Western Imperialism Dynamics

American imperialism is an expression that is basically used to denote political, economic, military and cultural influence of the United States. This term is often used in reference to the urge by which the USA undertakes its expansionary ideas with an oblivious attitude as to what consequences might result from such expansion. In David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly, this imperialism has been depicted in various dimensions.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Western Imperialism Dynamics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly is a post colonial drama that is a rewritten version of Puccini’s opera, ‘Madame Butterfly’. Aime Cesaire’s play, ‘A Tempest’ is a similar post colonial play that was originally written by Shakespeare. Both of these plays have been rewritten but they have nevertheless retained the same characters and basic pl ot elements. The original versions of the two plays had created symbols of other cultures which became household stereotypes. For instance, Puccini’s opera, ‘Madame Butterfly’ had attempted to symbolize the oriental woman as a butterfly, insinuating that they are indeed beautiful but of a fragile nature. The use of the term ‘butterfly’ in David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly is a clear depiction of American cultural imperialism. I feel that also the invocation of such terms as ‘The Orient’ results to a symbolization of the Far East culture. By giving it such an endearing terminology, it prepares the USA citizenry to eventually view colonialism as a positive endeavor. The constant use of such terminologies in the realms of literal works is aimed at solidifying this imperialist notion even in the minds of the future generations. Throughout the play, the American way of life has been depicted as most ideal. It has been depicted as a cult ure that upholds high moral standards while the other cultures have been found to lack in this. For example when Gallimard begins an illicit affair with Song, his perception of her is that one of a butterfly. This is a stereotype that Puccini had created in the eyes of the Western world in reference to women from the Far East. It was supposed to depict these women as possessing physical beauty but on the other hand being weak. The weakness here is more to do with personality and character. This would want to imply that they are loose morally and men could have their way with them with little or no resistance. Aime Cesaire has also clearly depicted how the colonialist’s view of the colonized people’s way of life is narrow minded often lacking proper understanding. For instance, his characterization of Prospero who was a foreign ruler of a certain Island and Caliban the only native of the said Island who resided there.Advertising Looking for research paper on art an d design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More We see Prospero referring to Caliban as an ‘ugly ape’. This play highlights the manner in which imperialist carry out their dominance over the indigenous communities without really taking into consideration the feeling, aspirations and general welfare of the colonized. This lack of empathy prevents any sense of guilt from surfacing hence maintaining the status quo. This insensitivity attitude towards the occupied people’s culture by the imperialists is misleading. This is because it leads to the imperialists adopting a romanticized view of the very culture they blatantly choose to ignore. For instance, in David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly, Gallimard’s affair with the mysterious oriental ‘woman’ Song brings him much closer to Toulon a Commander at the French embassy who goes as far as complimenting him by intonating that, â€Å"Some of us have t o be content with the wives of the expatriate community† (45). This illustrates a certain secret admiration and appreciation of the oriental women by the then imperialist. The commander is also seen to ask for ‘Song’s’ number from Gallimard when they are bidding each other farewell just before the latter is shipped back to France. Similarly, the fact that Gallimard had appeared quite comfortable at being strung along by Song in complete ignorance that she was a man shows some naà ¯ve fascination by that which is foreign. In Aime Cesaire’s ‘A Tempest’, this imperialistic romanticism with the foreign culture has also been highlighted. For instance Gonzalo romanticizes on the idea of colonizing an island but places emphasize on the need to preserve the indigenous people’s way of life. Not all the dynamics of Western imperialism in Asia bring about conflict. This has been illustrated in both David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly an d Aime Cesaire’s ‘A Tempest’. In the former, song expresses her enthrallment with western men and it is also clear that she had great affection for him when at last she undisguised herself as a man, she assured Gallimard that she was still the same ‘butterfly’. In the latter play, Arial seems to harbor no ill feelings towards Prospero her colonizer. She even dreams of a peaceful world where all could live in harmony. Neither of the two plays pronounces absolute triumph for either the imperialist or the occupied. Rather it turns out that subsequent events can be argued to lean towards either of the two sides. In the play ‘A Tempest’, we see that Arial was eventually set free by Prospero.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Western Imperialism Dynamics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This would seem to put emphasize on the need for the oppressed to co-operate wit h the oppressors in the sheer hope that all would turn out for the best. On the other hand, we see Calibo running away which can be perceived as a personal achievement towards the determination of self will. Prospero also at the end of the play is left in self doubt when he confess that calibos has been the first man to have ever made him doubt himself. To put this in to context, it appears that imperialist conquest is founded on false hopes and sheer subjugation which when challenged by the occupied suffers sudden loss in confidence resulting into a massive crumble. Similarly in M. Butterfly Gallimard confesses to have discovered the distinction between that which is fanciful and that which is real. This is a clear submission that earlier on his view of the oriental woman was miscued by the degree of romanticism that had formed in his mind due to earlier misconceptions and ignorance. Power relations, stereotypes, east vs. west, and man vs. woman, race, and gender are some of the is sues that can be studied in attempts to define the dynamics of Western imperialism in Asia with specific reference to David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly. It is clear that the imperialists and particularly Gallimard’s presence in Asia is prompted by greed and the urge to dominate and conquer. However, the secret fascination and admiration of the occupied population brings forth some interesting interactions between the imperialist and the occupied people. It has shown that although the imperialists might possess financial and military powers to dominate other less fortunate societies, their failure to capture the aspirations, culture and ambitions of the conquered is not only self defeating but myopic in nature since it eventually misleads them to harbor misconceptions about the occupied people. This way, the occupier in the end ends up swallowing humble pie when they discover that whatever they had held close as truth was nothing but pure hog wash. It is also my feeling that although the imperialist try very hard to impose their culture on those that they occupy, eventually the desired results are far from what was originally targeted. For instance, in Aime Cesaire’s ‘A Tempest’, we see Arial being set free by Prospero and Calibo running away to his freedom. Putting the two scenarios into context will reveal that in the end both the imperialist and the occupied will have inevitably borrowed something from each other.Advertising Looking for research paper on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Taking Calibo’s case into consideration, though he might have run away to get his freedom, his way of life would have changed significantly by having encountered Prospero. Similarly in M. Butterfly, the interaction between Gallimard and Song definitely influence each others’ view of the other and their subsequent cultures. The society that rises from the ashes of colonization will be a hybrid (Fanon, 2005). Inasmuch as a lot of views have been expressed concerning the work of David Henry Hwang in M. Butterfly, I would personally not fully agree totally with the picture portrayed in the play during this time and age. To echo the words of Fanon (2005) that ‘The society that rises from the ashes of colonization will be a hybrid, I tend to feel that there is a great disconnect in ideas between the earlier imperialist and the present day imperialist. With the advance in technology, I feel that most of the stereotypes depicted in the play have gradually been demystifie d . Thus it would be inconceivable for today’s generation to go on carrying on just as their ancestors did. However, other new misconceptions are bound to crop up since any interaction initiated with imperialistic intentions is bound to embrace subjugation and dominance of others as a certain necessity. Since to dominate needs a complete lack of conscience, feelings of guilt are bound to be shrouded under a faà §ade of stereotype and fabrication, thus it is a definite that new stereotypes have to emerge Works Cited â€Å"Comparing David Henry Hwang’s M. Butterfly and Aime Cesaire’s A Tempest.† 123HelpMe.com. 28 May 2011 https://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=9026. David Henry, Hwang M Butterfly, Chicago; Gale Group Publishers, 2002. Matt Stoltz, Gravity. 2002. Web. Michael Meyer, Thinking and Writing About Literature, Connecticut; Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2000. This research paper on Western Imperialism Dynamics was written and submitted by user Kathleen Rojas to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Is the Teleological Argument strong Essays

Is the Teleological Argument strong Essays Is the Teleological Argument strong Paper Is the Teleological Argument strong Paper The Teleological Argument is an a posterior inductive argument which was put forward in many forms by ancient philosophers such as Plato and Cicero to the more modern philosophers and theologians such as Aquinas and Paley. It is an argument to prove the existence of God. The name of the argument comes from Greek telos which means purpose or aim. Aquinass argument which was in his Summa may be summed up in this way: 1. All designed things have a designer 2. The Universe is designed 3. Therefore it has a designer, this designer is God This argument, as seen from point one and three, is begging the question (in other words, it is a circular argument). This makes it weak because it has already asserted one of its premises in the conclusion. It as though he is saying that its true because it is true. This isnt sufficient enough for a sound argument. Also, Aquinas doesnt provide any justification for the second point. These points make it look like its a very weak argument. However points can be given for the universe being designed, such as the seasons and death. This point however can be combated by saying that the universe, may indeed, have some features of a design but there are many which show that it doesnt have design, for instance the fact some women have ectopic pregnancies. The fact that it is a inductive argument means that it is not necessarily true, it is contingent (may not be true) and is not as strong as something that is necessarily true. However, deductive arguments never tell us anything new about the world, which unlike inductive arguments which although may not be necessarily true, do tell us something new. However, the question (about the strength of the argument), should not be subject to our preference of knowing more about the world. So, the fact that it is not necessarily true does weaken the argument. The argument is also a posterior, this gives room for Scepticism (which doubts the external world) to weaken the argument. Scepticism says that we can never have knowledge of the external world which means the order or purpose we see in the world can also be doubted. As Descartes put it, the only thing that is infallible was your own mind (this clearly illustrated when he said I think therefore I am). How do we know that order, purpose and beauty in the world isnt the working of an Evil Demon? David Hume, the British Empiricist, raised objections to the teleological argument which was put forward by Paley however his objections can be used against Aquinass argument too. Humes first objection was that we can not assess whether a universe was designed because we have no experience of universe being designed or built. When you stumble upon a house you know whether it is good or not through experience of other houses, you can not say this about the universe because it is unique. Therefore, how can we determine it is a well designed universe? Hume second objection is that is a farce to liken the universe to something mechanic because the universe Hume then goes on to say that When we infer any particular cause from an effect, we must proportion the one to the other, and can never be allowed to ascribe to the cause any qualities, but what are exactly sufficient to produce the effect. This means that just because it may prove a designer, doesnt mean that we can label the designer with such titles such as omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent. The question now is, are Humes objections valid? The first objection is saying that we can not know something if we had not experienced it and it is unique, however, we have not seen the human race being created and it is unique yet we have many anthropologists and more importantly we are actually finding more and more about universe through the studies done by cosmologists. His second objection, which was combated by Swinburne, can not possibly be true because the order the universe has In conclusion, the Teleological Argument is strong because the first two objections that were put forward by Hume have been combated by Swinburne and do not hold up. However, Humes third objection still holds, this makes the argument weaker because it shows that the argument does not fulfil its purpose (to show Gods existence the definition being of a Judeo-Christian God). The objection that it is an inductive, argument does not hold because although it makes it less likely to be true, that does not mean that is not true. Also, the fact that it is a posterior, may mean that scepticism can doubt it but the common sense approach (put forward by Wittgenstein) says that we should not be affected by such things. Wittgenstein says Here is one hand, and here is another and that is proof enough.

Benazir Bhutto - Former Prime Minister of Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto - Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was born into one of South Asias great political dynasties, Pakistans equivalent of the Nehru/Gandhi dynasty in India. Her father was president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973, and Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977; his father, in turn, was prime minister of a princely state before independence and the Partition of India. Politics in Pakistan, however, is a dangerous game. In the end, Benazir, her father, and both of her brothers would die violently. Early Life Benazir Bhutto was born on June 21, 1953 in Karachi, Pakistan, the first child of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Ispahani. Nusrat was from Iran, and practiced Shia Islam, while her husband (and most other Pakistanis) practiced Sunni Islam. They raised Benazir and their other children as Sunnis  but in an open-minded and non-doctrinaire fashion. The couple later would have two sons and another daughter: Murtaza (born in 1954), daughter Sanam (born in 1957), and Shahnawaz (born in 1958). As the eldest child, Benazir was expected to do very well in her studies, regardless of her gender. Benazir went to school in Karachi through high school, then attended Radcliffe College (now part of Harvard University) in the United States, where she studied comparative government. Bhutto later said that her experience in Boston reconfirmed her belief in the power of democracy. After graduating from Radcliffe in 1973, Benazir Bhutto spent several additional years studying at Oxford University in Great Britain. She took a wide variety of courses in international law and diplomacy, economics, philosophy and politics. Entry into Politics Four years into Benazirs studies in England, the Pakistani military overthrew her fathers government in a coup. The coup leader, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, imposed martial law on Pakistan and had Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrested on trumped-up conspiracy charges. Benazir returned home, where she and her brother Murtaza worked for 18 months to rally public opinion in support of their jailed father. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, meanwhile, convicted Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of conspiracy to commit murder  and sentenced him to death by hanging. Due to their activism on behalf of their father, Benazir and Murtaza were placed under house arrest off and on. As Zulfikars designated execution date of April 4, 1979 drew closer, Benazir, her mother, and her younger siblings were all arrested and imprisoned in a police camp. Imprisonment Despite an international outcry, General Zias government hanged Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on April 4, 1979. Benazir, her brother, and her mother were in prison at the time  and were not allowed to prepare the former prime ministers body for burial in accordance with Islamic law. When Bhuttos Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won local elections that spring, Zia canceled national elections and sent the surviving members of the Bhutto family to prison in Larkana, about 460 kilometers (285 miles) north of Karachi. Over the next five years, Benazir Bhutto would be held either in prison or under house arrest. Her worst experience was in a desert prison at Sukkur, where she was held in solitary confinement for six months of 1981, including the worst of the summer heat. Tormented by insects, and with her hair falling out and skin peeling off from the baking temperatures, Bhutto had to be hospitalized for several months after this experience. Once Benazir was sufficiently recovered from her term at Sukkur Jail, Zias government sent her back to the Karachi Central Jail, then to Larkana once more, and back to Karachi under house arrest. Meanwhile, her mother, who had also been held at Sukkur, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Benazir herself had developed an inner ear problem that required surgery. International pressure mounted for Zia to allow them to leave Pakistan to seek medical care. Finally, after six years of moving the Bhutto family from one form of imprisonment to the next, General Zia allowed them to go into exile in order to get treatment. Exile Benazir Bhutto and her mother went to London in January of 1984 to begin their self-imposed medical exile. As soon as Benazirs ear problem was remedied, she began to publicly advocate against the Zia regime. Tragedy touched the family once more on July 18, 1985. After a family picnic, Benazirs youngest brother, the 27-year-old Shah Nawaz Bhutto, died of poisoning in his home in France. His family believed that his Afghan princess wife, Rehana, had murdered Shah Nawaz at the behest of the Zia regime; although French police held her in custody for some time, no charges were ever brought against her. Despite her grief, Benazir Bhutto continued her political involvement. She became the leader in exile of her fathers Pakistan Peoples Party. Marriage Family Life Between the assassinations of her close relatives and Benazirs own frantically busy political schedule, she had no time for dating or meeting men. In fact, by the time she entered her 30s, Benazir Bhutto had begun to assume that she would never marry; politics would be her lifes work and only love. However, her family had other ideas. An auntie advocated for a fellow Sindhi and scion of a landed family, a young man named Asif Ali Zardari. Benazir refused to even meet him at first, but after a concerted effort by her family and his, the marriage was arranged (despite Benazirs feminist qualms about arranged marriages). The marriage was a happy one, and the couple had three children - a son, Bilawal (born 1988), and two daughters, Bakhtawar (born 1990) and Aseefa (born 1993). They had hoped for a larger family, but Asif Zardari was imprisoned for seven years, so they were unable to have more children. Return and Election as Prime Minister On August 17, 1988, the Bhuttos received a favor from the heavens, as it were. A C-130 carrying General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and several of his top military commanders, along with US Ambassador to Pakistan Arnold Lewis Raphel, crashed near Bahawalpur, in the Punjab region of Pakistan. No definitive cause was ever established, although theories included sabotage, Indian missile strike, or a suicidal pilot. Simple mechanical failure seems the most likely cause, however. Zias unexpected death cleared the way for Benazir and her mother to lead the PPP to victory in the November 16, 1988 parliamentary elections. Benazir became Pakistans eleventh prime minister on December 2, 1988. Not only was she Pakistans first female Prime Minister, but also the first woman to lead a Muslim nation in modern times. She focused on social and political reforms, which rankled more traditional or Islamist politicians. Prime Minister Bhutto faced a number of international policy problems during her first tenure in office, including the Soviet and American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the resulting chaos. Bhutto reached out to India, establishing a good working relationship with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, but that initiative failed when he was voted out of office, and then assassinated by Tamil Tigers in 1991. Pakistans relationship with the United States, already strained by the situation in Afghanistan, broke altogether in 1990 over the issue of nuclear weapons. Benazir Bhutto firmly believed that Pakistan needed a credible nuclear deterrent, since India had already tested a nuclear bomb in 1974. Corruption Charges On the domestic front, Prime Minister Bhutto sought to improve human rights and the position of women in Pakistani society. She restored freedom of the press  and allowed labor unions and student groups to meet openly once again. Prime Minister Bhutto also working assiduously to weaken the ultra-conservative president of Pakistan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, and his allies in the military leadership. However, Khan had veto power over parliamentary actions, which severely restricted Benazirs effectiveness on matters of political reform. In November of 1990, Khan dismissed Benazir Bhutto from the Prime Ministership and called new elections. She was charged with corruption and nepotism under the Eighth Amendment to the Pakistani Constitution; Bhutto always maintained that the charges were purely political. The conservative parliamentarian Nawaz Sharif became the new prime minister, while Benazir Bhutto was relegated to being the opposition leader for five years. When Sharif also tried to repeal the Eighth Amendment, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan used it to recall his government in 1993, just as he had done to Bhuttos government three years earlier. As a result, Bhutto and Sharif joined forces to oust President Khan in 1993. Second Term as Prime Minister In October of 1993, Benazir Bhuttos PPP got a plurality of the parliamentary seats  and formed a coalition government. Once again, Bhutto became prime minister. Her hand-picked candidate for the presidency, Farooq Leghari, took office in the place of Khan. In 1995, an alleged conspiracy to oust Bhutto in a military coup was exposed, and the leaders tried and jailed for sentences of two to fourteen years. Some observers believe that the putative coup was simply an excuse for Benazir to rid the military of some of her opponents. On the other hand, she had first-hand knowledge of the danger a military coup could pose, considering her fathers fate. Tragedy struck the Bhuttos once more on September 20, 1996, when Karachi police shot dead Benazirs surviving brother, Mir Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto. Murtaza had not gotten along well with Benazirs husband, which sparked conspiracy theories about his assassination. Even Benazir Bhuttos own mother accused the prime minister and her husband of causing Murtazas death. In 1997, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was dismissed from office once more, this time by President Leghari, whom she had supported. Again, she was charged with corruption; her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, was also implicated. Leghari reportedly believed that the couple was implicated in Murtaza Bhuttos assassination. Exile Once More Benazir Bhutto stood for parliamentary elections in February of 1997  but was defeated. Meanwhile, her husband had been arrested trying to get to Dubai  and went on trial for corruption. While in prison, Zardari won a parliamentary seat. In April of 1999, both Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari were convicted of corruption  and were fined $8.6 million US each. They were both sentenced to five years in prison. However, Bhutto was already in Dubai, which refused to extradite her back to Pakistan, so only Zardari served his sentence. In 2004, after his release, he joined his wife in exile in Dubai. Return to Pakistan On October 5, 2007, General and President Pervez Musharraf granted Benazir Bhutto amnesty from all of her corruption convictions. Two weeks later, Bhutto returned to Pakistan to campaign for the 2008 elections. On the day she landed at Karachi, a suicide bomber attacked her convoy surrounded by well-wishers, killing 136 and injuring 450; Bhutto escaped unharmed. In response, Musharraf declared a state of emergency on November 3. Bhutto criticized the declaration  and called Musharraf a dictator. Five days later, Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest to prevent her from rallying her supporters against the state of emergency. Bhutto was freed from house arrest the following day, but the state of emergency remained in effect until December 16, 2007. In the meantime, however, Musharraf gave up his post as a general in the army, affirming his intention to rule as a civilian. The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto On December 27, 2007, Bhutto appeared at an election rally in the park known as Liaquat National Bagh in Rawalpindi. As she was leaving the rally, she stood up to wave to supporters through the sunroof of her SUV. A gunman shot her three times, and then explosives went off all around the vehicle. Twenty people died on the scene; Benazir Bhutto passed away about an hour later in the hospital. Her cause of death was not the gunshot wounds but rather blunt force head trauma. The blast of the explosions had slammed her head into the edge of the sunroof with terrible force. Benazir Bhutto died at the age of 54, leaving behind a complicated legacy. The charges of corruption leveled against her husband and herself do not seem to have been entirely invented for political reasons, despite Bhuttos assertions to the contrary in her autobiography. We may never know whether she had any fore-knowledge about her brothers assassination. In the end, though, nobody can question Benazir Bhuttos bravery. She and her family endured tremendous hardships, and whatever her faults as a leader, she genuinely did strive to improve life for the ordinary people of Pakistan. For more information about women in power in Asia, see this list of Female Heads of State. Sources Bahadur, Kalim. Democracy in Pakistan: Crises and Conflicts, New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications, 1998. Obituary: Benazir Bhutto, BBC News, Dec. 27, 2007. Bhutto, Benazir. Daughter of Destiny: An Autobiography, 2nd ed., New York: Harper Collins, 2008. Bhutto, Benazir. Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West, New York: Harper Collins, 2008. Englar, Mary. Benazir Bhutto: Pakistani Prime Minister and Activist, Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books, 2006.

Fundamentals of Information and Information Systems Essay

Fundamentals of Information and Information Systems - Essay Example This report pertains to the current position of Hewlett Packard (HP) Information Systems, its current business problems and the way ahead for this business organization. My first impression at the outset of the ESS Information System (E-Services Solution)group is to point out that this venture may be successful at the outset given the period 1999 until 2000 but it has all the ingredients of becoming a victim of its own success and potentially damaging the work culture of HP with the so called aim of "infecting" the entire spirit.(see Case Study 2000).I would reach such a bleak conclusion for many reasons which I will discuss below but the pith and substance of my analysis as a management consultant is that "small is beautiful" but once it gets large it becomes ugly. And this is true for HP's future if the ESS information system which is under discussion here is allowed to grown into its organizational management and Information System culture. ... And this is true for HP's future if the ESS information system which is under discussion here is allowed to grown into its organizational management and Information System culture. It can be seen that in 1999 alone through the efforts of the ESS Information System,HP has achieved the status as a leading manufacturer of computer products, including printers, servers, workstations, and personal computers and is generating a revenue of $42.4 billion and net income of $3.1 billion.It has over 80,000 employees worldwide and a strong local presence in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. The problems of HP and the role of ESS.The case study has given us a bird's eyes view of the historical problems with the management strategy of HP as follows. 1. In 1939 Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, found HP and were an instant success with their venture and wanted to pursue their own unique way of doing business: "The HP Way." The evolution of the HP Way began early. Even though their decentralized management information system style was a success in the earlier dealing and by 1957 Hewlett and Packard had their own corporate objectives, underling the "The HP Way" through management strategies like Management By Wandering Around, Management By Objectives, and the Open Door Policy inspired later additions, including Open Communication and Total Quality Control .These practices cannot be seen anywhere today and later on the conservative attitude of the HP information system management with in a decentralized company was more product oriented than customer oriented.(refer to Case Study 2000) 2. At this point HP's corporate software and support division and corporate systems

Services Marketing. Case of Paul Smith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Services Marketing. Case of Paul Smith - Essay Example Services as the core products represent a wide series of intangible elements for which the consumers render considerable value within the marketplace (Fashion United Group, 2009). From this perspective, the paper intends to relate the concept of services marketing with Paul Smith, one of the leading fashion retails based in the United Kingdom. The fashion retail unit was started by Paul Smith, a UK based fashion designer. In the year 1970, in Nottingham, Paul Smith started a boutique with small portion of his savings. By the year 1976, in Paris, Paul Smith brought in his inaugural menswear collection, which was rendered within the label of Paul Smith. Since then, in a long-standing successful tradition the company along with Paul Smith have placed themselves as among the eminent British retailers and fashion designers. Global collection of the company is presently wholesaled to around 66 nations. In the UK, there are 17 shops rendering Paul Smith collection (Paul Smith, 2012). In rel ation to Paul Smith, the identified strategic service marketing issues comprise ensuring effective customer relationship and loyalty, insecurity of the potential customers and uncertainties emerging due to the trend of fast fashion among others. The discussion will encompass an assessment of the fashion retail sector in terms of its size and competitive structure. The assessment will also encompass the opportunities and threats which can severely impact on the activities of Paul Smith. Moreover, the discussion will further involve summarising the commonalities and differences between the present services marketing strategies of the major players in the fashion retail sector. Identification of the organisation’s key strategic services marketing issues for the next five years will be portrayed within the analysis of the paper. In addition, the paper will also demonstrate the relationship among the issues affecting services marketing strategies. Fashion Retail Sector of the Unit ed Kingdom The fashion retail sector in the UK can be regarded as one of the major industrial sectors, which has encompassed rapid and continuous growth by a considerable extent. It can be observed from the assessment of past few years that the global retail sector is considerably shaping an independent and successful position through well build business strategies including sales and marketing, innovation and effective business policies. According to the present performance of the fashion retail sector in the UK market, it can be observed to have acquired a large amount of consumer preferences and expenditures through delivering exceptionally manufactured of textiles, clothing along with footwear and leather items. The steady growth in the fashion retail sector can be identified to have taken place due to cutting-edge innovation of products along with effective and convenient supply chain management of the service rendering companies which considerable play major roles within the i ndustry. Moreover, the fashion retai

Maharashtra APMCs: Current Status and Substitute Marketing

Maharashtra APMCs: Current Status and Substitute Marketing Shivaang Sharma In India, the marketing of agricultural produce is regulated by Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act 1966, which provides for the constitution of market committees by state government, notification of agricultural commodities as also place of marketing of agricultural produce. Hence, the marketing of notified agricultural produce in areas other than notified areas is illegal. The areas so designed by the state government are known as Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets or Mandies. The age old monopoly of wholesale markets under the government’s regulation have essentially curbed the advancement of a competitive marketing system in the country, providing provision of help to farmers in direct marketing, organizing retailing, smooth supply of raw materials to industries specialising in agro processing and the adoption of an innovative marketing technologies and systems. The objectives of this report are to: Examine the current status of state agricultural markets and efforts to strengthen their marketing infrastructure. Examine the progress made by alternative marketing channels such as Shetkari Bazaars and Contract farming. Agricultural markets in the country are established (Table 1) and regulated under each state’s APMC acts. The entire physical area within each state is separated and affirmed to be a market area where Market Committees manage the market yards which themselves are established by the individual state governments. When a specific location within the state is confirmed as a market area, it automatically comes within the jurisdiction of the state’s appointed market committee. Within this area only persons who have been granted licence for operating within the region may be free to engage in wholesale marketing activities. These legally established monopolies of wholesale markets which are government regulated have essentially curbed the growth of a more advanced competitive system of agrarian marketing within the realm of each state. Therefore an efficient system of agricultural marketing is much needed for the expansion of the agrarian part of the economy since it further l eads to incentives and mediums for increased agricultural and allied sectors production thereby helping subsistence farmers to commercialise themselves and their businesses more effectively. Table 1: Division wise distribution of APMC main market and sub market yards in Maharashtra: Source: Director of Marketing (DOM), Pune. As per the policy of Government of Maharashtra, produce of agriculture, whether processed or not, including horticulture, animal husbandry, pisciculture and produce from forests are defined as agricultural produce. From time to time, the agricultural produce of the area are notified as agricultural produce for marketing in designated market place by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection. In this backdrop, GOI constituted an expert committee on strengthening and developing of Agriculture marketing in December 2000, which was followed by constitution of an inter ministerial task force to review the parent system of Agricultural marketing in the country and to recommend measures to make the system more efficient. The committee in its report of June 2001 and Task force in its report of May 2002 made a number of recommendations not only to improve the existing regulated marketing network but also to promote a parallel marketing network in the private and cooperative sector. These recommendations included: analysing the requirements to provide and strengthen existing marketing infrastructure, promote competitive alternative agricultural marketing infrastructure through involvement of private and cooperative sector, provide infrastructure facilities for grading, standardization and quality certification of agricultural produce and to provide training for farmers, entrepreneurs and market functionaries on agricultural marketing. Consequent upon this development, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, GOI launched a credit linked back ended capital investment subsidy scheme for development/Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Grading and Standardization (AMIGS) with effect from 20th October 2004 with the view to creating: Additional Agricultural Marketing infrastructure Strengthening existing agricultural marketing infrastructure Promoting competitive alternative agricultural marketing infrastructure through the involvement of private and cooperative sectors. Since the scheme was linked to market reforms, the states which have amended the APMC Act to include private participation and contract farming are now eligible for availing the benefit of subsidy under the scheme. The state of Maharashtra being one of the leading states to adopt the new policy of Union government has amended its APMC act and the scheme is in operation since 5th September 2006. Some aspects of this scheme include: Grain units – godown, drying yard, site development and machinery; Milk unit- bulk coolers, combine harvesters and auction sheds. Table 2: Geographical coverage of APMCs in Maharashtra: Source: Director of Marketing (DOM), Pune. Considering the geographical coverage of APMCs within the state (Table 2); as of 31st March 2011, 188 proposals having a financial outlay of Rs. 22,671.32 Lakh, bank loan of Rs. 14,191.68 Lakh and eligible subsidy of Rs. 4,692.61 Lakh were received from different banks by NABARD, Maharashtra Regional Office, Pune. In order to review the processes implemented by the APMCS of Maharashtra, a detailed study was conducted by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Development). Progressing to the second objective of this report, we begin by analysing the alternative popular marketing channel which is growing in conjunction with the conventional APMC set up i.e. Shetkari Bazars. The Farmer’s Market (Shetkari Bazar) is an idea of marketing the agrarian produce directly to consumers by producers (farmers). By excluding the intermediaries who in the model appear to be an inflationary force, the agrarian produce reaches its destination in good condition due to minimal in between handlers. As a result, this method leads to better price realization for the farmers and also quality produce reaches the consumers at far lower lower price levels. This format of conducting agricultural marketing has previously been enforced in Andhra Pradesh (which was called Raithu Bazar). This format is meant to assist small scale farmer producers (with fewer quantities of fragile vegetables and fruits) to secure better price levels thereby escaping commercial exploitation in the market yard by Dalals. Since 2nd July 2002, as per the government resolution No. APMC-1099/PC.305/11-c, Govt. of Maharashtra has decided to set up Shetkari Bazars in the state and MSAMB has been appointed as nodal agency for implementing this scheme. The produce brought by farmers will not be levied cess at the Shetkari bazaars in all districts and key taluka places by APMCs from the area. As per this resolution, a state level committee is setup under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister of Marketing, Govt. of Maharashtra, for implementing and monitoring of this scheme. The district level committees are also set up under the chairpersonship of respective district collectors with the following objectives4: To help farmers to get reasonable rates for their produce; To benefit consumers by giving them fresh produce at reasonable prices; Immediate value realization of the produce to farmers without any deductions; To provide produce in appropriate weights and measures to consumers; To being producers and consumers together to avoid chain of middlemen. The MSAMB has planned setting up of 100 Shetkari Bazars in the state by the next 5 years. The cost of setting up a single bazaar is estimated to be around 20 25 Lakh. Hence, MSAMB is providing loan to the maximum extent of 10 Lakh per beneficiary. Interest is subsidized up to 50% of the total loan. The rate of interest for the loan is 5% p.p. with 10 years payback period. To avail this loan, the APMC has to submit the proposal to the MSAMB along with the detailed plan and estimates and get prior approval for the same before beginning construction. There have been some compelling success stories in the realm of Contract farming which have transformed the fortunes of farmers belonging to specific regions of Maharashtra. Manchar village in Pune district of Maharashtra is famous for its high quality potato crops. Pepsico company recently began buying the produce of over 6000 acres of land in the area. The key elements of Pepsico’s success are its unique partnership with local agencies, execution of technology transfer through well trained extension personnel, supply of agricultural implements free of cost, regular and timely payment to farmers and the maintenance of a perfect logistic system. This is especially beneficial considering the amount of PHL minimised and the time saved by farmers who otherwise would need to transport their precious crops to the APMC market yard at the daily risk of losing some of their crops to handling, weather and potential road accidents. Recently, Sanghar Exports, Pune, also entered into contract farming of banana with the farmers in Pune (Phoolgaon) and Solapur. In this case however, the contract is only for the purchase of the agricultural produce. In conclusion, owing to the nature of the APMC marketing pipeline, inflationary practices have become inescapably endemic within the APMC marketing apparatus which can only be removed by a two-fold method. Firstly promotion and financing of alternative marketing channels such as Shetkari Bazaars, Contract farming and direct marketing must be followed. Secondly, by reducing the number of middlemen currently included within the APMC marketing process (such as dalals, auctioneers etc) along with increasing the number of licenses granted to more farmers and dalal shops from operating within the market yard shall lead to considerably reduced auction price rates since it inevitably leads to greater supply and more competitive bidding at the market auction yards at the market yards. Furthermore, there exists a dire need to strengthen existing marketing infrastructure, promote competitive alternative agricultural marketing infrastructure through involvement of private and cooperative sector, promote direct marketing and direct integration of processing units with produces, supply infrastructure resources meant to be utilised for standardization, grading and quality certification of agrarian goods, to introduce negotiable warehousing receipt system, also to promote pledge financing, forward and future markets and to create awareness and provide training to farmers, entrepreneurs and market functionaries on agricultural marketing. Hence, although these APMCs have facilitated the provision of a variety of services and forward linkages to farmers for long time after the opening up of Indian economy in late nineties, but, the age old practices and procedures incorporated within their functioning have invited criticism from all quarters in recent past. Since their incorporation, farmers have lost confidence in APMCs due to number of malpractices like lack of transparency, high charges levied by commission agents, wrong weightments and restriction of marketing licences for farmers and auctioneers alike (which curtails supply thereby exacerbating food price inflation). References and Bibliography: www.msamb.com www.nabard.org www.agmarknet.in http://www.msamb.com/schemes/default.htm All table sources: Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board Director Marketing, GOM, Pune.

Jewish society Essay

Bread Givers offers an insight into the life of Jews, particularly Jewish women during the early 1900s. This semi-fiction is a journey of the then Jewish settlers in virgin America. The plot is interwoven with a number of conflicts common in that era. Anzia Yezierska has beautifully penned a story about the life of a Jewish woman, her two sisters and her parents; how she carries the burden of being the bread earner of the family, and yet have all her decisions made by her father. The book shows us many facets of the lives of the Jewish settlers in the early 1900s. Through its themes it showcases the many roles the Jewish people especially the women, had to live up to after their immigration into the United States. In this era, general law in the Jewish society was that the man had the final say in everything . which was evident from the fact that Reb Smolinsky was able to thrash every single one of his daughters romances. If we follow the life of Sara we will see that gender roles in this era were evidently changing, as Sara made her own decisions and lived her own life. However, society did not accept this change and at the end of the day she was nothing more than an outcast. It’s ironic that at the end of the day happiness only came to her after she had found Hugo. Looming over the heads of the females in this era was the conflict between generations. We see that â€Å"family† keeps the girls from running away and doing what they want in life. According to old traditions, males dominate the decisions as per tradition. But here we see the youngest of the three sisters, Sara rebelling against these traditions and going against the tide and doing what she believes in and not what the generations have taught her. An unavoidable situation arises and the weight of expectation pushes Sara into taking her father into her own home. Hugo, her fiance, sees only the community belief of what is expected of them and takes their father in without question. Despite how far she has come, the life her culture requires and expects is still waiting for her, ready to take advantage of the slightest slip. As the story evolves, we see how each of the three sisters’ grows up and longs for a man in her life. However, their course in life shows a sharp contrast between their expectations and reality. After they are married, Eternal happiness and satisfaction eludes them while the actions of their male counterparts slap them in the face and bring them back to reality. We can see that each of the girls thinks marriage or in Sara’s case, achieving her goals would solve their problems, but it turns out it isn’t the magical solution they thought it would be. Bessie and Fania get married, only to face the fact that life wasn’t all rosy and carefree as they thought it would be. When Sara gives her own room on rent, she visualizes about how amazing and enriching it will be, only to find herself greatly longing for someone to talk to. In essence all three have set ideas of love in their minds and later on realize just how different real life really is. The book showcases entire generations that moved to America. It was the golden time of opportunity and the part that the Jewish women played in society is of phenomenal interest. Bibliography Takaki, Ronald. , A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America (New York: Little, Brown & Co. , 1993), 508 pages Gjerde, John. , ed. Major Problems in American Immigration and Ethnic History: Documents and Essays. (Cengage Learning, 1998) Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861, rep. 2001). Reimers, David. Unwelcome Strangers. (New York : Columbia University Press, c1998). Yezierska, Anzia. Breadgivers. (1925)