New Hire Mismanagement Essay

When accepting the position of a Campus Recruiter for ABC, Inc., there were specific tasks and expectations that go along with the job title. The specific tasks were explained however, due to the improper planning and poor execution, the individual failed to deliver what was outlined in the job title. This paper will explain the failures due to improper planning, lack of experience and poor time management skills. Furthermore, areas that will be outlined from this case study will include various detailed causes as well as; different solutions to strengthen the recruiting department and prevent any further weaknesses. Background In early April, Carl Robins, was new to the human resources department of ABC, Inc. â€Å"The Corporate Human Resources Recruiter will play a critical role in ensuring we are hiring the best possible talent† (Nourse, 2013). Mr. Robbins had taken on the needed task of hiring 15 individuals, which would work for the Operations Supervisor, Monica Carrolls. This recruiting position is responsible for selecting proper candidates, collecting proper identification and various paperwork such as; a resume, application, transcripts and payroll processing information. A background check, drug screen and a new hire physical must also be performed prior to anyone starting. In addition to the proper processing of the new hires, Mr. Robbins also is responsible for scheduling the new hire orientation and providing the proper materials such as; the manuals, policy booklets and training guides. In this case, Mr. Robbins had already advised the new hires of the required orientation on June 15th. The lack of experience and follow through, along with procrastination was a large factor in completing the tasks set forth for the recruiting position. Mr. Robbins was feeling overwhelmed and began to panic, due to the realization that the needed workforce would not be ready for Monica Carroll, as he previously assured. The failures will effect several people and cause the operations department to not have the new additions to their team and be ready to move forward. Key Problems There are numerous key problems with this case. Mr. Robins’s lack of experience as well as, poor communication and planning from the beginning, caused the situation to spiral, making the end result in complete failure. An incompetent and poorly functioning human resources department reflects the overall state of affairs of an organization and its possible uncompetitive position in the marketplace (Dutta, 2013). Carl Robbins started the hiring process accurately. He successfully hired 15 individuals however, without creating a new hire protocol, several items were missed. Furthermore, Mr. Robins seemed to be completely focused on the fact that he was able to fill the needed positions and impressing the operations supervisor, he failed to follow through from the beginning. The inexperience may also be a factor however, he was hired as a recruiter and gained six months of experience therefore, Mr. Robins knew what was expected of him. Procrastination plays a large role in the end result, as well. Carl did not immediately check with the training facility, even after receiving the call from Monica Carrolls. He waited more than 10 days to look at the training facility availability. Procrastination, weather it was due to lack of experience or being overwhelmed, does not matter in this case. The consequence remained the same, failure to complete the tasks by the needed time. In most cases, time management and procrastination go hand in hand however, Carl did not look at the specific tasks nor did he allot the appropriate time to get the job done by the specified time. Failure to either create a hiring protocol or follow the steps that should have been learned during his first six months of employment, adds additional issues of concern. Being that this was Mr. Robins first recruiting effort, he failed to discuss, clarify or even have the steps that he had already taken reviewed with a fellow recruiting teammate to assure both himself and the recruiting department that the new hires will indeed be ready to start their positions in July. Many of the issues could have been avoided simply by doing research or asking for help. Developing a sufficient protocol or schedule is key however, it is imperative that the proper research on wait times for drug screens, background checks and pre-employment physicals is done so scheduling will go smoothly. It is critical to ensure that you have the proper tools and information to complete the required tasks. Just like any position or task assigned, organization is critical. Carl was moving forward without knowing exactly how the pieces of the puzzle were to be put together. The recruiter did not utilize the appropriate tools such as, database, spreadsheets or check lists to ensure proper completion of the hiring process. Moreover, the recruiter did not set completion goals for each step to aid in this completion. Therefore, Carl did not see that there were numerous critical issues in the hiring process, which will not only affect the new hires, but will also cause delays for Monica Carroll and the operations department. Alternatives There are several alternatives that may strengthen the human recourses (HR) department in the future however, will not fix the current issue at hand. Implementing a new hire protocol that clearly defines each step of the process. Utilizing tools such as, specialized software that can be directly accessed from the outsourced screening companies to deliver new hire physical information, drug screening and background check results. This will allow the recruiter to access the file and make sure that the candidate is ready to begin work or notify when there is an issue with that specific candidate. Another alternative would be to hire an assistant recruiter or administrative assistant to process paperwork as well as, scheduling training rooms and ordering new hire training manuals, etc. Other options to consider would be to outsource the entire hiring process by using an outside recruiting company or using an agency to employ all the individuals that work for ABC Inc. A recruiting company would minimize and allow the human resources department to simplify duties such as, conducting final interviews of the candidates that have been previously screened by the recruiting company. Complete outsourcing of all personnel or employee leasing is costly however, it is another way to prevent cases like Carl Robbins, who failed to represent the company’s professionalism, screen the new hires and organize a new hire schedule. Employee leasing will remove all responsibilities of the employer including, candidate screening, payroll and benefits which would replace both the HR and payro ll departments. Unfortunately, in doing this ABC, Inc. would no longer be eligible for the tax credits that are given when a company hires welfare to work or Veterans. Another downfall would be losing the ability to solve an employment issue in-house. Proposed Solutions There are several proposed solutions mentioned in this case study. The most economic and immediate realistic solution would be to implement an outlined human resources protocol which would include, step by step policies and procedures to successfully start a new hire, creating a spreadsheet or a checklist to prevent critical errors and ensure that each steps are followed as well as, having detailed contact information for each company that is outsourced such as; drug testing and pre-employment physicals and background checks. An important part of the protocol would be to have a new hire orientation packet saved on file so, when the need arises or the inventory gets low, the recruiter can order copies to be made in a timely fashion. The remaining solution that would be outlined in the protocol would be to have the recruiter notate each completed or received paperwork on the checklist to ensure all the necessary paperwork and outsourced results are received. This outlined human resourc es guide and organizational tool would guide the recruiter into making sure all procedures and requirements are met. Recommendations Implementing the protocols would be crucial to the success of the human resources department. A recruiter is just like a salesperson, this is where the first impression is made. If implemented correctly, this will assure hiring the right individuals, which in return will allow ABC, Inc., reach its fullest potential. In this case study, Carol Robbins was not organized. There were no protocols in place to prevent these errors. Furthermore, there was not any direct supervision. It is recommended that the manager of human resources, review the hiring process directly with Mr. Robbins and make clear written expectations on the job requirements. It is further recommended that a clear, step by step protocol be put into place preventing these issues from arising again. Lastly, it is critical for the Manager of Human Resources to review all files before the file is completed and the new hire is scheduled for training. This shall continue until Mr. Robbins clearly understands the policies and procedures.

Do you find any of the arguments for cognitivism convincing? Essay

Cognitivism, also referred to as moral realism, is a belief held that morality is independent of human existence. Cognitivists will state that there are such things as moral facts which we can discover, rather than morals being subjective and developed individually. To them, each judgment is true or false, and this applies to any moral judgment. I believe that rationalism and naturalism can easily be dismissed as implausible, illogical and inhuman. Kant’s cold, calculated approach to ethics is irony of the highest degree, whilst Hume, Mill and Aristotle’s strict moral principles undermine our human fallacies at the foundation. They make too much of an attempt to define ‘good’ (which surely is indefinable, just as â€Å"red† or â€Å"four† cannot be defined, only represented). For this reason, I prefer G. E. Moore’s theory of Consequentialist Intuitionism. His belief that morals are intuited seems a lot more human to us, but it still has a lot of shortfalls. Overall, cognitivism has many more weaknesses than strengths, as I shall discuss. It is, first of all, important to define cognitivism and moral realism. The beliefs state that morality is not invented, but discovered through various means (depending on the theory). Morals are objective, and part of our world, not part of us as human beings. There are moral facts which we must adhere to, and all moral judgments can be true or false. There is always a ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ The first of the cognitivist theories is that of rationalism, and is most commonly associated with Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant. He states that â€Å"reason by itself and independently of all appearances commands what ought to happen† (1), i.e. we can perceive what is right or wrong purely through reason. He believes that every moral judgment should be made using our reason, and that it will always provide the ‘right’ course of action. This follows Kant’s idea of a ‘categorical imperative,’ which is what we are required to do in a certain situation. This creates a kind of set Moral Law based on universalised maxims, which basically means that an action can only be right if it can be universalised. This, according to Kant, leads to a perfect moral system. To his favour, the theory is very simple to understand, and in many ways it is logical, but from there on it raises more questions than it answers. First of all, how can morals possible be independent? If we are to know them a priori, then where does this knowledge come from? It is ludicrous to assume that this knowledge of the moral law appears from nowhere. Arthur Schopenhauer raised this point in his critique of Kant’s moral theory: Kant attempted to give a foundation to Ethics independent of this will, and establish it without metaphysical hypotheses, and there was no longer any justification for taking as its basis the words † thou shalt,† and † it is thy duty † (that is, the imperative form), without first deducing the truth thereof from some other source.† (2) This very well asks this question. Another very large issue with Kant’s theory is his intense focus on reason. I disagree strongly with this. How can moral decisions be made in a complete absence of emotion? Surely emotions and feelings form the basis of our judgments? Schopenhauer illustrates the impossibility of a â€Å"loveless doer of good, who is indifferent to the sufferings of other people† (2). This seems like a very obvious fallacy, and I agree with it. It completely undermines the whole point of morality, for surely one can appreciate the absurdity of a â€Å"loveless doer of good.† Where does this categorical duty arise from, if not emotion? Reason does not motivate man, it guides him. Emotions drive man to perform action, but Kant completely overlooks this, even though fellow rationalist David Hume (who Kant once claimed â€Å"awoke him from his dogmatism†) makes this point: â€Å"Reason is, and ought only to be, the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.† (3) Overall, Kant’s rationalism is a very weak theory (not unlike the bulk of his work, I daresay), and I completely disagree with every single part of it. How this theory is even being discussed in today’s society, let alone in the 16th/17th Century leaves me in the dark. It is not even worth considering as a moral theory, and should be dismissed from consideration immediately. The second theory is less specific, referring more to several similarly-aimed theories, rather than just one. These theories are John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism and Aristotle’s Theory of Virtue in particular. Naturalism is a theory that focuses on ‘good’ as natural properties. This can be a multitude of things. John Stuart Mill said that â€Å"the creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.† (4) This means, in essence, that happiness is the ultimate good. Obviously, happiness is a natural principle, and therefore it makes Utilitarianism a naturalistic theory. Aristotle’s virtue theory is somewhat different. It refers to set virtues that must be followed in order to reach the Highest Happiness, which is fulfillment of one’s function as a human being. (5) This means that Aristotle’s definition of ‘good’ is to fulfill the function of your soul, which involves living a virtuous life. In general, these theories seem quite sensible, as naturalistic properties are a logical place to start within morality. Unfortunately, there is one very major problem which G.E. Moore pointed out, and it is known as the Naturalistic Fallacy. This fallacy describes how one cannot possibly define ‘good’, just as you cannot define ‘blue’ or ‘six’. They are purely concepts we assign to certain things, not objective definites. Moore said that â€Å"‘Good’ is one of those innumerable objects of thought which are themselves incapable of definition, because they are the ultimate terms by reference to which whatever is capable of definition must be defined.† (6) Obviously the naturalistic theories attempt to make sense of ‘good’ by definition, and that is the most obvious problem with them. How can one possibly say that one thing in particular means ‘good?’ Surely it’s a matter of opinion, and entirely subjective? And, as with other cognitivist theories, there is the problem of objective morality. Where does this ‘happiness’ and these ‘virtues’ come from? Are they not subjective human inventions, not discoveries? Overall, this is also a very weak theory, although it does have some stronger points than rationalism. However, I disagree with this theory as well; since it offers a strict approach to ethics and makes us define ‘good’, which I think defeats the whole object of morality. The third and final theory is also, in my opinion, the strongest. G.E. Moore devised this theory as retaliation the naturalists. He draws inspiration from their committing of the naturalistic fallacy and proposes a completely different cognitive theory. Moore, in his Principia Ethika (6), states that there is no need to define ‘good’ (see quote above). Our intuition reveals what is right or wrong without the need for a set ‘good.’ As an empiricist and a consequentialist, Moore believed that one could intuit, through experience, what the right decision would be in a moral judgment. Intuition would help us discover the objective morals and use them correctly. The right application was to find â€Å"friendship†, according to Moore. W.D. Ross took an interesting approach and turned this on its head, defining it instead as a deontological theory. In his most famous work, The Right and the Good, he said that â€Å"the moral order†¦is just as much part of the fundamental nature of the universe (and†¦of any possible universe in which there are moral agents at all) as is the spatial or numerical structure expressed in the axioms of geometry or arithmetic.† (7) Basically, he states that the morals are part of the universe itself, and that we don’t need experience to interpret it, we need only our intuition, which will tell us them directly. Although this theory is a lot more human and obvious to us, and is the strongest of the three theories, it stills falls short, and is a fairly weak theory. Isn’t Moore’s suggestion of ‘friendship’ a thinly veiled attempt at definition of ‘good’, or at the very least a specific instruction? Not especially ‘intuiti ve.’ Also, where do we intuit these morals from? Sorely morality in general cannot be objective (which, granted, is a problem with cognitivism, not specifically intuitionism). Again, this is a weak theory, even though it prevails over the other two. In the end, cognitivism as a whole is not especially useful as a guide as to where morals come from. I stated earlier that cognitivism has many more weaknesses than strengths, and I displayed that through my various condemnations of the theories individually, and also of cognitivism as a whole. Surely morality cannot be objective? Isn’t the whole point of morals the fact that they are individual and developed subjectively? Surely there would be no moral disagreement if they in fact were objective, but that is obviously not the case. No, the answer lies in the direct counterpart of cognitivism, non-cognitivism. Morality is for certain subjective, as it is part of our human nature to form opinions based on emotion and preference, not in principles which are apparently entwined in this world we live in. Cognitivism, as a whole, is completely useless in terms of moral analysis and I completely and utterly disagree with all it states. Bibliography 1. Kant, Immanuel. Groundwork on the Metaphysics of Morals. 1785. 2. Schopenhauer, Arthur. On the Basis of Morality. 1837. 3. Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. 1739. 4. Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism. 1861. 5. Aristotle. Ta Ethika. 6. Moore, G.E. Principia Ethica. 1903. 7. Ross, W. D. The Right and the Good. 1930.

Essay to explain role of support worker Essay

My job as support worker is based within a residential unit for eleven service users. It involves working day shifts on a fortnightly rotating rota. Before entering the unit, we have a code that we have to enter to allow us entry to the building. This code unlocks the front door, and is for safety and security of staff and residents, and complies with our duty of care. All employees and visitors have to sign in a book, kept within the hallway. This is so at any time, the manager has a detailed record of who is within the building, staff, residents, workmen, or visitors in case of that an emergency, or in case an evacuation procedure may arise. All visitors to the building are asked their identity. All the external doors can be opened from inside the building to allow persons to exit at any time, however the doors are alarmed. This alerts staff by the use of a paging device, carried by all support staff. This enables safety and security of all persons within the building. When my shift begins all staff have a hand over meeting, lead by the manager on duty. This ensures all important information is communicated: for example any medical or dental appointments that the residents may need escorting to. Or any health issues, or requests made by the residents to go out. Maintaining confidentiality at all times. Any updates or new risk assessments are handed over for all to read and sign. Working to all policies and procedures at all times. As a support worker, duty of care is an obligation that ensures that no harm is done to people in your care; if this duty of care is not met you are held accountable for the negligence which has occurred. We must put the best interests of service users health, safety and wellbeing as a priority to protect them and keep them safe from harm in all aspects of care, this includes: maintaining confidentiality, reporting concerns (both about service users and colleagues/ other professionals) and maintaining high standards of conduct; it is what underlies the Code of Practice on day to day working practice. Policies and procedures are in place to ensure that a  duty of care is implemented and carried out in working practice; this is a legal obligation which if not implemented into your working practice could be classed as negligence or malpractice which is a breach of duty. Duty of care is not just having correct working practice but also to maintain confidentiality of both service users and staff and not doing anything which could put them at risk. In my working role I have to think of duty of care when planning a task, taking everyone’s best interests into consideration. Other ways I implement duty of care into my working practice is to carry out daily checks to ensure the working environment is safe both for service user and employees. Duty of care also involves being aware of potential hazards, preventing mistakes/ accidents from occurring and making competent and informed decisions in the role. After greeting the service users, I often have a chat with them all individually to ask how their day has been, and what they would like to do for the rest of the day. It is important to empathise and actively listen in a sensitive manner accessing appropriate additional support where necessary, promoting equal opportunities and respecting diversity, different culture and values.

Human Variation in Skin Colour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Variation in Skin Colour - Essay Example One of the reasons why the globe has been facing slow economic growth is as a result of racial discrimination or social exclusion on human capital formation and economic contribution. Skin color has been one of the major obstacles on human capital contribution. The discriminated population having no access to education, economic and political opportunities has largely contributed to their limitation to acquire capacity to develop human capital hence lowering the economic values. Persons across the world should stem racial discrimination based on skin color and inject their time to develop human knowledge and skills that will contribute to economic growth and development. Across the globe schools and institutions face racial discrimination; having standardized testing for instance, has largely contributed to discrimination based on skin color, it being the assessments in a learning institution, it highly favors students from a specific social cultural background, while those students from racial minorities groups score poorly. In addition, the minority groups of students are educated in a low-income society where they cannot afford to purchases books as those schools that are set in middle or high-income areas. As a result of discrimination, the schools are forced to use old text books which further aggravate the extant of socio-economic differential established with skin color racial institutional discrimination. Structural racism also accentuate most institutional provisions that are identified as exceptional to certain group of people who form the majority of the people in the regions, such as the absence of labour unions or weak voices of the labour unions and disorganized... This paper aims to focus on skin color variation and racial discrimination based on economic, institutional and power. Species differ in the degree of their variability; it is believed that the degree of variation is higher in human beings than other species. Skin pigmentation is determined by the presence of melanin in human being skinned, and the color of the skin ranges from black to white. It is not completely certain that evolutions contributes to skin variation, however, the variation of the natural skin color can be determined by genetic processes. According to scientists, the Sub-Saharan Africans have the highest skin color diversity, whereby, their values of skin reflectance range from19 to 46, while the values of Europeans are range within 62 to 69 and the East Asians range from 58 to 59. Schools and institutions face racial discrimination, having standardized testing for instance, has largely contributed to discrimination based on skin color, because it highly favors stude nts from a specific social cultural background, while students from minorities groups score poorly. In conclusion, the question of human pigmentation is one of supreme relevance and one that holds the key to answering fundamental questions about our existence and may hold the key to generating a cure for various human ailments. And with the advent of new technology, scientists are delving deeper into the mystery. With this is the erosion of various racial stereotypes and ingrained social assumptions as what can be categorized as beautiful.

Visual Literacy in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Visual Literacy in Business - Essay Example Marketers are able to direct and instant feedback from their products thus being able to make changes on their products as well as knowing where their target clients are located. On the social front, visual media has help promote interaction among people from various parts of the world thus promoting rapid sharing of positive ideas and programs. On the other hand, visual media can impact negatively on those exposed to it such as children. This can take place when the content is violent or appear unethical. It may lead to depression, anxiety, nightmares or aggressive conduct (Baehr & Snyder, 2003). Some children may go to the extent of missing out from school, having sleeping problems or show general withdrawal syndrome. Some items posted for marketing may be different from what they actually look like hence online shoppers can be cheated. There are ethical concerns associated with this shift. There have increased the rate of unfair business operations that can take advantage of less sensitive business

Cooperative Marketing of Global gadgets imports Research Paper

Cooperative Marketing of Global gadgets imports - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the definition of cooperative marketing as an advertising and promotional program whereby manufacturers or a distributor supports the marketing efforts of both businesses. It can also be used by multiple businesses looking to pool their resources to avoid being overburdened with costs for advertising and promotion. In addition, it is collaborative effort of two or more companies that come and work together in advertising and promotional efforts in order to reach a common goal. Cooperative marketing is ideal for Global gadgets imports. There are great values that come along with cooperative marketing. One of the great values that come along cooperative advertisement is that the cost of advertising will be greatly reduced. This happens when the partnering businesses come together and contribute towards the advertising and promotion of the product. This only happens when the businesses have the same interest. The cost will be cheaper in the end and in the s hort run for both businesses and the individual offices. The other great value that the businesses will derive is the benefit from a larger discount commonly known as trade discount. Another value of cooperative advertising is that the businesses will benefit from the risks involved. This will happen when businesses pool the risks and share them. This can happen when the distributing company tries to explain to its retailors the cause of a particular hitch resulting from the manufacturer. (West, 2008). There are a number of challenges that global gadgets imports needs to address when approaching a cooperative marketing situation. Cooperative marketing has guidelines that both companies must have similar targets. They should therefore, have same ideas, promotions, and cash in order to partner. The marketing intention should serve both companies accurately and effectively, since both brands wants to be conducting this effort. The element of trust is very essential in cooperative marke ting and has to be taken into consideration. Therefore, information sharing must be respected. Global gadgets imports should engage in cooperative marketing in various ways. One of these methods is through distribution. A retailor company can engage in cooperative marketing when the business being carried out involves the distribution to other retailors or distributors. In this way, Global gadgets imports will be involved and will gain greater geographical outreach to the various customers in the world. It will also help in creating awareness of these products in the market. The other way that Global gadgets imports can engage in cooperative marketing is through imaging. This helps to create awareness through consumer learning, overall product information, or focus on the product industry. This method also helps in establishing a positive outline of the goods of both companies in the minds of consumers and other related companies. This also helps to eliminate the negative media, joi ntly promotes the businesses products and may give lessons on the sternness of several problems that may be caused by occurrence impurity or product glitches (William, 2007). Differently, Global gadgets imports can engage in cooperative marketing through packaging. This is done through product packaging of the individual business products for product consistency. This helps in giving out a cohesive look and increase market influence. The packaging strategy can be done by implementing a standard base packaging for the partnership businesses products. Such kind of packaging should help eliminate transportation damage that occurs and establish a freshness look of the products. However, the packaging should be different from the parents company to help eliminate risks such as product substitution. In addition, Global Gadgets Imports should create a marketing team that tries to understand how their target market lives and understand their lifestyle. In carrying out this strategy, Global Gadgets Imports does necessarily have to promote a specific product, but the label acknowledgment should be

Case Study of Supply Chain Management in Larsen & Toubro Ltd Essay

Case Study of Supply Chain Management in Larsen & Toubro Ltd - Essay Example In fact, some of the most amazing business successes in the past 20 years are direct results of finding more efficient supply chains in delivering products to customers. Supply chain management emerged only a decade ago together with the emergence of the word "supply chain" in the business scene. This development started from the business world's recognition of the importance of integrating and managing the processes within a business entity. The new revolution in supply chain management significant changed business processes and introduced radical revolutions which promote the operation efficiency of companies and gain competitive advantage in their respective industries. Perhaps, the most successful in revamping its supply chain is Dell Computers. In fact, supply chain management is often referred to as the Dell's model (Cavinato, 2002). Currently, supply chains generally perceived as the "proper blending of physical resources with financial, informational, and relational resources-all within the strategic context of competing in the marketplace (Cavinato, 2002)." Experts argued that there is no "one size fits all" supply chain and that different businesses need to employ unique business models to run their operations. The shift in business model necessitates major changes in a comp... The first section will give a brief profile and background of the company. Next, it will look at the costs of shifting to a more streamlined value chain. Afterwards, it will explore the importance of technology in the new supply chain as well as its long-term collaboration with its supplier's to the system's efficiency. An analysis of the material procurement system of the ECC will be presented. The paper will end with its findings and recommendations. The Company: Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T) L&T traces its origins by the partnership formed by two Danish engineers Henning Holk Larsen and Soren Kristian Toubro in 1938. The firm is engaged in the manufacture of a wide array of engineering products, earthmoving equipment, chemical and industrial machinery, switchgear valves, welding alloys and cement manufacturing machinery. The ECC division of L&T handled the turnkey industrial and infrastructure projects in civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation engineering as well as turnkey construction services. The division is headquartered in Chennai and has operations dispersed in other countries like UAE, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and South Africa. The company's thrust of utilizing a business model to integrate the division's operations into a more cohesive one is the driving force in revamping the company's supply chain. From its manual operations, the company opted to employ a web-based SCM solution which took advantage of the recent trend in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Thus, the company was able to streamline its supply chain and boost the efficiency of its operation. Challenges in Integrating

Advertising Agency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advertising Agency - Essay Example To create a successful advertising campaign to stimulate consumer interest, target groups, objectives, campaign communication and expectations, along with communication strategy must be considered for both companies.The target group for the first, smaller company is sportsmen who use food supplements as part of their regimen. The objective of the campaign is to increase sales to such sportsmen through the specialized selling shop, sales representatives, and over the internet. The advertisement should communicate to sportsmen that the food supplements sold by the small company are necessary for increased sports performance. The expectation of this advertising campaign is that sales will increase through the positive message about food supplements from this particular company. The company is small, therefore, the communication strategy is limited only by the company's advertising budget. Internet "ad banners' and small magazine advertisements in sportsmen magazines is a strategic and c ost effective way to successfully market this small company's food supplements.The target group for the second company, a large, multinational organisation is a wide variety of consumers, as this company's main staple is detergent. The objective of the campaign is to increase sales by keeping the company's detergent on the minds of consumers. The advertisement should communicate to all consumers that the detergent sold is superior to other detergents on the market. The expectation of this advertising campaign is that sales and demand will increase for the company's detergent. The company is large, and therefore, has a large advertising budget, so a mass media campaign will be continued, over the internet, broadcast media, and print media. Certain techniques are used by advertising agencies and/or advertisement producers to promote creative ideas, which include "formulating advertisement objectives; designing an advertising budget; making creative decisions; choosing a media strategy and evaluating the advertisement" (Shank, 2001, p. 325). Advertisement objectives are usually categorized as either direct or indirect. Direct ad objectives, such as advertising to end user consumers and sales promotion advertising, are designed to stimulate action among consumers of a certain type of product. On the other hand, indirect objectives create consumer awareness and provide information to consumers. After each objective has been determined, budgets are considered for the ad campaign. "Budget techniques such as competitive parity, objective and task, arbitrary allocation, and percentage of sales are commonly used by advertisers" (Shank, p. 325). The next step is to make the creative decisions that will identify the ideas and the concepts that will be used in the advertisement. In order to develop the concept for the ad, benefits of the product must be identified, ad appeals are designed, and ad execution decisions are made. Next, a media strategy is formed, including decisions about what medium for advertisement will be most effective and target the market consumer. Finally, the ad is evaluated to determine whether it will fulfill its purpose of increased awareness and sales. Task B Another method of understanding target groups, the core message of the advertisement, communication, and art elements of the advertisement is to observe two (2) examples of advertising campaigns. The first ad is for Calgon, a water softener that is touted to protect washing machines from sediment build up. The second is for Aquila, a mineral water that releases harmful chemicals from the body with every sip.

Nursing in Partnership with Faith Based Parish Nurses Research Paper

Nursing in Partnership with Faith Based Parish Nurses - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that faith based communities consider health a vital ingredient in the continuity of their faith. Therefore, healthy human beings must reconsider their concentration on their faith and other activities that strengthen their faith. In most cases, the faith based communities consider providing better health care facilities to the people that would wish to join their faith. The core reason of this approach is to ensure the believers are not distracted from their activities. Healthy people are more likely to be focused on their faith at all times, which strengthens the community as their faith is not jeopardized. For instance, a healthy person will not feel any ailments. However, an ailing person will not have the mindset of holding on to his/her faith constantly. This reduces the commitment of the believers in their faith. Under such circumstances, providing healing is the appropriate approach. The heritage of health and healing in the faith b ased communities is instigated to provide care for the underprivileged. There are some people in the world that are underprivileged and do not have avenues of attaining better health. Since their faith and beliefs state that they should help the underprivileged, they have an obligation to do so. In many instances, faith based communities will find better ways of helping the underprivileged in the society at all costs. This is an approach that strengthens both their faith and activities in helping the society. Apparently, many faith based communities consider this their obligation as stated by their faith.... Nursing is a profession that requires amassed human resources. Therefore, a larger number of professionals working in the sector will have a positive impact on the provision of the services (Solari-Twadell and McDermott, 2006). In essence, for many professionals working for a universal goal, this will be a prudent approach in giving high quality services. In the recent past, the nursing profession has been facing several challenges which include a limited number of professionals. This has adversely affected service provision in the nursing profession as they are unable to serve all the people that need their services. This has been a looming drawback to the nursing profession as they are not able to provide adequate health care services. To rectify such a situation, the faith based communities prefer to help by partnering with community nurses. This creates a scenario where the people offering the services are in large numbers. As such, the nursing sector has a large number of people that offer services to people that need them. The quality of services is improved when community nurses partner with parish nurses. The parish nurses are guided with their faith and beliefs in the profession. With such, the people that need the services are treated with the best care and health services. This is a benefit to the society as it gets the best care and health services. Partnership between community nurses and parish nurses helps in reducing the instances of stigmatization. This is especially helpful to the underprivileged people of the society. In any society, there are some people that can afford paying for the services they need. On the other hand, some people do not have this opportunity and can hardly pay for medical services. As such, they will forego some

Current Trends Within the Mobile Phone Sector Essay

Current Trends Within the Mobile Phone Sector - Essay Example This is obviously a recent phenomenon with the advancement of the smartphone, which now has captured as much as 70 percent of the entire mobile phone market in many Western countries (Azizi 2012). Because of this, it is found that the average mobile phone user now spends as much as seven hours more per month with their phone than they did just a mere year ago. This trend is further reflective of the reality that mobile phone devices themselves are much more ubiquitous today than they were in yesteryear, as they can do so much more for us than was ever really envisioned. In fact, this trend leads one to believe if the actual word ‘phone’ will be replaced in the future, as the devices do so much more than allowing for just simple voice to voice communication, the likes of which many today do not even consider to be the primary use of the mobile phone in the first place. Individual consumers and organizations alike are beginning to learn new capabilities and demanding more for their mobile phones, which is certainly setting a trend for future competitiveness within the industry itself for years to come. One leader researcher for consumer trends notes that people today, globally, are looking for and expecting a new experience with the technology that they purchase and utilize in their daily lives (Borges 2012). Within this discipline, mobile phones are at the cutting edge of a technological revolution because so many people depend on them for their productivity and communication needs today.This assignment and module have proven most effective as it has enabled to gain a perspective of how modern day consumer needs are being driven largely by technology.   Something as basic to a human organization as a telephone continues to be driven by feature-rich applications, ever light models, and a propensity to outdo competitors with new technology that there is seemingly no end in sight.   Two worldwide companies were highlighted, and they certainly refle ct the lion’s share of this particular industry, but they are by no means the only players in the business.   In the end, any company who can gain a certain level of name recognition with a particular demographic group, and can provide the consumer with the features and ease of use that they desire, will have a role to play in the future.   The Chinese firm of Huawei, for example, has capitalized by the lack of interest in the developing world to this world expressed by the major phone manufacturers, and they have risen to become the world’s fourth-largest smartphone maker.   That has solidified in my mind the power of developing a niche.   One does not have to be the largest to be successful.   With a bit of ingenuity and forward progressive thinking, the marketplace can be opened in new and profitable ways.        

Organisational dialouge Essay Example for Free

Organisational dialouge Essay Question 2: A range of authors (e.g. Gerard and Ellinor 2001; Isaacs 1993, 1999; Schein 1993; Senge 1995) suggest that dialogue can positively transform organizational cultures. Do you agree with this assessment? Why? Why not? Engage with relevant academic literature in developing your argument. Student Name: Nguyen Vu Hoang Dung Student Number: 11477445 In organization people spend 80 percent of their time to communicate (The British Psychological Society 2012). Communication is a key tool to share information, foster different opinions and build alignment and trust. According to Gerard Teurfs (1995), the process of dialogue is an invitation to create organization cultures through conversations. It acts as a learning environment that shifting individuals to â€Å"a deeper understanding of collaboration in groups, and a new way of sensing their connections to others throughout the organization† (Querubin 2011, p.19). It brings all the ideas together and suspends judgment so people will have a greater chance to understand each other (Brayman, Grey Stearns 2010). This essay will analyze the role of dialogue in transforming organizational cultures positively and all the benefits it brings. However, it will also examine the challenges of implementing dialogue. Organizational culture includes shared values and beliefs that guide behaviors of all members and determine the way things should be done in the organization (Sergiovanni 1984). Company has its own culture usually indicates higher performance. The role of dialogue is not only to spread the common values and meanings that company wants its employees to follow but also allow everyone to express their own interest. According to Gerard and  Ellinor (2001), the main purpose of dialogue is to produce collective understanding. Firstly, they compared the differences between dialogue and discussion. In discussion, people tend to protect their own thoughts and do not truly concern about other’s opinions and needs. They play as a speaker’s role rather than as a listener. It might leave the remainder out of discussion with frustration, isolation and disrespect. Decisions could be made by the person who has the most power and influence in the group (Gerard and Ellinor 2001). Hence it weakens the aim of enhancing organizational cultures. In contrast, when employees participate in a dialogue, their role as a listener is more important than as a speaker. They desire to hear what others want to say. They try to fit all different perspectives into a common value. Therefore, if issues occur, they listen to deeply understand other’s thoughts and opinions (Gerard and Ellinor 2001). By doing that, employees are getting closer to each other and conflicts are minimized. They help their team or their department to build shared culture. Secondly, Gerard and Ellinor (2001) stated five skills of dialogue including suspension of judgment, listening, reflection, assumption identification and inquiry. They defined the meaning of suspension in dialogue is not to stop one’s judgment about a problem. Instead, they have to aware what their judgments are and â€Å"then holding them lightly so they can still hear what others are saying† (Gerard and Ellinor 2001, p. 7). After listening carefully to other’s ideas, they need to reflect their own assumptions. Therefore, to revising whether those assumptions are linked to the organization or not. If they cannot understand the differences, they must inquire for more information. Hence, this process of dialogue enables each employee to foster different views and converge them together to become one unique aim. Organizational culture is enhanced. In agreement with Gerard and Ellinor, Isaacs (1999) analyzed four principles of dialogue based on Bohm’s research in 1996. They are listening, respecting, suspending and voicing. Firstly, Isaacs had compared listening skill in dialogue to listening to music. He stated a single note of music could not deliver the meaning of the whole song. It is similar to one’s role in a conversation. A single idea is not sufficient to set purposes and  cultures for the whole organization. Hence, dialogue is an excellent practice to give people a chance to listen deeply and get into the nature of the conversation. Secondly, he defined respecting as getting to know more about one person and figure out what sources or circumstances has created their particular thinking. Based on this understanding, people in an organization will pay more respect to each other. The main goal of respecting in dialogue is not to seek decision but to tolerate difference, gap and conflict (Isaacs 1999). The third principle of dialogue, suspending, is determined similar to Gerard and Ellinor (2001). And the last principle Isaacs mentioned is voicing. He suggested people should listen internally so as to select what should say and what should not say in a circumstance. Sometimes keeping silence and listen can achieve the best result. Therefore, the purpose of voicing means people contribute their speech, not only for themselves, but to the whole idea. Overall, these principles are considered having positive effects on organizational learning. They emphasize group and organization achievements rather than an individual accomplishment. In Schein’s study (1993), he described dialogue as â€Å"talking around the campfire† (p. 391). He used â€Å"campfire† as a metaphor to explain how decision is made through dialogue. In the past, people sat around campfire during meeting and shared their own opinions. Arguments would never come up as people just simply expressed their thoughts without any discussion or debate. Through that, they were aware themselves which idea was acceptable and were unacceptable (Schein 1993). This process allowed enough time for each person to listen to a deeper layer of other’s opinions then reflect on their own assumptions. Moreover, Schein introduced the check-in concept. At the beginning of the meeting, each person will respectively contribute his or her ideas, views and feelings to the group as a whole, and therefore, â€Å"has helped to create the group† (Schein 1993, p. 392). Lastly, Schein stressed the limitation of eye contact. This makes people feel ea sier to suspend disagreements and concentrate on listening. Senge (1995) determined dialogue as a facilitator for team learning. Based on his research, team is the key unit to build culture in an organization. By applying dialogue into team learning process, it develops shared vision and  brings result every member truly desires. It also creates teamwork and shares equal leadership to each member in the group. Through sharing a common pool of meaning, culture is positively transforming from individual to group values and beliefs. Although dialogue is proved to have a great effect on organizational culture, there are challenges in implementing it into organization learning system. The first challenge is due to hierarchy level in an organization (Raelin 2012). Dialogue requires equal say and sharing from each member of the organization. However, employees tend to afraid of expressing their true views in front of their managers. They leave decision making to people at higher position. In top-down companies, upper levels of management have full knowledge of desired targets, goals and norms. They have the right and ability to create and change organizational culture. They enforce rules and duties on their employee. They usually do not spend time to listen to individual’s opinion and feeling. Hence, it is very challenging to apply dialogue into this type of business. Furthermore, if the organization involves a cross-culture, that employee come from different culture backgrounds, there is a need for a more lengthy and complicated process of dialogue (Schein 1993). In this type of organization, people use different languages and operate from different mental models. Organization needs to design a dialogue that enables all these people to communicate effectively. Thornhill, Lewis Saunders (2000) also emphasized there is may be a need to â€Å"re-designing of performance appraisal systems and reward systems† and â€Å"the re-definition of job roles to induce employees into accept the new behavior expected from them† (p. 27). Hence it is costly and time consuming. Finally, dialogue may not be suitable to apply to all organizations cultures in the world. For example, Western culture is different from Eastern culture. As dialogue encourage the limitation of eye contact (Schein 1993), people from the West will consider this as impolite or even disrespectful (Spindler 1990). In addition, in Western countries people prefer confrontation whereas Eastern people prefer to say what they feel most  appropriate in this circumstance or least hurtful to the others (Schein 1993). Therefore, dialogue must be selective so it is suitable for each particular organization. In conclusion, dialogue has played a key role in positively transforming organizational culture. It acts as a learning environment that shifts individual to group thinking. It leads each employee to recognize the essential of collaborating in a group. Querubin (2011) demonstrated that dialogue enables members to â€Å"become open to diversity and lose an â€Å"us vs. them† paradigm so prevalent in task-oriented cultures† (p. 19). Hence, group achievement is more important than individual accomplishment. Moreover, dialogue includes suspending of judgment, listening, respect, reflection, assumption and voicing. Through all these principles, dialogue creates collective understanding and leads all members of the organization to higher commitment. However, the implementation of dialogue still faces several challenges, including hierarchy levels, time consuming and different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, selective approach of dialogue must be considered to apply to specifi c organization. REFERENCES Bohm, D. 1996, On Dialogue. Ed. Lee Nichol, Routledge, London New York. Brayman, J., Grey, M. Stearns, M. 2010, Taking Flight to Literacy and Leadership, Rowman Littlefield, viewed 16 December 2010, Ellinor, L. Gerard, G. 2001, Dialogue at Work: Skills at Leveraging Collective Understanding, Pegasus Communications, Waltham, MA. Ellinor, L. Gerard, G. 2001, Dialogue at Work: Skills at Leveraging Collective Understanding, Pegasus Communications, Waltham, MA, pp. 7. Gerard, G. Teurfs, L. 1995, Dialogue and Organizational Transformation, 1st edn, Sterling Stone, Inc., San Francisco. Isaacs, W. 1999, Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A Pioneering Approach to Communicating in Business and in Live, Currency, New York. Querubin, C. 2011, ‘The effect on the organization’, Dialogue: Creating Shared Meaning and Other Benefits for Business, pp. 19, Raelin, J. 2012, ‘Dialogue and deliberation as expressions of democratic leadership in participatory organizational change’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Vol. 25. Schein , E. H. 1993, On dialogue, culture, and organizational learning . Organizational Dynamics, pp 391-392. Senge, P. M. 1995, The spirit of personal mastery, MN: Charthouse International Learning Corporation, Burnsville. Sergiovanni, T. 1984, ‘Leadership and excellence in schooling’, Educational Leadership Journal, vol. 4. Spindler, G. 1993, The American Cultural Dialogue and Its Transmission, Psychology Press, The British Psychological Society 2012, Dialogue: How to create change in organizations through conversation, viewed 14 May 2012, http://www.bps.org.uk/events/dialogue-how-create-change-organisations-through-conversation-1 Thornhill, A., Lewis, M. Saunders, M. 2000, Managing Change: A Human Resource Strategy Approach, Prentice Hall, London.

Video games in pop-culture Essay Example for Free

Video games in pop-culture Essay Video games and computer games (from here on both categories will be simply referred to as video games for simplicity) have entered the domain of pop culture fairly recently. Although the first video game was developed in 1958 by William Higginbotham, their popularity didn’t occur until the seventies with the appearance of Pac-man and Frogger in the arcades (Computer and Video Games). If the younger generation of video game consumers would take a look at what was out there when the video game boom begun they wouldn’t be able to understand what was so attractive (and addictive?) about Pac-man and Frogger? The truth is, video games from over three decades ago share the same basic principles with the games we have out there right now. Let’s face it, we like video games because they provide us with interactive entertainment. In other words, we’re genuinely entertained by colorful objects that move on the TV/computer screen when we press certain buttons. I suggest that it is the overwhelming gratification that we experience from actually having absolute and unconditional control over something in our lives. Another suggestion that I have is that video games share the same elements or even directly imitate traditional games such as tag, ping-pong, chess, hopscotch etc. ; video games allow us to engage in these games easily, without any stigma or significant effort on our parts. Video games are fun, inexpensive, can become a social activity allowing friends to play along, and sometimes they’re even mentally stimulating if not challenging. They’ve been a real hit every since they came out and today the video game industry has grown significantly. However, let’s examine the circle of people that are involved in production and design of video games. As long ago as video games first became popular their manufacturers turned them into sellable products. It seems a bit ridiculous that a video game can cost as much as $50 (for a good video game), however, this amount seems almost justified if we consider all the effort put into the creation of a good video game. There are perhaps more steps involved in the creation of video games then in a production of a music album. First of all, behind every great game there’s a great idea, which most often have been proven to be interesting to human brain in real life (tag, chess, checkers, etc.). However, this idea has to be turned into machine language, so then it could be displayed on the TV/computer screen in the digital format. Second, there’s a wealth of robust and â€Å"well-polished† computer software behind every good video game. Good video games are well-implemented and, therefore, run with no problems – example of good computer design. Bad games are poorly â€Å"written†, therefore, crash often and require frequent resets (turning the video game console/computer off and back on). Third, there’s the testing stage, where beta-testers (pro gamers, hired by manufacturers) test the games for â€Å"bugs†, â€Å"glitches†, and â€Å"crashes† (various code problems). If the game passes the tests with few problems it gets released and advertised. Highly anticipated games are advertised long before their release by means of internet teaser videos, information from the developers and screenshots taken during the development/testing phase. Games that are expected to make it big are even advertised on television. But why do we listen to these ads and buy video games, one might ask, don’t we have more important things to occupy our free with? This question brings to the discussion of the social world involvement in the video game industry. Indeed, we, as consumers, both passive and active, create the context and content for video games. A lot of games, as I’ve already mentioned earlier in this essay revolve around activities we enjoy in real life such as analog games, sports, social interactions, operating various devices, working a job, solving problems, managing finances, dancing but most importantly fantasizing. Most people given the possibility would love to engage in a variety of activities that are outside their usual mundane existence. While the living out these activities might be a bit complicated for a variety of reasons starting from time and ending with money, their virtual representation are readily available in a digital format. There are literally tons of video games out there that simulate all sorts of sports, their popularity is especially high among Americans who idealize a fit, toned and healthy body image and an active lifestyle. Video games also burrow heavily from other forms of popular entertainment such as movies, cartoons, books, music, television game shows, commix etc. These genres sometimes attempt to do the same and burrow content from video games only to fail miserably every single time (Bloodrayne, Doom, Dungeons and Dragons). Perhaps, the reason why this happens is because video games in addition to mind blowing special effects and often great story lines and excellent voice-over/soundtrack also offer interactivity (active participation f the player). Refined of participation element video game-to-movie adaptations are like about as entertaining as a video game with no controller to manipulate the characters and the outcomes. This gives evidence that shows that although video games represent a humongous industry and have a great diversity of products, they are nothing without the social world. Whether we’re simulating a football game, controlling an army of monsters or flying on a magic carpet we’re doing nothing else but living out our fantasies which are based on something we’ve (a) actually participated in, (b) would like to participate in or (c) simply heard of, read about or saw on pictures/video. However, there are of course more complex situations when games come very close to offer the players a virtual reality filled with possibilities limited only by the context of the game. There are games that offer entire virtual islands with their own flora and fauna for players to explore. In a sense, this puts the idea of content of video games being dictated by reality under question and opens a debate on whether video games will ultimately become substitutes for reality. As consumers it is up to us to answer this question for ourselves. Before we explore our options, however, let’s take a look around and see who the consumers of video games are. Video games have gained massive popularity due to their dramatically increasing variety. Decades ago when video games were just starting to develop this domain of the market was aimed primarily at high-school age boys. This was primarily due to the character of older video games, which centered on shooting, fighting and other activities typical (although not exclusive) to males. Now, as games are becoming more and more diverse women have been steadily joining this entertainment industry branch and now constitute 26% of the entire gaming world (Ulmer). Adult males (18+) are currently the world’s biggest video game consumers (38%), younger boys (ages 6-17) now only represent 21% of the total consumers. The mean age of video game consumers has risen to 29 (Ulmer), which means that this sector of the entertainment market is now dominated by college students and young working professionals, as opposed to high school boys. Other data from presented by James Ulmer of hollywoodreporter. com reveals that video games is a multi-billion dollar industry which keeps growing larger each year. It has shifted its consumer base by expanding towards a more mature audience and towards women as well. A direction of such character, based on the data, did not only help this industry acquire new customers but also dramatically increased this industry’s annual profits worldwide. Returning to the consumers, as we’ve observed, video games today are no longer an exclusively younger male entertainment; by expanding the market to both sexes and raising the target age average video game industry has now become inseparable from pop-culture. Movies, books, music and other segments of pop-culture inevitably influence content and context of video games; in fact video games are so closely tied to the rest of the media these days that one can find these products bundled together in one item at stores like Virgin, Borders, Best Buy and others. However, video games is multi-faced phenomenon; it’s as much a part of world’s pop-culture as it is an art form and a simulator of reality. It is only a matter of time before people realize and experience a fuller range of applications of video games. These discoveries are, however, in minds and hands of researchers and developers, we are but passive observers of their innovations and active participants of their popular products. Only time will show. Works Cited â€Å"Computer and Video Games†. 8 Mar. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 Mar. 2006. Ulmer, James. â€Å"Broadband rules in rapidly expanding global video game market†. TheHollywoodReporter. com. 27 Sep. 2004. VNU eMedia, Inc. 7 Mar. 2006.

Nigerian And British Negotiating Styles

Nigerian And British Negotiating Styles It can be argued that cases of successful negotiators in businesses have always kept their vision of success straight. These people are advocated to full understand what they want along with a complete understanding of the negotiation process. The successful people do not only have an understanding of their preferred negotiating style but also fully understand the preferred negotiating style of their counterpart. Hence, this allows the manger to excel in achieving their goals. Recently, few of the academics have undervalued the stance of adopting appropriate negotiation styles. However, on the other hand it can be argued that an approach that works superb for the counterparts style of negotiation has the capability of creating deadlock having a different negotiation style. Prudent people have been advocated the ones who carefully distinguishes and understands these differences and adopt a negotiating style that is best suited according the situation. This briefing paper has highlighted the challenges in terms of varying negotiating styles that can be faced by The Body Shop. These include cultural barriers, communication barriers from the perspective of Hofstede model or time orientation, space orientation, nonverbal communication, power distance and uncertainty avoidance. The next section has briefed about the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the company can face by setting their operations in Nigeria. Finally, the conclusions have focused on the precautionary measures that need to be taken by the manger of The Body Shop Company while carrying successful operations in Nigeria. 2 Terms of Reference This report is written as a part of management consultancy report for The Body Shop company. This report is a short briefing paper that will inform The Body Shop with the ways that can be adopted by the company to set up business operations in Nigeria. This report will provide a brief on the ways and styles of negotiation that can be adopted by The Body Shop. The Body Shop is the worlds second largest cosmetic franchise in the world. The company runs about 2400 shops in a total of 61 countries. The headquarters of The Body Shop is based in West Sussex England. The company has now decided to open their operations in Nigeria. This report is being compiled by ABC consultants, who specialize in providing cultural specific information to help their clients set up their businesses in new environment. The company excels in providing high quality service in facilitating the client help combating their cultural related issues. This particular report is a brief for The Body Shop Company on the ways company should solve their upcoming cultural related problems in opening their business in Nigeria. The Body Shop has asked for the tips and information from the ABC consultants, on the differences in negotiating styles that prevail both in England and Nigeria. This will provide The Body Shop with some idea on what to expect from the business environment when executing operations in Nigeria. 3 Overview of the Situation In considering the cultural differences in both the Nigeria and Europe, it is important to expand on the cultural dimensions presented by Hosftede, Hall, Kluckholn, Strodtbeck and Carbaugh (Orientation, 2008). It is worth mentioning that there exist no right approach to negotiation but rather there are good and bad approaches (LeBaron, 2008). For The Body Shop, to expand their business in a developing country such as Nigeria, will be expected to be exposed to a number of challenges. The challenges that the company can encounter includes: 3.1 Negotiation The literature suggests that managers and officials in Nigeria have very limited exposure to other cultures and hence like to perform their activities the way they want to perform (Katz, 2008). Specifically in Nigeria the culture is such that there exist contingency bargaining (Katz, 2008). The people of Nigeria adopt the cooperative style of negotiation but generally people may avoid compromises unless it is important (Katz, 2008). The preferred approach generally adopted by people is not win/win (Adair, 2001) The habit of Nigerians is that they will try to draw more outcomes out of the entire deal, without having regards for being fair to the other party (Adair, 2001) The Body Shop has to keep in mind that Nigerians have the capability to trick other party into inferior terms and conditions (Katz, 2008). Most importantly, in any situation of conflict the Nigerians are not very prone to compromise situation (Masayuki and M., 1993). Nigerians normally believe in sharing information as a means to develop trust but on the other hand side the other party must beware of the frauds that are a common practice (Graham et al., 1994). Normally the pact with which these negotiations take place is quite slow (Katz, 2008). The act of building relationships with Nigerians, bargaining and decision making takes much longer than expected (Katz, 2008). It is advisable for The Body Shop to be patient and control emotions about this delay because it is a part of their culture (Katz, 2008). It is worthwhile for the Body shop to keep in mind that the Nigerians prefer a polychromic work style (LeBaron, 2008). They normally take up on a number of things at the same time (LeBaron, 2008). At the time of negotiation, the Nigerians keep jumping back and forth on different topics rather than addressing one at a time (LeBaron, 2008). Whereas, the Europeans follow a monochromic style and consider one thing at a time (LeBaron, 2008). This may confuse the personnel of Body Shop. When it comes to bargaining, the Nigerians love haggling and feel offended if not welcomed (LeBaron, 2008). The Body Shop have to keep in mind that they facts can be revisited to their advantage, provided if Nigerians reciprocate on agreed areas (LeBaron, 2008). 3.2 Time Orientations There are two different orientations to time that exist in the world. These are the monochromic and polychromic cultures (Kirkman et al., 2006) 3.2.1 Negotiators from Polychronic culture It should be kept in mind that Nigerians have no fixed timings for meetings (Reisinger and Crotts, 2010) They take more breaks in work (Soares et al., 2007) Are normally comfortable with high level of information Normally overlap talks Consider the start time of anything as flexible and not take lateness 3.2.2 Negotiators from Monochronic cultures The culture in Europe follow specific timings for beginning and ending the task (Taras et al., 2010a) They prefer scheduled breaks (Taras et al., 2010b) Consider one thing at a time (Williams and Zinkin, 2008) They rely on specific and detailed authentic communication Like talking in sequence Consider lateness as devaluing 3.3 Space Orientations These space orientations also vary across different cultures (LeBaron, 2008). This refers to the physical distance that is considered comfortable according to a specific culture (Arrindell, 2003, Baskerville, 2003). The personal space that is preferred in Europe is much more than that in developing countries like Nigeria. This space will also consider the aspect of eye contact. In Europe the eye contact is taken for its reliability whereas in Nigeria it may be seen considered as disrespectful (Eckhardt, 2003, Ford et al., 2003, Peterson, 2003). There are many differences in spatial preferences based on age, gender, generation and class which needs to be taken into account (Lederach, 1995). Therefore, space needs to be considered as a variable in negotiation (Lederach, 1995). 3.4 Nonverbal Communication It can be one of the problems that The Body Shop needs to take into consideration. It can be argued that in intercultural studies, some cultures uses silence as one of the ways to negotiate, whereas some use none at all (Nancy, 1997). Nigerians may consider hugging as a trusting relationship whereas Europeans find it too intimate (Sharma, 2003). 3.5 Power distance Hofstede uses power distance to explain the degree of acceptance of unequal power among people (Tavakoli et al., 2003) Generally, in Nigeria the power distance among people is quite much, where some are considered superior to others due to factors such as social status, age, race, gender and education. Whereas, in Europe the power distance is less and advocates equality among individuals (Williamson, 2002). Generally, Nigerians have hierarchical structures, clear authority figures and consider their right to use their power (Yoo and Donthu, 2002) Whereas, in Europe there are flat organizational structures, shared authority and consider their right to use power only in some circumstances (Yoo and Donthu, 2002) 3.6 Uncertainty Avoidance It related to the national culture that relates to uncertainty and the degree of adapting to change (Ford et al., 2003) It can be argued that Nigeria does not welcome uncertainty and ambiguity. Nigerians normally place high value to risk avoidance and depend on following formal rules and procedures (Ford et al., 2003) It is normally not a common thing to trust a non family member in Nigerian culture (Ford et al., 2003) On the other hand side, the Europeans have high tolerance for risk. They value risk taking, solving problems and have flat organizational structures (Ford et al., 2003) 3.7 Masculinity-Femininity It refers to the extent to which a culture values boldness (Cronje, 2011) It also refers to the role of men and women in organizations (Cronje, 2011) The Europeans are more assertive and task-oriented as opposed to Nigerians. There are rigid gender roles in Nigerian culture as opposed to that in Europe (Cronje, 2011) 3.8 Communication Nigerian follows direct and straight forward communication when it comes to friends and business (Migliore, 2011). They can easily say no in case they do not like something in particular. In early stages of business they may seem non-committed and communicate indirectly. In situations of silence shows anger or displeasure. Nigerians also value eye contact (Migliore, 2011). 4 Analysis of Situation 4.1SWOTof Body Shop The Body Shop has a team of management that has specific expertise on areas such as negotiations. They need to keep in mind the negotiation styles and techniques that are followed by the Nigerian businessmen. The company has the capability to attract the customers due to their high quality body care products. It has an edge over its rivals based on its uniqueness that can be depicted from making products from natural content of the environment (Huang and Xu, 2009). One of its weaknesses is that the image it tries to portray does not parallel reality. The company claims for having natural products but they are seldom fresh. Other negative for them is that there will be hostility by the locals because the people generally dont want outsiders to operate in their country. The company will have to bear the cultural barriers; including language and gestures etc. the Nigerians welcome bribes in many cases, hence making it confusing and difficult for The Body shop to understand what is required by the other party (Hartman and Beck-Dudley, 1999). Greatest opportunity for The Body Shop will be to enter new market and attract new customers. That will allow the company to increase their customer base. The business will also make new contacts and understand the culture properly, making it easy for Body Shop to enter into any other new market having the same culture (Awe, 2000, Kintish, 2002). The major threats that will be posed to The Body Shop will be the local cosmetic providers that already have been serving in the market for decades. The local people living in Nigeria will find it confusing and difficult to make the initial switch due their lack of knowledge on how it is different from any local cosmetic provider. 5 PESTEL Analysis of Body Shop in Both Countries A PESTEL analysis of Body shop in both countries has also been conducted. Body Shop has a number of political issues which would be important for the company (Awe, 2000). In Nigeria, the company would have to deal to deal with uncertainty and political turmoil, as the government is not stable. In UK, the negotiators would be faced with different issues, such as the spending cuts and government bureaucracy. The economic factors which would be considered by the negotiators in Nigeria would involve the aspects of changing currency markets and economic hardship due to the global economic crisis. Similar factors would also be visible in UK. The social factors influencing negotiators in Nigeria would be related to the working conditions of the human force. They would have to ensure that the local culture of male dominance does not come into play, as Body Shop would want to portray a positive international image from the operation. A number of technological factors would also influence the Body Shop operations (Li et al., 2010, Huang and Xu, 2009), which would include online shopping and the availability of a online managed supply chain in Nigeria. The technological factors would also influence the working conditions of the workforce, which would be a key negotiating tactic. Environmental issues such as the making sure of good environmental policy for any future operation, and government regulations governing these must also be taken into consideration. Finally, legal issues are also important for the negotiating for Body Shop (Awe, 2000, Kintish, 2002). All new operations must fulfill international and local legal requirements, and this is carefully considered when starting a new operation and negotiating working conditions with local representatives. 6 Solutions and Recommendations It has been concluded that it is completely difficult to track the starting points that are used by the negotiators belonging from different national settings. The reason for this is that cultures are constantly changing with changing times. From another perspective, it can be argued that cross-cultural negotiation literature is based on the organizational areas and hence it cannot be applied to the area of intractable conflicts. It can also be concluded that The Body Shop will have acquire the know how about the way things are done in different situations in Nigeria. It should be kept in mind by the company that setting operations in Nigeria would mean changing their ways of dealing with businesses. The managers of The Body Shop need to be more vigilant on communication as a means of bridging the cultural gap. It is recommended that Body Shop must study the Nigerian culture carefully so that they can make business deal successful. It is also recommended that before entering in Niger ian market, some research must be carried out to measure the worth of the target market that the company intends to cater to. The space orientation, time orientation must be taken into account while conducting the business dealings with the locals. Since, The Body Shop is a multinational, in order for it to keep up with its reputation, the manager responsible for its operations in Nigeria needs to set the timescales and deadlines well in advance, keeping in mind the laidback attitude of Nigeria. The people of Nigeria are usually use to be being pushed for work, therefore it needs to be kept in mind by the expatriate of Body Shop to keep motivating their workforce every now and then to make their business successful in Nigeria. Moreover, the manager for Body Shop needs to keep motivating team work because it is the most common way of achieving task in Nigeria.

Cheetahs :: essays research papers

For my vertebrate animal I chose the Cheetah. The Cheetah or Acinonyx Jubatus is an endangered species. They were once found throughout Africa and Asia, but are now only scattered throughout Eastern Africa and a small region of Southwestern Africa. Cheetahs are threatened by increasing loss of habitat, decline in prey, and increased poaching for fur trade. The Cheetah has a tawny coarse coat with round black spots or â€Å"tear stripes† from the corner of the eyes down to the sides of the nose. They are slender and long legged, and their claws are non-retractable. They also have small heads with high set eyes and small ears. Cheetahs average 44 to 53 inches in length, with an additional tail length of 26 to 33 inches. The Cheetah’s average weight is 86 to 143 pounds. Male Cheetahs are slightly larger than females. The Cheetahs flexible spine, oversized liver, enlarged heart, slender muscular body, and unique claws make it the swiftest hunter in Africa, and the fastest animal on land. A Cheetah can reach speeds of up to 60 mph. In the grassy plains and dense bush females live alone, except when raising cubs. Males live alone or with a small group of brothers from the same litter. Cheetahs hunt in late morning and early evening. They stalk their prey first, until they are within 40 to 90 feet before the chase begins. Chases last from twenty seconds to one minute, and only about half are successful. If the Cheetah does catch its prey it suffocates it by biting it underneath the throat. Then the carcass is dragged of to a safe place to be eaten. Cheetahs prey on animals such as Gazelles, Wildebeest calves, impala, and other hoofed animals weighing up to 88 pounds. A Cheetahs sexual maturity is reached in about 20 to 23 months. Mating can occur any time of year. Gestation lasts 91 to 95 days. Litter size can be 1 to 8 cubs, but the average is 3.

Arnold Schoenbergs Musical Influence Essay -- Arnold Schoenberg Music

Arnold Schoenberg's Musical Influence Arnold Schoenberg was one of the greatest musical influences of the mid 20th Century. He was born on September 13, 1874, to a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria (Schoenberg 1). Schoenberg was a young Jewish man during World War I (WWI) living in Berlin. He was directly affected by the invasion of the Nazis. In 1933, he had to leave Berlin and desert his faith for Lutheranism later on taking on the faith of Judaism. At the early age of eight, he began violin lessons and almost immediately started composing music (Schoenberg 1). He was self-taught until the age of 10 when he began formal training (Schoenberg 1). He earned a living by orchestrating operettas, directing a cabaret orchestra, and teaching. Schoenberg influenced the music and art of the western culture in numerous ways. Some of the most successful composers were his students. These students were molded by Schoenberg and directly absorbed his knowledge and style. Schoenberg created different rhythms and tunes that were passed along to his students and other composers. He was able to catch the attention of a multitude through his writings, music, paintings, and post cards. This variety of talent gathered a larger audience and catered to their needs. Being that Schoenberg often traveled and taught at his destination, he was well known throughout the world and influenced many. Schoenberg taught over thousands of students within a fifty-year period including Austrian composers Anton Webern and Alban Berg (Bailey 2). Schoenberg did not view teaching as a job but rather as an inspirational motivation tool. He said: â€Å"I must confess that I was a passionate teacher, and the satisfaction of giving to beginners as much as possible of my own knowledge was probably a greater reward that the actual fee I received (Simms 1).† His passion was passed down to his students encouraging a musical revolution. The more he taught, the more lives he influenced. Students serve as a great preservation of history and culture. They take what they have learned, add their style to it, and it starts the domino effect from there. It is obvious that Schoenberg regarded teaching as more than a job but a way to influence and enhance culture. He felt that he didn’t gain from what he was taught unless he had already discovered it. Schoenberg created a twelve-tone method and many rhythms and tu... ...eavy Metal, Country, and Broadway are based on the concepts of temperament and tonality defined by Schoenberg. He created a twelve-tone method and many wonderful rhythms and tunes. His greatest joy in life was to teach. He wanted to influence students to take chances and to have their own musical styles. He was never afraid to show his own styles and expressions to the world. Works Cited Arnold Schoenberg Center: The Portrait of a Century at http://www.schoenberg.at/1_as/essay/essay_e.htm Arnold Schoenberg – Born: September 13, 1874 Vienna/ Died: July 13, 1951 Los Angeles, California at http://www.wwnorton.com/classical/composers/schnbrg.htm Arnold Schoenberg - The American Works at http://www.schirmer.com/composers/schoenberg_essay.html Arnold Schoenberg: (1874-1951) at http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/schonberg.html Arnold Schoenberg Center: Schoenberg as a Teacher http://www.schoenberg.at/1_as/schueler/lehrerschueler_e.htm Bailey, Walter B. The Arnold Schoenberg Companion. Greenwood Press, 1998 Simms, Bryan R. The Atonal Music of Arnold Schoenberg, 1908-1923. Oxford US, 2000 Journal of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute IX/1 June 1986. Arnold Schoenberg's Musical Influence Essay -- Arnold Schoenberg Music Arnold Schoenberg's Musical Influence Arnold Schoenberg was one of the greatest musical influences of the mid 20th Century. He was born on September 13, 1874, to a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria (Schoenberg 1). Schoenberg was a young Jewish man during World War I (WWI) living in Berlin. He was directly affected by the invasion of the Nazis. In 1933, he had to leave Berlin and desert his faith for Lutheranism later on taking on the faith of Judaism. At the early age of eight, he began violin lessons and almost immediately started composing music (Schoenberg 1). He was self-taught until the age of 10 when he began formal training (Schoenberg 1). He earned a living by orchestrating operettas, directing a cabaret orchestra, and teaching. Schoenberg influenced the music and art of the western culture in numerous ways. Some of the most successful composers were his students. These students were molded by Schoenberg and directly absorbed his knowledge and style. Schoenberg created different rhythms and tunes that were passed along to his students and other composers. He was able to catch the attention of a multitude through his writings, music, paintings, and post cards. This variety of talent gathered a larger audience and catered to their needs. Being that Schoenberg often traveled and taught at his destination, he was well known throughout the world and influenced many. Schoenberg taught over thousands of students within a fifty-year period including Austrian composers Anton Webern and Alban Berg (Bailey 2). Schoenberg did not view teaching as a job but rather as an inspirational motivation tool. He said: â€Å"I must confess that I was a passionate teacher, and the satisfaction of giving to beginners as much as possible of my own knowledge was probably a greater reward that the actual fee I received (Simms 1).† His passion was passed down to his students encouraging a musical revolution. The more he taught, the more lives he influenced. Students serve as a great preservation of history and culture. They take what they have learned, add their style to it, and it starts the domino effect from there. It is obvious that Schoenberg regarded teaching as more than a job but a way to influence and enhance culture. He felt that he didn’t gain from what he was taught unless he had already discovered it. Schoenberg created a twelve-tone method and many rhythms and tu... ...eavy Metal, Country, and Broadway are based on the concepts of temperament and tonality defined by Schoenberg. He created a twelve-tone method and many wonderful rhythms and tunes. His greatest joy in life was to teach. He wanted to influence students to take chances and to have their own musical styles. He was never afraid to show his own styles and expressions to the world. Works Cited Arnold Schoenberg Center: The Portrait of a Century at http://www.schoenberg.at/1_as/essay/essay_e.htm Arnold Schoenberg – Born: September 13, 1874 Vienna/ Died: July 13, 1951 Los Angeles, California at http://www.wwnorton.com/classical/composers/schnbrg.htm Arnold Schoenberg - The American Works at http://www.schirmer.com/composers/schoenberg_essay.html Arnold Schoenberg: (1874-1951) at http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/schonberg.html Arnold Schoenberg Center: Schoenberg as a Teacher http://www.schoenberg.at/1_as/schueler/lehrerschueler_e.htm Bailey, Walter B. The Arnold Schoenberg Companion. Greenwood Press, 1998 Simms, Bryan R. The Atonal Music of Arnold Schoenberg, 1908-1923. Oxford US, 2000 Journal of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute IX/1 June 1986.

Music: The Power of Plot :: Music Theory Essays

Music: The Power of Plot People relate to music. We sing it. We cry to it. We laugh to it. The reason: we can see ourselves in music. We can let go of our feelings and just relate to the words or the instruments. One way the songwriter connects the listener to the music is through plot: the problem or reaction to a problem a character/singer is expressing. Whether it is a fight with a lover, a fight with a friend, finding a lover/friend, or any other, the plot is helps the listener relate to the song. Currently in my CD player is a live recording of Jill Scott at a concert. Most of her songs have to do with life & love. Take for example the song â€Å"Gettin’ in the Way.† This song is about a woman trying to steal her man. She tells her to step back because the woman is â€Å"getting in the way of what I am feeling.† The sequence of events in this song is interesting. In the commentary she explains that this song is about principle. First she says to the woman to nicely step back. Then she says it in a harsher tone: â€Å"I know you don’t understand, but sister girl, you gotta get off my man.† Finally, she says â€Å"I am about to go off in your face: You better chill!† Clearly the conflict in the song is clear and can be easily related to the listeners’ lives. Let’s look at another example, â€Å"To Zion† by Lauryn featuring Carlos Santanna. The song is about an unplanned pregnancy. She talks about how she â€Å"touched my belly overwhelmed.† She was told by many people to â€Å"be smart / look at your career they said / ‘Lauryn, baby, use your head.’† However, she chooses to use her â€Å"heart† and keep the baby. The name of her son is Zion, which gives light to the next verse â€Å"Now the joy of my world is in Zion.

Eli Lilly and Company: Innovation in Diabetes Care Essay

Eli Lilly and Company has success in produce and sells insulin in the United States in 1923 and in 1995 Eli Lilly has dominated the world insulin market with another company. But Eli Lilly has miss some of its’ opportunity in diabetes care when it trying to sell its’ product to the world. What went wrong with Eli Lilly during that time? Here are few points. First of all, Lilly has trying hard to improve their product. But as the case mentions when Lilly’s â€Å"Match† product come out, it become a rival commodities to Lilly’s own old product. When it comes to product life cycle, it true that company needs to put out new product before the old product become less revenue but in this situation for Eli Lilly is different. Because of the market rate it hold in US diabetes care market is around 80% and the new product will definitely hurt the revenue the old product produce. So Eli Lilly actually decided not to put it on to the market. It was not a clever idea of choosing to thinking of its’ revenue instead of customer need. And when it comes to asking the customer what they need. Eli Lilly asked the wrong customer. Instead of asking the people who are actually using diabetes care product, Eli Lilly went into doctor. What the doctor wants is totally opposite from what the patient need, the doctor want the customer come to them regularly because that’s the way that doctor earn money from. But patient or customers want to be able to control it by themselves. When Eli Lilly targeted wrong customer it eventually hurt its’ revenue. Nova is considering the main competitor for Eli Lilly. But both two companies put up similar product into market. They try to put out the newest product in order to attract more customers and gain more profit from it. But does the customer really need those newest products. It becomes the question between should the product be consumers-demand trajectory or technology-performance trajectory. In this case, the answer would probably consumers-demand trajectory. Even though two companies put out good product but the customer used to the product they already have. And the customer are sensitive to the price since those products are using only few times and need to be change all the time. Even though there are some parts that Eli Lilly fail on it but it try hard to understand what their customer really need. Eli Lilly found out that customer would willing to use their new product if they did some change to it such as more easy for customers to using new product or using other technology instead of need to inject. And more important is that Eli Lilly found out that most of their customers don’t have enough of information about diabetes care. So Eli Lilly set up an Controlled Diabetes Services program (CDS) which educating people and building a community of patients the value of their insulin therapy. I think Eli Lilly made a good decision about setting up CDS which can indirectly understand what their customers need and allow more people have more opportunity to get to know their product and use their product. Focusing on know their customer and educating their customer will let more and more people know their new product and form a habit of using their new product. If CDS successfully then Eli Lilly new product such as Match and Insulin pens will have less problem when it sales on the market. Instead of keep on compete with similar product on the market, Eli Lilly should look for new opportunities. Eli Lilly should ask their customers what their value for the product, how they use it to find out the need for customer. Also Eli Lilly need to protect their current market. In pharmaceutical industry, once you lost a customer, it will be harder to get that customer back. When customers change to other medicine, it will take customer time to get used to the new medicine and once customer used to the new medicine. They will gain royal to it because of changing cost and troubles it might occur. Even Eli Lilly have miss some opportunities in diabetes care market but its’ trying to using the resources and new product to regain their advantage to the diabetes care market for example the CDS program will definitely gain revenue, new customer and open new market for it. But beside CDS program, it would have to put up more products. And I do think that compare to technology-performance trajectory, Eli Lilly should go with consumers-demand trajectory. Since of the technology-performance trajectory competitive is strong and it could not earn more profit from it. By changing to consumers-demand trajectory will give it more choose and opportunities.

How Does Wilfred Owen Describe the Horrors of War in Dulce Et Decorum Est? Essay

The First World War was a time of great loss of life and bloodshed. Wilfred Owen, a soldier fighting with the British Army, wrote the poem Dulce et Decorum est to describe, possibly to the public, the horrific consequences of taking part and fighting in the war. During the poem, he describes the aftermath of a poison gas attack, and the injuries sustained by a soldier whom had inhaled the deadly substance. Owen uses gruesome imagery to vividly show in verse the horrible death the soldier faces, in the trenches of France. The poem Dulce et Decorum est is widely regarded as one of the greatest war poems ever written, and is a fine example of an anti-war protest in the form of poetry. The title of the poem is taken from an ode from a Roman philosopher and writer, published many hundreds of years before the poem. These Latin words are briefly translated into English as ‘it is sweet and right.’ The use of ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ in the title of the poem is essenti ally a use of sarcasm, using a common phrase in British Army culture at the time, to almost ridicule the idea that it is a wise thing to do to die in battle, for your country. The first verse of the poem opens with the soldiers walking through the landscape of the trench warfare system, in the thick of what would be a raging battle. These two first lines show the conditions the soldiers faced out on the front line, cursing ‘through sludge.’ After the battle, they ‘turn (their) backs’ on ‘the haunting flares’ and begin to slowly walk towards their ‘distant rest,’ an area where they may recuperate after long periods in the ferocious battle. In this section of the poem, Wilfred Owen describes the soldiers as ‘old beggars under sacks,’ and ‘hags.’ Both of these comparisons are presented in the form of separate similes. The effect that this creates on the reader is that of war being tiring and exhausting – as well as the toll that it takes on the soldiers’ mental and/or emotional state. This widely-known fact is documented in lines five and seven; ‘men marched asle ep,’ and ‘drunk with fatigue,’ respectively. These uses of language suggest that even though they were constantly stressed and tired, the soldiers fighting were still able to make rational decisions, and could do tasks, even when they were in such a delusional state. This was probably because of the repetitive nature of their job. The last line of verse one describes how the 5.9cal (calibre) ‘Five-Nines’ were out of range, as the soldiers trudged away from the guns. Owen uses words in verse one which could be described as very ‘ugly in texture.’ For example, as mentioned earlier, the use of words like ‘beggar’ and ‘hag’ dismiss the image of a fit, athletic, healthy soldier that most would expect to be on the battlefield, and replaces it with a strikingly contrasting one, halting the poem as the reader makes light of the awful situation of The Great War. Another word that Wilfred Owen used, and that I have decided to comment on, is the word blood-shod. Although not used often nowadays, in this poem it is used to describe the visual state of the soldiers, covered in blood. It seems a dehumanizing image, as they are crushed by the constant strains of battle. The first verse, like the second, is written in sonnet form, however the rhythm loosens towards the end o f the first verse as it leads up to an important moment at the beginning of the second verse. That important moment is put somewhat sharply to the reader, as it shocks them, with a very clever use of dialogue. The reason I think it is brilliant is because it jumps into the thick of the action, transitioning from the slow tempo of the end of battle (for that day!) to the panic and perhaps confusion of a poison-gas attack, all in just four words. Slight confusion can actually be perceived, as the ‘ecstasy of fumbling’ ensues, with the soldiers obviously struggling to fit ‘the clumsy helmets just in time.’ This ‘just in time’ part implies that everyone is okay, and has successfully put on their gas-mask before the gas started to work its chilling effects. However, one soldier unfortunately fails to apply his mask, as is told as he was ‘yelling out and stumbling†¦flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.’ The horrible sight is witnessed by the narrator, ‘dim, through the misty panes (of the mask) and thick green light,’ which is actually the hazy, slightly luminescent fluid that hangs around them, probably chlorine gas. It is described as a ‘green sea’ in the next line, and so I think that this is a reference to the huge area it would cover, blighting anyone who crossed within the vicinity. The simile which compares the man’s actions to one who would be in ‘fire or lime’ is describing his desperate attempts – in vain – to help himself. Lime is a substance that would burn human tissue, much like acid. The narrator tells of how he ‘sees the man drowning’ and then of how he constantly dreams about the wretched being, ‘in all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.’ The victim would have experienced a sensation likened to that of drowning, as the gas inflames the lungs and takes up the space that clean air would have took up, much like water. The helpless feeling of the narrator would have been there in all the men, for there was very little thing they could do to heal the sickened man, because of the limited resources and technology of the time. Instead, (the company) flings him ‘into the wagon’ to be taken and disposed of, effectively, as Owen quipped in a nother poem, Anthem for Doomed Youth, herded like cattle. It is in this section that Wilfred Owen shows how the man was now experiencing his final moments, as the ‘white eyes (were writhing) in his face’ and ‘like a devil’s sick of sin.’ The hideous comparisons that follow are sure to live in the memory of anyone actually witnessing the event, and Owen captures them superbly (in literary terms) as he says ‘obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud.’ This is a very in-your-face image, showing the horrid substances issuing from the soldier’s mouth, as his lungs begin to completely disintegrate and he loses control of throat muscles. The descriptions of the soldier’s condition are aimed into shocking the reader, many of whom would be the British public, into turning against the war. This is shown as Wilfred addresses ‘my friend,’ in line 25. This is actually Jessie Pope, who wrote many patriotic poems encouraging young men, much like Owen, to sign up and ‘do their duty.’ Owen was completely disgusted by the way war was portrayed towards the masses in Pope’s well-known poem Who’s for the Game? and wanted to change the opinions of the public and show them what war was really like, for the common, light infantry foot soldier. He says, ‘my friend, you would not tell with such high zest,’ meaning that Pope wouldn’t think the way she did if she knew the true extent of the suffering. To end the poem, Wilfred Owen uses a controversial and slightly outlandish term, lie. This is especially bizarre as it is criticizing the beliefs of at least 80% of Britons at the time, including the monarch, government and high-ranking officials in the military. To put it in context (literally) the ending goes: The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori. This means, in English: The old Lie: it is sweet and right To die for your country. To conclude, I have a few more comments to make about the effect of the poem on the public. Owen always strongly believed that there was no glory or pride involved in dying at war. People are told they will be proud to fight, but this is actually all a propaganda scheme to recruit soldiers. In no better way could he have expressed this than in the ending to Dulce et Decorum est. People would be more touched by this poem, had it have been published at the time, not three years later, after Owen’s death. The soldiers are presented in general, as pieces of a toy set. They fight for higher ranking people, in wars that are not, in Owen’s beliefs, fought for the benefit of the people. And obviously, it is the low-paid, life-risking foot soldier that is affected most.