American Apparel Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

American Apparel - Research Paper Example American Apparel Major companies, including American Apparel, have come to rely on the sex concept in selling their products to the American public, especially the youth. By incorporating provocative sexual images, their ads, are able to attract young women and men. The company’s chief executive contends that American Apparel’s goal has always been to create a heritage brand for the American public, especially the American pursuit for happiness, property, and liberty. They have been lauded for their ad’s realism since most of their ad subjects are portrayed with their asymmetrical features, imperfections, and blemishes that are attached and highlighted with personal and brief descriptions about them (Welters & Lillethun 65). American Apparel, in addition, rather than outsource their model recruitment, recruits its own ad models from the organization’s stores, on the street, or from photos sent directly to the company’s headquarters via the website. At some point in the past, American Apparel sought to pursue a strategy that dwelt on how the company treated its workers in order to sell the company brand and merchandise, promoting its products as being free of sweatshop activities. The company has also engaged in politically-charged advertisements, such as their anti-immigration laws campaign that referred to current laws as an American variation of apartheid alongside their company logo in 2008 (Welters & Lillethun 66).

Criticisms Or Limitations Of HRM Strategic Hrm Commerce Essay

Criticisms Or Limitations Of HRM Strategic Hrm Commerce Essay Over the past century, the concept of Human Resources Management (HRM) has been going through some significant changes. According to Nankervis, Compton and Baird, the main focus of human resources management is the overall management of an organizations workforce in the purpose of achieving the desired objectives of the organizations in the long run (Nankervis, Compton Baird, 2008). From personnel administration management to human resources management, and then further developing to strategic human resources management, the HR functions of an organization has evolved into a more central strategic role. Nowadays, the change in IR landscape has led to a rise in the attention paid to HRM. With consumer focusing more on the service provided rather than the physical merchandised goods, the demand for a well-functioned HRM has largely increased. HRM is no longer a function performed by HR supervisors but is also seen as a competitive advantage of the organization to achieve its long-term objectives and goals. To a greater extent, this essay will define and compare HRM and SHRM, investigating the hard and soft approaches to HRM. The limitations and criticisms of various HRM models will also be covered in the later paragraph. Lastly, two external environment factors in which organizations are facing nowadays are identified with a research on how the strategic approach to HRM is contributing to their ability to respond to such changes. Human Resources Management (HRM) is defined as the policies, practices and systems established by an organization that shape employees behaviour, attitudes as well as performance towards their job (DeCieri Kramar, 2005). It focuses mainly on managing the productive use of people of the organization in order to achieve its strategic objectives and at the same time upholding a healthy employer-employee relationship to satisfy the individual employees needs (Stone, 2005:4). Before investigating the two models of Human Resources Management (HRM) and Strategic Human Resources Management (SHRM), one should take into considerations that the assumptions underpinning the HRM: the unitarist approach assuming a partnership between the employers and employees on a set of common interest with a mutual commitment to achieve the proposed objectives; and the pluralist approach in which the relationship between the two parties is assumed to have to inevitably go through a conflict of interest and th at negotiations are crucial in resolving the problem (Kane, 1996). Ever since the early 20th century, HRM is seen as merely a personnel function carrying out the day-to-day administrative business of an organization, such as the promotion of employee welfare. While HRM further evolved in the later years, HRM started to turn into a professional approach where specialists are employed to conduct the HR-related task of the organization, including recruitment, training and welfare activities (Nankervis, Compton Baird, 2008). Another perspective of HRM, the resource-based view started to gain popularity in the late 1990s, advocating HR as a valuable resource capable of contributing to the sustained competitive advantage of the organization. In other words, facilitating the development of a company-specific and unique competencies would help sustain the competitive advantage of an organization, and in this case it will be the people (Brewster, Carey, Grobler et. al., 2008). Around the sa me period of time, SHRM also came into being in which it is viewed as more of a macro perspective of the strategic approach in managing employees as a result of the integration of the early personnel management and industrial relations as well as HRM (Nankervis, Compton Baird, 2008). While going into details the definitions and development of HRM, the Harvard model is also useful in showing that HRM theories are way broader than simply a personnel function. It consists of five main factors supporting the central principle of the utilization of employees to ensure the achievement of an organizations desired goals, namely the stakeholder interest, situational factors, HRM policy choice, HR outcome and long-term consequences (Nankervis, Compton Baird, 2008). It is well accepted that dramatic changes that took place in the past decades have created new challenges for HR professionals, forcing them to evolve and enhance their role as a purpose to address these challenges (Brewster, Carey, Grobler et. al., 2008). Instead of limiting the HR department to certain administrative roles, organizations began to line them up with the business managers, in which both parties work together to create a strategic partnership. Such process is what we call the SHRM. According to DeCieri and Kramar, SHRM is known as a pattern of planned HR developments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals (DeCieri Kramar, 2005). One might find it difficult to distinguish between HRM and SHRM. Strategic Human Resources Management stresses the importance of the establishment of HR plan and strategies in order to fulfill an organizations long-term objectives. It is seen as more of a practical model that encourage organization to plain in t he long run, taking potential changes from all other aspects such as the society, economic condition, technology enhancement, industrial relations, etc. into account (Dessler, Griffiths Lloyd-Walker, 2007). Human resources is valued as a source of competitive advantage to certain organizations. Comparing to HRM, SHRM is claimed to be a model that requires more interpretations and well-rounded planning to ensure the most desirable outcomes to suit best with the organizations business plans (Dessler, Griffiths Lloyd-Walker, 2007). With the two theoretical concepts of HRM and SHRM defined and compared, we can now go into investigating another two important approaches to HRM: the hard HR and the soft HR approaches. With reference to Druker, White, Hegewisch and Mayne, the hard approach places the main focus on the strategic business objectives of an organization, treating HR as a resource in achieving its competitive advantage (Druker, White, Hegewisch Mayne, 1996). The soft approach, on the other hand, emphasizes more on the communication, consultation, counseling and support elements within the relationship between the employers and employees (Nankervis, Compton Baird, 2008). While both approaches have validity to particular industries and organizations and is argues that a hard approach must be corresponded with a soft approached to achieve the most desirable outcome (Kaye, 1999), it is said that HRM is more likely to lie towards the hard approach and thus the SHRM better matching the key principle of the s oft approach. Nowadays, in the rapidly growing society where globalization has become the most common issue for most countries, organizations are no longer able to neglect the outside force. Changes have taken place within the organization and so as the role of the HR professionals. Taking various external factors into account, very few organizations can continue with their same old HR policies and practices and therefore, new strategies are to be re-designed. In other words, a lot of adjustments in regards to an organizations HRM plans will have to be made in order to respond to such changes (Brewster, Carey, Grobler et. al., 2008). External factors facilitate the values, attitudes and behaviour of an employee at work and it can be classified into three categories: global, national and industrial (Nankervis, Compton Baird, 2008). Taking the Global Financial Crisis as an example, we will look into the impact it has on HR planning as well as how the HR professionals of an organization is evolving in for the respond to the change. The financial crisis was first triggered by the liquidity shortfall of the US banking system in 2007 and has resulted in the collapse of a number of large financial organizations (Holy See Review, 2010). It is well accepted that such huge issue is affecting almost every single organizations around the world, regardless of their size. It is obvious to organizations that increasing competitive advantages is the only choice for them to better equipped themselves so as to strength their market value and survive through the unstable fluctuating economy. Since it is mentioned in the previous p aragraphs that HR is seen as one of the competitive advantage of organizations, it is not playing a very crucial role under such circumstance. While a number of organizations might choose to be more preservative by cutting down on their staff members as a cost-reducing strategy, with the SHRM model, HR practitioners will instead be focusing more on modifying the HR strategies to address the situation. For instance, by re-designing the HR strategies as well as carrying out a work-life balance policy, the organization would be able to survive through the hard times of the crisis with its employees, eventually promoting employees productivity and loyalty to the organization and thus, reducing absenteeism and the staff turnover of the organization (Schmidt-Hebbel, 2008). Another relevant external environment factor faced by organizations recently is the demographic change of the workforce resulted from an ageing population. As a result of the declining fertility rate, a rising life expectancies as well as the increased migration level, the median age of the populations is proven to be going up very rapidly (Murray Syed, 2005). Though older employees are generally more experienced and therefore more productive than the younger ones, to a greater extent, they tend to suffer more from physical illness and disability, contributing to a higher level of absenteeism. Also, comparing to the younger employees off the organization, it is always harder for older employees to be innovative and adapt to the changing environment as soon as it takes place (Murray Syed, 2005). However, if one does accept that the older workforce are generally more loyal to the organization and that their views and experiences are valuable, diversity management is very much require d to be carried out by the HR professionals. Diversity management is defined as a process of managing peoples similarities and differences at work (DeCieri Kramar, 2005). A number of policies with respect to diversity management can be introduced in order to address the issue. For example, trainings such as computer course can be provided for older employees to help them in adapting to the new working environment. Welfare like long service leave can also be promoted to specially address the older employees of the organization. While HRM is seen as a valuable competitive advantage of organizations, some might argue that there is also a drawback associated with the concept. HRM is sometimes avoided because it is way too complex and time-consuming to organizations (Nankervis, Compton Baird, 2008). For an effective HR plan to be carried out, a large sum of money and resources are to be contributed. A fully functioned data-base system is required to store the details with respect to the employment relationship such as their positions, trainings and developments and this can be rather complicated to set up without the adequate support from HR specialists (Kane, 1996). Various conflicts of interests are certain to come along when planning and conducting the HR strategies that even the top management of an organization might find it worthless to invest in (Nankervis, Compton Baird, 2008). In conclusion, the concepts of both HRM and SHRM have been discussed. While HRM is defined as policies and systems established by an organization in the focus of an effective utilization of its people to achieve to desired objectives, SHRM is known a pattern of HR developments enabling an organization to reach its goals overtime. A number of theoretical concepts including the unitarist and pluralist approaches, the resource based view of HRM as well as the hard and soft approaches are referenced in the purpose of further explaining the concepts and distinguishing between HRM and SHRM. Two external environmental circumstances, namely the global financial crisis and the ageing workforce are identified in which an organizations strategies in addressing such changes is explored. Last but not least, the criticisms and limitations associated with HRM, such as its complexity and the costly process of setting up the HR data-base system are also taken into account so as to give a thorough und erstanding of the entire concept.

Major Problems in Mexican American History by Zaragosa Vargas :: American Citizenship Equality History Essays

Major Problems in Mexican American History by Zaragosa Vargas Vendidos or the sold out ones by Luis Valdez is an enlightening film about the Mexican struggle for survival in the United States. It is thought provoking and challenges the viewer to question some of the history and values that American education has engrained into our lifestyle. Although, the film is only about twenty-five minutes long, it is packed with symbolism and information about the Mexican history in the US. In particular, the film explores the Mexican identity issue. The film opens with Amano Sancho who invites us to look at his shop when Ms. Jiminez walks into the door looking for the perfect Mexican model to take to a governor’s dinner. Sancho is excited to see a Chicana in his store but when he pronounces her name in Spanish she is quick to correct him. Ms. Jiminez she responds in an English accent. This scene has a lot of meaning because we gather that she was assimilated to the Anglo culture. She does not want to associate with her Mexican roots. She insists on being a proper American representative, but she is looking for a Mexican model during her lunch break. She presents Sancho with some stipulations he must be a Mexican she states, "But this one is too dark. I’m looking for a beige one." This is yet another indicator of the detachment Ms. Jimenez has from her culture. I believe she wants a light Mexican so that he can he can be versatile and mix in with the crowds. In Major Problems in Mexican American History by Zaragosa Vargas, we learn that Mexicans struggled to be considered American citizens. Even with the seizure of their lands and the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo Mexicans were still mistreated and abused simply because of the color of their skin. Mexicans learned that it was in their best interest to try to adapt to a new environment. As a result many tried to marry Spanish men or marry men of a higher social-economic status. There is a belief that white means money, so if you can’t marry a well-off man than you must lighten the race. Ms. Jimenez in Los Vendidos, was a light woman herself and made the transition into the white world a lot easier than one of her darker ancestors perhaps. When Sancho states that she likes a little milk in her coffee he is not only referring to the lightening of the race, but he also talks about her admiration of the American culture.

Naturalistic Observation of Social Interaction

Naturalistic observation is a form of data collection where the researcher assumes the role of an observer, which may be participative or non-participative (Gonnerman, 2007). Either way, this method aims to make studies on organisms’ (i.e. human) behaviors in their natural environment, unhindered by control parameters that studies in a laboratory, for example, impose. It is understandable that human beings, just like other organisms, act differently under the watchful eye of any observer, most especially due to self-consciousness. However, it is also understood that even as we are not under scrutiny (there is an absence of outside scrutiny), in the external environment, in a world beyond our own comfort zone, we still experience a â€Å"feeling of being watched†, or the so-called spotlight effect. Hence, naturalistic observation does not guarantee the absence of behavioral alteration, and the best that could probably be hoped for is a decrease in such that may lead to objective conclusions. In this project, the researcher—myself—chose to make behavioral observations on subjects who are unaware that they are being observed, in the hopes of avoiding possible alterations in their behavior pattern. The setting is the department store, where two girls are shopping for clothes. The behaviors observed during the first twenty minutes are that Girl One is phlegmatic and submissive, in her attempt to avoid conflict; while Girl Two is demanding. A hypothesis, therefore, was made that Girl Two would speak more often and in a louder voice than Girl One. The results of the second observation, however, show that Girl Two spoke more often but in hushed tones, and Girl Two was the one who spoke less but in a louder voice. It is therefore concluded that the hypothesis is wrong, and that human behavior could not be readily predicted, only justified. Naturalistic Observation of Social Interaction I observed a conversation between two girls shopping for clothes on [please insert time and date of â€Å"observation†]. We are at a department store [should the client wish to insert a particular department store, please do so], standing amid racks of clothing. One has dark hair cropped short near her chin; she was wearing a plain, light-blue, long-sleeved shirt, whom I shall refer to as Girl One. The other girl, Girl Two, has curly, shoulder-length, brown hair, and she was wearing a pink sleeveless shirt with a butterfly embroidered across the chest. There are only a few people about, including myself and the sales lady. Girl Two picks up a purple sleeveless dress with gray stripes and holds it against herself for her friend to see.   Girl One circles around the clothes racks, but does not pick any item out. Girl One slowly turns back around when Girl Two calls her. Girl One goes with Girl Two to the dressing room; Girl One waits outside, leaning on the wall with her feet stretched out in front of her as Girl Two takes her time inside the dressing room. When Girl Two emerges from the dressing room, Girl One looks at her from head to toe and nods her head. All of this takes place during the first ten minutes of the observation. During the second ten minutes, the conversation went like this: Girl One: â€Å"The dress looks okay, you should buy it.† Girl Two: â€Å"Are you sure? Or are you just telling me that so we can go now?† Girl One: â€Å"No I’m not. Come on, just buy it.† Girl Two: â€Å"You wouldn’t be pushing me into buying this if it was alright with you to go shopping. You shouldn’t have come.† Girl One: â€Å"Alright, maybe you’re right. I wanna go now but I don’t wanna spoil your fun so just get on with it and take all your time if need be.† Girl Two: â€Å"Alright then, just let me choose another dress to compare with this one and we’ll go.† Girl One: â€Å"Sure, whatever.† Based on the narrated observations, I have reached a possible hypothesis that one of the girls, Girl Two is probably a demanding sort of person, a domineering persona who can manipulate people like Girl One into doing what she wants. A parallel hypothesis is that Girl Two is a phlegmatic, and slightly submissive persona who simply does not want to be bothered or does not want any conflict, and so goes along with whatever Girl One asks of her. In line with this, I decided to gather observation that would enable me to determine which of the girls would eventually become more exasperated by the other and raise her voice more often, and this girl would be Girl Two, with the demanding character. The parameters I used are of course the number of times that the subject spoke, and the number of times the voice was raised within the 20 minutes of observation. I followed the girls two their next destination which was a coffee shop, bringing with me a few of my friends to cover me. We sat on the booth next to them, and I proceeded with my 20-minute observation. Based on my notes, Girl Two spoke more often, having used eight opportunities to talk in twenty minutes, whereas Girl One spoke less often, speaking only three times within the time span. However, Girl One raised her voice at all speaking opportunities, while Girl Two never raised her voice and spoke in a lowered voice. I therefore conclude that the hypothesis is wrong—Girl Two, even with her demanding personality, did not raise her voice, and did not seem exasperated by Girl One’s passive attitude. Instead, it was Girl One who got â€Å"fed up†. The exercise was extremely challenging because first and foremost, I had to pretend that I did not exist. Or at least, assume a role that did not directly participate in their world. In other words, it was as if I was stalking them or spying on them. I had to persuade my friends to come with me and serve as my â€Å"cover†. I was also nervous because if I did not do well with pretending I was also looking at the dresses, or recording some descriptions about the clothes in my notebook and not about them, I probably would be blacklisted in that department store. It was challenging also, to keep my mind off formulating biased opinions; I had to concentrate on being the â€Å"unattached† social scientist role. One insight I have learned is that even some personalities that seem to clash all the time somehow complement each other and form what they call a â€Å"love-hate† relationship that defies all odds and expectations. And another is that human behavior, although inferences may be made out of them, can never be truly predicted by an outside observer because there are other factors to consider than the setting, and whatever is in the natural environment of observation at that point in time. One has to consider what happened before the trip to the mall which upset Girl One so greatly, so much so that she belied expectations. Through this exercise, I have learned that nonverbal behavior is hard to observe and describe without biases, or forming opinions about them. However, when I do try to formulate opinions, I find that nonverbal behavior gives an insight into what the subject may be thinking as much the same way as verbal behavior would. Either way, human behavior can never be predicted; we can only understand the why’s and how’s surrounding a certain action and reaction. Reference Gonnerman (2007). Surveys and Naturalistic Observation. Retrieved February 9 2008 from http:// fp.uni.edu (2007)

Child Hood Essay

Today, childhood is seen as a universal rite of passage. Much of our literature consists of coming of age stories that focus on the journey from innocence to experience. Childhood marks the beginning of our personal narrative. We all have our stories of youth. Some percolate in the haze of memory; others are told and retold over the years. These stories—sad, humorous, painful—shape us. They make us who we are.Inspired by the growing popularity of collecting and recording our stories, students will interview an older family member about a single significant childhood memory, imagine specific details of the story, and then use one or a variety of media text types to present the story to the class. In doing so, students discover intergenerational links through the common universal experience of childhood. Students begin by interviewing a parent (or other older relative) about a childhood memory, collecting enough details to help them recreate the story vividly for an audie nce.In small groups, students share information and project ideas, with a view to re-telling the story through one or a combination of the following: print text (e. g. write a story from the parent’s point of view), visual text (e. g. memory scrapbook), digital text (e. g. Web page, graphic reproduction), audiovisual text (e. g. PowerPoint presentation with music), or oral presentation (e. g. monologue in the voice of the parent). Students should be encouraged to use whatever high- or low-tech tools they are comfortable with.This activity affords students the opportunity to discover and learn about the codes and conventions of their chosen media text type in order to successfully apply them to their own production. By re-creating an older family member’s story for an audience, students participate in the writing of the family history, making it less ephemeral and embedding it in time. Connecting with their parent or grandparent through a particular memory also allows s tudents to view childhood as a universal rite of passage, one that connects successive generations of their family to the family tree of humanity.A follow-up ELA activity could invite students to use their imagination to develop a story of their own, inspired by events from their own childhood: How would they tell the story to their grandchildren? Students could create a class anthology of their stories or their parents’. In Social Sciences, students could interview a parent or older relative about the social/cultural/historical time in which he or she lived as a child and create a poster depicting it

Maximazing Profit Essays

Maximazing Profit Essays Maximazing Profit Paper Maximazing Profit Paper Assignment: Maximizing Profits in Market Structures Paper XECO/212 University of Phoenix The structure of a market is defined by the number of firms in the market, the existence or otherwise of barriers to entry of new firms, and the interdependence among firms in determining pricing and output to maximize profits. This paper covers the following: the advantages and limitation of supply and demand, the characteristics of each market structure, the barriers to entry and how organizations in each market structure maximize profits. Markets are the heart and soul of a capitalist economy, and varying degrees of competition lead to different market structures, with differing implications for the outcomes of the market place. The goal of a firm is to maximize profits, to get as much for the firm as possible. In the perfect competition, each firm maximizes profits where marginal revenue (MR) equals marginal cost (MC). That is, the additional revenue from producing additional quantity equals the additional cost incurred in producing that quantity. At an output where MR is greater than MC, increasing production increases profits. If MR is less than MC, decreasing production increases profits. Therefore, MR=MC is the profit-maximization condition. In perfect completion, the price is a given for each firm, P=MR. This is because the fixed price per unit is the additional revenue the firm can expect to earn by selling additional quantity. The firm’s profit- maximization condition becomes P=MR=MC. In the long run, however, all costs are variable. All firms in a perfectly competitive market make zero economic profit in the long run, because if profit was being made, more firms would enter the market and market prices would decline until all firms made zero profit. These elements are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly,  and monopoly. Based on the differing outcomes of different market structures, economists consider some market structures more desirable, from the point of view of the society, than others. Each of these market structures describe a particular organization of a market in which ertain key characteristics differ. The characteristics are: (a) number of firms in the market, (b) control over the price of the relevant product, (c) type of the product sold in the market, (d) barriers to new firms entering the market, and (e) existence of non-price competition in the market. The number of firms in the market supplying the particular product under consideration forms an important basis for classify ing market structures. The number of firms in an industry, according to economists, determines the extent of competition in the industry. Both in perfect competition and monopolistic competition, there are large numbers of firms or suppliers. Each of these firms supplies only a small portion of the total output for the industry. In oligopoly, there are only a few (presumably more than two) suppliers of the product. When there are only two sellers of the product, the market structure is often called duopoly. Monopoly is the extreme case where there is only one seller of the product in the market. The extent to which an individual firm exercises control over the price of the product it sells is another important characteristic of a market structure. Under perfect competition, an individual firm has no control over the price of the product it sells. A firm under monopolistic competition or oligopoly has some control over the price of the product it sells. Finally, a monopoly firm is deemed to have considerable control over the price of its product. The type of products sold in the market is also a key characteristic. The extent to which products of different firms in the industry can be differentiated is also a characteristic that is used in classifying market structures. Under perfect competition, all firms in the industry sell identical products. In other words, no firm can differentiate its product from those of other firms in the industry. There is some product differentiation under monopolistic competition- the firms in the industry are assumed to produce somewhat different products. Under an oligopolistic market structure, firms may produce differentiated or identical products. Finally, in the case of a monopoly, product differentiation is not truly an issue, as there is only one firm- there are no other firms from whom it should differentiate its product. The barriers to entry need to be accounted for while classifying the characteristics of a market structure. The difficulty or ease with which new firms can enter the market for a product is also a characteristic of market structures. New firms can enter market structures classified as perfect competition or monopolistic competition relatively easily. In these cases, barriers to entry are considered low, as only a small investment may be required to enter the market. In oligopoly, barriers to entry is considered very high- huge amounts of investment, determined by the very nature of the product and the production process, are needed to enter these markets. Once again, monopoly constitutes the extreme case where the entry of new firms is blocked, usually by law. If for whatever reasons, new firms are allowed to enter a monopolistic market structure, it can no longer be termed a monopoly. Market structures also differ to the extent that firms in industry compete with each other on the basis of non-price factors, such as, differences in product characteristics and advertising. There is no non-price competition under perfect competition. Firms under monopolistic competition make considerable use of instruments of non-price competition. Oligopolistic firms also make heavy use of non-price competition. Finally, while a monopolist also utilizes instruments of non-price competition, such as advertising, these are not designed to compete with other firms, as there are no other firms in the monopolists industry. Perfect competition is an idealized version of market structure that provides a foundation for understanding how markets work in a capitalist economy. The other market structures can also be understood better when perfect competition is used as a standard of reference. Even so, perfect competition is not ordinarily well understood by the general public. For example, when business people speak of intense competition in the market for a product, they are, in all likelihood, referring to rival suppliers, about whom they have quite a bit of information. However, when economists refer to perfect competition, they are particularly referring to the impersonal nature of this market structure. The impersonality of the market organization is due to the existence of a large number of suppliers of the product- there are so many suppliers in the industry that no firm views another supplier as a competitor. Thus, the competition under perfect competition is impersonal. Perfect competition is considered desirable for society for at least two reasons. First, the price charged to individuals equals the marginal cost of production to each firm. In other words, one can say sellers charge buyers a reasonable or fair price. Second, in general, output produced under a perfectly competitive market structure is larger than other market organizations. Thus, perfect competition becomes desirable also for the amount of the product supplied to consumers as a whole. Monopoly can be considered the opposite of perfect competition. In the monopoly, there are no price takers a monopolist sets the price for the product or service to maximize profits. The profit-maximizing price and output is at the point where MC=MR. The output is less than what it is in the perfect competition. In the long run, it is possible for a monopolist to earn some economic profits, if to entry of new firms exist. The concept of monopoly arises when one firm is the sole producer and marketer of a product or service. Monopolies come in being when a single firm is the sole producer of a product that has no close substitutes. Monopolies are characterized by a single seller, no close substitutes, price maker, blocked entry and non price competition. In the oligopoly, there are few firms, pricing and output decisions are strategic; that is each firm considers the reaction of the other firms while taking any decision. An important characteristic of an oligopolistic market structure is the interdependence of firms in the industry. The interdependence, actual or perceived, arises from the small number of firms in the industry. If an oligopolistic firm changes its price or output, it has perceptible effects on the sales and profits of its competitors in the industry. Thus, an oligopolist firm always considers the reactions of its rivals in formulating its pricing or output decisions. The prices set by all firms are nearly identical, because any effort to change the price by one firm will induce other firms to follow suit. For this reason, prices, once fixed, tend to change very little in oligopoly. Firms in oligopoly can expect to make some profit in the long run. An oligopolistic industry is also typically characterized by economies of scale. Economies of scale in production imply that as the level of production rises, the cost per unit of product falls for the use of any plant. Thus, economies of scale lead to an obvious advantage for a large producer. In the monopolistic competition, there are many buyers and sellers, and there are few barriers to the entry of new firms. Each firm, however, sells differentiated products, and invests considerably in differentiating it products from the competition. The profits of each are maximized at the point where MR=MC. In the long run, however, the free entry and exit of firms means that all firms earn zero economic profit. As in the case of perfect competition, a firm under monopolistic competition decides about the quantity of the product produced on the basis of the profit maximization principle- it produces the quantity that maximizes the firms profit. Also, conditions of profit maximization remain the same- the firm stops production where marginal revenue equals marginal cost of production. But unlike perfect competition, a firm under monopolistic competition has some control over the price it charges, as the firm differentiates its products from those of others. However, this price making power of a monopolistically competitive firm is rather small, since there are a large number of other firms in the industry with somewhat similar products. REFERENCE Colander, D. C. , (2004). Economics, 5th edition. Irwin/McGraw-Hill, Burr Ridge, Il. Chapter 13. Retrieved November 23, 2009. Forgang, William G. , Einolf, Karl W. (2006). Management Economics: An Accelerated Approach. M. E. Sharpe Competition (2007). Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd Edition. Retrieved on November 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia of Business, Clo-con website: referenceforbusiness. com/encyclopedia/Clo-Con/Competition. html

Free Essays on Winter Visitors

As winter approaches, many elderly â€Å"snowbirds† have returned to Florida to enjoy the mild weather. Because of several â€Å"close encounters† with elderly drivers who were driving erratically, the writer wished to discover if those individuals have more accidents than do their younger counterparts. A casual review of the literature shows that older drivers become more crash-prone with age, even though they drive less miles. In addition, because older drivers are more fragile, their fatality rates are 17 times higher than those of 25- to 64-year olds. The problem at hand is the high accident and death rate associated with a large population of elderly drivers. Last year, a woman sitting in the nail salon, enjoying a refreshing manicure looked up to see a bright red Cadillac coming through the shop window, stopping just short of a startled patron. Fortunately, no one was injured. The newspaper report of this incident stated that the 87 year old driver was in a hurry to get to her appointment, and drove into the parking lot at an excessive speed. When she thought she was putting her foot on the brake, she actually stepped on the accelerator and drove through the window. The newspaper also stated that this was not an uncommon cause of similar accidents- thinking that the accelerator pedal was the brake pedal. America is undergoing a major demographic transformation. The â€Å" graying of America† has resulted in an increase in the number of elderly drivers. Drivers over 70 years of age number 18 million today, up from 13 million in 1985. Why do these very experienced drives have such an excessive number of accidents? Although driving seems an easy activity, it actually requires the complex coordination of many different skills. Sometimes, when elderly drivers are the ones behind the wheel, this coordination is hard to accomplish. Older drivers experience physical changes that can affect driving ability such as: changes in v... Free Essays on Winter Visitors Free Essays on Winter Visitors As winter approaches, many elderly â€Å"snowbirds† have returned to Florida to enjoy the mild weather. Because of several â€Å"close encounters† with elderly drivers who were driving erratically, the writer wished to discover if those individuals have more accidents than do their younger counterparts. A casual review of the literature shows that older drivers become more crash-prone with age, even though they drive less miles. In addition, because older drivers are more fragile, their fatality rates are 17 times higher than those of 25- to 64-year olds. The problem at hand is the high accident and death rate associated with a large population of elderly drivers. Last year, a woman sitting in the nail salon, enjoying a refreshing manicure looked up to see a bright red Cadillac coming through the shop window, stopping just short of a startled patron. Fortunately, no one was injured. The newspaper report of this incident stated that the 87 year old driver was in a hurry to get to her appointment, and drove into the parking lot at an excessive speed. When she thought she was putting her foot on the brake, she actually stepped on the accelerator and drove through the window. The newspaper also stated that this was not an uncommon cause of similar accidents- thinking that the accelerator pedal was the brake pedal. America is undergoing a major demographic transformation. The â€Å" graying of America† has resulted in an increase in the number of elderly drivers. Drivers over 70 years of age number 18 million today, up from 13 million in 1985. Why do these very experienced drives have such an excessive number of accidents? Although driving seems an easy activity, it actually requires the complex coordination of many different skills. Sometimes, when elderly drivers are the ones behind the wheel, this coordination is hard to accomplish. Older drivers experience physical changes that can affect driving ability such as: changes in v...

The Domestication History of Cotton (Gossypium)

The Domestication History of Cotton (Gossypium) Cotton (Gossypium sp.) is one of the most important and earliest domesticated non-food crops in the world. Used primarily for its fiber, cotton was domesticated independently in both the Old and New Worlds. The word cotton originated from the Arabic term al qutn, which became in Spanish algodà ³n and cotton in English. Key Takeaways: Domestication of Cotton Cotton is one of the earliest domesticated non-food crops, independently domesticated at least four different times in four different parts of the world.  The first cotton domesticate was from the wild tree form in Pakistan or Madagascar at least 6,000 years ago; the next oldest was domesticated in Mexico about 5,000 years ago.  Cotton processing, taking the cotton bolls and making them into fibers, is a global technique; spinning those fibers into strings for weaving was anciently accomplished by the use of spindle whorls in the New World and spinning wheels in the Old World.   Nearly all the cotton produced in the world today is the New World species Gossypium hirsutum, but before the 19th century, several species were grown on different continents. The four domesticated Gossypium species of the Malvaceae family are G. arboreum L., domesticated in the Indus Valley of Pakistan and India; G. herbaceum L. from Arabia and Syria; G. hirsutum from Mesoamerica; and G. barbadense from South America. All four domestic species and their wild relatives are shrubs or small trees which are traditionally grown as summer crops; domesticated versions are highly drought- and salt-tolerant crops that grow well in marginal, arid environments. Old World cotton has short, coarse, weak fibers that are today primarily used for stuffing and quilt making; New World cotton has higher production demands but provides longer and stronger fibers and higher yields. Making Cotton Wild cotton is photo-period sensitivein other words, the plant begins to germinate when the day length reaches a certain point. Wild cotton plants are perennial and their form is sprawling. Domestic versions are short, compact annual shrubs which do not respond to changes in day lengththats an advantage if the plant grows in places with cool winters because both wild and domestic kinds of cotton are frost-intolerant. Cotton fruits are capsules or bolls which contain several seeds covered by two kinds of fiber: short ones called fuzz and long ones called lint. Only the lint fibers are useful for making textiles, and the domestic plants have larger seeds covered with comparatively abundant lint. Cotton is traditionally harvested by hand, and then the cotton is ginnedprocessed to separate the seeds from the fiber. After the ginning process, the cotton fibers are batted with a wooden bow to make them more flexible and carded with a hand comb to separate the fibers before spinning. Spinning twists the individual fibers into a yarn, which can be completed by hand with a spindle and spindle whorl (in the New World) or with a spinning wheel (developed in the Old World). Old World Cotton Cotton was first domesticated in the Old World about 7,000 years ago; the earliest archaeological evidence for cotton use is from the Neolithic occupation of Mehrgarh, in the Kachi Plain of Balochistan, Pakistan, in the sixth millennium BC. Cultivation of G. arboreum began in the Indus Valley of India and Pakistan, and then eventually spread over Africa and Asia, whereas G. herbaceum was first cultivated in Arabia and Syria. The two main species, G. arboreum and G. herbaceum, are genetically very different and probably diverged well before domestication. Specialists agree that the wild progenitor of G. herbaceum was an African species, whereas the ancestor of G. arboreum is still unknown. Regions of the possible origin of the G. arboreum wild progenitor are likely Madagascar or the Indus Valley, where the most ancient evidence for cultivated cotton has been found. Gossypium arboreum Abundant archaeological evidence exists for the initial domestication and use of G. arboreum, by the Harappan (aka Indus Valley) civilization in Pakistan. Mehrgarh, the earliest agricultural village in the Indus Valley, holds multiple lines of evidence of cotton seeds and fibers beginning about 6000 BP. At Mohenjo-Daro, fragments of cloth and cotton textiles have been dated to the fourth millennium BCE, and archaeologists agree that most of the trade that made the city grow was based on cotton exportation. Raw material and finished cloth were exported from South Asia into Dhuweila in eastern Jordan by 6450–5000 years ago, and to Maikop (Majkop or Maykop) in the northern Caucasus by 6000 BP. Cotton fabric has been found at Nimrud in Iraq (8th–7th centuries BCE), Arjan in Iran (late 7th–early 6th centuries BCE) and Kerameikos in Greece (5th century BCE). According to Assyrian records of Sennacherib (705–681 BCE), cotton was grown in the royal botanical gardens at Nineveh, but cool winters there would have made large-scale production impossible. Because G. arboreum is a tropical and subtropical plant, cotton agriculture did not spread outside the Indian subcontinent until thousands of years after its domestication. Cotton cultivation is first seen in the Persian Gulf at Qalat al-Bahrain (ca 600–400 BCE), and in North Africa at Qasr Ibrim, Kellis and al-Zerqa between the 1st and 4th centuries CE. Recent investigations at Karatepe in Uzbekistan have found cotton production dated between ca. 300–500 CE. G. arboreum is thought to have been introduced into China as an ornamental plant about 1,000 years ago. Cotton may have been grown in the Xinjiang (China) province cities of Turfan and Khotan by the 8th century CE. Cotton was finally adapted to grow in more temperate climates by the Islamic Agricultural Revolution, and between 900–1000 CE, a boom in cotton production spread into Persia, Southwest Asia, North Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. Gossypium herbaceum G. herbaceum is much less well-known than G. arboreum. Traditionally it is known to grow in African open forests and grasslands. Characteristics of its wild species are a taller plant, compared to the domesticated shrubs, smaller fruit, and thicker seed coats. Unfortunately, no clear domesticated remains of G. herbaceum have been recovered from archaeological contexts. However, the distribution of its closest wild progenitor suggests a northward distribution toward North Africa, and the Near East. New World Cotton Among the American species, G. hirsutum was apparently cultivated first in Mexico, and G. barbadense later in Peru. However, a minority of researchers believe, alternatively, that the earliest type of cotton was introduced into Mesoamerica as an already domesticated form of G. barbadense from coastal Ecuador and Peru. Whichever story ends up to be correct, cotton was one of the first non-food plants domesticated by the prehistoric inhabitants of the Americas. In the Central Andes, especially in the north and central coasts of Peru, cotton was part of a fishing economy and a marine-based lifestyle. People used cotton to make fishing nets and other textiles. Cotton remains have been recovered in many sites on the coast especially in residential middens. Gossypium hirsutum (Upland cotton) The oldest evidence of Gossypium hirsutum in Mesoamerica comes from the Tehuacan valley and has been dated between 3400 and 2300 BCE. In different caves of the region, archaeologists affiliated to the project of Richard MacNeish found remains of fully domesticated examples of this cotton. Recent studies have compared bolls and cotton seeds retrieved from excavations in Guila Naquitz Cave, Oaxaca, with living examples of wild and cultivated G. hirsutum punctatum growing along the east coast of Mexico. Additional genetic studies (Coppens dEeckenbrugge and Lacape 2014) support the earlier results, indicating that G. hirsutum was likely originally domesticated in the Yucatn Peninsula. Another possible center of domestication for G. hirsutum is the Caribbean. In different eras and among different Mesoamerican cultures, cotton was a highly demanded good and a precious exchange item. Maya and Aztec merchants traded cotton for other luxury items, and nobles adorned themselves with woven and dyed mantles of the precious material. Aztec kings often offered cotton products to noble visitors as gifts and to army leaders as payment. Gossypium barbadense (Pima cotton) G. barbadense cultivars are known for their production of high-quality fiber and called variously Pima, Egyptian, or Sea Island cotton. The first clear evidence of domesticated Pima cotton comes from the Ancà ³n-Chillà ³n area of the central coast of Peru. The sites in this area show the domestication process began during the Preceramic period, beginning about 2500 BCE. By 1000 BCE the size and shape of Peruvian cotton bolls were indistinguishable from todays modern cultivars of G. barbadense. Cotton production began on the coasts, but eventually moved inland, facilitated by the construction of canal irrigation. By the Initial Period, sites such as Huaca Prieta contained domestic cotton 1,500 to 1,000 years before pottery and maize cultivation. Unlike in the old world, cotton in Peru was initially part of subsistence practices, used for fishing and hunting nets, as well as textiles, clothing and storage bags. Sources Bouchaud, Charlà ¨ne, Margareta Tengberg, and Patricia Dal Pr. Cotton Cultivation and Textile Production in the Arabian Peninsula During Antiquity; the Evidence from Madà ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢in Sà ¢lih (Saudi Arabia) and Qal’at Al-Bahrain (Bahrain). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 20.5 (2011): 405–17. Print.Brite, Elizabeth Baker, and John M. Marston. Environmental Change, Agricultural Innovation, and the Spread of Cotton Agriculture in the Old World. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 32.1 (2013): 39–53. Print.Coppens dEeckenbrugge, Geo, and Jean–Marc Lacape. Distribution and Differentiation of Wild, Feral, and Cultivated Populations of Perennial Upland Cotton ( PLoS ONE 9.9 (2014): e107458. Print.Gossypium hirsutum L.) in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean.Du, Xiongming, et al. Resequencing of 243 Diploid Cotton Accessions Based on an Updated a Genome Identifies the Genetic Basis of Key Agronomic Traits. Nature Genetics 50.6 (2018): 796–802. Print.Mou lherat, Christophe, et al. First Evidence of Cotton at Neolithic Mehrgarh, Pakistan: Analysis of Mineralized Fibres from a Copper Bead. Journal of Archaeological Science 29.12 (2002): 1393–401. Print. Nixon, Sam, Mary Murray, and Dorian Fuller. Plant Use at an Early Islamic Merchant Town in the West African Sahel: The Archaeobotany of Essouk–Tadmakka (Mali). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 20.3 (2011): 223–39. Print.Reddy, Umesh K., et al. Genome-Wide Divergence, Haplotype Distribution and Population Demographic Histories for Gossypium Hirsutum and Gossypium Barbadense as Revealed by Genome–Anchored SNPs. Scientific Reports 7 (2017): 41285. Print.Renny–Byfield, Simon, et al. Independent Domestication of Two Old World Cotton Species. Genome Biology and Evolution 8.6 (2016): 1940–47. Print.Wang, Maojun, et al. Asymmetric Subgenome Selection and Cis-Regulatory Divergence During Cotton Domestication. Nature Genetics 49 (2017): 579. Print.Zhang, Shu–Wen, et al. Mapping of Fiber Quality Qtls Reveals Useful Variation and Footprints of Cotton Domestication Using Introgression Lines. Scientific Reports 6 (2016): 31954. Print. Updated by K. Kris Hirst

Prophet Mohammed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Prophet Mohammed - Essay Example Many are the times that the grandfather was escorted by Mohammed on official duties in the temple. The lonely life of a Sheppard that Mohammed led to the nurturing of the skills required in leading the life of a prophet. In addition, the environment in his early life provided him with the skill set fit to lead and guide people. The reason as to why Mohammed took on prophecy is a blur but at the time, the town of Mecca was filled with many nomadic. These tribes were rivals with each other and they had their own gods and beliefs. This religious diversity at the time was the root of all enmity. At forty years old, Mohammed aspired to become a reformer and hence assumed leadership of a secret society. This organizations goal was to ensure unity in terms of religion and politics among the Arabs. He had come to the realization that with unity comes power. After seeking insight from the Jews and Christians, Mohammed determined that one supreme God was key to achieving his goal of unity amon g the Arabs. After conviction of his call to prophesy, this secret society with its own rules whereby they prayed to one supreme God grew exponentially and is otherwise known as Islam (Margoliouth 86). Mohammed as a prophet had a lot of accomplishments in his time. Hence, he is perceived as one of the greatest people in the Muslim community. He is the founder of the Islamic religion. At a time when there were numerous religious groups each having their own gods among the Arabic people, Mohammed was able to unite the Arabs by forming a secret society. This secret society later became publicized and became the Islamic community. Islam spread out exponentially throughout Mecca whereby they spread the ideology of worshipping and praying to one supreme God. Islam has become a way of life in our society among the Muslim community. It has lead to the peaceful coexistence of people due. This is because Islam gives an individual a sense of inner peace, which results to one having peace of mi nd. The Islamic religion preaches the need to have peaceful relation people of different ethnicities and religious backgrounds. This, as a result, promotes world peace. Islam is also seen to promote peace between an individual and his creator. This paves way for having a blessed life free from sin. Islamic religion is also important because it advocates for submission to God’s will. Submitting to God’s will translate to submitting to God, which is the reason to the founding of the Islamic religion. The Islamic religion and culture supports the union in marriage between Muslims in the society. It is God’s will that man and woman join together in the bond of marriage; the Islamic religion is seen to fulfill this will of God by supporting marriage. It also provides guidance to married couples, which promote long lasting relationships. Above all traits, Islam has promoted unity among people. This unity has come to realization as a result of Islam spreading the messa ge of peace throughout. This has paid off owing to the fact that Islam has spread widely to all corners of the world. Hence, Muslims have been able to coexist peacefully with other religious groups promoting world peace (murata and Chittick 125). Mohammed had become the leader of a vast community; Islam looked up to him for guidance. With Islam becoming a religion that spread vastly throughout the world, there arose the need to create a distinguished place whereby the Islamic

Documantry on Congo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Documantry on Congo - Essay Example Throughout the Congo, families were held as hostages, and the families would be subjected to death-causing hunger, in the case that the working members did not cooperate in producing sufficient wild rubber. Further, the hands of the children held as captive were chopped off as punishment to the parents, in the case that they delivered the rubber late (Bate, Elie and Roger). The King is accused of killing more than 10 million people during his era of exploitation. This paper will explore the lessons taught by the documentary and also explore the classes of people that played a central role during the colonial era. The documentary gives an account showing that the colonialists went to Africa among other colonial nations, not for the good of the citizens of the colonized countries, but for their selfish interests of making more wealth for themselves and their countries (Bate, Elie and Roger). This reality is very evident from the experiences of the Congolese, during the 1880s, noting that they were subjected to forced labor and slavery at their own country. The selfish interests of the colonialist Belgium are evident from the death of the millions of the people that did not work towards meeting the rubber hunger of the King. Further, to conceal his plans and his strategies of exploiting the people of Congo, the king acted as a prototype of colonialists, by hiding under the veil of protecting Africans from slave trade (Bate, Elie and Roger). Unfortunately, it turned out that his system and model of slavery was much worse than that of the Arabs; it included the brutal treatment of the Congolese. For example, the documentary cites that the hands of the children, whose parents could not deliver rubber as expected, were chopped off. Therefore, the colonial operations of King Leopold II, which were similar to those of many other colonial nations, show that the colonialists went to Africa and other

Capital Asset Pricing Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Capital Asset Pricing Model - Essay Example The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a liaison involving risk and return on a portfolio of investments. Sharpe, William F (1964, pp. 425-442) formulated the CAPM hypothesis. It is the groundwork of modern finance which puts forward that the risk premium of a single asset is equal to its beta times the risk premium of the market portfolio on the whole. Beta computes the level of inter-movement of the asset's return and the total return on the entire market portfolio of an investor. Put differently, beta measures the organized risk of an asset which is nothing but the quantity of risk and it cannot be spread. Frank J. Fabozzi and Harry Markowitz (2002, p.67) define CAPM as "The anticipated return for an asset according to CAPM is equal risk free rate plus a risk premium". They further state that "even though the idea is not true it does not mean that the constructs introduced by the theory are not important. Constructs introduced in the development of theory include the notion of a market portfolio, systematic risk, diversifiable risks and beta." The entire movement of the market is enlarged with stocks which possess betas greater than 1.0. Stocks which have betas between 0 and 1.0 are inclined to go in the same route as the market. Certainly, the market is the collection of all stocks, and hence the standard stock has a beta of 1.0 Risk is best adjudicated in the context of a portfolio of securities. Part of the ambiguity about a sureties return is branched out when security is sorted with other assets in a portfolio. It can be said that diversification is the best for the investors undoubtedly. This does not entail that business firms have to diversify. Corporate variegation is superfluous if capitalists can broaden on their personal account. Frank J Fabozzi and Pamela P Peterson (2003, p 299) state that "Though it lacks realism and is difficult to apply, the CAPM makes some sense regarding the role of diversification and the type of risks we need to consider in investment decisions." When an asset does contain a factor of market risk, CAPM submits that it should make a risk premium impartial to the sum of market risk mused in the asset. If the fundamental market has an amount of return vagueness, it can be assumed that the market return will be greater than the risk gratis return. This is the surplus market return. To obtain the additive surplus return, the marked is levered with the market return either up or down by the level of market risk disclosure intrinsic in the asset (Bruce J Feible, 2003, p. 192). The most frequently used gauge of risk or unpredictability in finance is standard deviation. This is because 'the return on a portfolio is a weighted average of the returns of individual assets'

Financial analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Financial analysis - Essay Example The flagship Barclays Bank has around 1700 branches spread across UK and other countries (Hoovers, â€Å"Company Description†). The group has its operation across Europe, Africa, the United States and the Middle East countries. The company deals in financial products and competes within the global financial services industry. The control and authority of an organisation lies with the corporate managers. Undoubtedly, it indicates that the managers must be conversant with the accounting position of the organisation. â€Å"The term management accounting refers to accounting the management i.e. accounting which provides necessary information to the management for discharging its function† (Anbuvelan, â€Å"Management Accounting†). Management accounting provides variable assistance to the management to carry out the managerial functions with more efficiency. There are a number of tools and techniques in Management Accounting arena. The whole process includes gathering required information and analysing them to make decision making process much uncomplicated. A number of companies use ‘Activity Based Costing’ to identify and allocate the cost of the products or services. This includes identifying the cost pools or the activity centres and within the organisation and allocating cost to the activities using the cost drivers. The assignment of the cost is done based on the contribution of various activities in any particular product or service. As this costing process considers multiple cost drivers with different activities, the distortion risk is minimised considerably, providing the required cost information. As ABC indentifies each of the overhead costs with the products and services, produced and delivered to the customers, the process is more advanced than the traditional cost techniques. The significant steps in ABC are identification of the companies’ key activities, identification of related cost amount, establishment

Internal Audit of Fuller Smith & Turner plc Essay

Internal Audit of Fuller Smith & Turner plc - Essay Example The aim of the audit is to see the need for corrective action by top-level management on its policies. The idea is to stimulate mutual discussion between outside auditors and insiders (management and employees) who implement goals and find ways of improving the present situation. Its objective is therefore not only to correct the present way things are done, but probably more important is the good that the process can do to everyone involved, like the conduct of surveys of the present situation and the roundtable discussions that would be based on facts instead of opinions (Kondo, 1988, p. 15-16). An internal audit serves an educational purpose and offers management a chance to review those facts of the firm's strategies and operations that may reflect on management, employees, and other stakeholders. One positive effect of an audit is contributing to the way employees improve relationships with each other and understanding the work they do. There are different ways of doing an internal audit. ... The simplest is to gather data from periodic strategic and operational reviews, but the firm can also commission the use of other tools such as employee and customer satisfaction surveys, performance excellence models, and benchmarking (Witcher, 2003). Three highly popular techniques we can use audit the firm and the business environment where it operates are the SWOT analysis (Andrews, 1987; Ansoff, 1965; Chandler, 1962), the PESTEL analysis (Steiner, 1979; Andrews, 1987), and Porter's Five Forces model and Generic Strategy (Porter, 1980 and 1985). SWOT/PESTEL Analysis For this first part, we combine the SWOT/PESTEL approach. The SWOT analysis is so-called because of the acronym of the four factors required for assessing the organization's internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) and external (Opportunities and Threats) environments. The PESTEL analysis considers six environmental factors that affect the enterprise and its business: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal. We will combine the PESTEL factors with the SWOT analysis factors to audit Fuller's. Porter's Models Porter (1980, 1985) proposed the Five Forces model that helps a firm analyse its environment and design its competitive strategy by choosing one of three generic strategies. The five forces are bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitutes, the intensity of rivalry, and the threat of new entrants. The three generic strategies are over-all cost leadership that allow the firm to compete on the basis of price by achieving efficiencies by minimising costs and attaining economies of scale; differentiation by way of brand image, technology, features, uniqueness, or the quality of service support, any of which enables the firm to charge a

Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 11

Ethics - Assignment Example Human are increasingly becoming greedy. This way, the destroy nature to achieve personal gratifications. Question 4: I look forward to learn about preservation. In the midst of the foretold destruction, humans will have to preserve the resources. I therefore look forward to studying the role that preservation will play in saving the future of humanity. Question 5: Property rights do not and should not outweigh the long-term survival of nature. In fact, laws should always protect the long-term survival of nature. Nature sustains human among other forms of life. Question 6: Animals have rights too and the governments should always formulate appropriate laws to safeguard the rights of animals. Poaching has proven that human activities continue to threaten the survival of nature. Recognizing the rights of animals is the surest way to both preservation and conservation. Question 7: The society and culture is indeed ill. The claim provides a rational explanation to the fact that a human would hunt and annihilate rhinos, elephants and other rare wild cats just for money. Such wanton selfishness is a sign of illness of the human culture. Question 8: conservations and preservation of watershed boundaries is a feature of bioregionalism that promises hope for the biodiversity in nature. Bioregionalism provides effective ways of protecting the environment since it creates small and manageable portions of nature thereby making it easy for governments to protect and conserve nature. Question 9: Western mindset promises better environmental ideology. Such basic ideologies as regionalism and preservation are western and they both provide ways for humans to use nature to achieve their personal gratification while safeguarding nature. This way, both humanity and nature win. Question 10: The chaotic attractors in the modern society include pollution, which influences climatic change thereby causing numerous life threatening consequences. Pollution

Internal Audit of Fuller Smith & Turner plc Essay

Internal Audit of Fuller Smith & Turner plc - Essay Example The aim of the audit is to see the need for corrective action by top-level management on its policies. The idea is to stimulate mutual discussion between outside auditors and insiders (management and employees) who implement goals and find ways of improving the present situation. Its objective is therefore not only to correct the present way things are done, but probably more important is the good that the process can do to everyone involved, like the conduct of surveys of the present situation and the roundtable discussions that would be based on facts instead of opinions (Kondo, 1988, p. 15-16). An internal audit serves an educational purpose and offers management a chance to review those facts of the firm's strategies and operations that may reflect on management, employees, and other stakeholders. One positive effect of an audit is contributing to the way employees improve relationships with each other and understanding the work they do. There are different ways of doing an internal audit. ... The simplest is to gather data from periodic strategic and operational reviews, but the firm can also commission the use of other tools such as employee and customer satisfaction surveys, performance excellence models, and benchmarking (Witcher, 2003). Three highly popular techniques we can use audit the firm and the business environment where it operates are the SWOT analysis (Andrews, 1987; Ansoff, 1965; Chandler, 1962), the PESTEL analysis (Steiner, 1979; Andrews, 1987), and Porter's Five Forces model and Generic Strategy (Porter, 1980 and 1985). SWOT/PESTEL Analysis For this first part, we combine the SWOT/PESTEL approach. The SWOT analysis is so-called because of the acronym of the four factors required for assessing the organization's internal (Strengths and Weaknesses) and external (Opportunities and Threats) environments. The PESTEL analysis considers six environmental factors that affect the enterprise and its business: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal. We will combine the PESTEL factors with the SWOT analysis factors to audit Fuller's. Porter's Models Porter (1980, 1985) proposed the Five Forces model that helps a firm analyse its environment and design its competitive strategy by choosing one of three generic strategies. The five forces are bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitutes, the intensity of rivalry, and the threat of new entrants. The three generic strategies are over-all cost leadership that allow the firm to compete on the basis of price by achieving efficiencies by minimising costs and attaining economies of scale; differentiation by way of brand image, technology, features, uniqueness, or the quality of service support, any of which enables the firm to charge a

Essay on Project Governance Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

On Project Governance - Essay Example Uncoordinated project governance can result to financial loss, delayed completion and collapse of an entire project. Consequently, the project implementers uptake thorough planning and organization of customized ERP system (Abdallah & Albadri 2011). An ERP is a deliberate organizational tool that guides a firm’s vision. ERP systems combine internal information related to finance, management and production. At Microsoft ERP facilitates the exchange of information in business functions. Background Information ERP is an integrated system for small organizations designed to promote excellent practices in business. ERP software’s have varied applications based on the technical aptitude and the definite needs. Each section centers on a definite area such as distribution, marketing, inventory control or HR management. Additionally, ERP is fully integrated to supervise progress and inform business intelligence (Dinsmore & Rocha, 2012). The ERP guides in the decision making of a n organization by guiding project governance. Thus, a well-coordinated ERP system is vital to successful project governance. It provides the most efficient way to conduct business processes. For that reason, systems vary in utility and convenience. Literature Review ERP systems are central business transformers rather than mere IT systems. They align with organizational goals to better provision of services and promote efficiency (Remenyi, 2005). Hence, an ERP has the aptitude to transform project government and may shift the focus of core activities. According to Muller (2009), the need to achieve operational efficiency through consistent implementation emphasizes on the need to form mergers and networks to promote interdependence in the unpredictable market. This heightens the need to establish architectural project governance that promotes growth. Nikookar et al. (2010) asserts that ERP is of competitive advantage to firms globally. It is a dynamic force for inspiring the course of globalization. Resultantly, firms are adopting ERP to guide in better administration and production. Therefore, organizations aspiring to attain standard levels need to invest in efficient ERP systems. This generates a competitive growth oriented atmosphere because it is easier to monitor minor changes. Successful attainment of efficiency is a continuous process that has become the prime credibility measure to modern enterprises (Konsynski & Tiwana, 2004). Companies that successfully adapt with the ERP systems save on time previously spent on documentation, training, and accounting. Therefore, long-term feasibility benefits firm that adapt to the consumer’s preferences. Development stage Microsoft is an organization that develops fully customized ERP systems (Shankar & Bellefroid, 2011). The senior manager and the executive usually guide other stakeholders in coming up with the ERP software’s. Executives at Microsoft engage in the planning and implementation of the system. Primarily, before developing the systems, management conducts research to find the needs of the

Leadership In The Contemporary Business Environment

Leadership In The Contemporary Business Environment Today, the role of leadership in the contemporary business environment can hardly be underestimated. In this respect, it is possible to refer to the experience of John Walsh, the human resource manager of Norton Pistons, who has managed to lead the company out of the ongoing crisis and made it the industry leader. His experienced and effective leadership approaches to the company contributed to the consistent, qualitative change in the development of the company and relationships between managers and employees within the company. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the fact that the development of effective leadership style depends on the personal and professional skills and inclinations of the leader and his or her ability to take the lead and create conditions favorable for the effective development of the entire company. Please describe your leadership style in some detail. (Ask for examples of this style) The leadership style of John Walsh can be characterized as the transformational leadership. The transformational leadership style, according to the leader, is viewed as the introduction of changes and the involvement of the leader in the development and introduction of the change. In fact, the leader prepares subordinates to the change and encourages them to change their workplace environment and style of work. Ideally, the transformational leadership style creates valuable and positive change in the followers with the end goal of developing followers into leaders. Do you consider yourself a charismatic leader? Why or why not? The leader considers himself to be a charismatic leader, who attempts to breed leaders in his subordinates to create an effective team. At the same time, the leader aims at the creation of the team to maintain the growth of the organization and to unite subordinates, who follow his lead and are capable to take effective decisions and make other people follow their lead. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the leader pays a lot of attention to the loyalty of his subordinates. On the other hand, he is always ready to assist to other employees and his subordinates. In such a way, he attempts to develop leadership in his subordinates and enhance the effectiveness of the performance of the organization. How did you become a leader in your organization? John Walsh became the leader after seven years of work in the company. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that he worked for the company and started as the human resource manager. He worked for five years in other companies. However, as he started to work in our company, he has proved to be quite successful and revealed the leadership inclinations fast. As a result, he has started to progress since the beginning of his career. In the course of seven years he had become the leader of the company. In this regard, the leader points out that leadership skills were extremely important to reach a tremendous success in the company. At the same time, he pointed out that the development of organizational and communication skills were also essential for his professional developed. On the other hand, his charisma was also extremely important because due to his charisma he had managed to gain the support of employees and respect of other managers that contributed to his fast career p rogress. How does your organization develop leaders (or leadership skills)? The organization provides successful managers opportunities for training to develop their leadership skills. In this regard, the company provides its managers with special training courses. In addition, the company develops knowledge sharing management to develop leadership skills in its managers. Through the close cooperation with each other, managers could share experience and develop their leadership skills. In such a way, the development of leadership skills is effective and does not need substantial investments. Connections to organizational behavior The leadership is very important in the contemporary organizations and the organizational behavior depends on the effective leadership style. In this respect, the transformational leadership style is particularly effective, when organizations need changes. In the contemporary business environment, organizations should come prepared to changes because the fast development of technologies and changes in the business environment contributes to the fast development of business and raises the problem of adaptation of changes within the organization. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the experience of John Walsh is quite useful in terms of the improvement of the organizational performance. In addition, the charismatic leadership contributes to the fast development of organizations because the charisma of a leader unites people and helps the organization to reach strategic goals effectively. Conclusion Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the leadership style is very important in the contemporary business environment. The experience of John Welch is very important and helps to reveal effective strategies to reach positive outcomes in the organizational development.

The Clean Energy and the fossil fuels in Saudi Arabia Essay -- Environ

Over the past 200 years, mankind discovered the fossil fuels and they used this source to produce hug energy. This affects the environment in many negative ways and caused many issues worldwide such as urban air pollution and acid rain, oil spills and the high temperature of earth. Saudi Arabia has the biggest oil reserves in the world by 19.66% (the world factbook, 2011) and the second oil producer country in the world with roughly 10.121 million barrels a day – which account for 12% of the total world production of oil in 2010 (Fontinelle,2011). Moreover, the country relies heavily on oil industry. And the most successful companies in the country are thus whose work in oil industry such as ARAMCO Company. The reason behind this success is because most of these companies get financial support and attention from the Saudi government and sometimes the government owes these companies. Because of the massive reserve of oil and the high income that generated from oil, the country has less attention to seek for other sources of clean energy such as solar energy and wind energy which leads to the increase of air pollution in the country. However, oil is expected to last in the next 50 to 100 years (Hubbert, 1956). Furthermore, the International organizations have made many decisions to protect the environment and environmental resource such as Kyoto Protocol which decided to raise the use of solar energy to 50%of the total global energy use by 2020 (UNFCCC ,2005 ). Recently, these issues lead the Saudi government to realize problems, such as air pollutions, and start to invest in clean energy area but not as expected. These days many people in Saudi Arabia argue the uses of clean energy and replace with the fossil fuels. And they d... ...hese negatives and people can get positives from this and have clean and healthy environment. Moreover, they will have renewable energy. We also can create new jobs and we can use this fuel in transportations. However, this technology is very expensive but it can cover the cost in long term and sometimes in a short term. In addition, Saudi Arabia is large country and it is known as a desert country, which is suitable for this technology. Many believe that the best solution for this issue is to use both fossil fuels and clean energy and create hybrid power (KACST, 2009). Therefore, the country can get the benefit from both side and they can keep fossil fuels longer as much they can, save the environment and another source of income to the country. Finally, every person needs to think about this issue, so we will have a great and successful life in the future.

Internet Advertising (Web Advertising) :: BTEC Business Marketing GCSE Coursework

Web Advertising It is questionable whether advertising on the Web is effective, researchers say. According to Natia Enligh and Michael Pierce, authors of â€Å"Advertising on the Web,† the Web has the ability to deliver a flow of information. â€Å"For advertisers especially, the Web has enormous potential, mainly because of its vast size and global reach. Today marketers and advertisers are wondering just how they can use the Web to have the greatest impact on consumers.† Advertising on the Web is effective because it offers an extensive amount of information and is interactive. â€Å"Consumers can control the type of volume of information they get, in real time and with minimal effort. The Web has excellent potential to target common-interest groups nationally or across the world,† write Enligh and Pierce. Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. says because of the high cost of computers and Internet access, households that are on-line are more educated and have higher income levels than average ones. â€Å"Home Web users spend about four hours a week on-line. This means that they spend less time on other activities, particularly watching television. As a result, marketing strategies must integrate more mediums if they are to deliver a consistent message.† According to â€Å"Effective Internet Advertising Techniques,† (http://afgen.com/techniques.htm), these are some techniques to use when advertising on the Internet: †¢ Attract your reader with a catchy word or phrase right up front. †¢ Study other classifieds. If you see them repeatedly its because they work. †¢ Keep your classifieds brief and to the point, using phrases, not complete sketches. †¢ Use simple words, not long ones. Don’t confuse the reader. †¢ Tell the reader exactly what they are getting. †¢ Don’t try to sell the product in a classified. Simply try to get interested people to respond. †¢ Use energetic punctuation, such as exclamation points instead of periods. The Internet is Different Some experts believe reaching a younger target audience is effective for advertising on the Internet. â€Å"There are some sections of the population, such as young people and hobbyists, that you cannot reach with conventional media or whom it would be too expensive to reach with TV. The Internet is good mean to seek out niches,† says Andrew Rolf, creative director of Internet consultancy Hyperlink Interactive. (The Financial Times Limited-London) On-line advertising works differently than other mediums. Customers are in charge; they have control of the â€Å"Back† button.

Grassroots Computing Essay

The article â€Å"Changing the corporate IT development model: Tapping the power of Grassroots† defines that the IT world in the 21st century corporate world is evolving. No longer are there programmers and users. Many times the users become ad hoc programmers. In some corporate structures the lines between the two worlds are disappearing. The plus side to this ad hoc programming is the ability for the end user to develop the tool needed to accomplish the task at hand. Many of the programs available to the business communities are generic in nature and the business will adapt to the program available. In some companies the grassroots computing types are adapting or improving the programming to meet the needs of the organization. The negative side to the grassroots computing model growing in the corporate world is the barriers and silos often built around the IT environment. These barriers need to be taken down for the full growth of the computer industry to be realized for all users and developers. The current license agreements around programing usage and modification will have to be adapted to the changes taking place in the enterprise. The article specifically identifies that the IT genre must – in addition to other needed steps – â€Å"Actively cultivate an entrepreneurial atmosphere and Provide tools and services to enable workers to automate their own work environments. † (Cherbakov Et Al). With this changing idealism around IT and end user – corporate policy and culture needs to also evolve. The organization that will realize the full potential of the programing resources available – not only in the IT department – but across all boundaries in the organization – will establish a culture that will bring down established silos. There still needs to be licensing agreements and non disclosure agreements in place for proprietary rights. These licenses and agreements should not be drawn up in a way to quell the entrepreneurial spirit needed in any growing organization. Each member of the entire team needs to be able to contribute to realization of organizational objectives. Not seeking to be detrimental in any skill set in the organization – but creating a team culture that opens doors for the IT professionals and the professionals on the floor who use the IT tools. Bibliography Cherbakov Et Al. (2007). Changing the corporate IT development model: Tapping the power of grassroots computing. IBM Systems Journal, 46(4), 1-20.

Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

â€Å"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. † * Albert Einstein The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is a book describing and reflecting upon the problems in the southern United States in the 1930’s. The problems that the author, Carson McCullers, analyzes include alcoholism, labor unions, racial bias, as well as the many problems that economic instability can create. McCullers depicts each problem in a very realistic manner connecting one character with one specific issue. The reader identifies with each character because the social problems the characters face have not gone away.Americans still fight for economic justice and racial equality. Labor unions are still demonized by big corporations. These issues have not gone away. The most overbearing problem- in the 1930's and currently- is the economy. Poverty prevents a main character in this novel, Mick Kelly, from being able to follow her dream. Mick loves music more than an ything in the world: â€Å"The whole world was this symphony, and there was not enough of her to listen†¦ Now that it was over there was only her heart beating like a rabbit and this terrible hurt. (145) Micks feels so passionately about music that she wants to absorb as much as possible. She wants to pursue her dream of music, however, her father does not have a stable income and her mother works very hard for very little. This situation restrains Mick from being able to pursue her dreams by not allowing her to get the adequate instructions and opportunities she needs. The fact the Mick grows up working instead of in an environment where she cannot take music lessons or have the opportunity to follow her dreams, holds her from achieving greatness.The working class not only had to deal with the poverty but also labor unions. Jake Blount is a confused and mentally unstable man who spends his first few weeks in town drunk. Blount has many ideas that he is constantly speaking abo ut: â€Å"words came out of his throat like a cataract† (13). Blount is upset with company’s treatment of the middle class and finds it necessary to tell most everyone in his presence. He believes that America should enact socialist reforms. He is constantly encouraging the revolts of middle class workers to revolt as a reaction to the treatment in the workplace.Another prominent problem that McCullers identifies is institutionalized racism. Dr. Copeland's solution is education and fighting against the inequity: â€Å"In the face of brutality I was prudent. Before injustice I held my peace. I sacrificed the things in hand for the good of the hypothetical whole. I believed in the tongue instead of the fist. As armor against oppression I taught patience and faith in the human soul. I know now how wrong I was. I have been a traitor to myself and my people. All that is rot. Now is the time to act and to act quickly.Fight cunning with cunning and might with might. † (301-302) Dr. Copeland when first dealing with racism would attempt to find peace and submit to the criticism. As time went on in his life he realizes the best option is to fight the injustice. Not only has the problem held true to today's society, but his solution to the problem has become a reality. The problems the characters experienced then are still prevalent today. Poverty is an issue that is one of the focus of society. According to San Jose University the unemployment rate in the Great Depression peaked at 23%.The current unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is at 9. 2%. While these numbers are different, they are still both very high. McCullers approaches this subject in very realistic and connecting method. The perspective in the 1930's, Mick Kelly is one that many kids are facing today. Kids today and 1930's face the problem of wanting to pursue their dreams but instead must work to support their family. This leads to unequal social statuses of children from varying backgrounds. Not only has the poverty remained present, labor unions have as well.Labor unions continue to be demonized by large companies. Since the 1930's labor union membership had been steadily decreasing until the beginning of the current economic recession. The fact that McCullers took the time to analyze such a problem that still exists today show how perceptive she was socially of the world around her. Institutionalized racism is a subject that is no longer prevalent today. The reason that the issue has decreased is because solution of fighting the injustice has taken effect.The current American president, Barack Obama, has dealt with the problems that McCullers describes. He has also taken the solution that McCullers implements through Dr. Copeland and has become the American president. McCullers identifies the possibility of the success and offers the solution. The problems of society are not taken lightly by anyone. McCullers broaches the problems i n a careful yet aggressive manner. She paints a powerful picture of each issue allowing the reader to connect with each problem even sixty years after writing the book.It does not take a genius to realize that the problems that McCullers examines and even offers solutions for come problems that are still prominent in today’s society. The specifics of the economy, labor unions, and racial bias have evolved with the rest of the country, but the fact that the problems are still here is a testament to the social awareness of McCullers while she was writing The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. While McCullers did not actually change these issues, she brought to light struggles that many Americans are facing today.

Analysis of Erik, Phantom of the Opera Using Two Contrasting Personality Theories

The tremendously popular and well-known Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical production of The Phantom of the Opera was based on the French novel Le Fantome de l'Opera written by Gaston Leroux in1910 (Leroux, 1910/1990). The original novel gave little direct details with respect to Erik’s past; what was abundant however were hints and implications about the character’s life history throughout the book (Leroux, 1910/1990).Erik was actually not his birth name but rather a name given to him by accident, and Leroux had simply called him â€Å"the man’s voice† in the novel; Erik, however, had referred himself as â€Å"the opera ghost† and â€Å"the angel of music† throughout the texts (Leroux, 1910/1990). The history of Erik was revealed in the novel mostly by the character Persia (also known as the Persian or the daroga), a local police chief in Persia that followed Erik to Paris.The character Erik will be described below based on the transl ated work of Leroux (1910/1990), followed by an analysis of his personality using concepts derived from (1) the Freudian theory of psychoanalysis, and (2) the Skinnerian radical behaviorism concept. These two theorists were chosen because they represent polar opposites on how personality is viewed. While Freud maintained that the unconscious is the underlying driving force from which personality develops, Skinner rejected all non-observable parameters such as thoughts, feelings, emotions, and the unconscious in his scientific analysis of human behavior.Freud’s emphasis on personality development was on the continuous struggle between the id and the superego, and how successfully the ego can manage a healthy balance between them. Freud also determined 5 psychosexual stages that must be negotiated and satisfied during childhood development, failure on doing so will result in aberrant personality traits. Skinner, however, believed that all behavior, and hence personality, are le arned as a function of environmental factors.A behavior that is reinforced will likely to be repeated, one that is punished will most likely not. He maintained that genetic predispositions allow humans to react to stimuli within a certain range, and where within that range our behavior falls is determined by how we are shaped by the influence of the environment we find ourselves. In this paper, the major differences in how those two theorists might interpret Erik’s personality will be discussed. The Character Erik Erik was born in a small town on the outskirts of Rouen, France.Hideously deformed at birth, his mother was horrified by his appearance and his father refused to even look at him. Tortured by ridicules and spite from his own mother, he ran away as a young boy and was adopted by a band of travelling Gypsies. He earned his living by performing in freak shows, where he was labeled as the living death. Despite his monstrous appearance, Erik was an extremely talented ind ividual. In addition to possessing a most eerie and supernatural singing voice, he gained great skills as an illusionist, magician, and ventriloquist.A fur trader recognized Erik’s gifted abilities and mentioned it to the Shah of Persia, who then ordered to have him brought to his palace. Erik soon proved to the Shah his knowledge in architecture, and the Shah commissioned him to design and build Mazenderan, an elaborate palace full of trap doors, hidden passages, and secret rooms such that no one could be certain of his/her privacy: someone would be listening or spying at anytime and anywhere. The Shah could practically vanish from a room in an instant and reappear elsewhere in utter secrecy.During Erik’s tenure with the Shah, he was also employed as a political assassin, carrying out the Shah’s orders by strangling his victims using an unique noose known as the Punjab Lasso. Pleased with his work but determined that no other such palaces should be built and ow ned by anyone else (not to mention Erik and his workers were the only ones that had intimate knowledge of the palace’s layout), the Shah first ordered Erik and his workers be blinded but then realized he could build another one even without his eyesight, ordered their executions.By the intervention of the local police chief (the Persian), Erik escaped to Constantinople and was employed by its’ ruling Sultan to build his grand palace of a similar design. Alas, he was later forced to escape Constantinople for the same reason he fled Persia. Erik’s next destination was most likely to be somewhere in Southeast Asia, where he decided that he was tired of his nomadic lifestyle. Eventually, he returned to Paris and successfully bided on a contract to help build the Paris Opera. Using his extensive experiences from the past, the theater was built withtrap doors and secret passageways throughout. In addition, Erik built himself a palace, or a playhouse, of a sort deep wi thin the cellar of the opera house so that he did not have to live amongst the cruelty of humankind. He spent the next 20 years or so in his â€Å"home† writing and composing music of various sorts. At about the same time, a beautiful and technically talented chorus girl by the name of Christine Daae, who had lost all passion to sing and perform due to her father’s passing, somehow heard Erik’s singing and music in her dressing room at late nights.Thinking that must have been an â€Å"angel† sent by her father, Christine took singing lessons from the â€Å"Angel of Music† during the nights and later emerged as a virtuoso singer better than she ever was. By now, Erik was secretly in love with Christine, and one night he revealed himself to her from behind a mirror in her dressing room, wearing a mask, and led her through the mazes and labyrinths into his domain in the cellar of the theater.It turned out that Erik had been composing his masterpiece f or the last 20 years, and realizing his genius, Christine asked if he would play a part from the masterpiece for her, and Erik refused as the piece was yet incomplete. Erik’s original plan upon the completion of his masterpiece was to go to his bed, which was in fact a coffin, and fall into an eternal sleep. Feeling the obvious pain from Erik and yearning to see his face, Christine ripped the mask off, and saw the horrible disfigurement. Another person vying for Christine’s affection was the Vicomte Raoul de Chagney.A childhood friend of Christine, he was captivated by her new-found voice, so unearthly passionate that led Raoul to fall madly in love with her. In the final chapters of Leroux’s novel, Erik kidnapped Christine straight from the stage during one of the performances, showed her the completed masterpiece, and asked her to marry him instead of the Vicomte so that the two of them can live a happy life, rather than him simply slip way into his â€Å"bed † and dies. If she were to refuse, however, Erik would detonate the massive amount of gun powder he had secretly accumulated under the opera house over the years.Christine submitted to his request in order to save herself, unknowing Raoul had fallen accidentally into Erik’s torture chamber while searching the opera house for her with the help of the Persian and the opera house staffs. Acknowledging her acceptance, Erik gave Christine a gold ring and kissed her cheek. He was so overwhelmed with joy that he fell to his knees and cried uncontrollably. Seeing the genius with a tortured soul finding happiness at last, Christine cried with Erik. Erik then surprised Christine by saying that he is now willing to let her go, and she was free to marry Raoul.Erik freed Raoul and let them both leave the dungeon, but not before making Christine promise to come back and bury him upon his death. Christine kissed Erik on his forehead, and disappeared into the night with Raoul. Carrying his most cherished possession, the diary kept by Christine detailing everything that had happened between them, Erik went to the Persian and told him the whole story, with the hand-written diary as proof. Erik died three weeks afterwards. Christine kept her promise and returned to the opera house, but before the burial, she slipped the gold ring Erik had given to her three weeks earlier onto his finger.Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic Approach to Erik’s Personality The core concept of psychoanalysis developed by Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) is the significant influence the unconscious mind has on the conscious (Burkitt, 2010; Freud, 1923/1990). The unconscious is a vast reservoir of latent thoughts and memories (real, repressed, or false) that are not associated with the activities of the conscious mind, but those activities consciously executed are in fact directed and driven by the unconscious (Burkitt, 2010; Freud, 1923/1990).In the novel, Erik was able to util ize this power of the unconscious to strategically place himself in the mind of Christine, letting her to believe that he was sent by her deceased father and thus masquerading as the â€Å"Angel of Music†. According to Freud, the oral stage is the first stage of psychosexual development (Freud, 1923/1990; van Beekum, 2009). In addition to providing nourishment, the mother’s breasts provide a source of love, pleasure, and security to the infant (Freud, 1923/1990; Wagg & Pridmore, 2004).Weaning would therefore create a stressful situation for the infant: giving up the comfort feelings the mother’s breasts have provided. Some infants are easier than others to succeed in negotiating and resolving this conflict between the id and the ego (Freud, 1923/1990; van Beekum, 2009) by redirecting their psychosexual energy (libido) toward other challenges. For those infants that do not, the psychosexual development theory affirms they will develop into orally fixated adults ( Freud, 1923/1990; van Beekum, 2009; Wagg & Pridmore, 2004).Although it was not detailed in the novel, Erik most likely was never breast-fed as his mother loathed his appearance and his father refused to even look at him. It is therefore reasonable to assume that as an adult, Erik would have an extreme case of oral fixation, constantly seeking for the pleasure and comfort that would have been derived from oral stimulations denied during infancy. In theory, adult manifestations of oral-stage fixation include nail-biting, eating, chewing, smoking, and alcoholism (Wagg & Pridmore, 2004).Similarly, they may derive psychological pleasure from talking and constantly seeking knowledge (Wagg & Pridmore, 2004). Although Leroux did not detail Erik’s personal habits, we can certainly see that he was constantly looking for and acquiring knowledge and skills, being an accomplished magician and ventriloquist, a brilliant architect and master builder, a royal assassin, a music genius with a most haunting, unearthly, yet passionate voice (Leroux, 1910/1990).Instead of talking, Erik’s obsession with oral stimulation was manifested as singing: singing to himself, hoping to seek solace throughout his life; and later to Christine as well as giving her vocal lessons. It therefore appears to me that the desirable, pleasurable substance he chose to keep in his mouth was music in the form of his own voice. The first, and most psychoanalysts would argue to also be the most important, ego defense mechanism identified by Freud was what he called repression: threatening thoughts and ideas are repressed, or pushed back into the unconscious (Freud, 1923/1990; Rosenzweig, 1943; Wagg & Pridmore, 2004).Repression can therefore be viewed as a barrier used by the conscious mind to block out specific (usually painful, unpleasant, or inappropriate) thoughts arising from the unconscious. In the phallic stage (around age 4 years) during which a child’s sexual energy is focused o n the genitals, the aggressive thoughts in the Oedipus complex about the same sex parents are learned to be repressed (but must be resolved later) by the developing boy (Adler, 2010; Rosenzweig, 1943; Wagg & Pridmore, 2004). One of those feelings the boy represses is the fear of castration, which will be discussed below.Base on a Greek legend in which Oedipus, the Thebes king who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, the term â€Å"Oedipus complex† was used by Freud to describe a boy’s sexual desires toward his mother and rivalries toward his father (Adler, 2010; van Beekum, 2009). Freud theorized that such thoughts and feelings and the psychological defenses against such thoughts and feelings are of critical importance in personality development as they will become the fundamental reaction pattern the individual relies on throughout life (Adler, 2010; van Beekum, 2009).Freud noted that during this phallic stage when children begin to explore their geni tals – boys with their penises, at the same time they are also concerned with their fathers’ penises and girls who do not have them. Freud theorized that while the boy is struggling with his intense sexual desire toward his mother, he must have also realized that he does not have the physical strength to overpower his father; he fears the father may castrate him as an act of revenge, leaving him without a penis and therefore resembling a girl – Freud termed this unconscious fear â€Å"castration anxiety† (Adler, 2010; van Beekum, 2009).In order to resolve this conflict successfully, the developing boy pledges allegiance to his father. He tries to become a person like his father, and by assuming his characteristics, the boy replaces his father to become the authoritative, father-of-the-household figure and so, by extension, achieves sexual relations with his mother while diminishing the fear of being castrated (Adler, 2010; van Beekum, 2009).In Erikâ€℠¢s case, I believe his total alienation from his family as well as the society at-large led to a totally unresolved Oedipus complex: he felt no love for his mother, he did not know his father at all, and therefore no parent to identify with. Failing to identify himself with one parent, Erik therefore was incapable of moral internalization. He did whatever made him feel good at the time; he neither feared nor knew punishment because it did not matter what he does or does not do, the results were inevitably the same.In other words, his repressive defense mechanism, neither learned nor developed in childhood, was practically non-existent. Having no basic repressive skills and thus letting the thanatos force of the id to freely and repeatedly surface to the conscious and gratified, it is no wonder why Erik experienced frequent negative emotional outbursts, lack of remorse as an assassin, and an irrational, maniacal fixation on whatever he wished for, specifically, Christine. In addition , his obsession with Christine may be a way Erik dealt with impulses that he knew was unacceptable even to himself.I believe he unconsciously identified himself with Christine, both talented and tormented but with the exception of her being accepted publically and he loathed. Because he could never be accepted by the public regardless of how talented he was, teaching Christine all he knew and thus controlling her may be a way Erik thought he could live his imaginary â€Å"good life† through her success. By allowing Erik to kiss her on her cheek, a pivotal moment in the novel was created as Christine appeared to have melted his cold heart.Although Maslow’s self-actualization theory may view Erik’s reaction as a peak experience, I do not believe that to be the case. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs placed self-actualization on the very top of the ladder and can only be achieved after all other needs, physiological, safety, belongingness and love, and esteem, are satisfied (Hanley & Abell, 2002). Clearly, none of Erik’s life needs were even close to being satisfied, and therefore the innate process of self-actualization (Hanley & Abell, 2002) must have been foreign to him.I believe Erik’s reaction was another manifestation of the uncontrolled id surfacing to the conscious. This time, however, it was the eros force of the id that surfaced. This tremendous emotional release of positive energy, or catharsis, was so foreign yet comforting to him that he b roke down and cried uncontrollably. This was most likely the very first time the eros and not the thanatos force of his id was gratified as he was so accustomed to in his life up to that very moment; he finally felt the positive aspect of what it is to be human.The sensation of having the eros drive satisfied was so much more pleasurable than having the thanatos drive satisfied, his ego decide to choose to release Raoul and free Christine, allowing them to be married. B. F. Skinn er’s Radical Behaviorism Approach to Erik’s Personality In stark contrast to personality theorist such as Freud and Jung, Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904 – 1990) viewed personality as a result of previous history of reinforcement (such as rewards and punishments) and that personality is determined and controlled by environmental factors (Moore, 2011).Therefore, in order to understand the behavior of a person, we must first uncover the set of environmental conditions where the behavior is exhibited. Skinner reasoned that in the presence of a discriminative stimulus, a characteristic response is elicited (Moore, 2011). Depending on how the response is reinforced, the behavior of the individual toward that discriminative stimulus is gradually shaped (Moore, 2011). In his principles of operant conditioning, Skinner emphasized how behavior can be changed by manipulating the reinforcing consequence (Moore, 2011).Skinner strongly rejected mentalism; terms such as perso nality, psychical structures (Freud’s id, ego, and superego), needs, and instinct were of no meanings to Skinner and instead, he favored the directly observable behaviors and emphasized on the function of the behavior in his research (Moore, 2011). According to Skinner, there is no free will (Moore, 2011). In Skinner’s view, what we see as personality is basically a group of responses to the environment, and if the responses are rewarded, then they are more likely to be repeated.Freud viewed the id as the instinctual driving force from the undifferentiated core of personality while Skinner asserted that what we see as a driving force is really humans’ innate susceptibility to reinforcement (Moore, 2011). Rather than seeing the ego as how humans respond to the world according to the reality principle, Skinner reasoned that all responses are learned, and different behavior will be exhibited by an individual under different circumstances.Refuting the Freudian conce pt of the superego as a set of internalized social rules and values that guide the ego in the continual struggle and negotiation with the id, Skinner believed that behavior is learned from how the society punishes such behavior: we simply control those behaviors that are not allowed by the society – exhibiting such behaviors will lead to unpleasant consequences. Therefore, Skinner interpreted the Freudian ego defense mechanism as avoidance to conditioned aversive stimulations, or punishments (Moore, 2011).In terms of genetic predispositions, Skinner suggests that genes (biological factors) provide an individual a range of response capabilities, but it is the environment that selects for the type of response that best suits the individual’s survival. Skinner also did not deny the existence of internal processes such as emotions and thoughts; he viewed them as individual characteristics caused by the environment and as such they are irrelevant in the explanation and the understanding of behavior (Moore, 2011).Erik appeared to have been genetically gifted with an extremely wide range of response capabilities as well as a talent in knowledge acquisition. Born grotesquely deformed, the environmental factor that selected him came in the form of a band of wondering Gypsies. Exploiting his deformity for monetary gain, they actually provided Eric a chance to survive into adulthood. Because he was gifted as a learner, he mastered the Gypsies’ many different performing skills and incorporated them into his own routines, further securing his acceptance within the band – the members could reliably depend on him as a money maker.His childhood experience thus far conditioned him to be independent: He could not depend on his family because he was a disgrace to them, he had no friends, and the band of Gypsies took pity on him for the sole reason of being able to make money off him. The more he enriched himself, the more valuable he was to the compan y. The reinforcing consequence was shelter and food, and his learned response to the environment was therefore to learn as much skill as he could and to become as selfish as he could.To Erik, it was every man on his own and for his own. Erik would not have any problem in being an assassin. Within the Shah’s realm, killing as directed by the Shah was rewarded. In addition, I believe that it is more than likely that Erik viewed â€Å"punishment† as normal, and hence his interpretation of â€Å"punishment† was not as an aversive stimulation, but rather normalcy. He therefore had no fear of being â€Å"punished† for being a killer and at the same time, successful killings were repeatedly reinforced with wealth and status.This changed, however, when Christine entered the picture. Erik developed an obsession toward the beautiful, talented, but emotionally devastated (due to the death of her father) chorus girl. Behaviorist view obsession as random acts that are by chance reinforced (Moore, 2011). Christine was fascinated with his genius, and thought that he was an angel sent by her father. Having not seen his disfigurement, I believe Christine did love Erik before that revelation. She respected Erik for his talent, and curiousenough to learn more about this â€Å"Angel of Music†. Erik no doubt was first captivated by her beauty, and when they actually spoke, Erik must have been pleasantly surprised that, for the first time in his life, he was treated as a person with no ill side-effects. These encounters-in-the-shadow made Erik feel good about himself, and together with a lack of negative consequences, he became obsessed with her – having a â€Å"relationship† with Christine made him happy, easing the anxiety within.Under Skinner’s concept of operant conditioning (operant because, in Erik’s case, he did not expect to be reinforced with kindness), I would think that by changing the environment from greed, hate, treachery, and death to that of kindness and warmth provided by the presence of Christine, Erik was able to radically change his behavior from total selfishness, oblivious to the needs of others to one that was more or less compassionate. This radical change, however, did not come overnight.It was through multiple encounters with Christine, each time they learn more about each other, each time his action was reinforced by the increasing level of kindness and respect returned to him, that his behavior was shaped. Erik did not know love, compassion, kindness, or any other behavior that we associate as positive, and clearly those behaviors were not instinctual to him. With Christine, he was being rewarded for â€Å"being good† – a teacher, a nurturing figure, or even, a lover.The need to possess Christine solely for himself, however, proved to be overwhelming. Brief liaisons in the shadows, no matter how frequent, were no longer satisfying. He needed the environmen t created by the presence of Christine all the time. Simply put, Erik had learned to become an addict; he was addicted to Christine. Behaviorists view love as a stimulus that elicits a range of responses (Moore, 2011; Tolman, 1923). Upon experiencing the love stimulus, infants and toddlers may respond by stop crying, smiling, cooing, etc.and the outstretching and flaying of their arms may be interpreted as wanting more of the stimulus (Moore, 2011; Tolman, 1923). Erik never experienced love and yet he felt pleasure from the stimulus. Unlike unpleasant stimuli such as fear and anger that one reacts by removing oneself away from the hostile environment, Erik needed to remain in the environment that gave him pleasure. In order to do so, he must have Christine in order to create an environment that continuously provides him with that stimulus, love.Most likely triggered by seeing her perform on stage that night, Erik resorted to the familiar solution in obtaining reward quickly and easi ly: he kidnapped her, threatened her with her very life if his addiction was not satiated. However, the environment where Christine is present may prove to be the key in his ultimate decision to free her. Skinner viewed that all behaviors are controlled by the environment, and I believe we are seeing this concept consolidate in Erik’s decision. In the presence of Christine, Erik was compassionate, accommodating, and aware of the turmoil within himself and Christine.I believe that in the environment created by her presence, he saw the impracticality and impossibility in the hope of spending the rest of his life with her. Letting her free was the choice he made in order to make Christine happy, for giving her this happiness would be his own greatest reward. Summary In this essay, the personality characteristics of Erik, Phantom of the Opera, were discussed using the Freudian psychoanalytic approach and the opposing Skinnerian radical behaviorism as references.The Freudian appro ach would suggest that Erik’s personality was a manifestation of his unconscious, orally fixated psychosexual development and an unresolved Oedipus complex with no repressive ego defense mechanism. Erik’s life had been devoted to the satisfaction of the thanatos, the id driving force that leads toward aggression, destruction, and death. Without any internalized social rules and values (superego) as a guide to his actions, his ego had very little to resolve between the id and the superego.As such, the id, driven by the thanatos force, repeatedly surface to the conscious and thus repeatedly gratified. The Skinnerian approach would view Erik’s personality as shaped by previous history of reinforcement in his given environment, steadily and progressively as he developed from a severely deformed, ridiculed child to a highly talented but tormented adult with little conscience. Everything that made up the person Erik was learned, and he had no free will to choose other wise. Through operant conditioning, Erik learned to be ruthless, selfish, and hateful.A behaviorist may interpret Erik’s need to possess Christine as a conditioned need for a stimulus, an addiction, and the respect and kindness returned to him by Christine functioned as reinfocers. In total disparity to his personality, the pivotal moment of the story came when Erik chose to let Christine and Raoul free. A Freudian psychoanalyst may interpret this as his unconscious need to re-experience the pleasure he felt when he first unleashed the id eros force when Christine allowed him to kiss her on the cheek, a pleasure far surpassing what a gratified id thanatos force was able to offer him up to that point.Radical behaviorism may view Erik’s decision in releasing Christine and Raoul was environmentally influenced. First in the presence of Christine’s voice alone and later with her physical presence repeatedly created an environment that was pleasurable to Erik – he was rewarded and reinforced with respect and human kindness. In that environment, he behaved compassionately – making Christine happy gave him pleasure in return. It would make her happiest with Raoul, and so the decision to free them was made. These two opposing theories provided very different explanations to Erik’s personality.However, I believe elements from both theories may be combined for a more comprehensive analysis on his behavior. It is very likely that Erik’s behaviors were learned and shaped by the hostile environment he constantly found himself since birth. Those behaviors, however inappropriate from a â€Å"normal† person’s point of view, were none-the-less necessary in ensuring his survival. The other aspect of his personality was his unconscious need for love and human kindness, something that he knew not existed until he encountered Christine.This is the turning point for Erik’s personality development and likely to be the first battle between the thanatos drive that he was so accustomed to and the newly surfaced eros drive that his ego now must resolve. At the end, it was the eros force that predominated. Behaviorists would interpret that his act of compassion was defined by the environment with the presence of Christine; in her presence, Erik was able to explore the positive aspects of human behavior, ultimately realizing that he too possessed those qualities all along, just that they were, as Freud would put it, hidden in the unconscious.