What is the role of war poetry Essay Example

What is the role of war poetry Essay How has it performed this role through history?Throughout the years war poetry has played a big part in English literature. Any British library will contain piles upon piles of books containing the stories of heroes and fiends of the British people dating right back to before the coming of Christ. But why? What is the reason for so much poetry to be focused on war? War poetry has been used for many reasons within history. Its been used to tell others of the battle, to influence others for the future, to tell the poets ideal of truth. But these roles have differed and evolved through time, partly because of different decorum and because of new technology taking over poetries use in the modern world.To proof this statement I will be analyzing 4 different war time poems from different parts of British history. To start with Ill look at the 1st World War poem My Boy Jack By Rudyard Kipling then work back towards one of the earliest forms of British war poetry, the Anglo-Saxons.Rudyard Ki pling was one of the most popular writers in English literate, his life and works within the late 19th and early 20th century. When the great war came about he was already in his late 40s and a very strong patriot, and using his influence as an acclaimed writer and journalist he put forward his ideals of nobility and honor to the British public. He also used his contacts from high up in the government and army to get his son John into the Irish guards. John had very bad eyesight and had been refused from fighting times before, because he would be a liability to himself and others if he lost his glasses. Sadly John was one of the many to die in battle. After this devastating tragedy in his life, Kiplings writing changed dramatically.My Boy Jack was written in 1916, its about Kipling coming to terms with the death of his only son and the part he played in it, the guilt he felt.My Boy Jack by Rudyard Kipling:HAVE you news of my boy Jack?Not this tide.When dyou think that hell come back ?Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.Has any one else had word of him?Not this tide.For what is sunk will hardly swim,Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?None this tide,Nor any tide,Except he did not shame his kind-Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.Then hold your head up all the more,This tide,And every tide;Because he was the son you bore,And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!I feel that out of all the poems Im going to look at, this one is the most personal, being used to express Kiplings deep emotional feelings about the loss and pain war gives you. But even though Kiplings has been through the loss of a child, he still is a patriot towards the war. I feel that part of kipling stayed a patriot because he wanted a reason for Johns death, he must have something to cling on to. gave to that wind blowing and that tide! he still believes that it was a sacrifice that had to be made, for England. For a future of freedom. U sing tides and the elements to show a time moving on adds the ideal of something growing or healing, something thats eternal and immortal, which in turn changes the poems atmosphere, almost makes it nobler in the readers eyes.The ideal of immortally is a big role in war poetry. The ideal of men fighting and dieing for the people back home and there country is a big motivation for soldiers. But the ideal of living forever as a hero to people is something that is not as easily achieved, but probably craved for more. Its that glory and nobility factor that has been used and abused by many war leaders throughout history. Being still at war when the poem was written and facing two more years to fight with, I feel that Kipling will have wanted to give something to the public, to give some hope, some reassurance that there sons and husbands and brothers and fathers werent dieing for nothing, that they would live forever and be glorified in good peoples eyes. As his son was in his.But it co uld also have an undercurrent to this meaning, Kipling was comforting the bereaved by pointing out the soldiers heroism, but by doing this he was persuading other men to go out and fight. To go and earn there share of the glory by getting themselves blown up for King and Country. except he did not shame his kind his son did what he had to do, he did his duty to his country and has been immortalized for it, now what have you done? Thats what I feel Kipling is saying with this quote. Hes trying to persuade others to do the right thing. To be like jack, to be the perfect British hero.Its a very clever use of guilt. By saying that if you didnt fight you were shaming not just yourself, not just Britain, but your kind. You would be lower than the enemy because you werent doing your duty, and duty in those days meant everything. Its one of the main factors of British war history, the way we lived. In any wartime situation duty became the main reason to be born; you were placed on this eart h to do your duty. If you didnt you were the lowest of the low. This sense of duty arises in all of the British poems Im looking at.Duty is in all of the poems Im looking at, but each in different doses and ways, with different angles on duty. This is particularly noticeable in the next war poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade by Lord Alford Tennyson. The Charge of the Light Brigade was a terrible mistaken cavalry charge on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. A light brigade of 600 horse and men charged at a heavily armed enemy camp, around 100 men survived. When this news was relied to Britain, Lord Tennyson responded with composing this famous poem of the bravely of the men and the idiocy of the order.As I stated before, a lot of war poetry is about duty, especially British war poetry and the charge of the light brigade is no exception. This is shown best in the second stanza:Forward, the Light Brigade!Was there a man dismayd?Not tho the soldier knewSomeone had blunderd:Theirs no t to make reply,Theirs not to reason why,Theirs but to do and die:Into the valley of DeathRode the six hundred.There duty was to do and die as Tennyson puts it. The charge was a great mistake of British war history, and a terminal one for a lot of men. And Tennyson portrays them as true British lions. They didnt question the order, they didnt complain or argues. They did what they were told, they did there duty and in writing of this perilous act Tennyson has also immortalized these brave men. He has turned them into heroes, Boldly they rode and well these men werent just the victims of somebodys mistake; they were true soldiers to Tennyson! They had the courage to face such a terror, and they were also good at what they did, well trained if not well guided.This attitude of Tennyson is also an indicator of the Victorians own attitude to war. When the Crimean War was fighting, Queen Victoria was in her final years on the throne. As I mentioned before, Britains have a unique demeanor and resiliences to war, you must do your duty and play your part and get on with things. Follow the crown and the nation in defending our blessed isles, so though Tennyson gives us a rather bad picture of the order itself, which it was in no doubt a fatal and terrible mistake, he portrays the soldiers as heroes, as the true British citizen. This is also a main role in the poem My Boy Jack. One of the main roles in war poetry it seems.But Tennysons poem also immortalizes the men who died for theyre country and this is also a main role in most war poetry. As over 450 men died in the charge, and not making a lot of difference in the situation on the war, there sacrifice seems minuscule when we look back on it today. Of course when they joined the army and the war they would have done it and planned to make a difference, to help defend and fight for Britain. But sadly they didnt achieve this at all with this one attack, there charge of the light brigade was more of a sacrifice then an a ssault on enemy forces. So if Tennyson had not written this poem, then the charge of the light brigade would probably just be a little mishap in British warfare.The authorities might have tried to covered it up, seeing as it is a shameful and unclean portray of the British army commands. But Tennyson changed all this by noting down his thoughts and view for the future to behold, he set down the truth as he saw it of this event and by doing this he made history, he immortalized the men and theyre courage and deaths in the poem, into the literary world he made them almost divine with there bravely and fearlessness. This is something a lot of war poetry does, and has done for years. It is a main role in war poetry to immortalize the poets heroes and there deeds. And the Charge of the light brigade also shows Tennysons own view on the truth, he hears of this mistake from the caverle and finds it repusive that so many brave men died for nothing, this role is evedent wihtin Tennysons poem through the laugage he use. Honour the light brigade, Nobel 600!.The next poem, however, is rather different to the others. Its a retelling of the Battle of Agincourt 1415, but written nearly 200 years after the event itself by the greatest playwright of all time, William Shakespeare, in his adaptation on King Henry V life. The poem is really a speech made by Henry just before the English battle against the French. At the time the soldiers are fighting to get home from battling and capturing many north-French cities but are blocked by an overwhelming army of fit and strong French soldiers, while Henrys men are depleted in numbers and exhausted. The speech is all about fighting for your country and for the brother next to you; its used really to boost the means morale as they turn to face what seems as an impenetrable force.To do this Henry speaks of pride and honor bestowed upon them as gifts for there bravery and, for a lot of them, there lives.But if it be a sin to covet honour,I am the most offending soul alive.He makes it sound as if they will be honored and given an almost divine status if they fight with him, whether they die or survive. So already the roles of war poetry has changed in different priority, it isnt so much our duty to do this, you may not have been born for this but you will be honored for it, you will be rewarded for giving your life to the King. This change may well be an indicator of the different attitude and decorum in that time (but being a fictional retelling it reflects upon the Elizabethan view) when Britain were at war with the catholic country of Spain and the had a very hostile attitude from France as France is and are a catholic country. Elizabeths foreign policy then was aggressive and defending, so at this time when an Elizabethan went to see a play they wanted to see victorious Englishmen and Kings against the evil Catholics, Spain and France in particular. And so Shakespeares writing reflects this need and creates for us this perfect scene of they low and despicable French soldiers against the powerful and noble English in a victorious and awe-inspiring battle for Britain and Home.But not only is Henry seen as a noble and brave man in such circumstance but also as a powerful fighter, a strong figure for the Elizabethan people to latch onto and idolize in the dreary circumstance at that moment in time. Henry is a man how would rather run than fight, telling them to go if they see themselves so low to do so, he is the hero in the story and he also pressures and persuades the men to fight by demanding all the cowards to run now, just like Kipling did in My Boy Jack. He that hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart using the phrase stomach to fight really emphasizes how cowardly those few would be if they ran. Hes playing really with the mens own manhood and pride. Which was also a ploy used in Kiplings My Boy Jack and in a lot of war poetry on the whole.The last poem Ill be looking at is from on of the earliest forms of Poems itself. The Battle of Maldon is the only war poem Ive looked at that was a genuine account of a battle, this is because the poet was actually writing the poem while the battle was raging. This is how the Angelo-Saxons would relay news, like our newspapers and news night we have today. It was also used for warriors, who would hire poets to come and write about their deeds (and in some causes there heroic death) so that there brave doings and courageous death could be retold again and again by others, thus making the warrior immortal in history.This has been a main role for all of the other poems, so the idea of immortalizing soldiers and fighters who die in war has been used since before Christ. Evidence for this in The Battle of Maldon is when the poet is writing about the King, Byrhtnoth.Can you hear seamen, what we say on our side?Indeed weve something to send you spearsdeadly darts and durable swords,Byrhtnoths speech (of which the quote above come s from) is defiant, mighty and has a strong sense of for our people and country for example, Keep this country safe Describing their action as defensive and not attacking shows a noble view of Byrhtnoth, the reader gains this from the single word safe, the king and his army are protecting the helpless. The poets meaning for this is to show Byrhtnoth as this Nobel but Fair King, he is not the one attacking, he never asked or provoked the invaders to attack there peaceful home. Hes only fighting for the people and for his own honor. Such a heroic display of a model and powerful king is just what is found in Henry Vs grand speech.In both instances the reason behind the gallant folly of words is to raise moral, and as both poems are used to entertain (as war poems in Angelo-Saxon time were used as entertainment and Henry V is a play) they would also have been used to raise the heart and souls of others who read, saw or hear them too, making these historic facts and people into unfading immortals within the realms of human literature. This is one of the reasons for war poetry and has had a main role to play in all of the poems Ive looked at.Another role of war poetry is to flaunt the poets country as being truly amazing, with strong moral duty and brave men. (This role changes slightly in Tennysons poem, he does show British men as brave and noble, but doesnt support the actual government, or higher archly that controls the solders) this particular role is a main feature within The Battle of Maldon perceiving the Angelo-Saxons as mighty and strong Warriors protecting the innocent against the evil and foul Viking invaders. The reader can perceive this from the descriptive language used for the enemy.For example the Vikings speech includes lots of s sounds send quickly sliver for safety this prolonged sound in the line provides an image of a slippery and slimy tongue an s sound is also the sound associated with snakes, which adds to the characters slimy voice. This contrast in language between the invaders or enemy and the fighters or protectors shows the poets proud feelings for their people and king. Even though the Angelo-Saxons lost to the ruthless Vikings they came over as the true heroes in The Battle of Maldon against Blood-wolves (a kenning used to describe the invaders) making it seem that the Angelo-Saxons fought bravely against ruthless savages. A role that has been replayed and retold in many different types of war poetry- that the poets country is really the best whether they won or lost.So the role of war poetry has been an ever-changing and constant thing, its been used for countless reasons from every nation in the world since before Christ. Having looked into the meanings of the poetry above and what roles they played I was surprised by how the poets pen can be so powerful to people. How they have played there part in history to tell us the truth, or the facts or simply what they saw.

The Best Ways to Soothe Hot Pepper Burning

The Best Ways to Soothe Hot Pepper Burning Hot peppers can add a kick to spicy foods, but if you get it on your hands or in your eyes or eat one thats just too hot, you should know how to take away the burn. Why Hot Peppers Burn In order to soothe the burn of a hot pepper, it helps to understand why it feels hot. The sensation of heat comes from capsaicin, the active compound in hot peppers, binding to the sensory receptors in your mouth or skin that detect heat. These neurons fire off a painful warning when they detect a temperature hot enough to harm tissue. Your body reacts to capsaicin the same as it would to a high temperature, even though no actual heat is present. To stop the burn, you have to remove the capsaicin from the binding site or dilute it so the sensation isnt as intense. How to Make Hot Peppers Stop Burning The key is to either absorb the capsaicin or dissolve it. If you have hot peppers on your hands, youll just spread it around if you try to rinse it with water. You can remove capsaicin by wiping it away using vegetable oil or butter or you can use dishwashing soap to lift it off the skin. Rinsing your hands in dilute bleach solution also helps. Any food that acts like a sponge due to sheer bulk will help absorb the heat and mellow it. You can dissolve capsaicin in alcohol, but it cant be too diluted. A shot of tequila might help, while a sip from a margarita would be pointless. Food thats high in oil or fat dissolves the capsaicin, so it cant continue to bind heat receptors. Your best bet? Full fat sour cream or ice cream. Dairy (sour cream, milk, cheese, ice cream): The fat helps dissolve the capsaicin.Oil or oily foods: If you can stand it, swish oil around in your mouth and spit it out to clear the burn. For a tastier option eat a spoonful of peanut butter or honey.Acidic food: Acidic foods, like lemons, limes, and tomatoes, help to neutralize some of the activity of alkaline capsaicinoids.Bulky food, like chips, rice or bread: Starchy foods act like sponges, soaking up excess capsaicin. These foods wont cool the burn, but theyll keep it from getting worse over time.Sugar: The Scoville scale, used to measure the heat of a pepper, was based on how much sugar water it takes to dilute a pepper to where it doesnt burn. How to Make It Even Worse If youve eaten a spicy pepper and you think the heat is unbearable, depending on what you eat or drink to soothe the burn you can make it a lot worse! Foods that are mostly water just spread the capsaicin around, sort of like an oil spill on water. Even if your food or drink is icy cold, it wont help the problem. Liquids that will only make the burn worse include water, beer, coffee, and soda. The alcohol in beer or wine wont dissolve the capsaicin, but if you ingest enough alcohol, the burn from hot peppers wont be as uncomfortable. Thats simply intoxication dulling your senses and not any reaction with the hot pepper.

Social Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Social Performance - Essay Example People in the same set of business ventures rarely come together not for merriment and diversion but for scheme against the public (Paul and Elder, 2006). Briefly describe your company and then benchmark the codes of conduct used by similar companies in the industry. Critique the codes of conduct of at least three (3) similar companies in order to write codes for your company. Bp is a company that specializes in the installation of solar powered streetlights contracted in the lighting of streets due to the increased insecurity resulting from poor lighting in most areas. Valmont industries specializes in producing lighting materials and according to Mogens Bay, ethics is the driver of an organization. The company tries to embrace a family mode of operation in the industry where each one in the organization treats as an equal. Ethics is how you treat your fellow employees and not only making decisions ethically (Bay). Employees need to be treated with compassion but the compassion has to be limited to achieve the set goals, as some duties need an override of ethics for them to be achieved. Advanced lighting technologies observe the importance and significance of ethics within its corporate governance program. Rules regarding persons and peer responsibility embody the ethics code as well as their responsibilities to the company, stakeholders, and public. The company requires individuals to demonstrate honest at all times by avoiding personal or professional conflicts. Provision of accurate, complete, relevant, and timely information to the constituents (public, stakeholders) is a requirement. A company should preserve some information from the eyes of the public and competitors, as an insight to every happening in the company is critical to the growth and achievement of its set goals. The company requires all its employees to comply with rules and regulations of the land (federal, state, provincial, and local government). General Electronics embraces ethics

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) - Essay Example While in college, they found that the inefficiencies of the existing infrastructure led to great difficulties in being compatible with the numerous mail clients in operation and served to go from there. They took their idea with them when left the campus and Cisco Systems was born. Cisco grew rapidly and to cater to the company and product information distribution, launched an official website in 1991. It had a 50% share of the networking market and struggled to keep up with the calls it was receiving. By 1993, Cisco boasted a growth of an astounding 270%, but its IT department was sorely lacking to cope with a half billion-dollar company growing by 50% each year. The initial budget was for funding IT was 0.75% of sales and this was inadequate. CIO Pete Slovik and Senior Executive, Doug Allred, brought a revolutionary concept that entailed that the IT spending was linked to the business units that in turn necessitated close alignment to the company goals. Cisco's internal network would play a strategic role in providing the connectivity needed for the business units to build applications creatively. This new concept signified that a major upgrade to the existing infrastructure was needed if Cisco managers were to meet the customer satisfaction goals. Because it was a major decision that would cost millions, cash-strapped Cisco will find it quite complex. In 1994, Cisco's systems broke down unable to cope and Cisco was forced to close down for two days. There were other several minor troubles on the way. The Solution The board went ahead and approved the proposal for a $15 million Oracle ERP system. This would entail a 2.5 percent of the 1993 revenues, thrice the IT budget of the previous year. The total cost of completing the ERP was $100million. It is not an overstatement to say that the Oracle ERP system became the backbone of the Cisco E-Business. It unified all of the Unix Servers and became a source of centralized information. (Complete case study details available from website ). Why ERP Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a system that integrates a number of the back office functions of planning, manufacture, distribution, accounting and human resources etc. into a single system ERP is a method of serving each individualized department with minimal redundancies and hence has several customized software applications integrated by a single interface. Being vast and comprehensive, an ERP implementation can cost millions of dollars to create, and may take several years to complete. The advantages of the ERP system when properly implemented are tremendous. The integration of information of the departments allows easy sharing of information. Typical Benefits would include reductions in inventory, material costs, and labor and overhead costs, as well as improvements in customer service and sales, improved customer service and sales and improved accounting controls. It can speed up the manufacturing process by automating processes and workflow, and as a result, it reduces the need to carry large inventories. If implemented properly it will provide the company a major advantage in the competitive market. Contributing Factors to Successful

Why Do Good Guys Finish Last and Good Girls Like Bad Boys Research Paper

Why Do Good Guys Finish Last and Good Girls Like Bad Boys - Research Paper Example The Dark Triad personality is a highly visible, extroverted, charismatic, and antisocial personality that preys on normal people to feed their egotistical imbalances. This creates maladaptive relationships that cause great emotional pain and suffering long after the relationship is ended. Dark Triad personalities are particularly drawn to co-dependent personalities that take care of them and feed their egos. What the media glorifies as the most desirable type of partner is, in reality, a dysfunctional one. Healthy relationships that are emotionally fulfilling and long lasting depend on them being composed of healthy partners; not dysfunctional ones. Why Do Good Guys Finish Last and Good Girls Like Bad Boys It always seems like the good guys finish last and the good girls like the bad boys; why is that? Throughout history there are so many accounts of relationships where one was destructive and the other was nearly sainted. It’s often said that opposites attract, yet how is it that those opposites also nearly destroy each other in the relationship process? The dating process is aimed at bringing compatible people together, yet what often happens is that compatibility is based on something other than normal relations. The fact that good guys finish last is largely due to the fact that good girls like bad boys. What’s the attraction? What makes a nice girl choose someone who either cheats on her or hurts her in one way or another? Why do so many women put up with that? It almost seems like a nice guy can’t win. There is a term, the Dark Triad of Personality, (Paulhus, Williams, & Hare, 2002) that was created in the late 20th century to describe a group of three distinctly different, yet related personality traits Machiavellianism, narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy. All three are exploitative, short-term and socially negative. People with this personality triad are very attractive, charismatic people who, for some reason, never seem to la ck for either excitement, or someone to share it with. They are people who view the world in terms of how it benefits them, favoring immediate gratification over the sacrifice of waiting for long term gains. This relationship personality is described as having an arrogant and deceitful interpersonal style, deficient affective experience, and, impulsive and irresponsible behavioral style. (Jonason, Kavanaugh, 2010) Individuals who have the Dark Triad personality prefer a short-term style of relating; they keep people at an emotional distance through game playing and cerebral approach to personal relationships. The game playing approach is what is known as ludus; these relationships are marked by high turn over of partners; a cat and mouse kind of game. The pragma approach is a cerebral style where relationships are mind or head oriented instead of involving the heart. People in these kinds of relationships have limited abilities to show empathy; their emotional systems don’t p rocess the flow of the relationship. These relationships are superficial, often practical, and usually based on eros as opposed to agape. They are not long lasting, fulfilling relationships, just a means to an end. There is very little closeness, selflessness, or intimacy. It is thought these individuals experienced little empathy and caring, as well as having inconsistent early childhood interactions with caregivers. Twin studies have shown moderate-to-large inherited traits for both narcissism and psychopathy, and a smaller genetic influence on Machiavellianism; largely due to environmental factors. (Jonason & Kavanaugh, 2010) Numerous researchers have agreed that there are five common personality indicators through which all personalities can be described; they

Evaluation Of The One Sony Strategy

Evaluation Of The One Sony Strategy The following report contains about the Sony Corporations new strategy implementation called One Sony which is a new structure for the top management of the company where the company is making changes to drive revitalisation and growth. The report further discuss about the extent to which the strategy fits the Sony Corporations current capabilities to face external challenges and achieve the objectives. In addition to that, the suitability and the feasibility of the strategic decisions arising from the implementation of this strategy are also discussed. In order to do the above the report is guided through three stages which is analysis of strategic position internally and externally which is the research content, strategic choices and decisions by applying relevant theories and implementation of the strategy. Finally considering all of the above a critical opinion or a perspective will be made with relevant justifications and in respect to the Sony Corporation. Analysis of strategic position In order to identify the external environment in which Sony operates a PEST analysis could be done which will be as follows; When the political aspects are looked in to it is evident that they are changing at all times. The government has the power as stated in Henry (2008) to impact the operations of Sony through changes in policies and regulations. On the other hand better sales could be achieved by Sony due to the reduction in liquidity crisis and recession. But by doing so the number of competitors Sony has will increase significantly. In addition to that, the government can create laws which will have an impact on policies in the global context. When economy is considered it is currently not is a good position where it has faced recession recently and has a negative economic growth. Due to this there can be significant changes in the exchange rates and interest rates. Sony should make sure that they are aware of any government restrictions on trading and exchange rates as Sony is an international company where these restrictions would affect Sony negatively. As for the social factors Sony is expected to perform well. That is because of the reputation they have obtained through their quality products and services as per William and Green (1997). Sony should make sure that they develop revolutionary devices at regular intervals to retain and hold on the customer and may be attract new customers. It is also important to understand the perspectives of the public where they can introduce products which match the expectations of their customers. Towards technological aspect Sony Corporation should put more attention as they work in that industry with high technological usage. The productivity level of the company depends on the level of technology used. Therefore Sony should make sure that they use upgraded technology to have high level of productivity and to be efficient. Use of technology is also important to Sony Corporation to research and develop new products which matches the expectations and choices of the customers. Next would be to identify the internal environmental factors which should be considered when developing a strategy for Sony according to Drejer (2002). Prahalad and Hamel core competencies model and Michael Porters value chain could be used to do the analysis as follows; Sony has created a reputation and a brand name which has a high recognition in the technological industry. But at present they are having a hard time which is why they are coming up with a new strategy call Sony One. The strategies implemented by Sony previously are outside in as well as inside out. Out of these one was to develop mini-series of their products in order to grow their core competencies where they require high level of technology, human resources such as engineers and marketers. In addition to that the customer needs should also be looked in to through market research for the success of a strategy. Sony had required all the resources which allowed them to be success in almost all the strategies they implemented. But the uniqueness of these resources or competencies as stated in Enders (2004) is questionable. Sony also had an aim of manufacturing customer oriented products which they believed will help the company to increase the competitive advantage and will also create more value adding activities. Sony also implemented a strategy of diversification which is to add value to the processes of the organisation. Also taking risks and learning from mistakes is one of the unique factors done by Sony which is also an advantage. After both the internal and external analysis is done the internal strengths and weaknesses as well as the external threats and opportunities need to be identified for the SWOT analysis to be completed. The strengths as recognised above are the fact that Sony is trying out unique strategies as per Hitt et al. (2010) such as miniature products as they are available to the required technology and engineering. Sony being diversified is also unique to the organisation which creates core competencies. In addition to that, taking risks when introducing new products and making mistakes, moreover learning from these mistakes without breaking down the operations is another major strength which is unique only to the Sony Corporation. As for the weaknesses it would be a fact that the resources such as technological staff, engineers and marketers are not being unique to Sony in the todays technological industry. Sony not being able to differentiate the level of skills required within the organisation is a weakness which would affect the company in the years to come. One reason would be the technology being outdate very quickly at present and the industry being very competitive. The opportunities that are arising from the industry would be corporate political activities with the government where Sony operates which will give the support of the government policies in favour of the operations that is being carried out. In addition to that, identification of new customer groups and new customer expectations through the customer oriented strategy as per Beloff et al. (2005) and delivering products which matches those choices would allow Sony to exploit opportunities arising from the external environment. Lastly the threats that are arising from the external environment could be identified. The fact that the industry in which Sony is operating is being innovative and fast moving is making the company to adapt to the situations and move forward with a lesser time. Companies like Apple and Samsung is creating a rivalry where technology is becoming outdated almost every day. Moreover, the rival companies are introducing new products to market with lesser lead time which increase the threat arising towards Sony. Strategic choices and decisions The development of strategic choices is a critical stage for Sony where they need identify their capabilities, resources and requirements as per Johns and Saks (2004). There are three main focus areas under this stage. Deciding how Sony could achieve competitive advantage Identifying possible directions through which Sony would enter a market and the types of products and market it should enter or leave Deciding in methods of growth with in the market Deciding on the basis of competitive advantage When deciding how Sony Corporation could compete in a market or create a basis for the customers to want to buy their products the following options are visible as stated in Daft et al. (2010). These are also known as Michael Porters generic strategies. Be a low cost provider of goods and services or in other words providing products at a budget price. This is not suitable for Sony as they require high research and development cost to come up with new products where selling at a lower price would be difficult. Being a high value adding market player or a differentiator is another option. According to this type of a choice Sony can build in a higher level of value in the products or devices they offer by the company. Following a focused strategy is another option. A choice made by Sony Corporation to provide a device targeting a smaller number of customers, such as coming up with a special edition of an existing product. Strategic Direction This is where the Sony Corporation decides how it would grow in to the future entering different markets and using its strengths. When deciding on strategic directions available for the organisation the Ansoff matrix can be used according to Ewy (2009). The matrix identifies growth possibilities for Sony based on the dimensions of markets and products. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRNl9NRCL0WZfnVK7yWkz0OEixD2deORZTUYpgw0yT5pXCXbKf0vwCX9mFUsqozRuHFVJAKuTariu7h128vlot4SWw591Mzfve73PCIrZZELz6B65LnjLC7HSUJMMnyHZP0qPGrgcUmQ/s320/Ansoff+Matrix.jpg Figure 1.1: Ansoff Matrix [Source:http://www.marketing-equity.com/2011/09/few-examples-of-ansoff-matrix.html ] Market Penetration: This is where the company would grow internally into existing markets by aggressively promoting its existing devices and products with in them. Sony could promote their Sony Xperia with in the UK market. Product development: This is where the company would develop new products for the existing markets and generates more sales from them. Sony could develop new models of Sony Xperia to sell in the UK market. Market development: This is where the company would develop new markets for its existing products such as Sony Xperia being launched in China Diversification: This is where the company would enter a completely new market according to Freeman (2010) with a completely new product or a device. Sony entering in to the Laptop market where it provided Sony Vaio would be diversification. Strategic methods With the selected growth directions the Sony Corporation can use many different methods in order to grow and achieve their goals. Internal development: This is where Sony growing through its own resources where the case of Sony Vaio appeared according to Mahadevan (2009) Takeovers or acquisitions: The Sony Corporation might buy over another company and use its products and technologies for growth. Sony taking over Colombia pictures is a perfect example Strategic alliances: Sony Corporation would grow by linking and partnering with other organisations. Franchises also fall under this category. Sony forming an alliance with Olympus would be an example here Out of the choices that were generated the organisation should pick one or more options based on the SAF model which is the strategic decision making Suitability: Selected growth directions and methods should match with the Sony Corporations brand image and reputation Acceptable: Selected options should be approved by the shareholders and be in line with their thinking and expectations Feasibility: Strategic choices that were selected should be financially viable for the company. As the above stated methods the strategic options will be generated according to Vos (2004) and chosen in order to implement the most correct strategic option or options. Implementation Putting strategy in to action Before a strategy is being implemented Sony should understand the culture of the organisation, the management as well as the leadership styles. McKinsey 7S Framework 7S model Figure 1.2: Mckinsey 7S model [Source: http://b4tea.com/information/mckinsey-7s-framework-7s-model/] The 7S model developed by the Mckinsey consulting group identifies seven different elements that lie at the heart of a culture of the organisation. Hard Factors These refers to non-human type of elements as stated in Egan (2007) which has an impact on culture Strategy: The direction followed by Sony in order to achieve the goals and targets of the business as explained above Structure: The organisations structure or how the lines on authority are arranged with in the company, how decisions are made and whether the communication channels between top and bottom levels are long or short will affect the culture Systems: The level of control that exists within the company such as the budgeting and management accounting controls as well as controls on processes will have an impact on the culture of Sony Soft Factors These are more of human related factors that affect the culture of Sony Skills: The talent and abilities of people and whether all staff members have equal levels of skill as per Cole (2001) or a few members have a high level of skill on whom the others will depend decides on the nature of the culture Staff: The nature of the attitude of staff members as well as their individual cultures will have an impact in the overall organisation Style: The style of management by the superiors will have a direct impact on the culture of the organisation. Leadership style Sonys co-founder Akio Morita was following was based upon the values, imaginations and beliefs of his which is now being changed by the new strategy One Sony Share Values: Organisations will have a common set of values and beliefs which are followed by all the employees and is given top priority when Sony does it operations After considering the above factors and understanding them the implementation of the strategy will be successful. In addition to that, understanding of the leadership style with in Sony is also important. For that, the Likert four systems of management which identifies four leadership styles as stated in Harrison and John (2009) ranging from the extremes of being job centred and employee centred can be used. figure Figure 1.3: Likert four systems of management [Source: https://www.ncjrs.gov/policing/corr177.htm] Exploitative Authoritative: This is where as stated in Waters (2006) the leaders are highly exploiting the lower individuals and there is a very high distance between higher level and lower level individuals Benevolent or Somewhat Authoritative: There would be still a high distance between the higher level and the lower level management, but the leaders will be believe in that they are acting in the interest of the rest of the individuals with in the Sony Corporation Consultative: This is a more employee centred approach where by the leader would be listening to others but will not always follow their comment or ideas Participative: This is where the leader will get the others involved as well and the final decision that is made is one that everyone agrees with and no single handily made by the leader. This is the most extreme employee centred leadership approach according to Daft and Marcic (2010) Once strategies have been planned and choices made also understanding the culture and leadership styles it needs to be implemented through a series of programs. Tactical programs: Programs run at a middle management level such as training programs Operational programs: This refers to the daily activities happening with in an organisation with a focus of realising the company strategy The Sony Corporation should now select one out of the two above to implement the strategy of One Sony by considering the culture of the organisation and the management styles. Review and control is also required as stated in Grunig and Gaggl (2011) where the organisation would check if the strategic path implemented is correct one by looking into following aspects; Is the strategy allowing the achievement of the objectives stated initially Since the consumer electronics environment keeps changing dynamically and strategy implementation is based on an environmental scan done earlier it should be checked if current strategies match the environment Conclusion The above report contains about the Sony Corporations new strategy implementation called One Sony which is a new structure for the top management of the company where the company is making changes to drive revitalisation and growth. The report further contains about the extent to which the strategy fits the Sony Corporations current capabilities to face external challenges and achieve the objectives through PEST, core competencies and SWOT analysis. In addition to that, the suitability and the feasibility of the strategic decisions arising from the implementation of this strategy are also included with reference to the SAF model. The report is guided through three stages which is analysis of strategic position internally and externally which is the research content, strategic choices and decisions by applying relevant theories and implementation of the strategy where theoretical as well as practical aspects has been applied. Finally considering all of the above it is clear that the strategy implementation of One Sony is dependent on the above stated factors and because of that the implementation is successful.

Interracial Relationships Essay -- essays research papers

Racism is a national epidemic. Racial equality and civil rights reach across societal boundaries to protect everyones individuality. Although our nation is based on equality, racism persists and creates numerous societal problems. One increasing problem facing America under the guise of racism is the topic of interracial relationships. In 1960 there were about 150,000 interracial marriages compared with 1.5 million in 1990(IIA). Being a part of an interracial relationship in our racist society can be very difficult. There are many reasons for this. I wont try to explain all of them. That would take forever because everyone is different. Here are some of the main reasons why it is so hard to pursue an interracial relationship and some suggestions that may help someone overcome the hardships of interracial relationships. The media has led society to believe that Black and White relationships are not acceptable. Almost everywhere there are abstract messages against interracial relationships. For example, television shows. Almost all of the families in these shows are racially separated. To name just a few of the "Black" family shows, we have The Cosby Show, Martin, Family Matters, and The Fresh Price of Bell Air. Some of the more "White" shows are Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, Home Improvement, and Married With Children. For the most part these shows don't cast roles for couples to have interracial relationships. Television and the media have been putting ideas about race into our head for years, and only when we analyze this fact do we realize just how much television manipulates our perception of what is acceptable to society concerning race. Society also plays a role in discouraging interracial relationships. Society I believe plays the largest role when it comes to problems with interracial relationships. It's human nature to want to feel accepted, but having an interracial relationship in today's society can make people feel awkward or unaccepted. For example: If you have a child who is half-black and half-White he or she may be ridiculed by other children. He or she m... ...ation by experience you should communicate with them and ask them how they would feel if they were in your shoes. They may start to see it your way after close consideration. One way to help a parent to overcome his or her grief over a son or daughter being involved in an interracial relationship is by reasoning with them. It should be explained to them that it is by ones free choice the relationship started and is continuing. Even though many parents hold their same views, they should know that times have changed since they were young. Every problem relating to interracial relationships requires special attention because of the delicacy of feelings involved in each case. Considering that not all parents are as receptive as others are, one must handle each conversation pertaining to this subject very carefully. Some people may experience some or all the problems listed above. One certainty is that not all of the solutions will work for everyone. It is human nature to want to belong to ones own kind of people, but it is also an obligation on every ones part to educate our young ones so that one day we may end the fear of interracial relationships.