Saturday, August 31, 2019
Load shading Crisis in Nepal
Nepal is being ravaged by the electricity crisis. The electricity crisis of this millennium began in 2006. Nepal saw the last electricity crisis of the last millennium in 1999 and, with the commissioning of Khimti project in 2000, there was no load shedding through till 2005. Nepal was grappling with the problem of flood in the first week of August 2008, with resultant loss of life and limb as well as property in the hilly areas and Terai of the west Nepal. NEA was imposing a load shedding of 2 hours each day, two days a week.With effect from 27th August, 2008 the load shedding hours was increased to 16. 5 hours/week. The increase of load shedding by more than 4 times was ascribed to (a) inability to import power from India, due to collapse of a particular transmission tower in east Nepal caused by the breach of Koshi embankment, and consequent flooding of the area and (b) low water level in Kulekhani reservoir. There was one more reason behind the â€Å"augmentation†of load shedding hours which can be gleaned by studying following table closely . Why Load Shedding?It is rather normal for people to wonder why we have to put up with load shedding in a country that is endowed with an economic potential of 43,000 MW of hydropower. It is more surprising, knowing that relevant officials did have prior knowledge of what will be the demand for electricity in the country in specific years to come. NEA and other policy makers must have been in a position to prepare plans for an increase in generation. However, it is saddening to note that generation expansion has not kept pace with consumption growth.One of the problems behind this is the failure to complete project construction and commission in time – Middle Marsyangdi project is a prime example which was supposed to be completed in 2004 originally. However, looking at the magnitude of power deficit, it is not difficult to see that even with this project completed in a timely manner Nepal would have fac ed load shedding as the projects in the pipeline is not commensurate to growth of electricity consumption. Demise of Arun III and Load SheddingWith the country facing load shedding due to supply constraint, people, ranging from the then finance minister (an economist, possessing doctorate degree) and many electricity experts (self proclaimed and otherwise), have been ascribing the current electricity crisis to the cancellation of Arun III in 1995, which was scheduled to be completed in 2005. Silver lining Like in all dark cloud, some silver lining has been seen in the load shedding problem of Nepal. Candle industry, which is a flourishing cottage industry of Nepal, has further flourished due to the electricity crisis obtaining in the country.It is heart warming to note, as candle industry has high level of backward linkage, that it must be contributing to the economy significantly. Perhaps many a marital relationships, undergoing some crisis, must have taken a turn for the better du e to ubiquitous candle light during dinners frequently, even at homes! Similarly, sale of inverters, batteries, generators, solar panels, etc. also has increased by a magnitude. There is nothing to be happy about the increased turnover of these, as these have to be imported.In the case of inverters, the experts opine that use of inverters at home exacerbates the problem further as these mediums store energy inefficiently. Similarly, increase in the sales of generators has contributed to aggravation the fossil fuel crisis in the country besides contributing to environmental pollution. Due to time constraint, this paper is not able do an in-depth analysis of this aspect. Adverse impact Obviously the primary impact of load shedding is on NEA in terms of loss of revenue. In FY 2007/08 the deficit of electricity was 309. 46 GWh and at average revenue rate of Rs 6.70/kWhNEA could have earned Rs 2. 07 billion incremental revenue and would have been able to post a net profit of Rs 761 milli on, instead a net loss of Rs 1. 312 billion, but for this crisis. There was a time when even hospitals suffered due to shortage of oxygen which was ascribed to unavailability of electricity. Similarly, factories operating for 3 shifts had to operate only 2 shifts and those operating 2 shifts had to scale down to 1 shift. It even became difficult to operate a factory for a particular shift contiguously as the load shedding occurred in the middle of a shift which posed a new kind of challenge..In order to mitigate this problem, a number of industries acquired standby generators which increased the fossil fuel crisis by a magnitude. On the other hand, even after procurement of standby generators many industries were forced to stand idly by as they were unable to operate even the standby generators due to shortage of fossil fuel to operate them. Further, the load shedding problem also aggravated and compounded the fuel crisis as various factories, even shops and some households started using generators to mitigate the problem of load shedding.Besides, the use of fossil fuel as an alternative to electricity increased environmental pollution (due to industries, shops[20] etc. using backup generators) including indoor pollution. Anomaly There is a note worthy anomaly in all this – spilling of electricity (wasting generation capacity) in the midst of load shedding. In fiscal year 2007/8, as mentioned earlier, the energy demand totaled 3,490. 12 GWh while available energy was 3,180. 66 GWh only resulting in a deficit of 309. 46 GWh. However, NEA spilled 223. 378 GWh of this precious commodity during the same period .On the other hand, consumption pattern in Nepal is diametrically opposite of generation by RoR projects – high quantum of electricity consumption in the dry season (winter) and low consumption during wet (rainy) season. Kulekhani I and II – totaling 92 MW – is the only storage project in Nepal, generation from which could be tail ored to the demand. GoN Policy and Load Shedding Nepal’s Water Resource Strategy[24]stipulates that â€Å"by 2017, 2230 MW hydropower developed to meet projected demand of 2230 MW, including 400 MW for export.†According to load forecast prepared by NEA (table 5 above) peak demand in FY 2017/18 is estimated at 1770. 2 MW and to meet this level of demand the installed capacity will have to be at least or more than 3500 MW as power plants generate at around 50% of the installed capacity. Therefore, with 2230 MW in the system it will generate only about 1115 MW during the dry season and, therefore, the plan to export 400 MW will not be possible. Nepal can even escape from current petroleum product crisis significantly by electrifying transportation system (ranging from electric train, trolley bus, cable car, ropeway, electric bike, etc to even hybrid car).Actually Nepal should aim to maximize use of power generated by harnessing its water resource domestically and also benefit by forward linkaged benefits. Use electricity to lift water to irrigate, to run cold storage, to set up agro-processing industries, use for industrialization of Nepal, also to set up energy intensive industries. The policy and strategy adopted by the government based on the assumption that Nepal has excess hydropower potential, the only use of which is exporting it to a neighboring country is at the root of all the problems.Presently the policy is focused on getting free energy by allowing developers to implement projects as export oriented. Which results in cheap and better quality electricity being exported (example is West Seti, Upper Karnali and Arun III) while condemning people in Nepal to live in the dark due to load shedding, leaving industries to starve for energy and continuing with long queues for petroleum products that pollute the environment and make people sick, increasing the absenteeism from work, and spend hard earned money on medicine and medical treatment. Way forward All problems have solutions and load shedding problem is not different. In following lines an attempt is being made to come up with certain suggestions as to how the problem is best mitigated. However, due to time and space constraint, all the issues could not be dealt with here exhaustively, although one could come up with many more suggestions. GoN Policy: Nepal government should have a policy to implement as many hydropower projects as possible with domestic investment so that investment linkaged benefit will percolate into the economy.This does not mean that we should close our doors to foreign direct investment. As long as the electricity is used for the benefit of the country who is investing in the project does not matter. Secondly, Nepal should allow projects to be implemented by the investor/s (domestic or foreign) that will generate the electricity at the lowest cost. Nepal should purchase all such power (at lowest possible price) and electrify the nation massi vely (not just for lighting a few bulbs in houses, though) and export the electricity that Nepal is not able to consume at premium .What Nepal should do is, instead of dedicated export oriented power projects, she should plan to export energy during wet seasons and off peak hours when she needs to spill her electricity generation capacity while during the same window of time the electricity demand in south is at its peak, thus commanding premium tariff. In this manner we could easily get out of the trap of long term PPAs and also take advantage from the complementarity of electricity market of Nepal and India implemented at the end of the survey license period.Infrastructure: Private investors have discovered that investment in electricity generation project is a lucrative business. However, they are constrained by lack of infrastructure like transmission network and access road.. Therefore, NEA should launch a campaign to build transmission network and if it is constrained by finan cial considerations, then she should, to use an old euphemism, beg, borrow or steal to build the transmission network where it enjoys both comparative and competitive advantage.Becomes clear by looking at the highest priority accorded to Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur trans-border transmission line that will be used to evacuate power from Arun III and Tamakoshi projects in Nepal. Moreover, all the connection points proposed across the border in India, like Gorakhpur, Purnea and Muzaffarpur (except for Silguri), are load centers suffering power deficit. Delayed Completion of Projects: A part of the load shedding problem is attributable to construction delays. Implementation of hydropower projects by NEA is fraught with both cost overrun and time overrun risks as the experience shows.Therefore, the best use of national resource is to have hydropower projects implemented by private sector that seems to be able to implement projects effectively and efficiently both in terms of cost and time. In order to mitigate this problem NEA should review structure and content of construction/supply contracts that it signs with contractors and suppliers and adopt construction/supply contracts which are not open ended (fixed time and fixed price) – not affording any latitude for increase in cost or completion time (to use the popular phrase with no scope for any â€Å"variation order†).System Mismatch: With the total installed capacity of over 687 MW now, the system is generating less than half of that during the dry season when the demand is at its peak, thereby creating electricity crisis. Nepal not only needs to have a reliable storage project in its stable but she should also supplement peak period demand by implementing daily pondage projects. NEA should also seek the cooperation of private sector to solve the system mismatch problem, by introducing bulk besides the seasonal variation in the tariff as it has now adopted for projects of up to 25 MW.Investment friendly environment: In order to assess the role of investment friendly environment in the implementation of hydropower projects, it’s educative to compare the target and achievement of 9th and 10th five year plans. Loss control: NEA announced that its net system loss was 25. 15% in 2007/08 and 26. 71% in 2006/07 This is total of both technical and non-technical loss. Technical loss can be significantly reduced by up to 7-8 percentage points by strengthening the transmission network which will definitely help in reducing load shedding durationSmart Retail Tariff: At present NEA has a specific slab structure of tariff for all kinds of domestic consumers irrespective of whether their demand for electricity is elastic (whether consuming it for luxurious uses like operating air conditioner, refrigerator or laundry machine) or not (use it just to ward off darkness). NEA has a social tariff of Rs 4/kWh up to 20 kWh – at which rate NEA doesn’t recover its cost (of generation, transmission plus distribution).Under the current policy the social tariff is not limited to indigent people only, NEA tariff should be amended to make social tariff available to only those who deserve it – poorest of the poor. Under a crude estimate, just with this one change NEA will earn incremental revenue of Rs 1 billion. Encourage Private Sector to Install More Capacity: Due to increase in the cost of construction materials like steel, cement, etc. private developers are asking for an increase in bulk tariff NEA offers to the private sector.GoN needs to understand that it doesn’t make sense for it GoN to earn revenue while NEA is hemorrhaging because NEA is also fully owned by GoN. Instead of revenue from duties, GoN should vie to reap benefit by the multiplier effects that will be caused by electrification of the country. What the government needs to remember is that sacrifice of revenue by it to increase domestic consumption will eventually enrich the macro eco nomy, hence the government, gaining from the multiplier effect on the economy due to forward linkages of electricity uses. Same is not true in the case of export oriented projects ConclusionIt is rather tragicomic to have a country like Nepal, richly endowed with water resources, suffer from the problem of load shedding. Besides, the problem is not too difficult to solve if only the hydrocracy (intelligentsia, politicos and bureaucracy involved in hydropower sector) starts to think outside the box. The problem is rooted in the tunnel vision. Because, although NEA has promised respite from it by 2013/14, it is clear from above discussion that even if the projects in the â€Å"pipeline†are commissioned by the promised date, the load shedding will not vanish.The load shedding is not happening because the decision makers are unable to figure out what will be the demand for the years to come or such data is not available to them. with regard to policy as well as with regard to wh en to start implementation of specific project to augment generation capacity – are not taken at appropriate time, the bureaucracy is unable to ensure that the projects under implementation are completed within expected time.
Friday, August 30, 2019
How to solve high employee turnover rate in a retail company or retail business? Essay
Introduction The problem of high turnover employee rate is quite a spread problem that most businesses have been facing for years. Employee turnover has a negative influence on the efficiency of business, profits, customer service and satisfaction from customers in different businesses and industries. The recent study made by Roper Starch Worldwide, Inc. and Unify Network in a wide range of industries and businesses showed a strong link between employee retention and the satisfaction from the service quality got by the customers. As the research was based on the analysis of 3005 interviews it has quite strong facts and conclusions. â€Å"The negative effects of the increase in employee turnover are no longer being felt exclusively by the human resource managers,†said Tom Casey of Unify Network’s talent management practice. â€Å"It is apparent that consumers are directly impacted by turnover as well,†Casey added. â€Å"As a result, turnover is now a principal concern because it directly affects the bottom line.†               Casey also added that new attitudes towards the workforce, as well as drop in the birth rate, and the emergence of innovative technologies have resulted employee turnover to skyrocket across retail business.   The most vivid outcome of the employee turnover is a direct effect on customer retention or the loses of customers. In the whole, more than 60 percent of the respondents of the survey, who were the customers of retail companies with high employee turnover, said that they were less than satisfied with the service they received. Companies, themselves, confess that high employee turnover issues cause more problems than product or price issues.  In the average one in three consumers marked that employee turnover negatively and directly affected the quality of the service. And just 20 percent of the survey participants agreed that they would like working for their service provider. Another problem of low level of satisfaction from customers was named to be low quality and absence of needed qualification and skills. To be more specific fifty seven percent of respondents agreed that the problem was in poor training, and only 20 percent remained satisfied with the quality of the service. The Consequences of Turnover The outcomes of turnover cause extra expenses, loss of valuable time and stagnation in business. All these are quite obvious results of turnover, because it’s not that easy to find a qualified worker nowadays, especially one that will fully suit the position he is hired on. The impact on business of the turnover will be reflected in â€Å"hard†and â€Å"soft†costs that are associated with looking for a new employee as well as the following factors: Customers get lower quality services that changes the reputation of the company Managers spend time looking for employees, which prevents them from their primary functions in the company which results in lower organization of business Disorder in the company influences on the work of other employees  It’s estimated that replacement of workers will cost  from 33% – 250% of the annual wages, depending on the workers position. Hard Costs $$$ Pre-Departure Exit interview                                            29 Separation processing                               12 Vacancy Costs Temporary fill-ins                                     902 Coworker overtime                                   483 Advertising job availability                      110 Recruiting administration                          97 Selection and Sign-on Interviewing                                               110 Testing                                                       100 Reference checking                                    28 Informational literature                               50 On-the-job training                                    874 Total                                                         $2,795 Soft costs Besides â€Å"hard†costs there exist soft costs that come out with losing of the employee, and that make more understandable and clear the outcomes and consequences of losing an employee. It even often happens that it cost 10 times more to look for a new customer than to gain repeat sales. In addition the company is more likely to get what is called â€Å" turnover causes turnover†and the company is likely to lose other employees. Soft Costs $$$ Pre-Departure Lost productivity of incumbent                            80 Lost productivity of coworkers                            97 Lost productivity of supervisor                            207 Vacancy Costs Lost productivity of vacant position                      0 Lost productivity of supervisor                            138 Selection and Sign-on Lost productivity during learning curve               482 Lost productivity of coworkers                             0 Lost productivity of supervisor                             483 Combined Impact Current business lost                                             350 New business not acquired                                   350 Turnover resulting from turnover                        350 Total                                                                     $2,537 Add up the costs This statistics is more likely to be called a demo illustration of what can be the impact of the $7 per hour job loss. The loss of a big employee number can deadly reflect on the financial health of the company and can even cause bankruptcy. The exist lots of strategies that allow to reduce turnover rate in business, but nevertheless none of them can be suitable for the majority of retail businesses, because of their specifics, particularities in the working atmosphere, relationships in working time, etc. But still there are strategies that will make business more effective and will stabilize the working atmosphere in the company. By the observation of many specialists who worked on the issues of high employee turnover in retail business for years, it became obvious that its reason is in low effectiveness of human resources departments of the companies. In the most companies with high turnover rate human resource managers did not more than simple recruiting and interviewing people, who would more likely to leave the company in months by their expectations but had not a big choice. â€Å"Evaluate your company A good first step in improving your retention rate is to ask yourself these questions. If you answer â€Å"no†to more than two questions, you are likely to be experiencing high employee turnover. Are most employees clear about your company’s mission? Do any of these words appear in your mission or core values? Respect, teamwork, trust, fairness, openness, and development. Do most or all employees have written job objectives? Are employees actively involved in shaping their own job assignments or projects to include their own personal interests and abilities? Does a manager speak with associates each quarter about their changing performance priorities and matters affecting their work? Does your company regularly invest in developing employee knowledge and skills? Does your company routinely applaud individual initiative and provide recognition for large and small performance successes? Would most employees say their manager is supportive of their ideas and concerned about their needs?† Different approaches to solve the turnover problem The experience of one of the researches, Louis Rovner, Ph.D., was more than bold or genius. He was employed by many retail companies that had problems with high turnover, and some of them had 50% turnover rate from the entire workforce employed a year.  As a skillful and qualified manager he spent hours conducting endless interviews and administrating numerous surveys and quizzes to determine the reasons of turnover and reasons of what the employees were unsatisfied with.  To his expectations if the company changed the way of employees treating, the workers will be more satisfied and there will be more chances that they’ll stay in the company. But the problem was more complicated that it seemed to be for the first sight.  Employees were managed cooperatively. People were encouraged and reinforced, the working schedule was optimized and was better control as the other modern management measures were taken to improve the labor and working atmosphere conditions. The employees got a higher range in the strategic decision making participation as well as new approach to please unsatisfied customers. The company was changing to one were the workers as well as their labor and participation was highly appreciated and valued.  Even though that much had been done and the expectations seemed to look very optimistic the true results were opposite to what was expected at the beginning. The 50% turnover rate didn’t really change, but it became worse because in the list of those who left their jobs were the oldest and the most qualified employees of the company. So the impact of such outcomes seemed to be more negative than usual practices for the company.  The analysis had shown that there were two main reasons for such outcomes, that primary related to job psychology. The first one was explained by the failure of managers to arrange things in proper order because they were unfamiliar with new strategies and considered them to be irrational and illogical. The lack of comfort in new working tendencies resulted the failure of the introduced strategies. New form of management resulted in lack of attention to the primary functions that began to fulfill improperly that resulted in profits fall. The second reason appeared to be more commonplace than the first one. One group of unhappy employees was replaced by other one, and the cycle was repeating again and again. But the was a significant change in this practice, that qualified employees appeared in this list. As in every company there always exists a group of employees that are satisfied with management, working conditions and their work as well, and they form the basement of the company’s team. With new changes that began to occur in the company their needs never no longer met and the conditions of labor no longer fully satisfied them. In this case the management that was introduced in practice was directed to satisfy primary the newcomers, but it didn’t meet the needs of checked and long working employees.  The solution of the problem became obvious and the reasons of the failed management were determined. The problems with employee turnover are based not in something wrong with the decisions taken by the company’s authorities, but they are related to the people employed who most likely don’t suit the business they are hired for.  The first steps that need to be taken to stabilize the staff policy and regulations, should identify best long-term working employees and look for the business qualities they possess in those that need to be hired. Those, unsatisfied who are more likely to leave should be replaced by those who have much in common with company’s loyal workers.  In order to be successful in hiring productive and loyal employees it’s necessary to spend some time with the core group of the company to study their likes and preferences of working in the company.  Strategies for improving labor conditions The workers a company hires are expecting more benefits from their work along with the salary they get. As it’s predicted by the experts in the nest five years, most of businesses will offer a wider range of benefits and programs for their employees, which will cause addition competition on the market labor as well as probable employee turnover in the companies that will not be able to accept new changes. These benefits and programs will most likely include: Paid time off plans Domestic partner benefits Flexible scheduling Flexible spending accounts Retirement and financial planning Employee assistance programs (EAPs) It’s naturally understood that employees want to get competitive encouragement from their work as well as competitive salaries. The loss of employees may be both because of salaries that are not competitive (financial issues) and because the job doesn’t meet the needs of the employee. As it’s quite know people leave their jobs for plenty of reasons that can be controlled by the managers or the companies authorities or not. Nevertheless, it’s suggested by the scientists that employers usually have abilities to control the reasons that motivate employees to leave, the most spread of them are the following: Feeling unappreciated or that his/her contribution is not valued. A lack of growth potential in the company. No help to turn a dead-end job into something more appealing. If these factors will be taken into consideration with the development of new businesses or it’s expansion in future most of turnover issues can be prevented. It will be much cheaper for the company to hire a human resource manager or skillful psychologist who will hire those who won’t demand job promotion in future and will be loyal if the company’s business looks like slowly developing, than to hire new and new people for some kind of position again and again in definite time intervals.  On the other hand there can be people who are attached to particular company because they consider it to offer them professional growth and promotion as well as development of their skills and job opportunities. In this case it will be reasonable to organize job trainings and provide them with the job that mostly suits them and answers their qualifications and to be objective in such decisions. It will often be cheaper to spend some money in employee’s qualification investment that will be of a need in future than to ignore his abilities and professional traits, that can result his discharge. The problem of retaining employees is one of the main concern of many retail companies nowadays. It should be clear that work ethic is changing from day to day, and the demands of nowadays workers differ from those of the 1950s, 70s, and even from those of 90s. The tendencies of the employees demands had changed are defined to be today and tomorrow as following: Balance and synergy Work that is seen as a noble cause Personal growth and development Partnerships Community at work Trust  There are several approaches to meet these needs that will prevent business from employee â€Å"drain†: Provide interesting work that will respond to employees’ talents. Don’t hide appreciation for work done successfully. Encourage employees to be in â€Å"shape†Provide opportunities for professional learning and career growth. Provide competitive wages for employees. Organize training for managers to be supportive coaches. Provide a clear mission with personal goals. Build a safer, pleasing and fun working environment. Support opportunities to reasonable experiments in working environment.  Real successful practices of retention T.I.M.S., Inc. Denis H. Arian and his wife Karen Arian started Technical Information Management Services, Inc., (T.I.M.S.) in their own house 13 years ago. Over the past decade, T.I.M.S., Inc. has developed into a successful consulting and information technology services company with nearly 40 members in staff and offices in Cleveland, OH and Chicago, IL. Both in the year of 1999 and 2000, T.I.M.S. was awarded Weatherhead 100 and Northcoast 99. It’s purpose is to develop and optimize the most effective business systems that will meet the needs of either companies and their employees or the needs of the customers by the usage of both technological innovations and management strategies and methods. The primary strategy of T.I.M.S. was process of â€Å"hiring right†people first. What they did was the following: they established the atmosphere of partnership with each employee beginning with interviewing and hiring processes. T.I.M.S. introduced and realized in their practices the concept, which is called PASS Program (Performance Appraisal Scorecard System) for performance evaluation using employee’s input as criteria for future success. The core of their strategies was training as an essential part of retention practices.  According to their methodic it’s very important to devote time for interaction with employee, for finding an individual approach to his concerns and needs as well as stimulate his success. Mazel Stores, Inc.  Mazel Stores, Inc. is one of the leading wholesalers of clothing in the USA. Its founder Bill Mazur has been working in this business for more than 30 years as a head of the company, that purchases sells and distributes through their retail outlets or through other store companies from direct manufacturers. Its partners are Newell (Rubbermaid), American Greetings, Ketter Plastics, and Sunbeam, as well as smaller companies such as Marc’s Deep Discount, Family Dollar Tree, and Medic Drug Stores. The retention need of the company was to find and save employees, most of whom had been facing troubles that would prevent them from being employed by the company in future. Company’s strategy was based in recruitment using assistance of the professionals in employment business such as Empowerment Zone and the Convictions Fair for its headquarters in Solon. The company’s employees faced troubles with transportation, so the company had to develop and introduce van pool service as well as other transportation solutions to ensure getting to and from work punctually. The company worked with government and municipal agencies to solve and improve employment issues as well as to increase and save employment stability rate.  The company also practiced hiring part-time psychologists and managers that worked on overcoming barriers and other job related issues faced by the employees. General strategies for reducing turnover The best way to reduce turnover and save employees is establishing human resource expertise for business. A human resource manager or organization development (also called OD) expert, who can be permanent employee or employed as an outsourced service provider is able to help company to save its employees through an analyzed and deeply examined approach that includes: Recruitment: sourcing for candidate, testing on job suitableness Compensation: market analysis Benefits: competitive, cost-containment Training and employee development Employee relations: pro-active programs, dispute resolution Performance management systems Organization assessments Legal compliance    Employee selection and training The selection and training of the employee should be organized in the way so that nearly hired person will meet all the requirements of the business and working environment. As it’s generally agreed a salesperson is a communicator: he interpreters the features of the product into those benefits that will satisfy the customer. And it’s very important to remember that a salesperson is the store representative to its customers. There is a very specific quality that differentiates a sales person from others involved in promotional activities and it’s an opportunity for feedback between customer and a seller. Only good marketing policy such as advertising and promotion will get customers to the store. The quality of products as well as good sales representatives will keep people coming back to the store again and again. As the specialists suggest, the importance of right employee choice and their trainings cannot be overvalued or exaggerated. It often happens that retailers are surprised when they find out that salary, which is important for employees, is not of the primary concern for them. Attitudes as fairness, security, honesty, and opportunity are also of the high importance for them.  Organization and supervision of business           Management functions of the retailer business basically include planning on the hand with other as organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling.   Organizing business, the retailer introduces relationships among people, products, goods, and other materials or resources to get a job fulfilled.   â€Å"Staffing entails the recruitment and selection of employees. It is a vitally important function because the employees of a store represent that store to the public. People can really be the most important asset of a retail firm.   Every retailer is in a leadership position. Leadership means motivating employees to achieve their maximum potential, while at the same time accomplishing the goals of the organization. Because leadership means understanding people, it is one of the most creative and challenging aspects of a retailer’s job. The retailer’s professionalism and attitudes set the tone for employees’ attitudes and per formance. Controlling is the follow-up function of retail management. Actual performance is compared with planned performance to spot and evaluate deviations.†(from Charting the course of retail Business available on web http://www.etretailbiz.com/Jan2003/strategy.html) Financial analysis  The financial analysis of retail business is very important step in the optimization of the whole functioning of business. First it allows to determine the main priorities for the improvement of management of employee resources, probably reform the personnel policy, cut off or make new workplace and determine whether it’s necessary to spend more expanses on management or to save some money on particular part of business management and to redistribute the finances (to improve labor conditions or increase employees wages). On of the most innovative and spreading method of retail business management as other sales businesses management is distant organization of work. Top managers and top sales managers use Internet and other means of communication to regulate business, especially if it refers to international companies. The organization of a workplace for one person costs not more than 2-3 thousand dollars, and it’s arranged in employees house. It allows saving a lot of money on rent, property taxes, etc. Those saved finances are redistributed as a result the employees get higher salaries, plus they get more flexible and comfortable conditions of labor that plays a role of additional motivation in their work.  Another aspect that attracts the attention of specialists in food retail business is concern about investments into online retailing. Even though that some of the major e-commerce consultants and advisors make optimistic prognosis about the potential of online food retailing market, these conclusions are still not very reliable. For example Andersen consulting predicted a market portion of online food retailing to be 20% in the year of 2003. This statistics is used by both Peapod.com and Webvan.com as the foundation for a nationwide investment program with a capital of nearly one billion US$. But the real statistics is very different from that one predicted by Cap Gemini (30-40%) and is approximately about 3% for a total retail sector with only 2.3% for grocery sector.  In potential it won’t greatly increase in the next five years. Its predicted growth is not more than 3-4% either for the USA or for Europe. So the decisions of some retail businesses to make investments into online retails cannot be considered as the best choices in this situation. It will require to hire new employees, to develop new management strategies and will require a lot of expenses, that won’t bring any desired payment but may result in turnover because of the changed priorities of the company. Joost W. van der Laan highlights the following reasons for that in his article The future of online food retailing: â€Å"†¦On top of those disadvantages: traditional supermarkets are fighting for consumer loyalty by improving their marketing mix and increasing their efficiency. Reason 1. In my view online shopping for dry groceries and perishables is boring. It does not even come close to the fun of buying books at Amazon.com or the joy of assembling your own PC at Dell.com. There is absolutely no advantage here over the weekly trip to the supermarket. I dare you to try it yourself a couple of times, and then convince your partner who is not in the food business or consultancy business. Only when the online business focuses on special products and on rich information content, the consumer will become interested and stay interested. Reason 2. Online shopping is less time consuming than traditional shopping, but it adds complexity to your lifestyle. Let us assume in an optimistic mood that every â€Å"household manager†will master the skill of shopping online. After ordering online you first have to make sure that the goods are properly received at home. Second you often have to go to the store anyway for miscellaneous articles. Third you have to check proper billing and payment. Fourth you have to follow up on orderpicking mistakes and delivery errors. Reason 3. The distribution costs of homeshopping are twice as high as the costs of traditional food retailing, and most consumers are not willing to pay the extra 15 %. Internet startups will first try to gain market share with low prices and low service fees, but when the shareholders cash is consumed they will have to ask higher than â€Å"normal†prices to cover the costs and survive. Of course their is a small niche market for expensive homeshopping services: affluent PC-minded and service oriented consumers and consumers with no easy access to a nearby store. Reason 4. In recent years Efficient Consumer Response and Category Management had a significant and positive impact on the quality and efficiency of traditional supermarkets. Food retailing has always been a very competitive business, and in recent years super-marketing has become a professional science that is constantly improving the value to the consumer. Both in the USA and in Europe very competitive stores with Every Day Low Prices and high service levels are gaining market share and are making the food business a war zone for new entrants. Conclusion: the average consumer does not have a good reason to go food shopping online.†(available on web: http://www.retaileconomics.com/index.htm) According to the article ULW Effect on Business and Tax Payers:                                          â€Å"†¦Successful companies have been able to draw the line between low employee turnover and high profitability. The line connecting those two dots passes through high employee satisfaction, and high employee satisfaction impacts directly on the customer experience. We’ve already seen how consumers rate quality of service as the most important aspect of their experience with a hotel, and that’s true of many businesses in this sector. Satisfied customers become repeat customers, and when those repeat customers are in the desirable top 20 percent, profitability inevitably improves†¦Henry Ford, the father of the American automobile, was facing exorbitant retraining costs due to high employee turnover. He was being forced to replace every employee four times per year. He also found that absenteeism was at an equally unacceptable level. His response was to almost double the daily wage of his workers to $5.00/day. * The immediate result was: 1) significant reduction in employee turnover, 2) significant reduction in retraining costs, 3) significant reduction in unscheduled absenteeism, 4) and almost complete stoppage of internal theft (roughly 50% of the theft in today’s retail world is committed by its own employees).3 Furthermore, 5) he created a true economic stimulus resulting in a business boom for his own company when his workers put discretionary funds right back into his company as purchasing consumers.4 *All of these savings/benefits are possible today with the enactment of the Universal Living Wage.†(available on web: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/globalization/2.html) Building HR expertise It is of a high concern that in majority supervisors and managers are generally not evaluated on employee turnover levels. If to refer to a COSE survey of retail business (April 2003), only 20 percent of respondents applied the use of a specific target or measure in evaluations. Although 26 percent marked that they â€Å"informally†used turnover statistics as a part of evaluations that shows what a great number doesn’t consider it to be an important part of manager’s job.  In ideal all managers should also be able to work as â€Å"HR managers.†However, the participation of a real â€Å"expert†is important to be developed – the participation of someone with specific HR responsibilities, who would be part-time HR or OD specialist. Employee opinion survey One of the most important and essential issue for the discussion between the retail human resource executives is an employee opinion survey. An objective survey conducted by the HR manager will truthfully describe the working environment of the company and will direct the further work of the manager on solving of job related issues, that will help to improve motivation and working process as well. The importance of the survey is quite obvious. It’s cheaper and more comfortable and even more safer and reliable for business to make changes in management policy using the data provided by the employees themselves, than to try to solve coming issues relying on experiment and manager’s personal experience, even if it’s an experience of a skillful and highly qualified professional. As the effective employee survey process can be an essential, high-ROI tool for store morale improvement, improvement of customer service, reduction of turnover and introduction of new ways a nd means for communication and interaction.  The Retail Survey Group made long-term researches and studies in the field of job related relations in retail business and had developed the following methods of making an effective and objective successful survey. It introduced eight important keys to the success of the survey: In most cases, an employee survey should be perceived as an operations- driven initiative rather than an HR department program. Companies that differ by high organization of the survey processes put it on the high priority when it’s needed to gather opinion. Even so that making the survey is job of HR center or HR manager that works in the company, the survey made from the name of the head of the company always gets a higher feedback and is more objective, because it’s treated by the whole management chain from the tops to the bottom line of the company. The experience of The Retail Survey Group shows that the employee’s psychology is more likely to pay more attention to the job authorities than to the human resource center, which is made for these perporses. But the job to analyze the results of the survey is human resources center primary. Your goal for response rate should be 100%.  The problem with lower respond rate is not just that it can not give an accurate picture on the questions asked in the survey. The low respond rate for large businesses with more than a 1000 people employed won’t draw an objective picture, but can be valid for small selling departments or stores, but still the statistics can be not as accurate as it’s desired. Moreover the respond rate of the employees determines their ability to draw and determine the answers on the questions about working environment. Once being determined these issues will be also desired to be solved by the employees themselves as well as by the management department. In this case the results will be more fruitful because both sides who participate in this process will be determined with their choices. As the Retail Survey Groups states: â€Å"Surveys are deemed successful when one or both of the following occur: One or two large-scale organization-wide improvements are made as a result of having conducted the survey. A â€Å"critical mass†of smaller-scale improvements happens throughout the organization, based upon department- and store-level improvement efforts. While a single year’s survey effort may have been made worthwhile by virtue of the first reason, a survey becomes a valuable ongoing management tool usually by virtue of the second.†By their words : â€Å"The best way to get an acceptable response rate, i.e., one that is certain to yield accurate reports down to the department level, is to make survey participation an expected occurrence, and to set up an administration procedure that makes this a reality.†A survey for retail employees should take less than 10 minutes to complete. The research had determined that both the questionnaire size and the method of its administration influence on the results of the response rate and on the objectiveness of its quality. As the questionnaire’s purpose is to get an accurate data, it is believed that long questionnaires that take a lot of time to be completed provided not accurate data and have lower response rates. The benefits of short 5-10 minutes survey are basically in their easy administration and no time loses. They can be easily administered during the breaks or before the meetings. It’s very comfortable because no special arrangements are required. There are experiences with companies that spent more money on the administration of the survey that had to be taken after the working day and that took nearly 30-45 minutes. But the results were not that much different from those short-time surveys and even often were not responded properly. (Good) Norms are important. As soon as the results of the survey are analyzed it appears another task that faces the organization and is addresses to the issues and problems that found reflection in the survey. It’s the essential part of the survey process. And as a result the company has to determine correct improvement areas in order to get the most effective and fruitful return from the survey. The set of norms for survey’s data give an opportunity to compare the effectiveness of the company to the similar businesses that are held by other companies. The Retail Survey group gives the following example: â€Å"consider the case of a supermarket chain that has conducted its first-ever company-wide employee survey. Senior management is reviewing the results, trying to figure out how they will allocate their resources toward making improvements. Let’s assume that they get what appears to be a fairly high score on workplace safety and a fairly low score on developingemployees for future promotions. Without the benefit of normative data to tell them how other supermarkets faired on those items, they might decide not to do any work to improve the safety item, and instead focus on the development item. Had they had access to a good retail norm base, they would have seen that the safety item typically receives a very high score, and that their score was significantly lower than the norm, indicating a potentially serious problem. Conversely, the item regarding development for future promotions is typically among the lowest scoring items on the survey. In fact, their score on that item places them in the upper quartile of the norm base.  Of course, the money they put toward further work on development might well pay dividends, because it is such an important item. And improving the promotional process might cement their image as a great company for which to work. However, relative to the safety item, it might not be as critical to target for immediate improvement.†Each store should get a report detailing its overall results and the results of its major departments. Many companies make the fault of not disseminating the outcomes to the store level. By the view of The Retail Survey group, this greatly diminishes the chance that the survey will be successful. First, as has already been marked, surveys are most effective when they are the impulse behind change efforts undertaken at the store and department levels. Only by getting direct access to the results of the survey employees can begin to take part in the action planning process. Second, keeping the results within the restrictions of senior management can easily be understood as a breaking of the social contract common in most employee-based feedback systems. The representatives of The Retail Survey Group state that â€Å"for reasons beyond the scope of this paper, employee surveys are assumed to be closed-loop feedback systems. The loop begins with the employees filling out a survey form. Next, the survey forms are tabulated, and their collective opinions are shared with management. To close the loop, management must in turn share the collective results with the employees. If this loop is not closed, employees are left with a sense of unmet expectations. It is similar to the feeling one gets when applying for a position and then never hearing back about it one way or the other.† It often happens that employees know very little about the results of prior surveys and they think about them the following: â€Å"The results must have been so bad they were embarrassed to publicize them.†â€Å"They can’t tell us what they found because then they’d have to change things.†â€Å"They just did the survey to make us feel like our input was important†¦they could care less how it turned out.†With the exception of special circumstances, the Representatives of Retail Survey Group advocate that employer share with all employees an item-by-item comparison between the results for their store and the results for the overall company. For most employees, this constitutes a full and deserved disclosure of the results, and it is a great way for employees to begin to get a handle on what the results mean. Once employer has done this, he would have set the stage for store-level action planning. Anyone who completes a survey should be able to understand a survey report. If you employer is going to share the results of the survey with store employees, he needs to present them in a report format that is easy to be looked through. Some people understand statistics and numbers better others easily catch the graphs and charts. The Retail Survey Group recommends that results be presented in a combination of these ways, but most of all in a order that is simple and understandable. It should be understood that the goal of the survey is to enlist the help of the employees in analyzing the survey results. The author of the survey wants employees to be excited about the potential insight they have into the results of the survey, because they were the ones who gave the feedback. They also have ideas about how to arrange and change things for better. Give those responsible for creating action plans some basic ideas to use as starting points for their plans. â€Å"Imagine that came the most critical point in the survey process†¦the point at which store and department managers are sitting down with their employees, report in hand, with a good understanding of the results and having selected a few problem areas to target for improvement. The group is ready to create action plans. The store manager is at the flip chart†¦her marker is poised†¦and then it strikes the group that no one has the faintest idea about what a good action plan looks like, let alone how to go about creating one.† This is considered to be the point where many surveys lose their value and significance, which is quite understood. Most retail store managers don’t have any training or knowledge about working with a group to present and discuss an improvement plan. â€Å"To make matters worse, consider the following Survey Research 101 axiom: Managers at stores with the lowest employee survey scores are the very managers least likely to be able to facilitate a productive action planning session. In other words, those stores most in need of good post-survey action plans are the ones least likely to succeed in creating them. Fortunately, it is not that difficult to provide managers with the tools they need to write effective action plans. The easiest way to do so is to provide them with a template for the format and content of their plans. For example, our firm provides clients with an Action Planning guide, which not only offers store managers a step-by-step guide to action planning, but also suggests several actions for each topic covered by the survey. It is easy to use these ideas as the starting point s for the group discussion, and to transform them into high quality action plans.† After all, if there is an essential role for the Human Resources department during the survey process, it is to determine store managers most in need of help with action planning, and to offer them the help they need to do the work properly. The organization should commit to a follow-up survey even before the first one is administered.  Companies that fully use the surveys they administer usually treat them as a part of a cycle. Each finished survey is considered to be a benchmark for the next one. The data reflected in the survey describes the condition of company’s finances, employee environment and indicates the â€Å"working†health of the company. It can be used to primary predict and take measures to prevent turnover issues and job related conflicts. Managers also rely on the surveys as on the sources and guidance for finding a common language with employees. Employees also consider the administering of the survey to be a good sight from the side of companies authorities to get the opinion about inner life of the company and its functioning.  But for such successful monitoring the company had to start with a successful survey that will definitely bring results. From the beginning of survey introduction into the practices of the company managers have to think about an employee survey program or survey process rather than about one-time employee survey that will stand alone. Conclusion As it was discussed the turnover employee rate causes a lot of troubles for retail businesses as well for other businesses. The expenses spent on hiring new employees are often as high as the monthly wages of the employees, but at the same time the absence of the worker causes work disorder and losses of clients.   Nowadays the problem of saving workplaces is very actual and attracts a lot of attention from the side of managers, who propose different strategies to stabilize personnel activities and improve working environment. These strategies include individual approach to the employees, encouragements, surveys, and special management techniques.  As it was stated above, very often the financial side of the job is not of the main concern for the employees. It’s understood that the salary means a lot, but appreciation, encouragements, benefits and other rewards the employee gets while working are of a high value as well. Still most of them also have any relationship to finances.   That’s why it’s quite important to make business efficiency monitoring and find new solutions for its optimization. Saving money on some ineffective investments and redistributing them to increase the salaries, social benefits and educational opportunities for the employees will increase their motivation. It may refer to their transportation issues (organization of the transportation services for employees who really need that), improving working conditions (introduction of the new equipment and organization of special training programs for workers). It’s understood too be quite expensive, but the results that these innovations will bring in future will definitely cover all the expenses. (It’s quite enough to estimate how much will be the transportation service organization for people who live in the same area and how much do they spend on parking and gas a day. Or it’s enough to figure out how much useless work does an accountant or a m anager using old computer software or even worse just pen and paper. It’s easy to understand how these trainings will optimize his work will save him time and of course will save employer’s money).     Appreciation of the employees is really important; especially it’s very necessary for the core of the company’s team, for people who are in company’s business for years and who are the most valuable. Before doing any changes it’s necessary to consult those employees and to take into consideration their opinion. At this point it’s quite important for human resource managers to administer employee opinion surveys that will draw the priorities for future management changes and better organization of the work.  Every case is very special and needs a search of individual approach. But the methods that were discussed above had recommended themselves as successful and can be used in management practices worldwide. List of references 1.†The future of Food Retailing: e-Commerce and other Predictionsâ€Å", Prof. Dr. Edward McLaughlin of Cornell University, presentation â€Å"State of the Art in Food†, January 2000. 2.†Internet Retailingâ€Å", Henk Gianotten of EIM, Food Personality, February 2000. 3.†Futurize your Enterpriseâ€Å", David Siegel, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York, 1999. 4.â€Å"The future of online food retailing†Joost W. van der Laan ,†Journal of Marketing†, February 2000 and â€Å"Food Personality†,August 1997 â€Å"Erasmus Food Management Institute†rapport on E-marketplaces, January 2001 â€Å"Marketing Logistics†, Martin Christopher, Reed Elsevier, 1997 â€Å"From Supply Chain to Collaborative Network†, Gordon Anderson, Bruce Walton, Andersen Consulting, 2000 â€Å"Eight keys to a successful employee survey†The Retail Survey Group, 2001-2002 (available on web: www.rsg.com) â€Å"Charting the course of retail business†Article (available on web: http://www.etretailbiz.com/Jan2003/strategy.html) â€Å"To Cut Employee Turnover, Don’t Change Anything†,Louis Rovner, Ph.D. Article (available on web:http://www.drilleronline.com/CDA/ArticleArchiveSearch/1,5692,,00.html) â€Å"Globalization and Labor  Part 2†Article (available on web: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/globalization/3.html) â€Å"Taming turnover: A Strategic advantage for business†Article (available on web: www.cose.org/PDF/WLA/Taming_Turnover.pdf) â€Å"Store Wars: How Retail eCommerce Executives Can Win the Battle for the Last Aisle Four Tips for Success for In-Store Digital Merchandising & Customer Self-Service†, Richardson,Alex Article (available on web: http://www.kiomag.com/informermj04) â€Å"Leading the quick service and food retailing industries†Kay Division, 2004(available on web: http://www.ecolab.com/Publications/FactBook/Kay.pdf) â€Å"Work Environment More Important to Employees†Gregory P. Smith (available on web: http://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/workenv.htm) â€Å"High employee turnover raises safety concerns†Ledyard King, Article Gannett News Service (available on web: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2001-02-26-airportsafety.htm) â€Å"Reducing Turnover†Article (available on web http://www.accountemps.com/AT/ReducingTurnover)  18. â€Å"Calculating the High Cost of Employee Turnover† Yves Lermusiaux (available on web: http://www.ilogos.com/en/expertviews/articles/strategic/20031007_YL.html)
Thursday, August 29, 2019
A Study of Fauvism
A Study of Fauvism Fauvism For artists, the twentieth century began five years late. Late it might have been, but when it got going, it was decades ahead of its time. In 1905 nothing was as modern as modern art. It was to remain that way throughout the century. There are many people who still fail to understand the art introduced in 1905, over seventy years ago. That first modern art appeared in an exhibition in Paris in 1905. Among the participating artists was one of the centurys most famous, Hentri Matisse. Along with Matisses art were works by Maurice de Vlaminck, Andre Derain, and Georges Rouault. Today the works of these artists hang in museums, but in 1905 they werent yet famous. To the public they were infamous. Their paintings were so shocking that one newspaper critic called them the work of Fauves a French word meaning wild beasts. The name stuck so that all the artists who exhibited in that 1905 show were ever after called Fauves and their paintings were dubbed Fauve art. The name Fauve was given to the art of Matisse, Vlaminck, and their colleagues, even though they didnt work with a common principle. And, as years passed, their personal art changed. Paintings done by some at the end of their careers little resembled those done at the beginning. Still, the name. Fauve continued to be used. These were the pioneering artists of the twentieth century and their art, Fauve painting, was the pioneering movement of our century. Theory The fauve artists had no single or unifying principle of art. Perhaps that was necessary for the centurys pioneering movement. Their one basic theory was experimentation. Thats what shocked the 1905 French Public. Their art was so experimental that it resembled nothing gallery visitors had ever seen before. Fauve art doesnt seem so radical today. Thats because their interest in experimentation became the guiding principle of almost all twentieth century art movements. Experimentation in art has meant discovering new types of visual expression. It can be the general theory guiding all the art projects you try in this book. It was originally a fauve principle. However, if most twentieth-century art movements have been guided by experimentation, those experiments have been controlled by further theories. The leading Fauve theoretician was Henri Matisse. His colleagues followed many of his ideas, and his thoughts about art inspired many twentieth-century art developments. To gain an understanding of Fauve art, you can do no better then examine the art and ideas of Matisse. Nor can you find any better guide for developing your own art. Here is what Matisse once said about his art. Expression is what Im seeking most of all however, expression doesnt mean the passion which a human face reflects. The total composition of my painting is expressive. My arrangement of figures or objects, the empty spaces surrounding them, their proportions, everything has its roll to play. Except for Georges Roualt, most Fauve painters followed Matisse and sought expression with the total painting, the total subject. This isnt a simple goal. Its one achieved only after much time and thought. Studying the work of Matisse can help you understand Fauve expression in art. Matisse expressed himself with line. He did this by simplifying the line in his work. This meant eliminating unnecessary lines and using only the most important. These were, of course, the lines that created the shape of his subjects, not the lines that defined details. He wasnt interested in linear details. In short, he simplified his drawing. But simplified drawing doesnt mean you will automatically produce expressive lines in your art. Simplification can mean producing nothing more than a simple but disjointed sketch. More is required. Matisse and his Fauve friends did it by creating rhythmic lines. His lines swing easily, curve and twist like a melody. Matisse created such expressive lines in painting like The Dance. The joy of dance requires lines with lovely rhythm. He eliminated details. In the essential lines that remained, he created graceful bends and flowing curves, lines swinging with the delight of dancing. The Fauves also expressed themselves in color. They understood that color was essential to painting. They didnt feel color should be dominated by subject matter. This means their use of color wasnt dictated by realism. Instead, color could stand on its own. Fauve artists intensified their colors, using bright flesh colors, pinks oranges, and reds for faces. They created shadows of bright colors. In one famous painting, Matisse painted a green stripe down the face of his wifes portrait. He used green because it was the strongest color contrast to the reddish tone of the painting. In such painting, you notice the color before you notice the subject. Such a bold use of color doesnt mean you can color without thinking. In fact, you must be even more careful with color in such a case. A realistic artist who uses color poorly can claim his inadequate colors only copy the poor coloring of his subject. However, Fauve artists couldnt do this. Their bold coloring was of their own choice so they had to be especially sensitive to the use of color they used in their art. Thats why color is such an important ingredient in Fauve art. When you create art in the spirit of Fauve painters, you too will be very conscious of your use of color. You will also be conscious of your use of line. When thinking like a Fauve artist, youll experiment. Like Matisse, youll seek expression in your art in the way you use line and color. Youre line will be simplified and your color diverse from realism. Yet your lines will have beauty and expression because youll give them rhythm and grace. Your colors will be beautiful, because youll treat them intelligently and with sensitivity. Thats how the Fauve artist worked when producing some of the greatest paintings of 20th century art.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
The impact of modern technology ( mobile phone and the internet) on Essay
The impact of modern technology ( mobile phone and the internet) on young people - Essay Example This paper provides a critical analysis of the impact of modern technology on young people. The proliferation of the Internet and online growth has facilitated novel societal trends and business opportunities through the piecemeal evolution of electronic commerce, thereby creating a new social and business model accommodating the contemporary market and thereby redefining youth culture. The creation of multi-faceted digital space has seen a significant uptake by youth on a global scale, thereby perpetuating a domino effect on culture, sub-cultures and social behaviour through the â€Å"commercialisation of youth†on the one side to changing communication trends with social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo on the other (Cross, 2004: 3). Moreover, this directly correlates with the fact that 70-90% of teenagers have access to the Internet at home and the commercialisation of youth has led to market segmentation and a changing consumer market, forcing retailers to adopt a multi-retailer strategy geared towards the youth market (Levy & Weitz, 2008: 27). This has in turn created polarity in debate relating to the wider impact on youth of modern technology, which is the focus of this paper. For example, the diversity of social spaces through networks such as Facebook, internet chat rooms and MySpace for example not only changes the way in which teenagers interact, it provides a backdrop for a multitude of complex interrelated factors, which are difficult to monitor (Barabasi, 2003: 10). On the one side of the spectrum is the issue regarding commercialisation of youth through modern technology with its concurrent impact on multi-retail strategy. This is further highlighted by the increasing influence of media on youth through the deregulation of the media. The Communications Act 2003 deregulates the media in the UK to permit more cross ownership models and integration and under the Act the Office of Communication
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
What is strategic-asset-seeking and does it help explain why Chinese Essay
What is strategic-asset-seeking and does it help explain why Chinese business groups internationalise their operations - Essay Example In addition to increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, China’s outward FDI investments have been increasing at a phenomenal rate and drawing the attention of scholars and researchers (Fung & Garcia-Herrero). In attempting to understand and predict location choices of FDI outflows, researchers use a number of hypotheses including asset-seeking explanations (Makino, Lau, & Yeh). In this research study, trends in China’s FDI outflows are examined and analysed with a view to determining whether or not strategic asset-seeking provides a satisfactory explanation for China’s FDI outflows. This paper is therefore divided into three main parts. The first part of this paper defines asset seeking. The second part of this paper explores and discusses trends in China’s FDI outflows. Some examples of Chinese firms’ internationalisation will be highlighted in the second part of this paper. The final part of this paper analyses whether or not strategic asset-seeking provides a satisfactory explanation of China’s FDI outflows or internationalising trends. In order to test the hypothesis that strategic asset seeking explains China’s trends toward internationalization, references will be made to examples of Chinese companies that have become internationalized. ... 72). One of the ways in which strategic asset seeking organizations attempt to invest abroad as a means of gaining or maintaining a competitive edge is to invest in research and development or in â€Å"design facilities†(Buckley, et. al., p. 114). As Buckley, et. al. explain, these kinds of investments are intended to put the organization in a position to access current know-how and to be able to take part in the production of new products and to set standards for maximizing the organization’s competitive edge. According to Buckley, et. al.: The investor normally intends to benefit from spillover effects deriving from agglomerations of similar minded companies and from complementary industries in the host country (p. 114). In addition, strategic asset-seeking behaviour of organizations usually takes place when there are improvements in popular brands, the national supply chain and in management and expertise talent via directly purchasing or from â€Å"proximity of op erations†(Buckley, et. al., p. 144). In the latter scenario, the organization gains from operational proximity via the spillover effects and/or â€Å"demonstration effects†(Buckley, et. al., p. 114). According to Dunning’s eclectic paradigm suggest that firms will usually invest abroad to gain an advantage that is not usually available at home. These advantages can include the acquisition of knowledge, expertise, and distribution channels (Dunning). According to Dunning and Lundan, strategic asset seeking is not about exploiting conditions abroad, although it may be an important and complimentary motive. However, the impetus for asset-seeking behaviour is the acquisition of an organization’s â€Å"global portfolio of physical assets and human
Monday, August 26, 2019
International interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
International interview - Essay Example He says that with the economic decline and the need for employees with college degrees, he has seen the need to go back to school and finish his studies. He looks forward to completing his BS studies in another three years and hopes to land a job as a manager of a hotel or become a banker. He claims that he actually is not interested in management or in numerical subjects but promising jobs for his course can lead him to succeed financially therefore, he took Management. Andrew Hale is a third year college student majoring in Physics. For him, education is his key to becoming competent and employable in this highly competitive world. Hale says he wants to become a professor in Physics because he wants to share the knowledge that he gained in school and the passion he has for sciences, with the younger generation. Liza Brown on the other hand is in her final year majoring in dentistry. She says that her mother who is also a dentist is the greatest influence in her decision because she has seen how productive her job is. In addition to helping people with their dental needs, she says she will also be able to earn decently because of the increasing demand for
Math Early Childhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Math Early Childhood - Essay Example It has voice instructions that guide users on what to pick before they touch the visible balloon for the bee to set off. Available at http://www.appolicious.com/education/apps/, this application is intended for early year teaching of math with the target age bracket being children between 1-6 years. It has shapes in both 2D and 3D and numbers between 1and 10 with numerous colourful flash cards to help children learn better through the stages. The app incorporates basic concepts of object comparison to help understand measurements among the target group. With the visible 3D shapes, kids can differentiate between the objects left and those taken to help develop their addition and subtraction skills. Also available at http://www.appolicious.com/education/apps, it has won several awards among the 2011 Silver Award by the Parents’ Choice Foundation. It invites kids to learn how to count, add subtract and sort in a park setting with its target users being between the ages of 1and 6 years. It has seven fun learning activities that start with swing numbers that help in counting rabbit swings up to 50, slide additions where a duck climbs on top of each slide as the user counts thereby learning how to make additions, Apple tree for subtraction where users learn how to subtract as Apples fall from a tree and picnic for counting where kids feed a hippo with the right food items just to highlight a fraction of the activities. The application has sufficient details with the all the required elements of a good app from the results of the evaluation. It has both operational variety and interest that stir user curiosity. The evaluation tool therefore awarded it optimum points with regards to accessibility, content and individualization. The three applications have a similar target group of between years 1 and 6 with the distinction n the mode of learning where the first app employs a bee and balloon, second uses shapes in 2D and 3D while the
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Two Men Arrested for String of Thefts from U.S. Mail Research Paper
Two Men Arrested for String of Thefts from U.S. Mail - Research Paper Example mails that occurred between January 12, 2012 and March 16, 2012 (U.S. Attorney’s Office 1). These men do not work as United States postal employees, but as employees of a private mail- handling firm, which delivers air parcels to the JFK Post Office. Earlier, during the year, there were several cases of missing items reported to the postal inspectors. The postal inspectors, alongside other FBI agents, launched a thorough investigation on mail handlers, which lasted for several weeks. Their investigation revealed several instances where Wilson and Bennett occasionally moved express mail bags to private locations, where they searched the parcels and stole valuable items and other merchandizes (U.S. Attorney’s Office 1). Police then issued a warrant of arrest for both men. On March 20, 2012, FBI agents arrested both men, and upon being searched, several items, whose descriptions match the missing items, were recovered at their premises. Airmail theft is one of the ways of derailing the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, and stifling personal communication (U.S. Attorney’s Office 1). Airmailing is a significant means of communication between traders, through which they move goods and other items from one region to another, within a short period. When individuals and companies do not receive their mails, they lose trust in the services offered by U.S. postal corporation, which in turn, damages the company’s reputation, thus reducing its market strength against its key rivals, especially from the private sector like the DHL Inc. Additionally, lost items inconvenience businesses by increasing their cost of productions, which make them register significant loses. It is, therefore, necessary to investigate and combat airmail thefts, not only in the U.S., but also in other nations. Mail theft significantly inconveniences both businesses and individuals. This is because they lose their valuable items, which are worth $1
Saturday, August 24, 2019
How the Environment Affects the Family Unit Essay
How the Environment Affects the Family Unit - Essay Example Fathers are increasingly becoming more involved in child upbringing while mothers delve into occupational, educational and social spheres (Sarah, 2003). The composition of a family structure affects the development of a child .Research shows that children from single-parent families perform poorly when compared to children from a family with both parents. Children from single families are more prone to developing health, social and academic problems. However, in some instances, children with single parents perform well just like children from two-parent families (Sarah, 2003). It is important to study the functioning of the family as a unit to comprehend child development. Whole functioning of the family is a process where a family interacts closely and bond together. The wholesome functioning of the family affects the development of young one through the interactions occurring in the family. Positive characteristics such as warmth, closeness and cohesion serve to enable children face difficult circumstances later on in life (Sarah, 2003). Internal relationships within a family undoubtedly are the most effective way of influencing lives. However, social, economic and physical environment plays a major role in the functioning of the family as a
Friday, August 23, 2019
Film reflection onWW2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Film reflection onWW2 - Essay Example The scene that is being analyzed is the first indicating scene that there are plots to kill Adolf Hitler. This scene shows how a bomb is smuggled on board a plane containing Hitler in order to kill him. This sets up the story of who is involved in the eventual plot that is the highlight of the film. It frames the desperation of those involved as well as the difficulty for killing Hitler despite the numerous attempts. There are three key narratives that frame the story. The first (N1) is that of Major General Henning von Treskow played by Kenneth Branagh who is the first in the film to attempt to assassinate Hitler. The second (N2) is that of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, played by Tom Cruise, whose personal life and his decision making is used to show how the event of the attempted coup affected the private life of a key participant. Finally, the third key (N3) is that of the conspirators as they participate in putting the plan into action. Another narrative or N4 is that of the le ader of the army, Major Otto Ernst Remer who was used by the conspirators in order to try to arrest the SS and contain their biggest threat to changing the German government. Key: CU – Close Up Shot ECU – Extreme Close Up LS – Long Shot TMS – Tight Medium Shot POV – Point of View MS – Medium Shot INT – Interior EXT – Exterior SEQ 6 Desperate Measures The sequence in which Major-General Henning von Treskow gives a bomb that will be on board an airplane with Adolph Hitler on board is a short, but intense sequence of events. The narrative that shows the story of Treskow is labeled N1, or narrative number 1. Shot 1. (3 sec) It begins with a medium shot pan from right to left of a vehicle as it is partially covered by shrubbery, which can be an indication that what is being done is something that is secret and should be kept under cover. The sun is just setting behind the vehicle. The camera angle is straight on, but slightly low. S hot 2. (1 sec) This shot is in the INT of the back of the truck. The shot is an ECU that focuses on liquid being poured into a bottle. The green of the glass is highlighted against the amber tones of the rest of the shot. The intensity of the scene is punctuated by low music, repetitive and with a deep drum beat that is steady throughout the course of the scene. Shot 3. (1 sec) The shot is a CU of the man pouring the liquid which quickly as Treskow comes into the tent and announces that Hitler is leaving. The tones remain low key and the lighting is minimal reflecting the nature of their business as they are constructing a bomb. Shot 4. (1 sec) The shot cuts to a TMS as Treskow enters the room confirming once more that Hitler is in the process of leaving. Light can be seen coming n through the window that is partially covered with a cloth. Shot 5. (4 sec) The scene cuts to the hand of the man creating the bomb as an ECU reveals him fumbling quickly to get the cap on the bottle. He l ays it on its back and Treskow’s hand moves to put the rest of the assembly for the bomb into the bottom. His hands are trembling as the time is short. Shot 6. (2 sec ) The shot pulls back to a TMS in which they begin to insert the detonator for the mechanism. Shot 7. (2 sec) A CU of the detonator being put in place increases the tension. Shot 8. (1 sec) TMS Treskow hears the plane and turns his head Shot 9. (1 sec) ECU of Treskow as he looks back to his
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Alexander Popes the Rape of the Lock Essay Example for Free
Alexander Popes the Rape of the Lock Essay The Rape of the Lock begins with a passage outlining the subject of the poem and invoking the aid of the muse. Then the sun (â€Å"Sol†) appears to initiate the leisurely morning routines of a wealthy household. Lapdogs shake themselves awake, bells begin to ring, and although it is already noon, Belinda still sleeps. She has been dreaming, and we learn that â€Å"her guardian Sylph,†Ariel, has sent the dream. The dream is of a handsome youth who tells her that she is protected by â€Å"unnumbered Spirits†â€â€an army of supernatural beings who once lived on earth as human women. The youth explains that they are the invisible guardians of women’s chastity, although the credit is usually mistakenly given to â€Å"Honor†rather than to their divine stewardship. Of these Spirits, one particular groupâ€â€the Sylphs, who dwell in the airâ€â€serve as Belinda’s personal guardians; they are devoted, lover-like, to any woman that â€Å"rejects mankind,†and they understand and reward the vanities of an elegant and frivolous lady like Belinda. Ariel, the chief of all Belinda’s puckish protectors, warns her in the dream that â€Å"some dread event†is going to befall her that day, though he can tell her nothing more specific than that she should â€Å"beware of Man!†Then Belinda awakes, to the licking tongue of her lapdog, Shock. Upon the delivery of a billet-doux, or love-letter, she forgets all about the dream. She then proceeds to her dressing table and goes through an elaborate ritual of dressing, in which her own image in the mirror is described as a â€Å"heavenly image,†a â€Å"goddess.†The Sylphs, unseen, assist their charge as she prepares herself for the day’s activities. Commentary The opening of the poem establishes its mock-heroic style. Pope introduces the conventional epic subjects of love and war and includes an invocation to the muse and a dedication to the man (the historical John Caryll) who commissioned the poem. Yet the tone already indicates that the high seriousness of these traditional topics has suffered a diminishment. The second line confirms in explicit terms what the first line already suggests: the â€Å"am’rous causes†the poem describes are not comparable to the grand love of Greek heroes but rather represent a trivialized version of that emotion. The â€Å"contests†Pope alludes to will prove to be â€Å"mighty†only in an ironic sense. They are card-games and flirtatious tussles, not the great battles of epic tradition. Belinda is not, like Helen of Troy, â€Å"the face that launched a thousand ships†(see the SparkNote on The Iliad), but rather a face thatâ€â€although also beautifulâ€â€prompt s a lot of foppish nonsense. The first two verse-paragraphs emphasize the comic inappropriateness of the epic style (and corresponding mind-set) to the subject at hand. Pope achieves this discrepancy at the level of the line and half-line; the reader is meant to dwell on the incompatibility between the two sides of his parallel formulations. Thus, in this world, it is â€Å"little men†who in â€Å"tasks so bold engage†; and â€Å"soft bosoms†are the dwelling-place for â€Å"mighty rage.†In this startling juxtaposition of the petty and the grand, the former is real while the latter is ironic. In mock epic, the high heroic style works not to dignify the subject but rather to expose and ridicule it. Therefore, the basic irony of the style supports the substance of the poem’s satire, which attacks the misguided values of a society that takes small matters for serious ones while failing to attend to issues of genuine importance. With Belinda’s dream, Pope introduces the â €Å"machinery†of the poemâ€â€the supernatural powers that influence the action from behind the scenes. Here, the sprites that watch over Belinda are meant to mimic the gods of the Greek and Roman traditions, who are sometimes benevolent and sometimes malicious, but always intimately involved in earthly events. The scheme also makes use of other ancient hierarchies and systems of order. Ariel explains that women’s spirits, when they die, return â€Å"to their first Elements.†Each female personality type (these types correspond to the four humours) is converted into a particular kind of sprite. These gnomes, sylphs, salamanders, and nymphs, in turn, are associated with the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. The airy sylphs are those who in their lifetimes were â€Å"light Coquettes†; they have a particular concern for Belinda because she is of this type, and this will be the aspect of feminine nature with which the poem is most concerned. Indeed, Pope already begins to sketch this character of the â€Å"coquette†in this initial canto. He draws th e portrait indirectly, through characteristics of the Sylphs rather than of Belinda herself. Their priorities reveal that the central concerns of womanhood, at least for women of Belinda’s class, are social ones. Woman’s â€Å"joy in gilded Chariots†indicates an obsession with pomp and superficial splendor, while â€Å"love of Ombre,†a fashionable card game, suggests frivolity. The erotic charge of this social world in turn prompts another central concern: the protection of chastity. These are women who value above all the prospect marrying to advantage, and they have learned at an early age how to promote themselves and manipulate their suitors without compromising themselves. The Sylphs become an allegory for the mannered conventions that govern female social behavior. Principles like honor and chastity have become no more than another part of conventional interaction. Pope makes it clear that these women are not conducting themselves on the basis of abstract moral principles, but are governed by an elaborate social mechanismâ€â€of which the Sylphs cut a fitting caricature. And while Pope’s technique of employing supernatural machinery allows him to critique this situation, it also helps to keep the satire light and to exonerate individual women from too severe a judgment. If Belinda has all the typical female foibles, Pope wants us to recognize that it is partly because she has been educated and trained to act in this way. The society as a whole is as much to blame as she is. Nor are men exempt from this judgment. The competition among the young lords for the attention of beautiful ladies is depicted as a battle of vanity, as â€Å"wigs with wigs, with sword-knots sword-knots strive.†Pope’s phrases here expose an absurd attention to exhibitions of pride and ostentation. He emphasizes the inanity of discriminating so closely between things and people that are essentially the same in all important (and even most unimportant) respects. Pope’s portrayal of Belinda at her dressing table introduces mock-heroic motifs that will run through the poem. The scene of her toilette is rendered first as a religious sacrament, in which Belinda herself is the priestess and her image in the looking glass is the Goddess she serves. This parody of the religious rites before a battle gives way, then, to another kind of mock-epic scene, that of the ritualized arming of the hero. Combs, pins, and cosmetics take the place of weapons as â€Å"awful Beauty puts on all its arms.†Canto 2 Summary Belinda, rivaling the sun in her radiance, sets out by boat on the river Thames for Hampton Court Palace. She is accompanied by a party of glitzy ladies (â€Å"Nymphs†) and gentlemen, but is far and away the most striking member of the group. Pope’s description of her charms includes â€Å"the sparkling Cross she wore†on her â€Å"white breast,†her â€Å"quick†eyes and â€Å"lively looks,†and the easy grace with which she bestows her smiles and attentions evenly among all the adoring guests. Her crowning glories, though, are the two ringlets that dangle on her â€Å"iv’ry neck.†These curls are described as love’s labyrinths, specifically designed to ensnare any poor heart who might get entangled in them. One of the young gentlemen on the boat, the Baron, particularly admires Belinda’s locks, and has determined to steal them for himself. We read that he rose early that morning to build an altar to love and pray for success in this project. He sacrificed several tokens of his former affections, including garters, gloves, and billet-doux (love-letters). He then prostrated himself before a pyre built with â€Å"all the trophies of his former loves,†fanning its flames with his â€Å"am’rous sighs.†The gods listened to his prayer but decided to grant only half of it. As the pleasure-boat continues on its way, everyone is carefree except Ariel, who remembers that some bad event has been foretold for the day. He summons an army of sylphs, who assemble around him in their iridescent beauty. He reminds them with great ceremony that one of their duties, after regulating celestial bodies and the weather and guarding the British monarch, is â€Å"to tend the Fair†: to keep watch over ladies’ powders, perfumes, curls, and clothing, and to â€Å"assist their blushes, and inspire their airs.†Therefore, since â€Å"some dire disaster†threatens Belinda, Ariel assigns her an extensive troop of bodyguards. Brillante is to guard her earrings, Momentilla her watch, and Crispissa her locks. Ariel himself will protect Shock, the lapdog. A band of fifty Sylphs will guard the all-important petticoat. Ariel pronounces that any sylph who neglects his assigned duty will be severely punished. They disperse to their posts and wait for fate to unfold. Commentary From the first, Pope describes Belinda’s beauty as something divine, an assessment which she herself corroborates in the first canto when she creates, at least metaphorically, an altar to her own image. This praise is certainly in some sense ironical, reflecting negatively on a system of public values in which external characteristics rank higher than moral or intellectual ones. But Pope also shows a real reverence for his heroine’s physical and social charms, claiming in lines 17–18 that these are compelling enough to cause one to forget her â€Å"female errors.†Certainly he has some interest in flattering Arabella Fermor, the real-life woman on whom Belinda is based; in order for his poem to achieve the desired reconciliation, it must not offend (see â€Å"Context†. Pope also exhibits his appreciation for the ways in which physical beauty is an art form: he recognizes, with a mixture of censure and awe, the fact that Belinda’s legendary locks of hair, which appear so natural and spontaneous, are actually a carefully contrived effect. In this, the mysteries of the lady’s dressing table are akin, perhaps, to Pope’s own literary art, which he describes elsewhere as â€Å"nature to advantage dress’d.†If the secret mechanisms and techniques of female beauty get at least a passing nod of appreciation from the author, he nevertheless suggests that the general human readiness to worship beauty amounts to a kind of sacrilege. The cross that Belinda wears around her neck serves a more ornamental than symbolic or religious function. Because of this, he says, it can be adored by â€Å"Jews†and â€Å"Infidels†as readily as by Christians. And there is some ambiguity about whether any of the admirers are really valuing the cross itself, or the â€Å"white breast†on which it liesâ€â€or the felicitous effect of the whole. The Baron, of course, is the most significant of those who worship at the altar of Belinda’s beauty. The ritual sacrifices he performs in the pre-d awn hours are another mock-heroic element of the poem, mimicking the epic tradition of sacrificing to the gods before an important battle or journey, and drapes his project with an absurdly grand import that actually only exposes its triviality. The fact that he discards all his other love tokens in these preparations reveals his capriciousness as a lover. Earnest prayer, in this parodic scene, is replaced by the self-indulgent sighs of the lover. By having the gods grant only half of what the Baron asks, Pope alludes to the epic convention by which the favor of the gods is only a mixed blessing: in epic poems, to win the sponsorship of one god is to incur the wrath of another; divine gifts, such as immortality, can seem a blessing but become a curse. Yet in this poem, the ramifications of a prayer â€Å"half†granted are negligible rather than tragic; it merely means that he will manage to steal just one lock rather than both of them. In the first canto, the religious imagery surrounding Belinda’s grooming rituals gave way to a militaristic conceit. Here, the same pattern holds. Her curls are compared to a trap perfectly calibrated to ensnare the enemy. Yet the character of female coyness is such that it se eks simultaneously to attract and repel, so that the counterpart to the enticing ringlets is the formidable petticoat. This undergarment is described as a defensive armament comparable to the Shield of Achilles (see Scroll XVIII of The Iliad), and supported in its function of protecting the maiden’s chastity by the invisible might of fifty Sylphs. The Sylphs, who are Belinda’s protectors, are essentially charged to protect her not from failure but from too great a success in attracting men. This paradoxical situation dramatizes the contradictory values and motives implied in the era’s sexual conventions. In this canto, the sexual allegory of the poem begins to come into fuller view. The title of the poem already associates the cutting of Belinda’s hair with a more explicit sexual conquest, and here Pope cultivates that suggestion. He multiplies his sexually metaphorical language for the incident, adding words like â€Å"ravish†and â€Å"betray†to the â€Å"rape†of the title. He also slips in some commentary on the implications of his society’s sexual mores, as when he remarks that â€Å"when success a Lover’s toil attends, / few ask, if fraud or force attain’d his ends.†When Ariel speculates about the possible forms the â€Å"dire disaster†might take, he includes a breach of chastity (â€Å"Diana’s law†), the breaking of china (another allusion to the loss of virginity), and the staining of honor or a gown (the two incommensurate events could happen equally easily and accidentally). He also mentions some pettier social â€Å"disasters†against which the Sylphs are equally prepared to fight, like missing a ball (here, as grave as missing prayers) or losing the lapdog. In the Sylphs’ defensive efforts, Belinda’s petticoat is the battlefield that requires the most extensive fortifications. This fact furthers the idea that the rape of the lock stands in for a literal rape, or at least re presents a threat to her chastity more serious than just the mere theft of a curl. Summary The boat arrives at Hampton Court Palace, and the ladies and gentlemen disembark to their courtly amusements. After a pleasant round of chatting and gossip, Belinda sits down with two of the men to a game of cards. They play ombre, a three-handed game of tricks and trumps, somewhat like bridge, and it is described in terms of a heroic battle: the cards are troops combating on the â€Å"velvet plain†of the card-table. Belinda, under the watchful care of the Sylphs, begins favorably. She declares spades as trumps and leads with her highest cards, sure of success. Soon, however, the hand takes a turn for the worse when â€Å"to the Baron fate inclines the field†: he catches her king of clubs with his queen and then leads back with his high diamonds. Belinda is in danger of being beaten, but recovers in the last trick so as to just barely win back the amount she bid. The next ritual amusement is the serving of coffee. The curling vapors of the steaming coffee remind the Baron of his intention to attempt Belinda’s lock. Clarissa draws out her scissors for his use, as a lady would arm a knight in a romance. Taking up the scissors, he tries three times to clip the lock from behind without Belinda seeing. The Sylphs endeavor furiously to intervene, blowing the hair out of harm’s way and tweaking her diamond earring to make her turn around. Ariel, in a last-minute effort, gains access to her brain, where he is surprised to find â€Å"an earthly lover lurking at her heart.†He gives up protecting her then; the implication is that she secretly wants to be violated. Finally, the shears close on the curl. A daring sylph jumps in between the blades and is cut in two; but being a supernatural creature, he is quickly restored. The deed is done, and the Baron exults while Belinda’s screams fill the air. Commentary This canto is full of classic examples of Pope’s masterful use of the heroic couplet. In introducing Hampton Court Palace, he describes it as the place where Queen Anne â€Å"dost sometimes counsel takeâ€â€and sometimes tea.†This line employs a zeugma, a rhetorical device in which a word or phrase modifies two other words or phrases in a parallel construction, but modifies each in a different way or according to a different sense. Here, the modifying word is â€Å"take†; it applies to the paralleled terms â€Å"counsel†and â€Å"tea.†But one does not â€Å"take†tea in the same way one takes counsel, and the effect of the zeugma is to show the royal residence as a place that houses both serious matters of state and frivolous social occasions. The reader is asked to contemplate that paradox and to reflect on the relative value and importance of these two different registers of activity. (For another example of this rhetorical techniq ue, see lines 157–8: â€Å"Not louder shrieks to pitying heaven are cast, / when husbands, or when lapdogs breathe their last.†) A similar point is made, in a less compact phrasing, in the second and third verse-paragraphs of this canto. Here, against the gossip and chatter of the young lords and ladies, Pope opens a window onto more serious matters that are occurring â€Å"meanwhile†and elsewhere, including criminal trials and executions, and economic exchange. The rendering of the card game as a battle constitutes an amusing and deft narrative feat. By parodying the battle scenes of the great epic poems, Pope is suggesting that the energy and passion once applied to brave and serious purposes is now expended on such insignificant trials as games and gambling, which often become a mere front for flirtation. The structure of â€Å"the three attempts†by which the lock is cut is a convention of heroic challenges, particularly in the romance genre. The romance is further invoked in the image of Clarissa arming the Baronâ€â€not with a real weapon, however, but with a pair of sewing scissors. Belinda is not a real adversary, or course, and Pope makes it plain that her resistanceâ€â€and, by implication, her subsequent distressâ€â€is to some degree an affectation. The melodrama of her screams is complemented by the ironic comparison of the Baron’s feat to the conquest of nations. Belinda’s â€Å"anxious cares†and â€Å"secret passions†after the loss of her lock are equal to the emotions of all who have ever known â€Å"rage, resentment and despair.†After the disappointed Sylphs withdraw, an earthy gnome called Umbriel flies down to the â€Å"Cave of Spleen.†(The spleen, an organ that removes disease-causing agents from the bloodstream, was traditionally associated with the passions, particularly malaise; â€Å"spleen†is a synonym for â€Å"ill-temper.†) In his descent he passes through Belinda’s bedroom, where she lies prostrate with discomfiture and the headache. She is attended by â€Å"two handmaidens,†Ill-Nature and Affectation. Umbriel passes safely through this melancholy chamber, holding a sprig of â€Å"spleenwort†before him as a charm. He addresses the â€Å"Goddess of Spleen,†and returns with a bag of â€Å"sighs, sobs, and passions†and a vial of sorrow, grief, and tears. He unleashes the first bag on Belinda, fueling her ire and despair. There to commiserate with Belinda is her friend Thalestris. (In Greek mythology, Thalestris is the name of one of the Amazons, a race of warrior women who excluded men from their society.) Thalestris delivers a speech calculated to further foment Belinda’s indignation and urge her to avenge herself. She then goes to Sir Plume, â€Å"her beau,†to ask him to demand that the Baron return the hair. Sir Plume makes a weak and slang-filled speech, to which the Baron disdainfully refuses to acquiesce. At this, Umbriel releases the contents of the remaining vial, throwing Belinda into a fit of sorrow and self-pity. With â€Å"beauteous grief†she bemoans her fate, regrets not having heeded the dream-warning, and laments the lonely, pitiful state of her sole remaining curl. Commentary The canto opens with a list of examples of â€Å"rage, resentment, and despair,†comparing on an equal footing the pathos of kings imprisoned in battle, of women who become old maids, of evil-doers who die without being saved, and of a woman whose dress is disheveled. By placing such disparate sorts of aggravation in parallel, Pope accentuates the absolute necessity of assigning them to some rank of moral import. The effect is to chastise a social world that fails to make these distinctions. Umbriel’s journey to the Cave of Spleen mimics the journeys to the underworld made by both Odysseus and Aeneas. Pope uses psychological allegory (for the spleen was the seat of malaise or melancholy), as a way of exploring the sources and nature of Belinda’s feelings. The presence of Ill-nature and Affectation as handmaidens serves to indicate that her grief is less than pure (â€Å"affected†or put-on), and that her display of temper has hidden motives. We learn that her sorrow is decorative in much the same way the curl was; it gives her the occasion, for example, to wear a new nightdress. The speech of Thalestris invokes a courtly ethic. She encourages Belinda to think about the Baron’s misdeed as an affront to her honor, and draws on ideals of chivalry in demanding that Sir Plume challenge the Baron in defense of Belinda’s honor. He makes a muddle of the task, showing how far from courtly behavior this generation of gentlemen has fallen. Sir Plume’s speech is riddled with foppish slang and has none of the logical, moral, or oratorical power that a knight should properly wield. This attention to questions of honor returns us to the sexual allegory of the poem. The real danger, Thalestris suggests, is that â€Å"the ravisher†might display the lock and make it a source of public humiliation to Belinda and, by association, to her friends. Thus the real question is a superficial oneâ€â€public reputationâ€â€rather than the moral imperative to chastity. Belinda’s own words at the close of the canto corroborate this suggestion; she exclaims, â€Å"Oh, hadst thou, cruel! been content to seize / Hairs less in sight, or any hairs but these!†(The â€Å"hairs less in sight†suggest her pubic hair). Pope is pointing out the degree to which she values outward appearance (whether beauty or reputation) above all else; she would rather suffer a breach to her integrity than a breach to her appearance. The Baron remains impassive against all the ladies’ tears and reproaches. Clarissa delivers a speech in which she questions why a society that so adores beauty in women does not also place a value on â€Å"good sense†and â€Å"good humour.†Women are frequently called angels, she argues, but without reference to the moral qualities of these creatures. Especially since beauty is necessarily so short-lived, we must have something more substantial and permanent to fall back on. This sensible, moralizing speech falls on deaf ears, however, and Belinda, Thalestris and the rest ignore her and proceed to launch an all-out attack on the offending Baron. A chaotic tussle ensues, with the gnome Umbriel presiding in a posture of self- congratulation. The gentlemen are slain or revived according to the smiles and frowns of the fair ladies. Belinda and the Baron meet in combat and she emerges victorious by peppering him with snuff and drawing her bodkin. Having achieved a position of advantage, she again demands that he return the lock. But the ringlet has been lost in the chaos, and cannot be found. The poet avers that the lock has risen to the heavenly spheres to become a star; stargazers may admire it now for all eternity. In this way, the poet reasons, it will attract more envy than it ever could on earth. Commentary Readers have often interpreted Clarissa’s speech as the voice of the poet expressing the moral of the story. Certainly, her oration’s thesis aligns with Pope’s professed task of putting the dispute between the two families into a more reasonable perspective. But Pope’s position achieves more complexity than Clarissa’s speech, since he has used the occasion of the poem as a vehicle to critically address a number of broader societal issues as well. And Clarissa’s righteous stance loses authority in light of the fact that it was she who originally gave the Baron the scissors. Clarissa’s failure to inspire a reconciliation proves that the quarrel is itself a kind of flirtatious game that all parties are enjoying. The description of the â€Å"battle†has a markedly erotic quality, as ladies and lords wallow in their mock-agonies. Sir Plume â€Å"draw[s] Clarissa down†in a sexual way, and Belinda â€Å"flies†on her foe with flashing eyes and an erotic ardor. When Pope informs us that the Baron fights on unafraid because he â€Å"sought no more than on his foe to die,†the expression means that his goal all along was sexual consummation. This final battle is the culmination of the long sequence of mock-heroic military actions. Pope invokes by name the Roman gods who were most active in warfare, and he alludes as well to the Aeneid , comparing the stoic Baron to Aeneas (â€Å"the Trojan†), who had to leave his love to become the founder of Rome. Belinda’s tossing of the snuff makes a perfect turning point, ideally suited to the scale of this trivial battle. The snuff causes the Baron to sneeze, a comic and decidedly unheroic thing for a hero to do. The bodkin, too, serves nicely: here a bodkin is a decorative hairpin, not the weapon of ancient days (or even of Hamlet’s time). Still, Pope gives the pin an elaborate history in accordance with the conventions of true epic. The mock-heroic conclusion of the poem is designed to compliment the lady it alludes to (Arabella Fermor), while also giving the poet himself due credit for being the instrument of her immortality. This ending effectively indulges the heroine’s vanity, even though the poem has functioned throughout as a critique of that vanity. And no real moral development has taken place: Belinda is asked to come to terms with her loss through a kind of bribe or distraction that reinforces her basically frivolous outlook. But even in its most mocking moments, this poem is a gentle one, in which Pope shows a basic sympathy with the social world in spite of its folly and foibles. The searing critiques of his later satires would be much more stringent and less forgiving.
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