Of Mice and Men - Importance of Dreams Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Importance of Dreams Essay Dreams are an ingrained part of our lives, and those who strive to achieve them show extraordinary devotion and resolve. The allure of a brighter future, of a better life, can both benefit and harm, as John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men illustrates. Living in a time of pain and loss, the characters in the novella cling to their dreams. However, these dreams are beyond attainment, of no importance for accomplishment, and bring them nothing but regret. This essay will demonstrate how hopes and dreams are unimportant for success and happiness, as they are unachievable and bring only pain. Firstly, the pursuit of dreams is futile, as they cannot be achieved. The dream that the two protagonists, George and Lennie, harbour recurs throughout the novel. Their dream is to one day own their own property and to become self-sufficient, and the realization of this dream becomes more likely as the novel nears its climax. However, the dream shatters with the death of Lennie, devastating George, as George cannot envisage the dream without Lennie. The dreams of the other characters, such as Candy and Crooks, are also shown to be beyond realization. Candy, knowing that he is soon to outlive his usefulness, hopes that he can come and live with George and Lennie and to have the freedom to work or rest as he pleases. However, this also is broken when Lennie dies. The black stable-hand Crooks is the only character that clearly understands the futility of dreams. I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an on the ranches. . . every damn one of ems got a little piece of land in his head. An never a God damn one of em ever gets it. Just like heaven Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.(Crooks, Chapter 4) Crooks dreams of being equal to the other workers, but he understands that he is not considered equal. He briefly joins the dream that George and Lennie have, but withdraws his offer to help on the farm when he accepts that dreams are not possible: the freedom and happiness that they wish for is not found in the world they live in. The impossibility of achieving dreams makes them unimportant; they remain unfulfilled, leaving the holder with nothing. Secondly, when unfulfilled, dreams cause regret and misery. The unfulfilled dream of Curleys wifes has left her discontent, and she lives a lonely life with her inattentive husband. Her dream was to escape from her oppressive mother and become an actor. A show come through, an I met one of the actors. He says I could go with the show. But my ol lady wouldn let meIf Id went, I wouldnt be livin like this, you bet.' (Curleys wife, Chapter 5) Because of her mother, Curleys wife was never able to achieve her dream, just like the other characters, leaving her only with the knowledge that she could have had a better life. Her attitude and manner around the ranch evidences this. Her bitterness and attempts to draw attention from the other men, simply so she can have some companionship, are clear indicators of her dissatisfaction and loneliness. Curleys wife is an example of dreams leaving the holder with regret when unfulfilled, and of how they are not important for success. Lastly, without dreams, people can still be successful and satisfied. The ranchs skinner, Slim, is described as a highly skilled and content man, and as the prince of the ranch. He moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty and master craftsmen his authority was so great that his word was taken on any subject, be it politics or love. (Chapter 2, Of Mice and Men) However, while the other characters have dreams, Slim appears to have none. He never mentions any of his own, but rather supports others with theirs. It is demonstrated that he does not want anything outside of what he has, and that he has not created any plans. Whether it is because he, like Crooks, understands the futility of dreams, or because he is simply satisfied with his place in life, Slim does not possess them, and despite of this, he has the highest status among the workers. He stands as the primary example of how dreams are not required for somebody to be successful. In conclusion, it can be seen that dreams are not important. Not only do dreams leave those who keep them with unhappiness, such as with Curleys wife, but they also cannot be achieved due to the cruel nature of fate, leaving them unfulfilled. These dreams, whether they are fulfilled or not, are shown to be unnecessary for contentment, as evidenced by Slim, the most successful worker. Ultimately, the nature of dreams is best illustrated by the poem from which the novel draws its name. The best laid schemes o mice an men Gang aft agley, An leae us nought but grief an pain For promisd joy. (Robert Burns, To a Mouse) As it has been shown, dreams are not important; they are beyond reach, offer nothing, and bring only unhappiness to those who keep them, whether they are accomplished or not.

Family Structure Policy

Family Structure Policy HOW CHANGES IN THE FAMILY STRUCTURE HAVE AFFECTED POLICY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM INTRODUCTION An introduction to social policy Social policy refers to the study of social welfare and how it relates to politics and the society. The United Kingdom is a unitary state where the central government controls all the activities of government. Demographic changes in the society have strong implications on government policy as far as sound decision-making is concerned. These changes come in form of divorce rates, decline in marriage as the fundamental institution of society, rise in cohabitation and many others. Irwin, S. (1999) In each administrative region we have a secretary of state and administrative departments situated in the central government with respective assemblies and executive. Laws in these administrative regions differ from one region to another. For example laws which apply in England and Wales tend to differ from those in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Social services in the UK are under the health board but changes do occur frequently. The main government departments dealing with social policy in the UK are as follows. Central government The central government is in charge of National organisations and Local government Parliament is responsible for Primary legislation, Local authorities and London boroughs Cabinet Office undertakes reforms in the Public service The Treasury in charge of economy policy of the government and financing Department of Health provides healthcare, social services and community care. Department for Work and Pensions Is responsible for national insurance, social assistance and creation of employment. Department for Communities and Local Government is in charge of Local government; Urban policy; Housing and environmental health Ministry of Justice Law and order Department for Children, Schools and Families -manage Schools; Education welfare; Learning disability (5-18); childrens services The administration of welfare in the UK The administration system in the UK has undergone major reforms with the first phase covering the 1960s and 1970s where by planning and control of public expenditure was shifted to treasury. The second phase between 1980s and 1990s saw the restructuring of the civil service and the administration of welfare. The British social policy was dominated by poor laws way back from 1598 to 1948 for instance the Elizabethan poor law of 1601 provided for a compulsory poor rate, creation of overseers of relief and â€Å"setting the poor on work†. FAMILY STRUCTURE According to research there has been notable decrease in the percentage of people living in households comprising the traditional family unit. Around 2001 Chinese and Asian communities had families with greater proportion of married couples; while on the other hand other ethnic groups like the black, white Caribbean had the greater proportion of cohabiting couples. In the year 2004 according to statistics eight out of 10 people in the UK lived in a family household but however the same statistics indicate the there is a decline in this form of structure because for past 40 years there has been an increase in the number of people living alone. This trend has been accelerated by high divorce and cohabitation rates. Increase in the number of breakouts and the number of births occurring outside marriage has had a hand in this trend. Since 1972 the proportion of children living in larger families has declined Different ethnic groups differ in terms of size of household for instance Asian households tend to be bigger that other ethnic groups and can comprise of even three generations. About 12% of births in the UK in the year 1980 were outside marriage. By the year 2000 the figures had increased to about 41% making UK the leading country with such births in the EU. Most of these births are as a result of cohabitation. About household chores, women spend about four hours in activities such as washing, cooking, and ironing. This is about one and a half hours more than that of men. CHANGES IN THE FAMILY STRUCTURE Changes if family structure comes about in terms of composition and size of households. For instance there is change from 2 parent families to single parenthood. Maternal employment is also evident in the UK whereby mothers go out to look for paid employment. Other changes are in form of: Changes in employment and household resourcing In the UK for the past decades there have been trends in polarisation especially for women at individual level and at the level of household. There has been a notable alteration of gender in relation to education, employment and household resourcing. Growth in participation of post-compulsory education has also been witnessed for the past few decades party associated with employment opportunity structure family relations of partial dependence and obligations. Some of the factors contributing towards income inequalities include: The rising gap between the highly paid and the lowly paid with increasing premiums for skills and qualifications. The numbers of workless households increase faster than the overall official unemployment rates. Marriage cohabitation and divorce A steady decline in marriage has been noted since early 1970s in the UK.Postponement of marriage has been observed in some household and it is mainly contributed to by cohabitation. Continued growth has had an impact on peoples perception concerning morality and living arrangements. Within cohabiting unions child bearing has become very common. The UK has the highest divorce rates in the entire European union .Marital ties are increasingly being based on emotions and romantic love rather than material necessity. Living apart together -this is a term used to refer to people having a partner in what is understood to be a sexual relationship. It is similar to co-residential cohabitation or living together because the two parties regard themselves as a couple (Murphy and Wang 1999). Lone parenthood Sociologists have continued to regard lone parenthood as an indicator of family change. By 1991 around 20% of all families with dependent children were headed by a lone parent. This growth was due to increase in divorce rates, single parents and never married parent. ( McKay and Marsh 1994). Fertility In the UK there was marked rise in fertility during the post war period then a decline in fertility. Two major components of the rise in fertility are the change in family size and the period for parenthood. Most women born in Britain in the late 1940s have remained childess.This trend has been cited by sociologists as important. (ONS 1997; and Irwin 1999). EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN THE FAMILY STRUCTURE ON SOCIAL POLICY Key in the implications of these changes in the family is the explosion of the non-marital child bearing. Changing of family structures has led to legislations by the government for instance the family law in Scotland. Poverty and disadvantage have serious implications on the social policy that seeks to create a level playing field in the nation and especially for the children Boheim, R. and Ermisch, J. (1998). Child poverty is firmly on the agenda of many European countries. It entails strategies which aim at increasing the income for low income earners with children. This is by promoting policies which will increase employment for poor families. Hall, R., Ogden, P.E. and Hill, C. (1999) A successful strategy should seek a balanced approach whereby improved benefits and improved incentives. For many years the rights of a child have been on top of the agenda for EU recently measures have been put in place to establish a comprehensive strategy to promote and effectively implement the rights in both internal and external policies. Women with high qualifications are likely to enter into partnership at later years than those at low levels of education or the non- educated. Also those women who are less educated are likely to have high divorce rates than those with high education. Working mothers have an impact on the Childs well- being. It brings additional income and lifts many families out of poverty. Those who grow up poor early are likely to leave home early and are likely to be less educated. Despite widespread economic growth and progress in poverty reduction, in the UK the child remains the most vulnerable population. This because they are at high risk of living in poverty with the changing structure and composition of the family. Children are missing out on the on political and economic agenda. Participatory approaches should therefore be initiated involvement of all stakeholders including particularly the children and young people. The perspectives of children from single parenthood should be included in policy formulation and implementation so as to combat poverty. CONCLUSION In the UK today households are made in many different ways and people have a variety of patterns of working. The current patterns and trends in familial lifestyles are key determinants of the level of developments in employment and patterns of inequality. Changes in composition of households are key demographic indicators of changing living standards and lifestyles. These changes remain top on the agenda for the government so as to institute measures aimed at reducing poverty levels for instance the government has put children at its centre of its social policy agenda. This is evident by increasing the levels of in-work support for low -income parents and initiating programmes to support parents from disadvantaged areas. REFERENCES www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/uk.htmDownloaded 28/04/2008 www.agf.org.uk/pubs/pdfs/1383Ageingweb.pdf Downloaded 28/04/2008 www.leeds.ac.uk/CAVA/papers/wsp7b.pdf Downloaded 29/04/2008 www.deafnessatbirth.org.uk/content2/support/diversity/03/index.html Downloaded29/04/2008 Cooper, W. (1999) LFS Household Data: Spring 1998 Analyses Labour Market Trends (January) 31-40. Hutton, S. (1994) Mens and womens incomes: evidence from survey data Journal of Social Policy 23 (1): 21-40.

American Marketing Association

American Marketing Association Task one Compare the definitions of Marketing given by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the American Marketing Association and one other definition of your choice. American Marketing Association (AMA) define marketing as â€Å"the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. According to American marketing Association (AMA) marketing is a key factor of a business. AMA raise standard in marketing as, they want well to hire the right talent in this field of business. Hire people who knows or kin to learn marketing industry trends. AMA wants to put togather a top notch marketing team. So, they can get business and fulfill customers needs effectivly. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) define marketing as The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. CIM shows that marketing is a managerial process it is a key fact to bring profit to the business. Identify the customer correctly, encourage them and satisfy coustomer, as a result profit will follow automatically. According to Marks Spencer (MS) Marketing is â€Å"understanding the competitive marketplace we operate in, as well as working closely with suppliers and product teams. All with the aim of providing customers with fantastic choices and great value.† To introduce the MS brand and communicate with the customer and to understand the demands marketing plays an important role in the business. Task two Using Primark as an example, describe how market-oriented they are in terms of their Mission Statement/Main Objectives, Customer Communications and other relevant characteristics. A market economy is an economy based on labour in which the prices of products and services are determined in a free price system and set by supply and demand. June 1969, the first Penneys store opened in Mary Street, Dublin. Within a year, four more stores opened in the Greater Dublin area. In 1971, the first large store opened outside the Dublin in Cork and by the end of that year 11 more stores were opened in Ireland and one in Northern Ireland. By 1973, the number of stores reached 18 in Ireland and Primark began trading in Great Britain with four out-of-town stores. In the next year Primark opened the first UK High Street stores in Derby and Bristol. In the next ten years, 18 stores were added in the UK and nine in Ireland, which bring the number of stores in the UK and Ireland to 22 each. The mission statement of Primark is: â€Å"We aim to make our employees, suppliers and local and wider communities part of our success by working with them in every way we can.† According to Primark this means that: employees have equal opportunities based on merit suppliers are treated fairly local communities are respected and supported by Primark the company takes its environmental responsibilities seriously As Primark is an international business with a global supply chain Primark accept that they have a responsibility to trade ethically. This includes that Primark suppliers live up to their values and behave as well towards the employees. Primark have more than 400 suppliers in over 16 countries. They buy in very large volumes and aim to build long-term relationships with suppliers and gain trust. Primark directly contributes to the employment of more than 700,000 workers across the continents. According to Primark: â€Å"Primark is committed to providing the best possible value for our customers, but not at the expense of the people who make our products.† In Primark employment, there is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour. Employers are not required to lodge deposits or their identity papers and can leave any time their employment after reasonable notice. Primark provide an open attitude towards the activities of trade unions and their organisational activities. Employers receive regular and recorded health and safety training, and training repeat for new or rejoined workers. As come to environment there is no child labour in Primark. Primark is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), an alliance of companies, trade unions and voluntary organisations working on partnership to improve the lives of people working in global supply chains. In India Primark works with an NGO called SAVE which help to understand and address the challenges faced by workers in the communities where Primark products are made. In China we are working with ICO, a non-profit organisation, and are extending our work with other stakeholders. To, make the environment healthy and happy Primark progressively replacing plastic carrier bags with the paper bags. Paper bags are fashionable and reusable. Primark gave plenty of about the business and how they work on there website, which is easily assessable by any user. Products different sizes guide is available on the website including different brands availabilities. Users can easily search the store near their place by the help of store locator available on the website. These all availabilities can make user or customer to assess Primark more easily and safely. Task three Explain the various elements of the marketing concept and how they apply to Primark. The marketing concept is the philosophy that businesses/organisation use to analyse the needs of their customers and make decisions to satisfy those needs, rather than the competition. Today most firms use the marketing concept. Elements of Marketing Concepts: The Production Concept: The production concept is an idea that a firm should focus on those products that it could produce most efficiently and that the creation of a supply of low-cost products would in and of itself create the demand for the products. At the time, the production concept worked fairly well because the goods that were produced were largely those of basic necessity and there was a relatively high level of unfulfilled demand. What ever company produce in low cost and in large quantity was sold out profitably. There weren’t enough competitors in the market. Primark offer good quality fashion at low prices. Success of Primark is based on big volumes, low mark-ups, and minimal advertising. They are the lean business which responds quickly in the marketplace, good buying and excellent distribution. The Sales Concept: As, mass production become commonplace, competition increased, and there is little unfulfilled demand. Firms/businesses practice the sales concept (or selling concept), under which companies not only produce the products, but also try to convince customers to buy their products through advertising and personal selling. The sales concept pays little attention to the product actually as if needed; the goal simply is to beat the competition to the sale with little regard to customer satisfaction. The sales concept is more likely depend on the feedback from customer the sale of the product is fall in the promotions. Primark use this strategy as, they produce wide range of in market fashion clothing. The quality of product as compare to price is very less. Primark do every sort of clothing which is in demand and in fashion. To compete the competitors Primark introduce new and fresh design in the market at the low price. The products and fashion they produce can be worn as causal and as on occasions. The Marketing Concept: Marketing concept involves focusing on customer needs before developing the product. Realising profit by successfully satisfying customer needs over the long-term. Firms typically set up separate marketing departments whose objective it to satisfy customer needs. Primark is always kept eye on the customer satisfaction. Their products are good in quality and more demanding because of the low price. The business of Primark always put customer’s needs before producing their products. Primark produce according to the customer’s demands and needs. What people want to wear in daily routine and on occasions, Primark make sure that those needs provide to their customers at low price. Task four Identify and assess the benefits and costs of a Marketing Approach and how you perceive Primark to have addressed this. Relationship marketing is a process of creating, maintaining and enhancing strong relationship with customers and other stakeholders. Relationship marketing is more focused on to building strong long term relationship with customers. Relationship marketing is important to satisfy and establish relationships with customers and other parties so that objectives of both parties can be met. It is more focused on customer retention with highly customer service and commitment. Primark take good care of suppliers in the first place and then aim to develop long-term relationships. Primark have more than 400 first tier suppliers from where they buy directly less than 2% in the UK or Ireland, while remainder of production takes place overseas. Six out of 10 suppliers have been with Primark for a decade or more. The mutual understanding that results from relationships is essential to being able to offer value in the market. Suppliers know what business want in terms of quality, product specification and lead times; and in return they get stability, large volume orders and payment within 30 days. Task five Identify and explain macro and micro environmental factors which have influenced Primark’s marketing strategy. S.W.O.T stands for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats. SWOT is the only analysis which deals with both internal and external factors which may influence on business. SWOT analysis will explain the macro and micro environmental factors which have influenced Primark. Strengths: Primark has over 161 stores located. Out of 161 stores 125 are located in the UK. This gives them good business and well recognised in the market. It has an organised business structure according to customers need. Primark offers job opportunities and employs over 27,000 people and offers high street quality clothes for cheap prices and quality services to attract its customers. It provides clothing for all ages and sexes. The company is part of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) which focuses on worker’s rights, their production of goods and bringing businesses together to work on labour rights issues. Weaknesses: Although Primark is a member of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative), but there are numerous negative reports concerning its business operations in the way they produce their goods. A study was shown that Primark used child labour to produce their goods. Other issues are with poor working conditions and disvaluing workers rights. The company have problems concerning advertising. Primark does not advertise and this gives competitors the advantage over them. Opportunities: With its already expanding ventures such as opening 47 new stores in the UK, Primark has now opened 7 new stores in Spain to battle along its competition like Zara. Expanding business widely now they have an opportunity to share their high quality products and services overseas and provide high quality clothes to fashion in the market. Threats: Primark’s threats are the competition with other companies such as Zara, HM and other local high street retail businesses. Primark is still working to match the needs of the customer in terms of fashion and uniqueness. Company is still struggling in advertising area whilst their competitors do. That is the biggest threat to the business because Marketing is the key factor to establish the business. Task 6 Take two of the Primark’s products (e.g. baby cloths, Ladies ware etc) and suggest segmentation criteria that could be applied in different markets. Marketing segmentation is the subdividing of a market into distinct subsets of customers, where any subset may be selected as a target market to be reached with a distinct marketing mix. Market segmentation is a design to subdivide target market into a manageable form. Segmenting the market help business make better plan of project. Help to identify profitable market. It is important for business to segment the market to make right decision and identify the market needs. Positioning is, â€Å"The act of designing the companys offering and image so that they occupy a meaningful and distinct competitive position in the target customers minds† (Kotler 1997). Positioning is all about what the customer thinks about the product or organisation. Therefore it is about visibility and recognition of what a product represents for a buyer. Primark targets males, females and children within the mass market. Age of company target customers are from early teens to the middle aged (mostly women buying for the family). It has good positions itself in customer’s minds as the cheapest fashion clothing brand in the UK and does not partake in advertising strategies to emphasise this. However, the positioning strategy only works on differentiating Primark as the cheapest clothing retailer, and does not gain a meaningful position in customers minds as being fashion forward. I would suggest that Primark adopts a positioning concept that emphasises how quickly it responds to new fashions and creates imitations off the catwalk (i.e. product features). Instead of positioning Primark primarily as cheap it would serve them better to create an illusion of youth culture and being fresh and foremost with the newest fashions in a bid to remove associations with mass production and mass culture. One way to overcome on it is, if they would establish an online store, giving Primark an online physical presence also. The teenage / young adult generation of today are highly influenced and dependent on the internet for research, what people want to see, what is in the fashion world, social networking and downloading music. However, many of the online clothing stores target women aged 25-45 who may see ordering online as more convenient (i.e. Next, Debenhams, Little woods, Dorothy Perkins). If Primark open an online store it could position itself as a dominant in the minds of teenagers as the most accessible online store, with the freshest fashions. The only competition currently is New Look which is still more expensive about 50% in the case of jeans, accessories and shoes. Task 7 Outline the factors you believe influence the Primark’s choice of targeting strategy. Primarks products include lingerie, nightwear, footwear, clothing, accessories and even home ware. All the products business provides in the market is very essential. So, it is very easy to approach the target market. Stores are large consists of 2-3 floors and split into two categories such as women wear accessories, menswear underwear, footwear children’s wear. I would suggest that Primark use better visual displays in store by having mannequins with outfit ideas on with the clothing hanging beside. Window displays at Primark look fantastic, but go into the store and it is virtually impossible to find the items. If Primark could put together inspirational displays it would suggest customer that Primark believes in its own clothing, and demonstrates how it can be put together to look fashionable. Moreover, Primark has little in terms of expression and communication as it does not advertise. The only place we can see logo is on shopping bags and on the store logo, suggesting it does not show the reputation of a company and shows the ‘cheap place. To express the brand as being fresh and foremost with the newest fashions they could print coming soon images of new items on their shopping bags for the view of high street shoppers. Also, in keeping with the online store idea, Primark could send weekly emails to customers showing the latest looks, catwalk trends or celebrity outfits. They need to put new policies and rule in the business for advertisements. No doubt they are approaching their target market but business is approaching with ‘cheap shop’ reputation. Company need to work on the marketing process it will change the customers thinking. Instead, of cheap shop it will change into good quality of products. Task 8 Explain how buyer behaviour affects the marketing activities of the Primark using two of its products as example. The Market research report shows the performance of the UK children’s wear market, which comprises clothing designed for under-14 year-olds. Market was valued at  £5.29bn in 2008, following a mixed growth performance. The main sectors of the children’s wear market are: girls’ clothing (ages 2 to 14); boys’ clothing (ages 2 to 14); and infants’ clothing (for under-2 year-olds). The positive influences of the children’s wear market have been countered by changes in UK clothing retailing as a whole since the end of the 1990s. Rise of discount retailers such as Primark, with the growing market show their competitors such as ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, has exerted a downward pressure on prices, particularly for children’s clothing. In 2008 there was a great deal of price competition on school uniform in 2008, and ASDA eventually offering the cheapest school wear, at just  £4. The UK children’s wear market is very retail-driven, with retailer brands accounting for the greatest share of sales. Major businesses include Adams Kids, Mother care, Marks Spencer, Debenhams, ASDA, Tesco and Primark. The economic downturn, and the recession that began in the UK in 2008, make the retailers to focus on prices, however, despite the difficult economic climate, retailers continued to invest in their brands across all price points. As the child population continuing to rise, the outlook for the children’s clothing market is getting more positive. Expectations are that price influences will dampen growth in 2009 and 2010, before the market begins to show better growth between 2011 and 2013. Design elements, ethical developments and brand investment will drive future growth in the industry. Task 9 Describe how Primark develops its products to sustain competitive advantage. The success story of Primark with regards to international business has been one of the more looked upon cases. Business of Primark shows that it is not enough that the products they are selling to the customers are top of the line. They have to make sure that the products they are producing and selling does have demand from the customers. Primark have to guarantee that the products that they are offering will ensure sale. This could only be done by understanding the market and by establishing great relations with their customers through customer relationship management. Hence, the success of Primark is manifested in the ability of the company to balance both the external and the internal operations of the firm. The demands of the people and the stability of the company to provide those demands are the key ingredients to the overall success of Primark. Task 10 Explain how Primark’s distribution is arranged to provide customer convenience. All suppliers and their factories manufacturer for Primark are covered by Code of Conduct. Primark have an increasingly comprehensive programme of auditing to ensure that suppliers act according to the Code. Audits are carried out by Primark regionally based ethical trade managers. Almost two-thirds of their purchasing spend is with top 100 suppliers. Primark audited 162 suppliers and 340 production sites during the year. 70% of these audits were carried out by specialist external auditors and the remaining 30% by local ethical trade team. Primark targets for 2009 are even more ambitious. They are planning to audit and engage in follow up with factories working for the top 250 suppliers. This will cover 87% of our suppliers by expenditure, and involve over 1,000 audits. All audits and commitment of suppliers with Code of Conduct shows that how important customer’s satisfaction is for Primark. Audits are necessary in the business so that the staff get well qualified and have personal skills for the business and market in which they are working to satisfied and convenience the customer. The quality and price is the main two things that make people to shop from Primark. The stores are all over the country that makes people approach them easily. To be friendly and helpful towards customers and staff, the public need to think that we are a friendly company; this will make them want to come to store. Business treat everybody the same. The people with less money will be treated the same as people that have lots of money. Primark make everyone in the store feel individual, and make everyone feel like they are ‘special’. Task 11 How are Primark’s prices set to reflect their objectives and market conditions? Studies had shown that low-cost retailer such as Primark is the store what people wanted. If we compare other retail companies in the UK, the only thing it does not have is probably the budget chain like Primark clothing. Primark is in the Tertiary Sector; the store buys raw materials from a Secondary Business and sells the products, such as clothing and shoes. It is a large, multinational business. It is quite a well-known business and there are several stores throughout the United Kingdom. Most of people have heard of this store, so it is a strong, well-run organisation. Primark earn plenty of profits, so they are able to provide more products for the public. The businesses objectives are to provide good quality products for the public. Business wants the public to realise that they are a good company and just because products are cheap, it doesn’t mean that they are rubbish. This will achieve by having their products made by people that know what they are doing and test them to check that they are good in quality. To sell goods at reasonable prices; business provide wide range of options to customers, in good quality at reasonable prices. As compare at other stores, selling similar products, and making Primark is low in price. Task 12 Illustrate how Primark integrates their promotional activity to achieve their marketing objectives. In the UK, the retail value-clothing market is growing. At the expense of retailers with more established, quality reputable clothing lines, several companies such as Matalan, Tesco, and Asda are pushing their self to offering consumers low-cost, high-fashion. Primark, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc, is arguably the fastest grower with 162 stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland, and a small presence in Spain. Our low prices are the result of technology, efficient distribution and supply, bulk-buying and the fact that we spend almost nothing on advertising. The company is able to negotiate cheap prices from manufacturers in Asia and Eastern Europe because of the high volume of turnover that it focuses on achieving in its stores. It accepts lower profit margins on its products, all in all ensuring price points that are well below anything that the majority of retailers can offer. Primark stores are often heaving with people, messy, and plagued by long queues, but customers know to expect this. Primark, with the slogan looks good, pay less, targets primarily the fashion conscious, price conscious under-35s segment, both males and females. The success of Primark products assortment strategy lies in the ability to find out what is fashionable, design a budget version, and bring it quickly to stores. It takes approximately just 6 weeks from the initial concept stage for Primark to start selling a specific item in stores. However the Primark is not without its problems. It is currently involved in several issues over accusations that it has copied the designs of rival retailers. A more critical current controversy is a report which accuses Primark of serious human rights abuses and sweatshop labour in its Asian factories. Personally I don’t think that their market position will be much affected. Many of their main rivals have undergone similar scrutiny, and the Primark is strong in their approaching marketing strategy that it is quite capable of resisting the charges of the rumour mill. I think that the majority of consumers can expect and will expect to look good and pay less for a long time yet to come. Task 13 Look at the extended marketing mix (7 ’p’ s) and analyse how Primark uses these or otherwise. Marketing professionals use many tactics to attract their customers. These activities comprise of different concepts, the most important one being the marketing mix. The 7Ps of the marketing mix can be discussed as: Product: Basically, it involves introducing new products or improvising the existing products. It must provide value or set price of a product to a customer. Price: Price must be competitive and must be profitable. The pricing strategy can comprise discounts and offers. Place: It refers to the place where the customers can buy the product and how the product reaches out to that place. This is done through different channels, like Internet, wholesalers and retailers. Promotion: It includes the various ways of communicating to the customers of what the company is offering. It is about communicating about the benefits of using a particular product. People: People means the customers, employees, management and everybody else involved in it. It is essential for everyone to realise that the brand reputation that they are involved with is in the people’s hands. Process: It refers to the methods and process of providing a service and is essential to have knowledge on whether the services are helpful to the customers, if they are provided in time, if the customers are informed in hand about the services and many such things. Physical (evidence): It refers that the product physically has to be present in the market. A service has to be goes out to the customer, it is essential that you help them see what they are buying. According to marketing mix 7Ps, Primark use right tactics to attract the customers and run profit business. Primark always introduce the products that attract the people and what people want to see or want to buy. It always brings the product which is according to fashion and always provide with the low price. There are 162 stores all over the country and the product is available in all the stores. Prices remain same of the product in every store. Primark promotes their product quite often because there products are so cheap and everyone can afford it. But, in busy time business put promotions on plenty of their products. Primark is one of the leading companies in the retail market. They are running profitable business and well known in reputation of their prices. The people working in the company are well professional who bring profit for the business. The services provided by the Primark staff are acceptable as they deal with customer about their products and satisfied them. The physical presences of their entire product are according to the people need. Last but not least, the business concentrates on their products and make sure that it is available in the stores. Task 14 Describe how Primark develops its products to sustain competitive advantage. Explain how Primark’s distribution is arranged to provide customer convenience. How are Primark’s prices set to reflect their objectives and market conditions? As we discuss and describe earlier in Tasks 9, 10 and 11 about the Primark development, distribution and prices to approach the customer and satisfied their need. Answer will be the same.

Free College Essays - The Mood of Othello in Shakespeares Othello :: GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Othello

The Mood of Othello  Ã‚      Othello is a play that evokes many emotions from a reader’s mind. The mood is changing, yet throughout, it demands a lot of contempt for the villain, Iago. Beginning with act one, there is an immediate setting for suspicion which will remain characteristic throughout the whole story. There is a touch of happiness for the newlyweds, Othello and Desdemona, which quickly disintegrates with the mighty villains lies and deceit. There is a feeling of empathy for Othello when his extreme, yet falsely founded jealousy causes him to lose his mind, and his beloved wife. The mood is sad and frustrating when poor innocent Desdemona is being punished for a crime she didn’t commit. And at the end there is a slight feeling of satisfaction that Iago’s plan was revealed, yet the mood is overwhelmingly depressing because Othello and Desdemona both suffered severely and died. Iago introduces suspicion in the very first scene. He is discussing how he hates Othello, yet he must feign loyalty for his position. This is already a clue to the reader that Iago cannot be trusted. This feeling of mistrust is vital in the mood of the play because it is most ironic that Othello trusts Iago as much as to murder his own wife. This ironic plot creates a frustrating feeling for the reader which is felt throughout the play. The mood is tense when we find out that Brabantio is angry that Othello has taken his daughter. He i s determined that Othello must have tricked Desdemona into loving him. Othello defends his love for her, and she in turn vows her love for him. This situation of a forbidden relationship is romantic, it makes the reader feel a great deal of respect and happiness for their mutual love. When Iago begins poisoning Othello’s mind with false suspicion of Desdemona’s fidelity, the mood is extremely frustrating. The reader is aware of Iago’s lies, yet Othello is being easily led to believe them. This also evokes anger towards Iago, he is evil in his constant lying, yet he is referred to by Othello as kind and honest. This irony is painful to the reader because it is so blatant. Othello’s extreme jealousy causes the reader a combination of emotions. Jealousy is a very painful emotion, and the reader sympathizes with Othello. Yet, since the reader is aware of the falseness in the roots of the jealousy, they feel a little disgusted by how easily Othello is being tricked.

Luke?s Significance In The Scriptures Essay -- essays research papers

Luke’s Significance in the Scriptures   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If I were lucky enough to lecture students on Luke’s Gospel, simply discussing the factual aspect of his writings would not do him, nor Jesus, any justice. Along with it being a great depiction of Jesus’ life from his conception until his resurrection, Luke’s Gospel teaches lessons Jesus used through His teachings to better educate His followers of what it takes to eventually be a part of God’s kingdom. Such information would be seemingly too broad to understand within the confines of a book, however Luke masterfully combines all of these facts into one story with numerous lessons, leaving it as a difficult task for an educator to select which aspects of it to cover.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The third Gospel, written by Luke, presents The Son of Man through a human form as Jesus. Jesus’ life on Earth could be broken down into three parts: Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ preaching, and Jesus’ death and resurrection. These three aspects of His life are the vocal points for what modern day Theologians seem to focus on in their own teaching, so it would be nonsensical for me to refrain from using them within my own. It must also be acknowledged that much of what Jesus endured through His lifetime teaches a point so after discussing the actual happenings of a particular event, it is necessary to discuss its intentions for us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Concerning Jesus’ birth, I would teach students how His birth had both simil- rities and differences to our own. Mary went through pregnancy carrying a fetus for nine   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kearney 2 months, as women always have, though she was never actually impregnated. The Angel Gabriel visited Mary to bear some unexpected news, telling her that, â€Å"†¦you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son† (CSB 99). Mary was a virgin, although God gave her the power to conceive a child. This amazing occurrence was only the beginning of what would become a storied lifetime of miracles, teachings, and Je... ...nbsp;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kearney 4 Living by these two things, Jesus strives to spread God’s word so that people will see that hatred-filled and unforgiving people will not be invited to the Kingdom of God. I would tell my students that whenever an attempted act of mine is in question, I will revert back to this to determine whether or not God would approve. The third Gospel, written by Luke, is a detailed description of Jesus’ life on Earth. Covering so much area in terms of stories and lessons, it is difficult to narrow down the important points or to focus on certain aspects. If I were an educator and had to teach this to students, like I have just done, I would break down Jesus’ life into three parts: Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ preaching, and Jesus’ death and resurrection. I would hit upon the topics which I have already mentioned, and reflect on the significance of each. Discovering the lessons presented before a reader and beginning to think more like God is the greatest achievement one could receive from Luke’s Gospel.

Emma Gifford Poems Essay

Hardy shows a various amount of thoughts, feelings and concerns throughout the ‘Veteris Vestigia Frammae’ section of his poems. These emotions always differ depending on the memory he is recalling to the place where it took place and even general differences between the way he feels about his late wife, Emma.  To start with in the first poem ‘The Going’, Hardy shows feelings of guilt and blame towards Emma. The first line of the poem, â€Å"why did you give no hint that night† straight away shows that Hardy is blaming Emma for her own death when she didn’t even know herself that she was going to die just that she was quite ill. In this poem Hardy doesn’t show guilt straight out but he does it by asking many questions in the poem but never giving any answers, it seems as if he doesn’t, maybe even can’t explain the way he feels due to Emma’s death. Another emotion shown in this poem is resentment, resentment for the fact that they did â€Å"not speak† and she died without him being able to say what she meant to him. ‘I Found Her Out There’ is also one of Hardy’s poems that shows many emotions and some concerns of his about where Emma had been buried. Hardy’s main concern is the fact that he wants Emma to be in her childhood home of Cornwall where she loved to be but instead she is buried in Wessex where they lived. In the poem Hardy says that he wants Emma to be â€Å"where she once domiciled†. This shows that Hardy wanted Emma to return to her home where she once was as he knows that she enjoyed her life there more than what she did in Wessex. Hardy uses the word â€Å"creep† to describe the way Emma would move underground, this seems to be an odd word to describe how the woman you love would move. In this case it seems as though he uses it to express his regret and how morbid it is without her but also morbid for him to remember that she loved Cornwall more than him and he knew that that was where she belonged no matter what. Hardy also uses to word â€Å"shade† to represent Emma’s soul which also seems a little strange as it would be her soul that would move if anything was going to not her shade which to me means her shadow as she doesn’t have one now. This to me represents that Hardy can’t and maybe don’t want to believe that she has gone and he will never be able to make things better between them and make her happy like she once was. â€Å"Without Ceremony† is also a good poem that shows a lot of Hardy’s emotions as I think it can be seen as his way of having a break down as he is being haunted by the past. This poem is addressed to Emma which shows that it means a lot to him and is rather sentimental but also it shows how strong and powerful his words are and how much they generally mean to him. The very first line shows affection as he calls Emma, â€Å"my dear†, this however is not the way it was when she was alive. We can see from this that either he is imagining things or is wishing how could have been. The poem to me shows a confession from Hardy as he says a lot of things that he never got a chance to say to her but always wanted to but also he lets out some of his grief and regrets. It also shows slightly how it used to be for them being together but never being with each other. For example, â€Å"before I had thought thereon† showing that he neglected her and wasn’t there for her even when she needed him to be. Hardy even went as far to say that he â€Å"inferred† which to me is him telling himself that it wasn’t all his fault but he is also questioning if they acted like a couple when they were around others but went their separate ways when no one was around. The last line of the poem, â€Å"Good-bye is not worth while!† is a very strong statement to finish on. This can shows a number of thoughts and feeling from Hardy, it could mean something as simple as it is exactly what Emma did as neither of them said bye. But it could also mean how much of pretence their relationship was and how little it meant to Emma in his eyes. Lastly it could show his grief and regret of loving her but not being in love with her, as it shows that he had more to say to her and wished that he could now so to him for not doing that he doesn’t deserve a good-bye from her.

Romeo & Juliet Theme Essay

Romeo and Juliet is a classic play by William Shakespeare about a pair of star-crossed lovers whose passion eventually drives them to their unfortunate deaths. Since the theme in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is Love as a Cause of Violence, it is easy to see why Shakespeare uses that thematic focus to show how Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another affected the outcome of their relationship. Most of the time, being in love makes people very over dramatic. When they lose someone they love, certain people tend to think that their lives are over and they can’t go on. This happens a lot in Romeo and Juliet.For example, when Romeo is exiled from Verona, he overreacts completely and goes to complain to the Friar. He says that being banished is just saying death by another name. He whines and utters that he would rather die than be away from his dear Juliet. Also, after Romeo is rejected by his first love Rosaline, he thinks that there is no one else in the world that can e ver compare to her, even though he falls in love with Juliet shortly after. Another example of this over dramatic behavior was when Juliet heard news of Romeo’s banishment. She considered Romeo’s banishment even worse than her own cousin’s death!Over dramatic behavior is just one of the things that makes love turn into violence. This play also demonstrates the effect love can have on decision making. Love can be very blinding especially in Romeo and Juliet’s case. They both made many rash and dangerous choices because their love clouded their ability to think wisely. An example of one of these rash, terrible decisions was when Romeo bought the poison from a pharmacist/apothecary. He should have considered all of his options before immediately jumping to the conclusion that he had to kill himself.This theme also came up when Juliet stated, â€Å"I long to die if what thou speak’st speak not of remedy. † (Shakespeare, Act IIII Scene I) She sai d this to Friar Lawrence complaining that if he can’t find her a way out of marrying Paris, she will kill herself. This is significant because it shows how her love for Romeo made her think violently, even though she didn’t follow through with what she said she would do. Lastly, Juliet stabbing herself with Romeo’s dagger at the end of the play showed how being without Romeo was unthinkable for her.Finally, the reoccurring theme of Love as a Cause of Violence is mainly in this play because without it, the audience underestimates the true power of Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another. The theme is what caused the dramatic, tragic ending to the play Romeo and Juliet. The double suicide was what ended the conflict between the two feuding families and showed how love is the source of all or most of the violence that occurs in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet aren’t the only ones who died because of love either.Lady Montague died of grieving for her banished son whom she loved exceedingly, and Tybalt died because Romeo killed him out of rage from losing his beloved best friend Mercutio. As you can see, the main theme of Love as a Cause of Violence is prevalent throughout the entire play of Romeo and Juliet. The power that love contains works in many different ways. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, love causes overly dramatic behavior, lack of quality judgment, and most of all, particularly violent actions and thoughts by the main and minor characters. Romeo & Juliet Theme Essay Romeo and Juliet is a classic play by William Shakespeare about a pair of star-crossed lovers whose passion eventually drives them to their unfortunate deaths. Since the theme in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is Love as a Cause of Violence, it is easy to see why Shakespeare uses that thematic focus to show how Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another affected the outcome of their relationship. Most of the time, being in love makes people very over dramatic. When they lose someone they love, certain people tend to think that their lives are over and they can’t go on. This happens a lot in Romeo and Juliet.For example, when Romeo is exiled from Verona, he overreacts completely and goes to complain to the Friar. He says that being banished is just saying death by another name. He whines and utters that he would rather die than be away from his dear Juliet. Also, after Romeo is rejected by his first love Rosaline, he thinks that there is no one else in the world that can e ver compare to her, even though he falls in love with Juliet shortly after. Another example of this over dramatic behavior was when Juliet heard news of Romeo’s banishment. She considered Romeo’s banishment even worse than her own cousin’s death!Over dramatic behavior is just one of the things that makes love turn into violence. This play also demonstrates the effect love can have on decision making. Love can be very blinding especially in Romeo and Juliet’s case. They both made many rash and dangerous choices because their love clouded their ability to think wisely. An example of one of these rash, terrible decisions was when Romeo bought the poison from a pharmacist/apothecary. He should have considered all of his options before immediately jumping to the conclusion that he had to kill himself.This theme also came up when Juliet stated, â€Å"I long to die if what thou speak’st speak not of remedy. † (Shakespeare, Act IIII Scene I) She sai d this to Friar Lawrence complaining that if he can’t find her a way out of marrying Paris, she will kill herself. This is significant because it shows how her love for Romeo made her think violently, even though she didn’t follow through with what she said she would do. Lastly, Juliet stabbing herself with Romeo’s dagger at the end of the play showed how being without Romeo was unthinkable for her.Finally, the reoccurring theme of Love as a Cause of Violence is mainly in this play because without it, the audience underestimates the true power of Romeo and Juliet’s love for one another. The theme is what caused the dramatic, tragic ending to the play Romeo and Juliet. The double suicide was what ended the conflict between the two feuding families and showed how love is the source of all or most of the violence that occurs in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet aren’t the only ones who died because of love either.Lady Montague died of grieving for her banished son whom she loved exceedingly, and Tybalt died because Romeo killed him out of rage from losing his beloved best friend Mercutio. As you can see, the main theme of Love as a Cause of Violence is prevalent throughout the entire play of Romeo and Juliet. The power that love contains works in many different ways. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, love causes overly dramatic behavior, lack of quality judgment, and most of all, particularly violent actions and thoughts by the main and minor characters.