Four Critics’ Perspective of Theodore Roethkes Elegy for Jane Essay

Four Critics’ Perspective of Theodore Roethke's Elegy for Jane More than forty years after her untimely death, Jane Bannick breathes again--or so it seems while reading about her. Jane's unfortunate death in an equestrian accident prompted one of her professors, the poet Theodore Roethke, to write a moving poem, "Elegy for Jane," recalling his young student and his feelings of grief at her loss. Opinions appeared almost as soon as Roethke's tribute to Jane, and passages about the poem continue to appear in articles and books. Recent writings by Parini, Ross-Bryant, Kalaidjian, and Stiffler disclose current assessments. According to Parini, Jane's death is not the subject of the poem; rather, her death presents an occasion for calling up a certain emotional state in which Roethke's feelings of grief and pity transcend the occasion. Following the standard of elegiac celebration of the vegetation god Adonis reaching back to Bion's Lament for Adonis and Moschus's Lament for Bion, Roethke associates the deceased with elemental aspects of nature--the plant tendrils, the pickerel, the wren--to defuse the pathos of her death. A Romantic poet, Roethke views death as a stage; the plants point to rebirth (138-39). The subject of Roethke's most famous poem (45) becomes the response to Jane's death and his ambivalent emotions at her graveside. Without the associations of earlier elegies, the emotion would surpass the occasion. Roethke mourns not only Jane, whom he knew only slightly, but also the deaths of us all (138-39). Jane presents one aspect of woman in The Waking collection (1953): Ross-Bryant views Jane as a young girl who is dead. The poem expresses concern with the coming of death. This poignant elegy is presen... ...ini and Ross-Bryant appear almost polarized in their opinion of the nature of Roethke's feelings for Jane: Parini contends that Roethke mourns for us all; Ross-Bryant feels that Roethke's grief is intensely personal. Other than the nature of than Roethke's feelings for Jane, these four critics find little to disagree about in "Elegy for Jane." Works Cited Kalaidjian, Walter B. Understanding Theodore Roethke. Columbia: U of South Carolina P, 1987. Parini, Jay. Theodore Roethke: An American Romantic. Amherst: U of Massachusetts P, 1979. Roethke, Theodore. The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1975. Ross-Bryant, Lynn. Theodore Roethke: Poetry of the Earth . . . Poet of the Spirit. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat, 1981. Stiffler, Randall. Theodore Roethke: The Poet and His Critics. Chicago: ALA, 1986.

Dialogic and Formal Analysis of Thomas Grays Elegy (Eulogy) Written in

Dialogic and Formal Analysis of Thomas Gray's Elegy (Eulogy) Written in a Country Churchyard By combining the formal and dialogical approaches, patterns and voices within the text seemingly interplay and overlap to reveal a deeper sense of the author's intentions. While the formalistic analysis focuses on the text and the unfolding themes within, the dialogical analysis recognizes "...the essential indeterminacy of meaning outside of the dialogic - and hence open - relationship between voices" (HCAL 349). When applied to "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," these two approaches collaborate to emphasize recurring concepts and establish a twisted sense of authority. Formal analysis identifies the initial elements of a work and determines their significance in relation to what remains. By selecting such a title as an "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," the author is providing the reader with an indication for what will follow. Amazingly, the poem is exactly what the title states. It is an "elegy," expressing grief and lamentation for the humble unknown villagers who hav... Dialogic and Formal Analysis of Thomas Gray's Elegy (Eulogy) Written in Dialogic and Formal Analysis of Thomas Gray's Elegy (Eulogy) Written in a Country Churchyard By combining the formal and dialogical approaches, patterns and voices within the text seemingly interplay and overlap to reveal a deeper sense of the author's intentions. While the formalistic analysis focuses on the text and the unfolding themes within, the dialogical analysis recognizes "...the essential indeterminacy of meaning outside of the dialogic - and hence open - relationship between voices" (HCAL 349). When applied to "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," these two approaches collaborate to emphasize recurring concepts and establish a twisted sense of authority. Formal analysis identifies the initial elements of a work and determines their significance in relation to what remains. By selecting such a title as an "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," the author is providing the reader with an indication for what will follow. Amazingly, the poem is exactly what the title states. It is an "elegy," expressing grief and lamentation for the humble unknown villagers who hav...

The Feudal System :: Medieval Civilization, The Middle Ages, Feudalism

The greater part of medieval civilization was a time of simplicity and little cultural development. Feudalism was the structure that governed medieval society and came to represent this time period. The church became the universal symbol of medieval unity. Toward the end of the medieval period, however, town life and large-scale trade and commerce were revived. Great changes took place in the church fostering a new era and change. Feudalism was a system of government that provided the structure for the political, social, and economic aspects of medieval civilization. It consisted of contracts between members of the nobility and less powerful nobles who served as their vassals. Economically it was a contract between the serfs who farmed that land and the nobles who owned it. Feudalism was very complex and confusing in some ways, but it could also be looked at as very simple. It was constructed in a pyramid or chess board-like form. Kings were at the top although they did not have much power, lords and vassals followed the king and had control of the lesser nobles. The serfs were at the base of the pyramid. A manor, otherwise known as the lord’s estate, was where everyone lived and worked. In exchange for a place to live, food, and mainly protection, the serfs farmed the land. Agriculture was the foundation of feudalism, where land and food was used to barter for other items. There were different taxes an d positions of distinct people on the manor. This illustrates the complexity of feudal life during the medieval ages. If you look at it as what the duties were of each specific class you see the simplicity of feudalism. Each member of medieval society had its own particular tasks to perform. The serfs preformed the most labor-intensive tasks and often did the same thing everyday. The knights protected the manor and the lords were responsible for taking care of everyone on their manor. The feudal system could be compared to a modern corporation. The serfs could be looked at as the workers, the lords as management, the knights to the security, and the king would be the CEO of the company. Feudalism was complex in its organization and simple it its implementation. During most of the medieval time period the church was the center of society and was the law of the land. The church regulated business practices, had the power to tax, controlled all people through the power of excommunication and had influence on the aesthetic aspects of life.

Citizen Kane Shot Composition

Pick 2 out of the 3 images and analyse in depth how their composition affects the storytelling of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane. Word Count: Max 600words. In this long shot we see Kane's mother in the foreground is sigining the documents for Kane to be taken by the banker. Kane however is in the background playing with the snow. It shows the innocence in Kane who is playing happily in the snow and unaware of what is happening to his future. The mother is the one signing the documents which demostrates little love for her child over herself which in course leads kane to crave love more than anything in his later life.The lighting in the scene where Kane is playing happily in the snow also is strong with little cast shadows, this shows the purity of his character. The use of the window to frame little Kane places the emphasis on him and shows how the signing of the documents will have a crucial impact on Kane. The framing also creates contrast between the joyful mood of kane playin g outside with the serious discussions in the house. The men are in a dark room, silouette of the man talking in front is seen. This shot uses only back lighting as the sole source of lighting to create a mysterious and secretive mood.The dark room signifys that the men have many questions on their mind about Charles Foster Kane and his last words, hence being â€Å"left in the dark†. The set-up also establishes the stage for the rest of the story. None of the men are actually in the focus in this shot, it shows that neither of them are of adequate significance in the story. The way the room is lid also expresses the filmmaker's views about members of the media. The strong light and shadow contrast shows the characters' somewhat shady intentions for uncovering the last words of kane.

Nationalism With A Purpose Essay

The First and the Second World War changed the outlook of the world. Empires ceased to exist. A new concept of nations came into being. Colonies of European countries started to get their independence from foreign rule in quick succession.. Boundaries and territories became essential in deciding where a nation started and ended. Nations have been fighting with each other over boundary lines since history has been recorded however frontiers became exceptionally important with the end of the Second World War and the emergence of the Third world. One place where boundary lines and territory was of great importance was in the Indian subcontinent, which had been under the control of the British Empire from 1858 to 1947. The Indian sub-continent was to be decolonized and partitioned into two countries. A Muslim dominated, Pakistan and a Hindu dominated, India. Surprisingly, it was the first time that nations were being partitioned on the basis of religion. The partition led to many problem s between the two countries. One such issue was the conflict over the state of Kashmir. The dispute over Kashmir has dogged relations between India and Pakistan since the states were created by the partition of British India in 1947. The two countries have fought three wars (in 1947-48, 1965 and 1999). They have also been on the verge of resorting to nuclear weapons over this issue. The fight over Kashmir is an unending conflict. The biggest reason for its insolvability is that leaders of both nations have used religious nationalism to justify the wars and the struggle to incorporate Kashmir while masking the underlying motive of gaining economic and strategic advantages from it. Not both countries only Pakistan The conflict of Kashmir can be traced back to the time of partition and to the events that occurred during the time period when British controlled India was to be divided on religious lines. The state had been under the rule of the Sikh empire and the British had managed to exert their influence on the Singh rulers of the time. The State of Kashmir was important to the British because it worked as buffer zone to prevent invasion into India by Russia, China and Afghanistan. Therefore, as the British desire d the Sinkh monarchy rulers were generally puppets of the Britishprecisely following their orders in word and action. A close alliance was formed between the British and the rulers of Kashmir in this way. However, the partition of the sub-continent brought the in built tensions  amongst the Muslims and Hindus over the state of Kashmir to the forefront.. Muslims under the Muslim League and Hindus under the Congress had been constantly endeavoring for more rights and representation from the British throughout the 1880’s and 90’s. The British finally decided to give India its independence, but the Muslims and Hindus felt entitled to separate states based on a religious divide which according to both was too great for both of them to exist harmoniously. Muslims felt entrapped as a minority in a Hindu dominant country. Through the efforts of Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League and Nehru, the leader of the congress, a plan was proposed to separate the two countries. It was the first time in history that such a partition was taking place on the basis of religion. After the failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan for a unified India on 1946, the British government announced it s ‘definite intention to take necessary steps to effect the transference of power to responsible Indian hands by a date not later than June 1948.’ Thus, the British sent their last viceroy, Lord Mountbatten to oversee the partition in of the most volatile regions of the world. The general plan of the partition was that the huge areas of Punjab, Bengal and Assam were to be divided according to the majority of the religion in the area. Therefore, the Muslim majority areas ceded to Pakistan and the Hindu majority areas to India. There were a number of princely states that were given the option to cede to India or Pakistan based on a vote to take into account the wishes of the local population. Kashmir was a Muslim majority state with a Hindu ruler. The ruler Hari Singh was confused as to where he should cede. Meanwhile, Sir Cyrill Radcliffe was sent by the British government to make an exact boundary line to divide the Punjab province now famously referred to as the Radcliffe Award Boundary Commission. According to the commission, the three Muslim majority tehsils of the Gurdaspur district were given to India. This went against the laws, which divided the rest of India. Nonetheless, Hari Singh’s hesitation to cede to either nation was to be the reason for his own tragedy. (Was Kashmir part of one of the tehsils given to India by Radcliffe? If not the last two sentences make, no sense.) With nation building and the formation of a new states came the concept of ‘nationalism.’ Nationalism involves the concept of an imagined community by a particular community. It includes certain people in this imagined community and excludes others. India was portioned on the basis of  religion so they had envisioned what areas came into their respective imagined communities. Unfortunately, they both envisioned Kashmir to be a part of their newly founded nations. As religious nationalism was the basis of the partition of India, it also became a veil to mask the real motives for the fight for Kashmir between the newly independent states of Pakistan and India. Kashmir had a Muslim majority population of 3,101,247 (77.1 %). The first war over Kashmir was fought in 1947 when there was a Poonch uprising in the state against Hari Singh. Pakistan sent in forces to secure the area out of fear that Kashmir would end up going to India. However, against preliminary plans the Paki stani troops ended up trying to invade Srinagar, Kahsmir’s capital. Hari Singh was afraid and made a deal to cede to India if India helped fight Pakistan. The fact that Pakistan and India fight a war over Kashmir a few months after they came into existence provided they had very limited supplies and could hardly stand up on their own as independent countries speaks volumes of the states religious and hidden economic importance. It is pertinent to look back at what Jinnah said to the Kashmiri leaders during the 1947 partition highlighting the decision of Hari Singh. In his speech, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, first governor general of Pakistan said, â€Å"I hope that the Maharaja and the Prime Minister of Kashmir will realize the fast changing circumstances and wisdom demands that the feelings of the Muslims who form eighty percent of the population should not be ignored, much less hurt.’ Therefore, it you observe closely, Jinnah made the issue of Kashmir, an issue to do with Islam and Muslims. The rhetoric he states in his speech is for a plea to pro tect the wishes of the ‘Muslims’ in Kashmir. The civilians in the newly founded Pakistan would also think in the same way about the issue of Kashmir as having to do with Islam and their duty to help their Muslim brothers. The tact of religious nationalism is used as a mask. The very first president of Pakistan used this to make a claim over Kashmir. Therefore, the claim for Kashmir to be part of Pakistan as a religious mission was indeed a pertinent ploy to guarantee the support of civilians of the state. The second war was fought over Kashmir in 1965. After the first war, the British had decided on a plebiscite to take place in Kashmir to decide its fate. India and Pakistan had both initially agreed on this but India went back on its word and occupied Kashmiri territory. Therefore, the 1965 war was fought on the same platform. At the time,  President Ayub Khan was in power in Pakistan, a military dictator and the first of many that the country would see in its short history. The collection of the speeches of the soldier and statesman, organized by Rais Ahmd Jafri shows how he too follows a similar agenda about religious nationalism during his tenure as leader of Pakistan. The first is a speech on 25th August 1961 in Karachi at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs. He states â€Å"The difference between Pakistan and other Muslim countries is that the upsurge in these other Muslim countries is racial, linguistic, territorial, anti-imperialist, anti-colonial and very little religious.† Therefore, we can see that like Jinnah, Ayub Khan preached about the importance of Islam in Pakistan. He tried to inform Pakistanis about the significance of religion in the formation of their state of Pakistan and their role as falg bearers of Islam in the region. In his first broadcast on 1st November 1963, Ayub Khan made another speech in regards to the situation in Kashmir. He stated, â€Å"The government and the people of India know that they have no right to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The world at large knows it. So the proposed integration would only heighten India’s guilt. It would correspondingly heighten our resolve to free our bret hren from their bondage. Those who transgress deceive nobody except themselves.† Looking at this excerpt from this speech, we can see how Ayub Khan was preparing the civilians for another war with India. He claimed Pakistan’s right for Kashmir on the basis of Islam decisively labeling the residents of Kashmir as brothers of the citizens of Pakistan. Kashmir is a Muslim populated area and thus it is Pakistan’s responsibility to free their ‘brethren.’ Ayub Khan is using religion as a rhetorical force here. With Islam as a mechanism, Pakistanis would believe that they it is their responsibility to God to help other Muslim brothers and support the upcoming war and struggle for Kashmir. Therefore, it is vial to see how Pakistani leaders over time have used religion as a basis to motivate Pakistanis to think that the freedom of Kashmir is their responsibility and thae oppressors of their Kashmiri brother’s, enemies of Pakistan and Muslims in general. Similarly, India used nationalistic mechanisms and rhetoric to convince civilians and army officers to fight and support the war, while hiding the real economic intentions in regards to Kashmir. The ‘1965 War Story- Defense Minister Y.B Chavan’s Diary of India-Pakistan War gives an insight into how the same  sense of nationalism had influenced Indians during the crisis. On September 20, 1965 Chavan writes in his diary, â€Å" It was not an accident but was shot fown by Pakistani fighter planes near Bhuj. It was surprising that the plane went off the track nearly by 50 miles between Ahmedabad-Mithapur. I hate these Pakistanis.† Therefore, this quote shows a different perspective. It shows the opinion and the thoughts of someone who was at service to India. Hate is a strong word to use, but yet Chavan casually writes it down in his diary. Therefore, nationalistic forces help create animosity. They declare the other side to be the ‘enemy.’ In this case, Pakistanis are bad and they should be hated. This mentality about Pakistanis being the enemy helped the generals and army officers to wage war against Pakistan. It was a way for them to suppor t and fight the war. It is important to see how leaders of the state had brainwashed army officers into listening to the states orders. Most generals and minister did not even know what they were fighting for or what they hoped to achieve. They were simply following orders with hate for the Pakistanis due to the differences that the state had created for them. (This bolded part is very vague and not clear at all. Diaries are suppose to be casual, its his personal diary not a novel. In a state of war the other side is suppose to be the enemy. Maybe you should highlight how the indian government tried to increase nationalism maybe by using religion or the atrocities of the Muslims or some other reason to motivate its forces.) The diary of an Indian war captive in Pakistan shows another similar example of this nationalism effect on the Indians. LT Col SS Chowdhary writes in his personal narrative called, ‘Prisoner of War,† about his experiences as a captive on enemy soil in the 1965 war. This source is important because it shows the views about Pakistan from an Indian colonel. Unlike the former presidents of Pakistan, Ayub Khan and Muhammad Jinnah, the colonel is not promoting the nationalism that leads to hat red and animosity but he is actually on the side that is getting influenced. He talks about the hatred felt during sport matches between India and Pakistan. He says, â€Å"They would lose to any country but India. So much is their hatred for India.† Therefore, we can see the extent to which people on both sides hate each other. The whole concept of a ‘them’ and and ‘us’ is created by nationalism and is the creation of leaders of state to justify war. He goes on to talk about his experience in the reflection state  when he says, â€Å"A Muslim is generally considered to be cruel and unkind.† Therefore, his experience as a prisoner of war changes his perspective about Muslims. It is important to realize that Hindus and Muslims grow up considering the other to be cruel, unkind and generally ‘bad.’ It is the leaders of the state that carry out this propaganda to meet their own aims and steer the sentiment of the general public in their way. (you should elaborate in this paragraph what created that hate of them and us between the two states, that’s hat you thesis is about.) Going t hrough examples of both countries, it is visible that religion was the basis of the partition of the subcontinent. However, religious nationalism was used by the states to brainwash the public into hating their respective neighbor. Both India and Pakistan have used religious differences to create hostility within their populations towards the other. This is the clever tactic that was used and is still being used by both countries in order to hide the real reason for fighting over Kashmir. The real purpose is that India and Pakistan both seek to gain economically and strategically from taking over Kashmir. This can easily be seen from the fact that Pakistan lost East Pakistan (Bangladesh). Bangladesh got its independence from Pakistan in 1971. Bangladesh is a Muslim populated area and was a part of Pakistan. The injustices Pakistan inflicted on Bangladesh furthers the case that Pakistan does not care about Muslim brothers. Like other countries, it only seeks to gain economic and strategic advances. Similarly, India also seeks to gain immensely from taking over Kashmir and creates a faà §ade about her sovereign and nationalistic right to take over it. After this part the essay is good! Kashmir is much more than disputed territory. It is a haven for untapped natural resources and land. Geographically, it can be divided into the two states of Jammu and Kashmir encompassing 84,471 square miles. It is the largest state in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. An article about the economic background of Kashmir by S.M Hudda shows us the economic potential of Kashmir and the benefits that both countries could gain if they took over it. Unlike other areas of the world, Kashmir is untapped. It has immense natural resources that have not been exploited. Even the mineral resources of the country are largely unexplored except in Riazi and Jammu. Therefore, both Pakistan and India are developing countries and can use Kashmir to tap  these mineral and natural resources. The article further states that Kashmir has an abundance of water resources. Hydel power could be generated using these water resources. India and Pakistan have extreme power shortages throughout the country and are in need for more power resources. This could solve their problem of power shortages. Therefore, this article provides evidence as to how Kashmir is a haven of untapped natural resources and one of the major reasons that both states are fighting over it. Kashmir also has a unique strategic location. This strategic location could help both countries militarily and economically. Kashmir borders Russia, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Thus Kashmir works as a valuable window on these other regional powers. If Pakistan gets Kashmir, it can gain a military advantage over India. It will have a direct route to India and can attack it easily in the advent of war. India would have a similar advantage. The country, which gets a hold of Kashmir, can protect its borders this way. Thus, the national security of Kashmir is vital for the security of both India and Pakistan. Kashmir also maintains a key position as a trading route. It provides a pass to trade with Central Asia. India and Pakistan could gain economically from the exports and imports from this trading route. Sec ondly, another strategic advantage that India and Pakistan both seek to gain is in regards to the water resources. Water is a vital resource for any country’s self-reliance. Shockingly, the rivers Sindh, Ravi, Jhelum and Chena that flow through India and Pakistan originate in Kashmir. These rivers are important to support the economy of both Pakistan and India. Both countries are agro-based and dominantly depend on agriculture to support them. Therefore, these rivers prove as a lifeline to both countries. Even so, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first president of Pakistan has been quoted saying that Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan for this very reason. Both countries also fear that if the other gets hold of Kashmir, then they will cut the water supply to the other. Therefore, it is visible that Kashmir has great strategic and economic value to both Pakistan and India. Despite these advantages, India and Pakistan also exploit Kashmir to their benefit. This also proves the claim that both countries have never been interested in protecting the rights of the people and the only interest has been an economic one. An article in the Economic and Political Weekly explores the exploitation of Kashmir by India. It states that India seeks to  gain greatly from Kashmir. The article states, â€Å"Furthermore, though couched in terms of security, this is not a question of security. The real question is that of expansion, security is a way of justifying that expansion in terms that appeal to national sentiments. What is at stake is not a genuine security interest, but the interest of being able to exploit markets and being able to dispose of labor surplus.† Therefore, we can see that India has been exploiting markets in Kashmir for a long time and this is why she wants complete control. Another example of such exploitation is that India shows that it supports and gives aid to Kashmir but actually this leads to more financial burden. The budget deficit of Kashmir was 370 crore rupees and 300 crore were from interest payments from India. Also, India has built a highway linking Jammu and Srinigar . This highway helps India gain security but it also helps them in ‘taking out Kashmir’s timber and other primary products out.’ Ironically, the money for the highway comes directly from Kashmir’s budget. India is only looking out for its own selfish interest and is completely exploiting its Kashmiri colony. This is why it wants to take complete control of Kashmir. Commercial trade is also another way that India is exploiting Kashmir. India has managed to exert influence and developed free trade with Kashmir. Kashmir has two natural resources: forests and water. There has been extensive deforestation and the wood has been taken out and used for Indian railways. The hydroelectric power plant contracts also go almost entirely to Indian companies. Therefore, India is not capitally investing in Kashmir but is only investing in power generations and transmission so she can better exploit Kashmir’s natural resources. Pakistan has also followed a similar expl oitation method in its colony of Kashmir. It proves the argument that religious nationalism is only part of propaganda that state leaders have made and continue to make to solidify their claim over Kashmir. The people of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan’s colony have sent hundreds of requests to the Pakistani High Commissioner in London to grant them export licenses so they could establish small scale industries in Kashmir. All these requests were not accepted, while Pakistani nationals were given export licenses for machinery. Another example of such exploitation is that there are eight thousand Kashmiri workers living in Britain who send remittances of about a million pounds each month to their families in Kashmir. Ironically, Pakistanis also own most of the banks in  Kashmir. Hence, the Pakistani government earns a huge amount of profits through foreign exchange and invests the money into Pakistan. Like India, Pakistan also exploits the forest reserve of Kashmir. The forest contracts are given to Pakistani nationals who offer much less than Kashmiri nationals. Surprisingly, most of the contracts are given to members of the military service. Pakistan has also prevented the workers to form a union in Kashmir while it has been allowed in Pakistan. Therefore, we can see that Azad Kashmir is a colony like Bangladesh was. Pakistan does not care about her ‘Muslim brethren.’ That is the charade they use in order to get complete control of Kashmir so they can gain full economic advantage through exploitation. However, we have seen how nationalism is a newly invented ideology and how powerful it is. States use it to brainwash the public and members of the civil and military sector to hide real intentions. In the case of Kashmir, the issue has not ended since the partition in 1947. The biggest reason for this unending conflict is that both states have used religious nationalism to show the other as the ‘enemy.’ In the case of Pakistan, both former presidents have used Islam as a rhetorical device to convince civilians. In the case of India, the effect of this religious nationalism can be seen on the military officers who are willing to die for the sake of defeating the enemy. However, it is used to hide the underlying objective of both countries- gain economic and strategic advantages. Therefore, whoever seeks to gain Kashmir gains immensely from exploiting its natural resources, market and suppressed laborers? The issue could have been resolved if religious nationalism was put to the side and an economic deal was made between both India and Pakistan. Nonetheless, it shows how state leaders can use nationalism as a tool to herd people to their cause and exploit them in this way.

There are always ups and downs associated with any line of business

There are always ups and downs associated with any line of business. IT is not an exception. During downturn profit margins take a toll and consumer confidence plummets. Business executives around the world eagerly scan the latest report on economic indicators and search for good news. Downturn affects many segments. It is not only the industry that experiences the negatives of the economy, but also the common man is affected. Economic uncertainty elicits different reactions from different firms. Some organizations simply tread water and attempt to ride out the storm; others swim upstream with the intent to move ahead of their competitors. As executives rethink their business strategies, they should consider a variety of approaches – including some that are not immediately obvious given today's uncertain economic climate. 2 Problem Definition Understanding the problem is a key to solving it. Howsoever generic this statement may be, it is apt to say that the strategies and actions formulated to emerge strong in downturn may not succeed without understanding how the downturn was caused. It is imperative to understand the factors that influence the downturn and how a particular downturn may be triggered. The cause could be many; a particular industry segment might not meet expectations and could trigger decrease in growth in other sectors. E.g. the dot com burst. In this section we endeavor to list down indicators that could possible play a role in causing the downturn. Along with it we also list down the reactions that companies worldwide give to tackle downturns. By way of research we would like to present how these reactions can indeed be made operational strategies to emerge victorious in the downturn. 2.1 Economic Downturn – Defined Economic Downturn is defined by a significant decline in total output, income, employment, and trade, usually lasting from six months to a year, and marked by widespread contractions in many sectors of the economy. Downturns can be * Industry specific * Economy based * Long term/ short term or * Geography specific The severity of an Economic Downturn is measured through parameters like: Economy * Employment * GDP Growth * Interest rates * Inflation * Investments * Public Expenditure Corporate * Lack of growth in profitability * Falling earning outlooks * Squeeze in margins * Drop in share price Index * Low dividends * High investor expectation * Dried-up cash flow * Low capacity utilization * Urgent need for cost optimization * Increased market competition * Stagnant Markets – Non expanding – Frozen pie vs. Expanding Pie People * Fall in Personal income * Fall in Personal expenditure * Fall in Private Investments 2.2 Company Reactions during downturn Companies adopt various tactics that can help them emerge stronger and subsequently more competitive when the economic upturn arrives. Forward-thinking initiatives that concentrate on lowering an organization's ongoing cost structure are more effective than blanket budget cuts. The tactics focus equally on efficiency and expansion, since businesses keen on moving ahead have to consider both perspectives. In fact, when corporate coffers are clamped shut, companies must rely on efficiency gains to fund expansion initiatives 2.2.1 Cut Costs Cutting the cost is probably the most obvious option for a company when margins are thin. Cost cutting is done in different forms and many of the following options directly or indirectly deal with them. 2.2.2 Improve Focus In boom times, the proverbial strategy is to let a thousand flowers bloom. However, when the financial picture darkens, the businesses tend to do some pruning. An economic downturn becomes an ideal time to focus the corporation's scarce resources -both marketing and manufacturing dollars – on the most popular, promising or profitable products and brands. In other words, invest in the best and ignore the rest. Savings from consolidation efforts can then be applied to further support selected focus areas. Similarly, businesses try to concentrate on acquiring and retaining the most profitable customer sets: How? 1. Forego expensive mass-marketing efforts; instead, market directly to carefully targeted prospects 2. Focus efforts on serving top accounts better than ever. Understand customer cost and revenue drivers to determine the real â€Å"top accounts†, then consider e-commerce and self-service solutions that can increase satisfaction while lowering costs. 3. Learn to effectively use information that is already available in-house to build revenues from the existing customer base. By combining in-house information with proprietary market data, the company can start to understand the â€Å"why† of customer preferences and build a stronger competitive advantage. 2.2.3 Ease points of pain When revenues are climbing continuously, inefficiencies are easy to ignore; declines in per-unit margins can be made up through volume. But when growth stalls, margins come under tremendous scrutiny, forcing companies to inspect every aspect of their business for possible improvements. Rarely can a business simply stop performing a function; instead, it must find a way to accomplish the task differently. This often requires the help of technology. Surplus inventory, high work-in-process and supply-and-demand discrepancies are more costly than ever. By digitally linking the entire supply chain and collaborating electronically with suppliers and customers, companies can potentially lower costs in the short term and improve market responsiveness over time. 2.2.4 Share costs It's not surprising that when margins are squeezed, firms search out and eliminate redundancy. Internal and external best practices implemented through shared or common business models across the enterprise can dramatically lower costs while increasing competitiveness. However, an â€Å"all or nothing† approach to standardization can sometimes backfire. When implementation teams look beneath the surface of â€Å"common functions†, they often discover legitimate needs for variance. Before too long, the cost of processing exceptions outweighs the anticipated synergy savings. An effective shared services strategy requires a deeper analysis up front – pursuing similar parts, not necessarily the whole function. Rather than forcing each function – regardless of line of business – into a standard mold, look for naturally occurring affinities, pinpoint specific areas of similarity, and combine those particular pieces. 3 Analysis 3.1 Reasons for Downturn Studies have shown that the following are the main reasons for downturn: 60% of the respondents feel that this downturn is caused by normal fluctuations in business cycles. The fluctuations in share markets are attributed as the reason for downturn by 20% of the respondents. Only 15% of the respondents felt that the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center is the cause for the downturn. This shows that people perceive downturn as a natural phenomenon happening due to ups and downs in the economy. Terrorist attacks and other reasons, are not the main factors causing downturn, but they can trigger an already bad situation worse. 3.2 How do people see the downturn Majority (61%) of the people feel that downturn is an opportunity to find newer markets, restructure their organization and fine-tune the process to increase productivity. The findings here support our arguments provided in the previous section. Downturn is definitely an opportunity for businesses to take a look at their processes, the way they provide services to customers, markets and other factors affecting them and improve their way of working. 3.3 Strategies to focus during downturn Studies found that during a downturn the energies of people are concentrated in keeping their customers happy. 32% of the people have made this as their primary focus area. The other areas where people are concentrating are in strengthening the sales and distribution/marketing. When getting new business is tough, it makes sense to keep the existing customers happy, provide them the extra bit for their dollar and come up with innovative ideas to service them. Keeping the existing business stable can sustain the current revenues and increase. Repeat business can increase the revenues. With these factors in mind, people are following customer centric strategies to face the downturn. 3.4 HR strategies during downturn Human Resources are on of the key focus area during a downturn. Cost can be cut cost by retrenching employees. Productivity can be increased by extending the working hours or by employing cross-functional training. â€Å"Punish the non-performers† is the key mantra. 80% of the respondents have stated that this is the primary task that needs to be accomplished or that their companies have started identifying non-performers and taken steps to ensure that employees perform to expectations. Some of them advocate extending the working hours. There seems to be not much support for unpaid leave or freezing salaries among the people interviewed. 3.5 Outsourcing as an option Downturns might pose a good opportunity to study what the companies are doing the best and discard the rest. Outsourcing to low cost destinations is definitely being looked as a possible opportunity. 76% of the respondents feel that they should resort to outsourcing non-core activities. 4 Suggested Strategy to Manage Downturns â€Å"Recessions, sound a lot worse than they are — in part because they're a great opportunity to move forward on key strategies and to take on competitors.† To get through a recession the most important thing for a company to do is to keep a positive attitude and identify its challenges and convert them into opportunities. There are various strategies that a company can adopt to not only survive but also grow in a reversionary economy. Based on the various arguments and data provided in the previous sections, we are in a position to present these action items to manage business in a downturn. We have grouped them under different functional management areas. 4.1 Core Competencies Recession is the time when a company must concentrate on its core competencies. Core Competence implies Resource, strength, skills or a combination that provide tangible advantage to a firm. It is very essential for the company to maintain focus and do what it does best. It is dangerous for a company to venture into unknown territories with an intention to broad-base itself, as one wrong decision could make it fall deep in the red. Every company must take stock of its strengths and leveraging unique strengths that are difficult to emulate. It should strive to enhance its knowledge and skill by keeping in touch with the market requirements. Identify strengths and axe weaknesses. This can translate in restructuring, selling or closing weak or mediocre businesses. Selling is particularly difficult, as the same division might have fetched much more in good days. In a downturn, this aspect should not change the focus. Companies cannot afford to waste money and management attention in areas that destroy value or limit their ability to invest in the future. Young companies may not have enough run way for the next year or two. They must rapidly adopt survival strategies. Tough choices range from giving up equity at low valuations; merging with compatible product or service companies; partnering to, in effect, use other people's resources; or narrowing the strategic focus to a bare minimum. A careful study and analysis will help in taking the right decision. 4.2 Customer is the King Repeat business from customers is important to maintain profitability. It has been proven that, repeat business accounts for around 70% of the total business in most of the established companies. Customer delight should be the focus. Offer something to the customer, which not only exceeds his expectations but also goes even beyond it. E.g. Special features in a software application/product in line with the customer requirements. Infosys receives 85% of its revenues from its existing customers. This is what we can call as a â€Å"Customer focused capabilities† which Infosys has built over a period of time. Customer delight can also be achieved by actually sending out people on the field and spending time with the customers to find out their requirements, the value they put on the product or service offered by the company, their level of satisfaction with the quality and other suggestions they can offer to better our product. This strategy was recently adopted by Hindustan Lever Ltd. with their â€Å"feel the pulse† drive. 4.3 Human Resource 4.3.1 Talent Retention At the outset, we have shown that recession and growth form a continuous circle. Therefore, it is imperative for companies to resist the temptation of cutting costs through retrenchment, as it sows the problem of rehiring professionals when the economy turns around. Instead, companies should encourage their employees to accept pay-cuts, and cross- train them so as to equip them with the necessary skills that will help the company take advantage of the opportunities that arise once the situation improves. Many companies that want to cut costs during recession adopt the policy of downsizing. A vast number of talented professionals are thus available for recruitment. Managers can take advantage of this favorable situation by recruiting these professionals after thoroughly interviewing them, thus testing their competency levels, attitudes, and the organizational culture fit. 4.3.2 Miscellaneous Actions Companies can resort to cross-train people in view of the opportunities that can come up after the recession is over. This is more like doing an investment in hope of better time to come In case of situations that warrant stopping the production, companies can ask the employees to take unpaid leaves or giving extended weekends. Lucent has adopted this strategy. It can have a downside to it by way of loosing talented employees because of employees getting demoralized. Offering additional perks to those who can get in more business can motivate employees. This can be mainly applicable to the marketing and sales force. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric Co. called pay freezes â€Å"the worst crime of management† and underscored his long-held belief in a meritocracy approach that consistently rewards the top 20% of employees and dismisses the bottom 10%. While he was CEO at GE, Welch said, 75% of his time was spent â€Å"evaluating people† and raising the company's intellectual capital â€Å"through candid evaluations.† 5 Conclusion: Economic Downturn is a phenomenon that occurs at different spheres of the society and attracts a lot of attention from the corporate world, the policy makers and of course the common man. The strategies to set things right are also decided at various levels and encompass a wide range of actions. Above study consists of observing typical industry response to downturn, conducting primary research through surveys and analyzing the data and secondary research through analyzing reports and news available in business journals and internet research groups like Gartner, Meta group etc.

Banning the use of cell phones Essay

TITLE: Why banning the use of cell phones while driving should be mandatory nationwide. 1a.General purpose: To highlight the mis-use of hand-held cell phones whilst driving. 1b.Specific purpose: To reduce road fatalities; by persuading the Government of St.Vincent and the Grenadines to implement a law banning motorists from using cell phones on all roads (major and minor roads) in non-emergencies cases. 1c.Central Idea: Using a cell phone can distract motorists, leading them to taking their eyes off the road or to lose their concentration whilst driving which involves teens. Main Points: mis-use of hand-held cell phones road fatalities mandatory intervention Summarize the Key Points of Introduction 1. Cell phones can be useful in many situations. However they are now being mis-used in non-emergencies cases such as making or receiving regular standard calls, texting and being on others social network sites whilst driving. 2. Road fatalities have increased resulting from poor driving by motorists especially teens whilst they are on their cell phones. Many motorist, pedestrians and animals have been killed or seriously injured due motorist distractions. 3. The Government should implement a law banning motorist from using cell phones on all roads (major and minor roads) throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines as a means of reducing road fatalities Conclusion Cell phones have been around for over 30years and are now accessible to a range of people; they can be a valuable communication device. However, when used inappropriately, this can lead to road collisions and fatality. References * In 2006, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group Http//:ven.wikipedia .org/wiki/texting- while-driving In 2006 article American Automobile Association International Telecommunication Union (NTSB) Why banning the use of cell phones while driving should be mandatory nationwide. I will be highlighting why banning the use of a cell phones whilst driving should be mandatory throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines. I will be focusing on situations where the cell phone is being used for non- emergencies when driving. Cellular phones were first introduced into civilian life and the market place around the mid- 1980s. Before this period it was used mainly in the military and in some businesses. Over the years, there has been dramatic growth in the use cell phones. Today cell phones are available to everyone around the world regardless of their age or status. The indiscriminate use of hand held cell phones by persons while driving has resulted in many fatal accidents in recent years and as such is a compelling reason for Parliament to enact legislated to address this precautious situation by banning the use of cell phones while driving in St.Vincent and the Grenadines. It well established that in attentive caused by some forms of distraction is the most common cause of vehicle accidents, engaging in a conversation on a cell phone while driving is a serious distraction in the sense that people lose focus being so imbibed in the conversation that they become totally loss to the surrounding activities. It may be arguable that accidents caused by cell phone use are far less than those caused by other forms of distractions but that is not important in considering whether a total ban should be placed on the use of cell phone while driving. What is of utmost importance is the safety o the general public; it is not of prime necessity to use a cell phone while driving. A driver may be better advised to pull over at the side of road, stop and use his or her cell phone whether be in to dial a number or to receive an incoming call or text messages which is becoming more popular in today technology world. According to Liberty Mutual Insurance Group 2006 conducted a survey of more than 90 teen from twenty six high schools across United States. The result showed that 37% of students considering texting to be  Ã¢â‚¬Å"very† or â€Å"extremely† distracting. A study by the America Automobile Association discovered that 46% of teens admitted to being distracted behind the wheel because of texting. This distracting is alarming The risk of crashing while texting because reading or sending a text diverts the driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds—the same as driving the length of a football field, blind, at 55 mph. The International Telecommunication Union states that â€Å"texting, making calls, and other interaction with in-vehicle information and communication systems while driving is a serious source of driver distraction and increases the risk of traffic accidents increases by 23 times. While celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey have campaigned against texting while driving, there are reports that the message has not been getting through to teenagers. Perhaps the force and might of government authority might be able to get through to them. The practice has been viewed by many people and authorities as dangerous. It has also been ruled as the cause of some motor -vehicle accidents, and in some places has been outlawed or restricted. Is there any reason why my country St. Vincent and the Grenadines cannot emulate such a restriction? Cell phones have become a valuable devise for communicating with others. However, there are situations where it can be said that they are being misused. This would include texting whilst driving, receiving or sending calls and accessing face-book/Twitter and instant messaging on whatever social networks. I will make mention of how texting, using face book and using twitter could endanger the life of the driver, animals, passengers and/or other motorist and pedestrians on the road. (Road collisions and fatality). It is so sad that one’s life have to end just like that or turn into a vegetable because of someone else careless mistake and their future dreams are scattered. The use of cell phone while driving should not be allowed to continue unabsorbed in any civilized society where human life is valued at the highest. Laws should not only be enacted but they must be enforced and the punishment shall be such as to deter would be offenders. Therefore they must not only penalties but penalties should be rather serious and fitting the  offence of using a cell phone while driving. Cell phones have been around for over approximately 30years and are now accessible to a range of people; they can be a valuable communication device. However, when used inappropriately, this can lead to road collisions and fatality.