Free Indirect Discourse in Emma

Free and Direct Discourse in Jane Austen’s, Emma Jane Austen is often considered to have one of the most compelling narrative voices in literature. Blurring the line between third and first person, Austen often combines the thoughts of the narrator with the feelings and muses of the focalized character. Emma is perhaps her most prominent example of free indirect discourse, where the narrator’s voice is often diffused into that of the characters. In the following passage, Emma takes on her role at match-maker between Mr. Elton and Harriet Smith, two naive and somewhat air-headed characters in the novel.Mr. Elton was the very first person fixed on by Emma for driving the young farmer out of Harriet’s head. She though it would be an excellent match; and only too palpably desirable, natural, and probable for her to have much merit in planning it. She feared it was what everybody else must think of and predict. It was not likely, however, that anybody should have equa led her in the date of the plan, as it had entered her brain during the very first evening of Harriet’s coming to Hartfield. The longer she considered it, the greater was her sense of expediency.Mr. Elton’s situation was most suitable, quite the gentleman himself, and without low connections; at the same time not of any family that could fairly object to the doubtful birth of Harriet. He had a comfortable home for her, and Emma imagined a very sufficient income; for though the vicarage of Highbury was not large, he was known to have some independent property; and she thought very highly of him as a good humoured, well-meaning, respectable young man, without any deficiency of useful understanding or knowledge of the world. (Austen, 88)The narrative technique used in this passage is clearly free indirect discourse. There is a definite blur between the narrator and the character, who in this case is Emma, as it often is. The very first sentence delves into Emma’s p lotting thoughts of connecting Mr. Elton and Harriet. Austen then goes on to say that Emma has been the first to think of this, as she did so at Harriet’s first arrival in Hartfield. It almost sounds as if Austen is bragging that Emma was the first to think of this earthshattering idea, but then again, was it Austen or Emma who was bragging? It is hard for the reader to decide.Emma thought the idea so obvious that everyone must have already thought it, but what made her idea better was that it was had first. If a strict third person narrator would have related Emma’s idea to us, we would not get as much insight into why it was such a good idea and Emma’s thought process on it. Perhaps a third person narrator would have simply said, â€Å"and then Emma had the idea that Mr. Elton could replace the unworthy farmer. † In the next couple of sentences, Emma continues her stream of consciousness by listing the qualities that make Mr. Elton a suitable match for Harriet.This portion of the passage reflects Emma’s subjectivity and can be considered â€Å"a transcript of [her] conscious thought† (Gunn, 40). These considerations were not being made by the narrator. The person telling Emma’s story has no gain or loss in who Harriet decides to marry, but to Emma, it is of the utmost importance. This shows that the stream must be originating from Emma’s consciousness, and not that of the narrator. The reader can hear Emma’s judgments especially in the phrase, â€Å"quite the gentleman himself,† which shows that she thinks all of these qualities that Mr.Elton possesses makes him a worthy gentleman, and thus a candidate for Harriet’s love and affection. Even the style that this phrase is uttered in is representative of a stream of thought. It is interjected into the sentence discussing Mr. Elton’s suitability. Had a strict, third person narrator written this sentence, it would have been more c rafted and less conversational. The entire concept itself is not entirely necessary for the reader to follow, but it helps to understand the character of Emma and why she feels such a need to be a match maker among her acquaintances.Emma also expresses her thoughts about Harriet’s suitability in the following sentence, although it is brief. She says of Mr. Elton that he is, â€Å"at the same time not of any family that could fairly object to the doubtful birth of Harriet. † Here, it is Emma, not the narrator, who is acknowledging Harriet’s inferior and â€Å"doubtful† birth. It is Emma who does not think that it will be an issue to be acted upon for the simple reason that Mr. Elton has no family to object to the union. Although Emma’s voice is very prominent in this passage, the third person narrator still remains, which is what essentially makes it Austen’s style of ree indirect discourse. In phrases such as, â€Å"Emma imagined,† or , â€Å"she thought,† the reader is forced to considered that the third party narrator is still present and relating the story. Some literature theorists consider this â€Å"contamination† to free indirect discourse (Gunn, 40). Instead of contamination, I think it is what makes Austen’s narrative voice so interesting. The reader must stay attentive in order to follow the stream of consciousness wavering between the narrator and the characters.While being told the story, the reader is also made aware of more minute details that they may not have been presented with had the story been told without free indirect discourse. The fact that the two voices do intermingle so often is a suggestion â€Å"that the distinction between them is arbitrary, at least in Austen’s fiction† (Gunn, 40). Although Emma’s thoughts are freely transcribed within Austen’s passages of free indirect discourse, the ever-present narrator remains in order to guide th e characters in their thoughts as to what needs to be presented to the reader.The 2009 BBC film version of Emma did a very nice job reflecting Emma’s thoughts throughout the movie with voice overs while showing a tight shot of her face on the screen and her respective facial expressions to the thoughts she was having. In this movie, the narrator was removed when Emma pondered over her thoughts. An interesting way to do it could be that the narrator remains, still telling the story through free indirect discourse just as in the novel and filming it in a similar way to the BBC version.The narrator would speak almost directly from the novel and Emma’s facial expressions would still reflect her passions about what was being said. In this particular passage, the narrator would be speaking Emma’s thoughts on Mr. Elton’s qualifications while Emma reacted. This would still allow the story to be told from a third person point-of-view while simultaneously allowing the viewer free range of Emma’s thoughts. Resources: Jane Austen’s Emma in electronic form Gunn, Daniel. â€Å"Free Indirect Discourse and Narrative Authority in Emma. †Ã‚  Free Indirect Discourse and Narrative Authority in Emma. 12. 1 (2004): 35-54. Print.

Media Culture: the Triumph of the Spectacle

Media Culture: the Triumph of the Spectacle â€Å"Media culture is a contested terrain across which key social groups and competing political ideologies struggle for dominance and . . . individuals live these struggles through the images, discourses, myths, and spectacle of media culture† -Douglas Kellner, Media Culture Table of Contents Introduction——————————————————————————————-3 History of Media————————————————————————————-4 Media Spectacle————————————————————————————–5 Douglas Kellner’s Contribution & Guy Debord’s Influential Analysis of Spectacle——-7 The Spectacle Form of Media Culture————————————— ———————8 The Spectacle in the World of Business———————————————————-9 The World of Celebrities————————————————————————–10 The Madonna Phenomenon———————————————————————–10 The World of Politics——————————————————————————11 Conclusion———————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€13 Bibliography—————————————————————————————-14 Introduction At the end of the twentieth century, society became more and more aware of the changes in communication technology. People began to see changes in ommunication between individuals, changes in how individuals and society communicated, and changes in communication between societies and cultures. This led to an understanding of human development. The ability to communicate with the help of symbols is one of the fundamental features that differentiate us from the rest of the animal world. Without these practical communication skills and the intellectu al capacity needed to use these skills to transmit, preserve, and propagate thoughts, emotions, and values, it would not have been possible to create such unique religious, ideological, and philosophical systems. Furthermore, without communication, we would not have art. Art has had a strong relationship with the media throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. New inventions and technology created a very favorable atmosphere for the development of new methods and means of communication. These new communication methods both benefited and furthered events within society. At the end of the 20th century, advanced methods and technologies in the field of communication fully changed the face of the world. Due to this change, some say it is very hard to find the line between reality and the reality that has been created and filtered by media. Some contemporary communication theoreticians have said that we find ourselves in the era of the simulation of the world. History of Media Mass media, a term that arose in the United States in the early 20th century with the advent of far-reaching advertising campaigns and news networks, includes all those mediums through which information is distributed to the masses. This includes advertisements, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the internet. According to some scientists, people started to speak of the media as far back as ancient Greece and Rome. These discussions of media focused mostly on the rhetoric surrounding the practice of persuasion. The Greek philosopher Aristotle said that rhetoric is â€Å"the faculty of discovering in any particular case all the methods of persuasion. † This kind of communication puts a heavy emphasis on meaning, and how the meaning is constructed and conveyed. Current mass media works in a similar way. One of the most important goals f today’s media is to construct a message that will convince the receiver to agree to do or believe something. The earliest surv iving copy of a paper book, a Kumarajiva translation of the Hindu text The Diamond Sutra, is dated 868 CE (AD). Due to the slow spread of literacy among the common people, and the relatively high cost of paper and production of written media, written materials did not exist as widespread media until Johannes Gutenberg’s 1450 CE invention of the printing press with movable type. Thanks to Gutenberg’s invention, printed materials suddenly became much less expensive, and the spread of information in the form of written material became much easier. However, much of the population still remained illiterate and the cost of publishing printed materials remained high enough to limit media from reaching a wide range of the population. Newspapers were first developed in 1605. The first English-language newspaper was published in Amsterdam in 1620. Soon after that, newspapers published in England, and, eventually, in America, began to reach mass audiences directly. Around this same time, America was being colonized, and printed and written materials played an important role. Revolutionary material such as Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was published and distributed to the colonists, allowing the spread of ideas that eventually resulted in the creation of the United States. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Mayflower Compact1 were all examples of early colonial and American documents that figured prominently in the development of America as a nation. In the 1940s, new technologies and advancements in the field of media began to emerge. Radio began to play a major role in mass communication, as America went to war. Radio could provide information much faster than newspapers. These new advents in technology allowed media to gain significance, new meaning, and wider function. Radio, film, advertising, and the press grew as industries and became the center of the culture of communication within the U. S. nd within other capitalist democracies. The culture of media became a dominant force within all aspects of life, including politics and social life. 2 It was the beginning of a new era. The media industry began to concentrate on the invention of new technologies. They both wanted to provide people with a wide range of different good s from which they could choose but also wanted to continue to develop ways in which to reach and influence people. The media could now easily affect the minds of the public, forcing the people to accept a particular set of beliefs, which occasionally diverted from actual reality. Societies started to be manipulated and people were indoctrinated. The main goal of media was and still is to be persuasive enough to attract the attention of a potential receiver, and one of the most convenient ways to accomplish this goal is through the multimedia spectacle. Media Spectacle ‘Media spectacle' is a term created by Douglas Kellner to describe the creation by modern media of a display of contemporary dreams, nightmares, fantasies and values. The phenomenon of media spectacle has evolved over centuries, starting in ancient Greece and moving forward through hundreds of years of wars and other major public events. Today, media spectacle continually strives to achieve sensation and attract attention. In the contemporary world, media spectacle exists in nearly all spheres of our lives. The role of the media is not only to inform, educate, teach, and persuade but also to entertain. The role of media today might suggest that the â€Å"fun factor† has become the leading motivation for our involvement in media and information. The main goal in media is now to attract the visual attention of potential consumers. Therefore, images have become more important than text. It is also very important for the creators and producers of media to keep up with ongoing changes in public interest and attitudes, so media companies face a continual need to be flexible and creative in order to reach consumers. This applies not only to advertisment but also to political and entertainment media in general. Media not only needs to be visual and relevant, but also attractive. Advertisers, public relations departments, and political campaigners need to create messages that are structured in an attractive way, so that it reaches viewers and corresponds to their high expectations of mass media. If this is not done, the consumer will likely not respond to the media. It frequently occurs that a person is faced with a constant influx of media. The information that he or she is presented with may come from a variety of sources, and is likely both true and false information. Over time, it may become difficult for the consumer to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong; to distinguish between reality and fiction. Modern life is shaped by media. It is a power that affects both conscious and subconscious decisions and shapes ideas. We are surrounded by media. Boorstin writes that â€Å"each society and its culture are impelled by fascination with the image and the stimulation and due to it lost its grounding in substance or reality†. 3 Douglas Kellner’s Contribution & Guy Debord’s Influential Analysis of Spectacle Widely recognized social scientist Douglas Kellner and sociologist Guy Debord focused heavily on the topic of the Media Spectacle and its impact on perceived reality. Kellner is the author of the article â€Å"Media Culture and the Triumph of the Spectacle. † The scope of his activity and achievement includes membership in the American Sociological Association. He was also a member of the editorial service board of many journals including Theory, Culture, and Society. It is this journal that for more than twenty years has published some of the most innovative works in social science. It has been in the forefront of the renewal of cultural sociology. It provides a forum for articles that theorize the relationship between culture and society. In his article Kellner refers to ideas put forward by Guy Deboard. He is known for his impact through the group known as Situationist International. This was a libertarian group that came to prominence during the May Events in France in 1968. This band of avant-garde artists and intellectuals was influenced by Dada, Surrealism and Letterism and concerned themselves with the infusion of poetry and music, and with the transformation of the urban landscape. At first, the group was principally concerned with the suppression of art, that is to say they wished, like the Dadaist and the Surrealists before them, to supercede the boundary between art and culture as separate activities and to transform them into part of everyday life. In their analysis, the Situationists argue that capitalism limited life as a spectacle. The spectacle is the main concept of their theory (in many ways they reworked Marx's view of alienation). They say that the worker is alienated from his product and from his fellow worker and finds himself living in an alien world; moreover, they argue that capitalism, in order to ensure its economic growth, has created â€Å"pseudo-needs† to increase the consumption. According to this theory, modern society, or consumer society, is now a society of spectacular commodity consumption. People within this spectacle are treated like objects, rather than like active subjects. In this theory, people are like marionettes whose strings are pulled by invisible power. The Situationists’ idea was, in spite of all kinds of separation, to make a world in which individuals could directly produce their own life; in other words, to engage people in an active, creative life. The solution, for them, was not to wait for a distant revolution but to take a different approach, a â€Å"step by step† process of the reinvention of everyday life, here and now. To transform peoples’ participation in the world was for them the same thing as changing the structure of society. In the place of the society of the spectacle the Situationists proposed a society without money, commodity production, private property, wage labour, class division, based generally on communist ideas. The most important tenet of the proposal was that the so-called pseudo-needs would be replaced by real desires. This utopial ideal seemed to some to be slightly out of touch with reality but aimed to move the focus of the world away from lies and distortion. The Situationists placed a large amount of focus on the concept that individuals should actively and consciously participate in the reconstruction of every moment of life. They called themselves Situationists because they believed that all individuals should construct the situations of their lives, release their own potential, and obtain their own pleasure. The Spectacle-Form of Media Culture As I wrote earlier, spectacle culture has expanded in every area of life â€Å"and is becoming one of the organizing principles of the economy, polity, society†4. Guy Debord argues that â€Å"spectacle is†¦ social relation among people, mediated by images. The spectacle †¦ is a world vision, which has become objectified. . . in all its specific forms, as information or propaganda, as advertisement or direct entertainment consumption, the spectacle is the present model of socially dominant life†¦. â€Å"5. The spectacle phenomenon in this case refers to both high culture and to low cultural shows. The development of new media technologies made it easier for media to exercise influence over contemporary societies and cultures. In these societies media presented with images has the edge over plain texts. The visual spectacle, which combines all aspects of culture that communicate through visual means, made itself the ruler of the â€Å"outside world†. Factories and offices where people work are visually soaked environments. Films, television, video games, and the internet are also part of the influx of visual media that affects our thinking and behaviors. Moreover, we comunicate with the help of visualization. When we are trying to cross over cultural boundaries, our knowledge is often communicated visually, for example, we may use visual cues such as map boundaries and business graphs and data. The Spectacle in the World of Business The propagation of the spectacle is a major aspect of business, and plays a decisive role in whether any given corporation will succeed or not. Businesses, in order to survive, need to be present and visible for the potential customer. Entertainment and advertisement are the powers that support the business world through various of methods, one of which is creating a ‘pseudo event’. The idea of a ‘pseudo event’ was put forward by Daniel Boorstin, an American historian, who claimed that America and other countries find themselves in an age of illusion. The ‘pseudo event’ occurs where â€Å"an event is planned and staged entirely for the media, which accrues significance through the scale of its media coverage rather than through any more disinterested assessment of its importance†. 6 So to speak â€Å"pseudo event† exist for sole purpose of supporting media publicity and serves little to no other function in real life and is considered â€Å"real† only after viewing through news, advertisements, television, or other types of media. An extremely simple example is sitting for a family portrait. The event serves no other purpose than to be viewed through a photograph. Other examples include media spectacles, and many types of news. The World of Celebrities Media contributes to the creation of celebrities. â€Å"The celebrity†¦ is the human pseudo event, fabricated for the media and evaluated in terms of the scale and effectiveness of its media yisibility†. 7 A famous person provides dominant role models and icons of fashion, style, personality, and, at the same time, leads to the enrichment of the media industry. Media entrepreneurs want celebrities involved with their projects because they believe this will help them attract audiences. Film producers use stars as mean of attracting investment to their projects. Marketers use public celebrity statements as a means of profiling and branding their products. Sports promoters use celebrity athletes to attract media attention and increase the number of people who would come to that sport event. Celebrities also make money for the individual concerned. Their success depends on various handlers and image managers that help them to develop their public persona. Celebrities invade all kinds of sites today, ranging from contests in shopping malls to the management of major political campaigns. The importance of publicity, promotion and the exploitation of the media event are omnipresent. The Madonna Phenomenon Madonna became a master in her use of image with the help of mass media. Daniel Borstin is responsible for one of the most widely quoted aphorisms about celebrity: â€Å"the celebrity is a person who is well-known for his well-knownness. . . the celebrity develops its capacity for fame, not by achieving great things, but by differentiating its own personality from those of its competitors in the public arena. â€Å"8   Madonna has achieved just that. She has total control over her shows. She writes the songs, produces the music, and designs the stage sets. She controls all aspects of her show; not just her spectacle, but also all the things she does, including her films and public appearances. Madonna's entire life turns around the presentation of her image. Madonna is one of the greatest PR machines in history and she has hired top agents, publicists, and creative personnel to market her and produce her images. From the beginning her every move was surrounded by publicity and year after year Madonna references in media culture have proliferated. â₠¬Å"9   The circulation of an image plays a very important role as well. Madonna constantly changes her public image. Whoever she is at the moment; a good girl gone bad or a virgin in white, a glamour queen or a cosmic spirit or, finally, a doting mother, her ability to change images every couple of years has fascinated the world, and has been vital in her success. There is also other side of the coin, the pessimistic one, that assumes that Madonna is a victim of her own image, or that she finds herself in an artificially constructed reality. That problem is not only a problem for her, but also for our culture as a whole. Image is dominating more and more of our lives. The World of Politics â€Å"The brutal reality of the modern age is that all famous people are treated like celebrities by mass media, whether they be a great political figure, a worthy campaigner, an artist touched by genius, a serial killer. The newspapers and television programs responsible for their publicity do not draw any meaningful distinction between how they are publicised. â€Å"10 The most significant thing is to make a spectacle of oneself in order to be recognizable. If you want to gain the state of being popular you have to make yourself highly desirable, and the most important thing is to be visible through the media. No special achievements are needed to be popular; only the attraction of public attention is required. In the world of politics, if one wants to be good politician, one has to be spectacular. The management of the media' reporting of politics has become increasingly important to contemporary political campaigns. Public relations consultants, media advisers, and press officers have become standard components of the contemporary world of politics. Media spectacle is also an inseparable part of politics. It can often be seen that most well-known people engage in politics. This can be interpreted as political manipulation. It is possible that it is useful because spectators find it easier to identify with a celebrity that they know from TV than with a person that they are seeing for the first time. Conclusion In the contemporary world, mass media, and as a part of mass media, media spectacle, play very important roles. So many people live their lives or parts of their lives vicariously through the image world of the media- through TV, through soap operas, through any media outlet. Everything is just a matter of subjective perspective; everything is relative, depending on where you stand. Everything turns around the world we choose or create for ourselves. There is no reality, there are only images, different images. We can only see the world from where we stand, from that context, that language, that constructed reality. In other words, the things that you say and do are all coming from the outside-from the world of media. The real you is lost. Life becomes virtual, and we are living in the image. Bibliography: 1. Reader â€Å"Literary and Cultural Representation of American Society: Visual Media†, Prof. Dr. R. Isensee, â€Å"Super Media, A Cultural Studies Approach†, Michael R. Real, pp. 26 2. â€Å"Media Culture, Cultural studies, identity and politics between the modern and the postmodern. †, Douglas Kellner, pp. 16. 3. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 5. 4. Reader â€Å"Literary and Cultural Representation of American Society: Visual Media†, Prof. Dr. R. Isensee, â€Å"Media Culture and the Triumph of the Spectacle†, Douglas Kellner, pp. 1. 5. Debord Guy, â€Å"Separation Perfected†, in Evans and Hall(eds. ), â€Å"Visual Culture†,the Reader. Sage Publication, pp. 95-96 6. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 5. 7. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 5. 8. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 5. 9. â€Å"Media Culture, Cultural studies, identity and politics between the modern and the postmodern. †, Douglas Kellner, pp. 268 10. â€Å"Understanding celebrity†, Graeme Turner, Introduction, pp. 7. 11. â€Å"Visual Persuation- The Role of Images in Advertising†, Paul Messaris 12 â€Å"Mass Media and Society†(second edition), editied by James Curran and Michael Gurevitch.

Exporting Best Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exporting Best Practices - Essay Example These are reactors capable of operating in order to sustain a managed, self-sustaining fission sequence reaction, and components and equipment specifically designed for use in relation with a nuclear reactor. Computers are another category of dual use commodities. Items included are high performance computers and specifically designed associated equipment, electronic assemblies and parts. These computers may include systolic array computers, optical computers and neural computers, digital computers and analog computers (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2012). The most excellent way of incorporating best exporting practices within the company and in association with freight forwarders would be to adopt and practice the best exporting practices, as outlined by the BIS. The following are the best exporting practices of dual use commodities subject to Export Administration Regulations. These practices will enable the exporter to manage the exports of nuclear reactors and computers. First, the company will pay keen attention to the Red Flags Indicators. The exporter will communicate these red flags throughout the company, to freight forwarders and foreign affiliates (Gustavus, 2012). The information will be communicated when the exporter rejects an order placed by a foreign client on the basis of red flags. The information will also be communicated, when a freight forwarder abruptly declines to offer export services, after obtaining information that the commodities for exports are subject to United States export regulations. The exporter and its foreigner partners will seek to use only those freight forwarders, which administer excellent export administration and acquiescence programs. The company will obtain detailed information in order to know their clients, especially foreign customers. The information will enable the company to evaluate the risk of diversion and involvement in a forbidden transaction. This information will enable the company to

Compare Arthur Miller's life to the characters in his play, Death of a Essay

Compare Arthur Miller's life to the characters in his play, Death of a Salesman - Essay Example The notion of identifying with a character is nothing new. The fictional personas that we love or hate remind us of ourselves and other people that we are astonished at how a writer is able to get all the details, the idiosyncrasies and the truth of their self. All of this is achieved not merely because of the writer’s imagination but more importantly because he knows them and is thus able to breathe life into them. Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ has been an enduring masterpiece that has won him a Pulitzer Prize and marked his career as a great American playwright. Miller had always been compared alongside Henrik Ibsen and where their similarities lie is on the portrayal of social problems in their writing. But to categorize Miller and confine him in the shadow of Ibsen would be a great injustice to his work. As Harold Bloom tells it, â€Å"Ibsen essentially was a daemonic dramatist, trollish and Shakespearean, always closer to a cosmos of elemental forces, like those in ‘King Lear’ and ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Macbeth,’ than to the social world of politics and economics† (7). This is in contrast to the straightforward appeal of Miller’s work and the characterization of the American hopes and ideals as a prevalent theme in the execution of his greatest play. â€Å"For Arthur Miller, art was always deeply connected to life. Art, he believed, not only derives from life experience, but it must also respond to life and improve the conditions of life and living for humanity† (Sterling 35). Arthur Miller’s life has been a long and colorful one. This was marked by several marriages that included among others the famous actress Marilyn Monroe to whom he had written a screenplay she had starred in titled ‘The Misfits’ in about the same time they had their divorce. Their relationship was the center of media attention even before the notoriety of today’s paparazz i. They epitomized celebrity culture even before there was even such a thing. But more than this he has been known to take an outspoken stand on social issues and is one not to shy away in speaking his mind publicly. Miller had lived a most fascinating life filled with anecdotes and controversies up to the moment of his death at the rightful age of 89 in 2005(Biography.com). Even towards the end of his life, he has consistently made a mark as a voice of his generation and his love for the theatre has emanated therein. Aside from the highlights of his life during his fame, his early years reveal more of how time has molded him to be the writer that he is. The understanding of ‘Death of a Salesman’ in the realm of its authors life bears a number of manifest parallelisms not only to his own life but also to the things that are occurring during the time it was written. The theme of the narrative bears resemblance in that of the authors own and for the search of the dream we all share. Arthur was born the second child in a well-off Jewish family on October 17, 1915. They lived in an idyllic apartment with a prestigious address near Fifth Avenue in New York. His father, Isadore ‘Izzy’ Miller, was able to provide a comfortable life for his family through his Miltex Coat and Suit Company which manufactures women’s clothing and employs about 800. His relationship with his mother is the one he treasured the most. Gittel Miller, more fondly called ‘

Marketing of services Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing of services - Assignment Example In today’s uncertain and competitive environment the travels whether leisure or business looks for maximization of the value they receive for the money they have paid. At the same time the service providers in the hospitality industry are looking at optimisation of working capital, faster flow of cash and increase the revenue they earn from each room (Genpact Limited, 2012). In this context the paper focuses on the marketing of their service, service guarantee and how to improve the same. Figure 1 (Source: Genpact Limited, 2012) The Strand Palace Strand Palace is the hotel that is located at London. This hotel is considered to be catering to every visitor such as visitors on a city break, foreign tour group and business travellers. The hotel consists of eleven meeting rooms and this is the major venue for organizing events and conferences. The prime locations of London that a tourist wishes to visit are all near to this hotel such as the theatres, restaurants and shops of the Covent Garden lies in the north with the Thames, Charing Cross and Waterloo Bridge on the south (Strand Palace Hotel, 2013a; 2013b; Tisdall, 2013). Thus, this makes it attractive to the visitors who have planned for partying and sightseeing. This hotel started its operations in the year 1909 and was an art deco gem of that time. The treasure and glamour of the hotel is still prevalent and is preserved in V&A museum as a memento. The hotel has got nine floors that comprises of total 758 rooms. These rooms are constructed around the inner courtyard. The hotel is quite big where the visitors can consider themselves as on another planet separated from the rest of the world. Evaluation of the services In the hotel industry service quality occupies a very important place as it has high level of contact with the customers. In order to evaluate the service quality of the hotel, five dimensions are required to be considered. They are as follows: Tangibles refer to the appearance of the perso nal who is interacting with the customer or providing services, physical facilities of the hotel and the equipments that is related to the delivery of service. Reliability: This indicates the ability of the hotel staff to perform or provide the promised service in an accurate and dependable manner. Responsiveness: This indicates the willingness of the staff to provide services to the customers and the promptness in their service delivery. Assurance: This indicates the courtesy and knowledge of the employees that provides them the confidence and trust to deliver properly. Empathy: This signifies the caring and individualised attention towards the customer’s requirement (Antony, Antony and Ghosh, 2004). Service evaluation is highly important in a hospitality industry. The main reason behind this is that it reveals the weakness and the drawbacks that are present in the services delivery of the hotel. The management of the hotel can consider these drawbacks and weakness carefully such that they can take preventive and serious measures to eradicate these problems. For a hospitality industry, the service quality directly impacts the customer’s satisfaction, which in turn impacts the profitability and the business performance. If the service quality is good, then the customers are satisfied and loyal and this loyalty is measured in form of customer retention and business performance. Therefore, in the evaluation of the s

The Perspective of Philosophy of Mind and Psychology Essay

The Perspective of Philosophy of Mind and Psychology - Essay Example The external explanations are odd with the empirical science we know psychology to be. Descartes eliminated the psychological characteristics in trying to explain the view that a soul is always conscious or thinking. To this perspective, an entity seems to have unactualized mental dispositions and capacities. It is doubtful that the argument by Descartes is not speaking of the physical organism that may be temporary without certain conscious states while remaining alive and physically capable of the state. Therefore, the argument of an entity imagined having neither the physical properties nor current conscious states for a period, which is against the laws of physical science. Therefore, with respect to science, it would not be clear to what it would mean to speak of it (Flanagan, 2007). The first law of the thermodynamics that relates a cause to be at least stronger as its effect does not go in line with Descartes views. The reason being that if otherwise taken into account, some o f the effects would be recorded in his explanations. An effect must at least be as its cause in strength. On the other hand, simply some of the case would end up disappear or not be perceived. Descartes gave arguments in his favour. Therefore, his external explanation does not fit with the first law of thermodynamics (Flanagan, 2007). If we can never know if humans have a nonphysical or spiritual aspect, the point of establishing scientific psychology is relevant. The argument above bases on empiricism as it is imperative in science. It states that the only source of our knowledge come through our senses.

What role has the human rights act 1998 had on shaping police decision Essay - 2

What role has the human rights act 1998 had on shaping police decision making - Essay Example The rights normally includes right to liberty, right to fair trial and the exclusion against the prevailing suffering and slavery have been incorporated into the law. The Human Rights Acts classifies these underlying rights by placing them into a reachable framework. Human rights law developed some concepts and principles, which are diverse from corresponding customary lawful principles. The police service has more varied work force, in an increasing variety of new roles (Hafner-Burton, 2013, pp231-9). Police service has established strong culture of concentrating on results and a range of methods and controls. Police service made significant progress in providing real developments in equality and diversity. It remains dedicated to provide services that respond to the requirements of different communities and protecting them from harm and threat. The police service recognized that equality, diversity and human rights are central to giving admirable public services. Human Rights Act a ided daily work of officers in enforcing the law. Proportionality in regard to Principles of human rights ought to be unbiased in order to attain a balance between the wants of a society and the rights of a person. Qualified rights can restricted in a proportional way (Wilford, 2001, pp112-167). Action is equivalent in case it is suitable but not extreme in the conditions. For example, if a maintenance home decides to connect CCTV in the bedchambers of all residents normally interfere with residents’ right to an individual existence beneath the prevailing Article 8 ECHR. Qualified rights mean can be interfered with under definite situations and explicit reason and encompasses right to freedom beneath article 5. An individual can be detained by the government due to numerous legal reasons. For example, sentence in prison due to persuasion or corresponding

Shame Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Shame - Essay Example According to Piaget’s theory of moral reasoning, children come to better learn morality when they work in groups with others. Piaget advanced that there is a way in which kids align to societal norms in terms expectations and the process is active. He also observed that young children will look at issues in terms of how certain actions affect them or what the outcomes of actions are. On the other hand much older children are more interested in the motive behind any action as opposed to the results of the particular action. The environment we grow up in or our developmental history is therefore a very important factor that influences our moral development. In the case study for instance, Dick Gregory had to go to school in order to learn hate. As a young boy he fell in love with Helene who is from a different social class but well mannered, clean and presentable. As a result of the friendship, Dick tries as much as possible to also look presentable, â€Å"I think I went to school then mostly to look at her. I brushed my hair and even got me a little old handkerchief. It was a ladys handkerchief, but I didnt want Helene to see me wipe my nose on my hand.† There is no doubt in taking all the sacrifices, Dick is trying to conform to the expectations of the new society expectations as dictated by the environment in the school. Considering that our development history and environment crucially influence our moral development process, it is therefore important to appreciate that our actions affect the way other people develop. The teacher’s attitudes in the case study greatly affected the two little children i.e. Dick and Helene. By turning off Dicks hard worked for contribution and referring to him in derogatory terms, â€Å"We are collecting this money for you and your kind, Richard Gregory. If your Daddy can give fifteen dollars you have no business being on relief,† Helene felt for her friend and even cried. On the other hand

Rewrite Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Rewrite Response - Essay Example established, for example, â€Å"†¦A common assumption in the United States is that women are innately more nurturing than men, and men more aggressive than women†(3). This assumption broadens people’s way of thinking in relation to their environment. In addition, Ore is successful in making me understnad the intensity of ethnocentrism among different cultures. It is indeed true that the society plays a role in establishing these social constructs, which in turn shapes or view and thinking, by selecting what we believe is right and wrong. In my opinion, I agree with Ore on the issue of institution’s influence on sex and gender. For instance, the belief that men should work and women should be homemakers. However, I disagree with this belief as it undermines women in work place, especially when women CEOs don’t receive the same amount as men CEOs. My favorite part was in reading â€Å"Doing Gender,† by West and Zimmerman. It is fascinating to see how they give an example of a child looking at a photo of a man in a suit with a â€Å"pee-pee.† I believe this explains why private parts should not be displayed to the public. However, I did not clearly understand the connection between dressing and gender, because in the contemporary society, sexual orientation is based on what one puts on. Although, I feel that the society is not at liberty to criticize anyone who dresses in reverse with their gender

The main characteristics and structure of the Acts of the Apostles Essay Example for Free

The main characteristics and structure of the Acts of the Apostles Essay Outline your knowledge and understanding of the main characteristics and structure of the Acts of the Apostles [35] The Acts of the Apostles is the fifth book of the New Testament which outlines the events of Apostolic Age of Christianity. Within the book, there is a definite structure behind it with reoccurring and consistent themes and characteristics that continually appearing throughout it. In terms of the structure of the book, there are three consistent themes which consistently appear and develop throughout Acts as the Apostles progress through the journey. The themes I refer to are geographical, biographical and theological. The geographical theme is first made evident by Jesuss final command before he ascended into heaven, in 1:8 of Acts. Jesus said you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The book of Acts then proceeds to tell the story, where the events fulfil this prophecy and the actual book could be divided into sections based on what Jesus said. From the start of the book until chapter 6, the Apostles are situated in Jerusalem and from then to chapter 12 is the story of how the Apostles fled Jerusalem and went out to Judea and Samaria. From Chapter 12 onwards chronicles the missionary journeys and the road to Rome, which was considered by many to be the ends of the earth at the time. The biographical theme is one that has caused many of scholars to dispute the title of the book, for although the book is titled Acts of the Apostles, the book mainly centres around two figures. The first figure would be Peter, one of the original twelve and a Jewish convert whom represented the traditional early Christians who maintained their Jewish traits. The first part of Acts focused on him and his leadership in getting the Church started up. The other figure would be Paul, a former member of the Sanhedrin who persecuted the Church before being converted and becoming a missionary spreading the message to the Gentiles throughout Asia, Europe and to Rome. The theological theme is shown through the spread of the message and the expansion of the Church to include the Gentiles and how such a move caused such controversy and concern amongst the early Christians. In the book, Luke ensures to include all details which state that Gentiles should be allowed to convert so as to solve the problem, for even if the speeches included in the book were not successful, the content was of importance, and thus view is upheld by scholars such as Fernando. Also in Acts are a number of characteristics that are ever-present in most, if not all stories within the book. The Holy Spirit, baptism, opposition, universalism, miracles and prayer, it is generally agreed by scholars and can be seen by most, that these features are often integrated somehow into the stories. The Holy Spirit is the most common reoccurring characteristic present in the book of Acts, and also one that is existent in Lukes Gospel and shows the connection between his Gospel and Acts. As said by the scholar Guthrie, God is seen to be active in the early Church through the Spirits power. The Holy Spirit was a promised gift from Jesus and is shown to have much effect when it came into ones life. On Pentecost, the spirit is shown to have changed the Apostles from being scared and in hiding, to being open and speaking out proudly of their religion, particularly Peter, who became a fearless and insightful leader. It also changed Paul from being one of the persecutors to being one of the persecuted. The general message is that if one accepts the message with enthusiasm, the spirit would change their life, with an example of this being the Crippled Beggar as well. Another common characteristic of the book is the sacrament of Baptism, as Luke commonly writes that baptism is necessary in order to become a part of the Church, for it is not only symbolic of a change of heart or the washing away of old sins and such, it is supposed to give way for a new life where the Holy Spirit actually lives within a person. This is made clear by Paul when he was in Ephesus in chapter 19. Opposition is something which also comes up often in the book of Acts, more often than not actually. From Jesus time, to the actual beginnings of the Church and all the way to when Paul was in Rome, the Christians were facing persecution from others, namely the Jews. The Sanhedrin arrested numerous Christians and even stoned Stephen to death and Paul is rejected by the Jews in just about every town he enters on his missionary journeys. Despite their numerous attempts to spread the message to everyone, including the Jews whom Paul always visited first upon entering a town, they continued to shoot it down and reject them. And that idea of Christians attempting to spread the message to all leads us to the next characteristic and that is, universalism. This is first raised in 1:8 of Acts, as it is said that the message should be spread to all people everywhere, and begins to happen after the Diaspora of the early Christians after Stephens death. Philip is the first to break boundaries as he converts Samaritans (essentially a sect of Judaism) and talks to an Ethiopian, however Peter officially accepts the Gentiles into the Church, beginning with Cornelius. Also, Paul is told in a vision to be the one who preached and spread the message to the Gentiles specifically. Another characteristic which is present throughout the book is the act of Miracles, which as CS Lewis said are what God writes across the sky in capital letters what he usually writes in small letters everyday. The point behind them is to make valid the claims that Jesus is indeed the Lord and that his power and presence is still very much alive. An example of a miracle is how Peter healed the crippled beggar, enabling him to jump up and run about. And the final characteristic of Acts is the importance of prayer in Christianity. Luke uses prayer to emphasise the community aspect of the religion and encourages others to worship in numbers as prayer gives people time to give praise to God, whilst also bringing about fellowship and equality especially after the division between Jewish and Gentile converts. Paul was seen to have prayed often, such as when he was imprisoned and he prayed and sang hymns which lead to divine intervention as he escaped from the prison. Overall, one can see that there are many characteristics that the book is based around and that there is a definite structure which really builds up the story.

Questions and Answers on Economics and Market Strategies

Questions and Answers on Economics and Market Strategies What are the main features of an oligopolistic market? With the aid of examples, show collusion between firms in such markets may be determent to consumers and explain briefly what governments can do to control the worst abuses of such a situation. An oligopolistic market is characterised by a few organisations in competition with each other to supply goods to a market. Their strength is not quite that of a monopoly, but there are typically a small number of relatively powerful operators, creating barriers to entry for potential competitors. The UK market for chocolate is largely oligopolistic, with 90% of purchases being manufactured by Mars, Cadbury or Nestlà © (Marcousà © et al 2003: 429). Branding is strong, reflecting the product name and often the manufacturer (Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, for example). The substantial investment put into product development creates a barrier to entry for the competition, and competition is predominantly product-based, thus for chocolate, the aim is to create the products most popular with consumers. Laidler (1982: 202) notes that firms operating in an oligopoly tend to assume that if they raise their prices, their competitors will not follow suit, leaving them disadvantaged, but that if they lower their prices, competitors will copy the strategy, eroding margins across the market sector. As far as chocolate is concerned, the three main manufacturers price their bars similarly and rarely use price promotions. Marketing activities are structured to encourage consumers to choose one brand ahead of another when they make a purchase, rather than to instigate the purchase in the first place. The tendency of oligopolies to follow similar strategies to their competitors is also recognised as affecting the groceries market (Office of Fair Trading 2008: 151) and referred to as tacit co-ordination: there is no formalised plan or discussion between parties, but the effects are to make the industry less inclined to be competitive (ibid), at the expense of the consumer who continues to pay high prices. There are examples of price competition among oligopolistic companies, such as between the Mirror and Sun newspapers in 2002 (Marcousà © et al 2003: 429), but the aim is more often to preserve relatively high margins. Collusion emerges as one of the techniques to do this. Although collusion is illegal in most countries (Koutsoyiannis 1983: 237), it may operate informally: for example, trade magazines often publish information on what companies within a particular industry are doing with the implication is that a particular pricing practice is de rigueur within that industry (ibid). It was perhaps notable that when oil prices fell recently after a significant rise earlier in 2008, savings were not initially passed on through the price charged at the pump, and only dropped when supermarket petrol stations began cutting their prices. This kind of situation, where organisations in an oligopoly behave consistently with each other, may have similar effects to colluding, but is not in breach of any regulations. Cartels have a similar effect: for example, OPEC standardises oil prices across thirteen different member nations. Such a situation may deter consumers as prices may be kept artificially high. If there is little choice for the price-sensitive consumer, then reductions in purchase may occur. For example, as petrol prices rise, car users may be less inclined to make unnecessary journeys. OPEC is international, with government involvement to promote stability within the oil industry and operates through formalised agreements, contrasting with the kind of collusive approaches which are widely outlawed. The UK government uses the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission to help control collusion (Marcousà © et al 2003: 429) as it has a detrimental effect on consumers through fixing prices artificially high. The UK framework includes legislation prohibiting cartel-type activities, and this enables civil and criminal actions to be brought. Additionally, activities which are not illegal but may nevertheless compromise competition in the markets can be investigated and action taken, affecting monopolies and oligopolies: for example, the requirement for BAA to sell some of its airports because of its dominant position reflects issues regarding competition between airports. The UK Competition Act 1998 forbids the setting up of cartels and facilitates civil sanctions, enforced by the Office of Fair Trading (Office of Fair Trading 2008: 148). The 2002 Enterprise Act criminalises those who take part in cartels (Office of Fair Trading 2003: 2). The Competition Commission investigates mergers and market activities which may compromise the competitive environment (Office of Fair Trading 2008: 148). A recent example is price-fixing on fuel surcharges by British Airways and Virgin, who discussed and established the strategy together. Virgin alerted the relevant authorities, resulting in the airline escaping prosecution despite participation, although certain personnel from within Virgin are having actions taken against them (Milmo 2008). The investigation has resulted in large penalties for both companies, who have also set up a large compensation fund for passengers affected, and the issue has caused particularly bad publicity for British Airways (ibid). The individuals involved have been prosecuted under the 2002 Enterprise Act (ibid). A further area of concern has been the operations of supermarkets, particularly with regard to activities with dairy processing companies, and they have been found to be in breach of Chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998 and article 81 of the EC treaty (Office of Fair Trading 2008: 148-9), with a number of parties fined. The power of supermarkets has been widely questioned (Blythman 2005), but the Office of Fair Trading’s 2008 report into their activities found that while their practices may be detrimental to smaller grocers operating nearby, the overall effect is beneficial for the consumer. This demonstrates how, overall, the impact of the activities of organisations is considered on the basis of its effect on consumers, not on other businesses trying to compete within the same market. While collusion, co-operation and co-ordination between oligopolies may be detrimental for consumers who pay unnecessarily inflated prices, the determent factor of such practices may be limited, since if there is a demand and the oligopolistic market will not lower its prices, consumers have little choice: they must purchase at high prices or go without. Why might the objectives of the managers (agents) of large companies differ from those of shareholders (principals)? Explain how the corporate governance scandal at Enron in 2001 showed clearly the problems of ‘corporate governance’ within large firms. An organisation typically has a wide range of stakeholders, from employees, suppliers and customers to shareholders and community groups, all with different interests and agendas. Traditionally, it was considered that the shareholders’ interests, as owners of the company, should take precedence, but this view has been largely superseded by the idea of the stakeholder concept (Marcousà © et al 2003: 489), which takes into account the wishes of the broader stakeholder groups. This may seem to conflict with shareholders’ interests, but the stakeholder concept should result in a more profitable company through, for example, higher employee morale and productivity and lower staff turnover through investment in employee welfare, resulting in increased dividends for shareholders. However, shareholders may see these benefits as being long-term, and wish to invest in shares with a greater short-term return. Shareholders’ aims vary according to whether they perceive their holding as a short- or long-term investment. In the short term, they will be interested in the organisation having a strong profit with substantial returns in dividends to shareholders, rises in share price and potential profits on the disposal of shares in the near future. For longer term investment, the ongoing strategy and investment carried out by the organisation becomes more important. Investment may come at the expense of dividends, and while it should result in a more profitable enterprise in the long-term, the short-term returns are affected and the share price may drop, decreasing the worth of the shareholders’ assets. It may make more economic sense to sell shares to realise profit sooner, rather than hold them for longer periods of time and assume their price will recover. Managerial concerns, while recognising the issues confronting the organisation in the short term, must be focused on its long term survival, through investment, employee development and knowledge management, key attributes which are considered to help gain competitive advantage. However, such initiatives may impact on the profit of the company in the short term, potentially conflicting with shareholders’ wishes. The idea that shareholders are looking for dividends at the next payout and short term profitability, while long-term planning is better for the organisation (Grant 1995: 40) may be an oversimplification. Indeed, Grant suggests that cash flows, which affect share price and the continuing viability of the organisation, are key (ibid). Enron provides an example of problematic corporate governance leading to a collapse in share price and the failure of the organisation. The size of Enron has been presented as a difficulty for its corporate governance (Cohan 2002: 280), with the suggestion that departmental managers had agendas to pursue for the benefit of their department rather than the interests of the organisation (ibid: 281). It has also been suggested that senior managers were oblivious to questionable practices within the organisation. Thus in the following enquiry, a senior executive, Sherron Watson, described how she met with Enron’s former chairman and outlined her concerns but he â€Å"didn’t get it† (ibid: 276). While the role of managers is partly to take a long-term strategic view and facilitate the organisation’s continued trading into the future, the motivations of managers can affect this. Particularly significant at Enron was the structure of bonuses for top-performing employees. A substantial part of the bonuses was made up of stock options, the options to buy stock at a particular price in the future (Joint Committee on Taxation 2003: 13-14). For many, the preference was to dispose of such shares relatively quickly, and Enron’s auditors and accountants, Arthur Andersen, advised on setting up systems to minimise tax payments on such sales, through partnerships set up with spouses (Joint Committee on Taxation 2003: 661), an indicator of the predilection for disposal rather than keeping shares in the long term. The effect of such bonus schemes would arguably be for managers to focus on short-term increases in share values rather than consider the long-term picture for the organisation. This is perhaps why Enron’s activities were so focused on income, often through business not relating to its core activities but allowing it tax benefits (Joint Committee on Taxation 2003: 21). This approach generated favourable financial reports on the organisation, helping inflate its share prices. It also led to the setting up of a number of companies to hide losses so that the positive image of Enron could be maintained. The financial affairs of the organisation became highly complex as a result. However, the culture within Enron was highly targeted and conducive to a focus on covering one’s back rather than alerting management to problems, aggravating corporate governance difficulties: employees who noted such issues were motivated to conceal them due to concerns that they would lose their jobs otherwise (Cohan 2002: 281). Cohan identifies the main assumption of corporate governance being that employees are â€Å"autonomous and rational beings† (ibid: 282), suggesting that psychological factors had a significant impact on Enron’s corporate governance, creating cognitive biases (ibid: 283) where the individual is less willing to believe evidence that causes cognitive dissonance with their current beliefs. Overall, the situation at Enron was one of highly complex transactions, many outside its core business, widespread practices to maximise income for the highest earning executives and a culture which helped perpetuate questionable approaches to running the organisation. As a large firm, the complexities of its corporate governance enabled both managers and the auditors to engage in self-preserving activities. When senior figures were alerted to problems, they had little awareness of many of their executives’ activities and the massive structure of the organisation helped those executives cover up their actions. Explain the various types of pricing strategies which companies can adopt in the face of competition in the marketplace. How would a knowledge of elasticity of demand help companies decide how to price their products? At the most basic level, pricing needs to take costs into account as prolonged sales which fail to cover costs will result in a loss. However, true costs can be very complex to establish (Christopher and McDonald 1995: 183): for example, if an organisation produces two products, it is quite subjective as to how its marketing costs, electricity costs and directors’ salaries should be allocated to overall production costs. Establishing costs of services may be particularly difficult (O’Connor and Galvin 1997: 177) because of the predominance of intangible elements. Pricing thus becomes quite subjective. It is therefore common to adopt a particular strategy with pricing: cost-plus pricing is used as an initial indicator of the minimum viable price to set, and then the organisation can focus on how they wish to position their product within the market and against that of the competition. Price may be integral to product and brand image, and may eventually be set very much higher than production costs. For new products a lower price, reflecting a market penetration strategy (Kotler et al 1999: 721), may help entrants compete with existing products. However, to avoid starting a price war with competitors (Marcousà © et al 2003: 77), product costs must be low and barriers to other entrants high, or competitors may be in a position to lower their prices and the strategy could then fail (Hooley et al 2004: 382). For luxury products, the brand image may be cheapened by this approach and the product perceived as low quality, reducing demand. If product features are clearly differentiated from those of competitors, market skimming (Kotler et al 1999: 720), where prices are high and the product has kudos with customers who wish to be technologically ahead of their competitors (for businesses) or friends (for consumers), may be more appropriate. This also helps the organisation cover research and development costs of bringing a new product to market. Premium pricing strategies, whether price-skimming with a new product or charging a high price for an established product, are dependent on strong differentiation (Hooley et al 2004: 383): luxuries such as spa treatments or designer handbags may lose their appeal and impression of exclusivity if not highly priced. Supply of such goods may also be restricted, increasing demand and thus increasing the prices which can be charged. Items such as computer printers can be priced very cheaply and profits then made through consumables with a captive product pricing strategy (Kotler et al 1999: 723). Purchasers can compare the printer features and price easily with competing products, but cost of consumables will be very much harder to assess as it will depend on ink consumption. Margins on the printer may be very small, but comparatively large on the consumables: razors and razor blades provide a similar example. Price signalling (O’Connor and Galvin 1997: 177) involves sending a strong message to competitors regarding the organisation’s low costs and efficiencies, deterring them from trying to compete, although this can be a high risk strategy if competitors can copy the organisation’s model. Pricing strategy has perhaps been neglected in some of the literature: Hooley et al (2004), for example, writing on competitive strategy, discuss pricing only very briefly. Because of widespread increases in efficiency in recent years, trying to gain competitive advantage on cost may be a particularly risky strategy for any organisation. However, the current economic downturn may result in consumers focusing increasingly on price rather than product features. Within pricing strategy, the ideal price is that which maximises profit. A low margin with high demand may generate as much profit as a high margin with low demand. The concept of price elasticity of demand reflects how much a change of price affects demand (Marcousà © 2003: 58), with each measured in per cent: Price elasticity of demand = change of demand (%) (Mercer 1996: 246) change of price (%) If the price elasticity is known, prices can be set to maximise profits. However, its measurement is difficult. Analysing existing data on price and demand can give some indication (Mercer 1996: 249), but it is not possible to isolate data from other factors. For example, the current economic concerns are leading to UK shoppers switching to lower priced supermarkets, even though the premium supermarkets are not increasing their prices. Other factors which may affect demand when price is not changed include the availability of substitutes, consumers’ loyalty to particular brands and the extent to which the product is a necessity. Technically, such factors are not price elasticity, but a more general elasticity (ibid: 246), but they limit the applicability of available data. Surveys of consumers asking how much they would be prepared to pay for a product may give some indication of price elasticity (ibid: 249), but answers given in surveys may not be consistent with behaviour. Experimenting with prices may provide useful information (ibid: 249), but runs the risk of reducing profit by testing prices which are found to be unsuitable. Another option is to listen to anecdotal evidence from sales staff which may help indicate customer attitudes: however, sales staff may be motivated to have targets reduced and report high numbers of customers refusing to buy, or customers could be using a negative response to price as a negotiating tool. Relatively inelastic price elasticity is ideal for companies as it gives them the freedom to raise prices without demand being significantly affected (Marcousà © et al 2003: 60). This is easier to achieve if a product is perceived as being different from (and better than) competitors’ products. What have the main demand and supply factors that have determined the general increase in global food prices over the last years? Food prices have risen considerably in recent years, not only in countries importing foodstuffs but also in areas where food production is high. There are a number of reasons for this. As globalisation has increased, certain nations, notably the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have seem rapid economic growth and increased demand for a wide range of products. These emerging economies are giving rise to newly affluent populations whose dietary habits are changing to reflect their higher incomes. This is seen, for example, in India: although vegetarianism is widespread, meat consumption has risen 40% in 15 years (FT.com 2008). Using grain to feed livestock and then using the livestock to feed humans is a less efficient way of utilising the grain than it going direct to feed humans, placing additional demands on agricultural production. Dairy consumption in India is also increasing, leading to supply problems as sufficient milk cannot be produced (ibid). Again, foodstuffs are needed for dairy herds, utilising agricultural land that might otherwise produce crops for human consumption. The rise of supermarkets has led to changes in shopping patterns in India (ibid), but supermarket expansion has been global. Shopping in this way means that larger quantities are purchased but that shopping trips are typically made less frequently. Purchasing for several days ahead may result in over-buying, and concern has been expressed regarding the amount of food thrown away in the UK because of deterioration (Smithers 2007). Three-for-two and similar offers may increase impulse buys and over-purchasing (ibid), and high levels of wastage are also attributed to lack of meal planning by consumers prior to shopping and inadequate storage of perishable items (ibid). According to economic theory, increased demand pushes prices up, particularly as supplies become depleted, suggesting that more careful shopping could result in a price reduction. The systems of subsidies offered to farmers have taken agriculture in a direction that further threatens food supplies by encouraging the planting of crops for bio fuels, particularly in the US where targets for bio fuels have been set (ibid). As an alternative to fossil fuels, bio fuels may offer an infinite source of energy: however, there are the costs and power associated with processing the crops before they can be used as fuel, and every processing stage in the food chain adds cost and inefficiency. Where subsidies are available, it is in farmers’ interests to grow large quantities, but if the subsidy system does not reflect the demand for food, then the use of the land is inefficient at addressing rising food prices. Harvey suggests that the pattern of UK agriculture in the 1950s, with wide use of pasture to feed livestock and to help maintain nutrient reserves in the soil, with grain crops rotated to ‘rest’ each area of land regularly, produced smaller crop yields but required far less input, with overall food output per acre higher than through intensive methods used today (2008). It should be noted that many food prices are coming down, particularly wheat which has dropped 50% in a year (Harvey 2008). The difficulty occurs because of unpredictable crops, and the reason for such volatility is climate-based. Climate change has impacted on crops, with weather patterns increasingly more extreme (FT.com 2008). While this has enabled crop growth further north than ever before, it has limited production in, for example, Southern Europe where there has been a problem with heat waves, not only affecting crop growth but resulting in fires (for example, in Greece in 2007) which can destroy crops. Many areas of the world, from the UK to Bangladesh, experience regular flooding which can ruin crops and limit the use of land in floodplains which, in drier conditions, is particularly fertile. Conflict has also resulted in agricultural land being unavailable for use, for example in Sudan, where 80% of agricultural land is out of use (Rice 2008). The increase in oil prices has affected the operation of agricultural machinery and transport costs in recent months; although the price has now fallen again, volatility in the markets can contribute to difficulties as producers struggle to plan and budget for production. Power to produce and process food has become increasingly expensive. Overall, the rise in food prices can be seen as a consequence of increased global demand coinciding with increasing practical difficulties and rising costs of production. References Blythman J (2005) Shopped (London: Harper Perennial) Christopher M and McDonald M (1995) Marketing: An Introductory Text (Basingstoke/London: Macmillan) Cohan J (2002) ‘â€Å"I Didn’t Know† and â€Å"I Was Only Doing My Job†: Has Corporate Governance Careered Out of Control? A Case Study of Enron’s Information Myopia in Journal of Business Ethics Vol 40 pp275-299 Ft.com (2008) ‘Why are food prices rising?’ available at media.ft.com/cms/s/2/f5bd920c-975b-11dc-9e08-0000779fd2ac.html?from=foodcrisis accessed 20/11/08 Grant R (1995) Contemporary Strategy Analysis 2nd Edition (Cambridge MA/Oxford UK: Blackwell Business) Harvey G (2008) ‘Time to go against the grain’ in The Guardian: Society News and Features 5/11/2008 p7 Hooley G, Saunders J and Piercy N (2004) Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning 3rd Edition (Harlow: Pearson Education) Joint Committee on Taxation (2003) Report of Investigation of Enron Corporation and Related Entities Regarding Federal Tax and Compensation Issues, and Policy Recommendations Volume I: Report (US Senate-Commissioned Report) www.house.gov/jct/s-3-03-vol1.pdf Kotler P, Armstrong G, Saunders J and Wong V (1999) Principles of Marketing 2nd European Edition (London: Prentice Hall Europe) Koutsoyiannis A (1983) Modern Microeconomics 2nd Edition (London/Basingstoke: Macmillan) Laidler D (1982) Introduction to Microeconomics 2nd Edition (Oxford: Philip Allan) Marcousà © I, Gillespie A, Martin B, Surridge M and Wall N (2003) Business Studies 2nd Edition (Abingdon: Hodder Arnold) Mercer D (1996) Marketing 2nd Edition (Oxford/Cambridge MA: Blackwell Business) Milmo D (2008) ‘Executives face court over fuel surcharge fixing by BA and Virgin’ in The Guardian 08/08/08 p14 O’Connor J and Calvin E (1997) Marketing and Information Technology (Harlow: Financial Times/Prentice Hall) Office of Fair Trading (2003) The Cartel Offence (London: Office of Fair Trading) Office of Fair Trading (2008) Market Investigation into the Supply of Groceries in the UK available at www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2008/fulltext/538.pdf accessed 20/11/08 Rice X (2008) ‘Abu Dhabi develops food farms in Sudan’ in The Guardian International Section p16 2/7/2008 Smithers R (2007) ‘Campaign launched to reduce UK’s  £8bn food waster mountain’ in The Guardian 2/11/07 p7 www.opec.org

One is Happy When He Believes That He is Happy :: Happiness Essays

Not many people are happy, but all the libraries are filled with books on happiness, and this very fact should make us curious. The Ancients gave us dozens of recipes on how to conduct a happy life, each of them contradicting the other, or at least, with very dissimilar opinions. The Modernity has its own solutions up to the negation of the very possibility of having a happy life. And recently, mister Francis H. came up with his own idea of happiness. He argues that the problem of happiness can be reduced to wealth, knowledge and a personal belief of being "in control" of one's own life. Let's at first consider these factors. Wealth is important, according to mister Francis H., because it allows the satisfaction of one's basic needs. It seems to me that if it was true, the Ancients had no chance to be happy at all and we can not be happy as well, since in the time to come people will be even more wealthy than they are now (see later on the part of my essay "On Future") and able to better satisfy their needs. Well, I guess the notion of wealth is just relative. Same as basic needs which can cause even more trouble. What are basic needs? Color TV and refrigerator or your own jet plane? Or maybe just a barrel in a harbor as Diogenes showed us? Knowledge. In my opinion the problem with knowledge may be similar to the wealth issue. Knowledge in general (meant as scientific knowledge) has increased dramatically over the last centuries, but arguing that this has contributed to general happiness is at least risky, not to mention superfluous. This problem has two main aspects, firstly, its relativity (as in the case of wealth); we can fly to Venus and kill most of the microbes but there is still much more to be done. Secondly, its validity in the pure aspect, as giving us answers about the world and life in general. On the other hand, as far as personal knowledge, or education, or one's intelligence goes, I don't really see any direct correlation between what one knows and is capable of doing to his own happiness. History can supply us with arguments to both sides. If you don't like history, go to the nearest psychiatric hospital to see the lack of correlation. Here we come to the third aspect of happiness: The personal belief of being "in control".

Personal Narrative- Daydreaming in Class Essay -- Personal Narrative W

Personal Narrative- Daydreaming There I sat, trying desperately not to drool in the middle of my daydream. Dare I say class was less than interesting and all I could think of was my bed? Instead of daydreaming of a hunky man, or even a bright future paved with a golden road of success, I was dreaming of my bed. It was an ordinary college dorm room bed: you never know how many people actually slept in it, or did something else in it, yet I still find comfort in its lumps and bumps. In the brilliance of my afternoon laziness I decided that daydreaming about my bed wasn’t silly at all. In fact I should commemorate my bed with a poem and a little cartoon drawing of it. Unfortunately I had forgotten my notebook so I began to doodle on the prehistoric thing called a desk. Knowing that writing an ode to my wonderful bed on another piece of furniture was loaded with irony, I hesitated commemorating my bed on this horrible, and unworthy desk. Since I was out of paper and out of options I shrugged my shoulders at my h esitations and began my ode to my bed. Oh endearing friend of mine Soft, sweet and truly divine. Only I understand your charm Stay with me always and I’ll keep you from harm. Okay, so this wasn’t a Shakespearian sonnet, but I found it worthy at the time of this creaky and uncommonly hard, desk. This poem was followed by several crude drawings of my bed. Then I found myself enthralled with the words etched into the wooden canvas before me. Being a college desk, there were the token swear words and brilliantly crafted phrases such as â€Å"Bobby Joe was here.† The etchings I found of interest weren’t even etched in; they were merely drawn with pencil. What a daring move for the author to make. Someone could easily ... ... forget to divert your eyes from the professor. Once you make eye contact the spell is broken and he will call on you... What on earth could that mean? I glanced quickly up at my professor only to catch his eye. â€Å"Ah, I see one of you is still alive!† he said maliciously, â€Å"Can you tell those of us who are still awake what Byron meant when he said ‘She walks in beauty, like the night. Of Cloudless climes and starry nights...?† Oh no I had broken the spell! Now I understood what the prophet of the desk had meant. I mumbled some nonsense about an unrequited love, which seemed to satisfy my professor. He seemed to think he had reached his quota of in-class discussion with my comment, so he went on talking to himself, completely self absorbed. In my desperation to find the safety of a daydream yet again I began to scrawl in deep, dark marks on the desk, â€Å"LLH was here.†

Steppenwolf : The Disintegration of Harry Haller as it Relates to Music

Steppenwolf : The Disintegration of Harry Haller as it Relates to Music      Ã‚  Ã‚   Among the many themes present in Hermann Hesse's 1927 novel Steppenwolf, two stand out as basic threads around which the story is constructed: the isolated nature of the artist and the duality of existence (Benà ©t 471). Harry Haller, the protagonist of the novel, is portrayed as an outsider to society and to modern life; he must struggle with his own outmoded ideals and bestiality to embrace humanity and reality. His Zerrissenheit, or disintegration (literally translated, "the state of being torn apart" [Benà ©t 1142]), culminates in the Magic Theater at the finish of the novel. Here, he finds himself a changed man, with a clearer understanding of human and social relations. Harry Haller's progress to this point can be traced through his changing perception of music and the role it plays in his life: as he becomes increasingly disenchanted with his former lifestyle and actively interested in his new one, his understanding and acceptance of new and old music undergoes a significant change.    The preface to the novel establishes Harry Haller as a great lover of music. In it, Haller's landlord remarks on his habits and characteristics. One of the most striking encounters he has with Haller takes place at a symphony one night:    First some Handel was played, noble and lovely music. But the Steppenwolf sat absorbed in his own thoughts...After the Handel came a little symphony of Friedemann Bach, and I saw with surprise how after a few bars my stranger began to smile and abandon himself to the music...for about ten minutes [he was] so happily lost and rapt in pleasant dreams... ... the seriousness and spirituality of the piece.    Haller's Zerrissenheit culminates in an understanding that humor, love of life and passion with a sense of restraint are essential to spiritual health. To live comfortably and yet fully need not be an unattainable standard of life. One may be original without pretense, whole with many parts; it is certainly possible to understand the holy pain of a long, complex movement and yet still take pleasure in the fast step of a fox trot.    Works Cited   Benà ©t, William Rose. "Hermann Hesse." Benà ©t's Reader's Encyclopedia. 4th ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1996.   Benà ©t, William Rose. "Zerrissenheit." Benà ©t's Reader's Encyclopedia. 4th ed. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1996.   Hesse, Hermann. Steppenwolf. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1927.   

Anti Corruption Essay

Corruption is found in the government when instead of thinking about the interests of the citizens as a whole, the members of the government are chiefly interested in promoting their own selfish interests. Corruption is found in both public and private organizations and everyone starting from the clerk to the Managing Director of a company is corrupt in a way or the other. The clerk takes small bribes from the people who visit the office so that their work is finished early than the others who are waiting in a queue. In India, bribes are also accepted in a few temples where devotees offering bribes are given priority over others to visit the temple. Parents offer bribes in schools and colleges to get their child admitted. There is no institution, no organization which is not corrupt in a way or the other. But the question that arises is that can an anti-corruption movement be started and if yes, shall it be successful. The answer depends largely on the adaptation of anti-corruption measures by both the government and the citizens. It is essential for all the Indians to stop taking bribe and also to stop offering bribe in any form. This is the foundation on which the success of any anti- corruption measure will depend. A recent example of anti- corruption measure has been adopted by Mr. Anna Hazare against the existing system of government. He was of the opinion that the Lokpal Bill should be passed in both the houses of the Parliament as a result of which all the ministers and the members of the Parliament would become answerable before the law. The movement also supported by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and was successful initially because it instilled among the citizens the awareness of the necessity to pass the Lokpal bill but this movement proved to be unsuccessful in the later stages when the Lokpal bill failed to pass. Corruption is an incurable disease which all the citizens should try to combat by hook or by crook. It is only because of the corrupt politicians that today India is burdened with enormous loans from the developed countries especially America. It has been estimated that if the money deposited In the Swiss Bank of Switzerland by the Indian politicians return to India, not only will India be free from all the loans but the rising prices of different commodities would immediately shoot down. People should be allowed to re- elect the candidate they voted for if he fails to fulfill the promises that he made while contesting the elections. People are of the opinion that corruption is a way of life and nothing can be done to  eradicate it. It is essential to understand that unless we as the citizens are not determined to do away with corruption from the roots, how we can expect the government to be corruption- free. Corruption is not a new phenomenon in India. It has been prevalent in society since ancient times. History reveals that it was present even in the Mauryan period. Great scholar Kautilya mentions the pressure of forty types of corruption in his contemporary society. It was practised even in Mughal and Sultanate period. When the East India Company took control of the country, corruption reached new height. Corruption in India has become so common that people now are averse to thinking of public life with it. Corruption has been defined variously by scholars. But the simple meaning of it is that corruption implies perversion of morality, integrity, character or duty out of mercenary motives, i.e. bribery, without any regard to honour, right and justice. In other words, undue favour for any one for some monetary or other gains is corruption. Simultaneously, depriving the genuinely deserving from their right or privilege is also a corrupt practice. Shrinking from one’s duty or dereliction of duty are also forms of corruption. Besides, thefts, wastage of public property constitute varieties of corruption. Dishonesty, exploitation, malpractices, scams and scandals are various manifestations of corruption. Corruption is not a uniquely Indian phenomenon. It is witnessed all over the world in develop ing as well as developed countries. It has spread its tentacles in every sphere of life, namely business administration, politics, officialdom, and services. In fact, there is hardly any sector which can be characterised for not being infected with the vices of corruption. Corruption is rampant in every segment and every section of society, barring the social status attached to it. Nobody can be considered free from corruption from a high ranking officer. To root out the evil of corruption from society, we need to make a comprehensive code of conduct for politicians, legislatures, bureaucrats, and such code should be strictly enforced. Judiciary should be given more independence and initiatives on issues related to corruption. Special courts should be set-up to take up such issues and speedy trial is to be promoted. Law and order machinery should be allowed to work without political interference. NGOs and   media should come forward to create awareness against corruption in society and educate people to combat this evil. Only then we would be able to save our system from being collapsed Now-a-days corruption can be seen everywhere. It is like cancer in public life, which has not become so rampant and perpetuated overnight, but in course of time. A country where leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Lai Bahadur Shastri and Kamraj have taken birth and led a value-based is now facing the problem of corruption. When we talk of corruption in public life, it covers corruption in politics, state governments, central governments, â€Å"business, industry and so on. Public dealing counters in most all government offices are the places where corruption most evident. If anybody does not pay for the work it is sure work won’t be done. People have grown insatiable appetite for money in them and they can go to any extent to get money. Undoubtedly they talk of morality and the importance of value-based life but that is for outer show. Their inner voice is something else. It is always crying for money. It has been seen the officers who are deputed to look into the matters of corruption turn out to be corrupt. Our leaders too are not less corrupt. Thus the network of corruption goes on as usual and remains undeterred. Corruption is seen even in the recruitment department where appointments are ensured through reliable middle agencies. Nexus between politicians and bureaucrats works in a very sophisticated manner. Nexus does also exist between criminals and police. Everybody knows that criminals have no morals, hence nothing good can we expect from them. But police are supposed to be the symbol of law and order and discipline. Even they are indulged in corruption. This is more so because they enjoy unlimited powers and there is no action against them even on complaints and sufficient proof of abuse of office atrocities and high handedness. Corruption can be need-based or greed-based. Better governance can at least help to check need-based corruption. Better governance can check greed based corruption also because punishment for the corrupt will be very effective and prompt in a better-governed country. The steps should be taken to correct the situation overall. Declarations of property and assets of the government employees are made compulsory and routine and surprise inspections and raids be conducted at certain intervals. Though it seerris very difficult to control corruption but it is not impossible. It is not only the responsibility of the government but ours too. We can eliminate  corruption if there will be joint effort. We must have some high principles to follow so that we may be models for the coming generation. Let us take a view t o create an atmosphere free from corruption. That will be our highest achievement as human beings. Introduction à ¢ â‚ ¬ Å“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts â‚ ¬ absolutely.à ¢ It is not easy to define corruption. But in a narrow sense, corruption is primarily concerned with à ¢ â‚ ¬ ~ â‚ ¬ â„ ¢ bribery and takes several forms. Corruption is a global phenomenon and is omnipresent. Corruption has risen steadily and is now rampant in our society. National Stage Corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between bureaucracy, politics and criminals. India is no longer considered a soft state. Now it has become a state of mind where everything can be had for a test. Today, the number of ministers with an honest image can be counted on the fingers. At one time, bribe was paid to do things wrong, but now they pay bribes to get things done well at the right time. Effects of corruption india administration is tainted with scandals. India is among 55 of the 106 countries where corruption is rampant, according to the Index of Perceived Corruption Report 2004, published by Transparency International India. Corruption in India leads to promotion not prison. It is very difficult to catch big sharks à ¢ â‚ ¬ ~ â‚ ¬ â„ ¢. Corruption in India has no wings wheels. As a nation grows, so do the corrupt to invent new methods of cheating the government and the public. The causes of corruption The causes of corruption are many and complex. The following are some of the causes of corruption.  †¢ Appearance of the political elite who believe in programs to interest rather than nation-oriented policies.  †¢ artificial shortages created by the people with malevolent intent destroys the fabric of the economy.  †¢ Corruption is caused as well as the increase due to the change in value system and ethical qualities of men who administer. The old ideals of morality, service and honesty are considered a achronistic.  †¢ The tolerance of people towards corruption, the complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of strong public forum to oppose corruption allow corruption to reign over people.  †¢ The size of most of the population, coupled with widespread illiteracy and poor economic infrastructure tip of the endemic corruption in public life.  †¢ In a highly inflationary economy, low salaries of government officials are forced to resort to the path of corruption. IIM graduates with no experience in a very attractive salary than what government secretaries draw.  †¢ complex laws and procedures alienate common people to ask any government assistance.  †¢ The timing of elections is a time when corruption is at its peak. Great political fund employer to comply with the high cost of the election and ultimately seek personal favor. Bribery to politicians buys influence, and bribery of politicians buying votes. To be elected, politicians bribe poor illiterate people, who are slogging for two times meals â‚ ¬ â„ ¢. Measures to combat corruption Is it possible to contain corruption in our society? Corruption is a cancer, that all Indians should strive to cure. Many new leaders when in power declare their determination to eradicate corruption but soon become corrupt and begin to accumulate huge wealth. There are many myths about corruption, which must be exploited, if we really want to fight. Some of these myths are: Corruption is a way of life and nothing can be done. Only people from underdeveloped or developing countries are prone to corruption. You have to avoid all these crude fallacies while planning measures to combat corruption.  †¢ Laws should be foolproof so that no discretion to politicians and bureaucrats. The role of the politician should be minimized. The implementation of the policies developed should be left to the independent commission or authority in every area of public interest. Decision of the commission or authority should be challenged only in court.  †¢ The cooperation of the people must be obtained to successfully contain corruption. People should have the right to recall elected officials if they see that they become indifferent to the electorate.  †¢ The financing of elections is at the center of political corruption. Electoral reforms are crucial in this regard. Several reforms such as state funding of election expenses of candidates, strict compliance with legal requirements such as elections in part as political parties have their accounts audited regularly and filing tax income, denying persons with criminal records the opportunity to participate in elections should be presented  †¢ Responsiveness, accountability and transparency are a must for a clean system. Bureaucracy, the backbone of good governance, should be more citizen friendly, responsible, ethical and transparent. †¢ Once again the courts should be open to the prompt and inexpensive justice so that cases donà ¢ â‚ ¬ â„ ¢ t stay in the courts for years and justice is delivered on time.  †¢ The local bodies independent of government, as Lokpals, Lokadalats, CVC and the vigilance committees should be formed to provide speedy justice with low expenses.  †¢ A new fundamental right to know. Right to Information should be made, which entitles citizens to seek the information they want. Barring some confidential information that relates to national and international security, another type of information should be available to the general public when necessary. strict measures against corrupt officials will undoubtedly have a deterrent effect. Conclusion Corruption is an intractable problem. It’s like diabetes, can only be controlled but not completely eliminated. It may not be possible to completely eradicate corruption at all levels, but may contain within tolerable limits. Honest and dedicated persons in public life, control over electoral expenses could be the most important recipe for fighting corruption. Corruption has a corrosive effect on our economy. Worsens our image in the international market and leads to lost opportunities abroad. Corruption is a global problem that all countries of the world are facing, solutions, however, can only be done at home. We tolerated corruption for so long. The time has come to eradicate its roots. Anna Hazare’s Movement Against Corruption A new landmark in the history of independent India, a new path paved by the veteran anti- corruption campaigner Anna Hazare. His struggle against corruption was a gentle reminder of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha. His fast-unto death, the five day fast has shown the world what Gandhism means in today’s world. The power of Gandhiji’s non violence will never cease to exist in the ages to come. While in Libya and Yemen there is bloodshed for  freedom, where people are waging war against one another during the crisis, here in India, a respected social activist Anna Hazare is waging a peaceful, non violent war against corruption. His urge to free India of the greatest evil, corruption, commends appreciation. This fight against corruption staged at Jantar Mantar was not a one- man show. People from different parts of the country gave their support to Anna Hazare. The greatest merit of this non violent struggle was that no political party was involved in it. Anna Hazare and his supporters were not influenced by any political party. There was only one flag waving high in the sky and in our minds, the Indian National Flag. The fast ended on a very positive note when the idea of Jan Lokpal Bill was accepted by the Government of India. According to the Jan Lokpal Bill, there will be a separate body to investigate and curb the ugly face of India†¦.CORRUPTION; where people have the right to raise their voice against corrupt politicians. Moreover the CBI will be seen as an independent body, free of any other external influence. Now that the bill is going to be sanctioned, a very important question arises†¦. Can all the Indians touch their heart and say with confidence that the Jan Lokpal Bill will eradicate corruption Maybe to an extent but I don’t think it will erase corruption completely in a vast country like India. The Jan Lokpal Bill may have loopholes like the Right to Information Act, an Act passed due to the thrust laid by Anna Hazare. According to the right to information act, the citizens of India have the right to get information on any matter concerning the country, but recently an incident occurred which clearly reflects the loopholes in it. A citizen of India lodged a complaint about the illegal wealth possessed by the former chief justice of India, K.G Balakrishnan. Even today complete information about the wealth of this most corrupted chief justice of India is not known to the public. Why? Is it beyond the Right to Information Act? Similar loopholes are likely to be there in the Lokpal bill also. It is sure that as time passes some illegal and illogical rule will come whereby the citizens cannot use this bill against the Prime Minister, Chief justice and so on thus restricting its use. The new committee formed to frame the bill must take in the interest of all sections of the population. It should be taken care that the bill will be unbiased and does not favour any person; be it the president or prime minister. Further it should be accompanied by other reformation, yes, reformation from  the grass root level. Recently when assembly elections were held in Kerala, crores of rupees were spent by each candidate of the 140 constituencies for campaigning. Where did this money come from? If it is the contribution made by big industrialists and so on, then those candidates when elected should serve their interests. In Tamil Nadu, people are given free T.Vs and laptops. Where did this money come from? All these are different manifestations of corruption. A very effective way to end corruption is to reduce the money power in elections. Crores of rupees are deposited as black money by many influential people abroad.This unaccounted money should be brought back and if it is done, this black money alone can provide the necessary funds required for the construction of metros in all the states of India. These reformations if enforced can provide that extra impetus needed to curb corruption along with the Lokpal bill. The Lokpal bill is cent percent legitimate and it upholds the spirit of the constitution because its main aim is to create a corruption- free India. If by any chance it is against any article of the constitution, it is better to amend the constitution rather than the bill because of its most noble cause. The 2G spectrum case, Adharsh Bhavan Colony, commonwealth games are the different issues which we have been hearing in the last few months which has made India a laughing stock in the comity of nations. Let us use the Jan Lokpal bill wisely, sealing its loopholes and see the ultimate result. Let us hope for the best. Corruption in India has made inroads in all fields of life. Corruption is present in politics, the bureaucracy, corporate and private sectors and is the root cause for most of the problems that plague India. Since the last year, the issue has been widely debated and there has been a considerable mass mobilization against corruption by social activist Sri Anna Hazare and his team members. The Government of India established a Group of Ministers (GoM) in January 2011 to consider measures to tackle corruption. It has submitted two reports. In pursuance of this, 1. Government has directed that requests for sanction of prosecution are to be decided upon by the competent authority within a period of three months. 2. Government decided that for all officers of the central government above the rank of Joint Secretary, the competent authority to approve initiation of  enquiry/investigation under Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act will be the Minister-in-charge in the Government of India. 3. Government has also accepted the recommendation of the GoM to put in place regulatory parameters for exercise of discretionary powers by Ministers and to place them in public domain 4. A comprehensive ‘Lokpal and Lakyuktas Bill, 2011’ was passed by the Lok Sabha this year. 1. ‘The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill 2011’ intended to provide protection to whistle-blowers, was passed by the Lok Sabha and is presently with the Rajya Sabha. 2. India ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in May, 2011. The Convention has entered into force for India on 8th June 2011. With a view to ensuring full compliance with this Convention, ‘The Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organizations Bill 2011’ was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Bill is under consideration of the Government.