Macro-economic factors Essay

There are a lot of macro environmental factors that affect Telfin performance though emphasize has been given on the important factors. Economic factors like current and anticipated economic growth, interest rate, inflation, cost of labor, disposable income and distribution of income etc collectively comprise economic environment. Current and projected economic conditions: In recent years Pakistan’s economic figures were indicating very impressive and promising consequences and infact these all were proven to be wrong. A number of reasons are behind this but the most important are the economic policies which were not integrated with political environment in an apt manner. Secondly, terrorism has stooped down our economy in a very negative manner. Therefore because of these reasons Pakistan current and anticipated economic conditions aren’t in Telfin favor. Exchange Rate: Telfin is directly affected by fluctuation of exchange rates as investment is being done in USD, all suppliers have to be paid in USD and being subsidiary of Vimplecom, Shareholder calculations are in USD while revenue is generated in local currency (PKR). Due to depreciated PKR every year when revenue is calculated in USD it is minimized due to negative exchange rate effect. Fuel Prices: Telfin is the one of the biggest customer of PSO (Pakistan State Oil), due to energy crisis in Pakistan and being the largest on coverage for the services, more than 5000 cell sites have to be energized to keep the network running. Taxtation: Govt has applied additional 5% tax on the top up so subscribers get 5% less balance on recharge but as an impact it has been seen that subscribers have reduced the usage as recharge revenue has decreased and 5% reduction is from Telfin revenue. Inflation and interest rate: interest rate and inflation both are elevated in Pakistan. In most of countries it is very much natural that once economic conditions are bad central banks reduces interest rate in order to boost investment where as in Pakistan the case is otherwise. The interest rate is high because the government wants to cease central bank new notes issuing rate which is more than 15% currently. Therefore collectively interest rate and inflation are presenting a bad picture for Telfin. Unemployment rate and cost of labor: Because of higher education bang there  is a talented pool of candidates who are ready to be employed in big companies or organizations. But the fact is that the production of new jobs is not competent with supply pool therefore unemployment rate is high. In addition as supply of potential workers is high, the cost of labor is low in Pakistan which is a positive signal for Telfin. Level of disposable money and income distribution: It is really evident that if the economic conditions of a particular country are bad, the people living in, do not have high level income to be spent. Moreover the fact is that national income distribution is very unfair and unequal in Pakistan because elite class dominates on key government posts. Non-economic macro Exposure: Telfin like every other organization is also affected by the political setup to a greater extent which are needed to be addressed. Political Factor: There is a democratic government now-a-days in Pakistan but due to previous government policies & present government inability to manage issue wisely, it can be concluded clearly that government is not able to stabilize the situation as it was expected which is surely not good for the companies like Telfin. Rule of Law, Corruption and bureaucracy: Due to the amendments made in the constitution of Pakistan by ex-dictators and domination of rich people on the vital government posts, there is just a minimal justice and rule of law in Pakistan. Regularity authorities: There are regularity bodies in Pakistan like PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) but it does not have enough grip on issues as it is expected from it due to the mandate given to it. Security: Due to security situations, telecom industry has suffered a lot as on events th ere is complete network shutdown to prevent terrorism. These shut down is a direct loss for complete industry. Moreover due to different measures taken by regularity to address security is to have Biometric scanning before issuance of SIM so cost of sale has increased recently and all operators have to install machines to have scanning capability.

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Essay

Ethical issues and Moral issues are completely different and it has different values. Morals are more of a motivational word based on ideas and if you are right are wrong. You give yourself a certain expectation and nothing can change that. This is standards that are set by you in order to have a great career in the future. Ethics is a professional based word that is based on your performance. The techniques in a workplace are professional and represented well if you can say you have good ethic skills. Your morals can be there but if you don’t have good ethics in the working environment, you may not be with that employer long. You can have good morals but your ethical issues can be a problem with lack of dedication. It is important to have good ethical and moral issues because it shows good leadership and in order to succeed in today’s job industry and be successful you have to have both. Let’s take me for instants; I work for a multi-million dollar company and we have a mission statement this year that states â€Å"ALL IN† meaning we have to give it our all and we have to know that at the end the day, if I did not get that display or sell, at least I tried and the next day try it again. That is giving your all. My standard is set high which would include my morals to be the best. My working skills are recognizable from all management, so that means I have great work ethics. If I don’t set myself to have my morals and ethical issues intact, I will not keep a job and be successful in the future. Business Ethics is when the business has to make a conscious decision on its problems such as harassment, employee relations and discrimination to name a few. It is everyone’s hope that businesses choose to do what is right meaning ethical. Businesses become driven by profit and margins and as they grow, the hunger to achieve more money increases and the businesses starts to fall off its ethical mission statements. Managers play a major role in this process because they tend to forget what there position is in place for and they forget about the values that the company need when it comes to work relations. Personal Ethics could be defined as what a person believes to be right. This varies from person to person as these are influenced by culture, beliefs, experience, law and religion. This person may have their own expectations in the work environment and feel that there way is right and not what the business says it is. The personnel ethics of a person is influence by the business ethics because the expectations can be high are low. If a worker feels that the ethics that the business proceeds is not right, then he are she should confront the person in charge and come to an agreement of the problem. There should be balance when it comes to people in the working environment. A couple of months ago at my job, we had a problem with some of the salesmen’s personnel ethic issues. The business ethics had its own standards but it was not agreeable with the market feedback that is giving to us; meaning the sales. The salesmen would focus on the criteria one way and when we had a market tour, some of them were dealt with in ways when it could have been avoided. The issue was resolved before any further action had taken place, but if communication would have been a priority, disciplinary action would have not taken place. If we take control our personal & business ethics, we would create a better social responsibility.

Brand Audit South India Bank

Through this study an analysis is made on Branding strategies by South Indian Bank, this refers to the communication that is being sent by South India Bank about its product, services and other such attributes and what is being received by the costumers. Banks are coming up with new strategies to market themselves, gone are the days when Banks were an unattractive lot and one stepped foot in a bank as a last resort for financial assistance. Now new strategies are being used by Banks for retaining their customers as well as acquiring new ones. This is where the importance of Brand Management comes in. PORPORTION OF ADVERTISEMENT (EMPLOYEE ) SPONSORSHIP EVENTS (CUSTOMER ) SPONSORSHIP EVENTS (EMPLOYEE) BILLBOARDS (CUSTOMER) BILLBOARDS (EMPLOYEE) SOCIAL MEDIA (CUSOMER OPINION) SOCIAL MEDIA (EMPLOYEE OPINION) CUSTOMER YEARS IN BANK NUMBER OF TRANSCATION ONLINE BANKING MOBILE BANKING PERSONAL LOANS WELCOME 22 29 29 30 31 31 32 35 36 36 37 37 38 5 1,22 1. 23 1. 24 1. 25 1. 26 1. 27 VALUE EMPLOYEE SIB FIRST PREFERNCE CELEBRATEES INDIVIDUALS TEAM SUCCESS ONLINE BANK MOBILE BANKING DATABASE MANAGEMENT 39 39 40 40 41 42 6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 7 1. INTRODUCTION Brand: â€Å"A Brand is a complex symbol. It is the intangible sum of a product? s attributes, its name, packaging and price, its history, reputation, and the way it? s advertised. A brand is also defined by consumer? s impression of people who use it, as well as their own experience†- David Ogilvy A brand is a Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one sellers good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. Brands are distinguished and this is protected by trademarks or service mark from authorized agencies. Brands are often expressed in the form of Logos, graphic representations, slogan etc. Good and powerful brands drive success in any competitive markets and help achieve company various difficult feats. Proper branding results in higher sales of not only one product, but on other products associated with that brand. Some people distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand, of a brand from the experiential aspect. Brand Management: Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. It refers to all the strategies that are used for maintaining a particular image of the brand. It involves managing both tangible and intangible characteristic of Brand. In terms of service brands this includes customers? satisfaction, and intangible refers to emotional bonding or connection to the Brand. The success and failure depends on similarity between what is conveyed by the company to what is received by the customers. Branding is based on external experience and internal experience. External experience includes Name, Logo, advertising, Brand Identity and product and services. Internal experience includes Customer relation, brand values, training, quality, staff motivation, technology etc. 1. 1. The Banking Sector The Banking industry plays a dynamic role in the economic development of a country. The growth story of an economy depends on the robustness of its banking industry. Banks act as 8 the store as well as the power house of the country? s wealth. They accept deposits from individuals and corporate and lends to the businesses. They use the deposits collected for productive purposes which help in the capital formation in the country. Today, the Indian Banking System is known the world over for its robustness. The Reserve Bank of India is the central/apex Bank which regulates the functioning of all banks operating within the country. The banking system, largely, comprises of scheduled banks (banks that are listed under the Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934). Unscheduled banks form a very small component (function in the form of Local Area Bank). Scheduled banks are further classified into commercial and cooperative banks, with the basic difference in their holding pattern. Cooperative banks are cooperative credit institutions that are registered under the Cooperative Societies Act and work according to the cooperative principles of mutual assistance. Banking with the passing time has gain more importance as human civilization evolved, starting with just a place where to store ones money and for transfer of it. Now banks have developed to different horizons. Indian Banking because of its strict regulation from the Reserve Bank of India has always maintained a world class banking model which was clearly visible in the recession of 2008. A great leap in banking sector in India happened with the revolution in the IT sector which helped in great technological advancements such as online banking, database management, core banking etc. 1. 1. Profile of the Company South Indian Bank Limited (SIB) is a private sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India. The bank was founded in the year 1929. It is headed by Dr VA Joseph, Managing Director CEO of the bank. South Indian Bank has 705 branches spread across more than 26 states and union territories in India. It has set up 683 ATMs all over India. History: One of the earliest banks in South India, â€Å"South Indian Bank came into being during the Swadeshi movement. The establishment of the bank was the fulfilment of the dreams of a group of enterprising men who joined together at Thrissur, a major town (now known as the Cultural Capital of Kerala), in the erstwhile State of Cochin to provide for the people a safe, efficient and service oriented repository of savings of the community on one 9 hand and to free the business community from the clutches of greedy money lenders on the other by providing need based credit at reasonable rates of interest. . 1. 2. Products And Services Personal Banking-Under this bank offers wide range of personal banking products and services such as deposit, saving, loans, internet banking, mobile banking, demat services, credit card, debit card, etc. The bank offers mutual funds products of various funds houses such as ICICI Prudential AMC, Franklin Templeton, TATA Mutual Fund, Sundaram BNP Pariba s, UTI Mutual Funds, Reliance Mutual Funds, HSBC Investments, HDFC Mutual Fund, Fidelity Fund Management, Principal Mutual Funds, Fortis Investments, Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company and DSP BlackRock Mutual Funds. NRI banking- SIB also caters its banking products and services to NRI customers such as deposit, car loans, remittances, investment schemes, insurance are amongst others. Corporate banking- It provides wide range of products and services to corporates. SIB offers working capital finance, project finance, structured finance etc. 1. 2. PURPOSE objective OF THE STUDY †¢The purpose of the study is to analyze the brand value of South Indian Bank stakeholders which include its customers and employees. †¢Through this analysis the weak points in branding strategy will be covered to create a better Brand image of South Indian Bank. Brand Management study is to evaluate whether the South Indian Bank as a brand with its different aspects and qualities stands different from other names. What distinguishing aspects of SIB make it different from others? This includes name, logo, slogan, services, marketing strategies etc. 1. 3. Limitation Of The Study †¢Number of employees covered in the survey is very less because of the difficulty to access them; in the survey employees from only two branches were used. †¢The less number of sample might give a less accurate and imprecise data. 10 Chapter II RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 11 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY In general, research can be termed as an inquiry in to the nature of, the reason for, and the consequences of any particular set of circumstances. It is the process of finding solution for the problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors. It tries to solve a complex and complicated problem through use of various tools and techniques. These tools and techniques try to bring out a logical, accurate and scientific solution to the problem. Research methodology is simply a plan of action for a research which explains in detail how data is to be collected, analyses and interpreted. . 1. Research Design Research design is the basic framework, which provides guidelines for the research process. It is a map or blue print according to which the research is to be concluded. Research design ensures that the study will be relevant to the problem and employs economical procedure. The type of research design used in this study is Descriptive Research. Descriptive research is concerned with the research studies with a focus on the portrayal of the characteristics of a group of individuals or a situation. It includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds of analysis. The main objective of this descriptive study is to gather knowledge and to find the state of affairs, as it exists at present. 2. 1. 1. Research Instrument A descriptive questionnaire was used to question the awareness, preferences and thoughts of the customers and employees about the Corporate Branding Strategy of South Indian Bank in. The data used in this study is both primary and secondary. 2. 2. Data Collection ? Primary data has been collected through questionnaires prepared for the stakeholders of South Indian Bank, in this case both customers and employees. Secondary data collection includes proprietary databases and search engines. These sources include company websites and reports, books, trade journals, magazines, white papers, Industry Portals, government sources. 12 2. 3. Sampling All the items under consideration on any field of inquiry constitute a „universe? or population?. Sampling is the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements from the population so that a study of sample and on understanding of its properties or characteristics would make it possible for us to generalize such properties or characteristics to the population elements. 2. . 1. Sampling Technique There are various types of sampling techniques classified under probability and nonprobability. In this research, we used convenience sampling which is a deliberate or nonprobability sampling. i. e. , when population elements are selected for inclusion on the ease of access, it can be called convenience sampling. 2. 3. 2. Sample Size The sample size is that of 58 with customers and 15 with employees, making a total sample size of 73. 2. 4. Area Of The Study Employee data has been collected from two branches of South India Bank in Bangalore, Indira Nagar Branch and Cantonment Branch. For customers both data has been collected from these branches as well from other parts, through the accumulation of an online form. It has been made sure that a particular region is not targeted when it comes to collecting data. 2. 5. Analysis Technique The analysis techniques used in this study are ? Charts representing the spread on various variables 13 CHAPTER III FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATION 14 The result of the study will be explained in the following chapters 3. 1 Marketing strategies by THE Ad agency All the current marketing communications are handled by an independent ad agency Jelitta publicity situated in Thrissur, Kerala. The ad agency was appointed in the year 1994 since then it is exclusively handling all marketing operations except for one year when it was handled by another ad agency FCB Ulka. Through these years the ad agency worked along closely with the SIB management and has contributed towards this brand building effort. The role of agency has included providing 360 degree marketing communication solutions for the bank. Above the line, Below the Line activities, events, PR are all handled by Jelitta. Customer service experience: The whole new approach comes in south Indian bank with its shift to 100 % core (centralized online real-time environment) banking, and banks approach targeting the huge NRI market. The bank needed more visibility and was going to be known as a next generation banker rather than an old generation banker. Technology based products were introduced and the NRI customer base in the Middle East were targeted in large scale. Media mix: Earlier print ads were used more as a medium, but down the years the agency has shifted more towards electronic media and outdoor activities. Now print ads are being more used to communicate the financial achievements, awards accolades, financial notifications like publishing balance sheet other financial results where as electronic media (predominantly TV Radio) is used for visibility, products services communication etc. Outdoor media has also been used simultaneously with the TV campaigns to get more impact and events PR activities are used to create better brand profile. Promotional events: They form the main tool used by SIB for the past several years. One such event was when 80 years of SIB was celebrated by conferring awards to globally acclaimed personalities for their life- time achievement. Dr. K. M. Cherian, the eminent Cardiologist, Mr. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, the film Director, Dr. Verghese Kurien, „the milk man of India? , the music- maestro Padma Bhushan Dr. K. J. Yesudas and Mr. M. A. Yusuff Ali, the prominent NRI. Public Relations: Every result announcement is followed by a press meet in Kochi and interviews one to one interactions are arranged with the press people. Entertainment programmes were organised in every major city in South India for SIB customers. Several 15 CSR activities like sponsoring a whole village in Kerala was done 2 years back. All the product launches are carried out with much fanfare and every new branch inauguration is organised with huge promotional activities. Right from designing a product to its end marketing communication, the agency has an important role in SIB. Ad agency interface: Marketing (Ad evaluation): South Indian bank has used well known personalities such as Mamootty, ZarinaWahab, M. Balamuralikrishnan in their ads with each being well known in their respective fields. The strategy is to use them as a means of reaching different line of customers. While using a brand ambassador it should be considered that the ambassadors suits the image of the bank. A bank which stands for trust and support should keep that in mind 3. 2 Services capes (External Experience) All the physical evidence of South Indian Bank has been evaluated based on the response from customers and employees 3. 3 NAME Bank for South Indians Completely Agree Completely Agree 7% 2% Disagree 23% Undecided 25% Agree 43% Fig 1. 1 Bank for South Indians When asked whether they think that South Indian Bank is a bank for South Indians, a majority of 43% believed it to be so. 16 South Indian Bank was formed in the year 1929 in Thrissur the cultural capital of Kerala, the name derived from being a bank from south India, the name gives the bank a restriction to its idea of spreading its reach all over India. India is a multi-ethnic society being basically categorised into North India and South India. When someone from North India hears of South India Bank the first impression itself goes that it is a bank for south Indians. Here is an evaluation of South Indian Bank brand name based on the standard criteria a brand name should follow. a. Uniqueness: South Indian Bank has a very unique name which easily distinguishes it from other brands b. Pronunciation and Spelling: South Indian Bank has an easily pronounced name which has a short abbreviation of SIB, but this is often confused with the more known SBI, which stands for State Bank of India the oldest commercial bank in Indian subcontinent. South Indian Bank is easily spelled as well because there aren? t any complicated words in it. . Legal Protectability: South Indian Bank has a name which can be legally protected. Having a very unique name to it ensures that other companies cannot take the same name. d. Related to product and service: The name South Indian Bank clearly states that it is involved in banking sector. e. Easily related with: The name South Indian Bank gives it a limitation of being associated as a South Indian Ban 3. 3. 1 Suggestion The b ank should consider in changing its name, the name forms a major constraint for the bank to associate itself with north Indian customers. A proper promotion strategy can be used to convey the change in name and in the long run it will help the bank. 3. 3. 2 Logo It is graphic mark or emblem which is commonly used by enterprises, organisations, and individuals with the purpose of creating public recognition. Logos are either purely graphic or are composed of the name of the organisation and in some cases both. 17 Cant say 4% Logo (Customer Opinion) No 3% Never Noticed 20% Yes 73% Fig 1. 2 Logo When asked about whether the customers like the logo of South Indian Bank, out of the 56 customers, 73 % found the Logo to their liking. South India Bank changed its logo in the year 2007. In the erstwhile logo of the Bank, the unique picture was that of a coconut tree. The fronds of the coconut palm form the basic theme of the new logo. The sharp ends of the fronds are smoothened, thickened and twisted to form a „S? denoting South Indian Bank. Thus the new logo has the continuity from their erstwhile logo. It can also be seen as two hands clinging to a strong pillar in the middle. The pillar is SIB institution; the upper hand represents SIB customers and the lower hand symbolizes SIB staff members. S† also projects a Safe, Solid, Smart, Strong, Secular, Shining, Schooled, Seasoned, Successful and Straightforward Bank. (Source: South Indian Bank website). 3. 3. 3. Evaluation of the logo: Simple: South Indian Bank has a very simple logo with not too many complications, though without reading the details such as what the logo stands for, it is hard to understand the true meaning behind the logo. Effectivenes s: The new logo being adopted only in 2007, need more aggressive marketing for the logo to reach wide coverage. Colour: The new logo is that of cardinal red. Cardinal red forms one of the three primary colours, the important feature of colour red is that it stands out easily from other colours. 18 Cardinal red is often denoted as symbolic of faith an attribute which is very important for a banking institution. Other attributes include that of energy, creativity, warmth and love. 3. 3. 4 Suggestion The Bank should continue with the logo, because of it likability among the customers. Changing the Logo periodically leads to a lot of confusion among the stakeholders. Worldwide companies try to maintain their logo, which is rarely changed except for times of total restructuring. South Indian Bank should maintain and increase the visibility of the logo to such effect that just looking at the logo all aspects and details of South India Bank should be realised. 3. 4 Slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. Slogans vary from the written and the visual to the chanted and the vulgar. Their simple rhetorical nature usually leaves little room for etail, and a chanted slogan may serve more as social expression of unified purpose, than as communication to an intended audience. Your Perfect banking partner 5% Good people to bank with 5% Sales Pure banking and nothing else 4% Experience next generation banking 86% Fig 1. 3 Slogan Awareness When asked about slogan of South Indian Bank along with some well-known slogans of other Banks a clear ma jority of 86% were able to identify SIB slogan. 19 Your perfect banking partner Good people to bank with Pure banking and nothing else Experience next generation banking Fig 1. 4 Slogan Employee Awareness When asked to identify the slogan all the 15 employees were able to mark the correct option. From both the cases it can be seen that the slogan is well recognised among both the customers and the employees. This helps South Indian Bank in brand recognition. The current slogan of South Indian Bank is â€Å"Experience Next Generation Banking† which signifies the bank? s current vision of making the bank technologically advance such that the services are easily accessible for the customers and easily usable by the employees. Through years the slogan has kept on changing. ? ? ? ? ? The South Indian Bank Ltd. In Step With Progress Growing To Serve You Everywhere Your Interest Above Everything Else A Bank For All Seasons Blending Tradition with Technology 3. 4. 1. Suggestions The present slogan is clearly recognised among the customers and the employees, they are able to distinguish the slogan from other. A slogan should clearly reflect the company? s commitment and intentions. The current slogan presents the Bank? s commitment towards embracing and using technological advancement to form next generation banking. . 5 Analysis of SIB’s Brand Ambassadorship Mammootty became the brand ambassador of South Indian Bank in the year 2007. Though several reasons came up for discussion as brand ambassador, the decision to take Mammootty 20 was unanimous. Decision to take Mammootty had obvious reasons. He was very popular among the target audience of SIB. The new logo of SIB was also launched along with his in troduction and the brand ambassador increased the visibility of the brand and clicked well with the NRI sector too. Mamootty an iconic Indian film actor with three national awards and other accolades is a well-known personality all over India, he is widely recognised among the target customers of South Indian Bank. His image is easily able to connect well with both old generation and new generation, he is known as a custodian of technology products and has a clean image regarding his public persona. Brand Ambassador (Customer Opinion) Mohanlal Don’t know 14% Rajnikanth 0% 4% Amitabh Bachan 0% Mamootty 82% Fig 1. Brand Ambassador (Customer) When asked about who the brand ambassador of South Indian Bank is, a clear majority of 82% mentioned Mammootty as the brand ambassador. Brand Ambassador 0% 0% 0% Amitabh Bachan Mohanlal Mammooty Rajnikanth 100% Fig 1. 6 Brand Ambassador (Employee) 21 Completely Disagree 6% Reflects Values Completely Agree 7% Disagree 14% Undecided 18% Agree 55% Fig 1. 7 Rightly reflects the values It was asked whether Mammootty is the right ambassador for South Indian ban k, 55 % agreed to it. This is a clear reflection of the Brand Ambassadors wide recognition. Various such ads with Mammootty have been made in an attempt to create a more personal and emotional bonding between the customers and Bank. 4. 5. 1. Suggestions Here yet again a small constraint comes to any ambitious strategy of spreading bank? s reach to North India, where Mammootty even with his Pan India recognition fails in identifying with a North India customer. Here South Indian Bank can use dual brand ambassador strategy; one such example is in the case of Muthoot Finance where in Kerala Malayalam moviestar Mohanlal is portrayed for the ads, whereas in north India for the same ads Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is portrayed. Here both are famous in their respective regions thus they can relate more to the target customers. The lagging part of the ads of South Indian Bank has often been the lack of quality ads with few exceptions and the numbers of ads are less compared to other competitors. The telecasting of these ads should be made during primetime when more people are watching television. The best strategy here is that of telecasting the ad when there are more chances for the customers to view the ad. Showing more humorous and exciting ads there are more chances of the ad getting good coverage. 22 3. Advertisements Advertisements (Customer Opinion) Never 0% Always 4% Rarely 21% Sometimes 25% Very often 50% Fig 1. 8 Advertisements (Customer) When asked about how often they see advertisements from South India Bank, 50% of them replied with very often. Very often is a good sign that the companies advertisements are reaching the customers. But the target here should be â€Å"always†, which clearly reflects the effective advertising strategy. Very Dissatisfied 0% Advertisements (Employee Opinion) Dissatisfied 6% Very Satisfied 27% Average 40% Satisfied 27% Fig 1. 9 Advertisements (Employee) 3 When asked about their satisfaction level over the advertisements of South Indian Bank, a majority of 40% found it average while 27% found satisfied and another 27% were very dissatisified. 3. 6. 1. Evaluation of SIB ADS Ad on International ATM ad starring M. Balamuralikrishnan 24 ? ? ? ? ? ? M. Balamuralikrishnan a world renowned classical musician who hails from Andhra Pradesh and a very familiar face in South India. Portrayed as himself, he receives an invite to go to America, where later in the ad he is being given a global ATM card by his son for easy usage in America. The ad has a more personal touch to it with some good background score, along with a good cast of supporting actors. No audio conversation used in the ad Being an 80 year old bank the banks approach during this time period was to show its attachment to traditions. Here again one can see the Bank? s approach of targeting NRI customers. 3. 6. 2 Gold Insurance and Mahila Account AD starring Zarina Wahab ZarinaWahab is an Indian actress and former model is a well-recognised face in India especially in North India, has also represented South Indian Bank in their ads. The idea behind casting her is to reach the north Indian customers. 25 26 ? ? ? In this particular ad she is shown as a housemaker who comes to the market wearing her full array of gold jewellery This causes concern for her friend who is worried about the safety while wearing gold, This is when ZarinaWahab informs her about the gold insurance being provided by South Indian Bank along with benefits of Mahila account in the end a clever mention of junior account by the bank is made. ? ? The ad through one small story line represents three products of South Indian Bank. The language used is Hindi. Here again the ad serves it purpose of informing customers about the services of South Indian Bank. 3. 6. 3 NRI Account Ad: Starring Mammootty Mamootty has acted in many south Indian bank ads with this AD being one noticeable one. 27 28 ? ? ? ? ? ? Shown as South Indian bank manager who gets a call from one of the bank? s NRI customers from Dubai After which Mamootty is shown visiting the customers aging parents Mammootty gives assurance to parents to inform him whenever they need him followed by some scenes of Mamootty? social interactions with the parents In the end the son returns and Mamootty leaves with the message that south Indian bank would always be with its customers The ad is well supported by its cast and the message is clearly shown. One of the better ads from South Indian Bank 29 3. 7 Sponsorship Events Sponsorship Events (Customer Opinion) Never Always 4% 7% Rarely 39% Very often 32% Sometimes 18% Fig 1. 10 Sponsorship Events (Customers) Whe n asked how often customers hear about sponsorship events from South Indian Bank 39% replied with rarely whereas 32% replied with very often. There is not much difference between those who see it rarely and those who see it very often, this is probably because the coverage of a particular sponsorship event is not same in all areas. This is the case where a certain target area is focused upon. Sponsorship Events (Employee Opinion) Very Dissatisfied Very satisfied 0% Dissatisfied 7% 6% Satisfied 20% Average 67% Fig 1. 11 Sponsorship Events (Employee) 30 When asked to respond their satisfaction level about sponsorship events by South Indian Bank, 67% found it average, while 20% were satisfied with it. This shows how communication is well maintained within the organisation, thus employees are aware of the various events being conducted. One aspect where South Indian Bank needs improvement, though South Indian Bank is contributing to sponsorships, with the recent example of Grand Kerala Shopping festival which was yet again a strategy by the bank to target NRI customer market. Sponsorship events loses its purpose if coverage is not enough. But it is clearly not enough more such sponsorship should be given by the Bank. 3. 8. Billboards Billboards (Customer opinion) Always Never 7% 9% Rarely 33% Very often 27% Sometimes 24% Fig 1. 12 Billboards (Customer) When the question of how often the customers see Billboards of South Indian Bank, 33% replied with rarely whereas 27% as very often. Here there is a small difference between rarely and very often, which shows how a certain particular target areas are focused which leads to a certain group witnessing more of it. 31 Very Dissatisfied 0% Billboards (Employees Opinion) Dissatisfied 20% Very satisfied 0% Satisfied 40% Average 40% Fig 1. 13 Billboards (Employee) When asked the same question about the billboards to the employees a majority found it both average and satisfied. Billboards are one of the oldest and still an effective means of marketing. More contribution should be made to placing such billboards in highways and main metro cities this helps in easy coverage of the Brand. 3. 9. Social Media Evaluation Social Media (Customer Opinion) Always 7% Never 10% Very often 22% Rarely 35% Sometimes 26% Fig 1. 14 Social Media (Customer Opinion) 32 When asked about the visibility of South India Bank in various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc†¦ 36% responded with rarely whereas 25 % responded with sometimes. No 7% Social Media (Employees Opinion) No Opinion 0% Yes 93% Fig 1. 15 Social Media (Employee Opinion) When asked to the employees if they would like to see South Indian Bank more active in Social Media a clear majority of 93% responded with yes. This shows that the present level of presence in social media is not to the satisfaction of the employees. Social media is growing at a very fast pace with new mediums coming up day by day through which companies can communicate about their products and increase their visibility in this ever competing corporate world. Having a slogan which clearly states the bank? s commitment to embracing technology SIB should make their presence felt in social media. Here an evaluation is made on South Indian Banks involvement or usage of social media, analysis of South Indian bank? s Facebook, twitter, orkut pages, Linkedin is done. Youngsters like to spend most of their time in social media websites and companies can get the attention of these target customers through regular updates about the product and services and thus spreading awareness among the target customers. Facebook page 🙠 Things to remember: Like on a Facebook Page, in an advertisement, or on content off of Facebook, one is making a connection. A story about ones like will appear on one? s Wall (Wall / timeline- shows what all activities one does in Facebook) and may also 33 appear in one? s news feed. One may be displayed on the Page you connected to, in advertisements about that Page, or in social plugins next to the content you like. Facebook Pages you like may post updates to your news feed or send you messages. Your connection to the page may also be shared with apps on the Facebook Platform) source: Facebook. From the company perspective the morelikes leads to more visibility and thus more awareness about the company? s product and services. SEARCH RESULTS: Three for South Indian Bank were found in Facebook. LIKES: The first page shows the details of South Indian Bank, the source being Wikipedia, the page has 1608 likes and 22 talking about the page. UPDATES: The second page was created in March 2012 it is an incomplete page without any cover photo. There are no updates about any kind of services or info in the page. The page has 13 likes and 1 talking about it. BRAND AMBASSADOR – HIGHEST VISIBILITY the third page is he more active one having cover image of brand ambassador Mammootty along with his signature saying â€Å"My Card My Bank†. The profile image is that of South India Bank with its logo. South Indian Bank started the FB page in September 17, 2010. The page has 256 likes and 5 talking about the page. The page has updates about its services including youth plus, pay mate, puregold etc. It also posted links of the bank receiving awards such as best bank in asset quality among all private sector banks in India, the best â€Å"Asian Banking Web Site† award from the Charlton Media Group, â€Å"Best Bank† in the old generation banks? ategory „fe India? s Best Bank Awards? and others. There is also a link to Wikipedia giving details about South Indian Bank. QUERIES AND SUGGESTIONS were found posted in the timeline of the FB page by customers, but without any reply to them from South India Bank. Twitter: (Twitter is an online social networking service and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as tweets. Twitter has an option of following where twitter account holders can follow the company activities. 34 Twitter is a means of reaching out to the target audience. By tweeting (when you post an update) company? s product and services are communicated directly to the customers. If a company wants to launch a new product it can be made aware to the customers and thus valuable feedback can be gained. Promotion of the upcoming events by South India Bank can also be made through twitter. South India Bank has a twitter account but there haven? t been any tweets or updates from the Bank. The twitter page has 7 followers. Competitors such as federal bank and ICICI Bank have a well maintained twitter account with regular tweets and updates about their services. Federal Bank has 849 tweets 49 following and 221 followers, ICICI bank has 8,894 tweets, 3,556 followers, 5,436 followers much higher and active than South Indian Bank. Dated 15-6-2012 Orkut: Orkut some years ago used to be the most popular social media website in India, slowly and gradually it has lost its attractiveness with less and less people joining or maintaining an Orkut account. South India Bank has an Orkut page which has around 896 members, the page has the last update on March 16, 2012. Going through the website I ound that there had been regular updates earlier, with regular interaction with members, and equal amounts of feedback. But with less usage of orkut among members the updates and discussions have diminished. Linkedin:It is a professional social networking website. It is mainly used for professional networking. One purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people with whom they have some level of relationship, calle d Connections. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to become a connection. Source: Wikipedia Here companies make their presence felt with regular updates about their employees and their profile. This includes new recruits, interns etc. This gives a very good transparency among the connections, with better profile of the employee leads to goodwill in the community. South Indian Bank? s Linked In page consists of 318 employees and 888 followers (those who are regularly updated about company? s activities) Date; 15-06-2012 Competitors such as Federal Bank have 690 employees and 916 followers, HDFC has 20,376 employees and 31,364 followers, ICICI Bank has 23,040 employees and 40,729 followers. Date; 15-06-2012. 5 Other notable sites where south Indian bank can make its presence felt is google+, BIGADDA, Ibibo. 3. 10. Suggestion As clearly seen from the survey majority of the customers have not seen much activities of South India Bank in social media websites. A bank which has a slogan of â€Å"Experience next generation banking† should keep this in mind as wide usage of internet as a means of providing services is part of next generation banking. In comparison with competitors such as Federal Bank, HDFC bank, ICICI bank who have dedicated teams to contributing into social media websites, South India Bank does not have such presence in this field. It is high time that South India Bank contribute more into Social media, which can help the Bank in targeting youth market in India which has high potential. For the study it has been made sure that the right sample size is chosen. Customer years in the Bank 10 years 20% 14% 5-10 years 27% 1-5 years 39% Fig 1. 16 Customer Years in the Bank Here it can be seen that the majority of the customers that is 39% in the survey have been customers with South Indian Bank between 1 to 5 years and 27% have been customers between 5 to 10 years and thus the right sample to take for the study. 6 Number of transaction with the bank gt; 6 times a week 9% none 12% 3-6 times a week 25% 1-3 times a week 54% Fig 1. 17 Number of transaction with the bank The majority of customers in the survey make 1-3 times a week transaction with the bank. For any brand it? s all about delivery of the promise which is being given out by all the branding strategies. When the company does its marketing communication a com mitment is being made to the customers about the goodness and wellbeing of the product. Very Dissatisfied 4% Dont know about the service 10% Dissatisfied 2% Online Banking Very Satisfied 10% Satisfied 26% Average 48% Fig 1. 18 Online Banking 37 Asked about how satisfied the customers are about Online Banking 50% found it as average, while another 25% found it satisfied. Dont know about the service 13% Very Dissatisfied 0% Dissatisfied 2% Mobile Banking Very Satisfied 8% Satisfied 19% Average 58% Fig 1. 19 Mobile Banking When asked how satisfied the customers are about Mobile banking 58% felt it was average. Dont know about the service Very Dissatisfied 11% 0% Personal Loan Very Satisfied 3% Dissatisfied 4% Average 18% Satisfied 64% Fig 1. 0 Personal Loan When asked how satisfied the customers are about Personal Loan 64% felt it was satisfied. Suggestions One can see that level of satisfaction is average in terms of technological services whereas service such as personal loans is to the satisfaction of the customers. Thus the Bank really should put some more effort in services which are technologically aided. With the bank? s 38 commitment to next gener ation banking, customers expect the same from the bank, if this is not delivered it would lead to a reduction of brand value 3. 10 Internal Experience 3. 10. Customer Relation The relationship between the customer and the company helps in bridging the gap between the two. Better this relationship is the better the chances of the company surviving in the long run. South Indian Bank being in the service sector must really put a lot of effort into maintaining a healthy customer relationship. Never 2% Welcomed Rarely 9% Always 21% Sometimes 23% Very often 45% Fig 1. 21 Welcomed When asked whether the customers felt welcomed in the Bank, a majority of 45 % responded that they felt so very often, whereas another 21% felt so always. This clearly shows the good customer relationship maintained by the employees which makes the customers more welcomed. Customer relationship forms the tangible part of service brands. This shows that South Indian Bank is putting its strategies right when it comes to maintaining a healthy relationship. 3. 10. 2 Staff Motivation Employees form the driving force of any organisation. Any kind of branding of the company starts with the employees, who carry it and reciprocate it in their interaction while providing services. 39 Completely Disagree 0% Values Employee opinion Completely Agree 0% Disagree 20% Undecided 13% Agree 67% Fig. 1. 22 Values Employee Opinion To the question whether South Indian Bank values employee opinion, the employees responded with 67 % agreeing to it whereas 20% disagreeing to it. This shows the bank? s commitment to its employees. South Indian Bank first preference No Opinion 0% No 7% Yes 93% Fig . 1. 23 South Indian Bank first Preference When asked to employees if South Indian Bank is their most preferred bank for employment, a clear majority of 93% responded as yes, this reflects a good working environment and culture in South Indian Bank which makes the employees favour the bank. 40 Completely Disagree 0% Celebrates individual and team success Disagree 0% Completely Agree 20% Undecided 33% Agree 47% Fig. 1. 24 Celebrates Individual and team success A question was asked to the employees on whether South Indian Bank celebrates individual and team success to which 47 % agree with 33% undecided on it and 20 % completely agreeing to it. Here again the Bank? s commitment to its employees is clearly visible. 3. 11Technology Technology is growing at a very fast pace. With the difference between companies often based on how well they use the technology. In terms of bank currently database management forms on of the most important aspect. South India Bank adopted 100% core banking in the year 2007 making service implementation faster. Very Dissatisfied 7% Online Banking Very satisfied 13% Dissatisfied 13% Satisfied 13% Average 54% Fig 1. 25 Online Banking 41 When asked to rank the satisfaction level 54 % of the employees found the services as average. Very Dissatisfied 0% Mobile Banking Very satisfied 14% Dissatisfied 0% Average 13% Satisfied 73% Fig. 1. 26 Mobile Banking When asked about their opinion regarding mobile banking services provided by the Bank a clear majority, 73 % of employees felt satisfied with the services. 42 Dissatisfied 0% Database Mangement Very Dissatisfied 0% Very satisfied 20% Average 53% Satisfied 27% 1. 27 Database Management When asked about their satisfaction level regarding the database management by South Indian Bank, 53% felt it was average whereas 27 % felt that satisfied with it.. 3. 12 Brand Identity Prism Brand Identity Prism: In 1992 Jean-Noel Kapferer developed the Brand Identity Prism, which charts the brand identity along a constructed source and constructed receiver axis, with externalization on the one side and internalization on the other. On the externalization side brand identity consists of physical facet, relationship and reflected consumer. On the internalization side brand identity consists of personality, culture (values) and self-image or â€Å"consumer mentalisation. In this respect Kapferer positions brand personality as one factor within brand identity. Source:Wikipedia. Brand Personality: This refers to association of human personality traits to a brand to achieve differentiation. This can include many human traits such as, trustworthy, conservative, openminded etc†¦ such differentiation is achieved through continuous marketing of the brand, it gets complicated if a common strategy is not used, this may lead to confusion and no solid image of the brand. This includes character and attitude. 43 Brand Culture: Symbolizes the place of the brands origin and what values it stands for. This forms one of the most important part which helps in differentiating between brands. Self Image: Is what the consumer thinks of himself/herself while using the brand. This can be the internal mirror of customer as user of brand. Brand Physique: it forms the basis of the brand. It can be described as the outline of the brand. The physical aspects are included in this. This is what the brand does. Relationship: This stands for the relationship between the customers and the company. This helps in aiding and creating of the culture. Reflection: Is all about the consumer? s perception for what the brand stands for. It stands for customers? view of the brand. Physique Personality Brand Identity Prism Relationship Culture South Indian Bank Reflection Self Image 44 3. 13 Brand Identity Prism for South Indian Bank Physique: Banking Personality: Trustworthy, friendly, conservative Relationship: Trust and welcoming Culture: Importance to human values Reflection: Supportive and open Self Image: Sense of honesty 3. 14 Web Diagram Bank for South Indians Social Media Brand Ambassador 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Online Services External Customer Internal Customer Mobile Banking Most Preferred Bank Advertisements Slogan Billboards Sponsorship Events Here an effort is made to find the difference between what the external customers and internal customers (employees) have opinion about South Indian Bank. This analysis is based on the common question asked to both the customer and the employees. The figures are based on percentage as the sample size of Customers and Employees differ. The weightage is given 45 to the customers? opinion based on which the same response from the employee is compared. The questions asked were based on ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Brand Ambassador Slogan Online banking Mobile Banking Most preferred Bank Advertisements Sponsorship Events Billboards Social Media South Indian Bank a bank for South Indians Here one can see a close similarity for the Brand Ambassador, Slogan, online services, mobile banking, and most preferred bank, this shows that what the opinion of external customers and internal customers does not differ much. There is a significant difference in the opinion when it comes to social media exposure of the Bank, and on the opinion if the Bank is for South Indians. When it comes to experiencing Social media the difference in opinion is wide showing that it is not uniform. Having a Bank which has a clear stereotyping name of South Indian Bank, bank should focus on avoiding on creation of such an image, thus here what the external customers perceive of the bank is different from the internal customers. Here the Bank should focus on bridging the gap in order to avoid any complications. 46 CHAPTER IV FINDING CONCLUSION 47 Conclusions and Suggestions South Indian Bank is clearly headed the right way in many aspects such as customer relationship, employee satisfaction etc. But there are certain areas where the Bank must clearly rethink its strategies. With all the good services that the Bank provides there is a limitation as to how much this acts as a marketing strategy. This may help in retaining the customers but when it comes to attaining new ones, a more aggressive marketing strategy must be adopted. With the presence of more than 80 years in the banking field the Bank has enough experience to be the top bank in the country. A rethinking of the marketing strategies should be considered by the Bank. Some suggestions have been given in this study, such as more presence in social media websites, activeness in internet banking and healthy recruitment from all parts of India to avoid any mark of being called a bank for only South Indians. 48 BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www. southindianbank. com http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Brand http://www. slideshare. net/Sarvajeet/brand-management-process-building-big-brandspresentation http://www. managementstudyguide. com/brand-management. htm

Manipulation through Media Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Manipulation through Media - Movie Review Example Both these movies are targeted to politically aware urban audience and use various media manipulation techniques like camera angles and shots, sound effects, literary elements etc. Camera angles and shots have been used effectively to bring out the desired effect. For example an extreme long shot emphasizes the background. In V for Vendetta, this shot has been used in the first scene when Guy Fawkes enters the room. To give the effect of a general view, a long shot is used where the scale of an object could be like a small human body. It has been used in this movie when V is coming from the alley. A medium shot is framed at a distance which makes an object four or five feet high to fill the screen. It is used to keep people in the longer shots. This shot has been used when the lady was going to spray on the 'finger guys'. A close up shot normally zooms in which the scale of an object is fairly large. This is done to focus on the facial expressions. This has been used on The Big Brother like character and V speaking in the alley. In another scene where chancellor is speaking to the people is an extreme close up that focuses on the mouth of the speaker to make t he words important. When Guy Fawkes is moving the gunpowder barrel, panning camera movement is used to create the mood as well as establishe the viewer's relationship with the subject. When Evey is moving the cart in the building a tracking shot is used which is a mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or laterally following the subject to give an authentic and spontaneous effect. When the filmmaker wants the audience to know everything that is going on, a crane shot is used, for example: girl is walking in the street after time. To make an interesting illusion of a still photograph, Freeze frame shot is used which is a shot that is taken and paused to focus on the image and facial expression for example: focusing on V's mask when he is talking to Evey. For creating tension, a tilted shot is used. This is used in this film when he is in a fight to create the desired effect of tension. High key and low key lighting is also used to create contrast between light a nd dark areas. It gives a dramatic effect. In this film low key is used when Guy Fawkes is hiding from the guards and high key is used when party leader is talking to inner party. To show the intensity of the situation a gradual transition from highlights to shadows is done to create sharp edged shadows. This is done when Guy Fawkes comes out to be hanged. To bring out the importance of two different scenes shot-reverse-shot is used in which two or more shots are edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation. This is done by dividing the screen to two when Evey and V are getting prepared while the TV is on. To bring focus to an important object deep and sharp focus is used with a blurred image. For example, while evey turned the TV off, she was blurred and the focus was on the remote. To give the illusion of past, a flash back scene with faded colors is used. Mood is created through music also like drums and marching sounds. Literary element is used in the movie 'Wag the Dog' from the title itself, which is a take off on the proverb of the dog wags the tail. It should not be the opposite - the tail should not wag the dog. In this

Multiculturalism Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Multiculturalism - Research Proposal Example This also applies to the aspect of multiculturalism. Multiculturalism remains a controversial issue in many regions, including Canada. While some people consider it negative, some view it as positive. Nonetheless, the importance of multiculturalism is quite evident, thus it is important to explore the evidence that shows that multiculturalism is important in society.Thesis Statement/central argument A key argument in this proposal is that multiculturalism is a good thing in society, and so people need to embrace and develop this phenomenon, in order to realize development in various aspects of their lives and country. Methods and procedures In order to provide evidence to support the argument in this proposal, the method of literature review will be utilized. In this method, evidence will be drawn from past literature, which has focused on multiculturalism, as well as how this is important for the realization of development in the life of an individual, and in society as a whole. Evi dence and sources that will be used to support the argument The sources used will be drawn from various journals. Journal articles are authentic, thus reliable for supporting major arguments. Additionally, these provide valid information, which is also reliable and can be used for reference purposes. In total, seven journal articles will be utilized. These are published in various journals and focus on the issue of multiculturalism. Using these sources will help to support the argument that has been advanced in the proposal.

Omnivore's dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Omnivore's dilemma - Essay Example However, the subject encompassing this model is controversial. Indeed, the practice has raised concerns that demand critical examination (Duram 123). Commercialized farming has destructed and polluted surroundings the consequences that the environment has suffered out of our wicked practices, which alter genuine farming. Therefore, there is need of restructuring the trend meaning that persons need to shun consuming non-organics and adopt organics to conserve the remains and prevent further harm. (Preserve the remaining non-organics to safeguard the environment) Efforts to non-organic farming initiated with introduction of chemicals in the practice to fight pests and weeds. The procedure reduced crops infestations substantially and successfully addressed the challenge of weeds. However, the practice has led to introduction of toxic residuals in the crops. Subsequently, the method engaged the use of sewage sludge as a fertilizer. This idea appeared sustainable since the approach provided a method of utilizing human waste for fertilizer production. As such, cheaper fertilizers were accessible hence the productivity augmented (Harper & Aikaterini 288). However, studies have identified that residues from some of these fertilizers have detrimental effects on human health. Later advancements in the non-organic scheme led to introduction of technologies that incorporated hormones and antibiotics in farming procedures (Duram 145). The use of hormones meant hurrying crops and animals growth rate, an aspect that boosted productivity. Indeed, antibiot ics provide superb food preservation schemes. However, consuming antibiotic-preserved products meant introducing agents into our systems (Lockie 318). This is detrimental since antibiotics lead to resistances hence weakening the defense system. Recently, non-organic procedures have adopted a plan of irradiating products to eliminate any agents

Article Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Review - Article Example A quantitative approach also happens to be simple and straightforward in its scope. The results arrived at numerically also allow for the application of a range of quantitative techniques in the course of the foresight exercises. It also allows for a clear cut comparison of conclusions under varied circumstances. The subject of this research were the 35,057 children falling in the age group 3-5, who were enrolled in the 311 preschools in the state of Illinois in the Financial Year 1994-1995. In the context of setting, the code of Illinois State Board of Education’s exclusively extends grants to public school districts, to conduct preschool education programs for children falling in the age group 3-5. This program has an essential parent education component. In that context, in the Financial Year 1994-1995, 389 types of program services were offered by Illinois preschools. These services included either exclusive classroom based instruction or a combination of class room based and home based instruction. A few schools extended only home based instruction. A majority of the schools that is 85 percent offered only classroom based instruction. All the schools running these programs were required to have parent education services and parent involvement activities. Nearly 38 percent of the preschools made parent involvement a requirement in these programs. The parent involvement categories included classroom activities, field trips, and enrichment activities involving children. These programs also had a parent education component that comprised of parent-child interaction activities, workshops pertaining to child development and parenting skill development activities. The teachers participating in these programs were sufficiently competent, with 73.4 percent of them having early childhood education certificates. The analysis of

The role of the woman within M. Butterfly, Miss Saigon and Memoirs of Essay

The role of the woman within M. Butterfly, Miss Saigon and Memoirs of a Geisha - Essay Example They are merely stereotypes created, promoted and perpetuated by literature and mass media. In all the three, the Asian woman’s identity is one of being an object of desire. It is all along macho Westerners dominating the humble Eastern female. M Butterfly was a Chinese woman (?) hired by the government to spy by way of a relationship with a French diplomat. Miss Saigon was a young, innocent Vietnamese bargirl sold for a night to an American Marine. Chiyo was sold into the Okia by her poor Japanese parents. They are prostitutes, tasty Asian delicacies. They can be given away as prizes in a raffle. They beg for love, have sleepless nights waiting for their men, for weeks, for years. They are even willing to go to the extent of supreme sacrifice, killing themselves only prove how intense their love is. (Didn’t Madame Butterfly disembowel herself in the end? It doesn’t matter who actually died. Madame Butterfly’s existence may be unreal but her death is real. The Perfect Woman existed only in Gallimard’s fantasy world and she died when that world crashed down.) They are passive, submissive and servile. They can be conditioned easily. A man can do anything with them. He does not have to hesitate to make impetuous advances in the first meeting. Still, men are women’s saviors who change their lives for the better and are generous enough to accept their children. When they seduce a woman, they are actually doing a favor to them. In the plot of Miss Saigon, all the woman characters that the reader comes across are prostitutes. But there is a beautiful, innocent virgin with a heart of gold, who had never been kissed. The summary briefly is about a White man saving an Asian woman from an Asian man and the Asian woman dying for the White man (Shimizu, 2007, 36). Kim chooses love as her road to liberation. Such dependent attitude, a mistaken perception of enslavement to be empowerment, is frustrating. It later proves to

Investigating the Relationship between Academic Persistence and Age, Dissertation

Investigating the Relationship between Academic Persistence and Age, Gender, Ethnicity and Transfer Credits - Dissertation Example According to a report published in the associated press in the year 2011, a total of 54% of the students who enter four year colleges within the US do successfully complete their studies (2011). In addition, the reports from the National Centre for Statistics show that the number of adult learners who were entering post secondary education in the country is on the increase. The reports show that the number of adult students who were joining the system had risen from 27.3 to 30.6 million adults between the years 2000 to 2010 which represented an increase of 8% (2011). Consequently, Ziegler & Durant explain that for adult learners to achieve success, they require to first and foremost recognize their reason for getting instructions and their involvement in the designing along with the assessment of their instructions (2007). However, Tinto reports that in the traditional courses offered in various universities approximately 40% of the adult learners who enroll for higher education in t he universities eventually failed in the achievement of their desired academic goals (2008). In the year 2008, Jones suggested that adult learners can be affected by various barriers which could range from the situational, dispositional along with institutional barriers. According to him, the situational barriers come about due to the learner’s situation which may include issues like inadequate time, their work responsibilities along with childcare. On the other hand, the author describes the institutional barriers as the issues that affect the students within an institution. This includes issues like the number of hours they are required to be operating, the inadequacy of resourceful information. Finally, the author describes the dispositional barriers as internal barriers that result from the feelings of alienation that a person may be suffering from (2008). In light of these barriers, Ziegler & Durant come out to suggest that adult education mostly encounters situational barriers due to the inadequacy of time (2007). Jones additionally suggests that these barriers have in turn made the universities and colleges to introduce programs which have not previously been a part of their past curriculums. The programs are flexible and enable adult located in far away distances to acquire education (2008). This research study will aim at ascertaining the relationship that exists between the student’s age, gender, transfer credits along with their ethnicities and their persistence in achieving their set academic goals. Problem Statement The research problem will mainly aim at establishing the relationship that exists between age, gender, transfer credits and ethnicity and the academic persistence among adult learners. Previous researches like Cook and King, did study the existing relationship between the characteristics of adult learners along with their involvement in the pursuit of higher education (2009). However, the researcher’s studies only dealt with the high school students who had cleared school and were in the first years of pos t secondary education. The studies did not also indicate the existing patterns

An Analysis of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 Essay Example for Free

An Analysis of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 Essay As a response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States government established a separate agency within the federal system to prevent future terrorist activities. Hence, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created, along with the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA). The HSA identified and explained the principle, jurisdiction and duties of the Department of Homeland Security. The HSA also reinforced sentences for transgressing national security laws and expanded federal control of local law enforcement agencies. However, critics argued that the HSA instead promoted American global dominance at the expense of civil liberties. For instance, Title II pushed for the establishment of a Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, tasked with the creation and maintenance of a database containing public and private information on virtually any individual in the United States. Telephone records, banking transactions, school records, employment history – these can be gathered to piece together a profile that can be used against innocent people suspected as terrorists. In the HAS’ Title V: Emergency Preparedness and Response, there is no specific mandate of federal control over the â€Å"local first responders† – the police, the firemen and the emergency personnel. The provision simply called for â€Å"federal supervision, funding and cooperation. † (Van Bergen, 2002) Although centralization is perfect for emergency preparedness on a sufficiently large scale, it could also lead to the loss of local control and to potential federal militarization. (Van Bergen, 2002) According to the United States Northern Command (USNC), â€Å"Prohibiting direct military involvement in law enforcement is in keeping with long-standing U. S. law and policy limiting the militarys role in domestic affairs. † (Van Bergen, 2002) In addition, the Posse Comitatus Act (18 USC 1385) â€Å"generally prohibits U. S. military personnel from interdicting vehicles, vessels and aircraft; conducting surveillance, searches, pursuit and seizures; or making arrests on behalf of civilian law enforcement authorities. † (Van Bergen, 2002) The four statutory exceptions to this prohibition are the following: counter-drug assistance (10 USC 371-81); Insurrection Act (10 USC 331-34); crimes using nuclear materials (18 USC 831); and chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction (10 USC 382). (Van Bergen, 2002) One of the most serious consequences of the HAS is the Critical Infrastructure Information Act of 2002 (CIIA). The CIIA offered corporations confidentiality and immunity from civil liability with respect to the â€Å"critical infrastructure information† (CII) that they submitted â€Å"voluntarily† to the DHS. CII may include virtually any information about physical or cyber infrastructure that can be useful to terrorists or other parties that intend to cause damage to the facility. (Steinzor, 2003) No one may use it in any civil action arising under federal or state law without obtaining the written consent of the company. Government officials who will violate the CIIA will face up to a year in prison. The CIIA is very dangerous, as it would immunize corporations and their employees from malfeasance in their operations, from racial discrimination to embezzlement, violations of environmental regulations and negligence that will harm the public physically and or financially. Hence, the CIIA might also end up granting immunity to enterprises that were guilty of negligence in the face of terrorist attacks, allowing them to escape accountability for putting other people’s lives in danger. Terrorist groups such as the Al Qaeda might use the CIIA to their advantage, because their operatives assume quiet and unobtrusive Western lifestyles and identities to avoid capture and to successfully carry out missions. But with the misleading nature of the HSA, the question ordinary Americans should be asking is: Who should they be afraid of, the terrorists or their own government? References Van Bergen, Jennifer. (2002, December 2-4). Homeland Security Act: The Rise of the American Police State. Retrieved January 2, 2008 from http://www. ratical. org/ratville/CAH/HSA_RoAPS. html. Steinzor, Rena. (2003, March 12). ‘Democracy Dies Behind Closed Doors:’ The Homeland Security Act and Corporate Accountability. PDF File. Retrieved January 2, 2008 from http://www. progressiveregulation. org/perspectives/secrecy_white_paper. pdf.

Reliance Industries Limited: Effect of Globalisation

Reliance Industries Limited: Effect of Globalisation The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani, and is one of the largest private sector companies in India, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Reliance Groups annual revenues are in excess of US$ 58 billion. The flagship company, Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company. Reliance activities span exploration and production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals (polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics and chemicals), textiles, retail and special economic zones. Reliance is the largest polyester yarn and fibre producer in the world and among the top five to ten producers in the world in major petrochemical products. Major Group Companies are Reliance Industries Limited (including main subsidiary Reliance Retail Limited) andÂÂ  Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited. Reliance Group is a highly diversified group and is in to multiproduct business like oil/gas exploration, retail of petro/consumer products and mfg. of petrochemical/refining and textile products. Here I have summarised how Globalisation has affected the survival and sustainable development of Reliance Industries Ltd. GLOBALISATION If I were to summarise in one word as to what is Globalisation Liberalisation is leading to.. I will say Competition. Globalisation has a significant impact on entrepreneurial enterprises in many ways. Globalisation provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurial ventures to expand their business internationally. With the help of local governments, large corporations, and international organisations, entrepreneurial enterprises are able to confront the challenges posed by globalisation and economic liberalisation, to improve their competitiveness in the global market, and better serve the global consumers. A number of hypotheses are examined to understand how globalisation has affected the survival and sustainable development of entrepreneurial enterprises. Globalisation has forced Reliance in the following ways It has aligned with the global trends Development policies and compensation systems were put in place. Built leaders within organisation, within this talent pool. International Business Environment affects the development of RIL India imports about two-thirds of its crude oil requirement. Exploration and production of oil and gas is critical for Indias energy security and economic growth. Reliances oil and gas exploration and production business is therefore inexorably linked with the national imperative. Exploration and production, the initial link in the energy and materials value chain, remains a major growth area and Reliance envisions evolving as a global energy major. Over the years the EP industry has registered significant growth, primarily due to spiraling crude oil and gas prices. With growing competition and ever growing demand for energy, especially from developing countries, the focus is on energy security. RIL began gas production within six and a half years of gas discovery, in comparison to the world average of 9-10 years for similar deep water production facilities. Continuous gas production for about a year, with 100% uptime, once again demonstrates the Companys flawless commissioning and execution capabilities. In April 2010, RIL entered into a joint venture with the USA based Atlas Energy, Inc. (Atlas) under which RIL acquired 40% interest in Atlas core Marcellus Shale acreage position. RIL has become a partner in approximately 300,000 net acres of undeveloped leasehold in the core area of the Marcellus Shale region in south western Pennsylvania for an acquisition cost of $ 339 million and an additional $ 1.36 billion capital costs under a carry arrangement for 75% of Atlass capital costs over an anticipated seven and a half year development programme. Low operating costs and proximity to USA northeast gas markets combine to make the Marcellus Shale region one of the most economically attractive, unconventional natural gas resources play in North America. The acreage will support the drilling of over 3,000 wells with a resource potential of approximately 13.3 Trillion Cubic Feet equivalent (TCFe). While Atlas will serve as the development operator for the joint venture, RIL is expected to become a development operator in certain regions in the coming years in the JV. Atlas will continue acquiring leasehold in the Marcellus Shale region and RIL will have the option to acquire 40% share in all new acreages. RIL also obtained the right of first offer with respect to potential future sales by Atlas of around 280,000 additional Appalachian acres currently controlled by Atlas (not included in the present joint venture). The RIL-Atlas joint venture has the potential to become one of the largest prime acreage holders in the Marcellus Shale region. This joint venture will materially increase RILs resource base and provide an entirely new platform from which to grow its exploration and production business while simultaneously enhancing its ability to operate unconventional projects in the future. Additionally, RIL has farmed out 20% PI in the blocks Borojo North and Borojo South in Colombia; and 30% PI in block 18 and 25% PI in block 41 in Oman. The Regional Government of Kurdistan has assigned third party participating interest of 20% each in blocks Rovi and Sarta to M/s OVM; the assigned agreement is yet to be signed by RIL. RIL now has 13 blocks in its international EP portfolio including 2 in Peru, 3 in Yemen (1 producing and 2 exploratory), 2 each in Oman, Kurdistan and Colombia, 1 each in East Timor and Australia; amounting to a total acreage of over 93,500 sq. kms. Sustainability Strategy adopted/used by RIL in Global Markets Reliance has made sustainable development a cornerstone of its business strategy to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. RIL adopted principle of materiality and prioritized key issues after collective deliberation by management and key stakeholders. These issues include; Energy Security, Health Safety, Corporate Governance and Transparency, Product Responsibility, Climate Change and Waste Management. RIL sustainable development strategy draws on proven technology and risk management framework and evolves from the materiality analysis that has been performing over the years. The focus areas under sustainability development strategy include the following: Energy Security As a company RIL involved in the energy and materials value chain, so it is committed to responsible use of energy. Its systems and processes ensure optimum energy usage by continuous monitoring of all forms of energy and increasing the efficiency of operations. Growth through Innovation RIL firmly believe that growth through innovation will give a big competitive advantage and will be a key differentiator. Companies goal is to make RIL one of the most innovative companies in the world and to achieve breakthrough growth in revenues and profits by creating and implementing sustainable solutions. RIL is developing an innovative ecosystem that builds on organisational systems and processes, talent management, open innovation and world class RD facilities. Health and Safety Safety overrides all production targets this vision drives RIL to continuously look for ways to achieve zero accident at workplace. RIL vision is to develop a dedicated pool of safety professionals and lead in safety performance across its operations by focusing on process safety and behavioural safety.. Environment Protecting the environment and preserving natural resources is a high priority area. Through annual environment plan and business targets, RIL identify projects and take action to reduce water consumption and become carbon neutral and achieve maximum possible recycling and reuse of wastes. RIL set targets for key environment-related performance indicators such as material intensity, GHG emissions, air quality, water consumption, effluent discharge, waste generation and disposal, and conservation of bio-diversity. Product Responsibility For RIL, product responsibility is to offer efficient and reliable product and services with minimum environmental impact throughout the life cycle of the product from the cradle to the grave. Its product and services are designed, manufactured and delivered with principle consideration of customer safety. Social Institution Building Social welfare and community development is at the core of RIL/s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) philosophy. RIL strategy is to have close and continuous interaction with the people and communities around our manufacturing divisions to bring qualitative changes and support the underprivileged. Strategy Milestones Made significant investments in EP of OG to secure energy supplies Implemented systems to monitor and measure sustainability performance Introduced sustainability awareness programmes in the intranet Formed the Reliance Innovation Council Sustainability report assured by an independent assurance provider

Animal Farm, 1984 Essays -- Animal Farm Essays

Animal farm and 1984 Napoleon, the leader of all the animals of the Rebellion, can be compared and contrasted with Big Brother, the leader of all the people of 1984. Both Big Brother and Napoleon show the qualities of a cruel ruler. Similar to Big Brother, Napoleon is a secretive plotter who works behind the scenes rather than openly. However, unlike Napoleon, Big Brother periodically appears on the television screen. Napoleon and Big Brother both work continually to weaken their rivals, whether it is by removing Snowball or eliminate Rutherford. Both place importance on complicated ceremonies and parades to prevent their workers from thinking about their schemes. Napoleon’s control over animal farm is not as powerful as Big Brother's control over the workers in 1984 (Oceania). In the service of their ruler, Squealer and Winston both revise history. Winston's task at the Ministry of Truth is to alter the past to suit the present. Squealer's duty is to amend the Seven Commandments also to suit the present. However, Squealer supports the views and beliefs of Napolean wheras Winston does not support the rules of Big Brother. Parson and Boxer are both characterized by their willingness to work, constantly volunteering for work whenever something needed to be done. Boxer worked constantly to build the windmill and Parson worked endlessly organizing marches and parades. Preparation for Hate Week was described a "Processions, meetings, military parades, lectures, film shows,...

Macbeth and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 Essay examples -- Comparison Co

Macbeth and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 Shakespeare’s Macbeth was influenced by the gunpowder plot of 1605. The equivocation that was inspired by this event played an important role in the play. The general theme of Macbeth reflects the mood of society at the time that it was written. This relationship is a direct reflection of the mimetic theory. This paper will examine the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the role of equivocation in the subsequent prosecutions during the time that Shakespeare was writing Macbeth, and show how Macbeth was influenced by the event. On the night of November 4, 1605, an important discovery was made in London: thirty-six barrels of highly explosive gunpowder, ready to blow a hole in the earth, were discovered directly below the House of Parliament in Westminster. Had the authorities not foiled this attempt, Parliament would have been destroyed, killing the members of Parliament as well as King James I of England (whose reign had only begun in 1603), and sending the English government into shambles. In modern day context, Garry Wills suggests that this event would be as if an atomic bomb was discovered under the United States Capitol Building during the heat of the Cold War: How to suggest the scale of it? For a parallel we might imagine America in the 1950s, and suppose that a communist cell – made up of Americans acting under foreign direction – has planted a nuclear device under the United States Capitol. It is timed to go off when the President is addressing both houses of Congress. All Executive Officers will be there, as well as all justices of the Supreme Court. The three branches of Government will be wiped out. Every Constitutional successor to the President will die with him.1 One of ... ...ent as of April 8, 2000) Boot, Jeremy. Guy Fawkes – Treason in 1605. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.innotts.co.uk/~asperges/fawkes/> (version current as of March 5, 2000) Friedlander, Ed, M.D. Enjoying "Macbeth", by William Shakespeare. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.pathguy.com/erf/macbeth.htm> (version current as of March 5, 2000) Vaidya, Suchit and Chris Harrison. Macbeth.com. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.igs.net/~chrisharr/macbeth/index2.html> (version current as of March 5, 2000) Weller, Philip. Macbeth Navigator: Themes: Equivocation. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.clicknotes.com/macbeth/Equiv.html> (version current as of March 5, 2000) Wuestenhagen, Greg. Guy Fawkes and his day. Internet WWW page, at URL: <http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/~cbladey/guy/html/toc.html> (version current as of March 5, 2000)

Realization of Life :: essays papers

Realization of Life At one point in one^Ã’s life, he will come to some realization, develop a higher understanding of himself, or have an epiphany of some type. This one incident can change a person^Ã’s entire outlook on life including their beliefs and practices. There will be many notable events in one^Ã’s life, but there will be only few incidents in which one will come to a profound comprehension of his life or life in general. These few incidents are what create adversity in one^Ã’s self. The mental unease which comes along with these incidents is not usually long lasting, but embeds a dramatic concept to which one will often refer. A few years ago, I underwent one of these experiences in which I realized that life entailed no inherent meaning, but only that of which I could myself assign to my actions and despite this I must somehow find happiness in my life. One will always perceive life and its events differently. Because of this, two entirely similar events may influence two individuals in the exact opposite directions. Persons can usually be associated with one of the traditional temperaments, which are phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine, and melancholic. These temperaments are representative of the four humors; phlegm, yellow bile, blood and black vile respectively. One will view and translate events based upon their own personal temperament. I find myself to be melancholic and in that, I find the most significance in seemingly insignificant events. During my freshman year, I was writing a paper for English Class late one night. I recollect the paper was based on the views of Ernest Hemingway. In my frustration, I asked myself, How important is this paper? This was the first time I had ever asked myself this question. In all the assignments prior to this point I had never questioned their importance. In fact, I surprised myself with the answer. At that moment, I realized that the essay was completely unimportant and would not effect me in the long run. Upon this, I began to exam all the events of earlier in the day. I could not find any real meaning in any of these events. Suddenly and horrifically I came to the assumption that not only my life, but life in general was seemingly meaningless in the scheme of the universe. With this conclusion I came to wonder, is life worth living? Up until this point I had found meaning in my life. In order to live productively, I

Management Anaylisis of Hyatt

What is the general environment of the company? First of all we have to define the general environment of a company before analyzing the Hyatt hotels chain. The general environment of a company represents its demographic, socio-cultural, economic, political and technological trends. It is an analysis of the market situation and the position of the company. We can say that the general environment of the Hyatt Hotel chain is the luxury branch, they target the rich and classy branch of people who wants to stand in high level hotels.Being located in the main cities of the world they are by then able to target and reach a high percentage of clients, being willing full to stay at the Hyatt’s hotels. About the economy the Hyatt is part of a niche which permits it to stay in the top and not to be too much affected by the economy of the world, as far as they target rich customers and that there will always be people willing to pay the money in order to stay in the Hyatt and not the For mula 1 hotels. About the technological trends, Hyatt always try to improve the comfort of the client and of its employees.For example, their newest product is a device that keeps the air in the room completely safe from sicknesses and allergies. It’s called a hypoallergenic room or its nickname is a â€Å"pure room. † They have 11 pure rooms in the Hyatt downtown. Or also With new products that are in select rooms, the management will offer incentives to the staff members that get customers to upgrade their rooms. This is a great way to motivate the staff. The idea at Hyatt is to place all the employees at the same level and to make them feel good and at home. (http://www. bizjournals. com/denver/print-edition/2010/11/19/at-the-hyatt-the-environments-fun. html) What is the task environment of the company? The task environment includes sectors with which the organization interacts directly and that have a direct impact on the organization's ability to achieve its goals. The task environment typically includes the industry, competitors, customers, techniques of production, suppliers, stock market, raw materials, market sectors, and perhaps the human resources and international sectors. Here we can see that Hyatt as far as part of a niche as we already said, do not have too much competitors, expect in the biggest cities of the world (Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles†¦) which is a good advantage.One of the competitive advantage of Hyatt is their innovation and the way the let the client decide of what he wants and do not impose any standard rooms. Their customers as we said are part of the high society and want to feel special, which is what Hyatt offers them. How does the international environment influence the company? What is the International Environment, its all the factors in the world, exchanges between countries, relations between each other that affect or influence the choices or decisions of a company.For example the Hyatt Corporat ion cannot install in Cuba because of the International Environment as far as the relations between Cuba and the United States are not good. Hyatt is a luxury brand hotel so usually countries are proud to have a Hyatt hotel on their territory, it proves a certain level of richness and welfare for the country. Thus the relations changes fast and the economy is also a main factor to take into account. How does it influence the company by then, I would say that a safe country, rich and stable permits Hyatt to rely on it and to expand their, in the contrairy the removal of the hotel could be a possibility.

Relationships in Pride and Prejudice

Austin writes about four relationships and shows the differences between their foundations; some eave good foundations and others are doomed to crumble and produce unhappy lives. These four relationships between Jane and Bentley, Lydia and Hickman, Charlotte and Mr.. Collins, and Elizabeth and Dared are different, but taken together provide a general guide to any relationship. First impressions are a very important part of the relationship and can influence, for better or worse, the rest of the relationship.First impressions can be affected by many things including preconceived prejudices, appearances, and social status. Austin believes that first impressions are very important. This is seen by Diana Francis, author of â€Å"An Overview of pride and Prejudice†, who says, â€Å"Austin began Pride and Prejudice in 1 796 under the title First Impressions. Her family found the novel entertaining and continued to reread it for at least two years†¦. She again began revision wo rk on First Impressions, though she was forced to retile it as the name had already been used by another novelist. Austin finally published it in 1813 under the title Pride and Prejudice. She came back to this concept much later, it seems, because she thought that this book could be a very influential book and needed to be written. This book is important because it shows the difference between good and bad foundations. It does this without directly saying what to do and what not to do like in the conduct books. In order to examine the foundation of the four key relationships, Austin must begin with each couple's first impressions.The author first shows the characters of Jane Bennett and Charles Bentley whose first impressions are based on an attraction to character. While they are both physically attracted to each other, they also see that the other one has a virtuous character. Ms. Jane Bennett is the eldest and most beautiful aught of a middle class family. She also has a sweet di sposition, is fairly well educated, and is not silly and mindless like some of her other sisters. Charles Bentley is a wealthy man who has just moved into the neighborhood.He is a good-looking man, he is very kind and polite, and well rounded. Bernard J. Paris, a professor at Michigan State University, describes their relationship: â€Å"The Jane-Bentley relationship may be more passionately intense, but it is presented as a happy accident. Fortunately for themselves, Jane and Bentley are what they appear to be† (100). Paris believes that it is an accident that Bentley moved to Interfiled, near to Jane, it is an accident that they were both attracted to one another's looks, and it is an accident that they were attracted to one another's personalities.Even though they do have a sweet love story, this could have happened to anyone really, and this is why Paris says their relationship is an accident. That is why they are not the main relationship of the book, because they are ju st average. Bentleys affection for Jane is shown when he goes out of his way to dance with her more than he dances with the other girls. He even describes her as â€Å"the most beautiful return have ever beheld! â€Å"(Austin 18). The reader can see that Jane likes Bentley just as much when the Bennett return home from the Emerson Assembly and the girls talk about how much they enjoyed themselves.Jane says about Bentley, â€Å"He is just what a young man ought to be, sensible, good humored, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! So much ease, with such perfect good breeding! † (Austin 24). Bentley and Jane seem to have a good, innocent relationship. The two show all the signs that they are willing to get to know each other on a deeper level and build a foundation so that their relationship will grow and flourish. The next couple that Austin discusses is Lydia Bennett and George Hickman, who are both very shallow. Their first impressions are based on physical attraction .Neither of them attempts to know one another deeper, which presents a problem and foreshadows the complications in their relationship. Lydia is one of the youngest Bennett daughters, around the age of fifteen, who is enthralled with any man in a uniform. She goes into town whenever she hears word of officers coming. She is one of the silliest Bennett girls, and this leads to her irresponsibility. She is â€Å"a young girl fascinated by the uniforms of he militia regiment and flattered by the attention and attractiveness Of Hickman, [and she] is easy prey for the disreputable young soldier' (Attachment 12).Paris notes about her upbringing, â€Å"Mr.. Bennett has power when he chooses to use it, but in general he has abandoned his paternal responsibility. His daughters are allowed to be idle and frivolous if they wish. Little effort is made either to form their characters or correct their manners† (101 The reader can infer that if the Bennett daughters, especially Lydia, had been raised better, Lydia would have made better choices in choosing a love interest. If Lydia had been raised to not be so silly and careless, she could have made better life choices.Lydia problems stem from the lack of good role models she had in her life. Her mother, whom she takes after, is also a very silly and frivolous woman, and her father does nothing to control his wife or his other daughters Lieutenant Hickman is a lieutenant in the army, who is stationed at Emerson and is good-looking. This makes him irresistible to Lydia, but she really knows nothing about his character or background. Austin uses Lydia fascination with soldiers to comment on how women in her era were often impressed by en in uniform.Daniel Pool, writer of What Jane Austin Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, states, â€Å"It is thus almost invariably the cavalry who really set feminine pulses racing in the nineteenth-century English fiction† (1 11). Hickman prides himself as being a dishonest and distru stful person from a very young age. He uses his words, charm, and good looks to try to make wealthy girls fall in love with him so he can use their money to pay off his innumerable debts.He, at first, started to talk to Elizabeth but stopped pursuing her when he found a girl with more money whom he could try to woo. When that fails, Hickman then tries and succeeds in misleading Lydia. He lies to Elizabeth about his true character. He also lies about his relationship with Dared and the time he tried to elope with Dairy's sister, Georgian, for her money. The lie that Hickman told builds up the prejudice that Elizabeth has toward Dared in the first place. In turn, this starts the relationship of Elizabeth and Dared off badly.Lydia immaturity and Hacksaw's dishonorable character suggest that this relationship is not a good one and will not prosper. Charlotte Lacuna's and Mr.. Collision's first impressions are based on social debility and security. They are both looking for social and mo netary comfort and stability in married life. They find that in each other. It is not a marriage that Austin promotes because it is not based on love. Charlotte Lucas lives near the Bennett and is a close friend of Elizabeth.Her family, like the Bennett, is not extremely wealthy and is in fact a little poorer than the Bennett. Charlotte is not very well educated, does not have a lot of money, and is not the prettiest girl. She realizes this and forms her view of marriage accordingly. She knows her circumstance and has set her standards for arraign very low so that they can be met or maybe exceeded easily. She had often talked to Elizabeth of her marriage expectations, stating, â€Å"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance .. It is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life† (Austin 40). Charlotte did not really expect love in marriage; she just wanted to be married because she needed the security it offer ed. She was nearing the age when she would be too old to be considered an eligible lady. Mr.. Collins is the distant and eccentric cousin of the Bennett who comes to sit and hopefully to find a wife. He is the clergyman of a parish on the estate of Lady Catherine De Burgh, and it is assumed he is not the first son in his family.Debra Attachment, the Vice President for Academic Affairs at New Mexico State University, tells us that the first son of the family would receive most of the inheritance, and â€Å"If he were a younger son, his family influence and financial support would generally provide him with either a lesser estate or with training for a profession (generally the church, the law, or the military) together with money or influence enough to obtain a professional position once his training was complete† (4). He is described by Mrs.. Bennett as an odious man, and he annoys the whole family except for Mr..Bennett who finds joy in laughing at his overcompensation of ev erything. Since the Bennett did not produce a male heir, Mr.. Collins will receive their estate when Mr.. Bennett passes because of a strict settlement on Longhorn. Because of this, the Bennett daughters will not inherit the estate which makes Mrs.. Bennett very upset. The reader can first see the flaws in Mr.. Collins when he comes to Longhorn. He picks out a wife in Jane, but when he finds out she already is poke for, he quickly changes to Elizabeth. Austin explains, â€Å"Mr..Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth -? and it was soon done – done while Mrs.. Bennett was stirring the fire. Elizabeth, equally next to Jane in birth and beauty, succeeded her of course† (Austin 132). We see that he does not really want to find love in anyone; He just wants to acquire a wife to look acceptable to society while tying to benefit from the entailment that will leave the Bennett daughters without a home. Since Elizabeth refuses his proposal, he moves on and finds Char lotte Lucas who is also looking for a convenient arraign.The idea of a pragmatic marriage seems harsh to society now, but in the Regency time period this was accepted. People did not usually marry for love; instead, they married for money. â€Å"Marriage in eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century England was as much (sometimes more) a matter of property as of love or companionship† (Attachment 38). Austin does not like this kind of marriage. She lifts up relationships based on love throughout her novels. This relationship does not seem like it will prosper because of the fact that the people know nothing about each other and have nothing in cornrow.The first impressions between Elizabeth Bennett and Fatalism Dared are obstructed by their pride and prejudice, so it blocks their attraction at first. They are both very proud people, and it initially hurts their relationship. Elizabeth Bennett the second oldest Bennett daughter, is strong-willed and very vocal in what she believ es. She is also very beautiful and the favorite daughter of Mr.. Bennett because she is the most like him. She is a very prideful person, and she develops prejudices against people without knowing them fully. Fatalism Dared, the good friend of Mr..Charles Bentley, is a very misunderstood character. He is a handsome and wealthy man. He comes off as a very cold and arrogant man to people who do not know him. Dared explains his behavior: Unfortunately an only son, (for many years an only child) I was spoilt by my parents, who though good themselves, (my father particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable,) allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing, to care for none beyond my own family circle, to think meanly of all the rest of the world, to wish at least to think meanly Of their sense and worth compared with my own. Austin 672) He was raised to be cold to the outside, but on the inside he is a kind ND gracious person; Elizabeth realizes this when he talk s to the people closest to him. It takes Elizabeth months to realize his true character, and she regrets her first impressions very much. Dared comes from a very rich family that belongs to the highest class. Because of this, he seems justified in the society for thinking of himself as higher than other people at times. When Dared arrives at the Emerson Assembly, he feels superior to the other people there and, because of this, only dances with Bentleys sisters, whom he considers to be his equal.When Dared is questioned about Elizabeth by Bentley, he distantly says, â€Å"She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men† (Austin 18). Elizabeth, inadvertently, hears this and, because of this comment, begins to dislike him. She also believes things about Dared that she has been told by Hickman which makes her like Dared less. In order for their relationship to work, they will have to put aside their pride and prejudices and focus on getting to know one another, which they will continue to do throughout the next months.Paris believes hat their relationship will work because † it is based upon a real understanding of themselves and each Other and upon a proper combination of values† (100). This gives hope since Paris believes that they will prosper, even though they will have to go through trials. First impressions not only lay a foundation, but they provide insight into what the reader can expect. This foundation that is built helps the couple when they encounter misunderstandings of many kinds. Misunderstandings test the foundations of each relationship.Misunderstandings are one of the most important things in the development of a relationship. Austin takes these same four relationships through initial misunderstandings in order to continue to build their foundations. From these misunderstandings, each relationship is tested and tried to see if it will last. One sees the importance of a good foundation, which is established in first impressions, and continued on as the relationship progresses. Jane and Bentley, although they seem like a perfect couple, still have their troubles.Their misunderstandings are filled with heart-break and communication issues. When they had both developed feelings for each other, Bentleys friends start to try to influence him, to distance himself from Jane because they are not socially equal. Bentleys sister, Caroline, does not like Cane's family because they are not from the upper class, and they are not well mannered. Another one of Bentleys friend, Mr.. Dared, explains that he tried to break up their relationship because he did not feel that Jane liked Bentley as much as he liked her.Dared did not want his friend to get hurt. He was also fearful of the fact attachment was trying to marry Bentley so she could have his money. Dared later realizes that this is not the case and that her feeli ngs for Bentley are true and honorable. Caroline Bentley sends a misleading letter to Jane telling her that Bentley and his friends will be returning to London for the winter. She implies that Bentley will woo Darers sister, Georgian, which crushes Jane. Caroline also insinuates in this letter that Jane should suppress her feelings for Bentley. She is described by David M.Sheppard, author of The Annotated Pride and Prejudice, as unable to think badly of anyone, and this can be to her disadvantage. In this case, Cane's refusal to see the bad in people hurts her because she believes the best in Caroline Bentley, even when Elizabeth tries to warn her. Paris says, â€Å"Jane is insecure about her own worth and acceptability and needs to approve of everyone lest they disapprove of her†¦ . If she likes others, they will like her†¦. To maintain her picture of the world, she denies, rationalizes, and distorts† (1 1 1). Dared is seen to be looking out for his friend's best i nterests.Caroline Benignly on the other hand, seems to only be vindictive and jealous when she tries to separate Bentley and Jane because she does not like the Bennett family. Dared tells Bentley about his concern about Cane's true feelings for him. Bentley listens to these concerns, but in the end he knows that Jane does love IM. Because Of this, he fights to make this relationship work against the wishes of his best friend. Bentley is very cautious to always listen to Dairy's advice and sometimes a little too much. Paris says, â€Å"Bangle's chief trait is his readiness to be led by others.It gives him [Bentley] a feeling of security to have his actions directed by Dared' (1 1 1-112). In this case, Bentley is very reliant on his friend, but as a grown man he needs to be able to make his own decision and not care about what others think. This is especially true when it comes to the woman he will spend the rest of his life with. He finally realizes his after he leaves Nether-field and breaks Cane's heart. He then goes against the wishes of his sister and has to prove to Dared that he and Jane really do love each other. When Bentley comes to this conclusion, Jane has to choose to forgive him.Even though Bentley broke her heart when he left Interfiled, Jane still forgives him because she feels that their love is true and will last Their misunderstanding tests the foundation of their relationship and makes it stronger. Lydia and Hacksaw's misunderstandings relate directly to their personalities because they are both characterized by lies and immaturity. Hickman convinces Lydia to run away with him, and Lydia goes along with it because she thinks that Hickman is going to marry her. But in fact, he has no plan to do so. Their elopement alone was a huge disgrace.This is seen when Mr.. Bennett says, â€Å"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn? † (Austin 662). He is using sarcasm to say that this is a dishonor t o their family and hurts their family status. Everyone knows that Hickman did not plan to marry her, and that was one of the biggest disgraces. Austin reveals the severity of their situation: it would have en more for the advantage of conversation, had Miss Lydia Bennett come upon the town† (Austin 560). To be â€Å"upon the town† means to become a prostitute, so this is a very harsh comment (Sheppard 561).They are finally discovered, and Hickman is paid by Dared to marry Lydia. This shows Darers good character to Elizabeth and removes some of the prejudices she has against him. The marriage helps the Bennett family tremendously because it would have ruined their family reputation if Hickman had just left Lydia after they had run off together. This is seen when even Attachment explains why Dairy's actions are so helpful: † . NY scandal committed by one member of a family implicated all – and could literally destroy the chances of the unmarried women in the family to find respectable mates.Thus, Lydia Bennett running off with Mr.. Hickman presents a danger not only to her own reputation and her own future but to those of her sisters as well† (3). This marriage is a very sad one because there is only physical attraction. There is a weak foundation in their relationship, so it can be guessed that they will both lead miserable lives together. Austin points out that â€Å"Hacksaw's affection for Lydia, was just what Elizabeth had expected to find it; tot equal to Lydia for him† (Austin 574). This suggests that they will not have a good relationship because Lydia likes Hickman more than he likes her.They will have to work very hard in order to make this relationship work. This is not seen as a good relationship in the eyes of Jane Austin. Charlotte Lacuna's and Mr.. Collision's misunderstandings stem from the shallow foundation that they have. Their relationship is based on security and comfort in life, so they do not have any physical or character attraction to each other. Their married life is strained, and this is seen from the very ginning, when Collins proposes and asks about the date of their wedding.Austin notes, Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained† (Austin 228). Sheppard explains, â€Å"There is irony in this use of the term [disinterested] since it often connotes lack of concern with one's monetary interest, and Charlotte desire here centers around her own material benefit† (229). Charlotte situation is sad and ironic. She realizes this herself but knows there is nothing she can do about it since it stems from a lack of money, beauty, and youth.The irony in their relationship is that even though Charlotte wants a comfortable life, she cannot have that with Mr.. Collins because he is so hard to tolerate. She spends most of her time avoiding him. Sheppard says, Charlotte clearl y appreciates this reality; she also knows that, given her age and lack of either fortune or good looks, Mr.. Collins may be her last chance. With him, she will enjoy a comfortable income and home, the power of managing a household, and a much higher social position than she would have as a single woman. 231) Mr.. Collins' only mission in life is to please his patron, Lady Catherine De Burgh- Lady Catherine had suggested to him that he should find a good wife, and because he would eventually inherit the Bennett estate, he thought it a good idea to marry one of Mr.. Bonnet's daughters. After Elizabeth rejected him, he turned to Charlotte, who was willing to marry him because she also just wanted to be married in order to be comfortable. Charlotte would be comfortable because he made a decent amount of money, and Mr..Collins would be comfortable because he would please Lady Catherine. They would both be settled in society even though their comfort would come at a price. Their happines s is squandered. However, they both have their hobbies that keep them occupied. When Mr.. Collins was not doing clergy duties, Charlotte encouraged him to work in the garden as much as possible, and Charlotte stayed inside taking care of the household. This marriage is a very dull marriage, and it is not seen as a marriage that Austin likes because there is no love.Elizabeth and Darers relationship begins with many troublesome misunderstandings that in the end shape them into the best couple. Stuart M. Tape, author of â€Å"Elizabethan and Dairy's Mutual Mortification and Renewal†, says, â€Å"Each has changed because each has worked a change on the other. The happiness is deserved by a process of mortification begun early and ended late† (69). Even though they do have trials they turn themselves, individually, into better people, and their relationship is strengthened as well. This is where the theme of Pride and Prejudice mainly comes in.Attachment characterizes thei r misunderstandings: â€Å"Obstacles to their marrying include differences in wealth and social position, the behavior of members of their respective families, and their own proud and prejudiced views of themselves and each other . (2). The fact that Elizabeth prejudges people, in this case, hurts her because her presumptions about Dared are wrong, even though they are understandable at the time. John Lubber, the author of Jane Austin states, â€Å"Elizabeth is eventually proven very wrong in her hasty judgment of him, but there is considerable justification for her error. (46). The presumptions Elizabeth has are understandable. Because of Dairy's upbringing he comes off as cold and distant. Elizabeth also assumes that Hickman is a noble man and believes the lies he tells about Dared, which leads her to make more rash judgments against Dared. Dared, at first, does tot like Elizabeth, but after a couple of encounters with her, he begins to develop feelings toward her. Although he h as these feelings he â€Å"sees the connection as unsuitable to the dignity of his family† (Paris 104).Because of their difference in class, he feels that it would not be a good match from society's standpoint. Dared puts these feelings off for as long as he can before giving in. Paris says, â€Å"He is so much in love, however, that he decides to make a social sacrifice for the sake of personal satisfaction† (105). However, Elizabeth is offended when Dared proposes to her because the proposal is given in a way hat is not flattering to her. He then writes her a letter addressing her prejudices toward him. Alistair M.Ductwork, author of â€Å"Social Moderation and the Middle Way†, says, â€Å"There, in his letter to her following her rejection of his proposal, Elizabeth begins to see Dairy's character in a different â€Å"light† and to recognize how badly she misjudged him from a too easy acceptance of Hacksaw's partial view and a too hasty response to ex ternals -every charm of air and address. â€Å"‘ (46). Elizabeth has not found out his true character yet. After being rejected by Elizabeth, Dared writes and delivers a letter explaining the accusations she has about him.When she reads this letter, she begins to take back her prejudices because she begins to see his true character. At this point their relationship starts to turn for the better, and there is hope because their foundation is beginning to mend itself. Their misunderstanding is the most profound, but their reconciliation matches it. Society greatly influences the relationships in Pride and Prejudice. In the Regency time period, marriage was a central topic. In each of the four relationships, Austin reveals how society reacts by showing the response of the people around the relationships.When this is shown, one can see the conflict between the couples and the Regency society. But, where there is no disagreement with society, Austin shows how her view of marriage differs from the accepted view. Society in the nineteenth century is described by Attachment: This society was highly stratified: aristocrats tended to socialize with other aristocrats; the gentry (generally considered to be upper middle class by today's standards) socialized with other gentry; transported socialized with transported, the working poor with the working poor, and the poverty-stricken with other nonworking poor †¦ He class system in England at the beginning of the nineteenth century, though the rigid in theory, in the fact had considerable room for mobility (3). The ability to change classes is very helpful for a person and their descendants because they will not be forever confined to one class. This is helpful for the Bennett daughters because they can easily move up in life by marring men with more money. Student's works are characterized by her satirical language.This can be seen in the first line of the book: â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife† (2). Dorothy Van Ghent, the author of On Pride and Prejudice, states, This is the first sentence of the book. What we read in it is its opposite – a single woman must be in want of a man with a good fortune – and at once we are inducted into the Austin language and the energy -? . That arises from the compression between a barbaric subsurface marital warfare and a surface of polite manners and civilized conventions. 20 – 21) It can be seen that, in the society that the Bennett daughters were raised in, they were aware of their family financial mishaps. Because of this, the idea that they would have to array into money in order to be happy in life was pounded into their heads by their mother. Mrs.. Bennett is reflecting society by believing that the happiness of her daughters could only come from their marrying into money. But Austin proposes that money, in a relationship, is not neces sary, but that love must be present for happiness.Cane's and Bentleys relationship agrees with Student's view of marriage because their relationship is based on true love and attraction, even though they are from different classes of society. However, it is not in direct disagreement with society. Their relationship is more impractical in the eyes f society because they married for true love and attraction. Society, at this time, feels that love is good but marriage should be based on status and comfort in life. They believe that if a person finds these things in a spouse and happen to be attracted to this person that it is sheer luck.The reason that society really likes this relationship is because Jane is moving up in classes and marrying into money. Even though Bentley is marrying someone who does not have much money, it does not affect Bentley like it does Jane because she is solely dependent on Bentley. We see that society likes this relationship through the character of Cane's other. Before Jane and Bentley have announced their feelings, she brags to everyone about how they are going to get married and how much money Bentley brings in a year. We also see Mr..Bonnet's reaction to their relationship, as it is in contrast to his wife's. He is glad attachment has found love in Bentley and that she will be taken care of but says, â€Å"l have not a doubt of your doing very well together. Your tempers are by no means unlike. You are each of you so complying that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income† (Austin 632). This means that they will continually be taken advantage of, which is seen to be true when Lydia and Hickman come to stay with them.One can assure that Lydia and Hickman will overstay their welcome and use them not only because of their bad character but because Jane and Bentley are compliant and always seek the approval of others. Lydia and Hacksa w's relationship does not agree with society or Austin. Austin views this relationship as selfish and superficial. They think only of themselves when they run off and disgrace the Bennett family. Society definitely does not like the idea of Lydia and Hickman just running off cause society wants them to be married.It is good that Lydia and Hickman get married, but, at the same time, it is not. They have no money except for the bride money that Hickman received from Dared and the little money he makes a year from the military. Because they do not have much money, they will have to be very cautious with their money, which does not seem likely with these two.