategic planning (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson, 2014). In store, Marks Spencer Team is using iPods and FaceTime to share views about their store and they are using it as collaborative digital tool. In recent times, Marks Spencer has made considerable IT investment to upgrade in-store WiFi facility. They have started their Sparks Loyalty Card to catch customer data and bring new insights through use of analytics. Marks Spencer has gained its increased revenue through well combination of better digital content and online commerce. Through improved IT infrastructure, Marks Spencer has provided Next Day Collect facility from stores, return facility to stores and stock indication level through its website. Through their online and offline approach, Marks Spencer has become a progressive multichannel retailer. Marks Spencer has revolutionised the concept of digitally enabled retail stores through Interactive Stores where large screen displays are placed and through which consumers can search, choose and pick their desired clothes. Also these display screens allow consumers to see how models are looking while wearing these cloths. This old retail store has made it digital makeover through providing digital kiosks and option of virtual makeover to their customers (Bilgihan, Kandampully and Zhang, 2016). Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that Marks Spencer is providing better customer experience through its Omni-channel approach. It can be suggested that this experience can be improved through use of facial recognition, in-store smart stock tracking, augmented reality and smart lighting. All back office work must be well aligned to support uniform customer engagement and experience (Bennett and Azhari, 2015). References Bennett, D.R. and El Azhari, J., 2015. Omni-channel customer experience: An investigation into the use of digital technology in physical stores and its impact on the consumer's decision-making process. Bilgihan, A., Kandampully, J. and Zhang, T., 2016. Towards a unified customer experience in online shopping environments: Antecedents and outcomes.International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences,8(1), pp.102-119. Piotrowicz, W. and Cuthbertson, R., 2014. Introduction to the special issue information technology in retail: Toward omnichannel retailing.International Journal of Electronic Commerce,18(4), pp.5-16. Turow, J., 2014. The Digital Transformation of Physical Retailing.The Ubiquitous Internet: User and Industry Perspectives,25, p.146.

Friday, November 29, 2019

What Writers Can Learn from Cinema - Infographics

Whatever you’re writing, perfection knows no limits. Such a pursuit does not require one to go far, just pay a visit to the local cinema. It always helps see and understand films as streamlined visual literature! They find a way to capture our attention and reveal the way an author feels and thinks about a particular subject. Thus, a writer should look to learn some tricks from the movie industry. Let’s grab a bowl of popcorn and watch some of them! 1. Create vivid images All of the brilliant films you love have their most memorable moments. The greatest directors use vivid imagery and create a picture moving in time combined with the sound. You’ll never forget Kevin's scream after applying after-shave in Home Alone or shower murdering scene in Psycho. In academic paper writing, you’ll benefit from creating vivid images either. Use associations to create the sense of participation for your reader. This process will always boost one's imagination and improve their ability to share this vision. It will also make your narrative essay, short story or descriptive paper stand out to the audience. 2. Organize the narration Each film has an introduction, the main body that leads to the moment of truth. Lastly, all this gets summarized by a conclusion highlighting the life lessons to be learned. Such a structure keeps the audience comfortably involved. The same concept applies when tackling creative paper writing. Remember that too much exposition bores your reader. However, provide enough details to understand your key idea. This is the lesson to learn from films with dynamic narration rhythm and unexpected plot twists. 3. Make controversial statements Another trick to catch your reader's attention is to make disputable statements. The greatest directors are not afraid to be outrageous. A Clockwork Orange with highly-stylized violence brings out conflicting emotions. Still, it’s one of the most iconic films of all times. The next time you write an argumentative paper or persuasive essay, don’t be afraid to make controversial statements! But remember that all of your arguments should be well-grounded. 4. Wit is always appropriate Humour makes good films ingenious. Applying such an idea is not only limited to being used in sitcoms. Ridley Scott believes that humor is appropriate in any genre to help reach a broader audience. Be careful with jokes in academic paper writing. You walk the fine line! But the light vein of humour will make your narrative or descriptive essay brilliant. 5. Write what you love In the first place, be obsessed with the topic or quit it. Some of the best films ever were not box-office bomb - Citizen Kane or Blade Runner. One must pursue their vision even if nobody praised them at first. In essay writing, be accurate and open-minded experimentalist true to your fundamental idea. May it bring you joy!

Monday, November 25, 2019

Neuclear Power essays

Neuclear Power essays Most of the worlds electricity is generated by either thermal or hydroelectric power plants. Thermal power plants use fuel to boil water which makes steam. The steam turns turbines that generate electricity. Hydroelectric power plants use the great force of rushing water from a dam or a waterfall to turn the turbines. The majority of thermal power plants burn fossil fuels because thermal power plants are cheaper to maintain and have to meet less of the governments requirements compared to nuclear power plants. Fossil fuels are coal and oil. The downfall of using fossil fuels is that they are limited. Fossil fuels are developed from the remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago. Burning fossil fuels has other downfalls, too. All the burning that is required to turn the turbines releases much sulfur, nitrogen gases, and other pollutants into the The cleanest, cheapest, and least polluting power plant of the two types is the hydroelectric power plant. The main reason most countries use thermal versus the hydroelectric is because their countries dont have enough concentrated water to create enough energy to generate electricity. (World Book vol. 14, 586) Nuclear power plants generate only about eleven percent of the worlds electricity. There are around 316 nuclear power plants in the world that create 213,000 megawatts of electricity. (INFOPEDIA) Radioactive, or nuclear, waste is the by-product of nuclear fission. Fission occurs when atoms nucleus split and cause a nuclear reaction. (General Information) When a free neutron splits a nucleus, energy is released along with free neutrons, fission fragments that give off beta rays, and gamma rays. A free neutron from the nucleus that just split splits another nucleus. This process continues on and is called a chain reaction. (World Book vol. 14, 588) The fission process is u...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Describing an essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Describing an - Essay Example This occurs in a case that there is grave danger facing an individual (Allyn 26). Mostly, when people experience fear, adrenalin kicks in allowing them to scamper extremely fast to safety. Arguably, no theory or ideology specifies on this reaction, but may be fear becomes the propellant for people to head to safer zones. However, fear is not anxiety as many would want to believe, but instead anxiety is a feeling of nervousness on an imminent event that is not necessarily associated to any form of danger. It is the uncertainty of the outcome of an event making it particularly different from fear. Therefore, the essence of this paper will be to describe a picture in relation to fear it evokes. Fear draws similar meaning to phobia, which was initially a Greek word. In essence, this gives meaning to the various forms of fear that are in existence. Incidentally, phobia is more clinical than fear as its use is in identifying and naming the fear that an individual has in order for them to a ccess treatment. For instance, the fear of water is aqua phobia while the fear of small spaces makes one to claustrophobic. Additionally, there is also the fear of death termed as Thanatobia and coulrophobia, which is the abnormal fear of clowns. These are just a few examples of existing fears, as the list is endless. However, there is no specific name given to the fear of scary looking faces, but the other fear closely related to coulrophobia is mask phobia that is the fear of masks. As per the picture, the woman in it appears one who provokes fear to anyone who views the picture for the first time. She appears to be a woman who has seen her fair share of unfortunate events in her life. For instance, the eyes are the windows to the soul hence hers appears evil and dark. Her eyes are not appealing although their color is unique. From another angle, she appears, as though she has evil spirits within her that makes fearful to associate with them. According to fictitious narratives, th ose possessed by evil spirits tend to camouflage their eyes to evoke fear among their viewers. Usually, a ray of light appears from their eyes that sometimes produces flames of fire. This is to mean that the eyes can reflect the nature of an individual and the availability of supernatural powers. Anyone who would meet her would fear having any form of confrontations with her because of her appearance. On the other hand, this woman’s face depicts suffering and the way of life subjected to her. It appears as though she has learnt not to trust anyone hence portraying the anger and rage that dwell within her. Essentially, the tormenting experiences that people go through make them build invisible walls around themselves due to the fear of going through the same experience again. Ideally, this woman might have experienced civil war and human suffering first hand. This experience appears to have hardened her in to not having a welcoming smile. Her face depicts distrust and a sharp contrast of a contented woman. Tentatively, the events in the lives of people reflect on their skin as a smooth skin, especially on the face, reflects a smooth life. In contrast, this woman’s face is rough and neglected. This means that she does not pay attention to detailed beauty to her facial appearance. Sequentially, her facial impressions make her the modest and rural kind of woman. This is mainly

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Property Cycles - UK Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Property Cycles - UK Experience - Essay Example The above described cycles have been proved to have a significant role on the development of national economy (or its decrease during periods of recession). The research focuses on the effects of property cycles on the economy of Britain as these effects can be observed on the daily consumption behaviour of people across Britain. All parts of the property market development as well as the risks that are related with the specific part of the economy are going to be analyzed emphasizing on the potential use of property cycles in order to support the local economy. Generally, it could be stated that the property market is characterized by continuous and radical changes. The specific issue has been examined by Pain et al. (1994, 53) who noticed that ‘the behaviour of the personal sector has changed markedly over the past 15 years, coinciding with a period in which overall consumers expenditure proved extremely difficult to forecast with any degree of accuracy’. Because of the above phenomenon, the national economy – which is closely related with the property market - faces severe turbulences by achieving a significant level of growth when the prices of houses are increased and having severe losses in periods that the prices of houses are decreased because of the lack of monetary resources available that they could help the enhancement of the property market. In a relevant research published by National Statistics Online (2007) it was revealed that ‘a feature of home ownership in the United Kingdom is the relatively lar ge number of homes purchased with a mortgage; approximately three quarters of house purchases are financed with a mortgage loan facility’. This means that consumers in Britain cannot afford the purchase of a new house and for this reason they seek for the support of the financial institutions. However, if taking into account the fact that borrowing cannot be increased on a continuous basis (such a fact could lead the national economy to severe

Monday, November 18, 2019

Marketing and Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing and Strategy - Essay Example Adaptation is essential to an organization's survival in today’s unreceptive business environment. Marketers need to understand what is at the heart of their consumer offering and stay one-step ahead of the competition in terms of delivering it. It is quite evident that with increased globalization and improved technology, there are constant key emerging trends in marketing which are also changing various consumer needs. Marketing is defined as the conceptualization ad delivery of great customer satisfaction. According to Kaplan and Michael (2010), customers are no longer viewed as members of passive audiences rather they are now active participants in marketing processes. Marketing and marketing communication are changing daily. These changes offer a new wave of communication channels to both new and existing markets, which were not evident in the past decade within organizations. Clearly, there have been significant evidence on shift of focus and budget resources allocation into interactive online marketing which is facilitated with increase use of internet. Based on organizational changes across the globe, new theories of marketing have been largely developed such as electronic, social, and environmental and network marketing. These changes in marketing presume changes within consumers’ behaviors and transition towards electronic marketing (Kaplan and Michael 2010). Technology is changing the world past acknowledgment and consumer potential are evolving with it. No industry can afford to rest on its success. In this tough economic climate, small changes are not always enough to sustain a competitive advantage. New marketing models and fresh approaches to customer problems need to emerge rapidly to stay ahead of the competition. Today, the internet is considered one of the biggest forums. Kaplan and Michael (2010) assert that, there is a new change in marketing where marketers have turned to internet to facilitate their marketing processes. Many marketers have resulted to internet marketing for their business regardless of the kind of business being operated. Internet allows customers to review and purchases an organization product and services regardless on which part of the world they are in. customers are able to access company’s website purchase a commodity or service as well as refer a company to other at the comfort of their homes. Anderson and Narus (2004) maintain that, the use of internet is viewed as a holistic marketing, which has become today platform. Here, holistic marketing widely combines traditional marketing with new computer and digital capabilities to build long term and mutual satisfying relationship between the company and its customers. A good example in the adaptation of a holistic marketing process is in Japan where the country engages in u-Japan where information flows freely which facilitated by a network which can be accessed anytime from anywhere. The letter u represents ubiquitous which indicates a time where internet communication plays a major role in marketing linking both consumers and company (Anderson and Narus 2004). Further, based on online marketing marketers have engaged the use of email newsletters to keep in touch with their customers as opposed to traditional method of designing catalogues and brochures. Dwyer and Tanner (2006) assert that, email newsletters are considered as the method, which displays return on investment (ROI) in internet marketing. For example, markets are using full service providers, which are known to create content as well as designing the marketing layout and later send out organizational newsletters. In addition, online marketing have resulted to two new kinds of resellers namely; infomediaries and metamediaries (Dwyer and Tanner 2006). Infomediaries are web pages such as Google and Yahoo that acts as brokers in today’s marketing world. Metamediaries are companies that possess robust internet

Saturday, November 16, 2019

An organisations process

An organisations process Introduction Strategic planning is an organisations process of defining its corporate strategy, making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue its strategy, including its capital and human resources. In this modern and competitive era growing business, means taking timely, quick and accurate decisions about the way we want to grow our business. As an organisation grows, it becomes more and more complex for management to control. In this case, strategic planning is the key component for all type of organisations, which help them to keep on track. All organisations depend on strategic plan to keep the long-term focus synced up with day-to-day decision-making. From Board level to front line staff, everyone is aligned with the organisations strategy and vision. Because it is a road map to lead organisation from where it is now to where it would like to be in future. It is very important for management that they make sure, that all those who involved in any activity are clear about what that o rganisation is looking to achieve and how they are planning to do it. The main source of information is included from official websites and reports published by companies. Moreover, references from different books, published journals articles, research reports and internet have been used to support the arguments. Critical Analysis of Strategic Planning of Primark Company profile Primark is an Irish clothing retailer. It opened its first store in Dublin in 1969 under the name of Penneys. The company head office is based In Dublin, and operates 193 stores in Ireland, UK and other European countries. Primark is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) and positions itself as marketing (selling) fashionable clothing at cheap prices, targeting women, men, children and supply home decoration goods. Primark aim is to focus on latest fashions and sell to its customers with the variety of design at affordable prices. Primark mission statement is to provide customers with high quality, fashion basis at value for money prices (Primark 2009). Critical Analysis of Primark According to clothing market review 2008, the United Kingdom retail clothing market was worth  £42.45 billions in 2007. It account for almost 6% of total consumer spending which is lowest proportion in the history of UK. The reasons for decline in market were the declining prices and intense competition in the industry. Survey also shows that the cheap clothing market consumers will increase in the future and there is no sign of growth in market value over the next five years (Market Report 2008). Primark face intense competition due to number of competitors (Appendix 1). According to Bowmans Strategic Clock (1996), Primark is position itself in competitive environment at low price in his strategic clock (Appendix 2). This strategy helps Primark to analysis it competitive position in other competitors. Primark is fashion conscious targeting under 35s with the slogan Look good pay less at Primark. It offers good quality fashion clothes at very competitive prices. According to Porter Generic Strategies (1980) Primark is following cost leadership Strategy in retail clothing market. The success of this strategy is based on access to cheap resources and buying in bulk. Michael Porters Five Forces (1979) Model of competitive position helps Primark to analyse its competitive position in the industry. Cost leadership strategy helps Primark to create barrier for new entrant to sell same products at lower price. Primark imports from Asian countries where cost of production is very low and buying in bulks help Primark to improve its Bargaining power. On the other hands, bargaining power of the customers is not very strong because no other retailer is selling trendy and fashionable products at such a low price. So all this help and provide a platform to Primark for expansion both gaining market share and entering into new markets. PEST analysis can be used to examine the factors affecting on Primarks external Environment. All four factors have a considerable impact on Primarks environment. Political factors such as labour law, environmental, trade restrictions, tariffs, tax policy restrict Primark to operate within the limits. Economic factors such as interest rate, inflation rate, exchange rate, economic growth and disposal income affect Primark business operation and day-to-day decision-making. Social and cultural factors help Primark to take into account trends, fashion, growth rate in population, age, gender etc. Finally, technological factors helped Primark to reduce cost, improve quality and lead to innovation. In UK, clothing market is very competitive and credit crunch made it worse. Primark is the only clothing retailer who gets benefit from credit crunch. According to Igor Ansoff (1957), Primark is penetrating the clothing market to targeting competitors customers and retaining existing customers. Sean Poulter (2008) report says, Primark sales rose over 25% in 2008 and gave Primark overall 10% market share of UK clothing industry. It made second biggest seller after MS (12% Market Share). Primark has a very clear market positioning at the cheap end of the market. For Primark internal environmental analysis, SWOT analysis is used to assess Primarks internal capabilities, core competences while threats and opportunities assess external environmental factors. Primark SWOT analysis is shown in appendix 3. Critical Analysis of Strategic Planning of Woolworths Group Plc Company Profile F.W. Woolworths Company founded Woolworths in UK in 1909. In 1982 it was acquired by Paternoster Stores ltd, the subsidiary of Kingfisher Plc. Woolworths Group Plc was formed by the demerger of Kingfisher and began trading as listed company in August 2001. It inherited a mountain of  £200 million debts, and costly lease agreements. Right from the beginning, it sold a variety of goods such as childrens clothes, toys, stationery, electronic goods and confectionery. Pic n mix sweets and Woolworths have always gone together until went into administration. In first four years company really took off but after 2005 it faced constant decline in business and finally it went into administration on 27 January 2009 (Times Online 2008). This company was one of the biggest victims of recession. Mission and Vision Woolworths mission was to be at the heart of the community and the best loved retailer for kids, home and family leisure. Vision was to provide quality products and services to customer all the time through price strategies Elrico (2002). Critical Analysis of Woolworths Group Plc My aim is to analyse strategic planning process of Woolworths to analyse past seven years performance by using various strategic tools. Woolworths performance has been variable over the past few years and in 2005 private equity group Apax made a takeover bid, which was rejected by the board, and four weeks later they received another offer and it made Woolies future uncertain in retail sector. Strategic planning is usually begins with external environmental analysis of the organisation. Competitors are the primary external consideration for strategic planning. For Woolworths Porter Five Forces (1979) can be used to analyse external environment. Woolworths failed to respond the threats of it competitors. They never made any strategy to build barrier for competitors such as ASDA, Tesco, Argos, Discount Stores etc. Its management always depend upon advertisement and customers loyalty. Perfect competition brought more choices for customers and due to intense competition (Rivalry) in the industry, profit squeezed and market demand saturated. Woolworths customers switched to its competitors. Woolworths faced huge problems with suppliers in last couple of year of trading and they forced to pay cash at the time of purchases because of lack of security. According to Michael porters (1980) Generic Strategies to obtain competitive advantages, organisation must have one of the following strategies: Cost Leadership strategy Differentiation strategy Focus strategy Woolworth get stuck in the middle without having any competitive strategy as a result competitors (ASDA, Argos etc) took advantages of that and stole all customers form it. They never released the importance of competitive strategy and had growth strategy to compete with competitors by opening new stores in different parts of the country. According to Igor Ansoff (1957), Woolworths had Market development strategy to target new customers. Woolworths internal environmental analysis, SWOT analysis is the best tool, which can be use measure internal and external factors that affected on its strategic planning. Internal analysis examines Woolworths capabilities and external analysis examines factors that bring opportunities and threats (Appendix 4). Comparison of Strategic Planning of both organisations In the highly competitive environment in which all UK retailers are in war to sustain their position against competitors in this recession, Primark is doing remarkably well. The key of success in based on its well-planned strategies that evaluate internal and external factors that affect on it environment. On the other hands, Woolworths group Plc failed because, they were never thought about any strategy that gave them competitive advantages over any of its competitor. People and media said that Woolworths was the victim of recession but I would say it was the victim of bad management. My aim is to compare and contrast the strategic planning of both organisations. For this purpose, I have discussed few strategic planning models in critical analysis and now I am going to compare them and find out the reasons of success and failure. Pricing (Competitive) Strategy According to Michael Porter (1980) to get competitive advantages organisation must follow one of its generic strategies. Primark slogan is look good pay less, means cost leadership strategy. Cost leadership strategy does not mean low prices but it lead to emphasize on efficiency by reducing cost in all departments. This strategy gave competitive edge to Primark over it competitors. According to Jonathan Prynn (2009), Primark has boomed in the recession with the British biggest discount clothes chain unveiled big increase in revenue and profits. Primark revenues increased from  £1.17bn in 2007 to  £1.6bn in 2008 and it jumped to  £2.31bn in 2009. On the other hand, Woolworths was trading without having any competitive strategy, which help its management to focus on the ways in which it can achieve the competitive position in the retail industry. Its revenue declined since 2004 and in final year of trading, Woolworths announced pre-tax loss of  £99.7m for the first six months. This is just because of Woolworths was stuck in the middle of competitive strategies for long time and management was not sure what price they charge to customers for particular products. Woolworths products were comparatively expensive than its competitors and customers realised their products are not good quality compare to the prices Woolworths charged. Affects of competition Competitors are the real enemies for all organisations. Successful organisation always makes plans ahead to avoid the consequence of any threat from its competitors. Both organisations operate in highly competitive environment. Competitor analysis is very important for both organisations strategic planning. Sometimes organisations think that they are doing well and it is best to carry on with their plans and other become obsessed with monitoring every action of competitors. Woolworths Group Plc was well aware about competition. In Woolworths financial reports 2008, directors mentioned competition is a big risk for Woolworths but they did not come up with any strategy (carry on their own plans) that help Woolworths to maintain and improve it competitive position in the market. They lost most of there business to competitors. In clothing retail industry, Primark is also facing intense competition. Most of Primarks competitors hold same percentage of market share as Primark have. Nowada ys fashion has become disposable and to avoid competition Primark has led fast fashion revolution at lowest prices taking the fast fashion retail industry into new era. I would say Primark has emerged as the McDonalds of the fast fashion retail industry. Customers Analysis Customers analysis is an operative tool, which helps organisations to understand the specific customers demand, preferences and loyalty to the organisation. To keep competitive in todays environment, organisations need to take an in depth look at customers to explore and identify opportunities and threats. I would say Primark is the market leader to understand customers demand and response quickly to the fast fashion requirements of customers. Primarks time-to-market has been very fast, both in terms of copying designs rapidly after they come out in terms of getting the new stock into their stores while items are still hot' (R. M Grant, Blackwell 2009). New style, quality and low prices keep customers coming in and encourage them to come back again. All these help Primark to increase its market share and revenue. On the other side of the picture, Woolworths failed to focus on what they were good at, to sell to there customers and failed to identify their core products and customers. From customers point of view, Woolworths was a complete mish mash with hundreds different types of products, but low product ranges. As a result, Woolworths did not have enough selection of any product to attract customers (John McMillan 2008). All these factors forced customers to switch to Woolworths competitors. Marketing issues Organisations used marketing tools to create, keep and satisfy customers needs and demands. To get competitive advantages in the target market organisations use segmentation, targeting and positioning tools. These tools help organisations to differentiate there goods and services from their competitors. Market Segmentation and targeting Market segmentation help organisation to split customers or potential customers into different groups. Primark segments it customers on socio-economic (disposable income) and demographic (age, gender, lifestyle) bases. Robert Stockdill (2007) says in his report, Primarks target customer is young, fashion conscious and under 35 years old. So like many other retailers chasing that demographic or the broader value end of the market, Primark is now targeting a four to six week turnaround from design to shelf, sourcing primarily from Asia. Primark also target low-income group who have less disposable income to spend on latest fashion. Woolworths was also segmented its customers on demographic bases but there aim was to target all customer in the market. They never identified their target customer, market and which income group they were targeting. Market Positioning In market positioning, my aim is to create an image in the target market for both organisations, their products, and brands. Primark is known as cost leadership retailer in the market, which has over fifteen own brands (Appendix 5). Customers think that Primarks products are good value for money. Woolworths also had very rich and successful long history with the number of brands such as Chad Valley, Ladybird, Winfield and Worthit etc. Form customers point of view both organisations market-positioning image can be mapped in the following Bowmans Strategic Clock (1996); Business Seasonality Most organisations are affected by the fluctuation in business activity at different part of the year. According to directors 2008 report, Woolworths was highly seasonal business. Most of its revenue, profit, and cash flow have been come from Christmas season. Lower than expected performance in the Christmas period may have adverse impact on overall Woolworths results. It happened continuously after 2004 with Woolworths and it performance was very unstable un-till it went into administration. Woolworths never made any strategy to avoid adverse affects of Christmas sales. Primark business is all four seasons. Although most of its sales come from Christmas season but other three seasons of the year its make good profit. According to (James Hall 2009) report, Primark total revenue reaches it highest level of  £1 billion in first six months of trading, which is 18 % more than last year. Primark is the only largest fashion retailers around the world, who produce solid performance in cre dit crisis due to strong strategic planning. Conclusion Strategic planning is directional map, key instrument for strategic management for deciding where their company is headed and how they are planning to get there. Strategic planning is known as a process of defining strategy and making decisions on allocation of organisation resources to pursue strategy. It is a dynamic tool of continuously looking at organisational current position, examine and plotting future move. All this need in-depth knowledge and understanding about organisation and its internal and external environment in that operates in. the best organisations like Primark always engaged in some form of strategic planning to keep themselves update about internal and external environmental factors. Based on my detailed strategic planning analysis of Primark, i would say that Primark has comprehensive strategy planning, which considers all-important factors that affects on its business environment. From my above research, I conclude that, there are number of reasons behind Primark success. Firstly, they understand customers specific requirements and always come up with the solution of latest fashion at low price. Secondly, Primark has a very clear market position at the cheap end of the market and target customers who have low disposal income and fashion conscious. All this gave Primark competitive advantage over its competitors. Third, Primark has access to cheap resources and has very tight control over costs, which help them to increase profitability. Many people say Woolworths was the victim of credit crises. Other says Woolworths faced financial pressures (received over  £200 million debts in inherent and seasonal business crises) and severe competition from day one, so that is why it failed to survive. From my above discussion and analysis, I conclude that Woolworths was the victim of bad management and poor strategy planning. From my above discussion, I have mentioned several reasons of Woolworths failure. Woolworths completely failed to respond the threats of competitors, new technologies, customers buying patterns and target market. The world change very fast in 21st century and strategy worked in 1990s does not work today. Woolworths was keeping the old fashion strategy and planning to run business successfully in 21st century, where yesterdays strategy could be out date today. World has become global village and customers have many choices to buy products from any were in the world through internet. Ignorance of all thes e external factors have leads Woolies to lose their business to competitors. Finally I would say the key of success is to do few things right like Primark, not 100s things badly like Woolworths, keep ears and eyes open, monitor your internal and external environment, and response best to the threats and convert into opportunities. Financial analysis References ASX Announcement (2009), Primark, 3Q Holdings Limited 2009, [Online], http://www.threeq.com.au/announce/AnnouncementPrimark.pdf Bowmans Strategic Clock (1996), Strategic Business Planning, Strategies for leaders, followers, challenger and nichers, International Financial Publishing 2006, Surrey UK Elrico (2002), Woolworths Group Plc, Advfn III (2002), [online], http://www.advfn.com/stocks/buy-woolworths-as-they-are-a-good-shop-with-many-varieties_2527942.html Igor Ansoff (1957), Strategic Business Planning and Development, Strategy Development, International Financial publishing Ltd 2006. James Hall (2009), Primark Overtakes ASDA as Biggest Low Price Clothing Retailers, Telegraph 20th Jan 2009, [Online], http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/4299950/Primark-overtakes-Asda-as-biggest-low-price-clothing-retailer.html John McMillan (2008), Learn From Woolworths, Academy, [online] http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=118215 Jonathan Prynn (2009), London Evening Standard, Primarks recession fashion boom, [online], http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23763781-primarks-recession-fashion-boom.do Primark 2009, Primarks History, Primark Stores limited 2009, [Online], http://www.primark.co.uk/page.aspx?pointerid=eb44df4565934edca627dac6ec12145a Market Report 2008, Clothing Industry Report, Key Note publication Ltd Feb. 2008, Online, http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/594454 Michael Porter (1979), Strategic Business Planning and Development, The Competitive Environment, international Financial publishing Ltd 2006. Michael Porter (1980), Generic Strategies, Marketing Teaches Ltd (2000 2009), [Online], [Cited 14th November 2009], R. M Grant, Blackwell (2009), Shedding The Frills; Making A success, open2.net, [online], http://www.open2.net/moneyandmanagement/management_organisation/briefs_20051206_primark.html Robert Stockdill (2007), Primarks fast fashion revolution, Inside Retailing Magazine Oct 2007. [online], http://www.insideretailing.com. au/Latest/tabid/53/ID/1552/Primarks-fast-fashion-revolution.aspx Sean Poulter (2008), Primark now Britains 2nd Biggest Clothing Retailer, Mail Online (2008), http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-561270/Primark-Britains-second-biggest-clothes-store-thanks-rise-disposable-fashion.html Times Online (2008), History of Woolies, By Rosie Lavan, [Online], Witchalls, C (2007) Flexibility and speed key to new revenue streams http://www.computingbusiness.co.uk/computing business/analysis/2183247/case-study-bt

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

On the Obligation to Keep One’s Promises Essay -- Essays Papers

On the Obligation to Keep One’s Promises Moral philosophy is generally in pursuit of the â€Å"ought.† More specifically, a common goal is to create some sort of rubric for evaluating specific situations, and in the face of a decision, revealing what â€Å"ought to be done.† A very important and consequently complicated â€Å"ought† is that which dictates if one should keep a promise. This topic is so vast that is seems it would take a great deal of effort to make progress towards an answer, and in fact, there have been volumes of philosophy written about this very subject matter. Two 18th-century moral philosophers who tackled this mammoth rather successfully are Immanuel Kant and David Hume. The backbone of Kant’s moral philosophy is what he calls the â€Å"categorical imperative.† In the Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Kant uses the preface and the first section to introduce and develop the idea, and then in the second section finally states it for the first time: â€Å"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.† (Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, pg30)1. The â€Å"maxim† Kant speaks of is simply the motive behind the act, and a â€Å"universal law† is one that is a priori, namely, â€Å"a [law] of thought in general without regard to difference of its objects.† (Grounding, pg1). The categorical imperative states that an act should only be preformed if the motive driving the action could become a universal law, and therefore could be applied always regardless of the specifics of a situation. It should seem obvious now that th e categorical imperative is directly related to the question of whether one should or should not keep a promise. In... ...ames. W. Ellington translation. The page citations follow the pages in that edition (see Sources). 2 This quote, and all other quotes from David Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature comes from the second edition of the Oxford text. The page citations follow the pages in that edition (see Sources). Sources Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. London: Penguin Books, 1995. Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978. Kant, Immanuel. Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals (Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten). Translated by James W. Ellington. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1993. Kant, Immanuel. â€Å"On the Supposed Right to Lie because of Philanthropic Concerns† (â€Å"Uber ein vermeintes Recht aus Menschenliebe zu lugen†). Translated by James W. Ellington. Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1993.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Case Study Counselling in the Work Placement

EA L RN E the learning centre R VIC Diploma in Counselling: Case Study Sixth term: Case Study. Length: 3,500 words (in total) General Points The subject of the case study must be a client whom you have been counselling for at least 6 sessions, preferably more. The case study is about how you and your client have worked together within your core theoretical model of counselling. This involves reflecting on your process in relationship to your client, your client’s process in relationship to themselves and the ongoing process between the two of you.Structure of the Case Study To set the scene for our case study, you need to describe the theory that informs your practice, ie. why you do what you do. We suggest you make reference to the following (this section should be no longer than 1,000 words): †¢ Your personal value system (this may include religious beliefs, your moral code, your philosophy of life) †¢ Theoretical sources (e. g. Rogers, the existentialists †¦) †¢ Ethical code of practice (personal code of practice, e. g. oundaries such as relationships with clients) †¢ Integration of the personal with the professional aspects of self as outlined above (how did you arrive at your current value system and the sources for these? ) It is important that your written case study reflects the particular quality of the relationship you have created with your client. What we would like to see and what we would like demonstrated is the way in which you have achieved this. E E S Writing Skills/Specialist coursework/15. 2 Diploma in Counselling: Case StudyR S PTO/†¦. 1 EA L RN E R the learning centre R VIC 1. Personal History Include age, sex, family history, current relationship, family situation and occupational situation. 2. Counselling arrangements Briefly describe the setting in which the counselling is provided: the frequency and length of counselling sessions, how long you’ve been counselling the client, and the number of sessions which have taken place to date. What was your initial contract with the client, and has this been reviewed? 3. Presenting issuesBriefly outline why the client has requested counselling now. As far as possible, try and use the client’s language. Please include your initial subjective responses to the client, noting your response to differences between you and your client. 4. Your assessment of this client Describe your assessment of the client and the nature of your work together making reference to relevant theory. a. b. c. d. e. On what criteria did you base your initial assessment? What is you client’s concept of self? To what extent do you agree with this?What sense did you make of this person? What was your response to both the client and their presenting issues? How did you decide that you were able to work with this client? What did you agree would be the focus of your work? f. 5. The presenting past Describe the relationship between responses to curren t issues with key events from the client’s past, e. g. loss. PTO/†¦ 2 E E S Writing Skills/Specialist coursework/15. 2 Diploma in Counselling: Case Study S EA L RN E R the learning centre R VIC 6. Counselling processDescribe the counselling process with reference to the beginning, middle and end stages. How do you consider your cl;ient changed? What contribution did counselling make to this? Evaluate your ability to demonstrate the core conditions at the different stages of the process. 7. Supervision Throughout your case study, we would like to see how you have used both your individual and group supervision in working with this client. We would also like to have some sense of how your internal supervisor is evolving during your work. . Practitioner issues In relation to your work with this client, evaluate your ability to hold professional boundaries and work within an ethical framework. You may find it helpful to mention any particular critical experiences to illustra te your practice. You might find it useful to look at Rogers ‘stages of process’ found in ‘On Becoming a Person’ (1961). See also, Mearns and Thorne (1988) Person Centred Counselling in Action, Sage E E Writing Skills/Specialist coursework/15. 2 Diploma in Counselling: Case Study S S 3

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Nutrition †Hamburger Essay

â€Å"Approximately 30. 3 percent of children (ages 6 to 11) are overweight and 15. 3 percent are obese. For adolescents (ages 12 to 19), 30. 4 percent are overweight and 15. 5 percent are obese†. Every year the percentage of Americans increases the obesity and death rate in the United States of America. This all is happening because of unhealthy junk food we eat every day. People eat fast food almost every day because they are too lazy to cook healthy food in their home so they always look for quick and fast food like McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Jack in the box etc. For some teenagers like college students it is becoming a regular meal because they don’t get time to cook healthy food and they always want an easy and quick meal. It is cheap and convenient. People have started eating more at fast food restaurants than eating at home but what they don’t know is that in future it can cause so many diseases like heart attacks, cholesterol, and stomach pains. Even though, fast food is quick and unhealthy food people still eat it because it tastes good. In 2008, 40,000 people die in America just because of eating fast food every day. It shows logos and pathos because it’s telling how people are crazy about fast food but they don’t know what type of consequence they will have to face after they get heart problems, cancer, and diabetes so on. My solution is Fast food should serve little more healthy food with fried sandwich and healthy juices so people will not get diseases like heart attacks, and stokes and it should just opened on weekends. If they started opening fast food restaurants on weekend only then people will cook in their home, eat healthy food, and will stay healthy too. They should issue id to everyone so people cannot eat twice and the people who ate on Saturdays they will not able to eat on Sundays. Fast food restaurant should also not be close to high schools because most of the teenagers love to eat junk food and they will not to eat healthy food. If we serve more healthy food than junk food than it will be effective for people and can saves their lives from diseases. People will object this solution because first they don’t like healthy food at all and even though junk food causes them so many problems they will not stop eating because we all are addicted to junk food. It can be solve if the fast food restaurants stop using cheap oil and fresh meat and serve healthy food with regular meal. There are couple steps we can follow if we all have to live healthy. Fast food restaurants should not be opened on other location because there are so many types of restaurant where ever you see sign of McDonalds, Burger King so on. But I think teenagers will not accept it because they are too lazy to cook their own food. Second Fast food restaurants should serve healthy food with regular meal. If they started doing this no one will come to fast food restaurants and business owners will not be able to make that much money that they use to from people before. Last, they should not be close to the school because most teenagers eat junk food and they will not be eating healthy food at all. My solution is best because first it will keeps people healthy and won’t get diseases like cancer, strokes and death rating will be reduce. Even though, people will not get to eat that much like fried chicken sandwich French fries they will stay healthier most of the time and get chance to live more. People will not be lazy to cook food in their home and they will more likely spend their times with their families. Then, most of the time people will eat with their families instead of eating alone. I know people will not accept this solution but if they want to survive and want to live healthy then they will accept this solution. I’m sure the Fast Food Company will not like this assessment because they wouldn’t able to make that much money that they use to. But people lives are more important than money. If people eat healthy food every day, they will not be lazy and more likely go to their work. They will be happy, cheerful and aggressive all the time. If people will be happy and aggressive, they will contribute more work while working Fast food is just making us large and giving us new type of disease. So I suggest people especially teenagers who are addicted to fast food should also eat healthy food. In real world, no one will follow these steps because it is a hard process and teenagers will not follow it because we cannot live without eating fast food and we are so lazy to cook healthy food and we always look for easy and quick meal even though we know its fried and can gave us terrible diseases. I suggest American government to pass this law to close fast food restaurants during the week fast food is eating us.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

How do the poems Havisham, The Sisters and Porphyrias Lover present the theme of madness Essays

How do the poems Havisham, The Sisters and Porphyrias Lover present the theme of madness Essays How do the poems Havisham, The Sisters and Porphyrias Lover present the theme of madness Paper How do the poems Havisham, The Sisters and Porphyrias Lover present the theme of madness Paper Essay Topic: Carol ann Duffy Poems Poetry Havisham by Carol Anne Duffy, The Sisters by Alfred Lord Tennyson and Porphyrias Lover by Robert Browning, are all studies of madness. Within each poem the main theme is presented in different ways such as using dramatic monologue, free verse and satire. Through examining poetic techniques and devices closely, I will identify the ways in which madness is portrayed in these poems. Carol Anne Duffys Havisham, published in the late 20th century, is based on the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In the book, the character Havisham is percieved as a mentally strong person, who would never want to show any type of weakness. However, Duffy takes a satirical approach towards Havishams character. She twists Havisham and makes her reveal the weakness and anger in her heart that breaks, I stabbed. Havisham is shown to be mad and obsessed with her tragic past not a day since then I havent wished him dead as her life seems to have stopped at the time she was jilted on her wedding day the dress yellowing. She has never stepped outside her house since, which also stopped in time like the rest of the things in her life, I stabbed at a wedding cake. Everything is in the same place as it was at twenty to nine, the time Havisham was jilted. This reveals her insanity as she who would choose to live like that for so many years? Havisham is a completely obsessive character, who is determined not to let go of her past and keeps going over it again and again ropes on the back of my hands. She despises herself spinster and sees herself as a skeleton slewed mirror, all distorted. The poem is written as a dramatic monologue which shows that Havisham wants everyone to believe she is a strong character, but actually has no idea what she is revealing b-b-b-breaks. This would make confirm anyones beliefs that she is mad, as anyone who can talk about how much they feel shattered and live like its the end of the world, and still think people believe she is strong have completely lost their mind. She feels completely trapped and is nervous wreck. Havisham shows madness in many ways, firstly by the use of tautology which creates a rambling effect full length, her, myself, who did this to me. The pace picks up at these points, which reinforces the rambling. Rambling is a good technique to use as anyone normal would not be shown to waffle whilst talking. There is also the use of oxymorons beloved sweetheart bastard, loves hate which shows madness in the sense that she is confused. She cant seem to let go of her ex-fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ but also blames him for the state that she is in. Shes completely lost. Havisham is also shown to talk to herself all throughout the poem who did this to me?, cowing nooooo at the wall. This shows her madness even more as this is a stereotypical habit we believe mad people have. There are a number of additional themes used apart from obsession such as revenge. The use of colour green and give me a male corpse shows Havisham wants her ex-fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ to feel exactly what she does, and also over a long period of time. Sex is also another theme used. In the time Havisham was set, for women, marriage did not just mean falling in love. It also meant turning into a woman by having sex. This is why Havisham almost spits out the word spinster and often imagines what it would be like to have sex, my fluent tongue in its mouth. However, she always suddenly wakes up bite awake. Love is presented by the use of the colour red and the word love. This shows that although she hates her ex-fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and never names him its ear, its mouth, she does feel passionate towards him. This is also shown by the use of the antithesis loves hate. She doesnt want to love him and hates him for jilting her. This again reinforces the fact that Havisham is mad, as who would still love someone that jilted them? Another style used by Carol Anne Duffy, apart from dramatic monologue, is by writing the poem in first person I havent. This is a very effective technique to use as the reader gets to witness Havishams madness for themselves, instead of hearing it through someone elses point of view. It helps the reader see exactly where Havisham reveals her madness and obsession I stabbed at a wedding cake, I stink and remember. Duffy uses colour effectively as a metaphor for Havishams feelings. Dark green is used to describe her eyes, but also to show her jealousy and her thirst for revenge. Puce curses describe the coldness of being alone and the pain she suffers. After using these colours, the tone changes and turns to pure white veil. This represents Havishams innocence and the fact that she feels an incomplete woman. Red balloon bursting is used to show all her feelings of love and hatred are swelling inside her heart, until it becomes too much to handle and she breaks down. The verse and sentence structure in the poem helps the reader find out more about the character of Havisham. The poems structure is set so it looks organised which, at a first glance, wouldnt make the reader believe Havisham is mad. However the use of enjambment who did this to me reveal that she is actually rambling, showing confusion and madness. This makes Havisham seem even more manic as she truly believes she appears normal. The sentence structure also helps disclose the real Havisham. Duffy uses short sentences spinster. I stink and remember, again to emphasize the waffling. All this adds up to create the madness in Havisham. The tone isnt the same throughout the whole of Havisham. It starts off showing her anger and bitterness I could strangle, but slowly turns a bit emotional where Havisham reveals how she reacted to her depressing past cawing nooooo, trembling. At this point, the readers feel sorry for her as she is showing hatred towards herself. The tone in the next verse shows passion and Havishams lustful fantasies lost body over me, of what could have happened on her wedding night. However, the last verse is where Havishams anger grows and grows I stabbed at wedding cake, give me a male corpse until finally she lets go b-b-b-breaks and both her mind and life brake down. Using all these devices and techniques, such as satire, colour and adding additional themes, Duffy presents Havishams madness very effectively and successfully. Class was considered very important to the Victorians, and this is shown in Tennysons The Sisters, which was published in 1881. Around this era, people were completely obsessed with madness; a trip to the local mad house would be considered normal and a typical family day out. The Sisters is a poem that uses the themes of jealousy, necrophilia and murder to help tell its story. Its a story of two daughters, one of which falls pregnant, she fell. This would be seen as shameful, blood with shame, as celibacy was expected in the time the sisters was written. After not being able to handle the burden of mixing her ancient blood with shame, the sister commits suicide, she died. The main theme is introduced early in the poem therefore revenge became me well. The second Sister takes it upon her to have revenge for the horrific state her sister ended up in, she went to burning flame, because of the earl. I also believe the Sister believed she also had another reason for revenge; the fact that the earl chose her sister over her made the Sister angry. Her jealousy, she was the fairest in the face, has made her even more determined for revenge. The sister gives herself time whole weeks and months to make her plan to win his love work. This shows the Sisters amount of obsession, and also as it is written in first person narrative it shows that she is completely aware of what she is doing, showing her insanity. The Sister becomes successful I won his love, I brought him home, and after bringing the earl into false impression that he is safe I kissd his eyelids into rest, his ruddy cheek upon my breast, she gets her revenge three times I stabbd him thro and thro. I believe that the Sisters character is the most sinister out of all that I will write about. This is due to the fact that she is completely aware of what she is revealing, and Tennyson has shown this by not having the poem written using dramatic monologue, whereas Havisham is completely different and truly believes that she appears to be a normal person. The Sister is shown to be proud of what she has done laid him at his mothers feet, showing her madness, as who would be so proud of killing someone that they reveal it was them? The Sisters charter appears cruel and cold-blooded as lying a dead son at their mothers feet is going too far. The Sisters has a structured verses throughout the poem, which shows the Sister is very controlling, therefore has planned and knows exactly what shes doing. This again reveals the Sisters madness, because she is willing to do anything to reach her goal without any regret. The Sister reveals her madness in a variety of ways, but her insanity isnt that she has completely lost her mind, like Havisham, but the fact that she has evil characteristics ad thoughts. Even though she has always had feelings for the earl I loved his beauty passing well, she still wants him dead. However, before this line, the Sister reveals that she hated him with the hate of hell. This antithesis shows her confusion as although she loves him, on the other hand she hates him. This also shows how daunting the sister appears to be, as who would plan on killing someone they like, without any second thoughts or regrets? Although she has just committed a murder, the sister has no remorse for her actions, I curld and combd his comely head. There is a big element of strong imagery here, with the use of alliteration, which places a disturbing picture of necrophilia in the readers mind. This action, of the Sisters, alone would make anyone believe that she is mad, as she is actually attracted to a dead body. She finds her revenge erotic and as she is comfortable around the dead earl, she reveals her satisfaction. Power, one of the additional themes used in the poem, is used many times throughout the Sisters. The Sister is in power, or control, all throughout her revenge plan, which is firstly shown by the structured verses Tennyson has used. It also gives the impression to the reader that the Sister has planned every step of her revenge extremely carefully and thoughtfully. Also the simple rhyming pattern AABB, adds the control element to the poem, and again reinforces the insanity of the Sister, as the speakers control again shows tat she is aware of her actions, which, again, is quite daunting. The sister reveals her obsession all throughout the poem, as her careful planning and biding of time is proof. This is similar to Havishams obsession as she also wanted to get revenge for what she had to go through. In the alliteration I hated him with the hate of hell, its like the Sister almost spits out the words, whilst also creating alliteration and sound, and reinforces her obsession and madness to complete her well-planned revenge, whole weeks and months, I lay in wait. The most important theme, to which Tennysons poem is based around, as well as madness, is revenge. Introduced early, therefore revenge became me well, it is the main way the Sisters madness is revealed. She is determined to get her revenge, even if she has to wait a long time, whole weeks and months, and early and late. The sinister element here is that although the Sister still has feelings for the earl, o, the earl was fair to see, she still wants revenge for something that happened along time ago. This is similar to the situation in Havisham as although she is still loved her ex-fiancà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, she still wanted him to feel pain. This shows a great deal of madness in both women, as how can you want to someone so badly, even after so long, and still truly say you love them? The tone is shown very cleverly and effectively all throughout the poem, by the use of the repeated refrain The wind is because the forth word changes as the Sisters plan progresses. It starts of blowing which is used as a metaphor to show her anger where she is talking about her Sister being prettier than her. However, the transition of the active verb changes to howling and eventually raving as she kills the earl. However after she calms down and realises her plan was successful, the wind goes back to blowing. I believe this last repeated refrain shows the most of her insanity, because she has just committed a murder and instead of panicking or regretting it, she actually becomes satisfied with what she has done. Tennysons tactful techniques and use of different themes all adds up eventually to show the Sisters sinister insanity, which at a first glance at the poem, is invisible. Power struggle based Porphyrias Lover, reflects the time it was written in. Browning uses status, sex and murder as his main themes to help represent the insanity of the Lover. Porphyria, an upper class Victorian woman, laid her soiled gloves, is shown to see a mentally disabled man for sex, even though she is married. However, the Lover doesnt realise he is being used, but truly believes Porphyria loves him, Porphyria worshipped me, and believes she wants to be with him forever, and give herself to me forever. As affairs were frowned upon, he believes there is only one way he can help his worshipper reach her goal, her hearts endeavor and thats by killing her. However also, if this doesnt show enough madness, he actually thinks she wants to be killed, no pain she felt, and so murders her. Out of Havisham, The Sisters and Porphyrias Lover, I believe, that the lover is the most stereotypical type of what we would consider a mad person to be like, as firstly he lives in a mental home. Also by using enjambment, Browning reveals the madness of the Lover, as he waffles on without any breaks. At a first glance at the verse structure in this poem shows clearly the insanity of the Lover, however in The Sisters the structure reveals no madness at all. The Lover also appears to me to be quite an arrogant character as he thinks he means the world to Porphyria Porphyria worshipped me, which is surprising because the only time she comes to see him is when she wants to have sex, and I can tell this as she wastes no time in seducing him made her smooth white shoulder bare. He even believes he is equal to God, God has not even said a word!, and, even though he has just murdered Porphyria, he thinks even God can not argue with him, as he cant possibly do anything wrong. This sort of behaviour would make anyone believe the Lover is mad, as who on earth would believe God thinks its ok to kill someone? Anyone who argues with themselves would be considered completely crazy, and thats exactly what the Lover does I debated what to do. He tried to decide on how to kill Porphyria, and after he commits this crime, he truly believes in his mind that he and Porphyria had come to this conclusion together I am quite sure she felt no pain. This insanity continues to the end of the poem, where he thinks that now both him and dead Porphyria are happy now, as her wish to be with him forever has come true, and also thinks that she is as good as alive. Like Havisham, Porphyrias Lover is also written using dramatic monologue, as when the Lover says things such as she guesses not how her darling one wish would be heard, and believes he is the greatest lover who gave her a dream gift, he doesnt realise even more. Anyone would have to be completely insane to actually think killing someone is giving them a perfect gift. Also, they would to be even madder to believe they are still alive, as the Lover does about Porphyria the smiling rosy little head. This just proves the lovers insanity. Power struggle is used by Browning all throughout Porphyrias Lover, starting with Porphyria in control. She makes him wait for her and, last, she sat down by my side and talks to him and called me. Revealing his madness again, the Lover hears her but doesnt utter a word of reply no voice replied. Still in charge, Porphyria begins to dominate him she put my arm about her waist and the lover doesnt even try and stop her and take control, as he knows what is going on, but his insanity stops it from sinking in. however, Porphyria begins to seduce him, all her yellow hair displaced, the power changes murmuring how she loved me. He begins to believe he is her weakness and almost pities her she to weak, and that she belongs to him that moment she was mine, mine. This repetition enforces how he feels, and it is almost a childish thing to say. His power grows even more after he murders Porphyria because now he begins to seduce her blushes bright beneath my burning kiss, I propped her head up as before only, this time my shoulder bore, instead of the other way round like it was at the beginning of the poem. Also here, necrophilia is introduced using strong imagery as a shut bud that holds a bee. This is similar to the two other poems as Havisham, the Sister and the Lover find dead bodys erotic, and anyone who gets turned on by the thought of manipulating a dead body is clearly mad. The poem has a negative start, by the use of Brownings language, using words such as sullen, tore;, spite, worst, vex and break. According to the Lover, life without Porphyria is dull. However, the tone changes as well as the Lovers mood when Porphyria arrives, blazeup, war and the use of the metaphor cheerless grate. As well as warming up the rooms by lighting a fire, she also warms the Lovers mood up by her presence. By the use of all these and other clever techniques, especially enjambment, Browning has successfully achieved revealing the Lovers madness. The main theme of madness is presented in a variety of ways in all three poems that I have studied. The effective method consists of the use of enjambment, dramatic monologue and the effects of different style verse structures. Enjambment and dramatic monologue, used by Browning and Duffy, are, I believe, the most successful techniques to use when showing madness, as the enjambment creates the waffling effect considered to be a characteristic in a mad person and the effect of dramatic monologue is another characteristic believed to be found in someone who are mentally disabled, as they tend to not realise how they appear to others. In all three poems Havisham, The Sisters and Porphyrias Lover, the verse structures all have a different style; Havisham is set out with paragraphs but the lines to do not end with proper punctuations, The Sisters is set out so no reader would actually believe the poem would be about a mad women at a first glance, however, Porphyrias Lover uses big enjambment and it is clear that the poem was not going to be about some one normal. Using a few similar techniques and a few different to some extent, all three poems, in their own ways, portray madness, especially using the time that they were written in, which, I believe, was a big influence to their writing. Overall, I believe that all three poets should be congratulated on their poems as they show madness very effectively and successfully, using a number of techniques.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Strategic Perspective - Zara Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strategic Perspective - Zara Case Study - Essay Example Presently, ZARA is present in more than 73 countries worldwide and has been expanding at an accelerating pace on an international level. Currently, the group has about 6009 stores which are widespread in 86 markets; it implies that it is operating in four hundred cities in five continents. The net sales of the company as of 2012 were â‚ ¬15,964 million and ZARA has contribution of more than 30% in the total profit amount (Inditex, 2013a). The mission of the company is to offer all the customers a distinctive range of options for making a wise choice in the fast fashion industry. The brand ensures that the offerings comprise of inimitable and innovative products for enhancing the shopping experience of all customers. The store provides the uniquely designed products at reasonable prices that are created from excellent quality materials in accordance to the latest market trends (Zara, 2013). In order to understand the business environment in which ZARA is operating, it is crucial to monitor the changes that are taking place so that the retail store remains competent and proactive in its approach. As the customers of the fashion industry are always looking forward for fresh, modern and distinctive products all the time, ZARA has ensured that it develops its core competence in the manufacturing process (Bhardwaj & Fairhurst, 2010). Most of the clothing companies have to encounter problems in efficient management of their production procedure; ZARA has outclassed in this area by employing a supply chain system that is efficient, agile and capable of producing zero defect products (Hume, 2011). Hence, the store ensures that it is well-aware of the industry requirements and standards but it creates its own way of managing the business operations. The business model of ZARA is so competent that the rival companies cannot copy it at all and it is the primary source of

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Red badge of courige Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Red badge of courige - Essay Example As in "Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if we all just ran away?" Shortly before his first battle, he sees his first dead body, a gruesome corpse. They entirely appear as the ideal definition of intrepid men, something that makes Henry feel terrible about his trepidation. We are introduced to two men, Jim Conklin "the Tall Soldier" and Wilson "the Loud Soldier." Wilson who is afraid that death will befall him during battle, hands Henry an envelope of mail to deliver after the war. The men finally set out. Even though they are heading into combat, there are oodles of jokes. One guy even attempts to pilfer a horse from a farm and a young girl succeeds in having it back. As the war breaks out, Henry survives, but when the second round of cantankerous fighting begins he is horrified and goes for the hills. This to him was more of a survival instinct after intense thought. Henry comes across a group of wounded men leaving as he heads towards battlefront. He wishes he too had a red badge of courage when he saw their bloody injuries. A tattered and wounded soldier, taunts Henry by asking where his injury is injury is. This gets our â€Å"hero† very nervous and uncomfortable because the turn of events would make him be branded a deserter. Jim Conklin then dies a rather atrocious death before him. Henry takes off and is bonked on the head with a rifle butt by a pretty freaked out colleague in the army only for him to end up back to his 304th company. Due to the confusion which resulted in separation of everyone in the battle no one accuses Henry of desertion. His head injury further makes his colleagues assume a slug grazed him. Yet another war breaks out for which Henry is prepared. He puts up formidable resistance and battles wildly which earns him praise from the lieutenant. Suddenly someone yells, "Here they come!" And sure enough, the Confederates rush at Henry’s group of soldiers. Henry

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Read What is a language, and write a short essay (about 750 words)

Read What is a language, and write a short (about 750 words) summarizing the arguments they give in support of their cla - Essay Example Within modern linguistic theory, claiming that a language is rule-managed is to maintain that it can be described in terms of grammar which is a set of rules (Smith and Wilson 332). Grammar has two major roles; separating grammatical from incorrect sentences and providing explanation of each grammatical sentence indicating how it should be pronounced and what it depicts (Smith and Wilson 333). Speakers of a language habitually behave as if their language was rule-governed yet not all speakers of the same language possess same set rules. For each speaker, there is a right and a wrong way of constructing and understanding sentences. This can neither be explained exclusively in terms of customs nor are habits, since the case novel utterances, produced and comprehended without having been heard before (Smith and Wilson 333). It can also not be explained solely in terms of convention or social agreement as each speaker has varying methods of construction and understanding which he shares with no one else (Smith and Wilson 334). Rule system can easily be created and operated by one individual such as, cases of children learning their first language and that of adults with idiosyncratic speech patterns (Smith and Wilson 339). ... The grammar that a speaker actually possesses will depend, at least in part, on the utterances he has heard in the past-mainly as a child learning language for the first time.Since each speaker will have heard different set of utterances, it is not surprising that he comes to possess a slightly different grammar from those of people around him (Smith and Wilson 333). Strictly speaking, in spite of the miscellany of the utterances of which speakers are exposed in learning their language, Smith and Wilson argue that there seems to be incredible similarity in grammars which result from learning process (333). The linguistic knowledge that speakers have is unconscious knowledge. The work of a linguist is to devise explicitly conscious grammatical conventions that speakers are acquainted with. The distinction between rule-governed regularities and fortuitous patterns in language is usually by significant generalization and accidental generalizations (Smith and Wilson 334). Accidental gene ralizations occur by chance while significant are those attained after operation of rules; thus, the search for linguistic rules has two aspects. One is the search for patterns and second is the rejection of those patterns which are considered accidental (Smith and Wilson 335). According to a study by Noam Chomsky, human beings are inherently disposed to learn certain varieties of language (Smith and Wilson 336). In other words, the languages that actually exist are the ones that children are subjected to learn. This is supported further by two facts: first, that human languages exhibit noteworthy similarities; second, children follow remarkable parallel routes to

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Goethe’s Faust Essay Example for Free

Goethe’s Faust Essay Scene vii of Faust ii act v takes place in a steep, rocky side of an unspecified mountain. The scene is dominated by female characters and takes place on earth. It starts with a chorus of nature spirits, in which the nature is describes the mutually interdependent processes taking place. The idyllic conditions described by the chorus of nature are the celebration of processes like plant and animal life, earth and water. Then enter the four anchorite fathers, who seem to represent progressively increasing degrees of spiritual attainment. First there is Pater Ecstaticus who is hovering up and down in the air. Then there is Pater Profundus who apparently lives in the depth of the earth. He marvels at the creative processes of nature and describes lightning, trees which strive to reach heaven and water flowing from heaven to earth. His heart is however is not at peace and he asks for a divine illumination from the Lord â€Å"Oh, God! Calm my thoughts, pacify us/ And bring light to my needy heart! † The third father is Pater Seraphicus. He lives in the middle regions, (probably between the air and earth). He invites the spirits of young boys who died at birth and had not thus experienced earthly life to come and experience the world through his body. Then a group of angels pass by carrying the soul of Faust and relate why they rescued Faust’s soul. We learn that Faust soul was saved because he struggled so much in developing his projects (â€Å"Whoever strives, in his endeavor, we can rescue from the devil. †). In this instance we are also told of the other reason why Faust’s soul was saved which is that Gretchen was interceding for him to Mother of God. The Younger Angels say of how they distracted the Mephistopheles by using roses of holy love. The More Perfect Angels also say that even though the heart of Faust has â€Å"escaped the flames† it is still impure and that the bond between the soul and body is left for â€Å"Eternal Love† to unwind. The angels then take Faust’s soul to the blessed boys above who â€Å"Joyfully receive Him as a chrysalis† after all the ‘threads that surround him’ disappear since ‘divine love has found him. ’ Then we meet the fourth anchorite father, Doctor Marianus who resides in ‘the purest cell’. When he sees â€Å"womanly shapes† floating around he starts praising Mater Gloriosa and together with the choir of penitent women, Magna Peccatrix, (the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet), the Samaritan woman who met Christ at the well and Mary of Egypt together plead to Mater Gloriosa not to begrudge the true soul of Gretchen. They plead that she transgressed without knowledge of her fall. The Gretchen herself goes to Mater Gloriosa and pleads on behalf of Faust asking Mater Gloriosa to allow her, Gretchen, to teach him the new ways there since he is still blinded by the bright light. She says that Faust is a completely new person having â€Å"thrown off every bond/ Of his old earthbound integument,† The scene ends when Mater Gloriosa accepts Faust’s soul and beckons Gretchen and all the others to follow her into the higher sphere. This scene takes place by the Aegean Sea where the Sirens are addressing the Moon. The Nereids and Tritons are also swimming around and even swim to the Greek mythological island of Samothrace, ‘the domain of the mighty Cabiri’ in an effort to show that they are more than fish. Meanwhile, Thales and Homunculus have gone to visit the sea god, Nereus for advice on how Homunculus can be reborn completely. Thale tells Homunculus that though Nereus is stubborn and a grumbler, people respect him because of his wisdom. They then meet Nereus, who is angry and wants to send them away, he tells them of how men can never heed advice and tells them of how Paris laughed at him when he told him of the future he saw, he also tell them of how he warned Ulysses of ‘Cyclops’ horrors and of Circes wiles’ but the advice brought Ulysses no gain. He tells them finally to go to Proteus, the shape changer since he is waiting for Dorides and Galatea. Nereids and Triton arrive then carrying Cabiri in a turtle-shell and Thales and Homunculus watch the procession. Proteus, who is hovering near is so attracted by the light that that homunculus emits. He draws near and Thales asks for advice on Homunculus’ behalf. Proteus suggests that homunculus can repeat the human birth process by starting in the sea and then develop to a full being. They then all (Thales, Proteus and Homunculus) leave together to go and watch the sea festival. In the procession, the Telchines, the nine dog-headed Children of the Sea, pass by and boast that they were the first to shape gods in the image of man. Galatea finally arrives and Nereus, the Sirens and Thales comment on the doves of Paphos which accompany Galatea. Galatea comes closer to her father. And in the process Homunculus drawn near and smashes the glass that holds him at the feet of Galatea and all marvels as the light of Homunculus mixes with the waves in a symbolic marriage with the sea. Analysis of the acts In both these two acts there is a strong reference to the female presence. The female presence in act v is represented by Mater Glorioso, Gretchen, Choir of Female Penitents, Magna Peccatrix, The Woman of Samaria, Mary of Egypt and the female forms that hover in the sky which Dr. Marianus. The strong women influence in this act, as in the rest of the drama, shows the empathetic face of women. The three repentant women plead for Gretchen while Gretchen pleads for Faust. The women are a strong symbolism to life givers. Mater Glorioso gives Faust soul another life by uttering few words. In this act we also know that the soul Faust is received by the young boys in a ‘pupal’ stage. This is so like Homunculus, who is a half being and only survives in a bottle. The rebirth of Homunculus takes place when he joins with the Galatea in a sea wedding. This is what completes Homunculus. Faust soul is also completed by the love of Gretchen. It is Gretchen’s love that finds him and is to lead him in the new place since ‘The new light still blinds him. ’ In act ii, there is also an overwhelming female presence. The sirens, Nereids and Tritons, Galatea, Dorides are all representative of female personalities. Generally this act is one in which the three, Homunculus, Faust and Mephistopheles are on a search of what completes them, which in the three cases happen to be the female personality. References Wolfgang, Johann von Goethe. Faust. Berlin: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1867.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Maiden Name Philip Larkin Analysis

Maiden Name Philip Larkin Analysis In a pocket diary note, Philip Larkin stated: At 1.45 am let me remember that the only married state I know (i.e. that of my parents) is bloody hell. Never must it be forgotten. Larkin expresses a loss of beliefs and ideals in marriage prominently in The Whitsun Weddings (TWW) and The Less Deceived (TLD) by examining the ideas that marriage signifies imprisonment and leads to a loss of identity, as well as that all marriages are banal and similar. However, there are notions of the idea that perhaps not all is lost, and this is summed up best in Larkins famous words from An Arundel Tomb, What will survive of us is love. Whether these words actually mean what they say is debatable either the romantic idea that love triumphs death or the realistic view that the couple in the poem had not actually intended to be eternally faithful to each other. Nevertheless, it is clear that Larkin holds a certain disbelief regarding the existence of a happy marriage through his observations of ordinar y people, his use of regular structure and the straightforwardness of his writing. Philip Larkin seems to have shared Russells views, as he rejected the idea of marriage and committed himself to bachelorhood, as he says, I see life more as an affair of solitude diversified by company than as an affair of company diversified by solitude (Hirsch, p.114). According to Edward Hirsch, Larkin never recovered from his parents cramped, loveless marriage, a bloody hell he vowed never to repeat (p.118). His parents marriage also led him to believe that Two can live as stupidly as one. Larkin enjoyed several sexual relationships without ever getting married, showing that he clearly did not agree with public institutions in the 1950s and 60s, but was more representative of the ideas of independence and freedom of choice of the common man. TWW was published in 1964, and brought [Larkin] a remarkable measure of popular esteem (Swarbrick, p.5). In this anthology, Larkin explores the various forms that love can take and what it meant to him. Andrew Swarbrick explains that love and death remain at the centre of TWW (p.92). This consolidates the overall theme existing in most of his poems loss and death. However, Larkins biographer, Andrew Motion, chose to look at it from a different point of view: Reading his poems in chronological sequence, it is clear that his obsession with death is inextricable from his fascination with love and marriage. (Hirsch, p.120) This suggests that Larkins constant fixation with death in TWW and TLD, published in 1955, is actually shadowed by an interest in the inner workings of marriage. Hirsch clarifies, What Motion calls fascination is more accurately described as fascinated revulsion. (p.120) Even though Larkin made no secret of his aversion towards marriage (he thought of it as a revolting institution), he actually presents a diverse range of feelings towards marriage in his poems. Love Songs in Age explores how an older woman feels about love, or the loss of love, when she recovers her faded sheet music that had vanished in the daily frenzy of marriage and family. Only once she enters widowhood is she given a chance to pause and reminisce about her youthful feelings about love, that hidden freshness. Motion identifies the widow in the poem as Larkins mother (Swarbrick, p.108). In Stanza 2, Larkin seems to adopt a tone of optimism, expressing the vivacity of youthful energy with the use of the simile, spread out like a spring-woken tree, implying that the widow had moved from the winter to the spring of her life, if only for that moment when she plays her love songs. This optimism seems to carry on to the next stanza, where Larkin describes love as that much-mentioned br illiance. This description of love seems to contradict Larkins pessimistic views on love, and complies with societys conventional views that love is brilliant. However, the use of the word glare downplays the bright incipience of love, as it suggests that the brilliance of love is too much to bear, and therefore impossible. The poem thus ends on a negative note, where the lady in the poem realises that love has not managed to deliver its promises to solve, and satisfy, as she is left alone after her husbands death, and has to admit lamely that love had not done so then, and could not now, referring to loves failure to last or to deliver. This poem therefore contradicts the feelings of some individuals, such as G.M. Carstairs, who in 1962, argued that young people are rapidly making marriage itself more mutually considerate and satisfying through premarital sex. (Lewis, p.259) Love Songs in Age dissipates the idea that marriage is mutually considerate, by looking at a marriage that ended too early and left one party alone and in tears, dispelling the fairytale conception of happily ever after. Even though TLD was published 9 years earlier than TWW, Larkin shows an early awareness of the reality of marriage, and the negative aspects it entails, suggesting that marriage causes a loss of identity in Maiden Name. This poem is about a womans role in getting married and is written in second person, such as in since you were so thankfully confused. This makes the reader feel drawn into the text, as if the persona is speaking directly to him/her, highlighted by the use of imperatives Try whispering it slowly. The poem was written about Winifred Arnott, with whom Larkin had a brief relationship. This relationship ended when she left for London and became engaged in 1954, which lends to the personas tone of betrayal in this poem, such as in since youre past and gone, implying that Arnotts marriage caused her old self to disappear. The persona insists that the five light sounds of her maiden name no longer means your face,/Your voice, and all your variants of grace. It is unusual th at a name should mean a face and a voice, rather than the person herself, and Larkin might do this in order to point out the different aspects of a person that a name can recall. In its regular rhyme scheme (a,b,b,a,c,c,a) and structure, this poem seems like a conventional love poem, according to societys ideas. This is highlighted in the intimate tone of Try whispering it slowly. Just like the hidden song sheets in Love Songs in Age, the womans name in Maiden Name has been abandoned in old things, eliciting a rhetorical question from the persona: Then is it scentless, weightless, strengthless wholly/Untruthful? The tone of voice here seems uncertain and the repetition of -less implies that the woman has been diminished after marrying. The persona is adamant that the woman has lost a part of herself after marrying, as he gushes, How beautiful you were, and near, and young, /So vivid, suggesting that she does not have as much of these qualities anymore. This poem therefore argues that marriage leads to the depreciating of a womans identity and beauty with the extra luggage that comes with marriage, referring to the husband. In doing so, Larkin discourages women from getting married and expresses his loss of beliefs in marriage. Nowadays, an increasing number of women are overcoming the problem of losing ones identity when getting married by simply keeping their maiden name and pairing it with their husbands name. The Larkin that is present in TLD seems more sentimental as compared to in TWW, where he is more discerning to the realities of relationships. Talking in Bed is about the gap between expectation and reality. The tone of the poem is set in the first line, where Talking in bed ought to be easiest, the word ought suggesting uncertainty and untruth. It suggests that there is no honesty in all relationships even at its most intimate. This is emphasized by the pun on the word Lying, in that the couple is lying next to each other as well as lying to each other. Larkin uses an extended metaphor to compare the relationship in the poem to the disturbing weather outside: the winds incomplete unrest. Larkin therefore exposes the turmoil of marriage and forces the reader to reconsider whether marriage actually results in security and comfort, or if it causes incomplete unrest. Jane Lewis essay explains that public institutions in the 1960s attempted to refute the idea that marriages are insecure by setting up marriage counsellors and stressed the importance of a personally grounded morality for a happy marriage. Larkin has a specific style throughout all his poems. Most of them follow a rigid structure, where each stanza has a fixed number of lines. For example, Talking in Bed consists of four tercets, which give the appearance of security and regularity. The structure of the poem thereby belies its content of uncertainty. This is also evident in the regular structure of The Whitsun Weddings, where there are 8 stanzas of 10 lines each, which also gives the impression that all marriages are standard. The title poem of TWW is perhaps one of Larkins most famous. The Whitsun Weddings describes a train ride Larkin took from Hull to London, and in a frail/travelling coincidence ends up on the same train all the newlyweds also take on Whitsun Day. The Whitsun Day celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit as described in Acts, Chapter 2, (Leach) and falls 50 days after Easter Sunday. It is financially advantageous for couples to be married for taxation reasons on this day, and as Larkin decided to write about Whitsun Day, he implies that marriage is cheap. Larkin uses vivid imagery (sound, sight, smell and touch) and a colloquial tone (We ran/Behind the backs of houses) to portray the English countryside through the windows of the train carriage. The images appear like snapshots, giving the reader a sense of immediacy: Wide farms went by, short-shadowed cattle, and Canals with floatings of industrial froth; A hothouse flashed uniquely: hedges dipped And rose: and now and then a smell of grass (14-18) This serves as an introduction that builds up to the fourth stanza, where the persona finally notices the fanfare and excitement surrounding the train, where the wedding-days/Were coming to an end. Larkin describes the newlyweds as fresh, implying that they will not last long. He also mentions the secret like a happy funeral, an oxymoron suggesting that marriage is joyful, but also signifies the end of freedom for the couple. Another bold figure of speech Larkin uses is the religious wounding, which could refer to the sexual anticipation of losing the brides virginity that their friends feel or the fact that the religious act of marriage is painful. Lewis clarifies: Marriage as a public institution had traditionally been supported by a rigid code of Christian sexual morality. An interesting note about this poem is that Larkin does not mention where the train stops, and this suggests that marriage has no direction, and is therefore uncertain. In Stanza 7, Larkin shows how all marriages are the same in that their lives would all contain this hour, dissipating any notions that each wedding is unique. On the other hand, Larkin is inevitably caught up with the couples as We hurried towards London. He seems to be immersed in the excitement of the Whitsun Weddings, seeing himself as part of them. The image of something as dangerous as an arrow-shower changing into cleansing rain gives a sense of rebirth and rejuvenation. However, only somewhere does it become rain, which could mean that the arrow-shower is still lethal in other places. It could also signify the inevitable breakdown of marriage, as the arrows descend and rain could mean mould and cause floods. Martin Amis elaborates that, to Larkin, Hull was as dull as rain. Rain was what Larkin felt marriages turned into, rain was what love and desire eventually become. (http://ghrendhel.tripod.com/textos/amispolitical.htm) This highlights Larkins belief that all marriages are banal and dull. Where Larkin looks at multiple simultaneous weddings in The Whitsun Weddings, he focuses on a specific wedding in The Wedding-Wind, published in TLD and completed in 1946. This poem explores the feelings of a farmers bride a day after her wedding. She is evidently delighted, seen as my wedding-night was the night of the high wind, the strong wind suggesting passion. However, the wind could also symbolise unrest, just like in Talking in Bed. However, the image in the final line, Our kneeling as cattle by all-generous waters, depicts the womans appreciation for being married. It echoes the feelings of most women after they marry, believing that they are on the path to completing their purpose in life. Marriage guidance advocates in the 1960s concurred that womens needs were above all for traditional marital relationships. (Lewis, p.235) Although The Wedding-Wind expresses the womans ecstatic mood, Andrew Swarbrick believes that there is beyond her a lurking sense of threat. This is evident when the bride is abandoned for a while on her wedding-night, leaving her stupid in candlelight. It is interesting as well to note that the husband is mostly absent from the poem, leaving the bride to stare. This implies that women are neglected in marriage. The three questions that end the poem suggest uncertainty, and expose her vulnerability (Swarbrick, p.45). Larkin thereby conveys the ambiguous feelings of the woman, leaving the reader unsure as to whether marriage brings happiness or loneliness. The final poem in TWW is An Arundel Tomb, which discusses the fate of marriage and love after death. It describes the tomb of the Earl and Countess of Arundel at Chichester Cathedral that Larkin had visited. The gentleness with which Larkin describes, One sees, with a sharp tender shock, /His hand withdrawn, holding her hand, shows the pleasant surprise he felt to see everlasting love set in stone. However, this is dismissed with the next line, They would not think to lie so long, which suggests that the couple had not expected to be next to each other for so long, and the pun on the word lie in that they lie next to each other, and also lie to the world that they are in love just like in Talking in Bed, implies that such faithfulness in effigy is actually just a fabrication. The final stanza confirms this, as Time has transfigured them into/Untruth. As mentioned before, this poem (and thus the entire anthology) ends with What will survive of us is love. Yet this has been taken out of context, so the previous one and a half lines have to be looked at: 2544 Words and to prove Our almost-instinct almost true: What will survive of us is love. (40-42) The repetition of almost gives a sense of being so close to the truth, but not actually reaching it; and therefore the last line is thrown into a different perspective. Our almost-instinct seems to be our need to believe in everlasting love after death; but since it is only almost true and not entirely true, the last line is one that the persona wants to be true, but is not necessarily so. Therefore, Larkin still expresses a loss of beliefs in love and marriage. He commented on An Arundel Tomb, a rather romantic poem I dont like it much, which confirms his dislike for the romantic ideas about marriage the poem imparts. As he chose to end the anthology with this poem, it makes it all the more significant that Love isnt stronger than death just because statues hold hands for 600 years, which is what Larkin wrote on the manuscript draft (Swarbrick, p.114). Even through Larkins evident distaste for marriage, his literary executor, Anthony Thwaite, claims that, The fact that he has never married and has no children doesnt entail ignorance of, or contempt for, the institution or its usual result. Larkin rearticulates: Ive remained single by choice, and shouldnt have liked anything else. Public institutions from 1920-1968 tried to appealà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to the biologically determined needs of women for traditional marital relationships (Lewis, p.262) by publicising marriage guidance. Through the fact that they needed to do this, it can be inferred that there were rising divorce rates or fewer marriages in the 1960s, showing that Larkin was part of, and his poetry appealed to, a growing group of people who were unmarried. For the rest of society, Larkins poetry was a basis for reconsidering the purpose and effect of marriage. Larkins most effective technique, arguably, of portraying his messaging is his use of the casual, colloquial tone paired with enjambement that imitates daily speech, which is easily understandable and allows him to connect with people from different walks of life. Thus, it is easy for the reader to comprehend Larkins views about marriage and his poems make the reader reconsider what marriage actually constitutes. Is it imprisonment, a happy funeral, an almost-instinct or is it a loss of identity? Regardless of the answer, Philip Larkin effectively conveys his message through the use of regular rhythm, rigid structure, enjambement, imagery and observations of ordinary people. Since Larkin never married, most of his poems are a generalisation of marriages that he observed and felt what marriage was like. Thus, we cannot whole-heartedly agree with all his views. As Larkin chose the path of bachelorhood, he probably used poetry as a replacement for marriage.