Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Essay

Explore the issues connected with loneliness in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Loneliness is examined carefully in Of Mice and Men. In the world of itinerant ranch-hands, loneliness is an inescapable part of life and Steinbeck records this through the plot and characters in his novel. Being lonely is the lack of an emotional, mutual bond, which leads the characters to lose a sense of self-worth and dignity. This essay explores what Steinbeck discusses about loneliness in Of Mice and Men and how he uses the characters of Candy, Crooks, George, Lennie and Curley’s wife to express these views. George and Lennie are the most interesting starting point for such an exploration since they are the only two characters in the novel who are defined by their companionship rather than loneliness. George proclaims proudly to Lennie in the early pages of the novel, that itinerant ranch-hands, typical of the economic Depression in the USA in the 1930s, â€Å"are the loneliest guys in the world† but â€Å"with us [them] it ain’t like that†. Both George and Lennie know that their friendship gives them a future and gives their life purpose and significance. They want to own a farm where they can â€Å"live off the fatta the lan'† and rear animals; where their feeling of self-worth will not stem from gambling and prostitutes, but from their camaraderie-their importance to each other. On the other hand, other wandering workers â€Å"got no family† and they â€Å"don’t belong no place.† George and Lennie know that their companionship sets them apart-it makes them dignified enough to have a dream and think about putting down roots, a dream that most ranch-hands would have had at the time, but would never achieve. Other ranch-hands’ remained as ‘islands’, their lives cut off from anybody else’s. The fact that the bond between George and Lennie would have been rare-it is the only instance of true friendship between men in the novel-shows that at the time of the Great Depression, every man was for himself. Indeed, a few characters are suspicious of their friendship, thinking it financially exploitative: â€Å"You takin’ his pay away from him? †¦ Well, I never seen a guy take so much trouble for another guy.† The only reason their friendship exists is because Lennie is so simple; his vulnerability and dependence on George make him loyal and trustworthy, unlike any other ranch-hand. Although George says, â€Å"When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts,† he knows that Lennie’s presence makes him feel more important and confident than an average itinerant worker like him would normally-being in charge with Lennie makes him feel in charge of his life. Tragically, however, by the end of the novel this is what George becomes-an average itinerant worker; he has to kill Lennie and after losing the only emotional human connection he had, George’s dream and dignity are both destroyed: â€Å"He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would [be able to have the farm.]† The fact remains that such an honest friendship has a flawed foundation-Lennie’s mental debility, although making a friendship possible, also makes him too vulnerable to make prudent decisions. Loneliness is thus inevitable for George and all his fellow wanderers. In many ways, George and Lennie’s relationship is mirrored by that between Candy and his dog. Again, Candy is able to gain true loyalty and trust only from a dog-a one-dimensional, vulnerable being. When the thick-skinned Carlson asks, â€Å"He ain’t no good to you †¦ Why’n’t you shoot him Candy?† the only answer Candy can produce is that he â€Å"had him so long†. Over the years, Candy has developed a special bond of care, as opposed to simple utility, with his dog. To Carlson, who can only understand the value of a person in terms of their practical usefulness, due to his experience of the Great Depression, this bond is meaningless. After his dog is shot, Candy is reduced to a useless old cripple, also encapsulated in solitude. The dog’s companionship had allowed Candy to cherish his past and be hopeful for his future, but now he has nothing to look forward to: â€Å"When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me †¦ I won’t have no place to go an’ I can’t get no more jobs.† The dream farm tempts Candy, too, because he feels that owning a place will prevent him from becoming a lonely monument for passing ranch-hands to observe. His desperation for the farm is so intense that even after Lennie’s death he hopes George may work towards it, but to no avail-Candy too is destined to be alone, unknown and uncared for once he can no longer serve a practical purpose.

Cumberland Metal Industries

In January of 1980, Cumberland Metal Industries (CMI) had developed a new product for the pile driving industry. Its new pad, made of tightly curled metal, had the potential to break into an industry where little or no innovation was taking place. The CMI product testing showed great efficiency gains over the current standard asbestos product. The existing competition consisted of small firms, few of which had the knowledge or resources to design and develop new products. CMI seemed on the verge of breaking into a new market, where its product would be the technological front-runner. It now needed to show its customers the value its product would provide, and price its new product accordingly. Without any consideration to potential savings realized in the price of the product, the CMI pad provides additional value to the customer in two ways, time and safety. Using asbestos pads, a pile driver was able to drive approximately 150-160 feet per hour. Using the CMI pads, the same pile driver was able to drive 200 feet per hour. Additionally, the CMI pads never went above a temperature of 250oF, which allowed them to be handled almost immediately. This increase in speed and resiliency accounted for a productivity increase of 33% faster driving time. With regards to safety, the CMI pad alleviates any health hazard concerns, which many workers were starting to feel towards the asbestos pads. This in the long run could save the customer significant money in healthcare costs and legal fees, should asbestos be proven to cause health concerns. The primary target market for the CMI pad would be the Engineering/Construction contractors and Independent pile-driving contractors. These two categories would benefit the most from a lower cost alternative to asbestos, as well as from the time and safety efficiencies. The secondary target market would be the Pile Hammer Distributors and Renting companies. This category may be less welcoming to the CMI pads, as the efficiencies realized by the contractors could translate into lost revenues due to fewer pads being needed and equipment being returned early. Part of the promotional aspect of this product launch should focus on the industry subject matter experts, the Pile Hammer Manufacturers, and the Architectural/Consulting Engineers. While these groups would not directly purchase this product, their opinions and specifications would be influential to the target markets. CMI had already submitted its pad for testing to Professor R. Stephen McCormack of Pennsylvania A&M University, who is well respected in the pile-driving field. While his results are not available, early indications are that his findings will be favorable. Should that be the case, CMI should promote these findings to the manufacturers and engineers, and work with them to have the CMI pads legitimized as a viable option within the industry. In deciding where to set the price on the new pads, CMI must first review its manufacturing costs, as well as determine the value its product would bring to its clients. The projected manufacturing costs are outlined in Table 1, with one option showing the costs using existing equipment, and the other showing the costs with a $50,000 investment in new permanent tooling equipment. Table 1 [pic] As is shown in Table 1, the permanent tooling reduces manufacturing costs by 53%. CMI would have to sell 633 units to break even on the initial $50,000 investment, however in my opinion I believe this is well worth it. By lowering its manufacturing costs, CMI can increase its margins, as well as increase its maneuverability with the product price. I will therefore base my pricing decision on the assumption that CMI invested in the permanent tooling equipment. CMI senior management has indicated that they are looking to receive a 50% margin on this product. Therefore, the minimum price option to be considered is $138. 36 per pad. Part of CMI’s product testing included providing the pads to two responsible contractors, Colerick Foundation Company and Fazio Construction, for them to test against the asbestos pads in working conditions. From the Colerick test, we learned that the contractor would have needed 480 asbestos pads, at a total cost of $1,000, to complete the job. In comparison, only 6 CMI pads would have been required. Therefore, in this situation, the exact comparable price per the job costs for a CMI pad to an asbestos pad would be ($1,000/6) $166. 66 per pad. The total number of feet for the job was 15,000, and from the test results we learned that the asbestos pads lasted for 31. 25 feet of pile driving, while the CMI pads lasted for 2,500. This translates into 80 asbestos pads needed for everyone one CMI pad. The average price of an asbestos pad is $3. 00; therefore the value to the contractor of a CMI pad would be (80 x $3) $240. In the Fazio test, the contractor would have used 600 asbestos pads, at a total job cost of $2,000. Again, in comparison, only 5 CMI pads would have been needed. In this instance, the comparable price of a CMI pad would be ($2,000/5) $400 per pad. The total number of feet for this job was 12,000, and from these test results we learned that the asbestos pads lasted for 20 feet of pile driving, while the CMI pads lasted for 2,400. In this example, 120 asbestos pads would be needed for every one CMI pad. The value of a CMI pad to this contractor would be (120 x $3) $360. While these results vary somewhat, they clearly show that the CMI pads last significantly longer than the current asbestos pads. For the purpose of determining price, I will extrapolate from the findings that a CMI pad lasts for 2,500 feet of pile driving, while an asbestos pad last for 25 feet of pile driving. Therefore, the value of one CMI pad to a contractor is comparable to 100 asbestos pads. Given the asbestos price of $3. 00 per pad, the dollar value of a CMI pad to a contractor is $300 per pad. Because CMI is the first to enter the market, with relatively weak competition, and protection from a patent, I recommend a skimming pricing strategy, with a focus on customer value. As a result, I would price the CMI pad at $162 per pad to our distributors, with an MSRP of $270. This would allow the distributors to market the product at a 10% price discount over asbestos, as well as the 33% increase in time productivity, and achieve a 40% margin. Due to the limited initial manufacturing volume of 250 pads per month, I believe the best course of action is to maximize possible revenue on each pad, rather than try for market penetration. The price of $162 would provide CMI a margin of 57. 5%, which exceeds the requirement of senior management, and would allow the company to invest in future research and development, or perhaps an advertising program should it wish to increase market share in the future.

Case Study of the Exploitation of Financial Regulation by Deutsche Bank

Case Study of the Exploitation of Financial Regulation by Deutsche Bank Creative accounting is used to make a company seem to be performing well than it actually is. This scheme is applied especially where accounting figures do not look attractive or appealing to the investors, current and potential. This creativity is perpetuated by the senior management through support of directors making it difficult to detect where there are no proper fraud investigations are done. In the case of Deutsche Bank, its former executives are accused of obstructing regulators from looking into loss cover up in an investment dubbed Alexandria. The deals were a major cover up as alleged during a financial crisis that sae Monte Paschi in great troubles. The investigation carried out brought into attention massive losses that Monte Paschi had been misrepresented between 2008 and 2012. My agreement to this is based on the following: â€Å"The fraud first came to light in January 2013, when Bloomberg News reported that Monte Paschi used the transaction with Deutsche Bank, dubbed Santorini, to mask losses from an earlier derivative contract. The world’s oldest bank restated its accounts and has since been forced to tap investors to replenish capital amid a slump in its shares. It’s now attempting to convince investors to buy billions of bad loans before a fresh stock sale.† It is possible that the findings by the regulator are accurate since they are able to bring out a proper investigation on the matter presented to it. The bank was even required to account for differences in its carrying value on the stake at San Paulo bank and the amount they paid for the shares to have a stake there. The use of revaluation reserve to increase par value was not the right thing to do to absorb losses. This is because revaluation reserve per se is not counting towards Tier one capital. This was just a scheme to maintain its core capital as required by the regulator in the industry. Santorini Investment was also a bad move meant to serve a special purpose, to do an equity swap. The bank controlled a huge stake in this business where it had majority shares for controlling its Interest-Santorini was majority owned (51%) by Deutsche Bank – Monte Paschi controlled 49%. They used some amount that were proceeds in the sale of San Paolo to Deutsche in financing Monte Paschi’s shares in Santorini investment. Monte Paschi was taking shelter in reducing exposure of its share from constant price fluctuations. â€Å"Typically, in such a deal, there is either a floating rate or a fixed rate of interest paid over the life of the swap to the entity to which the shares were sold (in this case Deutsche) based on the notional amount of the shares traded (so 785 million euros here). When the swap matures, the original seller of the shares (Monte Paschi here) will receive the difference between the price of the shares when the swap was originated and the price of the shares at maturity. Obviously, if the shares rise over time the original seller makes a profit on the swap (minus any interest payments made along the way). Of course the stock could go up or down over the life of the transaction so there is a very real possibility that the original seller of the shares will have to make a payment at maturity in addition to the interest payments made along the way. Note also that if the stock drops over the course of the deal, the original seller may be forced to post collateral to the buyer of the shares.† It is therefore was a scheme that should have been controlled before it got too late to save the shareholder

Organizational culture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Organizational culture - Assignment Example The culture itself is a by-product of observable artefacts and espoused values. There are four types of organizational culture that are given below: 1) Clan culture: this form of organizational culture represents a family like culture in which flexibility is visible whereas employee satisfaction through development of consensus and employee involvement is considered as an important attribute of organizational management. Where such culture is conducive for employee’s job satisfaction and general motivation, there are also inherent risks of lack of diversity since only homogenous employees will thrive in such culture. Furthermore, lack of leaders’ authority and abuse of flexibility is also some of its disadvantages. 2) Adhocracy culture: flexibility is valued in this type of culture but with an external focus on development and growth by presenting innovative products and services. Some of the key elements of this culture are adaptability, creativity with quick response to market challenges and opportunities and less centralised power. Although such culture shows less formalization of processes whereas its unpredictability favours creativity, there are probabilities that such organizations rely heavily on new technology, unnecessary involvement of too many employees and reduced employee’ accountability and risk management (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2012). 3) Market Culture: this type of culture focuses mainly on growth and competition, building organization over the phenomena of control. Such organizations are result-oriented with more attention paid to customers and profits instead of employee’s satisfaction. The major advantage of this culture is higher profits and better results i.e. revenues and employee efficiency however it may ignore employees’ needs, job satisfaction and their welfare. 4) Hierarchy Culture: this culture has formalized procedures with defined roles and responsibilities; internal focus and higher managerial c ontrols are some of its basic traits. Such culture is predictable and has extensive risk management. However, this culture may lack innovative vibe since all the authorities rest with few individuals. Furthermore, employees may find it unnecessary to collaborate and compete within each other for controls (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2012). There are also various types of organization structures that are bureaucratic, functional and divisional or matrix structure. In bureaucratic model, organizations have strict hierarchies and central controls. In functional structure, organizations are divided into segments that have different functions such as marketing, HR, finance, administration etc. On the other hand, divisional structure results in many independently working departments with their own resources and they operate independently. Such division can be due to different geographic location, products and services etc. In a matrix organization, employees are utilized on the basis of their f unctions and use intended i.e. product or service. Hence, teams can be formed by involving members of different departments but are assigned with common goals. In the given case studies, City College has a functional model while Enterprise follows divisional model. City College is a single entity present on one location and providing education to students therefore dividing it into several departments functionally is appropriate for organizational effectiveness. However, such strict definition of roles and responsibilities may make it difficult for departments to collaborate and it may result in lengthy processes and procedures followed by unnecessary communication and transfer of responsibility in emergencies. On the other han

Reward management and performance related pay Essay

Reward management and performance related pay - Essay Example In today's fast-paced modern world, the job market seems to be getting more and more diverse, wide and inclusive of a great number of potential factors, that could affect the way one sees his job. Human Resources Management is one such area that is gaining importance by the day. Human Resources Managers work towards the fundamental problem of creating a balance between the expectations of both, employers and employees.The job market is getting highly competitive and retaining good talent is becoming an arduous task, owing to the better attractive offers being offered to talented workforces. As they say, grass on the other side of the fence is greener and therefore, employees find themselves being pulled across by alluring competitors. Under such circumstances, the compensation or pay packet goes a long way in determining the loyalties of employees. For instance, if the talented employee in question is unsatisfied with the compensation he receives from his current job, he would obviou sly consider the competitor's job that offers him greater potential and pay.Most employees prefer jobs that offer challenges and on successful dealing and completion of these challenges, would prefer better pay packets. At the end of the day, pay is a huge motivator or factor in diminishing quality of output. Therefore, jobs that offer growth potential, in terms of the hierarchical setup and the pay raise, experience great amount of success in maintaining stability in terms of employee retention and in cementing employer-employee relationships. "..the pay package is one of the most obvious & visible exchanges of the employment relationship; it is the main issue in the exchange between employer & employee, expressing the connection between the labour market, the individual's work & the performance of the employing organisation itself" (Hegewisch, 1991: 28). Therefore, the solution to this problem faced by employers in the process of reducing employee attrition rates and retaining talent, is performance-related payments and issuing rewards for quality output of work! Objectives of Employer and Employee In an organisation, both the employers, as well as, the employees possess varied objectives and expectations from each other, the job and the outcome. The objectives of the employer varies significantly from that of the employee, in formulating and pursuing the mutual contract. Here are the objectives of the employer, when he formulates and enters into a payment contract with his employee: Detainment: Employers look towards retaining the talent they spot in employees, without allowing competitors to take over the same. Therefore, they endeavour to satisfy their talented employees by formulating and putting forth a good payment contract. No one would want to lose a good employee due to under-payment levels. Thus, one of their many objectives is to retain talent and reducing the attrition rates. Steer clear: Employers attempt to steer clear of competitors and emerge victorious in alluring and maintaining some of the most skilful talent, which directly affects the positive quality of work output. Thus, they look to maintain an upper hand amongst competitors, by entering into a decent payment contract with their employees. Intelligent dealings: Employers try to attract the best possible talent within their limitations in providing payment. When they enter into the payment contract, they attempt to make the most in terms of attracting the best

Management Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management Planning - Essay Example In words by Nash (2006) planning of management systems ensures there is a perfect flow of ideas and strategies throughout a specific period of time and of the required consistency. The same sentiments are reiterated by Humby, Hunt & Philips (2006) who argues that consistency in the management team creates the whole difference in terms of excellence and success in an organization. Management planning involves all the factors and department in an organization. All departments in an organization have different objectives and goals set to them for achievement. For a good management team, all these objectives should be achieved within the specified timeline and by the required standards. In creating a good management planning systems, department heads should be included in the planning structure. In support of this suggestion, Vanessa (2010) argues that management planning involves more of incorporation of the whole organization rather than the top management team. The author further argu es that employees should also be considered when formulating a management plan. The brief of the paper will be an inclusion of the factors that affect managerial performance. Additionally, solutions and suggestions to solve these factors will be provided. For a clear perspective, the paper will analyze the managerial performance of TESCO PLC Company. ... In its operation, the companies sell at least 40, 000 products in its stores. From its sales, their brand accounts for a total of 50% of the sales (Datamonitor, 2004). This fact has been made possible by the fact that the organization has been in the market for a significant period to gain a large competitive advantage and consumer support. The total accounted for customers of the organization add up 3.4 million people (Datamonitor, 2004). Apart from the external environment success, the internal arrangement of the organization is outstanding. The organization has a well formulated and compact managerial team headed by the chairman of the executive board. Beneath the chairman there are numerous executive positions that are aimed at subdividing the managerial responsibilities across the whole organization. The organization has seven executive board members in managerial positions and seven non executive board members in the other managerial positions. An inclusion to the management te am is the company secretary who falls under the senior management team (Datamonitor, 2004). Explain how interpersonal relationships and communication skills affect managerial performance In any organization communication and relationships form the basis of the success of an organization. In words by Jordan (2008) interpersonal relationships in an organization shape the organizational culture. The author further argues that communication in an organization is a great determinant of the organizational culture in an organization. The effect of these two factors on the managerial performance is based on the specific requirements of the employees. For instance, the management team is provided with the obligation of providing instructions and

Rehabilitation of the Injured Athlete Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Rehabilitation of the Injured Athlete - Essay Example The program will encompass total recovery, involving pre-habilitation and the actual rehabilitation process – including targeted treatment and exercises, aimed at returning Simon to his rugby team and game as soon as possible. The shoulder consists of three bones the clavicle, scapula, and humerus, and two joints, the acromioclavicular and glenohumeral joints (Quinn, 2006). The bones are connected to each other by ligaments, while they are connected to muscles by tendons (Quinn, 2006). These structures, along with the rotator cuff muscles, cooperate to provide motion, mobility, and strength to the very movable shoulder joint which is quite unstable and prone to injury from impact (Quinn, 2006). Nevertheless, the 13 muscles in the shoulder joint, offer biomechanical protection which provides a measure of stability to this vulnerable and unstable joint (Funk, 2011). Simon’s collision caused his dislocated shoulder joint, where an extreme rotation occurred violently twisti ng his shoulder upward and backward, causing the humerus to jump out of the glenoid, and delivering intense pain and weakness in the arm, presumably because the rotator cuff was damaged during the impact (Cunha, 2011). The four tendons in the rotator cuff are connected to four muscles which turn the arm inward, upward, and outward (Cunha, 2011), and are responsible for stabilizing the humerus in the socket (Erstad, 2010). Simon’s collision caused the joint capsule, cartilage, and rotator cuff ligaments, which keep the shoulder intact, to tear (Wedro, 2011). The resultant pain signalled the need for medical attention. The injured shoulder would first have been tied in a makeshift sling, before Simon was rushed to a doctor (Cunha, 2011) (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2009). Most likely he was given pain killers and then quickly examined by the doctor, who probably touched the shoulder from the side to see whether the humeral head was in position (Cunha, 2011). Simon probably grimaced at t he pain in the front of the shoulder, caused when the doctor bent his elbow or turned his wrist, indicating a SLAP lesion (Pesic, 2011). The doctor would then x-ray the injury to confirm the diagnosis and ascertain whether there were broken bones (Cunha, 2011). Having found no broken bones, the doctor would first determine whether the SLAP lesion could be treated non-surgically through shoulder rest and medication to lessen inflammation (Pesic, 2011). Simon would naturally be removed from active play (Pesic, 2011). SLAP lesion physical therapy would be done by stretching and strengthening the muscles surrounding the rotator cuff and scapula, through special exercises (Pesic, 2011). Cold therapy, which can be a three-hour application of ice packs or a massage, could also be done to reduce swelling and pain (Pesic, 2011). The RICE technique of rest, ice, compression, and elevation of the shoulder would also be applied (â€Å"Cold Therapy,† 2011). If those measures are not succe ssful, surgery would be scheduled. Maunder (2011) feels that Simon should be prepared mentally and physically for surgery to increase his chances of success. Prehabilitation would give him an opportunity to ask questions and learn

Business Ehtics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Business Ehtics - Essay Example In an organization this is complicated further by the larger numbers of people involved. What might be important to one individual may not be so to others. As the textbook notes, â€Å"no one operates in a vacuum† (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell 126). Thus, many organizational factors influence the process as well. This can be factors ilke the corporate and ethical cultures, which affect how the organization views its â€Å"values, beliefs, goals, norms, and ways of solving problems† (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell 126). â€Å"Obedience to authority,† how likely employees are to obey, can influence the process by how eager employees are to â€Å"resolve business ethics issues by simply following the directives of a superior† (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell 127). Opportunity is â€Å"the conditions in an organization that limit or permit ethical or unethical behavior† (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell 127). These internal and external rewards can affect the process by making people more or less likely to act in a way that is ethical. For instance, if there is more of an opportunity to do unethical things due to a bad ethical culture, people will be less likely to make decisions

Management at Apple Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Management at Apple - Research Paper Example Apple Company is located at Cupertino, California was established in 1976 and deals in personal computers, computer software other consumer electronics such as iPods, iPads, iPhones and tablets among others. In addition, the company has about 60, 400 permanent workers with 2,800 part time spread in more than ten countries and operating in about 357 retail stores with a present $65.23 billion â€Å"It plans to open a total of 25 stores in China by the end of 2011† (Head, 2007). Furthermore, Apple Company being a technology organization has used the location-based services strategy. This involves using an advertising platform that sends various offers to its clients from the nearby shops and restaurants. Similarly, Apple Company has been able to increase its sales and profits through venturing into the international markets such as China and Japan. In addition, departing from the domestic market to enter the international market by Apple has lead to reduced costs of production a nd the ability to trade in various markets hence lessening the dependency on one market. Supply chain management Supply chain management involves the organization and control of assets such as equipment, human, components and relationships such as customers, staff and suppliers among others in the production and delivery of customer’s commodity from unprocessed product to completed product as competently as possible. Apple Company is known to conduct its sale with a minimal physical supply sales chain. Instead, Apple uses digital supply chain involves distribution of digital media such as video or music though electronic medium from the provider to the client. For instance, through its virtual stores, Apple has been able to generate about $ 1 billion from iTunes sales only. â€Å"This can be considered as the first step by Apple towards implementing agility in its supply chain† (Sanders & Reid, 2007). In addition, the company has the ability to make sales worth more th an I billion of MP3 files without factors of physical supply management such as material sourcing, production, warehousing and transportation among others. These sales extend to iPhone mobile that do not use the normal supply chains. There are numerous advantages that are enjoyed by Apple in its usage of digital supply chains. For instance, increase in margin of hardware sales, increased maneuvers in the market because of higher flow of cash and the ability to provide what is on demand at right time. Therefore, because of this innovative idea of modern supply management, competition has increased among IT companies such as HP, Dell and IBM adopting and improving their methods. On that note, Apple has come up with its new design of supply chain called product lifecycle management (PLM). It is a programmed software that allows manufacturers from around the world to process the products they want using a collaborative design. â€Å"Thus the equation of achieving agility in supply chai n versus risk in meeting demand had to take shape for Apple† (Lebreton, 2007). Similarly, it permits the manufacturer to share and manage complicated design and commodity detail that aims at ensuring the proper development process of commodity. Inventory management Inventory management involves indicating the shape and percentage of completed products an organization has to sell. Numerous factors affect inventory of management of Apple Inc. Company. For example, there are the physical place of the

Social Media and Banking Essay Example for Free

Social Media and Banking Essay Introduction Social media and banking do not seem to have a strong relation at the first look on the topic, but are indeed complexly related in today’s world with the continuous evolution of the banking sector and the huge impact of social media on the masses. While today many international banks are using social media as a connectivity and marketing tool with its customers, Indian banks are also not far behind. ICICI, one of Indias biggest banks, already boasts a Facebook app allowing clients to view their account details, check statements and upgrade their debit card, among other activities, but still maintains a cautious attitude to social media strategy. While there is no doubt that social media is all the rage amongst retail and advertisings sectors, it is yet to make major inroads in the financial services and banking sectors. A new report from Ovum, the technology arm of market analyst firm Datamonitor reveals that a majority of banks worldwide aren’t yet ready to embrace social media. Privacy and Data Security are two of the biggest hindrances to mass-scale social media adoption in the banking sector. Moreover, many banks do not think social media gives them an edge to engage customers. In fact, they believe that it’s a dangerous proposition which may compromise sensitive financial data .Startling as it may seem, the recent Ovum research indicates that 60 per cent of the world’s retail banks have no plans to use social media in the future. There are noticeable exceptions though – UK’s First Direct, Australia’s NAB, Wells Fargo in the US and Rabobank in the Netherlands have adopted social media as a communication channel. While American banks mostly rely on Twitter, Australia’s NAB used YouTube and Twitter to pacify disgruntled customers  after its online banking system fell over. And going by the encouraging response received so far, the move appears to be fetching the desired results. 14 per cent banks currently use social media as a marketing tool, with a further 12 per cent planning to use it to promote their business by the end of 2012. Some challenges which the sectors might face are as follows: The banking sector relies on sensitive financial data all the time. Though Facebook has made several changes to its privacy norms over the last couple of years, a lot more needs to be done in order to simplify who gets to see what information. Perhaps, a different set of privacy controls for banks and financial institutions would help. Given the current situation, it’s unsurprising that most banks prefer Twitter over Facebook as the former has virtually no privacy vulnerabilities. The Ovum report indicates that social media offers a massive untapped opportunity for financial institutions. Consumer confidence in the banking sector has hit an all-time low and a personal touch of social media would serve as a perfect shot in the arm to lift the struggling global financial industry. Before we plunge into this fast deepening relation between social media and banking, let us first understand some basic concepts about banking and social media separately. Banking Under the Central Government Act, Section 5(b) in The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (b) Banking means the accepting, for the purpose of lending or investment, of deposits of money from the public, repayable on demand or otherwise, and withdrawable by cheque, draft, order or otherwise; In general, a bank is a financial institution and a financial intermediary that accepts deposits and channels those deposits into lending activities, either directly by loaning or indirectly through capital markets. A bank connects customers who have capital deficits to customers with capital surpluses. Due to their influence within a financial system and an economy, banks are generally highly regulated in most countries. Most banks operate under a system known as fractional reserve banking where they hold only a small  reserve of the funds deposited and lend out the rest for profit. They are generally subject to minimum capital requirements which are based on an international set of capital standards, known as the Basel Accords. Standard activities Banks act as payment agents by conducting checking or current accounts for customers, paying checks drawn by customers on the bank, and collecting checks deposited to customers current accounts. Banks also enable customer payments via other payment methods such as Automated Clearing House (ACH), Wire transfers or telegraphic transfer, EFTPOS, and automated teller machine (ATM). Banks borrow money by accepting funds deposited on current accounts, by accepting term deposits, and by issuing debt securities such as banknotes and bonds. Banks lend money by making advances to customers on current accounts, by making installment loans, and by investing in marketable debt securities and other forms of money lending. Banks provide different payment services, and a bank account is considered indispensable by most businesses and individuals. Non-banks that provide payment services such as remittance companies are normally not considered as an adequate substitute for a bank account. Products Retail banking * Checking account * Savings account * Money market account * Certificate of deposit (CD) * Individual retirement account (IRA) * Credit card * Debit card * Mortgage * Home equity loan * Mutual fund * Personal loan * Time deposits * ATM card * Current Accounts Business (or commercial/investment) banking * Business loan * Capital raising (Equity / Debt / Hybrids) * Mezzanine finance * Project finance * Revolving credit * Risk management (FX, interest rates, commodities, derivatives) * Term loan * Cash Management Services (Lock box, Remote Deposit Capture, Merchant Processing) Economic functions The economic functions of banks include: * Issue of money, in the form of banknotes and current accounts subject to check or payment at the customers order. These claims on banks can act as money because they are negotiable or repayable on demand, and hence valued at par. They are effectively transferable by mere delivery, in the case of banknotes, or by drawing a check that the payee may bank or cash. * Netting and settlement of payments – banks act as both collection and paying agents for customers, participating in interbank clearing and settlement systems to collect, present, be presented with, and pay payment instruments. This enables banks to economize on reserves held for settlement of payments, since inward and outward payments offset each other. It also enables the offsetting of payment flows between geographical areas, reducing the cost of settlement between them. * Credit intermediation – banks borrow and lend back-to-back on their own account as middle men. * Credit quality improvement – banks lend money to ordinary commercial and personal borrowers (ordinary credit quality), but are high quality borrowers. The improvement comes from diversification of the banks assets and capital  which provides a buffer to absorb losses without defaulting on its obligations. However, banknotes and deposits are generally unsecured; if the bank gets into difficulty and pledges assets as security, to raise the funding it needs to continue to operate, this puts the note holders and depositors in an economically subordinated position. * Asset liability mismatch/Maturity transformation – banks borrow more on demand debt and short term debt, but provide more long term loans. In other words, they borrow short and lend long. With a stronger credit quality than most other borrowers, banks can do this by aggregating issues (e.g. accepting deposits and issuing banknotes) and redemptions (e.g. withdrawals and redemption of banknotes), maintaining reserves of cash, investing in marketable securities that can be readily converted to cash if needed, and raising replacement funding as needed from various sources (e.g. wholesale cash markets and securities markets). * Money creation – whenever a bank gives out a loan in a fractional-reserve banking system, a new sum of virtual money is created. Laws Related To Banking In India 1.1.Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 1.2.Banking Regulation Act, 1949 1.3.Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 1.4.Consumer Protection Act, 1986 1.5.Limitation Act, 1963 Social Media Social media employ web- and mobile-based technologies to support interactive dialogue and â€Å"introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.† Social media are social software which mediate human communication. When the technologies are in place, social media is ubiquitously accessible, and enabled by scalable communication techniques. In the year 2012, social media became one of the most powerful sources for news updates through platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Classification of social media Social media technologies take on many different forms including magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, social networks, podcasts, photographs or pictures, video, rating and social bookmarking. By applying a set of theories in the field of media research (social presence, media richness) and social processes (self-presentation, self-disclosure) Kaplan and Haenlein created a classification scheme in their Business Horizons (2010) article, with six different types of social media: collaborative projects (for example, Wikipedia), blogs and microblogs (for example, Twitter), content communities (for example, YouTube), social networking sites (for example, Facebook), virtual game worlds (e.g., World of Warcraft), and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life). Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing and voice over IP, to name a few. Many of these social media services can be integrated via social network aggregation platforms. Social media network websites include sites like Facebook, Twitter, Bebo and MySpace. Mobile social media Social media applications used on mobile devices are called mobile social media. In comparison to traditional social media running on computers, mobile social media display a higher location- and time-sensitivity. One can differentiate between four types of mobile social media applications, depending on whether the message takes account of the specific location of the user (location-sensitivity) and whether it is received and processed by the user instantaneously or with a time delay (time-sensitivity). * Space-timers (location and time sensitive): Exchange of messages with relevance for one specific location at one specific point-in time (e.g., Facebook Places; Foursquare) * Space-locators (only location sensitive): Exchange of messages, with relevance for one specific location, which are tagged to a certain place and read later by others (e.g., Yelp; Qype) * Quick-timers (only time sensitive): Transfer of traditional social media applications to mobile devices to increase immediacy (e.g., posting Twitter messages or Facebook status updates) * Slow-timers (neither location, nor time sensitive): Transfer of traditional social media applications to  mobile devices (for example, watching a YouTube video or reading a Wikipedia entry) Mobile social media can also be used on the go when one is not near a personal computer, lap-topetc. With all the new devices that are arriving at our finger tips, gadgets such as tablets, iPods, phones, and many other new products, there is no use for sitting at home using ones PC; mobile social media has made other sources of internet browsing obsolete, and allows users to write, respond, and browse in real-time. New media of social networking such as Instagram allows the world to interconnect and makes space and time much smaller. Instagram allows individuals to snap a photo wherever they may be and share it with the rest of the world instantly, delivering a social media site full of foreign accomplishments and strange scenarios. This feature was introduced by Facebook and other existing social media sites, Instagram is a recent addition to the social media scene, and has made picture sharing much easier. Mobile social media is a relatively new platform since it is contingent on m obile devices ability to access the Internet. There are various statistics that account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide. Some of the most recent statistics are as follows: * Social networking now accounts for 22% of all time spent online in the US. * A total of 234 million people age 13 and older in the U.S. used mobile devices in December 2009. * Twitter processed more than one billion tweets in December 2009 and averages almost 40 million tweets per day. * Over 25% of U.S. Internet page views occurred at one of the top social networking sites in December 2009, up from 13.8% a year before. * Australia has some of the highest social media usage in the world. In usage of Facebook, Australia ranks highest, with over nine million users spending almost nine hours per month on the site. * The number of social media users age 65 and older grew 100 percent throughout 2010, so that one in four people in that age group are now part of a social networking site. * As of May 2012 Facebook has 901 million users. * Social media has overtaken pornography as the No. 1 activity on the web. * In June 2011, it was reported that iPhone applications hit one billion in nine months, and Facebook added 100 million users in less than nine months. * If Facebook were a country it would be the worlds third largest in terms of population, larger even than the US. * In June 2011, it was also reported that U.S. Department of Education study revealed that online students out-performed those receiving face-to-face instruction. * YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. * In four minutes and 26 seconds 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube. * One in six higher education students are enrolled in an online curriculum. * In November 2011, it was reported Indians spend more time on social media than on any other activity on the Internet. A brief overview of Indian banks-Pictorial statistics Facebook Twitter The Why and How of Social Media w.r.t Banking Why Social media matters to Banks? Whether a bank’s ultimate goal is enhancing its brand, reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, boosting innovation ,or driving revenue ,social media can be a valuable pursuit. Enhancing the brand Social media can play an important role in differentiating brands and making them more relevant to consumers. Much of its power in this regard derives from the fact that in a consumer’s mind, the most credible spokesperson a company can have is a â€Å"person like me.† In fact, research shows that the number of people who trust such a hypothetical person more than they trust brands or organizations increases around the world each year. How can banks take advantage of â€Å"people like me?† American Express, for one, created OPEN Forum, an online community dedicated to connecting businesses with each other and providing valuable content to customers with which the company wants to have relationships. Today, OPEN Forum has more than 10,000  businesses involved, monthly traffic has reached as high as 1.5 million visits,5 and the majority of content is produced by the community. The result is a new touch point that drives brand affinity, provides American Express w ith an immense opportunity to create brand impressions, and gives the company a chance to be at the center of important conversations among its customers. Reducing Costs Social media can be a major contributor to banks’ ongoing cost reduction efforts, especially as they pertain to service, sales, and marketing. For instance, banks can use social media as a low-cost channel to distribute messages, host conversations, provide customer service, identify dissatisfied customers, and increase the impact and reach of traditional media efforts. Consider Bank of America, which was the first and largest bank in the world to use Twitter for customer service. The bank uses a dedicated Twitter page on which a wide variety of real people—with their actual photos— help customers solve their issues. User feedback reveals the sentiment among customers that receiving help through this page is easier and faster than traditional customer service. In addition to driving customer service costs down, the page creates brand impressions across consumers’ social graphs, thereby allowing other consumers to see the value of the channel for a variety of goals. The channel also can enhance the impact of marketing. Consider, for example, how Discover Bank recently created a Facebook identity for â€Å"Peggy,† a character from its popular series of TV ads. Today, that character is â€Å"liked† by nearly 9,000 consumers, and interacts with them several times a day. Such campaigns create millions of additional brand impressions inside of Facebook, as well as new opportunities for brands to interact with their customers in a low-cost format. Creating and improving innovation : Banks can use the channel to create better, more innovative products and services that reflect real-time consumer demand. Chase, for example, created an online community of mass-affluent consumers and tasked the group with designing a credit card purpose-built to their specific wants and needs. The result: its highly successful Chase Priority Club Rewards card. Chase also created a Community Giving program that allows consumers to direct the  bank’s donations to specific charities. As of this writing, that community had directed more than $5 million to 100 local charities. Through this initiative, Chase’s philanthropic entity is opening up its decision-making to crowds and involving millions of people in the process Increasing revenue While the use of social media to drive revenue within banks is still in its infancy, results from other industries further along the growth curve are encouraging. Avis, for example, has been able to use a variety of coordinated social me dia efforts to boost its sales by 9 percent—in a competitive, commoditized industry with flat or declining revenues. As an example of a more specific and successful effort, USAA, a financial services provider for members of the US armed forces, allows site visitors to rate products like auto insurance or home equity lines of credit and add a written review. In fact, USAA customers have added thousands of reviews to products, and consumers have responded strongly: In the first year of adding product reviews to the site, USAA claims incremental sales of over 15,000 products. This tactic clearly shows a direct impact on growth and demonstrates the value of â€Å"people like me.† In both cases, using social media to unlock increased revenue requires firms to focus on fundamentals. Providing service that customers want to talk about and delivering products that are worth recommending. Once those conditions exist, the chance of successfully using social media to drive revenue goes up exponentially. A uniquely challenging industry For many banks, all of the examples in the world are not enough to get off the starting blocks. Typical challenges include: †¢ External communications are strictly governed by a host of rules and regulations that limit what they can and cannot say. †¢ Banks must observe strict rules regarding consumers’ personal information and data security. †¢ Sanctioned employees, whether from customer service, marketing, or another functional group, must be knowledgeable about products, services, rules, and how to get things done within the bank—and they must be mature enough to make decisions and craft responses to difficult questions. Plus, all this must be done within the strict legal and regulatory framework that banks inhabit and occur within real time in order to be effective. For many banks, technology itself is a major concern when it comes to implementing a social  media strategy. Banks must identify and implement the tools they will need to be active in social networks, from simple listening platforms to sophisticated tools that enable the integration of social media with legacy CRM systems, customer service tools and workflows, reporting and record keeping requirements, and overall marketing analytics. Finally, some banks will need to overcome a lack of organizational structures and in-house talent to derive full business value from social media. More specifically, many banks may find they have to close talent gaps and bridge internal divisions between product-oriented teams, all while gaining senior leadership support for a company-wide approach to social media. This is no small task, especially given the fact that most senior leaders are not well-versed in social media. A path toward social media mastery While the preceding paints a picture of industry-wide challenges, there is a path that banks can use to begin their social media journey. It starts with gathering critical knowledge that will guide the development of their strategy and assure positive outcomes. To begin, banks must strive to understand what their customers, prospects, and competitors are discussing online, as well as the social technologies that seem most relevant. This includes developing profiles of how various customer segments actually use social technology and understanding the practical implications of those uses. For example, strategies for student loan customers may vary widely from those designed for private wealth management clients in areas of execution, content, and technology. Banks also must assess their current social media capabilities and activities: All too often there are separate, potentially conflicting social media initiatives under way, as well as underutilized technology, insights, and experie nce. Banks must begin to consider their collective presence versus that of individual lines of business. Consumers don’t make those distinctions, and neither should banks. It is critical for banks to get a firm grasp on what competitors are doing in the social media space, and where â€Å"white space† exists. Bank of America, American Express, and Chase all have done this with their respective social media efforts, but that does not mean no space is left to establish a presence. To find this space, banks have to ask two questions of themselves : What can we deliver to our customers that we don’t offer today, and how  will it provide them with value? Social media sponsors must critically review risk. Specifically, they must identify specific social media concerns, assess their likeliness, and establish processes to handle adverse events. Prior to involving senior management, it is necessary to have answers to these questions, examples of how others have navigated similar waters, and concrete ideas on the trade-offs between risk and reward. And as mentioned earlier, banks must establish clear business objectives and map them to specific areas in which social media can generate value. All of the above becomes a moot point if efforts are not driven by real business goals. By addressing each of the preceding areas, social media teams can build senior leadership support for and sponsorship of overall social media efforts. In Accenture’s experience, successful initiatives typically involve one or more executives with deep passion for and experience with technology and social media. It is crucial to find and engage these people and use their influence to open the eyes of the broader C-suite. Crafting a Social Media Strategy All of this work will prepare banks for the successful development and implementation of a comprehensive social media strategy. To be effective , such a strategy must encompass the following areas: Crafting the Vision: With an overarching framework in place, social media can be designed from the ground up , versus as a collection of disparate tactics .It also can focus on a specific segments and experiences, as well as on the necessary internal ‘piping’ to implement social media connections across channels. Indeed, every good customer experience is carefully designed and good social media experiences must follow suit. Defining and Measuring Success : A Bank’s Social media strategy must encompass well-defined metrics that reflect progress toward the bank’s business goals ( as defined in the vision). However, first and foremost , they must align with the same type of metrics that drive business today . For Example, a social media strategy focused on sales as an outcome should look at driving traffic from social media, converting that traffic into leads, and successfully cross-selling  and up-selling customers that are interacting across social media channels. In effect, viewing the efforts through the same eyes that traditional channels evaluate success. Governance: A social media strategy should include clear governance and effective organizational structures, whether that means establishing a dedicated social media center of excellence or appointing social media champions across the bank’s functional groups and/or product lines. Regardless of the specific measures or structures in place , the bank’s goal should be to support efficient , effective engagement in social media with the right skills, staff, and controls . this Structure must be nimble, include processes for iteration ,and have senior leadership included. Technology: Perhaps counter-intuitively, it is only when the vision, metrics , and organizational structures have been defined that the bank should start thinking about technologies and the tactics they dictate. Banks Should start with basic learning and listening platforms that allow them to â€Å"test the waters† and identify areas of potential engagement, and then progressively integrate that platform with existing CRM tools to achieve a single view of customers. Banks must also consider what technologies are appropriate for record keeping and adherence to the policy. Recognizing that not all starting points are the same: The level of Social Media experience that a bank has plays an important role while crafting a social media strategy. The scope of the social media strategy depends on the relative social media maturity of the bank. The strategy used by a bank that has significant experience in social media will differ in some aspects from the strategy used by a bank which is new to social media. Banks with less experience in Social Media: The social media strategy used by the banks with no or relatively less experience in social media should address the following questions: * They should pay attention to the scope in terms of the functional areas covered by the strategy, important business goals, and the business processes used to achieve those goals. * They should also focus on building engagement among key stakeholders and assessing their willingness to participate in the  initiative This is as much about creating an initial â€Å"coalition of the willing† as it is about telling a compelling story on how social media can positively impact business results. * They should also learn from lean on agency partners and others that have been through the fire before. Banks with significant experience in Social Media: The social media strategy used by the banks with significant experience in social media should address the following questions: * The Social media champions within these banks must know when it is time to seek help from inside and outside the firm. This is needed because the expanding range of social media analysis and reporting will begin to overwhelm marketing staff and merits the involvement of dedicated analytical and technical staff. * As these banks begin to expand the use of social media across product lines, they have to design governance models that can keep pace, as well as focus on integrating social media technologies with CRM systems to achieve a truly holistic view of cross-channel, multi-product customers. Successful Integration of Social Media into the Operations: Banks that have been successful in integrating social media into their operations often have grass-roots efforts to thank. These banks have passionate leaders who have led social media efforts for individual product or service lines. The key to moving beyond grass roots and getting the entire organization pulling in the same direction is actively engaging senior leadership. Only then will the full brand-building power of social media truly be realized. How banks use social media According to the survey conducted by MHP Communications amongst the heads of communications and public relations specialists at more than 35 global banks to gain an understanding into social media habits across the banking industry. In broad terms, use of social media is high with the majority of respondents (53%), using social media both in a private and a business capacity. 30% use social media outside of a work context and 3% for business purposes only. 15% of all respondents do not use social media at all, which is a high percentage given that social media generally sits under the communications department’s remit. Whilst social media has become a mainstream activity, it is notable that more respondents use social media  for personal means than in a business context. When looking at the purpose of social media, it is widely seen as a good source of information on what is happening in the media (75% of respondents). Interestingly it is less seen as a direct route to the customer, but more to communicate broadly and advertise products and solutions: More than two thirds say they use social media for communications and public relations purposes, whereas 42% use it for marketing and sales activities. Customer service is a key purpose for 25% only. In the retail banking sector social media has a more established footprint than in the investment banking world. This follows the logical conclusion that for customer service and customer engagement purposes the mass consumer market is appreciative of being able to communicate with banks through these new, yet very much established platforms. And banks are increasingly keen to appear more customer-friendly whilst tackling the image the sector has as consisting of traditional and staid organizations. In the investment banking world social media takes on a different purpose, and has even become a platform to be feared and avoided. It is also not seen as a traditional direct route to clients. This is changing however, and one senior PR manager commented that the bank’s trading desk recently received a client request for traders to be given access to Twitter to monitor and engage with client comments throughout the trading day. The use of social media within the internal communications function is relevant for around one third of respondents (36%) – which represents a vast untapped potential given the range of opportunities to share knowledge and information internally that social media creates. Free tools such as Yammer, Twitter with protected tweets or Google+ with individual circles make information available only to a selection of people, so they can be used to streamline internal communication processes. However, and this is a key problem for a heavily regulated industry such as the banking sector, social media platforms are provided by external third parties. Any shared data which is of a sensitive or confidential nature will in many cases be stored on the provider’s servers which may not provide sufficient protection or peace of mind for the banking sector. Most providers are based in the US where legislation may, under certain circumstances, require them to reveal their clients’ identities or other data. Also, social media platform providers are commercial operations and there is the risk that data is misused, misplaced  or falsely allocated. Many banks feel that sensitive data should only be stored and transmitted on their own infrastructure to ensure full compliance. At the same time, regulatory bodies such as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK aim to make social media more widely user-friendly for banks by publishing guidelines and recommendations. As a consequence there is a high level of insecurity as to what can and cannot be done. Despite these issues, social media is now seen as forming a strategic part of a communications program rather than representing solely a tactical activity, with 84% of banks now having a specific social media strategy. Nearly one third has started to execute a strategy, and 15% have a fully developed strategy in place. More than 40% are currently in the process of creating a strategy, and only 16% have not started thinking about or have decided not to have a social media strategy in place. A number of banks do have a social media strategy, but no defined goals for the strategy: 27% responded that they have not established specific goals for their social media strategy. Measuring the success of a social media program is perceived to be more complicated than for traditional PR which may explain why metrics and, in effect, goals remain vague.

Britains Collective Memory of Churchill

Britains Collective Memory of Churchill How has Britains physical heritage shaped the collective memory of Churchill? This chapter will discuss the concept of collective memory, why people remember certain aspects of history and how changing interpretations of the past shape the meanings and functions of heritage. Therefore, by assessing these features we can assess the purpose of the invention of the image of Churchill. By addressing these factors, this chapter will answer the questions: Why is a particular interpretation of heritage being promoted? Whose interests are being advanced or held back? In what kind of milieu was that interpretation communicated? Historians have frequently discussed which characteristics of the past make it beneficial to people. For example, first, history is essentially depicted as progressive in terms of evolutionary social development. Secondly, societies attempt to connect the present to the past in an unbroken trajectory through the use of various types of heritage, such as monuments or museums. Thirdly, the past provides a sense of termination in the sense that what happened in it has ended, while, finally, it offers a sequence, allowing us to locate our lives in linear narratives that connect past, present and future it gives a full and completed story, without any uncertainty which is why it is often reassuring. Once these traits are translated into heritage, in terms of identity, it provides familiarity and guidance, enrichment and escape. More compellingly, it provides a point of validation or legitimation for the present in which actions and policies are justified by continuing references to repr esentations and narratives of the past that are, at least in part, encapsulated through manifestations of tangible and intangible heritage. Heritage is most commonly, used to promote the burdens of history, the atrocities, errors and crimes of the past is not the past that are called upon to legitimate not only the atrocities but also the everyday politics of the present.[1] Heritage Heritage is a highly political process, it is malleable to the needs of power and therefore, is often subject to contestation and manipulation. Shared interpretations of the past, are used to construct and develop narratives of both inclusion, and exclusion.[2] Heritage is constructionist, therefore concerned with the selected meanings of the past in the present. This suggests that the past in general, and its interpretation as history or heritage, discusses social benefits as well as potential costs in the construction and reproduction of identities.[3]   Which is precisely why the way in which the image of Churchill is conveyed matters. If Churchill is being presented to the public as a flawless leader it can vastly affect how communities define themselves and their principles. Heritage is the selective use of the past as a resource for the present (and future), memory and commemoration are inexorably connected to the heritage process.[4] It is either a personal or instituti onal interpretation of history, therefore, the fact that institutions are picking the way in which Churchill is presented on a heritage level suggests that they have an agenda for this particular portrayal. Heritage is a highly politicised process that is subject to contestation and bound up in the construction, reconstruction and deconstruction of memory and identity. Memory always represents a struggle over power and is thus implicated in the who decides? questions about the future.[5] Thus, the image of Churchill is being used to legitimate the politics of the present. By giving the image of Churchill an iconic status the politicians of the present are attempting to build what could be considered as a broken trajectory i.e. to develop a cohesive identity amongst the public that will support the institution that is in power. This aspect of course is harmful, because by using the figure of Churchill, a white upper-class male, known for using offensive (racist) terms for minorities (to say the very least) and glorifying him as a national hero projects a very bad image and encourages people to believe that this behaviour ought to be revered as in the case of right-wing nationalists. The conception of heritage originated at a national scale and it still remains very much defined at this level. Nationalism and national heritage were both developed in nineteenth-century Europe. The idea of a national heritage was fundamental to the idea of the nation-state as it required national heritage to consolidate national identification, absorb or neutralise potentially competing heritages of social-cultural groups or regions, combat the claims of other nations upon its territory or people, while furthering claims upon nationals in territories elsewhere.[6] [Heritage is] [t]he promotion of a consensus version of history by state-sanctioned cultural institutions and elites to regulate cultural and social tensions in the present. On the other hand, Heritage may also be a resource that is used to challenge and redefine received values and identities by a range of subaltern groups.[7] Notions of power are central to the construction of heritage, and consequently identity, giving weight to the argument that heritage is not given; it is made.[8] Those who wield the greatest power, therefore, dictate or define what is remembered and consequently what is forgotten.   Memorial icons of identity such as monuments, memorials, and buildings that have been invested with meaning, carry conscious and subconscious messages and are subject to competing interests. Their very public visual presence translates powerful ideological messages that are never politically neutral, and ensures that the messages they convey are open to contested interpretations.[9] Those with the most at stake in political terms, and those with the greatest ability to exercise power, have a vested interest in the production of sites of cultural heritage and bring the past into focus to legitimise a present social order. It is an implicit rule that participants in any social order must presuppose a shared memory which is integral for a group or communal solidarity. The meaning of any individual or group identity, namely a sense of sameness over time and space, is sustained by recalling the past; and what is remembered is defined by the assumed identity.[10]   Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Churchill is a prime example of this. He has a vested interest in the maintained reputation of his grandfather and therefore seeks to bury any that attempt to besmirch Churchills reputation. Leaders use the past for a variety of political purposes. The nations heritage is therefore brought to the fore to calm anxiety about change or political events, eliminate citizen indifference toward official concerns, promote exemplary patterns of citizen behaviour, and stress citizen duties over rights.[11] Buckley supports this view: the question as to which symbols will define any given situation, will largely be determined by the practical question of which people and whose interests predominate. The selection process is carefully tailored and manipulated by individual members of a community or group with power or influence.[12] As sites of civic construction, they instruct citizens what to value concerning their national heritage and public responsibilities.[13] Such sites represent and embody power, greatness, resistance, memory and loss.[14] [Churchill is useful as to the public he possesses all these attributes] Monuments, for example: [m]ark the great pinnacles of human achievement selected from the past, they give an edifying sense that greatness was once possible, and it is still possible. They provide present generations with inspiration. Citizens re-enact and repeat the past in fixed locales as suggested by their national governments.[15] So for anyone to suggest that Churchill was not as brilliant as stated leaves the public lacking a role model to aspire to be. Heritage, not only serves to reinforce narratives of national identity but often works to supress the identity of minority or less powerful groups.[16] [As Churchills legacy does, he is a figure of war] Heritage inevitably reflects the governing assumptions of its time and context. It is always inflected by the power and authority of those who have colonised the past, whose versions of history matter.[17] There are many problematic positions within Heritage, the most relevant in this case being Uncritical Imperialism. There is a sizeable body of opinion that does not see any serious problem with the legacies of imperialism and race in heritage, and acts to validate it; a formation we might crudely label as uncritical imperialism. This can take various forms. For example, it can appear through simply ignoring, or airbrushing, imperialism from the heritage narrative in question. [This is precisely the type of people that subscribe to the reputation of Churchill]. Uncritical imperialism can also take the form of being outraged at any attempt even to raise difficult issues over heritage and race.[18] If these imperialist legacies are not dealt with i.e. they are overwhelmingly denied, repeated and acted out, rather than worked through it legitimises nationalism and is harmful.[19] In domesticating the past we enlist [heritage] for present causesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [it] clarifies pasts so as to infuse them with present purposes [20] heritage is often used as a form of collective memory, a social construct shaped by the political, economic and social concerns of the present.[21] Heritages are present-centred and are created, shaped and managed by, and in response to, the demands of the present and, in turn, bequeathed to an imagined future.[22]. As such, they are open to constant revision and change and are also both sources and results of social conflict.[23] Heritage may comprise no more than empty shells of dubious authenticity but derive their importance from the ideas and values that are projected on or through them.[24] Heritage is a cultural product and a political resource.[25] Heritages primary purpose is to invoke a sense of identity and continuity. Heritage as communication (Modernity attempted to fix space through the creation of rigidly territorial nation-states, promulgating ideologies which attempted to subsume differences through representations of homogeneity. But all too often, the grail of universal conformity has produced atrocity and genocide as those who do not fit have been driven out or eradicated. Heritage is heavily implicated in these processes as a medium of communication of prevailing myths and counter-claims.[26] Consumption of Heritage Heritage is used or consumed, what is consumed within heritage is its representation in the form of a historical narrative. Agents spend time, money or other resources on the production or reproduction of such historical narratives, in order to have them consumed as heritage. As the spending of resources is involved, it is logical that participating agents will have a specific purpose heritage narratives are not produced for nothing or for fun, but in order to, for example, preserve cultural values, attract tourists and tourist spending, or to reinforce specific place identities. The narratives convey the meanings of the heritage commodity, and as such take part in the processes of deliberately (or accidentally) creating place identities: [A] major outcome of conserving and interpreting heritage, whether intended or not, is to provide identityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ There may be other purposes as well, such as legitimation, cultural capital and sheer monetary value, but the common purpose is to make some people feel better, more rooted and more secure.[27] The general public lacks background heritage knowledge such as the fact that these emblems of heritage that are being shown are only specific interpretations of history. Monuments, museums, and other memorials they inscribe ideological messages about the past into the many practices and texts of everyday life, making certain versions of history appear as the natural order of things.[28] A monument is a structure, edifice or erection intended to commemorate a person, action or event.[29] In contrast, definitions of memorial focus on the preservation of specific memory and on their iconographic role in evoking remembrance. While the monument has often been built to promote specific ideals and aspirations e.g. statue of liberty etc. The memorial is essentially a retrospective form, idealising a past event, historic figure or deified place.[30] Monuments and memorials reassure non-combatants and relatives that the dead had died for a greater cause, one linked to abstract values of nationhood, camaraderie or Christian citizenship. Honouring the placeless dead is this what Churchill is? An icon for the placeless dead anchoring. The ideas are always solidified in the discourse of big words heroism, gallantry, glory, victory, and very sparingly peace.[31] Military memorialisation has become rationalised, routinized, standardised. The dead are no longer allowed to pass unnoticed back into the private world of their families. They were official property to be accorded appropriate civic commemoration in solemn monuments of official remembrance. Equality of sacrifice.[32] Churchills legacy is tied to war so if he becomes disgraced it disgraces families. Identity A major factor behind the decisions on how heritage related to Churchill is presented is identity. Therefore, to assess why particular aspects of Churchill are presented to the public, we must also understand why the concept of identity is the driving factor behind the presentation of heritage and then from that information, assess what the message is behind the portrayal of Churchill through heritage and what institutions would like you to feel from their portrayal of Churchill (What feelings and emotions are they trying to evoke? Who is it that decides what is displayed and why are they trying to make you feel this way? What do they gain?). Tosh argued that for any social grouping to have a collective identity, it has to have a shared interpretation of the events and experiences which have formed the group over time: as in the case of many nation states, emphasis may be on vivid turning points and symbolic moments which confirm the self-image and aspirations of the group.[33] Which is what the image of Churchill is a prime candidate for. These collective beliefs play a fundamental role in securing a sense of togetherness and cultural solidarity which is vital in the formation and legitimisation of any national identity.[34] National cohesion, in other words, requires a sense of collective awareness and identity endorsed through common historical experience. Unofficial memory is often seen as a binary opposite to national or official memory.[35] The popularised image of Churchill fits the message that the institution is trying to get across to the nation very well. During the 1990s, it was fashionable for theoreticians to argue that identities were becoming disembedded from bounded localities and the traditional frameworks of nation, ethnicity, class and kinship. At the core of such ideas lay the key assertion that global networks have diminished the importance of place and traditions, ruptured boundaries and created hybrid, in between spaces. In a sense, this is encapsulated in the idea that national heritage can be reconstructed as world heritage because certain sites and practices are of universal significance. the effect of Brexit reverses this. Hybridity and transnational identities may, for example, counter and complicate nationalist ideologies.[36] The resurgence of Churchills image to the fore-front of the media may be a result of the effects of Brexit. After approximately 40 years of developments in a globalised identity amongst those in what is now called the EU is disintegrating, the emphasis on characters that were seen as typicall y British heroes is on the rise hence Churchill. In a world in which identity is fundamental to politics and contestation at a global scale, understanding the means of articulating often vague feelings and senses of belonging becomes quite crucial. Heritage in its broadest sense is among the most important of those means, even more so because identity can no longer be framed primarily within the national context that has so defined it since the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. Not only do heritages have many uses but they also have multiple producers. These may be public /private sector, official/non-official and insider/outsider, each stakeholder having varied and multiple objectives in the creation and management of heritage.[37] Sites of memory and power are often constructed in public spaces, where they can operate as dichotomous sites of unification and sites of division.[38] Territoriality and its relation to identity Churchill is also used to justify a sense of territoriality. Also inherent in the production of sites of cultural heritage is the concept of territoriality. Memory is intimately bound up in efforts to construct territory and place.[39] Territoriality is synonymous with notions of a demarcated geographic space (a territory) which usually contains some kind of homogeneous, collectivised community sharing a collective identity or heritage.[40] Territoriality is often needed to stabilise and mobilise groups or individuals and their resources inside demarcated boundaries. Within societies then, various groups insert symbols into the cultural landscapes which resonate with their sense of heritage and identity, and which simultaneously incite remembering and mark territory. For territoriality to work, the group often places visual warning symbols around the agreed territory further to deny others access into the home area which is precisely why using the image of Churchill is harmful, particularly after Brexit as it only justifies his racist stance and therefore validates neo-fascists ideals. Not only does territoriality demarcate boundaries which are ultimately intended to exclude outsiders, but it is dichotomously aimed at seizing a shared public space and thus controlling those inside the territory. Flags, for example, which often reflect the heritage of a particular group or nation, are good examples of territorial signifiers. They tell outsiders that the territory they are about to enter or pass is not theirs. Rather it belongs to those who live within the demarcated boundary or to those who empathise with what the flag represents.[41] The purpose of using Churchill is to help encourage nationalism, and therefore an us and them attitude. Spatial practices which bolster and sustain the power of the dominant group are essential components for that groups control over the hegemonic values that it represents or imposes.[42] That dominant group is often the nation-state. Tilly, for example, argues that secure territorial boundaries and a monopoly of violence are the two defining characteristics of the present day state. Territorial boundaries are the foundations for institutions such as national sovereignty, citizenship, the modern welfare state and democracy.[43] The interlinked concepts of nationhood and statehood share a dependence on the notion of exclusivity concerning sovereign rights over access to territory. The notion that landscapes embody discourse of inclusion and exclusion is closely linked to the idea that manipulated geographies also function as symbols of identity, validity and legitimisation.)[44] The continuing importance of territoriality and its seemingly intractable relationship with the nation-state at the turn of the century has been questioned. globalisation embodying transnational economics, politics and cultures, the melting of borders, particularly in Europe, and an increasing sense of belonging to a global unit, has led to a distinct lack of engagement with the unitary nation-state.[45] [However, this will be reversed with the effect of Brexit and nationalism will rise]. Histories that are white-washed are streamlined by the rise of nationalism and its cultural solidification through what Hobsbawn and Ranger termed the invention of tradition.[46] It also impoverishes our collective understanding of the past, of the rich and complex mix of the multiple travels and flows of people that have worked in a multitude of ways to shape us all.[47] it gives rise to a sense of superiority and nationalism. The reason that identity is important when assessing heritage is because identity is about sameness and group membership and central to its conceptualisation. Which is a relevant concept when discussing the reasoning for the specific portrayal of Churchill. Douglas argues that identity is expressed and experienced through communal membership, awareness will develop of the Otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Recognition of Otherness will help reinforce self-identity, but may also lead to distrust, avoidance and distancing from groups so defined. Public and National memory Memorialisation was a way to stake ones claim to visible presence in culture.[48] Places that constitute significant sites which have been invested with meaning. They are locations with which people connect, either physically or emotionally and are bound up in notions of belonging, ownership and consequently identity. Part of how you define yourself is symbolised by certain qualities of that place.[49]   This idea is taken forward with both Chartwell house (Churchills estate) and the Churchill war museum. These buildings linked with Churchill are designed to prompt these particular emotions *Insert findings* National memory is frequently thought of in conjunction with official memory that, in most societies, emanates from the state and its institutions, often representing the hegemonic needs and values of the general public. The state is usually the official arbitrator of public commemoration and, therefore, of nation heritage, and as such, it assumes responsibility over planning, maintaining and funding memorial monuments, programmes and events.[50] [Which is precisely what Churchill is used for, he is not just an icon- he himself is also a symbol to the families whom lost kin in ww2 which is why very few criticise him (or are even allowed to) as to insult Churchill is to insult the nations kins and suggest that their sacrifice was wasteful and not justified, the hagiography of Churchill gives credence to this sacrifice   therefore he is undefeated but this is possibly why there is an increasing amount of criticism building about him as family members related to soldiers who died become fewer there is less emotional attachment to the character of Churchill as **** says maybe once those with living memory of Churchill have passed we can finally have a genuine reassessment of Churchill the man rather than tackling a god]. In post-memory, memories are passed down through generations to be represented by people who have no personal attachment to the memory. Subsequently, they seek to re-use, re-enact and e-represent those memories in order to feel closer to their ancestors.[51] hence why those who do not possess living memories of Churchill will still feel so strongly about the condemnation of his character. Emotional memory has also been used to describe the transgenerational remembering of the traumatic events.[52] Yet what all of these typologies of memory have in common is the fact that they are attached inexorably to certain places. Sites of cultural heritage, therefore, such as buildings, monuments, plaques, museums and gardens of remembrance, incite our memories and reinforce our attachment to particular places.[53] Remembering and commemorating the past is an essential part of the present and is important for a number of reasons. Without memory, a sense of self, identity, culture and heritage is lost. Through remembering, identities are validated as well as contested, and the adoption and cultivation of an aspect of the past serves to reinforce a sense of natural belonging, purpose and place.[54] Identities and memories, like heritage, are inevitably selective in that they serve particular interests and political ideologies in the present.[55] Americans and Europeans are compulsive consumers of the past shopping for what best suits their particular sense of self at that time.[56]   This idea fits very well in the post-Brexit world as there seems to be a lot of cherry picking in terms of Anglo-historical figures in order to gain a cohesive outlook after the Brexit result and to provide people with a sense of purpose in a time of relative uncertainty. Histories are consequently bought to conform to the latest fashion. Memories are seen as selective and partial and used to fulfil individual, group or communal requirements of identity at a particular time and in a particular space: Times change, and as they do, people look back on the past and reinterpret events and ideas. They look for patterns, for order, and for coherence in past events to support changing social, economic, and cultural values.[57] Subsequently new, more appropriate, histories are invented: Invented traditions are normally governed by overtly or tacitly accepted rules and of a ritual or symbolic nature, which seek to inoculate certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition, which automatically implies continuity with the past. In fact, they normally attempt to establish continuity with a suitable historic past.[58] [Churchill was from a period in which the public last felt relevant on the public stage]. Tosh suggests that social groupings require a narrative of the past which serves to explain or justify the present, often at the cost of historical accuracy. He states: memories are modified to suit particular situations or circumstances and do not always correlate with historical truths.[59] Histories can become distorted and permeated (often deliberately) with inaccuracies and myths during the selection process, making the act of forgetting in memory construction just as crucial for the cultivation of identity.[60] Interpretation is predetermined by the social, economic, political and/or local context. Societies justify current attitudes and future aspirations by linking them to past traditions which helps bond and unify factionalism.[61] temporal representations as part and parcel of their drive to implant and reinforce their hold on society.[62] Heritage statue of Churchill, Westminster. House of Commons mid stride, hands on hips old. Oscar Nemon Statue of Churchill in Parliament square old big coat, walking stick- him as was at Yalta where my statue will go its grade II listed. Churchill in terms of heritage and masculinity Heritage predominantly tells male-centred story, which seeks to promote a masculine, and in particular an elite-Anglo-masculine, vision of the past and present. The links between heritage and identity are often taken for granted we protect, manage, interpret for visitors, and visit heritage sites because they are, in some way, symbolic of our identities. Material heritage and in

Henry David Thoreau :: Biography

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henry David Thoreau was bon on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, on his grandmother’s farm. Thoreau was of French-Huguenot and Scottish-Quaker decent. Thoreau was interested in writing at an early age. At the age of ten he wrote his first essay â€Å"The seasons†. He attended Concord Academy until 1833 when he was accepted to Harvard University but with his pending financial situation he was forced to attend Cambridge in August of 1833. In September of 1833 with the help of his family he was able to attend Harvard University. He graduated college in August of 1837.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Thoreau returned home his family noticed a change in his personality. He was no longer accepting people’s opinions as facts but would shock people with his own independent and unconventional opinions. He desired to live his life with the freedom to think and act as he wished. He obtained a local teaching job and refused to Flog children as punishment. Instead he would give moral lectures. The community objected to this method of punishment and forced Thoreau to flog his incorrigible children. That day Thoreau flogged six students and then turned in his resignation. He did so believing that physical punishment should have no place in education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1837 Thoreau’s sister introduced hi to Lucy Jackson Brown. Lucy Jackson Brown was the sister-in-law of Ralph Waldo Emerson. She read some of Thoreau’s work and noticed a similarity between his writing and Emerson’s writing. When she informed Emerson of this news he demanded that the two meet. Upon meeting each other they quickly became friends. Emerson helped Thoreau deliver his first lecture â€Å"Society†. Emerson introduced Thoreau to the rest of the Transcendental Club, which included Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller and many others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August 31, 1839 Thoreau and his older brother, John, left Concord on a boat trip down the Concord river, onto Middlesex Canal, into the Merrimack River and into the state of New Hampshire. This trip left Thoreau with the experiences to write his first Book, A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Early in 1841 Thoreau’s brother John became seriously ill. Not able to deal with the current situation Thoreau moved into an upstairs bedroom in Emerson’s home. On March 11th of the following year Thoreau lost his friend and life long companion, his brother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On July 4, 1845 Thoreau decided to go on sabbatical at the nearby Walden Pond. Henry David Thoreau :: Biography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henry David Thoreau was bon on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, on his grandmother’s farm. Thoreau was of French-Huguenot and Scottish-Quaker decent. Thoreau was interested in writing at an early age. At the age of ten he wrote his first essay â€Å"The seasons†. He attended Concord Academy until 1833 when he was accepted to Harvard University but with his pending financial situation he was forced to attend Cambridge in August of 1833. In September of 1833 with the help of his family he was able to attend Harvard University. He graduated college in August of 1837.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Thoreau returned home his family noticed a change in his personality. He was no longer accepting people’s opinions as facts but would shock people with his own independent and unconventional opinions. He desired to live his life with the freedom to think and act as he wished. He obtained a local teaching job and refused to Flog children as punishment. Instead he would give moral lectures. The community objected to this method of punishment and forced Thoreau to flog his incorrigible children. That day Thoreau flogged six students and then turned in his resignation. He did so believing that physical punishment should have no place in education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1837 Thoreau’s sister introduced hi to Lucy Jackson Brown. Lucy Jackson Brown was the sister-in-law of Ralph Waldo Emerson. She read some of Thoreau’s work and noticed a similarity between his writing and Emerson’s writing. When she informed Emerson of this news he demanded that the two meet. Upon meeting each other they quickly became friends. Emerson helped Thoreau deliver his first lecture â€Å"Society†. Emerson introduced Thoreau to the rest of the Transcendental Club, which included Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller and many others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August 31, 1839 Thoreau and his older brother, John, left Concord on a boat trip down the Concord river, onto Middlesex Canal, into the Merrimack River and into the state of New Hampshire. This trip left Thoreau with the experiences to write his first Book, A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Early in 1841 Thoreau’s brother John became seriously ill. Not able to deal with the current situation Thoreau moved into an upstairs bedroom in Emerson’s home. On March 11th of the following year Thoreau lost his friend and life long companion, his brother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On July 4, 1845 Thoreau decided to go on sabbatical at the nearby Walden Pond.