How Does Shakespeare Present the Theme of Love in Romeo and Juliet

Sexual love is used in this play as comic relief between the serious parts, as an ice-breaker and to keep the audience entertained. Shakespeare included sexual love in this play because at the time, the audience for whom he’d be performing wouldn’t be very educated and including this would grab their attention straight away Sexual love is the first type of love displayed in this play. You meet two Capulet servants, Sampson and Gregory in the first scene. They are talking about women as sexual objects and nothing more. Sampson is talking about how he will ‘be cruel with the maids’ once he has taken care of the men, and how he ‘will cut off’ their ‘maidenheads’. He is talking about raping the wives of the men he has killed, referring to their virginities as their heads. He is also very generous about himself, suggesting that his penis is â€Å"a pretty piece of flesh’ and that women will be able to feel him while he is ‘able to stand’, meaning that he’s having an erection against the women. This is very sexual because to feel a man’s erection, you have to be very close to him and he has to be practically grinding against you, and be turned on by you. While they only see women as objects of lust, sexual love is not only relatable to men; women can be just as sexually-minded. In this play, Shakespeare does have a lot of sexual-orientated characters but one of the most amusing ones is possibly Juliet’s nurse. She finds a way to make everything she says sound suggestive when most people wouldn’t be able to. She may get it from her late husband, who was just as inappropriate as her, telling a three year old that she ‘will fall backwards when thou hast more wit’ which basically translates to him telling her that when she gets older she’ll know to lie backwards so a man can lie on top of her, which is completely senseless to say to a child. On the other hand, it is more likely Nurse was just always like that. Nurse seems to think that the only important thing to consider in a marriage is sex, saying that Juliet should ‘seek happy nights to happy days’ as if a good sex life is the key to having a happy marriage. She also has the skill to twist things that seem perfectly innocent into a sexual innuendo. Nurse also says that ‘women grow by men’ which is a double entendre of that women grow in status when they marry the right men, but Nurse is saying that they also grow pregnant and sex is a very important factor in a good and healthy marriage. Romeo and Mercutio also have the tendency to be sexually minded. Mercutio refers to Rosaline, the girl Romeo thinks he’s in love with as ‘medlar’, a rude way to refer to a woman’s or a man’s sexual anatomy and he also talks about Romeo as if he was ‘a poperin pear’ which is a pear shaped like a penis. Mercutio is very crude and sexual throughout this entire speech. Romeo, while you don’t see him being sexually orientated throughout the book, does have his moments away from the spiritual plains of love. He sneaks out to meet Juliet and is hoping that ‘her vestal livery is but sick and green’ and that she should ‘cast it off’ because ‘none but fools do wear it’. By saying this, he’s implying that he hopes she will not remain a virgin because he wants to marry her and have sex with her. While this isn’t quite as bad as the long speeches that Nurse and Mercutio make, it is still slightly sexual which shows that even people as spiritually inclined as Romeo can be orientated this way. Surprisingly, Juliet also has her moments even though she is very young. When Juliet is about to leave Romeo, Romeo inquires whether she will really leave him ‘so unsatisfied’. Not realising that he’s merely talking about keeping her forever through the gift of marriage, and thinking he’s asking her if she’ll really leave him without having sex, she immediately asks ‘what satisfaction canst thou have tonight’. She immediately jumps to the conclusion that he was asking for sex before even considering the other options. Shakespeare includes this because it shows that anyone can have sexual thoughts about another, even someone like Juliet who appears to be so innocent and young. Sexual love, while present throughout the play is not the only love explored by Shakespeare in ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Courtly love is also present, but only in the beginning of the play. At the time ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was set, courtly love was very popular and many poets were using it, thus including it in the play was making the play very fashionable for its time. Romeo is the character that feels courtly love for Rosaline, meaning that his love for her in unrequited but he seems to love her anyway. The first time you meet Romeo he is pining over Rosaline because ‘she’ll not be hit with cupid’s arrow’ and won’t return his feelings for her. He is acting very pathetic and spewing out long speeches full of oxymorons and rhyming couplets, making it very obvious that he’s practiced what he’s going to say because people don’t go around just talking in rhyming couplets and oxymorons. His long speeches have a rather pathetic ending. He has put together very fashionable, lengthy spiels full of oxymorons about ‘loving hate’ and ‘heavy lightness’. When Benvolio finally comprehends and asks him ‘who is that’ Romeo loves, Romeo quite pathetically admits that he does ‘love a woman’. This declaration is a rather meager way to sum up all he’s spent hours preparing while privately ‘in his chamber’ and wandering around in the woods ‘many a morning’. Throughout most of his speeches he isn’t giving a proper answer to any of Benvolio’s questions. He keeps giving Benvolio very vague responses in an attempt to make Benvolio question more. Romeo is coercing people to worry about him more than necessary by pretending that the situation is more confusing than it is. After his long oxymoron-filled speech he asked Benvolio ‘Dost thou not laugh’, wanting Benvolio to worry about him and to give him attention. As in true courtly love fashion, Romeo is enamored with Rosaline and will do anything to see her. Benvolio, a true friend, tries to make Romeo see sense that there are ‘other beauties’ in the world and Romeo should ‘examine’ them and forget about Rosaline. However, Romeo won’t hear of it and attempts to convince Benvolio that he ‘canst not teach’ Romeo ‘to forget’ how beautiful Rosaline is and how much he loves her. Although Romeo’s courtly interests are mostly kept to the first few scenes of the play, the Friar does bring it up later on, saying that ‘thy love did read by rote, that could not spell’. The Friar is explaining to Romeo that Romeo knew the way that people were supposed to act when they were madly in love and he was simply pretending to be in love when he wasn’t, which is what courtly love is. Another type of love showcased in this play is Romantic love, and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is one of the most famous romantic plays ever written. In the play, I think that Shakespeare presents the love between Romeo and Juliet as very artificial. He shows it through their first meeting, Juliet’s inexperience, Romeo’s attitude and the attitude of Romeo’s friends. Romeo and Juliet’s conversation forms a sonnet when they first meet. This is the first conversation they have and before he even hears her speak, he refers to her as a ‘shrine’, invoking the deepest religious love for her. Romeo is flattering her to get her to fall for him. Before he even knows who she is, he asks to ‘smooth that rough touch’ that is his ‘unworthiest hand’ with a kiss. She immediately counters that by telling him ‘you do wrong your hand too much’. She’s trying to tell him that there is nothing wrong with his hand, and he doesn’t need to kiss her. Finally he asks outright for her to ‘let lips do what hands do’, showing he’s rather desperate to get to kiss her. Juliet says in return that she isn’t going to move and that he can kiss her, but that she won’t kiss him. Their conversation does form a sonnet, but Juliet is just playing along with Romeo because he’s the one that initiated the conversation in rhyme and she’s simply joining in. She is attracted to him, but she’s not just going to give in to his desperation. He has to work for the right to kiss her. After the kiss, Juliet is understandably very taken aback, considering she is quite inexperienced and this is her first kiss. She tells him that ‘you kiss by th’ book’, showing that Juliet only knows what love is like in books and fairytales and she’s comparing her feelings about Romeo to that. It is arguable that this is not real romance. I think that the best evidence for the idea that the romantic love displayed in this play is artificial is the attitude of Romeo. When we first meet him he is obviously enamoured with Rosaline, but sees this beautiful girl that removes any thought of Rosaline from his mind. This is superficial because he doesn’t know anything about Juliet, he doesn’t even know her name and yet he’s certain that he loves her, saying ‘did my heart love till now’, when just moments before he had been professing his undying devotion to someone completely different. When Romeo attempts to talk Friar Lawrence into marrying him to Juliet, Friar Lawrence remains unconvinced, saying that ‘these woes were all for Rosaline’. Romeo insists, illogically, that his love for Juliet is real because she loves him back and Rosaline ‘did not so’. He says that even though he was going on and on about her, she’s old news and he no longer loves her because he’s found someone better. I don’t think He really loves Juliet because her prettiness is the only reason he ever spoke to her and it is reasonable to believe that if he sees someone prettier he might forget all about her. Even Romeo’s friends know that he’s being pathetic. Mercutio actually makes fun of him for spewing out all the rhyming poems which really don’t have any semblance towards true love by saying ‘speak but one rhyme and I am satisfied’. Mercutio is certain that this will all be over soon. Before the party Mercutio tries to cheer Romeo up with his big ‘Queen Mab’ speech, showing that he wants Romeo to be happy. We trust Mercutio because he is a very likeable character. Benvolio, who has been primarily concerned with Romeo’s wellbeing throughout the play so far, is certain Romeo will move on and ‘examine other beauties’. We trust Benvolio’s opinion because he shows the most direct concern about Romeo and even he seems to think that this is all a phase. Before Balthasar brings Romeo news of Juliet’s death, Romeo is very happy because he has had a dream about Juliet which is the ‘flattering truth of sleep’. This is very similar to his dream in an earlier scene about Rosaline, which was about ‘things true’, being how much he loves Rosaline. Referring to both Rosaline and Juliet by using the word ‘true’ makes it plausible that he is just being as over-dramatically ecstatic about a dream about Juliet as he was depressed over a dream about Rosaline before the party in which he saw Juliet. I think that this makes us doubt his sincerity because he is using the same story about a dream for both girls. When Romeo finds out about Juliet’s supposed death, he doesn’t even stop to think, which proves that he doesn’t consider the possibilities of his actions. He immediately goes to buy ‘a dram of poison’ so he ‘may fall dead’ by Juliet’s side. In my opinion, for a girl that he hasn’t even spent a full day with, this seems like a very rash decision. Juliet, waking up and finding Romeo dead beside her also kills herself with a dagger after trying to take the poison off his lips so she will ‘die with a restorative’ but when that proves to be a failure, stabs herself with Romeo’s dagger. She is allowed a little more leeway, being very young and traumatised at finding her new husband dead on top of her and is likely to be very dramatic. They barely know each other and yet they kill themselves over the premise of ‘true love’. I think that the real tragedy in this play is not that true lovers are forced to kill themselves to be together but that two young and healthy people with long lives ahead of them kill themselves over miscommunication and feelings that ultimately end up to be an over exaggeration of two hormonal teenagers! Parental love, whilst a minor aspect of love in this play, is still very present. Neither Juliet nor Romeo have very close relationships with their parents and seek out parental advice in the forms of Nurse and Friar Lawrence. Romeo does get along with his parents and they do love him. When you first meet the Montagues after a large street fight, his mother expresses her relief that Romeo ‘was not at this fray’, showing that she is concerned about his physical wellbeing. His father is obviously concerned about Romeo’s mental state at the fact that Romeo is currently wandering around by himself ‘many a morning’ and stays ‘private in his chamber’ during the day, cutting himself off from everyone else. After the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, when the Capulets and Montagues have realised what happened, we find out that Montague’s ‘wife is dead tonight’ because the ‘grief of’ her ‘son’s exile hath stopped her breath’. This makes it obvious that the Montagues really do love their son, but don’t have a strong connection with him because he never talked to them about what was troubling him. Even though Romeo and his parents are emotionally close to each other, they do not communicate with each other well and to show this Shakespeare does not put one scene in this play in which Romeo directly interacts with his parents. This shows that while they are family, they don’t really rely on each other to help out. Instead of questioning Romeo about his actions himself, his parents send Benvolio, Romeo’s friend and cousin, which shows that Romeo is more likely to confide in Benvolio than in his own parents. Romeo, instead of going to his parents for advice, goes to Friar Lawrence for parental help. The Friar knows what’s going on in Romeo’s life more than the parents do. It is normally a parent’s job to chide their children but Romeo says to Friar that ‘thou chid’st me oft for loving Rosaline’ which means that the Friar has taken on the responsibility of telling Romeo off about Rosaline, whom Romeo has not even told his parents about. Juliet’s predicament with her parents is similar as they also love her very much. When Paris, a suitable young man, requests Juliet’s hand in marriage, Lord Capulet thinks Juliet ‘is yet a stranger in this world’ and tells Paris to come back in ‘two more summers’. That Lord Capulet doesn’t want to marry her off so young even to such a suitable person shows that he really cares for Juliet’s well-being. When Juliet is mourning the banishment of Romeo, Lord Capulet decides to throw her a party to take her mind of what he thinks is an over-reaction of Tybalt’s death. He agrees to make ‘a desperate tender’ and allow her to marry Paris, hoping that this will cheer her up. He does this because he had Juliet’s best interests at heart and just wanted to please her and make her happy again, by giving her a large party and lots of attention. After Juliet is found supposedly dead, Lady Capulet gets very upset, saying that if Juliet does not ‘look up’ than Lady Capulet ‘will die with thee’. Both the Capulets genuinely love their daughter, calling her their ‘only life’ when she is found dead. Like Romeo, Juliet’s parents don’t communicate with her well. They don’t understand her emotions and don’t know how to speak to her effectively. When Lady Capulet wishes to speak privately with Juliet she asks Nurse to leave but the minute she is left alone with Juliet she calls Nurse ‘back again’. Since Lady Capulet didn’t raise Juliet and Nurse did, Lady Capulet would feel more comfortable if Nurse is in the room because she is unsure of how to talk to her own daughter. When Juliet is distraught after Romeo’s banishment, they assume she is upset over Tybalt’s death because ‘she loved her kinsman Tybalt dearly’. Instead of asking her what is wrong, they automatically think that she is upset over Tybalt, which shows miscommunication. Like Romeo has the Friar, Juliet has Nurse whom she trusts with her personal life. Nurse is the only one Juliet tells about Romeo, and ‘did send the Nurse’ to get information out of Romeo about the wedding. She trusted her Nurse with this part of her life that she didn’t tell her parents about. Friendly love in this play is possibly the only love that is not somewhat superficial and fake. Primarily, we see friendly love being expressed amongst Romeo and his friends. Benvolio is the most open about how much he cares for Romeo’s well-being. He expresses his concern to Romeo directly, wondering ‘what sadness lengthens Romeo’s hours’. Even though Benvolio is certain that he would sooner ‘die in debt’ than Romeo not forget his love for Rosaline, he is troubled that Romeo is upset in the moment. When Romeo is missing after the party Benvolio goes searching for him accompanied by Mercutio and is anxious that Mercutio ‘wilt anger him’ by insulting Romeo about Rosaline, even though Benvolio agrees ith him and Romeo arguably deserves it. This shows that Benvolio really does care about Romeo and doesn’t wish for him to be upset over anything. Mercutio shows his concern for Romeo in a different way, although he still makes it obvious that he cares. When Romeo is depressed with ‘a soul of lead’ before the party, Mercutio wants to cheer him up. When Romeo insists that he ‘dreamt a dream’, Mercutio picks up on that straight away and begins to make fun of Romeo in a jovial way, saying ‘and so did I’. Romeo asks what Meructio’s dream was, giving Mercutio the perfect opening for his ‘Queen Mab’ speech, which is a jokey speech about a fairy queen so he can lighten Romeo’s mood and also point out that ‘dreamers often lie’. At the end Romeo tries to insist that Mercutio ‘talk’st of nothing’, to which Mercutio replies ‘true, I talk of dreams’, which is another way of telling Romeo to lighten up and enjoy the party without focusing on his dreams. This shows Mercutio cares because he just wants Romeo to have a good time and move on with his life without focusing on the past. When Tybalt is calling Romeo ‘a villain’ and Romeo is not standing up for himself, Mercutio gets very angry on Romeo’s behalf and gets into a fight with Tybalt that kills him. Even though Mercutio was in a rather restless mood that day because of the weather, I find it hard to believe that he would fight Tybalt without a reason. It is plausible that he was just using Romeo as an excuse but the fact that Mercutio is so concerned about Romeo’s honour that he will fight for him, makes Mercutio a true friend. Even though Balthasar is Romeo’s servant, he does have his moments of showing true friendship and concern for Romeo. Balthasar is the only person Romeo trusts other than Friar to tell about Juliet and Balthasar keeps Romeo updated about the goings and comings of Verona and of Juliet. Immediately after Juliet’s funeral Balthasar ‘took post to tell it’ to Romeo. Even though Romeo told Balthasar to leave once they got to Juliet’s crypt or he would ‘tear thee joint by joint’, Balthasar stayed behind because he doubted Romeo’s ‘intents’ and feared the way he looked. This shows true friendship because even faced with the possibility of getting killed by his master, Balthasar remains behind to keep an eye on him. Even Romeo has his moments of being a genuine friend towards his boys, as shown after Mercutio has been fighting with Tybalt. At first along with everyone else he assumes Mercutio is just putting on a show for the audience, sure that ‘the hurt cannot be much’. His certainty that Mercutio will be fine shows his closeness to Mercutio because he refuses to consider the possibility that Mercutio might die. After finding out that ‘brave Mercutio is dead’, Romeo is absolutely furious and all thoughts of ‘sweet Juliet’ leave his head and all he wants is for ‘fire-eyed fury’ to lead him to kill Tybalt for ‘Mercutio’s soul’. This is once again showing that his grief over Mercutio overwhelms his love for Juliet. Knowing the possible consequences Romeo refuses to let Tybalt ‘go in triumph’ and kills him because Tybalt killed one of Romeo’s closest friends. In conclusion, Shakespeare presents the theme of love in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as mostly artificial. Romantic love, which is the love most people arguably expect to read about in this play, is very artificial, creating the true tragedy of the play of two people dying for no concrete reason. Sexual love and courtly love are both put on for show. Sexual love is used as comic relief and is not taken seriously and courtly love is only a way of showcasing that romantic love really is artificial. Parental love is real but is strained with no communication so the only genuine form of love expressed successfully in this play is friendly love.

Native American Essay Essay

?From as early as before the time of the arrival of the European settlers, Native Americans have suffered tremendously. The establishment of the early English colonies and the future creation of the American nation impacted the lives and destiny of the Native American people extremely. One example of this is the Trail of Tears, an event which brought lots of people sadness and grief. Another example is the loss of their land, something which exceptionally changed the lives and destiny of the Native Americans. The last example is diseases, something that the Native Americans caught very often. In summary, the creation of the early English colonies and the future formation of the American nation impacted the lives of Native American people more than one will ever know everything about. To begin with, the English colonies and the American nation at the time forced the Native Americans through something everyone now knows as â€Å"The Trail of Tears. † This â€Å"trail† was a forced relocation of the Native Americans to another land the U. S. had provided. Although they were forced to make the agreement, some thought it was a good opportunity to start a new life and grow new crops. It was nothing like that at all. The majority of the Native Americans died of starvation, diseases, and because many did not have any shoes on their feet and were walking through snow, they also died of the cold. The Trail of Tears took place due to the Indian Removal Act passed by President Andrew Jackson in 1830. For years prior to the act, many disputes had taken place over land the Native Americans resided on. A previous law made it impossible for Native Americans to technically own land in the United States, then giving Jackson the ability to force them to relocate. Overall, the â€Å"Trail of Tears† is one of the many examples of how the English colonies and the American nation impacted the lives of the Native Americans greatly. Second, the creation of the early English colonies and the future formation of the American nation caused loss of Native American land. Even after the Indian Removal Act and the â€Å"Trail of Tears† caused the Native Americans to relocate to another land, the English colonies and the American nation took their relocated land too. Also, before that, a little after the Indian Removal Act, a law that authorized him to negotiate with the Native Americans for their removal in exchange for their homelands. All in all, the Native Americans suffered lots of land loss due to the American nation taking it away for them as they did not want Native Americans on their land. Lastly, the creation of the early English colonies and the future formation of the American nation caused the Native Americans to catch many diseases. This resulted in many deaths and a great amount of suffering, not only for themselves, but for their family members as well. Many of the diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and mumps, were of European origin, and Native Americans exhibited little immunity because they had no previous exposure to those diseases. Even though the European settlers caused these diseases, the Americans were also to blame because they came after the Europeans â€Å"discovered† the land. Many deaths occurred because of smallpox in particular but other diseases as well. In summation, the creation of the early English colonies and the future formation of the American nation caused the Native Americans to catch diseases, resulting in many deaths and losses. In conclusion, the creation of the early English colonies and the future formation of the American nation caused the Native American people great losses and many deaths in their tribes. One example is the Trail of Tears, an event which made the Native Americans relocate to another land. Another example is the loss of their land, something which the American nation could just not stop doing to them. The last example is diseases, something that the Native Americans caught very often, causing many deaths and lots of suffering. The creation of the early English colonies and the future formation of the American nation impacted the lives of Native American people to extreme measures.

Marketing Best Buy Case Essay

Dual branding – the association of two or more already well recognized trademarks in a synergistic retail setting designed to benefit each – is one of the fastest growing areas in franchising. Dual Branding has become a rage in the marketing arena, with companies realizing that isolation is not after all the best policy. Dual Branding is quite beneficial such that: Many line extensions capitalize on a partner’s brand equity. Brand extension success rates are maximized in the new market when co-branded with the reputed brand that has established in that market. Co-branding may help usage extension. Image reinforcement may take place due to co-branding. Loyalty programs increasingly include co-branding arrangements. The corporations are sharing the cost of loyalty programs; hence, the promotional costs to the companies are coming down. Co-branding signals a trade marketing operation. Capitalizing on the synergies among a number of brands is yet another advantage of co-branding. (blog, 2007) There are some disadvantages such as: -Brand Cannibalization -Difficult to manage two different brands, due to splitting in Ad spend. -Possibility of blurring brand identity in the eyes of the consumer. -Duplication of roles of the corporates. (Kumar, 2012) Some examples of dual branding are: Toyota and Lexus. The Toyota brand will introduce Safety Connect on select Toyota models, helping to bring its drivers an added peace of mind. Lexus will introduce Lexus Enform with Safety Connect, a service built on the foundation of valuable safety and security services with the added layer of more convenience-oriented features and specialized advanced technologies. (Group, 2010) Best Buy and Future Shop. Best Buy Co. is the largest consumer electronics retailer in Canada. It just happens that most of its sales are coming from its Future Shop business. A couple of years back, when it acquired Future Shop for $377 million, it was assumed the parent company would re-brand the 91 stores it purchased under the Best Buy banner, reports the Pioneer Press. Instead, Best Buy decided to forego conventional wisdom and operate the two competing divisions separately and in at least one case, putting stores directly across the street from one another. (Anderson, 2003) What did Best Buy learn from its experience with dual brand strategy in Canada? Even though it was a new experience for the Best Buy International team to implement a dual- brand strategy it was the perfect opportunity to implement such strategy due to the situation in the Canadian market. In Canada, there was only one big player which was Future shop with only had 15% share; therefore they knew there was a space for a second major player. The most important thing they learned is to be aware that markets often have different ways of being approached. In this case, they learned it from the dual-brand strategy they used because both stores; Best Buy and Future Shop offered different consumer experiences. Best Buy is characterized by â€Å"higher propensity towards self- service; non-commissioned sales staff; greater assortment of ready- made electronics packages; wider aisles and more interactive displays; higher ratio of female customers, seeking to integrate products into their lifestyles; customers with higher incomes and higher levels of education†. Meanwhile Future shop wants to show â€Å"commissioned sales staff guiding the customer by providing customized, trusted and personalized approach; tech savvy, early adopters looking for the best deal; customer base more diverse†. What they learned is that consumers behave differently, therefore implementing dual- brand strategy in Canada is a good way to increase profit (almost double profit in only a year) but it is also important to keep in mind that not all markets behave the same way, so it is best to study them first before implementing any strategy. How does the Best Buy situation in China differ from its situation in Canada? The costumers and the market were totally different, for example in Canada they had one big competitor which end up being part of the best buy family even though they keep the name of â€Å"future shop†, at the end in Canada both companies handle very good the market because both were profitable. In china the costumers were not easy to convince to buy stuff in general and also when they buy the profit margins were too low, and if this wasn’t difficult enough, best but had to deal with a competence of 4 more companies that in total just shore 20% of the market, being the only foreign company making them lose some market segment. One of the main information that Best Buy found was that the Chinese consumers care more about the characteristics of the product rather than the brand, so in order to deal with this new preferences they decide to distributed different their first local in Shanghai, the products were assorted by categories, not by brands. (Miller) Does a dual-brand strategy provide Best Buy with a core competitive advantage as it expands into new global markets? We believe it does, because when they buy an existing company, they start learning from another approach, an inner vision about the local market they are about to invest in, then they end up being a more profitable alliance because when Best Buy enters in the market it start stealing costumers for all the companies, even the one who has an alliance with, and it end up with a bigger market share, the proportion depends of how successful is the entrance strategy. It also helps the image of the local brand in order to support the other in the early days, later when both are profitable they can manage the prices easier in order to avoid cannibalization. (Miller) Product analysis. IPHONE 5. ATTRIBUTES. â€Å"A remarkably slim design that still makes room for a larger display and a faster chip. Ultrafast wireless that doesn’t sacrifice battery life. And all-new headphones designed to sound great and fit comfortably. So much went into this iPhone.† â€Å"Thin, sleek, and very capable. It’s hard to believe a phone so thin could offer so many features: a larger display, a faster chip, the latest wireless technology, an 8MP iSight camera, and more. All in a beautiful aluminum body designed and made with an unprecedented level of precision. iPhone 5 measures a mere 7.6 millimeters thin and weighs just 112 grams.1That’s 18 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than iPhone 4S. The only way to achieve a design like this is by relentlessly considering (and reconsidering) every single detail — including the details you don’t see.† More beautiful maps. Elements in Maps are vector based, so graphics and text are incredibly detailed and panning is smooth. Use the tilt and rotate gestures to view an area, and Maps keeps the names of streets and places where they belong. Turn-by-turn navigation. When approaching a turn, Maps speaks the directions, so you can watch the road. Follow along with 3D views: Signs and arrows make it easy to see where you’re headed. And if traffic’s bad, Maps offers alternative routes. Traffic info. Maps uses real-time traffic conditions to calculate your ETA. It is easy to get details about incidents that are causing traffic jams, so people can tell if there’s a major accident ahead or just a temporary slowdown. Flyover. See the world from a whole new perspective with photo-realistic and interactive 3D views of select major metro areas. Explore like never before as you zoom, pan, and rotate around a city and its landmarks. Video calls on tap. FaceTime works right out of the box — no need to set up a special account or screen name. And using it is as easy as it gets. Better call clarity. Built-in microphones work together to provide clearer sound and reduce background noise. (group A. ) BRANDING STRATEGY â€Å"It may be apple season (with a small â€Å"a†) in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but globally it’s Apple season (with a capital â€Å"A†). That’s because today Apple will announce the new iPhone 5 in advance of its launch. And like every other Apple launch in recent memory there will be a flood of pre-orders and lines of eager consumers outside Apple stores as soon as it goes on sale. Why is that? Because unlike most companies, Apple actually launches its products.† We’re experiencing this right now with the launch of the new iPhone 5, as we have with the launch of most Apple products over the last decade. It’s not just the product or the price or place or the promotion that is causing the sensation. But it the skillful way in which all four of these elements are orchestrated in the launch strategy that makes the offer seamless and irresistible. By investing in building brand equity before the launch Apple doesn’t start from a position of consumer inertia. They do the heavy lifting in advance of launch date which makes take off seem so effortless. In fact, they make it look so easy we forget it’s marketing and simply accept it as a law of nature: Apple products sell. But this phenomenon is not unique to Apple. It’s available to any marketer whether you are selling pharmaceuticals or farm equipment. The key is early planning especially when online networking (a.k.a. social media) is part of your launch strategy.† (Duffy, 2012) The huge promise of the Apple brand, of course presents Apple with an enormous challenge to live up to. The innovative, beautifully-designed, highly ergonomic, and technology-leading products which Apple delivers are not only designed to match the brand promise, but are fundamental to keeping it. The recent emphasis on the iPhone 5’s manufacturing build quality and design standards reflect this importance. Apple fully understands that all aspects of the customer experience are important and that all brand touch-points must reinforce the Apple brand. Apple has expanded and improved its distribution capabilities by opening its own retail stores in key cities around the world in up-market, quality shopping venues. Apple provides Apple Mac-expert retail floor staff to selected resellers’ stores (such as Australian department store David Jones); it has entered into strategic alliances with other companies to co-brand or distribute Apple’s products and services (for example, HP who was selling a co-branded form of iPod and pre-loading iTunes onto consumer PCs and laptops in the mid-2000s – though in retrospect this may now just have been a stepping-stone). Apple has also increased the accessibility of iPods through various resellers that do not currently carry Apple Macintosh systems, and has increased the reach of its online stores. From a brand architecture viewpoint, the company maintains a â€Å"monolithic† brand identity – everything being associated with the Apple name, even when investing strongly in the Apple iPod and Apple iTunes products. Apple’s current line-up of product families includes not just the iPod and iTunes, but iMac, iBook, iLife, iWork, iPhone, iPad, and now iCloud. However, even though marketing investments around iPod are substantial, Apple has not established an â€Å"i† brand. While the â€Å"i† prefix is used only for consumer products, it is not used for a large number of Apple’s consumer products (eg Mac mini, MacBook, Apple TV, Airport Extreme, Safari, QuickTime, and Mighty Mouse). (group, 2013) When we see the packaging we already know what the content is going to be and what company produces it, it has a picture and the name of the phone at the very front and on the side respectively and also the apple that represents the company on another side of it. The first impression when we look at the packaging of the iphone 5 is how practical, modern, cute and easy to carry is. This small box comes in black or white, it is covered with a thin, see-through plastic bag. It is very small; it can almost fit in our pockets. The secondary packaging, the one inside the cardboard box is made of plastic, to protect the contents inside: the charger, the usb cable and the headphones. The labels are also inside the box; it brings a manual with all the instructions, very reliable and easy to understand. The labeling presents all the information of the product, from where it was made, assembled and it shows how to use the product and the steps to follow before turning it on. (Group B. i., 2013) Since Apple has become such important and recognized brand, known for its reliable and good quality products, we can not only say apple has standardized their products to clients but we can also say the client has standardized to apple, in this case to the iphone 5. Clients in many countries have adopted the iphone 5 and it is due to the many functions it offers, one basic function in order to be adopted by consumers is changing the language of the phone. But one thing that makes apple very special is its apps. From the phone you can download applications that are very useful wherever you are. For example ‘Maps’, if you are here in Colombia, it will be useful but it will also be useful if you are in China. Anyone can download any app they want, and apple offers a lot of apps that are useful, some more than others, depending on the country.

Comparing the novels 1984 and A Brave New World with the Communist Essay

Comparing the novels 1984 and A Brave New World with the Communist Soviets - Essay Example In fact, many of the propaganda posters in 1984, do not have even have the correct war on them. None of this matters because a common enemy has been created, giving the government a lot more power in achieving exactly what it wants, without any internal conflict or protest. Both Trotsky and Goldstein are also accused of terrorist attacks, which is another way for political leaders to create fear within people, which was possible because they â€Å"were able the establish control over a large number of presses, paper supplies, and other printing establishments† (Suny 23). Creating fear among the population base is a good way of blinding them to the real motives behind their actions. In both situations, the governments create a representation of evil, in order to achieve a certain goal. A scapegoat is created in order to distract the people from reality and make the powers that be less accountable for their actions.  In fact, many of the propaganda posters in 1984, do not have even have the correct war on them. None of this matters because a common enemy has been created, giving the government a lot more power in achieving exactly what it wants, without any internal conflict or protest. Both Trotsky and Goldstein are also accused of terrorist attacks, which is another way for political leaders to create fear within people, which was possible because they â€Å"were able the establish control over a large number of presses, paper supplies, and other printing establishments† (Suny 23). Creating fear among the population base is a good way of blinding them to the real motives behind their actions. In both situations, the governments create a representation of evil, in order to achieve a certain goal. A scapegoat is created in order to distract the people from reality and make the powers that be less accountable for their actions.   The communist leaders of the Soviet Union were notorious for the manner in which they were able to control their popul ation. These leaders used methods that are very similar to the methods used in Brave New World and 1984, as these novels show situations in which mind control and totalitarianism are used in order to keep a population under control. In Brave New World, a mind controlling drug is used in order to achieve this, while in 1984, fear of an unknown enemy is how the population is controlled. In both cases, the government uses whatever methods are necessary, just as the Soviet governments did during the Cold War.  

Intercultural Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intercultural Interview - Essay Example He is from the Luo community of Kenya. In Luo community respect is a prime factor and is given high regards. Greetings always vary depending on the time of the day and it is in line that the younger ones should be the first to pose greetings to any elderly member. For example â€Å"Amosi† is a general greeting, while â€Å"Oyaore† is only for the morning. Among this community a child is never expected to defy instructions from any community member since it is believed that all children belong to the community (Sobania 68). All married women are expected to subject to their respective husbands and any defile of this is punishable under the council of elders known as â€Å"Buch Piny.† The young boys spend the nights in their small built huts called â€Å"Simba,† while the girls sleep with their parents in the main house. Any widow is to be inherited by a man from the community since there is no house without a male as they are the decision makers. Deaths are honored by rituals due to high respect for the dead (Shino 213-228). The women play a key role in ensuring that the family is well taken care of and that all the households are in order. On the other hand the man is in charge of providing for the needs of all family members. He is also a superior and has unchallenged powers. This likewise applies to social gatherings. The man gets the chance to make all decisions. Gatherings can be of different forms and this becomes a determinant of cites where they are held. In such places the talks are regulated and one is never allowed to mention some words in public. Some actions are also forbidden from public. These are known as â€Å"Kwero.† Omondi has been staying here for the past two years. It has been a big challenge for him because everything said and done appears contrary to what he knows and beliefs. He has fallen off with people severally and even forced to exempt himself from some situations. He faces a big challenge and does

Marriage and Love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marriage and Love - Essay Example What is important to note, for purposes of this essay, is that fact that romantic love was associated with marriage and marital fulfillment as a growing trend in an increasingly individualistic world rather than love itself. Love, in short, is more than a romantic or idealistic state of mind; indeed, as pointed out by Duby and Dunnet, love has, throughout history, been associated with such notions as respect, admiration, and a sense of security (1994: 37). The preliminary step, therefore, is to define love as it has been understood historically rather than to rely on unnecessarily inaccurate and narrow definitions as commonly portrayed in the mass media. This essay will argue that love is more comprehensive than lesser notions such as romantic love and that it can therefore function as the basis of a successful and enduring marriage; more specifically, this essay will argue that the media has idealized the notion of love more than is true of the concept itself and that the marital institution, as it has evolved over time, is more than capable of being founded and sustained about this broader concept of love. As an initial matter, there is no question that marriage has been sustained by a variety of different factors and motivations throughout history; these motivations have varied and differed according to cultural contexts, local conditions, and sociological stages of development. Although often portrayed negatively y the western media, arranged marriages have been the historical and cultural norm historically; this is true not only in cultures and countries traditionally associated with arranged marriages, such as in India, but in embryonic western nations and cultures as well. These arranged marriages were frequently motivated by such notions as pooling family wealth, maintaining social status or cementing political alliances, nurturing the continuation of certain religious or ideological communities, or simply continuing well-established cultural or local traditions (Shumway, 2003: 118). The arranged marriage was characterized by an oversight function performed by the older generati on and the opinions or the preferences of the younger generation were subservient. This is not to say that the opinions of the people to be married were wholly irrelevant, though is many cases they were definitely of lesser value, but that the older generation relied upon considerations that were not consistent with modern notions of romantic or erotic love. It cannot be argued, however, that love as it was more generally known was irrelevant to marriage; more particularly, as noted by De Munck, men and women have fallen in love for reasons more compelling than an erotic attraction or a sudden physical or emotional impulse (1998: 78). Those whom would reduce love to the romantic concept exploited by capitalist media companies would do a great disservice to love and marriage, to people's individual judgment and reason, and to the sociological sciences. The marital institution did not become a prisoner of sudden irrational impulses; quite the contrary, as outlined by Wexman By the early twentieth century the emergence of a public sphere fostered the development of a youth culture centered on courtship rituals largely cut off from supervision by the older

History Midterm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History Midterm - Essay Example causes, influencing factors, and the events that led to the French revolution, critical differences in the arguments presented have been realized year to year. Edmund Burke cannot hide the hatred he harbored for France1. To Burke, the French revolution was set to be a total failure, and one that could see France move down the ladder in terms of social, economic, and political performance. Another person that closely moved towards this viewpoint is Alexis de Tocqueville. Alexis associated the French Revolution with some negativity across social, economic, political, and religious concerns2. Arguments and counterarguments on French revolution draw myriad claims as to what exactly the revolution was set to achieve. The anticipated ruins that the French revolution was set to realize did not come short of the expectations. If anything, these expectations were way much surpassed. In this respect, the concerns, arguments, and analysis of the situation were not expected to match or relate in any way. While some parties present before, during, and after the revolution felt that the revolution was actually set for a fundamental course, others felt that it was primarily destructive altogether. On the same note, personalities linked to the revolution had their personal issues and concerns to deal with in relation to the French revolution. All these combined brought for the discussions, debates, claims, and arguments made by Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, Alexis de Tocqueville and Napoleon Bonaparte among others. On his part, Thomas Paine was concerned about the uncertainty that surrounded the whole revolution process. It is important to highlight that French lasted for up to ten years, a period within which predetermining the upheavals involved would be critically uncertain. Most importantly, Paine focused on the actual aftermath of the French revolution on the society, religion, economy, and politics in France and all other nations that felt its impacts. On the other hand,

Music of Beethoven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music of Beethoven - Essay Example He changed the musical form but not the structure in this period. One of his quartets had 7 movements instead of 4. One sonata had 2 movements: one movement and a set of variations of the theme of the movement. His 9th Symphony, Joy to the World: was based on Schiller's Ode to Joy. He used two principle ideas: universal brotherhood through the love of God. The choral was magnificent. As one point there were 4 solo voices to sing. His late works were so intimate and intimidating. His whole life he considered music as a mode of self expression His compositions of the third period of his life were beyond the understanding of most. We do not consider the compositions avant-garde as we have heard what came afterwards. Beethoven is an excellent introduction into an avant-garde composer of his time. He did not conform to society. He adapted new forms of compositions and orchestrations. He wrote for different groups of instrumentation. He was not understood by his contemporaries; and he comp osed for himself. The last issue in which Beethoven was not affected was the patronage of royalty. Beethoven early in his life decided what he was going to compose and for whom. Most composers had patrons and as artists, they wrote what was asked of them. 19th avant-garde composers compositional or other issues. Berlioz and Liszt were contemporaries. They were forced by the times to be more than just composers. They did not have patrons. They had to work by supplying their incomes through writing (literary).

Assignment #8, 9 and 10 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

#8, 9 and 10 - Assignment Example where there are both main effects and interaction, the measured main effect is usually diluted by the other main effect because the means are measured across all treatment levels. a. Positive and negative correlations- the points in a scatterplot will be rising towards the right of the graph when there is a positive correlation showing an increase in the dependent variable (in the Y-axis) with increasing levels of the independent variable (on the X-axis). A negative correlation is observed when the points in the scatterplot taper down towards the right corner of the graph. This shows that as the levels of the independent variable increase, the response or dependent variable is decreased. b. Strong and weak correlation – there is a strong correlation when the points in a scatterplot are close to each other and show a definite linear trend. This is very obvious when there is only a small range of values of the dependent variable (Y values) for a certain X value. A weak correlation is obvious when the points are widely dispersed in the plot; there is a whole range of Y values for a certain X value. The nature versus nurture issue is the debate on which determines an individual’s physical and behavioral characteristics: is it the genetic make-up (hereditary traits or nature); or the environment (personal experience or nurture)? Many behavioral studies deal with this issue by conducting twin and adoption studies. In these studies, traits are measured and correlated with genetic background and environmental factors. Using correlation studies, the cause and effect relationship between trait and environment, trait and genetics, can be determined. Correlation studies showed that some traits are highly determined by genes, while others are by environment; still in some traits, the percentage contribution of nature or nurture could vary. In bivariate analysis, the relationship between two quantitative variables (1 independent and 1 dependent) is studied. This

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Philosophy - Essay Example An analysis of the philosophical works of Plato and his representations of Socrates together with Marx’s Communist Manifesto informs of the ideological underpinnings of philosophy and its contribution to Western philosophy. Socrates’ died in much the same way as he lived: exuding in his philosophical logic that the body and the soul are separate entities. In Jacques-Louis David’s (1787) Death of Socrates the ancient Greek philosopher is sitting on his death bed and is about to take hemlock from his executioner, but he remains animated and talkative. The impression left by the painting is that while his disciples and the executioner are profoundly saddened by his death, Socrates continues to believe in his philosophy that the soul is timeless although the body is not. David’s (1787) painting therefore represents the perpetuation of Socrates’ philosophy. Within ten years of Socrates’ death, his philosophical ideologies were carried over by Plat o, one of his most ardent students/disciples (Graham, 1992). Much of Plato’s philosophical writings appear to be a mere â€Å"reproduction of speeches delivered by other persons† particularly Socrates (Merlan, 1947, p. 406). ... Thus Plato invites profound logic and thinking about the distinction between what an individual knows and what an individual believes in determining by logical deduction that which is representative of the truth. In Western justice systems, jurors are instructed to assess the evidence and to determine for themselves what they believe to be a true and just verdict. Jurors are not instructed to arrive at the actual truth. Thus Plato’s Theaetetus can be said to inform the mechanisms of the Western justice system’s fact finding purpose. Plato once again revisits the issue of knowledge through a dialogue with Socrates in The Republic. Plato questions whether or not the man who professes ignorance is more knowledgeable than the politician who purports to know all things when he does not (Plato, 2000). Through Socrates and his dialogue with a number of Greeks, Plato focuses on a debate that underpins theories of justice, politics, morality and knowledge. Thus The Republic is o ften described as one of the greatest influences on Western philosophy (Blackburn, 2008). Plato’s Republic examines the meaning of justice and explores whether or not it is achieved via the fear or threat of punishment. The dialogue in The Republic asks a series of questions relative to justice and social order and ultimately concludes that justice is necessary. Essentially, Plato constructs the ideal politically just society which consists of different classes of individual within an hierarchal construct (Plato, 2000). Plato’s Apology is yet another immortalization of Socrates and expresses Socrates defense at this trial. Socrates was put on trial for failure to follow the Gods

Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Assessment - Essay Example The reliability of a subjective test is determined by the degree of its correctness and consistency in providing information regarding the examinee. A reliable test should yield identical results when run multiple times or when used with the same group of students because it is constant in its procedures and criteria. Reliable test results are stable and consistent (McMillan, 2008; Atherton, 2011). Validity is the ability of a test to measure the intended objective. The three types of validity are content, criterion and construct validity. Content validity is achieved if the content of the test matches the intended objectives. Criterion validity is determined by the capability of the test to relate to other external factors. Construct validity considers educational variables while predicting the test results (McMillan, 2008).An example of an objective test is: The reliability of a subjective test can be measured by giving the same test more than once or giving creating two forms of the same test with slight variations. The reliability of such test is measured by calculating the correlation of the consistency. Internal consistency is determined by correlating a half of the assessment with the remaining half. Reliability consistence ranges from 0 to 1.0 with 0 representing absence of reliability while 1 depicts perfect reliability. Test with a reliability coefficient of above 0.8 are considered to be standard while those with a coefficient below 0.5 are considered to be less reliable. Validity is measured by establishing if the test meets or measures the intended objective (McMillan, 2008; Atherton, 2011). Determining the reliability and validity of a test is important since it help in establishing accuracy of the grade obtained using such a test, if a test is valid and reliable the results obtained are considered a true depiction of the students’ level of understanding Formative assessment is used by the teachers or lecturers to obtain

Nvq 2 Health and Social Essay Example for Free

Nvq 2 Health and Social Essay Personal centred approach is when carers take interest in what service users prefer and use this when providing care. Also, its thinking about the service users choices, right, protecting their privacy and dignity, supporting their independence and working in partnership with them and other colleagues to make the care better. 2. Person centre approach enables individuals with dementia to be involved in their own care and support because carers can talk to the resident and find out how they prefer things to be done, how they like to be spoken to and cared for so staff can give the best care in the way that suits them. Outcome 2 1.Information about personality and life history can be used to support an individual to live well with dementia because if they have a good written history it can help with communication, knowing what the person likes and dislikes if they are unable to tell you. Having a good life history can be used to support and live well because it helps people know more about someone, and look after them better meaning knowing how the like things. Outcome 3 1. All these things make up personal centred approach. Before giving someone care or help with something if we think about all these things and what the service user prefers we can provide the best possible care for them. Also, if we’re providing good care and the service user is happy then they start to feel comfortable and will tell us more about their choices and preferences so we’re able to provide our care at a even higher standard. link

Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry

Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry Introduction The business news headlines of ethical meltdowns of global companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco, which now have become synonymous with greed, serve as a key reminder to the companies and individuals in business to practice ethical behaviour (Doran, 2004). One of the most frequently reported unethical practices in business is bribery, described as: â€Å"the offering of some good, service or money to an appropriate person for the purpose of securing a privileged and favourable consideration (or purchase) of ones product or corporate project† (Almeder and Humber, 1983, cited in Johnson, 1991: 327). Building professionals have gain integrity and respectability through professional bodies such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), The Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), and Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (ISM), which reflects the professionals of construction industry. These professional standards and ethics are embodied in codes of practice, which define the roles and obligations professionals (Harris et al., 1995) and are the cornerstone of any ethics programme (Calhoun and Wolitzer, 2001). Ethics and Professionalism The Oxford English Dictionary defines ethics as the moral principles that govern or influence a persons conduct. Ethics, as defined by Doran (2004), is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad about moral duty and obligation; a set of accepted moral principles and values about what ought to be; a theory or system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct for an individual or group; and a code of morality. Doran points out that â€Å"ethics is something that the industry needs to talk more about, agree on, and put into wider practice† (2004: 4). Hinman (1997) distinguishes morals and ethics by regarding morals as first order beliefs, and practices about what is good and bad which guide behaviour; while ethics as second order, reflective consideration of moral beliefs and practices. Martin (2000), defines professionalism as setting aside personal values, feelings, and benefits in order to fulfill the obligations inhered in professional roles. Ethical behaviour, in construction context, is determined by the level of trustworthiness and integrity with which organizations and individuals perform their business (Mason, 2009). In a survey by Vee Skitmore (2003), it was agreed by 93% of the respondents that â€Å"business ethics† should be driven or governed by â€Å"personal ethics†, where there is a need to maintain the balance of both the requirements of the client and the impact on the public. Greenhalgh (1997), describes the core of professionalism as the self-reliant control of a group of experts possessing honorific status. Ethics have a role to play in general business practice despite the term â€Å"business ethics† being called an oxymoron (Ferguson, 1994). The applicability of general concepts of ethics to business is now realized after the recent appearance of greater consensus on this issue. This has been explained on the grounds that business exists not solely to accommodate certain individuals, but also to serve the society and, conforms to collective and social needs (Cohen and Grace, 1998) and environment in general (Fleddermann, 1999). Put differently, the spirit of a ny literal profession cannot be attained without an ethics element (Bowie, 1991). Professional Ethics in Construction Industry Professional ethics as defined by Martin (2000), consists of moral requirements attached to a profession and imposed on its members, together with ethical dilemmas created when there is a conflict of interest or the requirements are too vague to give guidance. Bayles (1988) describes professional ethics as a system of behavioural norms. Such norms ensure that professional does not take advantage over the client due to the knowledge differential the application of customer protection through self-regulation. Construction professionals, for instance, engineers, architects, project managers, surveyors and contractors, have the fundamental right of professional conscience (Martins and Schinzinger, 1996, cited in Fleddermann, 1999, p.87). Another important feature of ethics in the construction industry is â€Å"personal ethics† often interpreted by construction professionals as just treating others with the same point of honesty that they would want to be treated (Badger and Gay, 1996). Yet, it has been suggested that professionals in general tend to believe that their responsibilities to the client far outweigh the public (Johnson, 1991). An Australian study by Vee Skitmore (2003), demonstrates that most organizations subscribed to a professional code of ethics (90%), and many (45%) had an ethical code of conduct in their employing organizations. Reeck (1982) notes that ethical codes provide guidance for professionals in determining proper action. A South African study based on the work done in Australia shows that a new suite of professional Acts promulgated in 2000 in South Africa had boosted the profile of ethics (Vee Skitmore, 2003). However, Henry (1995) cautions that ethical codes do not solve moral dilemmas but do help to raise the levels of awareness and so encourage ethical practice. Professional Misconduct and its Impact to the Construction Industry The renowned cases of corporate malfeasance such as Enron reflect the unethical business practices that resulted in companies rapidly lose their reputations; shareholders revolt, unemployment, besides causing the whole industries to come under suspicion (Doran, 2004). Dorans research has shown that unethical behaviour affects the publics perception of the industry (61%), and more significantly, it affects the level of trust between clients and contractors (74%), and between contractors and design professionals (60%). As a matter of fact, codes of practice alone are insufficient to ensure ethical conduct in the construction industry. Ethical misconducts continue to happen in the construction industry, for instance, collusive tendering that results in apparently competitive bids, price fixing, or market distribution strategies that prohibit the spirit of free competition and defraud clients (Zarkada-Fraser, 2000), bid-cutting (May et al., 2001), bid-shopping, cover pricing, hidden fees and commissions and compensation for unsuccessful tenderers (Ray et al., 1999; Zarkada-Fraser and Skitmore, 2000), together with â€Å"withdrawal† ( Zarkada, 1998: 36) where a tenderer withdraws their bid after consultation with other tenderers. Other frequently reported unethical practices are related to fraud, breach of confidence and negligence. Deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, by which it is sought to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage, is the description of the unethical practice of fraud (Bolgna et al., 1996: 9). A common breach of confidentiality is whistle blowing, described as the act of an employee of informing the public or higher management of unethical or illegal behaviour by an employer or supervisor (Johnson, 1991: 32). Negligence is the â€Å"failure to exercise that degree of care which, in the circumstances, the law requires for the protection of those interests of other persons which may be injuriously affected by the need of such care†. (Delbridge et al., 2000). The main sources of negligence are design negligence, design defect, production defect or a combination of these factors (Thorpe and Middendorf, 1980: 75). Barriers that Limit Professional and Ethical Behaviour Brien (1998), states that the cause of ethical failure in an organization can often be traced to its organizational culture and also the failure of the leader to encourage ethical practices among the members. In spite of the fact that personal ethics that constitute to perception of beliefs, values, personality and background, any tendency of an individual towards ethical conduct is strongly influenced by the value systems reflected by the employing organization (Mason, 2009). According to one study by Pearl et al. (2007), the extent to which ethical internal control is exercised within an organization will influence the difficulty facing any professional community. When the participants of the construction industry get caught in a compromising situation, the temptation for them to be unethical can be almost irresistible which is particularly true at the contractor level. The pressure on contractors are emphasized by Stansbury (2005), Chairman of Transparency International (UK) that, the majority of contractors engaged in corruption are forced by the way the industry and the political environment operate. Furthermore, there is no consensus on precisely what constitutes unethical behaviour and what should be done to improve it (Mason, 2009). Improving Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry There are contravening opinions as to whether or not the adoption of ethical codes has enriched ethical standards in the construction industry. Indeed, some commentators have even suggested that an ethical code is nothing more than public relations â€Å"window dressing† (Starr, 1983). Mason (2009), in his research describes that a single-wide code can contribute to the development of ethical standards within the construction industry as â€Å"the first line of defense against corruption† (Uff, 2003). The Code was intended to apply to all professionals of construction industry regardless of their qualification or affiliation. The principles are set out as accepted behaviour benchmark and regroup into seven qualities as honesty, fairness, fair reward, reliability, integrity, objectivity and accountability. Even so, Mason indicates that the change for a better ethical standards of conduct in the industry can only be achieved by reducing the chances for construction partic ipants to consider it a need to draw advantage at someone elses expense. He points out that other measures such as longer term relationships and collaborative working in the industry also play an equally substantial role in ethical improvement. Mason (2009), suggests that one way to improve ethical standards is simply by enforcing the law where unethical conduct is also a breach of the criminal law. This can be illustrated by the enforcement activity in the UK by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT 2007). The OFT aim is to ensure a fair competition during tender bid stages, which regards collusion as a contravention of competition, and the OFT has continues to conduct investigation to battle corruption. Dorans research (2004) has implied that the construction industry should get more training on professional ethics, where 97% thought that ethics training should begin at the collegiate level. Despite the trend towards increased training in the construction industry continues to grow, the initiatives to offer training on ethics is seldom heard. Doran suggests that companies should adopt ethical codes before increasing the training on ethics so that training will be more goal-orientated. References: Bowie, N. (1991). Business ethics as an academic discipline, in Freeman, R.E. (Eds). Business Ethics: The State of the Art. Oxford University Press: New York. Brien, A. (1998). Professional ethics and the culture of trust.Journal of Business Studies, 17, pp.391-409. Doran, D. (2004),FMI/CMAA Survey of Construction Industry Ethical Practices, FMI Corporation, Raleigh, NC. Retrieved October 8, 2009 from www.acce-hq.org/documents/ethics_survey.pdf Fellows, R. (2003). Professionalism in Construction: Culture and Ethics. CIB TG23 International Conference, October 2009, Hong Kong. Ferguson, W.C. (1994). Building a solid ethical foundation in business.The Executive Speaker, 9(1), pp.33-39. Fleddermann, C.B. (1999), Engineering Ethics. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Greenhalgh, B. (1997).Practice Management for Land, Construction and Property Professionals. Chapman and Hall: New York. Hinman, L. M. (1997) Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Johnson, D.G. (1991), Ethical Issues in Engineering. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Martin, M.W., Schinzinger, R. (1996), Ethics in Engineering, 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill: New York. Mason, J. (2009). Ethics in the construction industry: the prospects for a single professional code. International Journal of Law in the Built Environment, 10(3), 192-204. Retrieved October 5, 2009, doi: 10.1108/17561450911001252 Office of Fair Trading (2007). OFT makes ‘fast track offer in biggest error UK cartel investigation, Retrieved October 19, 2009, from www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2007/49-07 Pearl, R., Bowen, P., Makanjee, N., Akintoye, A., Evans, K. (2007). Professional ethics in the South African construction industry a pilot study. Journal of Construction Management and Economics, 25(6), pp.631-648. Reeck, D. (1982). Ethics for Professioans: A Christian Perspective, Augsbury: Minneapolis. Stansbury, N. (2005).Construction Environment is Prone to Corruption, Retrieved October 18, 2009, from www.buildingtalk.com/news/tch/tch193.html Starr, W. (1983). Codes of ethics: towards a rule-utilitarian justification.Journal of Business Ethics, 2, pp.99-106. Uff, J. (2003).Duties at the Legal Fringe: Ethics in Construction Law, Fourth Michael Brown Foundation Lecture. Vee, C. and Skitmore, R.M. (2003) Professional Ethics in the Construction Industry, Engineering Construction and Architectural Management 10(2), 117-127. Retrieved August, 28, 2009, doi: 10.1108/09699980310466596

Strategic development of UK retailer Marks and Spencer

Strategic development of UK retailer Marks and Spencer Marks Spencer are one of the UKs largest retailers, with over 21 million people visiting M S stores every week. M S offer stylish, high quality, great value clothing and home products and also excellent quality foods, responsibly sourced from around 2,000 suppliers worldwide. M S employ more than 75,000 people in the UK and outside the UK and have over 700 UK stores, plus and growing international business. M S are the ideal provider of women wear and lingerie in the UK, and are also rapidly raising market share in menswear, kids wear and home, due in part to MS growing online business. Overall, M S clothing and home ware sales account for 49% of our business. The other 51% of M S business is in food, where M S retail everything from fresh produce and groceries, to partly-prepared meals and ready meals. M S also recognized for their green identification as a result of their five-year eco plan, Plan A, which will see M S, with other things, become carbon neutral and also sending no waste to landfill by 2012. Companys Brief History With more than 120 years of heritage, Marks Spencer is one of the well recognized British retailers. The M S has more than 500 stores within the UK and has more than 75,000 employers across the UK. M S also operates in the International Market, where it has a developing business in some places as far as Hong Kong. In recent years, the UKs retailing industry has been characterised by forceful competition. Consumers are more conscious of where and how they feel like to shop. They also know what kind of shopping understanding they require. This has made it much more complicated for retailers to carry on. Corporate Strategic Development History The original firm was a chain of PENNY BAZAARS, founded by Thomas Spencer and Michael Marks. It became a household name thanks to the efforts of Simon Marks and his friend Israel Seiff. M S has branches in approximately 28 countries all over the world. They mostly exist in British Societies and Eastern Europe but this effort to get bigger into Western Europe and in the United States go failed because of their high prices and also of their basic British Vision of the company. M S also was particularly unsuccessful in France and even they were forced to close their stores in France because of the legislation which the French Government set in place to protect their labour force. In 1960s Marks and Spencer opened first store in Central Asia in Kabul, Afghanistan. This store was closed after some time because atmosphere of the city turned usual. In the middle of 1990s MS first ever TV commercial of clothing were broadcast. In 20th Century MS became well reputed in market, when they make a policy of selling only British made goods, mostly focusing on quality than the price to encourage tradition. Introduction of their new clothing range in 2001 named Per Una designed by George Davies accompanied by a reshaping of their underlying business model their profits increased very sharply and MS improved a lot of its market share. Also change in their traditional policies including accepting credit card transactions and opening MS stores on Sundays put stars on their reputation in market. Group Structure Financial Performance Grassroots organisations seem to work well with in a flat structure organisation as freely as likely of Board of Directors and Management. Flat Structure does not mean the elimination of individual responsibilities; even flatness means the end of people with dominant authority over other individuals job. National people groups must avoid the ordinary mistake of including small numbers of people heavily. They should try hard to engage large numbers of individuals lightly. Flat organisations, which highlight parallel connections, seem to be the best thing for linking large numbers of individuals lightly. Regular Based Meetings A circular Dividing everyday Jobs and responsibilities Staff Training Staff Members Gathering A forecast Processing Working interaction with power players and resource companies. Power players are people with the capability or skills to make job done: politicians, owners of key businesses, media, government departments, heads of organization, landlords. The groups performance of the team members for they year 2009 ended at March 31 was very unsatisfactory. The return on equity percentage and the income per share were nil as the organisation revenue was only  £1.3m in this year. The dividend cover was also nil because of the same cause. The company paid all its revenue to the shareholders because the dividend cover was very low last year. Because of this, company had to cut-down the dividend approximately from 12.4p to 8.0p. Company planned for the same dividend even though the company had about zero profit. The set reports outcome of three operational divisions: UK Retail Distribution International Retail Market Financial Resource Division UK Retail Distribution The UK Retail distribution, the biggest of the operating distributions, is itself sub-division into seven business units, each indicating a defined quarter of merchandise: Womens Wear, Mens Wear, Childrens Wear Lingerie, Beauty, Home, Foods. The First Six business units such as Womens, Mens and Childrens Wear, Lingerie, Beauty and Home are known as General and footage is in between these six units depending on demand and seasonal factors. The liberty is located due to the biggest single business unit that is Food and is relatively unbendable. Final Financial report in the UK retail defines a drop down in Sales and Operating Profit. Sales And Operating Profit In The End Of Financial Years Sales Operating profit____  ­Ã‚ ­ 2001 2000 2001 2000  £m  £m  £m  £m Group Total 8085.7 8185.5 468.0 542.0 UK Retail 6300.9 6582.7 364.8 445.1 International Continental Europe 288.0 299.3 (55.0) (40.5) European Franchise Businesses 264.3 264.3 25.6 20.7 Brooks Brothers 445.1 395.5 22.2 8.9 Kings Super Markets 317.1 273.7 21.9 12.1 East 119.1 105.2 7.3 (4.2) International Retail Market The International Market of retail Business mainly consists of three broad geographic areas: Europe excluding UK North America East The International Retail Market results consist of those M S franchise businesses which operated 125 franchise stores in 26 countries. The European International Retail Market can be divided into the following: Continental Europe Republic of Ireland European Franchise Businesses The group running two businesses in North America that are: Brooks Brothers Kings Super Markets In March 2001 Kings Super Markets and Brook Brothers operate in 27 and 221 stores respectively. In the end, in Far East the group deals with in 10 stores in Hong Kong. In this year, approximately every company did good business in this division comparatively to last year, with the exemption of Europes M S stores which increased their losses. Financial Resources Division One of the important Commitments of M S in the integrated planning cycle is The Financial Resources Commitment. This commitment describes a number of Financial Resources Division Initiatives: Integrated Planning Cycle Commitment Improving Management of Resources Implementing Improving our Internal Control Environment Enhance Transparency MS is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. After fostering significant growth in recent years, mid-2008 saw share prices plunge to well under half their value of twelve months before, as MS struggled to cope with more conservative shoppers in the credit crunch. Until 1999 MSs financial year ended on 31 March. Since then, the company has changed to reporting for 52 or 53 week periods, ending on variable dates. Year ended Turnover ( £ M) Profit before tax ( £ M) Net profit ( £ M) Basic esp. (p) 28 March 2009 9,062.1 706.2 506.8 32.3 29 March 2008 9,022.0 1,129.1 821.0 49.2 31 March 2007 8,588.1 936.7 659.9 39.1 1 April 2006 7,797.7 745.7 520.6 36.4 2 April 2005 7,490.5 505.1 355.0 29.1 3 April 2004 8,301.5 781.6 452.3 24.2 29 March 2003 8,019.1 677.5 480.5 20.7 30 March 2002 8,135.4 335.9 153.0 5.4 31 March 2001 8,075.7 145.5 2.8 0.0 1 April 2000 8,195.5 417.5 258.7 9.0 31 March 1999 8,224.0 546.1 372.1 13.0 31 March 1998 8,243.3 1,155.0 815.9 28.6 31 March 1997 7,841.9 1,129.1 746.6 26.7 31 March 1996 7,233.7 965.8 652.6 455.8 Strategy Analysis Collectively, the Board Team Members are responsible for the bright and excellence future of the company. In the course of the Chief Executive, the Board delegate to management on the whole performance of the company through building long-term management potential, setting clear goals of the company and ensuring that the business is supervised in conformity according to business values. Marks Spencer Board Structure: COMPANYS CHAIRMAN Chief Executive Executive Director On-Executive Director On-Executive Director On-Executive Director On-Executive Director Competitive Strategy Environment M S operates in a competitive atmosphere. Its competitors are more customers based and more in tune with the needs and the requirements of the customers. Such as on cloths sector, NEXT Debenhams have exploited the requirement for young people and in food sector Tesco and Sainsbury have expands its ranges of ready cooked meals. In UK there are no exit or entry barriers but the market is mature and therefore there is no bounces for a new company or a company from abroadto come and compete in these markets. In contrast M S experienced Exit barriers when under the France law they were not permitted to close their France Stores and make their employees redundant with just a weeks notice. (Ralph, 1996; anon, 2004) New Group Strategy and Structure Subsequently a wide-ranging and comprehensive strategic review of its business, the Board of M S practiced significant changes to the Group strategy and structure in March, 2001. The main basics of this new plan are: Focus on UK Retail Market M S will sell only own brand products so it can guarantee customers the excellent quality, great value and good services. Main theme of the plan is the delivery of considerable improvements in product availability, product value and product appeal thereby regaining the relationships with core customers of M S. Clothing Recovery Plan M S has plans to rebuild the confidence of its customers in the quality And fit of its clothing. It will sharpen pricing by rebalancing the price structure, expansion in the range of entry-price products and also well communicating this to customers. Expansion Food, Home and Beauty Products MS Foods continues to execute well and has rebuild customers trust for providing good quality and convenience. The business is a platform for future expansion and the Company is considering opportunities to get bigger through new locations and business channels. The Home business is increasing strongly, with home furniture and gifts the best growing product areas. Beauty, although relatively small, is also growing rapidly. These two areas offer promising opportunities for progress and will be expanded. Store Renewal Programme M S will go faster the rollout of the successful elements of its new idea format under a plan to renovate more stores sooner and at lower cost. Closer To The Customer As a company we should be in touch with our customers all the time in order to develop an awareness of what our customers think about the company, how they perceive the company and what they expect from the company. This awareness in turn enables us to constantly strive to meet our customers demands and also secure an organizations long-term survival and profitability In order to be more customers based, some of M S stores in big cities will be opened 24 hours a day. On other hand, 125 stores in the UK will be modernised to create a easy-to-shop environment and more attractive for customers. Corporate-Level Strategy (BCG matrix) BCG Matrix is used to conceive the balance of the portfolio of the businesses in terms of relationship between market share and market growth. It is a company in a market that has slow growth and its market share is continuously shrinking. The industry in which M S operates is mature and market is likely to be stable so it is more difficult to gain market share. Its assumed that M S is a decline phase organisation (Stockport,2000). PESTEL And SWOT Analysis Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL-Analysis) Political Long term decisions are based on stable political surrounding. UK is also a member of European Union, as a result of which the government has to operate to live up to the standards of European Unions structure, hence, ensuring M S a greater scope of economic executions . The open transfer of goods products is another advantage of European Union making the sales operations of M S easier in European counties as there are no barriers to trade to aggravate its sales revenues. Economic British pound is still stronger as compared to the Euro which is why foreign investments for M S are relatively cheaper but expensive for the other foreign organizations willing to initiate in the UK. This is also a reason that several countries are not willing to trade. Social Presently, the population in UK is 61.11 million which after 15 years from today is expected to reach to 65 million. This brings in good news to M S Company as many more customers will be added to its current list, however the population is ageing. (True Knowledge) Secondly there is a dramatic change in the social structure. Medical services progress awareness of living increases life expectancy. Sex educations development increase in the number of professional or working women has led to a decrease in the rate of Birth which are the factors that have been accounting for falling revenues for an experienced company such as M S. Technological New Medias reception an age old internet bring in an evaluated potential opportunity to M S to grow its profits. Some U.S. based organizations are offering online orders where in people can mention their demands preferences which are sent to the production facilities after 2 or 3 working days customers receive their orders. This was simply another example of possibilities by the use of which firms can actually respond to the ever changing preferences in new era. Environmental Products produced by supplier has affect on the atmosphere on how these produce is used and disposed by customers. Merchandisers use a vast range of raw materials to manufacture their products. Because of this, it is critical to handle the usage of these materials with sensitivity and pay proper regard to how they have an effect on natural habitats and bio-diversity. Legal This is related to the legal environment in which firms work. In past years in the UK there have been a lot considerable legal changes that have affected firms behaviour such as M S. SWOT-Analysis Strengths The Brand of M S is an asset to it in terms of Quality, Style Value for money. The reason for its success and excellent reputation is that M S sell only own brand products. M S identify the changes in customer preferences behaviour under extensive market overview as they are one of the largest retailers in the UK. The self production labelling enables M S to frequently adapt to the unpredictable market conditions which in turn also allows it to save time. Time saving Adaptability is really necessary for a firm to succeed in such fast moving market where time plays a key role. Weaknesses The incomplete product range of M S, unfortunately, sometimes affects its regular customers who then happen to purchase from its competitors. An example of that would be that M S doesnt sell sportswear which consequently forces its customers to buy them from those who sell them. This adds to the disadvantage of M S. An added disadvantage could be mentioned as an example i.e. A customer interested to buy M S sportswear ( if they had it ) might have been interested in buying some gift at the same time because of the presence of sufficient variety, which could have made it extra revenues . However as they dont have sportswear, they are losing on a good opportunity for revenue. Opportunities In order to make profit, M S consider social rethinking as majority of people are getting conscious for natures significance nowadays. TO aim for Long Term success, M S could earn a reputation as a socially conscious firm by producing with the use of environment friendly raw materials natural fibres. The key to success is uniqueness or individuality. According to the recent researches people are on an average are getting heavier taller. What now can convince people to realize the presence of mind of M S is its Adaptability. Threats The big supermarkets or Discounters, despite of not being present in the same market are potential threat to M S as they sell similar products. These products are offered by them for short duration i.e. at a really cheap price for a couple of weeks. Many people advertently buy these low priced products instead of going for a good quality. This strategy of Hit Run adversely affects the businesses of companies like M S. Michael Porter Five Forces Model Porters five forces is a framework for the industry analysis and business strategy development developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. It draws upon Industrial Organization (IO) economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Attractiveness in this context refers to the overall industry profitability. An unattractive industry is one in which the combination of these five forces acts to drive down overall profitability. A very unattractive industry would be one approaching pure competition, in which available profits for all firms are driven down to zero. Three of Porters five forces refer to competition from external sources. The remainder are internal threats. It is useful to use Porters five forces in conjunction with SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). Threat of New Entrants Entering into a New Market needs huge finances to purchase necessary raw machineries, develop new products , hire staves , selling-rooms to build an organized systematic network . Organisations such as Jhon Lewis, Tesco Sainsbury can very easily enter into new markets as the monetary risk for banks are very elevated to assist smaller firms also that they do not have the potential to respond to the defensive attacks of existing firms. Brand Loyalty is no more a threat to new firms, presently, thus making it a threat to M S. Customers use advanced technology to evaluate compare several offers during a short span of time are willing to purchase the cheapest possible product. These Generation X or technology savvy people have been a huge segment targeted by M S, which can be alarming for it. Threat of Substitutes Product substitution Replacement of Firm need to be distinguished while discussing substitution. The decision of a customer to purchase an item then a change in his decision to have another is referred to as Substitution of Product, i.e. A customer might probably buy a jumper if he merely does not like the design of a M S jacket. However, this had no impact to the revenue of M S. Substitution of M S for its competitor is referred to as company replacement. In the example mentioned previously the customer would have bought a new jacket from the competitors of M S. Now this affects the firm revenues. The Bargaining power of the buyers There are several factors on which the power of buyer depends. Unlimited demand is met by countless suppliers in the U.K Retail market. Therefore if the customers are not satisfied they can switch from one company to the other. Because of advanced technical knowledge their age group, the segments of people targeted by M S have adequate earning power. To specify changing demand buyer trends their pattern of spending should be carefully analysed. The customers of M S are mainly based in Britain. If M S turns unsuccessful in the British Market, it cannot compensate it by the revenues in the other markets Marks Spencers Geographical Revenue Region Revenue United Kingdom $ 1,488.6 m Rest of Europe $ 29.6 m North America $ 0.0 Australia $ 4.8 m Middle East $ 8.8 m Asia $ 3.1 m TOTAL $ 1534.9 m Bargaining power of Suppliers Labour costs are high for UK in comparison with that in Eastern Europe, Asia North Africa which is why that several firms have decided to outsource. Therefore there is a pressure on M S to produce high quality products without cutting its costs, however getting the production outsourced can be of great help as cheap labour can be appointed. . Competitive Rivalry An increasing number of foreign retail chains zero in on UK as a starting point to make it big in Europe. Example Giordano , a Hong Kong based clothing retailer is very successful plans to open operate stores in UK for its European expansion . Marks Spencer has been facing the counter-attack by Tesco Sainsbury in the recent past. Debenhams Marks Spencer have spent a lot of money for the development of their online operations. Every possible measure to earn profits should be seemed in an Industry as this where so many firms produce the name products are only identified by their marked labels. Future   Strategic Direction As mentioned earlier we know that M S has a very wide market especially in the UK. It has been successful since decades. The only weakness it has is lack of variety of product offerings in its current market. Using Product Development as its strategic choice will enable M S to produce additional products to cover a wider segment from its existing market. As M S is reputed Brand, the additional products like sportswear will be equally popular. Acceptability or the outcomes of Product Development strategy is another aspect that needs to be measured. If M S adopts the strategy of Product development it will be avoiding the risk of losing its market share . This will increase the value of shareholders assets. Feasibility, now we need to evaluate the relativity of Product Development strategy with the organizational capabilities its resources. Using its present capabilities all M S is supposed to do is to increase its line of products from its production houses. Current capabilities resources will serve he purpose. For future, the aforementioned strategic choice has to be evaluated analysed in terms of suitability, acceptability feasibility. Suitability specifies whether or not the strategy of product development will suffice M S strategic situation. M S being an experienced player can easily access the broad market overview and adapt to the changes in consumer behaviour preferences. This can be a method to add to the benefits of M S in the short long run. To cut costs M S can rely more more steps towards outsourcing its production in underdeveloped or developing Nations without compromising on the Quality of its products. Online participation of M S on a large scale will add advantage to it over its competitors as a huge segment of customers served by M S is technology savvy. The promotion of Quality of M S through Internet can make a difference when it comes to saving its revenues being lost to the mail discounters or cheap supermarket clothing. UKs membership in the European Union is an advantage to M S as it provides an easy format of operation for European companies.

Candides Growth Essay -- Philosophy

In the story "Candide" Voltaire uses satire to criticize the philosophical views of the enlightenment period and illustrate his outlook of how an individual should view their own existence by Candide's character development throughout the story. Voltaire is able to do this by introducing Candide into two contrasting philosophical views of characters that play a large role in his life, Pangloss and Martin. At the beginning of Candide's quest he followed Pangloss's theory of the best of all possible worlds. Pangloss's ideas hinder Candide on his satire filled journey to find Cunegonde because he is overly optimistic. On his journey his outlook changes by the pessimistic influence of Martin. Which helps him develop into his own character at the end of the story. The first theory that Candide is introduced to is the oracle of the house that he was raised in Dr. Pangloss. Voltaire writes that " Pangloss gave instruction in metaphysico-theologico-cosmoloonigology" this is a satire of the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz (Lawall "Candide" 520) . Leibniz created the doctrine of optimism which claims "which holds that our world is the best of all those possible" (Strickland 18). Lloyd Strickland states "the most obvious objection to optimism, namely that this world contains far too much evil to be plausibly identified as the best. claimed, for instance, that Voltaire's aim in Candide was to refute, or confound Leibniz by 'bombarding him, so to speak, with the evil of the world" It is obvious to the reader that this is Voltaire's motive (Strickland 19). Voltaire continues to insult Leibniz view by writing "He proved admirably that there cannot possibly be an effect without a cause and that in this best of all possible worlds the Baron... ...tudies 31.2 (2002): 199. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Feb. 2012 Lawall, Sarah. The Norton Anthology of World Literature "Candide". 2nd. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2002. 522-580. Print. Kasten, Madeleine, and Curtis Gruenler. "The Point Of The Plow: Conceptual Integration In The Allegory Of Langland And Voltaire." Metaphor & Symbol 26.2 (2011): 143-151. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. Putnam, LuElla. "Boredom, Insignificance, And Death In Voltaire's Candide, Charles Baudelaire's The Flowers Of Evil, And Paulo Coelho's Veronika Decides To Die." Atenea 30.1-2 (2010): 67- 78. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Apr. 2012 Strickland, Lloyd. "False Optimism? Leibniz, Evil, And The Best Of All Possible Worlds." Forum Philosophicum: International Journal For Philosophy 15.1 (2010): 17-35. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.