In Praise of the Humble Comma Essay

â€Å"In Praise of The Humble Comma† examples, and comparisons to God, are used to convey to the audience the necessity for punctuation in the written language. The necessity can be broken down into two different needs, the first being the grammatical need, and the other being the emotional need, which will be discussed later. In the beginning of the essay Iyer compares the comma to the gods because they can both â€Å"give breath and take it away† (1). The gods are said to have created the world and all of the living creatures on it, including man. As a part of man’s creation we were given breath in order to live, and as part of life, it is taken away-death. Iyer then returns to his subject, the comma, which he states â€Å"it be breath itself† (1). The comma is the written representation of the short pauses, the quick little breaths, which are taken when people speak. Since the comma represents breath, it gives breath when used, and takes it away when it isn’t. Such an abstract idea may seem illogical, but it has validity. Without the comma, every compound, complex, and compound- complex sentence would become too complicated to understand. The reader wouldn’t be able to find the purpose of a written work, and therefore would lose interest. So in a way it could be said that the comma is holding the written language together, constituting why Iyer wrote his essay on it. Iyer uses several examples, both direct and indirect, to further illustrate the importance of the comma and to allow his audience to truly grasp just how important the comma actually is to writing. He directly compares the comma to â€Å"a labor of love† (9) which can â€Å"let us hear a voice break or a heart† (9). A labor of love is when one does something tedious and time consuming for another because they are very important to them and they love them. Writers go through all the rules of grammar, and apply them to their work because they care about their audience. It is tedious work for them, but they do it because they love their readers, and want them to be able to understand the work in its fullest. This is the emotional necessity that was mentioned earlier. Punctuation allows for the author to care about their audience, and show the audience that they care. The comma is more than a punctuation mark; it is the giver of breath; the connection between author and audience.

Stupid Boy

More difficult than the classes, more difficult than the pressure of college and responsibilities is the constant nagging of my female peers. In our school, they are the dominant sex and feminism can be felt from miles around. Females control our school, and there is no way of getting around it. The common myth that women are inferior to men is completely and utterly wrong. Ever since I began high school, I knew that I was different from the other guys. One by one I noticed my male peers being weeded out from the higher academic levels, leaving a predominantly female crowd, but I was, and still am, determined to keep my position. As the years have gone by, I have become the â€Å"token male† in many of the top classes. It is difficult to hold onto such an prestigious role when I know that there are females surrounding me, ready to prove that the â€Å"token male† is not as sophisticated as one might think. I find myself included in conversations about such things as male bashing and female apparel that males are usually excluded from. When we are in biology, they complain about pregnancy, and then turn hateful eyes toward me, grumbling that I will never know the agony of childbirth. The strange thing is those conversations and continual male-bashing sessions no longer phase me. Now it's difficult to talk about â€Å"guy things. † I almost always turn to females for intellectual conversation. Sometimes there aren't any guys around to talk about anything. I have learned to deal with it though, and I'm happy that I've had this experience with humiliation. It has made me respect women more than I ever would have. I think that any self-respecting feminist would be proud of me. My female biology teacher has dubbed me â€Å"Token Male. In my advanced biology, advanced physics, advanced English, and Spanish IV classes I am overwhelmed by the estrogen. I couldn't imagine not having Sarah around to get notes from, or Rose to laugh when Mr. Marshall calls me eloquent. I am not the average guy anymore. I listen to the conversations with interest, waiting to interject my own perspective. However, I am wary not to attract too much attention from one of the preying fem ales. I go to the bathroom and see a male friend out in the hall and slap him five as I go back into class. I look to the girls to hear them say, in unison, â€Å"Stupid Boy. â€Å"

Cachau Bant: Mind Your Language Essay

There has not been a day with peace on this earth. We always hear about war, power, loss, and corruption. Every politicians wants the power, wants to change something for the better, or what they think is better, without knowing what the consequences are. In the article â€Å"Cachau Bant: Mind Your Language† Tom Law expresses his opinion about the way the England has forced the Welsh people to learn English and forgotten their own native language. I want to find out how Tom Law presents his arguments by analyzing them using the pentagon, and analyze and comment on how he uses history. Tom Law, the writer of the article, is a Welsh man who lives in Wales. He is very irritated and furious with England because they have forced the Welsh people to change their mother tongue to English. Throughout the article, he tries to persuade the reader to fight against England’s tyranny against other languages than English. Tom Law uses different strategies to convince the readers†™ and gain their empathy. His main claim is that England is being tyrannical against the Welsh language, and that England has the power of one’s speech. He says, â€Å"It’s hard to give a toss about language when you’re an English speaker. Because losing your language is not something you’ll ever have to worry about; thanks to the glory days of the British Empire.† (Law, Tom. Cachau Bant: Mind Your Language. Page 6 ll. 1-5). He has different grounds for his claim. The first ground is that language was a choice that England made for the Welsh people including Tom Law himself. They did not have the opportunity to choose for themselves, England made the choice for them. The other ground is that England thought that it was better for the Welsh people. Like mentioned earlier, Tom Law is irritated and furious with England, and we can especially see that in the way he writes. The language is informal, and the sentences are short, â€Å"The Welsh language has declined so rapidly because the English placed a pillow over its face and smothered it.† (P. 7 ll. 120-123). He also uses a lot of irony, for example he says, â€Å"[†¦] the glory days of the British Empire. English is a dominant language- the third most common in the world. It’s a source of national pride- a gift to the planet.† That makes the reader feel that England is actually nothing but a small country that does not make a good difference for anybody if England does not get something good from it. His  tone in the article is very negative; we can see that many places in text. One of the places is where he says, â€Å"It was done by England and it continues to tear the country apart, affecting every aspect of Welsh life.† (P.7 ll. 74-76) Another place in the text that shows that the tone is negative is when he says, â€Å"It’s the consequence of the state treating the Welsh language as a sickness which needed to be cured†. (P.8 ll. 135-137). The reason is that he is annoyed and angry with England. Tom Law uses history as a device to show the reader that England has been causing loss and trouble in many other countries, and they are still causing loss and trouble. He says, â€Å"It has left non- Welsh speakers feeling like outsiders in their own country, forever left out in the cold and staring back in at history and culture they can’t access; at jobs they’re not qualified to do. For Welsh speakers, they have been battered from all sides, endlessly under attack, having to justify the use of their own language- mostly to fellow Welsh people.† (P.9 ll. 227-236) The article is characterized by pathos. â€Å"The â€Å"WN† initials were carved onto a plaque which school kids were made to wear around their neck if heard speaking Welsh in classroom. The pupil wearing the plaque at the end of the day would be beaten.† (P. 9 ll. 211-217) The reader will immediately feel sorry and get empathy for the Welsh people. He also uses logos, for example, he say s that back in the 1840s, around 80 percent of people living in Wales spoke Welsh, and many of them spoke no English at all, and in the year 2011 had the number dropped down to below 20 percent. When the reader reads this, Tom Law will gain some readers’ support, because is strengthens his argument. Furthermore, he also tries to engage the reader by asking questions â€Å"What can you do?† (P. 7 l.117) This question makes the reader to think about an answer to what we can do, and this makes a kind of community. Besides that, the article needs more ethos. He does not have any expert’s estimation to support his claims, and that causes that the grounds of his claims are weak. If he had some experts or some data, the ethos of the article would be stronger, and he would probably gain a lot more readers’ attention and support. Tom Law tries to reach support and empathy from people that has the same way of thinking. He tries to convince people who feel the same hatred against England as him. He tries to persuade people who feel lost, because England was the one who caused a lot of loss in many countries. That is also the reason why he uses some of England’s history in  the article, to reach the people who feels lost, the ones not knowing who they really are. That is his primary audience. The secondary audience is the nation of England. He is trying to tell England to, not to interfere in other countries’ language. The intention of the article is that Tom Law tries to convince the reader to support his opinion. He wants England to stop interfering in other countries, and just keep their business in England. Tom Law’s tone is very negative towards England and he does not see it from the opposite side of the discussion. If he saw the discussion from both sides, the article would be more trustworthy, and he would win a lot more support. If England had not force many countries to change their native tongue or just taught other countries the language, another countries would have done it.. Actually, you should be thankful to England. If England did not do what is has done, today, we would not be able to understand each other.

Communication in Business Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Communication in Business - Dissertation Example allows organizations to identify their unique resources, critical functions and core competencies which are considered as essential to understand in order to fully handle strategic operations of the firm. Its significance therefore is of primary nature and organizations benefit from knowledge management because it allows them to learn and to adapt to the new and changing situations easily. 1.1 Purpose The overall purpose of this research is to understand as to what knowledge management and how organizations can actually use it to their benefit. Particularly, this research report will focus upon determining the benefits which can be driven by the organizations by implementing knowledge management practices. 1.2 Scope The overall scope of this research study is limited to the understanding of the benefits of knowledge management to the organizations with a purpose to outline as to how such benefits can be utilized by the organizations. 1.3 Method This research study is based upon the u se of secondary sources therefore data gathering tools such as interviews and questionnaires have not been used. It is however, critical to note that credible journals, peer reviewed articles, books and good quality online resources have been used for the purpose of this study. 2 Analysis This section will describe the overall concept of knowledge management, what it is and how it can actually benefit an organization. 2.1 Knowledge Management Knowledge management provides measures and information which can collectively be used by the organizations for better understanding of their processes in order to better utilize them for business purposes. It therefore prepares employees for the better understanding of new ideas and how to utilize them innovatively in order to achieve the... The dissertation proposal has been based on learning about the concept and meaning of knowledge management and the benefits that it has for businesses. This has helped clarify the importance of incorporating knowledge management into management systems. The researcher states that every organization in order to develop its core competencies and to learn to adapt to the new situations learn to take insights and experience. This ability of the organizations to actually experience and learn from the way they operate is considered as knowledge management. Practiced by organization since last many years, knowledge management actually allows organizations to identify their unique resources, critical functions and core competencies which are considered as essential to understand in order to fully handle strategic operations of the firm. The discussion presented suggests that the concept of knowledge management can help organizations to better utilize their intellectual assets and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the employees. By implementing knowledge management practices, organizations can actually set up shared knowledge processes allows organizations to become more disciplined in finding solutions to their problems. Organizations take advantage of knowledge management at different levels, intermediate and organizational. At the organizational level, it takes benefit of the knowledge management when knowledge management processes are shared across the whole organization.

Pastoral communication to the migrants (Reference to African Roman Dissertation

Pastoral communication to the migrants (Reference to African Roman Catholic ) - Dissertation Example According to Official documents of the Roman Catholic Church, 2004), â€Å"Today’s migration makes up the vastest movement of people of all times. In these last decades, the phenomenon, now involving about two hundred million individuals, has turned into a structural reality of contemporary society.† This is also a reason, accounting for the attention that the church gives to migrants. However, in order that pastors in the African Catholic Church deliver their pastoral duties successfully and in a way that ensures that the dream of the church is lived, there is the urgent need to address the issue of communication between pastors and migrants. This is because communication forms the basis of every kind of support and help given to migrants. This means that good communication can ensure success whereas bad communication would be tantamount to failure. Steele (2010) posits that â€Å"communication is a process by which information is exchanged†. This skill is essen tially important in pastoral services rendered to migrants. However, before a pastor even says ‘jack’ to communicating with migrants, there are a couple of factors to consider. In the first place, it is extremely important for the pastor to understand into detail, the cause of the migration. In Africa for instance, a lot of people migrate because of harsh economic, social and political conditions in their countries.

Research methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Research methods - Essay Example The paper is divided into four main sections. First is an examination of the reason why racism existed in Britain and for how long has it existed. It is proposed in this paper that racism has affected and gave valuable impacts to the present British laws, either through as a reaction of the legislation to the rising concerns depicting racism within the country or to a larger scale, the global commotions in different parts of world depicting racial discrimination. A thorough discussion of these laws is imperative followed by detailed examples of how and up to what level has it affected policy making in the country. It is hypothesized, that the issues of racism has particularly impact policies on global relations, and even to laws pertaining to basic human rights and civil lerties such as rules on criminal procedure, due process, and sanctions for criminal acts. 1. LITERATURE SEARCH (500 WORDS) Racism is belief that a certain group of people is more superior to another. This theory oft entimes results into hostile conduct, unwarranted assaults, and violence towards the race labeled as inferior. Subtly, this belief sparked the constant practice of discrimination, oppression, and most often than not, history is the witness that the pursuit of the superior race to the opposite is often concluded in genocide. At a backdrop, racism is the assertion that the human race is divided into hierarchies, into partitions and these levels are distinguished from each other through superficial standards such as color and more profoundly by cultural behaviour; however, standards of racism vary from culture to culture at different parts of the world and this difference prompted various racism theories and hypotheses of its origins (Dijk). Power play is also an imperative factor when studying racism, the way power acts as an external influence it alters racism over time makes it a compelling factor. Most of the time, racism is more than just a showcase of disparity or a struggle betw een the inferior and the superior race or as an anti-social reflection, rather, racism in the modern society is a struggle between society and the State (Kundnani, 2001). However, racism is not confined and limited to a simple power struggle and stratification, since in fact, power is a product of and molded by racism itself (Modood, 2005). Creating a link between past and present laws is significant in considering the evolution of racism laws as developed in the United Kingdom. It is often acclaimed that UK has some of the most extensive and comprehensive laws and policies when it comes to race legislations (Modood, 2005). One of the earliest British laws on racism was the 1976 Race Relations Act that sanctions discrimination on the bases of colour, nationality and ethnical background among others. The 1976 Act was strengthened by the 2000 Race Relations Act. The Act aims to furnish wider safeguard against discrimination done by public authorities while placing positively enforceab le duties to these authorities. These changes are clear response to the compelling need of the contemporary times. The 1976 Act gave more attention to clearly negative and almost retaliatory measures towards the ethnic and cultural minorities in the UK (Kundnani, 2007).

Effects of oil spillage to the Dalian population Annotated Bibliography

Effects of oil spillage to the Dalian population - Annotated Bibliography Example The effects of the disaster were detrimental in that ports operations were disrupted as millions of gallons of oil spilled destroying several structures. With such disasters, it is imperative to focus on the effects that face the people and the environment in order to develop mechanisms of preventing and controlling them if they take place. In addition, such findings tend to foster disaster preparedness in the future. Besides, the concerned parties and stakeholders needs to have a clear picture of effects of such disasters before developing mechanisms of dealing with them in the future. This article articulates on the effects of trade on the environment. Specifically, the author focused on two Chinese cities, Shenyang and Dalian. Its theoretical approach underpins the connection between trade and environment. Conversely, the article examines effects of global economic integration and how the major actors respond to environmental policies as well as assessing ways of minimizing the environmental risks involved as a result of trade. The article findings indicate that strengthening of environmental institutions as well as economic openness plays a part in domestic environmental policies. For instance, Shin pointed out that the government orders Shenyang smelter to shut its doors after it was discovered that the plant excessively polluted the air, which was considered risky for the people living in the local area. Several policies including â€Å"if an enterprise does not eliminate pollution, pollution will eliminate the enterprise† were put in place. The study of the article utilized the framework of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) to study how different countries in Asia handle environmental issues.

The term Eloquence as it relates to rhetoric Essay

The term Eloquence as it relates to rhetoric - Essay Example Also concr. eloquent language. Primarily of oral utterance, and hence applied to writing that has the characteristics of good oratory. In modern use: the notion of impassioned utterance is more prominent". History has produced a number of statesmen and philosophers who were physically weak and frail old men, but who with their sharp tongues and a nimble mind, would speak so sublimely in a simple and lucid manner that even the meanest despot would think twice before acting in haste. Eloquence is a tool and a facilitator that helps an ordinary speaker to become an orator. An orator would again use strong rhetoric to force out an issue in his own favour. In short, eloquence, rhetoric and oratory are interlinked. Eloquence when combined with oratory becomes powerful and when the two combine with rhetoric, the combination can become deadly and powerful, moving armies to inaction and turning the speaker from a position of weakness to a position of strength. The Oxford Dictionary emphasises this point and when Marc Antony speaks out to the citizens of Rome he begins with ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears, for I have come to bury Caesar and not praise him’. In all probability, if Marc Antony had become a tirade of anger and wrong doing or even treachery against Brutus and this gang, then the crowd would not have rose to punish Brutus and the history of the world would have been different (Rawson, 1978). Eloquence is not about using very high blown language or even using complex terms and ideas and it is not about brow beating an audience into accepting a high sounding speech that they do not understand. Rather it is using ordinary words and phrases and combining them to force the audience into thinking on a different track. It is not about rabble rousing though leaders down the ages, have used it for waging mutiny

Counterfeit Medicine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Counterfeit Medicine - Essay Example Because of this demand pharmaceutical companies now face the problem of counterfeit medicine (Cockburn, p. 302). The World Health Organization and the US FDA estimates that ten percent (10%) of the medicines and drugs sold in the United States are counterfeit drugs. These drugs are known to be manufactured overseas, particularly in Asia or Africa where it is reported that the real drugs are being sold along side of the counterfeit ones. These counterfeit medicines when taken in may have serious health consequences. A lot of counterfeit medicines sold today are cheaper or almost the same price as that of the real medicine. This also makes them a competitor for legal pharmaceuticals. One of the serious health implications for ingesting these counterfeit drugs are the possible side effects not reported or present in real medicine. Counterfeit medicines are also known to contain little or a different drug ingredient that has not passed FDA approval (US FDA, para.3). The economic repercussion of having these fake drugs available is that legal pharmaceuticals are losing money. Fake drugs may look and have the same packaging, it is sometimes impossible for the average consumer to know which one is fake or counterfeit. Consumers or patients who get a hold of counterfeit medicine also lose money because they do not get the product that they have paid for, and the medicinal benefit of the drug. Add to that the possibility of getting hospitalized because of the adverse effects of the counterfeit drugs, or worse death (Hope, para. 2). The problem of counterfeit medicine has stemmed from the known income earnings of pharmaceutical companies and commercialism. Companies that are trying to outsell each other may try to get sourcing of their raw materials from third world countries and sometimes these medicines contain little or weak proportions of an active ingredient or worse a different

Economic Analysis Essay Example for Free

Economic Analysis Essay The enthusiasm, as well as the anxieties that is generated by the working of the economy of the United States is not just US economy generates is not just obvious but also easy to understand. The United States, with a GDP of 13. 2 trillion USD, and a population of 300 million (with an average yearly per capita income of more than 44,000 USD), is the largest economy of the world (CIA Factbook, 2008). Its currency, the US dollar, even in the throes of its greatest financial crisis, is the world’s preferred currency, and its markets the world’s biggest. In diversity and amount, the natural resources of the country are greater than those of most other countries. Many US industries are global leaders, and it remains the favorite marketing target for companies from across the world. With the US being the largest trading partner for numerous north and south countries, a large portion of the global economy relies upon US consumption for survival; significant changes in its pattern can lead to global euphoria or gloom. The performance of the US economy is influenced by an assortment of local and international factors. Distinguished by particularly low government control, a guiding principle that was first chosen by the founding fathers and followed painstakingly ever since (Oppenheimer, Reddaway, 1989). Although the government stipulates regulations and ensures inviolability of contracts, most microeconomic decisions are taken by private firms and corporations. (Rowe Silverstein, 1999) Governmental and Federal Reserve activities occur mainly through the modification of tax policies, changes in interest rates, and control of money supply; their endeavor being to push the economy in chosen directions rather than to compel it to take up preferred paths. (Oppenheimer, Reddaway, 1989) The last two decades have been particularly turbulent for the economy, marked by sharp expansion, occasional slowdowns, and the occurrence, in 2008, of a slump of dimensions sharp enough to affect the economic fortunes of numerous nations and millions of people. This assignment aims to assess and analyze the performance of the economy from 1990 until the present day, taking up various economic developments, the reasons behind the same, and their local and global impact. Commentary Overview of 1990 to 2001 The economic performance of an extremely intricate and influential economy like that of the US relies upon various local and global developments like investments, agricultural, manufacturing and service activity, exports and imports, global and local commodity prices, currency strength, disposable incomes, and consumption patterns. It is also influenced by fiscal and monetary measures like changes in tax policies, interest rates on loans, and reserves of banks, as well as by ongoing developments like price rises, job levels, and induction of fresh participants into the work force. Whilst the United States is one of the leading exporters of coal, wheat, corn, and soybeans, its continuous and strong economic growth has increased its dependence upon other countries for oil and many other raw materials. In fact the country had become a leading consumer of practically every sort of raw material by the 1960s and growth continued to rise thereafter. The 1970s and the 1980s, the decades that preceded the 1990s, were difficult ones and were distinguished by slow economic growth and inflation. While the period was marked by the entry of Japanese industry onto the global stage, the oil price shocks, and the forced bailout of Chrysler, it also witnessed the emergence of the service industry and the numerous small businesses in the United States. Whilst the 1980s saw a reduction in inflation rates and the creation of millions of jobs, such developments were accompanied by drastic increases in military expenditure, Medicaid and Medicare costs, corporate debt and household borrowing (Julius, 2005). Thousands of banks failed because of a combination of reasons that included high inflation and interest rates, bad loans to developing nations and speculative real estate ventures. The total national debt reached a figure of 290 billion US dollars, the highest till then. The US economic recovery commenced in 1991 and continued for the rest of the decade; it was distinguished by a long period of constant growth and by strong performance in key economic indicators like growth, inflation, unemployment and interest rates. Real growth in GDP stayed at around 3 % for the whole period with a low of 2. 5 % and a high of 3. 9 % in 1998. Unemployment fell from a peak of 7. 5 % to 5. 6 % by the middle of the decade and to less than 5 % after 1997. â€Å"Americas labor force changed markedly during the 1990s. Continuing a long-term trend, the number of farmers declined. A small portion of workers had jobs in industry, while a much greater share worked in the service sector, in jobs ranging from store clerks to financial planners. If steel and shoes were no longer American manufacturing mainstays, computers and the software that make them run were. † (The 1990s and beyond, 2008) Inflation, which had reached dangerously high levels in the 1980s also moderated significantly and remained below 3 % for most of the decade. The only area that witnessed volatility was the stock market, with stock prices rising by more than 60 % in the closing years of the decade on the back of low unemployment and good growth figures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had stood at around 1,000 in the late 1970s, went up to as much as 11,000 in 1999, adding substantially to the wealth of many Americans (Julius, 2005). Whilst Clinton, who occupied the Presidency from 1993 to 2000, declared the era of big business to be over in the United States, he worked to strengthen market forces in areas like long distance telephony, reduced the size of the federal work force and ensured the continuance of most of the New Deal innovations (The 1990s and beyond, 2008). The economy was also helped greatly by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the consequent enlargement of trading opportunities. Technological advances led to the introduction of a wide assortment of sophisticated new electronic products. Numerous innovations in telecommunications and computer networking led to the development of a vast IT industry and revolutionized the operating methods and ways of numerous industries. â€Å"After peaking at $290,000 million in 1992, the federal budget steadily shrank as economic growth increased tax revenues. In 1998, the government posted its first surplus in 30 years, although a huge debt mainly in the form of promised future Social Security payments to the baby boomers – remained† (The 1990s and beyond, 2008) The Economy in the 21st Century Whilst such developments led a number of economists to believe that the United States was entering a period of sustained economic growth, economic growth came to a halt in the early 2000s. Much of this was due to the slowing down of the investment boom and the economy went into recession in the second half of 2001, cutting a ten year period of economic growth. Along with slowdowns in investment and the widespread crashing of dotcom organizations the economy was terribly hurt by the World Trade Center attacks worsened the economic situation. The recession was short lived and lasted for a period of 8 months and whilst the labor force continued to grow, its rate moderated significantly. Whilst the actual recession was short lived the following years were ones of slow growth. Growth in GDP, which was estimated at 2. 5 % in 2002 continued to be slow in 2003 and unemployment rose significantly in 2003 (Julius, 2005). Huge corporate scams, like the ones at Enron and WorldCom led to erosion of domestic confidence and the recovery process remained slow and sluggish. The downturn in the US economy, which had spurred global economic growth during the 1990s led to a worldwide economic downturn, not just in Europe but also in Japan, Latin America and Southeast Asia (Julius, 2005). Consumer spending increased only after the commencement of the war in Iraq and was accompanied by the improvement of most economic indicators. The movement of the economy in the 2000s can be broken up in three distinct sections, the recession of 2001 followed by sluggish growth in 2002 and 2003, sharp economic growth from 2004 to 2007 and financial crisis that enveloped the economy after the housing crash and the mortgage disaster of 2007 (The 1990s and beyond, 2008). The years following 2003 witnessed a recovery powered by consumer spending as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and the government reduced taxes. The economy grew at an average annual rate of 3. 1 % during this period, a rate not much lower than that achieved during the growth phase of the 1990s. The economy was also bolstered by a USD 500 billion spending on homeland security and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a jump of 4 trillion USD in household debt and a 50 % increase in prices of real estate (The 1990s and beyond, 2008). With the Fed engineering finance at low interest rates, consumer debt, credit card, and vehicle loans went up from 7. 9 trillion USD to 12. 2 trillion USD, and US consumers went on a spending spree that had no precedent. Inflation was fuelled not just by increasing demand but by sharp increases in oil prices, which went up from 28 dollars a barrel in 2001 to the mid 60s in 2006 and finally to USD 148 a barrel in 2007 before the current crisis brought it crashing down. â€Å"The rise in GDP in 2004-07 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP growth for the year. Soaring oil prices in 2005-2007 threatened inflation and unemployment, yet the economy continued to grow through year-end 2007. † (CIA Fact Book, 2008) Tragedy struck the US and global economy in 2007 in the form of the mortgage crisis when economists were predicting a boom the likes of which the world had never seen before. The majority of the problems impacting the US economy have come about because of the development of housing crisis. Whilst housing and construction activities had grown sharply since 2004, they slackened significantly in 2006 after successive interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve made monthly housing loan repayments substantially more costly for home mortgage holders. With loans having become far more expensive to service, the housing industry went into a slump in 2006 with far lesser home sales on a Year on Year basis. The continuation of this phenomenon into 2007 led to a sharp economic slowdown and was in many ways responsible for the precipitation of the mortgage crisis. The sub prime mortgage financial crisis in the USA first evidenced itself in 2006, and assumed global proportions in mid 2007. With a combination of a number of economic causes like increased monthly repayment figures and declining home values restricting the inability of mortgage holders to meet their repayment terms, mortgage lenders, who until the had ridden the wave of real estate expansion, were hit with huge cash deficits and the inadequate securities to make good their losses (Bernanke, 2007). The emergence of the sub prime crisis led to the opening of a virtual Pandora’s Box of wrong and risky banking practices, and the financial bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosures of thousands of borrowers. It also led to the bankruptcy of huge financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, the virtual collapse of a monolith like Citibank, the collapse of stock markets, the extinction of stock market fortunes of thousands of Americans and finally to a tremendous crunch in availability of funds and credit. Apart from creating havoc among financial institutions the crisis has also led to tremendous slowing down of economic activity, the loss of thousands of jobs, increasing unemployment, contraction of GDP and enormous economic uncertainty. The sub-prime crisis has put a huge doubt over broader economic functioning by choking spending and by impacting the progress of the building sector. Whilst most impartial observers are likely to attribute the sub prime crisis to the greed of borrowers and lenders, the lax policies of regulatory authorities is seen by many to be a major contributory factor for the development of this crisis. Laxity in the activity of the Federal reserve, which reduced interest rates in 2001 and kept them low for five years, is considered to be a major reason for the reckless borrowing and lending practices that finally led to the sub prime crisis. The collapse of major banks and financial institutions has led to the development of an enormous credit crunch, with banks unable to lend money to businesses and to individuals. â€Å"So far this year, 15 banks have failed, compared with three last year. And Wall Streets five biggest investment firms were swallowed by other companies, filed bankruptcy or converted themselves into commercial banks to weather the financial storm† (Bush: Bailout Plan †¦, 2008). With losses not being confined just to mortgage lenders, many banks lost billions of dollars in the bad mortgage debts that they had bought from mortgage companies. This in turn led to sharp reduction in the money available with them and made them unable to engage in any further lending activity. Businesses across a wide spectrum of industry and service sectors find it difficult to obtain funds for operations and growth, a phenomenon that is seriously affecting their regular working, and leading to contraction of business activity, reduction in production and sales, and to reduction of workforce. Thousands of people have been laid off in the banking sector and job losses are now increasing across the spectrum of business companies, not just in the United States but across the world. Reduced employment figures, accompanied by lesser money availability with people who are fortunate enough to hold their jobs, is also leading to sharp drops in demand for a range of products, including automobiles and household goods, and leading to crisis conditions in various sectors of the economy. The US automobile industry, which has been going through a bad patch for the last few years, has been particularly badly hit, with mostly all companies announcing production cuts and job terminations. Conclusion The duration and severity of the current financial crisis has led many analysts to compare it with the events of the Great Depression, when 9,000 banks failed. Others however feel that while the current crisis is undoubtedly severe it is far away from reaching the levels of economic grief that characterized the depression of the 1930s. Contracting money supply, tax increases, and protectionist tariffs, factors that were associated with the Great Depression are not present today. Unemployment levels, while rising today are also far below the levels of 25 % that were breached in the 1930s. Today’s problem remains associated with the crisis of banking solvency, as is evident from the bankruptcies, forced takeovers and virtual nationalization of large private sector banks. Banks are desperate to first balance their banks and are looking for funds to stay afloat and manage their existing obligations rather than in providing fresh credit. The government of the United States has come out with a bailout plan that was first estimated at 700 billion US dollars and has now come up to nearly a trillion dollars, a figure equal to the GDP of many prosperous West European economies. The bailout plan envisages the provisioning of hundreds of billions of dollars that the treasury can use to for the purchase of distressed assets, particularly mortgage backed securities and for making capital injections into banks. The purpose of the bailout plan is to protect banks, stabilize the economy, improve liquidity, restore confidence in financial markets, and encourage consumption. The Federal Reserve has in recent weeks joined with other major central banks to reduce interest rates and the world’s top economic powers are getting together to take concerted action. Such efforts are yet to show significant results and stock markets continue to remain depressed. â€Å"Slowing consumer demand, labor productivity and, potentially, trade growth worsens the prospects of a mild recession. If the bailout does not soon restore financial stability-and many economists doubt that it will-bailing out the broader economy will require additional public funds and increase burdens on future taxpayers† (Gokhale, 2008) Economists also estimate unemployment to increase to hit 7. 5 % by next year and most are in agreement that while the current crisis may not prove to be as severe as the great depression, economic recovery does not appear to be immediately visible and that the economy will remain difficult even if financial markets were to stabilize. In the meanwhile Americans will most probably have to live with shrinking salaries and reducing net worth at least for 2009.

Challenges Faced By Hr At Royal Mail Management Essay

Challenges Faced By Hr At Royal Mail Management Essay This report is on the analysis of the challenges and issues faced by the management of people at work. It has critically analysed the application of strategic HRM models, and theories and different approaches in practice. Report evaluates the impact strategic approach can have in contemporary organisations to people management. Report includes all the discussion of several HR models and identifies the similarities and differences between them. Based on my own work experience in Royal Mail and research on the companys HR, report shows detail HR functions and models used by Royal Mail. It then recommends that will add value to Royal Mails and its HR structure. Royal Mail Introduction: Royal Mail PLC is the national postal service of the UK. Royal Mail is almost 500 years old dated back since 1516. It covers every inch of the UK delivering letters and parcels. It carries out an important public service and has a duty to deliver postal mail throughout the UK. Royal Mail has researched the market in relation to designing and deploying an approach to Ethical Standards in which People are priority. Royal Mail currently employs 200,000 staff and has annual turnover of around  £8bn. Models for HR Roles: Observations suggest that majority of work organization have not adopted the HRM models, others have implemented only elements of the model, and others have emphasized different features of the model to build a high performance workplace. These differences suggest that HRM is a proactive strategic management activity and it is different from the traditional personnel management. Legge (1978): Conformist innovators go along with the organization. Their expertise is used to improve the position of their department. They have to do as they are told to satisfy senior management. Deviant innovators attempts to change by accepting different set of tasks for the organization success and gain credits for their contribution. They come up new ideas but are driven by social values. Problem solver has very contingent role as they have to keep changing according to the circumstances. HRM contains ambiguities or paradoxes at several levels. Major changes in role of personnel professionals resulted in a more complex set of roles. Old ambiguities and negative counter images of the past still remain- Legge, 1989. The process of role change from traditional personnel to new comprehensive HR role can therefore be uneven and incomplete. Storey (1992): Little evidence of the strategic integration of HRM policies with corporate plans was found by Storey (1992). Change makers were interventionists with a strategic agenda focused on both the hard realities of business performance and designed to enhance employee commitment and motivation. It was this new role that perhaps most clearly differentiated HRM from traditional personnel management. Advisers assumed a facilitating role, acting as internal consultants offering expertise and advice to line management while operating in an essentially non interventionist manner. Regulators were interventionists involved in the traditional and essentially tactical role of formulating and monitoring the observance of employment rules and policies. These were managers of discontent seeking order through temporary, tactical truces with organised labour. Handmaidens provided specific services at the behest of line management; their attendant role was essentially reactive and non interventionist. From this model, we can say that in this dynamic market, Changemakers role has grown significantly and has become part and reality of business performance. Adviser role is more closely associated with development individual business unit and has low strategic agenda of HRM. Regulators role seems to have a down turn. And it will be difficult for Handmaiden role with the increase demand on outsourcing. Or can say that HRM has undermined the integrity and professional status of a function that was done by senior management. Wilkinson and Marchington (1994) HR Model: According to Wilkinson and Marchingtons model four roles described are: Change Agent Board level, high visibility and we can say engine of change. Hidden Persuader: strategic but low profile. Mainly behind the scene and support senior managers Internal Contractor: mainly operational level but relatively high profile. Facilitator: also operational level and low profile, routine admin and supports line managers. From this model we might be able to know external situation under which each of these roles are created. But HR professionals are unlikely to be able to choose board level in the same way that other people cannot choose to be on the board. It may be in some firms that HR presence is an unrealistic goal in the perceptions of senior management. However, working ethically within the boundaries by increasing credibility and developing skills we can enlarge this boundaries. Ulrich Business Partner Model: Many of the questions and issues concerning the future role of HR professionals have been addressed by Ulrichs work. His work is mainly informative and prescriptive, rather than practical; it provides one of the most systematic frameworks for capturing the emergence of new HR roles. It is an inspiring and sometimes disconcerting vision: HR professionals must become champions of competitiveness in delivering value or face the diminution or outsourcing of their role (Ulrich, 1997) Ulrich defines four main roles for the HR professional along two axes: strategy versus operations, and process versus people: Strategic Partners help to successfully execute business strategy and meet customer needs Administrative Experts constantly improve organizational efficiency by reengineering the HR function and other work processes Employee Champions maximize employee commitment, and competence Change Agents deliver organizational transformation and culture change. This model represents a broader attempt to overcome the negative image of personnel function and give a new set of proactive roles for HR. Ulrichs mission is a new plan for professionalization. But it is difficult in this prescriptive approach. Similarities and Differences between HR models: Both Legge and Storey make insightful observations when they suggest that what may be more significance is not the message, but the messenger; HRM represents the discovery of personnel management and the message itself has not changed but it is being received more seriously. Ulrichs model sounds very attractive to be operated at higher level but it might not be possible in all circumstances. There may be worries on the clear focus on firms contribution detracts from the independence to make decisions. Employee champion atleast points out that HR do not serve only one senior manager. On comparing Storeys analysis with Ulrichs model, Ulrichs model actually provides a similar framework and it does not provide solution for resolving issues of role ambiguity and role conflict. To control this process of redesigning, Storeys original four box model is experientially re-examined and contrasted with Ulrichs model on HR roles. This provides a useful analytical counterpoint for examining the complexities of the role change. Storeys role model does not take into the account of increasing complexity and comprehensive nature of HR roles, While Ulrichs model recognizes the multiple and flexible nature of HR roles. However, its role types often overlap with Storeys to such a degree that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate the roles. One of the problems with the Storeys original model was that it appeared to treat each personnel role as a generic type. While, Ulrich highlights the multiple roles the HR professional should undertake. However, Ulrichs model for role reinvention minimizes the issues of role ambiguity related with personnel roles. Also, role conflicts often appear when a person performs more than one role. HRM model is itself not a logical, observable fact. It is in reality a representative and is not mutually dependent upon each other but also from the new political context. Storey Legge Ulrich Number of roles 4 3 4 Rationale Matrix Matrix Strategy Strategy/tactics Impact Unitarism/Pluralism U/P P U HR Roles carried out in Royal Mail: The Job Titles and job responsibilities in HR in Royal mail are as follows: HR Change Manager: Develop and deploy a change strategy to support Royal Mails Modernization Program Develop a change management strategy including communications, engagement and cultural change activities and design unit change plans for offices. Design and deliver change management and communications workshops and coach line managers in the process of change HR Project Manager: Produce and manage project plan, risk analysis and stakeholder management plan and budget. Provide ongoing support and communication for area management team, regional HR team, regional advisors, mentors and maternity. Research and develop proposals for the Organizations vision, culture, structure, product offering and job descriptions. Design communication materials including newsletters, knowledge portals, recorded audio and video podcasts, design support materials for line managers and manage Q and A database. HR Director: Guide and manage overall provision of HR services and policies for the whole company Talent management strategy including workforce planning, recruitment, training and succession planning Employment law compliance and compliance to regulatory concerns Managing external employment agencies, recruiter and temporary staffing agencies. Analysis of the effectiveness of all human resources efforts. Able to provide useful and strategic advice and input across the company HR Service Manager: Provide HR services across Royal Mail by conducting cases, notetaker role, case managing and coach on key services including recruitment, training, employment law, investigations, mediations, conduct, absence, dismissals, appeals, grievance and harassment and bullying, talent and leadership, reward and recognition, advice and support. Manage resource plan for teams and design and implement a new ways of working change program Design forecasting, scheduling, workload analysis and skills matrix tools Manage budget and performance system including appraisals, development plans, scorecards and people policies. Factors might influence HR roles: HR will continue to build a professional level of diagnostic and enabling skills and a core of problem solving experts with the aim of raising and meeting these expectations. However, it is important to keep relevant external and internal factors while determining HR strategy. In the recent news, Government is planning to sell of the Royal Mail which could create privatized monopoly and will push up the prices of stamps. This will have a huge impact on the whole organization and its brand and its staff. One of the factors that can affect Royal Mail HR is the Culture in the company. HR teams in Royal Mail seem to concentrate on their own activities rather than community. They work in culture where value is added in terms of individual unitization rather than individual contribution. Keeping culture in mind indicates that behaviors that are important in the new world and can help to build a new culture. Royal Mail being a huge organization, it has insufficient recognition for the level of contribution and effort provided by each employee. They are worried about the pay that it is not commensurate with performance. This might happen in Royal Mail, when poor contributors receive raises because of some other personal reason. An employee is applicable for promotion and does not get the job because promotion system might not be fair and also employees are not aware of what next opportunity. If Royal Mail experiences a downturn, employees will be concerned with management and future in the company. Insecure will think negative and worst to happen and management might have to work hard to gain their trust again. Future success on Royal Mail depends on ability to manage a diverse community that can bring innovative ideas to work. Royal Mail might not be able to capitalize this mixture of talents with different backgrounds. Royal Mails environment might not be able to support diversity broadly and hence can risk loosing talent to competitors. Increasing competition can affect HR and its strategy should enhance Royal Mails profile as first choice employer in the sector. As UK and EU legislation continually changes, HR will be affected by new laws and its strategy should benchmark developments with other courier organizations. Size of Royal Mail can affect HR. If it is planning to increase its operations will need more staff and new staff should be recruited and hence will incur cost. HR might not have enough budgets. New Technology like sorting letters machines will need trained and experienced staff. The economic environment including the competitive situation determines the external supply of and the demand for managers. Legal and Political constrains requires Royal Mail to follow laws and guidelines issued by Government for example Health and Safety at work place and Equal Opportunity. Analysis of the Model of the HR Roles in Royal mail to Ulrich and Storeys Model: In Royal Mail, people are at the centre, making good HR is their top priority. Royal Mails HR team is split into three key areas: HR Services: HR Services department deals with recruitment, learning, reward and recognition, corporate social responsibility, health and safety and advice and support. Also, offers the services like data analysis, project management, stakeholder management, management information, and business planning and process improvement. Business Partners: Business partners are the HR Directors for each business area and they work closely with business leaders to apply strategic HR initiatives and interventions in line with corporate goals. This is the heart of the operation, consulting with operational teams, applying HR solutions and trouble shooting in high impact areas. Expert Teams: Expert teams develop Strategic HR solutions in specialist areas such as organisational development, diversity, Talent management and learning and development. This role gives high level exposure to business HR strategy and deeper understanding of one of the expert fields. The emerging model is more like a three-legged stool. One leg of the stool being administrative service center, the second leg being center of excellence (or expertise) and the HR business partners make up the third leg. Most HR functions, if not already operating with a full fledged three box structure, are considering whether, or how, to implement one. The current recession is exacerbating the need for change. For certain, it is creating pressure for cost savings; whilst in some sectors, it is driving a fundamental shift in the business model which entails new thinking about HR added value. This suggests something versatile and complex nature of HR roles and how difficult it is to fit roles within the boundaries. Not being able to identify main role will recommend that some personnel and HR will experience some conflict. Role conflict is now very common anyway between HR, senior and line managers. To Add Value to Royal Mail should use the positive aspects of both the combing Storeys and Ulrichs models. Advisor will offer HR advice and Expertise to Senior and line management. Service Provider to support line manager in specific HR roles Regulator will monitor the performance of personnel and HR policy Change Agent will push forward culture change and transformation. This approach will help Royal Mail to overcome the complexity of HR roles and will fulfil the roles missing from the previous model used. Conclusion: Certainly the basic principles and apparent benefits of the model are simple to comprehend and thus have a strong appeal to HR leaders wishing to enhance their functions performance. At the heart of the model lies the notion of a set of HR professionals, embedded within line businesses and working on processes and outcomes that are central to competitive success, but supported by both efficient processes to handle the more transactional aspects of HR work, and more strategically-orientated centers of excellence.

The Concept Of Market Segmentation Marketing Essay

The Concept Of Market Segmentation Marketing Essay Market segmentation is the division of a market into different groups of customers with distinctly similar needs and product/service requirements. Or to put it another way, market segmentation is the division of a mass market into identifiable and distinct groups or segments, each of which have common characteristics and needs and display similar responses to marketing actions. Market segmentation was first defined as a condition of growth when core markets have already been developed on a generalised basis to the point where additional promotional expenditures are yielding diminishing returns (Smith, 1956). There is now widespread agreement that they form an important foundation for successful marketing strategies and activities (Wind, 1978; Hooley and Saunders, 1993). The purpose of market segmentation is to leverage scarce resources; in other words, to ensure that the elements of the marketing mix, price, distribution, products and promotion, are designed to meet particular needs of different customer groups. Since companies have finite resources it is not possible to produce all possible products for all the people, all of the time. The best that can be aimed for is to provide selected offerings for selected groups of people, most of the time. This process allows organizations to focus on specific customers needs, in the most efficient and effective way. As Beane and Ennis (1987) eloquently commented, a company with limited resources needs to pick only the best opportunities to pursue. The concept of market segmentation was first proposed as an alternative market development technique in imperfectly competitive markets, that is, in markets where there are relatively few competitors selling an identical product. Where there are lots of competitors selling identical products, market segmentation and product differentiation produce similar results as competitors imitate your strategic approach more quickly and product differentiation approaches meet market segment needs more closely. With an increasing proliferation of tastes in modern society, consumers have increased disposable incomes. As a result, marketers have sought to design product and service offerings around consumer demand (market segmentation) more than around their own production needs (product differentiation) and they use market research to inform this process Objective Of Study 1. To understand market segmentation and consider why it is used. 2. To examine how companies segment markets. 3. To explore different targeting strategies. 4. To learn about the role and process of positioning in segmentation strategies. 5. To consider how marketers can achieve the most from market segmentation. The Process of Market Segmentation The intricacies involved in market segmentation are said to make it an exacting activity. Griffith and Pol (1994) argue this point on the basis of multiple product applications, greater customer variability, and problems associated with the identification of the key differences between groups of customers. However, there have been numerous attempts to define and describe business segmentation, using a variety of variables and ranging from the severely product-based to customer needs-based orientation. There are two main approaches to segmenting markets. The first adopts the view that the market is considered to consist of customers which are essentially the same, so the task is to identify groups which share particular differences. This is referred to as the breakdown method. The second approach considers a market to consist of customers that are all different, so here the task is to find similarities. This is known as the build-up method. The breakdown approach is perhaps the most established and well recognized and is the main method used for segmenting consumer markets. The build-up approach seeks to move from the individual level where all customers are different, to a more general level of analysis based on the identification of similarities (Freytag and Clarke, 2001). The build-up method is customer oriented as it seeks to determine common customer needs. The aim of both methods is to identify segments in the market where identifiable differences exist between segments (segment heterogeneity) and similarities exist between members within each segment (member homogeneity). Market segmentation and positioning are key determinants of successful marketing. They are fundamental to the matching process which is the raison dà ªtre of marketers. It is marketers who are responsible for ensuring that the offer made by the company in the marketplace satisfies the wants and needs of the target market of customers and consumers. Segmentation and positioning analyses enable the marketer to make informed choices about what to offer, to whom, and in what way. Customer and consumer are often used interchangeably. The term consumer generally means the final consumer, who is not necessarily the customer. For example, a parent buying lunch box snacks is probably acting as an agent on behalf of school-age children. The parent can therefore be described as the intermediate customer and the child as the end nsumer. To market such snacks effectively, the marketer must differentiate the wants and needs of each party influencing the purchase process. He or she must also be clear about which actors in the process are to be the subject of any segmentation exercise. The term market must be defined unequivocally. For example, Mark Warner and Saga are both holiday companies but they are not in the same market. The former offers holidays for families, young couples and groups in Alpine and sunshine resorts, while Saga caters for the more mature traveller who may be looking for holidays involving leisure pursuits such as sightseeing, bridge or walking. We need a definition so that we can Measure market share and market growth; Specify target customers; Recognize relevant competitors; Formulate marketing objectives and strategies. As a rule of thumb, a market should be defined in terms of a consumer need, and in a way that covers the aggregation of all the alternative products and services which consumers regard as being capable of satisfying that need. For example, a brand of instant coffee not only competes with other brands in the same product category, but also with alternative hot drinks such as tea and chocolate. Consumers may even see cold drinks such as colas and water as substitutes for it. Needs-based definitions evolve over time as trends emerge in the marketplace, and companies must be prepared to revise their definitions accordingly. Nevertheless, they need to devise a definition that is manageable. At the extreme end of the range, micromarketing is about marketing to the individual as a segment of one. However, companies must be able to meet the needs of individual segments in a way that is commercially viable. They therefore concentrate their efforts on groups of many customers who share approximately the same needs. Market segmentation allows companies to gain advantage over their competitors in the marketplace by enabling them to concentrate resources on clearly identified opportunities. It is based on the assumption that birds of a feather flock together. In many cases, the segments form separate markets in their own right, and they can often be of considerable size. There are number of criteria that make a market segment of commercial interest, including the following : The segments should be large enough to provide an adequate return on investment. The requirements of segment members should be very similar, but the members should be distinct from the rest of the market. Segments must be reachable, that is, the channels, or routes to market (where people buy), must be accessible. Methods of Market Segmentation 1) Geographical segmentation-Chronologically, this kind of segmentation appeared first . For planning and administrative purposes ,the marketer will often find it convenient to subdivide the market into areas such as nations, states, regions, cities ,etc. In systematic way .The great advantage of adopting this scheme is that standards regions are widely used government and its facilitates collection of statistics .Most of the national manufactures split up their sales areas into sales territories either state wise or district wise . 2) Demographic segmentation-Under this method ,the consumers are grouped into homogenous groups in terms of demographic similarities such as age, sex, education standard ,income level, etc .This is considered to be more purposeful since the emphasis ultimately rest on the customers . Age group are considered by manufactures of certain special products , for example ,toys. Even in the purchase made by parents ,children exert a profound influence .The market segmented on the basis of the age groups is as follows :children ,teen agers ,adults and grown up . Anti Aging products Anti-aging products were originally designed for the baby-boomer generation, however in the recent report, the analysts (global cosmetic industry, 2008) revealed that the Future growth will be fuelled by the expansion of the consumer base into younger age Groups aged 25 to 30 which seem to be increasingly interested in applying anti-aging Products, particularly topical skin treatments. This shift is leading to an increase of Spending on anti-aging products which and is likely to result in improved market Opportunities for producers seeking continuous expansion of their operations. The growing potential of the anti-aging skincare segment along with its menacing Competition spurs cosmetic market players to design and launch new products in order to stay in the game. Unilever, the worlds eighth biggest cosmetics manufacturer (cosmetic design, 2008) regularly updates their skincare product line. The company Launched ponds age miracle anti-aging skincare cream specifically for the Asian market In the late 2006 early 2007 in an attempt to capitalize on the markets huge potential. And to tactically respond to the life-long rival pgs earlier launch of Olay total effect, Globally in 1998 (Olay, 2008) and Vietnam 2005, a multifunctional anti-aging products. In Vietnam, ponds age miracle was launched in January 2007. Designed and manufactured using a breakthrough cla (conjugated linoleum acid) technology, ponds Age miracle was claimed to be a new solution for the aging skin capable of visibly reducing wrinkles in seven days. Its launch by unilever Vietnam was marked as strategic and must-win stressing its significance for the manufacturer. Initially, ponds age Miracle received a friendly welcome and shot up to capture a substantial share of Vietnam anti-aging skincare market. IDENTIFIED ATTRIBUTES OF ANTI-AGING SKINCARE Eight interviews returned us a total of thirty product attributes that the respondents consider when selecting an anti-aging skincare. There were found no significant differences between the interviewees responses as almost all of them shared the same view of anti-aging products regardless of being Olay, Ponds Age Miracle, third-party users or potential ones. The two attributes classes beneficial and image rather than characteristic, drew most interest of the interviewees. Another important aspect of the interviewees responses is an expectation of something more than just wrinkle reduction, the main function of anti-aging skincare; some even respondents didnt even mention this attribute at all. Olay Total Effect Olay is a PG skincare brand line which offers a range of products with different functions in two main categories cleanser and cream with the aim of meeting the full range of skincare needs, whatever the users age or skin type. In March 2005, PG entered Indias anti-aging skincare market with their Olay Total Effects brand line extension in the footsteps of its launch in Indian market. The India launch was a first mover strategy to tap into the premium skincare segment before the arrival of the major competitors. Olay Total Effect successful market entry also allowed PG to make inroads into other skincare categories like whitening, moisturizing and cleansing in 2006 and 2007. The product is claimed to offer multi-effects including reducing fine lines and wrinkles, smoothening skin texture visibly and to the touch, evening skin tone for younger looking, more balanced color, improving surface dullness, giving skin a radiant, healthy glow, minimizing pores, visibly reducing the appearance of blotches and age spots and smoothening dry skin. Olay Total Effects is sold at the price of 190,000 VND (equivalent of 7.6 EUR) and in one suits all size of 50g both through modern channels like supermarkets, shopping centers and traditional channels like street shops and wet-markets. Olay is tapping the premium slice of the Rs 2100 crore Indian skin care market. Olay has launched its first product in the anti-ageing segment with its Total Effects sub brand. Anti-ageing segment is still a niche with a market size of Rs 60 crore. The segment is but growing very fast. Olay has launched its Total Effects anti ageing solution after much consumer research. It had conducted research on over 6000 ladies of age between 30-69 years from three continents and identified 7 signs of ageing. 1. Fine ines and Wrinkles 2.Sagging skin 3.Uneven skin tones. 4. Age spots 5. Appearance of pores 6. Dull skin 7.Dryness Total Effects is differentiating itself through the presence of the ingredient Vita Niacin. Vita Niacin is a patented formulation that contains Niacin amide Vitamin B3 ,Vitamin E and Provitamin B5 Pathenol + sunscreen protection. Olay true to the concept of Global Brand and Local strategy has launched itself with a series of promotional campaigns. The brand has the bollywood diva Sushmita Sen as the brand ambassador. Currently Olay is running two campaigns in the visual media. One campaign is th Olay brand building campaign featuring Sushmita Sen and another is for the Total Effects moisturizing lotion. Watch the Tvc : Total Effects For the Total Effects range, the company uses a testimonial type of campaign featuring a Model/TV Anchor. The focus is more on the functional benefits of the product rather than harping on any emotional benefits. The brand is positioned as a brand that celebrates beauty within and outside. The brand worldwide uses the tagline Love the skin you are in . The brand believes that Looking Good and Feeling Good are inseparable. Loving the skin we are in is the most beautiful feeling of all. Olay Total Effects is priced at Rs 599 for a 50 gm bottle. By Indian standards, this accounts for a premium category. Olay Total Effects is targeting ladies between the age 30 60. Besides this anti-ageing product, Olay has introduced cleansers, face pack and moisturizing lotions. The brand is expected to introduce its blockbuster range of products in India in a phased manner. The premium skincare segment was in a vacuum ever since HUL decided to cater to the masstige segment by repositioning Lakme and Ponds. Now with PG and ITC seriously looking at premium segment, the market is going to witness a marketing war in days to come Ponds Age Miracle Ponds is Unilevers skincare brand line. Introduced to Indian market in 1996, Ponds quickly became a leader in mass skincare, the main market segment in India at the time. Ponds product range focuses on whitening segment including moisturizers and facial foams. As a part of their counter-offensive to an ongoing expansion of Olay Total Effect, in January 2007 Unilever launched Ponds Age Miracle, an upper tier anti-aging skincare extension of the existing Ponds range also supposed to reinforce Ponds overall image in the mass market. Its launch campaign was based on a vox pop format: It had people from various walks of life giving their feedback on the products. This was followed by Romance Revival, a heartwarming television commercial of a husband-turned-chef trying to bring romance back into his married life. These campaigns continued to be aired for the first six months of the brands launch. An endorsement campaign on television wherein celebrities such as Mehr Jesia Rampal, former Miss India and model, and Rina Dhaka, fashion designer, talk about how Ponds Age Miracle has changed their lives, is also seen off and on. Currently, a television campaign, Satisfaction amongst Millions, is being screened. ` With players like LOreal and Olay, in addition to Ponds, the anti-aging market in India stands at Rs 60 crore today, according to Nielsen figures for 2007, and it is growing at a rate of 30-40 per cent per annum, Ponds Age Miracle line includes cream, serum, facial foam, lotion and eye cream toner in which the cream is a flagship product that secures 80% of sales of the whole range. It is claimed to offer solution to wrinkles and dark spots effective in 7 days. Ponds Age Miracle cream is offered into two pack sizes: 50g priced at 190,000 VND (7.6EUR), and 30g priced at 129,000 VND (5 EUR). As a part of the strategy to fight against Olay Total Effect, Unilever ensured equally extensive distribution network for Ponds Age Miracle and its availability to end-consumers through every possible channel (Unilever,2008). The successful launch in early 2007 allowed Ponds Age Miracle to gain a substantial share of nearly 50 % in the anti-aging skincare category a few months later. However, soon after the product experienced a sharp decline of its sales and market share. The bottom line the product profitability was also breached, resulting in Unilever Vietnam considering the decision of withdrawing Ponds Age Miracle from the markets. Conclusion The underlying principle of market segmentation is that the product and services needs of individual customers differ. Market segmentation involves the grouping of customers together with the aim of better satisfying their needs whilst maintaining economies of scale. It consists of three stages and if properly executed should deliver more satisfy customers, few direct confrontations with competitors, and better designed marketing programmers.

Tess of the DUrbervilles :: essays research papers

Tess of the D'Urbervilles Throughout the novel, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Hardy focuses on the life of Tess Durbeyfield. Starting out as a young, innocent girl, Tess matures throughout the book to become a powerful woman who was capable of thinking for herself. Furthermore, she was also intelligent enough to realize her importance as an individual. At the beginning of the novel, Tess was portrayed as a young girl with too much responsibility for her age. She was sent out into the world at a very young age, and was unable to see the danger in life around her. Tess was the one who had to fetch her parents from the inn because they stayed out too late. In addition to that, she was forced to do her father's work because he was too drunk to realize what the current situation was. Neither parent cared much about Tess: her mother was always thinking about getting Tess married, and her father was thinking of ways to restore their social order. Due to the negligence from her parents, Alec was able to take advantage of her physically and mentally. By giving Tess's father a horse, Alec was able to exert mental control over Tess in such a way that Tess was obliged to obey. Yet, Tess was able to overcome her affair with Alec because she possessed a keen sense of justice and morality. She realized that she had sinned, but also came to the conclusion that she should not be punished eternally for one mistake. This realization also reflects upon Tess's maturation mentally. Moreover, because her affair with Alec also resulted in a child, she was forced to mature much more quickly than she would have liked. Tess also had the habit of blaming herself for everything that would not go as planned. The whispering that Tess endures during her visit to Church after her affair with Alec only serves to strengthen her feelings that she was constantly at fault. Tess's maturation also continued during the period when Angel deserted Tess. Throughout this time, she refused to let anybody criticize Angel. Tess also hides the truth about their separation from either set of parents, for the fear that she will have to endure further criticism. Her simplicity of faith in him is such that, "even the most perfect man could have hardly deserved it." Tess's love for Angel is permanent.

Paul Fussell :: essays research papers

Though Mohr doesn’t expressly say so, I believe it is safe to assume that Mrs. Hamma is a white woman of at least moderate wealth. This immediately alienates her from her students, most of whom are Hispanic, speak poor English, and are doing menial tasks for little pay. In fact, there are only two students in the class of twenty-eight who are from Europe, one Italian and one Polish. Another obvious difference between Mrs. Hamma and most of her students is gender. When she is calling on the students to speak about themselves, the text says, â€Å"There were more men than women and Mrs. Hamma called two or three men for each women. It was her way of maintaining a balance.† Much of this story is focused on using education as a means to changing social status. This is a very American idea, the thought that one can change much of their life and lifestyle by educating themselves, getting a higher paying job, and working hard. In Paul Fussel’s book Class, he proposes a new sort of class of people, those who don’t fit into the nine categories he has discussed previously in the book (top out-of-sight, upper, upper middle, middle, high proletarian, mid-proletarian, low proletarian, destitute, and bottom out-of-sight). This new class he calls â€Å"X people† and describes them as curious, creative, talented, irreverent, and self-sufficient. Those who belong to this new class do not care which class one comes from and do not care what others think of them and their relationships with people outside their class. Though Fussel’s book was written at around the same time as Mohr’s story, it is obvious that Mohr does not believe that this. Most of his characters are caught in the lower class of American immigrants. The simple fact that for the last 200 years or so, immigrants are almost immediately lumped into the lower class is somewhat hypocritical. America as we know it was founded by immigrants; yet, once these immigrants had been in the country for a couple generations, they begin to forget what it is like to be a immigrant and discriminate against newer migrant families. Even the character in â€Å"The English Lesson† who had been a professor in Poland is now under that same discrimination immigrants, and specifically non-English speaking immigrants, are faced with. In his statement about himself, he says, Since four months I am working in large hospital as position of porter in maintenance department.

Compare the way Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s Essay

In this play, Hamlet, Shakespeare shows us the different ways that madness can be portrayed and the various ways that others surrounding the central characters can perceive it. From the beginning it is explained that Hamlet would â€Å"put an antic disposition on† and this signifies that Hamlet’s madness would just be an act, not something that is actually true. Hamlet confides in Horatio and asks him not to look knowingly if he sees Hamlet behaving oddly by saying â€Å"some doubtful phrase† that might be â€Å"ambiguous† in its meaning. This immediately reinforces the notion that Hamlet is only play acting his apparent madness and in actual fact, is sane. Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s â€Å"antic disposition† as a means for Hamlet to bide his time and figure out how to avenge his father’s murder â€Å"by a brothers hand. † Hamlet’s madness is not meant to be seen as madness by us, but as something that has a purpose i. e. it could enable Hamlet to kill Claudius and it could be perceived by others that the killing was unintentional and was because of Hamlet’s â€Å"madness†. However, in the case of Ophelia, Shakespeare presents her form of madness as something that is real and tangible. She has a reason to be mad; her father is â€Å"dead and gone. † Shakespeare enforces the idea that Ophelia really is mad by having her enter in Act 4 Scene 5 â€Å"distracted† and singing a song about the death of her father. Ophelia’s madness is supported by what the gentleman says to Gertrude at the beginning of Act 4 Scene 5 about Ophelia’s state of mind; that she â€Å"winks and nods and gestures† and that â€Å"her speech is nothing, yet the unshaped use of it doth move the hearers to collection†. Even Laertes is appalled by Ophelia’s madness and wonders â€Å"is’t possible a young maid’s wits should be as mortal as an old man’s life? † Ophelia’s actions and what she says causes those around her to doubt her sanity and believe that she really is mad. There are many words that are used by the main characters to describe Hamlet’s madness. He describes it as his â€Å"antic disposition† whereas Polonius calls it â€Å"lunacy† and Claudius calls it â€Å"distemper† and a â€Å"transformation†. Although everyone perceives Hamlet as mad, Polonius and Claudius at one point doubted that Hamlet in actual fact was indeed mad. Claudius had Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spy on Hamlet, whilst when Polonius spoke to Hamlet he thought that â€Å"though this be madness, yet there is method in’t†. This shows that madness within Hamlet is not really madness at all, but is just an act; a performance on Hamlet’s part. Shakespeare adds this doubt to Hamlet’s madness whereas in Ophelia’s case there is no doubt about her state of mind to those around her. It is believed that mad people have a tendency to have suicidal feelings. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy, he desires that his â€Å"flesh would melt† and would have killed himself had not â€Å"his canon ‘gainst self-slaughter†. In his first soliloquy, he says â€Å"to be or not to be, that is the question†-in this line, Hamlet wonders whether or not to commit suicide. These suicidal feelings beg the question â€Å"had Hamlet actually gone mad? † I, like many others believe that Hamlet was not mad, as even though he displayed suicidal thoughts, he did not carry those thoughts out, signifying a sane state of mind. Ophelia however ended up committing suicide by drowning herself in a lake while â€Å"she chanted snatches of old lauds as one incapable of her own distress†. This seems to indicate how fragile her state of mind actually was and how she was driven to madness by her father’s death and Hamlet’s actions. The gravediggers in Act 5 Scene 1 thought that Ophelia committed suicide and â€Å"if she had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o’ Christian burial† as suicide is considered as an unholy crime. Shakespeare seems to want to show us that Ophelia really was mad by having her act, speak and behave in a way that was not seen as ‘normal’ to Elizabethan society as well as society today. It also seems that Shakespeare, maybe unwittingly, shows us that women were weak-minded individuals whereas men were the stronger sex, mentally as well as physically. Even though Hamlet is knocked with strong emotional surprises, such as finding out that his stepfather killed his father, Claudius, Hamlet still remains strong in public. This is a very sharp contrast to how Ophelia behaved when she suffered acute trauma due to the sudden death of her father. Whilst Hamlet remains strong, Ophelia transcends towards madness as her fragile state of mind had shattered. Maybe, this was the way Shakespeare viewed both sexes or maybe those were the views of Elizabethan society as a whole. Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s â€Å"antic disposition† as something very different to how Ophelia’s madness is presented to us. Shakespeare presents Hamlet as a strong character who has the ability to deal with emotional trauma, whereas Ophelia was portrayed as weak and symbolised what Hamlet once remarked: â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman†. Shakespeare presents Hamlet and Ophelia in contrasting ways to show us the differences between an â€Å"antic disposition† and actual madness. By using these contrasts, Shakespeare seems to be reflecting on the attitudes and views of Elizabethan society and also seems to be offering us his definition of madness.

The Unhealthy Chesapeake

The Unhealthy Chesapeake Life in the American wilderness was harsh. Diseases like malaria, dysentery, and typhoid killed many. Few people lived to 40 or 50 years. In the early days of colonies, women were so scarce that men fought over all of them. The Chesapeake region had fewer women and a 6:1 male to female ratio is a good guide. Few people knew any grandparents. A third of all brides in one Maryland county were already pregnant before the wedding (scandalous). Virginia, with 59,000 people, became the most populous colony. II. The Tobacco Economy The Chesapeake was very good for tobacco cultivation. Chesapeake Bay exported 1. 5 million pounds of tobacco yearly in the 1630s, and by 1700, that number had risen to 40 million pounds a year. More availability led to falling prices, and farmers still grew more. The headright system encouraged growth of the Chesapeake. Under this system, if an aristocrat sponsored an indentured servant’s passage to America, the aristocrat earned the right to purchase 50 acres land, undoubtedly at a cheap price. This meant land was being gobbled by the rich, and running out for the poor. Early on, most of the laborers were indentured servants. Life for them was hard, but there was hope at the end of seven years for freedom. Conditions were brutal, and in the later years, owners unwilling to free their servants extended their contracts by years for small mistakes. III. Frustrated Freemen and Bacon’s Rebellion By the late 1600s, there were lots of free, poor, landless, single men frustrated by the lack of money, land, work, and women. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon led a few thousand of these men in a rebellion against the hostile conditions. These people wanted land and were resentful of Virginia governor William Berkeley’s friendly policies toward the Indians. Bacon’s men murderously attacked Indian settlements after Berkeley refused to retaliate for a series of savage Indian attacks on the frontier. Then, in the middle of his rebellion, Bacon suddenly died of disease, and Berkeley went on to crush the uprising. Still, Bacon’s legacy lived on, giving frustrated poor folks ideas to rebel, and so a bit of paranoia went on for some time afterwards. IV. Colonial Slavery In the 300 years following Columbus’ discovery of America, only about 400,000 of a total of 10 million African slaves were brought over to the United States. By 1680, though, many landowners were afraid of possibly mutinous white servants, by the mid 1680s, for the first time, black slaves outnumbered white servants among the plantation colonies’ new arrivals. After 1700, more and more slaves were imported, and in 1750, blacks accounted for nearly half of the Virginian population. Most of the slaves were from West Africa, from places like Senegal and Angola. Some of the earliest black slaves gained their freedom and some became slaveholders themselves. Eventually, to clear up issues on slave ownership, the slave codes made it so that slaves and their children would remain slaves to their masters for life (chattels), unless they were voluntarily freed. Some laws made teaching slaves to read a crime, and not even conversion to Christianity might qualify a slave for freedom. V. Africans in America Slave life in the Deep South was very tough, as rice growing was much harder than tobacco growing. Many blacks in America evolved their own languages, blending their native tongues with English. Blacks also contributed to music with instruments like the banjo and bongo drum. A few of the slaves became skilled artisans (i. e. carpenters, bricklayers and tanners), but most were relegated to sweaty work like clearing swamps and grubbing out trees. Revolts did occur. In 1712, a slave revolt in New York City cost the lives of a dozen whites and 21 Blacks were executed. In 1739, South Carolina blacks along the Stono River revolted and tried to march to Spanish Florida, but failed. VI. Southern Society A social gap appeared and began to widen. In Virginia, a clutch of extended clans (i. e. the Fitzhughs, the Lees, and the Washingtons) owned tracts and tracts of real estate and just about dominated the House of Burgesses. They came to be known as the First Families of Virginia (FFV). In Virginia, there was often a problem with drunkenness. The largest social group was the farmers. Few cities sprouted in the South, so schools and churches were slow to develop. VII. The New England Family In New England, there was clean water and cool temperatures, so disease was not as predominant as in the South. The first New England Puritans had an average life expectancy of 70 years. In contrast to the Chesapeake, the New Englanders tended to migrate as a family, instead of individually. Women usually married in their early twenties and gave birth every two years until menopause. A typical woman could expect to have ten babies and raise about eight of them. Death in childbirth was not uncommon. In the South, women usually had more power, since the Southern men typically died young and women could inherit the money, but in New England, the opposite was true. In New England, men didn’t have absolute power over their wives (as evidenced by the punishments of unruly husbands), but they did have much power over women. New England law was very severe and strict. For example, adulterous women had to wear the letter â€Å"A† on their bosoms if they were caught (as with The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne). VIII. Life in the New England Towns Life in New England was organized. New towns were legally chartered by colonial authorities. A town usually had a meetinghouse surrounded by houses and a village green. Towns of more than 50 families had to provide primary education. Towns of more than 100 had to provide secondary education. In 1636, Massachusetts Puritans established Harvard College to train men to become ministers. (Note: in 1693, Virginia established their first college, William and Mary. ) Puritans ran their own churches, and democracy in Congregational church government led logically to democracy in political government. IX. The Half-Way Covenant and the Salem Witch Trials As Puritans began to worry about their children and whether or not they would be as loyal and faithful, and new type of sermon came about called â€Å"jeremiads. In jeremiads, earnest preachers scolded parishioners for their waning piety in hope to improve faith. Paradoxically, troubled ministers announced a new formula for church membership in 1662, calling it the â€Å"Half-Way Covenant. † In the Half-Way Covenant, all people could come and participate in the church, even if they fell short of the â€Å"visible-saint† status and were somehow only half conv erted (with the exception of a few extremely hated groups). In the early 1690s, a group of Salem girls claimed to have been bewitched by certain older women. What followed was a hysterical witch-hunt that led to the executions of 20 people (19 of which were hanged, 1 pressed to death) and two dogs. Back in Europe, larger scale witch-hunts were already occurring. Witchcraft hysteria eventually ended in 1693. X. The New England Way of Life Due to the hard New England soil (or lack thereof), New Englanders became great traders. New England was also less ethnically mixed than its neighbors. The climate of New England encouraged diversified agriculture and industry. Black slavery was attempted, but didn’t work. It was unnecessary since New England was made of small farms rather than plantations as down South. Rivers were short and rapid. The Europeans in New England chastised the Indians for â€Å"wasting† the land, and felt a need to clear as much land for use as possible. Fishing became a very popular industry. It is said New England was built on â€Å"God and cod. † XI. The Early Settlers’ Days and Ways Early farmers usually rose at dawn and went to bed at dusk. Few events were done during the night unless they were â€Å"worth the candle. † Life was humble but comfortable, at least in accordance to the surroundings. The people who emigrated from Europe to America were most usually lower middle class citizens looking to have a better future in the New World. Because of the general sameness of class in America, laws against extravagances were sometimes passed, but as time passed, America grew. XII. Makers of America: From African to African-American Africans’ arrival into the New World brought new languages, music, and cuisines to America. Africans worked in the rice fields of South Carolina due to (a) their knowledge of the crop and (b) their resistance to disease (as compared to Indians). The first slaves were men; some eventually gained freedom. By 1740, large groups of African slaves lived together on plantations, where female slaves were expected to perform backbreaking labor and spin, weave, and sew. Most slaves became Christians, though many adopted elements from their native religions. Many African dances led to modern dances (i. e. the Charleston). Christian songs could also be code for the announcement of the arrival of a guide to freedom. Jazz is the most famous example of slave music entering mainstream culture

A Game of Thrones Chapter Sixty-seven

Sansa In the tower room at the heart of Maegor's Holdfast, Sansa gave herself to the darkness. She drew the curtains around her bed, slept, woke weeping, and slept again. When she could not sleep she lay under her blankets shivering with grief. Servants came and went, bringing meals, but the sight of food was more than she could bear. The dishes piled up on the table beneath her window, untouched and spoiling, until the servants took them away again. Sometimes her sleep was leaden and dreamless, and she woke from it more tired than when she had closed her eyes. Yet those were the best times, for when she dreamed, she dreamed of Father. Waking or sleeping, she saw him, saw the gold cloaks fling him down, saw Ser Ilyn striding forward, unsheathing Ice from the scabbard on his back, saw the moment . . . the moment when . . . she had wanted to look away, she had wanted to, her legs had gone out from under her and she had fallen to her knees, yet somehow she could not turn her head, and all the people were screaming and shouting, and her prince had smiled at her, he'd smiled and she'd felt safe, but only for a heartbeat, until he said those words, and her father's legs . . . that was what she remembered, his legs, the way they'd jerked when Ser Ilyn . . . when the sword . . . Perhaps I will die too, she told herself, and the thought did not seem so terrible to her. If she flung herself from the window, she could put an end to her suffering, and in the years to come the singers would write songs of her grief. Her body would lie on the stones below, broken and innocent, shaming all those who had betrayed her. Sansa went so far as to cross the bedchamber and throw open the shutters . . . but then her courage left her, and she ran back to her bed, sobbing. The serving girls tried to talk to her when they brought her meals, but she never answered them. Once Grand Maester Pycelle came with a box of flasks and bottles, to ask if she was ill. He felt her brow, made her undress, and touched her all over while her bedmaid held her down. When he left he gave her a potion of honeywater and herbs and told her to drink a swallow every night. She drank it all right then and went back to sleep. She dreamt of footsteps on the tower stair, an ominous scraping of leather on stone as a man climbed slowly toward her bedchamber, step by step. All she could do was huddle behind her door and listen, trembling, as he came closer and closer. It was Ser Ilyn Payne, she knew, coming for her with Ice in his hand, coming to take her head. There was no place to run, no place to hide, no way to bar the door. Finally the footsteps stopped and she knew he was just outside, standing there silent with his dead eyes and his long pocked face. That was when she realized she was naked. She crouched down, trying to cover herself with her hands, as her door began to swing open, creaking, the point of the greatsword poking through . . . She woke murmuring, â€Å"Please, please, I'll be good, I'll be good, please don't,† but there was no one to hear. When they finally came for her in truth, Sansa never heard their footsteps. It was Joffrey who opened her door, not Ser Ilyn but the boy who had been her prince. She was in bed, curled up tight, her curtains drawn, and she could not have said if it was noon or midnight. The first thing she heard was the slam of the door. Then her bed hangings were yanked back, and she threw up a hand against the sudden light and saw them standing over her. â€Å"You will attend me in court this afternoon,† Joffrey said. â€Å"See that you bathe and dress as befits my betrothed.† Sandor Clegane stood at his shoulder in a plain brown doublet and green mantle, his burned face hideous in the morning light. Behind them were two knights of the Kingsguard in long white satin cloaks. Sansa drew her blanket up to her chin to cover herself. â€Å"No,† she whimpered, â€Å"please . . . leave me be.† â€Å"If you won't rise and dress yourself, my Hound will do it for you,† Joffrey said. â€Å"I beg of you, my prince . . . â€Å" â€Å"I'm king now. Dog, get her out of bed.† Sandor Clegane scooped her up around the waist and lifted her off the featherbed as she struggled feebly. Her blanket fell to the floor. Underneath she had only a thin bedgown to cover her nakedness. â€Å"Do as you're bid, child,† Clegane said. â€Å"Dress.† He pushed her toward her wardrobe, almost gently. Sansa backed away from them. â€Å"I did as the queen asked, I wrote the letters, I wrote what she told me. You promised you'd be merciful. Please, let me go home. I won't do any treason, I'll be good, I swear it, I don't have traitor's blood, I don't. I only want to go home.† Remembering her courtesies, she lowered her head. â€Å"As it please you,† she finished weakly. â€Å"It does not please me,† Joffrey said. â€Å"Mother says I'm still to marry you, so you'll stay here, and you'll obey.† â€Å"I don't want to marry you,† Sansa wailed. â€Å"You chopped off my father's head!† â€Å"He was a traitor. I never promised to spare him, only that I'd be merciful, and I was. If he hadn't been your father, I would have had him torn or flayed, but I gave him a clean death.† Sansa stared at him, seeing him for the first time. He was wearing a padded crimson doublet patterned with lions and a cloth-of-gold cape with a high collar that framed his face. She wondered how she could ever have thought him handsome. His lips were as soft and red as the worms you found after a rain, and his eyes were vain and cruel. â€Å"I hate you,† she whispered. King Joffrey's face hardened. â€Å"My mother tells me that it isn't fitting that a king should strike his wife. Ser Meryn.† The knight was on her before she could think, yanking back her hand as she tried to shield her face and backhanding her across the ear with a gloved fist. Sansa did not remember failing, yet the next she knew she was sprawled on one knee amongst the rushes. Her head was ringing. Ser Meryn Trant stood over her, with blood on the knuckles of his white silk glove. â€Å"Will you obey now, or shall I have him chastise you again?† Sansa's ear felt numb. She touched it, and her fingertips came away wet and red. â€Å"I . . . as . . . as you command, my lord.† â€Å"Your Grace,† Joffrey corrected her. â€Å"I shall look for you in court.† He turned and left. Ser Meryn and Ser Arys followed him out, but Sandor Clegane lingered long enough to yank her roughly to her feet. â€Å"Save yourself some pain, girl, and give him what he wants.† â€Å"What . . . what does he want? Please, tell me.† â€Å"He wants you to smile and smell sweet and be his lady love,† the Hound rasped. â€Å"He wants to hear you recite all your pretty little words the way the septa taught you. He wants you to love him . . . and fear him.† After he was gone, Sansa sank back onto the rushes, staring at the wall until two of her bedmaids crept timidly into the chamber. â€Å"I will need hot water for my bath, please,† she told them, â€Å"and perfume, and some powder to hide this bruise.† The right side of her face was swollen and beginning to ache, but she knew Joffrey would want her to be beautiful. The hot water made her think of Winterfell, and she took strength from that. She had not washed since the day her father died, and she was startled at how filthy the water became. Her maids sluiced the blood off her face, scrubbed the dirt from her back, washed her hair and brushed it out until it sprang back in thick auburn curls. Sansa did not speak to them, except to give them commands; they were Lannister servants, not her own, and she did not trust them. When the time came to dress, she chose the green silk gown that she had worn to the tourney. She recalled how gallant Joff had been to her that night at the feast. Perhaps it would make him remember as well, and treat her more gently. She drank a glass of buttermilk and nibbled at some sweet biscuits as she waited, to settle her stomach. It was midday when Ser Meryn returned. He had donned his white armor; a shirt of enameled scales chased with gold, a tall helm with a golden sunburst crest, greaves and gorget and gauntlet and boots of gleaming plate, a heavy wool cloak clasped with a golden lion. His visor had been removed from his helm, to better show his dour face; pouchy bags under his eyes, a wide sour mouth, rusty hair spotted with grey. â€Å"My lady,† he said, bowing, as if he had not beaten her bloody only three hours past. â€Å"His Grace has instructed me to escort you to the throne room.† â€Å"Did he instruct you to hit me if I refused to come?† â€Å"Are you refusing to come, my lady?† The look he gave her was without expression. He did not so much as glance at the bruise he had left her. He did not hate her, Sansa realized; neither did he love her. He felt nothing for her at all. She was only a . . . a thing to him. â€Å"No,† she said, rising. She wanted to rage, to hurt him as he'd hurt her, to warn him that when she was queen she would have him exiled if he ever dared strike her again . . . but she remembered what the Hound had told her, so all she said was, â€Å"I shall do whatever His Grace commands.† â€Å"As I do,† he replied. â€Å"Yes . . . but you are no true knight, Ser Meryn.† Sandor Clegane would have laughed at that, Sansa knew. Other men might have cursed her, warned her to keep silent, even begged for her forgiveness. Ser Meryn Trant did none of these. Ser Meryn Trant simply did not care. The balcony was deserted save for Sansa. She stood with her head bowed, fighting to hold back her tears, while below Joffrey sat on his Iron Throne and dispensed what it pleased him to call justice. Nine cases out of ten seemed to bore him; those he allowed his council to handle, squirming restlessly while Lord Baelish, Grand Maester Pycelle, or Queen Cersei resolved the matter. When he did choose to make a ruling, though, not even his queen mother could sway him. A thief was brought before him and he had Ser Ilyn chop his hand off, right there in court. Two knights came to him with a dispute about some land, and he decreed that they should duel for it on the morrow. â€Å"To the death,† he added. A woman fell to her knees to plead for the head of a man executed as a traitor. She had loved him, she said, and she wanted to see him decently buried. â€Å"If you loved a traitor, you must be a traitor too,† Joffrey said. Two gold cloaks dragged her off to the dungeons. Frog-faced Lord Slynt sat at the end of the council table wearing a black velvet doublet and a shiny cloth-of-gold cape, nodding with approval every time the king pronounced a sentence. Sansa stared hard at his ugly face, remembering how he had thrown down her father for Ser Ilyn to behead, wishing she could hurt him, wishing that some hero would throw him down and cut off his head. But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. â€Å"Life is not a song, sweetling,† he'd told her. â€Å"You may learn that one day to your sorrow.† In life, the monsters win, she told herself, and now it was the Hound's voice she heard, a cold rasp, metal on stone. â€Å"Save yourself some pain, girl, and give him what he wants.† The last case was a plump tavern singer, accused of making a song that ridiculed the late King Robert. Joff commanded them to fetch his woodharp and ordered him to perform the song for the court. The singer wept and swore he would never sing that song again, but the king insisted. It was sort of a funny song, all about Robert fighting with a pig. The pig was the boar who'd killed him, Sansa knew, but in some verses it almost sounded as if he were singing about the queen. When the song was done, Joffrey announced that he'd decided to be merciful. The singer could keep either his fingers or his tongue. He would have a day to make his choice. Janos Slynt nodded. That was the final business of the afternoon, Sansa saw with relief, but her ordeal was not yet done. When the herald's voice dismissed the court, she fled the balcony, only to find Joffrey waiting for her at the base of the curving stairs. The Hound was with him, and Ser Meryn as well. The young king examined her critically, top to bottom. â€Å"You look much better than you did.† â€Å"Thank you, Your Grace,† Sansa said. Hollow words, but they made him nod and smile. â€Å"Walk with me,† Joffrey commanded, offering her his arm. She had no choice but to take it. The touch of his hand would have thrilled her once; now it made her flesh crawl. â€Å"My name day will be here soon,† Joffrey said as they slipped out the rear of the throne room. â€Å"There will be a great feast, and gifts. What are you going to give me?† â€Å"I . . . I had not thought, my lord.† â€Å"Your Grace,† he said sharply. â€Å"You truly are a stupid girl, aren't you? My mother says so.† â€Å"She does?† After all that had happened, his words should have lost their power to hurt her, yet somehow they had not. The queen had always been so kind to her. â€Å"Oh, yes. She worries about our children, whether they'll be stupid like you, but I told her not to trouble herself.† The king gestured, and Ser Meryn opened a door for them. â€Å"Thank you, Your Grace,† she murmured. The Hound was right, she thought, I am only a little bird, repeating the words they taught me. The sun had fallen below the western wall, and the stones of the Red Keep glowed dark as blood. â€Å"I'll get you with child as soon as you're able,† Joffrey said as he escorted her across the practice yard. â€Å"If the first one is stupid, I'll chop off your head and find a smarter wife. When do you think you'll be able to have children?† Sansa could not look at him, he shamed her so. â€Å"Septa Mordane says most . . . most highborn girls have their flowering at twelve or thirteen.† Joffrey nodded. â€Å"This way.† He led her into the gatehouse, to the base of the steps that led up to the battlements. Sansa jerked back away from him, trembling. Suddenly she knew where they were going. â€Å"No,† she said, her voice a frightened gasp. â€Å"Please, no, don't make me, I beg you . . . â€Å" Joffrey pressed his lips together. â€Å"I want to show you what happens to traitors.† Sansa shook her head wildly. â€Å"I won't. I won't.† â€Å"I can have Ser Meryn drag you up,† he said. â€Å"You won't like that. You had better do what I say.† Joffrey reached for her, and Sansa cringed away from him, backing into the Hound. â€Å"Do it, girl,† Sandor Clegane told her, pushing her back toward the king. His mouth twitched on the burned side of his face and Sansa could almost hear the rest of it. He'll have you up there no matter what, so give him what he wants. She forced herself to take King Joffrey's hand. The climb was something out of a nightmare; every step was a struggle, as if she were pulling her feet out of ankle-deep mud, and there were more steps than she would have believed, a thousand thousand steps, and horror waiting on the ramparts. From the high battlements of the gatehouse, the whole world spread out below them. Sansa could see the Great Sept of Baelor on Visenya's hill, where her father had died. At the other end of the Street of the Sisters stood the fire-blackened ruins of the Dragonpit. To the west, the swollen red sun was half-hidden behind the Gate of the Gods. The salt sea was at her back, and to the south was the fish market and the docks and the swirling torrent of the Blackwater Rush. And to the north . . . She turned that way, and saw only the city, streets and alleys and hills and bottoms and more streets and more alleys and the stone of distant walls. Yet she knew that beyond them was open country, farms and fields and forests, and beyond that, north and north and north again, stood Winterfell. â€Å"What are you looking at?† Joffrey said. â€Å"This is what I wanted you to see, right here.† A thick stone parapet protected the outer edge of the rampart, reaching as high as Sansa's chin, with crenellations cut into it every five feet for archers. The heads were mounted between the crenels, along the top of the wall, impaled on iron spikes so they faced out over the city. Sansa had noted them the moment she'd stepped out onto the wallwalk, but the river and the bustling streets and the setting sun were ever so much prettier. He can make me look at the heads, she told herself, but he can't make me see them. â€Å"This one is your father,† he said. â€Å"This one here. Dog, turn it around so she can see him.† Sandor Clegane took the head by the hair and turned it. The severed head had been dipped in tar to preserve it longer. Sansa looked at it calmly, not seeing it at all. It did not really look like Lord Eddard, she thought; it did not even look real. â€Å"How long do I have to look?† Joffrey seemed disappointed. â€Å"Do you want to see the rest?† There was a long row of them. â€Å"If it please Your Grace.† Joffrey marched her down the wallwalk, past a dozen more heads and two empty spikes. â€Å"I'm saving those for my uncle Stannis and my uncle Renly,† he explained. The other heads had been dead and mounted much longer than her father. Despite the tar, most were long past being recognizable. The king pointed to one and said, â€Å"That's your septa there,† but Sansa could not even have told that it was a woman. The jaw had rotted off her face, and birds had eaten one ear and most of a cheek. Sansa had wondered what had happened to Septa Mordane, although she supposed she had known all along. â€Å"Why did you kill her?† she asked. â€Å"She was godsworn . . . â€Å" â€Å"She was a traitor.† Joffrey looked pouty; somehow she was upsetting him. â€Å"You haven't said what you mean to give me for my name day. Maybe I should give you something instead, would you like that?† â€Å"If it please you, my lord,† Sansa said. When he smiled, she knew he was mocking her. â€Å"Your brother is a traitor too, you know.† He turned Septa Mordane's head back around. â€Å"I remember your brother from Winterfell. My dog called him the lord of the wooden sword. Didn't you, dog?† â€Å"Did I?† the Hound replied. â€Å"I don't recall.† Joffrey gave a petulant shrug. â€Å"Your brother defeated my uncle Jaime. My mother says it was treachery and deceit. She wept when she heard. Women are all weak, even her, though she pretends she isn't. She says we need to stay in King's Landing in case my other uncles attack, but I don't care. After my name day feast, I'm going to raise a host and kill your brother myself. That's what I'll give you, Lady Sansa. Your brother's head.† A kind of madness took over her then, and she heard herself say, â€Å"Maybe my brother will give me your head.† Joffrey scowled. â€Å"You must never mock me like that. A true wife does not mock her lord. Ser Meryn, teach her.† This time the knight grasped her beneath the jaw and held her head still as he struck her. He hit her twice, left to right, and harder, right to left. Her lip split and blood ran down her chin, to mingle with the salt of her tears. â€Å"You shouldn't be crying all the time,† Joffrey told her. â€Å"You're more pretty when you smile and laugh.† Sansa made herself smile, afraid that he would have Ser Meryn hit her again if she did not, but it was no good, the king still shook his head. â€Å"Wipe off the blood, you're all messy.† The outer parapet came up to her chin, but along the inner edge of the walk was nothing, nothing but a long plunge to the bailey seventy or eighty feet below. All it would take was a shove, she told herself. He was standing right there, right there, smirking at her with those fat wormlips. You could do it, she told herself. You could. Do it right now. It wouldn't even matter if she went over with him. It wouldn't matter at all. â€Å"Here, girl.† Sandor Clegane knelt before her, between her and Joffrey. With a delicacy surprising in such a big man, he dabbed at the blood welling from her broken lip. The moment was gone. Sansa lowered her eyes. â€Å"Thank you,† she said when he was done. She was a good girl, and always remembered her courtesies.