History of Asian, Americans in the US - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1109 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2018/12/30 Category History Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Identity Essay Did you like this example? There has been a larger number of Asian settlements in the United States especially the Japanese and Chines who have constantly been characterized by major cultural practices including the nature of their practices. The article examines the role of enjoyment in the construction of ethnic identity in which the author correlates various literary works which primarily argues and revolves around Asian Americans. The relationship between individualsmaternal life and identity creation based on food as a central cultural aspect is also well expounded in the article. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "History of Asian, Americans in the US" essay for you Create order Community identity cannot be recognizable and appreciable in the global context if its members engage in healthy and secure purposes of eating rather than enhancing cultural unity via celebrations. Chinese food culture which is among the minorities in the United States of America can be modified to reflect the American culture via ignoring maternal influence on the food way. Recognition and enhancement of the cultural transformation should be structured based on eating, recipe, food preparation and incorporate traditional aspects. Incorporation of Americansculture in the Chinese food is an essential aspect which can play a significant role in preventing cultural genocide and extinction of the Chinese culture. The article argues this point based on Japanese and Canadians recognition and their ability to appreciate the Americans culture which contributed to confusion, violation and self-anguish since they couldnt ignore their linguistic and non†linguistic fantasies. The article f urther argues that muscularity, food and appetite are among the primary aspects which relate or which can moderate the assimilation of American culture in Chinese food identity. This aspect is founded on the authors argument that, Chinese and American men have similar characteristics such as eating habits. Maternal and paternal association with food is a baseless perspective since enjoyment which is centered linguistic aspects is transformative, and the same aspect applies to non-linguistic issues such as eating identity. Key terms and concepts Enjoyment is cultural which is centered on easily compatible societal and traditional aspects such as language and deeply founded on maternal and paternally socialization basis. Semiotic refers to the study of symbols and signs used in communication by people from different cultural backgrounds. Quotes and analysis Chins effort to rescue Asian American manhood, as King- Kok Cheung points out, is based on a hegemonic conception of masculinity that is largely white (38). Chinese food identity is deeply rooted in eating habits, cooking and the primary recipe used in the entire process is related to some Americans cultural aspects which enhances their relationship. Masculinity, food and appetite are the central aspects which moderate the assimilation of American food culture as a primary pillar which can facilitate adoption and transformational process of the Chinese food identity. The white and Chinese men portray similar eating habits which can be the fundamental basis of enhancing cultural transformative process is the best founding factor of reflecting American cultures in the Chinese traditional perspectives. It is the enjoyment which is manifested in the way a community cooks and eats (21). Communal cultural practices and beliefs are characterized by maternal influence via the socialization process. This aspect is centered on simple cultural aspects founded on both linguistic and non-linguistically ideologies. The Chinese food identity can be reshaped by incorporating some American cultural aspects via a vivid and an effective transformational process of eating and cooking habits. This venture facilitates the applicability of enjoyment in enhancing the Chinese food identity in the United States of America. This article relates with ?Chop Sueyarticle, in the sense that, the introduction of the Chop Suery dish in the United States of America reflected a pure Chinese culture but via interactions and festivals it as incorporated some American culture has eating and preparing is concerned (Liu p 31). A community whose fantasies about who they are suffering violation undergoes confusion, anguish the community afflicted with such devastations faces cultural genocide and extinctions (19). Cultural transformation is a negation between two cultures and which is primarily moderated by recognition and appreciation of other peoples identities. Chinese-Americans faced a lot of challenged before their assimilated some American cultural practices and beliefs. This aspect applies to the introduction and penetration of Chinese food identity in the United States of America. Acceptability of the fact that, incorporation of foreign culture is a central aspect of a successful assimilation process plays an indispensable role in preventing confusion, anguish which is initiated by recognition and holding to ones Communal fantasies. These fantasies are the primary cause of cultural genocide and extinction, and the Chinese-Americans should be ignored them to be able to successfully introduce their food identity which reflects American cultural practices such as eating and modified cuisine. This text reflects the same argument with the Chop Sueyarticle in emphasis on the cultural transfo rmation is a negotiation between cultures (Liu p. 24). They also agree that assimilation of foreign culture is an important aspect in facilitating cultural integration hence preventing extinction. Overall evaluation This source focuses on specific moderators of creation and enhancement of ethnic identity in the United States of America. The primary moderators and which are among the challenges which Chinese Americans faced in the United States of America in establishing their cultural identification includes; the correlation between foodway and maternal perspectives, operations of maternity and traditional perspectives of masculinity, food and appetite. The role of role of enjoyment which is fundamentally based on cooking and eating identities is the central initiator of the establishment of ethnic identity. Chinese food can be culturally transformed to reflect Americans culture since they have some existing similarities which are deeply rooted in their traditional practices and beliefs. Some of these similarities are portrayed on the roles of maternal and paternalism in shaping childrens perspectives of food identity. Muscularity which is relatable with food and appetite reflects an indispensab le similarity that both Chinese and American Men have same eating habits. The challenges pertaining maternal influence can be dealt with by assimilating some American culture in the Chinese food identity hence facilitating acceptability of China dishes such as Cuisine and Chop Suey in the United States of America society. Much information used in this source is based on various Asian American literature which reflects various challenges which Chinese Americans faced and which provides a clear foundation for the cultural transformative process which Chinese food identity should be exposed to in the foreign land. The historical information plays a central part in the source since it reflects the cultural issues which should be considered in the assimilation of American culture in the transformation of Chinese foods. Work Cited Liu, Haiming. Chop Suey as imagined authentic Chinese food: the culinary identity of Chinese restaurants in the United States. Journal of Transnational American Studies 1.1 (2009).

Back in Fashion Rebuilding the DG Brand in Hong Kong

Back in fashion: Rebuilding the DG brand in Hong Kong A seemingly simple action has turned into a public relations disaster for the renowned high-end fashion company Dolce Gabbana. The Hong Kong branch of DG reportedly prevented Hong Kong citizens from taking photographs of its main storefront on Canton Road while mainland Chinese and foreign visitors were allowed to happily snap away (Chow, 2012, Ban sparks protest). The initial response of the company was both weak and unsatisfying: representatives of the retailer allegedly defended its policy, arguing that it was trying to protect its intellectual property even though the pictures were taken from the public street (Chow 2012, Ban sparks protest). This defensive posturing only served to further inflame public sentiment against the retailer. A Facebook-organized protest of 1,000 Hong Kong residents rallied outside the Italian brands doors protesting what they saw as prejudice against local residents. The transparency of DGs defense was further undercut when a photographer from the Ap ple Daily reported he was told by a security guard that only mainland Chinese or foreign tourists were allowed to take photos outside the store, with another guard allegedly threatening to break his camera and published his story online (Booker 2012). Racism is a serious charge in todays hyper-conscious media environment, which makes it curious why the company undertook an action that could inflame such potentialShow MoreRelatedThe Rise of China and Future of the West17670 Words   |  71 Pagesthe Liberal System Survive? By G. John Ikenberry January/February 2008 Summary:   Chinas rise will inevitably bring the United States unipolar moment to an end. But that does not necessarily mean a violent power struggle or the overthrow of the Western system. 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Marketing Management Woolworth Marketing Strategies

Question: Discuss about the Marketing Management : Woolworth Marketing Strategies. Answer: Introduction All in Australia there are about 140,000 businesses and retail companies, only for the retail industry. Australian retail markets are considered to be the strongest industries in the world (Wardle and Baranovic, 2009). Here the largest positions are captured by Coles and Woolworths, these are owned by the Wesfarmers group and Woolworths limited respectively. All through Australia, these are the giants in retail supermarkets which prove to serve the high quality products. If we talk about the history of the Woolworths, it was established with its operations running in 1924. Initially, they had small store in the basement in Sydney, Australia. Since then it had grown up as the leading giants among Australia. Most commonly, if we talk from the customers point of view, it has become the first choice to buy the household products from both in the regional areas and in the metropolitans of Australia. Woolworths deal with the wide range of grocery and its food products manufactured which they had begun as the fresh food suppliers. It has been 64 years since they have had started as the fresh food suppliers chain. The main motto Woolworths has is that they treat their customers on the highest priority on what they demand. Not only this but also they try to keep their customers updated about what is newest and the best for them. There are many brands under the Woolworths limited which are dyed-in-the-wool to serve its customers in the best possible manner wit h respect to its quality of the products (Rotembuurg, 1993). Objectives and vision statement of Woolworths This companys retailed product includes food products, grocery, liquors, electronics, fuel and general merchandise. Under the Woolworths, there are currently, 2330 divisions along with 284 if its hotel and 577 of its general merchandising stores. The primary area of operation and marketing includes New Zealand, Australia which has its subsidies in China, Hong Kong and India (Global Data, 2012). The glimpse of history of the Woolworths limited is briefed as follows: 1924: the company had started its first store in Sydney, Australia. 1930-1940: This was the phase of rapid growth and expansion of its operations from all of the stores. 1970-1980: the brand became the holder as world largest retailer in the fresh food products. 1980-1990: this is the phase when Woolworths has become the market leader of the retailed sector, in Australia. 1990- To present: it has expanded its sectors by entering into various sectors of hotel, liquor and gas stations. Any of the company so as to have a working developing plan and strategy, they must have a understanding of its vision and mission. The vision statement of the company includes that how the organization does wants its environment to be like and where does it wants to see itself in near future. Also the vision statement of the organization can be concluded as the planning which is done from the long-term view of its goals and which arrears are to be focused upon in the near future. This vision statement proves to motivate the employees and guides inspiration for them. The vision statement of Woolworths is to maintain its retail business and offer its customers the best quality which has greater value for the money along with wider choice options which shall serve the high-end services to the customers. This can be concluded from its vision statement (Global Data, 2011). The objectives of this organization are to improve the efficiency with the stock turnover and ensuring that the customer are served by the more than 800 stores which are there across streets of the United Kingdom. Such stock contains the value for money products which will match the expectations of the customers. Woolworths has its investments in the supply chain system which has affected all the areas of the organization. Agencies: Agencies are the middlemen of the business world. When businesses need a specific worker who specializes in the trade, they go to a recruitment agency. Suppliers provide raw materials that are required to build Five Cs of Woolworths Analysis of five cs can be done which is useful for the performance analysis of the environmental scanning which is useful in analyzing the marketing situations. This analysis helps in the marketing decision making. Also, it covers the scanning of the internal as well as the external environment. This five c analysis is basically the extended of three c which includes the company, customers, collaborators, climate and its competitors. The detailed analysis to the five aspects is as follows: This shall include the companys analysis which states the objectives and evaluation of its capabilities. This tells about the strength of the strategic plan and model of the organization. Moreover, it analyses what are the areas to be worked upon in terms of improvement and that how well the organization fits in the criteria of the external environment. Identifying and accessing the competitors in the market is necessary so as to compete from its competitors. The competitors of Woolworths in Australian market are Aldi and Coles. Collaborators are those who create a business idea and helps in commencing the business for an organization in the most efficient way. The collaborators to an organization manufacturing the products are as potential suppliers, buyers, retailers, distribution channels, etc. Woolworths has mainly the customers as the females. They are more engaged into house hold activities. Also, the target customers for this organization are the high income group as it has comparatively high priced products. Climate of an organization includes the factors which lead to PESTAL analysis. This analysis for Woolworths can be done as: Political: the political factor includes the retail companies which are affected by the political climate of other industries. These political conditions help in shaping the perfect environment for the business. Economical: factors such as that of the recession is higher and the high the unemployment factor which will have greater impact on the financial performance of the business. Social factors: the changes that the customer has made from the early era to now in the retail shopping experiences. The company has recently introduced many new means to fulfill what the customers are seeking for. Technological factors: the newer the technologies the more ease will be there for the customers to buy the products. Use of RFIA and Service oriented architecture is operated for the effective supply. Legal factors: this includes the taxation and managing the revenues. These are the legal formalities that have to be undergone while doing business. The quality of the products manufactured should be always according to the standards of Australia. Methods of market research about 5 Cs. The marketing research method that Woolworths follow is basically based upon the marketing research and the methods Woolworths follow for factors such as its customers, competitors, collaborators and the context of the business. These are the aspects which once when decided does the market research and then is followed according to the strategies formed: How does the organization decide that what their customers are longing for? Woolworths basically serves the customers in the personalized way which the individual which is high in quality and according to the current market trends. This is their aim to satisfy its customers within the value for money pricing range. This is the strategy which Woolworths follow. Also, meeting the customers need by providing them the products with highly competitive pricing, best of the best quality consistently, with more options available for the customers which shall give them the best experiences among shopping. The firm collects information by the way they have created different departments for knowing what the customers want actually. This is done by conducting surveys from the customers, so as to satisfy of strategic management. Also, focus groups are important tool for to research that has skills in moderating and interpretation. Ethnographic studies also help in the market research. The threat from the other rivalrys present in the market is as: Woolworths have the strong competitors in Australia which the retail stores have is Myers, Coles Wal-Mart, TESCO and macro wholefoods limited. The present competition prevailing in the markets is at such intensity which shall create a better competition in the market and these will also build upon the effective strategies which will differentiate themselves. The presence of some strong competitors in Australia retail and grocery industry such as Myer or Coles is likely to limit the Woolworths market share and contribute the high level of concentration. The intensity of those competitors is forcing the company continuously creating competitive and effective strategies in order to differentiate themselves from competitors. Market research done about the competitors in the market includes the information done through the interaction with the employees. Retrieval of information can be done by the way of getting the information out of the social networks. The information about the competitors is also retrieved by the way of doing some reporting about the competitors in the market currently. To know about the changing marketing trends like going global, diversifying the business or about the flexibility the research can be done by evaluating the new features of the products or of the new features available. Also, by assessing the advantages and the disadvantages for if the new packaging is done for any newly launched products. The research method used for getting the information about the collaborators involved can be done the way of SWOT analysis which enables Woolworths about the analysis of the internal bureaucratic and product development techniques. Developing marketing strategy The maximum sales revenue of the suppliers when done in a certain period of time, is called as the potential market. The potential market segments that are available to Woolworths are as follow: Woolworths has its core customers who are more loyal and are not scared in complaining about, if the local street stores fulfill their expectations or not. For this when the market analysis is done, it is found that the organization works for building the strong relationship with its customers and will say consistently about providing the right services and the products. Also, it is found that the target customers are basically includes more female customers. This is because only they are generally conscious about the house holds of the family. Also they spend large amount of money in solving their problems and the issues. In other words, the females when spend more upon the cosmetics who lie in between the age group of 14-30 are targeted (Westwood, 2002). The purpose of the value statement is that it is used in the communication of the actual purpose of the organization. This is also called as the mission statement. On the other hand, the mission statement briefs about the fundamental principles of any organization. It has description of the details about the commencements of the organization and also what are the goals that need to be attained. Woolworths has stated in its mission that aims at the it need to be the most loved amongst the retailer for family, leisure, home and the kids. Marketing tactics The marketing mix strategy of the Woolworths can be defined as below. The elements of the marketing mix include product, price, place and promotion. This extends to the three more ps now which are physical layout, provision of customer services and process as its elements. Firstly, under the product category the aim of the organization is to fulfill the expectations and needs of the customers. For example when the house hold and the beauty products are there then the customers are to be served with the most advanced technology present in the market. Woolworths basically focuses on the quality it is offering to the accessible products available. Woolworths has clearly identified that what the customers are actually looking for and how to satisfy them with serving the accurate value for money options. Woolworths has done a great job in providing the highest quality factors in terms of quality. Also, the products sold are the cost effective driven products. Moreover, it is kept in mind to serve their loyal customers with the high quality products and services. This is the motive of Woolworths regarding the product marketing strategy. Second is the pricing factor which is accordingly monitored by using different strategies and is changed in the period of time. Also, the supermarket has different offers and techniques for customers who include various discounts, promotional offers, etc. also, it has sometimes the offer for discounts on the MRP which attracts the customers and helps with generating more revenue for the organization (Hwang, Bronnenberg Thomadsen, 2010). Third is the place which includes the stores which are located under the areas which are actually convenient to the customers. Moreover, these kinds of supermarkets have the focus on choosing its location for the stores. Hence, it can be concluded that the stores of Woolworths has kept in mind the location as well as the convenience of the customers, to get high demand response. Moreover, for this sake now online stores are also launched for the sake of its customer convenience. It is recently, that the mobile application software for Woolworths are also facilitated so that their customers can shop from anywhere, anytime (Omar and Sawmong, 2007). Fourth p is regarding the Promotion activities, that Woolworths does so as to broadcast it on Tv channels and other media. The most popular option available that is the Billboard advertising is used majorly for communication with its target market/ audience. In addition to it, many of other activities like that of the promotional activities are carried on. For instance, like that of the demonstration about the products is done and shown to the customers in the store which are under the promotional activities. Also, Woolworths has its own publication published in the market for the sake of more effective communication with its target markets (Wowlink.com.au, 2015). The physical layout is the fifth P which explains about the physical output protection for the products, in the factories which should ultimately important to the end customers. But for now many of the products which are retailed has the high level presentation which is there in the stores which are modern. Woolworths has the highly presentable way of physical output of the product which is equally important to the providers with high quality. Next is the provision for the customer service, this is the post sale marketing tactic which shall help the customers with availing the facility of the organization about their products. Woolworths has their customers treated on the highest priority and is quiet successful in this approach. Call centre staff and facing the customers in the first line is considered to be the troops with the front lines which are considered to be the advantage in building up the customer relations. The processes are the seventh P which is associated with the number of processes that are done through to make the organization much better along with the effective marketing tactics. The processes undergone are as the process to handle the customers complaints processes for identifying what the target market is looking for and also the processes involved with the handling of the orders. This is the marketing tactic followed by Woolworths. Recommendation for the marketing mix of Woolworths is that firstly they should revise upon their prices which are higher comparatively in the Australian markets. Whereas, the quality of Woolworths product is similar to those of available in other supermarkets. The name of company is highly repudiated which is for the reason of its highly maximized shares. For the long run race with its competitors, Woolworths will have to look after its pricing strategy. This will help to attract the larger target market as compared to what it is for now. These are the seven Ps of marketing with their own effective tactic for better marketing and creating more effective value prepositions from the customers. This is followed by Woolworths for efficient management. Conclusion Woolworths is amongst the leading supermarkets of Australia which has its own business tactics and strategies. These help its customers, collaborators, suppliers, company, and its context to develop for the better and effective marketing management. It has many near competitors in the market. This is concluded about the Woolworths marketing management. References: Foo. (2008). Woolies Boost Supply Chain Technology. Retrieved from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/woolies-boosts-supply-chain-technology/story-e6frganf-1111115892003 Frey, Bruno, S. (2002). Successful Management by Motivation. Springer. Gray, E., Emerson, L., Mackey, B. (2005). Meeting Demand of the Workplace. Jstor. GlobalData. (2011). Market Research. Retrieved from Woolworths Limited (WOW) - Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review: https://www.marketresearch.com/GlobalData-v3648/Woolworths-Limited-WOW-Financial-Strategic-6261980/ Investment analysis. (2004). Retrieved from Woolworths Holdings Limited : https://www.docstoc.com/docs/76183741/PowerPoint-Presentation---Woolworths-Holdings-Limited Kraft, M., Mantrala. (2010). Retailing in the 21st Century. Springer. Matej, I. (2010). Retrieved from Strategic Management Group Assignment 1 - Document Transcript: https://www.slideshare.net/KyleL1/strategic-management-group-assignment-1 Palmer. (2008). Woolworths Trial Self Check-Out Technology. Retrieved from https://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2008/04/21/woolworths-trial-self-checkout-technology.html Ready Made Search. (2009). Retrieved from 0955 - Woolworths customer satisfaction continues to rise: https://www.roymorganonlinestore.com/News/Woolworths-customer-satisfaction-continues-to-rise.aspx Rotembuurg, J., Saloner, G. (1993). Leadership Style and Incentives.Jstor. United States Department of Agriculture. (2011). Retrieved from World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates: https://www.usda.gov/oce/commodity/wasde/latest.pdf.Woolworths. (2011). Wenderoth, M. 2009. Particularities in the Marketing Mix for Service Operations. GRIN verlag. Westwood, J. 2002. The marketing plan: a step-by-step guide. Kogan Page publishers. Woolworths Limited. 2013. [Online]. Available at: https://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/page/Invest_In_Us/Share_Price/ [accessed on: 17 January 2017]. Woolworths Limited. 2013. [online]. Available at: https://www.woolworthslimited.com.au/ [accessed on: 17 January, 2017]. Hwang, M., Bronnenberg, B., Thomadsen, R. (2010). An Empirical Analysis of Assortment Similarities Across U.S. Supermarkets. Marketing Science, 29(5), 858-879. doi:10.1287/mksc.1100.0564 Mitchell, S. (2014)., Woolworths may need to sacrifice profit margins for growth. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 January, 2017. Omar, O., Sawmong, S. (2007). Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty to British Supermarkets.Journal Of Food Products Marketing, 13(2), 19-32. doi:10.1300/j038v13n02_02

Marketing Plan of New Book Store †Myassignmenthelp.com

Questions: Task 1: The analysis of the marketing environment? Task 2: The marketing plan? Task 3: Future growth options? Answers: Introduction Bookie Joint will be opened as a sole proprietorship business opportunity in the busy university proximity of Trafalgar Square, UK. The new bookstore will target the students of the nearby university along with the local residents of the Trafalgar Square. The owner of Bookie Joint plans to take the help of the local library staffs and e-resources in order to segment the overall target population. The estimated start-up expense will be around 12500. The assignment will evaluate the marketing plan for Bookie Joint and will analyse the external environment and internal strengths and weaknesses of the new store. Further, the analysis of the target market and SMART objectives will help the marketer to formulate the plan effectively. Task 1: The analysis of the marketing environment 1.1 Analysis of the Macro environment for Bookie Joint P-Political The political conditions of UK will affect the buying behavior of the consumers (Warner, 2010). The political stability of the place will affect the economy as well as affect the buying power of the individuals. Government policy and taxation also influence the business. The rise in corporate tax will result in increase in price of the books as a result; affect the business (Jensen, 2013). E-Economic The book store will need workers for functioning properly. The store can employ individuals who are either jobless or looking for a job to support their education (Roy, 2009). Students will be perfect for in-store job in the book store, which will help them to increase their knowledge while handling customers in the store. In this way, the store can help in improving the economic conditions of the society (Jensen, 2013). S-Social Adhering to the social responsibilities is one of the most important factors while opening a store. The book store should comply with the rules of the local business association of that location (Kahn and Kahn, 2010). They might ask for funds at various occasions, or general meeting, the owner of the store should cooperate with the association. Also it is social responsibility of the owner to attend the general meeting of the association regularly (Horton, 2010). T-Technological The book store should be equipped with internet connection. Nowadays, life is unimaginable without technology. Access of the e-books and audio books in the store will help the customers, specially the students to access them from the store (Kahn and Kahn, 2010). Connection of the store with the web will help them to download the materials and incorporating the technology of print no demand will enhance the business of the store. In addition to these, incorporating Electronic Point of Sale, Electronic Fund Transfer System will help the owner to maintain the stocks more efficiently. Maintaining the database of all the books available also will help the users to find the books in the respective sections (Fine, 2009). L-Legal Not only bookstore but before starting any new store in an area, the individual should look into the legal issues of the location where the store will open (Roy, 2009). The individual should ask for proper documentation from the proprietor and should also check whether the location has any past legal issues that can pose as threat in present. Under Consumer Law of UK, the bookstore is bound to provide correct information to the consumers by providing correct description of products and proper pricing (Fine, 2009). E-Environmental Wastage always comes complimentary when it comes to operating a store. The book store should keep in mind the environmental factors before starting the business. The waste products will be in the form of cartons and packages used for the delivery of the books. The owner should monitor the ways of disposing the packages so that the packages do not pollute the location (Horton, 2010). 1.2 Micro analysis of Bookie Joint S-strength Building a book caf rather than building a normal book store will act as a great strength for the book store owner. Buyers will prefer to go through the books before buying them; hence if a caf is available with the store, the buyers can sit there to consult the books (Crisan, 2011). Employment of students as workers in the store will make the store more informative for the consumers. In this way, the store will contribute to decrease the unemployment rate, the buyers; especially the students will be benefitted from the student workers while buying the books on any particular subject (Ramachandra, Chandrashekara and Shivakumar, 2010). At times, there are consumers who support a smaller bookstore than a larger one, the psychology behind this attitude is, the consumers believe that the price of the books will be less in local book stores than bigger ones. In addition to this, the same psychology works in case of the students. The students even prefer local book stores which will be nea r to the house, and will be easy to reach whenever needed (Ahmad, 2013). W-Weakness The climate change along with the issues of global warming is making the consumers avail for more technological products. Saving paper is one of the top-most priorities for environmentalists (Ramachandra, Chandrashekara and Shivakumar, 2010). In such a situation, the demand for physical books is decreasing at a fast rate. Book stores at times are unable to meet the demand of the consumers due to lower availability of space (Crisan, 2011). The proprietors prefer giving the space to such business owners who will gain more profit. As books do not have a steady business, the proprietors fear of not getting the rent in proper time. As far as educational books are concerned, the rate of sale will decrease during summer or winter vacations as the studying practice of the students also fall (Ahmad, 2013). O-Opportunities Books will always be a favorite thing for book-lovers. For book-lovers buying a book will always be a priority rather than borrowing and returning a book (Koopman, 2012). Inviting local authors at the store and organizing small lectures along with book signing can give the store an opportunity to promote the store. Local authors will also get an opportunity to showcase the talents; hence will be frequent visitors in the store (Bertelsen, 2012). T-Threats The online sites selling books provide the consumers with discounted price for books are major threats to a book store. Generally, a book store can afford to give the customers a discount of 10% maximum (Koopman, 2012). The online sites provide various offers in bulk buying as well as heavy discount on all books. Libraries can also pose as a threat to the book store. Unlike a store, an individual can borrow a book of choice rather than buying it (Bertelsen, 2012). 1.3 Competitive analysis of Bookie Joint Threat of substitute products is the most important threat when it comes to bookstore. Due to the advent of technology, e-books and audio books are sought after products for readers; hence the footfall of the readers will also decrease (Pereira, 2013). The proprietor will prefer giving out the space to other business owners with sure and steady revenue, for example, grocery, beauty products, medicine which will never lose its hold in the market. In addition to these, nowadays children is more attracted to video game parlors, junk food centers, etc than spending time on books, hence all these substitute products affect the business of books as a whole (Cateora, Gilly and Graham, 2013). Book stores with big name and history will pose a serious threat to local bookstores. Intensity of the competitive rivalry will be very high. Some famous bookstores like, The London Review Book Shop, The Big Green Bookshop, Gays The Word, Waterstons, P G Wells are some of the names worth mentioning (Tiringer and Harrach, 2014). The already flourished business of these bookshops will allow minimal space to the new local bookshops. Whenever it comes to books, the customers will prefer bigger area with more options to choose from. The big stores will be able to meet the customer demands more than the local stores. Moreover, everybody will prefer a place with more space to move around to consult books than local stores, where the main problem is lesser availability of space (Cateora, Gilly and Graham, 2013). The bargaining power of the consumers will relatively be less in bookstores. Whole sellers in book industry faces the challenge of bargaining power of the consumers but customers do not tend to bargain in a book store (Pereira, 2013). Though the book store may face bargaining from the students due to their economic constraints, but normal buyers generally do not tend to bargain in a store. If the store is located in a posh area, then the store will face minimum bargaining from the buyers, as the customers will be from a well to do background who will not be interested in indulging in bargaining (Choudhary, 2009). In a situation where the bookstore is already being fighting for existence, a new entrant in the same business wills against the business. The intensity of competition from a new entrant in the business will be very high for the bookstore. The new entrant will also fight for existence. Provided that the entrant starts functioning with greater funds and capital, then the other owner will leave no stone unturned to make the presence felt in the market. The new entrant will make use of all the available resources in the market to attract the buyers, hence will intensify the competition for the already existing bookstores (Choudhary, 2009). When on one hand, the bargaining power of consumers will comparatively be low in case of the bookstore; bargaining power of the suppliers will comparatively be very high for bookstores. Provided that there is only one whole seller of books in the area, the whole seller will take the advantage of the situation, as a result will tend to increase the price of the books to which the store will not be left with any other option but to comply with the whole seller (Tiringer and Harrach, 2014). The same situation may arise from another whole seller with good resources. When that whole seller is able to fulfill all the orders from the owner of the book store, in addition to that is providing timely delivery, the seller will take advantage of this situation, hence will intensify the bargaining power. Task 2: The marketing plan 2.1 Analysis of the SMART objectives According to Barrow, Barrow and Brown, (2012) setting of the SMART objectives (Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) helps the marketer to successfully evaluate the objectives that the marketer feel is necessary to be attained in the end. In the present context, the marketer has framed the following SMART objectives for the new bookstore. The marketer plans to increase the sales of the bookstore by around 5% within the next 6 months The plan of the marketer is to introduce e-book facility, which will further help the marketer to increase the profit by around 2% quarterly The marketer further plans to open another book store in the Urban location of UK near the universities so that the new book store will be able to attract more students Apart from the books, the marketer also plans to introduce the some of the ancilliary products and services like internet cafe services, LAN gaming services, E-magazines and journal and a refreshment cafeteria 2.1 Segmentation, Targeting and positioning (STP) analysis of Bookie Joint The STP analysis helps the marketer to understand the target customers for which the marketing plan is required to be prepared. Bowman, (2008) stated that opening of a bookstore is a risky proposition especially in case high competitions from the online book stores and the availability of the e-book facilities. Thus, the marketer in this respect will frame the STP analysis for the bookstore. 2.1.1 Market analysis The UK book market is facing a decline in the growth from 2012 since the introduction of the online book purchase portals like Amazon, e-bay and after the introduction of the e-book reading services provided by Google and other search engines, the major focus of the students shifted from virtual book store purchase to the online services. The bookstore industry sale rose only 3.6 % in the year 2012. Moreover, the economic crisis decreased the purchasing power of the customers and thus they switched over to the online book services rather than purchasing the book at high price forms the bookstores. 2.1.2 Market segmentation The marketer in this case has planned to segment the overall UK market based on the purchasing power of the customers of UK. Based on the segmentation strategy, the marketer plans to open the bookstore in Trafalgar Square area near the universities like London School of Economics, University of London, Kings College and Imperial College. The market segmentation shows that the total population of the Trafalgar Square is more than 1, 00,000 which comprises the total target segment for the Bookstore. The majority of the houses hold income of the residing citizens of the Square is around 30,000. However, the major focus of the marketer in this respect will be on attracting the students of the nearby universities and schools for purchasing of the books from the newly opened store (Bruyant-Langer, 2013). 2.1.3 Target market The marketer in this respect will target three specific target customers among the target segment. The three major target customers for the bookstore are selected as below: Causal purchasers: Chambers and Humble, (2012) stated that casual shoppers are the individuals who generally visit the bookstore with no particular intention of purchasing any specific item. In such case, this group of customers generally purchases the attractive items. This group of customers range within the age group of 9 to 18 years including male and female both categories of students. Keeping, the interests of this group of customers, the marketer will focus on storing the front rows of the bookstore with attractive stationery items (Crayons, playbooks). The marketer will also arrange for merchandises like game players, game CDs and drawing books for the casual group of purchasers. However, Finch, (2013) stated that this group of customers are genially the impulse buyer hence they may often leave the store without purchasing anything or may prefer to opt for low priced items. For this reason, the marketer of the new book store will also equip the store inventories with the low priced books including journals, business magazines, creative idea books, cooking books and information documentaries which will attract the customers and will also help to increase the sales. Hard to find purchasers: These are the group of customers who have specific needs and generally visit the store to make purchases of some pre-listed book items. In terms of the high competition from the persisting book stores like the London Review Book shop, Big Green Bookshop and PG Wells, the new book shop will have to make a competitive advantage in terms of the core products so that this target segment of customers can be attracted and retained. These segments of customers range between the age group of 20 to 50 years and covers the majority of the target population. For this category of target population, the marketer will effectively include the old edition books, which are rarely available in new bookstores. The marketer can also list out the priced collections from the e-library and make the paperback version available within the store, which would make the core product of the store different and attractive compared to the other new bookstores operating in Trafalgar Square ( McKeever, 2012). Specific category purchasers : These are the categories of customers who generally purchase the books of one specific category without diverting to purchase of any other category of books. Friedlander, (2013) stated that this group of customers generally have the complete idea about the type of purchase they intend to make and generally represents the highest volume of purchaser in a particular store. The age range of this group of customers range from 18 to 30 years and depending on that, the marketer will stock the rest of the store. The marketer for this segment of customers will include the separate segments of book rows like romance segment, fiction segment, educational segment, management segment, political segment, technical segment and non-fictional segment. 2.2 Evaluation of the 7Ps The very widely used marketing mix is actually a tool devised for designing strategic marketing tool. Traditionally, the factors of Product, Place, Price, and Promotion were considered as the core decisive factors of any business, and were popularly known as the 4Ps of Business. This particular model was considered as the most exhaustively utilized marketing model, as reported by surveys carried out by various business magazines. The primary model of 4Ps as devised at a time when most of the business were involved with the selling of finished goods and/ or products: the concept of selling of services was at that point of time no known in the business domain. Likewise, the concepts of providing after sales services to the customers of the business, and the strategy of developing a brand name through the provision of such services to the customers were yet to be introduced in the market. Hence the only factors that were to be considered in the marketing strategy for any business consisted of the products being sold by the business, its location, the pricing strategies used by te business and the promotion strategies used by the business (Rimm, 2012). Over time, three more factors, namely the participants (later on renamed as People), the physical evidence and the processes used by any business corporation were included in the model. In 1960, E. Jerome McCarthydevised the 7Ps model that is being widely used by organizations today and published it in the book titled as Basic Marketing. A Managerial Approach. The Bookie Joint should use the 7 Ps model to evaluate the business model being followed, and emphasize on the following sectors of their business: Products/ services: At present, the organization sells hard copies of text books and/ or other materials at their physical stores. However, the customers can also access the official website of the book store to order boos. The book store provides additional discounts on those which have been order through their website and books are delivered to addresses provided by the customers, without any additional cost. The organization even plans to make e-books available to their customers through their website in near future (Romero, 2011). Prices/Fees: As the book store has been opened recently, the management has decided to adapt a strategy of competitive pricing in order to draw the attention of the customers. Books are being made available to the customers at reduced prices and special promotional offers are being made to those customers who use the official website to order books. For the time being, books are also being delivered to the customers at their doorsteps without any additional fees. Place/Access: Setting up the physical stores within the university premises was one conscious decision adopted by the management. Needless to say, the strategic location of the bookstore will attract a wide range of new customers, including the students of the university, and the faculty and the professors associated with the institute. Promotion: The bookstore is providing various promotional offers available to those customers who order books from their official website. Along with this, the book store is promoting its brand name on various social media sites that are popular among students, besides conducting promotional marketing by the traditional approaches like distributing pamphlets and leaflets, putting up flexes and hoardings, as so on. The management has also decided to sponsor certain events being conducted by the students of the university as part of their marketing strategy. Physical Evidence: The book store has been set up within the university premises, and has an impressive ambience. The staffs are well trained and provide much help to the customers while they search specific items. The book store has an official website through which their customers are able to order books online, without visiting the physical book store (Skinner, 2012). People: The book store has employed a group of highly skilled staffs, and provides necessary training to them such that they are able to help he customers. The organization has employed a group of employees who are specialized at providing after sales services to the customers: these employees are assigned with the task of meeting up the grievances of the customers and to provide solutions to any problem experienced by them. Partners: The book store has business collaborations with most of the well known publishing houses. Their direct business relations with the publishers allow them to make books available to the customers at competitive prices. The book store also has a section of used books: the book store buys such books, at low prices, from the students of the institute and makes them available to the customers at discounted rates. Task 3: Future growth options 3.1 Future growth strategies The evaluation of the macro and microenvironment of the new bookstore shows that high competition is present within the book industry of UK. The major threat of the book industry is from the substitute products and services like the e book, online book purchase and from the presence of the large number of physical bookstores in UK. Keeping the high degree of competition in mind the marketer and the owner of Bookie Joint has formulated the following future strategies for the bookstore (Stutely, 2012). Introduction of ancillary products: The bookstore will display other products than the core products that are the books in the coming years. Keeping in mind the needs of the casual shoppers, the owner of the bookstore will include accessory items like the gaming CDs, gaming books, storybooks, Movie DVDs, comics, stationery items and other options. Introduction of a cafe: In the initial stages, the owner will maintain a low profile in terms of the new store, however, in the later stages the expansion policy will also include setting up of a reading cafeteria within the store or as a part of the store with a kiosk approach. This will make the reading environment for the customers comfortable and the store will be able to attract large number of customers. The cafeteria will also provide snacks, refreshment, and sitting opportunities for around 20 customers along with reading lights within the shop. Introduction of low priced books: The owner of Bookie Joint will also introduce a separate low price segment of books for the casual customer segment that generally prefer to purchase books which are of low price with no actual need for the product. For availing this strategy, the Bookie store will include second hand paperback editions of some of the most popular books in all specific ranges, which are generally in high demand (Skinner, 2012). 3.2 Control and evaluation techniques In term of assessment of the overall marketing plan, the focus of the owner should be on the attainment of the SMART objectives. The owner of Bookie Joint will analyse the financial reports and the profit growth level of the book store in every quarter so that the owner can track the changes in the growth rate and the changes in the sales percentage. The measurement of the monthly customer footfall can also be measured along with a customer loyalty card that the store can offer to the first time visitors (Stutely, 2012). Conclusion The major focus of the marketing plan is on the assessment of the relevancy of opening a new bookstore in an urban location of UK. The macro assessment shows that it is profitable to open a new bookstore in UK since the number of universities and the number of students is high in UK. Moreover, the target segment analysis shows that it is advisable that the physical store should be opened in Trafalgar Square near the universities and the students should be targeted with the introduction of low priced books along with paperbacks and other accessories. References Ahmad, M. (2013). Marketing Case Studies and Swot Analysis. Saarbrucken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Barrow, C., Barrow, P. and Brown, R. (2012).The business plan workbook. London: Kogan Page. Bertelsen, B. (2012). Everything you need to know about SWOT analysis. [Newmarket, Ont.]: BrainMass Inc. Birt, I. (2013).Writing your plan for small business success. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen Unwin. Bowman, R. (2008).Business continuity planning for data centers and systems. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley Sons. Bruyant-Langer, S. (2013).The personal business plan. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley. Cartwright, R. (2002). Mastering marketing management. New York: Palgave. Cateora, P., Gilly, M. and Graham, J. (2013). International marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Chambers, I. and Humble, J. (2012).Plan for the Planet. Burlington, VT: Gower Pub Co. Choudhary, R. (2009). Policing. New Delhi: SAGE Publications. Crisan, D. (2011). Stochastic analysis 2010. Berlin: Springer. Finch, B. (2013).How to write a business plan. London: Kogan Page Limited. Fine, L. (2009). The SWOT analysis. [S.l.]: Kick It. Friedlander, J. (2013).Business from bed. New York, NY: Demos Health Pub. Horton, J. (2010). Prestashop 1.3 beginner's guide. Birmingham [England]: Packt Pub. Jensen, D. (2013). Your Personal Marketing Plan. Science. Kahn, M. and Kahn, M. (2010). Sentiment market analysis. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: FTPress Delivers. Koopman, M. (2012). Economic analysis of neighbourhood quality, neighbourhood reputation and the housing market. Amsterdam: IOS Press under the imprint Delft University Press. McKeever, M. (2012).How to write a business plan. Berkeley, CA: Nolo. Pereira, A. (2013). Porters five forces. [S.l.]: Grin Verlag. Rimm, A. (n.d.).The joy of strategy. Romero, L. (n.d.).Mediterranean conference on medical and biological engineering and computing 2013. Roy, D. (2009). Strategic foresight and Porter's five forces. Munchen: GRIN. Skinner, J. (2012).Business plan, business reality. Toronto: Pearson Education. Stutely, R. (2012).The definitive business plan. Harlow, England: Pearson. Tiringer, I. and Harrach, A. (2014). Book review. Mentlhigin s Pszichoszomatika, 15(4), pp.393-402. Warner, A. (2010). Strategic analysis and choice. New York: Business Expert Press.

Voices of an Emerging Nation free essay sample

Based on the readings In this unit, what do the readings In this unit reveal about diversity within the new nation? use at least three specific examples from the reading selections. Your answer should be at least one complete paragraph. Answer: The readings In this unit reveal the diversity within the new nation about American Independence. In Thomas Paines Common Sense, he is arguing for American Independence, and a government rule. Paine says that the governments sole purpose Is to protect life, liberty, and property. Paine also says that people will be appier if theyre responsible for the creation of the laws that rule them. In The Declaration of Independence it talks about the necessity of the colonists overthrowing their rulers and establishing themselves as their own separate nation. (15 points) Score 2. Throughout history, literature has been used as a form of protest. Choose two selections from this unit and explain why they can be thought of as protest literature. We will write a custom essay sample on Voices of an Emerging Nation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Discuss each selection in Its own complete paragraph. Answer: Thomas Paines Common Sense can be thought of as protest literature because Paine is arguing for American Independence and government rule. Government according to Paine is, an Institution whose sole purpose is to protect us from our own vices. , also, to protect life, liberty, and property. This means that the government is put in place to protect us. Paine believed that people would be happier if they were responsible for the laws that rule them. Through the reading, Paine Is trying to convince the people that a government is a profitable and necessary thing. Thomas Paines The American Crisis can also be thought of as a protest literature. Olaudah Equiano was a slave that had een one since age 1 1 _ When he got to the age of 21 his owner allowed him to buy himself off of slavery, and he is telling me in this story about how he felt about being a slave was very horrible for example he said that when he was 1 lyrs old he was under the deck of the ship with many slaves and he describes how crowded It was, hot and many slaves were getting diseases. 30 points) 3. What are some values that are Important to the people who live and work In the new nation? List at least three values and illustrate their importance with evidence from at least three readings. Discuss each example in its own complete paragraph.

A Draft U.S. Plan on Iraq Inspection Authorizes Force essays

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THE DOLMAN HOTEL Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

THE DOLMAN HOTEL Case Study - Essay Example The Dolman is being operated by David Mannering whose expertise is in financial management. David might be very good in his field but managing an organisation such as a hotel is different. This is probably the reason why the policies at Dolman do not seem to be appropriate for their staff. Another factor that imposes a problem is having David's personal assistant look after personnel administration. In short, the organisation did not have a skilled HR manager to handle the hotel's human resources. This is the reason why a lot of employees at Dolman were having problems and issues. The organisation does not have clear policies on their human resources which affected the staff turnover and the service that the employees provide the customers. As a business advisor specialising in Human Resource Management, I have to find ways to resolve these issues in the company. I will look for alternatives that might be helpful in solving the organisation's problems and implement the appropriate policies in the areas of flexible working, internet recruitment, selecting and inducting people with the right skills, staff retention, and the involvement and participation of staff at The Dolman. Fluctuating demand and supply of labour may impose a problem in an organisation if they are not handled properly. Some employees might find it hard to balance their family life and work. Sometimes, this results to frequent staff turnover and loss of employees. However, there are still a lot of ways that can be done to manage this problem. One of them is flexible working. According to Hewitt (2007), "allowing people to work in a sensible way that allows them to balance earning a living with looking after their children is not only good for families and children, it is good for business too." There are different types of flexible working and some of them might be very useful for The Dolman. One type of flexible working is Part-time working where in the employee can work less than the standard working hours (BusinessLink). This can be useful in the organisation because it will allow their workers to spend more time with their private lives whenever it is needed. Through this, employees will be satisfied with their jobs and will perform in the workplace effectively. Flexi-time is also one of the most implemented flexible working in the U.K.(NHS 2005) where the employee is given the right to change their working time as long as it is outside the set core of hours set by the employer. It also allows employees to arrive early or finish late or the other way around (European foundation for the improvement of living and working conditions 2007). The Dolman can benefit to this because this HRP is capable of reducing absenteeism (Salix software ltd). With flexi-time, it is easier for the employees to accommodate their personal needs so they won't have to leave their job due to family matters and other personal things. The organisation can also benefit in terms of revenues because it can extend its opening hours which will allow them to cater to more customers. However, this will not be a burden to the company since employees are still required to be present during the core time or the peak hours of the business. Another HRP on flexible working that might be helpful on The Dolman is self-rostering where employees choose the shifts they would prefer. With this, the employee is able to give

Importance of Communication to Criminal Justice Professionals Essay - 1

Importance of Communication to Criminal Justice Professionals - Essay Example Barriers to effective communication as well as probable solutions have also been identified. Communication can either be verbal or nonverbal. Verbal communication uses the spoken language to convey a particular message. It can be used to respond to verbal or nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication does not involve speaking. Rather, it employs the use of signs and gestures to convey information. It involves extensive use of the body organs in communication. There are various components of communication. These include; the source of information, the message or the information itself, the method or the channel through which the information will reach the recipient, the recipient as well as the feed back of the information. All these are significant in the communication between professionals in the criminal justice and also between them and their clients. In order for accused persons to be judged of a certain crime, the professionals need to analyze and evaluate the in formation provided by the accused or the aggrieved. Effective communication becomes essential in order for the parties involved to understand the matters and make an informed decision. The process of communication is vital in the criminal justice. It should present all the involved parties with a chance to put forward complaints or defense regarding particular cases. Professionals in criminal justice should offer assistance depending on the information provided by the victim. Sharing of information is important in order for each and every player to understand his or her role in the process. The process involves sharing information from one level to another (Casey 2000). The components of communication are significant in this process since the judge highly depends on them to make the evaluation. The prosecutor presents his/her information against the accused who is also supposed to be effective in communicating in defense. The second most important component is the message or

Psychology article summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Geopolitics and International Affairs

Geopolitics and International Affairs Geopolitics and International Affairs â€Å"What are the key factors in contemporary redistributions of Geopolitical Power?† The Encyclopaedia Britannica describes Geopolitics as â€Å"analysis of the geographic influences on power relationships in international relations† (2010); therefore Geopolitical Power is the power certain nations have over other nations, based upon Geographic influences and advantages. Across the world the geographies of power shift from nation to nation over time (such as the shift in power from Britain to the USA after WWII) and the hegemonic structure has a huge effect on world dynamics such economy, politics, society and culture. The nation with the most power tends to have the greatest influence over these and other factors. Currently, and in recent years there has been a notable rise in power from nations in the geographic east (most notably China) simultaneous to the apparent decline in power by the worlds current top geopolitical power (the USA). This is raising serious questions as to the future of the current hegemonic structure. There are a number of key factors which are driving this shift in power and here I aim to address and analyse these so that I may answer the question â€Å"What are the key factors in contemporary redistributions of Geopolitical Power?† The USA is currently the worlds dominant geopolitical power and has been since World War II. According to Fareed Zakaria (2008) â€Å"the United States [unrivalled economic status] has lasted more than 120 years† and that â€Å"The US economy has been the worlds largest since the middle of the 1880s†. As of 2008, The CIA World Fact book ranks the USA as having the highest GDP/PPP of any individual nation (The EU is ranked higher than the USA but is technically a united group of countries) which stands at $14,440,000,000,000; around double that of the next country on the list, China (CIA, 2008). In 2004 James F. Hoge, author of ‘A Global Power Shift in the Making (2004) explained that â€Å"Chinas economy is growing at more than nine percent annually† and that â€Å"Chinas economy is expected to be double the size of Germanys by 2010 and to overtake Japans, currently the worlds second largest, by 2020†. To put Chinas rapid growth into perspective in 2 010, its GDP has already overtaken that of Germanys, with economic spectators forecasting Chinas economy to outstrip Japans this year- 10 years prior to Hoges 2004 prediction. However, the economy of a nation may be an important indicator of world power, but is by no means the sole factor in determining hegemonic status; the USA is still dominant for other reasons. Military strength is- and always has been- one of the key ways of determining the power of a nation. The ‘Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) cited the USA as having a military expenditure in 2008 which amounted to $607,263,000,000, accounting for 41.5% of the worlds total military spending (SIPRI, 2009). Military strength provides a nation with the means of physically exercising its geopolitical power over other nations, and the USA currently dominates land, sea and air with its military presence. China may be a growing militant power and have a larger army in terms of personnel, however its military expenditure is a fraction of the USAs; and one must also take into account the sheer size of the population in China which explains the high numbers of active servicemen in the country. Both countries currently have a nuclear capability, which during the Cold War was â€Å"widely seen as a necessary qualification for a seat at the top table†. This is no longer the case and now the possession or development of nuclear weapons is deemed unacceptable behaviour (Hurrell, 2006). This is an example of how the factors of determining Geopolitical power change over time. The demographics of a nation are also of vital importance to its development and changes in population structure can have dramatic effects within both developing and developed nations. As of the 13th Jan 2010, the population of the USA is around 308,478,201, (United States official population clock, 2010) whilst the population of China is around 1,335,035,010 (Chinese official population clock, 2010) over 1 billion more than the USA. This is a vital factor in explaining why China has been experiencing such rapid growth in the past decade. Firstly, a large population means more people spending money, which raises the countrys GDP- China is currently the worlds second largest consumer behind the USA (Zakaria, 2008 [2]). In the current economic climate with recession still looming over many nations, it is important for the general population to keep spending in order to stimulate the economy; in China, this is no issue due to the huge numbers of people. This is why China, and Asia in general, has not been so greatly affected by the ‘global recession as the USA and Europe. A population of this size also provides China with a huge number of people of working age to power the worlds largest manufacturing industry, as well as other important areas of industry from banking (to lead China through this economic shift) to farming (to feed the vast numbers of people living in the country). China is so competitive on the international scene due to its vast labour force. However, it is the structure of a population which is really vital in determining the future power of a nation. An ageing population can put a strain on the relatively smaller working age population due to the cost of providing health care, pensions, housing, etc. A youthful population puts strain on education and health services, food supplies; and can result in too a lack of jobs in the future. Both have their issues, but both also have benefits. Japan for example has the worlds largest ageing population with 12.1% aged 65 and over in 2000, with a predicted rise to 26.2% by 2020 (Anderson, Hussey. 2000). Japan is now experiencing deep demographic issues with the working age population being too small to support the large elderly population, and the birth rate continually falling; having implications to the development of the country which has experienced declining power over the past 2 decades. There is a well known phrase that ‘children are the future and this wisdom is heeded particularly well in the USA. Whilst China may have a huge workforce, they are relatively uneducated. The USA prides itself upon the fact that its education system is so highly regarded, having a high output of skilled workers graduating from its prestigious universities every year. According to Zakaria (2008 [2]) â€Å"America trains more high-quality 4 year engineering graduates per capita than any other country† with â€Å"Eight of the top 10 universities in the worldin the United States†. This is why when visiting many US (and European) higher education facilities it is easy to notice the high proportion of Asian (particularly Chinese) students, as these institutions offer a far higher standard of education than would be available in Asia. These Asian students typically stay in America after they have completed their education due to more job prospects with a better rate of pa y than available back home, so are a vital resource to the country. Americas acquisition and prolonged control of power can largely be thanked to the younger generations who have been educated by US education facilities and gone on to create a huge pool of skilled and talented workers. These workers drive the economic industries of the US, whilst their high expenditure on commodities and consumer goods helps fuel growth of its GDP. Many people believe that China is the sole competitor to the USA for hegemonic status, believing that eventually China will overtake America as the sole dominant world power in terms of economy, military, culture, etc. However, others such as Fareed Zakaria (2008 [2]) believe that â€Å"the rise of rest† is far more likely; meaning that power will become dispersed amongst a number of powerful nations under America so that global decisions will no longer be made from one side of the globe. The countries believed to be the main competitors to this state of uni-multipolarity are those referred to as BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Uni-multipolarity will be the resulting situation whereby the US is still the superpower, but with these BRIC countries having much more participation in world affairs than they have done in the current uni-polar (US dominant) geopolitical structure. This shift in power may come as a shock to America and there is likely to be resistance of some sort from the west, although it is very unlikely that the US will lose its dominance so it should look to facilitate the transition of geopolitical power to make this inevitability happen as smoothly as possible. BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, GF; Hussey, P (2000) Population aging: a comparison among industrialized countries. Health Affairs. [Online] Vol 19. No. 3. Sections 191 203. Available from: http://healthaff.highwire.org/cgi/reprint/19/3/191.pdf (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010) CIA (2010). The World Fact Book: Country Comparison GDP. Available from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html?countryName=United%20StatescountryCode=usregionCode=narank=2#us (Last accessed 11th Jan 2010) CPIRC (2010). Chinese official population clock. http://www.cpirc.org.cn/index.asp (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010) Encyclopaedia Britannica Online (2010). Geopolitics [Online] Available from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/229932/geopolitics (Last accessed 11th Jan 2010) Hoge, J (2004). A Global Power Shift in the Making. Foreign Affairs. [Online] Vol. 83, No. 4. Pg 2-7. Available from: http://asr2.myweb.uga.edu/Fall%202004/Readings/Global%20power%20shift%20in%20the%20making.pdf (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010) Hurrell, A (2006). Hegemony, Liberalism and Global Order: What space for would-be great powers? International Affairs. [Online] Vol 82, No. 1. Pg 1-19. Available from: http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/english/content/rpn/pdf/international_affairs_2006.pdf (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010) SIPRI (2009).The SIPRI Military Expenditure Database: USA. Available from: http://milexdata.sipri.org/result.php4 (Last accessed 11th Jan 2010) U.S Census Bureau (2010). United States official population clock. http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html (Last accessed 13th Jan 2010) Zakaria, F (2008). The Future of American Power: How America can survive the rise of the rest. Foreign Affairs. Available from: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63394/fareed-zakaria/the-future-of-american-power (Last accessed 11th Jan 2010) Zakaria, F (2008) [2]. The Post American World. [Online] Available from: http://www.cnl.com/documents/Post-American%20World.pdf (last accessed 13th Jan 2010)

Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott Essay -- Tennyson Lady Shalott essays

Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott What used to be a simple home is now a sacred sanctuary, a refuge from all the filth of the world, a place to trap and stifle beauty, adventure, and passion. What used to be a simple woman is now an angel, a pure and domestic celestial being. I live in an era where women are considered most beautiful when isolated, helpless, and even dead; where a lady with passion is scarier than a bitter hag; where feminine is now a synonym for pure, selfless, and submissive; where sexism has put on the fancy dress of romance. And Alfred, Lord Tennyson is a man of his era, grabbing romantic sexism by the hand and enchantingly twirling her around the dance floor. Tennyson’s poem The Lady of Shalott has created a great tension within me, within my mind and heart. He plays into the public’s hands, trapping a beauty in a high tower and keeping her there with the threat of a curse: There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colors gay. She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot. She know not what the curse may be, And so she weaveth steadily, A little other care hath she, The Lady of Shalott. Not only is she trapped and isolated, but also this lady sits weaving, apparently cheerful and content. Protected, pure, even angelic she sings her melodies and weaves and weaves. A beautiful woman weaving in her faraway room, only seeing the world through shadows and reflections: Tennyson pitifully feeds off of stifling social expectations, weaved deep into our culture (with frail Snow White laying helplessly poisoned in a glass case and with dear Repunzel combing her long hair in a high fortress†¦in a land far, far away). In other words, at the beginning o... ... not trying to say anything as much as he is capturing the national mood and developing languages and images that haunt, move, and affect. At some point writers, readers, characters, and people must put aside their intentions and desires for social criticism and take part in the magic, even if it isn’t the wisest choice. I must refer one last time to my own writing as Jane brilliantly describes this unwise, tension-filled, passionate choice: I looked, and had an acute pleasure in looking—a precious yet poignant pleasure; pure gold, with a steely point of agony: a pleasure like what the thirst-perishing man might feel who knows the well to which he has crept is poisoned, yet stoops and drinks divine draughts nevertheless. (173) So sing on talented Tennyson. I’ll sway to the rhythm of your music. Bibbity, bobbity, boo. †¦and they lived happily ever after.

Working Poor

The Struggle of the Working Poor Revised Essay Sociology 113 Yvonne Barney October 19, 2012 The Struggle of the Working Poor Society often describes the impoverished with one word, lazy. Society has taught us that if a person wants to be financially successful, it is a simple process of education and hard work that will equate to a successful income. This is the American dream. If the impoverished simply would get a job instead of being lazy, they would not need to rely on programs like welfare. The impoverished would succeed if they only would apply themselves.However, in an attempt to present another point of view, The Working Poor Invisible in America by David K. Shipler (2004) explored multiple variables this group struggles with daily. Chapter 1, â€Å"Money and Its Opposite,† explains the workings and effects of tax payments and refunds, the abuse of the poor by public and private institutions, the spending habits of the working poor, the consumerist culture of the Unite d States, and the omnipresence of money as a guiding factor in the lives of the working poor.Chapter 2, â€Å"Work Doesn’t Work,† chronicles the struggles of three working women as they attempt to climb out of poverty through employment. They hold jobs that pay between $6 and $7 per hour and attempt to eke out a living with the additional assistance of welfare checks, food stamps, Medicaid, and other services. However, a slight raise in their pay creates an offsetting loss in benefits. Chapter 3, â€Å"Importing the Third World,† addresses the poor immigrant workers, both legal as well as illegal, laboring in sweatshop conditions in the United States.Shipler recounts the working conditions of numerous sewing shops in Los Angeles, where legal and illegal immigrants from Mexico, Honduras, Korea, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Thailand, Cambodia, and other nations work for wages below the federal minimum wage and without overtime pay. Chapter 4, â€Å"Harvest of Shame,† tells of the harsh living conditions of migrant farm workers across the United States. They receive low wages—mostly minimum wage; live in deplorable housing; are exposed to azardous pesticides and herbicides; face little government enforcement of labor laws; are difficult to organize due to the transient nature of their work and the undocumented status of most; and are constantly on the move, which does not allow their children stable access to education. Chapter 5, â€Å"The Daunting Workplace,† addresses the diverse challenges the workplace holds for those from the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. Many working poor have no work experience, no education, a criminal record, a drug addiction, and a lifelong absence of role models.Dysfunctional families in which no one works, or even ventures outside the neighborhood, have provided no support system or role models. Chapter 6, â€Å"The Sins of the Fathers,† begins by unveiling an epidemic of sexual abuse that affects all classes and races in the United States. Both the wealthy and the poor are abused; however, the wealthy tend to have the financial as well as the family resources that enable them to overcome abuse. Chapter 7, â€Å"Kinship,† emphasizes the role that kinship plays in overcoming the hardships of poverty.Shipler writes, â€Å"Kinship can blunt the edge of economic adversity† (p. 179). He describes a family of five that has faced all forms of hardship and poverty—from job loss to cancer to the death of the mother—yet holds together through bonds of love and caring. He also chronicles the story of a woman who chose to earn significantly less and be plunged into poverty and debt in order to spend time with her children, one of whom eventually attended Dartmouth College. Chapter 8, â€Å"Body and Mind,† addresses health issues affecting poor families.Shipler mentions malnourishment, susceptibility to infections, disease, chronic conditio ns (such as asthma, diabetes, and allergies), premature birth, retarded cognitive and physical development, stress, and emotional distress, as well as material support that can help a family endure. It is not uncommon for children in poor families to suffer from poor diets, which can be the cause of numerous related health problems. Chapter 9, â€Å"Dreams,† begins with the ambitious professional aspirations of sixth and eighth grade children from poor families in Washington, DC.Shipler contrasts these aspirations with the enormous faced problems beyond their control. Chapter 10, â€Å"Work Works,† is dedicated to the positive impact that job training and working has had on some poor individuals and families. Job training programs that teach soft skills as well as hard skills and are successful in instilling confidence and self-esteem are appreciated by employers. Chapter 11, â€Å"Skill and Will,† emphasizes that American society must understand what it can do using the skills and resources it has to combat poverty.The approach to remedying poverty, Shipler argues, must be holistic, tackling all problems associated with it at once. The United States is often described as a place where anyone can â€Å"pick themselves up by their bootstraps† and realize the American dream of a comfortable lifestyle. But, for over 30 million Americans, this dream is no longer possible. Though we live in the richest and most powerful country in the world, there are many individuals who are living under or at the poverty level. While the United States has enjoyed unprecedented affluence, low-wage employees have been testing the American doctrine that hard work cures poverty† (Shipler, 2004). The status of poverty translates to families of four making around $ 18,850 a year. And as soon as they find work or move just slightly above the $ 18,850 a year (which is still a meager and deprived way to live), they are cut off from welfare subsistence and lose other support designed to help them, such as food stamps and health insurance; This situation often leaves them no better off, and sometimes worse off, than when they were not working.Proponents of welfare reform have verbalized that the working poor are poor because of their lack of effort and laziness; this statement is an oxymoron. The working poor work longer hours, with less pay and few, if any, benefits. Some make the right choices and save a little money, avoid overwhelming debt, and live modestly. Even for those who live carefully off a working wage, it only takes one issue for their world to crumble around them. If the car breaks down or a family member is injured at work, what little savings they have accumulated could be gone in an instant.Why do people stay poor when popular opinion tells us if we work hard, we will be okay. The answer lies in the valued social inequalities; the opportunities available to each socioeconomic status level differ greatly. One factor t hat seems to distribute over the impoverished is lack of education. Lack of knowledge affects every aspect of life from basic health care to effectively raising children in a safe and secure environment. Children who come from a working-wage family should not be disadvantaged.There is no reason why the public education system should not give every child an equal opportunity to graduate high school and continue on to college or trade schools. The fact is public schools are funded to a large degree by property taxes. Impoverished schools receive considerably less funding and have to find ways to make their budgets work. Furthermore, the best teachers are often in school districts that can offer competitive salary. It is a well-known fact that children from affluent families tend to do better in school.Children from low income families tend to do poorer on tests, have a lower graduation rate, and are less likely to attend and complete college (Melville 2012). Yet the income divide has received far less attention from policy makers and government officials than gaps in student accomplishment by race. Now, in analyses of long-term data published in recent months, researchers are finding that while the achievement gap between white and black students has narrowed significantly over the past few decades, the gap between rich and poor students has grown substantially during the same period (Levitan, Magnum & Magnum 1998). We have moved from a society in the 1950s and 1960s, in which race was more consequential than family income, to one today in which family income appears more determinative of educational success than race,† said Sean F. Reardon, a Stanford University sociologist. Professor Reardon is the author of a study that found the gap in standardized test scores between affluent and low-income students had grown by about 40 percent since the 1960s and is now double the testing gap between blacks and whites (Tavernise 2012).A-1 In another study, by resear chers from the University of Michigan, the imbalance between rich and poor children in college completion — the single most important predictor of success in the work force — has grown by about 50 percent since the late 1980s (Tavernise 2012). Tavernise (2012) concluded that 8 % of the working poor hold college degrees compared to 26% of all workers. Although, two-thirds of the working poor hold high school degrees; this proportion is much lower than the 88% of all workers who hold high school degrees.The consequence of not holding a high school degree is often poverty. 22% of workers who do not hold high school degrees fall below the official poverty level which is $23,050 for a family of four, and 34% fell below 150% of the poverty level which is $ 34, 575 for a family of four (â€Å"Problems facing† 2012) . There is some evidence that the working poor are less likely to receive job training from their employers. The combination of lower education and lack of training compared to other workers make it difficult for the working poor to climb out of poverty.Only 30% of the working poor live in married couple families, compared to 65% of all workers. Single, female-headed families are especially overrepresented among the working poor. Among the working poor, 49% live in families headed by a si ngle woman. Of those who live in families headed by a single female, 28% work but live below 150% of the poverty level. In addition, almost half (46%) of all single parents who work and have children under six years old are in poverty.Workers who were never married or those who were once married also face relatively high rates of working poverty. Twenty percent of workers who have never been married and 21% of those who were divorced, widowed, or separated lived below 150% of the poverty level (â€Å"Problems facing† 2012). The working poor are less likely to be covered by health insurance by their employers. Only 18% of the working poor are co vered by health insurance available through their employer or their union, compared to 55% of all workers.Malnourishment, susceptibility to infections, disease, chronic conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, and allergies), premature birth, retarded cognitive and physical development, stress, and emotional distress can be a side effect of lack of health insurance. It is not uncommon for children in poor families to suffer from poor diets, which can be the cause of numerous related health problems. Although many of the working poor qualify for food stamp benefits, few receive them. The average food stamp benefit for a family of four is $ 496 per month (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2010).Of those who qualify for these benefits, two-thirds do not receive them. It is unclear why the working poor do not receive these benefits, but lack of need does not seem to be the reason. Research suggests that the working poor do not know that they qualify for these benefits. In addition, we lfare administrators in some states incorrectly tell applicants, especially men, that they do not qualify for these programs. Finally, often local agencies create added barriers to discourage welfare participation.The City of New York, for example, used to require that applicants return to the welfare office for a second visit in order to apply for food stamps. This requirement was eliminated only recently because of a court order (FamiliesUSA. org 2012). Many working poor families cannot find affordable housing. Almost one in six households are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of household income on housing expenses. Median level shelter costs, including mortgage payments, real estate taxes, property insurance, rent, nd utilities, account for 20% of the average non-poor household's income. For poor households, the median expenditure can be as high as 60% of household income (Levitan, Mangum ; Mangum, 1998). In addition, poor families may face long waiting lists for available sub sidized housing units, especially in rural areas. However, access is improving as extension educators provide the working poor with information about home ownership and special mortgage programs, and how to access them. Balancing employment and parenting demands is especially challenging for the working poor.They have fewer financial resources, and the types of jobs for which most are eligible provide little independence, authority, and flexibility to respond to conflicting demands (Henly 1999). Child care is an important obstacle. Nationwide, high-quality child care is scarce and expensive. Respondents in one study paid, on average, $70 per week for child care, about 22% of their earned income. In the same study, about one-fifth of respondents reported they had no regular child care provider and had to piece together care for their children at the last minute or leave children home alone or with an older sibling.Thirty percent of respondents reported having left a job because of a child care disruption (Henly, 1999). According to a study conducted by the Urban Institute in 2005, more than two thirds of children ages 5 and under from low income families spend a significant amount of time in child care each week. This is significant because the quality of child care available to low income families is much worse than that available to higher income families, and the quality of the child care affects the child's development. High quality, center-based care is expensive and is simply not an option for many low income families.Instead, they turn to informal, sometimes unregulated child care (Melville, 2012). There are federal programs to improve and fund early childhood education, but these programs do not work with the hectic working schedule of low income parents. Child care subsidies are available in some states, but not available to all low income workers. In other words, low income families often have difficulty accessing support systems that help them balanc e work and family life. As a result, the children of low income families are not given the same opportunities as their middle class counterparts (Melville, 2012).Unfortunately, high-quality care tends to be more expensive, and childcare subsidies in many states pay only the average market rate. Moreover, childcare subsidies cover only a minority of the low-income workforce (Henly, 1999). Parents who choose to enroll their children in high-quality child care often would have to pay the additional costs; a choice many cannot afford to make given other demands on the family income. For many working poor families, these additional costs; make selecting high-quality child care financially impossible (Schulman & Adams, 1998).Extension educators can make sure the working poor know about and take advantage of available subsidies, and tax credits can offset the high costs of child care. Transportation is also a major barrier to financial self-sufficiency for many working poor families. Many of the working poor do not get to work with the ease that most working non-poor enjoy (Lambert, 1998). Even though some communities have identified creative solutions to local transportation needs, transportation remains a problem for many of the working poor. Mass transit, if available, is often sparse, not taking direct routes to most job locations.Outside of heavily populated metropolitan areas, public transportation is largely unavailable. Working poverty does not affect everyone to the same extent, and certain segments of our population are more likely to become members of the working poor. Individuals in this category include workers who are most likely to be allocated to the low-wage jobs that fail to provide full-year employment. Women make up a greater share of the working poor than do men, probably because on average they earn lower wages and work fewer hours.Although women comprise 47% of workers between the ages of 18 and 56, 56% of the working poor are women (FamiliesUS A. org, 2012). Non-citizens of the United States are also disproportionately represented among the working poor. Fifteen percent of such workers live below poverty, and 30% live below 150% of the poverty level. Blacks and Hispanics are especially affected; working poverty affects people of color to a much greater extent than it does white Americans. A surprisingly large number of blacks and Hispanics work below the poverty level.Twelve percent of all blacks who work fall below the poverty level, and 23% fall below 150% of the poverty level. Among working Hispanics, the poverty rates are even higher: 14% live below the poverty level and 29% of Hispanic workers fell below 150% of the poverty level (Shipler, 2004). The working poor face a number of difficulties: low wages, insufficient hours, layoffs, lack of skills along with limited health benefits affect their health and other conditions that may affect their work performance. Thus, prescribing one solution is not likely to solve th e problem of working poverty.The working poor need higher wages and jobs that offer full-year employment, wage supplements such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, and access to services such as health care and child care. Most importantly, we should not assume that we can solve the problems of working poverty without income supports. Because many of the working poor are disabled or suffer from other serious health limitations, some workers may not be able to work more hours or in higher paying jobs and must rely on income supports in order to survive above the poverty level. References Center for American Progress (2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012 from http://www. mericanprogress. org/issues/women/report/2008/10/08/5103/the-straight-facts-on-women-in-poverty/ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2010). Retrieved October 10, 2012 from http://www. cbpp. org/cms/index. cfm? fa=view&id=1269 FamiliesUSA. org. (2012). Retrieved October 10, 2012 from http://www. familiesusa. org/resource s/tools-for-advocates/guides/federal-poverty-guidelines. html Henly, J. (1999). Challenges to finding and keeping jobs in the low-skilled labor market. Poverty Research News, 3(1), 1-5. Levitan, S. , Mangum, G. , & Mangum, S. (1998). Programs in aid of the poor.Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press. Melville, J. (2012). Effects of low family income on children. Retrieved 0ctober 10, 2012 from http://www. ehow. com/list_6195251_effects-low-family-income-children. html Problems Facing the Working Poor. (2012). Retrieved September 30, 2012 from http://www. dol. gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/futurework/conference/workingpoor/workingpoor_toc. htm Shipler, D. K. (2004). The working poor: Invisible in America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Tavernise, S. (2012, October 10). Education gap grows between rich and poor, Studies say New York Times, February 9, 2012, A1.