The Cuban Revolution Essays -- Pérez-Stable Fidel Castro Ernesto Che G

Understanding the Insurrection and Seizure of Power [1952-1959] Marifeli Pà ©rez-Stable looks back at the Cuban Revolution through a sociological lens in her book The Cuban Revolution. Pà ©rez-Stable claims that Cubans held national independence and social justice as goals ever since the end of the nineteenth century. Radical nationalism remained important in Cubans’ view of themselves and their ideals. Thus, Pà ©rez-Stable argues that the origins of the Cuban Revolution of 1959 lie in the independence movement against Spain and the frustrations from the unfulfilled goals they had kept since before the turn of the century (Pà ©rez-Stable 1998, p 4). In the introduction of The Cuban Revolution, the author lists six factors which made Cuba "susceptible" to radical revolution (it is interesting to note that Pà ©rez-Stable is essentially giving no credit to the 26th of July Movement and Castro, but rather she is noting how the Cuban society was susceptible to revolution). The six factors listed are: mediated sovereignty, sugar-centered development, uneven modernization, the crisis of political authority, the weakness of the clases econà ³micas, and the relative strength of the clases populares (Pà ©rez-Stable, p 7). The vicious circle with the U.S. and sugar plays a big role in the situation and in the 1950’s. As Pà ©rez-Stable points out, without sugar there could be no Cuba, but there is no benefits to sugar without the U.S. market. The importance of social classes was also paramount, especially the unionized working class. On a more political level, Pà ©rez-Stable discusses the anti-Platt politics and the implications of the Constitution of 1940. According to Pà ©rez-Stable, "The Constitution of 1940 reestablished democracy and r... ...tions that may have weakened or slowed its progress. The revolutionary government of Grau San Martà ­n was a good example of how too many unions during the rise of a movement starts to be counterproductive. The coalition formed under Grau San Martà ­n never succeeded, in part, because nobody in the coalition was fully satisfied. The left never felt that Grau was radical enough, and the influence from the right eventually swayed Grau in their direction. In both 1933 and 1959, the communists wanted a "full" revolution, and thanks to the Castro’s narrow revolution strategy, a full revolution succeeded. The small nature of the revolution allowed Castro to direct it exactly as he wanted to, and to avoid allies slowing him down. During this time, Castro and his barbudos were able to win over many peasants and urban people alike, and eventually gain the support of the nation.

Free Essays - Language and Dialect in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Language and Dialect in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain's use of language and dialect in the book "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" helped him to bring about the overall feel that he conveyed throughout the book, allowing him to show Huck Finn's attitudes and beliefs concerning the nature of education, slavery, and family values. When the story begins, Huck is seen as a young boy who is not very educated nor wishes to be. He does not seem to care very much for the attention that is given to him by the Widow Douglas, who had taken him in for her son, and her sister, Miss Watson. Huck's moral values were not only the product of his ignorance, but there is relation seen between Huck's attitude and the attitude of his father when Huck is confronted by him. Huck's father is disgusted at the way that Huck seems to be becoming more and more civilized. He states "...they say you can read and write. You think you're better'n your father, now, don't you, because he can't?" Perhaps this statement shows disgust in Huck through not following the moral values of his father, or perhaps this is just merely jealousy on his father's part. Huck's father warns Huck about going to school any more, yet Huck goes anyway, showing great willpower in the character of Huck in that he was gaining an education that he never really wanted in the first place, but soon came to realize that it was something actually useful, and in the fact that he was disobeying his father's orders. Huck's feelings about slavery are shown when he helps Jim, Miss Watson's slave, to escape. Huck's constant statement that "Jim talks like he is white inside" shows that Huck was unique amongst the society in which he lived in the fact that he saw beneath the color of a person's skin and saw the person that was truly there. Jim seems to be the only person that Huck can trust other than Tom Saywer, Huck's best friend. Huck Finn felt that slavery was a cruel injustice because he had gotten to know Jim and found out that there was more to him than just being a slave. Huck had found that Jim was a human being just like himself.

The Use of Symbolism in Hemmingway’s A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms is one of the greatest tragic love stories of the twentieth century. The novel which was written by Ernest Hemingway was published in 1929, and could possibly be one of the best novels that was been written about World War I. Throughout the novel Hemingway tries to bring light to the truths about war. He does not focus on the heroic picture that many picture of war, as shines a light on the hardships of war. The author makes use of symbolism throughout the novel in order to show the reader the struggles such as hardships with death, wounds inflicted from war, and the toll war can take on relationships.The Use of Nature To be able to properly analyze the novel, the reader has to understand how the symbolic structure is formed by the author. In this case, Hemingway has used nature as a way to contrast with the emotions of the characters. Chapter 1 begins with the following: â€Å"In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains†¦the plain was rich with crops†¦and beyond the plains the mountains were brown and bare† (Hemingway 3). The author positioned the main character on a kind of lookout point which effectively conveys feelings of detachment (Bloom 31).But for several scholars, this is just another example of Hemingway’s style: â€Å"lean, understated, evocative, spare and without emotion† (Bloom 31) The introductory line to the novel sets the mood for the rest of the chapter. This form of imagery was used in the first chapter, leaving it up to the imagination of the reader to interpret the characters emotions. The author does this so that he does not have to go into detail about the characters feelings. Bloom says that Hemingway’s use of nature as symbolism is no surprise as he is one author well-known for his â€Å"love of open water and other wild places in nature† (Bloom 31).Hemingway portrays life in the first chapter as– brown, bare, hopeless when he uses the words bare and dusty to describe a road that the troops marched on. The narrator goes into detail describing the plains as follows: â€Å"The plain was rich with crops; there were many orchards of fruit trees and beyond the plain the mountains were brown and bare† (Hemingway 3). This description allows the reader to know that the people of the town were able to go on with their lives, with plenty of food on the table, living as comfortably as they could while the war went on in their backyards.The author shows us that this place is considered a normal home for villagers. Yet, with all that is occurring on the side of the mountains, how can home be considered normal? Hemingway uses nature as symbolism in chapter 1 when he describes the following night. â€Å"In the dark it was like summer lightning, but the nights were cool and there was not a feeling of a storm coming† (Hemingway 3). The villagers knew that fighting wa s going on all around them, but it was far enough away that it did not impact their daily lives. Towards the end of Chapter 1 a switch occurs.While not much had occurred in the village, the fighting had become quite unsuccessful. When the troops had experienced this change in the fighting force, they also experienced a change in the weather- fall was arriving. The author uses this change in weather and foreshadows that something terrible is coming. The author tells the reader that things went very badly. Winter had arrived, and with winter came the permanent rain which accompanied cholera. The intestinal disease took out seven thousand soldiers that year from the Italian Army. In the novel, the rain was used as a symbol of death.A year passed between Chapters 1 and 2, and the name of the main character, Frederick Henry, had yet to be introduced to the reader at this point. The protagonist isn’t much of a bold character. He tends to sit back and observe the crowd with no comme ntary; he is an observer. Henry is a Lieutenant serving in the ambulance corps in the Italian Army. As spring began to approach, Frederick finds himself stuck in a state of confusion about his life. The war is affecting him and others in such a way that he becomes uncertain with what he’s doing in his life, whether he is content or not.As Henry goes through these changes within himself, spring is upon his and with spring comes a sign of hope. The Use of Light With the change of the season, change occurs immediately upon reading Chapter 4. â€Å"The battery in the next garden woke me in the morning and I saw the sun coming through the window and got out of the bed† (Hemingway 15). The light is symbolic towards Henry’s mood, even though the character himself doesn’t know it yet, everything is going to change for him. It was on this sunny day that he met Ms. Catherine Barkley. In the beginning of their romance, the reader is confused by the actions of both M s.Barkley and Mr. Frederick. â€Å"He is impulsive and fatalistic about his choices [such as driving the ambulance for the Italians while he is an American], and she plays with the notion that everything has an explanation [â€Å"I was brought up to think there was†]† (Bloom 33). As one see’s how the relationship between Catherine and Henry develops, they can see how quickly the two have become intimate with one another due to the effects of the war. At first, Catherine seems to be using Henry for comfort due to her loss. Catherine then reveals to Henry about her previous engagement to a man whom she’d lost due to the war.Although he did not believe so himself, Henry was falling in love with Catherine. At first Henry had wished it would simply be a relationship based on sexual pleasure. Hemingway represents the love that the two have for each other through Catherine’s hair. Henry says: â€Å"I loved to take her hair down and she sat on the bed and kept very still, except suddenly would dip down to kiss me while I was doing it†¦ and it was the feeling of inside a tent or behind a falls† (Hemingway 114). â€Å"Henry and Catherine being inside her hair which forms a kind of tent over them, while they make love, may be taken as a womb symbol† (Rao 57).Her hair also being seen as a womb is symbolic as for later in the novel when Catherine becomes pregnant by Henry. The Use of Symbols One can go into great detail trying to analyze the many ways that Hemingway uses symbolism in the novel A Farewell to Arms. Taking a look at the novel, the occurrence of rain is constant from the beginning to the end. The author has presented the rain in many different manners such as rivers, lakes, rain and snow. As was covered in Chapter 1, the reader is able to contrast that rain symbolizes death. â€Å"Catherine sometimes sees herself and Henry dead in the rain† (Rao 59).This was the most direct ways that Hemingway used r ain as a symbol of death. Although, when reading through the climax of the novel, the author gives the reader hope for it was through means of water that Henry escaped the war and returned to Ms. Barkley. The rain was a symbol of trouble and turmoil for Henry. â€Å"When Fredrick was wounded, he is taken to the field hospital and â€Å"a rain† of blood falls on him from the stretcher above him. This is used to associate rain with destruction and pain, struggles and sufferings† (Shams).Catherine is seen to be afraid of  the rain due to her fear of seeing herself dead. â€Å"As Frederick and Catherine try to escape to Switzerland across the lake in a boat, their journey is lashed by rains† (Shams 45). The events that occurred when Catherine went into labor are tragic, and could be foreshadowed upon when it rained the day that she told Henry of her pregnancy. To finish the novel, after Henry discovered that Catherine and the baby were gone, he left the hospital a nd walked back to the hotel in the rain. (Hemingway 332). The author ended the novel with the word rain. The main character was left with nobody.He had fled the Army, snuck off to be with Catherine and the baby, to be left with only rain. The river and the lake are used symbolically to divide the opposing sides from one another. The Austrian front is separated from the Caperatto retreat in Chapter 3 by a river. Fredric and his company were trapped in the enemy side of the river. This shows how the river is used to divide territories, creating a place where one can distinguish the sides between the opposing and the allies. Ishteyaque Shams takes note that it is important to see that the retreat of the Italian Army, which occurs at Gorizia, is accompanied by rain (45).Fredric’s escape from capture and death by jumping into the river shows how the river is symbolic when dividing the enemy lines. The river was the divider between his life and his death. Snow represented the first time that the soldiers weren’t fighting. â€Å"â€Å"Snow† is seen as able to postpone the consequences of death but doesn’t really cure mortality; it is viewed as an aesthetic† (Shams). Whether it is the snow or the color white, it brings a sense of false hope into the novel, for death is only delayed for a little while longer. The snow is a form of safety, like when Catherine and Henry were in the Swiss Alps surrounded by snow.Other means of representing the tragedy that occurs throughout the novel is with the mountains. The battle front is located upon mountains where the battle is fought, and where many dead lay. Fredrick was wounded at the end of a long mountain, and he is bothered by the violence that arises from the mountains. The snowing in the mountains of Switzerland encourages Catherine and Fredrick to go to the mountains. Irony is then implemented into the novel, because Catherine and Frederick escaped to the mountains of Switzerland so that they could escape from the war.The plains in the novel are similar to the symbols used for the rain and the mountains. Things such as diseases, suffering, death, non-religious, and war were presented to the novel when the priest says suggested that Henry take leave and go to Abruzzi, the Priest’s hometown. That is has kind and polite people and with hospitality and a sense of natural beauty. â€Å"The plains are some sort of sharp contrast to this, it is characterized with drunkenness, prostitutes, destruction, cheap cafes and some other signs of low level life style† (Shams). ConclusionSymbolism was implemented in many different ways throughout the entire novel. Ernest Hemingway is able to link two things together in a manner allowing the novel to be easily understood by the reader. He manages draws the readers in by using symbols to represent something more than just what it is, such as rain to represent death, weather to represent mood, etc†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"It is someth ing really important and interesting to see that in A Farewell to Arms Hemingway makes a very intricate but meaningful combination of images and symbols in order to be able to express whatever he has to convey to his readers† (Shams 44).

Essay Animal

Eating Animals by Jonathan Saffron Foyer's he talks about his journey as a meat eater. Fore discuses his family eating styles and how he believe he will raise his son. Food is key for every person, but what you eat and what you don't eat shapes who you are. Fore and his wife both had very particular views on being meat eaters. In a way they both hated what they were doing, but because of they way they were brought up they could not stop them from doing so. For this same reason he started researching on how he should raise is unborn child, meat eater or vegetarian.Fore starts off by talking about his grandmother and how her eating habits and cooking methods affected them as children. The grandmother, also known as â€Å"Greatest Chef who ever lived†, had been threw the depression and many vulnerable times. Fore tells us she had very strict rules on letting food go bad and throwing away expired food. She had seen such harsh times that she mad sure she always made the right amoun t of food so nothing would ever go to waste. The grandmother had seen the worst oftentimes, but she made sure her family ate well but did not take what they have for granted.Fore believes many people do not understand what and whom they are eating. He also falls under this category; he does not count himself out. Offers talks about how people have pet dogs and view them as a part of family, but on the other hand cook and eat a chicken. He tries to grasp this idea that has been passed down generation after generation but he cannot come to a solid conclusion on why this happens. And with his new born on the way he is looking into if he wants to pass on these beliefs to his child or to change what has been passed down and start something new.

Strategic Branding on UK Broadband Services

Following the deregulation of the telecommunication industry in United Kingdom, a number of competitors and substitute products have emerged. With the mandate under the Communications Act 2003, the Office of Communication (OfCom) was established as a regulatory office for the UK communications industries, which includes television, radio, telecommunications, and wireless communications services.Its scope, under the Communications Act 2003, is as follows: 1. to further the interest of citizens in relation to communication matters, and 2. to further the interests of consumers in relevant markets, where appropriate by promoting competition.The British Telecommunications (BT) is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services, which operates in 170 countries around the world. In the United Kingdom, BT serves over 20 million business and residential customers with more than 30 million exchange lines, as well as providing network services to other licen sed operators. Its BT Retail subsidiary is UK’s largest communication service provider, by market share, to the consumer and small business markets. It supplies a wide range of communication products and services, including voice, data, internet, and multimedia services (online BT.com). Once a nationalized company, BT plc has traditionally dominated the UK’s fixed line telecom market, controlling over 80 percent of the UK’s access lines, earning ? 8,507 million in revenues for 2006 (BT Annual Report 2006). However, the passage of the Communications Act 2003 has been intended to increase competition to the once monopolized of the fixed line industry in UK. Industry experts predicted that BT Retail’s share of the UK’s fixed line market will fall from 82 percent to 45 percent over the next decade as increased competition begins to bite.At the moment, around 93 percent of UK households have a fixed line, with eight in ten supplied by BT. However, despi te the predicament of many industry experts, the benefits of increased competition has not been achieved as BT continue to have strong market dominance within the UK fixed line industry (Richardson 2005). Table 1. British Telecom’s Retail connections Year end 31 March 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total Retail connections (‘000) 29,566 29,661 29,630 28,293 Business 9,208 9,111 8,780 8,353 Residential 20,358 20,550 20,850 19,940 Source: British Telecom Group plc (2006).BT Group plc Annual 2005 Report. (United Kingdom: BT Group) [Online] Available: http://www. btplc. com/Sharesandperformance/Annualreportandreview/Annualreports/Cautionarystatement. htm Table 2. British Telecom’s Broadband customers Year end 31 March 2003 2004 2005 2006 BT Wholesale ADSL end users (‘000) 803 2,226 4,973 7,949 of which are LLU lines 3 11 41 356 of which are BT retail customers 439 967 1,752 2,584 Source: British Telecom Group plc (2006). BT Group plc Annual 2005 Report. (United Kingdom: B T Group) [Online] Available: http://www. btplc.com/Sharesandperformance/Annualreportandreview/Annualreports/Cautionarystatement. htm Despite the high penetration of fixed line business of British Telecom, the level of penetration for broadband services is still very low in the United Kingdom. Project Aims and Objectives The primary objectives of this dissertation will be to determine why many British consumers still opt to use the dial-up as internet connection in the United Kingdom and how companies can attract users to use broadband services. We also review the current market environment such as policies of Ofcom that could affect a company’s marketing strategy.The following is a list of objectives which the author aspires to accomplish in the dissertation: 1. A background study on the current internet access industry in the United Kingdom and prospects on the industry’s growth. 2. An exploration on the relevant theory on the impact of brand equity and brand position ing on company’s profitability and market share. 3. A proposal on effective branding approaches to mitigate the increasing competition with the deregulation of the telecommunication industry in United Kingdom. Importance and Relevance of the ResearchPrimarily the research will be valuable to any business industry or body attempting to build on its business strategies, customer relations and competitiveness in a competitive industry. The research would make businesses more aware of the importance of business strategies in a very competitive industry. It gives you an idea about how businesses can know more about their markets segments and attract more markets. Secondary impact of the research will be on a long term scale, it will aid retail marketing initiatives. The trends of the industry and the markets will have a significant impact on the whole field in the future.The research may also be essential to other interested parties such as the educational institutions business un iversities, news papers and government. The paper will also be useful later on in academics for future references. The Overview of the Study The remainder of this study is as following statement: Chapter 2, Internet Access industry background and market analysis, will provide first a concise information on the industry market value, market segmentation, and leading companies. We will provide a strategic competitive analysis of the industry using Porter’s Five Forces of Competition and SWOT Analysis using BT Group.We will also briefly discuss Ofcom’s strategic review of the telecommunication industry and its effect on industry players in particular British Telecom. Review of brand management, will review related literature on the brand management such as brand equity and brand positioning. Identify the long-term effects of the effective brand positioning in increasing market share within the industry. Chapter 3, Methodology, will present the methods of collecting primar y data from consumers and the chosen research method for the dissertation. Chapter 4, Results and Discussion, will present and discuss the results of the survey.The discussion will also relate the relevant literature and the results that have been obtained from the survey. Chapter 5, Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations, the â€Å"Summary† section will first provide a comprehensive summary of the major findings of this study. The â€Å"Conclusion† section will highlight the implications of the research findings. Finally, â€Å"Recommendations† will be proposed to on the possible approaches to effectively implement an effective branding strategy to mitigate the increasing competition in the telecommunications industry. CHAPTER 2: Review of Related LiteratureThe literature review will consist of three parts: (1) Environmental Analysis, highlighting the recent deregulation and increasing competition within the industry, (2) Competitive Position of British Teleco ms for the market segment of broadband services, and (3) Review of related literature on brand management. In the Environmental Analysis section, the research will discuss the competitive landscape of the broadband market in UK, and define the nature of competition within the industry. The research will describe the role of Ofcom in promoting competition within the industry and specific market segment.The research will describe the market size, volume and growth of the industry. Second, the research will discuss the competitive position of the British Telecom in the market. It will provide an assessment of BT’s strengths and weaknesses and how BT has a very strong foothold of the market. Lastly, the review will also highlight the importance of brand management in growing the broadband services business of British Telecom. In this paper, we follow the framework of Delta model which has been proposed by Hax and Wilde.The Delta model defines three points (1) strategic positions that reflect the fundamentally new sources of profitability, (2) aligns these strategic options with a firm’s activities and provides congruency between strategic direction and execution, and (3) introduces adaptive processes capable of continually responding to an uncertain environment (Hax and Wilde II 1999). The Delta model integrates the structural analysis and value chain framework from Porter with the resource-based view on the Firm and complement those with new Extended Enterprise perspective and with offering Total Customer Solutions.The Internet Service Providers’ Association United Kingdom defines the internet access market consisting of total revenues generated by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from the provision of narrowband and broadband Internet connection through both consumer and corporate channels (Datamonitor, 2007). The United Kingdom Internet access market generated total revenues of $8. 2 billion in 2006, this representing a compound annual gro wth rate (CAGR) of 6. 4% for the period spanning 2002-2006 (Datamonitor, 2007).In a survey conducted by the Office of Telecommunications, 93 percent of homes currently own a fixed line phone, this proportion has remained stable at just over 90 percent for the last year. At least 4 in 5 households are using BT for their fixed line; however, at least a quarter of BT customers would consider using another supplier if they offered services of equal quality. Furthermore, 18 percent of the respondents mentioned barriers to switching as their reason for remaining with BT rather than positive reasons.These consumers were largely living in non-cabled areas with less choice of fixed line suppliers (Office of Telecommunications 2003). Brand name and the Quality of service The main reason BT customers gave for not switching to another operator was satisfaction with BT, this being driven by the fact that the vast majority of satisfied customers (72%) have never experienced any problems with thei r services. Generally, BT customers value the service quality and reliability above cost, suggesting that the trustworthiness of other suppliers alone is not sufficient incentive for these consumers to switch (Office of Telecommunications 2003).Barriers to switching A quarter of customers that would remain with BT if other suppliers offered an equal service, mentioned barriers as their reason for remaining with BT. This equates to 18 percent of all BT customers. The barriers mentioned included: switching being too much hassle, cost of switching, unaware of other suppliers, always used BT, and the additional services. The research, however, notes that the respondents are more likely to live in a non-cabled area – hence limited availability of alternative providers (Office of Telecommunications 2003).Key trends in the telecommunications industry The key word in today’s technology is convergence. In the last two years, global telecommunications company have been developin g the next-generation voice services that could cut corporate call costs by automatically routing traffic between fixed line and mobile infrastructure (online ITWeek). One key development has been the development of Fixed Mobile Internet Convergence, where IT and media industry deliver both content and the infrastructure to consumers.The widespread adoption of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been a promising to consumers yet holds a mixed fate for the fixed line telecoms market. On a positive note, it offers cheap or often free long distance calling to consumers and can therefore boost market share. However, this may be at the expense of diverted traditional sales and loss of line rental and call revenue on fixed lines. On the other hand, VoIP take-up could spread with the proliferation of wireless broadband, as opposed to wireline broadband, which will serve to expand the fixed line market and encourage a more rapid take up of wireless technologies.The development of more s ophisticated mobile phones and PDA also threaten to detract from fixed line sales as these devices develop the same quality of capabilities as fixed line services (online IT Week). Analysis of Competition The Delta Model builds on the structural analysis of Michael Porter to gain insight and understand the external factors determining the industry attractiveness and match it with the firm’s resources to be successful in the industry (Hax and Wilde II 1999).In his book Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, Michael Porter discusses the five forces of competition in an industry. He illustrated the five competitive forces as: (1) Rivalry between competing sellers in an industry, (2) potential entry of new competitors, (3) the market attempts of companies in other industries to win customers over to their own substitute products, (4) the competitive pressures stemming from supplier-seller collaboration and bargaining, and (5) the competitive pr essure stemming from seller-buyer collaboration and bargaining (Porter 1985).Porter’s five forces of competition is a widely used tool to determine the company’s current strengths and competitive position. Having a clear picture of the balance of power in a competitive industry will help in planning for a sustained growth in the industry. In the Figure 5, the researchers analyzed and plot the competitive forces in UK’s fixed line telecom industry (Porter 1985). Rivalry of Sellers: Moderate The UK market is relatively fragmented, with no one company dominant.For end users, switching costs are not very high, and in fact ‘customer churn' is often cited as an issue that ISPs must cope with, particularly in the consumer market. A typical company offers a diverse range of communication-based services, such as TV and telephony, so success in the Internet access business need not be vital to its survival. Furthermore, rapid market growth means that players are not fighting to win a share of a static market from their competitors. Rivalry in this market is assessed as moderate.Buyer Power: Moderate ISPs offer their Internet access services to customers ranging from consumers to large corporations. As fairly similar services can be offered to customers of all sizes, the typical size is quite small. Switching costs are moderate, and include the time required to leave one contract and move to a competing contract. There is some differentiation: for example, one player may offer consumer Internet access as a standalone service, while another bundles it with cable TV services.Also brand loyalty may be significant if an ISP gains a particularly good (or bad) reputation among users. As the Internet has high penetration in the UK, corporate customers in particular will consider the service of vital importance to their business. Overall, buyer power is assessed as moderate. Supplier Power: Strong ISPs act as intermediaries between their customers and the telecommunication infrastructure that underpins the Internet (and telephony): ADSL lines, servers, packet switching software, and so on.Some ISPs, especially telecoms incumbents such as BT, own and operate an extensive physical network themselves. For these companies, key suppliers are manufacturers of the hardware and software involved, such as Cisco Systems. ISPs that do not own a network can purchasing wholesale access to the necessary infrastructure from an owner-operator, and then offer it at retail to end-users. For ISPs using this business model, key suppliers are BT and other network owners.While it is unlikely that ISPs of either type will integrate backwards, since the upstream businesses are very different to their own, most network owner-operators have already integrated forwards into the retail ISP market, and are competing directly with ISPs that do not own networks. Network manufacturers are not completely reliant on the ISP market for their revenues, as they can also operate in markets such as corporate intranet; network owners usually generate revenue from telephone services and their own ISP retail business as well as wholesale Internet access.Overall, supplier power is strong. Threats of New Entrants: Strong The threat of new entrants is strong. New players will be attracted by the continuing strong growth rates in this market. The physical infrastructure needed is usually already available. For example, a cable TV company can move into the Internet access market by making use of the cable network it has already installed; while players without their own infrastructure can buy access to telecom networks.This reduces the capital requirements for market entry – although customer demand for ever-increasing bandwidth may mean that investment in infrastructure will be needed for future growth. Retaliation in terms of price competition is very likely in this market, and new entrants need to differentiate themselves from incumbents †“ not an easy task when selling a commoditized service that can be specified completely with a few parameters such as bandwidth and downtime. Threats of Substitute: WeakThe threat of substitutes is weak: the Internet has developed as rapidly as it has because it is itself a substitute for many other services and products. These include traditional forms of advertising, news providers, music (and increasingly video) physical media such as CDs and DVDs, ‘bricks and mortar' outlets for supplying goods and services, and communication services such as mail and telephony. The benefits of these older substitutes are assessed as small, as the Internet alternatives have clearly demonstrated their popularity with consumer and corporate customers.However, to take two examples, for consumers with concerns over the security of online financial transactions, or businesses who wish to advertise to segments of the population who are not online, the older substitutes may retain advantages. B ritish Telecom’s Competitive Position A company’s strategy consists of the competitive efforts and business approaches that managers employ to please customers, compete successfully, and achieve organizational objectives.It represents management’s answers to such fundamental business questions as whether to concentrate on a single business or build a diversified group of business, which cater to a broad range of customer or focus on a particular market niche. A strategy thus reflects the managerial choices among alternatives and signals organizational commitment to particular products, markets, competitive approaches, and ways of operating the enterprise (Hooley et al. 2001). Sustainable competitive advantage as argued by John Kay is only achieved if the company has distinctive capabilities or resources that its competitors does not have.Kay (1999) argues that resources can be considered as unique or reproducible. A unique resource, for example the brand name of BT, can be considered as an important asset that can be a basis of sustainable competitive advantage. A reproducible resource and capabilities, on the other hand, pertains to assets that can be easily copied or reproduced by competitors and does not offer the company the distinctive competitive advantage. A good example of a reproducible resource would be the process of delivery voice calls.Many are now able to voice call services on their own and can learn the process more very quickly and easily; however, what differentiate BT is its extensive network infrastructure which it has built over the years to gain scale economies, and build on their strategic brand name (Kay 1999). In understanding the sources of competitive advantage, Hooley & Broderick (1998) introduced two fundamental approach in creating sustainable competitive advantage based from Micheal Porter’s Competitive Advantage.Micheal Porter suggests that companies undertake two roads towards establishing itself as a market leader. First, a company can position itself through cost leadership or differentiation. The former strategy requires that a company to operate more efficiently, thereby lowering its operational cost relative to its competitors. The later strategy requires that a company identify a resource that add value for the customer and modify the product or service in a way that will entice the customer to buy (Hooley & Broderick 1998).Hunt and Morgan (1996) recommends a resource-based model as a way to investigate competency and superior firm performance through a more intimate integration of organizational theory, marketing and economics. Furthermore, strategic resource improves a firm’s performance over time. If a firm mobilizes unique and immobile resources to create sustainable competitive advantage, then a firm can enjoy generating greater economic rents than competitors in the industry.In addition, the resource-based theory asserts that distinctive competencies of a fir m can ultimately result to superior outcomes and performance (Luo, Sivakumar, & Luo 2005). Kay (1999) also defined the three primary sources of sustainable competitive advantage as: (1) the market’s barriers to entry; (2) a unique firm history and experience which has transformed the firm and industry; (3) the tacitness of relationship with customers or suppliers. In this section, we assess BT’s competitive position in the market using SWOT Analysis to identify its sources for competitive advantage. SWOT AnalysisAs we have analyzed the competing forces that could affect the overall success of BT in the fixed line telecom industry in UK, we also recognize the need to be able to identify the strength and weakness of BT as well as external opportunities, and threats. Exhibit 3 illustrates a SWOT analysis of BT strategic capabilities. The value of the SWOT analysis is its ease of use, its simplicity, and its flexibility. In addition, SWOT analysis allows the synthesis and integration of various types of information which are generally known but still provides the possibility to organize and synthesize recent information as well.The insight to be gained in performing the SWOT analysis is the understanding of the core competency of the company that would give it a distinctive competitive advantage over its rival. More importantly, it provides the groundwork on (1) how the company’s strategy can be matched to both its resource capabilities and its market opportunities, and (2) how urgent it is for the company to correct which particular resource deficiency and guard against to particular

Hindu Religion And Women

Hindu goddesses are traditionally conceived to be strong figures,even indomitable ones. By comparing his female characters to these goddesses, Rushdie attributes them with a force of character. He perceives India as a matriarchy, where maternal power, energy, and love is the means to social cohesion. (Jennifer Takhar) Durga, the washerwoman who had nursed Saleems son in his sickness, is an important figure in Saleems life. As we understand from the description of her (pg:445), she is a powerful woman who is an opposite image of the docile Indian woman. She may be representing the power that is repressed in these women. Saleem fears her as she symbolizes the hope that he has lost. Her name, even before I met her, had the smell of new things; she represented novelty, beginnings, the advent of new stories, events, complexities, and I was no longer interested in anything new. (pg:445) She is again the one who foretold Saleem’s death. So, these kind of women as witches inspired fear in Saleem. Like Durga, Parvati-the-witch, who is Shivas wife, is another important figure. She causes in creating their child which is necessary for the continuation. Mother was seen as a nation. There is parallelism between continuity of nation through having children. Women have roles in productivity; that is why they are important. Parvati acts as somebody restoring order. She helps Saleem return to Delhi by using her magic basket, making him invisible. Parvati reminded Saleem of things he had tried to put out of his mind. (pg:389) So, we can say that she influenced Saleem as other women, as being representator of a nation. When we come to other women in Saleems life, for example Mary Pereira. She is the one who gives birth to Saleem; she creates him in both biological sense and metaphorical sense. She changes the babies and at the same time fates. Out of guilt, she attaches her whole destiny to Saleems life by becoming his caretaker. She also influences the class positions of the babies. (Saleem and Shiva) The pickling process which is a process of preservation, linked to preservation and continuity of traditions metaphorically, is significant. This food process is under control of females and it is an important source of authority and identity for the women. It is the preservation of the past. The womens way is practical, oral; it is a way of transmitting tradition we can say. Pickling process is only a symbol of this transmission. So, Mary P. , like the other women in Saleems life has great effect on Saleem. Reverend Mother, on the other hand, who is the bride behind perforated sheet turns out to be the head of the family. She is also very powerful. She becomes the head after the marriage. She preserves identity of the nation. She is like the other women; asserts her authority in cooking. Her food, for example, revives Ahmed Sinai after freeze. She uses food as battleground where she wages her battles against her husband. We see the monitoring of food, so simple and practical but can influence men. It is this simplicity of mothers, their affection influnces Saleem. To Saleem women, like India, is nothing without its past. no escape from past acquaintance. What you were is forever who you are. (pg:368) And this connection to past is through these women. They are the ones who create nation and preserve it like the pickles. Amina, Saleems mother, changes and influences his life also. He sees her naked in the bathroom and witnesses her unfaithfullness on the phone. All this causes him to have some kind of explosion in his head and that explosion causes him to hear voices in his head. It is the birth of Midnights Children.. He sees mother, motherland, the nation-India-,earth is not pure as he identifies women with the nation. Identification is between the country and the body of the woman, especially mother. He sees the body of woman as the country and he should protect country as well as honor of mother. But seeing her motheris not pure, the discovery of impurity in mother will bring crisis in his head- the multiplicity of nation-. The body is homogeneous as anything. Indivisible, a one-piece suit, a sacred temple, if you will. It is important to preserve this wholeness. (pg:237) Padma,whom Saleem exchanges opinions about how to tell a story is another significant figure. While he writes, his illiterate listener, Padma, sits beside him showing her emotional responses to his stories, questioning their credibility. When Padma shows interest on her face, Saleem speeds on telling his story. She keeps questioning what is next.. She encourages him to write which is the only gift Sallem has for continuity, preservation. Padma is important as a caretaker; providing warmth, food, human kindness to Saleem. She is India for him, connected to all country as a mother. She has earthly characteristic. She emerges as an earthly, stable, real, practical woman that ties her to the motherland. That is why, according to me, she is the most important character in this novel. But although she is a preserver for Saleem, she unwillingly poisons him by feeding him with things she thinks hell be ni love with her. It is a poison which is also a cure; both nourishing, reviving, perserving and also poisonous,destructive. She is like India creating him. And ceratinly Padma is leaking into me. As history pours out of my fissured body, my lotus is quietly dripping in, with her down-to-earthery, and her paradoxical superstition, her contradictory love of the fabulous (pg:38) In short, women had important role in Saleems life. They are the mothers, the creators of men. If they were not on earth, no continuity would take place; there would be no world. Saleem is afraid of them also because although they create him as nation creates men; they also prepare the fall of men. They both give significance and at the same time destroys. They can take away the identity as in Saleem. Saleem is the nation also as he creates; he writes. He tries to create meaning and form. And women help Saleem create himself, his identity like the nation does to all human beings. But it can also unmake people. The women try to hold on to past and keep it safe as past is a country from which we have all migrated; that its loss is part of our humanity. (Imaginary Homelands; Essays and Criticism 1981-1991. London: Granta Books, 1991) And this statement teaches the migrants that reality is an artifact and it doesnt exist until it is made and it can be made well or badly, and it can also be unmade, like women did to Saleem. When we come to the question of why White Castle didnt give place for women might be because the childhood theme ook great importance in the book. For example, the grandfathers looking for his childhood at homeThat is why it gives much space for the child king. There is the continuous looking for the simple, untouched ide before recognizing sexuality, leaving the mother, to have potency. There is again the fear to lose the pureness, wholeness of the childhood. And because of it there are the speeches in this novel that tells about the childhood naughtiness. It is like the fear of the child. And if we relate this to the women ,as we said women are the creators and they are connected to past, there is no escape from it and when it involves naughtiness and things like a child fears. So, as the Hodja did, there is both an escape from it and at the same time looking for the past innocence. That is why there is no sexuality with women in the book. As they are feared, they can unmake men. The dangerous influence of women is not given permission in the book; only limited and innocent ones are implicitly told. Consequently, women and sexuality are barred and not given much importance as in Midnights Children happened the contrast. According to me, it is because it is known how influential women are and can be dangerous in creating. And when you want something wholly new and create your own identity, as the characters in White Castle wanted, it is not a good idea to include women and sexuality. The women can bring fall of men while creating them.

Group Dynamics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Group Dynamics - Essay Example This was primarily about assessing how serious they were in their passion for music, whether the group and its members loved the kind of music that I loved, and whether they were at par with me in their knowledge and skills about music. I could see that there was some imbalance between the kinds of behavior I expected and the kinds I actually received. But I could rectify this imbalance considerably by my efforts to prove myself before the other members and also sometimes by demanding what I felt, I deserved. I could prove to them that I was seriously passionate about music and that I have serious knowledge and skill in the subject as well. All the same, I could feel that the group and its members were evaluating me as well in the same way. I could feel they concluded their evaluation with a positive note and thus I also became an accepted and trusted member of the band. It was out of this whole experience that I became closely emotionally attached to the group. I also felt that by r emaining in this group, I could gain personally in future also. Thus I became totally committed to this group. I was the only keyboard player in this group and thus I could contribute to our dream to become a winner in the prestigious national level competition.