Mary Wollstonecraft and The Importance of Being Earnest Essay

Mary Wollstonecraft would have found in the witty comedy The Importance of Being Earnest a small vindication of her ideologies. Wilde touched on many issues that Mary Wollstonecraft herself had strong opinions on, such as, primarily, equality in society, including related concepts such as marriage, social responsibility, sexuality and gender roles, and independence. Wollstonecraft had argued for the rights of man, and then extended her arguments to cover women in particular, whom she felt were wrongly debased and exploited in Victorian society. She wanted a change in British law that would grant women equal rights of property upon marriage. Most known for her radical feminist stance, Wollstonecraft was deeply concerned about the status of females in society. She argued that the womanly â€Å"innocence† is actually just a better name for miserable ignorance, saying that most women were unjustifiably kept in ignorance, and were valued for, and expected to give value to, appearances only, and she argued that women were educated to be attractive to men. She argued for the education of women, and espoused the basic feminist assumptions of equality of men and women. She was particularly opposed to the idea of women being educated to become submissive. Wollstonecraft also contended that everyone, including women, had a right to be independent, and she envisioned a society where all were equal, where women had equal opportunities; she wanted women to hold power over themselves Wollstonecraft’s societal concerns are echoed in Wilde’s play. In the play, marriage is a dominant theme, and is shown as a strong moving force, a motivation for many of the characters actions. Marriage, according to the Lady Bracknell at least, is a woman’s obligation. Algernon and Jack discuss whether marriage is a matter of business or pleasure, which is in some way a questioning of the institution of marriage as it was practiced then. Wilde’s play reflected the conventional views of Victorian society, and the Victorian class system is also parodied effectively. In Victorian England society social position was everything, and the upper class viewed themselves as having virtues unquestionable by the lower classes. In Victorian society appearances were also of paramount importance; this is seen particularly in Gwendolen, when she insists on the correct performance of her marriage proposal above all else. The focus on appearances by the upper class furthered the superior attitude of the upper classes. The gulf between the upper and lower classes is widened because of this, to the detriment of other values such as equality and to the perpetuation of the exploitation of the lower classes. Wollstonecraft had wanted a revolution in female manners; in the play the women portrayed roles that contradicted reality and thus presented a possibility of a change in gender roles. Lady Bracknell had a dominant personality; Gwendolyn and Cecily are shown as relatively headstrong and in charge of themselves, as opposed to the conventional expectations of society; Algernon and Jack are somewhat passive—thereby highlighting the cookie-cutter roles persons were supposed to assume in society. There is also a suggestion of sexuality in the women characters, as evidenced by their flirtatiousness. We are also reminded of Wollstonecraft’s views on education in the play. Lady Bracknell approves of ignorance, explaining that â€Å"The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence†¦ † The upper class, of course, was interested in preserving the existing social structure, which allowed for unequal treatment and subjugation of the lower classes. . This focus on appearances translates to the oppression of those who cannot keep up appearances—that is, the lower classes. Such a focus is seen in Lady Bracknell’s attitude towards Jack, to whom she is kind until she discovers his origins, or when she becomes very king to Cecily when she discovers the Cecily is rich. All in all, the play touches on Wollstonecraft’s primary ideological concerns, and is easily considered a blatant satire of Victorian England society. The play is a vehicle of ideas for social change, much like Wollstonecraft’s works. She would have approved.

Advertising In A Modern World Marketing Essay

Advertising In A Modern World Marketing Essay Advertising in a modern world as today is still considered a very difficult task when the new media channels have reduced the barriers of market penetration and brand knowledge to the consumers. Rather at times the whole concept of launching the brand or a product in the market successfully and sustaining its position through out the times is dependant on how strong does the advertising holds its position in the brains of the consumer. With the amount of products, brands, marketing channels and the ways to inhabit the idea of a new product or the reminder of the old brand to a customer to achieve their sales through advertising is in debate since a long time and most famous among these all is the Strong Versus Weak Theory. Many theorists have argued on the effects of advertising as a Strong or a Weak theory as their center of discussion and among all most prominently the strong debate between by J. P. Jones (1990) and Ethrenberg (1999) is the most popular. The truth as most of the w riter emphasis that the outcome of advertising is untrue and not realistic its success and failure is dependant on the products, the market and the aim of the advertising which makes e every scenario different from the other. As quoted â€Å"Measuring the effectiveness of advertising is much harder than it may seem. To know weather an advertisement is working, you need to first be clear about what it is meant to do. Consumer goods manufacturers take a much simple point of view: that advertising is about creating and then nurturing brands† (The Economist, 1996). The Strong theory argues that the consumer through advertising can be persuaded to switch to a new brand or a product and can create the interest or change of the demands previously engaged, where as the Weak theory argues that the perception or the demand can not be changed but it can be reinforced or â€Å"nudged† to the consumer. There are many other models given which support the argument of Persuasion among which the most important is AIDA – Strong (1925) in addition to the support of the model the theories like Hierarchy of Effects – Lavidge and Steiner (1961) and DAGMAR are always discussed to support the Strong Theory of advertising. Where as, the Weak Theory of advertising purposes its points based on Habits Theory which is supported by the two models given by Ethrenberg (1974, 1997). To understand these arguments it is important to understand the models given in support of the theories and the assumptions given by Persuasion Theory. Persuasion theory assumes that the attitude can be changed through advertising; human beings are always making decisions actively on linear fashion i.e. learn, feel and do. That consumer can be persuaded by giving cues as they are less motivated at times to make active decisions on the information they have. Strong Advertising Likewise AIDA supports the Strong theory as the consumer through advertising is captured or has noticed the prod uct, which later when is interested in the product or the situation would desire would buy the product in resulting as the action. (Strong, 1925). Before that advertising was simply information providing, which maybe true or false or even at time misleading (Turner, 1952).

Internal Analysis of Wall-Mart Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Internal Analysis of Wall-Mart - Case Study Example The paper also details how Wal-Mart can guard against the internal weaknesses and avoid the external threats. Wal-Mart Stores is the number one retail store in the World in volume. The company has more than 7,250 stores," including about 975 discount stores, 2,800 combination discount and grocery stores (Wal-Mart Supercenters in the US and ASDA in the UK), and 590 warehouse stores (SAM'S CLUB)". (Hoovers. Com) The Company is the number one retail store in Canada and Mexico and owns 95 percent stakes in the largest Japanese retailer SEIYU. The company is operating in most parts of Asia, Europe and South America. The company has achieved a Turnover of $ 378,799 million for the fiscal year ended January 2008 employing about 2,100,000 people. In the area of management Wal-Mart has been a committed entity in respect of its responsibilities towards customers as well as communities. The corporate structure of Wal-Mart has three core values of respect for the individual, service to their customers, and striving for excellence. These values have enabled the company achieve the fete of the largest retailer of the world. The marketing strategy in the form of Every Day Low Price (EDLP) strategy has been found to be successful in enhancing the sales growth. The customer oriented approach is one other core value of the company. With ten different divisions of the company available in one place the customer can have a one stop shopping experience which is one of the core strengths of the company. On the financial aspects the company has shown consistent sales and profitability growth during the past years. The company has all its financial ratios indicating its financial strength. The stock price movements are yet another indication of the financial strength of the company. The company has strong and well oriented distribution networks, well equipped and mechanized distribution centers which provide an efficient supply chain management and enormous economies of scale in the operations of the company. The company employs the latest and most sophisticated information and communication technology which enables the company to operate with a clock like precision. Weaknesses The absence of a proper and formal mission statement is the fundamental weakness of the company. The company's mission statement does not provide the necessary definition of their business and does not also provide the direction for the employees. The company has not recognized diversity in the employment with few females in the top management and few minorities. This is a dent in the corporate image of the company. Non-unionization is another weakness of the company. The employees do not have a forum to raise their concerns and hence the employees lack bargaining power. On the marketing side the company has the biggest weakness of continuous expansion. The company has acquired the hatred of many social organizations in smaller towns across United Stated because of the adverse economic impact the company is creating on smaller towns and the trade within these towns. The major complaint in the operation of the store is the increased average time that an

Omega Craft Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Omega Craft - Case Study Example In my opinion the biggest reason for the problems that the company is facing with its kit car division is the lack of research that went into the planning stages of the product development. Manufacturing fiberglass hulls for boats and making fiberglass parts for a car are two entirely different things and Omega Craft made the mistake that many bigger names had made; they didn’t devise a proper product development strategy and did not test market their fiberglass car components. As a result, the lack of research that went into their car components is evident in the low quality of these products. The boats that the company has been manufacturing have been perfected over the years but the kit car components should have been tested sufficiently before their production was started. A very good option for Omega craft would be to employ vertical dis-integration and look to form a virtual corporation. It would result in a number of benefits for the company. Outsourcing parts of the kit car would mean that the company could be able to provide better products at a better price. Locating manufacturers whose specialty is this particular line of products and working with them will result in improving the final product that the company intends to sell to its customer. The company can carry out extensive research and upon deciding the kind of product that they want, they can get it manufactured from another small scale manufacturer, so that it can maximize their economies by specializing. Given that Omega Craft sets rigorous standard production specifications, this arrangement can give their Kit car parts the needed touch of expertise. The costs will also be certainly less if Omega Craft only looks to manage the supply network, market these kit car components and to uptake sales and post sales services while getting the actual products manufactured by someone else. However this arrangement can be problematic as well.  

Business Report for Radisson Hotels and Resorts Case Study

Business Report for Radisson Hotels and Resorts - Case Study Example Additionally, Carlson and SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) are equity holders of the Rezidor Hotel Group (Forbes); thus giving the name "Radisson SAS" outside the United States(Forbes). Moreover, it has established partner networks with more than 20 worldwide airline programs (Radisson SAS) as well as with major financial companies such as American Express, Diners Club, Discover Visa and Mastercard to provide their customers with special offers and promotions (Radisson SAS). Its vision is: "We want to be the most admired company in London and in Manchester"(Radisson Edwardian), while its mission is to provide 100% guest satisfaction (customers are able to report to the company if any dissatisfaction occurs and Radisson will take corrective action or guests are not required to pay that particular service), 100% employment engagement (i.e. full staff empowerment) as well as acquiring a positive cash flow (by keeping every customers and employees satisfied) (Radisson Edwardian). The hotel industry is facing many established competition, such as Four Seasons, Hyatt, Ritz Carlton, Le Meridien, Marriot, etc. Thus to make itself outstanding and unique, providing quality service is a strategic action. Radisson's service guarantee statement should include a promise of providing only the best service, experienced and skilled employees to ensure customer satisfaction. If the company does not fulfill its commitment, hence the business promises to repay for its mistake. It should make it acknowledged by stating it in its business plan, code of conduct, in all of its hotels (in all rooms, at the lobby, etc.), in employee's and franchisee's contract as well as in its media, website, catalogues, brochures, email newsletters, etc; to make all of its employees, customers, franchisees aware of its commitment. Technological advancements have been developing very fast in recent years. Radisson should make use of this enhancement. The business could place a customer survey questionnaire at its website or send them via email. This action will allow the company to analyze and evaluate its customer opinion around the world and thus Radisson will be able to take corrective action to ensure that its commitment of providing 'customer satisfaction' is fulfilled. By having the internet available, the communication process between the company and its customers is enhanced; customers are able to contact Radisson and receive replies from the company more rapidly. This system reduces the possibility of not responding to certain customers and also reduces time delays. In order to guarantee employee and customer satisfaction, monitoring is essential. This can be done by undertaking performance appraisals, where employees fill out a form regarding their performance as well as complaints; with this the company is not only able to know its employees' dissatisfaction but how it has affected its performance. Feedback from performance appraisals will provide information for planning in training, recruitment, selection, development, rewards and separation. Radisson should also perform a grievance procedure (2-way communication system), where employees are able to communicate their complaints and employers are able to reprimand staff for conducting unsatisfactorily performance. The 2-way communication system enables an equality of power, a better relationship

Key Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Key Strategies - Essay Example The simple logic supporting the need for ethical guidelines is that actions in business are the result of decisions by human beings, and human beings tend to seek justification for their actions beyond the rule of value for money. As Hill writes, "top management determines quality priorities, establishes the systems of quality, management and the procedures to be followed, provides resources and leads by example" (Hill 1991, 23). The quality guidelines are crucial to ensure that the service is provided using a consistent process which is described in the quality documents. ISO standards followed by Canbide provide a standard of quality assurance for firms only involved in final inspection and testing of products. Firms using this standard are basically performing the inspection function of the product that would normally be done by the customer when the product is received. For Canbide, Total Quality Management is a strategic approach to quality which permeates the entire organizatio n (Slack 2003). Basic behavioral science principles and practices are the foundation of excellence through quality programs. The rational for these programs is to motivate workers and increase service quality, e.g. providing clear objectives, participation in decision-making and positive feedback on performance, are established principles which have widespread use in different applications. Thus, the development of these programs demonstrates a sensible application of established theories in a relatively new field. Within CERG, quality control during the process should involve the use of control charts, which will be discussed in some detail shortly. The number and location of inspections should reflect both the probability of faults or defectives occurring and the consequences of such occurrences, as well as the cost of conducting inspection. Frequently, technical considerations determine the position and number of inspection operations, but nevertheless, within certain limitations, operations management is usually able to design the inspection procedure (Eboch, 1998). Having looked at the way in which customer relationship management and employee relationship management (ERM) has evolved, it is clear that there is a role assumed by people responsible for projects at various stages of development, connected with business units, as part of defining and producing a project plan. ERM involved in the business to the point at which the project manager and the team take over responsibility for the implementation phases leading to the hand-over of the finished project. Taking into account the nature of CERG, output and process quality control will be integral part of TQM. Inspection of items between operations should be undertaken, not only to ensure that faulty or defective items do not proceed to the subsequent operations, but also in order to predict when the process is likely to produce defective items so that necessary preventive adjustments can be made. Well-defined procedures should be established for the selection

SLP Time Warp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SLP Time Warp - Essay Example Strategic position After analysis of the market performance of the products, recommendations for price changes amongst the three products seems the most viable course of action to be taken. In this line, since the market reflected little wavering on the X5 product, its price needs to be kept constant until a well cut out market trend is observable. The market performance of the X6 reflects a steady performance and market dominance in its category. In this view, an increasing in its market price will be a wise step in maximizing its profits. The market performance of the X7, on the other hand, is not as impressive. In a bid to compete favorably with other market brands, it is in order to price it more competitively. In this regard, I would recommend a price reduction as the most workable strategy (Beverland, Napoli, & Farrelly, 2010). A detailed explanation of the decisions is only able to be explained via an in-depth analysis, at the individual level, of the three new products offere d by the company, the X5, the X6, and the X7. Product X5 The X5 has had three years run in the market and so far exhibits the lowest cost in pricing amongst the three products offered by the business. This reflects a case of plasticity on the side of the product. This translates in minimal interests in the products performance and hence the customers interest. This focuses the strategy not on an increment of the current market price but rather on the exposure and rebranding of the product so at to make it more profitable. While the current market price of $ 250 seems a reasonably fair market price, it is uncompetitive, not due to in affordability, but the reason may lie on its branding or on other factors that control consumer choices (Bivainiene, 2010). Product X6 Since its market debut 2 years back, the market performance of the product X6 has been relatively impressive. The case of the product can be described as being flat metal. Its smooth market performance is not attributable to its price but rather on the overall usefulness and performance as judged by the customers. The relative stability in the market has made the products price be quoted as $420, a figure that can be raised, albeit by a minimal margin, in a bid to maximize the profits attainable via the use of the product. The risks involved in having a large increase in price are that some customers may be willing to compromise on quality if only to have a cheaper, more affordable product irrespective of its performance. As such, any price increment needs to be done discreetly and with enough consideration to the customer if its continued good performance is to be sustained (Slotegraaf & Pauwels, 2008). Product X7 Given that the product is relatively new in the market; its market reviews may not be concrete enough from which to draw conclusive findings. The case for this product can thus be described as colored, in contrast to the plastic case of X5, and the metal case associated with X6. The relat ive immobility of this product in the market is attributable by hesitant customers who opt for better established products of the same caliber. The un-ease that results is not so much a factor of the price but rather based on the anticipated performance of the product in the market in comparison to the other already established products. The initial price, quoted at an approximate $200 serves as an entry price