Green River company Essay

Aberdeen facility is focused on the production of special missile canisters for US Navy. The peculiarity of the production lies in its extraordinary complexity. Canisters have many features that require special attention and careful assembling. Thus, the commitment of workers is the issue of crucial importance. Otherwise, the quality of product will suffer, which is absolutely inadmissible with regard to the nature of production. The privileged position of Aberdeen plant lies in the fact that it doesn’t actually have any competitors. It works for the only customer US Navy. However, it contains hidden threats as well, because there is always a chance of neglecting a quality of product knowing that there is no fight for a customer. The Aberdeen plant was started five years ago without using unions to regulate pay scales and define various job descriptions. It employs 100 employees and is much smaller in size than the Green River facility. The production line utilizes three-quarters of its employees. Bob Lancaster – the founder and the first manager of the plant — first introduced the innovative participative management. Lancaster based his management theory on â€Å"doing the right thing, trust and if you can fix it, do it†. This functioned as a collective, it took away fear from doing or not doing what is needed to complete a task and it also gave each individual the responsibility of solving a problem without having to go through a chain of command to get results. Ken Dailey, Green River plant manager, is intrigued with the management processes at the FMC Aberdeen facility and thus is willing to implement similar changes at Green River. Dailey is a progressive manager and wants to innovate the Green River plant with a progressive style of management as well as three new plants that the corporation plans on building. The major organizational issue pertaining to the possible changes is that of an organizational structure. Obviously, within the Green River plant we notice usual linear structure of organization where authority is delegated from the top to the bottom, from the higher manager to the manager of the lower level. There is a direct relationship between superior and subordinate, with each subordinate responsible to only one person. Line relationships are associated with functional or departmental division of work and organizational control. Line managers have authority and responsibility for all matters and activities within their own department (Sterman, 2000). It means that organizational structure at Green River doesn’t suppose any personal initiative or any social interaction beyond the processes and functions defined. Moreover, linear structure also doesn’t suppose any group discussions, since major decisions are taken above. In contrary, Aberdeen facility has more flat organizational structure, when every employee can turn to the higher level one with an initiative, complaint or offer. Such an organizational structure presupposes more communication and thus has greater impact on employee’s motivation. Flat organizational structure kills the fear towards management in employees and create more favorable working atmosphere. Considering two different types of organizational structure within two facilities, it is possible to say that organizational structure actually impacts the organizational culture and the way people perceive themselves and their importance to the organization, treat each other and behave i. e. working atmosphere that exists. (Brislin, 1993) Thus, in Green River company, people are brought together based on defined roles within the structure of the organization. The nature of the tasks to be done is a predominant feature within this facility. Management, certain rules and relationships, identify goals and norms of behavior are established. Thus, Green River’s organizational culture is very formal. As it was mentioned before, employees do not have a chance and stimulus to socially interact with each other, share their ideas and experience. It is possible to identify Green River’s organizational culture as the one of total control and power from the center. At Aberdeen, in contrary, organizational culture is more people oriented, â€Å"humanized† and caring. This so-called â€Å"human† approach to management has resulted, in particular, in active interaction between employees, as well as in the fact that 30% of all employees were represented by women and 8% by minorities. It helped to create a positive image of the plant in the yes of Aberdeen community and people outside as well.

At the Candle Light

At the candle light I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of a thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library. † ? Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice In a world that believes ignorance is bliss, true knowledge can only be earned by reading. The more you read the more lives you live.Discovering the diverse palette of culture, gaining an insight into what matters in the real, mature world is of far greater use than spending a life time in mediocrity without a chance of a better, more in depth expression of your thoughts. Books have the gift to heal wounds, to sooth troubled minds, to make us dream and hope. When we are alone, books are our best friends; they entertain us in our spare moments. Good novels, books on poetry and short stories, give great enjoyment. At times we become so absorbed in our books that we forget even our important engagements.Loneliness stops be ing a burden for a reader. It was the English author Bacon who said that reading makes a ‘full man’. No one can question the truth of this saying, but it is the reading of good books alone which bestows upon us the maximum benefit. Of course, all books enrich our vocabulary, all of them make us wonder about, drifting from our daily routine into the vast universe of words written on a piece of paper at one point in history, but only those well written can capture our full attention and make us question the way we see life on its own.Every person is different, we all digest different kinds of literature, but if we are capable of reading in between the lines we develop the most important quality human beings can possess, wisdom. Because people tend to criticise, to be mean and inconsiderate and to be inpatient they forget that all of us are at one point in our life teachers for the others. A book will wait patiently on a shelf full of dust until the moment comes when we de cide to devour its knowledge.Once it is read, the mind will arrange the information received in the big puzzle called experience. We feel all of a sudden capable of moving mountains using only our intellect. If I were to summarise the importance which books play in my life I would use a famous quote of Charles William Eliot: â€Å"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers. †

Comparison of Political System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparison of Political System - Essay Example As the report declares the differences in the two approaches are more in the attitudes and systems. Locke believed that education helped civilize the human force and that people do good so that they get real lives. He sees civilization as admirable, and that societal order lies on reason and reciprocity. Rousseau’s theory asserts that humans are innately good, and civilization does not play a part in the way humans do things. From the report findings it is clear that France is a semi-presidential republic while America is a presidential, federal republic. The French system has their president elected after every five years on popular vote. In America, they elect their president after every four years through the Electoral College. As it is the norm in many countries, the American president signs bills into law while in France, he/she does not sign bills to make them laws. The president only announces the new legislation. In France, the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces just as the American president. There are several similarities between the two institutions. Both can grant pardons and give appointments. The French president appoints most officials and the PM, but his powers are limited when it comes to dismissing him. In America, the president does executive appointments. The French head of state can dissolve the National Assembly the same as America.

Labor Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Labor Relations - Essay Example Economists are of the opinion that increasing the minimum wage will increase business costs. They, however, insist that these increased costs will be quite modest and easily absorbed through slight increases in productivity and prices of business products. Republicans seem to be inconsistent in their opinions concerning the issue of minimum wage increase. This is because some of them are in support of increasing the minimum wage, just not as consistently as the Democrats. The Republicans are hypocritical because those in support of an increase in the minimum wage condemn increased economic regulation by the government, same the other Republicans who oppose the increase in the minimum wage. On the other hand, conservatives avail a convincing argument against increasing the minimum wage. In their opinion, raising the minimum wage results in unemployment since it increases business’ prices and labor costs, which will in turn force unskilled workers off the market.Public pensions refer to contracts for fixed sums of money to be issued regularly to persons following their retirement from service. Publicly funded pensions are an example of unsustainable programs that have to be disregarded in the years to come. One thing that is certain is that systems and programs that are unsustainable have to go away and be replaced by more sustainable arrangements whether we are willing to accept this reality or not. Unsustainable public pensions have to be disregarded.

Marketing Study of Pirilla PLC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Marketing Study of Pirilla PLC - Essay Example Typically those engage with international marketing devotes their time on making strategies on how will they penetrate markets or countries provided that they must understand the environment, culture, society, politics, and economics of the country they wish to penetrate. This is important for every aspect of the country they wish to penetrate because somewhat or somehow people are influenced by these factors. These factors may have little, great, or no effect when it comes to purchasing behavior of the people, theory participation when it comes to new products, the society's economy and also consumers in a certain country is greatly influenced by its religion. For example, in India, cow is a sacred animal, if you plan to penetrate the market of India and tried to sell hamburgers in it, people might get mad or somehow your business will soon collapse because no one will buy your hamburgers. In the case of Pirilla PLC, we are pertaining on how we can penetrate other markets if we are to sell snow scooters. In understanding the environment, you cannot sell snow scooters in tropical or warm countries, of course it is useless. Snow scooters are made for countries which experiences winter and countries which all throughout the year is covered with ice. In checking qualifications of the countries which needs snow scooters, European countries qualify for this. Going international is... The main advantage of going international when it comes to marketing is that, there is a possibility for the company to have a bigger profit and sales. Some company often start with this, their neighboring countries are also looking for the same product found only in one country. This gives rise to more demands by other countries, the company of course will provide the demand, and then this becomes the starting point of all the business that will provide demands for other countries. Sooner or later, those firms who provided the product realized that they are making much more profit than just selling their product to just one country only. Another advantage is that you will be able to compete with other producers, and compare your products to the others. This is true when it comes to selling snow scooters to a common market, you will be able to look at competitors and be able to compare other snow scooters from the company's product. A possible disadvantage on going international mayb e is that the company is interfering with local competitors of that country. Another possible disadvantage is that the company destroys culture of the country especially by interfering with the market of the local competitors, this case happens to when McDonald's was introduced to other countries. The regular diet of the people was distracted when McDonald's was introduced. When it comes to the selection of countries for the target market of Pirilla PLC, Luxembourg is a good choice to introduce the snow scooters, especially the deluxe model. Luxembourg as being one of the richest countries in terms of GDP can afford and surely will need the services of a snow scooter. Also climate in Luxembourg is not too cold,

Key Features Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Key Features - Assignment Example The literature Review conducted by the authors is exhaustive and in-depth. The sources that were used by the authors are reliable. However, the authors should not have used sources that are older than ten years. The reason is that approaches to conducting research have changed over the years. In addition, old sources might have outdated information. As a result, basing the conclusion on such sources might make the journal to be deemed as unreliable. Nevertheless, the fact that the authors used varying sources from different fields reduces the level of biases. In addition, the sources are from credible organizations and institutions of higher learning. All sources that were used in this study emanates from the relevant fields. As a result, the information in them can be used to make an in-depth conclusion. The authors are trying to find out different work health and safety issues that affect the young people and the most effective solutions. They were trying to determine whether these issues have an effect on young people’s performance in their workplaces. Nevertheless, other articles clearly state the research questions rather than include it in the objective. This is important in ensuring that the article is clear. Ethical Consideration The authors ought to have sought ethical approval from the organizations. The young respondents that were used in this study were working in the organizations. As a result, a credible study should seek permission to interview or use some of the employees in the study.

Why are the events surrounding the South Sea Company often described Essay

Why are the events surrounding the South Sea Company often described as a financial bubble Identify at least one other famous bubble and discuss what feat - Essay Example With desires to get rich quickly, ambitious investors hurriedly and haphazardly invested on stocks of a particular company without first assessing its real situation. The result is the vital drop not only of a single firm but also of the entire national economy. This is the predicament that the South Sea Company in England in the 18th century experienced. Considered as one of the worst financial disasters in a capitalistic society, the South Sea Bubble is a proof that avarice can lead a single person, firm or even an entire nation’s economy to collapse. In those days, the British Empire reigned over the entire world. It was a time of affluence and prosperity for British people enabling them to invest. The exuberance of investors to gain more out of the company’s monopoly of the South Seas compelled the company issued more stocks that were also sold out by greedy investors. The lavish and generously enamored company office ostentatiously displayed the opulence and success of Britain on its industrial revolution. With the notion spread by speculators that this company â€Å"could never fail,† its share price skyrocketed tenfold from its original value, making its investors rich overnight. It was at this point that the reality set in, bursting the bubble of the company’s overpriced share prices. South Sea Company’s heyday ended when its management realised that they failed to manage and operate the company properly. They realized that the company was not generating profit at all. The funds came basically from selling stocks and not from actual commerce. News that the company was actually profitless instigated panic stocks selling. Useless stocks were sold frantically leading to a stock market crash. Many British people lost their fortune because of this. From 950 pounds per 100 pound par value it slid down to 290 pounds in less than 4 months. The invention of the personal computer

Entrepreneurship Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Entrepreneurship - Case Study Example ck estimates; the company provides a safe disposal avenue for both waste and residual stock, thereby not only reducing landfill waste, but also considerably diminishing the risk of land contamination while helping manufacturers and retailers contribute to a cleaner environment. In view of the million tonnes of waste produced by the UK food industry every year, the company is keen on expanding the amount of waste they manage to about 60,000 tonnes a year by the end of 2015, an expansion that seeks to achieve the company’s growth agenda of â€Å"more stock, more stores† (Corbishley & Gerry 4). With the expansion plans at hand, the company’s top leadership is faced with critical question of how to communicate their growth plan while retaining the support of their retail stakeholders. The company is faced with the challenge of sending consistent messages to its stakeholders as well as its retail partners, employees and the financial community, as a result of the discordance between the company’s old ‘trader’ model and its new stakeholder partnership model. Given that the company is now gradually shifting its focus from its old trader model to a client service model, it is necessary for the company to establish clear communication channels to promote flow of information from management to all stakeholders. The company’s leadership is also faced with the critical question concerning the type of governance structures to put in place to speed up decision-making while ensuring strategic alignment amongst the senior management staff. The company has to alter the manner in which it communicates its value proposition to foster long-term relationships with its suppliers, by identifying the particular aspects of the company’s business model that appeal to the suppliers and customizing these aspects for them. The company needs to put emphasis on relationship management as it embarks on the â€Å"more stock, more stores† growth agenda; the company must ensure that

A leader of your choice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

A leader of your choice - Research Paper Example In this case, the sitting President of Uruguay will be the leader that this paper will reflect on according to Maxwell’s twenty-one irrefutable laws of power. Jose Alberto Pepe Mujica was born on 20 May 1935, and he is the sitting Uruguayan President. He had worn the 2009 presidential elections and took office on 1 March 2010. He employed guerilla tactics of warfare when he joined the Tupamos revolutionary movement that drew inspiration from the Cuban revolt. During his rebellious times, the military captured him four times and detained him under the rule of Jorege Pacheco Areco. He was a political prisoner who fought hard for the liberation of his native Uruguay. Incidentally, he got six gunshots in a failed coup attempt in 1973. Mujica witnessed a lot of torture and suffering in his rise to being president, as he sought democracy for his people. He is a leader with immense repute, as the world considers him the poorest president. Remarkably, President Mujica donates ninety p ercent of his salary and only takes home ten percent that he says is enough for him. Ideally, this President has shunned the luxurious lifestyle that presidents accord themselves for the life of an average citizen. Surprisingly, this President does not have a bank account to his name, as he claims to take home only what he needs and does not find much to save. Jose is a distinctive leader as no president has ever lived a life like his. In essence, he lives by the notion that what he gets is more than enough as there are people under his rule who earn less than what he earns and tend to do fine with that amount. On the contrary, his only valued possession is a rusty Volkswagen beetle, which is his primary mode of transport. Mujica became the first president that traced his roots to guerilla life. However, his rule has had its controversies as his government legalized the sale of Marijuana within state controlled measures in order to control substance abuse and drugs related offences. Mujica and Maxwell’s twenty-one laws of power John Maxwell is a full time motivational speaker, and a writer in all aspects of leadership. He has written over sixty books on leadership, and he is a minister of evangelism. His organizations have gained accreditation from all over the world for being the leaders in international leadership nurturing and cultivation. In one of his books, John Maxwell sought to bring out the true aspects and traits a leader portrays through the twenty-one laws of leadership. These laws serve as a basis in which a leader can rate themselves and ascertain whether their leadership is effective or not. The laws in this book are relevant and practical in modern day leadership, as it serves as an instruction manual that leaders can use to evaluate themselves on how to improve on their leadership styles. As per these laws of power, President Mujica applies these in the effective running of his country (Maxwell, 2007). For one, he applied the law of inf luence as he led people in his country to advocate for democracy and the liberation of their country from dictatorial rule. His perseverance in jail bore fruit, as he became the leader that he had desired to be. In addition, he grew progressively through his experiences as a guerilla fighter to being an admirable leader. In essence, his experiences shaped his destiny, as it was a gradual process. He did not become a leader overnight hence; he underwent a process, as he grew from an

Expressing Global Linkage with Hope Essay Example for Free

Expressing Global Linkage with Hope Essay My chosen major is Global Business. This major trains us to develop skills in management in a global perspective and further enhance these skills in trade, competition, and investments. It entails learning patterns in international and global business specifically on the terms of imports, exports, monetary relationships, and direct investment. The specific skills learned in this major are: setting a mission and vision for the global business enterprise; developing a global business plan; conducting research in an international environment; understanding the nuances of cultural, legal, political and regulatory differences; and using technology to support global trade. By entering into a career that in inline with my major, I believe that I can be an agent of change in this country by following the example of Martin Luther King. I believe that in whatever career you undergo, if you have a pure heart and if you are willing to help other people, you can do it in your chosen field. The act of being in service to humanity doesn’t only involve going to third world countries and feeding children; helping people doesn’t mean that you donate a large amount to an organization; helping people comes from a person’s initiative and will. Being in service to humanity is a choice and it is not awarded to the richest person in the world or to an ambassador. People mostly think that helping others entail helping the poor people only. I believe that this is a misconception. Being in service to humanity entails being an agent of change to humanity. I believe that I’m my chosen career, I would be able to tap a portion of society that has been neglected of change and of help not financially but morally, emotionally, and spiritually. After graduation, my career would entail me to interact and work with people all over the world. My opinion on the logistics and success of their company in a certain place would be a great influence in their decision making. Normally, business is equated with bribery, biases, discriminations, pride, and money. A businessman’s ultimate goal is always to have profit and find ways to have more profit. I want to change the techniques of people making business. I believe that I could be in service here to be able to change the long established techniques by providing businessmen with new and fresh techniques that would suet the businessmen’s goal but not harm other people. When being a middleman for a millionaire’s business, one might be blinded by money and would find ways on how to cheat the businessmen and get more money out of him. By being grounded and remaining a God fearing person, I would want to change this. Another example would be removing discrimination in the workplace. Certain people have their own biases about location, other people, etc. , and I would personally want to change that by giving equal opportunity to people in need of work. Basically I would like to be an agent of change in this field and change the perception of businessmen that they only need to worry about profit; I believe it’s time that they start thinking about other people also benefitting from them.

Impact of Economic Crisis on Tourism: Literature Review

Impact of Economic Crisis on Tourism: Literature Review Literature review on how economic crises affect tourism Hospitality industry affected by crises such as the economical one theses days. Customers buying decisionPower influenced when they want to travel by crisis or financial aspects. Affect on arrivals, expenditures, number of nights stayed, volume due to a crisis (economic and financial)? Explain law of supply and demand, and give a model related to hotels or tourism if possible. The impact of crises, particularly economic crises, on the tourism and hospitality industries is illustrated sharply by Watkins (2002), who details how the depressed economy of the United States following the dot com crash led to a rapid decline in the American long haul public transportation system, with significant implications for the US tourism and hotel industries. In addition, not only did the weak economy in 2000 and 2001 create issues in the industry, but the attacks on the 11th September 2001 dramatically decreased travel across the country. However, Watkins (2002) demonstrates that this also led to customers exercising greater power when making their buying decision, with many companies choosing lower class options for business travel, and tourists using the power of the Internet to look for the lowest air travel prices. In addition, the economic and terrorist crises actually benefitted US low cost carriers, allowing Southwest Airlines to reach a critical mass of services, and hence take on the major flag airlines such as American Airlines and Delta. Indeed, the evidence indicates that during a significant economic crisis, the tourism industry shrinks, but changing consumer preferences tend to minimise the impact of this shrinking, and allow some sectors to grow. Looking at the current economic crisis, Clausing et al (2007) report that many travel executives are confident that the industry as a whole will survive the current recession, and even emerge stronger, and with higher net profits than originally forecasted. This is further supported by Taylor (2008), who reports that whilst sales of traditional holidays in the UK country fell by a quarter over the summer of 2008, with many predicting a further 12 per cent fall over the summer of 2009, this reduction in capacity will provide future benefits to the industry. In particular, the reduction is expected to result in an six or seven percent increase in prices in 2009, which will help the surviving agencies and operators to boost their profits and secure their operations. However, whilst widespread national or international crises, such as the one occurring at the moment, offer opportunities for some firms in the industry; localised crises can have a devastating impact on arrivals, expenditures, and volume in the local area. The Economist (2003) details the impact of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, on the economy of Hong Kong where it was most concentrated. In Hong Kong at the height of the outbreak, hotel occupancy fell by almost 80 per cent and the two main passenger airlines: Cathay Pacific and Draganair, lost more than 60 per cent of their traffic. Restaurants and hotels in the city also saw almost no economic activity, and retail prices continued their falls which were initiated by the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s (The Economist, 2003). The Asian financial crisis itself was a significant one, and had a major negative impact on tourism across the industry, particularly amongst Asian airlines which lost many of their business class passengers. However, in this case the economic crisis created a fall in demand which acted as a catalyst for a significant change to the supply side of the industry (Sadi and Henderson, 2000). In particular, the Asian airlines recognised the need for high levels of adaptability in their supply of services, including the need to be flexible around costs in case of falls in revenue. The supply side pressures led to an increasing extension and consolidation of the various strategic alliances in the industry, as well as organisational reorganisation and the adoption of new technologies. These changes allowed the most successful players in the industry to weather the crisis and gave them the potential to emerge from it in a stronger situation (Sadi and Henderson, 2000). Indeed, even major crises can provide a boom for some tourist activities in the region where the crisis occurs. This can be seen in Pearce’s (2001) analysis of the development of the New Zealand tourist industry during the 1990s, which was strongly affected by the Asian economic crisis. As a result of this crisis, only the most resilient hotels, airlines and other tourist offerings were able to thrive, hence creating an industry able to rapidly adapt to changing tourist tastes and market conditions. This led to New Zealand developing one of the most diverse and complex tourism industries in the region, giving it significant appeal to a wide range of tourists (Pearce, 2001). Finally, whilst the tourism industry can be strongly damaged by economic crises, it can also reap the benefits of events which occur as a reaction to said crises, or from attempts to resolve them. This is demonstrated by Bue-Said (2008) who claims that the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential elec tion will tend to be of significant benefit to the tourism industry in the United States: not only will Obama’s proposed rescue package for the US economy stimulate tourism, but as the first African American President of the United States, Obama may well be a tourist attraction himself. References Bue-Said, J. L. (2008) Black clouds could be lifting. Travel Weekly; 14th November 2008, p. 26. Clausing, J. Baran, M. and Compart, A. (2007) Industry is upbeat despite credit crunch. Travel Weekly; Vol. 66, Issue 38, p. 16. Economist (2003) In intensive care. Economist; Vol. 367, Issue 8321, p. 20. Pearce, D. (2001) Tourism. Asia Pacific Viewpoint; Vol. 42, Issue 1, p. 75. Sadi, M. A. and Henderson, J. C. (2000) The Asian economic crisis and the aviation industry: impacts and response strategies. Transport Reviews; Vol. 20, Issue 3, p. 347-367. Taylor, I. (2008) Holidays out of UK down by a quarter. Travel Weekly; 14th November 2008, p. 2-3. Watkins, E. (2002) Another Threat to the Hotel Industry. Lodging Hospitality; Vol. 58, Issue 12, p. 2. Methods for Business Analysis: PESTLE and Porters Five Methods for Business Analysis: PESTLE and Porters Five According to Johnson scholes (2005, Page 9) strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long period, ideally which seeks to match its resources to its changing environment and in particular its markets, customers or clients so as to meet stakeholders expectations. Strategy is viewed as a link between the firm and its environment (Grant, 2008). For a strategy to be successful it should be in harmony with the firms internal environment such as goals, values, resources, capabilities and systems, and the external environment in which it operates. Developing effective strategies cannot take place without firstly (Vignali et al, 2003) analysing the external environment in which the company operates. Vignali Vrontis, (2004) further suggested that environmental scanning of both the external and internal environment is necessary to formulate the strategy to reach their objectives. For an organisation it is important to analyse the macro environment which comprises of political, social, technological and economical issues; industry experts use PESTLE to analyse this macro environment. PESTLE is a tool used to analyse the external business macro environment in identifying how future trends might impact on organisations within an industry. Macro environment factors will impact to a greater or lesser extent on all companies in the business environment (Johnson Scholes, 2008). Pestle stands for Political, economical, social, technological, legal and environmental. Political- legal, factors include antitrust regulations, environmental protection laws, tax laws, foreign trade regulations, stability of government, European issues ;Economical factors such as GDP trends, interest rates, money supply, inflation rates, unemployment levels, exchange rates, foreign trade regulations; Sociocultural- lifestyle changes, consumer activism, career expectations, demographics; Technological changes such as New products, internet, telecom, networking. An example of PESTLE ANALYSIS for Airline Industry The political factors such as government support for national carriers, security control, restrictions on migrations will have a major impact on the industry. Economic factors such as national growth rates, fuel prices, recession, employment affects the airlines business. Social factors such as consumer spending, international holidays and International student exchange programmes, Olympics directly increase the sales of the business where as in technological factors such as fuel efficient engines, security check machines, online ticketing systems and environmental issues such as noise pollution, carbon emission regulations changes in any of the above factors will have a impact on the airlines industry. According to (Johnson Scholes, 2008) it is very important to find the key drivers for change rather than overwhelming on all the details of the environment factors, as the key drivers may vary within industries. The external forces impact the immediate environment (Johnson et al, 2005) creating competitive forces on the organisation in the industry. It is very important for managers to be aware of the companys environmental factors, competitive forces in the industry, which showcase the attractiveness of the industry and the success or failure of a particular company (Mintzberg et al, 1998). These environmental factors can be categorised either as opportunities or threat and are included in the strategic formulation. Porters five forces: Porters five forces model provides a useful basis to examine the extent of competition in an industry. Attractiveness of an industry with competitive forces can be identified with the help of five forces framework. The profit potential of an industry can be determined by collective strength of the five forces (Mintz berg et al). The five forces are: threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers and rivalry among existing firms. Customers, suppliers, substitutes, and potential entrants are all competitors to firms in the industry (Porter, 2004, 2008). If all these forces are strong, the more limited is the ability of established companies to raise prices and earn greater profits (Wheelen Hunger, 2002; Hagen, 2010). A company can earn greater profits if there is a low competition force in the industry and a high competitive force can be viewed as threat since it may reduce profits. Many authors Johnson et a l, 2008; Mintzberg et al,1998 ;Wheelen Hunger, 2002 ; Thompson Martin 2005;Grant, 2008 have used the porter five forces frame work in the academic texts. Threat of new entrants: New entrants bring new capacity; desire to gain market share and substantial resources (Mintzberg et al, 1998). The threat of entry depends on the height of barriers (Porter, 2004) and the reaction from existing competitors. Some of the entry barriers are Economies of scale: Economies of scale prevent the entry by forcing the potential competitor to come in on a large scale or to accept cost disadvantage. As the existing firms gain economies of scale through mass production and standard products from the suppliers there by enjoying lower cost per unit. Product differentiation: Existing firms have a brand differentiation and customer loyalty which has achieved by creating value to the customer, Differentiation creates a barrier to entry as the potential competitors needs to spend heavily to gain the market. Capital requirements: Capital requirements create a barrier to potential competitors as they need to invest huge amount, although it creates a barrier, if the returns are attractive then the potential competitors may enter the industry. Cost disadvantages independent of size: established companies enjoy cost advantage, which is not available to the potential competitor, as the existing firms have proprietary technology, availability of best raw materials, proprietary product knowledge Access to distribution channels will deter the entry of potential competitors and even the government regulations which prevents or limit entry into certain industries by restricting access to raw materials. Rivalry among existing firms: Rivalry among existing competitors takes place to gain market share from each other in the industry. The intensity of rivalry depends on several factors such as Number of competitors: if the competitors are equal in size there would be high rivalry as all the competitors try to gain dominance in the industry. Rate of industry growth: slow growth leads to price wars to gain market share. Height of exit barriers: its the opposite side of entry, as the firms investments in specialised assets, or managements loyalty (Porter, cited in Mintzberg et al,1998) huge amount in a particular business, keeps companies in market even though if they are running in loss or earning low returns. Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers may be the end consumer. Buyers compete within the industry by reducing the price and demanding for higher quality of products and services and playing competitors against each other. A buyers group may be powerful if the following factors hold true. Switching cost locks the buyer to particular sellers; on the other hand the buyers power will be improved if the seller faces switching cost and it earns low profits, thereby creating great incentive to lower purchasing cost. Buyers can threaten to enter the industry partially and pose a credible threat of backward integration and bargain to bring the prices down. Bargaining power of suppliers: The organisations that produce inputs such as material and labour in to the industry are called suppliers, these suppliers can affect the industry as they have the capability to increase the price or reduce the quality of the goods and services. The supplier group will be more powerful if they have few substitutes in the industry and if the product is functional. A supplier group will be more powerful if they are dominated by a few companies. Firms may pursue a backward integration strategy to gain control of suppliers, but this strategy will be effective when the suppliers are not reliable and charging high prices or not meeting the deadlines. Pressure from substitutes: It is the competition stirred from products outside the industry. According to Porter (2004), substitutes are the products that can serve the same purpose and depends on the willingness of the buyer. They have a tendency to attract a considerable proportion of the market volume and decrease the probable sales volume of the existing players. Also Porter (2004), states that, the price elasticity of a product is affected by substitute products if there are more number of substitutes available, the demand is more elastic since customers have more choices. Limitations: Porters five forces model is a strategic tool that is utilised to identify if a new business, product or service has the potential to be profitable. However, it is important to understand that this model has further limitations in current market environment, since it visualizes somewhat still market structure. Porters model is formerly based on the economic situation in the 80s with tough competition and comparatively stable market structure; it is not able to consider the new business models and viability of the industries like dynamic market entrants and technological innovations which will entirely alter the business models within a small time. For example, computer and software industry is considered highly competitive. However, Five Forces Model is of limited value as it represents nothing more then the snapshots of moving pictures, since the structure of the industry is persistently transformed by innovation. Therefore, as stated by Kippenberger (1998) and Haberberg Rieple (2001), it is not prudent to develop strategy only on the basis of Porters Five Forces Model and should also be examined in addition to other strategic frameworks of SWOT and PEST analysis. Moreover, many academics and strategist have repeatedly challenged Porters framework. According to Coyne Subramaniam (1996), there are three ambiguous assumptions that underlie the five forces: That buyers, competitors suppliers are unrelated and do not interact and collude. That the source of value is structural advantage (creating barriers to entry). That uncertainty is low, allowing participants in a market to plan for and respond to competitive behaviour. In mid 1990s an important extension to the Porters Model was found with the help of the Game Theory (Brandenburger Nalebuff, 1995). The concept of Complementors also referred to as the 6th force was added, which helped in explaining the reasons behind strategic alliances. For example tourism industry and the airline industry are complementary industries. Also it is perhaps not reasonable to assess the attractiveness of an industry autonomous of the resources a company brings to that industry. Therefore to develop a more sound strategy for a firm a Resource Based View (RBV) should be used together with this theory (Wernerfelt, (1984); Rumelt, (1984)). The model should be adopted with the knowledge of its limitations and their use as a part of a bigger framework of management tools, techniques and theories. The five forces determine industry profitability as they influence cost, prices, and investments of firms in an industry and the elements of return on investment (porter, 1990), even though it is criticised but it is still one of the widely accepted model to analyse the competitive forces. After identifying the forces affecting competition and their causes in the industry, the firm will be in a position to identify its strength and weakness relative to that industry. Resource based view (RBV): Resource Based View (RBV) is an economic tool utilized to identify a firms potential key resources. It is more frequently linked with the work of Prahalad Hamel (1990); Rumelt (1991); Grant (1991) and Peteraf (1993). It has an inside-out approach since it deals with the competitive environment facing the organization. Therefore, its beginning point is an organizations internal environment. According to Draft (1983) cited in Barney (1991, p. 101), firm resources include all assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes, information, knowledge, etc; controlled by a firm that enable the firm to conceive of and implement strategies that improve its efficiency and effectiveness. According to Mahoney Pandian (1992); Hooley Greenley (2005) and Smith Rupp (2002), RBV of a firm describe its capability to delivering sustainable competitive advantage while the resources are managed in way that the end product cannot be replicated the competitors, hence creating a competitive barrier. Barney (2001), states that RBV explains that a firms sustainable competitive advantage is reached by virtue of unique resources, while these resources have the characteristics of being rare, valuable, inimitable, non-tradable, non-substitutable as well as firm specific. According to Prahalad Hamel(1990) cited in Thomspon Martin, Once the core competenecies are developed in the organisations they should be exploited and these core competencies should be flexible and responsive to the changing customer demands in market. The limitation of the resource based view is that it says very little on how resource can develop or change over time (Henry, 2008). The self-motivated role played by individuals within organisations is often assumed to be obvious and therefore rarely addressed. According to Priem Butler (2001), resource based view of strategy lacks details and hence is difficult for organisations to put into practice. Value chain analysis: The concept of value chain was developed in 1980 by Michael Porter, also known as value chain analysis. Value Chain helps in analysing specific activities so that a firm can create value and competitive advantage. Its a chain of activities for a firm operating in a particular industry. Every organisation has certain activities that link together to increase value of the business and these activities form the organisations value chain. According to Lynch (2003), these activities may include purchasing, manufacturing of products and distribution marketing of the organisations products and services. The competitive advantage in value chain is obtained from two sources: (i) differentiation advantage: customer perceives more value from the firms product, and (ii) low cost advantage: a firm provides the product or service at a lower cost than the average market cost. According to Svensson (2003), the value for the final customer is the value only in its theoretical context and not practical terms, which is a limitation of the model. The true value of the product is measured only when it reaches the final customer. Many academics and researchers have questioned the model and its applicability in context of the service industry. Generic strategies: TARGETING AND POSITIONING Positioning determines the profitability of firm in the industry. A firm that positions well in the industry may earn high rates of returns even though if the industry structure is unfavourable (porter, 2004 Pg. 11). Michael porter proposes 2 generic competitive strategies for outperforming other corporations in a particular industry: lower cost and differentiation (Wheelen Hunger, 2002) These competitive advantages combined with scope of activities, for which the firm seeks to achieve them lead to three generic strategies for by performing above there average in an industry: cost leadership, differentiation and focus (porter, 1990) Lower cost and differentiation strategies seek broad mass market while focus strategies aim at niche (narrow) market. The diagram below represents the porters generic strategies Cost leadership and differentiation strategies seek competitive advantage in a broad range of industry segments while focus strategies aim at cost advantage in the narrow segment. The focus has two variants, cost focus and differentiation focus. Cost leadership: This strategy focuses mainly on gaining competitive advantage by having the lowest cost in the industry (Porter, 2004), Mintzberg et al, 1998; Johnson et al 2008). According to (Malburg, 2000) to achieve the low cost benefit, the firm should have low cost leadership, low cost manufacturing and low work force strategies but (Hyatt, 2001) states the firms should have a large market share to gain the cost advantage, contrary to this Malburg (2001), Davidson, (2001) state that the cost leadership can be achieved by mass production, economies of scale, product design, R D, access to raw materials, proprietary technology, mass distribution. Having a low cost position yields the company above average returns even if they have strong competitive advantage. But according to porter (1985), only one firm in the industry can have the advantage of cost leader but Malburg (2000) stated that competitors fight through low cost leadership roles. Since low cost leadership firms have bigger market shar e, they will have high bargaining power with suppliers and enjoy above average on investments( Wheelen Hunger,2002) contrary to this( Cross, 1999) states cost leadership have certain disadvantages, as they create little loyalty to the customers and if the firm reduces the prices it may loose profits. Differentiation: The second generic strategy, companies using this strategy focus to be unique in the industry by offering products or services which are highly valued by buyers (Porter, 2004; cross, 1991; Hyatt, 2001). Differentiation is done by tailoring the customer needs and charging a premium for the customisation in the market. Differentiation strategy is more likely to generate revenue higher profits than low cost strategy as it creates a defensible position (Porter, 2004. pg .37) for coping with five forces. The customer loyalty and need for uniqueness creates a barrier of entry for potential competitor (Wheelen Hunger, 2002, Porter, 2004).According to (Mc Cracken, 2002) the key step in developing a differentiation strategy is to find how the company is different from the competitors. Mc Cracken Davidson suggested that the differentiation can be the market sector, quality of work, product, delivery system and the marketing approach and to be effective the message of differentiation should reach the end users. (Hyatt, 2001) says that firms must add a premium to the cost when using differentiation strategy however Hlavacka et al (2001) argued that cost and prices are not considered as the ma in focus but on the other hand Cross (1999) stated that since customers are loyal to the company and are willing to pay the higher price for its product. Focus: According to Porter; Davidson, (2001); Cross, (1991), the firms which follow this strategy target a specific segment of the market, this strategy is completely different from the others as it relies on narrow competitive scope in an industry (porter), the company can focus on a selected group of customers, geographical area, product range, focus strategies are effective when consumers have preferences and if the niche market is not recognised by rival firms. The focus strategy has two variants. Cost focus: Firms seeks cost advantage in the target market segment. Cost focus is a low cost competitive strategy and exploits cost behaviour differences in some segments. In using this strategy the company seeks a cost advantage in its target segment. Differentiation focus: Firms seek differentiation in its target market. Differentiation exploits needs of buyers. According to Wheelen Hunger (2002) there are various risks involved in implementing competitive strategies, none of the strategy guarantees to achieve success and some companies implemented porters strategy and failed to sustain the strategy. Some companies that try to attempt cost leadership and differentiation is stuck in the middle (porter). Helms et al, 1997 says that there is much debate on using two generic strategies at the same time. But according to Porter differentiation and cost leadership are mutually exclusive (Porter), on the other hand Helms et al (1997) found companies that used combination strategies have higher returns on investments. Ansoff Matrix The Ansoff product/market growth matrix Ansoff, (1988), cited in Johnson et al(2008), provides four alternative directions for strategic development, according to this model the firm can decide their strategy depending on the resources. This matrix helps the firm to determine the growth strategies of the firms. Market penetration: The strategy of increasing the sales in the current market with the existing products. They spend heavy budgets on advertising to create customer satisfaction and to attract the customers from the competitors, there by creating a high competition. Product development is the strategy of increasing sales with the development of current product or by developing new product. Developing a new product in the current market needs lot of innovation as they should match the customer taste. Market development is the strategy of increasing sales of the existing products in a new market attracting new customers, moving to new geographical area, new segments. Diversification takes the firm completely away from the existing market and the existing products. Diversification takes place when new products are developed and sold in new markets. Diversification allows the firms to spread the risks in a wide array of markets. Swot Analysis: Swot is an acronym of strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Scanning of external environment STEP, Porters five forces, for opportunities and threats and internal environment such as resources, capabilities, financial, marketing, value chain, technology for strengths and weakness is an important part in developing strategic planning. According to Vrontis, (1999), it is very important if the companies want to capitalise on their strengths and minimise weakness, exploit market opportunities as they arise and avoid threats. SWOT gives us the key issues that may impact on strategy development (Johnson et al, 2008). It can also be used to convert weakness into threats and threats into opportunities. RYAN AIRWAYS AND BRITISH AIRWAYS They would like to understand the underpinning logic of the strategy choices/generic strategies available to them and you have asked you to provide some detailed illustrations from the airline industry. The product/service differentiation visions and strategies of SIA, BA and UAL, as they prepare for the new millennium, provide interesting contrast and comparison insights and lessons on product/service differentiation for the industry as a whole SIA is strategically positioned in the premium service, quality and value market segment of the international airline industry. Service is the raison de tre of SIA, and at the heart of its service reputation is the Singapore Girl. Since the late 1980s, SIA has always held the view that: The airline industry is, by its very nature, a service industry. In a free market, the success or failure of an individual airline is largely dictated by the quality of the service it provides (Harvard Business School, 1989). http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/2610310604.html#2610310604001.png References Porter, M. E., (2004), The global competitiveness report 2004-2005, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Brandenburger, A.M. and Nalebuff, B.J. (1995), The Right Game: Use Game Theory to Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review, Jul-Aug, pp.57-71 Coyne, K.P. and Subramaniam, S. (1996), Bringing discipline to strategy, The McKinsey Quarterly, No.4 Haberberg, A. and Rieple, A., (2001), The Strategic Management of Organizations, Essex: Pearson Education. Kippenberger, T., (1998). Strategy according to Michael Porter, The Antidote, Vol. 3 No.6, pp. 24-25. Wernerfelt, B., (1984). The Resource-Based View of the Firm. Strategic Management Journal; Vol.5 No.2, pp. 171-180. Rumelt, D.P., (1984), Towards a Strategic Theory of the Firm, Alternative theories of the firm, International Library of Critical Writings in Economics, vol. 154. Cheltenham, U.K and Northampton. Wheelen, T.l Hungher,J.D.,(2002) Strategic management and Business policy, 8thed. New Jersey: Pearson education. Grant, R.M, (2008) Contemporary strategy analysis. 6th ed.Oxford: Blackwell publishing Porter,M.E, (2004). Competitive strategy. Edition 2004: First free press. Johnson.G, Scholes.K, Whittington.R, (2008). Exploring Corporate Strategy Text and Cases. Edition 8.Essex: Financial times prentice hall Pearson education. Johnson,G, Scholes,K, Whittington.R, (2005). Exploring Corporate Strategy Text and Cases. 7th ed.Essex:Financial times prentice hall Pearson education. Mintzberg,H. Quinn,J.B. Ghosal,Sumantra. (1998).The strategy process,revised edition. Prentice hall Europe: Pearson education. Porter,M.E. (2004).Competitive advantage.Edition 2004. First free press. Watts,G. Cope. J Hulme.M (1998). Ansoffs matrix, pain and growth strategies and adaptive learning among small food. International journal of Entrepreneurial behaviour and research, vol.4.No.2, pp 101-111. Davidson, S. (2001). Seizing the competitive advantage. Community Banker, Vol. 10 No. 8, pp.32-4. Cross, L. (1999). Strategy drives marketing success. Graphic Arts Monthly, Vol. 71 No. 2, p. 96. McCracken, L. (2002). Differentiation: win new business with less effort, Principals Report, Vol. 2 No. 4, p. 1. Cited in Allen.R.S, Helms.M,(2004) Linking strategic practices and organisational performance to porters generic strategies, Business process management journal ,vol. 12 No.4 ,pp.433-454. Malburg, C. (2000). Competing on costs. Industry Week, Vol. 249 No. 17, p.31. Cited in Allen.R.S, Helms.M,(2004) Linking strategic practices and organisational performance to porters generic strategies, Business process management journal ,vol. 12 No.4 ,pp.433-454. Hlavacka, S. Ljuba, B. Viera, R and Robert, W. (2001). Performance implications of Porters generic strategies in Slovak hospitals, Journal of Management in Medicine, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 44-66. Harvard business review 2008 available at: http://www.ascendcfo.com/pdfFiles/HBR-The%20Five%20Competitive%20Forces%20That%20Shape%20Strategy.pdf- Accessed on [10 March 2010] Vignali, C., Vrontis, D. (2004), Global Marketing and Export Management, Foxwell and Davies, London Cited in Vrontis,D. stavrou,A. Kogetsidis.H(2006).Strategic marketing planning for a supplier of liquid food packaging products in Cyprus, Journal of Business Industrial Marketing, Volume.21,No.4 pp: 250-261 Barney, J.B. (1991).Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of Management, 17 (1), pp.99-120. Daft, L.R. (1983).Organizational Theory and Designs, West Pub. Co., St. Paul. Prahalad, C.K. and Hamel, G., (1990). The Core Competence of the organization. Harvard Business Review, 68 (3), pp.79-91. Rumelt, R.P., (1991), How much does industry matter? Strategic management journal, vol.12 No.3, pp.167-85. Grant, R.M., (1991), The resource-based theory of competitive advantage: implications for strategy formulation. California Management Review, 33(spring), pp.114-35. Peteraf, M., (1993), The cornerstones if competitive advantage: a resource based view. Strategic Management Journal, 14, pp.179-91. Mahoney, J.T. and Pandian, J.R., (1992), The Resource-Based View Within the Conversation of Strategic Management, Strategic Management Journal, Vol.15 No.5, pp. 363-380. Hooley, G.J. and Greenley, G.E., (2005). The Resource Underpinnings of Competitive Positions,Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol.13, No.2.pp.93-116. Smith, A.D. Rupp, W.T. (2002). Communication and Loyalty among Knowledge Workers: a resource of the firm theory view, Journal of Knowledge Management. Vol. 6 No.3, pp.250-61. Barney, J.B., (2001). Is the Resource-Based Theory a Useful Perspective for Strategic Management Research? Yes, Academy of Management Review., Vol.26 No.1, pp.41-56. Henry, A., (2008). Understanding Strategic Management. Oxford University Press. Priem, R.L. and Butler, J.E., (2001). Is the resource based view a useful perspective for strategic management research? Academy of Management Review, Vol.26 No.1. pp. 22-40. Lynch, R., (2003). corporate strategy.3rd ed. London: FT Prentice Hall. Svensson, G., (2003). Consumer driven and bi-directional value chain diffusion models, European Business Review, Vol. 15, No. 6, p. 390-400. Allen.R.S, Helms.M,(2004) Linking strategic practices and organisational performance to porters generic strategies, Business process management journal ,vol. 12 No.4 ,pp.433-454. Executive summary This report provides the strategic tools and techniques used in formulating strategy. This report starts with the external analysis of macro environment by using PESTLE and industry analysis to identify the profit potential by using the porters five forces frame work. The external analysis is carried to identify the threats and opportunities in the operating environment. Internal analysis of the firm is carried out to identify the strengths and weakness of the firm using by using Porters value chain, Resource based view. Porters three generic strategies have been explained for positing of the firm and Ansoff growth/productmatrix is also explained. An overview of ryan airways and british airways has been provided with and to identify then internal analysis frameworks using RBV , porters value chain and porters generic strategies.

The Themes of Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays

The Themes of Jane Eyre In the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane struggles against Bessie, the nurse at Gateshead Hall, and says, I resisted all the way: a new thing for me†¦"(Chapter 2).   This sentence foreshadows what will be an important theme of the rest of the book, that of female independence or rebelliousness. Jane is here resisting her unfair punishment, but throughout the novel she expresses her opinions on the state of women.   Tied to this theme is another of class and the resistance of the terms of one's class.   Spiritual and supernatural themes can also be traced throughout the novel. Soon after Jane is settled at Lowood Institution she finds the enjoyment of expanding her own mind and talents.   She forgets the hardships of living at the school and focuses on the work of her own hands.   She is not willing to give this up when she is engaged to Rochester.   She resists becoming dependent on him and his money.   She does not want to be like his mistresses, with their fancy gowns and jewels, but even after she and Rochester are married, she wants to remain as Adele's governess.   She is not willing to give up her independence to Rochester, and tries to seek her own fortune by writing to her uncle.   In the end, when she does have her own money, she states, "I am my own mistress" (Chapter 37). Jane not only shows the reader her beliefs on female independence through her actions, but also through her thoughts.   Jane desires to see more of the world and have more interaction with its people.   While she appreciates her simple life at Thornfield, she regrets that she does not have the means to travel.   She relates her feelings to all women, not just those of her class, saying: Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags (Chapter 12). It is also important here to talk about Bertha, for she is a female character who is often seen resisting. The Themes of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays The Themes of Jane Eyre In the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane struggles against Bessie, the nurse at Gateshead Hall, and says, I resisted all the way: a new thing for me†¦"(Chapter 2).   This sentence foreshadows what will be an important theme of the rest of the book, that of female independence or rebelliousness. Jane is here resisting her unfair punishment, but throughout the novel she expresses her opinions on the state of women.   Tied to this theme is another of class and the resistance of the terms of one's class.   Spiritual and supernatural themes can also be traced throughout the novel. Soon after Jane is settled at Lowood Institution she finds the enjoyment of expanding her own mind and talents.   She forgets the hardships of living at the school and focuses on the work of her own hands.   She is not willing to give this up when she is engaged to Rochester.   She resists becoming dependent on him and his money.   She does not want to be like his mistresses, with their fancy gowns and jewels, but even after she and Rochester are married, she wants to remain as Adele's governess.   She is not willing to give up her independence to Rochester, and tries to seek her own fortune by writing to her uncle.   In the end, when she does have her own money, she states, "I am my own mistress" (Chapter 37). Jane not only shows the reader her beliefs on female independence through her actions, but also through her thoughts.   Jane desires to see more of the world and have more interaction with its people.   While she appreciates her simple life at Thornfield, she regrets that she does not have the means to travel.   She relates her feelings to all women, not just those of her class, saying: Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags (Chapter 12). It is also important here to talk about Bertha, for she is a female character who is often seen resisting.

The Third World :: Society Leadership Governmental Essays

The Third World The Third World has undergone an intense transformation over the past century. It has encountered the slow progression from a traditional society to the brink of modernization. Two of the most influential components of this extensive transformation are leadership and ideology. They have left an indelible mark on the Third World and have helped to define the direction of this revolution and its influence on the rest of the modern world. Third World leadership has played a significant role in the success and implementation of reform which has resulted in the legitimacy and stabilization of governments. It has also produced a formidable presence on the global scene in terms of economic trade and a strong military threat. The personality of many of these leaders is defined in their charisma and nationalism. One of the first prominent leaders of the Third World was Nasser of Egypt. He leaped upon the scene during the infamous Alexandria speech. During his address, an assassination attempt failed as four shots were fired and missed him. The crowd ducked in chaos, but rose to the voice of Nasser as he uttered "I live for Egypt, I die for Egypt." Immediately, the crowd and the rest of Egypt rallied behind Nasser. His reign resulted from a military takeover that succeeded the speech. He was seen as a type of God and his charisma resulted in revolutionary reform that included agrarian reform and the seizure of the Suez canal from the British. Nasser single-handedly brought the ancient feudal system to a halt by closing the gap between the rich elite and the poor through comprehensive agrarian reform. He also defied the British and their hold on the Suez canal. He displayed tremendous imagination in his successful stand against the invasion of England, France, and Israel by inspiring the civil ians to take to the streets and fight with their teeth, knives and fists. Instantly, his fame spread throughout the Third World. He became a source of inspiration and precedence in the modernization of the underdeveloped world. Later, other charismatic leaders such as Quadafi of Libya, Castro of Cuba, and Hussein of Iraq helped solidify the trend of centralized military governments led by strong dictators. These men are disliked and beguiled by most of the developed world, but they are beloved by their people. This affection is seen by the overwhelming approval ratings of these leaders.

Music and Musicians in the Renaissance Essay examples -- Exploratory E

Music and Musicians in the Renaissance If music be the food of love, play on! ~ Orsino, Twelfth Night In the Elizabethan Era (1558-1603) and the Jacobean Era (1603-1625), there was a fondness for spectacle and pageantry. At court, trumpets and drums resounded to announce mealtimes; in town, these instruments were used by theatre troupes to herald upcoming performances (Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh, 2003, and Folkerth, 2002). Music, then, is applied boldly and lavishly in everyday life and in drama, an imitation of life. Musical Instruments The major classes of musical instruments used in the High and Late Renaissance include plucked strings, bowed strings, brass, double reeds, other winds, keyboards, and percussions (McGee, 1985). Lutes, drums, and trumpets were often used, but the instruments that were especially popular during the Renaissance include the bass viol, treble viol, viola, violin, tenor sackbut, cornetto, bass sackbut, curtal, tenor shawm, bass recorder, and harpsichord (McGee, 1985). Instrumental Music From the Early Renaissance to the High Renaissance, there was a movement from vocal music to a combination of vocal and instrumental music (Brown, 1976). There are seven categories of instrumental music: 1) vocal music played by instruments, 2) settings of pre-existing melodies, 3) variation sets, 4) ricercars, fantasias, and canzonas, 5) preludes, preambles, and toccatas for solo instruments, 6) dance music, and 7) songs composed specifically for lute and solo voice (Brown, 1976). Italy dominated the stage for instrumental music at this time, and it was not until the last decades of the sixteenth century that English instrumental music became popular (Brow... ...cobean periods. Works Cited Brown, Howard M. Music in the Renaissance. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976. Folkerth, Wes. The Sound of Shakespeare. London: Routledge, 2002. McGee, Timothy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer’s Guide. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985. Novak, Elaine Adams. Staging Shakespearean Theatre. Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2000. Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh. â€Å"Shakespeare’s Top 40†. Available: http://www.rbsp.org/current_season/shakespeare.php, March 2003. Shirley, Frances Ann. Shakespeare’s Use of Off-Stage Sounds. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1963. University of Victoria. â€Å"Elizabethan Court Musicians†. Available: http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLTnoframes/literature/courtmusicians.html, date unavailable. Accessed : March 4, 2003.

Historical Context of Images for Your Virtual Art Gallery Tour Essay

Sleep was painted with oil in 51Ãâ€"78 cm. canvas in 1937 by Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dali i Domenech, or simply known as Salvador Dali, a famous Spanish surrealist painter and sculptor. He painted Sleep for his British millionaire patron, Edward James. Dali almost incorporated sleep into almost all his works because he was fascinated with the world of dreams. He interpreted the act of sleeping as monster supported by crutches. Cosmic Egg (2007) It was the image used in the painting titled â€Å"Sunrise by the Ocean† done by Vladimir Kush, a Russian-born surrealist painter and sculptor. The egg portrayed the sun and the beginning of life. As the egg broke open, the earth and the sky formed from its two halves. The yolk was the sun which was starting to take its form. Giclee was used in 21Ãâ€"24 inches canvas. The Persistence of Memory (1931). It was an oil on 24 x 33 cm canvas painting by Salvador Dali. The three melting pocket watches laid in hard surface illustrated confusion between softness and hardness, typifying Dali’s personality. Critics interpreted the painting as Dali’s self-portrait because Dali said that the painting was his hand-painted photograph of his dreams. The Division Bell (Cover). The two metal heads depicted in the cover of the 1994 album of Pink Floyd was the handiwork of sculptor John Robertson. These huge figures, each weighing at 1,500 kilograms and over 3 meters in height, were put in a Cambridge field. Ubu Imperator (1923). This oil on 81Ãâ€"65 cm canvas was painted by Marx Ernst. The image, a bizarre combination of the tip of a spinning top, the red huge body and human hands, symbolized authority in a ridiculous manner. Invasion of the Night (1941) This oil on 38Ãâ€"60 ? in. canvas painting by Roberto Matta using diffuse lights, floating rocks and bold lines in featureless and vast background indicated Matta’s fascination with the inner state of human consciousness. References: †¢ Clocking In With Salvador Dali: Salvador Dali’s Melting Watches. Retrieved March 17,2009 from http://www. vladimirkush. com/popup. php? id=159&category=Editions/Available+Limited+Edition+Prints †¢ Surrealist Art. Retrievede March 17, 2009 from http://www. centrepompidou. fr/education/ressources/ENS-surrealistart-EN/ENS-surrealistart-EN. html †¢ Tariff, Alfredo (April 11,2002) Matta Vision. The underrated Chilean gets a new image at MAM. Miami New Times Arts. Retrieved March 17, 2009 from http://www. miaminewtimes. com/2002-04-11/culture/matta-vision/

Transformational Change

At each moment of every day, someone, of eminent importance or the subordinate drifting around the park is embarking on a transformational change of some specific nature. What does that suggest to us? It indicates that at some point in our life we will experience this transformation as well. A transformational change is a modification to your life, as you know it; the learning cycle begins by recognizing that there is a substantial problem with your life in its current state. Once this breakthrough has been exposed, you must establish a way to suppress the predicament in order to resolve it. From this point on it may be a brief or time-consuming journey to your new life; but the expedition can be excruciating nevertheless. â€Å"Transformation, though desirable, rarely comes easily. † (Alexander, M. Clugston, W, & Tice, E. , 2009, Ch 5, p7) One conclusion that you can count on is that the ordeal that you have been through was meaningful and advantageous to your growth and development. Personally, I have been through a significant amount of transformational learning experiences. A select few come to mind, such as: graduating high school and beginning college for the first time, getting married, having a child, getting a divorce, going to real estate and tax school, and the death of my grandmother. Each of these circumstances have taken a toll on me; but when it came to selecting the transformational change that I am presently engaged, I believe that my decision recedes back into position in my renewal experiential cycle. I have ineffectively accomplished my original educational goals; so instead of establishing a new target, I will be â€Å"embracing the opportunity† to attempt once more. I am certain that ninety percent of our class, at the slightest, is going through the same transition as I am; working tediously to get a college degree taking into account a cumbersome work schedule and a family. Those were the strongest decisive factors this time around. At this point in my life I sense it is now or never; I faithfully believe that God has a plan for all of us, and it is now my time to thrive. When change is openly engaged, growth inevitably results—allowing boundaries to be broken and a new sense of freedom to be experienced. † (Alexander, M. Clugston, W, & Tice, E. , 2009, Ch 5, p3) According to Jack Mezirow’s research, identifying the seven phases occurring in the learning process, I have fulfilled up to this moment the first six phases: * â€Å"Experiencing a disorienting dilemma† I have faced the reality that it is time to buy my own home to raise my daughter in, despite the issue that I will not be getting married. In order to do this I must be financially secure with a career and a college degree on the wall. * â€Å"Self-Examination† Am I ready? Can I handle the stress? Is it worth the trouble? Will I have the time? Am I going to have to give up something in order to accomplish my goals? Will my financial aid and all of my credits transfer I have already received? Yes to all, and it will be worth it as the result. * â€Å"Critical assessment of assumptions† Will there actually be a job or an innovative career opportunity available to me when I essentially receive my college degree? I assume there will be, but all I can do is complete school through graduation and explore then. * â€Å"Recognizing that others have gone through a similar process† My mother is my hero. She went back to school in her early thirty’s, the same age I am now, and she has three degrees on the wall. She actually started her doctorate degree, but decided to wait until the school relocated near us in a year and a half in order for her to go to classes on campus rather than online. Therefore, when she does get the doctorate she will have four college degrees and be a doctor. I cannot help but admire her. * â€Å"Exploring a process† Going to college online at Ashford University until I complete my Bachelor’s Degree is my plan. Then from there you cannot speculate what may happen. I may continue school until I am fifty years old. I genuinely love learning and education universally. * â€Å"Formulating a plan of action† This time in school I am majoring in a degree that will actually benefit me obtaining employment immediately when graduating. In addition, I have approximately twenty years experience in all aspects of business and management. My previous degree program at the last school I attended was Interior Design. I am highly interested, but the market is obsolete, just as Real Estate in which I hold a license. * â€Å"Reintegration† I am not certain that I have accomplished this phase at the present time. (Alexander, M. Clugston, W, & Tice, E. , 2009, Ch 5, p7) For me personally, the reintegration phase can be experiential in two different aspects; attending school and being acclimated by the end of my first class, which is undoubtedly fulfilled. On the other hand, it could indicate graduating and facing the world as a newfound pristine college graduate. If the later is the case, then I have ample time to set new short-term goals for my next class, and continue adhering to them until my ultimate goal of graduating categorically occurs. I have had numerous blessings in my lifetime; however, the day that I graduate from college will be the second most ecstatic day of my life, second to childbirth.

Jones-Blair Case Anaylsis Essay

Strategic Issues and Problems: The Jones Blair Company competes in a 50-county area throughout Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Their major business and financial center is located in eleven county Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan areas. Jones Blair Company is a privately held corporation that produces and markets paint under the Jones-Blair brand name. A large portion of the maturing paint industry, $10 billion, is established from architectural coatings and the annual growth rate is expected to equal that of general inflation in the coming years. Dollar sales have increased at an average annual rate of 4 percent per year over the past decade. The company has been very successful in maintaining their margins even with increased research and development material and labor costs. A small number of regional paint manufacturers have competed successfully against paint manufacturer that distribute their products national. Major producers of paint for the architectural coatings segments account for 60 percent of sales in the architectural coating segments. The competition is pretty stiff when it comes to private store brands or specialty stores. Even with the growing success of Jones Blair it is not enough and in order to reach their business goals at a time when growth is nonexistent, Jones Blair must take immediate action and surge their sales team and change their sales energies. Mass merchandisers pose a serious threat to the future achieved sales levels of Jones Blair Company. Jones Blair Company is currently looking for solutions for gaining more consumers through marketing their architectural coatings and sundries in the southwestern United States. Market Segmentation The market of Jones Blair can be divided to two groups: Dallas-Fort Worth area and Non Dallas-Fort Worth. Among these two areas, there are the contractors, the DIY households and the professional painters. From reading case, I gathered that the estimated dollar volume of architectural paint and allied products sold in Jones Blair’s 50 countries service area in 2004 was $80 million (excluding contractor sales). The DFW are accounted for 60 percent or $48 million, while the remaining 40 percent or $32 million is sold in the other areas outside the DFW area. 70 percent of the DFW sales are accounted for by do-it-yourselfers while the other 30 percent is sold to professional painters. In the other areas outside of the DFW area 90 percent of sales are accounted for by do-it-yourselfers while the other 10 percent is sold to professional papers. (See Exhibit 2). This would means the percentage of the market segment is as following: DFW ($48 millions) Non-DFW ($32 millions) Professional Painters 70% ($33.6 millions) 30% ($9.6 millions) DIY households 30% ($14.4 millions1) 70% ($22.4 millions) Plan of Action The senior management team has examined the paint industry, especially the architectural paint markets, and they have yet to come to a conclusion. The president of Jones Blair, Mr. Alexander Barrett, is planning to have another meeting with his executive team where they will each present their suggestions and he has exclaimed a decision must be made. Recommendations Jones Blair executives have developed four alternatives to relieve the company’s marketing problem (which are outlined as follows): a) Cut price by 20% b) Spend additional $350,000 on corporate advertising; c) Hire one additional sales representative d) Do Nothing (Status Quo) a) Cut price by 20% Compared to other leading national brands, Jones Blair is priced relatively high. This is based on the extremely high quality and performance of the products. By cutting price, Jones Blair will be able to stay competitive in price with other the other products on the market. b) Spend an additional $350,000 on corporate advertising This money will be used to increase awareness. Most of it will be spent on television ads targeted mainly in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area at the do-it-yourself market. Brand image is important to consumers and television ads are a great way to get their name out. Most of this population is aware of this product and only some of this population would purchase it. c) Hire an additional sales representative Hiring an additional sales representative will allow Jones Blair to focus on new markets. These markets should be outside of the DFW area and allow for new cities and states to recognize Jones Blair. d) Do Nothing (Status Quo) Since Jones Blair has continually seen profits each year; they should maintain their current marketing objectives and do nothing. Jones Blair has done an excellent job of this in the past by watching the margins and controlling costs. By doing nothing, the company will not need to spend any additional money. e) Alternative Recommendations a.) Cut price by 20% In 2004 architectural product sales volume was $12,000,000. Jones Blair has a current net profit of $1.14 million, and to stay profitable it must maintain this amount. $12,000,000*.35= $4,200,000 If Jones Blair reduced its price by 20% the contribution margin will drop to 15%. ($12,000,000)*.15 = ($1,800,000) If the company drops the price by 20% the company will see a 33% increase in sales. ($1,800,000 * .33) =$4,200,000 ($594,000) STRENGTHS: Jones Blair will sell more products, because it will be able to compete with its competitors in price. WEAKNESSES: May not be able to sell enough in volume to cover cost of goods sold. If the price is more competitive with other companies it may not be looked at as superior quality. b.) Spend additional $350,000 on corporate advertising. The marketing department proposes a television campaign targeted at the DFW do-it-yourself market. This will cost an additional $350,000, but will significantly increase the awareness of Jones Blair products. Research has proven that brand awareness is a major factor in purchasing decisions. If Jones Blair does agree to use this method the company will need to make at least $122,500 to break even and cover the cost of this new promotion ($350,000/.35= $122,500). Most of the DFW consumers are do-it-yourselfers, so a television ad will be beneficial in this market. STRENGTHS: Consumers will become aware of Jones Blair. Do-it-yourselfer’s account for 70% of volume in the DFW area. Advertising is proven to increase awareness, and awareness is a critical factor in consumer purchasing decisions. WEAKNESSES: Almost doubling current advertising costs ($360,000+$350,000). This recommendation requires a large budget and has little guarantee of results because about 75% of the viewing au dience does not buy paint. Consumer buying process shows household buyers choose a store first, not a brand; therefore, cooperative ad is required, not brand advertising. c.) Hire an additional sales representative. Sales outside of our home territory DFW are crucial for maintaining competition in the market. A sales rep would cost the company $60,000 a year. So the company would need ($60,000/.35) about $171,428.58 of additional profits to cover this. 120 retailers are located outside of DFW. If we look at our current dollar amount needed to stay profitable $4,200,000 and divide that by stores…$4,200,000/120= $35,000 So… $171,428.58/$35,000 = about 5. So the company would require a new sales rep to acquire at least 5 new accounts a year to breakeven. STRENGTHS: New clients may bring more opportunity to the table through word of mouth. Doesn’t cost the company a significant amount of money to do. WEAKNESSES: Does not promise new clients. It’s only concentrating on most profitable market, DFW. d.) Do nothing (Status Quo) Jones Blair will not change any of their marketing strategies. STRENGTHS: Does not cost the company any extra money to maintain current objectives. Jones Blair is currently making money, why change? WEAKNESSES • Jones Blair will not always be profitable in the future; the cost of research and development will only increase. Needs to stay competitive in the market and not looking into long term vision of the company. Final recommendation Jones Blair needs to look into the future and envision the company competing with competitors. Its best bet is to focus on the consumers in its main home market, DFW. If they can gain awareness of the home market, sooner or later word will spread throughout all of their markets and business will boom. Making a $1,000,000 minimum income looks like pocket change. Right now Jones Blair can afford this and still have a $400,000 profit. Target Market The target market for Jones Blair is consumers in its main home market, DFW. Specifically the consumers in their architectural coatings and sundries arena. Marketing Mix Promotion: Jones Blair Company advertising can potentially boost their clientele bringing more awareness to the DIY segment in the southwestern area of the United States. This was essentially the objective of the executive meeting and advertising is proven to increase awareness, and awareness is a critical factor in most consumer purchasing decisions. Place: The Company distributes its product through 200 independent paint stores, lumber yards and hardware outlets. With the expanded advertisements Jones Blair can expand to their marketing scope connecting with more consumers, especially in the southwestern area of the US. Price: Almost doubling current advertising costs ($360,000+$350,000), advertising would be the best way to reach the masses in the regions that are going unnoticed. Product: Architectural coatings and sundries supplied throughout the southwestern United States.

Main Divisions Between Mainstream and Critical Social Psychology

One of the main divisions between mainstream and critical social psychology is that of the methods adopted. Discuss with reference to the cognitive social and at least one other social psychological perspective. Social psychology has existed for about 100 years, before which psychology was a branch of philosophy. Social psychology studies individuals in their social contexts. It is a diverse discipline made up of many theoretical perspectives and variety of different methods are used in social psychological research. This assignment explores the main principles of different methods in social psychology. It will look at the underlying theories or perspectives that organise contemporary social and discursive psychological research and knowledge and critically evaluate different theoretical perspectives and methods. Cognitive social psychology studies the information processing individual in a social context to analyse individual cognitions in controlled social conditions. It is a quantative approach. It dominates psychological social psychology and emerged from the critique of behaviourism in the mid twentieth century. Researchers use an experimental approach involving controlled experimental conditions to produce quantitative data that can be measured and analysed to produce statistically valid conclusions. Discursive psychology focuses on the external world of discourse, its meaning and effects and studies the socially constructed, situated and contingent identity. It is a qualitative approach. It emerged in the 1970s with the linguistic turn, and was influenced by sociological social psychology. Researchers use discourse analysis to produce qualitative data by conversational and textual analysis. Phenomenological psychology focuses on the detailed description of social experience derived through the senses. It is a qualitative approach using the rich description of experience. It studies the internal world of the psyche in relational settings and its effect on action using first-person written account of experience, interview and literary text. It originated in the philosophy of Husserl in the late nineteenth/ early twentieth century. Social psychoanalytical psychology or psychosocial studies the internal world of the psyche in relational settings and its effects on actions. It is a qualitative approach. It looks at the conflicted psyche in dynamic relation with the external world. Using case study and free association narrative, interviews and observation qualitative data is evaluated through interpretation of what is unsaid as well as said. Its original development was in the clinic and it became an area of academic study in the late twentieth century. There are four overarching themes that can be used to interrogate a set of value issues that permeate social psychology. These are known as interrogative themes and they are outlined below. Power relations are central to the way that all knowledge is produced and interpreted. Power permeates everything we do and all our relationships . Power is neither good nor bad but it is what is done with it that determines this. Power is relational and the balance changes in different contexts. It is contextual and situated rather than absolute. Questions of power were first raised in relation to the deception of participants in the name of science. For example in Stanley Milgram’s (1965) experiment where participants were required to give increasing levels of electric shock to Milgram’s colleagues who posed as recipients of the electric shocks. The focus was on power relations between the scientist and participants, many of whom performed, as they believed, harmful and sadistic acts on the instructions of the scientist. Ethical guidelines in social psychology have been hugely influenced by this. The question of who has the power to interpret people’s experiences applies to all social psychological research. We need to be careful how we base interpretations on evidence, and we must interrogate how that evidence and those meanings came to be produced: within what assumptions and power relations. Power relations raise the issue of the relationship between the researcher and the participants. Another interrogative theme is situated knowledges. Knowledge always comes from a belief or view point Knowledge is always situated somewhere and sometime – it changes with time and is situated in terms of values, cultures, belief systems and history. It changes with social change. Knowledge production needs to be situated at the level of every piece of research. Methods are highly influential in the knowledges that are produced. Another interrogative theme is individual-society dualism. The most enduring theme in social psychology is whether individual or society is privileged in the explanation of social psychological phenomena and derives from the wider dualism of explanations that have characterised western thought since the Enlightenment. Individual-society dualism often manifested in a reduction of explanation to either biological (often genetic) or social causes. Sometimes ‘both/and’ explanations also suffer form this dualism because they behave as if there is no other level of explanation, only an ‘interaction’ between biological and social factors. Genuinely social psychological explanations get squeezed out. Agency-structure dualism is the twin problem of individual-social dualism. The binary terms ‘agency’ and ‘structure’ mirror the terms ‘individual’ and ‘society’ in the following way: if individuals are seen as relatively independent of social influence, they can be theorised as agents of their own destinies. On the other hand, if social structures are overwhelmingly influential in individual action, people’s choices and desires would be irrelevant. Traditional social theory placed such emphasis on the power of social structures in governing peoples actions that this led to self determinism. A challenge for social psychology is to be able to understand the dynamic tension between desires and actions that are relatively free and ones that are heavily constrained by circumstances, rather than fall into assumptions on either side of the agency-structure binary. This interrogative theme will help us remain aware of dangers which, like individual-society dualism, have strong political and ethical implications. All of these interrogative themes are useful in evaluating social psychological research and theories. There are differences and similarities between the four perspectives on social psychology that have been defined in this essay. They all have reflexivity because the researchers are prepared to put themselves in the picture of knowledge production. They are all explicit about the way their approach is appropriate to the object of analysis. A difference between the qualitative and quantitative approach is whether the object of analysis is hidden from view. This is highlighted as an advantage of the cognitive social psychology experimental method and is also central to the free association narrative interview method which draws from the psychoanalytic concept of unconscious dynamics. Phenomenological psychology, whose object of analysis is conscious experience, aims to elaborate qualities previously hidden form view through rich description. In contrast, discourse analysis is not interested in underlying significance but in words. Whereas discourse analysis is interested in emotion terms, social psychoanalysis looks for emotions themselves , while the object of phenomenological analysis is the emotions that people are aware of and can therefore describe. Social psychoanalysis and the experimental method look for causes of actions, but discourse analysis rejects this, and phenomenology focuses on experience rather than its causes or motives. Control of the research setting is the issue that most clearly differentiates quantitative and qualitative approaches. Experimental psychology ‘models’ social processes in order to control them. The other three approaches seek ecological validity by researching in social settings. Within the qualitative approaches there are differences in emphasis. Discourse analysts prefer to collect discourse as it can be found, although they also conduct interviews. The social psychoanalytical and phenomenological approaches rely in eliciting experience, often grounded in a narrative of actual events. Narrative is becoming an overarching theme in qualitative social psychology, partly because of the critique of unstructured interview techniques on the grounds that they dictate the terms in which participants can give their accounts. When interviews are relatively unstructured, participants have a tendency to give accounts in narrative form. It is useful to compare the different methodological approaches in relation to their analysis of The Guardian’s story published on 24 May 2004 about an Iraqi family, a mother an her children. The woman’s husband ( the children’s father) had died in detention during the American/British invasion and the newspaper quoted the woman’s response – ‘I will always hate you people’. The Cognitive Social Psychology Experimental approach outlined by Russell Spears states that experimental evidence is the lifeblood of psychology and experiments provide the control to assess causal relations and patterns among variables that may not be apparent to the naked eye. Whist acknowledging that we cannot reproduce in the lab the conditions that foster this kind of hatred, we can model some of the proposed processes and test implications of theories. The psychoanalytical perspective referred to by Wendy Hollway is a clinical rather than a research method. Free association interviewing is used to reach beyond the structured interviewing that dominates qualitative research and risks constraining interviewees with assumptions provided by questions. Derek Edwards discussion of discursive social psychology proposes looking at the report and how the words and, descriptions and accounts are assembled and put to work. He focuses on the reports themselves , how they provide for causal explanations, invoke psychological states and build implications for politics and policy. This approach examines how people deploy commonsense psychological ideas. Darren Langridge explores phenomenological social psychology as a descriptive enterprise. Data is collected though first person written accounts or interviews. The rush towards explanation is avoided. The aim is to identify structural qualities that are invariant across the experience, as well as those that are more idiosyncratic, focusing on the reasons but not the causes behind the phenomena in the hope of providing new insights that may enable us to effect change. In conclusion, there are similarities and differences between the methodologies used to explore the four perspectives in social psychology that have been discussed. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, and all can contribute to the continuing development of theories and approaches within social psychology. References Milgram, S ( 1974) Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View, London, Tavistock. Spears , R. , Hollway, W. and Edwards, D. (2005) ‘Three views on hate’, The Psychologist, vol 18, no 9, September, pp. 844-7. Social Psychology Matters Book 1, Chapter 2 by Wendy Hollway, Book 2, Chapter 1 (Introductions) – Open University Press. DVD 1 Social Psychology : Critical Perspectives on Self and Others.