Business D1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business D1 - Essay Example Nevertheless, application of interpersonal skills is depends on communication, which is either formal or informal. Effectiveness of interpersonal skills is manifested through development of substantial communication capabilities. For instance, people are able to communicate freely, though without the knowledge of the messages that they are disseminating (Tracom Group, 2013). For instance, effective communication skills entail aspects such as maintenance of eye contact, control of physical twitches such as fidgeting and concentration, while listening during a conversation. In this case, an active listener is able to ask clarifying questions, which is an illustration of their effective interpersonal skills in terms of listening. Therefore, through this way they can ensure that the message is understood as it is being conveyed. Ineffective interpersonal skills can cause serious problems during a serious conversation, thereby leading to misunderstanding; in fact, this can also lead to conflicts (Tracom Group, 2013). For instance, in a situation where a business associate does not maintain eye contact during a conversation, this is an indication that they are not interested with the message conveyed; hence, this becomes

Society Defined by how it defines Everything Else Essay

Society Defined by how it defines Everything Else - Essay Example Deductive reasoning elicits the idea that this civilization existed near or in the middle of a plains-type terrain. The use of only three terms for terrain, "absolutely flat," "rolling," and "slightly hilly," are evidence of this assumption. With only these terms to distinguish the surrounding area, as well as the lack of terms for "ocean" or any large body of water, it is left unknown as to whether mountains or any large bodies of water are within viewing distance of the civilization. It is obvious that these people could not exist without water and as the need for water exists to sustain animal and human life, and the lack of terminology for any large bodies of water is evident, the people must have cultivated some form of irrigation, or advanced means to collect falling rain to sustain their human and animal populations. The careful dissection of the society's language deciphers the choices of consumption made by the civilization. The people use dozens of terms for grains and other plant-based foods. Wheat alone consists of more than half of these terms. Where it is evident that plants are the many dietary source or means of consumption, the true evidence produces itself by the lack of terms for animals as food. There are no terms for cooked meat, the eating of meat, pork, or other animal products, and there are no terms for the use of animals as clothing. The absence of these terms also produces the idea that the people of this society were vegetarians. The choice to consume vegetables and plants instead of animals signifies a respect for other living beings. This shows a degree of intelligence, supporting the idea of a society of advancement. The interpretation of the development of the society in connection with age is evident in the people's respect for other living beings as well as the terminology used to describe the stages of life. The civilization divides the growth of a being from birth to puberty into seven stages, and from the time of puberty to death, in only one stage. The evidence suggests that the first seven stages are more of a path of learning and enlightenment. Once the person attains enough knowledge and experience in life, that person becomes an adult, moving from puberty into the final stage of life. This mental, societal, and perhaps spiritual development builds on the prospects of laws and an active government. The few terms that are available about government and law submit the belief of a highly developed, intellectually advanced society. There are a few terms that substantiate this theory. There are no words for violent conflict or war. The terms for praise translate as "peacemaker" and "conciliator." Finally, the several terms for leader are plural. These examples show that this society believes that the society as a whole will run the government, and that every member of the society is responsible for every other member. John Stuart Mill's states in his article On Liberty, "Though society is not founded on a contract, and though no good purpose is answered by inventing a contract in order to deduce social obligations from

Organisational Structure: Profit and Non Profit Organisations

Organisational Structure: Profit and Non Profit Organisations Introduction Cancer Research UK is a non-profit organization formed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2002 in cooperation with The Cancer Research Campaign and Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF). Cancer Research UKs primary purpose is to put mortality down caused by cancer through extensive science research. Cancer Research also provides information on cancer and organizes projects and activities to provide awareness for the general public in fighting the combat against cancer. The charity grew in a period of time and in the next twenty years became one of the worlds number one cancer research charities. Until the merger, it made wide range of contributions to every area of cancer research. It has established their laboratories at Lincolns Inn Fields and after known as the Cancer Research UK. In line with their strong determination in reducing number of cancer patients as well as saving precious lives, the organization has committed to make their research strategy strong in the next five years through focusing thoroughly on research, provide and look for the proper environment where research is to be conducted and lastly, put in place the right people who will do the task in providing excellent research. Cancer Research UK Organizational Structure Chief Executive Executive Board Scientific Executive Board (CEO/Exec. Directors/Chief Scientists Clinicians) Trustees Members Cancer Research UK is the worlds leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research. Its primary aim is to save millions of lives by discovering new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. For them to serve the purpose, they set 3 broad areas of work which are research, information and influencing public policy. However, research is the primary focus and best funded by the public and through the generosity and commitment of supporters with a strong determination to beat different kinds of cancer. The Executive Board which manages the organization sets out the short term and long term strategy which covers everything from scientific research and fundraising to resources. They do proposals in setting the annual budget to fund projects then submits it to the Council of Trustees for approval. Since research is the the main focus, the flow of work basically deals with the Scientific Executive Board (SEB) which develops and implements the organizations scientific strategy and policy. Although they are not considered as a funding committee, they closely interact with the Council Research Strategy Committee. They have the power to hold budget and have a strong influence in deciding whether a certain initiative will be funded or not. Usually, their decisions are still reviewed by their own funding committees. If it really concerns a big and strategic project benefitting not only cancer victims but the public as well, a good budget will be allocated and approved so that all impertinent work will get started and done. Majority of their Funding Committees are responsible to SEB in reviewing , evaluating and funding each project being undertaken by the charity. Among Cancer Research UKs Funding Committees are the following together with their corresponding roles: The Biological Sciences Committee (BSC) responsible for the research programmes and projects which concentrates mainly on the basic understanding of cancer. The Clinical Trials Awards and Advisory Committee (CTAAC) reviews and funds cancer clinical trials which includes feasibility studies for testing, clinical trials in terms of therapy and other sample collections. The Translational and Clinical Research Committee responsible for the research programmes and projects which concerns clinical and translational researches The Discovery Committee (DC) focused on developing research for the benefit of cancer patients. . The Population Research Committee (PRC) responsible for research programmes and projects grants in population science. The organization is also governed by the Council of Trustees which also consists of the Board of Directors.. This body supports and gives advise to the Chief Executive who is also part and leader of the Top Management Team in achieving the Charitys vision and purpose. Lastly, the organization is governed by its Members (appointed by CRU) and are similar to the shareholders of the company with the entitlement to attend all general meetings and fulfill their most significant duty of electing the Trustees. Each member possess high level skills, experience and professional backgrounds in their own personal fields (business, arts, politics, finance and healthcare) but work as supportive individuals with a common goal of achieving the Charitys aims and objectives and not just working only to satisfy and represent their particular fields. If necessary, they must evaluate and challenge the assumptions from which scientific advise was formulated and ask explanations of scientific terms and concepts that are not clear to them to benefit all the people concerned. Key Stakeholders Cancer research UK is charity organization and its non profitable organization and considered as the best charity in entire world in fighting cancer through research. Among the organizations stakeholders are the following: Chief Executive: They spend their time, money and their strategy on all level of research. They take all responsibility to arrange their short and long term strategy to manage everything like budget, strategy of research, implement on medicine. They take all information from the executive board and if they need money they send their request to trustees for budgets. Executive Board: They do their job to improve the organizations strategy and policy. They meet every month to grow their strategy and solve their problems. Scientific Executive: Their role is most important in this research because they give necessary advise to the executive board and they also explain which strategy is successful for their work and they also give the support to solve issues but problem is that they meet only one time in a year so because of this they have to be very careful because its a question of peoples life. If they do small mistake during their research, it is very dangerous for their organizations reputation. They are considered the most influential body in making strategic decisions specially concerning research studies. Trustees: They give financial support to the organization. They arrange the direction of organization. They maintain the stock of organization. They also play a big role when it comes to strategic financial decisions Members: Member is a main part of organization because they have good knowledge, skills and experience from all fields like health care, business as well as finance. They take personally interest to bring the organization in first number. Mission, Vision, Value, Objective Goal Mission: They save peoples lives .They ensure that to create medicine for tomorrow to treat the cancer. Cancer is expanding more in last many years and because of this they have been at centre of the process. They give cancer related all information to people. They want to put the cancer at the top level of health agenda because cancer is not common diseases, many people is getting victim of cancer since many years. Vision: We will fight together to cancer. They want to concentrate on research. They support good environment for research. To give the work to the right people for research. Values: Their work is help to change the way of cancer, which is found today. Many of charities are registed. They drive by the charity commission; along with they work with other charities and Government. The most important thing is in charity is Fund. People give fund in different way like on some occasion (birthday, anniversary and wedding).They have more than 500 charity shops in the UK so people can buy or donate the goods. They have proud of their achievement because they are doing implement on research, they want to help that people who are suffering from cancer. They work in partners with others to get the biggest influence in the world to fight with cancer. Many people work together to promise that they create the right way to use this fund whatever they receive and they want to bring to cancer research UK in top level of research in the world. Goals: Cancer research UK has established set of goals to get their success over next years to beat against cancer. Survival ratio for all common cancer will gain. Most of the people will get the information whatever they want for cancer. Cancer will be collapsed successfully. They will have all information to understand the impact of the cancer in the body. They will have more powerful research strategy and which level of research they should apply the strategy to control the cancer. Objectives: To destroy the cancer at the starting level its a very difficult but they already accepted and they will finish their duty. They want to inform the people, they find out their understanding of cancer and how to beat different type of cancer. They want to help people to understand the process of cancer, why and how it starts? And what they should do? And what they should not do? Analysis of Current Strategic Plans At present, Cancer Research UK is committed to develop and do a more comprehensive medical research activity still to support their ultimate mission and vision. They are putting the right people in doing these researches as well as giving them the proper and high technology training. Re-arranging and making further improvements in their strategic plans on all fronts like scientific, clinical are clearly stated in their plans at present and will be further carried out in the future. In doing this, they will join other countries scientists, researchers and doctors so they can get more indepth information in fighting cancer. While they are fully funded and supported by certain committees plus the generosity of other people, the utilization of high technology which is still in practice will further be improved by allocating additional funds/budget. This way, studies/research works will be fully supported and researches will be aided accordingly. Uniqueness of Non-Profit in Strategic Planning Cancer Research UK is a non-profit organization. They tend to focus more on matters of board development, fundraising and volunteer management as compare to profits. For profits tend to focus more on activities to maximize profit. Following ways of income for this non profit organization. Â · High Value Relationships Maintaining a healthy relationship with its coporate partners and well as the individuals they are working for. RESOURCES There are plenty shops and online shopping whose income goes to the cancer research. Local Fundraising Groups. There are many groups who work volunteer for fundraising. Events. Organizing and holding fund-raising activities. Awareness for the Public Concentrating on the needs of each individual and giving solutions to their needs and wants Recycling They have a scheme of recycling that is recycle your books, toys, jewellery, etc. to raise funds for children and young people with cancer. Online donation Links with different most popular websites for donation Everyday ways to help They have a range of Everyday Ways which enable people to help children with cancer every day, and at no extra cost to you. Reference: (www.cancerresearchuk.org) COCA-COLA COMPANY History Of Coca Cola Introduction The product all started in 1886 when John Pemberton (pharmacist) cooked up a syrup and with the aid of his assistant used a carbonated water tried and tested it themselves by adding iced water. What they planned of producing a medicinal drink turned out to be a tonic/fizzy beverage. Although they also experienced losses in the earlier part and didnt become an instant success, they didnt stopped developing it that when consumers finally accepted its taste, the product, Coca-Cola became the popular drink and consumed around the world. At present, it is the number one manufacturer and distributor of non-alcoholic drinks and markets the product very well. Not only do they produced bottled softdrinks but canned beverages as well. They are very successful in production using concentrates and syrups that nearly about 400 brands are now in position in the market not to mention other product lines such as sports drinks, tea and coffee. For more than 100 years, The Coca-Cola Company established its image in the global network operating in more than 200 countries providing satisfaction in every consumers mouth, which is the organizations main idea. It has two operating groups such as the Bottling Group and the Corporate Group and each are designed to carry out specific tasks/resonsibilities and operation goes down to the regional divisions. The main aim of the company is to increase sales and profits and give satisfaction and value to customers by providing high caliber service and production of the best possible brands. The Coca-Cola Company is committed to maintain a strong brand name and brand image globally and theres no stopping them from doing it while they still strive hard to climb even more high. Coca-Cola Organizational Structure Corporate Level Board of Directors CEO/CFO BusinessLevel Division Managers (Heads of each Regional Divisions) Africa Eurasia EU Pacific Latin America North America Functional Level The Coca-Cola Company is a big organization whos main focus is customer satisfaction specially with the changing demands of its customers. It covers wide regions and each region has different regulations, different consumer needs and different problems to deal with. They realized that majority of the companys problems are based geographically and this led them to push towards decentralization in the nineties. The organization has two operating groups called Bottling Investments and Corporate. There are also operating groups divided by different regions such as: Africa, Eurasia, European Union, Latin America, North America, and Pacific. Each of these divisions is again divided into geographic regions. With this divisions broken down, it allowed decisions to be made on a more local level so that they can respond fast to the ever changing behaviour of the market. and higher-level management can focus more on long-term planning. However, for the company to formulate and focus on one glob al message, its marketing and innovation functions remained centrally located and further tailored at the local level. Within the Coca-Cola Company most decisions are made at the top hierarchy and an example of this was when it decided to sponsor the World Cup in 2002. However, all the advertising decisions were left to the local divisions since they know very well how the market behaves specially customizing each campaign materials that would appeal to the local market. The companys divisions such as finance, human resources, innovation, marketing and strategy and planning are centrally located within the Corporate division of the company. Some of these functions take place at lower levels in each of the regions of the company. In 2004, when the company faced an extremely low growth rate, they began using a more complex integrating mechanism wherein top managers created a solution through face-to-face meetings held regularly at the local levels so employees could remain informed. Besides the use of teams and meetings, the intranet was overhauled to provide a source of real-time sharing of up-to-date information quickly with each function of the company. With this move, employees feel more engaged and turnover has been reduced, it led to increased growth rates for the organization as well as positive return on equity for stockholders at 20 percent. The Coca-Cola Companys structure is a hybrid of both mechanistic and organic models. Mechanistic in the sense that the company maintains a high standard organization and organic wherein surveys and interviews used by the company allowed information to flow from the bottom-up while the intranet allows for information to be exchanged laterally. It was a big help for the company in pursuing simplification and standardization. The Coca-Cola Company is driven by some rules of corporate governance. Elected by the share owners, The Boards role is to oversee the companys long-term interest and overall success of the business as well as its financial strength. They give ultimate decisions of the Company but they dont touch more on matters concerning shareholders scope. They review and make sure choose the best members of its top management who in turn are responsible for conducting the business of the Company. The CEO obtains information from other divisions through Presidents of each regional operating group as well as high executives like the Chief Marketing Officers, Commercial Officers and Chief Innovation and Technology Officer. The Coca-Cola Companys business-level strategy is considered as differentiation. This is so because they have been successful pursuing their focus on how the company and its products will be marketed strongly and remain competitive in the market. The Coca-Cola Company is known for innovative marketing that constantly promotes their brand names and at the same time protect their domains from competitors. It is tactical in structure because it supports and responds to the companys strategic plan on how the company will work well and stay on top of competition. The divisional managers (heads of each regional divisions), business managers decides on how the company and its products will grow and earn more profits through proper research and marketing. The marketing department is the most powerful sub-unit in the organization because it can attract customers who are the critical scarce resource. The heavy emphasis on marketing will help the company in finding ways to become more efficient in production or distribution. The lower levels for each division are responsible for the day-to-day activities of the organization and they closely coordinate with their respective seniors/team leaders in coordinating and reporting the effectiveness and feasibility of some operational decisions made. They are given the chance to suggest and voice out if there are more effective ways in implementing developed plans because they are the ones involved directly in carrying it out. This way they feel important and engaged in their work as well as the organization. Everyone is given a chance to be heard and it shows that even on this level, opinions and suggestions are being taken up to the higher level which makes the flow of work within the organization smooth and easy. Key Stakeholders The Coca Cola Company has many internal and external stakeholders. The following are its main internal stakeholders: Shareowners they are the main investors of the company whos main concern is to earn profit. They have the power to select members of the board. However, The Board of Directors has influence in making strategic decisions because they are responsible in overseeing the companys long-term interest and overall success of the business. Associates they work closely with the stakeholders as partners but not influential in making strategic decisions. Employees people working within the company with dedication and with a common goal of fulfilling its aims and objectives to help management in making the business grow and stay in competition. The Senior/Upper Management team handles a difficult task of operating the business in the right track making sure all the sales objectives will be met and work done well following a systematic way. They also have the power to make strategic decisions specially that the company operates regionally with different regional behaviours. Aside from its internal forces, the following are considered its external stakeholders: Bottling partners they are in close partnership with the organization for they provide the distribution, packaging and proper handling of products. Government they are concerned with environmental health and the taxes they will impose on the company Suppliers in close partnership with the organization who supplies the materials they need but are also concerned of making the most money out of their products Consumers/Customers they are the end users and the main reason why the company exists. They possess different market behaviours all over the globe which is the reason why Coca- Cola Company never stops in developing market research and customize advertising to satisfy their needs and wants. Mission, Vision, Value, Objective Goal Mission, Vision Values define that what they are, what they sought to achieve and how they want to get and they provide their clear management for their company and they all are working together for the same goal objective. Coca cola is a more profitable company in the world. Mission: Coca Cola is creating a strong impression in the market. It announces that their aim as a company to provide a standard brand. Coca Cola wants: To produce a product which the customer needs. To give something new to world for today and tomorrow. They want to encourage their future success by building a strong brand that has longevity. To create value for investors but also make a difference in the world Vision: They have established their goals, which they will work with their distribution channel for getting their mission. Profit: Maximizing return to shareholder while fulfilling all responsibilities. People: To create great place to work where people are encouraged to be the best they can be. Portfolio: Giving to the world a portfolio of biggest drink brand that satisfies peoples demands. Partners: Nurturing a winning network of partners and building mutual loyalty. Planet: To be a responsible in all over the world. Productivity: Very innovative and fast management in product line. Values: To be a leader, they want to be flexible for their supplier, buyers and staff. They are innovative in their product process. They put their total focus on their management because they want a quality of being morally good. They want to be first to the market in responding to the changing needs of their consumers. They want to collaborate with their consumers forever. Goals: They want to expand their global business by reaching their consumer and they want to know who will enjoy their product. They want to excel as a business in the areas of health consciousness. Environmental protection, community participation and workplace standards. To gain profitable share of the market in the entire world. They believe in building long term profits. Objectives: To be a first thought of customers satisfaction. Advertising is the main source of increasing customer demands. Celebrities such as actors, actresses and cricketers are playing a most important role in massive advertising campaigns. Analysis of Current Strategic Plans In line with the companys ultimate mission and vision, Coca-Cola is still fulfilling its promise of delivering customer satisfaction a proof that up to now they maintain a strong brand name globally and still promises to be on top of competition even with the strong presence of competitors. They still exert effort in developing market research and advertising to study each and every consumers behaviour as well as continuously innovating and differentiating their products to be unique and appealing to the general public. They maintain good business relationships with their stakeholders, flexible with their consumers allocating more funds for innovation, technology and fast distribution. Coca-Cola is a very profitable company even from the past and are still committed to earn more profit at present and in the future. Regional divisions are implementing their tasks in a more customized way still following the organizations main mission and objective in satisfying customers needs and wants. Uniqueness of Profit in Strategic Planning The Coca Cola of the planning activities is often different to non-profits. The Coca Cola tend to focus more on activities to maximize profit. The thing through which they determine budget, that is profit . They fulfill this priority by different strategic planning as mentioned below. STRATEGIES FOR PROFITS Some major ways are as follows. How to gain consumers interest? They increase the volume of sales by intensive advertising and launching different product flavors like Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Oasis, Lilt, Dr. Pepper, Fanta, etc. How to attract people in taking part with their activities/festival? They offer different attractive things in their festical and through this, Coca-Coal gained high profit and consumption increased during these occasions. Among their activities are the following: Coca-Cola Games Coca-Cola signed a sponsorship agreement with players. Coca-Cola realizing the fact that games are very short way to provide their brand to consumers like Indian cricket team who did contract with them. Having contract with teams also created an image that Coca Cola can be a refreshing drink and not just an ordinary daily beverage. Coca-Cola Concerts Many celebrities signed contract with them as exclusive product endorsers with the likes of Amir Khan and Aishwarya Rai. Coca-Cola Nokia Promotional type wherein people will have a chance to win Coca-Cola branded cellphones (Nokia 3310), which made their sales go high as well as their profit. Analysis of Strategic Business Planning Model (Coca-Cola vs. Cancer Research UK) At present, both organizations are very much engaged in developing their own Research works with a common goal of serving and satisfying each ones market. They might only differ in such a way that Coca-Colas research deals more of their products which are consumable while Cancer Research UK is more inclined in scientific and clinical studies to combat a deadly disease. Both are concerned on the environments health and safety which is very much important to end-users as well as cancer patients or even the general public. Both can be considered as implementing innovation and differentiation in their own fields in such a way that both are utilizing high technology to improve their products (Coca-Cola) to be unique to competitors and research innovations (CRU) to determine and dig more deeply in getting data and information on how to beat cancer.

The Bedroom in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman :: The Yellow Wallpaper Essays

The Yellow Wallpaper:   The Bedroom   The bedroom is an overvalued fetish object that nevertheless threatens to reveal what it covers over. John's time is spent formulating the bedroom in a way that conceals his associations of anxiety and desire with the female body, but also re-introduces them. The bedroom's exterior, its surface, and its outer system of locks, mask a hidden interior that presumably contains a mystery--and a dangerous one. The bedroom in "The Yellow Wallpaper" generates this tension between the desire to know and the fear of knowing: on one hand, the enigma of the bedroom invites curiosity and beckons us towards discovery; on the other hand, its over- determined organization is seated within a firm resolution to build up the bedroom, so that what it hides remains unrealized. Mulvey writes, "Out of this series of turning away, of covering over, not the eyes but understanding, of looking fixidly at any object that holds the gaze, female sexuality is bound to remain a mystery" ("Pandora" 70).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This mystery-bound-to-remain-a-mystery is exposed when the (voyeuristic) subject and the (fetishistic) object exchange places. At the story's close, the narrator is determined to "astonish" John. "I don't want to go out," she writes, "and I don't want to have anybody come in, till John comes. I want to astonish him" (Gilman 34). John comes home to find that she has "locked the door and thrown the key down into the front path" (Gilman 34). 'John dear!' said I in the gentlest voice, 'the key is down by the front steps, under a plantain leaf!' That silenced him for a few moments. Then he said--very quietly indeed, 'Open the door, my darling!' 'I can't,' said I. 'The key is down by the front door under a plantain leaf!' And then I said it again, several times, very gently and slowly, and said it so often that he had to go and see, and he got it of course, and came in. He stopped short by the door. 'What's the matter?' he cried. 'For God's sake, what are you doing!' I kept on creeping just the same, but I looked at him over my shoulder. 'I've got out at last,' said I, 'in spite of you and Jane. And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!' Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time! (Gilman 36) The Bedroom in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman :: The Yellow Wallpaper Essays The Yellow Wallpaper:   The Bedroom   The bedroom is an overvalued fetish object that nevertheless threatens to reveal what it covers over. John's time is spent formulating the bedroom in a way that conceals his associations of anxiety and desire with the female body, but also re-introduces them. The bedroom's exterior, its surface, and its outer system of locks, mask a hidden interior that presumably contains a mystery--and a dangerous one. The bedroom in "The Yellow Wallpaper" generates this tension between the desire to know and the fear of knowing: on one hand, the enigma of the bedroom invites curiosity and beckons us towards discovery; on the other hand, its over- determined organization is seated within a firm resolution to build up the bedroom, so that what it hides remains unrealized. Mulvey writes, "Out of this series of turning away, of covering over, not the eyes but understanding, of looking fixidly at any object that holds the gaze, female sexuality is bound to remain a mystery" ("Pandora" 70).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This mystery-bound-to-remain-a-mystery is exposed when the (voyeuristic) subject and the (fetishistic) object exchange places. At the story's close, the narrator is determined to "astonish" John. "I don't want to go out," she writes, "and I don't want to have anybody come in, till John comes. I want to astonish him" (Gilman 34). John comes home to find that she has "locked the door and thrown the key down into the front path" (Gilman 34). 'John dear!' said I in the gentlest voice, 'the key is down by the front steps, under a plantain leaf!' That silenced him for a few moments. Then he said--very quietly indeed, 'Open the door, my darling!' 'I can't,' said I. 'The key is down by the front door under a plantain leaf!' And then I said it again, several times, very gently and slowly, and said it so often that he had to go and see, and he got it of course, and came in. He stopped short by the door. 'What's the matter?' he cried. 'For God's sake, what are you doing!' I kept on creeping just the same, but I looked at him over my shoulder. 'I've got out at last,' said I, 'in spite of you and Jane. And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!' Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time! (Gilman 36)

Influence of American Pop Culture and Media Essay

Pop culture and the media has firmly imbedded itself into the mindset of today’s society resulting in people emulating and interpreting as hard fact everything that they see and hear through TV, magazines or radio. This is due to the fact that popular media has becomes a window into the rest of the world for most people because of its availability, entertaining qualities and popularity with a majority of ones pears. This has caused a mindset to develop wherein individuals believe that what they see in the media and what is being espoused in popular culture is what they should be like. As a result what has been created is a culture of emulation wherein people dress like what they see on T. V. and in magazines, act the same way as their idols, develop systems of beliefs based on what they perceive to be the norm and finally go so far as to change their very bodies all in an effort to become what they perceive to be the way they should be as dictated by pop culture and the media. The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a depiction of the end result of a cultural attitude of relying too much on popular media as source of information in ones daily life. It portrays a dystopian society where books are illegal and people get all their information from TV or the radio shows resulting in a society where no new ideas are created and suffers from a distinct lack of being able to learn from its mistakes or to think for itself. Compared to today’s media based society where people have become increasingly reliant on popular media in the form of TV and radio to nearly the verge of addiction the future described by Bradbury doesn’t seem far off. What this paper will seek to examine is the positive and negative effects of popular media on society and how it effects the behavior of society in general. Positive effects of pop culture and the media Cultural Understanding Popular culture and the media has given rise to an assortment of cultural attitudes adopted by different cultures around which are distinctly American. As a result cultures and societies which normally wouldn’t have anything to do with the U. S. all of sudden have adopted American customs as their own due the influence of pop culture and the media. This has resulted in the spread of the English language, the creations of a distinct appreciation of the American movie industry as well as a growing dependence on American programming as way to pass the time. Through mass media people have been connected in a way that hasn’t been present since the start of civilization. Movie stars have fans in the millions, along with various TV actors and music artists. It has come to a point wherein American pop culture has an almost religious following in the form of the numerous fans who idolize American stars (Hollander 2010). Growth of American business Pop culture and mass media is an ever growing industry brining in hundreds of billions of dollars in annual earnings. In the form of advertising deals, satellite TV fees, merchandising and other forms of money making schemes generated by the industry. As a result the pop culture of American is actually helping to support the U. S. economy since not only are there people willing to buy products that they see on TV or in magazines in the U. S. but there are foreign buyers as well who are just as adamant in buying these products, if not more so (Hollander 2010) . Negative Effects of Media Creation of a materialistic culture Due to the obsession of the public over what they see in magazines and TV the result has been a culture that is obsessed over brand name goods, unique gadgets or anything that their idols on TV are shown to be using whether it be a brand of water or a type of earring the general public becomes so obsessed with trying to look like them that they spend thousands of dollars doing so. No where is this more obvious that with the brand of shoe wear Nike. In order to get specific shoe models like the Air Jordans or other such version associated with a famous star a lot of shoe aficionados are willing to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars just to collect items that for them are associated with a famous individual. This is due to the proliferation of commercials portraying their stars using these sort of products which results in people buying just for the sake of being more like their idols even if the product is grossly overpriced and overrated. Not only that but people in the process of buying these products develop huge credit card debt because of another development of pop culture namely the use of the credit card wherein instead of waiting and saving to obtain a certain product people satiate their immediate desires by using a credit card with its â€Å"buy now pay later† attractiveness. Which unfortunately has resulted in a attitude of bad spending and debt as a result of the America’s credit card culture. Creation of a TV centric culture Pop culture and the media has created a culture literally obsessed with televisions. Individuals spend hours on end watching TV and not moving from a single spot. This is due to the fact that a lot of shows are so entertaining and geared toward keeping an audience riveted in their seats that few people have the inclination to do otherwise. It is due to this that most people prefer watching TV than reading books or even going out for regular exercise resulting in a rise in the number of cases of people being overweight or even being obese due to lack of exercise. Not only that but a slow mental deterioration has occurred with a percentage of the population since instead of books they prefer the convenience of televisions resulting in a population that is actually more insular and less prone to new ideas and concepts as a result of this preference of TV over books. Effects on Society Development of Stereotypes Since popular forms of media such as TV, magazines and radio are thought of as windows to the world most individuals believe that the cultural connotations and the portrayal of individual ethnicities in TV programs as well as their unique characterizations are based on reality. The truth is that most of what is being portrayed is meant to entertain and amuse and audience and not be taken as hard fact. The end result is truth blended with fiction to such an extent that the distinction between the two is blurred and results in false impressions and perceptions. These impressions can cause a negative impact on how a particular ethnic group is thought of in reality. In movies and television series different ethnic groups always seem to have a generic characterization of the way that their particular race is suppose to act. This has resulted in a situation wherein these ethnic groups are rarely seen as anything else even outside of realm of media and popular culture. An example of this sort of perception is the characterization of African Americans in movies and programs. They are shown as loving to wear expensive jewelry, oversized clothes, have gold plated teeth or that nearly all of them are related to gang affiliated violence, have tattoos prominently placed on enjoy sporting shaved heads (Associated Content 2010). In reality this particular perception may not be true at all as evidenced by the current U. S. President who is an African American and does not seem to conform to the image portrayed by the media as what a black person is like. Unfortunately due to their portrayal in the media black Americans are often thought of as having criminal tendencies and being inherently violent with no actual basis on this perception aside from what is in the entertainment industry. Another ethnic group that is often maligned in movies and television shows are Asians. They are commonly associated as possessing the distinct inability to be understood, having a distinct inability in speaking the English language, are in possession of strange accents and strange association with all Asians as being of Chinese origin. As a result of their portrayal in popular media discrepancies occur in what people believe Asians to be and how they really are. Image Issues The power of the media is such that people are easily influenced by what they see. They choose to emulate even when that emulation leads to disastrous consequences. For adolescents the idea of what it means to beautiful is based upon their impressions of what is being portrayed by the media, these days the image that the media has been espousing is the idea that being thin equates to being beautiful. This is shown through the numerous commercial, magazine and billboard models who are all nearly stick thin and shallow faced. This has led to today’s popular notion that â€Å"being thin is in† resulting in the numerous cases of eating disorders of adolescents who are desperate to look thin in order to appear beautiful in other people’s eyes (Kendrick 2008). The popularity of dieting is such that based on studies that have been conducted nine out of 10 people have tried dieting in the past in order to lose weight. This obsession with dieting is due to constant references to it via popular media either through magazine articles, sitcom characters and even models quoted during interviews. It is a fact that the media has created the concept that in order for women to attract men they have to be beautiful and since the idea being popularized by the media is that being thin makes you look beautiful a lot of women wind up dieting in order to conform to this image of beauty to attract a potential partner (Perez – Cueto 2009). The media through its proliferation of programs, advertisements and articles that portray thin women as being beautiful and popular is definitely at fault for the growing number of adolescents who have been affected by eating disorders. Adolescents are at the age wherein they are easily influenced by whatever they see and hear. This results that they possess the need to be accepted by others and feel like they are needed. With the media showing that being thin means being popular and well accepted it is no wonder that cases of adolescent anorexia have risen. Conclusion While American pop culture and mass media does have a good side since it does support the proliferation of the American culture to other societies around the world the advantages do not outweigh the disadvantages. Mass media has actually caused a devolution in the way people think since they prefer the mind numbing effects of television than that of mental stimulation from books. That through the spread of popular culture misconceptions arose about the different ethnic groups out there which people believe as the truth due to their reliance on popular media. That people have been becoming lazier, more easily influenced and more likely to cause irreparable damage to their bodies due the influences that have affected their minds. In the end American pop culture and mass media while being immensely popular is also a source of immense deterioration of the common sense and intellect of society.

Consequences of Ethnicity in Nigeria

EFFECT OF ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA CHAPTER 1 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Nigeria  is  by  far  the most populated of Africa’s countries, with more than one-seventh of the continent’s people. The people belong to many different ethnic groups. These groups give the country a rich culture, but they also pose major challenges to nation building. Ethnic strife has plagued Nigeria since it gained independence in 1960. Officially known as the ‘Federal Republic of Nigeria’, she has  a  federal form of government and is divided into 36 states and a federal capital territory.Lagos, (formerly the capital of Nigeria) is the economic and cultural center located along the coast, and inhabited majorly by the Yoruba-speaking tribe. It is also the country’s largest city (in terms of population). The government moved from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 in the hope of creating a national capital where none of the country’s ethnic groups would be dominant. The  land size area  of Nigeria is approximately 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi).It was home to ethnically based kingdoms and tribal communities before it became a European colony. In spite of European contact that began in the 16th century, these kingdoms and communities maintained their autonomy until the 19th century. The colonial era began in earnest in the late 19th century, when Britain consolidated its rule over Nigeria. In 1914 the British merged their northern and southern protectorates into a single state called the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria became independent of British rule in 1960.After independence Nigeria experienced frequent coups and long periods of autocratic military rule between 1966 and 1999, when a democratic civilian government was established Nigeria is very rich in raw materials like crude oil, tin, iron etc but is almost solely dependent on crude oil which is a major source of income for the country. While oil wealth has financed major investments in the country’s infrastructure, Nigeria remains among th e world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita income. Oil revenues led the government to ignore agriculture, resulting in dependence on food importation.Fig 1. 1 MAP OF NIGERIA SHOWING THE 36 STATES 1. 1 The people of Nigeria Nigeria's diversity, both in â€Å"tongue† and â€Å"tribe† makes it a very difficult region to subject to precise classification. This has led to the tendency among many scholars to focus on the three major ethnic or geographic zones in the country viz the Hausa-Fulani (Northern Nigeria), the Yoruba (Western Nigeria) and the Igbo (Eastern Nigeria). These geographic zones are not in any way solely occupied by the three ethnic groups. A plethora of smaller socio-ethnic groups may be located in these zones.The  highest  population densities are in the Igbo heartland in south-eastern Nigeria, despite poor soils and heavy emigration. The intensively farmed zones around and including several major cities of the Hausa ethnic group especi ally Kano, Sokoto, and Zaria in the north are also densely populated. Other areas of high density include Yorubaland in the southwest, the central Jos Plateau, and the Tiv homeland in Benue State in the south central region. Densities are relatively low in the dry northeast and in most parts of the middle belt.Ecological factors, including the prevalence of diseases such as sleeping sickness, carried by the tsetse fly, and historical factors, especially the legacy of pre-colonial slave raiding, help explain these low densities (Encarta, 2009). Table 1. 1: Statistics of Nigeria Population| 138,283,240 (2008 estimate)| Population density| 152 persons per sq km 393 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)| Urban population distribution| 48 percent (2005 estimate)| Rural population distribution| 52 percent (2005 estimate)| Largest cities, with population| Lagos, 11,100,000 (2005 estimate) Ibadan, 3,570,000 (2007 estimate)Ogbomosho, 861,300 (2007 estimate)| Official language| English| Chief rel igious affiliations| Muslim, 50 percent Christian, 40 percent Indigenous beliefs, 10 percent| Life expectancy| 47. 8 years (2008 estimate)| Infant mortality rate| 94 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate)| Literacy rate| 70. 7 percent (2005 estimate)| Source: Encarta Encyclopaedia (2009) 1. 2 Social issues Wealth  and  power  are  distributed very unevenly in Nigerian society. This is due to several factors including corruption, political instability, and unemployment, amid others.The great majority of Nigerians, preoccupied with daily struggles to earn a living, have few material possessions and little chance of improving their lot. Meanwhile, chiefs, rich merchants, politicians, and high-ranking civil servants often accumulate and flaunt massive wealth, which to a degree is expected and accepted in the Nigerian society. Most of these elite maintain power through networks of patronage: They secure and distribute labour and receive political support in return.The syste m allows for some redistribution of income because patrons often pay for things such as school fees and marriage costs for relatives, community development, and charity work. Economic  inequality  has a severe effect on health, especially for children. One-fifth of Nigerian children die before the age of five, primarily from treatable diseases such as malaria, measles, whooping cough, diarrhea, and pneumonia. Less than one-half of infants are immunized against measles, and malnutrition affects more than 40 percent of children under the age of five.Adults are equally affected, although with less deadly consequences. Only 20 percent of rural Nigerians and 52 percent of urban Nigerians have access to safe water. One-third have no access to health care simply because they live too far from clinics or other treatment centres. Many others cannot afford the fees charged by clinics. While  average  incomes are higher and death rates lower in cities, urban poverty is as pervasive as rural poverty. Secure, well-paying jobs are scarce, even for those with considerable education. Food is typically expensive.Housing, too, is costly despite its rudimentary quality, prompting the poor to build basic houses in shantytowns. Sewage disposal systems in most cities are also basic or primitive, with polluted streams, wells, roadside drains, and other bodies of water increasing the risk of infectious disease. Industry, automobiles, and the burning of fuel-wood further pollute air and water. Crime  in  Nigeria  rose in the mid-1990s as a result of unemployment, economic decline, and social inequality, which are abetted by inefficient and corrupt police and customs forces.More than half of all offenses are thefts, burglaries, and break-ins, although armed robberies are also prominent. Nigeria is a major conduit for drugs moving from Asia and Latin America to markets in Europe and North America. Large-scale Nigerian fraud rings have targeted business people in other part s of the world. Nigeria  has  been  wracked by periodic violent clashes between ethnic and religious groups since the 1990s. The reasons behind these clashes have varied from local political disputes to conflicts between fundamentalist Muslims and Christians or moderate Muslims.In many cases, local civic or religious leaders have manipulated these conflicts for political gain. 1. 3 Ethnicity: The Ethnic Composition of Nigeria Ethnicity is a term not easily defined and for proper understanding of the concept related terms requires description; an ethnic group is regarded as an informal interest group whose members are distinct from the members of other ethnic groups within the larger society because they share kinship, religious and linguistics ties (Cohen, 1974). Ethnicism is another related concept used to denote ‘ethnic loyalty’ (Pepple, 1985).The concept of loyalty here indicates willingness to support and act on behalf of the ethnic group. Subsequently, ethnic loyalty or ethnicism usually involves a degree of obligation and is often accompanied by a rejective attitude towards those regarded as outsiders i. e. members of other ethnic group (Salawu and Hassan, 2011). Thus the term Ethnicity can be defined as the interactions among members of many diverse groups (Nnoli, 1978). It is a commonplace fact that Nigeria is a society with different ethnic groups, religions, languages, cultures and institutional arrangements.As a heterogeneous society of several ethnic groups, Nigerians are thus characterized by groups, desires, beliefs, values, customs, fears etc. These diversities in national life manifest in several ways including; music, language, culture, dance, beliefs, religion etc. The fact that over three hundred identified language groups exist in Nigeria has created some confusion as one may equate each language group with an ethnic group (Adejuyibem 1983) and thereby arrive at over three hundred ethnic groups.As Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997 ) and Anugwom (1997) have argued, however, languages and ethnic groups do not necessarily coincide. One language may be spoken by more than one ethnic group and one ethnic group may have linguistic variations of the same root language. Moreover, while language may be one of the important factors for defining an ethnic group, some ethnic groups in Nigeria may have lost their original linguistic roots, while retaining their identity, as a result of intense interaction with larger socio-ethnic groups.In the same vein, many ethnic groups may use the same language to case communication, as is the case of the smaller ethnic groups in the North of Nigeria, where Hausa has become more or less a lingua franca. Therefore, it has been proven that there is no direct relationship between language and ethnic group in Nigeria. Thus, the 56 ethnic groups identified by Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) as the existing ethnic groups in contemporary Nigeria are adopted. It is important to note that the ethnic groups in Nigeria may exceed this number by far, though these 56 groups are both visible and easily identifiable.The 56 ethnic groups are presented in the table below. Table 1. 2: Ethnic group in Nigeria 1. Hausa-FuIani| 29. Buri| 2. Igbo | 30. Balta| 3. Yoruba | 31. Kanuri| 4. Edo| 32. Margi| 5. Bassawa| 33. Delta Minorities| 6. Igala| 34. Gwadara| 7. Idoma| 35. Chamba-Daka| 8. Ora| 36. Mambila| 9. Ijo| 37. Katang | 10. Isoko| 38. Berom| 11. Urhobo| 39. Kadara| 12. Itshekiri| 40. Kurama| 13. Baatonum| 41. Mada| 14. Karnbari| 42. Alago| 15. Dulawa| 43. Migili| 16. Kamaku| 44. Eggon| 17. Ebira| 45. Bokyi| 18. Nupe| 46. Ekon| 19. Gwari| 47. Agoi| 20. Tiv| 48. Efik| 21. Jukun| 49. Ibibio| 2. Chomo-karim| 50. Annang| 23. Jarwa| 51. Mumuye| 24. Angas| 52. Waja| 25. Yekhee| 53. Busa| 26. Karekare| 54. Dendi| 27. Eloyi| 55. Buduma| 28. Gade| 56. Shuwa| Source: Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) Nigeria is known for its cultural diversities but while these diversities have been positively harnessed for greatness by other nations of the world the opposite is regrettably the case in Nigeria despite the efforts of heroes past in ensuring that these diversities are harnessed for development; rather they have served as the bane of social, economic and political development.Consequently, Nigeria as a nation has been besieged by an array of social, economic and political problems; these include corruption, tribalism, lack of patriotism, political gangsterism e. t. c (Nduka, 2004 and Omo-Ojugo et al. , 2009). 1. 4 Ethnicity and Marginalisation Before the advent of colonialism, the area now referred to as Nigeria was a large landmass occupied by un-unified people of diverse ethnic groups but for administrative convenience they were fused and merged together by the olonialists. For the duration of colonial rule, the ‘marriage’ of the diverse ethnic groups was maintained and the diversities were united without any problem. With the exit of the colonialists, things started f alling apart resulting in marginalisation and ethnic conflict thus adversely effecting the development of the budding nation. Ethnic conflict has been rightly defined as one of the greatest obstacles to meaningful development in Africa.The ethnic factor did not diminish with the advent of independence; rather, it became a yardstick for measuring contribution to the national development effort and especially for allocating and distributing power and national resources and eventually resulted in the 30- month slaughter in the Nigerian civil war (1967 to 1970) which was anchored on ethnic rivalry. The history of present day Nigeria is rife with cases of ethno-religious conflicts. Since the annulment of the 1993 elections, there have been increased demands and counter-demands for marginalisa1ion by various ethnic groups in the country.Marginalisation stems from a people's perception of their treatment in the allocation or distribution of power and resources. A classic example is made fo r the Ogoni, who despite â€Å"having provided the nation with an estimated $30,000 million in oil revenues, their people had no pipe borne water or electricity, and lacked education, health and other social facilities: it is intolerable that one of the richest areas of Nigeria should wallow in abject poverty and destitution† (Saro-Wiwa, 1992).In this light, the Ogoni ethnic group has concrete reasons to consider itself marginalised, especially since these facilities can be found in other ethno-regional areas of Nigeria. 1. 5 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The general objective of the study is to 1. Investigate the role ethnicity plays in the socio-economic development of Nigeria. 2. Assess the impact of ethnicity on present day Nigeria 3. Examine the effect on day-to-day activities of Nigerians 1. 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS i. Impact of ethnicity on social and economic development in Nigeria? ii. Role of colonialism in ethnic groups formation . 7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of the projec t envelops the influence of ethnicity in Nigeria’s social and economic development and its impact on present day Nigeria. 1. 8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The importance of this study is made manifest in the form of understanding the role ethnic diversity plays in the development of a country, in this case Nigeria. 1. 9 CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION ETHNICITY: Ethnicity in this study is referred to as an affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties or the interactions among members of many diverse groupsETHNIC GROUP: For the purpose of this study, an ethnic group is regarded as an informal interest group whose members are distinct from the members of other ethnic groups within the larger society because they share kinship, religious and linguistics ties SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: in this project, socio economic development is defined as a comprehensive process involved in improving social and economic conditions on individual and group empowerment, community, national and reg ional building.